Oliver Lough
@olough.bsky.social
Humanitarian research and M&E; Kyiv, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Erbil, SOAS, Kabul, Beijing; feminist; Londoner. Everything is on fire or worse. All opinions my own. He/him
Went to the same prep school as Freddie, we were taught by the same men, several of whom turned out to be pedophiles and were of course welcomed back into the community with open arms after apoLOL they went to jail and the school closed because of course it fucking did this isn't hard.
It’s not a new principle that you don’t stay friends with someone you know is a pedophile. I wouldn’t stop being friends with them because I feared guilt by association. I’d stop being friends either them because they are a pedophile.
I wonder why the right needs to do these mental gymnastics… 🤔
I wonder why the right needs to do these mental gymnastics… 🤔
February 12, 2026 at 9:21 PM
Went to the same prep school as Freddie, we were taught by the same men, several of whom turned out to be pedophiles and were of course welcomed back into the community with open arms after apoLOL they went to jail and the school closed because of course it fucking did this isn't hard.
Reposted by Oliver Lough
It’s not a new principle that you don’t stay friends with someone you know is a pedophile. I wouldn’t stop being friends with them because I feared guilt by association. I’d stop being friends either them because they are a pedophile.
I wonder why the right needs to do these mental gymnastics… 🤔
I wonder why the right needs to do these mental gymnastics… 🤔
February 12, 2026 at 9:00 PM
It’s not a new principle that you don’t stay friends with someone you know is a pedophile. I wouldn’t stop being friends with them because I feared guilt by association. I’d stop being friends either them because they are a pedophile.
I wonder why the right needs to do these mental gymnastics… 🤔
I wonder why the right needs to do these mental gymnastics… 🤔
Reposted by Oliver Lough
“I left London for New York eighteen years ago. For a long time I didn’t miss it. Recently I have found myself thinking about it more often, and sometimes even dreaming about it.”
@harikunzru.bsky.social on a drift through an old city.
@harikunzru.bsky.social on a drift through an old city.
Another London, by Hari Kunzru
Excavating the disenchanted city
buff.ly
February 7, 2026 at 5:01 PM
“I left London for New York eighteen years ago. For a long time I didn’t miss it. Recently I have found myself thinking about it more often, and sometimes even dreaming about it.”
@harikunzru.bsky.social on a drift through an old city.
@harikunzru.bsky.social on a drift through an old city.
Without naming your job, tell me something you say over and over again at work.
"No, I know it sounds reasonable but, once again, that would be fraud."
"No, I know it sounds reasonable but, once again, that would be fraud."
Without naming your job, tell me something you over and over again at work.
“Hi, I’m here to pick up a book.”
“Hi, I’m here to pick up a book.”
Without naming your job, tell me something you say over and over again at work.
"Where are your citations?"
"Where are your citations?"
February 8, 2026 at 8:33 AM
Without naming your job, tell me something you say over and over again at work.
"No, I know it sounds reasonable but, once again, that would be fraud."
"No, I know it sounds reasonable but, once again, that would be fraud."
Repost with a photo of yours that you think would make a good album cover
February 7, 2026 at 8:26 AM
Repost with a photo of yours that you think would make a good album cover
Reposted by Oliver Lough
The aid sector is rapidly changing, with a diverse 'ecosystem' of actors with different values, motivations & approaches.
So what makes humanitarian action legitimate in today’s world – and who gets to decide? Share your views in this bold new digital consultation: buff.ly/w64j7G3 💬
So what makes humanitarian action legitimate in today’s world – and who gets to decide? Share your views in this bold new digital consultation: buff.ly/w64j7G3 💬
February 3, 2026 at 10:32 AM
The aid sector is rapidly changing, with a diverse 'ecosystem' of actors with different values, motivations & approaches.
So what makes humanitarian action legitimate in today’s world – and who gets to decide? Share your views in this bold new digital consultation: buff.ly/w64j7G3 💬
So what makes humanitarian action legitimate in today’s world – and who gets to decide? Share your views in this bold new digital consultation: buff.ly/w64j7G3 💬
Reposted by Oliver Lough
My first piece for @mothership.blog! www.mothership.blog/dragon-age-g...
I pitched this back when Veilguard was coming out but we ran out of time and Maddy's been hounding me for it ever since. I'm very excited to have it up and on MADDY's NEW SITE
which you should sub to
I pitched this back when Veilguard was coming out but we ran out of time and Maddy's been hounding me for it ever since. I'm very excited to have it up and on MADDY's NEW SITE
which you should sub to
Dragon Age games lack agency, and that's the whole point
All that matters is who you love, and how you do it
www.mothership.blog
January 28, 2026 at 4:47 PM
My first piece for @mothership.blog! www.mothership.blog/dragon-age-g...
