Sign in

Sophy Antrobus

@sophyantrobus.bsky.social
323 followers 158 following 36 posts

Ex-X. Former Labour PPC, academic of air power and military culture. Glad to be exploring a new platform for debate.

PostsRepliesMedia
Reposted by Sophy Antrobus
John Bull @garius.bsky.social · 14h
My teacher brother has just informed me that his primary school kids now refer to anything shit or old fashioned as "Brexit". Which has made my morning.
251529318
Sophy Antrobus @sophyantrobus.bsky.social · 22/06/2026
@bbcnewsnight.bsky.social why is Peter Hain strap lined as Lord Hain and Luciana Berger strap lined as a former MP when she is also in the Lords. I hope just an oversight Both great politicians! @vicderbyshire.bsky.social
000
Reposted by Sophy Antrobus
Richard Schroder @london1946.bsky.social · 29/05/2026
Off subject: Reference the Mystery Hour podcast Thursday May the 28th and the enquiry about the sequence of words Jerry and Tom and Hardy and Laurel ... this clipping from six years ago "one of the unwritten rules of English native speakers". Wish I had listened live. I would have 'phoned in.
1722643
Reposted by Sophy Antrobus
Justin Bronk @justin-br0nk.bsky.social · 28/05/2026
New report on Fast Jet Training Modernisation options and important factors to consider Based on almost two years of research work, including visits to many OCUs, training squadrons and flights in most of the main new trainer options. Download full report free here: www.rusi.org/explore-our-...
rusi.org
Fast-Jet Pilot Training Modernisation Choices
Air forces modernising fast-jet training should prioritise core airmanship skills with regular live flying over increasing tactical complexity at early stages.
02110
Reposted by Sophy Antrobus
Royal Air Force Museum @rafmuseum.bsky.social · 28/05/2026
🚨 Call for Papers 🚨 📢 You have until 4 June to submit your abstracts for Future Battlefield Innovation 🛰️🤖 an October conference exploring AI, drones, cyber warfare, logistics and the future battlefield. For more info visit : www.rafmuseum.org.uk/news/cfp-bcm... #MilitaryHistory #FutureWarfare
014
Reposted by Sophy Antrobus
Shashank Joshi @shashj.bsky.social · 28/05/2026
I wrote our cover story this week, a valedictory essay on the changes in war & warfare over my eight years as defence editor. It’s a reflection on the growth & limits of battlefield transparency, the lessons from different wars & the utility of force today www.economist.com/interactive/...
617235
Reposted by Sophy Antrobus
The Maths Bazaar @themathsbazaar.bsky.social · 23/05/2026
You definitely need to read Robin Robertson's "Mortification: Writers’ Stories of their Public Shame" with such luminaries as Margaret Atwood, Irvine Welsh, and Julian Barnes. My favourite is poet Simon Armitage's:
79036
Reposted by Sophy Antrobus
Sven-Erik Volberg @volberg.bsky.social · 23/04/2026
Ukrainian destruction of russian air defense systems over the past several months, showing a clear increase in the pace of russian AD degradation. Context thread in next post ⏬️ www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/ukrain...
213841
Reposted by Sophy Antrobus
Freeman Air and Space Institute @fasikcl.bsky.social · 23/04/2026
Earlier this week, FASI were delighted to host a Roundtable discussion with India’s Chief of Defence Staff, General Anil Chauhan at @kingscollegelondon.bsky.social. The discussion was centred around India’s defence transformation and its strategic engagement with global partners.
001
Reposted by Sophy Antrobus
sianushka.bsky.social @sianushka.bsky.social · 11/04/2026
As Shaun Pinner says, it’s not about “haggling” over a “few km” of land. It’s about what happens to those people forced to live under Russian occupation
017250
Reposted by Sophy Antrobus
Freeman Air and Space Institute @fasikcl.bsky.social · 10/04/2026
@sophyantrobus.bsky.social was joined by Lord Toby Harris, Professor Emma Williams, AVM (Ret’d) Fin Monahan OBE & Group Captain Ryan Mannering - who each shared their thoughts on the preparedness of society for conflict Thanks to all the speakers, students & guests for an inspiring evening!
