Mathew Lyons
LightNews LightNews
banner
mathewlyons.bsky.social
Mathew Lyons
@mathewlyons.bsky.social
2K followers 560 following 2.9K posts
Writer, historian. FRHistS. Recent work: History Today, The Spectator, Slightly Foxed, New Humanist, Engelsberg Ideas.
Posts Replies Media Videos
Reposted by Mathew Lyons
apollo-magazine.com
‘Why can’t the existing railway station be given a gentle and historically sensitive upgrade without the addition of an architecturally redundant tower block?’ – Charles Saumarez Smith explains why plans to redevelop Liverpool Street station are an architectural train wreck
Liverpool Street station is on schedule to be an architectural train wreck
Plans for a widely opposed redevelopment of London Liverpool Street have been approved – why, asks Charles Saumarez Smith, when there is a better, less costly alternative?
buff.ly
February 12, 2026 at 12:00 PM
Reposted by Mathew Lyons
marcmorris.bsky.social
Kindle edition currently 99p. www.amazon.co.uk/Anglo-Saxons...
February 5, 2026 at 8:19 PM
mathewlyons.bsky.social
Had an email scam through the other day addressing me as Damon Runyon – given the circles he moved in, not a man you'd want to impersonate.
February 11, 2026 at 2:32 PM
Reposted by Mathew Lyons
kjcharleswriter.com
The book club scam has taken an exciting new leap forward. I got one today from a "curated literary platform and newsletter" that, unusually, offered a link to its website. I'm in edits, so obviously I took the opportunity to procrastinate. /1
February 11, 2026 at 11:50 AM
mathewlyons.bsky.social
Heaven forbid anyone should be surprised, delighted, or otherwise impassioned, by something unexpected.

So much mainstream book publishing works on this model too. How many books are positioned as 'for fans of [author X]' or 'if you liked [author X], you'll like this'?
alanzilberman.bsky.social Alan Zilberman @alanzilberman.bsky.social · 1d
A former book critic at Washington Post Book World wrote about last week's cuts, and while the whole thing is worth reading, the end cuts through the bullshit of algorithm/click-driven generated content to articulate the need for actual criticism and culture.

www.newyorker.com/books/page-t...
In his own robotic recitation over the weekend, Bezos explained his logic for the cuts, such as it is. “Each and every day our readers give us a roadmap to success,” he said. “The data tells us what is valuable and where to focus.” The prospect of a paper that flatters its readers by regurgitating what they already click is familiar and depressing. It puts me in mind of Bezos’s other marquee product, another service that dealt a disastrous blow to books. On Amazon, the glorious inconvenience of browsing shelves or combing through piles has been eliminated. There is no occasion to pick up an unfamiliar book out of sheer curiosity. Every book that the site’s algorithm recommends is similar to one that you have purchased already. In this way, you encounter nothing but iterations of yourself forever. It is a world in which the customer is always right. But if you didn’t want to be proved wrong, if you didn’t want to be altered or antagonized in ways that you could never predict, why would you read at all? ♦
February 10, 2026 at 5:03 PM
Reposted by Mathew Lyons
levparikian.bsky.social
Is it a coincidence that I’ve started mine just at the time @backlisted.bsky.social is suspending operations?

Yes.

Although if you’re missing the wonderful Backlisted you could always replace it with Six Things, with which it has – and I cannot stress this enough – absolutely nothing in common.
February 10, 2026 at 4:06 PM
Reposted by Mathew Lyons
beyondshakes.bsky.social
We're approaching the two month mark for our next live show:
📖The Book of Sir Thomas More: Piece by Piece📖
🎟️Two months to go, but not many tickets left - especially after a little flurry of sales today.🎟️
A deep dive into the play, the manuscript, the sources.
www.ticketsource.co.uk/beyondshakes...
An image of the actor Keith Hill, wearing glasses and a jumper to the right of frame, fading into black across the left. Text over the image The Book of Sir Thomas More: Piece by Piece - 12 April 2026. An All Day Event, taking apart and performing the full text of The Book of Sir Thomas More by Anthony Munday and other hands. As well as a live script in hand audio recording of the play (in all its contradictions) we are hosting panel discussions and a deep dive into the play-within-a-play. Sponsored by The Malone Society - the permanent utility of original texts Beyond Shakespeare Company podcast, top right beyondshakespeare.org, bottom middle White Bear Theatre logo, bottom right
February 9, 2026 at 3:53 PM
Reposted by Mathew Lyons
histfest.bsky.social
HistFest is back!

