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Dr. Jude Seal - 'Unfunded Hobbyist'

@judeseal.bsky.social
1.6K followers 710 following 1.6K posts

PhD. from Royal Holloway, University of London. Repost ≠ Endorsement / All views my own. Primary Research: History/Archaeology of Medicine, Disability, Disease, Trauma. Palæopathology. Religion. 'Theorist' & 'Massive Autodidact'

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Dr. Jude Seal - 'Unfunded Hobbyist' @judeseal.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
I'll just leave this here... www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
Bayeux Tapestry copy found in school attic in Uffington
The embroidery is believed to have been hand-stitched in the 1960s by unknown artists.
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Dr. Jude Seal - 'Unfunded Hobbyist' @judeseal.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
From the Gospel According to John -  Chapter 11 Verse 35: Jesus Wept.
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Dr. Jude Seal - 'Unfunded Hobbyist' @judeseal.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
Somewhat ironic this was my most recent post on TikTok before the news about the Russian plague cass broke in English language media. A little history of Doctor Beak. #plague #plaguehistory #apparentlyimacontentcreatornow?
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Reposted by Dr. Jude Seal - 'Unfunded Hobbyist'
Monica H Green @monicamedhist.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
"Not every outbreak is a pandemic. Not every deadly pathogen is a pandemic pathogen. And not every unanswered question should be filled with the worst possible answer." Folks, follow @boghuma.bsky.social. This is the expertise & clarity we need right now. Signed: A plague historian.
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Dr. Jude Seal - 'Unfunded Hobbyist' @judeseal.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
Quote repost with a photo from whatever device you're using without explanation.
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Dr. Jude Seal - 'Unfunded Hobbyist' @judeseal.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
BBC News - US 'watching closely' after plague researcher dies in Russia www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
US 'watching closely' after plague researcher dies in Russia
Donald Trump says the US was looking "very strongly" at the case of a lab technician who died at a research centre in Siberia.
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Reposted by Dr. Jude Seal - 'Unfunded Hobbyist'
British Library @britishlibrary.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Four exciting opportunities to co-supervise a PhD studentship with the Library We’re seeking proposals from academics who can bring their own expertise to four fascinating research projects exploring our collection and programme. Sound like you? Find out more and apply here link.bl.uk/9vj
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Dr. Jude Seal - 'Unfunded Hobbyist' @judeseal.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Also media types if you want the best person to talk to about actual plague history, then the person you are looking for is @monicamedhist.bsky.social
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Reposted by Dr. Jude Seal - 'Unfunded Hobbyist'
Steve Bullock @guitarmoog.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Fuck-, and I cannot emphasise this enough, -ing hell! That is some nazi shit right there.
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Dr. Jude Seal - 'Unfunded Hobbyist' @judeseal.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Worth noting the New York Post uses 'black plague' rather than the more common (and accurate) nomenclature. *eyeroll*
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Dr. Jude Seal - 'Unfunded Hobbyist' @judeseal.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
There are going to be a lot of articles making questionable comparisons around this news story. A key point is that there are around 1000 cases of #plague globally per year with around 200 deaths. I really must find time to finish writing the Plague Media Toolkit. nypost.com/2026/10/03/w...
nypost.com
Putin regime accused of Russian black plague cover-up after scientist dies amid possible spread
A deadly black plague outbreak has reportedly erupted in Russia — killing a young scientist, forcing nearly 200 people into isolation and triggering accusations that Vladimir Putin’s re…
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Dr. Jude Seal - 'Unfunded Hobbyist' @judeseal.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
📣 Medieval Sanitation News Klaxon 📣 www.heritagedaily.com/2026/10/exca...
heritagedaily.com
Excavations reveal Bishop’s Palace and Medieval monastery secrets at Posa Hill
Archaeologists working at Posa Hill near Zeitz, Germany, have uncovered new evidence of an early medieval castle, an imposing bishop’s palace and sophisticated infrastructure belonging to a Benedictin...
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Dr. Jude Seal - 'Unfunded Hobbyist' @judeseal.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Reform UK-run council boycotts reporter after row over potholes | Reform UK | The Guardian www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
theguardian.com
Reform UK-run council boycotts reporter after row over potholes
Derbyshire county council accused of ‘worst kind of double speak’ as it denies banning local democracy journalist but says it will ignore his inquiries
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Dr. Jude Seal - 'Unfunded Hobbyist' @judeseal.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
www.theguardian.com/science/2026...
theguardian.com
‘Hugely exciting’ finds on tiny Scottish island shed light on spread of Christianity
Community-funded archaeological excavations of ‘really important’ sixth-century monastery also rewrite story of Lismore
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Reposted by Dr. Jude Seal - 'Unfunded Hobbyist'
Jim Waterson @jim.londoncentric.media · 30/09/2026
On the one hand, Michael Gove and Nicola Sturgeon managing to give Russia an excuse to threaten nuclear war over a TV programme. On the other, big triumph for Sky's PR team. www.ft.com/content/1bb7...
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Nina Willburger @drnwillburger.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
An amazing glimpse into Mesolithic everyday life: this more than 7,500-year-old ring was made from heather roots, carefully rolled up and prepared for later use. It was discovered at the settlement of Motala/Sweden, where the same material was used for fish traps. Dating 5750–5550 BC. 🧵1/2 📷me
A thick bundle of dried plant roots, tightly rolled into a ring and secured with fibrous ties, displayed on a dark grey museum plinth.
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Dr. Jude Seal - 'Unfunded Hobbyist' @judeseal.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
BBC News - Race to save Coventry Cathedral ruins as campaign launches - BBC News www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
Race to save Coventry Cathedral ruins as campaign launches
Donations are needed to repair damage caused by the ruins being exposed to the elements for 86 years
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Dr. Jude Seal - 'Unfunded Hobbyist' @judeseal.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
BBC News - Council uses AI to tackle AI-generated complaints - BBC News www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
static.klipy.com
Wait Wait What
ALT: Wait Wait What
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Reposted by Dr. Jude Seal - 'Unfunded Hobbyist'
IHR Society, Culture & Belief, 1500-1800 @ihrscb.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
We're on the lookout for some PhD students who would like to give a Lightning Talk at our seminar on 12 November! Open to early modernists working on any geography, talks are 3-5 minutes! Get in touch via BlueSky or email tmt29@cam.ac.uk with a short summary of PhD and bio by 12 October! ✨🥳
Poster on Lightning talks:

