Phyllis Akalin
@phyllisakalin.bsky.social
US production editor @thetimes.com
Would you rent out your swimming pool to strangers? I spoke to three Americans who do — and have turned it into a profitable side hustle ⬇️
www.thetimes.com/us/news-toda...
www.thetimes.com/us/news-toda...
I make $15,000 a month renting out my swimming pool
‘In the beginning it was a little odd’ — meet the Americans who have turned their backyard dips into passive income streams
www.thetimes.com
August 12, 2025 at 1:54 PM
Would you rent out your swimming pool to strangers? I spoke to three Americans who do — and have turned it into a profitable side hustle ⬇️
www.thetimes.com/us/news-toda...
www.thetimes.com/us/news-toda...
Do you track your friends’ location on Find My/any other apps? DM or email phyllis.akalin@the-times.co.uk if you’re happy to chat about it for an article (must be based in US or UK)
July 11, 2025 at 1:19 PM
Do you track your friends’ location on Find My/any other apps? DM or email phyllis.akalin@the-times.co.uk if you’re happy to chat about it for an article (must be based in US or UK)
It was great to chat with Wade Eastwood, the man behind all of Tom Cruise’s stunts on the past four Mission: Impossible films. He told me why Cruise does all the stunts himself and how he is still doing it at 62
www.thetimes.com/life-style/c...
www.thetimes.com/life-style/c...
‘He has no fear’: my life jumping out of planes with Tom Cruise
Wade Eastwood has worked with the Hollywood star for more than ten years on spectacular action sequences. He says audiences will never understand the danger
www.thetimes.com
May 24, 2025 at 8:30 PM
It was great to chat with Wade Eastwood, the man behind all of Tom Cruise’s stunts on the past four Mission: Impossible films. He told me why Cruise does all the stunts himself and how he is still doing it at 62
www.thetimes.com/life-style/c...
www.thetimes.com/life-style/c...
Beyoncé's Cowboy Carter tour was expected to sell out within days. Now, last-minute tickets are going for as little as $25 —what happened? I found out for @thetimes.com
www.thetimes.com/us/news-toda...
www.thetimes.com/us/news-toda...
How did Beyoncé tour tickets go from a small fortune to $25 each?
The Cowboy Carter shows were supposed to fill stadiums throughout 2025 — but fans who hold their nerve can save hundreds with a little patience
www.thetimes.com
May 2, 2025 at 5:41 PM
Beyoncé's Cowboy Carter tour was expected to sell out within days. Now, last-minute tickets are going for as little as $25 —what happened? I found out for @thetimes.com
www.thetimes.com/us/news-toda...
www.thetimes.com/us/news-toda...
I spoke with the artist who painted the portrait Putin gave to Trump. His dream subjects? The King and Pierce Brosnan
www.thetimes.com/us/american-...
www.thetimes.com/us/american-...
I painted Trump and Putin thanked me personally
The Russian artist Nikas Safronov’s portrait of the president surviving an attempted assassination turned out to be a diplomatic coup. Is the King next?
www.thetimes.com
April 25, 2025 at 12:53 AM
I spoke with the artist who painted the portrait Putin gave to Trump. His dream subjects? The King and Pierce Brosnan
www.thetimes.com/us/american-...
www.thetimes.com/us/american-...
My latest for The Times - was great to speak to the inventors of the “vape-o-gotchi”
www.thetimes.com/us/news-toda...
www.thetimes.com/us/news-toda...
Tamagotchi vape: the evil invention that could help you quit smoking
Is this Black Mirror-esque reimagining of the Tamagotchi as stupid as its creators intended, or can it be reprogrammed and used for good?
www.thetimes.com
April 16, 2025 at 1:12 PM
My latest for The Times - was great to speak to the inventors of the “vape-o-gotchi”
www.thetimes.com/us/news-toda...
www.thetimes.com/us/news-toda...
Are you German and live in the US? Did you receive your postal vote? DM for a story in @thetimes.com #journorequest
February 17, 2025 at 3:17 PM
Are you German and live in the US? Did you receive your postal vote? DM for a story in @thetimes.com #journorequest
Such a heartbreaking interview by David Collins
Southport families: We’re looking for light in the darkness
www.thetimes.com/uk/society/a...
Southport families: We’re looking for light in the darkness
www.thetimes.com/uk/society/a...
Southport families: We’re looking for light in the darkness
The parents of Bebe King and Elsie Dot Stancombe want the world to know what they were like — their joy, jokes and dreams — as they relive that awful July day
www.thetimes.com
February 8, 2025 at 6:01 PM
Such a heartbreaking interview by David Collins
Southport families: We’re looking for light in the darkness
www.thetimes.com/uk/society/a...
Southport families: We’re looking for light in the darkness
www.thetimes.com/uk/society/a...
It was amazing to speak to Joe Lynskey, who was pushed in front of a subway train. Less than a month after the attack, he says he wants all New Yorkers to feel safer
www.thetimes.com/us/news-toda...
www.thetimes.com/us/news-toda...
