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Robert Macfarlane

@robgmacfarlane.bsky.social
28K followers 196 following 886 posts

Books: Is A River Alive? (May ‘25), Underland, The Lost Words, The Old Ways etc | Films: River, Mountain, Upstream | Music: The Moon Also Rises, Lost In The Cedar Wood, etc Nature, climate, people. Prof at Cambridge. linktr.ee/robmacfarlane

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Reposted by Robert Macfarlane
Ketan Joshi @ketanjoshi.co · 18/09/2026
I agree with Al Gore on a whole lot of things but he's profoundly wrong on almost everything he says in this piece, and is adopting fossil-fuel industry style talking points that he's previously criticised A short thread on why............. www.ft.com/content/ba94...
Al Gore downplays AI threats and touts its climate potential
Former US vice-president argues in favour of technology to help with green progress
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The Wainwright Prizes @wainwrightprize.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
It's our pleasure to announce that the 2026 winner of the Wainwright Prize Book of the Year is... The Book of Birds, Jackie Morris and @robgmacfarlane.bsky.social (Hamish Hamilton) #WainwrightPrize #StoriesThatConnect
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T. Ryan Gregory 🇨🇦 @tryangregory.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
environmentaldefence.ca/2026/09/04/c...
environmentaldefence.ca
Canada's Latest Climate Report Should Be Call to Action, Instead Gov't Tried to Bury It - Environmental Defence
Statement from Julia Levin, Associate Director, National Climate, Environmental Defence Ottawa | Traditional, unceded territory of the Algonquin
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Caught by the River @caughtbytheriver.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
We're pleased to announce details of the CD release of @hannahpeel.bsky.social’s original score for Underland — Robert Petit’s film based on the @robgmacfarlane.bsky.social book of the same name.
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Guy Shrubsole @guyshrubsole.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
‘Honest Bob’ Jenrick says he wants to “abolish” Natural England, and at the very least stop funding it, in the first 100 days of a putative Reform government. Reform may appear to be on the rocks currently but their plans are terrifying, mad & must be stopped. www.theguardian.com/politics/liv...
Jenrick: “Even if you can’t abolish, I don’t know, Natural England within the first 100 days, you can stop funding it, you can turn the tap off and the tap will be turned off a lot of these quangos, and that will drive savings.”
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ian.fenrisgames @fenrisgames.com · 30/08/2026
started my annual relisten of @robgmacfarlane.bsky.social 's amazing Underland a day or two early. if you've the slightest interest in underground environments, humanity's intertwined history of burial and storytelling, or need tips on making your dungeons feel more terrifying, you need this book
cover for Underland - a stylised Holloweg between curved pathway and overhanging branches in red and orange.
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Edward Pollard @epollard.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
This is a pleasant discovery on R4extra. @robgmacfarlane.bsky.social reading his book Underland. www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/serie...
bbc.co.uk
BBC Sounds - Underland by Robert Macfarlane - Available Episodes
Listen to the latest episodes of Underland by Robert Macfarlane on BBC Sounds.
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Joe Morelle @morelle.house.gov · 01/09/2026
These whistleblower allegations are extraordinary. If Trump Administration officials knowingly built a system designed to prevent Americans from receiving their ballots, that is not election security. It is a betrayal of our Constitution and the American people.
nytimes.com
Whistle-Blower Says USPS Is Secretly Proceeding on Trump’s Mail Voting Plan Before Midterms
A report detailed “grave concerns” that a new system being rushed into use by the U.S. Postal Service could imperil millions of mail ballots ahead of the midterm elections.
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Radley Balko @radleybalko.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
The president is threatening to sue a think tank for $5 billion unless they retract a report stating that his National Guard deployments to American cities under the guise of fake emergencies didn't make those cities safer. It's like a Con Law exam question about executive abuse of power.
nytimes.com
Trump Threatens Defamation Suit Over National Guard Report, Aiming to Intimidate a Critic
It was the latest example of President Trump’s bid to use the legal system against those who voice unflattering facts and opinions generally protected by the First Amendment.
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The Guardian @theguardian.com · 21/08/2026
Rewilded land remains green amid drought-stricken English countryside, images show
theguardian.com
Rewilded land remains green amid drought-stricken English countryside, images show
National Trust’s Holnicote estate says restored wetlands and rivers offer proof of resilience to drought, wildfires and flooding Aerial footage of an estate in Somerset has revealed the benefits of rewilding land in the face of extreme weather brought about by the climate crisis. The area of the National Trust’s Holnicote estate where rivers have been returned to their natural courses and wetlands have been restored have remained green and lush during the five heatwaves across the summer. In contrast, the surrounding countryside has become parched and brown. Continue reading...
