Wrapped the last presents and reminded again how the cadeauverpakking service most shops here offer is a major aesthetic upgrade on what I have to offer.

Merry Christmas everyone. Here is the most policy wonk decoration on our tree.

How delicately a Romanesque angel uses the lightest touch of a finger to wake one of the magi, snuggled with the other 2 under their embroidered circular blanket at St Lazare, Autun, c1130 (& how beautifully the textures of pillow & blanket are represented). Season's greetings to you all!

Alle maskers vallen af. De EU moet kapot, vindt Trump-trouwe Denktank. Waarom? Omdat de EU als enige nog een vuist maakt in de westerse wereld tegen de techgiganten en Amerikaanse monopoliehouders. Als dat geen schallend compliment voor de kracht van de EU is! nos.nl/l/2595747

Badge of hono(u)r

People always yell at me when I say it's important to keep up on what's going on in the rural US, but it truly is if you want to understand larger cultural forces, and if you're not familiar with the constitutional sheriff movement, this is a good primer.

Really perceptive piece, by two of my brilliant @jhu.edu colleagues, @himself.bsky.social and @radchenko.bsky.social.

Pleased to see this piece. Personally, I find these uses of synthetic data v concerning and I find the traction and endorsements that this work has to be quite baffling, esp given the well-storied role of algorithmic targeting in undermining democracy

Keeping the far right out of power is more about what the centre right do than about what socialists or liberals do - and it looks like the French centre right are totally failing the test. www.politico.eu/article/fran...

Time to PNG Jeff Landry, Denmark…

Entirely correct ranking, at least for the top one.

This is a very good briefing from @rusi.bsky.social - particularly worth noting the point that far right parties don’t need to win to weaken the resolve of Europe.

Been a while since I’ve been this high up. Opera Vlaanderen for Don Giovanni with @dzyrl.bsky.social

This is someone you want to follow if you follow European geopolitics (perhaps this is more geofinance?)

Why do citizens who say they support democracy tolerate leaders who dismantle it? Delighted to share my paper “Framing Democracy: How Elite Discourse Shapes Citizens' Understandings of Democracy and Enables Backsliding” is forthcoming in World Politics...(1/5, link at the end)

Text from my kid: Walking to ____ now Suggested reply: Drive safe I mean, yes, I do try to make it hard for my phone to spy on my so this is partially my fault. But also autofill cannot seem to figure out "walking" as a possibility.

Because I don’t own a car and this is incomprehensible to US tech firms, Apple Maps keeps hinting that I might want to go back to my parked car (in the car rental return lot at Albuquerque airport).

Because our politics is in such a terrible place, I think we downplay quite how awful Kemi Badenoch has been. In any other era the leader of the Conservatives saying 'only migrants commit sex crimes - mass deportations now' would have not just been career ending but would've sunk the whole party

Ik gaf een nogal deprimerend eindejaarsinterview aan @markla94.bsky.social van het NRC Handelsblad.

An inevitable outcome of monetizing social media content and prioritising engagement

Lol, I think the Labour Party is the only political organisation in the entire world with enough self-loathing to listen to a guy tell them that the last 80 years of their party, including every majority government they ever had, was a mistake and then make them head of strategy.

That was called "freedom of movement"...

Quite funny - in the Brabant village of Wouw there is an angry campaign against plans to build an asylum centre (AZC). Facebook groups, protests, big banners saying “NO AZC HERE” by the road. But there are no plans to build a centre and never have been. It’s an online fantasy nos.nl/artikel/2595...

Great news, but shame it's reported with images of Oxbridge colleges rather than a more normal university - or indeed someone at work, because the "plus" in Erasmus plus is about vocational learning - the perspiring dreams more than the dreaming spires.

French influenceuse Lena Situations has opened a pop up store on the Grand Place under her brand Hotel Mahfouf. Or, as it sounds like in Flemish “Hotel My [rude word for female genitalia]”

Update: Only fair, having moaned that this should be happening, to note that it is in fact now happening: good www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

NL satire website: [Far right party] stays away from Zelensky speech, still angry that their assets have been frozen. speld.nl/2025/12/16/f...

