More than anything, the MAGA phenomenon is about letting an incredibly stupid man have near-absolute power.

This review is well worth reading. It touches on so many issues I've been thinking about on pre-Christian belief, modern pagans, and our connection to ancient places. Many of these themes came up on our tour of the Hill of Tara with Muiris yesterday...

This year's Oxford Intelligence Conference Program on Oct 6-7 looks superb. You can find information and the link for tickets here: www.nuffield.ox.ac.uk/our-research...

Although I hope and believe that literacy will resurge in the coming decades, this post explains what is at stake as literacy rates decline. If we lose the ability to read properly, we also lose the ability to reason, to argue, to investigate, to invent, to challenge, and to resist. #Reading

@rorycormac.bsky.social @markstout.bsky.social @dvanp.bsky.social @jgmaber.bsky.social @paulmcgarr.bsky.social @dianabolsinger.bsky.social It arrived! Super excited about our edited volume on #covertaction! And extremely grateful to our contributors and reviewers for their hard work and support!

'The ‘C’s’ between 1909 and 2024 fall into two distinct groups; former Joint Intelligence Committee (JIC) Chair Sir Percy Cradock talked of ‘sword men’ and ‘gown men’, reflecting the increasing civilianisation of SIS from the 1950s onwards' www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Proud to have contributed to this comprehensive and kaleidoscopic book, alongside a host of brilliant thinkers, writers, organisers and educators. There is a lot of really vital writing in here on ethics, decolonial praxis, grief, politics and community.

One of the things Zelenskyy and his European posse should insist on before they get into substantive discussions at White House is proof of any claimed Russian concessions, including those now reported by Witkoff on security guarantees. Supposed past concessions have been wishful thinking.

I listened to this podcast on my morning walk and, despite the scale of the challenge, it left me feeling more optimistic about the future of literacy. Democracy depends upon people being able to read attentively and critically. 💙📚 #Booksky #Reading www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

I've just finished reading this great book written by one of my @uofglasgow.bsky.social contemporaries, Dr. Craig Gill. It's a thoughtful read that meets and then confounds expectations. Written with a love for the game of golf and a wish to tell some of its untold stories. 💙📚 #Booksky #History

The first tranche of onions from my garden. Eighteen of them. Not bad going. 🧅 #Gardening #GardeningSky

If you missed, it, @melaniebrand.bsky.social also wrote a super partner piece last January: www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

The latest from the fabulous @melaniebrand.bsky.social : www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

It is finally here! It is publication day of my new book about ‘Operation Wrath of God’ - My research reveals for the first time how Western intelligence agencies helped Mossad to hunt and kill Palestinians suspected of involvement in terrorist activities in Europe @universitypress.cambridge.org

Sorry to hear Stella Rimington has died: a trail blazer in every sense of the word, an impressive intelligence officer and a very nice person. Less formally, we had a blast lecturing together on an espionage-themed cruise in 2014 . . . .

Geoff Dyer and @jackaldane.bsky.social wrap another terrific episode, surrounded by the rich archives of Geoff’s study.

Inspired by the excellent @mymartinamis.bsky.social podcast, I'm going to read or reread* (almost) every book by Martin Amis in order of publication. I'm ambivalent about Amis but have been rethinking him recently. I'll post my thoughts about each book here. (1/30) #Booksky #Amis 📸© Angela Gorgas

A tribute to Sir Kenneth Calman Sir Kenneth Calman was a doctor, academic and University leader who achieved more “firsts” than virtually anyone in his generation in medicine, public service and the third sector. Read more: gla.ac/457j99J

Looking forward to the recording of a second Spycraft 101 podcast episode. This time, the topic will be our @britishacademy.bsky.social funded project on secrecy and selective disclosures. www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

I reviewed a collection of documents put together by @sandbaggerone.bsky.social and Christopher Murphy. Useful book, deftly edited. You can read the review here, and you may also wish to recommend it to your library and give @jpict.bsky.social a follow on here.

Congratulations to Dr Michael Simpson, who graduated yesterday with a PhD by Published Works at the age of 87 years young. 🎓 So proud to have you as part of #TeamUofG, Dr Simpson! ♥️ #UofGgrad25 @uofgartshums.bsky.social

New for the @nsarchive.bsky.social, a 45-document collection looking at 25+ years of US intelligence on climate risks--from the Arctic ice melt to global food, water, and migration risks. From the National Security Archive's Rachel Santarsiero (@rsanta.bsky.social) nsarchive.gwu.edu/briefing-boo...

