I loved The Liars' Gospel. Gripping historical fiction, plausible and poignant.

Lies, Damned Lies and Economic Vibes The continuing mystery of feel-bad economics

Good Krugman piece

paulkrugman.substack.com/p/lies-damne...

The simple test for me is: is this intended to be read and then for the reader to return to the text? In which case it should be a footnote, not an endnote.

Mistborn also by Brandon Sanderson

Hall of fame FT correction

Some say Trump is slow and lethargic. But his ability to do five horrendously evil things every day is impressive for someone his age.

I first came across Shannon years ago when she was on C-SPAN talking about her book on why warriors need codes to live by, to prevent them from being psychological casualties from what they must see and do. If we care for our warriors, we must hold them to a high standard, for their sake.

Four headlines in which Marjorite Taylor Greene, Tucker Carolson, Piers Morgan, and Alex Jones condemn Trump for his genocidal threats to Iran.

Imagine being a moderate Republican and getting outflanked on decency, morality, and basic humanity by these four nutters

Indentured labourers typically had shorter periods of indenture than this in the 19-th century British empire.

The secret to doing anything is look at some crap stuff and going “I could do better than that”

Why Walking Doesn’t Prevent Falls (And What Does) You can walk five miles. But you can’t stand from a low chair without pushing off. Here’s why your legs are failing the test that predicts independence.

Really useful piece on the importance of training for power as you get older. Use It or Lose It open.substack.com/pub/seniorhe...

Sobering piece and well work reading. One important thing needs to be said however.

Coercive extractionalism is an accurate term. Transactionalism is not.

He’s not a dealmaker.

Trump doesn’t stick to bargains but uses the American state to extort everyone else.

Portes is right. I have definitely come to see the value in political education, because "emotionally cathartic slopulism" has already taken over the Right and I think it could easily do so on the left too if we don't hold the line on, like, actually insisting that it matters you get things right.

I had the standard immigrant family childhood.

My mum taught me to read at 3 and after that the local library was my second home.

I then got a Saturday job in the library & met my oldest friend.

Without the library I would be nothing.

#LibrariesChangeLives

The US Department of War Crimes.

Immigrants weren’t just filling existing jobs; they were helping create them. That’s Econ 101: jobs are not a fixed pie. More people means more customers, more demand, more businesses expanding, and yes, more hiring.

This is basically bullish for risk assets though as it implies that the us administration is preparing a giant shit sandwich for itself and calling it a tasty tasty meal.

The UK unequivocally condemns the Taliban’s ban on girls' education in Afghanistan: UK statement at the UN Security Council Statement by Ambassador James Kariuki, UK Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN, at the UN Security Council meeting on Afghanistan.

Afghan women have now been banned from applying to study in British universities by the Labour government
www.gov.uk/government/s...

I was always a fan of Chris Lightfoot's "proportional FPTP" idea - keep the election the same in the constituencies, but each MP has a block vote in the House of commons determined by their party's national vote share

Miscellanea: The War in Iran This post is a set of my observations on the current war in Iran and my thoughts on the broader strategic implications. I am not, of course, an expert on the region nor do I have access to any spec…

Well, I am not sure what my analysis here is worth, but here is my 7,500 word primal scream of a military historian's take on the War in Iran.

My best summary: this war is dumb as hell.

acoup.blog/2026/03/25/m...

We do.

Who buys Qatar's LNG? Well, the two most populous countries on the planet. They probably aren’t loving the closed Strait of Hormuz. The Iran War looks like a gigantic miscalculation by Trump now.

Westminster Hall - Indefinite Leave to Remain YouTube video by Tony Vaughan KC MP

EARNED SETTLEMENT

We must be a country that is true to our word, and we must be a Labour Party that stands up for the values of community, solidarity, equality and internationalism.

youtu.be/ec6LL7McYG4

‘So,’ says the King, scrolling on Zelensky’s iPad, ‘if I were to take at random this cottage in the Sandringham area, and imagine it was actually an incoming Shahed drone, is there a button I can press to do something about it?’

“Watching Zionists, Islamists and Fundamentalist Christians lob missiles at each other is not exactly a ringing endorsement for the monotheistic traditions: three faiths united by a shared heritage, scripture, and enthusiasm for turning the Middle East into a live-fire theological debate.”

This is cruel to the young people concerned, self-destructive for the UK and will not win over a single Reform voter.

If you thought China was selling a lot of batteries and solar panels before, you’re going to love what happens next.

Kenny Everett as American General

Just remembered Kenny Everett’s American General sketch, haha, absurdist humour, it’s funny because it couldn’t possibly- hang on, I’m getting a message

Iran attacks show the perils of following America’s economic lead A growth plan of renewable energy and diversified trade is far better than guzzling fossil fuels and aligning with the US

"From the US you get forced into trade deals promising a future of burning fossil fuels whose price is subject to wildly destructive US adventurism. From China you get reliably cheap EVs and green tech to generate renewables"- giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/... via @alanbeattie.bsky.social