Max Long

I love the whole Newport Rising commemoration weekend. It's exactly what public history should be. Celebrate your radical history past. Every town has an alternative story of resistance and liberty.

So in a few weeks, the BBC have edited out a "Protect the dolls" trans rights t-shirt and now also some simple rainbow badges. I like the BBC, I used to like it more when it did actual journalism and arts coverage, but it's really making itself hard for me to like it right now.

That the current BBC axe-wielders looked at a programme like the Moral Maze and said “yep. Good stuff! We’ll keep that”, while cutting a load of excellent programmes unfortunately says a lot about the future direction of the corporation

'History Day is an annual event that welcomes members of the public to meet a range of exhibitors including libraries, archives, historical societies and museums, all in one space.' It's free, fascinating and fast-approaching in the heart of Bloomsbury. Book now to avoid disappointment.

Announcing an exciting new initiative for Oryx—we'd love your input. Who is missing from #conservation conversations? Which perspectives deserve greater visibility? What kinds (and formats) of contributions would help us imagine better conservation futures? www.oryxthejournal.org/blog/beyond-...

Historians, or indeed anyone with even the hint of a moral compass

I know that I'm the minority here, but I've always felt more at home in Sciences 2 than in any other reading room at the BL. The seating is more comfortable and there's way more natural light! I will miss it dearly :(

University of Nottingham, right now, is cutting 560 jobs. Do we need to rebrand universities as very large, very clean, land-based oil rigs to get government support?

Genuinely think that one reason for the rise in LLMs is that many people in tech found humanities subjects difficult at school and don’t know how to address that

Bodleian Library, Oxford, Visiting Fellowships are open for application. These include African Studies Visiting Fellowship, Visiting Fellowships in Music, in Women's History and in the History of Science, a Visiting Fellowship in South Asian and Black History and more. Great schemes! #Skystorians

Mark your calendars NACBS is heading to London! The Call for Papers for #nacbs2027 is out now. We will be meeting at Senate House on July 13-16, hosted by @ihr.bsky.social The submission website will open on December 1 and close on January 8. Join us in London! www.nacbs.org/call-for-pap...

'Booth’s maps form the backbone of a new exhibition at Senate House library titled A Place to Call Home, which charts the history of housing and poverty in London over the past 200 years.'

The Cinema Museum are still campaigning to secure their permanent home by the end of 2026. The museum is a wonderful place: a collection built + maintained by volunteers, with frequent screenings of films you're unlikely to see anywhere else. You can donate via the link below!

Huge benefit cuts are so intensely unpopular that this government hid their plan to make scything cuts until they’d won the election. They may have cost the last PM his job. But the main parties, the press and military all agree: fuck you, we’re slashing benefits to buy missiles.

One of the common arguments from so called "gender criticals", transphobes, is "what rights are trans people losing". The answer is so many. Just today we have seen in practice that trans people are being excluded from healthcare., to add to public spaces, education etc. It all costs lives.

Really don't think people outside the UK really understand how culturally and politically mainstreamed transphobia has become here.

Yesterday, the BBC defended editing a slogan in support of trans rights out of Strictly Come Dancing, explaining that it takes steps to reduce ‘overt branding or slogans […] regardless of the wording or statement in question.’

About time too!

Love the heart sign here making it crystal clear who the car is aimed at

The gist of this being that the BBC does things that no commercial broadcaster would ever invest in: the local democracy reporting service + BBC Bitesize in addition ofc to programmes like You and Yours. Helpful to remember that the BBC's 'public service' remit goes beyond mere 'broadcasting'

Totally agree with Nick here - and especially disappointing given that DG Matt Brittin and Samir Shah (BBC Chair) appeared to be making exactly this point in defence of the BBC when questioned on charter renewal only a couple of months ago: committees.parliament.uk/oralevidence...

It is amazing what you find when clearing out your office that holds 28 yrs of ‘work’ archive. This includes all my own stuff but also items passed onto me by colleagues who left before me. Like this fab find 🤩. @historyworkshop.org.uk pamphlet no.2, 1970 by the one & only Sally Alexander ❤️.

'The University of Nottingham has confirmed that it will close its music and languages departments as it presses ahead with more than 500 job cuts despite widespread opposition from staff and students.' A blight on East Midlands and UK higher education.

The wrecking crew in action again: destroy things, replace them with nothing then complain everything is increasingly broken and shit.

Shameful: Britain is no longer worthy of helping the American government commit the most serious war crimes. How can we prove to (checks notes) uh, Donald Trump and Pete Hegseth that we can be trusted to (squints at notes) assist in the commission of crimes against humanity

'Sussex has moved away from Turnitin, UEA has indicated that it will, and in private conversations I’ve had with SU colleagues, other universities are signalling that a Southampton-style exit is on the cards.'

'The Westminster government’s contribution to funding domestic undergraduates studying in England fell in real terms from £8.9 billion in 2012-13 to just £3.3bn in 2024-25, a drop of more than 60 per cent, an analysis has found.'

“Universities have managed staff costs significantly below inflation,[between 2016-17 and 2023-24] increasing only 14% compared to the 41.2% increase in RPIX [measure of inflation]” Substantial real terms pay cut, which continues a trend existing years before that…

Really interesting to hear a whole panel on teaching practice. Clare Hickman on Newcadtle's environmental history module.

💪💪 Solidarity with Edinburgh Uni staff who are trying to prevent compulsory redundancies:

A 🍐 tree outside the workshop window is an appropriate image to share from great event here at Oxford on #environmentalhistory. Am leaning a lot & the company is lovely. Thanks to @maxlong.bsky.social & @andrewseaton.bsky.social who have organised this fab event & am excited to embrace a new field.

Excited for discussing some brilliant papers at 'Modern British History and the "Environmental Turn"' over the next two days. Thanks so much to @pastpresentsoc.bsky.social, @bshsnews.bsky.social, Lincoln College, and University of Manchester's Hallsworth Fund for making it possible

Great first day at the Environmental History workshop in Oxford. So much new and exciting research.

All set now for workshop organised by @andrewseaton.bsky.social & @maxlong.bsky.social in Oxford over next two days. Reading shared position papers now & looking forward to no doubt stimulating discussions with fellow participants. #environmentalhistory #womensgrassrootsactivsm

Come work with us! We're hiring three colleagues: Research Associate, Collections and Participation: www.cam.ac.uk/jobs/collect... Research Associate, Collections and Participation – Digital: www.cam.ac.uk/jobs/collect... Natural History Engagement Coordinator: www.cam.ac.uk/jobs/natural...

Dolly Parton, among a thousand other amazing things she did in her life, gifted over 330 million books to kids through her Imagination Library program. Her passing is a tremendous loss to the world, but you can support the program today to keep it going imaginationlibrary.com

“If £3bn is cheap, what does an expensive missile programme retail for?”