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Ken Appleby @kenappleby.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
I have just finished this latest book from @robgmacfarlane.bsky.social . It's hard to believe that his word magic could get even better, more strikingly beautiful, but it does. I think all the superlatives applied to it are valid. But it has left me with an aching sadness.
A photo of a paperback book, Robert MacFarlane's book "Is A River Alive".
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Rob Miller @millerscave.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
Finished last night. Answers the question that we all intuitively know the answer to, but can't articulate the reasoning. So many sentences stopped me in my tracks. Solid thumbs up. #booksky📚 #robertmacfarlane #rivers #reading #books #nature
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Ajlark25 @ajlark25.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
Not a lot of books give me chills, but @robgmacfarlane.bsky.social “Is a River Alive?” did. The passage surrounding the location of the proposed dam on the Mutehekau Shipu was so powerful I stopped and reread it 3x. Phenomenal book, 5 out 5 stars for me.
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Ketan Joshi @ketanjoshi.co · 14/08/2026
This is the coverage of Arday **just in the Telegraph** in the UK. This is only the first four pages of results, just in one outlet.
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Jason Arday found dead
2 hours ago — Mr Arday was found •unresponsive• at an address in Battersea. south London. on Froy
afternoon. He was uter pronounced dead at the scene. A Read rnore
Jason Arday says he was an illiterate, mute child. His .
6 hours ago — Jason Arday says he was an i&erate. mute child. Cambridge's youngest-ever black
professor in 2023. Arday attended from the age of four to 11
r— mm-WI 3
A PhD is no longer a sign of brilliance — take it from Dr Arday
1 day aeo — Juon Arday resigns from the Unwersity of Cambrdge after The Telegraph reports he had
falseb• claimed to have pubåshed a book
We are all Jason Arday now
S days ago — Jason Arday resons from the University of Cambridge after The Telegraph reports he had
falsew cGimed to have published a book Aug 7.2028. Read more
Cambridge professor claimed he was on Seven Up..
2 Aug 2026 — He was not bom until 1985. Prof Arday is at the centre of a row about academk
plagiarism after The Tekgragh that he had been accused
The Jason Arday 'memoir' that now appears to be more .
7 days ago — Instead of tales of triumph over adversity. the now-fomer Cambridge professors
autob"qraphy is a case study in self-rnythobgising,
Arday failed to mention 'months-long coma' in autobiography
8 days ago — Jason Arday toz publishers he was k•ft a three-month coma fohwhg a car gash. but
never wrote about the ordeal his memoirs_
Jason Arday is living proof that you reap what you sow
6 Aug 2028 — The Cambridge professor feed plagiarism alegations and made fantastical clä'ns about
his life. so what did he expect woUz happen? Read rmre
ÄIO
Arday 'accused student of Miite privilege' after she
4 days ago — Forrner Cambrdge professor alleged* htplied that Roehamptm student was racist after
cornplaint about essay SOOre.
Jason Arday is rnerely a symptom of the Leffs corruption
Aug 2026 — Lab-curs on school standards is on the same toxic assumptions that created his
academic career.
Cambridge hired Arday after 'listening to black stu…
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Ashish Kothari @ashishkothari.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
Earthy Governance: How to Learn about Democracy from Indigenous Peoples? @shrishteebajpai.bsky.social & I propose an Earth-centered form of democracy, the idea that all of nature has agency in decision-making. berlinergazette.de/earthy-gover... @berlinergazette.bsky.social @vikalpsangam.bsky.social
berlinergazette.de
Earthy Governance: How to Learn about Democracy from Indigenous Peoples? · BG | berlinergazette.de
In light of the planetary polycrisis, it is time to challenge the dominant strand of Western thought that asserts only humans possess rights and that other species exist solely for human benefit. In t...
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Jay Owens @jayowens.bsky.social · 19/06/2026
I wrote (briefly and elliptically) about the phrase I've been thinking about most from @robgmacfarlane.bsky.social’s 𝘐𝘴 𝘈 𝘙𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘈𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦? A river is not a person but ‘a god. For now, I want to call the river 𝘢 𝘨𝘰𝘥.’ www.lrb.co.uk/blog/2026/ju...
lrb.co.uk
Jay Owens | Rights for Gods
Britain’s waterways are filthy and flowing with sewage, as well as fertiliser and pesticide pollution, thousands of...
