I have a master's degree in Ancient Greek and Roman Studies, I've studied the 'Odyssey' in Ancient Greek, and I've been writing about the ancient world for over a decade. This is my exhaustive review of Christopher Nolan's 'The Odyssey'. #Odyssey #classics talesoftimesforgotten.com/2026/07/23/a...

An Ancient Historian's Breakdown of Christopher Nolan's 'The Odyssey' - Tales of Times Forgotten

Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey is perhaps the most highly anticipated new film of the 2020s. It has already received near-universal acclaim from film critics and earned more at the box office in its ...

talesoftimesforgotten.com

Fifty years ago, Carlo Ginzburg published a book about the extraordinary mind of an Italian miller, demonstrating the power of microhistory. A new edition has just been published and I've reviewed it for @historytoday.com: www.historytoday.com/archive/revi...

this is not true. there was no conspiracy. it didn't matter whether the streetcars were publicly owned (seattle, detroit) or private (los angeles, atlanta). a thread (because i wrote a whole-ass book on this): 1/?

David Ho@davidho.bsky.social · 3d ago

Is everyone aware of the General Motors streetcar conspiracy? In the mid-20th century, auto and oil interests bought up electric streetcar systems across the US and systematically replaced them with bus routes and paved roads, funneling commuters toward private cars.

‘A gentle poetry in the everyday’: why The Straight Story is my feelgood movie

‘A gentle poetry in the everyday’: why The Straight Story is my feelgood movie

The latest in our ongoing series of writers picking their most beloved comfort films is a tribute to David Lynch’s gentlest movie

theguardian.com

Re-enactors again not beating the allegations. Market Harborough at War today, apparently. @waitmanwbeorn.com @alanallport.bsky.social @garius.bsky.social @andraswf.bsky.social

Playbooks, plagiarism and a pig’s head: new claims surrounding a star Cambridge professor

Playbooks, plagiarism and a pig’s head: new claims surrounding a star Cambridge professor

Jason Arday was regarded as an academic superstar, but then questions about his work prompted scrutiny of his backstory and counterclaims of racism When the superstar academic Jason Arday took to the stage at the British Sociological Association’s 75th anniversary conference earlier this year, he delivered a talk called Wanted Dead or Alive: the Playbook. The youngest black professor in Cambridge University’s history told an audience of his peers that the playbook in question had helped bring down some of the biggest names in US academia. Conservative “activists” were trawling through the work of black academics, looking for anything to use against them: inconsistencies, citation errors, passages in their work that were similar to existing papers. Continue reading...

theguardian.com

We are at the “r/finance is posting fancams of Chair Powell set to Taylor Swift” point in the cycle of regret over Temu Greenspan.

Had no idea there was an international day of friendship, probably because as a society we value and celebrate romantic love to the detriment of other types. Anyway, my friends, hope you are all well and thriving despite the mess around us.

Andrew Copson@andrewcopson.bsky.social · 7d ago

In 1776, Adam Smith risked his reputation to tell the world that his friend David Hume had died cheerful, kind, and unafraid — without religion. That is friendship. I’ve written about it (and about making friends in middle age) for the #InternationalDayofFriendship.

Glen Hansard, the Frames frontman and 'Once' star who won an Oscar for Best Original Song, has died at 56 following a motorcycle crash in Dublin. www.rollingstone.com/music/music-...

Glen Hansard, Oscar-Winning 'Once' Musician, Dead at 56

Irish singer-songwriter Glen Hansard, who achieved international fame in the 2007 drama 'Once,' has died in a motorcycle crash at the age of 56.

rollingstone.com

this is someone's profile on a neo-Nazi dating site. it keeps going.

I’ve found out that if you google Zebedee the AI overview will pull through a description of the biblical Zebedee and an image of Zebedee from The Magic Roundabout.

This is just to say I have OCRed the text thet was in tne arch:ve and whicb yov were prabaldy seamhing for "breahtast" Fargme ms fheg mem debo:w5 sb ?mccf mmb 5c oc1b

Tfw mothra gave you power of attorney

Seen that opinion poll in which millionaires say they're in favour of a wealth tax on millionaires? It's an absolute masterclass in how to get the polling result that you want. And the detail shows the opposite of what we're told it shows. Thread:

I’m sorry what

Historian friend was reading a civil war era letter in an archive, the letter said “In this envelope I include my smallpox scabs” and sure enough there they were. Had to call CDC for a hazmat team.

