Sadiah Qureshi 🦈
@sadiahqureshi.bsky.social
Historian of extinction and empire. Vanished shortlisted for Royal Society Trivedi Prize, and a 2025 best book for FT, Guardian, BBC History Extra, Smithsonian Mag and more.
Views own/No DMs
https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/309254/vanished-by-qureshi-sadi
Views own/No DMs
https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/309254/vanished-by-qureshi-sadi
Pinned
Providing medical aid to Palestinians living under occupation and as refugees
For over 30 years, Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) has been reaching out to Palestinian communities, striving to deliver health and medical care to those worst affected by conflict, occupation and ...
www.map.org.uk
Donate to medical aid for Gaza and Lebanon here. www.map.org.uk
Reposted by Sadiah Qureshi 🦈
This is a very illuminating thread. For further insight into the aftermath of the 1807 abolition of the slave trade (and its entanglement with forced labour regimes) see Jake Subryan Richards' new book, The Bonds of Freedom: Liberated Africans and the End of the Slave Trade.
January 31, 2026 at 12:43 PM
This is a very illuminating thread. For further insight into the aftermath of the 1807 abolition of the slave trade (and its entanglement with forced labour regimes) see Jake Subryan Richards' new book, The Bonds of Freedom: Liberated Africans and the End of the Slave Trade.
Reposted by Sadiah Qureshi 🦈
Donald MacKenzie on visions of infinite scaling in tech: "AI’s scale doesn’t matter just to specialists. The rest of us are being taken on a ride along the logarithmic curve too." (NB Mackenzie seems to have taken the hint from Shapin and is now writing essays for LRB, hurrah!) #sts #envhums #envsoc
"Data is not growing, because we have but one internet ... data is the fossil fuel of AI. It was like created somehow, and now we use it, and we’ve achieved peak data, and there’ll be no more." share.google/4EkXwYfGYz6r...
Donald MacKenzie · AI’s Scale
AI’s scale doesn’t matter just to specialists. The rest of us are being taken on a ride along the logarithmic curve...
share.google
January 31, 2026 at 12:55 PM
Donald MacKenzie on visions of infinite scaling in tech: "AI’s scale doesn’t matter just to specialists. The rest of us are being taken on a ride along the logarithmic curve too." (NB Mackenzie seems to have taken the hint from Shapin and is now writing essays for LRB, hurrah!) #sts #envhums #envsoc
Selecting the swimming sharks screensaver on the work computer has worked wonders to improve the working day.
a large school of sharks are swimming in the ocean
Alt: a large school of sharks swimming in the ocean
media.tenor.com
January 30, 2026 at 2:53 PM
Selecting the swimming sharks screensaver on the work computer has worked wonders to improve the working day.
Reposted by Sadiah Qureshi 🦈
Switching to Vivaldi has been a brilliant move. Worth trying.
The ‘rollout squares with Silicon Valley’s vision for the future of web browsing, which includes a whole lot more AI and a whole lot less of you… almost every option available to consumers now has some level of baked-in AI
Vivaldi is a notable exception…[if you don’t want] AI-powered web browsing.’
Vivaldi is a notable exception…[if you don’t want] AI-powered web browsing.’
Google’s latest addition to its Chrome browser puts generative AI behind the wheel and you in the passenger seat. www.wired.com/story/google...
January 30, 2026 at 12:01 PM
Switching to Vivaldi has been a brilliant move. Worth trying.
Reposted by Sadiah Qureshi 🦈
Tatler's profile of the Mitford family includes the line "Sir Oswald and Diana Mosley, became key figures in Britain’s far-right political movement in the 1930s" but makes no mention of the name of Mosley's party, the British Union of Fascists.
www.tatler.com/gallery/most...
www.tatler.com/gallery/most...
July 15, 2025 at 10:48 AM
Tatler's profile of the Mitford family includes the line "Sir Oswald and Diana Mosley, became key figures in Britain’s far-right political movement in the 1930s" but makes no mention of the name of Mosley's party, the British Union of Fascists.
www.tatler.com/gallery/most...
www.tatler.com/gallery/most...
