The midterms: We’re all Bernie Bros now
And plenty of other things I encountered over the last week or so
Culture
Nicholas Gruen.
Weekend readings on political rhetoric, free speech, and public discourse.
Recent essays
30 of 71AI reaches its Napster Moment
And other things I found on my travels
Robert Skidelsky, RIP
Speech at Robert Skidelsky’s memorial by my friend Felix Martin
Can citizen assemblies fix our fiscal mess? Hint: yes and no
And lots of other things I read on my travels.
What if the madness can’t be fixed with better government?
And other things I found on my travels this week
Europe to win the AI war: Srsly!
And other weird tricks that could TURN YOUR LIFE AROUD!
Do women care less for truth?
And other things I found on my travels.
Suicide or something more suspicious?
The mysterious eclipse of the centre-left, and plenty of other things I found
Accountability from above and below
Accountability or accountability theatre
Political fundamentalism: what is it? And what is it good for?
(Hint: less than you think.) And plenty of other things along the way
Italian Film Festival
2026 ST ALi Italian Film Festival viewing guide
Hobbes on spin and bullshit
The more things change, the more spin and bullshit pile up!
He gave away billions but it made him sadder
And some less sad things I encountered this week
Put your hands in the air
And things that didn’t go viral this week
The Odyssey: the last word
And some other great things I found this week
Greek Film Festival 2026: a Melbourne viewing guide
In the same way I produced a guide to the Melbourne International Film Festival, here is a guide to the Greek Film Festival in Melbourne.
Paul Keating as Lennon to Bob Hawke’s McCartney
And other things that coursed through my mind this week …
The late Jason Arday: Gulliver among the Lilliputians?
And other highlights of my week
Academia: from inefficient effectiveness to efficient ineffectiveness
The great failure of university reform wasn’t intensifying competition, but gormlessly ignoring the prior question: what institutions and public goods govern what competitive success looks like?
Defending the West
And other highlights of my suburban week
Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF). Full guide
ChatGPT's sleuthing of independent reviews for your guidance
The public goods we couldn’t imagine
All ChatGPT knows and all ye need to know
Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF) guide
ChatGPT's sleuthing of independent reviews for your guidance
Monoculturalism anyone?
And many other things encountered along the way
Social fabric: The Price of What Survives
Some reflections on the social fabric (which we've taken to calling 'social capital')
On becoming less full of shit
And other fine things I discovered on the net recently
Synthetic (AI) generated towns
Starting with this article I got intrigued and infuriated in equal measure because the journalism didn’t explain what was going on.
Rearranging the deckchairs on HMS Unserious
And other things - not just the new British PM
Is Rogernomics the answer? Yes and no
Special additional Sunday edition for
The Boaty McBoatface factor: Irony to the rescue
How Count Binface changes everything … (Maybe)