Alex von Tunzelmann
@alexvont.bsky.social
Historian, writer, broadcaster. She/her. Latest book, FALLEN IDOLS, shortlisted for the Wolfson History Prize 2022. HISTORY’S SECRET HEROES and THE LUCAN OBSESSION on BBC Radio 4. One of the Silk Road Slippers https://www.silkroadslippers.com
Pinned
Alex von Tunzelmann
@alexvont.bsky.social
· Oct 28
Fifty years ago, a possibly mistaken murder and the disappearance of a playboy aristocrat gripped the nation. My documentary The Lucan Obsession starts this lunchtime at 1.45pm on BBC Radio 4. Or you can binge all 10 eps (they’re only 15 mins each) on BBC Sounds now. www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...
It’s easy to get things completely wrong when trying to read the deep reality of royal feelings from their deliberately clipped and opaque public statements. So I could be completely wrong! But I suspect HM would gladly throw his grotesque middle brother under any passing bus
Buckingham Palace is ready to support the police as they consider allegations against King Charles' brother Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
#Epsteinfiles
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
#Epsteinfiles
King's 'profound concern' as police consider Andrew claims over Epstein
Making his first intervention in the Epstein scandal, the King said he is ready to support the police in their inquiries.
www.bbc.co.uk
February 9, 2026 at 10:23 PM
It’s easy to get things completely wrong when trying to read the deep reality of royal feelings from their deliberately clipped and opaque public statements. So I could be completely wrong! But I suspect HM would gladly throw his grotesque middle brother under any passing bus
Reposted by Alex von Tunzelmann
This is THEE thread on Benito's show. Someone called this thread an exegesis. :)
Disturbingly detailed analysis of my first rewatch incoming
February 9, 2026 at 8:48 PM
This is THEE thread on Benito's show. Someone called this thread an exegesis. :)
Reposted by Alex von Tunzelmann
starting to feel like there's a direct relationship between the growing obsession with lifestyle hygeine (no drinking, no caffeine, no sex, obsessive working out and looksmaxxing) and the inability to meaningful moral stands on issues of actual import
Cafes across the U.S. are embracing the low- and no-caffeine lifestyle, with options that are a far cry from dusty tea bags and rewarmed decaf. nyti.ms/3XKlqoj
February 9, 2026 at 5:12 PM
starting to feel like there's a direct relationship between the growing obsession with lifestyle hygeine (no drinking, no caffeine, no sex, obsessive working out and looksmaxxing) and the inability to meaningful moral stands on issues of actual import
Just watched Bad Bunny’s Superbowl halftime show. Glorious. What a terrific performer; what an incredible celebration and assertion of American identity. Lol at people thinking it wasn’t political
February 9, 2026 at 8:46 PM
Just watched Bad Bunny’s Superbowl halftime show. Glorious. What a terrific performer; what an incredible celebration and assertion of American identity. Lol at people thinking it wasn’t political
Reposted by Alex von Tunzelmann
Problem with any anti-Starmer tweet that gets attention is I inevitably have to hear the thoughts of people who think Starmer is Blair 2.0, when a lot of the Starmer project's reactionary tendencies are an attempt to distance itself from the socially liberal aspects of Blairism
Starmer "led Labour to a thumping victory nobody thought possible" is one of those weird revisions of history, when 400+ seats was obviously in the realm of possibility from the moment the first post-minibudget polls dropped in September/October 2022
February 9, 2026 at 4:25 PM
Problem with any anti-Starmer tweet that gets attention is I inevitably have to hear the thoughts of people who think Starmer is Blair 2.0, when a lot of the Starmer project's reactionary tendencies are an attempt to distance itself from the socially liberal aspects of Blairism
Reposted by Alex von Tunzelmann
U.K. might lose a prime minister because a guy who worked for him knew another guy who hung out with Epstein. Meanwhile the U.S. opposition party is telling our President, who was Epstein's best friend, that his secret police should get better training so their public street murders look less messy.
