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Simon Allison @simonallison.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

I have no doubt that this is a very well reported story. @sallyhayd.bsky.social is one of the best. I would love to read it. But the walls we are building around high-quality journalism are as high, and as dangerous, as the walls we build around our countries.

Screenshot showing the paywall box for the Irish Times

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Simon Allison @simonallison.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

There is a lot going on in the world of higher mathematics right now.

Promotional poster for The Atlas newspaper, Issue 4. The poster shows the newspaper masthead, and an illustration of mathematician Terence Tao and various mathematical instruments against a vivid green background.

Text reads:

Hot off the press! Get the latest edition of The Atlas newspaper on theatlasnewspaper.org. We live in the same world, let’s read from the same page.

On the cover: Recent AI advances have shaken the foundations of the mathematics world. Some mathematicians are fighting back.

Also in this issue: We’re traveling to a bookshop in Delhi, a shawarma joint in the West Bank, and along the loneliest stretches of Peru’s Interoceanic Highway.

To tell someone about The Atlas, save or screenshot this poster – and share it with them directly, on whatever platform you use to communicate with people you trust. All issues and subscription information at theatlasnewspaper.org. No logins, no passwords, no fees.

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Simon Allison @simonallison.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

This quote from @kopalo.bsky.social has been whirring around my brain for the past few weeks. He argues that not all corruption is created equal - and that for economies to develop, they also have to move towards a more sophisticated form of corruption. Brown paper bags won't get us anywhere.

Quote from an interview with Ken Opalo in The Continent newspaper. Paraphrased, it argues that even when it comes to corruption, there are levels - and that more sophisticated systems of corruption can actually deliver better economic outcomes."

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Simon Allison @simonallison.bsky.social · 01/08/2026

We think this is one of the most important stories on the planet right now. That's why we put it on the front page of our newspaper @atlasnewspaper.bsky.social (Illustration is by @codastory.com's Anna Jibladze; and yes, you can win a limited edition print, details inside the paper) 16/

Front page of The Atlas Issue 3. Headline reads: The Company That Wants to Hijack the Sun: Astronomers fear the end of the night sky as we know it. Image shows a giant mirror in space, reflecting an image of the Earth as a tiny dot in space.

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Simon Allison @simonallison.bsky.social · 01/08/2026

Astronomers everywhere are losing their damn minds. A recent study found that those 50,000 mirrors would increase the general background brightness of the night sky by 300%. This would effectively blind us from looking at the stars from Earth. It would be the end of the night sky as we know it. 14/

Movie poster for the movie Don't Look Up, edited (by me) to read Can't Look Up

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Simon Allison @simonallison.bsky.social · 01/08/2026

Imagine solar panels that can run 24 hours a day. Clean energy solved! Imagine cities that never needed to install another streetlight. Imagine search and rescue teams being able to save lives around the clock. That's their pitch. 8/

A PR image from Reflect Orbital, showing a small town illuminated at night by a beam of reflected sunlight

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Simon Allison @simonallison.bsky.social · 01/08/2026

No matter - there exists on this Earth a network of Dark Sky Places - that's really what they're called - where people who need to see the stars, can. For research, maybe, or for awe and wonderment, or to make sure there isn't an asteroid crashing into planet. 5/

The South African Astronomical Observatory in Sutherland, South Africa - one of the best places in the world to see the stars.

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Simon Allison @simonallison.bsky.social · 01/08/2026

Since then, human settlements everywhere have been getting brighter and brighter and brighter. So bright that most humans live permanently in the glow of electric light, even at night, which means we can't see nearly as many stars as we used to. 4/

The skyline of Hong Kong at night. Hong Kong is one of the brightest cities in the world.

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Simon Allison @simonallison.bsky.social · 01/08/2026

About 150 years ago this guy called Thomas Edison figured out how to make incandescent light bulbs really cheaply (his major breakthrough? Using Japanese bamboo for the filament). Suddenly humans could light up the night like never before. 3/

A sketch from Thomas Edison's papers, depicting "THE EDISON INCANDESCENT LAMP SCREWED IN SOCKET".

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Simon Allison @simonallison.bsky.social · 01/08/2026

BREAKING NEWS: There's been a major development this month in the war between darkness and light. 1/

Illustration from The Atlas newspaper, showing an astronomical observatory perched on a mountaintop. It's night, and the sky is full of stars, except for a beam of bright light shining down on the observatory itself.

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Simon Allison @simonallison.bsky.social · 23/07/2026

Issue 3 of The Atlas dropping next Thursday. Get yours delivered, for free, via Signal (preferred) or email: www.theatlasnewspaper.org

Teaser poster for The Atlas, an international newspaper. Shows a person reading The Atlas newspaper while relaxing on a deck chair. It is nighttime, and they are illuminated with a beam of light.

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Simon Allison @simonallison.bsky.social · 11/06/2026

For me, South Africa's troubles began when they arrived in Mexico City using the same charter airline that ICE uses for deportation flights.

South Africa's national men's football team arriving in Mexico City for the world cup. This image shows them disembarking from a charter plane, operated by Omni Air International.

