Patrick McGovern took alcohol very seriously. Throughout history it had made humans think wider and higher, discover words and music, worship gods. The chemist used science to recreate ancient beverages

NEW: The Pentagon told journalists it will require them to pledge they won’t gather any information — even unclassified — that hasn’t been expressly authorized for release, and will revoke the press credentials of those who do not obey. @washingtonpost.com

I'm an American living in London. Over the years, I've called myself an immigrant, an expat and now i'm starting to think of myself as an exile.

The Kids Are Alright (most of them) But it's the old people we need to watch out for.

Loads of lads walking through central London like it’s Racist Butlin’s.

The call is coming from inside the (White) House.

The Alt Right as they start to reap what they sow.

2004 was such a strange year for the music industry. We'd hit the File Sharing iceberg a few years back and the senior executives were still elbowing women and children out of the way to get to the lifeboats... Or still pretending everything was fine and the internet was just a fad. 1/

"The force that through the green fuse drives the flower Drives my green age; that blasts the roots of trees Is my destroyer. And I am dumb to tell the crooked rose My youth is bent by the same wintry fever."

Issue 20 is out now! Including Stefan Feld (Castles of Burgundy, Trajan), Jun Sasaki of Oink Games, HP Lovecraft, escape room games, and revisiting Carcassonne. Cover art by Ian Wright. Go to senetmagazine.com to order your copy or subscribe. #boardgamesarebeautiful

Donald Trump’s success has been to bind the various coalitions of his party together. To map the tribes, The Economist analysed survey data from almost 14,000 Republicans in 2024. Here are the results

"Blue, blue, electric blue That's the colour of my room Where I will live Blue, blue Pale blinds drawn all day Nothing to do, nothing to say Blue, blue I will sit right down Waiting for the gift of sound and vision."

Some of you aren’t old enough to remember Obama’s election night. That was incredible. When the day comes, whenever it comes, it will eclipse that. Last night proved that.

This is my saturday morning energy youtu.be/AbQEZW7aoCA?...

a lot of jargon and complexity and stuff about compliance here... but what it really boils down to is that the US can lean on Microsoft to get access to UK police data, and UK forces don't see an alternative

I wonder where I could get a great Mahua cocktail in London?

listening this week

This looks like the perfect TTRPG for anyone who loved @levgrossman.com 's The Bright Sword. If you haven't watched @itsquinns.bsky.social 's reviews of roleplaying games, you should. youtu.be/P4-uUJ8iLTE?...

In June this year, I made a pervasive theatre game for the Voidspace Live festival in London. Here are some notes about how it was made and why I'm inspired by what James Carse called "Infinite Games." compassmapandkey.com/2025/08/14/g...

this week

Donald Trump hints that the deployment of National Guard troops to the country’s capital could be a blueprint for other troublesome (ie, Democratic-run) places. That will be easier said than done, however

And here you go. I honestly do not understand the moral cowardice that leads some of our fellow citizens to not speak out against what's going on.

Excellent analysis by @paulsonne.bsky.social www.nytimes.com/2025/08/10/w...

Absolutely love this track. Favorite on the album youtu.be/sP0us82q1ck?...

I have spent multiple weeks working on this story. We are not dropping it. I hope you will give this a read.

Lionesses!

listening this last week

Watching Cork vs Tipperary on the BBC. Once again marveling at the absolute carnage and mayhem of Irish hurling. All executed in extremely tight white shorts.

Wet Leg beat Oasis to #1 in the UK, release 'moisturizer' bonus track "hi from me"

Coming this fall: Glatisant, a duet game of purpose, pursuit, and guidance. Two players play as the Knight Errant and The Questing Beast in this asymmetrical journaling game using the Carta SRD Follow the Kickstarter page now to be notified at launch! www.kickstarter.com/projects/gra... #ttrpg

I was thinkin' 'bout my time in space I was thinkin' 'bout the human race In the age of tenderness and rage Had me kickin' through the end of days youtu.be/WWiGeU1WPW8?...

Trump has always been a zero-sum thinker and it's been infecting the GOP since Gingrich.

listening this week

The US Department of Homeland Security. Bought and paid for by secret donors with the money going straight into Kirsti Noem's personal bank account. They will wrap themselves in the flag while they ruin the country. www.propublica.org/article/kris...

Listening

Public Enemy surprise release new LP 'Black Sky Over The Projects: Apartment 2025' www.brooklynvegan.com/public-enemy...

"And this is what the apocalypse will sound like But it will be loud as a mushroom cloud It'll sound like Final Jeopardy But somehow be ghostly like a glockenspiel Like the testing of bombs or the tapping of stiletto heels It'll sound like Jazz on the Autobahn" open.spotify.com/playlist/7MU...

A conversation with a friend about the MCP/agentic AI rush and what will happen if we let the chuckleheads in the Trump Whitehouse continue to do shots with the tech bros instead of working out a proper governance strategy.

Blistering piece from @iandunt.bsky.social on Matthew Goodwin's visit to London. "The success of London is a point-blank, up-against-the-wall-motherfucker refutation of the right-wing populist world view." open.substack.com/pub/iandunt/...

Listening last week

Happy Friday. I've decided that everyone needs more Muffs in their lives and so here's another one of their blistering covers. youtu.be/tmqm337aBo0?...

"Bright lights, the music gets faster Look, boy, don't check on your watch, not another glance I'm not leaving now, honey, not a chance." www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0SF...

I'm not sure this advertisement is doing what you want it to do, Insignis.

Short thread about AI+ Literacy There is a lot of anguish around AI & what it means for literacy right now. It's hard not to be alarmed at the results of the MIT Media Lab's paper "Your Brain on ChatGPT" and how the use of these tools is changing how we think, communicate and remember. 1/

Succinctly on target, as per usual from Tom.

They're carrying on Orrin Hatch's legacy. Once Republicans get a malevolent idea in their malicious little minds they can't let go of it. en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sagebru...

Listening this week