Picked up Henry Shue’s Basic Rights. First paragraph is a reminder that beautiful writing and superb academic work are perfectly compatible.

Beautiful new social housing in Brisbane by Vokes and Peters, and Rothelowmann Can we have more of this please?

The incomparable Helena Rosenblatt on Ezra Klein, talking about the deep moral core of liberalism. So good. I was also very touched that she chose my book as one of her three recommendations. The Book That Changed How I Think About Liberalism www.nytimes.com/2026/05/05/o...

Helena Rosenblatt’s @HelenaRosenblat star turn! podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...

Very surprised and greatly honoured to be featured as one of the topics of the talks at the UCL Philosophy Department Retrospective on June 9th. www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/ucl-philos...

What would an anti-oligarchic economy of freedom look like? The Fairness Foundation and UCL Policy Lab hosted a great discussion of my recent book, 'The Wealth of Freedom', on this topic. Here is their report on the discussion: www.faircomment.co.uk/p/why-wealth...

I spent two months in Hungary, based at a right-wing think tank, interviewing regime insiders and critics to understand a question liberals too often dodge: what if regimes like Orbán’s are driven by a moral project? My new piece, for @noemamag.com: www.noemamag.com/the-return-o...

"Some of us may no longer be Habermassians, but we learned from, with and against him what it means to keep faith with critique."

📣 PhD opportunity at University of Sydney/University of Glasgow! Come work with me, Sophie Chao, @sotiriagrek.bsky.social & @dremilinesmith.bsky.social on "Epistemic Infrastructures of Planetary Health Governance in Southeast Asia" #STS #hitmed #Planetary #PhDopportunity

To close out our popular series on the great American novelist Toni Morrison, we sit down with Namwali Serpell, a @harvard.edu literature Professor and author of the highly acclaimed book of essays "On Morrison." 🎧 Out now, wherever you listen to podcasts. @penguinbooksusa.bsky.social #BookSky

Brilliant! I’d suspected that stylistic analysis would show up something interesting as On Liberty is written so differently to Utilitarianism. I’m sure many people have thought the same. But I didn’t have the skills to attempt it myself. Delighted it has been done.

Such a towering figure. And what a loss. One of the most impressive intellectual figures of our time and still working on multi-volume projects right up to the end.

@juliettemarchant.bsky.social chats with Bernard Yack about the sharp, skeptical, and endlessly relevant Judith Shklar. From the “liberalism of fear” to her reflections on injustice, Shklar shows how political theory can be both profound and deeply humane. open.spotify.com/episode/20hn...

My lecture Social Equality: Then and Now for @triphilosophy.bsky.social is now available online. youtu.be/9xL1gyM4f3Q

NEW BOOK! I'm very happy to say that my new book, Utopia, co-written with Douglas Mao, has been published on-line academic.oup.com/book/62279

Just watched the world premiere of Once Upon a Time in Harlem. In 1972 William Greaves filmed Harlem Renaissance luminaries bearing witness, sparring, reciting poetry, jubilating. The film was finally complete 50 years later. It's a masterpiece and a gift. www.onceuponatimeinharlemfilm.com #sundance

New episode of Her Place in Theory just dropped!! I had the pleasure of chatting with @duncanivison.bsky.social about the formidable philosopher and public intellectual, Martha Nussbaum. Listen, subscribe and give the series a rating on Spotify/Apple! open.spotify.com/episode/7zjS...

Our hearts are heavy with the awful attacks on Sydney’s Jewish community in Bondi. Literature bears witness to many centuries of Jewish persecution — a reminder never to forget. With that in mind, we want to share Emma Lazarus’ beautiful 1871 poem In the Jewish Synagogue at Newport.

NEW EPISODE OUT NOW! David talks to novelist Ian McEwan, who was our first ever guest on PPF, about how the future will view our present once the disasters we are brewing come to pass. A wide-ranging conversation about how past, present and future co-exist in time. Find us at...🎧 ppfideas.com

In the latest forum of @bostonreview.bsky.social I wrote about migration, social class and the causes of displacement around the world. You can read the essay, the responses and the response to the responses online here & also subscribe to Boston Review!

When I was reflecting on my career for my retirement conference I realised it was built on three things I was advised no respectable philosophy academic should do 1 Write texts for students 2 Write collaborative public policy reports 3 Co-author philosophical research My advice. Do your thing.

A tree absorbing a headstone into itself at the Old Jewish Cemetery in Frankfurt. Very evocative image of transcendence (in Hegel’s sense of preservation but superseedence) of memory by new life.