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Simon Allison @simonallison.bsky.social · 25/05/2026

The Atlas. A new global newspaper. By @thecontinent.org and @codastory.com. In the inaugural issue: let's talk about the 24-millennium news cycle. Download your copy here. No logins, no passwords, no fees. www.theatlasnewspaper.org

Front cover of the first issue of The Atlas newspaper, with the headline: The Writing is on the Wall: Inside the fight to own the 24-millennium news cycle. The illustration on the front is of the Blombos Pattern, humanity's earliest recorded artwork, carved into red ochre 75,000 years ago.

The texture of the paper behind the engraved rock replicates the Blombos Pattern itself - a series of bisecting, uneven diagonal lines.

This is the pilot edition of The Atlas, a collaboration between Coda Story and The Continent.

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Simon Allison @simonallison.bsky.social · 24/04/2026

Also in this edition: join us for coffee with the wonderful @timnitgebru.blacksky.app. Illustration by @wynonamutisi.bsky.social

Illustration of six people sitting around a square coffee table, in a lush garden, participating in a traditional Ethiopian coffee ceremony. The illustration is headlined 'Coffee with The Continent'

A page from Coffee with The Continent, featuring computer scientist Timnit Gebru.

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Simon Allison @simonallison.bsky.social · 20/02/2026

Our @thecontinent.org cover package: Cartoon by Gado. @nanjala.bsky.social on Rubio's standing ovation. Myself on AI-fuelled colonialism. And Christine Mungai on the levers - or lack thereof - with which Africa can defend itself. Read a newspaper. www.thecontinent.org/_files/ugd/2...

Front cover of Issue 229 of The Continent, headlined 'Here we go again'. The image depicts Trump, Rubio and Vance as old-fashioned colonisers, fighting an imperial war.

Advert for The Continent newspaper, depicting as astronaut reading a newspaper surrounded by a pile of books. The tagline reads 'Reading is resistance'.

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Simon Allison @simonallison.bsky.social · 31/10/2025

A tale of two front pages.

$Front page of The Continent Issue 218, showing an illustration of a fractured Sudan. With the headline: Genocide Resumes in Darfur as Sudan tears apart.$ Front page of The Economist for the 1 November edition, headlined: Europe's Opportunity: The financial case for supporting Ukraine.

Front page of The Economist for the 1 November edition, headlined: Europe's Opportunity: The financial case for supporting Ukraine.

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Simon Allison @simonallison.bsky.social · 24/10/2025

"Another war looms, one that could pit Tigrayans against each other. I fought once to defend my people; I will not fight again in a war that will destroy what remains. That is why I left." @thecontinent.org

The Cover of The Continent Issue 217, showing an illustration of a boat on the Red Sea, with people drowning in the water below. It is headlined: Exodus - Why We Leave Tigray.

Screenshot of p16 of The Continent Issue 217, showing an illustration of a Tigrayan fighter and the flag on the background. And in the foreground a young writer on laptop. With the headline - The Exodus Out of Tigray.

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Simon Allison @simonallison.bsky.social · 29/08/2025

Read a newspaper. thecontinent.org/subscribe

Advertisement for The Continent newspaper, depicting two astronauts sitting on a bench. One is looking at their phone, the other is reading a newspaper. Above the illustration is text that reads 'Can't trust the internet? Read a newspaper instead.'

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Simon Allison @simonallison.bsky.social · 29/03/2025

I published a story in this week's edition and, for the first time in my career, wondered: will this mean I won't get a visa for the United States? "South Africa’s ruling party has already defeated one white supremacist state. Can it stand firm against another one?"

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Simon Allison @simonallison.bsky.social · 08/03/2025

My favourite story in this week's edition of @thecontinent.org is this rare interview with Ethiopia's most famous singer, the King of Tizita himself, Mahmoud Ahmed. Take a listen. Even if (like me) you don't speak Amharic, this is indescribably beautiful: youtu.be/5IAKaipKdh0?...

Page from The Continent newspaper, showing an illustration of an Ethiopian wedding scene. It's the introduction to a story about Mahmoud Ahmed, the king of Ethiopian Tizita music, who has just retired.

The first page of the interview with Mahmoud Ahmed in The Continent

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Simon Allison @simonallison.bsky.social · 31/01/2025

Welcome to the Museum of Stolen History.

Title page of The Museum of Stolen History, a new series in The Continent. "Things can be taken. Their stories must still be told". Depicts an illustrated museum display cabinet featuring the Bangwa Queen and the Golden Crown.

Picture of the Golden Crown and text explaining it's Ethiopian origin

More text describing the back story of the Golden Crown and how it came to be seized by British troops from the Ethiopian emperor Tewedros II (who had himself seized the crown from a church)

Illustration of the Golden Crown being given to a church in 18th century Ethiopian

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Simon Allison @simonallison.bsky.social · 12/12/2024

News websites are a terrible medium for the distribution of news. Let's make newspapers instead. (and yes, we really do need to talk about cookies) My 2025 prediction for @niemanlab.org www.niemanlab.org/2024/12/news...