Phil Burton-Cartledge

I'm sorry to say they won't do this because beggar-thy-neighbour class politics trumps economic growth every time.

A serious centre left party would undertake serious efforts to understand what the Corbyn moment and the current Green surge tell it about its voter base. An unserious party would retreat into a comfort zone wherein everyone to their left is a "Trot" and success always lies in pandering rightwards

History Workshop Journal’s 100th Issue: a celebration
31 Jan 2026, 2.00pm, Bloomsbury, London
Speakers include former and newer editors, and friends of the journal.
To join us, book here HWJ100.eventbrite.co.uk
@bbkhistorical.bsky.social
@qmul.bsky.social

The Syllabus The good content is already here; it’s just not evenly distributed

Thanks to @the-syllabus.bsky.social for picking the recent PTO episode with Liz Pelly (on her brilliant book about Spotify) as one of their podcasts of the week. The Syllabus is an amazing non-profit content curation service:

www.the-syllabus.com

Yes

Collection online - The so-called “Strike Papyrus” written by Amunnakht More than 4.000 of the approximately 40.000 objects in Museo Egizio’s collection are accessible here. All data are constantly updated, thanks to the continuous study and documentation of the objects.…

New analysis of the Turin Strike Papyrus—a detailed account from 1157 BCE—shows how artisans building the royal tombs at Deir el-Medina staged a coordinated walkout after going 18 days without grain rations. tinyurl.com/29822yb2
#ShareGoodNewsToo

To be read!

Yes, this. They're certainly handsome looking books but the promise of their premise is wasted.

No. I've got the first one on my tbr, but I'm not that excited about them if I'm honest.

I haven't read any Ken Liu yet, but it's widely known in China that Liu Cixin can't write for tuffies.

Ferry Corsten presents Gouryella - Surga We're not far off from the top ten tunes of the year, the list absolutely no one hankers for among this blog's regular readers. There is a v...

I know it's late on Sunday, but it's still the weekend so get your dancing shoes on.

The Darkness of <i>The Dark Forest</i> Commenting on the first book in a trilogy is a perilous affair. Not all of the author's ideas or characters are fully developed. The impact ...

"... two books into the Remembrance of Earth's Past trilogy I am masochistically invested enough to put myself through the final installment. Read this as a warning and save yourself some time."

Nigel Farage is the Prime Minister

Crick (Michael, who wrote a biography on Nigel Farage) believes that there is a clear line to be drawn between Farage the sixth-former and Farage the politician. "So much of his character is the same as you can see at Dulwich," he says. "The boy who's desperate for attention, who loves debating, who loves division. The English nationalism, the interest - almost obsession - with immigration, the admiration for Enoch Powell, the free-market Thatcherism; all of that began at Dulwich." Much of the public has already made up its mind on Farage. In as much as this story cuts through to the wider elector-ate, some will think it deeply unfair to judge Farage on his adolescence; while others will see it as fair game and reflective of the man he later became. But there will be many who are still undecided on Farage and, for this last camp, his belligerent response to the allegations will be a test. He has the polling support. He has the Tory defections. He has the money now too. But does he have the ability to woo and keep voters who once found him unsavoury? Farage is unlikely to change tack now. "He's got to be true to him-self," says the senior Reform source. "There is precious little point in apologising to people like Ed Davey." Additional Reporting: Harry Yorke

The exact people now saying "Nigel Farage was young and foolish at school" (to excuse his racism, bullying and harassment of fellow pupils at Dulwich College) are the same people who said "Shamima Begum was old enough to know what she was doing".

The Darkness of <i>The Dark Forest</i> Commenting on the first book in a trilogy is a perilous affair. Not all of the author's ideas or characters are fully developed. The impact ...

"... two books into the Remembrance of Earth's Past trilogy I am masochistically invested enough to put myself through the final installment. Read this as a warning and save yourself some time."

One is bad enough!

Two points.

1. Ed West is an idiot.

2. In 2020 he published a book that, to his satisfaction, disproved the racist thesis he's now peddling.

THE ASSET CLASS, my first book, will be published by @wnbooks.bsky.social on 9 April 2026. It’s a narrative investigation of private equity, a secretive and relentlessly destructive wing of finance that penetrates almost every aspect of our lives - and it’s available to pre-order now!

Thanks Scott

I read Sea of Tranquillity ages ago and didn't think much of it, sadly. This however was great. It's supposed to be like The Earth Abides in tone and presentation - though I haven't read that yet!

Yes, because they're okay with that!

Delegitimating Labour Not only are the right wing press in this country poisonous, they're petty-minded. Their latest victim is Rachel Reeves. The story, in case ...

"... pedantically scrutinising what Reeves did when she was 14, all the sheer absurdity and oil tankers of bile shows they're not content to box Labour in politically, but would rather this party, this interloper in their politics, be squeezed out for good."

Delegitimating Labour Not only are the right wing press in this country poisonous, they're petty-minded. Their latest victim is Rachel Reeves. The story, in case ...

"... pedantically scrutinising what Reeves did when she was 14, all the sheer absurdity and oil tankers of bile shows they're not content to box Labour in politically, but would rather this party, this interloper in their politics, be squeezed out for good."

Delegitimating Labour Not only are the right wing press in this country poisonous, they're petty-minded. Their latest victim is Rachel Reeves. The story, in case ...

"... pedantically scrutinising what Reeves did when she was 14, all the sheer absurdity and oil tankers of bile shows they're not content to box Labour in politically, but would rather this party, this interloper in their politics, be squeezed out for good."

Farage branded racist over campaign video remark about Glasgow pupils The Reform UK leader said the proportion of children who do not have English as a first language in Glasgow was

This article is like a case study in the media normalisation of the far right.

The bulk of the article analyses stats to ask whether Fash Farage is technically correct, when the real issue is his repulsive racism.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

a load-bearing component of “the magic of Christmas” is the invisible domestic labor of moms

you are now realizing how much she was doing for you and instead of just thanking her you’ve decided it’s about the decline of civilization

Job Opportunity: openDemocracy Tech Reporting Fellowship in Collaboration with Tech Policy Press An opportunity to work with us

Job Opportunity: openDemocracy Tech Reporting Fellowship in Collaboration with Tech Policy Press

Trigger Points Trigger Points - Inequality and Political Polarization in Contemporary Society; Available open access digitally under CC-BY-NC-ND licence. Is society really polarized? This book explores key conflicts...

An English translation of our book "Trigger Points. Inequality and Political Polarization in Contemporary Society" will come out @brisunipress.bsky.social: bristoluniversitypress.co.uk/triggerpoints

It studies the social bases of political divides over migration, climate, diversity & redistribution

Crypto investor and former Tory donor Christopher Harborne has just given a record-breaking £9 million donation to Reform.

Nigel Farage has spent recent months publicly calling for deregulation of the crypto industry, telling an industry conference that "I am your champion"

This is a landmark in speculative evolution history: Furaha is a project of that has been a part of the online spec scene since I was a child!