Omar Khan
@omaromalleykhan.bsky.social
CEO of @taso.org.uk, Chair of Trust for London, Executive Committee of Political Studies Association. The usual disclaimers.
Pinned
Omar Khan
@omaromalleykhan.bsky.social
· Nov 16
Sadly, humans can be mobilised in the cause of hatred. We should bemoan & condemn it wherever we see it. We must also defend and promote a positive alternative, of how we can and do work together across our differences, indeed of how those interactions produce the best of us
Ah yes, the voting requirements that the founders intended that's what we should aim for
Hey, nearly 2% of the population voted in the 1788 election, I can see why white male property owners in 2026 would endorse that sort of selectorate today
Hey, nearly 2% of the population voted in the 1788 election, I can see why white male property owners in 2026 would endorse that sort of selectorate today
February 13, 2026 at 10:05 PM
Ah yes, the voting requirements that the founders intended that's what we should aim for
Hey, nearly 2% of the population voted in the 1788 election, I can see why white male property owners in 2026 would endorse that sort of selectorate today
Hey, nearly 2% of the population voted in the 1788 election, I can see why white male property owners in 2026 would endorse that sort of selectorate today
Reposted by Omar Khan
You can't... repeal... a scientific finding. At that point it's just called lying about it.
Breaking News: The Trump administration repealed the bedrock scientific finding that greenhouse gases threaten human life and well being, meaning that the EPA can no longer regulate them. nyti.ms/4rSszQu
February 12, 2026 at 8:38 PM
You can't... repeal... a scientific finding. At that point it's just called lying about it.
Reposted by Omar Khan
Shout out to the student journalists that have tirelessly covered their professors' ties to Epstein. My job would be much harder without them. See thread for some of my favorite recent student news pieces.
www.insidehighered.com/news/faculty...
#AcademicSky #HigherEd
www.insidehighered.com/news/faculty...
#AcademicSky #HigherEd
Professors in the Epstein Files Begin to Face Consequences
Several faculty members who spoke regularly with Epstein have been stripped of their titles or teaching duties.
www.insidehighered.com
February 12, 2026 at 4:56 PM
Shout out to the student journalists that have tirelessly covered their professors' ties to Epstein. My job would be much harder without them. See thread for some of my favorite recent student news pieces.
www.insidehighered.com/news/faculty...
#AcademicSky #HigherEd
www.insidehighered.com/news/faculty...
#AcademicSky #HigherEd
One of my most memorable work experiences: after writing an analysis of the 2001 census, I received a letter from Dipak Nandy highlighting how my report indicated how Enoch Powell's arguments, which Nandy rebutted in the late 60s and 70s, were still wildly innumerate and false nearly 50 yrs on
Farage's claims here are straightforward lies (and it's about time the media/press said so)
The correct figures are 160K (0.3%) and 900K (1.5%)
www.gbnews.com/news/video-n...
The correct figures are 160K (0.3%) and 900K (1.5%)
www.gbnews.com/news/video-n...
February 12, 2026 at 8:33 PM
One of my most memorable work experiences: after writing an analysis of the 2001 census, I received a letter from Dipak Nandy highlighting how my report indicated how Enoch Powell's arguments, which Nandy rebutted in the late 60s and 70s, were still wildly innumerate and false nearly 50 yrs on
Reposted by Omar Khan
Farage's claims here are straightforward lies (and it's about time the media/press said so)
The correct figures are 160K (0.3%) and 900K (1.5%)
www.gbnews.com/news/video-n...
The correct figures are 160K (0.3%) and 900K (1.5%)
www.gbnews.com/news/video-n...
February 12, 2026 at 5:02 PM
Farage's claims here are straightforward lies (and it's about time the media/press said so)
The correct figures are 160K (0.3%) and 900K (1.5%)
www.gbnews.com/news/video-n...
The correct figures are 160K (0.3%) and 900K (1.5%)
www.gbnews.com/news/video-n...
Of all the NUS senior leaders it appears sticky toffee pudding reviewer is the one we all agree has contributed the most to British society and politics.
February 12, 2026 at 8:19 PM
Of all the NUS senior leaders it appears sticky toffee pudding reviewer is the one we all agree has contributed the most to British society and politics.
