Cristen
@cristencaine.bsky.social
Writer, producer, filmmaker, Course Leader and staff Producer at the National Film and Television School. Ex BBC, Ch4, Kudos. Hoping I might find a community here because I don’t know where else to go any more.
London/Glasgow
London/Glasgow
We've already had massive increases in productivity over the last few decades (as Keynes predicted) and guess what we didn't fucking do (that Keynes recommended)
October 28, 2025 at 2:40 PM
We've already had massive increases in productivity over the last few decades (as Keynes predicted) and guess what we didn't fucking do (that Keynes recommended)
An unusual way to frame Russell's letter, which has always - famously - been understood as a politely coded "fuck off, fascist", and if *that* is what James is calling for more of then yes, we do need more of that. The veneer of politeness is arguably the least notable thing about this letter.
This calm, cool decency is dangerously absent from our discourse at the moment. Almost everyone is embracing, normalising or ignoring the 'cruel bigotry, compulsive violence, and the sadistic persecution which has characterised the philosophy and practice of fascism.'
We need more Bertrands.
We need more Bertrands.
Bertrand Russell to Oswald Mosley. Perfection.
October 22, 2025 at 10:52 AM
An unusual way to frame Russell's letter, which has always - famously - been understood as a politely coded "fuck off, fascist", and if *that* is what James is calling for more of then yes, we do need more of that. The veneer of politeness is arguably the least notable thing about this letter.
All of this but also the collapse of the idea that you and I and all of our neighbours *deserve* good things and to live well and that we should build our politics and economy around that truth instead of around competition and perceived enemies. This has shifted dramatically in the last 20-25 years
I bang on about this a lot: I think the combination of a global pandemic, underregulated internet/SM, collapse/corruption of trustworthy media, plus now unregulated genAI, is a wildly toxic environment for radicalisation & mental health. We see the results of that in our politics & lives every day
October 13, 2025 at 9:24 AM
All of this but also the collapse of the idea that you and I and all of our neighbours *deserve* good things and to live well and that we should build our politics and economy around that truth instead of around competition and perceived enemies. This has shifted dramatically in the last 20-25 years
Reposted by Cristen
i put a big sign on my bedroom door: "DEPARTMENT OF WAR
NO GIRLS ALLOWED"
NO GIRLS ALLOWED"
September 30, 2025 at 1:26 PM
i put a big sign on my bedroom door: "DEPARTMENT OF WAR
NO GIRLS ALLOWED"
NO GIRLS ALLOWED"
"Diverse voices can counter it" no they can't Grok, the platform is designed to drown them out, whatever their numbers. That's one of many reasons why there is no merit to the argument that progressives, journalists, or public bodies should stay on Twitter/X
"The last three years have seen the de facto legalisation of racial abuse in online space. Elon Musk has turned Twitter/X into one of the most powerful amplifiers of racism we have ever seen"
September 25, 2025 at 10:38 AM
"Diverse voices can counter it" no they can't Grok, the platform is designed to drown them out, whatever their numbers. That's one of many reasons why there is no merit to the argument that progressives, journalists, or public bodies should stay on Twitter/X
Reposted by Cristen
becoming a bit of a pet complaint at this stage but I'd love to see a study that shows that British readers actually prefer a massive chunky book, because I love a little paperback so much I can't imagine everyone else loving these huge editions
Nice to see Daphne du Maurier’s spooky short stories get a fresh airing, but did it have to be an a massive £25, 600-page fuck-off beribboned hardback? What’s wrong with a nice manageable paperback? Esp since most of the stories are in the existing Penguin and NYRB collections of her stories.
September 6, 2025 at 9:21 AM
becoming a bit of a pet complaint at this stage but I'd love to see a study that shows that British readers actually prefer a massive chunky book, because I love a little paperback so much I can't imagine everyone else loving these huge editions
Some of the worst people are some of the most polite. Some of the best have the sharpest tongues. Civility is meaningless as a measure of virtue, it may even be inversely linked
I will never understand how American elites managed to convince themselves that uncivil debate — not fascism, not impunity and not widespread indifference to facts — is the defining problem of our time.
www.nytimes.com/2025/08/26/o...
www.nytimes.com/2025/08/26/o...
August 28, 2025 at 2:51 PM
Some of the worst people are some of the most polite. Some of the best have the sharpest tongues. Civility is meaningless as a measure of virtue, it may even be inversely linked
The perfect summary of all the anti-bsky posts and thinkpieces
People get big mad when you do social media the way you want to.
