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Loving Martin Brundle's grid walk... 'don't shove me, I'm nearly famous'. As two Kardashians then blank him and only Karen Gillan from Jumanji seems happy to see him. 🫣

Not cool: www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

UK tax has gone up significantly over the last 25 years But the tax paid by the average UK worker has not This apparent miracle was achieved by taxing “other people”: higher earners, capital, property, banks, etc The strategy has run out of road A 🧵 on what happens next.

Lesson 1 at next year's spy school: Don't take the gold bars home with you.

FFS: www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

The last time it was any fun was in the 60s? www.nytimes.com/athletic/455...

A really rather excellent piece of writing from one of my university classmates: samuelsharps.substack.com/p/this-is-th...

www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricke... that is a pretty nifty comeback.

Finally, the story we were all looking for: www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Shouldn't be a surprise: www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...

Well, this is terribly sad and far too soon: www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2...

'The disgraced Labour politician Peter Mandelson told science minister Patrick Vallance that UK Research and Innovation lacked “the heft and punch” to make major decisions. He also pushed for stronger government control over the agency.'

Liquidity days are the silent and then not so silent killer of universities. The crisis at Nottingham - still solvable - is writ large in the table presented here: www.ft.com/content/e5b0...

This is fun... www.thetimes.com/world/asia/a...

Cancer jab can eradicate entire tumours in patients, trial shows www.theguardian.com/science/2026...

Irrespective of the facts and potential outcomes of this case, the hidden war with Iran will be extensive: www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...

Months after Pakistan declared “open war” on Afghanistan, neither side appears ready to back down, despite China’s efforts to mediate.

Difficult to disagree much with a lot of this (intellectually) and the appeal for a paradigm shift is also attractive, but it's a collective action issue par excellence: www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...

It certainly is a distinctive position.

Very little. Just incentivise him to play tests with no central contract and a lot of money to appear.

🇬🇧 An RAF jet carrying UK defence secretary John Healey had its GPS signal jammed for the full three-hour flight home from Estonia, near the Russian border, - The Telegraph Russia is suspected of being behind the electronic interference.

Note the word institutions. Not necessarily other universities.

Universities should be elite but not elitist and this, which I would rate as v likely, is not going to help... www.theguardian.com/education/20...

An absolute shower... www.bbc.co.uk/sport/footba...

Back to the future.... www.nytimes.com/2026/05/19/u...

Divesting from universities, whilst seeking other sources of 'advice'(?) ...

Given that KCL has run the education provision at UKDA for 25ish years, has delivered those in close proximity to Cranfield& has provided successive advisors to the Parliamentary defence committees etc.. the concerns re defence seem slightly overdrawn: www.timeshighereducation.com/news/staff-s...

Not sure who this will help: wonkhe.com/blogs/is-the...

More bad infectious disease news: “Africa's top health agency has declared an Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo's eastern Ituri province. Around 246 cases and 80 deaths have been reported”

🫣 www.bbc.co.uk/sport/footba...

Kcl and Cranfield 🍷 www.cranfield.ac.uk/press/news-2...

Meanwhile Trent are still making surpluses. And this is a lot of people at risk. Not in a glib way.. I think it's a really interesting intellectual (wicked?) problem. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

this is absurd

😂

Labour’s turmoil is now uncontrollable ft.trib.al/QQqCc1J | opinion

LIVE: Strait of Hormuz traffic as closure persists youtube.com/live/_SZdAte...

Creating a larger target? www.nytimes.com/2026/05/12/u...

Sir Biden is staying... www.theguardian.com/politics/liv...

If you're interested in UK HE, this is important: committees.parliament.uk/publications...

Wait what

This has been known for years. But it's still worth a read and a think: www.cybersecurityintelligence.com/blog/a-criti...

Massive fan of this:

Early projections suggest Reform UK would have won 31% of the vote this time round in a British general election. That is lower than the 32% they scored in elections last year

How about this as some headlines: *Reform went backwards on last year *Results in line with their falling poll score *They underperformed their polls in Scotland *If this had been a General, they wouldn't have won a majority even when the govt is phenomenally unpopular Bit of a different story?

Say what, now?

An AFP analysis found widespread social media posts alleging that the hantavirus outbreak was a sinister plot to force vaccines on the masses, coerce people into lockdown, or sway America's November elections by justifying expanded use of mail-in ballots. www.barrons.com/news/hantavi...

Schools reach out to Canvas hackers as breach hits US classrooms, source says reut.rs/42kiZuT

Russia has lost Armenia. Another triumph of Putinian strategy and diplomacy

At least David Attenborough is improving the national mood.