Hetan Shah

How South Africa’s underworld infiltrated its government A televised inquiry probing the nexus of rogue police, officials and gangsters has electrified the country

‘In a sordid twist, South Africa’s ambassador to France — another former police minister accused of covering up corruption, who was due to testify to Madlanga — was in September found dead after falling from a hotel. Police were investigating his death as a possible suicide.’
on.ft.com/4o8yy1g

Influencers made millions pushing ‘wild’ births – now the Free Birth Society is linked to baby deaths around the world A year-long investigation reveals how mothers lost children after being radicalised by uplifting podcast tales of births without midwives or doctors

This is so so so much worse than you think it is going to be - absolutely phenomenal reporting by Sirin Kale & Lucy Osborne

www.theguardian.com/world/ng-int...

What a sucker! Had he been president in the 21st century, Truman could now be flying private to paid speaking engagements, soliciting donations to his foundation from foreign governments and watching his daughter serve on company boards and his former staffers run their own lobbying shops.

When Harry Truman left office he ‘lived on income from his memoirs and an army pension worth $1,350 a month in today’s money. What a sucker!’
Good piece on the rise of public corruption in the US. You know it all, but it’s helpful to see in one place
economist.com/leaders/2025...

He remembers the school's ritual humiliation: the reading out of results in graded order, how his scholar cousin in the same year would be first or second out of 259, "and I would be 249th". '. It doesn't sound like he much enjoyed the place, so I am surprised he's sent his son there. "I didn't really think very hard about it," he says. "They all went to state primary, which we were happy with."

The Charlotte Edwardes interview with Danny Kruger is as good as everyone says. A great skill to get someone to open up in such revealing ways, like this bit about how much he disliked Eton, but still sent his son to it.

There is a deep natural order to things…
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

And good news also for those looking for UK theses: "interim, metadata-only version of EThOS (E-Theses Online Service) in early 2026" with links to repositories & further worked planned. 👍

Restoring our services – November 2025 update In the coming weeks and months we will be restoring a number of key functions.

Latest update from @britishlibrary.bsky.social says they are launching a new version of their main catalogue on Monday 8 December and around that time also launch an interim version of their Archives and Manuscripts Catalogue. Hooray!
www.bl.uk/stories/news...

What a sucker! Had he been president in the 21st century, Truman could now be flying private to paid speaking engagements, soliciting donations to his foundation from foreign governments and watching his daughter serve on company boards and his former staffers run their own lobbying shops.

When Harry Truman left office he ‘lived on income from his memoirs and an army pension worth $1,350 a month in today’s money. What a sucker!’
Good piece on the rise of public corruption in the US. You know it all, but it’s helpful to see in one place
economist.com/leaders/2025...

"I don't know if you've heard of the beginning of the oppression of women," he began. I said I hadn't. This delighted him. "In the early days, as Engels said, everyone 'lived frivolously' - everyone fucked." He looked wistful. "It was only with the start of class society we started producing a surplus, and men wanted to pass their surplus on to their children. So they couldn't let women sleep around." It all came down to who's inheriting your wealth. "You have to know your children are yours." He shook his head. "It blew my mind." The idea that class is the root of sexism - as opposed to, say, I don't know, men - is the sort of thing revolutionary communists like.

Well this is rather delicious from @emilylawford.bsky.social on being mansplained to about the roots of sexism by the Revolutionary Communist Party
www.newstatesman.com/politics/the...

To encourage creative destruction, Aghion argues that governments should protect innovators' intellectual property but prevent them from impeding other competitors. But large tech bought up potential threats, which competition regulators failed to block, and growth suffered. "They expanded to such an extent that they ended up discouraging entry of new firms. That's very Schumpeterian," he says, a phrase he repeats throughout our lunch. Microsoft, Amazon, Meta and others who developed in this period now also have a firm grip on the nascent Al economy. "The danger is that a lack of competition would again stifle the growth potential of AI... In that sense, I'm not that optimistic."

What would Schumpeter make of today’s AI economy? He’d recognise the behaviour of the big tech companies as stifling the entry of new firms and in turn growth

Economist Philippe Aghion: ‘Macron’s legacy will be better than people think’ France’s new Nobel laureate on stimulating growth, the power of creative destruction — and why Karl Lagerfeld helped him with his homework

‘We cannot distribute what we have not produced.’

So much interesting material in this FT lunch with @britishacademy.bsky.social Fellow and Nobel Prize winner Philippe Aghion
on.ft.com/487ZfwT

In case you are feeling too cheerful at the start of the weekend this @richardaljones.bsky.social piece on the likely future breakdown of consensus on science/R&D should take care of that
softmachines.org?p=3192

The new @tanitatikaram.bsky.social album is also fab #TOTP

"I don't know if you've heard of the beginning of the oppression of women," he began. I said I hadn't. This delighted him. "In the early days, as Engels said, everyone 'lived frivolously' - everyone fucked." He looked wistful. "It was only with the start of class society we started producing a surplus, and men wanted to pass their surplus on to their children. So they couldn't let women sleep around." It all came down to who's inheriting your wealth. "You have to know your children are yours." He shook his head. "It blew my mind." The idea that class is the root of sexism - as opposed to, say, I don't know, men - is the sort of thing revolutionary communists like.

