Writer, broadcaster, optimist. FRHistS. Books: Blood Legacy: slavery & my family's part in it. Stiff Upper Lip: abuse in Britain's elite schools. BBC Radio 4's In Dark Corners. alexrenton.comhttps://bsky.app/profile/axrenton.bsky.socialhttps://bsky.app/profile/axrenton.bsky.social/post/3mkqbf6mzjk2hHowever much the British establishment says 'get over it', the descendants of the enslaved still ask to talk @heirsofslavery.bsky.social quoted here... https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/apr/30/uk-stole-25-million-years-of-life-and-labour-through-slavery-in-barbados-research-finds?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other30 Apr 2026 18:43 +0000at://did:plc:slak725wgn64s7jcsccqontt/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkqbf6mzjk2hhttps://bsky.app/profile/axrenton.bsky.social/post/3mjultldv322tWell done all. There is no escape. https://www.thetimes.com/uk/scotland/article/former-pupils-confront-ex-teacher-accused-sexual-abuse-extradition-fettes-college-edinburgh-college-s7xtv5k7n19 Apr 2026 18:35 +0000at://did:plc:slak725wgn64s7jcsccqontt/app.bsky.feed.post/3mjultldv322thttps://bsky.app/profile/axrenton.bsky.social/post/3mivsq3o5ds2yhttps://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2026/apr/07/iran-war-live-updates-trump-hormuz-threats-deadline-strikes-middle-east-conflict?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other07 Apr 2026 12:46 +0000at://did:plc:slak725wgn64s7jcsccqontt/app.bsky.feed.post/3mivsq3o5ds2yhttps://bsky.app/profile/axrenton.bsky.social/post/3mivmt7a5gs2yHow to lose the votes of the 400,000 plus British citizens descended from victims of British transatlantic enslavement. [contains quote post or other embedded content]07 Apr 2026 11:00 +0000at://did:plc:slak725wgn64s7jcsccqontt/app.bsky.feed.post/3mivmt7a5gs2yhttps://bsky.app/profile/axrenton.bsky.social/post/3mivgbfpmss2lIt is illegal to destroy civilian infrastructure. Pusillanimous Biden adviser David Satterfield on BBC R4 Today this morning did not dare say it. How utterly useless these grand old American Democrats are.07 Apr 2026 09:03 +0000at://did:plc:slak725wgn64s7jcsccqontt/app.bsky.feed.post/3mivgbfpmss2lhttps://bsky.app/profile/axrenton.bsky.social/post/3mi7bx6jka22wTourism at an all-time high here in Seville. And...29 Mar 2026 13:47 +0000at://did:plc:slak725wgn64s7jcsccqontt/app.bsky.feed.post/3mi7bx6jka22whttps://bsky.app/profile/axrenton.bsky.social/post/3mhya53emes2dAsked to go on GB News today to talk about reparations for transatlantic enslavement. Said no (again) and the producer offered me... £40! https://www.theguardian.com/media/2026/mar/26/church-leaders-criticise-christian-owner-of-gb-news-over-channels-climate-attacks?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other26 Mar 2026 18:26 +0000at://did:plc:slak725wgn64s7jcsccqontt/app.bsky.feed.post/3mhya53emes2dhttps://bsky.app/profile/axrenton.bsky.social/post/3mgzaq7fljk2eGreat conversation with Dr Naomi Murphy and David Jones - we covered boarding schools, the legacies of transatlantic slavery, and keeping children happy and safe from abuse today. https://podcasts.apple.com/hn/podcast/alex-renton-video-boarding-school-abuse-slavery-understanding/id1557490144?i=100074696989914 Mar 2026 10:44 +0000at://did:plc:slak725wgn64s7jcsccqontt/app.bsky.feed.post/3mgzaq7fljk2ehttps://bsky.app/profile/axrenton.bsky.social/post/3mgcpkua2es2p'No a la guerra!' Nice to be in Spain, a country with a coherent approach to international law and illegal war.05 Mar 2026 11:38 +0000at://did:plc:slak725wgn64s7jcsccqontt/app.bsky.feed.post/3mgcpkua2es2phttps://bsky.app/profile/axrenton.bsky.social/post/3mgconoaouk2pBy the same argument quit Facebook, Insta, WhatsApp and Amazon... Which is no bad idea. (tks @davidveevers.bsky.social) https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/mar/04/quit-chatgpt-subscription-boycott-silicon-valley?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other05 Mar 2026 11:22 +0000at://did:plc:slak725wgn64s7jcsccqontt/app.bsky.feed.post/3mgconoaouk2phttps://bsky.app/profile/axrenton.bsky.social/post/3mg5o6zp6ps2l'Lack of fibre' - exactly the problem. Good old Daily Mail.03 Mar 2026 11:31 +0000at://did:plc:slak725wgn64s7jcsccqontt/app.bsky.feed.post/3mg5o6zp6ps2lhttps://bsky.app/profile/axrenton.bsky.social/post/3mfolvwdiic2wThis stands with the finest political/historical reporting I have ever read. So vivid, so important, so sad. #cuba https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/feb/13/no-water-or-electricity-and-children-begging-in-streets-filled-with-rubbish-but-this-is-why-i-wont-leave-cuba?