Rebekah White
@rebekahwhite.bsky.social
Science journalist, contributor @nzgeo.bsky.social, writes mostly about climate engineering, conservation, birds & also science fiction
Pinned
Rebekah White
@rebekahwhite.bsky.social
· Nov 10
Hello, especially if you followed me here from Twitter, aka the Bad Place! I'm a science journalist and I write for several different publications, mostly about conservation, climate change and the ocean. Also, I'm from New Zealand.
Science journo folks: there are travel grants available to the World Conference of Science Journalists, this December in South Africa - deadline is really short, due October 15: www.wcsj2025.org/grants/
I'll be there, come hang out.
I'll be there, come hang out.
Grants – WCSJ 2025
www.wcsj2025.org
October 9, 2025 at 3:22 PM
Science journo folks: there are travel grants available to the World Conference of Science Journalists, this December in South Africa - deadline is really short, due October 15: www.wcsj2025.org/grants/
I'll be there, come hang out.
I'll be there, come hang out.
By the way, I started a publishing company, along with three of the most eye-wateringly competent people I know.
We just opened pre-orders for our first book. It's so good. I've read it twice. I edited it. You can get one here! www.kickstarter.com/projects/hom...
We just opened pre-orders for our first book. It's so good. I've read it twice. I edited it. You can get one here! www.kickstarter.com/projects/hom...
Homeward Books: The home for books without a home
Splendor over mediocrity. Stories for the hot bath & the cold plunge. Defying the constraints of genre & delving deep into your heart.
www.kickstarter.com
October 7, 2025 at 3:05 PM
By the way, I started a publishing company, along with three of the most eye-wateringly competent people I know.
We just opened pre-orders for our first book. It's so good. I've read it twice. I edited it. You can get one here! www.kickstarter.com/projects/hom...
We just opened pre-orders for our first book. It's so good. I've read it twice. I edited it. You can get one here! www.kickstarter.com/projects/hom...
Reposted by Rebekah White
Remember the Magic Eye books of the 90s?? Now, you can have a crack at viewing New Zealand’s native flowers in 3D. Clematis, orchid, ngutukākā, korukoru, oioi… this is a luscious, spectacular feature by @rebekahwhite.bsky.social, based on the new book He Puāwai by @theobrominated.bsky.social
Magic flora
Philip Garnock-Jones has spent more than a decade photographing our native flowers as they’ve never been shown before: in luscious, three-dimensional detail.
www.nzgeo.com
October 4, 2025 at 6:52 AM
Remember the Magic Eye books of the 90s?? Now, you can have a crack at viewing New Zealand’s native flowers in 3D. Clematis, orchid, ngutukākā, korukoru, oioi… this is a luscious, spectacular feature by @rebekahwhite.bsky.social, based on the new book He Puāwai by @theobrominated.bsky.social
Thank-you, I found it super interesting to write!
This story by @rebekahwhite.bsky.social got lost in the February mess, but it needs a bump:
The Three-Way Race to Exploit Deep-Sea Life
The genetic bounty of the deep sea is being patented by a handful of multinationals.
www.biographic.com/the-three-wa...
The Three-Way Race to Exploit Deep-Sea Life
The genetic bounty of the deep sea is being patented by a handful of multinationals.
www.biographic.com/the-three-wa...
The Three-Way Race to Exploit Deep-Sea Life - bioGraphic
The genetic bounty of the deep sea is being patented by a handful of multinationals.
www.biographic.com
October 2, 2025 at 10:46 PM
Thank-you, I found it super interesting to write!
This year at the Ig Nobels it's affirming to see empirical confirmation of a personal research project: that alcohol demonstrably improves my ability to speak a foreign language.
The sample size is a bit small but I'd volunteer for anyone's replication attempt: journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
The sample size is a bit small but I'd volunteer for anyone's replication attempt: journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
Sage Journals: Discover world-class research
Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.
journals.sagepub.com
September 19, 2025 at 11:28 AM
This year at the Ig Nobels it's affirming to see empirical confirmation of a personal research project: that alcohol demonstrably improves my ability to speak a foreign language.