Well this is rather delicious from @emilylawford.bsky.social on being mansplained to about the roots of sexism by the Revolutionary Communist Party
www.newstatesman.com/politics/the...

Out of the shadows: why Avril Coleridge-Taylor deserves to be heard The daughter of the British composer Samuel made controversial choices that took her on a different path to her father’s activism. Ahead of the premiere recording of her piano concerto, its soloist lo...

This is a piece worth pondering. On how Averil Coleridge-Taylor had to grapple with her identity, having been brought up so comfortably that she didn’t have to.

The dilemma of parenting - you can’t ever fully shield your kid & if you do it causes its own issues
www.theguardian.com/music/2025/n...

Superman edition found in mum's attic is most valuable comic ever at $9.12m It's a bird! It's a plane! It's a new record after Man of Steel comic found in a California home is auctioned.

Their mom had always told them she had an expensive comics collection but never showed them.

"It's a twist on the old 'Mom threw away my comics' story."
www.bbc.com/news/article...

🤣

Good to see the BL's problems finally getting attention. But research libraries are also crucial components of our national STEM infrastructure, managing access to digital content, open access repositories, and research data. Libraries are a lot more than the laboratories of the arts & humanities.

Don't ignore the crisis at the British Library In 2023, one of the world's most significant libraries was hit with a cyber attack that destroyed multiple systems, requiring that its entire technology infrastructure be rebuilt and costing millions. Staff at the British Library say that the attack undermined the working environment, and more than 300 are on strike. The Library's chief executive has resigned, less than a year after she took the position. And some material is still not available to scholars. "Libraries and archives are the labs of humanities and social science scholars, and history is not possible without them," argues Hetan Shah, the chief executive of The British Academy. "The nation rightly values scientific infrastructure, but it pays extraordinarily little attention to what is happening at our national library." Museums Journal | 3 min read & City AM | 4 min read

This is a good note to end the week. The plight of @britishlibrary.bsky.social has been picked up in @nature.com’s influential daily briefing. Thanks everyone (including @floragraham.bsky.social)
who is getting the word out there about our national library
us17.campaign-archive.com?u=2c6057c528...

'Experiences of precarity among early career academics are shaped by a lack of understanding from more senior colleagues'

Why nothing is being done about the scandalous state of the British Library The institution is still reeling from the devastating 2023 cyberattack, leaving staff and researchers deeply frustrated

Seems like more people are finally taking notice of what is happening at the @britishlibrary.bsky.social

A good piece which includes this nice line 'staff – all of whom were praised by everyone I spoke to for this article'
www.telegraph.co.uk/books/news/b...

Shaping a Brighter Future The first event in our Vice-Chancellor’s Distinguished Lecture Series, delivered by Hetan Shah, Chief Executive, The British Academy

We are seeing multiple university course closures across a range of arts, humanities & social sciences. I'll be in the East Midlands at De Montfort University on Thurs 27 Nov talking about why these disciplines are essential to the future of the UK. All welcome
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/shaping-a-...

Demographic discontent across Africa is a ticking time bomb The continent’s young are losing faith in gerontocratic leadership

‘as Afrobarometer puts it, if demand for democracy is strong, supply is weak. Overall, it says, “Africans say they get less democracy than they want.”’
Interesting piece on the political dynamics of countries with younger populations
on.ft.com/4peXYuS

Looking back I think our Covid report on the social effects of the pandemic was largely (sadly) vindicated
bsky.app/profile/heta...

Tanzania in turmoil after ‘Tiananmen Square moment’ Families seek answers after hundreds killed by security forces during election of Samia Suluhu Hassan

Tanzania in turmoil after ‘Tiananmen Square moment’ on.ft.com/3LENZRa

Best piece you may have missed today

Thanks for coming! Hope I translated your question correctly.

High praise indeed!

UK faces 'Covid decade' due to damage done by pandemic, says report British Academy review calls for major policy changes to reverse rise in deprivation and ill health

We ended up doing a big review of the societal impacts of the pandemic which we published on the first anniversary of the lockdown. Now largely seen as obvious but was not necessarily at the time
www.theguardian.com/world/2021/m... (full report www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/publications...)

• Create expert groups to advise on economic and social implications, not just the science

Obviously a heck of a lot to digest from the Covid inquiry but this one rings true with our experience at the time. Stronger multi disciplinary expertise might have helped show the interconnections and trade offs between health, economics, geography and societal impacts
www.bbc.com/news/article...

‘The half life of the teaspoons was 81 days.’