Chris Willmott
@cjrw.bsky.social
I have a soft spot in general for #DesertIslandDiscs - the longevity of the show is testimony to the brilliance of the format. But I thought today's episode with Prof Dame Pam Shaw was one of the best ever www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
Desert Island Discs - Professor Dame Pamela Shaw - BBC Sounds
Neurologist Professor Dame Pamela Shaw joins Lauren Laverne.
www.bbc.co.uk
August 14, 2026 at 9:09 AM
I have a soft spot in general for #DesertIslandDiscs - the longevity of the show is testimony to the brilliance of the format. But I thought today's episode with Prof Dame Pam Shaw was one of the best ever www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
I'm in the process of migrating My Theatre Reviews to Substack. Here's some reflections on a recent trip to see #TheProducers mytheatrereviews.substack.com/p/a-product-...
A product that's exceeded its sell-by date?
Review of The Producers
mytheatrereviews.substack.com
July 29, 2026 at 11:29 AM
I'm in the process of migrating My Theatre Reviews to Substack. Here's some reflections on a recent trip to see #TheProducers mytheatrereviews.substack.com/p/a-product-...
UK universities are in trouble. Decades of under-funding, compounded by governance errors, has left them strapped for cash. The scariest thing about this article is the fact it reports on 2023-2024. The situation has got MUCH worse since then
www.theguardian.com/education/20...
www.theguardian.com/education/20...
Humanities among degrees being ‘extinguished’ by hard-up universities
Exclusive: Experts fear rise in education ‘cold spots’ and social immobility as 4,000 academic posts lost in one year
www.theguardian.com
July 15, 2026 at 10:45 AM
UK universities are in trouble. Decades of under-funding, compounded by governance errors, has left them strapped for cash. The scariest thing about this article is the fact it reports on 2023-2024. The situation has got MUCH worse since then
www.theguardian.com/education/20...
www.theguardian.com/education/20...
I recently migrated #MyTheatreReviews to Substack (where it's currently still free). Latest entry is #TheChoirOfMan
open.substack.com/pub/mytheatr...
open.substack.com/pub/mytheatr...
The Choir of Man: Winning when you’re singing
A review of The Choir of Man
open.substack.com
July 15, 2026 at 10:03 AM
I recently migrated #MyTheatreReviews to Substack (where it's currently still free). Latest entry is #TheChoirOfMan
open.substack.com/pub/mytheatr...
open.substack.com/pub/mytheatr...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
UK Biobank health data listed for sale in China
#Biobank #BigData #Confidentiality #DataSecurity #Genomica #Bioethics
UK Biobank health data listed for sale in China
#Biobank #BigData #Confidentiality #DataSecurity #Genomica #Bioethics
UK Biobank health data listed for sale in China, government confirms
The government said medical data of 500,000 people was affected but no personally identifiable information had been made available.
www.bbc.co.uk
April 23, 2026 at 7:40 PM
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
UK Biobank health data listed for sale in China
#Biobank #BigData #Confidentiality #DataSecurity #Genomica #Bioethics
UK Biobank health data listed for sale in China
#Biobank #BigData #Confidentiality #DataSecurity #Genomica #Bioethics
www.theguardian.com/science/2026... #Bioethics #GeneTherapy #Breakthrough
‘Oscar of science’ awarded to team behind gene therapy that restores lost vision
‘Oscar of science’ awarded to team behind gene therapy that restores lost vision
‘Oscar of science’ awarded to team behind gene therapy that restores lost vision
Married couple Jean Bennett and Albert Maguire developed Luxturna, which helped a patient see their child’s face for the first time
www.theguardian.com
April 19, 2026 at 7:54 AM
www.theguardian.com/science/2026... #Bioethics #GeneTherapy #Breakthrough
‘Oscar of science’ awarded to team behind gene therapy that restores lost vision
‘Oscar of science’ awarded to team behind gene therapy that restores lost vision
Genes capable of creating antibiotic-resistant superbugs have been detected in the UK’s largest lake, which supplies drinking water to about 40% of Northern Ireland (Guardian)
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
#AntibioticResistance #AntibioticStewardship #Bioethics
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
#AntibioticResistance #AntibioticStewardship #Bioethics
‘Drinking from a fetid pond’: superbug-creating genes found in UK’s largest lake
Exclusive: Lough Neagh, which supplies drinking water for 40% of NI, contains genes resistant to last-resort antibiotics
www.theguardian.com
March 14, 2026 at 12:52 PM
Genes capable of creating antibiotic-resistant superbugs have been detected in the UK’s largest lake, which supplies drinking water to about 40% of Northern Ireland (Guardian)
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
#AntibioticResistance #AntibioticStewardship #Bioethics
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
#AntibioticResistance #AntibioticStewardship #Bioethics
#TheSpyWhoCameInFromTheCold - My review of the first night of the new touring production. mytheatrereviews.wordpress.com/2026/03/13/t...
The Spy Who Left Me Out In The Cold
Production: The Spy Who Came In From The ColdVenue: Curve Theatre, LeicesterDate: 12th March 2026 The Spy Who Came In From The Cold (hereafter “Spy”), published in 1963, was the third of John Le Ca…
mytheatrereviews.wordpress.com
March 13, 2026 at 3:37 PM
#TheSpyWhoCameInFromTheCold - My review of the first night of the new touring production. mytheatrereviews.wordpress.com/2026/03/13/t...
Interesting, and depressing, piece on the OfS from @jimdickinson.bsky.social in WonkHE wonkhe.com/blogs/an-off...
