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Simon Hall

@simonhallwriter.bsky.social
323 followers 113 following 72 posts

Historian and writer. Author of Three Revolutions: Russia, China, Cuba and the Epic Journeys That Changed The World. Previous books include 1956: The World in Revolt and Ten Days in Harlem: Fidel Castro and the Making of the 1960s.

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Reposted by Simon Hall
David Lance Callahan @davidlancecallahan.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
The best and most accurate obit of Jeffrey Archer you will read ... brokenbottleboy.substack.com/p/here-lies-...
brokenbottleboy.substack.com
Here lies Jeffrey Archer
The death of one of Britain’s most infamous liars brings back memories of Monica Coghlan.
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Simon Hall @simonhallwriter.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Have you tried reading from Learning Languages in Early Modern England?
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Simon Hall @simonhallwriter.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
what is a "smart speaker"?
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Jo Wolff @jowolff.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
The fallacy that University leaders pushing AI are falling into is thinking that the point of undergraduate research is to find things out. It isn't. What students find out is typically already generally known. The point of undergraduate research is to learn how to find things out.
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Jo Wolff @jowolff.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
(Almost) every writer: If only I had some free time, I could really make some progress. Free time appears. No, not that sort of free time.
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Simon Hall @simonhallwriter.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Also, it is apparently the Student Union, not the University.
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Simon Hall @simonhallwriter.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
I'm glad I saw this - it prompted me to check my 'junk' folder!
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Simon Hall @simonhallwriter.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
just make sure you download the image(s) on a university networked computer.
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Simon Hall @simonhallwriter.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
Sorry to hear that. Unfortunately it is now a feature, rather than a bug.
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Peter Whitewood @pwhitewood.bsky.social · 23/08/2026
A very good piece that gets to the heart of the challenge of AI in the humanities generativehistory.substack.com/p/no-more-mu...
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Tim Bale @timbale.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
Agreed! Was never a huge fan - although www.youtube.com/watch?v=6QEk... is an earworm and no mistake - but lovely to see a performer so happy in retirement after a successful career.
youtube.com
Russ Abbot - Atmosphere (1984)
YouTube video by DiscoBar80
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Simon Hall @simonhallwriter.bsky.social · 16/08/2026
it would at least take the edge off of the perma-crisis.
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Simon Hall @simonhallwriter.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
do you know what they are replacing it with?
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Royal Historical Society @royalhistsoc.org · 02/08/2026
In late 2023, the Society spent a day with Hertfordshire’s historians. We saw the quality, creativity and distinctiveness of teaching, research and engagement. We were told by a (now departed) senior manager that History was ‘a portfolio the university will guard very carefully’. bit.ly/4hLediN
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Tom Freeman @tomfreeman.bsky.social · 12/07/2026
Love the way that ITV have hired a woman who knows exactly what she's talking about specifically for the purpose of being disregarded by two halfwit men
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John Oxley @joxley.jmoxley.co.uk · 06/07/2026
Want the long read on the Lib Dem organiser who ended up doing graphs for Fox Weather.
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General Boles @generalboles.bsky.social · 05/07/2026
"I know it's not the sort of thing you usually do Mr Havelange but speaking as a nuclear power we'd appreciate Gascoigne's yellow being overturned and the match result annulled"
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David Ho @davidho.bsky.social · 27/06/2026
Tens of thousands celebrated Budapest Pride, the first since Viktor Orbán’s ousting.
pbs.org
Tens of thousands march in the first Budapest Pride since Viktor Orbán was voted out
Saturday's Pride march came a little more than a year after Orbán's nationalist-populist government passed legislation and a constitutional amendment to outlaw the event, drawing criticism from human ...
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Patrick Andelic @pkandelic.bsky.social · 12/05/2026
Andy Burnham arrives at Euston Station, May 2026:
Lenin arriving at Finland Station, waving his cap to cheering crowds, 1917.
