The Hello You Sunday Supplement, Issue 11
Your weekly signpost to the good stuff
Hello, you. How’re you doing?
If you’re new here, let me explain: Social media down the tubes. It’s getting harder, not easier, to find interesting stuff that’s worth your time. So when you want something diverting, amusing and stimulating to read, where do you turn?
*bows low* At your service …
Every week I pull together a bunch of links to pieces I think you’ll like. It’s the Hello You Sunday Supplement. I’ve had a gratifying number of new subscribers over the last week or two, so if this is your first Sunday Supplement, I hope you like it. Tell me what you think (there are buttons throughout for you to do that) and if it’s your kind of thing, share it with your friends?
So, that’s the deal. Ready to explore?
First: why not join the Hello You family by subscribing, if you haven’t already?
Do a friend a favour. Hit this button, and share the Sunday Supplement with someone?
And do me a favour? Hit ‘Like’ or the little heart symbol at the top or bottom of this email?
Something to listen to while you read
No music this week. Just the sounds of forests, from around the world
What went right this week
Progress on poverty, the ‘building of the year’ revealed, and researchers offer a quick climate win, plus more good news from the good people at Positive News
Here comes more good stuff. Click, read and share?
Are you among the tens of thousands fleeing Twitter for Bluesky? If not, I hope you will be soon. Let’s be friends? You’ll like it on Bluesky. Bluesky brings the fun, weird vibes of old Twitter back to life
The truth is going out of business. So then, what should journalists do when the facts don’t matter?
‘What will be the next culture war? Autism. And climate migration’
If you still feel you have to read news (I don’t, it’s not a hard shift to make), maybe think about reading it differently?
Who remembers Shrewsbury indie club night Just Like Honey?
Horrifying black sows and ghostly apparitions: how the magic and mystery of Wales come alive in winter
You might think the experience of being the only woman at the table is a thing of the past. If only that were so
'The media failed us on Trump last time. As a queer journalist, I refuse to let it happen again'
What if the most caring members of your community all knew each other?
Get on my land! The farmers opening up their patches for nature connection
Does public service media crowd out private news publishers? Nope. No, it doesn't. Despite what certain national and local newspaper groups, and their representative organisations (looking at you, NMA) have been saying for years
'A tote bag isn’t just something to carry your shopping in. It’s a conversation with handles' ... and some are totes not amazeballs
The Great Shattering: Election night photos captured a seismic shift that will profoundly reshape America
'My husband and his family voted for Trump — so I'm cancelling Thanksgiving and Christmas'
More good stuff in just a moment, but first …
Hello You 72: Beaver Moon
Hello You is about people, and stories. Particularly people in, from and connected to Shropshire. People who are doing good things, people with interesting stories to tell and thoughts to share.
Who would you call the most caring members of your community? Do they know each other? Do they know the people that others regard as the most caring members of their communities?
It would be so powerful if all of these people were in touch with one another. Can we make Hello You a kind of clearing house or contact point for the most caring members of our community?
How can we make podcasts a force for good? For increasing numbers of people, legacy media is an irrelevance. It’s not where they get their news or information, it’s not what helps them form their opinions. That leaves them vulnerable to the torrent of disinformation that fills their brains and shapes their attitudes.
Don’t we need to make sure they have something better to listen to? I have some thoughts on this, but I’d love to know what you think, too.
‘The potential for humanity to perpetrate immense harm against fellow human beings is always there’
So says Simon Bell in this episode of Hello You. Simon’s from Shropshire, a former mental health nurse with an MA in Holocaust Studies.
Why did I want to talk to Simon at this particular moment in history? Take a listen to the conversation we recorded in Palmer’s café in Shrewsbury to find out.
Hello You is about people, stories and ‘the complexities of life’. To make sure you don’t miss anything, whether it’s 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 just help keep it - and me - going, though
OK, back to your weekly good-stuff round-up!
There's an entire Substack devoted solely to Italian disco. What more do you need to know?!
Historic England’s revealed its Heritage at Risk Register 2024. What's on the list near you?
Some editors, managers and newsroom leaders just don’t care whether they’re entitled and entirely out of touch with their employees
This is lovely: I came last
‘Your body, my choice’: Attacks on women surge on social media following election
There’s a class gap in access to careers in the arts
The voice of 'You've Got Mail!' has died
Comedy's gender gap, and how to bridge it
I love that you don’t understand how people can be so cruel
How Manchester's Afflecks went from quirky indie to part of a retail portfolio
Santa Claws is back in town
Stop letting right wing influencers cosplay as ‘independent’ media
Did you ever have or use any of these? Some were brilliant. And some really weren't
'I totally understand why countless people are demoralised, not just journalists. But I would encourage those journalists to get to their feet and stand up for an activity that, when practiced with energy and integrity, makes a difference'
‘You never knew what to expect!’ London street markets in pictures
Gotta love any article that opens with a mention of Monty Don, 'the British horticulturist and human Peter Rabbit'
Saving the planet, one magic trick at a time
If you read one thing this week, make it this
Coming last: Perfection, shame and trying your hardest
Final Thought, à la Jerry Springer
'Freedom means you decide who you are, and then when things change around you, you continue to be that person. And in so doing, you do constructive work. You set an example for other people. You meet new people who are also trying to remain themselves' - Timothy Snyder
How was that for you?
I hope you enjoyed the Hello You Sunday Supplement, Issue 10. 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
… and share Hello You with a friend, colleague or family member
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
