The Hello You Sunday Supplement, Issue 12
Your weekly signpost to the good stuff
Hello, you. How’re you doing?
I found some things to read whilst sheltering from Storm Bert, and I think you’ll find them interesting, too. Put the kettle on and get ready to check ‘em out?
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There’ll be quite a few links about the media, press and journalism, radio, TV and online, in this Sunday Supplement. As someone once said about politics, you may not take an interest in journalism but it may well take an interest in you! I hope you find them interesting. At the very least, you’ll discover how much journalists really love talking about themselves and each other …
But don’t worry, if that kind of thing is not for you, I’ve leavened the dough with a sprinkling of selections from the ‘Quirky’ file. There’s some cracking stuff in today’s Sunday Supplement. I really hope you enjoy reading it as much as I’ve enjoyed putting it together
Also: Thank you to the lovely LeFevre Chocolate for including me in their blog about favourite Shropshire producers and creatives. Honoured to be in such esteemed company!
Something to listen to while you read
The wonderful, life-affirming Shrewsbury Folk Festival has an incredible line-up of artists coming to town in August 2025. The Levellers, Oysterband, Judie Tzuke, Edwina Hayes, Shrewsbury’s own Dan Owen, and others from around the country and around the world. Get a taste of what’s in store with the festival’s playlists on Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube.
Then book your tickets for next year’s festival!
What went right this week
A more inclusive rival metric to GDP emerged, nations vowed to end fossil fuel subsidies, and a co-op rail firm got the green light, plus more good news from the good people at Positive News
Here comes more good stuff. Click, read and share?
A simple Winter survival guide
‘The Roman emperors wouldn’t have put up with it’; I’ve been laughing at this for almost a week now, and I’m not even an Arsenal fan
The news media should tell its audience true things, in proportion to their importance. That’s all. Why do they find it so hard?
Over 1.4 million emergency food parcels were provided by Trussell food banks in just six months. Half a million were given to children
Trust and news avoidance persist, but news providers are misleading themselves if they keep presenting traditionally framed journalism that’s been recast into a digital format or marketed better to younger demographics or political partisans
England's oldest castle (probably) is on the Shropshire border with Herefordshire
Bad news: Legacy media must compete against a choose-your-own-adventure reality
This book from the 1950s is frighteningly relevant right now
How might Christmas affect my mental health?
The worst threats to journalism come from politicians. The best defence against them is serving the public
People pleasing is an internally toxic trait that has been demanded of women for a long time
The V & E Simonetti Historic Tuba Collection
Why would people care about journalism if they believe journalism does not care about them? (Entire media industry: 'Awks')
Google AI told a student to kill himself. No, I’m not making this up
In Shropshire: the poetry pharmacist will see you now
More good stuff in just a moment, but first …
Hello You 73: The Three Beasts and the Unicorns
What if a great idea you had as a child could gain a new life in your adulthood?
Shropshire-based artist, designer, author and filmmaker Sally E K Warner has been creative since childhood. But she didn’t expect a story she wrote whilst in primary school to spring back to life!
Hear her story in this episode of Hello You, then check out her books at Waterstones or Amazon, or better yet in your local independent bookshop.
Hello You is about people, stories and ‘the complexities of life’. To make sure you don’t miss an episode of the Hello You podcast or the Sunday Supplement, why not subscribe? If you really love what I do, you can take out a paid subscription (and I’d be very happy and grateful) but you don’t have to. Hello You will remain free for everyone, for ever. You might, though, just help keep it - and me - going
OK, back to your weekly good-stuff round-up!
Journalists talk a lot. We need to listen more. Here's how to start
'Bluesky offers something Musk’s platform no longer can: a digital refuge from the toxicity that’s driving people away'
The camera roll has become a hard drive for our brains
‘A once-or-twice-per-day news dump should be sufficient to keep you in the know without also keeping your blood pressure higher than Snoop Dogg. And honestly, unless your job security rests on staying abreast of world events, you don’t even have to do that. News gonna news whether you read it or not’
How a book club can make you happier
The mirthful Assyriologist, the real Noah's Ark, and the oldest writing in the world: Irving Finkel is the most interesting man you've never heard of
Ready to change the focus of your journalism from sensation to solutions? From quick hits on socials to really 'making a difference'? The perfect moment to work differently is now
We're coming up to party season, but remember: It's OK to say no to a party
‘A road trip like no other’: an epic drive on Kraftwerk’s Autobahn (with soundscapes!)
'A new research study offers a roadmap for newsrooms that may want to analyze which voices routinely get quoted and ignored' - May want to?! This shit is vital
How much porn are we watching? A lot
Why do divorced guys dress like that?
If we don't fight for change and build systems to amplify more women and progressive voices online, we will be stuck with a media landscape that continues to exacerbate inequality and warps our political landscape for the worse
Absinthe makes the heart grow fonder, from the excellent series Dirtbags Through the Ages
*vicar voice* And in a very real sense, which of us can truly say we have never contemplated ‘accidentally’ killing a drummer with an axe?
If you read one thing this week, make it this
'The grilled cheese sandwich for me is an object of consistent joy' (this has been rightly recognised as a marvellous piece of writing)
Final Thought, à la Jerry Springer
‘Look on every exit as being an entrance somewhere else’ - Tom Stoppard
How was that for you?
I hope you enjoyed the Hello You Sunday Supplement, Issue 12. If you have thoughts, questions, suggestions, whatever then leave a comment
And I’m always glad to hear from you
Once again, I’d be thrilled beyond words if you could hit Like on this, or wherever you’ve found it, or both. And my joy would be complete if you would subscribe
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Thank you for being there
Take care of yourself, and take care of the people around you. I hope they’re taking care of you, too
