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The History of Food as an Act of Resistance

December 8, 2025 at 12:20 PM

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My piece for London Historians on our latest project - Kitchen Resistance - is out now. Exploring how different waves of migrants to the capital have used food to provide a sense of safety and community during even the most challenging times.

londonhistorians.wordpress.com/2025/11/28/t...

A guest post by London Historians Member Esther Freeman Over the past year, with a grant from the National Heritage Lottery Fund, I’ve been researching how women have used food for social justice. …

londonhistorians.wordpress.com

December 3, 2025 at 10:47 AM

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Today is World AIDS Day. I'm thinking about when Noel Gallagher said he hoped Blur "catch AIDS and die". The whole story is covered by @msmirandasawyer.bsky.social
in her brilliant book, Uncommon People. I give my hot-take on it all on my Substack. estherfreeman.substack.com/p/we-shouldn...

We shouldn't forget how AIDS destroyed a generation of artists

It's World AIDS Day - an important time to remember all the art and culture we lost because of this devastating virus.

Adelaide Knight: the disability activist who wasn't

December 1, 2025 at 12:24 PM

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My second post for #disabilityhistorymonth looks at Adelaide Knight - the disability activist who wasn't.

Despite her life long health and mobility issues, Adelaide never identified politically as disabled. Discover why in my latest Substack.

open.substack.com/pub/estherfr...

My second post for Disability History Month explores how political identities for disabled people have changed radically over the past 150 years. And not always for the better.

Alternative obituary: Marina Lewycka, author and activist

November 24, 2025 at 12:05 PM

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V. sad to hear the news that author, Marina Lewycka died. I loved her books, but was sad none of her obituaries mentioned her activism. Because that is how I know Marina best, interviewing her in 2019 about her role in feminist group, Big Flame. Here's my alternative obituary for her.

Last weekend Marina Lewycka, author of A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian died. Obituaries in the mainstream media focus on her writing, but she was also a brilliant feminist activist.

Elizabeth Burgwin: the first Special Educational Needs Coordinator

November 21, 2025 at 10:17 AM

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Disability History Month is here!

Elizabeth Burgwin was possibly the world's first SENCO (Special Educational Needs Coordinator). She pioneered work with disabled children so they could reach their full potential.

Warning! She is a complicated woman!

estherfreeman.substack.com/p/elizabeth-...

As part of Disability History Month, I'm shining a spotlight on Elizabeth Burgwin, who we could call the first Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCO).

How women become middle class paupers

November 20, 2025 at 2:44 PM

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It was easy for middle class Victorian women to struggle financially. Despite the welfare state, and better career opportunities, unpaid care work stills make women vulnerable.
Read my Substack to discover middle class paupers, Sylvia Pankhurst, Margaret McMillan & Lydia Becker... and me!

Women seem to be more vulnerable than men to becoming downwardly mobile. This has been the case throughout history.

Kitchen Resistance: how women used food to fight back – Esther Freeman

November 10, 2025 at 11:43 AM

Reposted by Share UK

Women's History Network

@womenshistnet.bsky.social

New on the blog! Esther Freeman from @share-uk.bsky.social explores the different ways women have used food throughout history, and how we can reframe it as a powerful political tool #womenshistory

womenshistorynetwork.org/kitchen-resi...

I’d been in the Women’s Library at LSE for hours, going through oral history transcripts in the Women Against Pit Closures collection. I’m not being hyperbolic when I say I felt close to tears. The…

womenshistorynetwork.org

November 4, 2025 at 9:09 AM

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Happy Halloween! 🧙‍♀️👻💀 🎃

I enjoy Halloween, but do still need to talk about the persecution of witches. It's far more recent than you'd think.

See my Substack for the Hayfield Witch, how to right past wrongs, and if Elon Musk is the new Witchfinder General?

open.substack.com/pub/estherfr...

Why we need to keep talking about witch trials

It's Halloween, which means its my annual rant about the persecution of women as witches. And some of it is more recent than you'd think.

The toddler climate activists

October 31, 2025 at 5:33 PM

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Rachel @curiouswilds.bsky.social transformed a derelict piece of land, turning it into a forest school. By educating the next generation, she is quietly saving the planet one mud kitchen at a time.

Read about Rachel and her toddler climate activists: estherfreeman.substack.com/p/the-toddle...

Time is running out to stop the devastating impacts of climate change. Is the next generation our last remaining hope?