001
Sophy Antrobus @sophyantrobus.bsky.social · 03/04/2026
The joy that is South Western Railway just keeps on giving. My train was cancelled but delay repay says because I got a later train I’m not entitled to claim. I marvel at their appallingness. It must be soul destroying working for them 🥲
000
Reposted by Sophy Antrobus
Oral History Network Ireland @oralhistoryie.bsky.social · 23/03/2026
📣 Opportunity: Oral History PhD Research Project w/t Imperial War Museums & University of Strathclyde. An #oralhistory of women paramilitaries during ‘The Troubles’ in Ireland and Britain. For more information visit: www.strath.ac.uk/studywithus/... #Postgraduate #NorthernIreland #TheTroubles
02320
Reposted by Sophy Antrobus
Laura Phillips @lauraphillips.bsky.social · 21/03/2026
@shashj.bsky.social: ‘A war to weaken Iran ends up with the US having to dilute sanctions on Iran. A mark of how blundering this whole endeavour has been.’
13514
Reposted by Sophy Antrobus
Ulrike Franke @rikefranke.eu · 17/03/2026
Quite the read. www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
lrb.co.uk
Andrew O’Hagan · Stay Classy: Mummy’s Favourite
With some people, money and sex are the only truths. It’s the ultimate delinquency to believe that gratification...
1499
Sophy Antrobus @sophyantrobus.bsky.social · 07/03/2026
Incredible amazing read. Thoroughly depressing.
000
Reposted by Sophy Antrobus
Yashar Ali 🐘 @yasharali.bsky.social · 28/02/2026
November 2024
Stephen Miller &
@StephenM
X.com
To anyone still gullible enough to fall for scummy media hoaxes: Trump said warmongering neocons love sending your kids to die for wars they would never fight themselves. Liz Cheney is Kamala's top advisor. Liz wants to invade the whole Middle East.
Kamala = WWIII. Trump = Peace.
7:59 AM • 11/1/24 • 53K Views
291307401
Reposted by Sophy Antrobus
Freeman Air and Space Institute @fasikcl.bsky.social · 03/02/2026
UK Spacepower: Lessons from 2025 In this latest viewpoint, @allenant.bsky.social reflects on 2025 as the ‘year of promises for UK spacepower’ and explores the urgent steps that need to be taken in 2026 to secure the UK’s defence-space strategy. Read here 👇 ow.ly/4y0m50Y81Rq
002
Reposted by Sophy Antrobus
James Ball @jamesrball.com · 01/02/2026
This is an absolutely incredible example of someone telling on himself, because for almost all of his life Matthew Goodwin craved nothing more than exactly this. He boasted for years of being the “youngest full professor of politics”, and then applied for post after post at more prestigious unis.
19587117
Reposted by Sophy Antrobus
Warren Oates @warrenoates1.bsky.social · 23/01/2026
This is David Marsh. He went to my old school. He is one of the small number of European troops who went to Afghanistan and never did much nor went to the front line according to Donald Trump. He died in 2008 aged 23 in Afghanistan when the patrol car he was in was blown up in Helmand Province.
26683178
Reposted by Sophy Antrobus
Mark Wallace @wallaceme.bsky.social · 24/01/2026
Stephen was a great contestant. But also the daily game of betting whether he would be dressed as a) a suspect in a seaside Poirot mystery, b) Christopher Robin, or c) ABBA. #thetraitors
2465
Sophy Antrobus @sophyantrobus.bsky.social · 23/01/2026
Interesting article. ‘students show “strange deference” to AI — questioning classmates but accepting AI pronouncements’. I can see why this is especially pertinent in the PME environment for a number of reasons discussed here.
020
Sophy Antrobus @sophyantrobus.bsky.social · 20/01/2026
‘Middle powers must act together because if you are not at the table, you are on the menu.’
04613
Reposted by Sophy Antrobus
Sam Freedman @samfr.bsky.social · 17/01/2026
What Europe could do is threaten to boycott the World Cup. It won't. But that might actually work. Trump wants his big show.
1171658352
Reposted by Sophy Antrobus
Tom Phillips @tom-phillips.com · 17/01/2026
I would love to experience being in Dan Hannan's brain. Just for a little bit. What's it like to never worry about making a mistake? To just breeze merrily through a life where every wrong turn confirms your belief that you're smarter than the map?