We’re thrilled to share details of HistFest 2026. From Ancient Greek naval commanders and Egyptian queens to the history of motherhood and LGBTQ+ social histories – this year, we bring you a raft of fascinating histories and speakers.

Book now! histfest.org/histfest-2026/
The bottom of the image had speaker headshots, including Sir Michael Palin (left), Saara El-Arifi (top centre), Sofia Robleda (bottom centre), Ruth Goodman (top right) and Tash Walker and Adam Zmith (bottom right). The top of the image has the following text: HistFest 2026. 18-19 | British Library. Image credits: Michael Palin © John Swannell, Tash Walker and Adam Zmith © Jade Smith, Saara El-Arifi © Mustafa Raee
January 21, 2026 at 10:10 AM
Reposted by Mathew Lyons
j-amesmarriott.bsky.social
One lesson of the Epstein emails is the total intellectual vacuousness of the international business elite

www.thetimes.com/comment/colu...
Jeffrey Epstein circle’s ‘big ideas’ were vacuous guff
Emails show that despite hooking up the rich, the powerful and intellectuals, the philosophising was utterly banal
www.thetimes.com
February 9, 2026 at 8:51 PM
mathewlyons.bsky.social
Really enjoyed watching this conversation!
lucyworsley.bsky.social Lucy Worsley @lucyworsley.bsky.social · 2d
Charlie Chaplin’s childhood roles on stage!

He was ‘Billy’, Sherlock Holmes’s pageboy, in the West End.

Then - in his rollercoaster life - he was back in the South London workhouse, and his poor mum in the asylum.

Watch the whole show here:

lucyworsley.substack.com 😃
February 10, 2026 at 7:30 AM
Reposted by Mathew Lyons
savetoreuse.bsky.social
🚨Record response to our campaign for Liverpool Street station.

🙏Thank you to all that have objected so far. Today is the last day to have your say

www.building.co.uk/news/record-...
Record response to Network Rail’s Liverpool Street overhaul as number of people opposing or supporting plan nears 5,000
Controversial scheme due to be heard by City's plannning committee tomorrow afternoon
www.building.co.uk
February 9, 2026 at 3:47 PM
Reposted by Mathew Lyons
mathewlyons.bsky.social
New on the Writer’s Bookshelf this morning: eight questions about writers, books, and reading with the wonderful @jacriding.bsky.social.
The writer's bookshelf: Jacqueline Riding
Eight questions about writers, books, and reading…
open.substack.com
February 9, 2026 at 7:40 AM
mathewlyons.bsky.social
The TLS diary column picked up on my Substack post about the John Carey / George Barker contretemps.
February 9, 2026 at 11:00 AM
mathewlyons.bsky.social
The TLS diary column picked up on my Substack post about the John Carey / George Barker contretemps.
February 9, 2026 at 10:59 AM
Reposted by Mathew Lyons
jacriding.bsky.social
This was great fun: The Moomins, Thomas Hardy, Midsomer Murders… what’s not to love?! Many thanks to the fab @mathewlyons.bsky.social

