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Pete Scarborough

@petescarbs.bsky.social
6.4K followers 972 following 1.7K posts

Professor of Population Health | University of Oxford | Sustainable Healthy Diets & Transformers

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Pete Scarborough @petescarbs.bsky.social · 19h
“The estimate of the total amount of rubble in Gaza is 61m tonnes. It is approximately 20 times the amount of rubble generated in all wars across the world over the last 18 years” Jaco Cilliers, the UN Development Programme’s special representative in Palestine
theguardian.com
New Google Maps images reveal massive scale of devastation in Gaza
Satellite imagery shows further destruction of homes, businesses and places of worship since fragile ceasefire
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Pete Scarborough @petescarbs.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
There's nothing new about AI music. Paul Simon's been using it for years. In the 80s he had a song that was literally called "You Can Call Me AI". The video had a deepfake Gerald Ford in it
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James Ball @jamesrball.com · 29/09/2026
Lord give me incremental change, but not today
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beetle moses @beetlemoses.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Three panel comic. Panel 1: 5 million years ago - a bunch of bedbugs lounge around in a living room, looking totally bored. Panel 2: another bedbug excitedly bursts through the front door and exclaims, “someone invented beds!” Panel 3: one of the bedbugs looks over their shoulder at the other and says, “you’re joking”
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Pete Scarborough @petescarbs.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
I dream of the day they say "all stand for the national anthem" and they play all six minutes of The National Anthem from Kid A #TheFootball
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Pete Scarborough @petescarbs.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
New York Times leaving Veronica Mars out of the top 100 TV shows of the 21st Century
static.klipy.com
Veronica Mars: That Doesn't Work For Me
Alt: Veronica Mars: That Doesn't Work For Me
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Professor Peter Matthews @urbaneprofessor.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Kinda feel sorry for UKRI (probably minority of one). They're an underfunded agency, that's ended up becoming a focal point of our broken dual-funding system for research; governments' appalling higher education policies; and new technologies.
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Grumpy Philosopher @stevecooke.org · 23/09/2026
Ethnicity refers to group identity based on shared traits. What are the traits that Braverman thinks citizenship should be based on? It can‘t be language, culture, customs, or nationality - she shares those herself. Maybe she wants to strip passports based on faith? What is English ancestry to her?
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Grumpy Philosopher @stevecooke.org · 23/09/2026
When Braverman says ‘we don‘t know who we are any more‘ I‘m left wondering who the ‘we‘ is in that statement. She doesn‘t speak for me & she says she‘s not English, so who the hell is she speaking for? Rhetorical, I know the answer: it‘s racists.
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Joanne Harris @joannechocolat.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Turned down last week: 2 festivals with no budget for speakers 1 writing course with no budget for teachers 1 film project with no budget to option the book - plus they wanted me to write the screenplay. For free. Don't do it, kids. Don't work for free. Because to them, what's free is worthless.
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Pete Scarborough @petescarbs.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
"The outrage in Palestine is roiling culture because ... the pain and fury resulting from what the world is witnessing has not been appropriately channelled or responded to by a representative leadership – in fact, it has been policed and criminalised." Well said Nesrine Malik
theguardian.com
If you really hate it when music and film stars do politics, here’s the answer: give us politics that works | Nesrine Malik
The problem is not famous people speaking out, as they always have. It is the feeling that leaders have failed, obliging celebrities to fill the vacuum, says Guardian columnist Nesrine Malik
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Owler Nook @owlernook.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
A reminder that transport is the largest producer of UK greenhouse gas emissions, and that fuel duty is currently the main leverage government has to get people to switch to EVs. Reducing fuel duty is not good policy.
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Charles West @pseudo-isidore.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
21,627 applications for the Marie Curie early career fellowships.
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Pete Scarborough @petescarbs.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
Did the golden goose get golden or was the golden goose gold from the get go?
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Jo Wolff @jowolff.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
The most insightful thing I heard about business was an academic saying that the corporate dream is that their customers should cheerfully hand over 10% of their disposable income for the rest of their lives.
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Tom Reagan’s Hat @rufustsuperfly.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Ultimate. Man looks. Very very. Familiar. It. Will come to. Me in a. Minute.
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Pete Scarborough @petescarbs.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Adrian Chiles is on radio right now doing an extended piece about how he has recently stumbled upon Doc Martin on ITVx and he thinks its brilliant. He's got one of the writers on! Middle of the road doesn't cut it for Adrian, he is the exact centroid of the galactic superhighway.
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flyingrodent @flyingrodent.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
I remember outrage about Just Stop Oil blocking a street, just in case an ambulance had to drive down it. Not because an ambulance was prevented from doing so, you understand. Just the abstract idea that one might have to.
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Pete Scarborough @petescarbs.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
We got 201 applications for our latest Research Assistant post, which means a lot of very good people are not even going to get invited to interview. It's tough out there.
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Pete Scarborough @petescarbs.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
It's 2026 and I'm still getting forms to complete where the uneditable box for the answers is just pinned on top of the rest of the document, and it saves as a Word 97-2003 doc
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flyingrodent @flyingrodent.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
What happened when the main opposition party successfully reorganised itself to be reliant on small donations from members of the public, so that it didn’t have to seek large bungs from millionaires and business? Was this welcomed as more transparent and democratic.
Peston
@itvpeston • 9h
"We cannot get to a point in this country where our democracy is for sale"
X
Former Conservative Party Chair
@SayeedaWarsi says Reform UK's £72 million donation 'does not come without strings attached'
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Pete Scarborough @petescarbs.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Breadonism: slicing from the other end of the loaf instead of disposing of the slightly stale bit on the cut side
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Spooky Snigdha @snig.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
The Telegraph is terrified kids are going to become lentil munchers. Dal is famously known to be a very expensive dish. How will schools cope with the burden? 🤡
Telegraph headline and opening sentences:

