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Ali Messer

@freereed59.net
8.7K followers 23K following 8.1K posts

History. Trad music. Teacher Education. #HistoryEducation #TeacherEducation #UKteaching #SSChat #ContraDancing 📒🕰🎓🗺 No DMs unless we talk irl. intheoryandinpractice.wordpress.com… linktr.ee/Freereed59

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Reposted by Ali Messer
Greg Jenner (Historian) @gregjenner.bsky.social · 8h
A cheery reminder you can now watch visualised editions of You’re Dead To Me on YouTube outside the UK (and on BBC iPlayer in the UK) This episode on the history of underwear was one of my all-time faves, with amazing guests @vicmmic.bsky.social & Prof Serena Dyer youtu.be/T5X4LV46ZVA?...
youtu.be
What People Wore BEFORE Underwear Existed | You're Dead To Me
YouTube video by BBC Podcasts
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Karl Bode @karlbode.com · 11h
Meta's "Muse" launched with a nasty zero day flaw that gave hackers the ability to spy on Mac users, openly gives root access to people pretending to be Muse agents, and invited strangers over to another guy's house without telling him
karlbode.com
Meta's Latest AI Product Is A Terrifying And Hilarious Mess
Authoritarian-friendly mass surveillance has never been more adorable
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Kat Abughazaleh @katmabu.bsky.social · 10h
A man replied to this saying in earnest that women need to get organized and fight for our rights and men will follow. We did that. We do that. We mobilized the largest single day protest in global history on every continent and yet I have fewer rights than my mom did at my age.
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Make Votes Matter @makevotesmatter.bsky.social · 16h
💥BREAKING: Andy Burnham announces a National Commission on Electoral Reform. This is a historic moment. The era of First Past the Post is coming to an end. It's time to transform politics and make all votes count. It's time for Proportional Representation.
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Parody Nigel Farage @parodypm.bsky.social · 12h
Andy Burnham is coming for your pension! By... er... increasing it by slightly less. Whereas Reform will scrap it completely.
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Parody Nigel Farage @parodypm.bsky.social · 11h
Join me on GB News where I will be lying about what Andy Burnham said, pretending to give a shit about pensioners and definitely not mentioning any £5m gifts, illegal donations or police investigations.
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Robert Saunders @robertsaunders.bsky.social · 10h
Burnham's speech marks perhaps the best opportunity to replace First Past the Post since 1918. I joined @jonathanfreedland.bsky.social & @lucyfisher.ft.com recently on "The Long View" to explore the history of electoral reform in Britain - & the lessons we might learn. www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...
bbc.co.uk
BBC Radio 4 - The Long View, Electoral reform
Jonathan Freedland takes the long view of electoral reform.
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The New Arab @thenewarab.bsky.social · 19h
A 94-year-old Jewish human rights barrister was among more than 80 people arrested outside the Labour Party conference in Liverpool while demonstrating in support of Palestine Action. The arrests came as Ed Miliband told critics of the government’s policy on Palestine: “We hear you. You were right"
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Sunder Katwala (sundersays) @sundersays.bsky.social · 13h
Later this year - November? - Burnham will set out the range of options for the UK over the next decade, to seek a consensus. Our @britishfuture.bsky.social report shows a broad majority for a closer UK-EU relationship with more mixed views of how close to go & on at what pace.
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Sam Freedman @samfr.bsky.social · 10h
Was interviewed by a US journalist today who asked if we were all panicking about terrorists at Fairford, which ended with me trying to explain dogging.
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Gabe Ortíz @tusk81.bsky.social · 15h
“When food prices go up because farm workers go missing, that’s the ICE Tax. When construction grinds to a halt because no one is left to build homes, that’s the ICE Tax. When our elders can’t get the care they deserve because their caretakers and nurses are gone, that’s the ICE Tax.” #EndtheICETax
americasvoicecnn.substack.com
CHC Chair: ‘ICE Is Not Just Busting The Budget, It’s Wrecking Our Economy’
Congressional Hispanic Caucus members joined America’s Voice to call for an end to the ICE Tax that’s making the lives of all working families more expensive.
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Dr. Sarah Parcak @indyfromspace.bsky.social · 13h
Egyptology hive mind: there is an image from the New Kingdom depicting a black Vizier with his Egyptian wife and family from a papyrus/ tomb and I cannot find it anywhere. Help! Thank you.
