Tony Morley

Despite what you hear in the news, from the United States to Nigeria; and from Indonesia to India — "most people are fairly optimistic that their lives will improve" ourworldindata.org/data-insight...

YouTube video by Kite & Key Media The First Amendment is More Radical Than You May Think

"So, if you’re willing to make exceptions to free speech for people you don’t like … well, that’s no longer free speech." — The First Amendment is More Radical Than You May Think youtu.be/SwZdPN83fsE?...

“Which means anytime we think about giving Washington more power to restrict speech, we ought to ask, “How would I feel if my least favorite politician was the one deciding which thoughts could land me in jail?” — Why free speech matters, Kite and Key Media

“The entire procedure takes 12 to 18 hours. One injection seems to be enough to permanently lower levels of mutant huntingtin in the brain.” “This could be a major breakthrough,”

Huntington’s disease breakthrough: what to know about the gene therapy Huntington’s disease has been successfully treated for the first time using a gene therapy, which may be available in the US as soon as next year

A new breakthrough gene therapy has shown dramatic results in the world’s first treatment for Huntington's disease. The new drug reduced the progression of Huntington symptoms by 75% over 3 years in a small test group. www.newscientist.com/article/2497...

Pew estimates a total of 47,000 gun-related deaths in the United States in 2023. By contrast, the 2022 heatwave in Europe resulted in 61,000 heat-related deaths. If you care about life, air conditioners are more effective at saving lives than almost anyone realises.

Half-Baked Crisis: We Aren’t Going to Cook Ourselves to Death Rising temperatures don't necessarily mean rising death rates.

“The mortality impact of extremely hot days fell by 75 percent in the United States between 1960 and 2004, driven primarily by the adoption of residential air conditioning (AC).” — Rising temperatures don't necessarily mean rising death rates. newsletter.humanprogress.org/p/half-baked... ❄️

The latest World Bank data counts 125 million more people as living in extreme poverty — but the world has not gotten poorer To track progress towards ending extreme poverty, the United Nations relies on World Bank estimates of the number of people living below a poverty threshold called the “International Poverty Line” (IP...

“The higher estimates of extreme poverty reflect a higher poverty threshold, not that the world is poorer. In fact, the latest data shows that incomes among the world’s poorest are actually higher than previously estimated.” ourworldindata.org/data-insight...

In 1990, 37.6% of the global population survived on just $1—$3/day, by 2025, that ratio has fallen to just 8.5%, and continues to decline. Economic growth, trade and globalisation have been the unprecedented principal drivers of this progress. “The world has not gotten poorer.”

After the Spike: Population, Progress, and the Case for People An eye-opening exploration of humanity’s unprecedented path to global depopulation and its significance from economists Dean Spears and Michael Geruso.

“Yes, there are lives that we all should work to improve. But the chances for a good life for a child are at least as high now as they have ever been, in all of human history.” afterthespike.com

“The gloomy view that most lives in the future won’t be worth living. That gloomy view about the prospects for humanity’s future relative to humanity’s present is often rooted in a misunderstanding of wellbeing in humanity’s present relative to humanity’s past.”

“But the facts are clear: There can be enough for everyone. The data tell us that lives are better now than lives were in the past—even though there are now many more lives around. Fears of a depleted, overpopulated future are out of date.” — Dr. Michael Geruso and Dr. Dean Spears

E20: “Good vs Evil” — the best podcast episode of the year, declining global poverty, crop yields continue to increase through 2025 and more. Tony Morley, September 23rd, 2025 “We're going to pander to the evil? No. What makes the West great is that we do good after evil, not evil after evil.” — Charlie Kirk Welcome to The Up Wing You’r...

“We're going to pander to the evil? No. What makes the West great is that we do good after evil, not evil after evil.” — Charlie Kirk www.theupwing.com/edition20/

E20: “Good vs Evil” — the best podcast episode of the year, declining global poverty, crop yields continue to increase through 2025 and more. Edition 20, Tony Morley for The Up Wing newsletter; progress delivered.

The world is on track for record harvests this year What do the latest projections expect for global food production and yields of different crops?

“It’s not uncommon for people to tell me that global food production is already collapsing due to climate change. They are then surprised to hear that we typically hit record harvests year after year (even as things get hotter).” www.sustainabilitybynumbers.com/p/food-proje...