PhD Lightning Talks: Society, Culture, and Belief Seminar, 1500-1800, Institute of Historical Research. Deadline: 12 October, Event: Thursday 12 November, 5.30 pm

The Society, Culture, and Belief Seminar is inviting applications for lightning talks from PhD students on their research. We ask that these talks be 3-5 minutes. This is a fantastic opportunity to talk through your research with a broader audience of fellow students and more seasoned academics, as well as test out some ideas in a comfortable and welcoming environment. The talks will be followed by a brief Q&A session.

The seminar was founded in 1979, hosting papers on themes ranging from witchcraft and piracy to early modern medicine and urban religious practices. We look to create an open and welcoming atmosphere and are always excited to hear a broad range of papers and geographies.

The event will take place on Thursday 12 November 2026, from 5.30 pm onwards. For those presenting in-person, we typically continue the conversation after the seminar over drinks or dinner. We’re open to applications from students working on any geographical region between 1500-1800. 

If you would like to participate, please email: tmt29@cam.ac.uk by 12 October 2026 with a 300-word thesis summary and a brief bio. If you would like to attend the seminar, do keep an eye out on our webpage (very soon to be updated with our events for this term) or you can always follow us on Bluesky @ihrscb.bsky.social. We tend to meet on Thursdays during term time at 5.30 pm — all are welcome!
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IHR Society, Culture & Belief, 1500-1800 @ihrscb.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Our first event of term is on Thursday 1 October at 5.30 pm! @rosamundoates.bsky.social will be speaking on ‘Silent Histories: Deafness in Early Modern England’! Watch this space: www.history.ac.uk/news-events/... full programme will be up soon and you'll be able to sign up for in-person or online!
history.ac.uk
Society, Culture & Belief, 1500-1800
Supported by Mark Storey and Carey Karmel
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Dr. Jude Seal - 'Unfunded Hobbyist' @judeseal.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
Why is there a church called 'Junior' in York? What happened to 'Senior'? #archaeology #history #LostChurches
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Dr. Jude Seal - 'Unfunded Hobbyist' @judeseal.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
BBC News - Anglo-Saxon treasure found in Norfolk blocked from leaving UK - BBC News www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
Anglo-Saxon treasure found in Norfolk blocked from leaving UK
The item, which was due to be sold to an overseas buyer, is described as "exceptionally rare".
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Dr Jo Edge 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 @hagenilda.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Screaming
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Brian Wernham C.Eng. @brianwernham.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Thugs www.theguardian.com/sport/2026/s...
theguardian.com
Protesters outside Portsmouth hotel mistake Pakistan U19 cricket team for asylum seekers
A group of masked agitators gathered outside a four-star hotel in Portsmouth after reports a group of asylum seekers had been taken there, when it was in fact Pakistan’s under-19 cricket team on a tou...
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Dr. Jude Seal - 'Unfunded Hobbyist' @judeseal.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
Lime apologises to blind couple over bike-blocked pavement
Jason Beal says he was forced onto a busy road when Lime bikes were blocking pavements in a banned area.
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Dr. Jude Seal - 'Unfunded Hobbyist' @judeseal.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
This is still painfully accurate, if not more so, 6 months on.
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Celine Camps @celinecamps.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
#SkyStorians, particularly medievalists: Which books/articles would you recommend that discuss and problematize the understanding and portrayal of the Middle Ages in historical scholarship as an age of decline (especially in connection to technology)? 🗃️ #MedievalSky #EarlyModern
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Asheesh Kapur Siddique @asheeshks.org · 03/09/2026
You know what's not down? The library.
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Dr. Jude Seal - 'Unfunded Hobbyist' @judeseal.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
BBC News - Feminist activist and journalist Gloria Steinem dies, aged 92 www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
Gloria Steinem: Feminist activist and journalist dies, aged 92
Her foundation said she "passed away peacefully" at her home in New York City, "surrounded by many who loved her".
