Sex? Politics? The combination of the two? Yes, I have thoughts, how did you guess. In defence of Samantha Niblett, proper sex education, closing the orgasm gap, porn, and bringing sex toys to parliament www.newstatesman.com/culture/life...

Browsing Rightmove for a piece, find the listing of the house we first viewed three years ago this week. Long story short, we bought the house. We gutted the house. The house is now unrecognisable. Looking at this listing... @jamesldouglass.bsky.social how did you ever convince me to buy it???

We spend a lot of time in politics discussing why angry young men have turned to the right and what can be done about it. What about the angry young women turning to the left? @emilylawford.bsky.social went to find out www.newstatesman.com/cover-story/...

This is round the corner from where I grew up. It's not the synagogue we go (or, rather, don't go to), but it's one I've been to many times for Bar / Bat Mitzvahs and other celebrations. And people threw petrol into it. I wish I could say I was surprised www.jewishnews.co.uk/police-inves...

I think I know this boulder!

Omg this! Constantly this! Have been devastated several times in the past few years investing more money than I’d ordinarily spend in shoes or a coat of a decent brand I thought would last, only for them to fall apart in a season just like everything else

But the feeling of pure joy when one falls asleep on your lap, even if you are late for work or desperate for the loo, is truly incomparible

Tangentially, my husband took the kids to the Golden Hind during the holidays and it turns out piracy back in the sixteenth century was very much in the eye of the beholder! ((You can add this to your Avignon Pope discourse and all the recent debate about the fall of Rome))

Nooooooo

Latest Daily on Monocle Radio. @rmcunliffe.bsky.social and @philtinline.bsky.social on whether NATO still practically exists and the day's other stories, and a pre-election letter from Budapest. monocle.com/radio/shows/...

Hall of fame FT correction

I had a couple of graduates asking me whether they’d benefit from the government’s magnanimous announcement on capping student loan interest because of Iran. Sorry to disappoint - the answer for most is no, not at all, this makes no difference whatsoever www.newstatesman.com/politics/edu...

I had a couple of graduates asking me whether they’d benefit from the government’s magnanimous announcement on capping student loan interest because of Iran. Sorry to disappoint - the answer for most is no, not at all, this makes no difference whatsoever www.newstatesman.com/politics/edu...

I ALREADY MADE HIM A LIBRARY!

SAME! My husband is the exact opposite. It is one of the few major potential fault lines in our relationship. Thankfully the insane housing market in this country makes it a non-issue, so I guess that’s a silver lining to national dysfunction!

Weird that having a set of negotiations in which there are no proper diplomats leads to a situation in which no one has a clue what's actually been agreed.

Four years today of this whole “marriage” adventure thing. Involves more trousers than I had expected - but also more excitement, silliness, euphoria, coziness, trust, laughter and love. Recommend, would do again.

finding it hard to care all that much about local elections right now tbh

feel like as millennials we kept being told that sure, the economy was bad but at least we'd never had to spend any time in a world where it felt like major, global, maybe even nuclear conflict could erupt at any moment and well well well: who's laughing now

Tempted to get these figures tattooed on my forearm to save time when people argue any kind of pension reform is unjust because (soon-to-be) pensioners "paid into the system all their lives". They may have done - but they're expecting a hell of a lot more out of NI than what they put in

5) I cannot stress this enough. Wireless did NOT invite Kanye West because they believe in the magical power of forgiveness for mental health. They invited him because they sought to financially gain. Painting this now as some sort of #bekind thing insults anyone with a brain.

New Easter tradition: achieved

Brb going back to 2009 and telling Fox News that in 2026 the republican president ends his press statements with “praise be to allah”

The state pension is a benefit. You pay NI for the entitlement to access it, but the cash you get back does not come from your own contributions. Be thankful that it does not: the typical 60-year-old has paid in £134k in NI, but will get back £222k in SP payments. 4/5

Who knew men attracted to a "lifestyle" where women have no economic independence and are confined to the home where they are cut off from support networks and sold the myth that their only value is as baby-making machines and sexual objects might exhibit "hostile sexism"! Who could have predicted!

