Van Badham's Avatar

Van Badham

@vanbadham

Guardian columnist, co-hosts The Week on Wednesday podcast, makes theatre, yaps a lot. Contact me: https://linktr.ee/vanbadham You should totally buy my book, QANON & ON: A Short and Shocking History of Internet Conspiracy Cults. It’s bonkers.

23,699
Followers
1,262
Following
3,345
Posts
04.05.2023
Joined
Posts Following

Latest posts by Van Badham @vanbadham

Labor pushes for polling booth ‘exclusion zones’ after surge in volunteer abuse The ALP has warned federal parliament that a rise in aggressive behaviour and intimidation during the 2025 election is threatening voter participation and driving away volunteers.

Labor pushes for polling booth ‘exclusion zones’ after surge in volunteer abuse at the 2025 election
web.archive.org/web/20260306... #auspol

06.03.2026 07:56 👍 15 🔁 7 💬 2 📌 0
06.03.2026 05:09 👍 2307 🔁 494 💬 30 📌 0
Post image

Over 160 schoolgirls are dead. Anthropic and Palantir executives must immediately testify and tell the public whether their AI is responsible.

06.03.2026 05:12 👍 4610 🔁 1841 💬 248 📌 123
Two photos. One shows Kristi Noem in a construction worker's outfit. The other shows her in a police officer outfit.

Two photos. One shows Kristi Noem in a construction worker's outfit. The other shows her in a police officer outfit.

Two photos. One shows Kristi Noem in a nurse's outfit. The other shows her in an electrical worker's outfit.

Two photos. One shows Kristi Noem in a nurse's outfit. The other shows her in an electrical worker's outfit.

Two photos. One shows Kristi Noem in a military outfit while riding aboat. The other shows her in a firefighter's outfit using a firehose.

Two photos. One shows Kristi Noem in a military outfit while riding aboat. The other shows her in a firefighter's outfit using a firehose.

Two photos. One shows Kristi Noem in a Westernwear outfit. The other shows her in a police officer's outfit.

Two photos. One shows Kristi Noem in a Westernwear outfit. The other shows her in a police officer's outfit.

good news. kristi noem has already found eight new jobs

06.03.2026 06:12 👍 13868 🔁 1948 💬 693 📌 232
Post image

As a reminder, this is the GOP a**hole that is running to represent TX-23, including Uvalde - the community that was traumatized by a mass shooter that killed 19 children, 2 adults and wounded 18 others.

06.03.2026 06:17 👍 305 🔁 127 💬 48 📌 19

GOP-held Senate seats that were on the map in March 2025:

North Carolina
Maine

GOP-held Senate seats that are on the map in March 2026:

North Carolina
Maine
Ohio
Alaska
Texas
Iowa
Nebraska
Montana

A lot can change in a year.

A lot more can change in 8 months.

Organize. Donate. Register. Vote.

06.03.2026 06:28 👍 361 🔁 115 💬 8 📌 5
Preview
Markwayne Mullin Reportedly Fingered Nostrils of Colleagues and Their Spouses During Visit to Israel A former House Republican claims that in 2015, Markwayne Mullin – then a congressman – took photos of himself putting his finger up the noses of...

This headline should win an award

06.03.2026 05:17 👍 348 🔁 93 💬 38 📌 33
Post image

FT comments section this morning - saying what everyone else is thinking, right?

05.03.2026 07:15 👍 17088 🔁 5961 💬 512 📌 493
Video thumbnail

Dana Perino bragged about the Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner pretending they were negotiating with Iran while the Pentagon planned an attack. Witkoff is part of the Ukraine/Russia negotiations .Kushner is part of the plan to rebuild Gaza. Who would trust them after this?

05.03.2026 10:21 👍 449 🔁 158 💬 41 📌 24
Video thumbnail

Quietly, calmly and forensically, BBC just dismantled the Trump communications shitshow on Iran.

No hyperbole, just laying out an unprecedented military, diplomatic and reputational shambles.

Worth a watch.

(🎥 BBC News/BBC Verify)

05.03.2026 08:46 👍 3816 🔁 2072 💬 100 📌 178
Preview
Artists warn government to 'hold its nerve' on AI copyright Artists and copyright advocates say big tech is again pushing to loosen Australia's copyright rules as artificial intelligence companies expand.

Artists and copyright advocates say big tech is again pushing to loosen Australia's copyright rules as artificial intelligence companies expand.

04.03.2026 20:28 👍 12 🔁 7 💬 0 📌 0

It's so cringe but then Trump loves that sort of thing, and they know it.

05.03.2026 04:50 👍 49 🔁 18 💬 10 📌 1
Video thumbnail

Spanish PM Sánchez responds to Trump:

"Spain is against this disaster... Govts are here to improve people's lives... It is absolutely unacceptable that those leaders who are unable to fulfill that mission use the smoke of war to hide their failure, and in the process, fill the pockets of a few."

04.03.2026 11:24 👍 8290 🔁 2866 💬 200 📌 448
Preview
Carney lands in Australia looking to draw closer to a Commonwealth cousin also grappling with Trump | CBC News Prime Minister Mark Carney has landed in Australia as he looks to bolster ties with a Commonwealth cousin that is increasingly viewed in Ottawa as a key ally on global challenges — a country that has ...

