Happy New Year Blue Skiers! May the far right on both sides of the pond incriminate itself into irrelevance in 2026

Strange isn't it that the bigots all screen grabbed this moment at precisely the same time.

📢 We're back in 2026 with a fast-paced intro to Policy Modelling for Health — who we are, what we do, and why it matters. 🗓 Tuesday 20 January 2026, 12–12:40pm 🎙 Inside Policy Modelling for Health with Julian Cox, our Deputy Director & Assistant Director – Research, GMCA. Register at: bit.ly/445i5DK

👏 Exciting news! Our team members @celsenbroich.bsky.social and Prof Alison Heppenstall contributed some agent-based modelling to uncover the true market dynamics behind housing affordability in this @uk.theconversation.com article

A bit of fun agent-based modelling: The real reason abolishing stamp duty won’t help first-time buyers theconversation.com/the-real-rea...

With so many policy simulation models available, how do you know which ones to trust? In our Lunchtime Zoom Webinar Dr Lisa Garnham @lisagarnham.bsky.social reveals the key criteria every policymaker and researcher should know. Thursday 23 October at 12 noon. Register Now: bit.ly/4ntpkwN

🎥 Our new webinar video is live: "Microsimulation Modelling for Policy". Specially curated for our policy partners but Dr Corinna Elsenbroich’s clear, accessible guide to how microsimulations work will be of wider interest too. 👏 Thanks to 90+ attendees for the great questions! youtu.be/J0cNAVhjl1Q

I wonder what Farage thinks about black swan events.

All political tribes can be hypocritical but the right's current level of hypocrisy on free speech is deliberate. It's an assertion of power not a blindspot.

Thank you so much for this! So glad you enjoyed it!

Motherfucking wind farms…

Remembering Marcel Duchamp on his birthday 🎂 Descending a staircase in a marvellous Eliot Elisofon photo, 1952 "I have forced myself to contradict myself in order to avoid conforming to my own tastes."

Chuffed I made it onto my favourite podcast! 😊https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0lrwdqx?partner=uk.co.bbc&origin=share-mobile

A short passive-aggressive poem, written on an aeroplane.

;)

I don’t want Khamenei to have access to a nuclear weapon. But then I also don’t want Putin, Netanyahu, or Xi Jingping to have access to a nuclear weapon. And I definitely don’t want Kim Jong Un or Trump to have access to a nuclear weapon. The only person I’d trust with one is David Attenborough.

Outrageous dig by @timharford.ft.com at @evanhd.bsky.social on today’s More or Less - I know who I am rooting for!

German sense of humour . . .

Highly recommended! A brilliant book about the past, the present and hopefully the future of social enquiry and change. www.e-elgar.com/shop/gbp/the...

Is your dad serious about #cricket #history? This could be the #FathersDay present you’re looking for. 🏏📚 #BooksWorthReading

Has anyone come up with Taco Bellend yet? Not seen it. 👀 #Trump

Oh yeah youtu.be/3SoDdD4xAd8?...

*New* How to carry out a complex evaluation – Resource guide! Offering key resources for evaluating complex systems, including toolkits, frameworks, and methods. This is a living document – suggestions welcome! www.cecan.ac.uk/resources/ho... #Complexity #Evaluation

Enjoy :) zfi.org.uk/starmatic/

Ok frequentists, let’s call a truce. This has gone too far.

Handling #Complexity in #Policy #Evaluation: Online Workshop Series Summer 2025 - providing the knowledge and practical advice to allow you to deal with complexity in policy analysis and evaluation. *Training bursaries available!* For details see: www.cecan.ac.uk/training/

🔎 To what extent does the place you grow up in shape your future prospects? Which areas offer the best opportunities for disadvantaged young people? Our new analysis offers an unprecedented insight into the geography of opportunity and social mobility in England. Out tomorrow.

Lovely compliment earlier today as someone at the talk said they found #DifferentClass ‘unsettling’. And yet, the book had changed their mind on #cricket and many of its purported values.

😉

In case you missed this yesterday 😁

I re-read the passage in #DifferentClass relating to #immigration. The sacrifices migrants made to establish themselves in this country after #WW2 is staggering. #Starmer is a disgrace.

Giving a rare public talk in #Guildford this Tuesday at 10am. Come on down. #Cricket #Competition #Culture #Class sites.google.com/site/acornsh...

Social Simulation Fest 2025: Free Registration Our friends at ESSA have invited CSSSA for a joint session! For more details, see: www.socsimfest.eu (www.socsimfest.eu)

*Early Bird Discount ends 11 May* Handling #Complexity in #Policy #Evaluation: Online Workshop Series Summer 2025 - based on the Supplementary Guide to the Magenta Book on #evaluation. *Training bursaries available!* For details see: www.cecan.ac.uk/training/

First of two cup finals this season begins tomorrow night in #Woking. Come down and cheer the KPR ressies to victory! 🤞🏻🙂🤞🏻 #Grassroots #Football in #Surrey

💬 "We’re no longer even making glacial progress towards closing the gap – we’re going backwards." The gap in outcomes between pupils from richer and poorer backgrounds is unacceptable. Concerted efforts is needed to level the playing field.

An extended lunch with @celsenbroich.bsky.social at The Lightbox Gallery in #Woking. 🎨 #Matisse and #PaulaRego

Well, as it’s the first day of the #cricket season. 🏏 📚 #CountyCricket #History #Booksworthreading

How bad are Trump’s tariffs? See the whole thing here: youtu.be/t907b15iTRE

*New Resource* - 'Guidance on using large language models to extract cause-and-effect pairs from texts for systems mapping', written by Jordan White and Pete Barbrook-Johnson. See: www.cecan.ac.uk/resources/to...

RIP Val Kilmer — for me always the star of Top Secret www.youtube.com/watch?v=bvG7...

A candidate for photo of the week...

Outstanding work here from Mr @mattgreencomedy.com

Off to Germany for my, according to @celsenbroich.bsky.social, ‘meet the Fokkers’ weekend! 😅

On #WorldBookDay why not treat yourself to a book!? #BookSky 🏏📚 www.amazon.co.uk/Different-Cl...

Great fun presenting on complexity and systems science at the SIPHER Showcase event with @pmeierprof.bsky.social and lots of wonderful colleagues.

Meanwhile in Düsseldorf…

Hotel I am staying at has a special toilet for Ironman!