Today is the anniversary of Adrian Mole writing his finest work. Political commentary at its best.

Not a great article. I distrust AI because I *know* how it works, not because it's a scary black box.

So apparently we need to leave the poor banks alone to engender growth. A return on equity of 10% isn't very much 'because tech and pharma earn more'. 🙄. Financial Times UK Tue, 4 Nov 2025 If the UK is serious about growth, the bank bashing must stop ftdigitaledition.onelink.me/i9DX?deep_li...

I thought a 4% version of Chouffe would be a travesty, and I was right. But still managed to drink it all. (It's basically Hoegarden)

In the Head of Steam in Birmingham,, wondering why Cardiff had such utterly abysmal pubs.

Recommend me a pub in the middle of Birmingham for tonight...

Any recommendations for a decent hotel in Paris, reasonably priced and reasonably central? Preferably near a Belgian beer outlet...

Have finally deactivated our Twitter account. It was great whilst it lasted & good for promoting our podcast but at the end of the day, we can't justify being there anymore. Hopefully enough folk can see our work via BlueSky, Insta & other platforms. 🤞#EconSky podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/e...

Don’t forget you have one week (in the UK) before LinkedIn starts quietly using ALL of your visible content to train AI. It's unsurprisingly an Opt Out system so most users will be blithely unaware. The relevant toggle is in Settings - privacy and data. You know what to do.

Sometimes you come across something so brilliant and free it makes you forget about how shite everything else is. King of FM is one of those. #synths #retromusic #songwriting #iOS #DX7 audiokitpro.com/kingfm/

Inappropriately annoyed that "Where is the Rubicon? " is a question on House of Games when noone really knows. Disappointed in Osman to be honest. Now my lesser favourite of the brothers.

The clocks are changing on Sunday. Update the time on your central heating system to make sure that you don't waste money.

And it’s not even proper coffee 🤷🏻‍♀️

All hail the real winner in Caerphilly: @willhaycardiff.bsky.social ☺️ www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Good morning. And it is a very good morning indeed in Caerphilly, which I've always said is the best Valleys town ☺️ #byeNige

I'm not sure if I get overly lost in my work but I've been listening to the same four John Moreland songs on repeat for 2.5 hours and not noticing 🫣 #InputOutput

Finally, proper reporting. www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...

It's very rare you get to play Leontief Bingo on the BBC, but the reshowing of Galbraith's excellent documentary on #economics gives you the chance. The Age of Uncertainty, Series 1: 1. 1. The Prophets and Promise of Classical Capitalism: www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m002l6s9 via @bbciplayer

this should be so embarrassing for AI boosters - a claim that ChatGPT had “found” solutions to longstanding maths problems: turned out not that it had SOLVED them but had found solutions by googling for them they’re seeing what they want to see, not what’s there garymarcus.substack.com/p/erdosgate

So I wrote something about #AI and #economics and #growth and stuff. www.linkedin.com/pulse/risky-...

“When we realised these jewels were only stolen to inflate the share price of a company whose entire value relies on the wholesale theft of other people’s art, we had no choice but grant immunity,” Genius from @waterfordwhispers.bsky.social waterfordwhispersnews.com/2025/10/20/l...

One of the many nuggets from Cory Doctorow's book on Enshittification. Highly recommended. As is not using Uber* *or indeed Kindle 😊

The most interesting thing about this 'non-dom' news story is that even Ferrari drivers can't afford to buy Ferraris. www.theguardian.com/business/202...

Yeah? Well I have a line of finance ministers here who'd like to speak to the Treasury about 50 years of the feckin' Barnett Formula. Honestly, some self reflection would not go amiss.

I think this will always be my favourite bsky.app/profile/sand...

London is proud to host Japan's Grand Sumo Tournament this week - it's fantastic to see the the teams using our cycling infrastructure to get around.

Remember this one? “Humans aren’t very efficient movers—until you put us on a bicycle, when we become some of the most energy-efficient land travelers in the animal kingdom.” Via Scientific American @sciam.bsky.social #CityMakingMath

Why does public EV charging feel more expensive than home charging? ⚡💷 It's tempting to compare your home electricity tariff to the price at a public charge point—but it's not apples to apples. fullcircleci.co.uk/episode-162-...

Who new that 2025 would see a new single by #BobMould and Sugar? Looking forward to a new edition of Doom.... wait...

This does not (checks calendar) appear to be a joke.

Despite having followed Lemonheads since Hate Your Friends I'm... not sure I can bear to read this. #Punk #AltRock #Music www.theguardian.com/books/2025/o...

Good thread this.

If nature's carbon sinks are failing already, and planetary feedbacks are underway, then 1.5C never was a 'safe level' of climate change

You think you can't idolize Diane Keaton any more, then your realise she liked Welsh people.

Amazing that this long summary of a Nobel awarded for an explanation of how tech enabled 200 years of economic growth never before seen in human history doesn't seem to mention the word "oil"

Check out our latest podcast all about the economics of Margaret Thatcher. 10 questions that get you thinking about her as a person & how that impacted her economics. We also finish on her legacy - what can we see now that links back to her time in power? Have a listen & see what you think. #EconSky

Today is a day when arts degrees are worthless, but the product of those degrees is so valuable it would kill an entire industry if they were made to pay for it.

This excellent essay by @rodneyabrooks.bsky.social speaks to why the current interest in humanoid robots is misplaced, and by the bye sticks a stealthy stiletto into febrile LLM hype. rodneybrooks.com/why-todays-h...

As mentioned earlier by @seatsixtyone.bsky.social the Paris-Berlin/Vienna night train might be axed from December What's happening, and why SNCF never really cared about this train, but why alternatives are tricky, explained on my blog 👇 jonworth.eu/sncfs-half-h...

No ice cream! The world and #Bannau is not what it was. @cerij101.bsky.social

Old-fashioned economic thinking is driving biodiversity loss, according to a new international study led by academics at a Welsh university

Don't know what your Venn diagram looks like but luckily not buying from these won't change my life. Breathing a big Only Murders sigh of relief today mind.

Nothing in this acknowledges the economic reality of why many brownfield sites don’t get away as housing: they’re not financially viable unless someone (usually us, in some form) pays for them to be cleaned up and made ready

Great to see @nickharkaway.com featured in the Grauniad, but slightly infuriating that readers are directed to Karla's Choice not Sleeper Beach at the end. SciFi still not 'proper' writing then* 🤔 *unless it was his choice of course! www.theguardian.com/books/2025/s...

JFC, we're boiling the planet for this shite.

NO BUT LOOK AT MELANIA'S HAT THO!

It's good to have @chakrabortty.bsky.social back, even if it is only to document our increasingly desperate times. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Jones the Numbers HQ might not look much but it has Pete's Organic Shop on the ground floor, home brew beer on the Mezzanine and Beth the folk harpist practicing upstairs. Sensory overload, I can tell you.

Interesting report on the BBC - easy to target NIC changes but the real impact on food prices seems to be coming from weather conditions that are only going to get worse due to climate change. Who takes the biggest hit on this as a % of income? The poor. #EconSky open.spotify.com/episode/4Vnd...

I had some sympathy with Valleys Leave voters back in the day, but anyone who votes Reform in the Senedd in '26 is an irredeemable tosser.