Venus Bivar
@vbivar.bsky.social
🇨🇦 Historian of capitalism, pollution, Marseille, farming, land use, plastics, climate, and economic growth; misanthrope; hockey player; expert baker; amateur gardener; works at St Anne's College at Oxford; lives in York (the old one).
Pinned
Much needed sun arrived today, after weeks without it. Loki was oh so very happy - as was I.
February 14, 2026 at 6:41 PM
Much needed sun arrived today, after weeks without it. Loki was oh so very happy - as was I.
Maybe a crossover episode with @thedigradio.bsky.social …
Excited to announce "What Do We Want? Conversations with the International Left." First episode coming on YouTube next week. www.youtube.com/@cstangler
February 14, 2026 at 10:44 AM
Maybe a crossover episode with @thedigradio.bsky.social …
This made my day.
Paging Canadians @julialaite.bsky.social, @rpanchasi.bsky.social, @stillots1.bsky.social, @talbotimlay.bsky.social, @icpetrie.bsky.social, @johnmunro.bsky.social, @ruralcolonialns.bsky.social, @ncardon.bsky.social, @jonathynebriggs.bsky.social.
Paging Canadians @julialaite.bsky.social, @rpanchasi.bsky.social, @stillots1.bsky.social, @talbotimlay.bsky.social, @icpetrie.bsky.social, @johnmunro.bsky.social, @ruralcolonialns.bsky.social, @ncardon.bsky.social, @jonathynebriggs.bsky.social.
I’ve never seen @victorpatrascan.bsky.social’s comedy before, but this clip of him doing crowd work with two Canadian racists is incredible. “What’s your genocidal [settler] background?”
conversation with 2 Canadians turns sour very quickly
YouTube video by Victor Patrascan
youtu.be
February 13, 2026 at 9:09 AM
Reposted by Venus Bivar
Come join us TODAY from 12-1:30pm for a conversation about publishing in Environmental Humanities - with reps from ARC Humanities Press and Princeton UP. Location is the Schwarzman Centre, ground floor. Light lunch will be served.
February 12, 2026 at 9:56 AM
Come join us TODAY from 12-1:30pm for a conversation about publishing in Environmental Humanities - with reps from ARC Humanities Press and Princeton UP. Location is the Schwarzman Centre, ground floor. Light lunch will be served.
I'm number 18405 in the pre-sale queue to get tickets for Mitski at Royal Albert Hall. The Hall's seating capacity is a mere 5,272. This is beyond silly.
a woman is singing into a microphone while playing a guitar on a stage .
ALT: a woman is singing into a microphone while playing a guitar on a stage .
media.tenor.com
February 11, 2026 at 10:13 AM
I'm number 18405 in the pre-sale queue to get tickets for Mitski at Royal Albert Hall. The Hall's seating capacity is a mere 5,272. This is beyond silly.
When I was younger I wanted dessert to be ridiculous: cookies topped with ice cream topped with caramel sauce topped with crunchy bits. Now I just want some quality sugary fruit. These pâte de fruits from Chapon are perfection.
February 10, 2026 at 12:49 PM
When I was younger I wanted dessert to be ridiculous: cookies topped with ice cream topped with caramel sauce topped with crunchy bits. Now I just want some quality sugary fruit. These pâte de fruits from Chapon are perfection.
Ugh. Two days left to fill this out. I just did it. So hard to answer multiple choice questions when you disagree with the entire premise. I ranted and raved in the free text boxes.
PS. Not too late to tell the government what you think about their proposed changes to Indefinite Leave to Remain - the public consultation is open until 12th Feb.
www.gov.uk/government/c...
www.gov.uk/government/c...
February 10, 2026 at 12:42 PM
Ugh. Two days left to fill this out. I just did it. So hard to answer multiple choice questions when you disagree with the entire premise. I ranted and raved in the free text boxes.
Reposted by Venus Bivar
Come join us this Thursday from 12-1:30pm for a conversation about publishing in Environmental Humanities - with reps from ARC Humanities Press and Princeton UP. Location is the Schwarzman Centre, ground floor. Light lunch will be served.
February 10, 2026 at 9:28 AM
Come join us this Thursday from 12-1:30pm for a conversation about publishing in Environmental Humanities - with reps from ARC Humanities Press and Princeton UP. Location is the Schwarzman Centre, ground floor. Light lunch will be served.
