Ratcliffe is, quite obviously, factually, morally & intellectually wrong about immigration. But his racist comments will be 'both-sided' everywhere because people who simply don't like seeing non-white faces aren't ashamed to say so anymore.

Went on the Beyond The Grade podcast to talk about mental health and wellbeing in education and how to help young people navigate the online world. open.spotify.com/episode/3CsD...

"Switzerland’s military has terminated its contract with Palantir… following a security audit… concluded that U.S. intelligence agencies could potentially access sensitive Swiss defense data… significant reputational warning for the data analytics firm" www.newscase.com/palantirs-sw... #R4Today

Young guy on train playing music without headphones obnoxiously loudly. Older guy taps him on the shoulder and says ‘excuse me could you turn that down a bit, thank you’ and he says ‘I am gonna turn it down but because I want to, yeah, not because you told me’. 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

I can’t believe how easily working class readership of right wing papers can be persuaded to hate the idea that they and their own children should have the same access to higher education as wealthy people and their kids have. *claps hands* WAKE UP, PEOPLE, THIS IS CLASS WARFARE.

And thus Reform’s claims that they are wildly popular amongst young men are proved conclusively to be utter, utter bollocks (as, not meaning to be smug, I have told you for quite some time).

The government have said that protecting Jewish people from racial hatred is a priority. So I am sure the explicitly Nazi group who marched in the midlands this weekend will be prescribed as a terrorist organisation. Even though they’ve never criticised Israel.

Great podcast with Zack Polanski and Natasha Devon talking about education, and the need for critical skills and media literacy. podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast...

No apology from Trump over his re-posting on social media of racist imagery of the Obamas. My chat with @natashadevon.bsky.social on the UK's @lbc.co.uk. 🎧: audioboom.com/posts/885851... #Trump #Racism #Obamas #Republicans #news #LBC #simonmarks #uspolitics #midterms #Elections2026 #usnews

Join me from 6pm on LBC (Sat 7th February) - Does the outrage around Mandelson show that shame is back in U.K. politics ? (Plus we will discuss THAT ST mag front page); - How should world leaders respond to Trump’s social media racism? - Is it hard to find belonging in our polarised society?

Just listening to Emily Maitlis’ story on @newsagents.bsky.social about how Mandleson belittled and mocked her after she asked him about potential connections with Russia in an interview. Dissing Maitlis shows a baked-in lack of respect for women IMO - open.spotify.com/episode/0Tqo...

The moral panic about young men is the new version of “UKIP is winning over former Labour voters” (also a Goodwin argument). Both rely on anecdote more than data, and do significant damage to public understanding of the radical right. Young men are the second *least* pro-Reform group in the UK.

Nothing to see here. Just the Times Magazine trying to rehabilitate Mandleson’s image. Totally normal and understandable. I mean, who of us has not shared highly sensitive government information with the world’s most prolific pedophile?

Every time the White House backtracks or deletes something because of pushback, it just proves to me that those losers are still terrified of backlash. This is a good thing. We can use that.

Just something to think about the next time you use Chap GPT.

The United Nations have warned that in less than 2 years we are heading to a fresh water crisis which will likely result in water rationing. AI use is accelerating this. The makers of AI won’t stop cos they’ll be last to be hit by the water crisis. They’ll watch as we fight for vital resources.

The mighty @carolecadwalla.bsky.social on the decision to fire several journalists from the Washington Post and how this fits with the US’s broader slide into dictatorship - broligarchy.substack.com/p/fight?utm_...

RW commentators telling us about the horrors of not taking responsibbility but refusing to use the name Trump. Even Nige demanding accountability... Its all about protecting women and girls or something...

French response’s reply to Musk calling their investigation into his platform’s creation of child abuse images ‘political’ is the best thing I’ve seen all day.

This is really cringey listening BUT the prime minister actually allowing journalists from lots of different media outlets into the room and trying to answer their very hostile questions does at least show we’re not yet the United States.

The so-called ‘Unite the Kingdom’ rally meanwhile not mentioned.

On what basis is Keir Starmer claiming that you ‘often’ see antisemitic banners at the marches for Palestine, right now? My understanding is that there were a few, but journalists had to work quite hard to find them….