Carney lands in Australia looking to draw closer to a Commonwealth cousin also grappling with Trump
www.cbc.ca/news/politic... #auspol #cdnpoli

03.03.2026 11:30 👍 21 🔁 5 💬 2 📌 3
On a cheery pink background, the line: "this Purim I'm going to get so drunk that I can't tell the right-wing antisemites from the left-wing antisemites".

On a cheery pink background, the line: "this Purim I'm going to get so drunk that I can't tell the right-wing antisemites from the left-wing antisemites".

a (Jewish) friend just sent this to me and it has made me laugh and laugh and laugh. Happy Purim everyone!

03.03.2026 08:55 👍 378 🔁 57 💬 4 📌 7
Preview
New Zealand shows austerity and interest rate hikes won’t cure Australia’s sticky inflation - Per Capita By Osmond Chiu, Research Fellow The recent interest rate hike to address inflation drifting above the Reserve Bank of Australia’s (RBA) target band has reignited debate about the Albanese Government’s...

What if the RBA had lifted interest rates far more aggressively and?

New Zealand offers a revealing counterfactual.

Read the latest Insight from Per Capita Research Fellow, Osmond Chiu:
percapita.org.au/new-zealand-...

03.03.2026 02:36 👍 6 🔁 4 💬 1 📌 2

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has followed through with his threat to table the coalition’s internal report into its disastrous showing in the 2025 election. Downloadable as a PDF from here.
live.thepoint.com.au/2026/03/the-... #auspol

03.03.2026 05:40 👍 47 🔁 21 💬 6 📌 2

I may not have any of that, but I do have eyebrows

02.03.2026 23:04 👍 863 🔁 47 💬 46 📌 0
Preview
All about choice? Liberals move childcare battlelines to vouchers for nannies and grandparents Some experts worry the policy move could threaten Australian standards and equity, raise childcare costs and encourage fraud * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Angus Taylor’s Liberal party is considering vouchers for nannies and grandparents as part of an overhaul of childcare in Australia, a policy experts warn could threaten equity and care standards, as the Coalition sets up a clear contest with Labor ahead of the next election. Matt O’Sullivan, shadow assistant minister for “choice in childcare and early learning”, has opened the door to government-funded vouchers for nannies, au pairs or grandparents, while the party also considers a broader family tax policy that could look at income splitting, tax and superannuation incentives for families. Continue reading...

All about choice? Liberals move childcare battlelines to vouchers for nannies and grandparents

01.03.2026 14:02 👍 7 🔁 7 💬 1 📌 2

I’d rather eight people who are not dangerous shitheads than eleventy billion of the alternative, sir! X

02.03.2026 13:48 👍 3 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
Video thumbnail

Greetings from Kyiv.
I will never tire of praising its beauty.
March 1.
We made it.
We survived this winter.

01.03.2026 14:44 👍 1182 🔁 207 💬 59 📌 6

Exactly.

The whingers can whinge whilst we deal with the world full of awful leaders.

01.03.2026 06:43 👍 11 🔁 3 💬 1 📌 0

How could it be? Steady and stable defines his prime ministership.

01.03.2026 06:43 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0

In chaotic and dangerous times, I am so relieved that Australians chose steady, sensible @albomp.bsky.social to lead us. #auspol

01.03.2026 06:26 👍 48 🔁 4 💬 15 📌 1
Preview
Extreme rhetoric in right-wing political circles deserves more attention The rhetoric in Australia's right-wing political circles is getting more extreme and the media should be paying more attention.

Extreme rhetoric
Advance
Holocaust minimisation
Margaret Thatcher and the International Democracy Union (IDU)

www.abc.net.au/news/2026-03...

28.02.2026 21:27 👍 50 🔁 27 💬 0 📌 4

I wonder if tRumps kids will sign on, bone spurs are not hereditary are they?

01.03.2026 01:36 👍 7 🔁 2 💬 1 📌 0
homer simpson worrying about the ayatollah

homer simpson worrying about the ayatollah

01.03.2026 05:02 👍 73 🔁 13 💬 4 📌 0

this feels more coordinated than the stuff yesterday

01.03.2026 05:10 👍 160 🔁 12 💬 6 📌 0
A social media post from Donald J. Trump on Truth Social, posted 9 minutes ago. The text reads: "Iran tried to interfere in 2020, 2024 elections to stop Trump, and now faces renewed war with United States:" followed by a link to justthenews.com. Below is a link preview showing the article headline "Iran tried to interfere in 2020, 2024 elections to stop Trump, and now faces possible war with U.S." accompanied by a photo from what appears to be an Iranian protest or rally, showing demonstrators holding anti-Trump signs and posters with Persian text.

A social media post from Donald J. Trump on Truth Social, posted 9 minutes ago. The text reads: "Iran tried to interfere in 2020, 2024 elections to stop Trump, and now faces renewed war with United States:" followed by a link to justthenews.com. Below is a link preview showing the article headline "Iran tried to interfere in 2020, 2024 elections to stop Trump, and now faces possible war with U.S." accompanied by a photo from what appears to be an Iranian protest or rally, showing demonstrators holding anti-Trump signs and posters with Persian text.

I am going to need every single person who said that misinformation was a moral panic to feel enough shame and regret that they leave public intellectual life.

28.02.2026 16:30 👍 1392 🔁 277 💬 32 📌 28

Related point, if you are in misinformation research and have been launching study after study to see what Uncle Fred thinks after seeing misinformation PLEASE listen to what @katestarbird.bsky.social and I have been saying for years: effects on elite and official action is what matters most.

28.02.2026 16:36 👍 270 🔁 81 💬 9 📌 4