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Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 15h
holy shit -- turns out Jack Smith went to a Hawkeyes game in Maryland but Schmitt's team is so reckless they concocted a conspiracy theory that Smith was actually in Atlanta seeing a Hawks game and colluding with Fani Willis. Klobuchar points out to Schmitt, "you have your teams wrong."
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Zaggs @zaggsz.bsky.social · 13h
And yet, it gets worse bsky.app/profile/atru...
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History Teacher Educators' Network @htenuk.bsky.social · 14h
FINAL SHOUT OUT FOR THIS WEBINAR TOMORROW AT 4pm FOR #ITT #PGCE #SCITT #TeachFirst #historyteacher s. Please sign up via @histassoc.bsky.social website at the link below. #HistoryEducation #TeacherEducation #History #UKTeaching #UKEd #EduSky
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Ali Messer @freereed59.net · 14h
youtube.com/playlist?lis... added some shorts from the Paris Contra organised by @laurtuck.bsky.social Details of events shared here: sites.google.com/site/america...
youtube.com
Box of Frogs Linda Game and Ali Messer - YouTube
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Dorian Lynskey @dorianlynskey.bsky.social · 15h
The news of Michael Kiwanuka’s stroke is really upsetting but sensitively handled in this interview. He’s a great artist and a lovely human being and his new album is terrific. I hope he gets to record and perform again www.theguardian.com/music/2026/s...
theguardian.com
‘Everyone can relate to pain and struggle. So I’m sharing mine’: Michael Kiwanuka on life after his devastating stroke
The Mercury prize winner hasn’t been able to go home since falling ill last summer. In his only interview, he opens up about the ‘poignancy’ of finally releasing the new album his stroke shelved
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derek guy @dieworkwear.bsky.social · 15h
Tweed is such a beautiful fabric to wear this time of year because it produces, in Dolly Parton's phrasing, a coat of many colors. Even a solid-colored brown is not just brown, but bits of red, blue, and yellow to produce something that looks lifted off the Scottish landscape.
There are two photos taped together. The top shows a brown stone building with a brown thatched roof. It's surrounded by green grass, stone walkways, and blue-gray sea. Below is a checked brown tweed that reflects the colors in the landscape above it. There are two photos taped together. The one at te top shows a rocky hillside with green and straw-colored grass, gray rocks, and a tan sandy beach below. The blue waters are crashing at the shore. Below is a green herringbone tweed that reflects the colors in the landscape above it. There are two photos taped together. The top shows a field of green and straw colored fields with bits of purple flowers. Below is a a series of checked brown tweed that reflect the colors in the landscape above it. A swatch book of solid-colored tweeds. The green tweed has visible flecks of red, gold, and blue.
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Guy Shrubsole @guyshrubsole.bsky.social · 17h
Burnham: “Go to almost any town across Britain and you will see plenty of empty homes. We will give councils the power to take control of them and bring them back into the public housing stock.” www.theguardian.com/politics/liv...
theguardian.com
Burnham says ‘Britain has been on wrong path for long time’ in first speech to party conference as PM – UK politics live
PM expected to call for a debate on the pension triple lock
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Rosamunde Van Brakel @rosamundevb.bsky.social · 17h
Freedom of information request finds six-month trial cost £320,000, used almost 100 police hours and led to just one – incorrect – alert www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
theguardian.com
Trial of live facial recognition in London stations leads to a false positive and no arrests
Freedom of information request finds six-month trial cost £320,000, used almost 100 police hours and led to just one – incorrect – alert
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Texas Tribune @texastribune.org · 28/09/2026
Breaking: The Texas Tribune has identified the ICE agent who witnesses say fired through an open van window and killed 52-year-old Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in Houston nearly three months ago.
texastribune.org
ICE agent who shot Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in Houston identified
The federal government has withheld his identification, even as major state and local law enforcement agencies across the country typically identify officers involved in shootings on the job soon afte...
