iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Dr Rachel Clarke @drrachelclarke.com · 13/08/2026

Thank you so much for this review - I will never stop being astounded by the medical miracle that is organ donation 💙

Dr Rachel Clarke @drrachelclarke.com · 13/08/2026

It was a pleasure to contribute to this @theguardian.com “The Experts” piece on what death can teach us about how to live. No-one is ever an expert on mortality, but here are my personal top 4 lessons, distilled from everything my patients have taught me as palliative care doctor…

111328

Dr Rachel Clarke @drrachelclarke.com · 15/05/2026

Shattering news from Ukraine. At least 24 people, including 3 children, killed in yesterday’s attack on Kyiv. It is so vital we don’t let this pass us by, nor glaze over, nor turn away. Russia will keep on murdering civilians in Ukraine for as long as it can. www.theguardian.com/world/live/2...

theguardian.com

At least 24 killed in Kyiv in one of deadliest Russian attacks since start of war – Europe live

The death toll included three children, Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said

411158

Dr Rachel Clarke @drrachelclarke.com · 15/05/2026

Delighted and honoured to be speaking here in Dublin this afternoon @rcsi-medprof.bsky.social 💚🤍🧡

0275

Dr Rachel Clarke @drrachelclarke.com · 26/04/2026

Honoured and delighted to be joining @rcsi-medprof.bsky.social's conference in Dublin on Friday 15th May. I'll be talking about the vital importance for our patients of speaking out with candour, even when the message may be difficult to hear. Full details via the QR code below.

1315

Dr Rachel Clarke @drrachelclarke.com · 23/04/2026

💥💥 Tonight! 💥💥 Please join me, @drkathrynmannix.bsky.social & Sarah Perry online at 7pm discussing April's @hayfestival.bsky.social book club choice, Paul Kalanithi's wonderful "When Breath Becomes Air". Sign up is free 💙📚🩺

3228

Reposted by Dr Rachel Clarke

Janne M. Korhonen @jmkorhonen.fi · 31/03/2026

This is all too real. These days, satire is just news but in teaser format.

A cartoon showing soldiers sitting in a transport plane with jump door open. One soldier asks "Where are we heading, sarge?". The soldier next to him answers "Not sure. But @DonnieJunior just made a $150M Polymarket bet on Kharg Island beachfront futures. By Wintersart (substack.com@wintersart).

3236941290

Dr Rachel Clarke @drrachelclarke.com · 31/03/2026

🧵/ The NHS is about to undergo one of the most radical – and scandalous - changes in its history. From 1st April (the public are the fools in this), GPs will be contractually obliged to seek remote “advice & guidance” from hospital clinicians, making it even harder to see an NHS specialist.

Screenshot of Times piece with headline "Millions to be denied hospital referrals in drive to cut waiting lists."

56520369

Reposted by Dr Rachel Clarke

Dinah Roe @preraphsrule.bsky.social · 30/03/2026

"Care is being undermined from every direction – from corporate kindwashing to the tech bros’ definition of empathy as weakness, from populist politicians stoking grievance & hate to the notion that if it can’t be counted, then it doesn’t have value."

02910

Dr Rachel Clarke @drrachelclarke.com · 30/03/2026

I am incredibly honoured be giving this year’s State of the Nation Lecture at Cambridge Lit Fest on Saturday 25 April, 12pm, in the beautiful setting of the Cambridge Union. My talk is entitled: “A Kindwashed Nation? Who Counts, What Counts and Making Britain Care Again” (1/4)

48121

Reposted by Dr Rachel Clarke

Adam Bienkov @adambienkov.bsky.social · 22/03/2026

So it turns out Reform are laundering their donations through crypto, before converting them into cash, hiding the original source of the money. So who is really funding Nigel Farage and Reform UK? observer.co.uk/news/nationa...

observer.co.uk

Reform accused of using third party to turn crypto into c...

Digital currency donations have been turned into sterling to make them much less easy to track, sources say

27642912230

Reposted by Dr Rachel Clarke

Mark Chadbourn @chadbourn.bsky.social · 22/03/2026

Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó gave Russia inside access to EU meetings by calling Lavrov during breaks and sharing real-time updates, WaPo reports.