The fucking irony of Lineker signing this The man who put in a convoluted partnership structure with his wife, to avoid being taxed as an ordinary employee of the TV stations he worked for Top corner hypocrisy. Absolute worldie. Take a bow son. www.bbc.co.uk/news/enterta...

Gary Lineker wins appeal over £4.9m tax bill

The sports presenter's dispute with HMRC centred on whether he was a freelancer or an employee.

bbc.co.uk

Patriotic Millionaires UK@patmillsuk.bsky.social · 2w ago

Today, along with 120 other millionaires our letter to the new Prime Minister asks for one thing: tax us, the super rich. As millionaires, we're proud to pay and we're here to stay. 👉 Swipe to see some of the well-known faces who have signed the letter.

‘the fall in teenagers opting for literature is linked to an unimaginative GCSE (surely something that a new prime minister with an English degree could fix)’ Easy win here, Mr Burnham! www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

The Guardian view on humanities cuts in universities: academic departments are more than cost centres | Editorial

Editorial: Literature, the arts and social sciences must not be sacrificed as higher education funding is squeezed

theguardian.com

Did you like the half time show? “ I thought it was crap” Wayne Rooney my new hero

Wayne Rooney just spoke for the nation.

NARRATOR: It looks nothing like Somalia

Nathaniel Harari@nathanielharari.somethingwonderful.eu · 2w ago

America is looking more and more like Somalia in the 90s - a completely failed state with tribal conflicts tearing the entire country apart until it can’t even be called a functioning body any longer. And I have no idea how it’s going to sort itself out.

This is a stunning article by @faisalahali.bsky.social, covering the radical history of Radio Mogadishu and ongoing efforts to protect its extraordinary archive. There's also embedded audio, if you're curious about how its broadcasts sounded! www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/7/...

Somalia races to save Radio Mogadishu’s fading archive

A small team is working to digitise decades of Somali history in the country's main public radio station.

aljazeera.com

I try not to overdo this bit but ... my man is begging for it. Let's go.

PEIPolitical 🇨🇦@peipolitical.bsky.social · 3w ago

Miller: "It's not a coincidence that when you look at these violent Antifa demonstrations not one of the people that is demonstrating looks like a normal person. Not one looks normal. They're all deformed in some way in their appearance, in their dress, in their mannerism." #cdnpoli

I'm just annoyed that we *already* had a political philosophy called Manchesterism. Do Cobden and Bright mean nothing to you people? There's a reason it was The Free Trade Hall.

Giles Wilkes@gilesyb.bsky.social · 3w ago

One of the stranger things I've heard on the radio was an MP complaining that he didn't like the sound of Manchesterism because his constituency is nowhere near Manchester. It's really, really not about "doing more for Manchester".

Feels like I may as well post this long-read again just to remind the incoming government that their support base, and indeed the population, are that most horrible and cringe of things - middle class. Actually, even worse, the Professional Managerial Class. benansell.substack.com/p/british-po...

British Politics' Midlife Crisis

Why British Parties Can't Make Peace with Their Actual Voters

benansell.substack.com

Stephen Bush@stephenkb.bsky.social · 3w ago

65 per cent of Britons are owner-occupiers. General elections are won in the Midlands. Most people have a middle class occupation. The United Kingdom's comparative advantage is in services. These aren't facts that Philip Gould invented in order to make Labour feel sad.

HANG IT IN THE LOUVRE #EngArg

Stevenson's main and perhaps only policy objective is a wealth tax. That has many problems, which we wrote about in detail here: buff.ly/rdAJsyC But if you read that Resolution Foundation report, Stevenson's wealth tax simply can't solve the inequality the report identifies. Wrong target.

Numerous stations reporting 33C at 1pm well on course for 35C. This is 18th day at 30C plus in London now tying with 2018 the 2nd highest yearly total.