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Niki Seth-Smith

@nikisethsmith.bsky.social
2.5K followers 954 following 71 posts

Editor of @newhumanist.bsky.social, journalist and fiction writer 🍐

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Niki Seth-Smith @nikisethsmith.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
What a time to read Christian Kracht’s autofictional reflection on his Nazi ancestry, where he and his mother go on a road trip to give away their blood money. “The golden cutlery and the various houses; the collection of German expressionists and the unsavory instruments of torture”
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Niki Seth-Smith @nikisethsmith.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
Reading Toni Morrison in a heat wave: overpowering, magnificent, heartbreaking. 200% recommend (just finished it last night)
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Niki Seth-Smith @nikisethsmith.bsky.social · 02/07/2026
Yes, we only have one life - but if we took the facts of existence seriously, we would understand that the actions we take will have consequences that spiral out millions of years into the future. Is that not living forever? (A thought, while sipping a beer in the park)
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Niki Seth-Smith @nikisethsmith.bsky.social · 02/07/2026
Offices of @newhumanist.bsky.social looking rather lovely in the sun (we have a couple of rooms in this grand edifice)
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Niki Seth-Smith @nikisethsmith.bsky.social · 29/06/2026
Spent the heat wave with niece and nephew surfing sand turtles in Scotland, no regrets!
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Niki Seth-Smith @nikisethsmith.bsky.social · 15/06/2026
Packed house at EARTH, Dalston for the London launch of Women Again the Far Right. “The far right are not the protectors of women. Their racism, misogyny and division is a danger to us all.”
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Niki Seth-Smith @nikisethsmith.bsky.social · 14/06/2026
This year’s #festivalofhumanism was a lot of fun, loved discussing fandom and politics with @thatdocphoenix.com and chairing a wonderful talk on death, joy and grief by @ericabuist.bsky.social
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Niki Seth-Smith @nikisethsmith.bsky.social · 29/05/2026
Are you beach body ready? So delighted to bring out this issue, at turns inspiring and scathing as it explores how we can undermine the power of the “health” and beauty industries.
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Niki Seth-Smith @nikisethsmith.bsky.social · 05/03/2026
Fascinating lecture by Dr Hannah Critchlow on the extent to which we are “pre-programmed” by our genes versus neuroplasticity. (Image shows what happens to the brain when the volunteer on stage was given clay to play with) #RosalindFranklinlecture
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Niki Seth-Smith @nikisethsmith.bsky.social · 02/01/2026
“Atheists, bohemians and the children of stray Russian intellectuals.” Yes, this was my school (as a day child with a small music scholarship). Now I need to start a band named Children of the Louche
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Niki Seth-Smith @nikisethsmith.bsky.social · 31/12/2025
My most loyal of friends nearly died this year.. Pericles the dog heroically survived cancer and was zooming along the beaches with me today to see off 2025! 🐾🙏
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Niki Seth-Smith @nikisethsmith.bsky.social · 03/12/2025
I endorse performative reading. Please feel free to read New Humanist as shamelessly and publicly as you like, particularly this latest issue: newhumanist.org.uk/articles/647...
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Niki Seth-Smith @nikisethsmith.bsky.social · 25/11/2025
I often pass Lindisfarne island, on my way from London to my mum’s in Scotland. This charming piece is a guide to walking there (you can!) and an exploration of what it means to be an “atheist pilgrim”. Read more and buy the issue at newhumanist.org.uk
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Niki Seth-Smith @nikisethsmith.bsky.social · 19/11/2025
The word of the year is “Parasocial”. Perhaps not unrelated to last year’s “Brainrot”? 🧐 Look out for the *How to Stay Smart* issue of @newhumanist.bsky.social, OUT TOMORROW
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Niki Seth-Smith @nikisethsmith.bsky.social · 09/09/2025
A last late summer trek along the river Ouse… farewell cerulean skies
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Niki Seth-Smith @nikisethsmith.bsky.social · 09/09/2025
Also enjoying Saskia Vogel’s luminescent prose
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Niki Seth-Smith @nikisethsmith.bsky.social · 09/09/2025
A lot of people telling me they’re bored of contemporary fiction. Check out the small indie Fly On The Wall Press. These novels are brave and tender, and definitely bucked the tendency towards flat, anhedonic prose
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Niki Seth-Smith @nikisethsmith.bsky.social · 21/08/2025
Also just a bunch of other amazing pieces, including @jamesrball.com on Luigi Mangione and the “rationalist” murders, and @tedilta.bsky.social on health anxiety, and why we should all be less obsessed with monitoring our bodies
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Niki Seth-Smith @nikisethsmith.bsky.social · 15/06/2025
Fantastic energy at #Humanists2025 in Sheffield, on a weekend otherwise marked by dark news. A reminder of the many inspiring freethinkers who might just help get us out of this mess
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Niki Seth-Smith @nikisethsmith.bsky.social · 10/05/2025
Very excited about this coming out next week, and proud to be editor as the magazine hits an epic 140 years and enters a new era. Subscribe now at newhumanist.org.uk or buy it in shops
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Niki Seth-Smith @nikisethsmith.bsky.social · 28/02/2025
Are you guilty of armchair diagnosing? @newhumanist.bsky.social untangles the pop psychology from the science in a must-read on Narcissistic Personality Disorder. Buy the issue on our website or in WHSmith ✨✨
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Niki Seth-Smith @nikisethsmith.bsky.social · 04/02/2025
It should be on the IAI site soon: shorturl.at/uC90c In the meantime, the debate I hosted on Dostoevsky, Nietzsche and nihilism is trending. I think you can get a free trial and watch that @iai.tv
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Niki Seth-Smith @nikisethsmith.bsky.social · 04/02/2025
Enjoyed hosting a timely debate on the “crisis in psychology” last night with Nick Brown @steamtraen.eu, John Ioannidis and David Yeager (Carol couldn’t make it unfortunately.) A lot of great ideas on how to overcome the challenges of replicability, skewed incentives, and accounting for diversity
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Niki Seth-Smith @nikisethsmith.bsky.social · 12/01/2025
“Love is for the ones who love the work.” Thought this poem by Joseph Fasano was a suitable first Bluesky post, in honour of refusing enshittification and making a beautiful effort 🌱✨✨✨
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