I sat down for a podcast on Gen-Z politics and what it means for democracy. We talked about how digital tools can strengthen civic space, and how they are also used to repress it. We also discussed why policymakers need to stay connected to people on the ground, and the role of grassroots networks.

The review of the BBC Charter has just been announced. In anticipation of this we have published a review of how 10 countries around the world organise their public service media, and what lessons can be drawn for the renewal of the BBC Charter www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/publications...

Radical right parties in Europe have not moderated. Their positions and rhetoric have entered the mainstream. They have become normalized and legitimized. Unless we understand this, we have little chance of countering their success.

Europe imagines it can win at Washington’s “neo-royalist” game. Trump sees Europe as an extension of his domestic retribution campaign. Both are wrong, and both underestimate Europe’s ability to fight back (if it finds the will). My thoughts for @agendapublica.es: agendapublica.es/noticia/2047...

We thought this would be timely, as Pride in Place gets going and the movement for civic renewal steps up a gear. So we’ve worked with @localtrust.org.uk to pull the evidence together. We especially wanted to tell the story in a clear and memorable way. 2/n

Three days ago Starmer was arguing that the UK shouldn’t think about rejoining the EU because it would unpick all these great US trade deals.

Hearing a radio news report about how the Agnelli family turned down an offer for Juve from Tether (one of the CrimeCoin companies) « because it was not aligned with the values or history of the club » and feel like maybe I’ve been too harsh on multigenerational wealth.

Daarom is Bluesky ook zo’n succes…

I lived thru the end of public smoking. Early in my career I presented to city councils who were smoking, in front of audiences who were smoking. Smoking in restaurants, airplanes, hospitals… All of that seems insane now, but it was very controversial when we DID change it. We CAN change things.

WTF are we doing here, BBC?

Rob Reiner: I'm going to make a coming of age drama, a fantasy adventure story, a romantic comedy, a psychological horror and then a courtroom drama. Us: Across your entire career? Reiner: In a 6 year period. Us: That sounds- Reiner: -Each one will be arguably the best movie in that genre.

Always a special moment, the return journey from the last work trip of the year 🎄

After a week of brilliant sunshine in New Mexico the cloud in Frankfurt was so low we only cleared it about 20 seconds before touching down, and Frankfurt Airport has not stopped being a total chaotic mess.

itcouldbesaid.substack.com/p/it-could-b... Latest article is up on the substack; my (long in gestation) look at why I changed my mind on mass immigration. More people means a healther economy, a more powerful country & a more balanced society. We should all want to welcome as many people as possible

Honestly impressed at Starmer and Nandy's commitment to not doing their job. This guy is literally talking about his wife, his children, her, and her children, and they do nothing!

Messed up my timings so ridiculously early for my flight home from ABQ but rewarded by sitting at the coffee shop by Arrivals and seeing a parade of heartwarming "family home for Christmas" reunions.

Mooie podcastaflevering van Bar Miroir, waarin actrice Jennifer Heylen praat over hoe ze een "persona" creëert, oa zodat ze minder het voelt toen ze racistische en offensieve commentaren op sociale media krijgt. Ze komt als een peinzend mens over. www.standaard.be/luister/podc...

Answering the question “can I buy Sennheiser earbuds in a shop near Albuquerque” through online search feels a lot harder than it used to be. I finally found the magic formula.

🎧 Why Europe is stuck in a psychology of weakness - and how to break free ➡️ Listen to Director @sbeverts.bsky.social on Decoding Geopolitics podcast. ow.ly/CGOH50XILLl

Loved this.

my latest

Labeling is censorship. Fact-checking is censorship. Since the EU fined X, transparency & data access are censorship too. Anything that moderately inconveniences a right-wing populist is censorship — even as MAGA increasingly realizes that X is riddled with scams. open.substack.com/pub/agentsof...