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Lauren Ashley Davis @laurenmeidasa.bsky.social · 17h
“The charges against President Trump were the result of the evidence,” the ex-federal prosecutor wrote. “Grand juries in two separate districts reached this conclusion based on his actions, as alleged in the indictments they returned.” thehill.com/homenews/sen...
thehill.com
Jack Smith stresses strength of Trump cases, says he will not be ‘silenced’ by threats
Former special counsel Jack Smith stressed in prepared remarks that it was the evidence tied to President Trump’s own actions that prompted him to bring charges against Trump. The opening statement…
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Anna Holmes @annabookwriter.bsky.social · 17h
I see this all the time: “oh, I just use grammarly” or “I just use [service with “optional” AI] without the AI parts.” There is no “without the AI parts”. Unless you have scoured the TOS and can absolutely verify a separation, they’re all being fed to the beast (and I don’t trust companies).
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Ali Messer @freereed59.net · 19h
#HistoryEducation
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The London Economic @thelondoneconomic.bsky.social · 19h
Daniel Thomas, also known as Danny Tommo, has been remanded in custody at Portsmouth Crown Court.
thelondoneconomic.com
Far-right activist Danny Tommo refused bail ahead of trial next year
Far-right anti-migrant activist Daniel Thomas, also known as Danny Tommo, has been remanded in custody ahead of a trial next year.
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Hannah Vardit @hannahvardit.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
i worry that men think being A Good Guy is dramatically and heroically intervening on behalf of an endangered woman and then being publicly rewarded on a grand scale when actually being A Good Guy is just usually saying, “hey man that’s not funny” or “wow that’s fucked up” and there is no reward
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Mike Boylan-Kolchin @mbkplus.bsky.social · 19h
It’s like they’re having some Mr. Beast competition about who can be the shittiest loser on Facebook, and the competition is FIERCE
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Prem Sikka @premnsikka.bsky.social · 22h
In 2021, UK income tax personal allowance frozen at £12,570, 26.6m paid income tax at the basic rate of 20%. 2026-27: 31.4m liable to pay income tax at 20%. In 2021, 6.47m pensioners paid income tax. 2026-27: 9.58m pensioners liable to income tax. Govt must relieve poverty. End stealth tax.
leftfootforward.org
This is how the Chancellor can increase the personal allowance and lift millions out of hardship
Sustained economic growth can’t be achieved without a major boost to the purchasing power of the bottom 50% of the population
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Alisa Bokulich @alisabokulich.bsky.social · 20h
The gorgeous history-inspired, decorative-icing biscuits (cookies) from the super-talented @ellamchawk.bsky.social are back! 🤩 Look at that exquisite detail, and such a cool research project too... 🗃️ 🍜
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Ali Messer @freereed59.net · 19h
#HistoryEducation is there a school open evening activity here? #historyteacher
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Schools History Project - SHP @1972shp.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
So much going on from @1972shp.bsky.social at the moment! Regional forums popping up all over the place, a superb SHP Understanding event coming soon at @britishlibrary.bsky.social and resources being developed from older projects!
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Sue Cowley @suecowley.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Very interesting thread and replies.
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Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 22h
'In his [Ivison's] view, the government is avoiding the bigger issues of what universities are for and who should pay for them.' It would help if universities would ask (and answer) that 1st big question in public rather than just parroting government. That's what institutional autonomy is for.
researchprofessionalnews.com
To save UK higher education, start talking about knowledge - Research Professional News
Until debate on universities foregrounds their core purposes, their woes will deepen, says Margot Finn
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Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
'The Westminster government’s contribution to funding domestic undergraduates studying in England fell in real terms from £8.9 billion in 2012-13 to just £3.3bn in 2024-25, a drop of more than 60 per cent, an analysis has found.'
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Research Professional News @resprofnews.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Government funds just 16p in every £1 spent on teaching. Balance of higher education funding now “badly out of whack”, says Universities UK chief. www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-u...
researchprofessionalnews.com
Government funds just 16p in every £1 spent on teaching - Research Professional News
Balance of higher education funding now “badly out of whack”, says Universities UK chief
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Ali Messer @freereed59.net · 20h
Wow.
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Roland Smith @rolandmcs.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Why might that be, Telegraph?
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David Higham @oldtrotter.bsky.social · 23h
As a matter of logic you cannot be “hard working” if you rely on the state pension. I hope ministers will keep (start?) explaining that the state pension isn’t paid out of an investment fund but by the contributions of those currently working.
