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Alex Renton

@axrenton.bsky.social
1.2K followers 552 following 287 posts

Writer, broadcaster, optimist. FRHistS. Books: Blood Legacy: slavery & my family's part in it. Stiff Upper Lip: abuse in Britain's elite schools. BBC Radio 4's In Dark Corners. alexrenton.com

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Reposted by Alex Renton
Heirs of Slavery @heirsofslavery.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
'The Fight to be Free' - Edinburgh Book Festival, 20th Aug. Heirs co-founder @axrenton.bsky.social in conversation with historians Peggy Brunache and Carrie Gibson on the fight to end enslavement across the Americas. @edbookfest.bsky.social www.edbookfest.co.uk/events/peggy...
edbookfest.co.uk
Peggy Brunache & Carrie Gibson: The Fight to be Free | Edinburgh International Book Festival
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Alex Renton @axrenton.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
Edinburgh Fringe is full of drag acts, as ever... Good luck to them, but isn't there a thread of misogyny here, the satirising of middle-aged women and their dress-sense? My granny wore too much make-up and dyed her hair... Here's 'Aunty Ginger-Ginger'
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Alex Renton @axrenton.bsky.social · 02/07/2026
OFSTED announces yet another plan - the fifth? - on unregistered (and thus not regulated or inspected) care homes for vulnerable and abandoned children. There are now 900+ of these - it's been a criminal offence to run one since 2000... @georgemonbiot.bsky.social www.gov.uk/government/n...
gov.uk
Ofsted outlines plans to tackle sharp growth in unregistered children’s homes
Ofsted has today outlined a change in its approach to tackling unregistered children’s homes, designed to stop unsafe and unlawful placements and to address issues of sufficiency in the children’s soc...
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Alex Renton @axrenton.bsky.social · 16/06/2026
Where's World Cup Bluesky? Are we just ignoring it? (Scotlaaaaaaand!) #worldcup
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Alex Renton @axrenton.bsky.social · 13/06/2026
Most gratifying thing on TV - Hislop takes down fellow panelist Michael Gove with studied savagery. Nice. Have I Got News for You, Series 71: Episode 10: www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m002x8df via @bbciplayer
bbc.co.uk
Have I Got News for You - Series 71: Episode 10
David Tennant hosts, with guest panellists politician and journalist Michael Gove and comedian Chloe Petts joining team captains Ian Hislop and Paul Merton as they delve into the news.
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Alex Renton @axrenton.bsky.social · 28/05/2026
Is it very quiet on Bluesky? Would anyone like to talk about the problems with the BBC's new, expensive Hate the Rich drama? Two Weeks in August. Initially quite likeable but. metro.co.uk/2026/05/26/b...
metro.co.uk
BBC viewers beg 'make it stop' as loathsome new psychological drama is slated
One viewer said a 3/10 score was 'generous'.
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Reposted by Alex Renton
Prof. Anthea Butler @antheabutler.bsky.social · 25/05/2026
Ya'll. I am shook. In a good way. Pope Leo XIV makes historic apology for Holy See's own role in legitimizing Slavery
apnews.com
Pope Leo XIV makes historic apology for Holy See's own role in legitimizing slavery
Pope Leo XIV has made a historic apology for the role the Holy See itself played in legitimizing slavery.
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Alex Renton @axrenton.bsky.social · 18/05/2026
My enslaver ancestors, Church of Scotland to the core, would not like this at all... They built churches and schools (but in Scotland not Jamaica) bbc.com/news/article...
bbc.com
Church of Scotland apologises for role in slavery
The apology was adopted at the church's General Assembly in Edinburgh on Saturday.