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Marianna Dudley @dudleymarianna.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
Huge. Huge testament to the power of organising. Huge relief for Exeter friends and colleagues. Huge waste of time and resources. Huge reputational damage done. Huge warning to universities who want to treat their staff like they don’t matter.
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Helen Gittos @handle.invalid · 03/09/2026
This exhibition of recent finds has now been extended to Saturday 24 October. www.folkestonemuseum.co.uk/whats-on/
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Rosaleen Duffy @rosaleenduffy.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
These @ucu.org.uk videos show how #HE is in a sector wide crisis; but this one hits harder as it’s my University. Constant restructuring & so many jobs at risk; it is really demoralising ⬇️
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Merchant Adventurers’ Hall @merchantshallyork.org · 03/09/2026
In 1913 she was admitted to the Company of Merchant Adventurers of the City of York—the first woman to join for over 400 years. She devoted herself to the restoration and study of the Hall and its garden. In 1918 she became the Company’s Honorary Archivist and worked as curator of the Hall.
We are looking at a worn newspaper article which has been fixed into one of the Company's Minute Books. It erroneously reports on "The First Lady Admitted to the York Merchant Adventurers' Company" (women were part of the Company from the 14th century to the beginning of the 16th century). There is then a photo showing Maud in a velvet jacket, long rouched skirt and her obligatory hat flanked on either side by men wearing long alderman type robes with fur. The secretary to the Company, also a man stands to one side.n
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Merchant Adventurers’ Hall @merchantshallyork.org · 03/09/2026
Maud was a specialist in economic history and first visited the Hall in 1895 and quickly became fascinated by its history. Maud found the Hall rarely open and its archives in the medieval Evidence Chest. These untapped resources inspired her to write the 1912 Company history and 1913 guidebook.
We are looking at a black and white photo of a large oak chest bound in iron. It is in a sparse timber framed room with a bookshelf above it. There are several pewter items on the shelves and a hot water/kettle sat on top of the chest. We are looking at a page of Maud's working notebooks that shows a list of Merchant Adventurers with addresses. There is also a snippet of a newspaper cutting and another of a man wearing Victorian clothing.
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Merchant Adventurers’ Hall @merchantshallyork.org · 03/09/2026
We have something very exciting on its way to the Hall! Here is a sneaky peak of a new permanent display on Dr Maud Sellers: steamboat lady, traveller, historian, archivist and the first female Merchant Adventurer in 400 years. Join us for a short thread on the indominable Maud...
We are looking at a workshop and in the foreground is a large display panel in the shame of a screen. It has an illustrated coat rail with an green coat, fox fur and elaborate hat hanging from it. At the base is a travel trunk and suitcase. Above is text, illustrations and photos. We are looking at an older lady with white hair wearing a graduation gown with a cap in her hand. She looks directly at the camera with a fixed but tired stare.
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The Washington Post @washingtonpost.com · 03/09/2026
The world will zoom well past its target for global temperature rise in the next few years, a first-of-its-kind U.N. report warned, exposing people and ecosystems to profound climate impacts that nations had pledged to avoid. wapo.st/45XnNrV
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Elizabeth Jacobs, PhD @elizabethjacobs.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
The new CDC Director is indeed the one who ordered the count of measles deaths to be changed from 2 to 0. “The highly unusual decision departs from the agency’s practice of including such data from state health departments, which historically make the determinations”.
washingtonpost.com
New CDC director delays adding Pennsylvania deaths to measles data
The deaths have been at the heart of a bitter political dispute between RFK Jr. and Gov. Josh Shapiro (D).
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Dr. Jude Seal - 'Unfunded Hobbyist' @judeseal.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
Reminder: No matter what Robert F. Kennedy Jnr says There Is No Cure For #Measles. Measles is prevented via vaccination. That's it.
An XKCD cartoon showing a stick figure in a lab coat pointing a gun at a petri dish on a laboratory work bench.  The caption states: When you see a claim that a common drug or vitamin 'kills cancer cells in a petri dish', keep in mind: So does a handgun.
