Dr Una McIlvenna
@unamcilvenna.bsky.social
Senior Lecturer at ANU who writes about – and sometimes sings – ballads about executions, disasters, military conflicts & politics from the 16th to the 19th century. Personal website: unamcilvenna.com
Reposted by Dr Una McIlvenna
'people who are multilingual are half as likely to show signs of accelerated biological ageing than are those who speak just one language.'
Good thing that schools, universities and governments are so actively promoting modern languages then, isn't it? 1/2
Good thing that schools, universities and governments are so actively promoting modern languages then, isn't it? 1/2
Want a younger brain? Learn another language
A vast study suggests that being multilingual can slow down cognitive ageing.
www.nature.com
November 11, 2025 at 7:58 AM
'people who are multilingual are half as likely to show signs of accelerated biological ageing than are those who speak just one language.'
Good thing that schools, universities and governments are so actively promoting modern languages then, isn't it? 1/2
Good thing that schools, universities and governments are so actively promoting modern languages then, isn't it? 1/2
Reposted by Dr Una McIlvenna
Just been invited to the launch event of a report considering the 'future of the UK's research system' where they will be considering the creation of disruption labs named after Ada Lovelace and the report will be introduced by a panel of five men
November 11, 2025 at 8:11 AM
Just been invited to the launch event of a report considering the 'future of the UK's research system' where they will be considering the creation of disruption labs named after Ada Lovelace and the report will be introduced by a panel of five men
Reposted by Dr Una McIlvenna
![Joyce Carol Oates quoting a tweet that says “wherever he [Elon Musk] goes, he wants to leave”:
"wherever he goes, he wants to leave"-- that's because when he gets there, he has brought his own self along; & whatever club he's invited to join has been devalued by the invitation.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:buy3qvqcj3o76leo6ap7pn2p/bafkreifilfbsxemfsambf4kqwolr24ld2ekqcrz4ybgv3bv7kzi5e6kppm@jpeg)
Reposted by Dr Una McIlvenna
an underrated part of this turducken of garbage is Elon posting an image of the Odyssey while discussing the Iliad, but it's all so terribly, terribly pathetic
*maximum alpha at 1.25x speed* continuously lives on in my head, unfortunately.
November 11, 2025 at 1:48 AM
an underrated part of this turducken of garbage is Elon posting an image of the Odyssey while discussing the Iliad, but it's all so terribly, terribly pathetic
Reposted by Dr Una McIlvenna
My theory is that tech bros hate humanities because they've all tried once to impress a girl studding English Lit by talking about a book and they were all laughed at for their complete misreading of the text.
*maximum alpha at 1.25x speed* continuously lives on in my head, unfortunately.
November 11, 2025 at 2:13 AM
My theory is that tech bros hate humanities because they've all tried once to impress a girl studding English Lit by talking about a book and they were all laughed at for their complete misreading of the text.
Reading the furious responses to this as well as to all the other Democrat politicians who are trying to smooth things over, it’s clear that many Americans need to do what we’re doing elsewhere (UK,Australia) with these so-called ’left-wing’ parties, and join the Greens. www.gp.org/platform
November 11, 2025 at 1:07 AM
Reading the furious responses to this as well as to all the other Democrat politicians who are trying to smooth things over, it’s clear that many Americans need to do what we’re doing elsewhere (UK,Australia) with these so-called ’left-wing’ parties, and join the Greens. www.gp.org/platform
Reposted by Dr Una McIlvenna
‘I once planned to sue the bbc for suggesting I encouraged an insurrection the time I encouraged an insurrection on live tv’
November 10, 2025 at 4:25 PM
‘I once planned to sue the bbc for suggesting I encouraged an insurrection the time I encouraged an insurrection on live tv’
Reposted by Dr Una McIlvenna
this is literally never not accurate
November 10, 2025 at 6:32 PM
this is literally never not accurate
Reposted by Dr Una McIlvenna
the right winger who was appointed to lead the BBC in the hope of appeasing right wingers has been driven out by right wingers for not appeasing right wingers enough and the BBC has the chance to do the funniest thing ever
November 9, 2025 at 6:38 PM
the right winger who was appointed to lead the BBC in the hope of appeasing right wingers has been driven out by right wingers for not appeasing right wingers enough and the BBC has the chance to do the funniest thing ever
Reposted by Dr Una McIlvenna
Since it’s @scaramucci.bsky.social talking about how Tim Mellon is the “Epstein connection you don’t know about,” I kinda wish I’d made the connection 11 days ago. But alas, it was two weeks ago.
November 9, 2025 at 2:58 PM
Since it’s @scaramucci.bsky.social talking about how Tim Mellon is the “Epstein connection you don’t know about,” I kinda wish I’d made the connection 11 days ago. But alas, it was two weeks ago.
Reposted by Dr Una McIlvenna
1/ The US Government has quietly removed a memorial to Black soldiers who died in World War II from the Netherlands American Cemetery in Margraten, South Limburg. The move follows a complaint from the right-wing Heritage Foundation to the American Battle Monuments Commission. ⬇️
November 9, 2025 at 9:23 AM
1/ The US Government has quietly removed a memorial to Black soldiers who died in World War II from the Netherlands American Cemetery in Margraten, South Limburg. The move follows a complaint from the right-wing Heritage Foundation to the American Battle Monuments Commission. ⬇️
Reposted by Dr Una McIlvenna
You cannot separate the current nightmare we now inhabit from the collapse/crisis in how rich, powerful middle-aged men perceive masculinity, especially their own insecurities.
I’m sorry, but a goofy looking guy who grew up a privileged son of a pediatrician and has a phd in social theory from the university of Goethe and started in tech by investing an inheritance left to him by his grandfather talking about being a “dude” is very, very funny to me.
