Nicola Cutcher
@nicolacutcher.bsky.social
Investigative journalist, writer and filmmaker.
Why is our government cooking up a plan to grow the intensive poultry industry and putting Big Chicken in charge? My latest for @prospect_uk.co.uk www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/ideas/busine...
Big Chicken is running our food strategy. Why?
Eating less meat would be good for the climate and our health. Industry is involved in plans for us to consume more
prospectmagazine.co.uk
@privateeyenews.bsky.social this week reveals the shocking ignorance of two BBC Countryfile presenters - one of whom, Adam Henson, is a livestock farmer - about the treatment of farm animals. I see such lapses as *professional ignorance*: there are things that are safer not to know.
My latest feature for @newhumanist.bsky.social is a meditation on longing, yearning and desire and why midlife women are in the spotlight. It was a complete joy to talk to Erin Somers and Sophie Mackintosh about their novels and our wild inner worlds. newhumanist.org.uk/articles/lat...
Late awakening
We meet the novelists behind a new wave of stories exploring the sexual fantasies of midlife women
newhumanist.org.uk
This week's column explains how successive Environment Secretaries in the UK have been actively facilitating ecocide on behalf of industrial lobbyists. Charged with protecting the living world, one after another has been working for the enemy. This has to change.🧵 www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Besieged by lobbyists, will UK ministers protect our ecosystems? No, they’ll chicken out | George Monbiot
Industrial poultry farming is killing our rivers. But rather than stop it, the government has been facilitating it. Will Andy Burnham end this ecocide, asks Guardian columnist George Monbiot
theguardian.com
Really important piece by @luciemheath.bsky.social showing the Environment Agency’s colossal failure to enforce the law when it comes to agricultural pollution. inews.co.uk/news/failing...
The 'failing' river pollution crackdown - with just 1 in 1,000 cases prosecuted
New rules introduced in 2018 were meant to tackle farm pollution in Britain's waterways, but have seen just nine prosecutions and fines as low as £137
inews.co.uk
This is a really interesting read. When I interviewed Nicholas Crane at the Hay Festival, he said he prefers a ‘right to routes’ over a ‘right to roam’. Here @jon-moses.bsky.social dissects that argument…
Right to Roam@righttoroam.bsky.social · 2mo agoShould the access movement be less political? Is it all about paths instead of wider rights? In our first substack, co-director @jon-moses.bsky.social responds to comments from the author and geographer, Nicholas Crane, about the right to roam campaign. righttoroam.substack.com/p/should-the...
The Rivers Wye & Usk once bloomed with water crowfoot (ranunculus). Today, much of it has gone. We're delighted to be working with Save the River Usk on a new Nature Networks Fund project to investigate its decline, understand what's been lost, and help this vital river habitat recover.
I’m headed up to Sheffield Doc Fest this week for the first time! I’ll be championing a new feature documentary that I’ve co-produced called The Solway, which explores the impact of losing a parent in early childhood. It’s a powerful story, tenderly told. www.thesolway.com
THE SOLWAY — A Documentary Feature by Eamon Bourke
thesolway.com
Latest news from the campaign to save the Wye. Rights of Nature, record temperatures and how to get involved, all on World Environment Day: mailchi.mp/e4cff23b8b0c... @savethewye.bsky.social
The River Wye has become the first river in the UK to claim cross-border rights from source to sea - a landmark declaration that rivers are not drains for pollution, but living ecosystems worthy of protection, respect, and a legal voice. @riveractionuk.bsky.social @savethewye.bsky.social
🚨 Our Summer 2026 issue is out today! We unpick the lies behind the health and beauty industries and ask: Are we pushing our bodies too far? Let's take a look inside... 🧵 (1/9) newhumanist.org.uk/2026/05/21/n...
New Humanist’s Summer 2026 issue is out now!