60968487

Dr Rachel Clarke @drrachelclarke.com · 22/03/2026

What an absolute BLAST of book this is! Pure joy from start to finish. The sheer exuberance of these rollicking, riotous, fabulous pages. Francis Spufford is a storytelling genius. Thank you for giving me so much fun. Read this book, everyone - make your life sing!

3545

Dr Rachel Clarke @drrachelclarke.com · 21/03/2026

Suboptimal for writing, but superlative for love #Harley 🩷

61322

Reposted by Dr Rachel Clarke

Acyn @acyn.bsky.social · 14/03/2026

McGowan: You're saying 46 Americans died, so we should attack this country. Here at home, 68,000 Americans die a year because they don't have health insurance. So, if we're going to spend billions of dollars on something…

677263627625

Reposted by Dr Rachel Clarke

Larry the Cat @number10cat.bsky.social · 14/03/2026

That's funny, I could have sworn he said something about not needing Royal Navy vessels because the war was already won. You broke it Don, you fix it.

64879732140

Reposted by Dr Rachel Clarke

Stephen Bush @stephenkb.bsky.social · 11/03/2026

When I said 'Kemi Badenoch is so partisan, under her the Tories would oppose puppies and kittens if Labour said something nice about them', I didn't mean it literally.

361335331

Dr Rachel Clarke @drrachelclarke.com · 08/03/2026

On #IWD2026, it feels fitting to sing the praises of this extraordinary book, read beautifully by Emma Thompson. If you’ve yet to read it, please do. Gisèle Pelicot’s strength, courage & basic human decency ring out from its pages - as does the grotesque misogyny of her courtroom experience...

Cover of Gisele Pelicot's book A Hymn to Life

416944

Dr Rachel Clarke @drrachelclarke.com · 08/03/2026

I’m sorry, what? How can Chelsea & Westminster Hospital’s official charity *possibly* accept a £1 million ‘donation’ - meaning, in reality, an attempt to buy public credibility - from the Sacklers? Yes, those Sacklers, whose company, Purdue Pharma, caused >800k deaths from pumping out opioids. 1/3

916380

Reposted by Dr Rachel Clarke

It is the Winter of Our Discontent… @21cpedagogy.bsky.social · 23/02/2026

Just a reminder that this stuff doesn’t stop until men acknowledge the problem and start calling each other out on it.

39937

Dr Rachel Clarke @drrachelclarke.com · 23/02/2026

This is one of the most heart-breaking & important articles I have ever read - from someone whose voices are so rarely heard, a teenaged girl. If you want to understand online misogyny in all its devastating impact, please read this shattering piece. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

theguardian.com

I am a 15-year-old girl. Let me show you the vile misogyny that confronts me on social media every day | Anonymous

Objectification, hate, rape threats: the politicians debating online abuse mean well, but to truly understand, they need to see what I see

30751391

Reposted by Dr Rachel Clarke

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 07/02/2026

Ossoff: "You're seeing what I'm seeing, right? The president posting about the Obamas like a Klansman."

9474316112247

Dr Rachel Clarke @drrachelclarke.com · 28/01/2026

Delighted to join @nicolakellywrites.bsky.social in Oxford on Tues April 14th to discuss her vitally important new book, 'Anywhere But Here' - a powerful exposé of Britain’s broken asylum system & how it fails us all. Please join us if you can. Tickets £6 from @blackwells.bsky.social.

1317

Reposted by Dr Rachel Clarke

Blackwell's Bookshops in Oxford @blackwelloxford.bsky.social · 28/01/2026

Tuesday 14th April, @nicolakellywrites.bsky.social will be talking about her book, 'Anywhere But Here' with @drrachelclarke.com - a powerful exposé of Britain’s broken asylum system and how it fails us all. Tickets just £6 on sale at @blackwells.bsky.social now

0126

Dr Rachel Clarke @drrachelclarke.com · 26/01/2026

Overjoyed to be hearing Jackie Morris & @robgmacfarlane.bsky.social discussing the magnificent Book of Birds in May in Oxford. Avocets, yellowhammers, dippers, dunnocks, kestrels, kingfishers… I cannot wait to hear Jackie & Robert sing their marvellous praises. www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/jackie-mor...

eventbrite.co.uk

Jackie Morris & Robert Macfarlane THE BOOK OF BIRDS

Join us at the Sheldonian Theatre for an evening with Jackie Morris & Robert MacFarlane talking about their latest collaboration.