Peter Thiel, once Elon Musk's business partner, whose company, Palantir, is absolutely knee deep in our NHS and Military, chatting about tearing the world apart for the benefit of billionaires with Jeffrey Epstein days after the Brexit vote... “Brexit, Just the beginning"

The world seems quite divided at the moment between those of us who are panicking and those who seem determined not to. The latter may be suffering from normalcy bias. I wrote a Substack about it and the damage it does - tashthinks.substack.com/p/look-up?pu...

Oh and obviously it’s also a lie that what’s been released so far contain ‘nothing’ about him. In fact I read somewhere that what we have so far contains Trump’s name more time than Harry Potter’s name is mentioned across all 7 books.

‘I really think it’s time for the country to move on to something else, now that nothing came out about me’. Trump on the Epstein files, only half of which (heavily redacted) have been released (despite a legal deadline for them to be released in full having passed).

Maybe they weren’t convinced that reducing the cost of a pint by 5p wasn’t worth plunging millions of children into poverty…. ?

Them - the Epstein revelations could take down hundreds of people from BOTH sides of the political divide! It would be CHAOS. Me - fine. Let’s go.

Just seen a clip of the Reform Candidate for Gorton and Denton arguing that ‘science has already shown’ that there are ‘inherent differences between groups’. Which…. Sounds a bit eugenicsy.

The death of Twitter, beautifully articulated by the legendary Stewart Lee. Catch this full episode of The Trawl anywhere you get your pods ✌🏾

A clip of me talking about how most SA in the UK is committed by white British men was posted to Facebook and a friend send me a screenshot of the comments underneath…. I don’t think it’s just X we should be worried about, folks. That’s either bots or some very, very racist, radicalised people.

Given their most famous alumni, I propose that we should change the name of ‘The Apprentice’ to simply ‘C*NTS’.

Oh.

‘You can’t call me a fascist just because….’ is starting to wear really thin.

Just catching up with @mrjamesob.bsky.social’s show from earlier. If you haven’t heard the last caller of the first hour - Laurie - I can’t recommend it more. She’s so insightful on Epstein and the intersection between misogyny and power. So worth ten minutes of your time.

So…. Just to recap… the people who believed (based on nothing substantive whatsoever) that a secret elite cabal of powerful paedophiles operating out of a pizza basement are now ignoring thousands of pages of documented information which appears to point to an elite cabal of powerful paedophiles.

😂

So everyone on Team MAGA has ended up on Team Genocide & Team Paedophile. Hard to fit all that on a baseball cap…

This was the cartoon I was describing on air tonight….

If you didn’t hear it go back and listen. I’ve worked out why people do this. They think if they don’t carry a gun, or drive a car, or defend women being beaten up by law enforcement, or be a leftie or a lesbian, they’ll be safe. And it’s in that defence mechanism they end up justifying fascism.

Join me from 6pm on LBC (Sat 31st January) - Is Starmer forming a closer trading partnership with Beijing pragmatism or foolishness? - Do you use smart technology to track your child’s location? Is that healthy? - Do American celebrities have a moral duty to speak out about ICE?

I always found those who said they were pleased by Trump’s position on trans rights a bit conflicted when they also said their anti trans position was about defending women

Another one to add to the ‘facts are now left wing’ database.

I’m on air 6-9pm again tonight so if you were one of the people who text in to LBC to say I was being ‘antisemitic’ or ‘pro-H*mas’ when I read out the Palestinian health ministry’s estimates of the numbers killed by the IDF, I will accept your texted apologies during those times.

News just in from telegraph - we apparently now measure climate disaster purely in the rather nebulous concept of how much polar bears are ‘thriving’….

What precisely is happening here, Times?!!

I’ve spent past 3 days redeveloping my body image sessions for boys and young men. Basically, the notion that being extremely muscular is what ‘health’ looks like is now so embedded that me trying to promote balance feels like someone who believes in God trying to convert an audience of atheists…

When Jenrick left, Badenoch had an opportunity to put clear blue water between tories & reform - to create a home for the fiscally conservative centre right that wasn’t defined by culture wars. Instead, she’s done the opposite and confirmed they will continue to be I Can’t Believe It’s Not Reform.

I cannot fully explain what it's been like having to watch all of Trump's press conferences for work, in full, for the last year, but I just shouted, actually shouted: "WHEN WILL YOU TAAAAAKE HIM, DEATH? OR JUST TAKE MEEEE! I DON'T EVEN CARE WHICH ANYMOOOORE."