The sample size is a bit small but I'd volunteer for anyone's replication attempt: journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
The sample size is a bit small but I'd volunteer for anyone's replication attempt: journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
I know that some publications usually send the intern to cover the Ig Nobels, but I think they're important (as well as hilarious) and, omg, editors, it's my dream to write about them! Not just who wins, but what they mean. Send me, I'm funny. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Ig Nobel prize 2025: Zebra cows and Teflon food among winners
The tongue-in-cheek scientific awards also recognise research into lizard's preferred pizza and garlicky breastmilk.
www.bbc.co.uk
September 19, 2025 at 11:16 AM
I know that some publications usually send the intern to cover the Ig Nobels, but I think they're important (as well as hilarious) and, omg, editors, it's my dream to write about them! Not just who wins, but what they mean. Send me, I'm funny. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
It's my favourite day of the year! www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Tipsy bats and perfect pasta: Ig Nobels celebrate ‘improbable’ research
The annual awards are a celebration of weird but thought-provoking science.
www.nature.com
September 19, 2025 at 11:08 AM
It's my favourite day of the year! www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Reposted by Rebekah White
I think there are a number of people on here who would be interested to see these pics of Dodie Smith’s London pad.
www.countrylife.co.uk/interiors/co...
www.countrylife.co.uk/interiors/co...
Country Life's never-before-published photographs of ‘101 Dalmatians’ author Dodie Smith's London flat
Every Monday, Melanie Bryan delves into the hidden depths of Country Life's extraordinary archive to bring you a long-forgotten story, photograph or advert.
www.countrylife.co.uk
September 2, 2025 at 10:11 AM
I think there are a number of people on here who would be interested to see these pics of Dodie Smith’s London pad.
www.countrylife.co.uk/interiors/co...
www.countrylife.co.uk/interiors/co...
My data-journalist friend just researched and wrote this super-fascinating story about what kind of content TikTok sends teenagers, and how young people feel about it www.rnz.co.nz/programmes/i...
Four phones, three weeks: Everything we saw on teen TikTok
We set up four brand-new social media accounts with teenage personas. Then we scrolled.
www.rnz.co.nz
September 1, 2025 at 7:00 PM
My data-journalist friend just researched and wrote this super-fascinating story about what kind of content TikTok sends teenagers, and how young people feel about it www.rnz.co.nz/programmes/i...
if you're in New Zealand: please help a left-handed snail find love!
A tiny silly fun thing in the midst of all the chaos... We're on the hunt for a mate for Ned, a 1 in 40,000 left-spiralling snail. www.nzgeo.com/stories/lets...
Let's find a mate for Ned
One in 40,000 snails have the spiral on the left side of the shell, and they can only mate with other lefties. Can you help Ned find true love?
www.nzgeo.com
August 25, 2025 at 10:39 AM
if you're in New Zealand: please help a left-handed snail find love!
I just experienced a 40-degree day for the first time and I reckon this level of heat is like pain: impossible to explain to anyone unless they've also experienced it
www.independent.co.uk/news/world/e...
www.independent.co.uk/news/world/e...
France and Spain hit by red weather warnings as Europe burns in 44C heatwave
France has only issued a red alert eight times in the past 20 years as it experiences soaring temperatures
www.independent.co.uk
August 12, 2025 at 12:46 PM
I just experienced a 40-degree day for the first time and I reckon this level of heat is like pain: impossible to explain to anyone unless they've also experienced it
www.independent.co.uk/news/world/e...
www.independent.co.uk/news/world/e...
Reposted by Rebekah White
INDIANA JONES AND THE LOST FUNDING
*INDIANA JONES AND THE CLOSURE OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY DEPARTMENT*
July 2, 2025 at 6:22 PM
INDIANA JONES AND THE LOST FUNDING
Reposted by Rebekah White
“If the engine of narrative is conflict, then what happens if a story organizes itself around another center?” Shruti Swamy asks in the introduction the the 2023 Harper Perennial edition of Always Coming Home (right).
June 27, 2025 at 7:38 PM
“If the engine of narrative is conflict, then what happens if a story organizes itself around another center?” Shruti Swamy asks in the introduction the the 2023 Harper Perennial edition of Always Coming Home (right).
Reposted by Rebekah White
total horror is being inflicted on the women of tigray. here we document the attempts by soldiers to destroy their fertility, and their hopes for justice as most of the world looks away www.theguardian.com/global-devel... @ximenaborrazas.bsky.social
Rusted screws, metal spikes and plastic rubbish: the horrific sexual violence used against Tigray’s women
Tens of thousands of Tigrayan women report brutal wartime abuse by Ethiopian and Eritrean soldiers, such as gang-rape and the insertion of objects into their uteruses. But justice seems a distant pros...
www.theguardian.com
June 30, 2025 at 1:43 PM
total horror is being inflicted on the women of tigray. here we document the attempts by soldiers to destroy their fertility, and their hopes for justice as most of the world looks away www.theguardian.com/global-devel... @ximenaborrazas.bsky.social
@alecluhn.bsky.social Only just clocked that you were also at the Arctic Repair conference last week - I've been following your work for ages, wish I'd said hi! Give me a shout if you're ever in Oxford... it's better than Cambridge.