October 29, 2025 at 9:36 AM

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@societyofauthors.bsky.social We're creating a new community for under-represented writers. Could you share our survey so we can understand what's helpful to them? There's book vouchers to win for those who complete the survey.

sendsurvivalguide.wufoo.com/forms/qxuk6z...

October 8, 2025 at 9:32 AM

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@thelitconsultancy.bsky.social We're creating a new community for under-represented writers. Could you share our survey so we can understand what's helpful to them? There's book vouchers to win for those who complete the survey.

sendsurvivalguide.wufoo.com/forms/qxuk6z...

October 8, 2025 at 9:31 AM

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@actorsandwriters.bsky.social We're creating a new community for under-represented writers. Could you share our survey so we can understand what's helpful to them? There's book vouchers to win for those who complete the survey.

sendsurvivalguide.wufoo.com/forms/qxuk6z...

October 8, 2025 at 9:31 AM

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@plutopress.bsky.social We're creating a new community for under-represented writers. Could you share our survey so we can understand what's helpful to them? There's book vouchers to win for those who complete the survey.

sendsurvivalguide.wufoo.com/forms/qxuk6z...

October 8, 2025 at 9:30 AM

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@versobooks.bsky.social We're creating a new community for under-represented writers. Could you share our survey so we can understand what's helpful to them? There's book vouchers to win for those who complete the survey.

sendsurvivalguide.wufoo.com/forms/qxuk6z...

October 8, 2025 at 9:30 AM

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@sevenstories.bsky.social We're creating a new community for under-represented writers. Could you share our survey so we can understand what's helpful to them? There's book vouchers to win for those who complete the survey.

sendsurvivalguide.wufoo.com/forms/qxuk6z...

October 8, 2025 at 9:30 AM

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@katebod.bsky.social Hi! We're creating a new community for under-represented writers. Could you share our survey so we can understand what's helpful to them? There's book vouchers to win for those who complete the survey. Tx

sendsurvivalguide.wufoo.com/forms/qxuk6z...

October 8, 2025 at 9:29 AM

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@thefictiondesk.com We're creating a new community for under-represented writers. Could you share our survey so we can understand what's helpful to them? There's book vouchers to win for those who complete the survey.

sendsurvivalguide.wufoo.com/forms/qxuk6z...

October 8, 2025 at 9:28 AM

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@uncertainstories.com We're creating a new community for under-represented writers. Could you share our survey so we can understand what's helpful to them? There's book vouchers to win for those who complete the survey.

sendsurvivalguide.wufoo.com/forms/qxuk6z...

October 8, 2025 at 9:28 AM

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@arvonfoundation.bsky.social We're creating a new community for under-represented writers. Could you share our survey so we can understand what's helpful to them? There's book vouchers to win for those who complete the survey.

sendsurvivalguide.wufoo.com/forms/qxuk6z...

Ida B Wells: the greatest movie never made

October 8, 2025 at 9:27 AM

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We're creating a group for under-represented writers. To ensure we're delivering what writers need, we'd like them to co-design it. Take 5 mins to complete our questionnaire and shape this new community of creatives.

**Plus win some book vouchers**

sendsurvivalguide.wufoo.com/forms/qxuk6z...

October 8, 2025 at 9:22 AM

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This photo is of a women’s suffrage march in Washington in 1913. The woman at the front is Ida B Wells.

White suffragists had told the black activists to march at the back. Ida wasn’t having any of it, and snuck into the front. Her face says it all really. Read the full story on my Substack.

Ida B Wells was one of the world's leading civil rights activists, yet she is often missing from historical narratives, even during Black History Month

BBC Radio 4 - Artworks, What Happened to Counter-Culture?, 1. Absolute Beginners

October 7, 2025 at 8:01 AM

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I absolutely LOVED this podcast series. It's a great dive into the history of youth culture and radical movements. And it raises some interesting questions about counter cultures today (hence the title!).

Available on BBC Sounds.
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...

Stewart Lee explores the story and ideas of counter-culture and its importance today.

www.bbc.co.uk

September 24, 2025 at 12:21 PM

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Today is the UN's International Day of Peace. Five days ago they declared a genocide in Gaza. Instead of talking about that, I'm sharing a story from over 90 years ago, about Labour MP, Ellen Wilkinson's fight against fascism in Germany. The echos with today are startling.

To secure peace in Palestine we need to face up to our history

On the UN's International Day of Peace let's talk about how we failed in the past so we don't make the same mistakes again