Among the steady stream of horrifying global news, this quietly validating and impactful piece of cult research kinda made my day. internationalculticstudies.org/research-hig...

Mark Carney is right: it's time to take down the signs.

I feel vindicated for having made all my students read “The Power of the Powerless” all these years. . . www.vaclavhavel.cz/en/index/vid...

It may not have the hot clang of the Book of Revelation, but when the Danes are selling your bonds it has not been a good day.

Staying informed on current affairs can be overwhelming and depressing. Do it anyway.

Following the news on a daily basis, and the greater authoritarian shift that forms its context has until now been a mostly cognitive experience for me. Today, however, that shifted into a more visceral sense of threat and fear. As always, Anne Applebaum’s perspective is a sanity-anchoring read.

It’s old-fashioned to defend mainstream journalism these days but some of the most reliable reporting from people actually on the ground will be the AP and Reuters the next 24 hours. Your Substack journalist writing takes will be using frontline reporting from them.

I found this very satisfying: “We do need support, but nobody’s playing the cards given by America. Nobody gives a flying fuck about JD Vance’s opinion.”-- Artem Chapeye @ljohnson.bsky.social

Well this will be a treat! This English language version just arrived at my door and I can see myself shifting plans for this evening. 🤭🤓 #booksky #reading #politics #internationalrelations #NATO #jensstoltenberg

I mer enn ti år har Kongsberg Gruppens kunde videresolgt avansert undervannsteknologi fra Norge og Vesten til Russland. Teknologien benyttes til militære installasjoner langs sjøbunnen i Barentshavet.

A local councillor was just asking me if I'm planning to install a heat pump. Dunno, are they planning to let us continue living here for the duration of the payback period? They're so blind to what this 'debate' does at a community level.

The entire response is unnerving, serving only to further normalise chilling ideals such as “cultural cohesion”.

While I appreciate the sonic design of this programme, I’m finding myself in a familiar place of exasperation. Here is another philosophical exploration of the Findhorn Community’s magical origin story, evoking hippie era nostalgia and existential wonder, while missing the more relevant human story.

Un-British now. I’m going to assume she is aware of how loaded and irresponsible that rhetoric is, especially when spoken on behalf of a sitting government. 🚨🚩😳

I haven't posted here in a while due to the surprising and debilitating onset of what appears to be M.E/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome or possibly Long Covid. Tips and advice from anyone with experience of navigating the NHS and other UK resources are welcome. #chronicfatiguesyndrome #ME/CFS #longcovid

UK people! We need your signature on this petition to amend the coercive control legislation to include group coercion, such as happens in cults. Please share widely. thefamilysurvivaltrust.org/petition/?fb...

Existing coercive control legislation offers protection to victims of domestic and intimate partner abuse. And, as a former cult member, I am acutely aware of the (psychological, sexual, economic) coercive control that still goes unchecked within a vast number of cultlike groups. #groupcoercion #UK

Sad news about a brilliant author.

Important Observer article on Scientology harassment tactics. The same tactics have been used by Lighthouse International Group towards myself, @catrinnye.bsky.social and many others. This must be stopped. The UK police must step up. www.theguardian.com/world/2025/m...

Congratulations, @apostatealex.bsky.social on bringing about today's excellent exposure! May much-needed action to stop Scientology's well-documented abuses now follow. #cults #abusivepractices #legislativechange #coercivecontrol

@ruthbenghiat.bsky.social Your explanation of what a dictator and dictatorship is with real world examples is amazing.

Eastern Europeans have a long record of deposing corrupt autocrats through peaceful protest. Let's see if the Serbs succeed for the second time in 25 years.

“Wellness Wild West” and predatory cult leaders are a match enabled by lack of industry regulation. And this is also an example of why we should consider amending existing coercive control legislation to also include group-settings. #cult #wellness #uk www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...

Dear US colleagues, In response to the Trump administration, my university @univ-amu.fr is setting up a new program dedicated to welcoming American scientists wishing to pursue their work in France. There are several M$ in the budget. www.univ-amu.fr/en/public/ac...

A brave and exposing story about growing up in the Rajneesh communes, detailing the cultural normalisation of sexual abuse perpetrated by adult members. To me, this new-age setting feels familiar with its lack of boundaries and accountability. And the word “juicy” will forever make me want to barf.

EU har ikkje for vane å jobba særleg fort, men no er dei i gang med å byggja ein ny tryggleiksinfrastruktur for kontinentet. Dette burde Noreg vore del av.

As a relatively naive Northern European, I firmly support this direction, and find that Donald Tusk’s deep understanding of the Russian threat makes for credible and clear leadership at a time when we ought to pay particularly close attention to lessons from Polish and Eastern European history.

This point stands out to me as fundamental, and evokes cult memories of the inexplicable dynamics that arise when in a ‘shared unreality’. “Trump, Vance, and many of the people around them now fully inhabit an alternative reality, one composed entirely of things they see and hear in the ether.”

Good to hear Maria Ressa speak from a place of visceral experience and with important knowledge to share. #authoritarianshift #broligarcy #corruption #coercion #coopting #holdtheline #USA

Another sabotage action in the Baltic Sea, this time attempting to affect the water supply of Gotland.

Thank you to @heidicuda.bsky.social and @highfidelity.bsky.social for a very serious conversation about what happened in the Oval Office on Friday.

We need to make sure that Russia doesn’t attack again. And for that, we need to put political and economic pressure on Russia to stop this war, and at the same time, also help Ukraine defend itself. Extract from my interview at 'Face The Nation' ↓

Estonia has a mandatory high school course called "Media and Manipulation," where students analyse persuasion techniques, fact-check claims, and recognise propaganda.

Ivan Krastev to Europeans: "What kind of failure the Trumpian revolution will be, we do not know. But what history teaches us is that the best strategy is not to resist the revolutionaries but to hijack their revolution."

Here I react to the shameful encounter between American leaders and media and the Ukrainian president. No doubt there were more, but I saw five failures on our side: of hospitality, decency, democracy, strategy, and independence. Please watch and share. snyder.substack.com/p/five-failu...

Ursula von der Leyen. Nå må du lede den frie verden.

As an American and a faculty member at the university that awarded Vance a law degree, I want to express my deepest shame to President Zelensky and all Ukrainians for the disgraceful behavior of the American president and vice-president.

Dear Volodymyr Zelenskyy, dear Ukrainian friends, you are not alone.

So evil it's hard to watch. Teeing up another round of apologies to my Ukrainian friends over the foreign policy "expertise" from our cut-rate Jonestown Burger Chef and Jeff.

Reality vs unreality politics is where it’s fundamentally at. Timothy Snyder effectively distills this message at a time when it feels very very urgent. #unrealitypolitics

First an SPD chancellor who completely clung to US leadership and refused to do anything to support Ukraine without the US. Now a (likely) CDU chancellor who says Europe needs to decouple from the US. What a time to be alive

The UK's anti-protest laws pre-legitimise far right authoritarianism. Labour must repeal them now. My column today. www.theguardian.com/global/comme...

Den dulgte, fremmede motviljen mot, nesten angsten for, å åpne avisene om morgenen. Aldri i livet hatt det sånn. Takk skarrufaenmæha, Trump.

It’s cold here in #Gdansk but oh so pretty. Good for the so-called soul. #Poland #rest

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Flew to Gdansk, Poland today to meet up with my mum for a short break from ‘it all’. Something about this city has me returning and unwinding. #Gdansk #Poland #timeout #Baltic

🔺Baltic Fleet activity Return to Cold War communications architecture signals Russia's move towards confrontation. New article 🔽 open.substack.com/pub/jamesdro...