Compulsory lentils in Labour school meals shakeup
Unions warn that schools will need extra funding to meet requirements for healthy dinners

Schoolchildren will be made to eat lentils and chickpeas once a week and ice cream will be restricted under Labour plans.
Rules to be announced on Monday by the Department for Education (DfE) will force schools to put pulses on the menu at least once a week.
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Jessica Elgot @jessicaelgot.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
But it also showed a pretty bad side of parliament - one side used a brazen strategy to talk the bill out and deny the upper House a vote while pretending that wasn’t what they were doing.
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TheGrantPerkins @thegrantperkins.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
Scared the postman today by going to the door naked. I'm not sure what scared him more, my naked body or the fact that I knew where he lived.
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Richard Waite @waiterich.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
25 years ago today it was a beautiful sunny September day in Milan, where I’d recently arrived for a junior fall semester abroad. After school ended that afternoon, I went to the famous Duomo (cathedral) in the city center and climbed the steps to the roof for an amazing lookout over the whole city.
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Richard Waite @waiterich.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Shortly thereafter when Decisions started being Made I had a feeling which was to become a recurring theme throughout the rest of my adult American life: “we had the opportunity and the power to do something better, but decided to do something worse.”
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Pete Scarborough @petescarbs.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
I'm no fan of the assisted dying bill, but the way that it has been mishandled through Parliament should be a massive rallying call for deep reform
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Erin Fogg says Free Link @criminalerin.bsky.social · 10/06/2025
I'm tired of the lies I'm tired of all this wasted power I'm tired of having so little control over my life
It's the Padme/Anakin meme! Anakin says "I'm a modern TV." Padme smiles at him with delight and asks excitedly "So you turn off when I hit the power button?" Anakin glares back darkly. Padme asks again, much more hesitantly, her eyes clouded by doubt, 'So you turn off when I hit the power button, right?"
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Pete Scarborough @petescarbs.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
"Dear small boats protest groups, I regret to inform you that due to recent doxxing and threats of physical violence towards RNLI volunteers, your concerns have been downgraded from "legitimate" to "we don't give a shit". Yours sincerely, A properly functioning media"
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Pete Scarborough @petescarbs.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
I learned today that Wageningen in the Netherlands has a total ban on outdoor advertising (of anything). Just one to file as a counter-example when people tell you that even small policy changes are not politically feasible
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Pete Scarborough @petescarbs.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Texting with my daughter and ranking plant-based milks by poshness. Almond milk is coming out on top so far, whilst soya milk seems to be the most 'street'
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Pete Scarborough @petescarbs.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
Never been prouder of my son
Exercise from a school questionnaire to help kids with exam stress. The questionnaire says "Things I need to remember. One exam does not define me because..." The hand written response says "I am an anarchist"
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Gareth Ramsay @garethramsay.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
Rory Stewart is one of the masters of pronouncing on issues on which he knows little, but with grand Etonian confidence.
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Pete Scarborough @petescarbs.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
Scottish Government launch consultation on price caps for food. Closes on 25th November
gov.scot
Price controls on essential food items: consultation paper
This consultation seeks your views on the proposed introduction of legal price caps on essential food items sold by large supermarket chains in their stores or online. This consultation seeks your vie...
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Pete Scarborough @petescarbs.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
My wife gave me an intense ten minute summary of the plot of Coyote vs Acme this morning. Sounds amazing. My Cousin Vinny with anvils
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Pete Scarborough @petescarbs.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
ZW acknowledges that a) Starmer ditching all his leadership pledges was a sign of moral weakness, and b) relentlessly promoting the sole male candidate in the leadership field as "the only electable candidate" was hugely problematic. It did not need hindsight to know this.
