Dr Luke Young

Kids can't hang out in parks. They can't hang out at the mall. They don't have 3rd spaces because no one wants kids around and then we are surprised when they rely on SM for connection.
If you take that away, what do they have left?

sounds like they're going to ban the iPhone

Historians speak of "gutting" books - getting the gist, knowing where the facts they need will be, later on, like a squirrel memorizing acorn coordinates. But there is also reading to understand the author's project, which is a little different than grappling with every bit of the book.

I think the big change here is from students living in halls of residence, where there were bars, facilities and opportunities to meet many other people, to flats as the predominant model of student living accommodation, where they may only interact with 5 or 6 others. Almost half highlight design.

"Years and years ago, there was a production of The Tempest, out of doors, at an Oxford college on a lawn, which was the stage, and the lawn went back towards the lake in the grounds of the college, and the play began in natural light. But as it developed, and as it became time for Ariel to say his farewell to the world of The Tempest, the evening had started to close in and there was some artificial lighting coming on. And as Ariel uttered his last speech, he turned and he ran across the grass, and he got to the edge of the lake and he just kept running across the top of the water — the producer having thoughtfully provided a kind of walkway an inch beneath the water. And you could see and you could hear the plish, plash as he ran away from you across the top of the lake, until the gloom enveloped him and he disappeared from your view. And as he did so, from the further shore, a firework rocket was ignited, and it went whoosh into the air, and high up there it burst into lots of sparks, and all the sparks went out, and he had gone. "When you look up the stage directions, it says, 'Exit Ariel.”

Eleven years ago, I wrote to Tom Stoppard to ask about this coup de théâtre from 1949. It took me down an unexpected rabbit hole - in memory of Stoppard, here's what I found.

Labour is ineluctably stuck in an electioneering mindset because its only remaining belief is that it should be in power. It has no idea what to do with that power other than keep trying to ensure it holds on to it in the future.

A long time ago I worked at a bookshop where the password to everything, and I really do mean everything, was the name of the bookshop and the letters '1,2,3,4,5'. These people had a photocopy of my passport!

introduce local book clubs and adult literature classes across all towns and villages, free at the point of use!

easy to cover two areas cross two departments when there's very little "doing" going on

Hm yes and no - I take your point, but it could be more optimal to maximise difficult decisions in the short term to make life easier in the long term (assuming, ofc, you think those 'difficult' reshuffle choices would reap better gains in the long run)

Party trouble pretty much guaranteed at this point!

Placing bets - new university minister incoming? Bridget Philipson demotion. Maybe Ellie Reeves in. Georgia Gould promotion (HCLG?)

This is certainly true to some extent (from pov as some one who currently works in higher education welfare). The key reason why we might want to argue internalised is 'worse' than externalised behaviour is that it is much harder to spot, and thus treat, until further down the road.

This sounds interesting but also i’m always a bit baffled by the word procurement being thrown around everywhere. Maybe there’s a substack piece in this?!

Can't wait to read this book! (Especially as I am currently trying to write a novel about this very experience - its all very meta)

My outie spends all his time sleeping.

Absolutely, this is the most concerning thing about the current Gov rhetoric. They don't seem to think the crisis is 'real' (maybe I'm being harsh).