iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

NEW: Writing this meant a lot to me! Irish place names are extraordinarily rich wells of meaning. Many of them refer to wildlife or landscapes - often much more vividly than English translations. These names are even prompting discussions around nature restoration... www.bbc.co.uk/future/artic...

Eagles and wolves: The long-lost animals that live on in Irish place names

Long-standing Irish place names hark back to a world alive with cranes, wolves and eagles. Now these old names are piquing the interest of nature-lovers and ecologists.

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Chris Baraniuk @chrisbaraniuk.com · 13/09/2026

People just come off with stuff like this don't they. "Journalism? AI now babe!" As a journalist, this is wrong. While some journalists ARE using AI for certain tasks (I'm not), publications are actively asking me to avoid AI for most things for good reasons: accuracy, accountability, style, etc

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Chris Baraniuk @chrisbaraniuk.com · 12/09/2026

My biggest tomatoes this year! They are all in the process of ripening. Sadly the largest of the three got a touch of blight but I have conducted very precise surgery and cut it out, and am hoping for the best. 🤞🏻

A large light red tomato on scales. Weight reads 478g.

A large green tomato on scales. The weight reads 488g.

A large green tomato on scales. The weight reads 571g.

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"There's a connection between the environment and the Irish language," says Mairéad Nic Craith. "It reflects a people who took more notice, and who had maybe more time to notice the environment than we do nowadays." www.bbc.co.uk/future/artic...

Eagles and wolves: The long-lost animals that live on in Irish place names

Long-standing Irish place names hark back to a world alive with cranes, wolves and eagles. Now these old names are piquing the interest of nature-lovers and ecologists.

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Eagles and wolves: The long-lost animals that live on in Irish place names

Long-standing Irish place names hark back to a world alive with cranes, wolves and eagles. Now these old names are piquing the interest of nature-lovers and ecologists.

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Reposted by Chris Baraniuk

Jenny Chase @solarchase.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Everyone is all "batteries will save us" and the next phase is clearly batteries to reduce demand for dispatchable power, but the problem for getting to actual net-zero is still there: once we have enough batteries they will sit full all summer and empty all winter.

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Stephen Jarvis @stephenjarvis.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

With zonal market reforms ruled out and a whole bunch more renewable generation on the way, failing to do more to upgrade the grid over the last decade is becoming increasingly costly. These network projects now really do need to happen as fast as possible.

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NEW: On the fascinating efforts to harvest heat from railway tunnels, train station commuters and the New York subway. Such schemes could be a lot more common. www.thereengineer.pro/p/why-dont-w...

Why don’t we make more use of the heat that lives in tunnels?

This could be the start of a new underground movement

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Chris Baraniuk @chrisbaraniuk.com · 10/09/2026

@caryocatactes.bsky.social Hello, I have a question about insects - would you mind following and sending a direct message?

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Chris Baraniuk @chrisbaraniuk.com · 10/09/2026

This is absolutely fascinating, and sad also. "Two of Us" is such a bloody brilliant title as well

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Reposted by Chris Baraniuk

Prof Sheena Cruickshank @sheencr.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

There have been a few cancer stories in the press of late so I hope you enjoy my summary of some of the ways that immunology is transforming cancer care 🧪🧵

urldefense.com

How Immunology is Transforming Cancer Care

A summary of recent highlights and emerging directions in immunotherapies and cancer care

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Chris Baraniuk @chrisbaraniuk.com · 09/09/2026

I watched this live. Not only did Alcaraz walk off from a gruelling late night match, which he lost, while beaming a huge smile... You see that guy at the tunnel entrance behind him? Carlos gave him a little fist bump too. What a sportsman. Greatest I've ever seen. www.reddit.com/r/tennis/s/Y...

A photo of Carlos Alcaraz carrying his tennis gear bags and walking through a tunnel exiting the Arthur Ashe stadium court at the US open. He has a huge smile on his face despite losing a marathon five set match. Behind Alcaraz a staff member standing at the entrance to the tunnel is visible standing with his arms folded.

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Jake Kanter @jakekanter.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

Grim media news: Channel 4 will cut more than a quarter of its workforce before the end of the year. The 340 redundancies are the biggest round of layoffs in Channel 4's history. deadline.com/2026/09/chan...

deadline.com

Channel 4 Confirms Plans To Cut 340 Jobs

'The Great British Bake Off' broadcaster Channel 4 has announced the deepest round of layoffs in its 43-year history.

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Chris Baraniuk @chrisbaraniuk.com · 09/09/2026

If you're just waking up and have access to it, the US Open match between Ben Shelton and Carlos Alcaraz is pretty amazing. #usopen I've been up since 4am lol

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Chris Baraniuk @chrisbaraniuk.com · 08/09/2026

Woah, big news. Have loved watching Gardeners' World in recent years. As I got into gardening during the worst years of the pandemic, the show was arguably at its height. People sending in videos from their lockdown gardens and so on. Really touching stuff. Monty has been a steady hand at the helm.