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Alex Renton @axrenton.bsky.social · 12/05/2026
Great conversation with Chris Braitch of Seen&Heard about boarding schools, complex childhood trauma and how to keep children safe today. seenheard.org.uk/blog/seen-an...
seenheard.org.uk
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Alex Renton @axrenton.bsky.social · 30/04/2026
However much the British establishment says 'get over it', the descendants of the enslaved still ask to talk @heirsofslavery.bsky.social quoted here... www.theguardian.com/world/2026/a...
theguardian.com
UK stole 25m years of life and labour through slavery in Barbados, says report
Experts put estimate for economic harm done by 200 years of chattel slavery at $2tn, but stress this is ‘not an invoice’
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Alex Renton @axrenton.bsky.social · 19/04/2026
Well done all. There is no escape. www.thetimes.com/uk/scotland/...
thetimes.com
Former pupils confront ex-teacher accused of sexual abuse
Iain Wares, who taught at Edinburgh Academy and Fettes College, appeared at an extradition hearing in Cape Town, South Africa
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Reposted by Alex Renton
Zack Polanski @zackpolanski.bsky.social · 07/04/2026
The US military has 22 sites in the UK. Every day long range US bombers are taking off here to drop bombs on Iran. This is a rogue state carrying out war crimes, and threatening more. The UK Government must grow a spine - and stop our bases being used for this war.
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Alex Renton @axrenton.bsky.social · 07/04/2026
www.theguardian.com/world/live/2...
theguardian.com
Trump says ‘a whole civilisation will die tonight’ if Iran does not make a deal – Middle East crisis live
The US president once again warned Iran to make a deal to avert threat of massive attacks
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Alex Renton @axrenton.bsky.social · 07/04/2026
How to lose the votes of the 400,000 plus British citizens descended from victims of British transatlantic enslavement.
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Alex Renton @axrenton.bsky.social · 07/04/2026
It is illegal to destroy civilian infrastructure. Pusillanimous Biden adviser David Satterfield on BBC R4 Today this morning did not dare say it. How utterly useless these grand old American Democrats are.
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Alex Renton @axrenton.bsky.social · 29/03/2026
Tourism at an all-time high here in Seville. And...
Street poster in Seville, Spain with zombie tourist and wheelie bag.. "so much tourism is scary', in Spanish Anti-Airbnb graffiti, Seville, Spain
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Alex Renton @axrenton.bsky.social · 26/03/2026
Asked to go on GB News today to talk about reparations for transatlantic enslavement. Said no (again) and the producer offered me... £40! www.theguardian.com/media/2026/m...
theguardian.com
Church leaders criticise Christian owner of GB News over channel’s climate attacks
Exclusive: Paul Marshall also challenged over his own ‘misleading’ statements and £1.8bn of fossil fuel investments in his hedge fund
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Alex Renton @axrenton.bsky.social · 14/03/2026
Great conversation with Dr Naomi Murphy and David Jones - we covered boarding schools, the legacies of transatlantic slavery, and keeping children happy and safe from abuse today. podcasts.apple.com/hn/podcast/a...
podcasts.apple.com
Alex Renton (Video); Boarding School, Abuse, Slavery; Understanding History, Addressing the Present
Episodio de podcast · The Locked up Living Podcast: Surviving and thriving in prisons and other challenging environments · 28 de enero · 47 min
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Alex Renton @axrenton.bsky.social · 05/03/2026
'No a la guerra!' Nice to be in Spain, a country with a coherent approach to international law and illegal war.
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Alex Renton @axrenton.bsky.social · 05/03/2026
By the same argument quit Facebook, Insta, WhatsApp and Amazon... Which is no bad idea. (tks @davidveevers.bsky.social) www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
theguardian.com
Quit ChatGPT: right now! Your subscription is bankrolling authoritarianism | Rutger Bregman
As a historian, I’ve studied the major consumer boycotts of history. We can take down ChatGPT and send a powerful signal to Silicon Valley, says author and historian Rutger Bregman
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Alex Renton @axrenton.bsky.social · 03/03/2026
'Lack of fibre' - exactly the problem. Good old Daily Mail.