November 9, 2025 at 6:22 PM
You cannot separate the current nightmare we now inhabit from the collapse/crisis in how rich, powerful middle-aged men perceive masculinity, especially their own insecurities.
Reposted by Dr Una McIlvenna
The Israeli crimes committed in Gaza required new terms & definitions: starvation & famine; domicide; ecocide; deliberate destruction/targeting of the healthcare infrastructure; reprocide; scholasticide; attacks on journalists; torture, sexual violence; politicide.
johnmenadue.com/post/2025/11...
johnmenadue.com/post/2025/11...
The Jury of Conscience finding on Gaza
On 26 October 2025, after three days of often harrowing evidence and testimony (23 to 25 October), the members of the Jury of Conscience at the Final Session of the Gaza Tribunal, in Istanbul, present...
johnmenadue.com
November 9, 2025 at 8:41 PM
The Israeli crimes committed in Gaza required new terms & definitions: starvation & famine; domicide; ecocide; deliberate destruction/targeting of the healthcare infrastructure; reprocide; scholasticide; attacks on journalists; torture, sexual violence; politicide.
johnmenadue.com/post/2025/11...
johnmenadue.com/post/2025/11...
Reposted by Dr Una McIlvenna
Tech guys six months ago: haha yes we’re cutting all this WASTEFUL spending by eliminating medical research and USAID
Tech guys now: yes I think taxpayers will be excited to bailout my non consensual pornography machine
Tech guys now: yes I think taxpayers will be excited to bailout my non consensual pornography machine
November 8, 2025 at 11:02 PM
Tech guys six months ago: haha yes we’re cutting all this WASTEFUL spending by eliminating medical research and USAID
Tech guys now: yes I think taxpayers will be excited to bailout my non consensual pornography machine
Tech guys now: yes I think taxpayers will be excited to bailout my non consensual pornography machine
Reposted by Dr Una McIlvenna
The Mamdani political sign generator is kinda fun https://homes.luddy.indiana.edu/ccshan/for/for.html
November 8, 2025 at 3:06 PM
The Mamdani political sign generator is kinda fun https://homes.luddy.indiana.edu/ccshan/for/for.html
Reposted by Dr Una McIlvenna
Reposted by Dr Una McIlvenna
Australia has a long history of dodgy deals around offshore detention. We’ve repeatedly paid hundreds of millions of dollars to companies linked to alleged criminal activities.
Again and again the Morrison and Albanese govts have hidden the details of those deals.
It’s a disgrace.
Again and again the Morrison and Albanese govts have hidden the details of those deals.
It’s a disgrace.
‘Mind-boggling’: Whistleblower reveals how global bikie boss won Nauru security deal
A former soldier recruited to support an Albanese government deportation plan wants an inquiry after finding a gang had infiltrated the border security operation.
www.theage.com.au
November 7, 2025 at 10:13 PM
Australia has a long history of dodgy deals around offshore detention. We’ve repeatedly paid hundreds of millions of dollars to companies linked to alleged criminal activities.
Again and again the Morrison and Albanese govts have hidden the details of those deals.
It’s a disgrace.
Again and again the Morrison and Albanese govts have hidden the details of those deals.
It’s a disgrace.
And so the bubble begins to burst
“OpenAI is getting ready to run hat in hand to the taxpayer for subsidies.” After losing more than $13 billion this year, OpenAI officials are angling for a bailout. From @ryanlcooper.com:
trib.al/CUazMCQ
trib.al/CUazMCQ
OpenAI Is Maneuvering for a Government Bailout - The American Prospect
For artificial intelligence to ever pencil out, some truly enormous revenue streams will be required. And if you need trillions of dollars for data centers forever, there’s only one entity to turn to: Uncle Sam.
trib.al
November 8, 2025 at 10:25 PM
And so the bubble begins to burst
Reposted by Dr Una McIlvenna
A deep commitment to anti-wokeness
November 8, 2025 at 7:33 PM
A deep commitment to anti-wokeness
Reposted by Dr Una McIlvenna
I havent read such a banger of an essay in a very long time. This is so well-written!
Maybe Don’t Talk to the New York Times About Zohran Mamdani
It’s remarkable, the people you’ll hear from. Teach for even a little while at an expensive institution—the term they tend to prefer is “elite”—and odds are that eventually someone who was a studen…
lithub.com
November 8, 2025 at 5:37 PM
I havent read such a banger of an essay in a very long time. This is so well-written!
Reposted by Dr Una McIlvenna
Nancy Pelosi’s trades over the years have been so good that a startup was created to allow investors to directly mirror her portfolio.
One of the Greatest Wall Street Investors of All Time Announces Retirement
Nancy Pelosi’s trades over the years have been so good that a startup was created to allow investors to directly mirror her portfolio.
www.404media.co
November 6, 2025 at 8:30 PM
Nancy Pelosi’s trades over the years have been so good that a startup was created to allow investors to directly mirror her portfolio.
Reposted by Dr Una McIlvenna
Reposted by Dr Una McIlvenna
Reposted by Dr Una McIlvenna
A List of Things Said to Have Been Ruined by Women
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November 6, 2025 at 8:43 PM
A List of Things Said to Have Been Ruined by Women
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Reposted by Dr Una McIlvenna
Every single woman you know has had this happen to her. Even the goddamn president of Mexico.
Brava: “If I don’t file a complaint, then what message does that send to all Mexican women?” Ms. Sheinbaum said at her daily news conference, noting sexual harassment was a crime… “If this can happen to the president, what’s going to happen to all the young women & women across our country?”
Mexico’s President Presses Charges Against Man Who Groped Her on the Street
www.nytimes.com
November 6, 2025 at 2:27 AM
Every single woman you know has had this happen to her. Even the goddamn president of Mexico.