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Maria Farrell

@mariafarrell.eurosky.social
12K followers 1.4K following 5.9K posts

Irish writer and speaker: let's rewild the internet! Dog lady. Forest bather. She/her www.mariafarrell.com Rep: greeneheaton.co.uk/agents/antony-to…

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Maria Farrell @mariafarrell.eurosky.social · 3h
"What podcasting holds in the promise of its open format is the proof that an open web can still thrive and be relevant, that it can inspire new systems that are similarly open to take root and grow."
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Maria Farrell @mariafarrell.eurosky.social · 3h
this also means I need to start digging through unanswered DMs of a year old and over... sorreeeeeeee
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Maria Farrell @mariafarrell.eurosky.social · 4h
ok well I bit the bullet and age-verified this account sigh which I have to do so I can access DMs while in the UK where I mostly live (multiple sighs) hard to say how fucking annoying and downright grim all this is but - yay? - people can now DM me and I can actually answer on the regular
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Robin Berjon @robin.berjon.com · 8h
The social internet — for science! I'm super excited to see @aster.id launching. It's an Atmosphere service provider (like @eurosky.social) for researchers, hosted by your friends at the @modalfoundation.eurosky.social. Why does it matter? Thread time! 🧵
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Maria Farrell @mariafarrell.eurosky.social · 14h
can anyone on here suggest who to talk to about unofficial but rampant WhatsApp mods used in many African countries? (I'd forgotten just how US/Anglo-centric this site's user-base is, compared to - alas - Old Twitter)
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Rima I Anabtawi @rimaanabtawi.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
“You could never create a single account on a single Meta service… and you still aren't safe. If you're talking to someone who has installed Muse, Meta could, presumably, access, read, analyze, and upload that information to its services.”
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Ewan McGaughey @ewanmg.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
My report on fixing the water system is out with @cmmonwealth.bsky.social: 💦transfer the leakiest, polluting companies to public hands for £0 🌊audit the rest to gauge repair costs, and public ownership is likely to cost £12bn, saving up to £1.4bn in 3 years www.common-wealth.org/publications...
common-wealth.org
Crystal Clear: the Solutions for Clean, Running Water
The clearest and most cost-effective route to genuine public control of England's water is through public ownership.
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Éibhear Ó hAnluain @eibhear.gibiris.org · 29/09/2026
I am of the view that #RSS (or an RSS-like technology) has the potential to be vastly superior for getting news to readers, especially those who are specific about the type of news they want to read, but I agree that a discoverability layer is sorely lacking. ...
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Marleen Stikker @marleen.oso.social · 29/09/2026
“Deep beneath the world's oceans lurks a threat with the potential to cause major disruption and conflict: a network of cables through which almost all global internet traffic runs. Increasingly under siege by tech giants fuelling an AI bubble and state actors.” Great book by @katjabego.bsky.social
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Doctora Malka Older @older.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
people keep saying to me "the website as a destination [for humans] is over" "no one is going to read news on websites any more" "search is done". They are pushing for us to change how global voices works. I would love to hear what you all think of that and if you DO appreciate how we work now, why?
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Laurens @laurenshof.online · 28/09/2026
want to know what cool updates have been happening to fediverse software in the last 3 months? I've got you covered! connectedplaces.online/fediverse-ne...
connectedplaces.online
Fediverse News – Summer 2026
Fediverse software updates, summer 2026 edition
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Holly Thomas @holstat.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Sorry for such a bleak post, but I can't stop thinking about the men who were in that Cornell fraternity and presumably saw the Snapchat message allegedly advertising "free pussy," and did nothing, tacitly allowing their friends to allegedly commit gang rape. Men, your passivity destroys lives.
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Maria Farrell @mariafarrell.eurosky.social · 28/09/2026
Characteristically perceptive, generous and <useful> review by @cairdiul.bsky.social: "what makes Sense and Sensibility so perfect for the current moment is that it is an actor’s movie. Most of the dialogue only indirectly relates to how anyone is feeling, and the audience must breach the chasm".
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Meta is the Torment Nexus @priva.cat · 28/09/2026
Reason #2,657,398 why you should just say no to Meta. Especially their AI agent, but really, NEVER TRUST META.