'If you take the word colonised out' there's nothing wrong with Jim Ratcliffe's comments
So then, Mr Farage agrees that colonisation is a negative term with harmful experiences of those so colonised
Reminds me I was told that the EU is a coloniser, that Gandhi & Mandela wd therefore vote Leave
So then, Mr Farage agrees that colonisation is a negative term with harmful experiences of those so colonised
Reminds me I was told that the EU is a coloniser, that Gandhi & Mandela wd therefore vote Leave
February 12, 2026 at 6:47 PM
'If you take the word colonised out' there's nothing wrong with Jim Ratcliffe's comments
So then, Mr Farage agrees that colonisation is a negative term with harmful experiences of those so colonised
Reminds me I was told that the EU is a coloniser, that Gandhi & Mandela wd therefore vote Leave
So then, Mr Farage agrees that colonisation is a negative term with harmful experiences of those so colonised
Reminds me I was told that the EU is a coloniser, that Gandhi & Mandela wd therefore vote Leave
Reposted by Omar Khan
You'd think this would be obvious. But it isn't. In the end, good policy will often produce good communications. Good communications will never on its own produce good policy. And in a valence world, policy and outcomes are what counts.
February 12, 2026 at 1:29 PM
You'd think this would be obvious. But it isn't. In the end, good policy will often produce good communications. Good communications will never on its own produce good policy. And in a valence world, policy and outcomes are what counts.
Thanks to all the charlatans, quacks and fools who've allowed measles to reach my child's secondary school in London
February 12, 2026 at 11:10 AM
Thanks to all the charlatans, quacks and fools who've allowed measles to reach my child's secondary school in London
Good to hear Mona Siddiqui on #r4today speaking about the value and hope of higher education, and the need for it to be accessible to everyone
February 12, 2026 at 7:52 AM
Good to hear Mona Siddiqui on #r4today speaking about the value and hope of higher education, and the need for it to be accessible to everyone
Reposted by Omar Khan
We’ve been using a lottery (partial randomisation) for our small research grants for over three years now. The scheme was mentioned here in @nature.com as an exemplar
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
The case for lotteries as a tiebreaker of quality in research funding
More funders should consider using randomization to choose grant recipients when decisions are too close to call.
www.nature.com
February 12, 2026 at 7:23 AM
We’ve been using a lottery (partial randomisation) for our small research grants for over three years now. The scheme was mentioned here in @nature.com as an exemplar
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
The UK is growing by 12 million people every 5 years? Must be an economic boom and time to stop worrying about birth rates we'll be nearing 100m in a decade or so. Look out Germany and Japan!
February 12, 2026 at 7:21 AM
The UK is growing by 12 million people every 5 years? Must be an economic boom and time to stop worrying about birth rates we'll be nearing 100m in a decade or so. Look out Germany and Japan!
Reposted by Omar Khan
✍️ "43% of internships and placements are located in London. And, according to data from The Sutton Trust, 61% are unpaid or paid at less than minimum wage."
Our research on unpaid internships cited ⤵️
Our research on unpaid internships cited ⤵️
A reflection on the graduate job hunt in a rural area
Graduation Day Finding a graduate job is getting tougher and tougher, and living outside of a major city only complicates matters. ‘Work hard at school,
marlborough.news
February 11, 2026 at 8:44 PM
✍️ "43% of internships and placements are located in London. And, according to data from The Sutton Trust, 61% are unpaid or paid at less than minimum wage."
Our research on unpaid internships cited ⤵️
Our research on unpaid internships cited ⤵️
Colonisation & slavery werent that bad sure it was the past
But also colonisation & slavery are useful for explaining why taxation and immigration are the worst moral evils today (natch those terms obvs dont actually describe taxation/immigration but help make irrationally hyperbolic complaints)
But also colonisation & slavery are useful for explaining why taxation and immigration are the worst moral evils today (natch those terms obvs dont actually describe taxation/immigration but help make irrationally hyperbolic complaints)
February 11, 2026 at 8:19 PM
Colonisation & slavery werent that bad sure it was the past
But also colonisation & slavery are useful for explaining why taxation and immigration are the worst moral evils today (natch those terms obvs dont actually describe taxation/immigration but help make irrationally hyperbolic complaints)
But also colonisation & slavery are useful for explaining why taxation and immigration are the worst moral evils today (natch those terms obvs dont actually describe taxation/immigration but help make irrationally hyperbolic complaints)
Reposted by Omar Khan
The real story about statin safety from >122,000 RCT participants with individual level data. They can cause new-onset diabetes and muscle pain/weakness, but other than that they are remarkably safe for 62 outcomes. Rare liver function test abnormalities thelancet.com/journals/lan...