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other25 Feb 2026 11:40 +0000at://did:plc:slak725wgn64s7jcsccqontt/app.bsky.feed.post/3mfolvwdiic2whttps://bsky.app/profile/axrenton.bsky.social/post/3meyetgw63k2xAI slacking again. @anthropic.com16 Feb 2026 15:35 +0000at://did:plc:slak725wgn64s7jcsccqontt/app.bsky.feed.post/3meyetgw63k2xhttps://bsky.app/profile/axrenton.bsky.social/post/3meripwo33s2yOh, err - Palestine Action!13 Feb 2026 21:56 +0000at://did:plc:slak725wgn64s7jcsccqontt/app.bsky.feed.post/3meripwo33s2yhttps://bsky.app/profile/axrenton.bsky.social/post/3meg2zgwmys2m'The right wing objections are really political rather than historical.' The verdict. [contains quote post or other embedded content]09 Feb 2026 08:51 +0000at://did:plc:slak725wgn64s7jcsccqontt/app.bsky.feed.post/3meg2zgwmys2mhttps://bsky.app/profile/axrenton.bsky.social/post/3mdx5gdo7hc2aThe racist right are on the rise in Spain. Great piece today by @abbas-asaria.bsky.social on the politics of... jamón. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/feb/03/spanish-jamon-ham-culture-warriors-dark-history?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other03 Feb 2026 10:24 +0000at://did:plc:slak725wgn64s7jcsccqontt/app.bsky.feed.post/3mdx5gdo7hc2ahttps://bsky.app/profile/axrenton.bsky.social/post/3mdpm732dwc2yThe old right venting at @drbrookenewman... Racist, vicious, but in the end just plain silly.31 Jan 2026 10:27 +0000at://did:plc:slak725wgn64s7jcsccqontt/app.bsky.feed.post/3mdpm732dwc2yhttps://bsky.app/profile/axrenton.bsky.social/post/3md4d6zq7os2xGreat work by @brookenewman.bsky.social, can't wait to see the book and the reaction from the Caribbean nations still with King Charles as head of state. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jan/23/british-crown-was-worlds-largest-buyer-of-enslaved-people-by-1807-book-reveals?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other23 Jan 2026 18:25 +0000at://did:plc:slak725wgn64s7jcsccqontt/app.bsky.feed.post/3md4d6zq7os2xhttps://bsky.app/profile/axrenton.bsky.social/post/3mbzdibs5lk2dhttps://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m002pmpp?partner=uk.co.bbc&origin=share-mobile09 Jan 2026 20:27 +0000at://did:plc:slak725wgn64s7jcsccqontt/app.bsky.feed.post/3mbzdibs5lk2dhttps://bsky.app/profile/axrenton.bsky.social/post/3mbwakpxl322lHere's a helpful idea - let's get some cool liberal thinkers to write what they think about the USA, bit of flattery, gentle mockery, dash of wry Old World wisdom, nothing too complex... Granta, Spring 2002.08 Jan 2026 14:57 +0000at://did:plc:slak725wgn64s7jcsccqontt/app.bsky.feed.post/3mbwakpxl322lhttps://bsky.app/profile/axrenton.bsky.social/post/3mboq5xch2s2oOMG - Starmer takes a stand. Or does he... https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jan/05/keir-starmer-backs-danish-pm-donald-trump-threats-us-greenland-denmark?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other05 Jan 2026 15:15 +0000at://did:plc:slak725wgn64s7jcsccqontt/app.bsky.feed.post/3mboq5xch2s2ohttps://bsky.app/profile/axrenton.bsky.social/post/3mbjsji6etk2vGolden days of long form... This story went from Victorian Britain via Brian Sewell's anti-the cut pressure group to the Luo people of western Kenya (who photographer Caro Irby and I visited). All for decent money from the old @theobserveruk.bsky.social03 Jan 2026 16:14 +0000at://did:plc:slak725wgn64s7jcsccqontt/app.bsky.feed.post/3mbjsji6etk2vhttps://bsky.app/profile/axrenton.bsky.social/post/3m7yb47udsk2xSeduced by The Times's £1 a month sub offer, my wife now starts every day in a rage about how awful - right-wing, biased, royal-obsessed, wealth worshipping - it is. Xmas present - a sub to the Telegraph. https://www.thetimes.com/life-style/health-fitness/article/grace-beverley-oxford-70-million-wellness-empire-8xnlxxfnz?gaa_at=eafs&gaa_n=AWEtsqeq8ts_BMd2nRmaPZIlLSd82okMOjRWkUUfpIIb_7pP7PM3VMheulTfvGAc_RY%3D&gaa_ts=693f49d1&gaa_sig=1KJk7Ndy6agUBtyaZlcDluFzsrr5pnNPkO2gwgz8koydzjWclxVHh7qbOeKAkd1JF0VSPAt09t7WpnB7_IMN4Q%3D%3D14 Dec 2025 23:22 +0000at://did:plc:slak725wgn64s7jcsccqontt/app.bsky.feed.post/3m7yb47udsk2xhttps://bsky.app/profile/axrenton.bsky.social/post/3m7muxfytyc2qHanya Aljamal's audio journal, Beautiful and moving. So hard to listen to such stories, impotent anger rising, but glad I did... https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m002mz1k?partner=uk.co.bbc&origin=share-mobile10 Dec 2025 10:45 +0000at://did:plc:slak725wgn64s7jcsccqontt/app.bsky.feed.post/3m7muxfytyc2qhttps://bsky.app/profile/axrenton.bsky.social/post/3m73hgvlu2s25Gerontophobic fact of the day: Japan now produces more nappies for the incontinent elderly than it does for babies. LRB, 20 Nov.03 Dec 2025 12:28 +0000at://did:plc:slak725wgn64s7jcsccqontt/app.bsky.feed.post/3m73hgvlu2s25https://bsky.app/profile/axrenton.bsky.social/post/3m6yn6b4xn226Dubious take on British slavery abolition in today's BBC Reith lecture - the Royal Navy freed 200,000 Africans from other nations' slave ships? They didn't take them home: they went to British colonies as exploited labour. @anitaanand.bsky.social @alanlester.bsky.social02 Dec 2025 09:33 +0000at://did:plc:slak725wgn64s7jcsccqontt/app.bsky.feed.post/3m6yn6b4xn226