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martinbelam.com

martinbelam.com

MusicTV / filmEssays / personal

’15’20’25
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599 from 5 Feb 2013 to 15 Oct 2026
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weekly (59 in the last year)
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personal blog
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2026 48

  1. My post script on “The Fall’s Post Script”
  2. I am entering my Vinted era
  3. A future that never quite arrived: Bond, Daleks, and the great British hovercraft
  4. One-line gig reviews for August 2026
  5. One-line spoiler-free movie reviews for August 2026
  6. Come and see my electronica ghost stories live!
  7. One-line spoiler-free movie reviews for July 2026
  8. One-line gig reviews for July 2026
  9. A one-line review of everything I saw on my Once In a Lifetime day at Latitude 2026
  10. The ghost in the spam folder: Remembering Mark Smith
  11. One-line gig reviews for June 2026
  12. One-line spoiler-free movie reviews for June 2026
  13. Local characters, fake ads, and a woman with a bag on her head – Walthamstow International Film Festival 2026
  14. The death of Doctor Who (hopefully an exaggeration)
  15. One-line gig reviews for May 2026
  16. One-line spoiler-free movie reviews for May 2026
  17. My first First Thing
  18. Friday Reading S14E19
  19. Friday Reading S14E18
  20. Oh Vienna! My first Eurovision adventure
  21. Friday Reading S14E17 – Vienna calling edition
  22. Friday Reading S14E16
  23. One-line gig reviews for (mostly) April 2026
  24. One-line spoiler-free movie reviews for April 2026
  25. Friday Reading S14E15
  26. Friday Reading S14E14
  27. Adieu to the Bell (for now… again)
  28. Friday Reading S14E13
  29. Friday Reading S14E12
  30. Watching Doctor Who episodes I never thought I’d see
  31. Friday Reading S14E11
  32. One-line gig reviews for March 2026
  33. One-line spoiler-free movie reviews for March 2026
  34. Friday Reading S14E10
  35. Thoughts on … Trains (2024) – Maciej Drygas
  36. Friday Reading S14E09
  37. Friday Reading S14E08
  38. Friday Reading S14E07
  39. One-line spoiler-free movie reviews for February 2026
  40. One-line gig reviews for January and February 2026
  41. Friday Reading S14E06
  42. Friday Reading S14E05
  43. Friday Reading S14E04
  44. Friday Reading S14E03
  45. A one-line spoiler-free review of everything I watched in the cinema in January 2026
  46. Friday Reading S14E02
  47. Friday Reading S14E01
  48. A one-line review of every gig I’ve been to in December 2025

