"[The older British media class] believe their own politics to be neutral, impartial- and other people’s politics to be the aberration, or doctrinaire, a belief egged on by the fact that most of the media agrees with them. Orthodoxies are for other people." A must-read from @lewisgoodall.com

This is a really illuminating piece from @nstamouli.bsky.social on what the future of Europe could look like as we head into COP30: climate refugees are not a concept from the distant future, they are on the continent right now. www.politico.eu/article/euro...

360 by Charli xcx is actually about Zohran Mamdani

This was a fascinating listen on the role religion has played in the NYC Mayoral election and the myriad of ways faith can shape our politics and voting habits www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w...

New work for @theobserveruk.bsky.social: I took a look at why sobriety is on the rise in Berlin, the world's capital of hedonism, and whether drug-free parties could help save nightlife venues from closure observer.co.uk/news/interna...

As Ian Watkins was back in the news recently, it's worth remembering that police received complaints about him almost five years before he was arrested. The women who reported him were dismissed as "crazy exes." He was only charged after his computer was searched as part of a drugs-related raid.

Horrific news out of Germany: a newly elected mayor in North-Rhine Westphalia – Iris Stalzer of the Social Democrats – is critically injured after being stabbed multiple times by an unknown perpetrator[s]. www.tagesschau.de/eilmeldung/a...

If you want to know what the UK government's position is on its obligations under the Genocide Convention in relation to its support for Israel, here's what it argued in court this summer.

Always had a soft spot for these guys, they seem fun ngl

This is the most detailed look inside Tyler Robinson's Discord community I've seen and yet again, it gives us absolutely no clear motivation, political in or otherwise. www.kenklippenstein.com/p/exclusive-...

A must-read here

Good of the telegraph to remind us that as well as racist coked up men with prior convictions for dv, the racist march led by a racist that descended into racist violence also included some racists who shop at oliver bonas & think running the church fete tombola makes them nice people

This week many British parents found themselves being educated by their kids on who Kirk was. Debates about him popped up in unusual places, from local Facebook groups to Football Twitter. I took at look at how the commentator amassed his surprising UK following: www.politico.com/news/magazin...

This is an excellent analysis, and I highly recommend everyone reads this before jumping to any further conclusions!!

This week many British parents found themselves being educated by their kids on who Kirk was. Debates about him popped up in unusual places, from local Facebook groups to Football Twitter. I took at look at how the commentator amassed his surprising UK following: www.politico.com/news/magazin...

@karenroberts.bsky.social Hey! I saw your post about your 17-year-old knowing about Charlie Kirk. I'm researching an article about his unexpected reach with young Brits on social media (I didn't know about this until today either). Would you be interested in having a quick chat with me?

It's surprising to learn how many right-leaning Brits were following or at least aware of Charlie Kirk on social media. There are posts mourning him in my hometown Facebook group, and even a "Love Island Memes" group.

I feel terrible for Kirk's children who will grow up knowing a video of their father's brutal death is all over the Internet. Compassion is not a finite resource and we all have the ability to try extend it to every single other human, even if they have said or done things we find abhorrent.

Saw an Insta advert saying Yarvin is "going head to head" with Alastair Campbell at this festival. I get that some people think it's smart to expose Yarvin's ideas through "debate", but this frames him as a legitimate intellectual when he's literally a blogger writing erotic fanfic for fascist CEOs

I just found this woman's real-life daughter is the new editor of Vogue and my mind is melting. Like did they do this on purpose or

I've been thinking about this a lot recently – why is it that the more activists and (some) journalists have worked to try and show the reality that people facing asylum face, the coarser and more uncaring our political discourse seems to become?

Some truly heartbreaking stories in here illustrating the tragedies that this policy will lead to

By me, in @theobserveruk.bsky.social today: I profiled a Rabbi who has set up a community for the ex-Ultra Orthodox, in Dresden - a city with a reputation as a far-right stronghold observer.co.uk/news/interna...

The life of a journalist online: I write 5500 words looking at the complex history of the German army and the public's relationship with it, and try include as many different views on rearmament as possible (inc many pro), and people are still mad about the headline. (PS. I don't mind the headline)

I highly recommend this deep dive--featuring rich interviews with those involved--on the fight over the rebuilding of Germany's Bundeswehr by @jessicabateman.bsky.social in @politico.com www.politico.com/news/magazin...

