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unsliced.bsky.social
@unsliced.bsky.social
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robinince.bsky.social
Very sad that I felt I had no choice but to resign from The Infinite Monkey Cage - a victory for the transphobes and other bigots - I did it because so much of the media has chosen to believe the kind and empathetic people are a fiction - they are real and so often unrepresented.
This is the saddest day of my professional life. Today is not only the final recording of the latest series of The Infinite Monkey Cage, it is my last ever Monkey Cage. I never thought that I would have to leave the show. I always imagined going on until | dropped dead under the studio lights due to a brain aneurysm caused by my final attempt to understand notions of quantum gravity or the shock of being told about fly maggot infestations in the sacks of macaque monkeys. I resigned in September, after sixteen years of dedication to the show, A show that I named and helped develop over all those years. Unfortunately, my opinions outside the BBC have been considered problematic for sometime, whether it has been voicing support for the trans community, criticism of Donald Trump, numerous other outlandish opinions, including once gently criticising Stephen Fry. These things were considered to conflict with being a freelance BBC science presenter In a recent meeting where BBC Studio executives again voiced problems with me, I realised my choices. Obedience and being quieter to remain making Monkey Cage, or 'Resign and have the freedom to speak out against what I believe are injustices'. • I chose the latter. It broke my heart. I love this show and I love the audience, and it is because of the audience in particular, that this decision was so difficult to make. I kept thinking about all the extremist voices promoting hate and division. They are being given so many platforms, while voices that represent kindness, open mindedness, empathy seem to be scarcer and scarcer. I felt I couldn't pamper myself with the luxury of silence. One of my many privileges is that I am able to resign and I can speak out even if it is to the detriment of my career. I have thought a lot about my heroes, Sinead O Connor, James Baldwin, Audre Lorde, and so many more. I think of Sinead's words, "the job of an artist is to be themselves at any cost". James Baldwin said prejudice was really just a word for cowardice. Audre Lorde, viewing her life, wrote that her only regrets were her silences. I think of my father as I resign, he brought me up to believe in fairness , justice and kindness. Though my heart is broken, it is also full of fire. I apologise to our incredible listeners for my departure, your love of the show means a great deal. I am so sorry to let you down. I hope that you can understand my reasoning. I have to accept that I am not what the current BBC expects of their freelance presenters. Despite this I should add that I have always worked far more than my contracted hours to try and ensure the show was always the best it could be, as well as making myself accessible and responsive to the audience wherever and whenever I met them. Every night, we have recorded, I have been filled with determination to make the best show possible. This was not "just a job" I hope that with my departure I can be a better ally to the LGBTQ community, to the neurodivergent community, to activists fighting against those who aim to brutalise society, to those currently in prison on hunger strike, and to all those who fight for a more inclusive world. From many conversations, I know there are many Monkey Cage listeners who support these communities and activists too. The strawberry is dead. Long live the strawberry. B
December 13, 2025 at 12:02 AM
There are no words. The BBC is going down the chutes, this is simply terrible news, both for the reasons and the outcome.
robinince.bsky.social Robin Ince @robinince.bsky.social · Dec 12
Heartbreaking night where I told the final audience for Monkey Cage that I will ever play to that I had no choice but to resign
joannafairtrade.bsky.social Joanna Abena Fianu @joannafairtrade.bsky.social · Dec 12
In the audience today at the amazing Niamos theatre in Manchester for the Christmas recording of Infinite Monkey Cage. Devastating news from @robinince.bsky.social - what must have been an incredibly difficult decision but absolutely the correct and humane one. Robin remains the best of us.
December 13, 2025 at 7:42 PM
Judgy much? The #wordle bot being bitter ...

Wordle 1,538 2/6*

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The wordle bot being bitter.
September 4, 2025 at 12:15 PM
Reposted by unsliced.bsky.social
dempster2000.bsky.social
Remarkable how many cuts of meat sound like veteran news anchors facing multiple accusations of workplace harassment:
Chuck Brisket
Rib Silverside
Rump Foreshank
Plate Centreloin
Flank Saddleback
August 23, 2025 at 9:16 AM
Typing and exam results: correlation or causation? The article focuses on whether it improves candidate's thinking. Alternatively it might just make their work more legible. As a teacher, and more pertinently, an examiner I suspect it's more of the latter.
www.theguardian.com/education/20...
Students who use keyboards in exams get better scores, research finds
Exclusive: All pupils, including those with learning difficulties, made big improvements in tests when using word processors
www.theguardian.com
August 21, 2025 at 5:14 PM
Sport. Just unadulterated sport. Nothing touches this. #engvind
August 4, 2025 at 10:54 AM
Connections
Puzzle #782
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August 1, 2025 at 9:37 AM
Reposted by unsliced.bsky.social
eff.org
The Trump administration’s new policy requiring applicants for student and exchange visas to set social media accounts to “public” for government review is a dangerous expansion of existing social media collection efforts. This policy gravely chills free expression.
You Shouldn’t Have to Make Your Social Media Public to Get a Visa
The Trump administration is continuing its dangerous push to surveil and suppress foreign students’ social media activity. The State Department recently announced an unprecedented new requirement that...
www.eff.org
July 31, 2025 at 6:30 PM
A few years ago a report came out estimating that about 3% of London was made up of golf courses (backed by pretty credible research). If I were $RULER tomorrow, I'd nationalise every course. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Trump and golf - striking balls and deals over 18 holes
For some US presidents, golf was a break from work - but for Trump, visiting Scotland this weekend, it is anything but.
www.bbc.co.uk
July 31, 2025 at 5:15 PM
Reposted by unsliced.bsky.social
jackstilgoe.bsky.social
Tom Lehrer was a genius. It wasn’t his most important role, but he was an excellent connection between my Dad’s thing (satirical song), and my own (the sociology of science). A thread of some sociology of science bangers…
July 27, 2025 at 5:27 PM
Over ten months since he left office, Rishi Sunak is still shaping our democracy
www.electoral-reform.org.uk/rishi-sunaks...
Rishi Sunak’s resignation peerages will do nothing to help collapsing trust in politics
Ten months after the last government ended, it is still able to stuff yet more peers into the grossly oversized House of Lords. On Friday, Rishi Sunak’s resignation honours list was pu
www.electoral-reform.org.uk
April 15, 2025 at 4:18 PM
Reposted by unsliced.bsky.social
alt18f.bsky.social
18F was doing exactly the type of work that DOGE claims to want – yet we were eliminated shortly after midnight. Read our letter to the American people:
18f.org
We're not done yet | 18F
18f.org
March 1, 2025 at 11:38 PM
Maths qualifications need ‘urgent reform’, says exam board, after years of under investment in state education.