August 25, 2025 at 8:20 AM
The perfect summary of all the anti-bsky posts and thinkpieces
Great thread and I have strong feelings about this one: helping your kid get a leg up is not nepotism, who the fuck wouldn't do that. Nepotism is handing them opportunities and positions that don't match their level of skill and / or effort
80. Nepo-baby discourse only holds water if they suck.
August 4, 2025 at 9:10 PM
Great thread and I have strong feelings about this one: helping your kid get a leg up is not nepotism, who the fuck wouldn't do that. Nepotism is handing them opportunities and positions that don't match their level of skill and / or effort
Reposted by Cristen
Skegness, one of your absolute finest people right here. Buy her a drink whenever you see her.
July 27, 2025 at 8:47 PM
Skegness, one of your absolute finest people right here. Buy her a drink whenever you see her.
The tiny section of Wikipedia dedicated to the story of the real Ann Summers (who was 19 years old when her boss bought her name for a small one-off payment), makes for fairly unpleasant reading
![SCREENSHOT OF TEXT: The company was named after Annice Summers, the female secretary of the male founder, Michael Caborn-Waterfield.
Annice Summers was born Annice Goodwin in 1941, but later took her stepfather's surname. She left the company soon after it opened, following a row with Caborn-Waterfield. She went to live in Umbria, Italy, two hours from Rome, and died of cancer in October 2012.!5]](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:lcsstsymr5exglvk5cwwm2pc/bafkreidsj2bgr5c6cbjaof5jdx452yzfey2raa54nqsqxwobpdaipwh55q@jpeg)
July 23, 2025 at 4:48 PM
The tiny section of Wikipedia dedicated to the story of the real Ann Summers (who was 19 years old when her boss bought her name for a small one-off payment), makes for fairly unpleasant reading
Reposted by Cristen
Sometimes, I long for him
July 20, 2025 at 9:10 AM
Sometimes, I long for him
Reposted by Cristen
A good way to think about the housing crisis is landlords pocketing essentially all the consumer surplus the last 40 years
Between 1980 and 2024 the basket of 50 basic commodities become cheaper and more abundant. To be precise 70 per cent cheaper and 238 per cent more abundant. If we hadn’t messed up housing costs we’d be collectively very well off. Source: buff.ly/U8lZZkc
July 18, 2025 at 11:30 PM
A good way to think about the housing crisis is landlords pocketing essentially all the consumer surplus the last 40 years
Well this is just going to encourage them to steal more honey
Rogue bears' honey supply replenished by community in Devon
Rogue bears' honey supply replenished by community in Devon
The boss of a wildlife park where two bears escaped and gorged on honey thanks people for donations.
www.bbc.com
June 25, 2025 at 12:26 PM
Well this is just going to encourage them to steal more honey
Reposted by Cristen
Reposted by Cristen
Study on London 20 mph limits shows:
- collisions ⬇️ 35%
- casualties ⬇️ 36%
- fatal/serious injuries ⬇️ 34%
- child casualties ⬇️ 46%
- child deaths ⬇️ 75%
- walkers, cyclists, motorcyclists killed/seriously injured ⬇️ 28%
etsc.eu/20mph-limits...
- collisions ⬇️ 35%
- casualties ⬇️ 36%
- fatal/serious injuries ⬇️ 34%
- child casualties ⬇️ 46%
- child deaths ⬇️ 75%
- walkers, cyclists, motorcyclists killed/seriously injured ⬇️ 28%
etsc.eu/20mph-limits...
20mph limits in London linked to sharp fall in road injuries and deaths, new report finds
A new study published by Transport for London (TfL) has shown that the introduction of 20mph speed limits and zones on local authority-managed roads in London between 1989 and 2013 led to significant…
etsc.eu
June 3, 2025 at 1:35 PM
Study on London 20 mph limits shows:
- collisions ⬇️ 35%
- casualties ⬇️ 36%
- fatal/serious injuries ⬇️ 34%
- child casualties ⬇️ 46%
- child deaths ⬇️ 75%
- walkers, cyclists, motorcyclists killed/seriously injured ⬇️ 28%
etsc.eu/20mph-limits...
- collisions ⬇️ 35%
- casualties ⬇️ 36%
- fatal/serious injuries ⬇️ 34%
- child casualties ⬇️ 46%
- child deaths ⬇️ 75%
- walkers, cyclists, motorcyclists killed/seriously injured ⬇️ 28%
etsc.eu/20mph-limits...
Their website looks beyond fake www.flippincity.com/flippin-poli...
June 5, 2025 at 5:10 PM
Their website looks beyond fake www.flippincity.com/flippin-poli...
Reposted by Cristen
This is beautful. And so simple.