2025 59

  1. Happy new year with a trip to the pubs of St Albans
  2. A one-line spoiler-free review of everything I watched in the cinema in November and December 2025
  3. Help yourself to the First Edition quiz of the year 2025
  4. Merry Christmas, a happy new year, and a happy birthday to my blog
  5. Friday briefing on missing TV episodes
  6. Dachshunds everywhere!
  7. Quatermass at last: a day with Nigel Kneale’s sci-fi in Derby
  8. Some thoughts on The War Between The Land And The Sea for the Guardian
  9. A one-line review of every gig I’ve been to in November 2025
  10. Making my Guardian First Edition debut
  11. A one-line review of every gig I’ve been to in October 2025
  12. A one-line spoiler-free review of everything I watched in the cinema in October 2025
  13. Article about the return of Doctor Who in 2026
  14. Appearing on Good Morning Scotland talking about Doctor Who
  15. A one-line spoiler-free review of everything I watched in the cinema in September 2025
  16. A one-line review of every gig I’ve been to in September 2025
  17. A one-line review of every gig I’ve been to in July and August 2025
  18. Farewell to our lemon tree …
  19. The Guardian Thursday news quiz is back!
  20. #Sparkstember2025 is on, and today is the best day for the Sparks-curious
  21. A one-line spoiler-free review of everything I watched in the cinema in August 2025
  22. A one-line spoiler-free review of everything I watched in the cinema in July 2025
  23. A one-line review of every gig I’ve been to in June 2025
  24. A one-line spoiler-free review of everything I watched in the cinema in June 2025
  25. A one-line review of everything I saw at Forever Now
  26. What happened to the Guardian Thursday quiz?
  27. A one-line review of the other half of the gigs I’ve been to in May 2025
  28. A one-line review of half of the gigs I’ve been to in May 2025
  29. All the Doctor Who news that is fit to publish
  30. A one-line spoiler-free review of everything I watched in the cinema in May 2025
  31. A one-line review of every artist I saw at Wide Awake 2025
  32. Eurovision o’clock!
  33. Come and see m-orchestra in Walthamstow in the middle of the night!
  34. A one-line spoiler-free review of everything I watched in the cinema in April 2025
  35. A one-line review of every gig I’ve been to in April 2025
  36. Go and see ‘Leigh Bowery!’ at Tate Modern
  37. Age is just a number until you become music memorabilia
  38. A one-line review of every gig I’ve been to in March 2025
  39. A one-line spoiler-free review of everything I watched in the cinema in March 2025
  40. Enjoying the Broken Veil paranormal podcast
  41. I missed a Duran Duran design exhibition … booooooo!
  42. Andy Williams
  43. A one-line spoiler-free review of all three things I watched in the cinema in February 2025
  44. Go and see Mike Kelley’s Ghost and Spirit at Tate Modern before it closes
  45. Do you have five minutes to help a student with their survey about live music events and wellbeing?
  46. A one-line review of every gig I’ve been to in February 2025
  47. Have your say in a large-scale survey of live music audiences
  48. Defending animals unfairly maligned in movies …
  49. A lovely article about people who vanish from football terraces reminded me of familiar faces from long-lost record shops
  50. Come and spend a night in June dancing to the Fall in Walthamstow
  51. A one-line review of everything I saw at Manchester Folk Horror Festival VII
  52. A one-line spoiler-free review of everything I watched in the cinema in January 2025
  53. A one-line review of every gig I’ve been to in January 2025
  54. Calling female football fandom – research help needed!
  55. m-orchestra – Rosaleen – track-by-track guide
  56. Some lovely radio about how Leyton Orient got Herb Alpert’s Tijuana Taxi as their signature tune
  57. Come and watch m-orchestra at the Manchester Folk Horror Festival!
  58. A one-line spoiler-free review of everything I watched in the cinema in December 2024
  59. A one-line review of every gig I’ve been to in December 2024

2024 55

  1. Listen to Toby Hadoke’s “Absent Friends” for 2024
  2. Lots of new (and old) Doctor Who for Christmas
  3. The inevitable end of 2024 list of lists …
  4. Happy birthday to my blog and a Happy Christmas to you
  5. The Thursday quiz is back, baby!
  6. Visiting Lost In Light in Shoreditch
  7. Visiting the Museum of Brands in London
  8. Thoughts on … Grand Theft Hamlet
  9. Thoughts on … new Sky/EFL TV deal making Leyton Orient Saturday 3pm kick-offs an endangered species
  10. 52 things some other guy learned this year is always worth reading
  11. Thoughts on … 80s photography and the Turner Prize at Tate Britain
  12. A one-line review of every gig I’ve been to in November 2024
  13. How much internet ‘brain rot’ have I got to be able to write this quiz?
  14. A one-line spoiler-free review of everything I watched in the cinema in November 2024
  15. Thoughts on … an absolutely mad FA Cup match between Leyton Orient and Oldham Athletic
  16. A Black Friday plea from a small independent retail business
  17. Blake’s 7 and the rare occasion of the internet being lovely
  18. Lovely Token Homo cult movie screenings in London
  19. Riba’s ‘Difficult Sites’ exhibition in London is worth 20 minutes of your time
  20. I’ve been reading 2000AD again and Thistlebone and Brink are great!
  21. A one-line review of every gig I’ve been to in October 2024
  22. A one-line spoiler-free review of everything I watched in the cinema in October 2024
  23. The Tegan and Sara internet culture and fandom documentary is worth 100 minutes of your time
  24. Listen to a spooky Halloween electronic music show tonight – that obvs features me
  25. Do my Guardian quiz about the Cure!
  26. The incredible secret of the London Overground rebranding
  27. New m-orchestra mini-album A Blessing out today
  28. Listen to The Holmwood Foundation!
  29. “Walthamstow FC exist and they’re playing on Saturday, and that’s a start …”
  30. New m-orchestra single Emoting out today
  31. A one-line spoiler-free review of everything I watched in the cinema in September 2024
  32. A one-line review of every gig I’ve been to in September
  33. A one-line spoiler-free review of all three old movies I watched in the cinema in August 2024
  34. A one-line review of every gig I’ve been to in August
  35. It was forty years ago today …
  36. A one-line review of every gig I’ve been to in July 2024
  37. A one-line spoiler-free review of everything I watched in the cinema in July 2024
  38. A one-line spoiler-free review of everything I watched in the cinema in June 2024
  39. A one-line review of every gig I’ve been to in June 2024
  40. Thoughts on … Doctor Who: Season one (2024)
  41. Lovely Ladybird books exhibition in St Albans
  42. A one-line spoiler-free review of everything I watched in the cinema in April and May 2024
  43. A one-line review of every gig I’ve been to in April and May 2024
  44. A review of my football season 2023-24
  45. A day on London’s orbital Superloop buses
  46. I put all the Doctor Who actors into the correct order for you
  47. A one-line spoiler-free review of everything I watched in the cinema in February and March 2024
  48. A one-line review of every gig I’ve been to in March 2024
  49. New m-orchestra single – ‘Buyer Beware’
  50. 150th (week) birthday for the Guardian Thursday quiz
  51. A one-line review of every gig I’ve been to in February 2024
  52. A one-line spoiler-free review of everything I watched in the cinema in January 2024
  53. A one-line review of every gig I’ve been to in January 2024
  54. A one-line spoiler-free review of everything I watched in the cinema in December 2023
  55. A one-line review of every gig I’ve been to in December 2023