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Alex Renton @axrenton.bsky.social · 25/02/2026
This stands with the finest political/historical reporting I have ever read. So vivid, so important, so sad. #cuba www.theguardian.com/world/2026/f...
theguardian.com
No water or electricity, and children begging in streets filled with rubbish – but this is why I won’t leave Cuba
Whether you blame the US or the communist regime, there is no doubt that this is an island spiralling into tragedy
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Alex Renton @axrenton.bsky.social · 16/02/2026
AI slacking again. @anthropic.com
Screenshot of a Claude AI response to a complaint
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Alex Renton @axrenton.bsky.social · 13/02/2026
Oh, err - Palestine Action!
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Reposted by Alex Renton
Financial Times @financialtimes.com · 13/02/2026
UK ban on Palestine Action ruled unlawful ft.trib.al/TKbvf6A
ft.trib.al
UK ban on Palestine Action ruled unlawful
Ministers argued the direct action group engaged in a campaign of criminal damage and violence
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Alex Renton @axrenton.bsky.social · 09/02/2026
'The right wing objections are really political rather than historical.' The verdict.
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Alex Renton @axrenton.bsky.social · 03/02/2026
The racist right are on the rise in Spain. Great piece today by @abbas-asaria.bsky.social on the politics of... jamón. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
theguardian.com
Spanish jamón is the best ham in the world – but culture warriors are reviving its dark history | Abbas Asaria
The far right is using pork consumption as a means to exclude, just as it was in the Inquisition, says Abbas Asaria, a chef based in Madrid
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Alex Renton @axrenton.bsky.social · 31/01/2026
The old right venting at @drbrookenewman... Racist, vicious, but in the end just plain silly.
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Alex Renton @axrenton.bsky.social · 23/01/2026
Great work by @brookenewman.bsky.social, can't wait to see the book and the reaction from the Caribbean nations still with King Charles as head of state. www.theguardian.com/world/2026/j...
theguardian.com
British crown was world’s largest buyer of enslaved people by 1807, book reveals
Exclusive: Author of The Crown’s Silence tells how navy and monarchy protected slave trade for hundreds of years
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Alex Renton @axrenton.bsky.social · 09/01/2026
www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
bbc.co.uk
6 Music Artist Collection - David Bowie - Memo for Radio Show - BBC Sounds
Bowie’s favorite tracks inspired by his newly found memo—imagining him as your radio host.
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Alex Renton @axrenton.bsky.social · 08/01/2026
Here's a helpful idea - let's get some cool liberal thinkers to write what they think about the USA, bit of flattery, gentle mockery, dash of wry Old World wisdom, nothing too complex... Granta, Spring 2002.
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Alex Renton @axrenton.bsky.social · 05/01/2026
OMG - Starmer takes a stand. Or does he... www.theguardian.com/world/2026/j...
theguardian.com
Starmer backs Danish PM after she demands US stop threats to take over Greenland
British prime minister says Donald Trump should stop raising idea of US annexation he claims necessary for security
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Alex Renton @axrenton.bsky.social · 03/01/2026
Golden days of long form... This story went from Victorian Britain via Brian Sewell's anti-the cut pressure group to the Luo people of western Kenya (who photographer Caro Irby and I visited). All for decent money from the old @theobserveruk.bsky.social
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Alex Renton @axrenton.bsky.social · 14/12/2025
Seduced by The Times's £1 a month sub offer, my wife now starts every day in a rage about how awful - right-wing, biased, royal-obsessed, wealth worshipping - it is. Xmas present - a sub to the Telegraph. www.thetimes.com/life-style/h...
thetimes.com
Grace Beverley: the Oxford student with a £70m wellness brand
Grace Beverley was a choral scholar at Oxford with a side hustle selling workout plans. Now the 28-year-old has a global business — and millions of fans online
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Alex Renton @axrenton.bsky.social · 10/12/2025
Hanya Aljamal's audio journal, Beautiful and moving. So hard to listen to such stories, impotent anger rising, but glad I did... www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
bbc.co.uk
Currently - Four Months in Gaza - BBC Sounds
A raw and intimate perspective on the terror, anger, and hope of living through war.