911818
Reposted by Sophy Antrobus
Freeman Air and Space Institute @fasikcl.bsky.social · 12/01/2026
📢 Lecture Series: Call for Papers The @rafmuseum.bsky.social is seeking proposals from postgraduate students, early-career & established researchers for the 2026 air and space power research programme. 📅 Deadline: 23 Jan ❔ ResearchNews@rafmuseum.org 👇 www.rafmuseum.org.uk/news/raf-mus...
rafmuseum.org.uk
RAF Museum 2026 Lecture Series: Call for Papers - RAF Museum
011
Reposted by Sophy Antrobus
sianushka.bsky.social @sianushka.bsky.social · 06/01/2026
This is a deeply depressing read by Rachel Hewitt and one that will feel frustratingly familiar to anyone trying to get a book published right now!! Also when she lists the big non fiction sellers - phew. open.substack.com/pub/rachelhe...
open.substack.com
NO PLATFORM: something's rotten in the state of non-fiction
In the past, non-fiction writers built platforms by researching and writing books. Now, writers are expected to *already* possess substantial online platforms.
22612
Reposted by Sophy Antrobus
Freeman Air and Space Institute @fasikcl.bsky.social · 05/01/2026
✈️ How has the RAF's culture around safety and risk shifted and what is the right balance in the context of today’s threats? Read as @sophyantrobus.bsky.social examines the RAF’s changing relationship with risk - its approach, attitude, and appetite. Explore 👇 kcl.ac.uk/warstudies/a...
011
Sophy Antrobus @sophyantrobus.bsky.social · 28/12/2025
This is awesome. What amazing support from Salisbury FC www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
Salisbury FC bar sales raise £10k for Wiltshire homeless charity
Alabaré says the money is going towards supporting people battling drug and alcohol misuse.
000
Reposted by Sophy Antrobus
Garrett M. Graff @vermontgmg.bsky.social · 06/12/2025
It’s weird that news organizations like the BBC are covering this as if it’s a real thing with a real process behind it—and not clearly some nakedly invented “participation trophy” by a corrupt organization to curry favor with a corrupt and easily manipulated man-child. www.bbc.com/sport/footba...
bbc.com
Donald Trump: US president named inaugural Fifa Peace Prize winner
US President Donald Trump receives the inaugural Fifa Peace Prize before the draw for the 2026 Fifa World Cup.
1432461650
Reposted by Sophy Antrobus
Dmitry Grozoubinski @explaintrade.com · 05/12/2025
It sure looks like Russian intelligence attempted to use military drones to assassinate the President of Ukraine inside an EU country. Looking forward to more thoughts from Belgium on why freezing Russian assets is an escalatory move that might compromise the peace process.
341575668
Reposted by Sophy Antrobus
Minor Spear Carrier @tyrellmayfield.bsky.social · 01/12/2025
No BBC, this is not an escalation. www.bbc.com/news/article...
bbc.com
Ukraine hits tankers in Black Sea in escalation against Russia
The two ships struck by drones were thought to be used to bypass Western sanctions on Russia.
1192
Reposted by Sophy Antrobus
Stephen Graham @stephengraham.bsky.social · 01/12/2025
Chris Mason presuming to make a call on my behalf. I wouldn't have him queue for a shared lavatory on my behalf.
0314
Reposted by Sophy Antrobus
From Balloons to Drones @balloons2drones.bsky.social · 01/12/2025
#BookReview – Flight Culture and the Human Experience balloonstodrones.com/2025/12/01/b...
balloonstodrones.com
#BookReview – Flight Culture and the Human Experience
Reviewed by Dr Brian Laslie Scott W. Palmer (ed.), Flight Culture and the Human Experience. College Station, TX: Texas A&M Press, 2025. Hbk Photos. Bibliography. Index. 248 pp. Scott W. Palmer’…
064
Reposted by Sophy Antrobus
The Author, Séamas O'Reilly @seamas.bsky.social · 03/11/2025
Now that Roisin Agnew's doc "The Ban" is up on The New Yorker's website, here's a piece I wrote about it, and the broadcasting ban itself, on the 30th anniversary of its lifting last year, and which involved me quizzing Chris Morris about *that* sketch. www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2024...
