More than a year old now but if you want an overview or what’s happening in the world there are worse places to start.

“St Andrew’s Day is a construction, but not an illusion, because Scotland is a nation, and nations are real. More to the point, nations have a certain kind of reality that is worth attending to today, and every day.” open.substack.com/pub/jonathan...

"The message that jumps out above all others is that previous IPCC reports, going back to 1990, have not been heeded. Where is the report on that? Because that’s the one we really need."

With COP 30 👮‍♂️ underway in Brazil, I thought I’d better write something about climate change. open.substack.com/pub/perspect...

Interesting development & substack post by @jonathanrowson.bsky.social. open.substack.com/pub/jonathan...

“Perhaps I should set aside all this heady stuff, ever yielding to the mind’s compulsions? I am told I should BREATHE, and get back into the body. It’s not clear what happens next, and I’m not supposed to ask…” open.substack.com/pub/jonathan...

“In a world that can seem shallow, chess meets a longing for depth. In a world that can feel lonely and confusing, chess offers the experience of shared meaning and mattering. In a world of shrill whataboutery, chess offers rule-bound intellectual clarity.” open.substack.com/pub/grandmas...

If someone invites you to dinner and says “no gifts”, “please don’t bring anything apart from yourself” do you take them literally, or bring something anyway?

“I turned 48 yesterday. Forty-eight. When put that way, it sounds Biblical. I am not quite feeding the five thousand, nor am I one of the twelve disciples, but I am now implicated in the declaration that forty people shared a meal.” open.substack.com/pub/jonathan...

I know I’m a bit late to this, but I’ve started watching The Sopranos…

If you’re struggling in any way, and the rain just came on, this Annie Lennox rendition of her Eurythmics classic: *Here Comes the Rain Again*, live from New York, always “falls on my head like a new emotion..” And might be timely for someone… 🌧️🥲😔🙂🥹🙂🤪🙃🌧️🌈 music.youtube.com/watch?v=TB0E...

Since the USA now faces a full blown “constitutional crisis” and we’ll all be hearing this term a lot, I thought it might help to reflect on what crisis means. (From *Prefixing the World*: open.substack.com/pub/perspect... )

Important & widely relevant on the mass demonstrations in Serbia from @jonathanrowson.bsky.social: "What do all these people want? The real demand is terrifying for those in power: "Can you please ensure that our institutions work as they are supposed to?" jonathanrowson.substack.com/p/whats-happ...

Trump is not a Russian asset in the same way that Trump is not a fascist. He is authoritarian and he is working for Russia. But he is a unique case, sui generis, so these conventional terms don’t ring true. The key is not to label, but to disclose as precisely as possible what is happening.

I’ve discovered a hitherto unsuspected connection between the stag and the potato.

Perhaps the issue is not so much that Trump is a Russian asset (though he might be) or is on Russia’s side as such(though he seems to be). It seems as likely that if your perception is plutocratic, amoral and transactional, Russia’s way of thinking and acting is relatively syntonic to work with.

NATO is a zombie alliance. If the point of NATO is for Europe to have back up from the US if Russia attacks, but the US is no more on Europe’s side than Russia’s, then NATO makes no sense. Ukraine is Europe and Europe will have to protect itself.

I’m not a huge fan of Keir Starmer in general, but I felt proud of the way he appears to have handled his meeting with Donald Trump today. I felt he played a difficult hand very well.

Enjoyed a couple of days off in Cambridge - “the other place”.

What does it mean to me to be British, while also being a “Scottish Londoner” ? I enjoyed this chat with Layman Pascal of The Integral Stage, which includes reflections on the 2014 Scottish referendum and broader geopolitical issues. youtu.be/2Q2dMzVe5WE?...

The talk of security guarantees for Ukraine seems, sadly, bogus. In light of the failure of the Budapest memorandum I don’t understand how America could ever trust Russia. In light of Trump/Vance Europe can’t now trust America. And in light of fickle electorates, Ukraine can’t trust anyone… 🇺🇦

What does it mean to me to be British, while also being a “Scottish Londoner” ? I enjoyed this chat with Layman Pascal of The Integral Stage, which includes reflections on the 2014 Scottish referendum and broader geopolitical issues. youtu.be/2Q2dMzVe5WE?...

Amusing. The glitch is that while Greenland is part of Denmark and Denmark is part of the EU, Greenland is not part of the EU, but merely has an “overseas countries and territories” associative relationship with the EU. Moreover, Canada’s CETA with the EU is already a very close trading relationship

Since the US is relinquishing allies, here’s a silly idea: Greenland is technically Danish, not EU but has OCT; and since Hans Island is a land border between Canada and Greenland, would it not be *fitting* for Canada to leave CUSMA, join Europe’s single market and become an EU associate member? 🙃

Heartened by this speech by Germany’s defence minister Boris Pistorius, which appears to be a direct response to JD Vance. Colonial history and Brexit notwithstanding, I love Europe, and it is now up to Europeans to protect what we love. youtu.be/n0qlKwHi2VM?...