2023 22

  1. Happy birthday to my blog and a Happy Christmas to you
  2. A one-line review of every gig I’ve been to in November 2023
  3. A one-line spoiler-free review of everything I watched in the cinema in October and November 2023
  4. Geordie (1958–2023)
  5. A one-line review of every gig I’ve been to in October 2023
  6. A one-line review of (nearly) every gig I’ve been to in September 2023
  7. A one-line spoiler-free review of everything I watched in the cinema in August and September 2023
  8. A one-line review of every gig I’ve been to in August 2023
  9. Doctor Who ratings 2023 for the 60th anniversary specials are going to be apples/oranges
  10. A one-line review of every gig I’ve been to in July 2023
  11. A one-line spoiler-free review of everything I watched in the cinema in May, June and July 2023
  12. A one-line review of every gig I’ve been to in June 2023
  13. A one-line review of every gig I’ve been to in April and May 2023
  14. A one-line spoiler-free review of everything I watched in the cinema in April 2023
  15. A one-line review of every gig I’ve been to in March 2023
  16. A one-line spoiler-free review of everything I watched in the cinema in March 2023
  17. A one-line review of every gig I’ve been to in February 2023
  18. A one-line spoiler-free review of everything I watched in the cinema in February 2023
  19. A one-line spoiler-free review of everything I watched in the cinema in January 2023
  20. A one-line review of every gig I’ve been to in January 2023
  21. m-orchestra live in Walthamstow in February
  22. A one-line review of everything I saw at Rockaway Beach 2023