February 9, 2026 at 4:07 PM
U.K. might lose a prime minister because a guy who worked for him knew another guy who hung out with Epstein. Meanwhile the U.S. opposition party is telling our President, who was Epstein's best friend, that his secret police should get better training so their public street murders look less messy.
Reposted by Alex von Tunzelmann
BBC R4’s latest How Did We Get Here? on Israel and the Palestinians starts today. You’ll find me in Episode 4, with Eugene Rogan and Gudrun Krämer.
BBC Sounds - How Did We Get Here? - Available Episodes
Listen to the latest episodes of How Did We Get Here? on BBC Sounds.
www.bbc.co.uk
February 9, 2026 at 11:49 AM
BBC R4’s latest How Did We Get Here? on Israel and the Palestinians starts today. You’ll find me in Episode 4, with Eugene Rogan and Gudrun Krämer.
I’m a big fan of Pevear and Volokhonsky because they get the wit and they keep the French bits in French (translated in same-page footnotes but not in the main text).
February 9, 2026 at 1:58 PM
I’m a big fan of Pevear and Volokhonsky because they get the wit and they keep the French bits in French (translated in same-page footnotes but not in the main text).
Reposted by Alex von Tunzelmann
I'm convinced AI is our generation's radium - a discovery with genuinely useful applications in specific, controlled circumstances that we stupidly put in everything from kid's toys to toothpaste until we realised the harm far too late where future generations will ask if we were out of our minds.
February 8, 2026 at 10:23 PM
I'm convinced AI is our generation's radium - a discovery with genuinely useful applications in specific, controlled circumstances that we stupidly put in everything from kid's toys to toothpaste until we realised the harm far too late where future generations will ask if we were out of our minds.
Reposted by Alex von Tunzelmann
This is the key point that is lost in so much Westminster bubble talk on net zero. It is popular. It’s hugely popular with Labour’s base and with the progressive voters it needs to vote tactically to defeat Reform. And it’s even popular with Tories who Labour needs not to switch to Reform.
…as well as being supported by the vast majority of Lab/Lib/Gn voters, almost all Labour MPs, a 2-1 majority of voters overall and – even now – a healthy majority of Con voters
February 8, 2026 at 10:16 PM
This is the key point that is lost in so much Westminster bubble talk on net zero. It is popular. It’s hugely popular with Labour’s base and with the progressive voters it needs to vote tactically to defeat Reform. And it’s even popular with Tories who Labour needs not to switch to Reform.
Inject that uber-woke net-zeroist rejoinerism straight into my veins
Yes, god help we risk a floundering government that feels like no one is in charge.
February 8, 2026 at 6:26 PM
Inject that uber-woke net-zeroist rejoinerism straight into my veins
Absurd beauty, not feasible
February 8, 2026 at 4:50 PM
Absurd beauty, not feasible
Reposted by Alex von Tunzelmann
"It’s hard not to read these files and come to the conclusion that Epstein helped engineer the ultimate elite impunity — in which our society has been totally destroyed so the richest and most powerful men in the world can do whatever they want." — @lopatto.bsky.social
How the men in the Epstein files defeated #MeToo
The emails show the “anti-woke” crusaders are afraid of accountability.
www.theverge.com
February 6, 2026 at 5:02 PM
"It’s hard not to read these files and come to the conclusion that Epstein helped engineer the ultimate elite impunity — in which our society has been totally destroyed so the richest and most powerful men in the world can do whatever they want." — @lopatto.bsky.social
Reposted by Alex von Tunzelmann
If there's ever been a time to NOT be incrementalist, this is it. The most political capital you're gonna have is right now. And we got Gestapo death squads in MSP and TB spreading through concentration camps in Texas. If you can't find a win there, get out of politics. The Epstein Class, baby
February 8, 2026 at 4:29 AM
If there's ever been a time to NOT be incrementalist, this is it. The most political capital you're gonna have is right now. And we got Gestapo death squads in MSP and TB spreading through concentration camps in Texas. If you can't find a win there, get out of politics. The Epstein Class, baby
Reposted by Alex von Tunzelmann
Concentration camps:
“For 280 days we haven’t eaten a single piece of fruit, banana, apple, orange, or anything fresh. We are all in one big room with no doors or windows. We can’t see any grass or trees. We are all constantly sick."