Reposted by Sadiah Qureshi 🦈
I spent 16 years researching to understand citizenship for voluntary migrants, African Americans, & Native Americans. I can't distill my book into social media except to say this. US citizenship is a different animal from British citizenship. US citizenship was based on personal volition. 1/
Ilan Wurman's anti-birthright citizenship Supreme Court amicus. I won't mince words. He bastardizes the common law. It is a methodologically bankrupt approach to the history of Anglo-American constitutionalism. It is little more than preening to gain someone's favor, but certainly not a scholar's.
January 28, 2026 at 11:17 PM
I spent 16 years researching to understand citizenship for voluntary migrants, African Americans, & Native Americans. I can't distill my book into social media except to say this. US citizenship is a different animal from British citizenship. US citizenship was based on personal volition. 1/
The ‘rollout squares with Silicon Valley’s vision for the future of web browsing, which includes a whole lot more AI and a whole lot less of you… almost every option available to consumers now has some level of baked-in AI
Vivaldi is a notable exception…[if you don’t want] AI-powered web browsing.’
Vivaldi is a notable exception…[if you don’t want] AI-powered web browsing.’
Google’s latest addition to its Chrome browser puts generative AI behind the wheel and you in the passenger seat. www.wired.com/story/google...
Google’s New Chrome ‘Auto Browse’ Agent Attempts to Roam the Web Without You
Google’s latest addition to its Chrome browser puts generative AI behind the wheel and you in the passenger seat.
www.wired.com
January 28, 2026 at 6:52 PM
The ‘rollout squares with Silicon Valley’s vision for the future of web browsing, which includes a whole lot more AI and a whole lot less of you… almost every option available to consumers now has some level of baked-in AI
Vivaldi is a notable exception…[if you don’t want] AI-powered web browsing.’
Vivaldi is a notable exception…[if you don’t want] AI-powered web browsing.’
Reposted by Sadiah Qureshi 🦈
BILLY BRAGG - CITY OF HEROES
YouTube video by Billy Bragg
www.youtube.com
January 26, 2026 at 10:42 PM
Hazel is such a gorgeous tree to grow and spend time with, especially when in bloom.
The hot-pink tentacle-like styles of female Hazel flowers (just 2-3mm long) are out now. Titchy-tiny intense decorations for the sharp-eyed.
#UKwildlife
#trees
#WildflowerHour
@bsbibotany.bsky.social
@sussexwildlife.bsky.social
#UKwildlife
#trees
#WildflowerHour
@bsbibotany.bsky.social
@sussexwildlife.bsky.social
January 28, 2026 at 6:05 PM
Hazel is such a gorgeous tree to grow and spend time with, especially when in bloom.
Reposted by Sadiah Qureshi 🦈
JOB! Lecturer in early medieval history at my lovely once and future department! www.kcl.ac.uk/jobs/136727-...
Lecturer in Early Medieval History | King's College London
www.kcl.ac.uk
January 28, 2026 at 5:40 PM
JOB! Lecturer in early medieval history at my lovely once and future department! www.kcl.ac.uk/jobs/136727-...
Reposted by Sadiah Qureshi 🦈
I wrote this song on Saturday, recorded it yesterday and released it to you today in response to the state terror being visited on the city of Minneapolis. It’s dedicated to the people of Minneapolis, our innocent immigrant neighbors and in memory of Alex Pretti and Renee Good.
Stay free
Stay free
Bruce Springsteen - Streets Of Minneapolis (Official Audio)
YouTube video by Bruce Springsteen
youtu.be
January 28, 2026 at 5:02 PM
I wrote this song on Saturday, recorded it yesterday and released it to you today in response to the state terror being visited on the city of Minneapolis. It’s dedicated to the people of Minneapolis, our innocent immigrant neighbors and in memory of Alex Pretti and Renee Good.
Stay free
Stay free
A useful thread of what running a journal now involves. I recently reviewed something which was so bad that it felt like the author could not have read it before submission. If they had, it would be even more shocking that they felt the draft was ok to submit.
We’re getting so many journal submissions from people who think ‘it kinda works’ is the standard to aim for.
