An absolutely wild couple of paragraphs to come across in an article

Support for survivors of sexual violence should never run down ideological or geopolitical lines. It happens in every conflict and is under-recognised in every conflict.

Yair Wallach@yairwallach.bsky.social · 3mo ago

We now have denialists of Israeli sexual violence against Palestinian prisoners shouting at denialists of Oct 7 Palestinian sexual violence against Israelis. And all of them hate the NYT and screaming "hoax". Despicable people. All of you

This is amazing news for both journalism and democracy! I'm sure the wealthy will continue to abuse and bully journalists via the courts but hopefully cases like this give more publications the courage to stand up to them.

Joshi Herrmann@joshih.bsky.social · 3mo ago

A good email to get from our lawyers: "Great news!! The attached judgment was handed down this morning and we have won!!!” Nightmare over for @londonermag.bsky.social and @coramazov.bsky.social. And a huge win for the free press. So delighted with this. ✊ www.the-londoner.co.uk/we-won-our-d...

Further examples of the international far-right's interconnectedness. The women who did the Islamophobic "unveiling" stunt at Saturday's Unite the Kingdom rally were from Collectif Nemesis, a French group that describes itself as "feminist identitarian"

Recent weeks have seen a barrage of attacks on abortion pill access across the US. One central argument is that remote access allows men to coerce women into abortions. However, when digging into these cases, a very different picture emerges. Me for @newrepublic.com newrepublic.com/article/2101...

The Anti-Abortion Movement’s Alarming Control Tactics

A series of lawsuits allege that women are being coerced into having abortions by friends, ex-partners, or others who are close to them. But the accused are rarely the real abusers in these stories.

newrepublic.com

I vividly remember Deborah's beautiful pandemic-era piece about connecting with the family named on the Stolpersteine outside her apartment. It's lovely to read a more in-depth piece about Sonja, how her personal story intertwines with Europe's history, and the importance of reckoning with the past.

Deborah Cole@deborahcole.bsky.social · 3mo ago

So pleased to see our beloved Sonja looking like a queen in the pages of The Guardian’s Saturday magazine. She’ll be 103 next month. Read here about her remarkable resilience & joy, and our unlikely connection across the world: www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...

This is fascinating. Another study found a similar pattern in the UK - areas with pub closures had high levels of UKIP support. "When there is no longer any place to talk to each other, politics becomes a face-off between the isolated individual and the grand narratives of the media."

Seth Cotlar@sethcotlar.bsky.social · 3mo ago

Interesting article on how the disappearance of third spaces--in this case, Tabac's in rural France--fuels the rise of right wing authoritarian parties. www.france24.com/en/france/20...

An 18-year-old jailed for a neo-Nazi terror attack the day before the UK's biggest ever far-right march is set to take place. Something is very wrong.

Lizzie Dearden@lizziedearden.bsky.social · 3mo ago

A new far-right terror attack in the UK has been confirmed in court. Alina Burns, then 18, tried to behead an Iranian refugee who was standing outside a barber's shop in Bristol with an axe The attack took place on 2 August 2025 but a judge did not rule on 'terrorism connection' until today

This is clearly terrible, but also, what kind of communications crisis are we living in for people to be completely unaware of these things? There are many institutions at fault here, not just Reform themselves

Prem Sikka@premnsikka.bsky.social · 3mo ago

Just met a Reform UK voting couple who had no idea that it opposed: Recent rise in the minimum wage End of the two-child benefit cap Expansion of free school meals, free breakfast clubs Help with school uniforms Horrified that they would lose big from Reform How many others voted without knowing?

This story is absolutely wild. Excellent reporting.

The Bureau of Investigative Journalism @tbij.bsky.social · 3mo ago

We've uncovered how a content creator in Pakistan was earning money from viral videos that stir up hate in the UK – while lining the pockets of Big Tech – all without properly understanding English.

This is a really interesting thread breaking down why the Met Gala infuriates so many people. My hot take on the subject is that I love seeing the creativity and craftsmanship on display each year, and I can think of far more offensive examples of "wealth porn" (e.g. superyachts)

derek guy@dieworkwear.bsky.social · 3mo ago

Pierre Bourdieu once argued that the question of whether something is art isn't answered by the artist's intention or even the object itself. Instead, the quality of being "art" is conferred by a community — curators, dealers, auction houses, audiences, etc. 🧵

Increasingly feels like antisemitism has become nothing but a political football in UK politics and not something that either camp has any real interest in identifying, confronting and dismantling

Ben Phillips@benphillips76.bsky.social · 3mo ago

Sharing, without comment, British newspapers’ depictions of the only Jewish person currently leading a UK political party . Times. Mail. Telegraph. Sun.

The block – then temporary restoration – of abortion pill mifepristone by mail has left women in the US completely confused on the drug's legal status. One provider says they have had panicked patients ask if they are allowed to take pills they have already received. www.politico.com/news/2026/05...

Supreme Court restores abortion pill access — for now

Justice Samuel Alito froze an appeals court ruling that limited access to the drug used in two-thirds of abortions.

politico.com

This biopic would have been a bad idea no matter what but it feels particularly bleak for it to have been released in the wake of the Epstein files, at a time when we are still lacking serious conversations on how we treat and respond to survivors variety.com/2026/film/bo...

