iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

JD Roberts @jdroberts.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Meadow grasshoppers (Corthippus paralellus)! I've hardly seen any of these this year - I suspect the dry summer hasn't been good for them - so it was very nice to find a few at Lindow. Hoping they bounce back this month!

A green grasshopper sat on bell heather in a sunbeam, looking at the camera

A green grasshopper with red legs, dark wings and brown eyes facing right, perched on a spring of green and pink heather

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JD Roberts @jdroberts.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Anthropocentrism? I 'ardly know 'em!

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JD Roberts @jdroberts.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Finally had a long-awaited and much-needed day off, so of course I headed into the woods with the Monotron

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JD Roberts @jdroberts.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

I don't much worry about the risk of human extinction; I worry about the kind of misanthropy which leads people to believe human extinction would be an acceptable outcome

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JD Roberts @jdroberts.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

Me: I'm actually kinda excited to apply for this job, it seems interesting and enjoyable, and I think I'd be good at it Employer: Great! Now fill out this 20-page form duplicating all the information which is already on your CV

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JD Roberts @jdroberts.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

Three random thoughts on AI I needed to get out of my head: 1) the immense resources which have been poured into LLMs have created a need to justify the expenditure as producing something 'superhuman'. The hype machine has backed itself into a corner where it can only justify itself by further hype

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JD Roberts @jdroberts.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

Mini-tour! I'm very excited to be hitting the road (or more accurately, the railway) for a lovely duo of gigs with some very lovely people in September! 7PM Thursday, 10th September - Walthamstowe Trades Hall, London 7PM Sunday, 13th September - Bishops' House, Sheffield

Text reads: JD Roberts upcoming shows

Thursday 10th September
Walthamstow Trades Hall
London
7PM

Sunday 13th September
Bishops’ House
Sheffield
7PM

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Reposted by JD Roberts

Katherine Arnold @arnoldke.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

Very happy to see another article out in the world! Part of a special issue edited by the wonderful @sabinehanke.bsky.social & Anne Sophie Overkamp, from a fantastic (and very hot) workshop we had in Tübingen back in 2024 #envhist #envhum #histsci Available open access: doi.org/10.1002/bewi...

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JD Roberts @jdroberts.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

One of the things I like about using the long delay and reverse reverb is it forces you to take the music slowly, and ask yourself the only question which matters in music: which note do I play next?

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JD Roberts @jdroberts.bsky.social · 15/08/2026

A poem I wrote on a very quiet bat survey last night: Above silver stars shine serene Nor is aught else to be seen Save shadowed trees and streetlamp glow Illuminating weary ecologists below

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JD Roberts @jdroberts.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

Maybe I'm just underslept from working nights at my non-history job, but the question of whether AI can do historical research (it can't) seems a bit secondary to me when so few trained historians are doing history because there's no jobs in it

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JD Roberts @jdroberts.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

One thing I think environmental historians need to shout about is that we see dramatic effects on the course of history arising through climatic shifts *which are tiny in comparison to those we are now beginning to experience*

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JD Roberts @jdroberts.bsky.social · 08/08/2026

Some people meditate when they need to relax; I get the instruments out

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JD Roberts @jdroberts.bsky.social · 06/08/2026

Did I mention I had a new track out? And that it's about a dragon living in an ancient burial mound? jdrobertsmusic.bandcamp.com/track/the-dr...

jdrobertsmusic.bandcamp.com

The Dragon is not a Metaphor, by JD Roberts

track by JD Roberts

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JD Roberts @jdroberts.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

New single! It’s time for some minimal fantasy ambient, blending deep, calm drones with an air of mystery. Sit back, relax, and descend into the dimly-lit barrow… jdrobertsmusic.bandcamp.com/track/the-dr...

jdrobertsmusic.bandcamp.com

The Dragon is not a Metaphor, by JD Roberts

track by JD Roberts

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JD Roberts @jdroberts.bsky.social · 25/07/2026

I'm not quite sure whether ambient reflects the peace and calm of the natural world, or prefigures a calmer, more reflective human world which we're yet to build

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JD Roberts @jdroberts.bsky.social · 23/07/2026

I still say the Greater Manchester Combined Authority was a poor choice of name: we should have called it the Mancunian Union

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JD Roberts @jdroberts.bsky.social · 21/07/2026

Sloe bug, nestled in thistledown

A metallic purple and bronze-green bug with stripy antennae sat on a yellow-white bed of thistle seeds

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JD Roberts @jdroberts.bsky.social · 17/07/2026