Reposted by Venus Bivar
Friends, my final attempt to secure rights to this image for my book. It’s the installation “Towards a Glass Monument” at Old Quad, U of Melb, created by Tom Nicholson. I’ve tried contacting the uni, the artist, even his assistant. No one replied. Can anyone help?
www.unimelb.edu.au/old-quad/wha...
www.unimelb.edu.au/old-quad/wha...
Towards a glass monument
Towards a glass monument
www.unimelb.edu.au
February 7, 2026 at 5:51 PM
Friends, my final attempt to secure rights to this image for my book. It’s the installation “Towards a Glass Monument” at Old Quad, U of Melb, created by Tom Nicholson. I’ve tried contacting the uni, the artist, even his assistant. No one replied. Can anyone help?
www.unimelb.edu.au/old-quad/wha...
www.unimelb.edu.au/old-quad/wha...
Agnès Varda pilgrimage.
February 7, 2026 at 10:33 AM
Agnès Varda pilgrimage.
Reposted by Venus Bivar
2026-02-06 - Rida Abu Rass
News from Israel, Palestine, and MENA: February 6, 2026
ridaaburass.com
February 6, 2026 at 5:46 PM
Legend.
Sir Ian McKellen performing a monologue from Shakespeare’s Sir Thomas More on the Stephen Colbert show. Never have I heard this monologue performed with such a keen sense of prescience. Nor have I ever been in this exact historical moment.TY Sir Ian, for reaching us once again.
#Pinks #ProudBlue
#Pinks #ProudBlue
February 5, 2026 at 2:56 PM
Legend.
This is for @johnmunro.bsky.social . Believe the hype! The new bikeable Paris is truly amazing. I’ve been riding here for twenty-five years and the recent changes are incredible.
February 5, 2026 at 2:45 PM
This is for @johnmunro.bsky.social . Believe the hype! The new bikeable Paris is truly amazing. I’ve been riding here for twenty-five years and the recent changes are incredible.
It took a minute, but I am finally all caught up on @thedigradio.bsky.social. Aside from the extraordinary Thawra, this is my favourite of the year. Best analysis of the United Healthcare CEO assassination, plus so much more.
thedigradio.com/podcast/assa...
thedigradio.com/podcast/assa...
Assassin Nation w/ Patrick Blanchfield
Featuring Patrick Blanchfield on assassination and political violence: from the routine to the extraordinary; authored by the state, capital, the left, the right, the unwell and alienated; as an anxie...
thedigradio.com
February 2, 2026 at 2:16 PM
It took a minute, but I am finally all caught up on @thedigradio.bsky.social. Aside from the extraordinary Thawra, this is my favourite of the year. Best analysis of the United Healthcare CEO assassination, plus so much more.
thedigradio.com/podcast/assa...
thedigradio.com/podcast/assa...
I got a SAD lamp - now that milder UK winters mean interminable Vancouver-like grey. I was sceptical, but I gotta say, this thing R-O-C-K-S.
February 2, 2026 at 8:43 AM
I got a SAD lamp - now that milder UK winters mean interminable Vancouver-like grey. I was sceptical, but I gotta say, this thing R-O-C-K-S.
More of this please.
“The US Treasury Department announced that it was canceling all contracts with consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton”
Why?
“he stole tax returns for President Donald Trump, Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk and other billionaires and leaked them to the NYTand ProPublica“
www.zetter-zeroday.com/booz-allen-t...
Why?
“he stole tax returns for President Donald Trump, Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk and other billionaires and leaked them to the NYTand ProPublica“
www.zetter-zeroday.com/booz-allen-t...
Booz Allen Tech Contractor Took IRS Job Specifically to Leak Trump's Tax Records
The US Treasury Department announced yesterday that it was canceling all contracts it holds with consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton because the company failed to prevent one of its contractors from s...
www.zetter-zeroday.com
February 1, 2026 at 8:26 PM
More of this please.
A few of us got together for a forum on degrowth in
@envirohistory.bsky.social. Here is my bit: "It's the Economy Stupid." And check out the entries from
@fredrikjonsson.bsky.social, @matthiasschmelzer.bsky.social, and
www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/...
