Matthew Fraser

China Cracked the 90-Second Drama. Now it's Taking Over American Phones. The Wall Street Journal goes on the set of “Vicious,” a microdrama at the center of a fast-growing format disrupting content streaming in the U.S.

The 'micro-drama' boom on TikTok, each drama lasts 90 seconds. Will there soon be micro-novels? A comeback for the short story?

Exclusive | Mark Zuckerberg’s $170 Million Mansion Buy Breaks Miami Price Records The Meta CEO’s under-construction Indian Creek home is one of the priciest ever to close in the United States.

He's fleeing a California wealth tax on billionaires.

Bring On Defunct: The iPod Enthralls Young Music Listeners

The kids today are fascinated by the iPod.

"Frais de bouche": In French politics, corruption is mouth-watering. Jack Lang's downfall for extravagant expenses and unpaid bills marks the crepuscule of France's gauche caviar.

My column on the French term "frais de bouche" — and why corruption in French politics is mouth-watering. matthewfraserparis.substack.com/p/frais-de-b...

Americans seeking British citizenship hits a record high amid an increasingly febrile political climate in the United States under the Trump administration. www.ft.com/content/b2a8...

British Citizenship Applications by US Nationals Hit Record High The number of US nationals applying for British citizenship hit an all-time high in the first year of President Donald Trump’s second term in the White House.

Last year, a total of 8,790 Americans sought UK citizenship through either registration or naturalization — 42% more than the previous high of 6,192 in 2024.

Americans Are Leaving the U.S. in Record Numbers More citizens are replanting overseas, drawn by a quality of life made easily affordable by the U.S.’s enviable salaries.

Americans are leaving the United States in record numbers. The UK hosts more than 325,000, part of the more than 1.5 million now living in Europe.

The Sickest Burns on the Internet Right Now Are Coming From French Bureaucrats The country’s politicians have spent centuries mastering the art of saying nothing. That all changed in September.

French officials have spent centuries mastering the art of saying nothing. That has changed.

👀 👀 👀

Trump said, let me find the the most corrupt fool among my real estate cronies in NY and put him in charge of negotiating an end to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Why Hold Your Straight-A Student Back a Year? To Get a Better Endorsement Deal More boys repeat eighth grade in a ‘holdback’ year to grow ahead of recruitment for college NIL packages potentially worth millions.

In the American religion of sports, boys are deliberately repeating grade 8 so they stand out athletically when they arrive in high school — and attract scholarships and professional deals.

Censorship Comes for the TV Talk Show The Trump administration is accelerating its assault on free speech.

The recent dustup between Stephen Colbert and CBS over fears of FCC action “should be concerning for people of any political leaning,” @dgraham.bsky.social argues in The Atlantic Daily:

I Went to the March for Billionaires A celebration of the 0.01 percent was also a funeral for irony.

A "March for Billionaires" in San Francisco. Satire? No, but only a dozen people showed up.

America’s Future Is Hungary MAGA conservatives love Viktor Orbán. But he’s left his country corrupt, stagnant, and impoverished.

Remember: Viktor Orban has built a corrupt, stagnant Hungary that is much poorer than it should be

www.theatlantic.com/magazine/arc...

Trump wants Penn Station renamed “Trump Station”, but the idea isn’t his, of course. Like putting his name on the Kennedy Center.

Le soft power américain a pris un tournant hard et brutal - Le Temps OPINION. L’administration Trump a entrepris d’aider des think tanks d’extrême droite en Europe pour renforcer ses intérêts économiques, écrit Matthew Fraser, historien du soft power, qui s’appuie sur ...

J'avais manqué le fait que Sarah Rogers, sous-secrétaire d'Etat, avait évoqué le"régime" britannique... 😱
Discrédit des gouvernements qui déplaisent à la Maison-Blanche, financement de think-tanks d'extrême-droite etc

Par Matthew Fraser, historien du soft power

www.letemps.ch/opinions/deb...

More than 60 children infected in north London measles outbreak Cases reported in seven schools and a nursery in Enfield amid concern over low levels of MMR vaccination in capital

A measles outbreak in north London. Same cause as the outbreak in Texas: low vaccination levels.

Technology Can Help People With Dementia Stay on the Job As the population ages, more workers are going to face cognitive impairment. Maybe they don’t have to stop working as soon as they fear.

Don't tell Trump about this.

Your A–Z Guide to All Things Romance From cinnamon rolls to stern brunch daddies, here are 101 terms you should know to understand the popular literary genre.

The New York Times is obsessed with romance novels (doubtless because they sell millions of copies). Here, a glossary of terms in the genre, from "cinnamon rolls" to "stern brunch daddies".

What French Romance Novels Could Tell Us About A.I. and Translation Jobs

This was inevitable, not good news for book translators.

Champagne, Concierges and Emergency Sand: How the Ultra-Rich Travel

In case you are not totally disgusted in the habits of the global super-rich, read this puff-piece in the New York Times about how they travel. There's even a "private island" in the Caribbean.

Trump’s attack on the BBC is a harbinger of much worse to come The BBC has its problems—but they are nothing compared to the American billionaires who control much of US media

Donald Trump v the BBC: it should be easy to know side you’re on. We should rally to the cause of public service broadcasting before it’s too late app.prospectmagazine.co.uk/story/72423/...

Face it: Trump’s going mad The worry has been that the president might try to stay for a third term. But he’s declining so fast it’s not even clear he will finish his second

Face it: Trump’s going mad. The worry has been that the president might try to stay for a third term. But he’s declining so fast it’s not even clear he will finish his second.

The Hidden Government Funding of China’s American-Born Olympic Star After details of payments from Beijing’s sports bureau to freestyle skiing champion Eileen Gu were accidentally revealed last year, her name was quickly scrubbed from the budget.

Freestyle skier Eileen Gu was born in the United States and grew up in the San Francisco area. She is competing for China in the Olympics.

The English version of my column: The Hard Face of American Soft Power. matthewfraserparis.substack.com/publish/post...