Employers are able to decide the limit. Think that was always the case, just very few chose to engage with it. But the demand for car-alternatives among mid-senior managers has probably accelerated the adoption of high spending caps.
Where's ColdwarSteve when you need him?
I've read 12 pages and I've already named three new characters for my imagined first novel. (The names in this are great)
The first sentence of this is 80 words. Start as you mean to go on, eh?
I probably sound like a wanker, but if you’re interested in hearing me chatting about art vs craft, hobbies vs making a living, short stories vs novels, and PowerPoint vs sanity have a listen open.spotify.com/episode/3DWs...
Listened on my cycle to work this morning and enjoyed it. (First one of Laura's pods I've actually listened to)
I had the opportunity to interview record breaking ultra runners Matthieu Bonne and Meg Eckert for the Mount to Coast podcast - if you're interested in long distance training and racing, these are really interesting conversations
open.spotify.com/episode/0E9J...
This is a nice little refresher following on the back of Ed Zitron's 'Business Idiots' piece last week - www.timesfreepress.com/news/2025/ju...
In disordered discourse:
Engagement > accuracy
Performance > governance
Emotion > evidence
Identity = target
The logic of the algorithm now structures political speech. It rewards those who dramatise difference and punish deviation from the tribe.
It took me all day to read this yesterday, but it was worth it. It encapsulates a lot of the frustrations I have with the modern workplace, especially as a mid-career doer who has no great interest in joining the management class.
The Chinese Qing Dynasty was highly protectionist, and that only changed thanks to the British Opium Wars of the 19th Century. Will Keir Starmer be brave enough to learn from history and undermine the US govt policy with cheap opium?
What have you read recently that made you think? Not news, but essays, fiction, poetry etc. I'm feeling the need to step back from the news and podcasts to find some space and challenge myself.
@iandunt.bsky.social @dorianlynskey.bsky.social I think you should do an Origin Story on George Peabody. Would the world be a better place today if instead of philanthropy, he'd spent his fortune turning his adopted Great Britain into an authoritarian dictatorship? en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_...
<puts the Ezra Klein jingle back on repeat>
If you're leaving me a voice note and it's more than 20 seconds long, I'm expecting proper production values - podcast mic, a cool jingle, maybe an ad for your favourite nutritional supplement. Anything less, I'm out.
@harikunzru.bsky.social just finished reading the Hanif Kureishi interview. Fuck me it's brilliant. I had to read the passage about the Royal Orthopaedic out loud to my wife, I was laughing so much (she didn't find it funny).
Good riddance to 2024. Deadliest year for war-related deaths since Rwanda in the 90s and this time its cheerleaders in the West seem hell bent on allowing it to continue indefinitely. Truly the most disheartening year of my adult life. Happy New Year?
unionize!
Something that's surprised me around the running boom is that there have been so few acquisitions of start-ups. The stock market is booming, which would make me think big businesses could go on a buying spree, but I can't think of any. Bandit, Soar, Norda, Tracksmith, all still indie brands
@herring1967.bsky.social I was laughing at your story about your youngest saying "chicken" all the time. My 5yr old does the same with "chicken nugget". He's vegetarian 🤷♂️