We unpick the lies behind the health and beauty industries and ask: Are we pushing our bodies too far?
newhumanist.org.uk
The big question - when indeed will the Environment Agency do what it exists to do and, you know, er, enforce the law? Great work by @nicolacutcher.bsky.social and @friendsriverwye.bsky.social
Friends of the River Wye@friendsriverwye.bsky.social · 3mo agoEnvironment Agency inaction is a huge scandal. On the Wye and many other rivers agricultural pollution is the most significant factor in worsening water quality. When will the EA enforce the law and protect our rivers? @riveractionuk.bsky.social @georgemonbiot.bsky.social @savethewye.bsky.social
BREAKING: The EA is doing a trial on ‘Fixed Penalty Notices’ They already have the power to issue fines for breaches of agricultural rules. When will they enforce the law? Read all about it: friendsoftheriverwye.org.uk/news/ymbq1db...
Too little too late. Environment Agency trial set to explore fines for agricultural regulation. — Friends of the River Wye
The Environment Agency may be shifting its approach to regulating the agricultural sector in England, saying it is in the early stages of a national Fixed Monetary Penalties trial. Friends of...
friendsoftheriverwye.org.uk
Friends of the River Wye@friendsriverwye.bsky.social · 3mo agoEnvironment Agency inaction is a huge scandal. On the Wye and many other rivers agricultural pollution is the most significant factor in worsening water quality. When will the EA enforce the law and protect our rivers? @riveractionuk.bsky.social @georgemonbiot.bsky.social @savethewye.bsky.social
100 people have now donated to our crowdfunder for The Solway. Wow. What a milestone! We’re so gratified to see this resonating and moving people already. THANK YOU!! PS - If you haven’t looked yet, check out our trailer on the crowdfunding page. www.gofundme.com/f/thesolway
Donate to Bring The Solway to the widest possible audience, organized by Edward Arthur
The Solway is a deeply personal debut feature documentary from filmmake… Edward Arthur needs your support for Bring The Solway to the widest possible audience
gofundme.com
A (quite personal) essay from me about reclaiming rewilding in Wales, out in @inkcapjournal.bsky.social today. I was born, raised and still live in rural Wales. My ancestral farmhouse is a ruin surrounded by conifer trees. I understand the fears. But it's the loss of nature I fear far more.
The Welsh are reclaiming rewilding
Rewilding has been a dirty word in Wales. It's time to embrace it, writes Jon Moses of the Welsh Rewilding Alliance.
inkcap.co.uk
The recruitment and treatment of some international University students in the UK is a scandal worthy of far more attention. This is vital reporting from @samirashackle.bsky.social - shining a light on appalling exploitation. www.theguardian.com/education/ng...
‘I see it as trafficking’: the brutal reality of life as a foreign student in the UK
The long read: Universities in Britain rely on overseas applicants paying full fees, which has given rise to some unscrupulous recruiters and left many hopefuls and their families deep in debt
theguardian.com
Loved this piece about the master of non-fiction Patrick Radden Keefe - particularly the detail that “he still reads a rough draft of each article on speakerphone to his mother and father”. www.nytimes.com/2026/04/02/s...
Can a Journalist Be a Celebrity Anymore?
nytimes.com
Essential piece by @julianborger.bsky.social As Trump ramps up his threats to Iran, will US military officers disobey orders or help commit war crimes? www.theguardian.com/law/2026/apr...
Trump threats cause dilemma for US officers: disobey orders or commit war crimes
Legal experts say attacking Iran’s infrastructure would constitute a war crime – but would military officers be held responsible?