Queer people are scared. This is all you have to do as a cis het person to help take some of that fear away.
Queer people are scared. This is all you have to do as a cis het person to help take some of that fear away.
For noen kan et lite regnbueflagg bety at vi føler oss tryggere. Man ser flagget og tenker; « her kan jeg passe inn»
En enkel måte å vite at jeg også blir satt pris på.
Veldig fin video
Oslo Pride🌈
En enkel måte å vite at jeg også blir satt pris på.
Veldig fin video
Oslo Pride🌈
May 29, 2025 at 10:24 AM
This is beautful. And so simple.
Queer people are scared. This is all you have to do as a cis het person to help take some of that fear away.
Queer people are scared. This is all you have to do as a cis het person to help take some of that fear away.
Reposted by Cristen
The British public, on both the left and the right, has almost no grasp of what we will lose if we let the BBC go. The losses will be immeasurable, yet people from all spheres of life are cheering on the Beeb's decline. It's one of the most succesful disinformation campaigns of all time.
Hold the BBC to account every time. Do not give up on the BBC. We will never get another one that answers to us as the BBC does.
The United States will never recover as a country until the media somehow finds the courage to do its job.
May 20, 2025 at 1:52 PM
The British public, on both the left and the right, has almost no grasp of what we will lose if we let the BBC go. The losses will be immeasurable, yet people from all spheres of life are cheering on the Beeb's decline. It's one of the most succesful disinformation campaigns of all time.
The implication that Mummy and Daddy Pig are royals or at least extremely well off raises new questions, but it also provides answers to old ones, such as 'why are some animals in Peppa Pig's world "pets", or low-status captives?'
May 21, 2025 at 10:21 AM
The implication that Mummy and Daddy Pig are royals or at least extremely well off raises new questions, but it also provides answers to old ones, such as 'why are some animals in Peppa Pig's world "pets", or low-status captives?'
The British public, on both the left and the right, has almost no grasp of what we will lose if we let the BBC go. The losses will be immeasurable, yet people from all spheres of life are cheering on the Beeb's decline. It's one of the most succesful disinformation campaigns of all time.
Hold the BBC to account every time. Do not give up on the BBC. We will never get another one that answers to us as the BBC does.
The United States will never recover as a country until the media somehow finds the courage to do its job.
May 20, 2025 at 1:52 PM
The British public, on both the left and the right, has almost no grasp of what we will lose if we let the BBC go. The losses will be immeasurable, yet people from all spheres of life are cheering on the Beeb's decline. It's one of the most succesful disinformation campaigns of all time.
Reposted by Cristen
The biggest self own I've ever seen
Literally had to log in to Twitter to check with my own eyes that this post from Graham Linehan was real. Fml. Genuinely unbelievable
Literally had to log in to Twitter to check with my own eyes that this post from Graham Linehan was real. Fml. Genuinely unbelievable
May 19, 2025 at 10:14 AM
The biggest self own I've ever seen
Literally had to log in to Twitter to check with my own eyes that this post from Graham Linehan was real. Fml. Genuinely unbelievable
Literally had to log in to Twitter to check with my own eyes that this post from Graham Linehan was real. Fml. Genuinely unbelievable
Reposted by Cristen
There's a pet psychic who got called out on Tiktok for being a fraud (getting every detail of the pet owner's life wrong) and the pet psychic responded saying that the pets must have been lying to her
May 13, 2025 at 1:37 PM
There's a pet psychic who got called out on Tiktok for being a fraud (getting every detail of the pet owner's life wrong) and the pet psychic responded saying that the pets must have been lying to her
Reposted by Cristen
6 May 1940 | Betty Vredenburg, a Dutch Jewish girl, was born in Amsterdam to Abracham and Rachel.
She was murdered in a gas chamber of the #Auschwitz camp on 21 May 1944.
She was murdered in a gas chamber of the #Auschwitz camp on 21 May 1944.
May 6, 2025 at 8:01 PM
6 May 1940 | Betty Vredenburg, a Dutch Jewish girl, was born in Amsterdam to Abracham and Rachel.
She was murdered in a gas chamber of the #Auschwitz camp on 21 May 1944.
She was murdered in a gas chamber of the #Auschwitz camp on 21 May 1944.
Claudia Winkleman offered me a bath and a takeaway when I turned up to her house as a junior TV person, soaked from the rain. I declined.
Terrance Dicks bought me a pint.
Screw "never meeting your heroes." What were some times you met your heroes and they were super cool?
May 5, 2025 at 9:03 AM
Claudia Winkleman offered me a bath and a takeaway when I turned up to her house as a junior TV person, soaked from the rain. I declined.