Mags Patten

'There has to be a way to actively oppose these thugs without losing ourselves': novelist George Saunders on life in America now The Booker prize-winning author of Lincoln in the Bardo, whose new novel imagines the last hours of an oil tycoon, is struggling to reconcile empathy with opposition in a riven America. He talks to Do...

This is brilliant.
George Saunders is such a treasure.
www.thenerve.news/p/george-sau...

Fair point. Do not apply if you can’t handle the arguments and trade offs that come with constrained resources. On the other hand your key KPI is awe.

I've got to be honest, we may as well call it a night #DuvetKnowItsChristmas

It’s been a week. I’m wrapping myself in fleece, cracking the festive Amaretto early and bingeing All Creatures Great and Small.

@adsquires.bsky.social almost worth the flight?

So the kids are alright, but they really want the Westminster village to stop talking to itself and start talking to them about how to fix the country. demos.co.uk/wp-content/u...

Life’s getting a bit more crap here if you are a person from an ethnic minority 🧵

Sage Journals: Discover world-class research Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.

Is social interaction a tradeoff of autonomy for belonging compared to being alone? New paper by phenom @elainehoan.bsky.social says yes if you're interacting with strangers, no if you're interacting with friends/family. With a romantic partner you gain in both. journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

What a dreadful day. I’m not Jewish but my husband is. I felt glad to be standing alongside him for the end of Yom Kippur and it was moving to hear a deeply felt message of condolence and solidarity from the local imam at synagogue tonight.

To everyone in Britain's Jewish Community: you are not alone. We will not let hate or those who spread it win. We stand with you.

On Yom Kippur many Jewish people in Britain have their phones off to mark the holy day.

As it ends at 723pm, some will hear the tragic Manchester news for the first time.

At that time, please join many of us to send a message of solidarity to British Jews.Thanks Together coalition for proposing.

Thank you Sunder - we’ve not met but I have benefited from your ideas and research across my career. And I’m an exiled Evertonian. And I’m
married to a Jew. So you are my best online person today and often.

For Expertise to Matter, Nonpartisan Institutions Need New Communications Strategies To avoid irrelevance when they are needed most, experts and nonpartisan analysts must rethink not just their channels of communication but also their theory of influence.

the requirements to succeed on new media platforms are almost precisely the opposite of what successful experts… have trained themselves to do: maintain an institutional tone of formal detachment & stay ruthlessly on-message at all times.’ @noupside.bsky.social
carnegieendowment.org/research/202...

my favorite robert redford story is that mike nichols considered him for dustin hoffman's part in THE GRADUATE. during their conversation nichols asked redford something like, "have you ever struck out with a girl?" and redford's response was basically, "i don't understand the question"

There was nothing unifying about the “Unite the Kingdom rally”. Solidarity with anyone non-white who felt threatened in London yesterday. The vast majority of Brits think and feel differently (see evidence from data superhero Sunder Katwala below) and good if we can find ways to demonstrate this.

so. remember how in the past people got enough exercise just from doing their job & daily tasks? & now all jobs are screens & we have to *deliberately exercise* to stay healthy?

from now we will have to *deliberately write* and *engage with art made for a wide audience* to keep our brains healthy.

Inspo for all of us who love 21s.

A splendid read. I’d love more (social) policy and less Westminster intrigue in our journalism. And yes somewhat arch - policy can be chewy, but policy writing can inspire all the feels from rage to joy, when it captures the human impact.

In 2020 @moreincommonuk.bsky.social launched the British 7 Segments. After a pandemic, major global conflicts, political upheaval, cost of living crisis, changes in work/social/information habits it’s time to update them for 2025. Here’s an intro to our new tribes of Britain (Quiz link next)

James Plunkett offers practical inspiration here to anyone trying to be a bit less hierarchy and a bit more network.

Really enjoyed this thank you. For me novels are first, last but not everything.

Money doesn’t grow on trees but ideas do. ACE chief exec @henleydarren.bsky.social arguing in The Stage that cultural sector innovation is a source of growth, drawing inspiration from Daniel Susskind’s excellent book Growth: A Reckoning.

Read if you have ever been ensconced in a Parisian Brasserie. As a young’un I was intimidated by Lipp - that association with lunching French presidents - but the theatrics at Bofinger, near the Bastille, made my Dad’s 70th a cherished memory.

Arts Council England chair says sector at ‘tipping point’ amid funding fears Sir Nicholas Serota says continued public investment is vital to draw in private funding to maintain cultural centres

Interview with Arts Council England Chair Nick Serota in The Guardian highlighting the vital role of public investment in attracting other sources of revenue for the cultural sector. www.theguardian.com/culture/2025...

This is a brilliant, moving report capturing life and the absurdity of the system for most prisoners and prison officers. If only more media outlets could do this, instead of frothing at the mouth about prison reform. Congrats to Preston Prison for opening its doors too.

Wooah. 18.5% reduction in sick leave reported.

(And this was pre-Covid:
"Our sample periods for the LEZ and ULEZ analyses are 2005–2009 and 2016–2019, respectively.")

A fireworks display with crowds of people watching. Text reads “£1.35 billion: the economic contribution of Arts Council funded organisations in 2023 #LetsCreate”

Creativity means business! 🏦🔑

And public investment in arts and culture helps make it happen. New CEBR report finds #ACEsupported orgs added £1.35 billion to the economy in 2023 📖🎉👇
#LetsCreate

buff.ly/WGf1vVO

Image credit: Jerome Whittingham

Axing arts quangos risks ‘liberty of thought’ says Nicholas Serota Chair of Arts Council England says arm’s-length funding of theatre, music and museums helps prevent politicisation

Sorry for paywall, but for those who can, our Arts Council Chair in the hot orange seat on freedom of expression, the value of public investment in culture and the importance of listening. on.ft.com/4czH310 Axing arts quangos risks ‘liberty of thought’ says Nicholas Serota

ACE-backed companies contributed £1.35bn to economy in 2023 – report Organisations funded by Arts Council England contributed £1.35 billion in gross value added in 2023, topping pre-pandemic levels

It’s not the purpose of Arts Council investment, but the way public money for art and culture drives growth in the wider economy should be factored in by government. www.thestage.co.uk/news/ace-bac...

Important statement on value of public investment in culture from Arts Council England’s governing bodies.

This sounds terrific and a fruitful way forward for thinking about EDI. Can’t think of anything our world needs more right now than deep thinking about compassion.