1. The thing about science that these jokers don't understand is that science cannot be vibe-coded.
Whatever its flaws, the point with vibe coding is that you're trying to quickly make something that sorta works, where you can immediately sorta see if it sorta works and then sorta use it.
Whatever its flaws, the point with vibe coding is that you're trying to quickly make something that sorta works, where you can immediately sorta see if it sorta works and then sorta use it.
January 28, 2026 at 8:35 AM
A useful thread of what running a journal now involves. I recently reviewed something which was so bad that it felt like the author could not have read it before submission. If they had, it would be even more shocking that they felt the draft was ok to submit.
‘Every critical ecosystem is on a pathway to collapse (irreversible loss of function beyond repair).’
The costs of ignoring climate change are vast, but instead of tackling this urgently we have secrecy, a lethal obsession with growth and consumption, while relentlessly attacking migrants.
The costs of ignoring climate change are vast, but instead of tackling this urgently we have secrecy, a lethal obsession with growth and consumption, while relentlessly attacking migrants.
Please spread this far and wide, as stories don't get much bigger than this. When the government blocks even the intelligence services from telling us we're heading for environmental catastrophe, you know we have a problem. A very big problem.
Thank you.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Thank you.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
The UK government didn't want you to see this report on ecosystem collapse. I'm not surprised | George Monbiot
It took an FOI request to bring this national security assessment to light. For ‘doomsayers’ like us, it is the ultimate vindication, says Guardian columnist George Monbiot
www.theguardian.com
January 28, 2026 at 8:19 AM
‘Every critical ecosystem is on a pathway to collapse (irreversible loss of function beyond repair).’
The costs of ignoring climate change are vast, but instead of tackling this urgently we have secrecy, a lethal obsession with growth and consumption, while relentlessly attacking migrants.
The costs of ignoring climate change are vast, but instead of tackling this urgently we have secrecy, a lethal obsession with growth and consumption, while relentlessly attacking migrants.
I wrote something for the British Academy blog and then completely forgot to post a link. This draws on a case study from my book Vanished about the foundation of national parks. If you want to know more, there’s a rather large discount on some sites. 🐯
www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/blog/what-ca...
www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/blog/what-ca...
What can histories of Empire teach us about modern environmental efforts?
Professor Sadiah Qureshi, author of 'Vanished: An Unnatural History of Extinction' (2025), explores the current biodiversity crisis by examining it through the historical lens of Empire.
www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk
January 27, 2026 at 9:09 PM
I wrote something for the British Academy blog and then completely forgot to post a link. This draws on a case study from my book Vanished about the foundation of national parks. If you want to know more, there’s a rather large discount on some sites. 🐯
www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/blog/what-ca...
www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/blog/what-ca...
Reposted by Sadiah Qureshi 🦈
Enter for your chance to win £500 and publication in the journal for the winning entry!
Submission deadline: 28 February 2026. more details at the link:
Submission deadline: 28 February 2026. more details at the link:
Notes and Records Essay Award | Royal Society
Open to early career researchers in the history of science.
royalsociety.org
November 11, 2025 at 4:49 PM
Enter for your chance to win £500 and publication in the journal for the winning entry!
Submission deadline: 28 February 2026. more details at the link:
Submission deadline: 28 February 2026. more details at the link:
Reposted by Sadiah Qureshi 🦈
Powerful reflecitons on Gaza and German memory culture, with much to think about for people in other countries, in this interview with @dirkmoses.bsky.social. A must-watch.
January 27, 2026 at 3:58 PM
Powerful reflecitons on Gaza and German memory culture, with much to think about for people in other countries, in this interview with @dirkmoses.bsky.social. A must-watch.
Reposted by Sadiah Qureshi 🦈
Auschwitz was at the end of a process. We must remember that it did not start from gas chambers.
This hatred gradually developed: from ideas, words, stereotypes & prejudice through legal exclusion, dehumanization & escalating violence... to systematic and industrial murder.
Auschwitz took time.
This hatred gradually developed: from ideas, words, stereotypes & prejudice through legal exclusion, dehumanization & escalating violence... to systematic and industrial murder.
Auschwitz took time.