Correlation doesn't mean causation.

Although clearly sometimes it does.

www.ft.com/content/85f7...
Maths qualifications need ‘urgent reform’, says exam board
Thousands of students in England unsuccessfully resit GCSE tests each year
www.ft.com
February 17, 2025 at 1:33 PM
Reposted by unsliced.bsky.social
annaecook.com
“The thing that I can’t get over is that the actual richest man in the world directed my fucking firing. I make $50k a year and work to keep drinking water safe. The richest man in the world decided that was an expense too great for the American taxpayer.”
chrismuravez.bsky.social Chris Muravez @chrismuravez.bsky.social · Feb 15
Yesterday many thousands of federal employees were terminated. This is a Reddit thread for federal employees that got laid off.
From the fednews community on Reddit
Explore this post and more from the fednews community
www.reddit.com
February 15, 2025 at 11:24 PM
Reposted by unsliced.bsky.social
genmhayden.bsky.social
Fellow NSA - National Security Agency veterans. Look at what’s happened at the National Cryptologic Museum. They covered up with brown paper the photos of Women in American Cryptology. All in response to President Trump’s anti-diversity executive order.
February 2, 2025 at 4:51 AM
Reposted by unsliced.bsky.social
schiff.nz
Think Big.
Map of the Pacific Ocean but labelled New Zealand Ocean
January 23, 2025 at 8:01 PM
Red flag on the river ... #redflag #pla
Calm view if the Thames along Chiswick Eyot towards Hammersmith Bridge Calm water looking downstream from Chiswick Bridge
January 9, 2025 at 3:48 PM
Not a real word. It's a prefix. #wordle

Wordle 1,296 4/6*

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WordleBot
Skill 95/99
Luck 47/99
January 5, 2025 at 7:36 AM
So now who's the oldest ex-President? #carefulnow #quiz #isitok that that was my first thought?
December 29, 2024 at 9:35 PM
Reposted by unsliced.bsky.social
masnick.com
Alright folks, I apologize in advance if I'm going to be annoying about this, but TODAY is the LAST DAY to get us over the Kickstarter threshold for our game, & people last night were telling me how they only just heard of our amazing One Billion Users card game. www.kickstarter.com/projects/mma...
One Billion Users: The Social Media Card Game
A competitive card game to build the biggest and best social media platform
www.kickstarter.com
December 19, 2024 at 5:45 PM
Reposted by unsliced.bsky.social
bencollins.bsky.social
The 39th time we've had to post this, and this time about The Onion's original hometown.
‘No Way To Prevent This,’ Says Only Nation Where This Regularly Happens
MADISON, WI—In the hours following a violent rampage in Wisconsin in which a lone attacker killed at least two individuals and injured six others, citizens living in the only country where this kind o...
theonion.com
December 16, 2024 at 9:48 PM
Can't see why selling core national services to foreign based billionaires is still seen as a reasonable course of action. I mean, it's worked so well with water, railways, electricity, gas. Now the Royal Mail. #madness
December 15, 2024 at 10:39 PM
Reposted by unsliced.bsky.social
oldenoughtosay.com
happy Big Jet TV day to everyone who celebrates!
December 7, 2024 at 8:19 AM
The NHS has its flaws, but y'know, it's so far from this that it looks almost sympathetic.
annaleen.bsky.social Annalee Newitz @annaleen.bsky.social · Dec 4
Sorry, Connecticut, New York and Missouri. Blue Cross/Blue Shield will no longer pay for anesthesia for the entire duration of your surgeries. Seems like a really great policy change for a nation run by oligarchs who want to kill us all. www.asahq.org/about-asa/ne...
Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield Won’t Pay for the Complete Duration of Anesthesia for Patients’ Surgical Procedures
In an unprecedented move, Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield plans representing Connecticut, New York and Missouri have unilaterally declared it will no longer pay for anesthesia care if the surgery or procedure goes beyond an arbitrary time limit, regardless of how long the surgical procedure takes. The American Society of Anesthesiologists calls on Anthem to reverse this proposal immediately.
www.asahq.org
December 4, 2024 at 7:47 PM