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Aaron Stewart-Ahn @badideas.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Here is the trailer for NAZA, the film Benjamin Netanyahu really, really doesn’t want you to see, which will be released for free worldwide in November after a short theatrical self distributed run.
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Maria Farrell @mariafarrell.eurosky.social · 27/09/2026
Horrible to see that - in some sense - today's financial survival options for such a singular writer are either 1) accept $175k from a prize that requires you to destroy your fragile health with promotional requirements, or 2) accept $175k with no strings from a rightwing Koch-funded thinktank :-0
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Maria Farrell @mariafarrell.eurosky.social · 27/09/2026
I cannot ever forget how the marching bands refused to be silent, as requested, going past the house where the mother of those three murdered boys took refuge in the weeks after her unthinkable loss. A small detail that exposes everything this march is for.
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Rune Wuff @runewuff.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
There's a lot to read here but this is what the people making AI actually believe, and it explains WTF "rationalist" and "zizian" are.
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Faine Greenwood @faineg.com · 25/09/2026
Imagine if instead of regulating drone risks the normal way (which we did), we instead paid weird bloggers lots of money to worry about superintelligent dogs sprouting thumbs and using drones to kill us. This is pretty much how the US is approaching AI risks and regulations. My latest:
little-flying-robots.ghost.io
Why We Can't Let Enormous Weirdos Regulate AI
Imagine if instead of regulating drones via the standard lengthy, boring, and bureaucratic process - which we did - we instead decided, in the name of fostering all-important American drone innovation...
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The Empty City @davidallengreen.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
The Prospect paywall is down! These are all my articles, you lucky people www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/author/2821/...
prospectmagazine.co.uk
DAT Green - Prospect Magazine
The latest news, opinion and analysis for Prospect by DAT Green
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Ingrid Robeyns @ingridrobeyns.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
This is bittersweet. If only she were still with us to enjoy this recognition. But given Helen's metaphysical beliefs, she might be out there somewhere, appreciating the recognition her amazing philosophical work is posthumously receiving. ✨
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Cori Crider @coricrider.com · 25/09/2026
SHOTS FIRED: Clive Lewis MP says what needed saying about Palantir’s naked bid to buy access to HMG thru Tom Watson. “Now, the former scourge of mass surveillance finds a surveillance company “the most interesting … on the planet”. It’s quite a journey” www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
theguardian.com
Tom Watson’s move to Palantir is the latest sign of how far the rot has spread in UK politics | Clive Lewis
When a former Labour deputy leader joins a firm built on surveillance and military targeting, it deepens public cynicism – and democracy depends on trust, says Labour MP Clive Lewis
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Maria Farrell @mariafarrell.eurosky.social · 25/09/2026
Happy publication day, @katjabego.bsky.social . This book has been greatly anticipated and could not be more timely.
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geoffrey @parsnip.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
coming out of nowhere to make a rude comment to a stranger is not equivalent to that stranger being rude in response and a lot of people on social media like to pretend they wouldn't be acutely aware of this if that stranger were within a swing's reach
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brendan @schlage.town · 24/09/2026
once again, ditch Substack, move to Leaflet! @leaflet.pub is great for blogs & newsletters — publish as part of a social network, *and* own your data + audience, *and* it's also just real nice to use! want to migrate? we're glad to help! --> leaflet.pub <-- FAQ: lab.leaflet.pub/3mtz2mbkozs2c
leaflet.pub
Leaflet — social publishing on the Atmosphere
A simple and powerful platform for social publishing — blogs, newsletters, and more!
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Maria Farrell @mariafarrell.eurosky.social · 24/09/2026
Substack is currently wooing the UK publishing industry, presumably hoping to hoover up some reputation-washing and attract a whole new set of writers who don't know what a newsletter is but hope to have 'a substack'.
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Rebecca Solnit @rebeccasolnit.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
What gets you booted from Substack? Andrew Tate still seems to have a newsletter there while charged with: 10 counts of rape, 3 of trafficking for sexual exploitation, 3 of assault occasioning actual bodily harm, & making/distributing indecent images of a child. possessing extreme pornography.