I pitched this back when Veilguard was coming out but we ran out of time and Maddy's been hounding me for it ever since. I'm very excited to have it up and on MADDY's NEW SITE
which you should sub to
I pitched this back when Veilguard was coming out but we ran out of time and Maddy's been hounding me for it ever since. I'm very excited to have it up and on MADDY's NEW SITE
which you should sub to
Reposted by Oliver Lough
brass solidarity band performing “stand by me” in the streets of whittier next to alex pretti’s memorial. the crowd started chanting “the people united will never be defeated” so they incorporated it into the song. i love minneapolis
January 27, 2026 at 12:22 AM
brass solidarity band performing “stand by me” in the streets of whittier next to alex pretti’s memorial. the crowd started chanting “the people united will never be defeated” so they incorporated it into the song. i love minneapolis
Poland has had had pretty much the best sustained GDP growth in the EU since 1990 so this isn't that hard to fathom. polandobserver.com/polands-grow...
January 26, 2026 at 9:16 AM
Poland has had had pretty much the best sustained GDP growth in the EU since 1990 so this isn't that hard to fathom. polandobserver.com/polands-grow...
1000% yes to this though. Number of worthy non-fic books that are just a pamphlet followed by 200 pages of the authors' workings-out.
One bonus, heretical thought: if you’re interested in a topic, a long essay can be more informative than a (non-fiction) book.
There is a silly publishing convention that a "serious" book needs to be 300 pages++. The result is tomes that are mostly filler.
Might the 5,000-word New Yorker be better?
There is a silly publishing convention that a "serious" book needs to be 300 pages++. The result is tomes that are mostly filler.
Might the 5,000-word New Yorker be better?
January 23, 2026 at 11:47 AM
1000% yes to this though. Number of worthy non-fic books that are just a pamphlet followed by 200 pages of the authors' workings-out.
Yeah hard no on this one. I love receiving books as gifts because they more often than not turn out to be things I never would've bought myself and there's usually something worthwhile to delve into. This just kind of suggests the people gifting you books don't know you especially well?
- Books make for terrible gifts
Easy, this one. When you give someone a book you are implicitly demanding they spend many hours doing something *you* think is interesting (ie reading that book). It is incredibly imposing. Or should they offend you by not reading it?
Recommend books, don't give them
Easy, this one. When you give someone a book you are implicitly demanding they spend many hours doing something *you* think is interesting (ie reading that book). It is incredibly imposing. Or should they offend you by not reading it?
Recommend books, don't give them
January 23, 2026 at 11:46 AM
Yeah hard no on this one. I love receiving books as gifts because they more often than not turn out to be things I never would've bought myself and there's usually something worthwhile to delve into. This just kind of suggests the people gifting you books don't know you especially well?
Reposted by Oliver Lough
Our paper on the mysterious Devonian organism Prototaxites has now finally been published! See the paper here (www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...) and our explainer thread below!
Prototaxites reconstruction by Matt Humpage
Prototaxites reconstruction by Matt Humpage
January 21, 2026 at 7:25 PM
Our paper on the mysterious Devonian organism Prototaxites has now finally been published! See the paper here (www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...) and our explainer thread below!
Prototaxites reconstruction by Matt Humpage
Prototaxites reconstruction by Matt Humpage
Ok forgive me this is going to be a closed pub (not sure if they even served food). The Grosvenor in Stockwell, gone c. 2014. Old school victorian interior, pool table, ancient jack russel, cider in cardboard boxes shipped in from Somerset by the landlord every summer. Punk music venue out back.
Sunday night timeline cleanse
please tell me about your favorite lost restaurant (closed for at least 5 years, like I really want you to go back into the vault), why you loved it and what you ate there
please tell me about your favorite lost restaurant (closed for at least 5 years, like I really want you to go back into the vault), why you loved it and what you ate there
January 19, 2026 at 9:09 AM
Ok forgive me this is going to be a closed pub (not sure if they even served food). The Grosvenor in Stockwell, gone c. 2014. Old school victorian interior, pool table, ancient jack russel, cider in cardboard boxes shipped in from Somerset by the landlord every summer. Punk music venue out back.
Reposted by Oliver Lough
THUCYDIDES: In my book I invented the Melian Dialogue as a cautionary tale
DIPSHITS TALKING ABOUT IR WHO WANT TO SOUND SMART: At long last, we have done the Melian Dialogue from the classic book Don't Do the Melian Dialogue
DIPSHITS TALKING ABOUT IR WHO WANT TO SOUND SMART: At long last, we have done the Melian Dialogue from the classic book Don't Do the Melian Dialogue
The Melian Dialogue has a similar role to the Clausewitz quote about “politics by other means” - it exists to give a bit of frisson and even sexual pleasure to morons who have never read those quotes in context but who are still desperate to sound smart.
People who fancy quoting the Melian Dialogue ("the strong do what they can and the weak suffer what they must") ignore the fact that Thucydides was clearly portraying this as the kind of hubris that squandered Athens' primacy and paved the way for a devastating peer war that it ultimately lost.
