Caspar Henderson
@casparhenderson.bsky.social
Bad singer, slow runner, writer. Award-winning knees https://linktr.ee/casparhenderson
Pinned
Creative Writing Seminar: Why Write? A Case for Human Being - Kellogg College
www.kellogg.ox.ac.uk
Why write? Join me on 27 November for what may be a deep dive, and should at least be fun www.kellogg.ox.ac.uk/events/creat...
"what’s really brilliant about Wifedom is how Funder shows Orwell‘s patriarchy to be manifest in his works and reproduced by his biographers, both rendering Eileen Blair invisible."
Thought Anna Funder’s Wifedom brilliant. Perhaps the most effective dissection of patriarchy I’ve read. Here’s some reasons why I liked it as a historian.
November 11, 2025 at 9:14 AM
"what’s really brilliant about Wifedom is how Funder shows Orwell‘s patriarchy to be manifest in his works and reproduced by his biographers, both rendering Eileen Blair invisible."
"The development of AI increases the risks — making it easier for countries, or even non-state actors, to build the world’s deadliest weapons. There is also growing...risk that nuclear-weapons command and control systems could be hacked or disabled by cyber attacks" www.ft.com/content/3c30...
The nuclear arms race is back
War in Ukraine and China’s military build-up have put the world’s deadliest weapons back at the centre of global politics
www.ft.com
November 10, 2025 at 4:58 PM
"The development of AI increases the risks — making it easier for countries, or even non-state actors, to build the world’s deadliest weapons. There is also growing...risk that nuclear-weapons command and control systems could be hacked or disabled by cyber attacks" www.ft.com/content/3c30...
"If the two peoples cannot be more generous, the eventual solution to their conflict may be zero states for zero people”. www.ft.com/content/0407...
Yuval Noah Harari: Only generosity can secure peace between Israelis and Palestinians
Both sides must abandon false moral certainties and oversimplified historical narratives if the cycle of violence is to be broken
www.ft.com
November 10, 2025 at 4:41 PM
"If the two peoples cannot be more generous, the eventual solution to their conflict may be zero states for zero people”. www.ft.com/content/0407...
“All that’s left is shame.” Also, the mutilated corpses of tens of thousands of civilians www.theguardian.com/world/2025/n...
Israeli soldiers speak out on killings of Gaza civilians
IDF soldiers tell documentary of opening fire unprovoked and arbitrary designations of who was an enemy
www.theguardian.com
November 10, 2025 at 10:07 AM
“All that’s left is shame.” Also, the mutilated corpses of tens of thousands of civilians www.theguardian.com/world/2025/n...
"one of the boldest urban experiments in modern history — an attempt to build a metropolis from scratch, unconstrained by geography or precedent — is now in danger of joining the ranks of the world’s grandest follies" ig.ft.com/saudi-neom-l...
End of The Line: how Saudi Arabia’s Neom dream unravelled
Mohammed bin Salman’s utopian city was undone by the laws of physics and finance
ig.ft.com
November 9, 2025 at 10:49 PM
"one of the boldest urban experiments in modern history — an attempt to build a metropolis from scratch, unconstrained by geography or precedent — is now in danger of joining the ranks of the world’s grandest follies" ig.ft.com/saudi-neom-l...
Why write? Join me on 27 November for what may be a deep dive, and should at least be fun www.kellogg.ox.ac.uk/events/creat...
Creative Writing Seminar: Why Write? A Case for Human Being - Kellogg College
www.kellogg.ox.ac.uk
November 6, 2025 at 4:35 PM
Why write? Join me on 27 November for what may be a deep dive, and should at least be fun www.kellogg.ox.ac.uk/events/creat...
Reposted by Caspar Henderson
13. Long live the weeds and the wilderness yet.
But also, long live Sodom and Gomarrah.
But also, long live Sodom and Gomarrah.
November 5, 2025 at 8:09 AM
13. Long live the weeds and the wilderness yet.
But also, long live Sodom and Gomarrah.
But also, long live Sodom and Gomarrah.
"How convincing does the illusion of understanding have to be before you stop calling it an illusion?" www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...
The Case That A.I. Is Thinking
ChatGPT does not have an inner life. Yet it seems to know what it’s talking about.
www.newyorker.com
November 4, 2025 at 3:01 PM
"How convincing does the illusion of understanding have to be before you stop calling it an illusion?" www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...
Reposted by Caspar Henderson
ACTUAL GOOD NEWS WARNING
65% of the planned coal capacity from 2015 ended up not existing, thanks almost entirely to climate policy and renewable energy construction
China is an outlier - but maybe not for long
@e3g.bsky.social
www.e3g.org/publications...
65% of the planned coal capacity from 2015 ended up not existing, thanks almost entirely to climate policy and renewable energy construction
China is an outlier - but maybe not for long
@e3g.bsky.social
www.e3g.org/publications...
November 4, 2025 at 2:29 PM
ACTUAL GOOD NEWS WARNING
65% of the planned coal capacity from 2015 ended up not existing, thanks almost entirely to climate policy and renewable energy construction
China is an outlier - but maybe not for long
@e3g.bsky.social
www.e3g.org/publications...