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Ian Dunt @iandunt.bsky.social · 12/05/2026
The end of Starmer: He's going to make it ugly iandunt.substack.com/p/the-end-of...
iandunt.substack.com
The end of Starmer: He's going to make it ugly
There's a chance for decorum and perhaps even a bit of dignity. It's fading fast.
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Simon Hall @simonhallwriter.bsky.social · 08/05/2026
I mean, we have all privately fantasised about doing something similar, right? right?
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Simon Hall @simonhallwriter.bsky.social · 13/04/2026
Furedi is talking total nonsense.
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Simon Hall @simonhallwriter.bsky.social · 09/04/2026
I think John that, on reflection, you'll agree that British HE is a world-leading example of an integrated, quality-centred, high value, sectorial pioneering, erm, flummery going forward?
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Simon Hall @simonhallwriter.bsky.social · 21/03/2026
I hope that you took the first question as the cue to launch into the 45 minute prepared remarks. Like a pro.
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Roxane Gay @roxanegay.bsky.social · 09/03/2026
Just walked by a colleague's classroom after my class finished and he was talking about Elvis, getting blank stares and so he had to ask "Does anyone know who Elvis Presley is?" It's rough out here on these teaching streets.
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Simon Hall @simonhallwriter.bsky.social · 24/02/2026
not at all - a great day indeed!
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Simon Hall @simonhallwriter.bsky.social · 16/02/2026
at least they're not on their phones!
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Simon Hall @simonhallwriter.bsky.social · 14/02/2026
Based on all the errors, Jan would have had a decent shot of a medal if she had entered!
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Thomas I-G @thomasig.bsky.social · 18/12/2025
Reims approved 2005 - opened 2011 Lyon approved 1996 - opened 2001 Luxembourg approved 2014 - opened 2017 Aarhus approved 2012 - opened 2017 Leeds first approval 2001 (well the Supertram proposal, anyway) - new proposal opening *maybe* late 2030s
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John Grindrod @grindrod.bsky.social · 28/10/2025
Let's take a ride... My next book is coming out with @faberbooks.bsky.social. Tales of the Suburbs: LGBTQ+ Lives Behind Net Curtains will be published March 12 2026. Preorder links in profile, and lots more on the book and the remarkable stories people told me to come over the next few months...
Cover of a book: Tales of the Suburbs: LGBTQ+ Lives Behind Net Curtains by John Grindrod
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Christina Wolbrecht @cwolbrecht.bsky.social · 19/10/2025
Solidarity in Indiana.
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Simon Hall @simonhallwriter.bsky.social · 07/10/2025
jacobin.com/2025/10/matt...
jacobin.com
Herbert Matthews Was a Role Model for Engaged Journalism
Herbert Matthews of the New York Times was one of the great reporters of his time. US conservatives still haven’t forgiven him for his 1957 interview with Fidel Castro and even blamed him for the succ...
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Simon Hall @simonhallwriter.bsky.social · 01/10/2025
I'll have to get a copy of the magazine! Glad that you liked the book!
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Maurice J. Casey @mauricejcasey.com · 01/10/2025
I reviewed the riveting Three Revolutions by @simonhallwriter.bsky.social in the latest issue of the TLS - and took the opportunity to talk about my favourite historical film Reds. www.the-tls.com/history/twen...
the-tls.com
Fellow travellers
Warren Beatty’s film Reds (1981), a biopic about the muckraking American journalist John Reed, did something revolutionary. In a daring narrative experiment for a Hollywood romance, snippets from oral...
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Simon Hall @simonhallwriter.bsky.social · 23/09/2025
It is US publication day for Three Revolutions! You can find out more by listening to the @theresthistory.bsky.social bonus episode (if you're not already, sign up for membership) www.barnesandnoble.com/w/three-revo...
barnesandnoble.com
Three Revolutions: Russia, China, Cuba and the Epic Journeys that Changed the World|Hardcover
The gripping, untold story of how six epic journeys launched the three communist revolutions that changed world history forever.From the streets of Petrograd during the heady autumn of 1917, to Mao&#8...