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Prem Sikka @premnsikka.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Financial Times moans about modest trade union reforms, workers rights. Most of the EU has worker-elected directors on boards of large companies. FT silence on low wages, fire and rehire, worker insecurity, undeserved exec pay. Only unions can negotiate with powerful companies. archive.ph/lbOyk
ft.com
Britain’s union reforms are a risk to business dynamism
Labour’s expansion of workers’ rights adds to pressures on the private sector
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George Monbiot @georgemonbiot.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Here's today's column on the astonishing, ongoing mistreatment of people with #ME/CFS. Please spread it far and wide: the only thing which can break the media's wall of indifference is seeing an article about the issue go viral. Thank you. 1/2 www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
theguardian.com
Abandoned, dismissed and gaslighted: there is no excuse for the way ME sufferers have been betrayed | George Monbiot
Changes in guidance and science seem to have little impact on millions of devastated lives. It’s a social crisis playing out behind closed doors, says Guardian columnist George Monbiot
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Peter Geoghegan @petergeoghegan.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
‘What is emerging is not simply a relationship between [Reform and Farage] and a wealthy Gulf state, but a channel through which an authoritarian government can cultivate political influence here, and abroad.’ Would really recommend a read of this democracyforsale.substack.com/p/reform-and...
democracyforsale.substack.com
Reform and the UAE – a threat to British politics
Nigel Farage's embrace of the UAE is part of a wider effort by the Gulf petrostate to build alliances with the far right across the West, says Alex Carlen.
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Maria Farrell @mariafarrell.eurosky.social · 22/09/2026
Listened to this epic podcast on China Mieville's new book, The Rouse, at the weekend. It's extraordinary, the questions were indeed marked by "rigour and perspicacity and depth". No one preps and delivers like @davidnaimon.bsky.social. It feels like a significant event in a way hard to describe.
milkweed.org
China Miéville : The Rouse | Milkweed Editions
China Miéville’s much-anticipated new book The Rouse is twenty-one years in the making. He was writing it when he wrote The City & The City and Embassytown. He was writing it when he wrote October…
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Hisham Zerriffi @hishamzerriffi.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Second camping trip this month was perfect opportunity to finish this book. Gave me a lot to think about in terms of how I want to create change.
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Ada Palmer @adapalmer.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
Saving local Newspapers is one of the most important projects of guarding democracy. They do more than anything to enable community action, & they help hold corporations & landlords to account and expose and correct the small local exploitations that cause so much suffering and drain so many lives.
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Maria Farrell @mariafarrell.eurosky.social · 20/09/2026
tbf once at Euston Station while panicked I'd miss my train as all the counters were suddenly shut - at rush hour on a Friday no less - I led a small, vocal, localised uprising in the ticket queue to re-open them and we did indeed carry the day but yes absolutely what @tressiemcphd.bsky.social said
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Charlie Stross @cstross.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
If these dorks seriously believe there's a significant near-term risk of developing an AI that results in human extinction, the solution is simple and obvious: hang everyone who's trying to build AIs, for crimes against humanity and attempted genocide. The "panic" is bullshit from start to finish.
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John W Buaas @johnwbuaas.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
John Singer Sargent Pomegranates, Valdemosa, Majorca (1908)
A painting of a pomegranate orchard that looks proto-Jackson Pollock in its manner.
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Gavin, Small Beer (closed due to long covid), &c. @gavingrant.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
Just realized I missed an opportunity to rag on our tiny-minded fascist president by pointing out my wife is getting the Pease Prize.
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Mark Little @marklittle.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
When I founded Storyful, I sat down with @patrickfreyne.bsky.social to talk about my hopes for democratic technology. Many years later, we sat down again to chat about my book, The Last Good Day on the Internet. A welcome moment for reflection on what went wrong and what we can make right:
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Maria Farrell @mariafarrell.eurosky.social · 18/09/2026
This is precisely why hundreds of experts demanded that during Ireland's presidency of the EU our country not be allowed to handle tech policy. Ireland is the trojan horse for US Big Tech lawlessness in the EU. It's really as simple as that.