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Save The Wye Coalition @savethewye.bsky.social · 23/05/2026
Beautiful and informative interview on BBC Today with @robgmacfarlane.bsky.social and Dr Louise Bodnar, Voice of the River Wye, ahead of the Rights of the River Wye charter launch tomorrow in Hay on Wye. Listen from 13.40 minutes: www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...
bbc.co.uk
BBC Radio 4 - Today, 23/05/2026
News and current affairs, including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
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Ian of Dorzet @grittygroblet.bsky.social · 10/05/2026
The new eponymous album by sunn 0))) is a visual and aural work of art, with sleeve notes by @robgmacfarlane.bsky.social that perfectly describe the connection between what you are hearing and feeling. Epic #NowPlaying #VinylSky #VinylCommunity #sunn0))) #drone
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WATERSHED Investigations @watershed-i.bsky.social · 08/05/2026
'A 2007 analysis...found that wild salmon in the Broughton Archipelago were “on a trajectory toward rapid local extinction,” driven by infestations of sea lice from nearby farms.' Then people fought back: story.futureoffood.org/beacons/cana...
story.futureoffood.org
Survival Instead of Extinction: First Nations Rally to Save Wild Salmon on Coastal British Columbia
Indigenous-led action and the Broughton Aquaculture Transition Initiative are restoring wild salmon to coastal British Columbia. Discover how three First Nations reclaimed their ancestral waters from ...
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Matt Seybold @mattseybold.bsky.social · 10/05/2026
Retractions never get proportional attention. This one should.
arstechnica.com
Influential study touting ChatGPT in education retracted over red flags
The retracted study on ChatGPT in education was already cited hundreds of times.
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Robert Macfarlane @robgmacfarlane.bsky.social · 07/05/2026
“First week of May — and ears are peeled each day for that bodkin-shriek and devil-cry, for the screaming that comes across the sky…” They’re back! The Swifts are back, and the world has turned once more... My first swifts of the year, thrillingly, spine-tinglingly, above Oxford. Seen them yet?
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Robert Macfarlane @robgmacfarlane.bsky.social · 07/05/2026
Hello—The Book of Birds by me & the artist Jackie Morris is published…today A re-imagining of the field guide/bird book for our age of wonder & loss, from Avocet to Yellowhammer. Jackie has painted over 300 original artworks for it; I’ve tried to let language soar, glide & plunge. For the birds!
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Robert Macfarlane @robgmacfarlane.bsky.social · 02/05/2026
I had a small part in writing OUR LAND, Orban Wallace’s brilliant new film about land access in England, feat. @guyshrubsole.bsky.social et al. “We’ve found that [with access] people really do care for the land…We all belong to the land, it doesn’t belong to us.” www.theguardian.com/environment/...
theguardian.com
Momentum building for Scottish-style land access rights in England, says film
Documentary makers seek to start ‘informed conversation’ in country where public is allowed on just 8% of land
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Robert Macfarlane @robgmacfarlane.bsky.social · 26/04/2026
On May 7th I & the artist Jackie Morris publish The Book of Birds, our love-letter to birds & our re-imagining of the humble, wonderful field guide/bird book form. Jackie’s painted more than 300 new pieces of art for the book; a jaw-dropping body of work. First set of events detailed below. Come!
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Leana Hosea @leanahosea.bsky.social · 22/04/2026
- clean energy surpassed global growth in demand in 2025 - fossil fuel power went into reverse for the first time - coal power dropped to less than a third of global power generation In spite of every obstacle put in its way, renewable energy just keeps growing share.google/oojbxRlHpm7G...
Euronews, ''Important threshold crossed’ as renewables meet world’s energy demands and fossil power drops'

Subheading: 'Countries continue to turn to renewables for national security despite Trump's attacks on wind and solar.'
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Robert Macfarlane @robgmacfarlane.bsky.social · 23/04/2026
118 angels soar aloft in the hammerbeam roof of a Fenland church—their carved feathers echoing the wings of the Marsh Harriers who once lived in this region in abundance. I made a Radio 4 programme about the entanglements of ornithology & theology, raptors & raptures. www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
bbc.co.uk
Illuminated - Harrier Angels - BBC Sounds
Robert Macfarlane on C16th carvings of angels based on the wings of hen and marsh harriers
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clareskeltonmorris.bsky.social @clareskeltonmorris.bsky.social · 20/04/2026
Finished @robgmacfarlane.bsky.social’s Is A River Alive, and could have underlined the whole thing. A call to arms to protect our waterways.