An office that bears students' name ought to be acting in their interests
Jim Dickinson compares OfS approach to students against other UK regulators – and finds a regulator that lacks the mechanisms, the rigour, and the will to act on what students are telling it
wonkhe.com
March 9, 2026 at 8:41 AM
Interesting, and depressing, piece on the OfS from @jimdickinson.bsky.social in WonkHE wonkhe.com/blogs/an-off...
Reposted by Chris Willmott
Over 1,700 children killed in Sudan in a single year, many by explosives. As the UN penholder Britain must do more.
December 16, 2025 at 9:06 AM
Over 1,700 children killed in Sudan in a single year, many by explosives. As the UN penholder Britain must do more.
It shows what a turnaround there has been in forensics that solving a crime without DNA is now considered headline-worthy. Until 1986 that was true for *all* policing (and they didn't have CCTV either!)
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article... #DNA #GeneticFingerprinting #Bioethics
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article... #DNA #GeneticFingerprinting #Bioethics
Bournemouth beach murder: How criminology student was caught
Police reveal how they tracked down Nasen Saadi after he stabbed two women on a Bournemouth beach.
www.bbc.co.uk
March 29, 2025 at 7:37 AM
It shows what a turnaround there has been in forensics that solving a crime without DNA is now considered headline-worthy. Until 1986 that was true for *all* policing (and they didn't have CCTV either!)
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article... #DNA #GeneticFingerprinting #Bioethics
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article... #DNA #GeneticFingerprinting #Bioethics
Some quick thoughts on #Genomics and #DNAtesting in light of the news about #23andMe applying for bankruptcy.
medium.com/@cjrwillmott...
medium.com/@cjrwillmott...
Where now for home DNA testing?
Home DNA Testing giant 23andMe has filed for bankruptcy. This development will not have shocked anyone who was keeping an eye on the story…
medium.com
March 24, 2025 at 8:38 PM
Some quick thoughts on #Genomics and #DNAtesting in light of the news about #23andMe applying for bankruptcy.
medium.com/@cjrwillmott...
medium.com/@cjrwillmott...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article... This has looked on the cards for several months. There are significant #Bioethics issues including #DataPrivacy [Far less significantly, it will also require me to redraft the relevant chapter of a book on #Genomics and Ethics that I've nearly completed]
23andMe files for bankruptcy protection
The company said that it will now attempt to sell itself under the supervision of a court.
www.bbc.co.uk
March 24, 2025 at 4:34 PM
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article... This has looked on the cards for several months. There are significant #Bioethics issues including #DataPrivacy [Far less significantly, it will also require me to redraft the relevant chapter of a book on #Genomics and Ethics that I've nearly completed]
*Proper* "Dignity in Dying" is about appropriate support for #PalliativeCare and hospices, not steam-rollering an #AssistedSuicide act which has raised serious cause for concern amongst so many with expertise in end-of-life matters www.theguardian.com/society/2025...
‘Hospices are in retreat’: funding crisis squeezing UK palliative care providers
St Catherine’s hospice in West Sussex says it has been forced to leave beds empty despite the demand for end-of-life care
www.theguardian.com
March 24, 2025 at 4:27 PM
*Proper* "Dignity in Dying" is about appropriate support for #PalliativeCare and hospices, not steam-rollering an #AssistedSuicide act which has raised serious cause for concern amongst so many with expertise in end-of-life matters www.theguardian.com/society/2025...
Found at least 15 of my (co)authored works in the database.
March 24, 2025 at 4:26 PM
Found at least 15 of my (co)authored works in the database.
Reposted by Chris Willmott
March 24, 2025 at 3:44 PM
Reposted by Chris Willmott
We are disappointed but not surprised that Meta has used millions of pirated books to develop its AI systems.
As a matter of urgency, Meta needs to compensate the rightsholders of all the works it has been exploiting.
But what can authors do? Read here:
societyofauthors.org/2025/03/21/t...
As a matter of urgency, Meta needs to compensate the rightsholders of all the works it has been exploiting.
But what can authors do? Read here:
societyofauthors.org/2025/03/21/t...
March 21, 2025 at 5:04 PM
We are disappointed but not surprised that Meta has used millions of pirated books to develop its AI systems.
As a matter of urgency, Meta needs to compensate the rightsholders of all the works it has been exploiting.
But what can authors do? Read here:
societyofauthors.org/2025/03/21/t...
As a matter of urgency, Meta needs to compensate the rightsholders of all the works it has been exploiting.
But what can authors do? Read here:
societyofauthors.org/2025/03/21/t...
Reposted by Chris Willmott
Who could have predicted it?
Lord Darzi, who led the rapid review of the NHS, held $500k undeclared shares & $800k undeclared share options in private health companies - all missing from his House of Lords register of interests - when Streeting appointed him.
www.theguardian.com/society/2025...
Lord Darzi, who led the rapid review of the NHS, held $500k undeclared shares & $800k undeclared share options in private health companies - all missing from his House of Lords register of interests - when Streeting appointed him.
www.theguardian.com/society/2025...
Peer who led government NHS review failed to declare shares in health firms
Lord Darzi’s undeclared interests in four companies included $500,000 of shares in US-based healthcare venture
www.theguardian.com
March 19, 2025 at 1:43 PM
Who could have predicted it?
Lord Darzi, who led the rapid review of the NHS, held $500k undeclared shares & $800k undeclared share options in private health companies - all missing from his House of Lords register of interests - when Streeting appointed him.
www.theguardian.com/society/2025...
Lord Darzi, who led the rapid review of the NHS, held $500k undeclared shares & $800k undeclared share options in private health companies - all missing from his House of Lords register of interests - when Streeting appointed him.
www.theguardian.com/society/2025...