I'm very excited to announce that my @edinburghup.bsky.social book The President's Kill List has just won the Richard E. Neustadt book prize of the PSA's American Politics Group. Thanks to @historydafydd.bsky.social, @pete-d-finn.bsky.social, and the APG Committee.

With a lot of discussion about the US-Israel alliance in the news, I’m resharing an article I wrote last year for @engelsbergideas.bsky.social on how LBJ and the Cold War 1960s helped establish what became a special relationship 🇺🇸🇮🇱

"A self-confessed “geek”, she said her first job in counter-proliferation had been an opportunity to engage with the “really deep science” of nuclear technology, as well as the task of building relationships with agents" www.ft.com/content/b12e...

I was in Budapest for a Stag Do and a short holiday recently, and I was blown away by how much there was to see and do. Historic palaces, beautiful churches and synagogues, thoughtfully curated museums and galleries, and eerie underground caves with a rich history all of their own. A great city! 🇭🇺

'[Ms. Gabbard] also ordered the National Intelligence Council to relocate to her headquarters.' I wouldn't wish to defend her motives, but housing the national-level assessment machinery at Langley has often been a double-edged sword. At least, worth reconsidering. www.nytimes.com/2025/05/14/u...

I enjoyed this discussion last night, not least because @jrogg.bsky.social speaks with great enthusiasm about his work. He had many new things to say about the American way of intelligence, and the place of intelligence in the American way of life – and the (very) deep historical roots of both.

It's raining today in Glasgow, so, naturally, I'm at the @glasgowfilmtheatre.bsky.social. Everyone else in the city must've had the same idea because cinema three is packed! #FilmSky #MovieSky #Glasgow

National Intelligence Estimate Found 20 Percent Chance of War Between India and Pakistan During 1990s “High” Risk that “Miscalculation” Could Lead to Nuclear Exchange nsarchive.gwu.edu/briefing-boo...

I feel proud and very honored that my book “World War I and the Foundations of American Intelligence” (UPK, 2023) is the subject of the latest H-Diplo | RJISSF Roundtable. I hope this encourages others to work in the field. 1/3

In a guest post for Comment is Freed, Greg Treverton, Chair of the U.S. National Intelligence Council from 2014 to 2017 under President Obama, considers how allies should deal with the U.S. intelligence community under Trump. (£/free trial) open.substack.com/pub/samf/p/s...?

It's a very pleasant day in the southside of Glasgow.

You can’t write about the influence of social scientists on CIA’s intelligence estimates without questioning whether they’d have any flair for it at all. William Harding Jackson, who had written a wartime report on British Intelligence, certainly didn’t think so. 🧵 1/8

I just really want to live in precedented times for a bit.

Where to begin?! #booksky #books

I don’t believe Trump is a Russian asset but I do struggle to think what he would do differently if he was, be more subtle in his admiration for Russian aggression perhaps.

By Morten Morland

If Trump is a tough-talking honest broker, I assume he'll speak to Putin in the same forthright, no-nonsense manner that he spoke to Zelenskyy in yesterday? Surely both sides must be treated equally by this great, equanimous dealmaker in his noble quest for peace? 🤔 apnews.com/article/russ...

For 17 years, the US Intelligence Community has kept confidential an assessment on the national security implications of climate change. Click here to read why the spy community has kept it a secret, and why we’re advocating for its declassification: nsarchive.gwu.edu/briefing-boo...

Welcome to Christopher Moran as the new coeditor of the journal Intelligence and National Security! Chris is Professor in the Dept of Politics & International Studies at University of Warwick & has spent the past decade as editor of the Journal of Intell History: www.tandfonline.com/toc/fint20/c...

For some historical insight on how the last mass firings at Langley went, here’s an excellent article on Nixon and Schlesinger from Chris Moran

A cheerful post here. I read this book recently and it led me to reflect that "when" deterrence fails, terms like "command and control", "de-escalation", "intrawar deterrence" and "national missile defense" are going to mean very little indeed. Everything hinges on deterrence – a state of mind.

Intelligence and National Security is now on BlueSky! Our latest edition, Vol 39, No 7, 2024 is available here: www.tandfonline.com/toc/fint20/3... Follow this account for the latest news from the Journal!

I'm back again! Out of control here, guys. 🎥🍿 #FilmSky #MovieSky

Totally sold on the idea that late afternoon is the best time to go to the cinema. Love @glasgowfilmtheatre.bsky.social #FilmSky #MovieSky

Hello! 👋 I thought I’d give Bluesky a go this year. I’m a postdoc interested in intelligence and policymaking. Two of my 2025 resolutions are to stop overthinking and start posting more on social media. So here goes. Thanks for having me on your feed!