An incredible deep dive, here. A must read. “I asked Breuer if he had anything to say to people who are still skeptical about the need for rearmament. “I would like to take them with me on one of my visits to Ukraine.””

I spent the past few months diving deep into Germany's military ramp-up. I spoke to high-serving generals about their spending plans, new recruits inspired to enlist since the war on Ukraine, and anti-war activists troubled by the links to the country's dark past. www.politico.com/news/magazin...

You know that uncanny feeling that arises when scrolling through Netflix's recommendations, like you recognise none of them but still feel like you have seen them all before? This is a brilliant forensic breakdown of what the algorithm is doing to our cultural landscape

Is anyone else in Germany getting these YouTube adverts denying the famine in Gaza? The final text translates as "There is food in Gaza. Every other claim is a lie."

Gen Z hating on Home as the worst, most millennial cringe song ever when we ALL know the single most cursed song of that era is that one that goes "I belong to you, you belong to me, you're my sweetheaaaaaart"

Today I learnt there is a US government staffer called "Big Balls" and I didn't even feel one once of surprise, given the timeline we live in

Have we considered the possibility that Black Mirror was the optimistic version of the future?

Interesting to see that bell hooks clocked JK Rowling's conservative tendencies all the way back in 2005

This week @hyphenonline.com has some great reporting looking at how British Muslim communities are still affected by the far-right riots one year on – both the lasting trauma they caused, and the community resilience that has built in response hyphenonline.com/2025/07/28/m...

"Healthy aging, it turns out, is strongly tied to whether politicians act in your interest, having freedom for political parties, whether there are democratic elections and if you have the right to vote" This study is fascinating.

The murder of 26-year-old Algerian nurse Rahma Ayad has sparked discussions on social media about whether German authorities are doing enough to protect Muslims from increasing violence – Islamophobic attacks were up 60% last year. My report for @hyphenonline.com hyphenonline.com/2025/07/23/g...

Ok now I need @youngvulgarian.marieleconte.com to write an entire essay about this because I fully support this hypothesis

Absolutely heartbreaking statement from @afp.com: "Without immediate intervention, the last reporters in Gaza will die" What does it say about us and our institutions that we have managed to reach this point?

Feels exquisitely stomach-churning to read about rich people's multi-thousand-dollar quests to birth the perfect offspring at the exact same time as 6.5 million children worldwide are about to lose access to malnutrition treatment due to USAID cuts www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2...

The way this post got me feeling all emotional 🥹

I'm just sitting here channeling the Michael Jackson eating popcorn gif

"We know that a diet consisting of comfort food is bad for our physical health. Yet we are becoming less receptive to content that challenges us and are increasingly opting for “slop” in our cultural consumption—choosing fare that might amuse, legitimate, or engross, but does not challenge."

When I was living in Greece in 2017 - just seven years ago - it would usually reach around 40C for about one week at some point in August. Now it's almost that hot for the entire three months of summer. www.nytimes.com/2025/07/14/w...

I was thinking about this, and the many stories like it. The thing is they propose a narrative that SEND spending is going up because of, essentially, wealthy parents getting extra support for kids that don't really need it. I think it's important to tell our story because reality is very different

One of the most 🤯 moments of my professional life was learning that most non-fiction books are not factchecked

1/ Great piece on purity culture and its male discontents by @jessicabateman.bsky.social Let me add one that I see in my line of work all the time. By making sex and sexual desire a sin towards God, purity culture enables sexual abuse of children. How? www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...

New from me: thousands of people grew up in 90s-era evangelical "purity culture" and its strict gender roles I spoke to several ex-evangelical men about how this shaped their views of masculinity, sex and relationships – and how they are trying to unpick them. www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...

✨ The Winner of our 2025 Distinguished Reporting Award: "Did Something Happen to Mom When She Was Young?" by @jessicabateman.bsky.social. Published by: @politico.com. Read the full story here: www.europeanpressprize.com/article/did-...

Absolutely over the moon to have received the @europeanpressprize.bsky.social Distinguished Reporting Award for my @politico.com feature about the lasting trauma of Greece's post-civil war black market adoption industry. Thanks everyone for an amazing two days in Bari, Italy!

Meanwhile in Germany, Berlin security services have declared BDS is "unconstitutional". This is likely to stifle debate even further, making it impossible to even have public conversations about what BDS is and whether or not it is antisemitic. www.berliner-zeitung.de/mensch-metro...