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Amy Borrett @amyborrett.ft.com · 08/09/2026

Britain’s state-owned electricity system operator has awarded Palantir a £21mn contract without inviting rival bids, arguing critical processes are too reliant on its tech to run a competitive procurement process Latest for @financialtimes.com: as.ft.com/r/7fe6c0b7-2...

as.ft.com

Britain’s grid operator gave Palantir contract without inviting rival bids

Neso cited a legal exemption that removes the requirement to consider other suppliers if dependencies leave no alternative

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Chris Baraniuk @chrisbaraniuk.com · 06/09/2026

Fabulous to be watching Carlos Alcaraz at a grand slam again. A generational talent, just enthralling to behold. #usopen

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Chris Baraniuk @chrisbaraniuk.com · 06/09/2026

Wildflowers = visiting colours.

A photo of a bright red peacock butterfly on a light purple field scabious wildflower in a small garden meadow. A stone garden path is visible, blurred, in the background.

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Chris Baraniuk @chrisbaraniuk.com · 06/09/2026

Yes but how much do I "really need" to be awake

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Chris Baraniuk @chrisbaraniuk.com · 05/09/2026

"Climate change 'probably has an impact here,' he says. The Prime Minister of Nepal has said as much. And the British Antarctic Survey notes that ground temperatures in the area near the collapsed part of the mountain were unusually high before the landslide." www.thereengineer.pro/p/nepal-trag...

Nepal tragedy: Satellite images could enable new warning systems for disasters like this

The huge scale of the flash flood has perplexed scientists

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Random question. Does anyone know why the international version of Ken Burns' documentary series on the American Revolution has been cut by almost half its full length (as on PBS)? I can't see official confirmation of this but judging by episode lengths in the US versus elsewhere, it's true!

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ChatGPT took our stories. We’re suing.

Really interesting. So simple as well. Just pointing out "We worked so hard to get these scoops - and that has been erased" (my phrasing). www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

motherjones.com

Guess whose side he's on?

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Reposted by Chris Baraniuk

NEW: I spoke to people combing through satellite images of the disaster in Nepal. They still have questions about how such a massive deluge unfolded. But there is also hope that we could use satellite data to build better warning systems for events like this. www.thereengineer.pro/p/nepal-trag...

Nepal tragedy: Satellite images could enable new warning systems for disasters like this

The huge scale of the flash flood has perplexed scientists

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Populism is, after all, a double-edged sword.

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Your dinner's nearly ready! A multi award-winning documentary telling of the adventure of two Dublin children in August 1985 who chanced a free ride on the DART and ended up in New York. (2011)

It's Friday so here's something fun. An Irish radio documentary from 2010, which I only recently heard about. In 1985, two boys from Dublin decided to go on a journey. An extraordinary journey. They didn't tell their parents. Listen: www.rte.ie/radio/docono...

rte.ie

Don't Go Far...

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Nepal tragedy: Satellite images could enable new warning systems for disasters like this

The huge scale of the flash flood has perplexed scientists

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Chris Baraniuk @chrisbaraniuk.com · 03/09/2026

Yeah and in freelance journalism, specifically, this where a no-AI policy can really stand out. I'll say it again: we are the last lines of defence in information war. We look with our own eyes, we check, we verify, we actually speak to people directly. Pay us!

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Joe Tidy BBC News @joetidy.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

This was surreal. I emailed the proton mail of the hacker group that breached the UK airports yesterday and they replied overnight with this...

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Chris Baraniuk @chrisbaraniuk.com · 01/09/2026

Science story editors! If you are looking for pitches, lemme know. I am looking to do some quick turnaround stories next week and quite a few of the people I usually pitch to are away.

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Chris Baraniuk @chrisbaraniuk.com · 01/09/2026

Jeeez!! Got an email a few days ago purporting to be from an editor at a publishing firm. The profile pic was very AI and the address Gmail, not the firm's own domain. So I forward it the company directly asking if it's a scam. I get a useless AI response back in <1 minute.

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Chris Baraniuk @chrisbaraniuk.com · 31/08/2026

Watched Lawrence of Arabia last night for the first time! What a depressing film.

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Chris Baraniuk @chrisbaraniuk.com · 30/08/2026

Guy Barter, RHS, said "heat-loving plants" such as olives and apricots are excelling more [unlike] gooseberries and rhubarb. "The climate is getting warmer and bananas never used to flower 20 years ago. It would be a red letter day when the banana flowers." www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Bananas sprout in Rayleigh garden after 15 years

Emma and Steve Stav grow 200 banana plants in their garden in Rayleigh, Essex.

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Chris Baraniuk @chrisbaraniuk.com · 30/08/2026

One of the best films you'll ever see.

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Reposted by Chris Baraniuk

pippaneill.bsky.social @pippaneill.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

NEW: The London Science Museum has ended its decades-long partnership with the oil and gas company BP in what has been described as a “seismic shift” for the museum. www.theguardian.com/culture/2026...

theguardian.com

London Science Museum cuts links with BP after decades of partnership

Campaigners say ‘seismic shift’ follows years of pressure to sever ties with oil and gas firm

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Reposted by Chris Baraniuk

Chris Baraniuk @chrisbaraniuk.com · 28/08/2026

NEW: One more from me on Dolly Parton - and her recent outspokenness on the environment. I also had a look at nature conservation and electrification efforts at Dollywood. Subscribe and never miss these posts! www.thereengineer.pro/p/dolly-part...