2022 59

  1. A one-line review of every gig I’ve been to in November and December 2022
  2. Happy 20th anniversary to my blog – and a merry Xmas to you
  3. A one-line review of each of the twenty weird and strange things I’ve watched at the cinema in 2022
  4. A one-line review of every gig I’ve been to in October 2022
  5. A one-line review of every gig I’ve been to in September 2022
  6. Thoughts on … finally seeing Tom Bailey playing the whole Into The Gap album live
  7. A one-line review of every gig I’ve been to in August 2022
  8. A one-line review of every gig I’ve been to in July 2022
  9. Not Friday Reading
  10. A one-line review of every #TimsTwitterListeningParty I joined in July 2022
  11. It’s only gone and bloody come home, ain’t it?
  12. Friday Reading S13E27
  13. Bernard Cribbins (1928-2022)
  14. Friday Reading (but on a Sunday) S13E26
  15. Friday Reading S13E25
  16. Not Friday Reading
  17. A one-line review of every #TimsTwitterListeningParty I joined in June 2022
  18. Friday Reading S13E24
  19. A one-line review of every gig I’ve been to in June 2022
  20. Friday Reading S13E23
  21. Thoughts on … Doctor Who: Old Friends (2022)
  22. Friday Reading S13E22
  23. Thoughts on … Doctor Who: Redacted (2022)
  24. Some thoughts about Andrew Fletcher and Depeche Mode
  25. Friday Reading S13E21
  26. A one-line review of every #TimsTwitterListeningParty I joined in May 2022
  27. A one-line review of every gig I’ve been to in May 2022
  28. Friday Reading S13E20
  29. Guardian article about the 1996 Doctor Who TV movie
  30. Friday Reading S13E19
  31. Friday Reading S13E18
  32. Friday Reading S13E17
  33. A one-line review of every #TimsTwitterListeningParty I joined March 2022–April 2022
  34. A one-line review of every gig I’ve been to in April 2022
  35. Friday Reading S13E16
  36. Friday Reading S13E15
  37. Good Friday Reading S13E14
  38. m-orchestra – Care/Harm – track-by-track guide
  39. Friday Reading’s unluckiest ever episode S13E13
  40. Friday Reading S13E12
  41. Care/Harm mini-LP now available for pre-order
  42. A one-line review of every gig I’ve been to in March 2022
  43. Friday Reading S13E11
  44. Friday Reading S13E10
  45. The strange comfort of being future isotypes
  46. Friday Reading S13E09
  47. Bug Brain Check-Out?
  48. Friday Reading S13E08
  49. A one-line review of every gig I’ve been to in February 2022
  50. A one-line review of every #TimsTwitterListeningParty I joined December 2021–February 2022
  51. Friday Reading S13E07
  52. Friday Reading S13E06
  53. Friday Reading S13E05
  54. Friday Reading S13E04
  55. A one-line review of every gig I’ve been to in January 2022
  56. Watching ‘South: Sir Ernest Shackleton’s Glorious Epic of the Antarctic’
  57. Friday Reading S13E03
  58. Friday Reading S13E02
  59. Friday Reading S13E01

2021 91

  1. Happy birthday to my blog and a Merry Xmas to you
  2. Five songs from 2021 that you might enjoy
  3. A one-line review of every gig I’ve been to in December 2021
  4. A one-line review of every #TimsTwitterListeningParty I joined September–November 2021
  5. Homebrew Electronica album raising money for Mind and Help Musicians
  6. A one-line review of every gig I’ve been to in November 2021
  7. Friday Reading S12E07
  8. Friday Reading S12E06
  9. Thoughts on … Doctor Who: The Evil of the Daleks (1967 and 2021)
  10. Friday Reading S12E05
  11. A one-line review of every gig I’ve been to in October 2021
  12. Friday Reading S12E04
  13. Friday Reading S12E03
  14. Friday Reading S12E02
  15. Friday Reading S12E01
  16. A one-line review of every Sparks studio album because I listened to them all during #Sparkstember
  17. A one-line review of every gig I’ve been to in September 2021
  18. UsVsTh3m features in ‘Formats unpacked’
  19. My tuppence on Russell T Davies returning as Doctor Who showrunner
  20. Friday Reading is back! [SOON]
  21. Richard H Kirk (1956-2021)
  22. Spoiler-free review of Sparks and Leos Carax musical Annette
  23. Clive Sinclair (1940-2021)
  24. Come to my party: Fireside Favourites at Walthamstow Trades Hall on 14 October
  25. Thoughts on … Doctor Who: Respond to All Calls (2021)
  26. A one-line review of every #TimsTwitterListeningParty I joined in August 2021
  27. It’s #Sparkstember!
  28. A one-line review of every gig I’ve been to in August 2021
  29. Thoughts on … Doctor Who: The Web of Fear (1968 and 2021)
  30. Spoiler-free review of 2.22
  31. Sign up for my Paralympics newsletter for the Guardian
  32. A one-line review of every gig I’ve been to so far since lockdown ended
  33. A one-line review of every #TimsTwitterListeningParty I joined in July 2021
  34. Review: Sparks – What The Hell Is It This Time
  35. Sign up to get my Tokyo 2020 daily briefing for the Guardian
  36. Dawn Foster
  37. Do my quiz! Euro 2020 version
  38. A one-line review of every #TimsTwitterListeningParty I joined in June 2021
  39. Thoughts on … Doctor Who: Dragonfire (1987)
  40. Doctor Who: Time Fracture spoiler-free review
  41. A one-line review of every #TimsTwitterListeningParty I joined in May 2021
  42. Letters never sent
  43. Living the Eurovision dream
  44. m-orchestra – The Grim Circus – track-by-track guide from my #GrimTwitterListeningParty
  45. Stuart O’Connor
  46. Friday Reading S11E20
  47. The Grim Circus to be released on Friday
  48. Katie Coxall
  49. Friday Reading S11E19
  50. 14 months later…
  51. Happy birthday to the Guardian!
  52. A one-line review of every #TimsTwitterListeningParty I joined in April 2021
  53. Friday Reading S11E18
  54. “DO MY QUIZ!” – a new weekly online quiz for the Guardian
  55. Friday Reading S11E17
  56. Friday Reading S11E16
  57. It is a monochrome world
  58. Complaints about complaints at the BBC
  59. Friday Reading S11E15
  60. The railway boys
  61. Friday Reading S11E14
  62. A one-line review of every #TimsTwitterListeningParty I joined in March 2021
  63. Excess savings
  64. Friday Reading S11E13
  65. Old man yells at Slack
  66. Friday Reading S11E12
  67. Friday Reading S11E11
  68. Mac moans
  69. Raising some money for Katie
  70. Friday Reading S11E10
  71. Who nose
  72. The day that I finally understood TikTok
  73. A one-line review of every #TimsTwitterListeningParty I joined in February 2021
  74. Friday Reading S11E09
  75. Friday Reading S11E08
  76. m-orchestra ‘More Ghost Stories EP’ released today
  77. Cancel empire culture
  78. Friday Reading S11E07
  79. How we got where we got today – revision
  80. ‘First rough draft of history’ – live blogging article for InPublishing
  81. Friday Reading S11E06
  82. That gig meme that’s been knocking around on the Facebooks
  83. A one-line review of every #TimsTwitterListeningParty I joined in January 2021
  84. m-orchestra – More Ghost Stories EP and live shows
  85. Friday Reading S11E05
  86. Friday Reading S11E04
  87. Friday Reading S11E03
  88. Friday Reading S11E02
  89. The Apparition Phase
  90. The moment has been prepared for – my first Guardian Doctor Who episode-by-episode recap
  91. Friday Reading S11E01