“For 280 days we haven’t eaten a single piece of fruit, banana, apple, orange, or anything fresh. We are all in one big room with no doors or windows. We can’t see any grass or trees. We are all constantly sick."
Exclusive: Detention Center Captives Are Throwing Lotion Bottles Wrapped With Notes to Organizers Outside Otay Mesa Facility ~ L.A. TACO
“For 280 days we haven’t eaten a single piece of fruit, banana, apple, orange, or anything fresh," an Otay Mesa captive communicated through handwritten note. "We are all in one big room with no doors...
lataco.com
February 8, 2026 at 2:24 AM
Concentration camps:
“For 280 days we haven’t eaten a single piece of fruit, banana, apple, orange, or anything fresh. We are all in one big room with no doors or windows. We can’t see any grass or trees. We are all constantly sick."
“For 280 days we haven’t eaten a single piece of fruit, banana, apple, orange, or anything fresh. We are all in one big room with no doors or windows. We can’t see any grass or trees. We are all constantly sick."
Reposted by Alex von Tunzelmann
“Renee was not the first person killed, and she was not the last,” Becca Good said. “You know my wife’s name and you know Alex’s name, but there are many others in this city being harmed that you don’t know — their families are hurting just like mine, even if they don’t look like mine.”
Renee Good's partner addresses Minneapolis immigration crackdown one month after killing
Becca Good has seldom spoken out since Renee Good was shot and killed by an ICE agent in Minneapolis on Jan. 7.
nbcnews.to
February 7, 2026 at 9:00 PM
“Renee was not the first person killed, and she was not the last,” Becca Good said. “You know my wife’s name and you know Alex’s name, but there are many others in this city being harmed that you don’t know — their families are hurting just like mine, even if they don’t look like mine.”
Reposted by Alex von Tunzelmann
I didn’t use that website so yes, I think it’s a hotel thing but at scale as you say.
February 7, 2026 at 10:47 AM
I didn’t use that website so yes, I think it’s a hotel thing but at scale as you say.
It isn’t, unfortunately.
February 7, 2026 at 9:19 AM
It isn’t, unfortunately.
This was the scam account, btw. As I said, unconvincing name, but if they’d thought to change that it would have been harder to detect. Naturally I’ve turned updates off, blocked it & reported
February 7, 2026 at 9:18 AM
This was the scam account, btw. As I said, unconvincing name, but if they’d thought to change that it would have been harder to detect. Naturally I’ve turned updates off, blocked it & reported
I forwarded it to the hotel and complained that they obviously aren’t keeping my data secure. But it seems to be happening a lot!
February 7, 2026 at 9:08 AM
I forwarded it to the hotel and complained that they obviously aren’t keeping my data secure. But it seems to be happening a lot!
No, I’m not suggesting that’s great either! Just raising the point that this issue is complicated and blanket bans may well have unintended negative consequences.
February 7, 2026 at 9:05 AM
No, I’m not suggesting that’s great either! Just raising the point that this issue is complicated and blanket bans may well have unintended negative consequences.
A scammer just tried exactly this on me via WhatsApp. Glad I saw a post here recently outlining the scam - it would be very easy to fall for. The “hotel” account had an unconvincing name, but they had my name, number & reservation dates. lifehacker.com/money/hotel-...
This New Hotel Reservation Scam Is Fooling People Who Use Sites Like Booking.com
If you've booked a hotel through a platform like Booking.com or Expedia, beware any communication that directs you to confirm your payment details to hold your reservation.
lifehacker.com
February 7, 2026 at 9:03 AM
A scammer just tried exactly this on me via WhatsApp. Glad I saw a post here recently outlining the scam - it would be very easy to fall for. The “hotel” account had an unconvincing name, but they had my name, number & reservation dates. lifehacker.com/money/hotel-...