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Ian Dunt @iandunt.bsky.social · 21h
Be still my beating heart
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Sam Freedman @samfr.bsky.social · 22h
New post from @ldfreedman.bsky.social On the still ongoing, horrific, but little covered war in Sudan. How it illustrates the difficulties of ending wars, and whether there is any route to ending this one. (Free to read) samf.substack.com/p/the-sudan-...
samf.substack.com
The Sudan War: is there any way out?
Since April 2023 Sudan has been consumed by a vicious war that gets far too little attention in the West.
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Urban History @urbanhistory.bsky.social · 21h
📚 "This is a book of outstanding contributions to the field of economic history, skilfully bound together by a sophisticated and well-conceived set of editorial principles" Ágnes Flóra reviews Szende, Szívós and Weisz (eds), Cities and Economy in Europe 🔗 doi.org/10.1017/S096...
doi.org
Katalin Szende, Erika Szívós and Boglárka Weisz (eds.), Cities and Economy in Europe: Markets and Trade on the Margins from the Middle Ages to the Present. London: Routledge, 2024. xix + 339 pp. 77 fi...
Katalin Szende, Erika Szívós and Boglárka Weisz (eds.), Cities and Economy in Europe: Markets and Trade on the Margins from the Middle Ages to the Present. London: Routledge, 2024. xix + 339 pp. 77 fi...
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Jess McCabe @jessmccabe.bsky.social · 21h
Burnham wants a new generation of council housing. But what are local authorities building already? Are they anything like ready to step up to that job? The answers can be found in my latest survey of every council in Britain: www.insidehousing.co.uk/insight/bigg...
insidehousing.co.uk
Biggest Council House Builders 2026
Which councils built the most homes in Britain last year? Jess McCabe reveals Inside Housing’s exclusive data
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Jess McCabe @jessmccabe.bsky.social · 21h
But anyway, that is for another day. An indication that grown is possible is that the top council builder this year (a London council) didn't even appear in the top 50 last year.
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Jess McCabe @jessmccabe.bsky.social · 21h
The top of the chart is absolutely dominated by London councils, with Scotland and Wales making a good show of it too. (Northern Irish councils aren't able to perform any housing functions for historic reasons linked to discrimination)
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Ali Messer @freereed59.net · 21h
#HistoryEducation
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Ali Messer @freereed59.net · 21h
Becoming Benjamin Lay - Film Screening and Conversation with Marcus Rediker Date: 29 sept • 00:00 www.eventbrite.com/e/becoming-b...
eventbrite.com
Becoming Benjamin Lay - Film Screening and Conversation with Marcus Rediker
Marcus Rediker (historian, playwright, and co-director/producer) will present the documentary film and participate in a Q&A.
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Ali Messer @freereed59.net · 21h
'protest outside the conference on Monday by a leading trade union called for migrant workers not to be made scapegoats for the failure to invest in public services.' www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026... or used to counter 'legitimate' concerns based on disinformation
theguardian.com
Shabana Mahmood hints she could water down plans on leave to remain
Home secretary under pressure over changes that would make it harder for foreign workers to claim permanent residence
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Ali Messer @freereed59.net · 21h
#HistoryEducation
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Nico Mara-McKay 🦇 (they/iel) @nicomaramckay.com · 28/09/2026
This Friday I will be presenting a conference paper on the effects of nonbinary erasure on historical research at Critical Feminist Histories in Canada. 🌈 🗃️ 🏳️‍⚧️
patreon.com
See me at the Critical Feminist Histories in Canada conference | Ephemeral Record | Nico Mara-McKay
I will be presenting a paper at the Canadian Committee on Women's and Gender History – Comité canadien de l'histoire des femmes et du genre'
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Oana Sorescu-Iudean @oana-sorsk-id.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Such a nice way to start your day! The introduction to our SI on Maternity in ECE has just appeared in the History of the Family, #skystorians. Thanks to @eurohealthhist.bsky.social @kindkovacs.bsky.social & Andrea Griffante www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
tandfonline.com
Mothers, infants, and the state in the twentieth century: an introduction to the history of maternity in Central and Eastern Europe
Throughout the long twentieth century, maternity in Central Eastern Europe (CEE) has witnessed enormous transformations characterized by the reshaping of mothers’ ascribed and expected roles, along...
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