January 27, 2026 at 11:00 AM
Auschwitz was at the end of a process. We must remember that it did not start from gas chambers.
This hatred gradually developed: from ideas, words, stereotypes & prejudice through legal exclusion, dehumanization & escalating violence... to systematic and industrial murder.
Auschwitz took time.
This hatred gradually developed: from ideas, words, stereotypes & prejudice through legal exclusion, dehumanization & escalating violence... to systematic and industrial murder.
Auschwitz took time.
Reposted by Sadiah Qureshi 🦈
A few days ago we lost an important hidden figure in the history of 20th century Cold War technology—Gladys West’s work and insights were essential in the creation of GPS:
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Gladys Mae West obituary: mathematician who pioneered GPS technology
She made key contributions to US cold-war science despite facing huge barriers as a Black woman.
www.nature.com
January 27, 2026 at 12:27 PM
A few days ago we lost an important hidden figure in the history of 20th century Cold War technology—Gladys West’s work and insights were essential in the creation of GPS:
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
And so it begins. First train journey north this year and it’s already very late as the line is partially flooded. Wouldn’t be at all surprised if we don’t make it to Manchester, or even leave, right now.
January 27, 2026 at 9:29 AM
And so it begins. First train journey north this year and it’s already very late as the line is partially flooded. Wouldn’t be at all surprised if we don’t make it to Manchester, or even leave, right now.
Reposted by Sadiah Qureshi 🦈
The UK version of “Project 2025” by the Reform party includes a British ICE, a concentration camp for 24,000 people, mass surveillance and withdrawing from refugee, anti-torture and anti-trafficking conventions.
It’s on their website. That’s how comfortable fascists are in the UK today.
It’s on their website. That’s how comfortable fascists are in the UK today.
January 26, 2026 at 1:22 PM
The UK version of “Project 2025” by the Reform party includes a British ICE, a concentration camp for 24,000 people, mass surveillance and withdrawing from refugee, anti-torture and anti-trafficking conventions.
It’s on their website. That’s how comfortable fascists are in the UK today.
It’s on their website. That’s how comfortable fascists are in the UK today.
Looking ahead from afar as term starts.
January 26, 2026 at 3:21 PM
Looking ahead from afar as term starts.
Reposted by Sadiah Qureshi 🦈
Happy 50th birthday, HWJ! Being a member of the History Workshop collective has shaped the kind of historian I am (& want to be). I'm so proud to have helped edit this 100th issue of History Workshop Journal, which includes reflections on History Workshop for these turbulent times; on HW's past;...
The new issue of History Workshop Journal is out: issue 100, marking 50 years of the journal's existence. It's more necessary than ever.
academic.oup.com/hwj/issue/10...
academic.oup.com/hwj/issue/10...
January 26, 2026 at 10:39 AM
Happy 50th birthday, HWJ! Being a member of the History Workshop collective has shaped the kind of historian I am (& want to be). I'm so proud to have helped edit this 100th issue of History Workshop Journal, which includes reflections on History Workshop for these turbulent times; on HW's past;...
Reposted by Sadiah Qureshi 🦈
The new issue of History Workshop Journal is out: issue 100, marking 50 years of the journal's existence. It's more necessary than ever.
academic.oup.com/hwj/issue/10...
academic.oup.com/hwj/issue/10...
January 26, 2026 at 10:27 AM
The new issue of History Workshop Journal is out: issue 100, marking 50 years of the journal's existence. It's more necessary than ever.
academic.oup.com/hwj/issue/10...
academic.oup.com/hwj/issue/10...
Exactly why it is still worth masking, especially on public transport. I suspect that when people started having Covid, and recovering whether jabbed or not, they stopped thinking of basic hygiene as a necessity that would help themselves and others. Although, some people are just grim.
Saw a lady cough into an empty corner rather than her elbow. We haven't learned SHIT and it irks the depths of my soul
January 25, 2026 at 12:17 PM
Exactly why it is still worth masking, especially on public transport. I suspect that when people started having Covid, and recovering whether jabbed or not, they stopped thinking of basic hygiene as a necessity that would help themselves and others. Although, some people are just grim.