alexfeakes.bsky.social

A great post by @lastpositivist.bsky.social about the "ostrich tendency" on the left (very prevalent here!) of those who are unwilling "to acknowledge the possibility of the average person in an advanced western economy simply not being markedly poor." sootyempiric.blogspot.com/2026/10/the-...

A lot of excitement on here about the article in Science summarising the discoveries of @alistairsponsel.bsky.social and Brian Sutton, just published in the Journal of the History of Biology. Some people have asked, so here is what I think they show, and what are the implications:

The Women’s Institute casts a long shadow.

I’m back on Start the Week on BBC Radio 4 at 9: Carlo Rovelli on philosophy and physics, Lavinia Greenlaw on difficulty in poetry, and James Graham’s new play about John Maynard Keynes. Stick that heady mix in yer podcast pipe. How lucky we are to have the BBC.

enserm.substack.com/p/are-americ...

Powerful and important letter about artificial so-called intelligence from Sheila Hayman from Minderoo Centre for Technology and Democracy, University of Cambridge, in the FT today

Every single journalist in Britain should read this searing essay by Will Self

A brief guide to eclipses, aliens and trying to keep quiet — with Iain Banks, Liu Cixin, the Fermi paradox, and a partial eclipse from Corsica. proftomcrick.com/2026/08/13/a...

Insights from A-levels: Maths has 115k entries & Eng Lit just 36k. 20 yrs ago they both had about 50k A generation of kids will be far more familiar with quadratics & conditional probability than Mr Rochester & Ophelia. Bayes is destroying Defoe... substack.nomoremarking.com/p/the-fall-o...

Unsurprisingly, small schools find implementing national policies a greater challenge than most. This study explores how small schools implemented the early career framework in the face of challenges of recruiting mentors, travel etc. See here: bera-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

I think while some might have overstated the relative role of schools v wider economy- the debate on here massively undersells the huge role schools play. Attainment, engagement, SEN, mental health- all factors for becoming NEET & something schools can help with. It all feels a bit reactionary.

I'm slow to this, but here is a beautiful piece on the dynamics of the AI buildout and how they could flip into reverse. Wish I had written it tbh www.groundbrkr.com/p/the-second...

Jane Gingrich and I have written an essay for @ippr.org on a fundamental problem, that an age that demands more of the state also suffers from multiple state legitimation crises www.ippr.org/articles/the...

Stamp duty and council tax are terrible taxes. Land value tax could replace both - and Andy Burnham has backed it for 16 years. Who wins? Who loses? What happens to house prices? LVT could drive growth. But it isn’t easy. Our model shows its promise - and its problems.

There’ll be a documentary on these hydration breaks in a few years with whistleblowers breaking the silence, what an absolute FARCE #ENGGHA

"Why adopting Reform-lite rhetoric or intensifying enforcement measures rarely resolves the political problem for centre-left parties: the goalposts constantly move because the politics is not designed to produce resolution. It is designed to sustain a permanent sense of crisis and cultural threat."

Over the past month, Britain’s Liberal Democrats quietly picked 28 candidates for the U.K.'s next general election. It marks the earliest in a cycle that the country’s third-largest party has ever picked contenders. We take you inside their strategy.

This is no more about the details of immigration policy than the progroms my great great grandparents fled were about Jews committing crimes. It's straightforward racist violence and it needs the strongest possible response.

Listening to Radio 4 this morning horrified by way they are normalising far right talking points in Belfast. Such a relief to hear @naomilong.bsky.social speaking to the truth that this is unjustifiable racist violence. I wish England had such smart, clear, courageous leaders at the moment.

I am genuinely surprised by this. Of course you don’t just check all references, you actually read them. And yes that includes ones written in languages other than your own.

#eurovision #OST armour animal masks? Great beat and interesting staging, but… lyrics are a bit dull. Random guitarist? Hmm.