65% of the planned coal capacity from 2015 ended up not existing, thanks almost entirely to climate policy and renewable energy construction
China is an outlier - but maybe not for long
@e3g.bsky.social
www.e3g.org/publications...
* Largest single year jump in CO2 we've ever seen
* Carbon sinks less effective
* We've probably hit the first tipping point (warm water coral ecosystems), and are closer to others...
@simonoxfphys.com
youtu.be/4zBoXY5YeVo
* Carbon sinks less effective
* We've probably hit the first tipping point (warm water coral ecosystems), and are closer to others...
@simonoxfphys.com
youtu.be/4zBoXY5YeVo
The worst month of climate news in my entire career
YouTube video by Simon Clark
youtu.be
November 4, 2025 at 11:13 AM
* Largest single year jump in CO2 we've ever seen
* Carbon sinks less effective
* We've probably hit the first tipping point (warm water coral ecosystems), and are closer to others...
@simonoxfphys.com
youtu.be/4zBoXY5YeVo
* Carbon sinks less effective
* We've probably hit the first tipping point (warm water coral ecosystems), and are closer to others...
@simonoxfphys.com
youtu.be/4zBoXY5YeVo
“In a free society, all are involved in what some are doing. Some are guilty; all are responsible.” Abraham Joshua Heschel www.nytimes.com/2025/11/03/o...
Opinion | How to Be a Good Citizen When Your Country Does Bad Things
www.nytimes.com
November 4, 2025 at 12:10 AM
“In a free society, all are involved in what some are doing. Some are guilty; all are responsible.” Abraham Joshua Heschel www.nytimes.com/2025/11/03/o...
Hobbled around in the Chilterns because it was too painful to run. Good to be alive, though 🙃
November 2, 2025 at 12:28 PM
Hobbled around in the Chilterns because it was too painful to run. Good to be alive, though 🙃
"You have your life behind you at this point, so it's easier to love each other" www.sadlerswells.com/digital-stag...
Dancing through time - Returning to Pina Bausch's Kontakthof - Sadler's Wells Digital Stage
Dancing through time - Sadler's Wells Digital Stage
www.sadlerswells.com
November 1, 2025 at 10:20 PM
"You have your life behind you at this point, so it's easier to love each other" www.sadlerswells.com/digital-stag...
Spec-cat-ular
November 1, 2025 at 7:38 PM
Spec-cat-ular
"Behind each number is a frightened child who will already have experienced egregious human rights abuses before arriving in the UK seeking safety." www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
More than 50 child asylum seekers still missing after disappearing from Kent care
Council data obtained by the Guardian shows 345 children have gone missing in recent years, many probably taken by traffickers
www.theguardian.com
November 1, 2025 at 6:32 PM
"Behind each number is a frightened child who will already have experienced egregious human rights abuses before arriving in the UK seeking safety." www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
Reposted by Caspar Henderson
This is so good from Cory Doctorow on all the tricks Amazon uses to get both consumers to pay more, and how businesses on the platform end up paying it 45-51 cents on every dollar.
Plus he rightly calls for regulatory change, not just individual consumer action
www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
Plus he rightly calls for regulatory change, not just individual consumer action
www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
Way past its prime: how did Amazon get so rubbish?
Sick of scrolling through junk results, AI-generated ads and links to lookalike products? The author and activist behind the term ‘enshittification’ explains what’s gone wrong with the internet – and ...
www.theguardian.com
October 5, 2025 at 8:19 AM
This is so good from Cory Doctorow on all the tricks Amazon uses to get both consumers to pay more, and how businesses on the platform end up paying it 45-51 cents on every dollar.
Plus he rightly calls for regulatory change, not just individual consumer action
www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
Plus he rightly calls for regulatory change, not just individual consumer action
www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
Reposted by Caspar Henderson
Gaza Health Ministry reports 226 Palestinians killed by Israeli fire since the three-week cease-fire began, with another 594 wounded and 499 bodies recovered from war rubble during that period
www.haaretz.com/gaza/2025-11...
www.haaretz.com/gaza/2025-11...
Gaza Health Ministry says 226 killed since cease-fire began; hundreds of bodies recovered
On Friday, Israel Handed Over the Bodies of 30 Palestinians Killed by the IDF, With a Total of 225 Being Returned During the Cease-fire. The Judicial Committee Responsible for Missing Persons in the G...
www.haaretz.com
November 1, 2025 at 5:07 PM
Gaza Health Ministry reports 226 Palestinians killed by Israeli fire since the three-week cease-fire began, with another 594 wounded and 499 bodies recovered from war rubble during that period
www.haaretz.com/gaza/2025-11...
www.haaretz.com/gaza/2025-11...
“…sometimes even basing loans on the estimated worth of children as yet unborn to enslaved women…”
And this.