2020 49

  1. School’s out, for January
  2. Typerighter – the Guardian’s automated tool for spotting when I’ve strayed from the righteous path
  3. Have yourself a Womblin’ Christmas
  4. Friday Reading eats big dinners S10E16
  5. Friday Reading eats big dinners S10E15
  6. Friday Reading eats big Xmas dinners now S10E14
  7. Friday Reading Will Always Eat Big Dinners S10E13
  8. Friday Reading Still Eats Big Dinners S10E12
  9. The definitive answer to the Fairytale of New York lyric controversy
  10. “Thank you, America!”
  11. This happened
  12. Friday Reading Eats Big Dinners S10E11
  13. Friday Reading S10S10
  14. m-orchestra at Halloween
  15. Aberfan
  16. Friday Reading S10E09
  17. Friday Reading S10E08
  18. Fanmail
  19. Friday Reading S10E07
  20. Friday Reading S10E06
  21. Football in the Covid anti-Goldilocks zone
  22. Anneliese Michel
  23. Friday Reading S10E05
  24. Thoughts on … Doctor Who: The Invasion (1968 and 2006)
  25. Friday Reading S10E04
  26. Friday Reading S10E03
  27. A day on the Metropolitan Line
  28. Do you remember the Trackbacks?
  29. The push for “back to the office”
  30. Of masks and madmen
  31. Friday Reading S10E02
  32. Friday Reading S10E01
  33. I went in to work today
  34. You failed
  35. Q oh none
  36. You are never too old for a career first
  37. Open your heart and listen
  38. The six sentences I hate writing about Doctor Who
  39. Dan Martin and Seb Patrick
  40. My Sarah Jane
  41. (Late) Friday Reading S09E08
  42. Alone in a crowd
  43. Friday Reading S09E07
  44. Friday Reading S09E06
  45. Friday Reading S09E05
  46. Friday Reading S09E04
  47. Friday Reading S09E03
  48. Friday Reading S09E02
  49. Friday Reading S09E01