1509

Reposted by Dr Rachel Clarke

Mehdi Hasan @mehdirhasan.bsky.social · 25/01/2026

The people who spent years defending and even lionizing Kyle Rittenhouse and Ashli Babbitt now want us to believe that an unarmed mother in her car and a disarmed nurse were domestic terrorists who deserved to be murdered by law enforcement.

7693758811751

Reposted by Dr Rachel Clarke

Laura Bassett @lebassett.bsky.social · 25/01/2026

The nurses are pissed

nursesonja • 7h
& Threads
Let us not forget, it was the same administration that reduced us to wearing trash bags as protective gear while we watched the hospital go up in flames around us during the pandemic that just murdered one of our own on the streets in broad daylight. As a nurse & as a person, I will never forgive. I will never forget. I will never back down. This was never about border control.
This is about total control.
O240 Q5 G34
→ 21

6463936210678

Dr Rachel Clarke @drrachelclarke.com · 25/01/2026

Horrified & heartbroken by the latest ICE murder in Minneapolis. Alex Pretti was an intensive care nurse & beloved son. Americans, please know how many millions of us here in the UK are sickened by Trump and his fascist thugs, and stand in solidarity with all of you resisting them 🇬🇧🇺🇸

12500129

Reposted by Dr Rachel Clarke

John Abernathy @john-abernathy.bsky.social · 17/01/2026

Photo by Pierre Lavie. Yes this is me. And I threw my Leica. It landed on the bass plate with hardly a scratch. Another Photographer grabbed it along with my phone and I was able to track him later. I was held face down tear gas deployed right in front of me and pepper sprayed directly into the eye.

12973969814527

Dr Rachel Clarke @drrachelclarke.com · 15/01/2026

"Ozempic is a miracle drug, a rebuke to a century of condemnation of those who are obese, and a profound challenge to the very definition of what it means to be human." A pleasure to review Aimee Donnellan's fascinating new book for @theguardian.com 💉 www.theguardian.com/books/2026/j...

theguardian.com

Off the Scales by Aimee Donnellan review – inside the Ozempic revolution

A fascinating deep dive into the discovery, use and implications of a revolutionary new treatment

13311

Reposted by Dr Rachel Clarke

Prof Rachel Oliver @profrachelgan.bsky.social · 12/01/2026

Following coverage over the weekend of Sir Paul Nurse's comments that suggested that the only reason that a Fellow should be expelled from @royalsociety.org is scientific misconduct, I have written to him to explain the risks such an attitude poses of increasing sexual harassment in STEM.

Dear Sir Paul,

Re: Royal Society Code of Conduct

I am sure that many scientists have written to you about the specific question of Elon Musk’s Fellowship and whether, under the Royal Society’s Code of Conduct, his retaining that Fellowship is appropriate. I will not rehash these issues. Instead, as a female scientist with extensive experience of activities aiming to increase equality, diversity and inclusion in the engineering and physical sciences sector, I am writing to you (in a personal capacity) to ask you to reconsider the statements you have recently made in this context to the UK press about the Royal Society’s Code of Conduct and how it is applied.

A 2018 report from the joint National Academies of the United States of America, concluded that “sexual harassment is common in academic science, engineering, and medicine” and that “greater than 50 percent of women faculty and staff and 20–50 percent of women students encounter or experience sexually harassing conduct in academia”. This report described codes of conduct that make clear that sexual harassment is unethical and will not be tolerated as a “powerful incentive for change”. The authors also noted that sexual harassment can have significant and damaging effects on the integrity of research. In my own praxis, I have found that clear and consistently-implemented codes of conduct that address these issues make female scientists and engineers safer, and allow them to focus more effectively on their research. For codes of conduct to have such a positive effect, it is vital that sanctions for actions which transgress the code are meaningful and substantial.