theguardian.com
Farewell Keir Starmer, a terrible politician whom we desperately wanted to be something more | Zoe Williams
‘U-turn’ doesn’t do justice to the myriad ways he found to break a pledge. Now the former PM is resigning as an MP, why did I have such high hopes? asks Guardian columnist Zoe Williams
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Katharine Hayhoe @katharinehayhoe.com · 02/09/2026
That is why this is my pinned post. Veggie burgers, bikes, and recycling are all great – but to change the system, the most powerful force you have is your voice.
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Our World in Data @ourworldindata.org · 31/08/2026
📝 New article on Our World in Data: Beef production in Brazil has been the largest driver of global deforestation in recent decades. The largest driver of deforestation globally is the expansion of agricultural land.
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Pete Scarborough @petescarbs.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
More of these types of threads please
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Pete Scarborough @petescarbs.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
The media "debate" about the early release scheme has been entirely execrable up to this point. This is the first reasonable contribution I have come across, and this only scratches the edges of all the crazy things that have been said over the last few weeks
theguardian.com
Why are prisons overcrowded? Because no government will stand up to the tabloids | Zoe Williams
Whatever happens to the early release scheme, Andy Burnham needs to consider the possibility that sentences are just too high, writes Zoe Williams
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Rob Davies @byrobdavies.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
"I want your children's lungs to be smaller and less functional" is a bold electoral strategy.
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Pete Scarborough @petescarbs.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
Or: bespoke mentor-mentee relationships disrupt the transparency of career progression paths and meritocracy that are central to the advancement of science
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lastpositivist.bsky.social @lastpositivist.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
Top-tip: if anyone wants to give you the kind of "mentorship" that you being unionised would prevent, get a new mentor fast.
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Annie Leymarie @annieleymarie.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
Well done, shoppers! A new study has confirmed that choosing such foods for protein is win-win-win on all fronts: www.cell.com/one-earth/fu...
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Lauren M @elenem.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
Yes there's a reason I use a hammer to bang a nail in and not my fucking face
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Damian Carrington @dpcarrington.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
Jumping beans: UK shoppers turn to legumes to save cash and improve diet we are #leguminati www.theguardian.com/food/2026/au...
theguardian.com
Jumping beans: UK shoppers turn to legumes to save cash and improve diet
Sales of beans, lentils and soya bean derivatives on rise while Britons buy less real and fake meat
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Pete Scarborough @petescarbs.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
A still from Transformers: The Movie just after Optimus Prime has died. A Head and torso of a giant transforming robot on a metal table. He is painted entirely in blacks and muted greys.
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Pete Scarborough @petescarbs.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
I mean, I'm trying to get some work done here, but now I've discovered a Guardian ranking of River Phoenix films
theguardian.com
‘James Dean has got nothing on that kid’: River Phoenix films – ranked!
As Stand By Me is re-released for its 40th anniversary, we look at the late actor’s most intense, enduring roles – from a goofball boffin to a narcoleptic hustler
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Paul Clarke @paulclarke.com · 25/08/2026
This is the most extraordinary piece of public art. Oversized and imposing, you see it from miles away, get close then ooof as you read the story. (story in alt text)
Freddie Gilroy and the Belsen Stragglers: a statue by sculptor Ray Lonsdale which overlooks the North Bay of Scarborough, England. Made from weathering steel, the sculpture depicts Freddie Gilroy, a former soldier who participated in the liberation of Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, sitting on a bench in his old age. Gilroy was a friend of the sculptor and Lonsdale made the piece partly as a tribute to him, but also as a wider war and Holocaust memorial. Originally intended to sit on the seafront as a 4-week loan in 2011, a local resident donated money to purchase the sculpture for the town. The statue is layered rusting steel, set against a late summer blustery blue sky.
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