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Reposted by Alex Renton
Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 05/12/2025
this shit is just beyond parody, man
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Alex Renton @axrenton.bsky.social · 03/12/2025
Gerontophobic fact of the day: Japan now produces more nappies for the incontinent elderly than it does for babies. LRB, 20 Nov.
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Alex Renton @axrenton.bsky.social · 02/12/2025
Dubious take on British slavery abolition in today's BBC Reith lecture - the Royal Navy freed 200,000 Africans from other nations' slave ships? They didn't take them home: they went to British colonies as exploited labour. @anitaanand.bsky.social @alanlester.bsky.social
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Alex Renton @axrenton.bsky.social · 01/12/2025
Oh great! I'll forgive Amazon for selling my books for less than enough to pay me living wage for writing them.
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Alex Renton @axrenton.bsky.social · 27/11/2025
The rise and messy fall of Podemos + lessons. Your Party supporters please read. www.theguardian.com/world/2025/n...
theguardian.com
Inside the rise and fall of Podemos: ‘We believed we had a stake in the future’
The long read: The leftist party exploded out of Spain’s anti-austerity protests in 2011 and upended Spain’s entrenched two-party system. I was instantly captivated – and for the next decade, I worked...
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Reposted by Alex Renton
Russ Jones @russincheshire.bsky.social · 17/11/2025
I don't know why immigrants don't just go on strike. See how long the racists can cope without GP surgeries, nursing, deliveries, food being picked, clothes being made, warehouses being staffed, software being maintained, houses being built...
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Alex Renton @axrenton.bsky.social · 17/11/2025
Sir Hilary Beckles, chair of the CARICOM reparations commission - "Here we are again, still at it, 190 years on, asking for compensation for the crimes and suffering that continue to this very day". Just now, speaking to @icws-sas.bsky.social #reparations
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Alex Renton @axrenton.bsky.social · 12/11/2025
Hedge fund billionaire Sir Paul Marshall funds History Reclaimed, Pharos Trust, the Institute of Economic Affairs, Legatum, Nigel Biggar, Robbie Gibb and GB News. Join the dots.
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Meg Howarth @howarthm.bsky.social · 11/11/2025
🚨 #CSA @axrenton.bsky.social #ICYMI
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Alex Renton @axrenton.bsky.social · 03/11/2025
Elon’s Grokipedia has 5,000 words on me. (Wikipedia has five paras.) 94 footnotes. It’s not objectionable or inaccurate but definitely TMl. And boring. Sample…
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Heirs of Slavery @heirsofslavery.bsky.social · 30/10/2025
Jamaican government official appeal site for the Hurricane Melissa recovery - 400,000 in need, as of this morning. supportjamaica.gov.jm
supportjamaica.gov.jm
Support Jamaica – Official Disaster Relief & Recovery Portal
Join hands with the Government of Jamaica. Support national disaster relief, locate shelters, and stay informed on Hurricane Melissa updates.
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Alex Renton @axrenton.bsky.social · 26/10/2025
Must read interview with writers of Netflix’s A House of Dynamite. The true horror is not who controls the nuclear weapons (dodgy presidents, unstable states, AI) but the nuclear weapons themselves. Obviously. #AHouseOfDynamite @cnduk.bsky.social
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Alex Renton @axrenton.bsky.social · 25/10/2025
Hope everyone in the States watches it…
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Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 22/10/2025
Great 12-month opportunity for an historian. Salary: £36,799 (Grade 5: Development Worker grade). Edinburgh/hybrid. Closing date 21 October.
scotland.anglican.org
Vacancy: Legacy of Slavery Research Project Officer - The Scottish Episcopal Church
Salary: £36,799 (Grade 5: Development Worker grade)Contract: Fixed term for 12 months Hours: Fulltime, 35 hours a week (.8 FTE or 28 hours will also be considered). Some occasional evening or weekend ...
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