I was hence aghast to realise that in an interview with the Financial Times published on 9/1/26, you appear to have suggested that the Royal Society “should only expel fellows if their science proved “faulty or fraudulent or highly defective””. Moreover, in a further interview with the Guardian on 11/1/26 you suggested that the code “may need to be looked at again”, with the implication that your aim would be to remove the option of sanctions on Fellows for reasons not strictly related to faults or defects in their research.

I suggest that changing the Royal Society’s code of conduct so that the likelihood of serious sanctions for sexual harassment is reduced, would directly endanger women who interact with the Royal Society at events or otherwise, and would provide a licence to harass to the already powerful people on whom the Society bestows fellowship. The implications of your words - that under your leadership the only infringements of the code which are likely to receive the sanction of the Fellowship being removed are those related to research misconduct - already risk empowering harassers. You stated, in the Financial Times interview, that “there’s many bad people around, but they have made scientific advances”. Given this awareness of the possibility of bad actors in our scientific community, it is wholly irresponsible to suggest that the Royal Society would not act to sanction these people if they harass more vulnerable scientists.

I am hence writing to request that you retract any suggestion that the Society’s Code of Conduct should be changed so that the only reason a Fellow might be sanctioned by the removal of their Fellowship is “faulty or fraudulent or highly defective” research. This action is necessary to safeguard female scientists, a requirement placed on the Society by safeguarding legislation and UK statutory guidance.

Yours sincerely,

Professor Rachel A. Oliver.

25820299

Dr Rachel Clarke @drrachelclarke.com · 14/01/2026

Musk's X has turbo-charged the anti-science movement & amplified misinformation, racism, misogyny & hate. It permits the creation of digital child porn at one click. If these aren't grounds to eject him from the Royal Society, then what are? Shame on them. www.theguardian.com/science/2026...

theguardian.com

Royal Society president reignites Elon Musk row by defending lack of action

Society should only eject fellows for fraud or other defects in their research, says Paul Nurse

18393106

Reposted by Dr Rachel Clarke

Caroline Lucas @carolinelucas.bsky.social · 12/01/2026

This is beyond shocking - how can this be allowed to happen? Why on earth can’t they be released on bail? They have a right to a fair trial, appropriate medical treatment, & the removal of punitive Prison Service conditions. Govt’s ban on Palestine Action is simply intolerable

25716388

Dr Rachel Clarke @drrachelclarke.com · 12/01/2026

As the former pandemic vaccines minister, wasn’t Nadhim Zahawi “at all bothered that Reform had given a platform to a medic who said the king’s cancer had been caused by the Covid vaccine?” Apparently not. Savagely brilliant piece @mrjohncrace.bsky.social 🔥 www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

theguardian.com

Step forward, Nadhim Zahawi: the latest, highest-profile rat to flee the Tory ship | John Crace

As a member of Reform, Nadhim was adamant he had more to give. Even if none of us really wanted him

1324290

Dr Rachel Clarke @drrachelclarke.com · 26/12/2025

On this day eight years ago, my dearest Dad died at home of bowel cancer. His death was a good as it can possibly be - cocooned within the love of his wife, children and grandchildren, with his symptoms palliated beautifully. 🧵

529233

Dr Rachel Clarke @drrachelclarke.com · 17/12/2025

I've written this open letter to Keir Starmer & @rthonwesstreeting.bsky.social because, though I am desperately worried about NHS patients over the next 5 days, I know this strike by resident doctors is a desperate act of last resort. Please read.

An Open Letter to Keir Starmer & Wes Streeting as NHS Resident Doctors Commence Their 5-day Strike

17/12/25

Dear both,

In 2016, when junior doctors (as we were then called) went on strike against Jeremy Hunt’s reviled new contract, he deployed exactly the same tactics as you do today. He tried to divide and rule BMA leaders from their members, to turn public opinion against striking doctors, to smear us to the press at every opportunity. His favourite term of abuse was “militants”, though you favour words like “self-indulgent”, “irresponsible”, “dangerous”, “reckless,” “abandoning patients in their hour of greatest need.”

Jeremy Hunt learned from his mistakes. He has spoken publicly about bitterly regretting his bullying tactics. You, on the other hand, appear to have learned nothing from 2016. You assume the worst of the young doctors out on strike today – that they care only about self-enrichment, that they don’t give a damn about their patients.