theguardian.com
‘Counterproductive and silly’: 30 years since the end of the bizarre Irish political voice ban
A new film looks at the restriction of broadcasting on named political groups in Northern Ireland – and the actors and comedians who benefited
68822
Reposted by Sophy Antrobus
Freeman Air and Space Institute @fasikcl.bsky.social · 24/10/2025
✈️ ‘Gowns Flying’: The first one hundred years of University Air Squadrons FASI's @sophyantrobus.bsky.social examines the development of the University Air Squadrons over the past century & explores how they remain a vital link between universities & the armed forces. 👇 ow.ly/OKeQ50XgYQx
055
Reposted by Sophy Antrobus
John Alexander @ac1shaw.bsky.social · 13/08/2025
My third and final edition of the Journal of the @rafhistorical.bsky.social as editor is in print. It's the proceedings of the RAF culture seminar at @rafmuseum.bsky.social , organised by @sophyantrobus.bsky.social , @rafhistory.bsky.social, wonderfully guest edited by @sophyhiggins.bsky.social.
165
Reposted by Sophy Antrobus
Bill Grueskin @bgrueskin.bsky.social · 12/08/2025
So assuming this story is correct -- and the WSJ reporter is excellent -- Trump's chief negotiator on Ukraine is meeting with Putin about how to end the war while also scouting sites for a possible Trump hotel in Moscow. www.wsj.com/world/russia...
wsj.com
Russia Has High Hopes for Trump-Putin Summit. Peace Isn’t One of Them.
The meeting represents a victory for Russian President Vladimir Putin, who seeks to end international isolation and separate Russian ties with the U.S. from the fate of Ukraine.
43811399
Sophy Antrobus @sophyantrobus.bsky.social · 09/08/2025
Excellent analysis
000
Reposted by Sophy Antrobus
War Studies @warstudieskcl.bsky.social · 30/07/2025
Dr Julia Balm, of the Freeman Air & Space Institute, shares insights into the increasing strategic relevance of space war
022
Reposted by Sophy Antrobus
Sam Freedman @samfr.bsky.social · 22/07/2025
Julia Lopez is rumoured to be replacing Stuart Andrew as shadow culture secretary. There should be some kind of prize if you've heard of both of these people.
3322219
Reposted by Sophy Antrobus
Dylan Difford @dylandifford.bsky.social · 20/07/2025
I could go 'blah, blah, Betteridge' or 'blah, blah, for the 800th time, here's why this is a shit idea', but you know what, the main conclusion is just that this article is ignorant crap.
theguardian.com
Should we ban opinion polls?
They claim to reflect public sentiment. But they’re better thought of as just another species of misinformation
151
Reposted by Sophy Antrobus
Amanda Peters @abergirl2011.bsky.social · 18/07/2025
That letter from Richard Tice is unbelievable....
265
Reposted by Sophy Antrobus
Tom Railton @tomrailton.bsky.social · 05/07/2025
Don't let the excitable intern write your quotes, kids.
111
Sophy Antrobus @sophyantrobus.bsky.social · 02/06/2025
Agree. Also much emphasis on Service Families Accommodation but Single Living Accommodation must also be an immediate priority.
020
Sophy Antrobus @sophyantrobus.bsky.social · 31/05/2025
Interesting given my piece with Kevin Rowlands recently published: www.progressivebritain.org/adding-rungs... British fighter jets to carry nuclear bombs www.thetimes.com/article/b3fb...
thetimes.com
British fighter jets to carry nuclear bombs
American-made planes armed with tactical weapons would be the UK’s biggest defence expansion since the Cold War
120
Reposted by Sophy Antrobus
Marie Le Conte @youngvulgarian.marieleconte.com · 31/05/2025
YES! my second sport column is online! I went to watch some rugby in Twickenham: can you guess how it went? observer.co.uk/news/columni... [free to read!]
6437733
Sophy Antrobus @sophyantrobus.bsky.social · 30/05/2025
My hero. Just loved everything about her. Obvs Alan Alda is in the same league. Loretta Swit: M*A*S*H ‘Hot Lips’ actress dies aged 87 www.thetimes.com/article/24ff...
thetimes.com
Loretta Swit: M*A*S*H ‘Hot Lips’ actress dies aged 87
Swit delighted audiences as Major Margaret ‘Hot Lips’ Houlihan in M*A*S*H, the US comedy series that aired for more than a decade from 1973
060