‘Michael’ Rocks Box Office With Record-Setting $97 Million Debut

"Michael," a biopic about the King of Pop, arrived in theaters as an instant sensation with $97 million domestically and $217 million globally.

variety.com

For those into niche British pop culture, I just found out the AI-using writer Alex Preston is the older brother of Samuel Preston from The Ordinary Boys - aka one half of Preston and Chantelle

Jeff VanderMeer@jeffvandermeer.bsky.social · 4mo ago

Jaysus Effin' Christ. I hope this leads to a better policy of scrutiny. www.nytimes.com/2026/01/06/b...

Really looking forward to chairing this panel on longform journalism in Europe at @journalismfestival.com, alongside @willcoldwell.bsky.social and editors from @politiken.dk and @ftweekend.com. Give me a shout if you're planning on heading to Perugia!

International Journalism Festival@journalismfestival.com · 4mo ago

📌 As audiences increasingly consume short-form content, this panel asks what space remains for longform journalism today. Editors from FT Magazine and Denmark's Politiken explain why they continue to invest in narrative reporting and why longform remains essential to tell deeply human stories.

I regularly see people wondering how it's possible that there are so many musicians and writers and film makers and artists from a tiny nation like Iceland. And the answer is really simple: State funding for art education and artists. I literally get a salary from the government to write books.

Kyle Cassidy@kylecassidy.bsky.social · 6mo ago

I’m constantly astounded at the sheer level of artistic production coming out of Iceland. Novels, movies, music. Amazing.

Many of the Iranian human rights activists I've interviewed have been calling for this for a long time. The EU has also passed targeted sanctions on regime officials (another request by activists). www.theguardian.com/world/2026/j...

EU designates Iran’s Revolutionary Guards as a terrorist organisation

‘Any organisation that kills thousands of its own people is working toward its own demise,’ says Kaja Kallas

theguardian.com

Question for all #Iran watchers: does it feel like there is way more information warfare being waged over the recent uprisings than there was in 2022? I don't remember seeing anywhere near this level of clashing narratives and suspicious online activity during the Woman, Life, Freedom protests

Germany is home to the largest Iranian diaspora in Europe. At protests in Berlin, many told me they want to see European leaders take "real action" against Tehran - such as expelling ambassadors, targeted sanctions, and the classification of the Revolutionary Guard as a terror group

Hyphen@hyphenonline.com · 7mo ago

Iranian dissidents in Germany are urging European leaders to cut diplomatic ties with Tehran, as reports suggest thousands have been killed in the regime’s brutal crackdown on protests. ✍🏼Jessica Bateman https://hyphenonline.com/2026/01/22/iran-tehran-germany-berlin-protest-sever-diplomatic-ties/

this place needs more jokes about the brooklyn beckham wedding drama

"What has unsettled me more is how quickly Venezuelans ceased to be the subject of the story at all. Almost immediately, the media coverage migrated elsewhere toward abstractions of power and sovereignty, international law." Via @unbiasthenews.bsky.social unbiasthenews.org/venezuela-wi...

Venezuela without Venezuelans - Unbias The News

As bombs fall and power shifts, Venezuela is reframed as a geopolitical case study, while the voices of those living through the crisis are pushed aside. The gap between global commentary and lived re...

unbiasthenews.org

How hard could it really be for Novara Media to find a left-wing Iranian to write about this topic instead? Certain people need to pass the mic and sit this one out.

Fascinating: Miller rails against neoliberalism here and dismisses the world order the U.S. largely established post-WWII. Neoliberalism has MANY critics (particularly progressives), but Miller is insisting the U.S. act like a superpower while decrying…how it became a superpower in the first place?

Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · 7mo ago

MILLER: The US is using its military to secure our interests unapologetically in our hemisphere. We're a superpower. It's absurd we'd allow a nation in our backyard to become a supplier of resources to our adversaries TAPPER: Sovereign countries shouldn't be able to do what they want? M: *yells*

Honestly incredible

derek guy@dieworkwear.bsky.social · 7mo ago

amazing how the entire machine can pivot within 24 hours. no need to slowly upsell the argument; just issue new marching orders

I see some white Western "leftists" are doing to Venezuelans what they previously did to Syrians: dismissing their voices and lived experience while positioning themselves as the true experts. Some leftists' racism always comes out when minority groups don't behave the way they believe they should.

Feel like this point should be more central to some of the current discussions. Trump did not single handedly destroy the international order - there are many institutions and individuals who need to do some self-reflection. From www.theguardian.com/world/2026/j...

Rules-based international order has had a rough couple of decades, but this pretty much ends it entirely. Both the strikes and the capture of Maduro are also blatant violations of US domestic law too, of course.

This is one of the first German habits I picked up. Still don't drink sparkling water, still don't really like pickles, but damn my brain is now fully programmed to WAIT for that green man no matter how empty the street.

Ulrike Franke@rikefranke.bsky.social · 7mo ago

Germany is: waiting, totally naturally, at a red light when there are no cars in sight.