2019 21

  1. Piers Jones
  2. Friday Reading S08E18 – SEASON FINALE
  3. Friday Reading S08E17
  4. Friday Reading S08E16
  5. Friday Reading S08E15
  6. Doctor Who: The Reluctant Gladiator
  7. Friday Reading S08E14
  8. Friday Reading S08E13
  9. Friday Reading S08E12
  10. Friday Reading S08E11
  11. Friday Reading S08E10
  12. Friday Reading S08E09
  13. Friday Reading S08E08
  14. Friday Reading S08E07
  15. Friday Reading S08E06
  16. Friday Reading S08E05
  17. Friday Reading S08E04
  18. Friday Reading S08E03
  19. Friday Reading S08E02
  20. Friday Reading S08E01
  21. Your mileage may VAR-y: Why I unashamedly love VAR

2018 2

  1. “I warned you, Julius!” – Doctor Who, Twitch and race
  2. Mark E Smith

2017 43

  1. Friday Reading S07E08
  2. Friday Reading S07E07
  3. Doctor Who Shada – some other bits and bobs from the press screening
  4. Friday Reading S07E06
  5. Friday Reading S07E05
  6. Friday Reading S07E04
  7. Friday Reading S07E03
  8. Friday Reading S07E02
  9. Friday Reading S07E01
  10. “Alright, grandad” – Private Eye cartoon has a pop at modern social media journalism
  11. “I just got a bit fed up with singing and dancing for other people’s profit” – interview with The The’s Matt Johnson
  12. Thirty years of watching The Fall
  13. Friday Reading S06E13
  14. Friday Reading S06E12
  15. Friday Reading S06E11
  16. The ‘alt-left’ media, memes, algorithms, and the price of the MSM not taking the internet seriously
  17. Friday Reading S06E10
  18. “You are part of our gang” – running news social media accounts during an election campaign
  19. Friday Reading S06E09
  20. What if taking my son to Leyton Orient is ruining football for him?
  21. Friday Reading S06E08
  22. “Graphic content, graphic novels” – Marc Ellison discusses his work at #ijf17
  23. “How can you build debunking beats into your newsroom?” – notes from a panel session at #ijf17
  24. “Did the British press cause Brexit?” – notes from a panel session at #ijf17
  25. “The ethics of live online video” – notes from a panel session at #ijf17
  26. “Collaborative election monitoring via social media” – notes from a panel about Electionland at #ijf17
  27. “How do Le Monde do Snapchat Discover?” – Jean-Guillaume Santi explains at #ijf17
  28. “How we got the final #Brexit poll wrong” – Ben Page of Ipsos Mori at #ijf17
  29. “Humans are the secret weapon” – Cassie Werber talks about Quartz at #ijf17
  30. “Not just cool graphs: data journalism for investigations” – notes from the panel session at #ijf17
  31. “Internet memes: misinformation machines or vectors of truth?” – notes on the panel at #ijf17
  32. “Collaborating with algorithms” – notes from our panel session at #ijf17
  33. 3 ways we’ve been looking at working with algorithms at the Guardian
  34. Friday Reading S06E07
  35. Bye then, for now
  36. Friday Reading S06E06
  37. Friday Reading S06E05
  38. When the White House itself is spreading #FakeNews, how can journalists respond?
  39. Friday Reading S06E04
  40. “That’s the wrong bloody TARDIS mate!”
  41. Friday Readng S06E03
  42. Friday Reading S06E02
  43. Friday Reading S06E01

2016 22

  1. I interviewed Peter Capaldi for the Guardian and here’s the rest of the transcript…
  2. Friday Reading S05E06
  3. ‘Little c’ christmas is fine – it is ‘Big C’ Christmas that people fear disappearing
  4. “Vinyl revival” stories are the worst fake news stories of all
  5. Friday Reading S05E05
  6. Friday Reading S05E04
  7. Asking people to submit stories is not the local newspocalypse
  8. What Chris Moran learned from seven years as the Guardian’s audience editor
  9. Journalists need systems and training to help them fight online abuse
  10. Yes, Trump’s tweets are a distraction – but one people clearly want to read
  11. Friday Reading S05E03
  12. Friday Reading S05E02
  13. “It is happening again…” – BBC junking more Doctor Who
  14. Friday Reading S05E01
  15. Which Doctor Who story will they animate next after “Power of the Daleks”?
  16. Smart Benedict Evans on mobiles, smartphones and hindsight
  17. Tech Weekly podcast about the future of mobile news
  18. A screenshot blast from the past
  19. I’m Martin Belam! You might know me from such internet projects as…
  20. I’m (re)joining the Guardian
  21. Polls, polls, lov-er-ly polls
  22. From Zürich with multimedia love

