Ben Barclay
benbarclay.bsky.social
Ben Barclay
@benbarclay.bsky.social
Translator and textbook writer. Post on climate, energy, health, Spain, Brexit and other stuff.

Produce VoiceMap audio tours of Andalucía: https://voicemap.me/publisher/ben-barclay#tours

https://andalucia-bound.com
@andalucia-bound.bsky.social
Pinned
Announcement time: as you may know, for a few years my wife and I have been creating audio tours of destinations in Andalucía using a great app called VoiceMap.

It’s been going really well, so we’ve decided to branch out with a website for visitors to Andalucía. It’s called Andalucía Bound.

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Andalucía Bound
Whether you’re coming to Andalucía for a short break or the road trip of a lifetime, Andalucía Bound will help you plan the perfect journey.
andalucia-bound.com
Reposted by Ben Barclay
“Smart glasses” are evil and should be banned. We learned this with Google Glass when people started taking matters into their own hands in response - just because Meta have hidden the camera better doesn’t make them any less objectionable. Ban them.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Women filmed in secret for TikTok content - then harassed online
So-called manfluencers wearing smart glasses approach women and then post videos to TikTok.
www.bbc.co.uk
January 24, 2026 at 6:45 AM
Reposted by Ben Barclay
NEW: India is avoiding the fossil fuel detour 🪝

Where China built first on coal and gas, India is taking a shortcut >>> read in 5 graphics🧵
January 23, 2026 at 10:51 AM
Reposted by Ben Barclay
BREAKING: Prime Minister Keir Starmer mocks the idea of Trumps board of peace

“Putin being on a board of peace? He is waging war on a European country"
January 23, 2026 at 7:23 PM
The death toll has risen to 45 now. The suspicion has moved to a possible welding fault in the track, as the carriages ahead of the ones that derailed also have grooves on their wheels, as do those of other trains that passed in the 45 mins prior to the accident (but not earlier ones).
What we know about Spain's worst train disaster in over a decade - BBC News
What caused the train to derail remains unclear but officials say an investigation has been launched.
www.bbc.com
January 23, 2026 at 6:47 AM
Reposted by Ben Barclay
🇫🇮 Stubb: I don't agree with the narrative that claims Russia is winning militarily.

Over the past 1,000 days, Russia has advanced by 1% of Ukrainian territory. The cost of that advance has been 1,000 dead soldiers per day — about 30,000 per month. These figures refer to the dead, not the wounded.
January 22, 2026 at 9:16 AM
Reposted by Ben Barclay
💯
Do you use @wikipedia.org? I bet you do! I've been donating since 2014, just a small amount each month. If you can, please think about contributing & so help keep Wikipedia a trusted source of information. We need it more than ever!
wikimediafoundation.org
Home – Wikimedia Foundation
We support protect fund openhuman knowledge We are the nonprofit that hosts Wikipedia. We support the people, technology, and policies that enable reliable information to be shared with the world. Hel...
wikimediafoundation.org
January 22, 2026 at 10:10 PM
Reposted by Ben Barclay
Fifty years after Apple began marketing computers to schools, classrooms are awash with technology. Concerns about fractured attention and data security are mounting
Ed tech is profitable. It is also mostly useless
Independent research identifies few learning gains
econ.st
January 22, 2026 at 7:45 PM
Reposted by Ben Barclay
Interesting article by @maxinejoselow.bsky.social:

Trump’s E.P.A. Has Put a Value on Human Life: Zero Dollars

Gift link: www.nytimes.com/2026/01/21/c...
Trump’s E.P.A. Has Put a Value on Human Life: Zero Dollars
www.nytimes.com
January 22, 2026 at 10:06 PM
Reposted by Ben Barclay
Barbarians.
cnn.com CNN @cnn.com · 1d
JUST IN: The US has completed its withdrawal from the World Health Organization, the US Department of Health and Human Services said, finalizing a longstanding goal of President Donald Trump. https://cnn.it/4a7NRmO
January 22, 2026 at 10:10 PM
Reposted by Ben Barclay
Many aren't aware that burning wood at home can seriously impact indoor and outdoor air quality. Tonight is Clean Air Night - learn about how to protect your health and your home:

www.actionforcleanair.org.uk/campaigns/cl...
January 22, 2026 at 8:42 PM
Reposted by Ben Barclay
posted without comment, but the BBC needs to get a grip
January 22, 2026 at 12:37 PM
Reposted by Ben Barclay
CATL launches 1st sodium-ion battery for light commercial vehicles

The sodium-ion battery is engineered for extreme cold environments, retaining 90% of its usable capacity at -40°C, CATL said. cnev.co/PFC5HTa 👇
CATL launches 1st sodium-ion battery for light commercial vehicles
The sodium-ion battery is engineered for extreme cold environments, retaining 90% of its usable capacity at -40°C, CATL said.
cnev.co
January 22, 2026 at 10:17 AM
There’s a danger in thinking that TACO will always hold good. But the logic of Trump’s position is that he will always try to get something from, or lash out at, other countries.