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Dr. Jude Seal - 'Unfunded Hobbyist' @judeseal.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
www.bbc.co.uk/culture/arti...
bbc.co.uk
'Locked to the Sun and Moon': The startling 1960s theory that Stonehenge was a prehistoric computer
In August 1966, a US astronomy professor shared his astonishing findings with the BBC. He believed that the Neolithic stone circle was built to predict eclipses.
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Dr. Jude Seal - 'Unfunded Hobbyist' @judeseal.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
I can't read any BBC article on Stonehenge without my brain auto-playing Spinal Tap. www.bbc.co.uk/culture/arti...
static.klipy.com
Tiny Stonehenge Descending with Nigel Tufnel
ALT: Tiny Stonehenge Descending with Nigel Tufnel
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Reposted by Dr. Jude Seal - 'Unfunded Hobbyist'
Diem @diemtf.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
This is not overly PC or overly generous reporting from 1990, this largely neutral snippet is just how normal tabloids and their audiences were about transgender issues 36 years ago. It shows how artificial and forced the media furore of now is.
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Joel @itsjoels.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
This is the letter kids got at the end of Dolly’s Imagination Library. I defy you to read this and not cry.
Sorry, I can’t type that.
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Library of Congress @librarycongress.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
The Library is devastated to learn of the passing of Dolly Parton, a music legend and titan of children's literacy. Her Imagination Library program has earned multiple Library Literacy Awards and, in 2018, she visited us to donate its 100 millionth book to our collection and host a story time. 🦋❤️
Dolly Parton reads to children in the Library’s Great Hall in 2018. Photo by Shawn Miller.
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Tara C. Smith @aetiology.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
Dolly is gone, but I'll always appreciate her funding and publicly receiving the Moderna vaccine, in addition to her advocacy to wipe out childhood illiteracy.
Picture of Dolly Parton with a mask on with the headline from The New York Times "Dolly parton, who helped fund the moderna vaccine, gets a dose of her own medicine." The country music star broke into song before she was inoculated, and urged her fans to "get out there and get your shot"
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Harry Turtledove @hntdove.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
Live your life in such a way that people will think the Grim Reaper took the wrong 80-year-old, not the right one.
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The Guardian @theguardian.com · 25/08/2026
Dolly Parton, US country star, actor and philanthropist, dies aged 80
theguardian.com
Dolly Parton, US country star, actor and philanthropist, dies aged 80
Songwriter of I Will Always Love You, Jolene and 9 to 5 also invested millions in child literacy, Covid-19 vaccine development and other causes Dolly Parton, one of the greatest singer-songwriters in country music who was also much cherished for her philanthropy, has died aged 80. Her death was announced by nephew Brian Seaver on Instagram. Continue reading...
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KJ Shepherd @kjshepherd.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
there will be many ways to celebrate dolly parton and the one I want to point out is that she was a friend of Miss Piggy
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Damien Huffer @damienhuffer.bsky.social · 22/08/2026
Excellent coverege of my et al.'s mummy biosec paper, with strong supporting quotes from @electricarchaeo.scholar.social.ap.brid.gy www.cbc.ca/news/science...
cbc.ca
People are trading mummified human remains online. Some scientists say that may be bad for their health | CBC News
In new research, scientists shine a light on a global, online trade in preserved human remains and raise the alarm about its potential health hazards.
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James O’Brien @mrjamesob.bsky.social · 22/08/2026
He’s talking about bombing the Bond Market now. What’s most amazing is that it’s not even a tiny bit shocking.
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Dr. Jude Seal - 'Unfunded Hobbyist' @judeseal.bsky.social · 22/08/2026
BBC News - 'Building houses on former cemetery disrespectful' - www.bbc.co.uk/news/article... #archaeology
bbc.co.uk
'Building houses on former cemetery disrespectful'
The plan at the Shrewsbury burial ground sparks anger, but developers say they will be respectful.
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