So how does this Middle East adventure end? Hope someone’s worrying about that. No off-ramp in sight.

When do you think politicians will work out that what most people want is good governance, not drama?

open.substack.com/pub/ritula/p... I have been thinking about what it is to be human and how it is being eroded by power and money.

Events have moved so fast I almost abandoned this but I think the question of sovereignty is fascinating. I’ve only scratched the surface. open.substack.com/pub/ritula/p...

In Trump’s Second Term, Far-Right Agenda Enters the Mainstream www.nytimes.com/2025/08/23/u... And the UK too?

Overheard on the train - “They were planning a big wedding?” “They decided to buy a house”

Yay! Go Lionesses!

If you want more Marina, here she is from our event earlier this year in long form conversation with @ritula.bsky.social about the books that inspired her m.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4L_...

What a woman! An absolute joy talking to her. Agree wholeheartedly @catrionaseth.bsky.social

As someone who pays attention but less than I used to, Hannah White points to the trends which seem to be fairly ‘in yer face’ to everyone except the government www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/comment/parl...

A recently discovered 1974 speech by Stuart Hall on Walter Rodney—and why fascists fear ideas. www.bostonreview.net/articles/whe...

www.theguardian.com/politics/202... Not pulling any punches.

You go out for some dinner and all hell breaks loose. Rather enjoying dessert. ‘Breaking up is hard to do’ as Neil Sedaka once sang.

Joseph Nye, who coined the term ‘soft power’, dies aged 88 So sorry to see this. I interviewed Joseph Nye a number of times and he was always generous and insightful. His death comes at a moment when America seems to be abandoning its soft power - difficult for those of us who value it.

India launches attack on 9 sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir reut.rs/4krsv6z

In my superficial, self centred way, I looked at the UK/India trade deal and thought ‘ooh, lovely clothes may now be more affordable’. And then I read the comments. Instructive. In particular, the person who pointed out that we should wait for the detail. Hello devil. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Do join us at our Spring Conference on the 30 April in London - lots of discussions to be had about the future of public service media with @janemartinson.bsky.social @ritula.bsky.social @torindouglas.bsky.social To book head to payments.vlv.org.uk/event-search

An interesting conclusion from James Marriott in The Times. Not least for those of us who were constantly defending ourselves from the criticism of ‘too many interruptions’. And while conducting an interview is on one level ‘just asking questions’ doing it well is more like playing chess.

In Trumpworld there are no friends, no allies, no mercy. Only potential deals. It is a ruthless business mentality applied to geopolitics. The ‘suckers’ - often the weaker party - get ‘done over’ (I won’t use the ruder term).

Will 50% of America please wake up now?

The UK feels rather small and irrelevant this morning. And our domestic concerns even more parochial than usual. With friends like these etc. #Zelensky

I have been brooding over this ever since I saw the clip. I have (publicly) wrestled with my sense of identity - English? British? But I’m horrified by this expression of unabashed ‘blood and soil nationalism’ How have we arrived here in 2025? www.newstatesman.com/politics/soc...

Zelensky’s comments about the need for a European army are difficult to ignore. UK’s objection to grtr European defence co operation rested on the primacy of NATO and the transatlantic alliance. Now that appears to be over, is a European force the inevitable conclusion? And what would the UK do?

Snoozefest #PMQs

I’m always wary of politicians who claim insight purely because of personal experience (“speaking as a mother”etc). Kemi Badenoch takes my stance to another level - it’s as if she has no awareness at all of her own relationship to some of the policies she advocates.

Would consumer boycotts make an impact? (She says, typing on an iPhone)

We're absolutely delighted to welcome @ritula.bsky.social @katefdixon.bsky.social @helenljay.bsky.social Catherine Johnson & @heshams.bsky.social as new Trustees to the VLV. They bring a wealth of expertise & a strong commitment to the mission of VLV, full release here vlv.org.uk/media-centre...

In the ‘new world order’ as declared by President Trump, there are it seems no real friends and allies. Can we finally say goodbye to the increasingly elusive ‘special relationship’?

I’m presenting Calm Classics on ClassicFM - a thought, irrelevant to the task in hand but which just had to be shared…Reading the obits for David Lynch reminded me of how much I loved Twin Peaks - it seemed miraculous that something so surreal was on TV. I even learned to make Cherry Pie.

Biden’s FP achievements - not an easy sell? My take: a chaotic and ill judged withdrawal from Afghanistan, behind the curve on Ukraine and very little influence on Israel/Gaza. www.nytimes.com/2025/01/13/u...

He made me laugh and laugh. Pure joy. www.bbc.com/news/article...

Jimmy Carter’s achievements are undoubtedly impressive. Brokering peace between Israel and Egypt, building affordable housing and global humanitarian work. Not to mention 77 years of marriage - THAT is extraordinary. To Jimmy and Rosalynn - bravo!

[email protected] and his team provide impartial, timely, accessible research that is invaluable to Parliamentarians, the media + general public. That's why Labour, Conservative, Liberal Democrat, SNP, Green, SDLP, Alliance and independent MPs and peers have all signed this letter.

[email protected] has for years produced high quality research on the UK's links with the EU. Yet it now faces closure because of ESRC grant cuts. Some 66 of us Parliamentarians (38 MPs and 28 peers) have signed a cross-party letter urging ESRC + UKRI to reconsider their decision.

I got a sneak peek of this glossary when it was in development. A really useful resource for anyone interested in Al and involved in communicating its concepts and ideas. www.aiglossary.co.uk Congratulations to @alexgrz.bsky.social and @benhenke.bsky.social for pulling this together

NEW: Russian Foreign Ministry confirms that Assad has left Syria.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the Hamas attack on Israel, the destruction of Hizbollah and America’s increasingly uncertain role in the world. All factors in the fall of Assad.

When the Syrian uprising began more than a decade ago, all many Syrians asked for was more democracy and for Assad to stand aside. They didn’t want the devastating conflict which followed. Let’s hope a more peaceful future now awaits.

Unexpected opinion no.3,433. I went to see Wicked and loved it. A visual feast and really very funny at times.

And then South Korea. Strong ‘man’ politics is contagious it seems.

Great piece from @gideonrachman.bsky.social of the @financialtimes.com about the tainted legacy of Obama and Merkel - he points out they could accuse their critics of 20:20 hindsight, to which I might reply ‘The critics were there at the time. If only you had listened.’

Audio/radio is in rude health according to Tim Levell of Times Radio Mohit Bakaya of BBCR4 and podcaster and Audio exec Kate Taylor at the Voice of the Listener and Viewer conference..but lots of debate about standards, funding and time given to interviews.

Jonathan Munro BBC World Service chief tells the Voice of the Listener and Viewer conference ‘radio is the most resilient platform’ - a major reverse ferret after years of downgrading language services and programmes like Newshour?

Very sad to hear Mishal Hussain is leaving the Beeb. A truly brilliant interviewer and a very kind person too. An unusual combination! Let’s hope the Beeb’s loss is someone else’s gain and ‘Mishal talks to..’ pops up as a format elsewhere.

An insightful report from @ukandeu.bsky.social Confirms lots of what I’ve observed eg religion much more important to minority communities than the wider population and Hindus cf Harrow east and Leicester east more likely to lean Conservative than other minority groups ukandeu.ac.uk/reports/mino...

This is so achingly 2010 as a space and I’m so happy.

Gosh listening to all the clips of John Prescott and the interactions in the Commons is a reminder of how much politics has changed. Cross party humour - laughing with each other - seems to have faded.

@ritula.bsky.social Lola & Coco say thank you! @classicfm.com