theguardian.com
Thanks to everyone who has supported The Solway so far. We’ve now raised over £4k and it’s very gratifying to see the story resonating. I couldn’t be more proud of this film & look forward to sharing it with audiences. Join us! www.gofundme.com/f/thesolway
Donate to Bring The Solway to the widest possible audience, organized by Edward Arthur
The Solway is a deeply personal debut feature documentary from filmmake… Edward Arthur needs your support for Bring The Solway to the widest possible audience
gofundme.com
Can you do me a favour and visit this Go Fund Me? Some people very close to me, with the help a host of amazing artists, made a beautiful film about love and grief. It's been done on a shoestring and the world would be a better place if everyone saw it. Can you help? www.gofundme.com/f/thesolway
Donate to Bring The Solway to the widest possible audience, organized by Edward Arthur
The Solway is a deeply personal debut feature documentary from filmmake… Edward Arthur needs your support for Bring The Solway to the widest possible audience
gofundme.com
Really grateful to everyone who’s already donated to THE SOLWAY and shared our crowdfunder. We’ve raised over £2k in a few days which is a flying start. I hope this documentary can help others to feel less alone in their grief. www.gofundme.com/f/thesolway
Donate to Bring The Solway to the widest possible audience, organized by Edward Arthur
The Solway is a deeply personal debut feature documentary from filmmake… Edward Arthur needs your support for Bring The Solway to the widest possible audience
gofundme.com
I’ve produced an upcoming feature documentary called THE SOLWAY, directed by Eamon Bourke. Eamon’s Mum died when he was 3. He’s never been able to remember her. Then he discovers some recordings… Please check out our trailer & support our Crowdfunder: www.gofundme.com/f/thesolway
Donate to Bring The Solway to the widest possible audience, organized by Edward Arthur
The Solway is a deeply personal debut feature documentary from filmmake… Edward Arthur needs your support for Bring The Solway to the widest possible audience
gofundme.com
The six medics who broke windows at JPMorgan have been found Not Guilty by the jury. I recommend reading the closing speeches of the medics, including Dr Patrick Hart. Paeans to our shared humanity. healthforxr.com
Health for XR – Climate Crisis = Health Crisis
healthforxr.com
Thick as mince and thick as thieves. A column about the absolute idiots European legislators have made of themselves over the naming of food, at the behest of meat lobbyists. You laugh and then you weep. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
When is a sausage not really a sausage? Ask the meat lobby | George Monbiot
European legislators may ban plant-based products from using the name to prevent ‘confusion’. Just don’t mention beef tomatoes or buffalo wings, says Guardian columnist George Monbiot
theguardian.com
Can jurors apply their conscience when giving a verdict? Or must they only consider the evidence? And are the two even mutually exclusive? @nicolacutcher.bsky.social investigates, via a fossil fuel protest case.
Is it criminal for jurors to act on conscience?
Judges disagree on whether juries should consider evidence alone
prospectmagazine.co.uk
@natashawalter.bsky.social @georgemonbiot.bsky.social
Nicola Cutcher@nicolacutcher.bsky.social · 9mo agoDo jurors have the right to apply their conscience to a case or could it be a criminal offence for them to do so? A recent hearing before the RCJ puts the centuries-old principle of jury equity on the line. I’ve written about it for @prospect_uk www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/ideas/law/71...
Can jurors apply their conscience when giving a verdict? Or must they only consider the evidence? And are the two even mutually exclusive? @nicolacutcher.bsky.social investigates, via a fossil fuel protest case.
Is it criminal for jurors to act on conscience?
Judges disagree on whether juries should consider evidence alone
prospectmagazine.co.uk
Do jurors have the right to apply their conscience to a case or could it be a criminal offence for them to do so? A recent hearing before the RCJ puts the centuries-old principle of jury equity on the line. I’ve written about it for @prospect_uk www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/ideas/law/71...
Is it criminal for jurors to act on conscience?
Judges disagree on whether juries should consider evidence alone
prospectmagazine.co.uk
Nicola Cutcher@nicolacutcher.bsky.social · 9mo agoExclusive: Farmers and landowners fear Defra is putting its flagship Landscape Recovery schemes at risk. While the large-scale projects are intended to last 20-30 years, the government could pull the plug at any time with a year’s notice. cutcher.co.uk/linklog/2025...