@envirohistory.bsky.social. Here is my bit: "It's the Economy Stupid." And check out the entries from
@fredrikjonsson.bsky.social, @matthiasschmelzer.bsky.social, and
www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/...
It’s the Economy, Stupid | Environmental History: Vol 31, No 1
www.journals.uchicago.edu
January 30, 2026 at 4:14 PM
A few of us got together for a forum on degrowth in
@envirohistory.bsky.social. Here is my bit: "It's the Economy Stupid." And check out the entries from
@fredrikjonsson.bsky.social, @matthiasschmelzer.bsky.social, and
www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/...
@envirohistory.bsky.social. Here is my bit: "It's the Economy Stupid." And check out the entries from
@fredrikjonsson.bsky.social, @matthiasschmelzer.bsky.social, and
www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/...
This is very cool. www.theguardian.com/business/202...
UK’s first rapid-charging battery train ready for boarding this weekend
Great Western Railway service recharges in three and a half minutes between trips on west London line
www.theguardian.com
January 30, 2026 at 2:29 PM
This is very cool. www.theguardian.com/business/202...
Just finished this banger from @greggmitman.bsky.social and while the book as a whole is fantastic, the tastiest morsel falls in the preface, where Mittman thanks PETE TOWNSHEND for allowing him to reprint song lyrics. Incredible.
January 29, 2026 at 12:01 PM
Just finished this banger from @greggmitman.bsky.social and while the book as a whole is fantastic, the tastiest morsel falls in the preface, where Mittman thanks PETE TOWNSHEND for allowing him to reprint song lyrics. Incredible.
French history peeps: I'm in the BNF catalogue and there is an option for buying a copy of France-Soir from 1956, but when I click on it I just get a list of the issues in the collection. Anyone know how to use the 'Acheter une reproduction' option?
January 28, 2026 at 11:52 AM
French history peeps: I'm in the BNF catalogue and there is an option for buying a copy of France-Soir from 1956, but when I click on it I just get a list of the issues in the collection. Anyone know how to use the 'Acheter une reproduction' option?
Reposted by Venus Bivar
Come join us on Thursday. Andrew Matthews (UC Santa Cruz) will be talking about pastoralism and trees in Italy. 12-1:30pm at the Schwarzman Centre in Oxford. No registration is required and a light lunch will be served.
January 27, 2026 at 10:17 AM
Come join us on Thursday. Andrew Matthews (UC Santa Cruz) will be talking about pastoralism and trees in Italy. 12-1:30pm at the Schwarzman Centre in Oxford. No registration is required and a light lunch will be served.
Oh hi. Nothing to see here. Just someone on sabbatical ACTUALLY FINISHING A WHOLE CHAPTER. Read 'em and weep!
January 26, 2026 at 10:07 AM
Oh hi. Nothing to see here. Just someone on sabbatical ACTUALLY FINISHING A WHOLE CHAPTER. Read 'em and weep!
Heated Rivalry for all! Mamdani is a blessing.
January 26, 2026 at 8:29 AM
Heated Rivalry for all! Mamdani is a blessing.
Reposted by Venus Bivar
Seen in Los Angeles
(Credit: Zurita Carpio)
(Credit: Zurita Carpio)
January 25, 2026 at 7:35 PM
Seen in Los Angeles
(Credit: Zurita Carpio)
(Credit: Zurita Carpio)
Starmer dreams of AI superpower status, while our ever-distracted media offers hot-and-cold running updates on the Beckhams alongside 24/7 Trumpvision. Yet the UK is lurching into a future that ... is both more alarming and remarkable: a country famous ... for its rain imposing on itself a drought.
What happens when the taps run dry? England is about to find out | Aditya Chakrabortty
It’s not just Tunbridge Wells – a country famous around the world for its rain is in danger of self-imposed drought, says Guardian columnist Aditya Chakrabortty
www.theguardian.com
January 22, 2026 at 2:47 PM
Starmer dreams of AI superpower status, while our ever-distracted media offers hot-and-cold running updates on the Beckhams alongside 24/7 Trumpvision. Yet the UK is lurching into a future that ... is both more alarming and remarkable: a country famous ... for its rain imposing on itself a drought.