November 1, 2025 at 4:57 PM
“…sometimes even basing loans on the estimated worth of children as yet unborn to enslaved women…”
“More religious societies and cultures where there was a preference for faith over science showed high levels of nature connection.” Great that faith can connect people with nature. I’m sure better understanding of science can do so too www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Britain one of least ‘nature-connected’ nations in world – with Nepal the most
Others languishing near bottom of 61-country study include Canada, Germany, Israel, Japan and Spain
www.theguardian.com
November 1, 2025 at 4:45 PM
“More religious societies and cultures where there was a preference for faith over science showed high levels of nature connection.” Great that faith can connect people with nature. I’m sure better understanding of science can do so too www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Reposted by Caspar Henderson
“‘Pattern of Extreme Brutality’ — Tear gas, pepper balls among weapons used by federal agents at Illinois immigration protests.” Bellingcat documents the modus operandi of Trump's secret police, which focus on extreme violence against peaceful citizens. The model appears to be Putin's OMON.
Tear Gas, Pepper Balls Among Weapons Deployed Against Illinois Protesters
A judge recently issued a restraining order on crowd-control tactics by federal agents in the state, including those involved in Operation Midway Blitz.
www.bellingcat.com
November 1, 2025 at 1:41 PM
“‘Pattern of Extreme Brutality’ — Tear gas, pepper balls among weapons used by federal agents at Illinois immigration protests.” Bellingcat documents the modus operandi of Trump's secret police, which focus on extreme violence against peaceful citizens. The model appears to be Putin's OMON.
Reposted by Caspar Henderson
Our recent report warnst that unregulated and understudied cocktails of chemical pollutants in UK rivers, lakes and coastal environments can have harmful effects on aquatic ecosystems even when their individual components are present at ‘safe’ levels: royalsociety.org/news/2025/10...
November 1, 2025 at 11:54 AM
Our recent report warnst that unregulated and understudied cocktails of chemical pollutants in UK rivers, lakes and coastal environments can have harmful effects on aquatic ecosystems even when their individual components are present at ‘safe’ levels: royalsociety.org/news/2025/10...
"Kant challenges us to critically examine the most important questions for ourselves and form our own judgment. Perhaps the Kantian idea hardest to accept today is his confidence that humanity is able to do such difficult things, and wants to." www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...
Why Immanuel Kant Still Has More to Teach Us
A new introduction to the great philosopher’s work foregrounds its revolutionary nature and far-reaching impact.
www.newyorker.com
October 31, 2025 at 10:12 PM
"Kant challenges us to critically examine the most important questions for ourselves and form our own judgment. Perhaps the Kantian idea hardest to accept today is his confidence that humanity is able to do such difficult things, and wants to." www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...
"building a meaningful life is much less about discovering the right set of practices or habits than it is about cultivating the willingness to step up moment after moment & just *do* more of the things that matter for the projects & people & causes you care about most" ckarchive.com/b/k0umh6h56x...
The Imperfectionist: You have to do the living yourself
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ckarchive.com
October 30, 2025 at 4:27 PM
"building a meaningful life is much less about discovering the right set of practices or habits than it is about cultivating the willingness to step up moment after moment & just *do* more of the things that matter for the projects & people & causes you care about most" ckarchive.com/b/k0umh6h56x...
“I have moments when I don’t know how to survive this any further, but you find that the idea of justice, the idea of the country, the idea of dignity, prevails.” www.theguardian.com/world/2025/o...
Wives, mothers, fighters, activists: the millennial women keeping Ukraine going
Born into an independent Ukraine, the lives of these young women changed for ever when Russia invaded their country, forcing them to shoulder huge burdens of responsibility
www.theguardian.com
October 30, 2025 at 11:25 AM
“I have moments when I don’t know how to survive this any further, but you find that the idea of justice, the idea of the country, the idea of dignity, prevails.” www.theguardian.com/world/2025/o...
Reposted by Caspar Henderson
New post out:
"The worst social policy ever"
Today we have a guest post from @ruthpatrick0.bsky.social on the abomination that is the two-child limit and why Labour need to scrap it ASAP.
Lots of data but also powerful testimony.
(Free to read)
open.substack.com/pub/samf/p/t...
"The worst social policy ever"
Today we have a guest post from @ruthpatrick0.bsky.social on the abomination that is the two-child limit and why Labour need to scrap it ASAP.
Lots of data but also powerful testimony.
(Free to read)
open.substack.com/pub/samf/p/t...
"The worst social policy ever"
We have a couple of bonus guest posts over the next week.
open.substack.com
October 30, 2025 at 8:27 AM
New post out:
"The worst social policy ever"
Today we have a guest post from @ruthpatrick0.bsky.social on the abomination that is the two-child limit and why Labour need to scrap it ASAP.
Lots of data but also powerful testimony.
(Free to read)
open.substack.com/pub/samf/p/t...
"The worst social policy ever"
Today we have a guest post from @ruthpatrick0.bsky.social on the abomination that is the two-child limit and why Labour need to scrap it ASAP.
Lots of data but also powerful testimony.
(Free to read)
open.substack.com/pub/samf/p/t...