The Nerve hits the airwaves (with only a bit of swearing) 🔊 Huge thanks to press maestros @arusbridger.bsky.social and @janinegibson.ft.com for hosting our co-founders Carole and Sarah on Media Confidential … listen below

FT editorial is right to ask questions about governance and the Board at the BBC on.ft.com/3WQmPJr

Nick Robinson closed the Today programme emphasising that the BBC Board is *still* fighting over the wording of a statement over the Panorama programme.

Good to hear Mark Damazer, the brightest man who worked for the BBC in the last three decades stand up and fluently fairly and rationally defend its journalists. Bit of a shame he left 15 years ago.

it is very strange that BBC chair Samir Shah is hiding this morning. He should by rights be on the Today programme presenting himself as in charge and hands on the tiller. I wonder if he is frightened for his position

Rage against group think, writes Matthew Syed in the Sunday Times, by reading out a paragraph of what *I* think at the beginning of every BBC editorial meeting.

Good morning and welcome to this giftlink thread of Weekend FT highlights. Get 'em while they're hot, try not to complain when they're gone! First up Yuval Noah Harari writes the Weekend Essay on the generosity and compromises needed for peace on.ft.com/4ovGWcb

Our modern world is confusing and ever-shifting and yet this i know to be true. The words "reform the choir" will raise merry hell. www.thetimes.com/uk/religion/...

compelling from @arusbridger.bsky.social

Wishing only continued excellent health to inspirational 94 year old artist Bridget Riley on.ft.com/43ZrQTM

Top 3 confusing things about Sky looking at buying Itv: 1. Doesn't involve Rupert Murdoch. I know. You think it must but it doesn't. 2. Like five minutes ago this would've occupied hundreds of regulators. Won't someone think of the regulators 3. WHY tho on.ft.com/49EDaby

Nick said fuck!

This is better for Joe’s future earnings though. Lovable loser is a great brand for light entertainment

Claudia introducing the ceremonial pouches there. It’s good to imagine David Dimbleby commentating

BBC News is live at a watch party for celebrity traitors. Which starts in an hour

Doing holiday cover for my former boss Lionel Barber in a bid to break into the podcasting world. Think I only tell my other former boss that he is quite quite wrong once in this episode

Always amusing to see an interviewee who we have been forced to politely decline due to unjournalistic restrictions pop up in another serious paper which has evidently (and silently) complied

Good morning to David Olusoga on Radio 4 valiantly promoting his new history book before Justin pivots to Traitors. Currently on his third answer, it's coming any second

"everyone knows the project won’t work; it is now just a matter of letting MBS down gently" Deep dive on Neom focuses on The Line - a building planned at a scale that would run from London to the Norfolk coast but in the desert. Absolutely wild, absolutely doomed ig.ft.com/saudi-neom-l...

Good morning to the democratic socialist republic of Manhattan

Did you know there's a hellhole genre called "inspired by John Lewis Christmas ads AI-generated" where, presumably, people make their own saccharine nightmare fanfic ads but a) they're shit and b) they go on for 5 minutes

The peerless @henrymance.ft.com

Where did Tommy used to work? Of what did Gina dream? Why does she bring home her pay? as.ft.com/r/8a89f714-b...

i renewed my passport so i need a new esta and i forgot about the sodding shutdown this is a disaster

Terrible news: an infestation of brown marmorated stinkbugs is threatening the Turkish hazelnut supply. Protect your Nutella and remove the Ferrero Rocher from the trick or treat pile. as.ft.com/r/a1407bbc-5...

Happy Halloween, your Ring doorbell is a conduit to the spirit world

This is the most fun thing you can read today: @jayrayner1.bsky.social on the memoirs of three very different restaurateurs. Gift link free for 300 clicks on.ft.com/4qx0yhn

Re Lily Allen, a friend just sent me this by @heawood.bsky.social and it is fantastic writing heawood.substack.com/p/love-and-g...

every woman i have spoken to for four days is obsessed with lily allen's album. No one can quite believe how obsessed with lily allen's album they are. PSA that the jukebox musical of lily allen's album is going to be a thing you will end up going to

"I have writen a poem about a 50 year old Pink Floyd album" must be a hell of a conversation with the publisher, grudging respect to Simon Armitage

FYI Radio 4 is doing Lily Allen's album. Nick Robinson said "sex toys" at 7.40am.

Just informed my eldest that the clocks had changed last night. Not a clue

good morning let's occupy this weekend of an extra hour (or the opposite, it's always a surprise) with some giftlinks to highlights from FT Weekend. Please I beg you do not complain about the links, sometimes they run out, such is life. Have a lovely Saturday.

There's a lot going on in this one. Schnitzel with the FT.

There was actually a three hour gap between the end of the last episodes and this one while the producers knocked up the Chests of Chance #celebritytraitors

“Can I start?” says Jonathan. “By all means” replies Stephen, thereby effortlessly dispelling the Big Dog Hierarchy question #celebritytraitors

Could be worse. Could be running the Louvre investigation.

🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨 on.ft.com/4qjvbqi

People are struggling with "peppercorn rent" on the radio this morning. It's easy you just have to practice the following: peter piper picked a peck of pickled pepper predator prince paid it to palace in perpetuity

> GO UP LADDER I do not understand 'go up' > USE LADDER Use ladder with what? > CLIMB LADDER You climb the ladder > LOOK You are in a museum gallery. It is dark, but a display case glints in the dim light. > EXAMINE DISPLAY CASE It's full of jewels! > PICK UP JEWELS You take the jewels.

This yarn starts with tax dodging office blocks and becomes a wild rural crime multi-hyphenate boasting about his international mafia-linked career from Ribchester and yet my main takeaway is that snails are lowlifes www.londoncentric.media/p/terry-ball...

I'm publishing the weirdest story I've ever written tomorrow, for London Centric members only. So here's an one-off offer. Sign up for a year before midnight today and I'll give you 33% off. If the story doesn't live up to expectations, I'll refund you tomorrow. www.londoncentric.media/a21e85e7

Honestly you must subscribe to @thefence.bsky.social either in print via www.the-fence.com/shop or to their newsletter. It is so very good. I gave the last issue to my generationally-unimpressed 23-year-old and two days later she told me it was “very cool” so

I feel like Clare would’ve been safe if there was a castle dog

We keep being told "there are no silver bullets". Nonsense. There are plenty of silver bullets. If they're not working as well as you hoped, perhaps you're not shooting at a werewolf. on.ft.com/42JHpyB

Heard Helen on the radio this morning talking about this and was immediately envious of the piece, the commission and the assignment. It doesn't disappoint.

In personal news I have used Chat GPT so little the FT is taking my licence away. I would quite like a badge

in other news Chat GPT is now a media company and will shortly be bidding for the premier league

See if you make an announcement such as “There is fixed, structural damage in the ticket hall at Mornington Crescent” I am going to spend the next 35 minutes trying to decode it

Oh! Mishal Husain is on the Today programme. These we have lost