July 1, 2025 at 4:41 PM
@alecluhn.bsky.social Only just clocked that you were also at the Arctic Repair conference last week - I've been following your work for ages, wish I'd said hi! Give me a shout if you're ever in Oxford... it's better than Cambridge.
This might be my favourite advertisement of all time. No beating around the bush. No lies. No exaggeration.
(also, it's biscuits in the British sense)
(also, it's biscuits in the British sense)
July 1, 2025 at 4:38 PM
This might be my favourite advertisement of all time. No beating around the bush. No lies. No exaggeration.
(also, it's biscuits in the British sense)
(also, it's biscuits in the British sense)
I really wish I was not away in July and could go to this—but you should!
One of our excellent Science Communication MSc students is leading a free history of science walking tour in London. Sign up here www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/london-wal...
London Walking Tour: Untold Histories of Science
Explore the untold histories of science on this multisensory, interactive walk centred on underrepresented and marginalised identities.
www.eventbrite.co.uk
June 18, 2025 at 8:57 AM
I really wish I was not away in July and could go to this—but you should!
It's my year!!!
...I hope it's not my year.
...I hope it's not my year.
June 1, 2025 at 2:07 PM
It's my year!!!
...I hope it's not my year.
...I hope it's not my year.
Reposted by Rebekah White
Māori man with parasol. Northland region, ca. 1910.
Photo by Northwood brothers of Kaitaia.
Ref 1/1-010679-G, National Library of New Zealand.
Photo by Northwood brothers of Kaitaia.
Ref 1/1-010679-G, National Library of New Zealand.
May 25, 2025 at 10:51 PM
Māori man with parasol. Northland region, ca. 1910.
Photo by Northwood brothers of Kaitaia.
Ref 1/1-010679-G, National Library of New Zealand.
Photo by Northwood brothers of Kaitaia.
Ref 1/1-010679-G, National Library of New Zealand.
Reposted by Rebekah White
Sir David, who will be 99 on Thursday, says: "After almost 100 years on the planet, I now understand the most important place on Earth is not on land, but at sea." www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Sir David Attenborough Ocean film 'greatest message he's told'
Sir David says his new film Ocean is one of the most important of his career.
www.bbc.co.uk
May 6, 2025 at 7:23 PM
Sir David, who will be 99 on Thursday, says: "After almost 100 years on the planet, I now understand the most important place on Earth is not on land, but at sea." www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
In personal news, yesterday I moved back to Oxford and today I watched Andor, and it's hard to say which of those things I was looking forward to more
May 4, 2025 at 7:54 PM
In personal news, yesterday I moved back to Oxford and today I watched Andor, and it's hard to say which of those things I was looking forward to more
Feeling extremely patriotic about New Zealand's attempt at entering Eurovision, or rather Eurovusion—this could not represent us better www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZnXp...
Two Hearts - Eurovusion (Open Up)
YouTube video by Two Hearts
www.youtube.com
May 4, 2025 at 7:47 PM
Feeling extremely patriotic about New Zealand's attempt at entering Eurovision, or rather Eurovusion—this could not represent us better www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZnXp...
Spending the week in Hong Kong en route to the UK learning about research here (and visiting one of my best friends). I love this city - it's so easy to go between super-dense neighbourhoods and national parks.
Also, there are a lot of very good dogs.
Also, there are a lot of very good dogs.
April 30, 2025 at 9:34 AM
Spending the week in Hong Kong en route to the UK learning about research here (and visiting one of my best friends). I love this city - it's so easy to go between super-dense neighbourhoods and national parks.
Also, there are a lot of very good dogs.
Also, there are a lot of very good dogs.
Sci-fi flowers! I think this project is beautiful and fascinating: www.nytimes.com/2025/04/20/s...
It’s Springtime on Polaris-9b, and the Exoflowers Are Blooming (Gift Article)
An artist imagines the flora of distant, nonexistent worlds.
www.nytimes.com
April 29, 2025 at 12:59 PM
Sci-fi flowers! I think this project is beautiful and fascinating: www.nytimes.com/2025/04/20/s...