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Alison loves stories @ohdiglib.bsky.social · 22/04/2026
Is a River Alive @robgmacfarlane.bsky.social is an absolute wonder. Part call to action, part hopeful manifesto all immersive reading. If you can read it on audiobook DO. Macfarlane narrates himself. To listen is to be fully engaged in the wonder, the tragedy, and the glory of natural communities.
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Rocks & Plants & Birds & Things @gatcat.bsky.social · 22/04/2026
Finally been absorbing this deeply inspiring book. Fitting that I'll finish it today on Earth Day. Covering far more than rivers themselves, it explores what it means to be a living part of our world, and our relationships & responsibilities to the more-than-human collaborators sharing this journey.
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Robert Macfarlane @robgmacfarlane.bsky.social · 11/04/2026
hello—on Monday 20 April @curzon.com Soho is showing Lost For Words, a beautiful film about language, nature & hope based on The Lost Words by me & Jackie Morris. Jackie & I will both be there for a Q&A. Please let others know who might be interested—& come join us! www.curzon.com/films/lost-f...
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Guy Shrubsole @guyshrubsole.bsky.social · 11/04/2026
The @nationaltrust.org.uk only rarely ask their members to take political action, but when they do, it’s seismic. Please take the NT’s action, email your MP demanding the Government protect 30% of the UK for nature by 2030: campaigns.nationaltrust.org.uk/page/186395/... bsky.app/profile/nati...
campaigns.nationaltrust.org.uk
Nature = Future
Please share this important action
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David Hoy @davidhoy.bsky.social · 06/04/2026
After some time litter picking by the Water of Leith, I thought I'd reward myself with a couple of pints at my favourite pub, the Dreadnought and continue reading @robgmacfarlane.bsky.social Is A River Alive?, a fabulous read.
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Lina Mounzer @warghetti.bsky.social · 08/04/2026
Massacre upon massacre in Beirut in the last hour. AUBMC announced a “code disaster.” Over 100 airstrikes in 10 minutes across the country. One hit right behind my house. Sirens ambulances & the smell of sulphur. The city is in total chaos the people in complete panic
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SomersetWhovian 💙 🇺🇦 @clairecopperman.bsky.social · 05/04/2026
Book no 15: Is A River Alive? Part travel, part conservation, part philosophy, this is @robgmacfarlane.bsky.social's passionate plea for us to recognise the importance of rivers. His writing is lyrical, at times almost a prose-poem, and utterly immersive. An important and compelling work. #Booksky📚
A copy of Is A River Alive by Robert Macfarlane. Behind it is a grey and whute cat, her eyes closed, clearly pondering on some of the ideas in this brilliant book.
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Robert Macfarlane @robgmacfarlane.bsky.social · 31/03/2026
The spectacular film adaptation of my book Underland is in cinemas as of Friday. More details at: www.underlandfilm.com Working on more screenings in Scotland, Wales & NI.
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Emily Atkin @emorwee.bsky.social · 25/03/2026
Announcing a deal to pay $1 billion to stop two wind farms, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said: “The era of taxpayers subsidizing unreliable, unsecure energy is officially over.” Hours later, a massive American oil refinery accidentally exploded, spiking gas prices nationwide
heated.world
What oil actually costs
The market price of oil has never reflected its true cost. This week made that impossible to ignore.
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Robert Macfarlane @robgmacfarlane.bsky.social · 24/03/2026
“This isn’t just about my livelihood – it’s about justice for the lough before there’s nothing left for the next generation.” The slow murder of Lough Neagh—the largest lake on the island of Ireland & across the British Isles—is a tragedy and a travesty. Go go Declan Conlon.
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Matt Weiland @mattweiland.bsky.social · 22/03/2026
Coming to the US in June from @robgmacfarlane.bsky.social: The paperback of his NY Times bestseller IS A RIVER ALIVE?, and his third magnificent collaboration with the artist Jackie Morris, THE BOOK OF BIRDS.