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January 22, 2026 at 9:43 AM
Reposted by Ben Barclay
I know WW3 might be about to break out, but that’s all the more reason to hurry up and do our new VoiceMap audio tour before it happens.

And with a bit of luck it won’t, in which case you have more time. 😉
Our #VoiceMap audio tour describes colourful characters like Abd al-Rahman I and Pedro I of Castile, who sheltered from their enemies behind Carmona’s impregnable walls. It also tells the story of French-born British painter George Bonsor, who excavated the Roman necropolis.

#audiotour

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Carmona Through the Ages: In Roman Footsteps Along the Via Augusta | Carmona self-guided audio tour | VoiceMap
Witness centuries of conquest layered into the walls built by successive empires with this self-guided tour of Carmona, Spain. For the best experience, install the VoiceMap audio guide app with automa...
tidd.ly
January 21, 2026 at 3:32 PM
Reposted by Ben Barclay
NEW REPORT: the gov’s proposals for judge-only trials will deliver only marginal savings and distract from the real route out of this crisis: reversing recent falls in court productivity.
Trial and error?: The impact of restricting jury trials on court demand | Institute for Government
The government’s reforms will unlock only relatively modest reductions in demand.
www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk
January 22, 2026 at 7:41 AM
Lots of good things in the plan, by all accounts, but this is disappointing, unless there are realistic clean alternatives being put in place.

Space heating is tricky in some ways, but it has to transition to (close to) zero emissions.
The government's warm homes plan, announced this week, has slashed the UK heat pump installation target. Down from 600,000 devices installed each year by 2028 to 450,000 annual installations by 2030...

www.gov.uk/government/p...
Warm Homes Plan: Technical annex
www.gov.uk
January 22, 2026 at 8:08 AM
Reposted by Ben Barclay
Interesting that Altman and Musk are beginning to exchange accusations that the other one’s tech is not safe.

“Your AI isn‘t safe but mine is” doesn’t necessarily do either of them much good in the long run.
Sam Altman Lets Loose About AI Psychosis
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman vented about the attention the company received over ChatGPT leading users into psychosis.
futurism.com
January 22, 2026 at 7:49 AM
Reposted by Ben Barclay
NEW | Wind and solar generated more power than fossil fuels in the EU for the FIRST time ever.

🌪️ and ☀️ made up a RECORD 30% of 🇪🇺 electricity, up from 20% just five years ago.

https://ember-energy.org/latest-insights/european-electricity-review-2026/
January 22, 2026 at 7:01 AM
Leaving aside, for a moment, the illegitimacy of Trump’s claim to Greenland, Europe also needs to consider what a hostile US controlling Greenland would mean for European security.

Especially if the US were to ally itself to Russia.
January 21, 2026 at 10:55 PM
Reposted by Ben Barclay
Exactly.
*ITS THE VOTERS, STUPID* Our allies understand now that the US system is fatally flawed with no real guardrails against tyranny. American voters who chose the suicide switch twice are existential threats. Betting on the selfish whims of rural American voters is a gambit they can no longer afford.
January 21, 2026 at 8:47 PM
Reposted by Ben Barclay
Putin ⬇️ (the one behind DJT’s idea to get Greenland)
January 21, 2026 at 8:52 PM
Reposted by Ben Barclay
Pompeii, scenes of gladiators and love stories. Snapshots of life emerge thanks to advanced technology - Pompeii Sites
pompeiisites.org/en/comunicat...
Pompeii, scenes of gladiators and love stories. Snapshots of life emerge thanks to advanced technology - Pompeii Sites
After two centuries, new discoveries made in the corridor by the theatres “Why the future of memory depends on technology”   A love story of a woman named Erato, Erato … keep it going
pompeiisites.org
January 21, 2026 at 8:04 PM
Reposted by Ben Barclay
BREAKING: The European Parliament suspended work on a trade deal between the 27-member bloc and the US following Trump's repeated requests to take control over Greenland, a semi-autonomous Danish territory reut.rs/4bbpqGm
January 21, 2026 at 3:34 PM