2015 58

  1. Friday Reading is now a publication on Medium
  2. Friday Reading has moved
  3. Friday Reading S02E16
  4. Friday Reading S02E15
  5. 6 lightning talks at the #dareconfparty
  6. Friday Reading S02E14
  7. Doctor Who companions data story in the Telegraph
  8. Brian Sewell (1931-2015)
  9. Friday Reading S02E13
  10. Friday Reading S02E12
  11. Friday Reading S02E11
  12. So long, Contributoria
  13. Friday Reading S02E10
  14. The more things change, the more they stay the same: Guardian design personas from 2006
  15. Friday Reading S02E09
  16. InPublishing article on “wearable tech”
  17. Friday Reading S02E08
  18. Read Nominet’s 30 stories for 30 years of .uk
  19. Friday Reading S02E07
  20. Friday Reading S02E06
  21. Friday Reading S02E05
  22. “Elegant Tools” with Facebook, GDS, Orange and OpenIdeo
  23. Friday Reading S02E04
  24. Why you shouldn’t jump to conclusions about the BBC’s “banned from Google” URL list
  25. As a journalist, what would I write if Dapper Laughs committed suicide?
  26. Matt Round on his personal highlights from UsVsTh3m
  27. Friday Reading S02E03
  28. There is so much more to having a successful article online than just pressing publish
  29. 8 things we learned covering #GE2015 for Ampp3d & UsVsTh3m
  30. The NYT forcing staff to use their mobile site sends an important message
  31. Friday Reading S02E02
  32. “People are on social media, so do it on social media” – Buzzfeed’s Tom Phillips on #GE2015 at News Impact Summit London
  33. “We saw growth with Facebook video” – ITV’s Jason Mills talks #GE2015 at News Impact Summit London
  34. “We put a lot of effort into designing #GE2015 for mobile” – the BBC’s Steve Herrmann at News Impact Summit
  35. “We were all chasing this phantom story” – Miranda Green on #GE2015 at the News Impact Summit
  36. Friday Reading S02E01
  37. “The VPN effect and the web’s missing billion” – Jason Mander at #qznextbillion
  38. “Your next ride – Uber in emerging markets” – Jambu Palaniappan at #qznextbillion
  39. “Inspiring computer hardware for young people in the developing world” – Yonatan Raz-Fridman at #qznextbillion
  40. “Providing free ad-supported mobile internet access for the next billion” – Nathan Eagle at #qznextbillion
  41. “What makes video go viral in emerging markets?” – Cat Jones at #qznextbillion
  42. I wrote a thing about some things what I had made
  43. All change again for the BBC News website
  44. Exclusive bropinion: A man has thinks
  45. Terry Pratchett died and we had no words
  46. 5 reasons I can’t get myself worked up about that Gawker MailOnline piece
  47. The BBC announces myBBC – for the third time in 15 years
  48. Wittgenstein is the sincerest form of flattery
  49. A grumpy old man’s tuppence on why you shouldn’t ruin Hacks/Hackers London
  50. Typography claims hoist by own petard
  51. We did this, they did that #4
  52. We did this, they did that #3
  53. Using wearable tech to film YouTube is going to be the new “taping songs off the chart show”
  54. Is @savedyouaclick snobbish about media? Yes
  55. We did this, they did that #2
  56. Why I’ve found that online communities on media sites always seem doomed to fail
  57. Remembering how search engines reacted to the Columbia Shuttle disaster
  58. We did this, they did that #1