You could not be more wrong. They hate striking, which is a desperate act of last resort. But what choice do they have?

Today’s young doctors face something beyond ludicrous - the modern farce that is NHS doctor unemployment. You, Wes Streeting, the man responsible for NHS workforce planning, lead a system so broken that there are doctors today literally unable to find jobs in the NHS you claim to be rebuilding. What a travesty in a country so desperately short of psychiatrists, GPs, radiologists, acute medics and NHS doctors of every kind.

You offer the creation of some (not enough) new training posts to striking doctors as though this is benevolent, gracious. Well it’s not. It is frankly grotesque to say, “I won’t pay you more, but I am willing to decrease (though not eradicate) the chances of you being unemployed next year.” Small wonder we’re losing resident doctors to Australia in droves.

Every attack and smear you deploy against resident doctors over the next five days only exacerbates their despair. Slo…

129635

Dr Rachel Clarke @drrachelclarke.com · 13/12/2025

The art of Saturday morning snoozing. Nobody does it quite like Queen Harley 🤎🐾

3832

Dr Rachel Clarke @drrachelclarke.com · 11/12/2025

Such a treat to hear Philip Pullman read from The Rose Field tonight in Oxford's magnificent @bodleian.ox.ac.uk. The conversation beautifully chaired by @richove.bsky.social. Every word captivating 🌹

Philip Pullman reading from The Rose Field

72484

Dr Rachel Clarke @drrachelclarke.com · 11/12/2025

Glorious to hear the Bodley’s Librarian Richard Ovenden interview Philip Pullman tonight at @bodleian.ox.ac.uk - including this priceless anecdote about some exceptional timing from Philip’s recent anaesthetist on the small matter of Dust … 💉🩺🤣

1465

Dr Rachel Clarke @drrachelclarke.com · 28/11/2025

It was an absolute pleasure to be a guest on @assocanaes.bsky.social's podcast to discuss the power of storytelling with anaesthetist Joe Pick. We talked about the essential humanity of healthcare & the need to ensure that humanity isn't stripped away by tech & spreadsheets 💙 Links below 👇

0255

Dr Rachel Clarke @drrachelclarke.com · 28/11/2025

🧵/ Today a damning parliamentary report on the state of palliative care services in England was published. Services are patchy, underfunded & “ill-equipped” to address end-of-life needs. Bereavement support is “frequently inaccessible. The palliative care workforce is in a “critical” situation”.

510062

Reposted by Dr Rachel Clarke

Carole Cadwalladr @carolecadwalla.bsky.social · 25/11/2025

I’m a past winner of the Orwell Prize & won partly because I exposed Vote Leave’s unlawful activities. Michael Gove was its co-convener & refused to answer a single q. He’s now a judge of the prize & our world is truly one that Orwell would recognise bylinetimes.com/2025/11/25/m...

bylinetimes.com

Michael Gove Made Orwell Prize Judge Despite Record of Attacking Journalists and Dodging Scrutiny

Critics say "Orwell would have enjoyed the irony" of the former Conservative minister's appointment

9427021133

Reposted by Dr Rachel Clarke

Rutger Bregman @rutgerbregman.com · 25/11/2025

I wish I didn’t have to share this. But the BBC has decided to censor my first Reith Lecture. They deleted the line in which I describe Donald Trump as “the most openly corrupt president in American history.” /1

337100455078

Reposted by Dr Rachel Clarke

Stuart Hedges @stuarthedges.eurosky.social · 23/11/2025

This article is quietly and forensically furious at the bluster and the lies. Lord knows I'd love to forget about covid but we mustn't - the lessons from this are too important for next time - and there will be a next time.

16825

Reposted by Dr Rachel Clarke

Anne Applebaum @anneapplebaum.wsocial.eu · 22/11/2025

This is not a peace plan. It is a proposal that weakens Ukraine and divides America from Europe, preparing the way for a larger war in the future. In the meantime, it benefits unnamed Russian and American investors, at the expense of everyone else. www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/1...

theatlantic.com

Trump Has a Recipe for War and Corruption, Not Peace

Who would benefit from the White House’s 28-point proposal for Ukraine?

32192354246