I've just updated the Ambient Leeds spotify playlist with some of the wonderful artists we've had so far this year! At some point I need to figure out how to copy playlists over to a less evil platform, but one thing at a time open.spotify.com/playlist/6IG...

open.spotify.com

Ambient Leeds

Playlist · Jon · 67 items · 5 saves

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JD Roberts @jdroberts.bsky.social · 14/07/2026

The hills are burning; my house smells of smoke. I'm trying to channel my grief for my land, its people, its animals, its plants, into my music, but I'm also grappling with a deep uncurrent of rage at the shills who turn a blind eye to their country burning to repeat their mindless talking points

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JD Roberts @jdroberts.bsky.social · 11/07/2026

Large skipper. The patterning on their wings always puts me in mind of a stained-glass window

A small butterfly with a slate-grey body and orange-brown wings with dark veins running across them. The centre of the wing is a deep fiery orange, but fades to a lighter orange before changing to an earthier warm brown colour. It is sat on a green leaf

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JD Roberts @jdroberts.bsky.social · 04/07/2026

My one-line manifesto for Extinction Studies: It must never be possible for someone to say "yes, it's a study of extinction, but is it Extinction Studies?"

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JD Roberts @jdroberts.bsky.social · 03/07/2026

Yay, a new paper on the history of one of my favourite parasites! And a long overdue English-language summary of the medieval Islamic sources too! jcpres.com/storage/uplo...

jcpres.com

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JD Roberts @jdroberts.bsky.social · 01/07/2026

Common green grasshopper, Omocestes viridulus

A bright green grasshopper perched on a browning red clover flower

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JD Roberts @jdroberts.bsky.social · 29/06/2026

Soldier beetle. When I was looking back through my photos from yesterday I found the compositional simplicity of this one very satisfying!

An orange red beetle with black eyes, antennae and wingtips perched on a yellow grass stalk reaching diagonally upwards and rightwards across a green background

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JD Roberts @jdroberts.bsky.social · 28/06/2026

Common green grasshopper (Omocestes viridulus)

A brown grasshopper seen from above and behind. It is light brown with black and white markings on the pronotum and large brown eyes. It is gripping a green grass stalk which rises upwards and diagonally left across the frame. The left hand side of the frame is filled with green vetch leaves

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Reposted by JD Roberts

tim brown @parasitetim.bsky.social · 26/06/2026

What is a parasite? Why are they so important for ecosystems and hosts? And what can we do to protect the 1000s of species at risk of extinction? A few weeks ago I spoke with a BBC Science Focus podcast about why parasites are awesome and you can listen HERE: open.spotify.com/episode/5864...

open.spotify.com

How parasites play a vital role as caretakers of Earth’s ecosystems

Instant Genius · Episode

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Reposted by JD Roberts

Leverhulme Trust @leverhulme.ac.uk · 25/06/2026

Tune into this episode of the Edges of Extinction podcast @extinctionleeds.bsky.social to hear about insect extinctions, what these might mean for the world, and how they can be averted. 🎙️ media.leverhulme.ac.uk/podcast/wonk... #InsectWeek

media.leverhulme.ac.uk

A Wonkier World

In this first episode of the Extinction Studies Doctoral Training Programme podcast series ‘Edges of Extinction’, Sicily Fiennes and Diane Nelson talk to Chris Hassall about insect extinctions, what…

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JD Roberts @jdroberts.bsky.social · 24/06/2026

Took a trip to Stavanger in Norway last week: here's one of the things I made whilst I was there Most of my music is about place, so I always like to take the chance to improvise in situ, and respond to the place and the moment I'm in

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JD Roberts @jdroberts.bsky.social · 23/06/2026

I think there's a moral case for public transport, which is that driving makes you a worse person. No-one's a bigger arsehole than when they're behind the wheel

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JD Roberts @jdroberts.bsky.social · 11/06/2026

Thinking about lonely seashores and rock-strewn beaches

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Reposted by JD Roberts

Leverhulme Centre for Anthropocene Biodiversity @anthropocenebio.bsky.social · 11/06/2026

Tracey Hayes reflects on the cultural inflections of extinction in her latest PhD chapter. If the role of the archive is to preserve cultural traditions, what can they tell us about extinct creatures & what are the challenges of seeking out the extinct in the archive? www.york.ac.uk/anthropocene...