"Among young American men, the strongest predictor of support for the tradwife lifestyle was not gallantry but hostility towards women" Apparently this is not what researchers "expected". Which makes one wonder: had these researchers thought about it for 30 seconds? www.thetimes.com/life-style/s...

The remarkable value of local journalism demonstrated here in the reporting of this mass purchase of hundreds of freeholds, leading to a police investigation and now an arrest on suspicion of fraud and blackmail. (NB: caution in commenting on the live case).

What's the most useful thing I have learned after two and a half years in the lobby? How to feign giving a decent tour of the Houses of Parliament, of course. Featuring queues, stereotypes and FLAG MISTAKES For the Easter issue of @newstatesman1913.bsky.social www.newstatesman.com/politics/wes...

All those Reform leaning right wingers posting Nick 30 ans memes IN THE MUD

This implies it went away at some point... @jamesldouglass.bsky.social care to comment? www.thetimes.com/life-style/f...

An #OffGridPod in which we (get a) grip (on) some populist power-pursuing politicians, bung-a long title on a song, and remove Clint's cousins from the stage...

“When you say ‘don’t do this thing’, the signal is ‘by the way, there are some people doing this thing, that’s why we’re telling you don’t do this thing’” Can psychology help prevent panic buying? I spoke to some behavioural scientists to find out… www.newstatesman.com/politics/eco...

New post just out: "Cordon Sanitaires and Purity Spirals" Antisemitism is becoming mainstreamed on both left and right at an alarming rate. What can it teach us about the way radicalisation takes root? And can it be stopped? (£/free trial) open.substack.com/pub/samf/p/c...

“And for breakfast, Sir?” “I would like a Full Sicilian, please.” “I’m not, ah, sure there’s any such thing as a Full Sicili…” “I beg to differ.”

“When you say ‘don’t do this thing’, the signal is ‘by the way, there are some people doing this thing, that’s why we’re telling you don’t do this thing’” Can psychology help prevent panic buying? I spoke to some behavioural scientists to find out… www.newstatesman.com/politics/eco...

Some of you might remember my 2025 mission to learn how to do cryptic crosswords. Delighted to say I was the General’s “chief researcher” on the latest episode of #OffGridPod, a podcast for cruciverbalists and the curious… Intrigued? Listen here podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/o...

May you go through life with the heady confidence of the guy who painted these leopards

Love this from Starmer. More of this please!

PMQs review! Another week, another round of a debate that has become depressingly familiar, which can be summarised as “the Prime Minister isn’t in charge” if you are Badenoch, and “the Tory leader doesn’t know what she’s talking about” if you are Starmer. www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk-...

Meow meow!

Last thing I’ll add is: Jews time and again throughout history have been genocided en masse over and over and over again - including in living memory If your intention is to convince Jews that having a Jewish state is not necessary for survival, you might wanna start by not being antisemitic 🤷🏽‍♀️

1. No it isn't wishful thinking to be talking about "Peak Reform" 2. Conservative revival, what now? 3. This Iran/Trump stuff is really not great for the right... 4. Whoooooooooosh Greens 5. Very healthy spread for a first past the post system, no issues whatsoever, nothing to see here

Nice compilation here of the various coverage on student loans (mine included), getting into some of the possible ways to address it

ALL CATS ARE HOLY CATS

Hatzola is still operating, ready to serve the whole north London community, regardless of what god they may or may not believe in. “To save a life is to save a world.” www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk-...

Hard not to feel like antisemitism has reached a point of no return in the UK at this point and this is just how British society is now The community in the UK is tiny, the shockwaves of incidents like this run deep (particularly for families descendants of the Shoah and/or expulsions)

If you're replying to a post about torched ambulances in London with a point about Israel, you've crossed the line into antisemitism. And you're doing absolutely nothing to help any cause. Even if you consider yourself one of the good people. Maybe especially so. You've just caught racism.

An arson attack on a Jewish ambulance service isn’t about Israel. It isn’t about Zionism, or American imperialism, or capitalism, or war in the Middle East. It’s about Jews. It’s about making British Jews feel fearful in their own homes. Just like Bondi Beach, and Heaton Park, all over again.

a-grade satire from @hugorifkind.bsky.social as always

Um…