Assessment of adverse effects attributed to statin therapy in product labels: a meta-analysis of double-blind randomised controlled trials
Adverse event data from blinded randomised trials do not support causal relationships
between statin therapy and most of the conditions (including cognitive impairment,
depression, sleep disturbance, ...
thelancet.com
February 6, 2026 at 3:47 PM
The real story about statin safety from >122,000 RCT participants with individual level data. They can cause new-onset diabetes and muscle pain/weakness, but other than that they are remarkably safe for 62 outcomes. Rare liver function test abnormalities thelancet.com/journals/lan...
Applying or suggesting discriminatory rules, and/or affirming rights don't apply to migrants, whatever the logic or justification, undermines the demand or expectation that migrants should affirm 'universal' [sic] principles such as rights, equality and nondiscrimination
February 11, 2026 at 10:28 AM
Applying or suggesting discriminatory rules, and/or affirming rights don't apply to migrants, whatever the logic or justification, undermines the demand or expectation that migrants should affirm 'universal' [sic] principles such as rights, equality and nondiscrimination
ukhomeoffice.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...
I believe this requires all Irish citizens to tick 'none of the above'?
I believe this requires all Irish citizens to tick 'none of the above'?
February 11, 2026 at 9:52 AM
ukhomeoffice.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...
I believe this requires all Irish citizens to tick 'none of the above'?
I believe this requires all Irish citizens to tick 'none of the above'?
Reposted by Omar Khan
Increasing autism rates over the last 25 years may just be kids with mild forms getting diagnosed. Rates of moderate to severe impairment due to autism have actually fallen slightly.
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
![The autistic community is a large, growing, and heterogeneous population, and there is a need for improved methods to describe their diverse needs. Measures of adaptive functioning collected through public health surveillance may provide valuable information on functioning and support needs at a population level. We aimed to use adaptive behavior and cognitive scores abstracted from health and educational records to describe trends over time in the population prevalence of autism by adaptive level and co-occurrence of intellectual disability (ID). Using data from the Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network, years 2000 to 2016, we estimated the prevalence of autism per 1000 8-year-old children by four levels of adaptive challenges (moderate to profound, mild, borderline, or none) and by co-occurrence of ID. The prevalence of autism with mild, borderline, or no significant adaptive challenges increased between 2000 and 2016, from 5.1 per 1000 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 4.6–5.5) to 17.6 (95% CI: 17.1–18.1) while the prevalence of autism with moderate to profound challenges decreased slightly, from 1.5 (95% CI: 1.2–1.7) to 1.2 (95% CI: 1.1–1.4). The prevalence increase was greater for autism without co-occurring ID than for autism with co-occurring ID. The increase in autism prevalence between 2000 and 2016 was confined to autism with milder phenotypes. This trend could indicate improved identification of milder forms of autism over time. It is possible that increased access to therapies that improve intellectual and adaptive functioning of children diagnosed with autism also contributed to the trends.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:j76trmiofvaxxpvx2vnb2vwf/bafkreibeoudvh2b4ifuiqq7pmnzwg6y6n3caschubukvo6kzqcfn2kdf5i@jpeg)
February 10, 2026 at 11:26 PM
Increasing autism rates over the last 25 years may just be kids with mild forms getting diagnosed. Rates of moderate to severe impairment due to autism have actually fallen slightly.
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
One way my Spanish improved dramatically was by listening to the wildly popular dubbed Fresh Prince of Bel Air in Spain in the 1990s, when my Irish cousins requested Chicago Bulls gear as gifts and my Pakistani cousins listened to the Pointer Sisters, hard rock and wore leather jackets
people born in america probably don’t realize how cool america used to be. the death of US soft power is going to have long term consequences we are only beginning to see
February 10, 2026 at 9:28 PM
One way my Spanish improved dramatically was by listening to the wildly popular dubbed Fresh Prince of Bel Air in Spain in the 1990s, when my Irish cousins requested Chicago Bulls gear as gifts and my Pakistani cousins listened to the Pointer Sisters, hard rock and wore leather jackets
Reposted by Omar Khan
One of every thousand American residents has been taken into custody by ICE in the last year.