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JD Roberts @jdroberts.bsky.social · 09/06/2026

Taking a moment to relax after a busy day

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JD Roberts @jdroberts.bsky.social · 07/06/2026

People always say phrygian modes sound dark, but I'm not so sure

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JD Roberts @jdroberts.bsky.social · 05/06/2026

The British political class: Why are so many young people out of work? This is deeply mysterious! All job ads rn: Minimum 3 years experience required

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JD Roberts @jdroberts.bsky.social · 01/06/2026

Common blue on birds-foot trefoil. The colours are just gorgeous!

A butterfly with pale lilac-blue wings and a deep blue body perched on a cluster of yellow flowers above green grass

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JD Roberts @jdroberts.bsky.social · 31/05/2026

Corizus hyoscyami. I'd never seen this bug before yesterday, but it's pretty spectacular! That's one of the things I love about wildlife - you can be in the most normal, innocuous place, somewhere you go every week, and still find something completely new to you

A red-and-black bug perching on a green grass stalk against a green background. The stalk sits diagonally across the frame from the bottom left to the top right, with the bug in the centre. The bug's body is red, with black spots and black wings and legs. Its eyes are large and black

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JD Roberts @jdroberts.bsky.social · 30/05/2026

Green hairstreak - one of my absolute favourite butterflies! A dweller in lonely moors, bogs and heaths, a flash of brown dancing over the bilberry revealing a dazzling metallic coppery green when it alights upon the leaves. Always a delight to see!

A metallic green butterfly perched on green bilberry leaves facing left. The wings are the colour of corroded copper, with a border the colour of polished copper. The body is covered in silver hair, the eyes are large and black, and the antennae are black with white stripes

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Reposted by JD Roberts

Northern Environmental History Network @northernenvhistory.bsky.social · 26/05/2026

We've been asked to share a CfP for a workshop organised by a group of historians at Leeds. Papers on a variety of topics related to the Environmental History of Northern England are invited: the orgnaisers hope to develop some papers presented into a special issue of @northernhistory.bsky.social

Poster for CfP: a man cuts peat, with peat drying in the background. The text, overlaid on the image in two text boxes, reads:

The Environmental History of the North of England
School of History, University of Leeds

Themes presented could include but are not limited to: the history of water management schemes, land-use change, degradation of landscapes, the environmental impacts of urban expansion, and the emergence of conservation and restoration efforts. Papers relating to any historical period are welcome.

Paper titles and a 150-word abstract should be sent to the organizers by Friday, 17 July.

Nir Arielli: n.arielli@leeds.ac.uk
Anne Caldwell: A.Caldwell@leeds.ac.uk
Alex Worsfold: hyamaw@leeds.ac.uk

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Toby Buckle @polphilpod.bsky.social · 24/05/2026

the anti-trans bathroom ban is very bad—it's also a sign uk democracy is failing my latest with @liberalcurrents.com www.liberalcurrents.com/the-end-of-t...

liberalcurrents.com

The End of Trans Rights In the UK Is the Start Of Democratic Collapse

It's never just one minority.

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JD Roberts @jdroberts.bsky.social · 23/05/2026

Summer has me returning to major keys...they always sound warm and bright to me, somehow, and the weather has been too, today

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JD Roberts @jdroberts.bsky.social · 20/05/2026

Another watery world, living to the rhythmn to the tempestuous tides: experiments in rockpool photography. No scuba-diving required, though admittedly it did involve a fair bit of lying on hard rocks at awkward angles

An underwater scene with leafy red seaweed clinging to the sides of grey-white rocks. A limpit sits in the top-right corner

Leafy red and green seaweed either side of an s-shaped fissure running across the centre of the photo

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JD Roberts @jdroberts.bsky.social · 14/05/2026

Some wonderful reflections from Dmitry on our album 'Clarinets of the Moon', a year on from its release bayunthecat.substack.com/p/clarinets-...

bayunthecat.substack.com

Clarinets of the Moon

A Year Later

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JD Roberts @jdroberts.bsky.social · 13/05/2026

One of the things that depresses me most about academia is the speed at which exciting interdisciplinary endeavours calcify into new microdisciplines with their own set methods, jargon and shibboleth citations every bit as rigid and narrow-minded as the disciplines they were originally challenging

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JD Roberts @jdroberts.bsky.social · 11/05/2026

My tuppence on the history-writing debate is that what we would really benefit from is paid reading time. There's a hell of a lot of good research out there that's barely been read because the only people with time to read are PGRs who are themselves already being overwhelmed by pressure to publish

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JD Roberts @jdroberts.bsky.social · 10/05/2026

Common lizard (Zootoca vivipara)

A greenish-brown lizard facing left, basking on sandy-brown soil surrounded by green leaves

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