I know it’s complicated, and I don’t mean any personal offence to Americans, but in light of Vance’s speech in Munich and Trump’s chumminess with Putin and plans for Ukraine, I hope Europe (including the UK) can quickly find the optimal way to tell the new USA administration to f*** off.

Thinking about forming a WhatsApp group with the rules that everyone can leave a daily voice note whenever they feel like screaming in exasperation at the world and nobody is obliged to listen or respond. It’s just a place to scream that lets you know that others are screaming too. Good idea? 😱

Saw Kyoto tonight in London. It’s a play about the beginning of the UN climate regime from c1990 to 1997 when the Kyoto protocol was agreed. Most of the drama and comedy is about the construction of inertia. It’s excellent, Intense, funny, gripping.

Lots of people are asking if Trump meant what he said, but very few are asking what it would mean for Trump to mean something, which is a much more difficult question.

Thanks Daniel, I hope you find some soul food in there!

I’m thinking of my brother who would have turned fifty today. For those who knew Mark, and his “King of the Castle” tendencies that I mention in this tribute, there is something fitting about the fact that he shares a birthday with incoming US presidents. 🙃 🥹 open.substack.com/pub/jonathan...

“Arsonist” seems quite an appropriate term for Elon Musk.

A niche grumble. Is the increasingly widespread EE wifi provision in the UK having the perverse effect of leading people to use more data? The WiFi interferes and doesn’t always work, so you turn off wifi but then you forget to turn it on at home/office and use more data than your otherwise would.

I’ve been listening to Rory Stewart’s political memoir and just finished this morning. I had high expectations. It’s generally very good. He has chosen the “show don’t tell” strategy, but I was hoping for deeper analysis of sclerosis and delusion and grew weary of the accents and the biscuits.

I just noticed that my talk on "Two Kinds of Spiritual Bypassing" for The Scientific and Medical Network is online. It is dangerous to seek spiritual solutions to psychological and political problems, but it is no less dangerous to ignore spiritual matters entirely. www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fcm7...

Noticing loose talk about Canada and/or Greenland becoming part of the USA. Is this: A) A joke B) A threat C) A distraction D) Something else (pls explain)

On the way home to London. Enjoying the snow capped vistas of Goatfell in Arran, as seen on the train from Troon to Glasgow. Snow is always a kind of magic.

Bye for noo, Aberdeen. And thanks for the snow. Off to see my mum in Troon.

Glad to be back in my home town of Aberdeen. I lived here from roughly 0-10 and 12-19. My dad and extended family still live here. I usually visit every year but had forgotten how beautiful it can be. Today I walked roughly three miles from King street to Union Grove via Union Street.

At this time of year, when we all wish each other happiness, it seems timely to share my New York Times opinion piece from five years ago called: *We don’t actually want to be happy* 🙃 www.nytimes.com/2019/11/04/o...

I just passed through Edinburgh on the way from London to Aberdeen to be with my dad for the bells. 🔔 🥃 I had half an hour between trains so peeped up to street level to capture Scotland’s capital in all her seasonal splendour. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 ❤️ Happy New Year 🥳

I am not close to the history/details of Jimmy Carter’s Presidency, so could well be wrong, but I have the impression he might be a case study of a politician many say they want (honest about complexity) but fewer admire as a politician (did not offer easy answers and did not know how to use power).

Overheard in Putney: “Come and sit down. It’s not the time for tasty treats.”

The day after Christmas is such a relief that I’m celebrating with what is left in the fridge. It would be a shame to let it go to waste. Here’s to making the most of the next 300+ days or so before it all kicks off again 🥂 #boxingday

Happy Christmas.

“One-off my many fantasies is to write a book about sauna conversations…” open.substack.com/pub/jonathan...

I’m having a general chat at the Pari centre (online, free) in 40 minutes at 6pm CET if anyone has nothing better to do(!) paricenter.com/event/the-fu...

This is the kind of post I think substack is for. I can’t imagine anyone publishing it! The essay moves between so many different things and yet they all seem connected to me - saunas, synchronicities, chess, losing heart, cultural renewal, and Christmas. open.substack.com/pub/jonathan... 🙏 🎄

“In the Christmas story, I see the coinciding of eternity and time, the coinciding of heaven and earth, the coinciding of spirit and flesh, and the coinciding of God and humanity. What a coincidence!” My last post of 2024 is about synchronicity. open.substack.com/pub/jonathan...

I'm bemused by the breathless theorising over the killing of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson, apparently by Luigi Mangione. At one level I get it. Structural violence is real, many are complicit, change is hard, and democracy is broken. But let's not forget that murder is wrong.