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Robert Macfarlane @robgmacfarlane.bsky.social · 22/03/2026
The New School of the Anthropocene is an experimental micro-university, which offers an affordable, radical, alternative to mainstream higher ed. I teach there each year & we have students from Gaza, Ukraine & around the world. 2026 enrolment is now open. www.nsota.org @nsota.bsky.social
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Robert Macfarlane @robgmacfarlane.bsky.social · 18/03/2026
On the origins & making of the film adaptation of my book Underland, including director Rob Petit on needing to become “a buttered otter” to film where he did! In UK cinemas from 27 March www.theguardian.com/film/2026/ma...
theguardian.com
‘Fear is good’: my scary subterranean journey into Underland, the film of Robert Macfarlane’s dazzling book
As the hit travelogue about the worlds beneath us becomes a film, its maker takes us on a voyage through Las Vegas storm drains and the caves of Yucatán – via Goatchurch Cavern in the bowels of Somers...
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Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan @london.gov.uk · 17/03/2026
They said it would take 193 years to clean London’s air. We did it in nine. 💨 London has now met legal limits for nitrogen dioxide air pollution.
theguardian.com
London, San Francisco and Beijing achieve ‘remarkable reductions’ in air pollution
Cycle lanes, electric cars and other interventions have helped 19 global cities slash levels of pollutants by more than 20%
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Moudhy Al-Rashid (she/her) @moudhy.bsky.social · 10/03/2026
There's a broken cuneiform tablet from the Old Babylonian period, nearly 4,000 years ago, which preserves a tiny portion of a dialogue between two friends. It feels a bit like the conversations I've been having for the past week, so I wanted to share it.
Photo of a cuneiform tablet fragment shaped a bit like an irregular diamond. It preserves nearly 20 incomplete lines of text separated by a horizontal ruling
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Robert Macfarlane @robgmacfarlane.bsky.social · 10/03/2026
This is a really important @katiesurma.bsky.social piece on the strategic state silencing of land & water defenders in Ecuador—including colleagues of mine—as Noboa’s gov. moves to intensify mining & drilling (Trump playbook). Please share widely. insideclimatenews.org/news/1003202...
insideclimatenews.org
The Latest Tactic for Silencing Ecuador’s Environmental Defenders: Shuttering Their Bank Accounts - Inside Climate News
As the country moves to intensify mining and oil operations, environmental and Indigenous leaders’ bank accounts are being frozen or closed. Such “debanking” cuts them off from financial support and p...
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Birmingham Climate Justice Coalition @brumcjc.bsky.social · 06/03/2026
“Winston Churchill did intervene in Iran and we are living with the consequences of that today” @georgemonbiot.bsky.social
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Robert Macfarlane @robgmacfarlane.bsky.social · 07/03/2026
Hello—here’s the official trailer for UNDERLAND, based on my book of the same name, dir. by Rob Petit, with a haunting, glittering score by @hannahpeel.bsky.social, & the ‘Storyteller’ voiced by Sandra Hüller (Anatomy of a Fall, The Zone of Interest). Hope you like it. In UK/Irish cinemas 27 March.
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Robert Macfarlane @robgmacfarlane.bsky.social · 05/03/2026
Hello—Is a River Alive? is published in paperback in the UK today. It’s dedicated to the rivers & their guardians. Thanks to all who’ve supported its journey into the world: read it, talked about it, got in touch. It’s @waterstones.bsky.social book of the month. “Hope is the thing with rivers…”
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Glyn Moody @glynmoody.bsky.social · 05/03/2026
make that £2.2 billion and the water companies might take notice; anything less, it's just the cost of doing business (badly)
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Mehdi Hasan @mehdirhasan.bsky.social · 05/03/2026
I’ve spent years, decades, obsessing over the Bush Administration’s Iraq WMD lies, writing about them, debunking them. I can think of no lie about Iraq WMDs told by Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld et al that comes even close to the enormity and absurdity of this lie from Donald Trump.
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Robert Macfarlane @robgmacfarlane.bsky.social · 28/02/2026
“Prof Pedro Arrojo-Agudo, UN Special Rapporteur on the human right to clean water, has singled out the English system for criticism, saying water should be managed as a publicly owned service, rather than run by private companies set up to benefit shareholders.” www.theguardian.com/news/ng-inte...
theguardian.com
Dirty water, death and decline: the inside story of a privatisation scandal
There is no end in sight to the pollution caused by a ‘broken’ system. Experts say it could even be getting worse
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Robert Macfarlane @robgmacfarlane.bsky.social · 27/02/2026
Hello — the film adaptation of my book Underland will be showing at the BFI IMAX on 1 April. It should be spectacular on the 26m-high screen there. Tickets go on sale at 4pm today (Friday) here via bfi.org.uk. I’ll be there for a Q&A with the director, Rob Petit, who’s created an extraordinary film.
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