“Most crops, with the exception of sorghum and millet, have seen steady increases over the past 60 years, and that trend is expected to continue this year.” — The world is on track for record harvests this year Hannah Ritchie 🌽

The Capitalist Manifesto – Atlantic Books ‘This book is an excellent explanation of why capitalism is not just successful, but morally right‘ Elon Musk ‘A joyful counterblast… packed with vivid examples… decisive’ The Economist ‘Compelling… M...

It turns out, he's not wrong. Between 1800 and 2025, global extreme poverty decreased from 90% to approximately 9%. See, The Capitalist Manifesto by Johan Norberg atlantic-books.co.uk/book/the-cap...

YouTube video by Jubilee 1 Capitalist vs 20 Anti-Capitalists (ft. Patrick Bet-David) | Surrounded

“My next claim is that capitalism has lifted more people out of poverty than any other system.” — 1 Capitalist vs 20 Anti-Capitalists Patrick Bet-David youtu.be/cwSXDr7XkNc?... 📈

YouTube video by The Wall Street Journal Trump’s Tariffs Are Raking in Billions. Where Does It All Go? | WSJ

The United States is taking in billions in tariffs, paid for by Americans, to the tune of $642 million a day, every day. Americans are taxing themselves to pay themselves. youtu.be/w2HBhjcAtLM?... 📦

E19: Poverty is declining, the benefits of freer trade, Ireland’s escape from poverty and more: Tony Morley, September 10th, 2025 “While freer trade—in both exports and imports—makes us better off, the opposite is also true. Barriers to free trade, such as tariffs, have a negative impact on our...

E19: Poverty is declining, the benefits of freer trade, Ireland’s escape from poverty and more: The Up Wing www.theupwing.com/edition19/

E19: Poverty is declining, the benefits of freer trade, Ireland’s escape from poverty and more: “While freer trade—in both exports and imports—makes us better off, the opposite is also true.” — Tony Morley for The Up Wing, Edition 19

How Ireland wrote the modern story of progress Few countries better exemplify how life has actually improved.

“While I knew that Ireland had up until quite recently been a poor place by European standards, I hadn’t realized just how poor.” www.vox.com/future-perfe... Bryan Walsh Root Source: Our World In Data, Gapminder, GPD per capita, PPP$2017

Between 1950 and 2025, Ireland’s GDP grew from $6580 per capita, to >$100,000 — while over the same period, life expectancy increased by 22 years; and just for good measure, child mortality fell from 5.4% to <0.3%. — How Ireland wrote the modern story of progress

The Butcher, the Brewer, the Baker — Adam Smith quote One of the most famous lines from Adam Smith's The Wealth of Nations is: "It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker, that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to ...

Visualization from Sketchplanations: “The magic of trade is that both sides are better off when it works well—a genuine win-win.” sketchplanations.com/the-butcher-... 🍞

We shouldn't have to explain 'comparative advantage' with crayon, but here we are: “It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker, that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest.” — Smith, The Wealth of Nations

YouTube video by Kite & Key Media Is a Nuclear Renaissance Coming?

“In fact, while nuclear power plants make up just 0.4 percent of all the power plants in the U.S. … they provide 18.6 percent of our electricity. And that’s because nuclear power gets you incredible bang for the buck.” — Kite & Key Media youtu.be/jgfeqgyP6Dg?...

Nuclear and solar are dominating power generation in Hungary, with solar overtaking gas, and coal's share falling to just 6%. Together, nuclear and solar made up roughly 66% of power generation in Hungary in 2024. ourworldindata.org/data-insight...

Global extreme poverty has declined significantly in the last 35 years, no matter how it's measured; however, in some of the poorest regions, progress has stalled. Free markets, free trade and globalization are the best tools we have to maintain momentum. ourworldindata.org/new-internat...

E18: Trump is a degrother, tariffs are taxing Americans hard, trade lifts all boats and “Breakfast for Eight Billion” Tony Morley, August 28th, 2025 “Degrowth argues that people should not only tolerate but desire a smaller economy. That’s second-term Trumponomics, and everyone stands to be worse off for it.” — Anni...

E18: Trump is a degrother, tariffs are taxing Americans hard, trade lifts all boats and “Breakfast for Eight Billion” Tony Morley — The Up Wing. If we're going to turn our backs on something, let's make it degrowth. www.theupwing.com/edition18/

“Americans, now and in the future, will be paying more and buying less. Trump’s second-term economic ideology is not only one of protectionism, mercantilism, atavism, and cronyism. It is also one of degrowth.”