2014 45

  1. 13 tips on applying for journalism jobs from a fortysomething misanthrope
  2. The tl;dr version of critiquing articles about #GamerGate
  3. When the words on a chart about rape become more important than rape
  4. The Press Complaints Commission is dead! Long live the 404 page. Er wut?
  5. 2 reasons journalism continues to have a dysfunctional relationship with Facebook
  6. Oh my word the Telegraph has given up on reporting the news!
  7. Well, I’ve had better reviews to be honest…
  8. #GamerGate poll: Clarifying the change from “Uncovering corruption” to “Fighting corruption”
  9. Was Jack Of Kent right to break an embargo on Conservative Party plans for human rights legislation?
  10. 9 things news organisations could learn about social media from “Martin Belam’s joke” on Twitter
  11. Kate Bush live was a little like watching the movie of a dearly loved novel
  12. Am I being deleted by Google against my will?
  13. Shat on the Telegraph
  14. The growing disconnect between social media use and broadcast media convention on election days
  15. Ampp3d under “friendly fire” from the National Secular Society
  16. Tom Bradby isn’t enjoying covering the #IndyRef. This may be the new normal
  17. An open letter to the Independent about reporting the royal baby news
  18. Why look – it’s another unnecessary opinion piece about the Scottish #Indyref by an Englishman
  19. The Scotsman really has banned mention of Wings Over Scotland in their comments
  20. Why don’t I care about Twitter shoving “favourites” into my timeline?
  21. Construction sites and catcalling at women – the metadata never lies
  22. The newspaper columnists tone-policing your grief on social media
  23. SEOing the death of Robin Williams isn’t evil. It’s the equivalent of shouting “READ ALL ABAHT IT”
  24. If you only read one article about how the media have reported Robin Williams apparent suicide…
  25. Maybe the Daily Star should have checked their own website before complaining about the BBC’s Savile article?
  26. Why URL structure has to be part of your content strategy in one screenshot
  27. Frank Maloney & Kellie Maloney: Watching the media cover a Trans* story with improved empathy
  28. Two posts well worth reading about the Facebook news feed algorithm
  29. 50 million reasons the media needs to stop thinking Buzzfeed is only lists
  30. Not all men. Not all industries. But nearly always men in my industry
  31. If I lived in Scotland this one design decision would make me vote “Yes”
  32. Current status: Winning at the internet with Trinity Mirror
  33. Did the Times of Israel say genocide was permissible? Spoiler: NO
  34. How much of Wolfgang Blau’s “office desktop” traffic will survive for brands like the Mirror?
  35. Come and work with me making brilliant stuff for the web
  36. 12 things I learnt from our developer’s blog about building Ampp3d
  37. Hello, world (Slight return)
  38. The death of the homepage in one simple graph
  39. Why everybody in the newsroom should do all their work on their phones
  40. Some thoughts on straight lines across UK maps
  41. Complaining you get less organic Facebook reach is looking down the wrong end of the telescope
  42. How we built Ampp3d in eight weeks
  43. Does Ampp3d have a problem with bias?
  44. “The Ampp3d-ification of news”
  45. Guardian shows why mobile design has to work for commercial content as well as editorial content

2013 25

  1. “Anyone referring to journalism as ‘a product’ should be shot” – Quartz’s Leo Mirani & Jason Karaian at #HHLdn
  2. “Do Assad’s men wear trainers?” – the BBC’s Trushar Barot on social media verification
  3. “Journalists want convenience, not security” – Daniel Cuthbert at Hacks/Hackers London
  4. “Making news stand-out in a social media world” – Quartz’s Kevin Delaney at #SmartDEN
  5. The real problem with the “Should journalists learn to code” question
  6. @BBCExtraGhost, #Vennfest, @UKGoHomeOffice and beyond – doing political satire for the web
  7. A couple of weeks in the UsVsTh3m hot seat
  8. “The digital place you love is gone” – Joe Sokohl at EuroIA
  9. “From Search to Social” – BuzzFeed, Facebook, Metro & UsVsTh3m at #SMWLDN
  10. 9 pet peeves from running the UsVsTh3m social media brand accounts
  11. “Every story starts with an audience of zero” – Jay Lauf of Quartz at news:rewired
  12. Life’s not just about monarchs and men: Why I want women on our banknotes.
  13. How my spoof BBC Question Time Twitter account showed me the level of abuse political women face on social media
  14. “Telling the story of Firestorm” – Jon Henley & Robin Beitra at Hacks/Hackers London
  15. “The who, what and why of UsVsTh3m” – Martin Belam at Hacks/Hackers London
  16. Closing Mustardland – the end of the Archers messageboard
  17. “We aren’t here to steal anyone’s lunch” – Buzzfeed’s Luke Lewis at Hacks/Hackers London
  18. “How to make journalism work on tablet computers” at News On The Move II
  19. 16 tapirs who think your attitude to “sponsored content” sucks
  20. “The Editor Behind the Curtain” – Erin Kissane at Confab
  21. “The future for investigative journalism funding” – David Leigh at Hacks/Hackers London
  22. On the demise of Google Reader
  23. BBC Archers message board closure features on Radio 4’s Feedback
  24. The long slow death of the BBC’s Message boards
  25. Working towards never writing this blog post about “women at tech conferences” again