#eurovision #ROM outtakes from Dune? I see they put the guitar bands on at the end… but not all of them are equal. Has some interesting staging and musical elements. Also, not sure about the main lyric…

#eurovision #NOR gets points for actual guitars. Black harlequin waders? Like a cross between The White Stripes and The Years.

#eurovision #ITA 57?! Really? Looks a bit like a Spandau Ballet tribute band. Oh! Acrobatic dancers flick-flacking across the stage, check! Dress comes off to reveal national flag, check!

#eurovision #CYP bit of a Euro-banger this. Simple but effective staging. Not convinced dancing is her strong suit. But… they have definitely read the assignment.

#eurovision #SWE Who is the Masked Singer? I like the techno beat, Sweden seem to have stepped it for this year. Ooh, can I choose which body part? This could be a club track, it’s growing on me. I like the animated break through bit. And a switch of masks.

#eurovision #LIT one day he’ll be a real boy. That is a lot of shoulder… which he’s left behind. Cheeky subtitling there. Nice. He’s haunted by electric dreams. This has improved as it’s gone on, and as I’ve got nearer the bottom of my glass.

#eurovision #POL that breastplate looks painful to wear. Great voice, I can see what Graham Norton means about her gospel sound. I like the dancers efforts. Good song and done well, not very Eurovisiony, but still works. I like it.

#eurovision #FIN he’s just remembered he left the gas on. Which is dangerously with that amount of product in his hair. I think we see more of the violinist, as the singer is a bit boring. Ah there we go. I think they’re taking it a bit too seriously.

#eurovision #MOL Brought to you by the Campaign to Locate Moldova on a Map, any map. Who is the very tall lady in a red dress? Anyway, catchy and to the point. Fun.

Sneaking a giant screen into the flagshagger march is one of the funniest things @ledbydonkeys.org have ever done. "STAY HYDRATED" 😂🤣😂

#eurovision #FRA a lovely voice. Looks like she borrowed her outfit from an earlier contestant. Amazing voice, actually, and so confident. At least it’s not a ballad, and one of the more interesting songs France has entered for a while. Let down by boring staging.

#eurovision #UK This… is much better than I’d feared. Great staging and the song has flashes of Euroness, but not enough I suspect. Bonkers computer headed dancers - reminds me of the Saga graphic novels.

#eurovision #CRO they have seem to have brought cultists to the stage. Or possibly a Greek chorus. No a cult. It’s the second coming of Zarqion! He made it in time before the end of the universe. Phew. Love this staging - and the band are really enjoying themselves.

#eurovision #BUL This is the sort of euro-loony-banger I’m here for. A little bit of bangla, a little bit of mambo and a Chair dance! The slower sections are letting her down, but I like it, I like it.

#eurovision #CZE sorry, I’ve already fallen asleep. I have Czeched out.

#eurovision MAL Hello, I am your spirit guide this evening <raises eyebrow>. The song is ok, but does rather sound like an entertainer in a Mediterranean cantina.

#eurovision #SER monster shoulder pads, come on! Including swords! More Swords! He is Kurgan the Destroyer! This is totally on brand Balkan-metal. A proper band too.

#eurovision #AUS I see they brought their A game. Fake piano? Key change, check! Podium from the piano - genius! Great song and performance, best so far.

#eurovision #UKR ethereal entrance with floaty outfit, check! Setting looks like she is being filled up with chocolate. That is a long note, impressive. Great voice, but not that interesting.

#eurovision #GRE Gangnam Style rip-off! Clever staging… too clever, perhaps. More mothers, statues and Midas? This is nuts, it’s like they couldn’t agree on a theme. Kinda catchy tho’

#eurovision #ALB the Albanian national Psychodrama on stage! He looks like he’s about to hypnotise some boobs, or something. Like scenes from Superman 2. Has Albania ever seen Eurovision before? Too much melodrama.

#eurovision #BEL fake snow or dandruff? You decide! Musically more interesting than the first few, but the song itself is not good - it looks like she’s phong it in.