My latest, on a town's escalating fight to fix a broken road, in which become accidentally radicalised by Nick Offerman. m.youtube.com/watch?v=RKiV...

My latest, on a town's escalating fight to fix a broken road, in which become accidentally radicalised by Nick Offerman. m.youtube.com/watch?v=RKiV...

New short film out tomorrow, in which I document one town's fight to save a broken road and become accidentally radicalised by Nick Offerman in the process. Makes sure you're subscribed to the 'stack or the YouTube Channel to get it while it's warm. www.youtube.com/@MFRobbins

One of the weirdest trends of the mid-2010s was fairly mainstream people thinking this guy was a serious thinker, largely based on hundred-page buffets of word salad and late night sophomore philosophy rambling.

I wish we had France’s problem of too much abundant clean energy.

This is a great paper based on that rarest of things: an actual (fleeting) English planning success story. Zero excuse for any council claiming a housing crisis to not have a knock-off version on the books by September. My only criticism is the cowardly dodge of ‘Croydon Facelift’ for its title.

Snooker won't be the same without him. May he finally find out where the cue ball's going.

It’s what Diana would have wanted

Quite a telling quote from previous coverage. Men being disengaged from the real world is a big multiplier for social media brain.

Complete aside to this amazing thread but I’m hiring at the moment and seeing some cover letters from ChatGPT and the biggest tell now is… the length? All the other stuff of course, but as soon as you see a 500 word cover note ten shillings says it’s AI slop.

ICYMI: Why a council were told they'd have to wait an entire year to start fixing a destroyed road, prompting a bizarre 36-mile diversion. (Short film.)

I recently contacted the council to ask about setting up a diversion on our road for two days, so a cherry picker can maintain trees on our land. I have to apply for two different permits, pay at least a four figure sum and wait at least 90 days before they'll even respond.

ICYMI: Why a council were told they'd have to wait an entire year to start fixing a destroyed road, prompting a bizarre 36-mile diversion. (Short film.)

I’m the Editor’s Pick today, very personal piece (paywalled) (I did not write the headline) www.thetimes.com/life-style/h...

My latest: On the mad sequence of events that unfolded when badgers demolished a road.

Arguably more significant than defections, internal party politics and the Beckhams… In 2024 there were around 3,600 suspected cases of measles. We need to challenge the nonsense spread by anti vaxxers and ensure children are protected. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article... news.sky.com/story/uk-los...

My latest: How a council was banned from fixing a road, and responded by putting one of the maddest diversions ever conceived in place.

@mjrobbins.com must have been delighted to get *two* stories of bureaucratic weirdness out of a single rural road. youtube.com/watch?v=_wUG...

Short film featuring possibly the most OTT diversion ever created.

The speed at which my friend @mjrobbins.com is mastering this kind of content is somewhat terrifying. Behold his latest video, which operates in a dream state somewhere twixt a One Show segment and an Adam Curtis dystopian nightmare.

My latest: On the mad sequence of events that unfolded when badgers demolished a road.

A random assortment of screen caps from my next YouTube - or is that ‘Mootube’ - effort, out Monday morning. Subscribe to the Substack or the YouTube channel to get it first, links in bio.

Amazing scenes in Shefford at Old Bridge Way, the road abandoned to ruin by Central Bedfordshire Council. The council placed 'private road' signs to show they won't be held responsible for it, but residents have, er, repurposed them...

Look at this disgusting rubbish, while the over-50s like me get literally everything on a plate. Every single person involved I've ever spoken to knows we have to start reconstructing the university financial system from scratch. Nothing is ever done.

There’s a campaign near us to ‘save XX field’ and, like, a field is an industrial production unit, that’s why it looks how it does, and the farmer wants to sell it because it’s not economically viable, so what exactly is your plan here?

Alt-text advocacy is a textbook example of how social media's blurring of work-life boundaries led to the idea that anything we do in public is a form of work and should be subject to the same corporate standards in a way we would never assume for other personal behaviour.

BREAKING: UK govt secures record 8.4GW of offshore wind at AR7 auction round, for average £91/MWh (England) / £89/MWh (Scotland), roughly a fifth below the price limit www.gov.uk/governmen...

I mean it obviously is, given the impact 25% tariffs would have?

Always frustrating when you get these tiny glasses of wine at the end of the cheese course 🤷‍♂️

Europes hard power advantage over Russia is insanely large, and I for one say we aggressively exploit that by providing Ukraine high quality arms on a scale Russian cannot possibly match.

there's a brilliant In The Loop style movie to be made about foreign spies going increasingly mental at a UK council planning department

We’re really fucked aren’t we.

Big news from me and @mjrobbins.com - The Abundance Agenda podcast has a new name! From today, we're calling the show YIMBY Pod. If you've never had a listen, this week's show is an excellent place to start. Go have a listen! yimbypod.com

Let’s not allow the Americans to dominate today’s discourse when we’ve got meat on the table.

Drew a definitive map of the regions of the UK in a group chat earlier. I will not be accepting questions at this time.

Used to play this as a teenager and it’s a misguided work of old British internet, relaunched after 15 years offline. sim.roads.org.uk

The Rehearsal, season 2, the most insane finale of any series of all time, just jaws to the floor from the first minute to the genius final line.

Yeah, PSA do not let your cats out in this weather 🥶

I feel like we should just declare a bank holiday when it’s below -5c outside 🥶

London writers please boost: our workshop is always open to new members and anyone who would like help getting their novel over the line please get in touch

I mean I literally once opened a bottle of wine with a wire coat hanger in a hotel room so probably that.

@kevinerdmann.bsky.social has dropped a bomb on the housing discourse today www.mercatus.org/research/res...

On this point, I know BSky has little sympathy for farmers, but now that the government has effectively admitted it got the policy wrong, it's worth revisiting a moment from 14 months ago that stuck in my mind, because it said a lot about how the government was developing policy...

pound for pound this might be the funniest thing ever written

It's been brilliant seeing Martin's success this year with his blog, podcast and also now a book deal. Subscribe to his Substack and rummage through the archives to see what all the fuss is about.

Merry Yearmas! Last January I started a Substack with the goal of reaching 1,000 subscribers by the end of the year. Here's a quick thread of some of the pieces that helped me reach - and exceed by a considerable margin - that target:

The time @jamesomalley.co.uk and I went into a bar in Manhattan and Alan Yentob was having lunch at a nearby table

This is true and I was the only one on set excited about it (and playing the song on my phone to blank stares)

Yeah this is unhinged behaviour, if someone did this to a relative I’d be pushing to have their contact cut off.