January 7, 2026 at 4:12 AM
THUCYDIDES: In my book I invented the Melian Dialogue as a cautionary tale
DIPSHITS TALKING ABOUT IR WHO WANT TO SOUND SMART: At long last, we have done the Melian Dialogue from the classic book Don't Do the Melian Dialogue
DIPSHITS TALKING ABOUT IR WHO WANT TO SOUND SMART: At long last, we have done the Melian Dialogue from the classic book Don't Do the Melian Dialogue
@odi.global and @hpg-odiglobal.bsky.social staff take note.
Big thanks @XOBikes for fixing my broken wheel today at their new shop at 176 Blackfriars Rd.
XO is a social enterprise which fixes & sells donated bikes.
Staff are ex-offenders who've been trained as profession mechanics. All profits go towards training more ex-offenders.
XO is a social enterprise which fixes & sells donated bikes.
Staff are ex-offenders who've been trained as profession mechanics. All profits go towards training more ex-offenders.
January 5, 2026 at 3:39 PM
@odi.global and @hpg-odiglobal.bsky.social staff take note.
Small point amid... everything but. What if the - theoretically independent - courts find him not guilty? Home with a pat on the back and an apology?
January 3, 2026 at 2:55 PM
Small point amid... everything but. What if the - theoretically independent - courts find him not guilty? Home with a pat on the back and an apology?
A Lord of the Rings Cover Band called The Eagles
A Lord of the Rings Cover Band called Nick Cave Troll
A Lord of the Rings cover band called Flock of Smeagols
December 20, 2025 at 4:34 PM
A Lord of the Rings Cover Band called The Eagles
Reposted by Oliver Lough
Can some of you read my essay which has been somewhat betrayed by this out of context quote without shitting on it thanks
December 18, 2025 at 9:36 PM
Can some of you read my essay which has been somewhat betrayed by this out of context quote without shitting on it thanks
Very excited to dive into this book come holiday time. Also fascinated to see the thread connecting this to Monmouth's own slightly surprising counter-cultural origins laid out by @jonathandnunn.bsky.social last year www.theguardian.com/food/2024/ja...
December 8, 2025 at 11:44 AM
Very excited to dive into this book come holiday time. Also fascinated to see the thread connecting this to Monmouth's own slightly surprising counter-cultural origins laid out by @jonathandnunn.bsky.social last year www.theguardian.com/food/2024/ja...
It was when they went after Parkrun that it became clear to me that "fairness" (narrowly defined) is in fact not the most important value important in sport, and others - community, inclusion, wellbeing - need to be staked out and defended much more clearly by those of us for whom they're important.
“I just have concerns about fairness in sport” - no, you don’t. There’s nothing fair about elite sports. You’re just looking for post hoc justification because we give you the ick
December 4, 2025 at 10:31 AM
It was when they went after Parkrun that it became clear to me that "fairness" (narrowly defined) is in fact not the most important value important in sport, and others - community, inclusion, wellbeing - need to be staked out and defended much more clearly by those of us for whom they're important.
Reposted by Oliver Lough
I am just watching the Owen Jones interview with Ischenko about "the devastating truth of Ukraine and the west."
I came back from Ukraine a few weeks ago, where I interviewed many Ukrainian leftists about the war. These are people who are on the frontlines, who are living up close to the threat of
I came back from Ukraine a few weeks ago, where I interviewed many Ukrainian leftists about the war. These are people who are on the frontlines, who are living up close to the threat of
December 4, 2025 at 9:05 AM
I am just watching the Owen Jones interview with Ischenko about "the devastating truth of Ukraine and the west."
I came back from Ukraine a few weeks ago, where I interviewed many Ukrainian leftists about the war. These are people who are on the frontlines, who are living up close to the threat of
I came back from Ukraine a few weeks ago, where I interviewed many Ukrainian leftists about the war. These are people who are on the frontlines, who are living up close to the threat of
Similarly, what is these people's problem with kindness?
Why is transphobia the default state for so many arseholes?
November 23, 2025 at 4:26 PM
Similarly, what is these people's problem with kindness?
Reposted by Oliver Lough
it is very much Lovecraftian cosmic horror bc the horror isn’t something “scary” as much as an sense of deep violation upon the contemplation of a sexual act between a woman and a strange creature from New England that non-ironically hates human lives
has anyone pirated the Eldritch Horror post yet
November 23, 2025 at 5:08 AM
it is very much Lovecraftian cosmic horror bc the horror isn’t something “scary” as much as an sense of deep violation upon the contemplation of a sexual act between a woman and a strange creature from New England that non-ironically hates human lives
If the Bangladeshi or Lebanese government were found to be systematically shaking down refugees at the border for their valuables, there would be diplomatic outrage. How is this any different?
I'm sorry but any report that uncritically says assets would be seized "to pay for" costs is just parroting government propaganda. Confiscations are dreamed up as a punitive deterrent, not a sincere attempt at a funding mechanism.
November 17, 2025 at 9:31 AM
If the Bangladeshi or Lebanese government were found to be systematically shaking down refugees at the border for their valuables, there would be diplomatic outrage. How is this any different?