A stunning detail the ICE chief shared in this hearing that was supposed to be a brag, except it isn't: ICE has arrested 379,000 people between Jan. 2025-Jan. 2026 -- but only 8,700 were suspected gang members or known suspected terrorists.
That's 2%! www.huffpost.com/entry/latest...
That's 2%! www.huffpost.com/entry/latest...
Congresswoman Uses Simple Math To Show How Broken ICE Is
www.huffpost.com
February 10, 2026 at 9:11 PM
One of every thousand American residents has been taken into custody by ICE in the last year.
Reposted by Omar Khan
Really great to see Medr's Welsh HE subject provision deep dive out today, citing and following British Academy research into widening cold spots in Welsh HE, particularly in languages degrees (yes, including degrees in Welsh) www.medr.cymru/wp-content/u...
Wonderful to see ITV Wales covering growing cold spots for humanities, social science and arts courses in Wales in their morning roundup - and welcome news that a Welsh gov report on subject provision is in the works: www.itv.com/watch/news/y...
February 10, 2026 at 5:19 PM
Really great to see Medr's Welsh HE subject provision deep dive out today, citing and following British Academy research into widening cold spots in Welsh HE, particularly in languages degrees (yes, including degrees in Welsh) www.medr.cymru/wp-content/u...
Reposted by Omar Khan
It’s 10 February, which can only mean one thing. YES, OF COURSE! It’s the 671st anniversary of the townsfolk and students of Oxford marking Saint Scholastica’s day by... er, hammering shit out of each other until over 90 people were dead 🧵
February 10, 2026 at 2:11 PM
It’s 10 February, which can only mean one thing. YES, OF COURSE! It’s the 671st anniversary of the townsfolk and students of Oxford marking Saint Scholastica’s day by... er, hammering shit out of each other until over 90 people were dead 🧵
Relatedly, this is why Vance-MAGA get mad at Europe: leaders & voters tend to reject their white nationalist vision, even tho - or rather *especially because* - those Europeans are predominantly if not exclusively white
White Londoners choosing to live in multiracial neighbourhoods drives them mad
White Londoners choosing to live in multiracial neighbourhoods drives them mad
Trump-MAGA rage at Bad Bunny is actually driven by anger at multiracial solidarity. On the pod, @adriancarrasquillo.bsky.social nails it on how this demented MAGA fury captures why Trump's gains with the nonwhite working class in 2024 have now completely collapsed:
newrepublic.com/article/2063...
newrepublic.com/article/2063...
Trump’s Fury at NFL Show Spikes amid Fresh Signs His Base Is Imploding
As Trump-MAGA rage at Bad Bunny grows, and polling shows he’s bleeding the working class, a reporter who covers Latino culture explains how both developments reveal Trump and MAGA are trapped in a bub...
newrepublic.com
February 10, 2026 at 2:50 PM
Relatedly, this is why Vance-MAGA get mad at Europe: leaders & voters tend to reject their white nationalist vision, even tho - or rather *especially because* - those Europeans are predominantly if not exclusively white
White Londoners choosing to live in multiracial neighbourhoods drives them mad
White Londoners choosing to live in multiracial neighbourhoods drives them mad
I missed the linked review on what works to reduce violence against women and girls, published by the Home Office in December
The review should be of value for English universities in addressing harassment and sexual misconduct (an OfS condition: www.officeforstudents.org.uk/news-blog-an... )
The review should be of value for English universities in addressing harassment and sexual misconduct (an OfS condition: www.officeforstudents.org.uk/news-blog-an... )
What works to reduce violence against women and girls: a summary of the evidence (accessible)
www.gov.uk
February 10, 2026 at 1:01 PM
I missed the linked review on what works to reduce violence against women and girls, published by the Home Office in December
The review should be of value for English universities in addressing harassment and sexual misconduct (an OfS condition: www.officeforstudents.org.uk/news-blog-an... )
The review should be of value for English universities in addressing harassment and sexual misconduct (an OfS condition: www.officeforstudents.org.uk/news-blog-an... )
Reposted by Omar Khan
Today is Plimsoll Day, an annual celebration of the life of social reformer and MP Samuel Plimsoll (born 1824), and his radical campaign to improve ship safety and protect seafarers' lives. (1/6)
February 10, 2026 at 12:30 PM
Today is Plimsoll Day, an annual celebration of the life of social reformer and MP Samuel Plimsoll (born 1824), and his radical campaign to improve ship safety and protect seafarers' lives. (1/6)