#HardStreets @profilebooks.bsky.social
February 9, 2026 at 8:39 AM
mathewlyons.bsky.social
New on the Writer’s Bookshelf this morning: eight questions about writers, books, and reading with the wonderful @jacriding.bsky.social.
The writer's bookshelf: Jacqueline Riding
Eight questions about writers, books, and reading…
open.substack.com
February 9, 2026 at 7:40 AM
Reposted by Mathew Lyons
joelhs.bsky.social
"Eighty-two years after his execution by the Gestapo on June 16, 1944, the Jewish historian and resistance fighter Marc Bloch will be inducted into the Pantheon on June 23... His family requested that 'the far right, in all its forms, be excluded from any participation in the ceremony.'"
February 8, 2026 at 7:02 PM
Reposted by Mathew Lyons
illuminations.bsky.social
Very grateful to @andrewmale.bsky.social for highlighting some of the early 30-line television content featured in 'Magic Rays of Light: The Early Years of Television in Britain', and so pleased at the interest (and even sales!) this is stirring up.
andrewmale.bsky.social Andrew Male @andrewmale.bsky.social · 4d
It is also, utterly delightful. Exhibit A, this detail about an early “themed” TV broadcast in 1931. The Televisor, by the way, was an early TV receiver which showed images in portrait format. I’m imagining early TV as a century-old version of TikTok.
Mrs Rhoda Flanders introduced various breeds of dogs. Spring 1931 also saw what appears to have been the first half-hour broadcast with a common theme across three items. Mr ]. W. Bassett-Lowke, head of a firm of professional model-makers, lectured on naval history and was seen on a Televisor in his company's home town of Northampton. He was followed by character baritone Lionel Morgan performing songs of the sea, and the transmission was rounded out by a Baird staff member demonstrating seaman's knots.
February 8, 2026 at 12:24 PM
Reposted by Mathew Lyons
belovedofoizys.bsky.social
If you're popping to Carlisle for this exhibition, why not go on the 7th March to coincide with me talking about gladiators? Can't wait to see the this wonderful exhibition one last time...
Tickets avaiable here:
tullie.org.uk/events/roman...
February 8, 2026 at 12:16 PM
Reposted by Mathew Lyons
oldenoughtosay.com
well there’s an instant switch
siliconrepublic.bsky.social Silicon Republic @siliconrepublic.bsky.social · 9d
Mozilla will allow Firefox users to entirely block current and future generative AI features on the browser after user feedback revealed many who wanted an AI-free browser experience.
New Mozilla Firefox version to allow AI features to be blocked
Mozilla will allow Firefox users to entirely block current and future generative AI features on the browser.
www.siliconrepublic.com
February 8, 2026 at 10:22 AM
mathewlyons.bsky.social
I've been reading & rereading @ravoon.bsky.social's debut Dirt Rich the last couple of weeks. It's the best new collection I've read in a very long time. It reclaims the techniques of Auden and MacNeice for the 21st century, while mining layers of memory – personal. familial, social – …
February 7, 2026 at 5:14 PM
Reposted by Mathew Lyons
openculture.bsky.social
The Largest Historical Dictionary of English Slang Now Free Online: Covers 500 Years of the “Vulgar Tongue”
The Largest Historical Dictionary of English Slang Now Free Online: Covers 500 Years of the “Vulgar Tongue”
'The three volumes of Green's Dictionary of Slang demonstrate the sheer scope of a lifetime of research by Jonathon Green, the leading slang lexicographer of our time. A remarkable collection of this ...
www.openculture.com
February 6, 2026 at 5:05 PM
Reposted by Mathew Lyons
badlilies.bsky.social
Our co-florist @andrewjamesneilson.bsky.social has written a guest post for @northseapoets.bsky.social on Auden and 'Imaginary Friends' northseapoets.substack.com/p/audens-ima...
Auden's 'Imaginary Friends'
NSP Guest Post! Andrew Neilson on how the literati cope as Rome falls
northseapoets.substack.com
February 6, 2026 at 5:37 PM
Reposted by Mathew Lyons
abrackenbury.bsky.social
Poetry & history of family & place! ONLY CHANCE to hear my workshop after 5 yrs research for 'Village'.I'll read varied poems from my 10(!) books. & you can read a poem at friendly Open Mic! Buzzwords, Exmouth Arms, Cheltenham,Glos, Sun 8 Feb, 7 pm, £5 waged, £3 unwaged
SEARCH FOR BUZZWORDS BLOGSPOT
February 6, 2026 at 11:12 AM