I talked to @newyorker.com about four books that inspired my writing about dignity. www.newyorker.com/books/book-c...

Have they finally worked out how to shame the shameless?

Some US events open to the public next week!

Sad to hear of Jonathan Lear's passing. A wonderful philosopher, his work inspired me greatly. Early on in the COVID pandemic, I wrote a piece for @publicseminar.bsky.social drawing on Radical Hope to contemplate how we ought to live when a way of life collapses: publicseminar.org/2020/05/radi...

Wow us.macmillan.com/books/978037...

NEW EPISODE OUT NOW! Today’s episode is the first in a 3-part conversation with philosopher & writer @leaypi.bsky.social about the idea of dignity and its role in the history of ideas and in the story of our lives. What is the difference between dignity and dignitas? Find us at...🎧 ppfideas.com

It was such a pleasure to discuss with the brilliant @shafakelif literature and politics, minorities in the Ottoman Empire, how the past conditions us, the role of writers in society, and much more... The joint interview is out in today's @theguardian.com link👇 www.theguardian.com/books/2025/a...

The Baha’i faith has deep, humanistic teachings we can all benefit from, Arthur C. Brooks writes. He shares five lessons from the religion for a happier life:

The content of my thoughts is now an object in the world!!! Thank you, thank you to everyone who supported the research or supported the writing or supported me & the research & the writing - I am so grateful and happy and can’t wait to celebrate with you all when it’s released on 4th September 😍😍🐥!

Yesterday we celebrated @jowolff.bsky.social remarkable career. Hard to put into words, so here’s a glimpse of the standing ovation that closed the day. Love, admiration, philosophy at its best. Days like this remind me why we do what we do.

It was a very special day, on which we celebrated the career of @jowolff.bsky.social. Lots of interesting presentations and discussions, moving memories, and speeches filled with affection and admiration.

First session on engaged philosophy! @ingridrobeyns.bsky.social @vafaghazavi.bsky.social

Spotted in Oxford today! Disappointed I won’t be able to go to this event but am very excited about Lea Ypi’s new book 💫 @leaypi.bsky.social perhaps we can organise a Sydney launch down the track?!

I wrote something about my friend Melissa Hortman, civility without illusions, and the meaning of public service for The Sydney Morning Herald. www.smh.com.au/world/north-...

@drodrik.bsky.social’s new book can’t come out soon enough. press.princeton.edu/books/hardco...

I wrote something about my friend Melissa Hortman, civility without illusions, and the meaning of public service for The Sydney Morning Herald. www.smh.com.au/world/north-...

I reviewed Quentin Skinner’s new one www.thenation.com/article/arch...

Thank you to @theobserveruk.bsky.social for featuring #TheWorkWeNeed this weekend

What would an anti-oligarchic, republican economy look like? UBI? Wealth tax? Workplace democracy? Strong trade unions? Investment democracy? I explore a radical republican economics in my new book, 'The Wealth of Freedom', which is now out online. academic.oup.com/book/60075

Enjoyed discussing the idea and potential of ‘progressive patriotism’ with Waleed Aly and Scott Stephens on this episode of The Minefield. www.abc.net.au/listen/progr...

The world has lost one of its great thinkers. Thankfully, his powerful ideas and writings remain with us. www.theguardian.com/books/2025/m...

RIP Alasdair Macintyre

The APA is saddened to note the passing of Professor Alasdair Chalmers MacIntyre (1929–2025). MacIntyre was 1984–1985 Eastern Division president. He was Rev. John A. O'Brien Senior Research Professor Emeritus at Notre Dame. www.apaonline.org/news/701948/... Photo: Sean O'Connor (CC-BY)

If you’re interested in inequality and the future of democracy, @drodrik.bsky.social on @ppfideas.bsky.social with David Runciman is essential listening.

Wow! Social housing in the Balearic Islands, Spain. Built using local stone, bricks and timber

Very sad to hear of the passing of my former teacher, Joseph Nye. Joe was one of the giants of foreign policy and IR, and public policy education more broadly. More than that though he was incredibly gracious and kind. www.thecrimson.com/article/2025...

Delighted to be speaking alongside @ingridrobeyns.bsky.social at this event in honour of the great @jowolff.bsky.social — former supervisor, mentor, inspiration, friend.

My piece in the NYTimes on tariffs' effects on poor nations. You can read it for free without a subscription. www.nytimes.com/2025/04/06/o...