I was pushed under a subway train. This is how I cheated death
Somehow, Joe Lynskey dodged electrocution and survived being rolled over by the wheels. It’s a mixture of pure luck and the quick thinking of his saviours
www.thetimes.com
February 4, 2025 at 10:28 AM
It was amazing to speak to Joe Lynskey, who was pushed in front of a subway train. Less than a month after the attack, he says he wants all New Yorkers to feel safer
www.thetimes.com/us/news-toda...
www.thetimes.com/us/news-toda...
I spoke to Dr Vijay Agarwal, the neurological consultant on Severance, about how realistic the technology on the show is – and it’s not as far-fledged as you might think
www.thetimes.com/us/news-toda...
www.thetimes.com/us/news-toda...
Could Severance really happen? We’re not far off, neuroscientist says
The brain cancer specialist who consulted on Severance thinks ‘two-edged sword’ memory-altering technology could be available in our lifetime
www.thetimes.com
January 27, 2025 at 9:46 PM
I spoke to Dr Vijay Agarwal, the neurological consultant on Severance, about how realistic the technology on the show is – and it’s not as far-fledged as you might think
www.thetimes.com/us/news-toda...
www.thetimes.com/us/news-toda...
If you’re like me, the first thing you do after watching a biopic is to look up how accurate it is. I spoke to Elijah Wald, the author of Dylan Goes Electric, to find out what really happened in Bob Dylan’s life in the early Sixties
www.thetimes.com/culture/film...
www.thetimes.com/culture/film...
How accurate is A Complete Unknown, the Bob Dylan biopic?
Did a fan yell ‘Judas’ when Dylan went electric at Newport? And why did Dylan break up with Joan Baez? As the Timothée Chalamet movie is released, an expert explains the true story
www.thetimes.com
January 8, 2025 at 4:26 PM
If you’re like me, the first thing you do after watching a biopic is to look up how accurate it is. I spoke to Elijah Wald, the author of Dylan Goes Electric, to find out what really happened in Bob Dylan’s life in the early Sixties
www.thetimes.com/culture/film...
www.thetimes.com/culture/film...
Slowly carving out a niche as The Times’s official look-alike correspondent…
www.thetimes.com/world/us-wor...
www.thetimes.com/world/us-wor...
The year of the face-off: how celebrity lookalike contests went viral
Doppelgängers for Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Jeremy Allen White and Paul Mescal lined up in competitions organised online. We meet the winners — and you vote for your favourite
www.thetimes.com
December 30, 2024 at 7:10 PM
Slowly carving out a niche as The Times’s official look-alike correspondent…
www.thetimes.com/world/us-wor...
www.thetimes.com/world/us-wor...
Went to Dyker Heights last night and it was a fever dream ⬇️
December 16, 2024 at 2:43 PM
Went to Dyker Heights last night and it was a fever dream ⬇️
Not sure how these things work on Bluesky but I’m gonna give it a go: I’m looking for people in the US who have tried sibling therapy. How has it changed your relationship? Will be handled sensitively, for @thetimes.com
#journorequest
#journorequest
November 25, 2024 at 6:02 PM
Not sure how these things work on Bluesky but I’m gonna give it a go: I’m looking for people in the US who have tried sibling therapy. How has it changed your relationship? Will be handled sensitively, for @thetimes.com
#journorequest
#journorequest
A fascinating read. I grew up in Germany with Angela Merkel as chancellor. Although I didn’t always agree with her, I felt like the country was in good hands. Maybe that’s why they called her Mutti
Angela Merkel exclusive: Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin and me
In a rare interview, the former German chancellor tells Decca Aitkenhead how her ‘certain ambition for power’ kept her in the top job for 16 years
www.thetimes.com
November 24, 2024 at 7:36 PM
A fascinating read. I grew up in Germany with Angela Merkel as chancellor. Although I didn’t always agree with her, I felt like the country was in good hands. Maybe that’s why they called her Mutti
@thetimes.com has compiled a great starter pack of our journalists in the UK and the US – follow to keep up to date with their work
bsky.app/starter-pack...
bsky.app/starter-pack...
November 20, 2024 at 4:45 PM
@thetimes.com has compiled a great starter pack of our journalists in the UK and the US – follow to keep up to date with their work
bsky.app/starter-pack...
bsky.app/starter-pack...
One of the best stories I have edited since moving out to New York: Josie Ensor interviewed Blerim Skoro, a former CIA spy. He infiltrated al-Qaeda and Isis — all under a promise that he would one day be reunited with his wife and daughters in New York.
www.thetimes.com/article/5eff...
www.thetimes.com/article/5eff...
I gave my life to the CIA. They betrayed me
For a decade, Blerim Skoro worked to infiltrate al-Qaeda and Isis — all under a promise that he would one day be reunited with his wife and daughters
www.thetimes.com
November 18, 2024 at 6:14 PM
One of the best stories I have edited since moving out to New York: Josie Ensor interviewed Blerim Skoro, a former CIA spy. He infiltrated al-Qaeda and Isis — all under a promise that he would one day be reunited with his wife and daughters in New York.
www.thetimes.com/article/5eff...
www.thetimes.com/article/5eff...