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Jeff VanderMeer @jeffvandermeer.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Anyway, buy these fucking novels. I don't want the publisher to discontinue publishing them for some reason related to the fact you don't know they exist. 6/6 www.unnamedpress.com/authors/mfzs...
unnamedpress.com
James Elkins — Unnamed Press
Books by James Elkins
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Maria Farrell @mariafarrell.eurosky.social · 18/09/2026
wow. open-minded to seeing and enjoying this etc. etc. but it's AMAZING what the incredibly close-minded and punitive CS Lewis estate permits when there's Hollywood money in it Iykyk
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Chris Bertram @crookedfootball.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
I had no idea of this extraordinary episode. I reminds us of how easily people can be declared "illegal" or "immigrant" rather than native. These are not natural kinds, but administrative categories. Striking parallels with the Windrush scandal. Of interest to all, but tagging @spe07.bsky.social
theguardian.com
The spectre of ‘remigration’ is haunting Europe. Slovenia in 1992 gives us a blueprint for this state terror | Miha Mazzini
In February that year, the Slovenian government officially deleted 25,000 citizens, turning them overnight into illegal immigrants, says writer and film-maker Miha Mazzini
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Maria Farrell @mariafarrell.eurosky.social · 18/09/2026
I really wonder what the story is of Tom Watson's total moral collapse. Is it really just the money and some narcissistic contrarianism? He used to champion digital rights as <the> key Labour ally for @openrightsgroup.org Then he turned betting industry lobbyist, then crackpot theorist, now this.
theguardian.com
Former Labour deputy leader Tom Watson joins Palantir
Peer takes full-time position at the controversial company as it fends off pressure from both Andy Burnham’s government and Sadiq Khan
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Maria Farrell @mariafarrell.eurosky.social · 17/09/2026
could NOT believe it last night when the telly goes on and it's a whistleblower and my brother goes "THAT'S ROBOCOP", last seen bashing protesters. this crazy crazy life.
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Robin Berjon @robin.berjon.com · 16/09/2026
This is as egregious as it's hilarious. Can we *please* get DMA horizontal interoperability for social media @teresaribera.ec.europa.eu, the European social internet is more than ready, we just need an open market to compete in.
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Maria Farrell @mariafarrell.eurosky.social · 16/09/2026
a well-trodden path
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Horned Lark Press @hornedlarkpress.com · 15/09/2026
Callooh! Callay! A DUBIOUS CLAMOR is out today! Available wherever you buy books! Can be enjoyed with or without cake, but we always recommend cake. Let @marissalingen.bsky.social tell you a story of magical music, enchanted swords, harpies & more. Handy links: hornedlarkpress.com/product/a-du...
A copy of A Dubious Clamor on a table with tea, a cookie, some bookmarks and stickers
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Maria Farrell @mariafarrell.eurosky.social · 16/09/2026
Would be hilarious* to see the breakaway "Principality of Piddington" encounter the British state as the entire Celtic Fringe did And be introduced to the Cromwell we in Ireland know from the other end of the pike. ok not hilarious, I'm not that bloodthirsty. but fuck those smug, twee racists
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Katie Holten @katieholten.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
A new, special edition of THE LANGUAGE OF TREES drops this day next week, Tuesday, September 22. Please join us to celebrate at P&T Knitwear in NYC—the day before—Monday, Sep 21, doors open 6.30pm. Come celebrate with me and @laurenoneillbutler.bsky.social 🥂 www.katieholten.com/books#/the-l...
Photo of me leaning against a pine tree in late afternoon sunshine. I'm holding a copy of the new special edition of my book, The Language of Trees. It's a hardcover with forest green cloth cover and gold embossed forest drawing. The title is embossed in white: THE LANGUAGE OF TREES. How Trees Make Our World, Change Our Minds, and Rewild Our Lives. Katie Holten.

I'm wearing a black v-neck t-shirt and you can't see it but I'm barefoot and have togs (swim suit) underneath, ready to go for a swim in the sea. I have a little smile but I'm also exhausted. wish me luck on this book tour adventure! 

Photo by Dillon Cohen
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Osbert Lancaster @osbert.org · 15/09/2026
Can anyone point me to good articles explaining the Atmosphere (Atprotocal not climate) to lay users? @standard-reader.app? Is there a @semble.so collection perhaps? I'm planning to mention my move to @offprint.app to my subscribers, and it would be good to have something to reference.
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