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Simon Hall @simonhallwriter.bsky.social · 22/09/2025
yes. definitely. think of yourself as a pioneer.
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Simon Hall @simonhallwriter.bsky.social · 22/09/2025
you should totally re-join the Commonwealth, BTW.
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Simon Hall @simonhallwriter.bsky.social · 22/09/2025
Let it go, John, let it go! We're all friends now.
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Simon Hall @simonhallwriter.bsky.social · 18/09/2025
I put this exact scenario into an AI generator and it spat out: "complete bollocks." Maybe the machines will take over in the end after all?
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Simon Hall @simonhallwriter.bsky.social · 15/09/2025
Nice to see this positive review of Three Revolutions - available in all good bookshops! www.culturefusionhub.com/c/details/41...
culturefusionhub.com
Home
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Simon Hall @simonhallwriter.bsky.social · 12/09/2025
I’m appearing at Ilkley Lit Fest this October! You can book your tickets online now at ilkleylitfest.org.uk or by calling 01943 816714 @ilkleylitfest.bsky.social
ilkleylitfest.org.uk
Ilkley Literature Festival
Home page -
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Ben Collins @bencollins.bsky.social · 21/08/2025
Some incredibly good news: One year ago this week, The Onion returned to print. In that one year, we’ve grown to the 13th largest print newspaper in the United States, just ahead of the Boston Globe, and growing fast. In short, it’s working. So… thank you. Thank you for helping save this thing.
wsj.com
Exclusive | The Onion Brought Back Its Print Edition. The Gamble Is Paying Off.
Publications turn to the old-style products to appeal to nostalgic readers and stand out in a crowded digital-media landscape.
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C20 Society @c20society.bsky.social · 05/08/2025
NEWS: New York, Brasilia, Manchester? We're delighted to announce that the Renold Building at the former University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (UMIST) has just been designated at Grade II, 20 years after C20's first listing application. ➡️ c20society.org.uk/news/manches...
Image © Mark WaughImage © Jon Sparks
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Prof Katherine Schofield 🇬🇧🇦🇺🇪🇺 @katherineschof8.bsky.social · 21/07/2025
When I pointed out King’s will lose 90% of its AHRC student-led places under the new scheme, I got piled on by the AHRC Chair claiming I was wrong and scaremongering. It wasn’t quite 90%. This year King’s students got 27 AHRC student-led scholarships. Next year they’re giving us 3. So 89% then.
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Simon Hall @simonhallwriter.bsky.social · 21/07/2025
was this sparked by a specific trigger, or just the 'general vibes, man.'
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The Washington Post @washingtonpost.com · 15/07/2025
Scientists have released the closest images ever taken near the sun, captured by NASA’s Parker Solar Probe flying 3.8 million miles above the solar surface. See more images of solar eruptions on the sun: wapo.st/3Irm3P3
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Simon Hall @simonhallwriter.bsky.social · 16/07/2025
Obviously, you should first read Three Revolutions, but then follow up with some great books on the revolutionary history of the 20th century!
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Faber Books @faberbooks.bsky.social · 16/07/2025
'These social and political upheavals, in turn, have inspired some terrific writing by protagonists, eyewitnesses, journalists and historians.' Find @simonhallwriter.bsky.social's Twentieth-Century Revolutions reading list here: faber.co.uk/journal/simon-hall-twentieth-century-revolutions/
faber.co.uk
Simon Hall: Twentieth-Century Revolutions
The history of the twentieth century was marked decisively by revolutions. These social and political upheavals, in turn, have inspired some terrific writing by protagonists, eyewitnesses,…
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TRE - Talk Radio Europe @tre.radio · 07/07/2025
He's back!...and on Giles Brown's Let's Talk from 10.00CET - Nick Dawson on 'Face to Face: Finding Justice for My Murdered Twin Brother' and @simonhallwriter.bsky.social with 'Three Revolutions: Russia, China, Cuba and the Epic Journeys that Changed the World'
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Simon Hall @simonhallwriter.bsky.social · 04/07/2025
thanks!
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