Josh Spero

PM of Norway & President of Finland spoke with Putin. Then they called Zelenskyy, who shared: I am grateful for detailed briefing and for support of our diplomacy and peace efforts. Alex & Jonas made it clear to Russian leader that real de-escalatory steps are needed reg our energy & infrastructure

To equal the median cost of a table for two at French Laundry ($1,250), a couple at Cheesecake Factory would have to order: 2 Pretzel Bites, 2 Chicken Madeira, 2 Parmesan-Herb Crusted Chicken, 2 Thai Stir-Fried Noodles, 2 Steak & Eggs, 2 Monte Cristos, 12 cocktails, and 49 slices of cheesecake.

💥 The UK, Canada and Japan have collectively pledged just €1bn in budget support to Ukraine for 2027, according to an EU analysis seen by @paolatamma.bsky.social & I, down from €10bn this year as.ft.com/r/9336a961-2...

Millions of dollars have flowed into the advertising battle for California's 'Prop 40' wealth tax, with the vast majority from groups opposing the state’s controversial ballot measure. Read more in today’s White House Watch newsletter: ft.trib.al/EbvOhxc

People has named Sexiest Man Alive, so it’s time for vintage nerds to name their Sexiest Man Dead! In past contests, Toshiro Mifune and Paul Newman have taken top honors. Who are your picks?

"I tried to talk to Flavio this morning by phone. It rang and it rang, but he ​didn't pick up." www.reuters.com/world/americ...

“I don’t want any of us to be or feel un-housed in our bodies our towns our movements ever again. This book is my prayer; if you need to use it as shelter, it’s yours.” My memoir HOME OUT THERE is available for preorder now! bookshop.org/p/books/home...

Today's "yikes" scenario for Iran courtesy of @gideonrachman.bsky.social www.ft.com/content/7b3c...

Guy whose Harvard admissions essay was just the words "Robert F. Kennedy, Jr." shares views on comparative cultural accomplishments.

Also, for a £15 paperback, incredibly cheaply produced

Given up on Andrea Wulf’s Magnificent Rebels, about the “Jena set” (Goethe, Schiller, the Schlegels et al) — disappointingly middle-brow, vastly over-praised, much more about gossip than ideas

Inside Trump Jr’s Mongolian hunting trip with a Kremlin-linked oligarch ft.trib.al/8MFahSp

How long can lawyers keep squeezing their clients? ft.trib.al/w5e1D7Y | opinion

The trip highlights the remarkable relationship between a son of the US president and a tycoon with a criminal record who has close ties to Vladimir Putin’s personal security service. Intelligence experts say such connections are ripe for manipulation. ft.trib.al/uTQNxLq

Kind of funny, in an Ancient Greek Hell kind of way, that this guy handed Trump the presidency in 2016, and as a reward Trump is kicking him in the teeth forever. www.nbcnews.com/politics/jus...

You could get shares in Brazil’s biggest investment bank for a third off the previous day’s price today. A US-listed Brazilian investment manager for half off. A 20% discount on the region’s biggest fintech. Etc. www.ft.com/content/bffe...

Today is Intersex Awareness Day. 30 years after the first protests members of the UK intersex communities have come together to write this important open letter to the UK government: openletter.earth/open-letter-... Please do read, sign and share widely.

Preparedness by Roy Lichtenstein, 1968 https://botfrens.com/collections/212/contents/137927

Over 2,000 alumni from Vivek’s all-boys catholic high school in Cincinnati have signed and circulated a petition demanding that he pull the ad and issue a public apology for “ignoring the moral responsibilities” of his Jesuit education. I think he’s pretty cooked.

gotta say hats off to all the writers pretending to do profiles of Silicon Valley CEOs just so they can add that one same paragraph, every single time, that demonstrates they're all insane freaks who do not know or like their own kids.

I’m not a political journalist, so was gladly surprised at the community I found here last night. To Americans anxious about the upcoming elections, a key thing we learned in Brazil that might help you: DO NOT engage with the far-right online. Don’t share rage bait. Amplify your people. Ignore them.

Wonderful review of a new Hokusai show as.ft.com/r/2c1d7a3c-d...

Love @londoncentric.media's fresh overnight reportage from the pedestrianisation of Oxford Street -- full of London characters and dynamics, plus great pictures www.londoncentric.media/p/oxford-str...

Obrigado, povo brasileiro! 📸 Ricardo Stuckert

The last vehicles are now leaving Oxford Street and the first Deliveroo cyclist has ignored the road closed signs.

Was that before or after “mouth feel”?

I raise you “brand guardian”

I think things really went downhill when someone invented the phrase “flavour profile”

This is a marvelous example of whimsy and craftsmanship! A rare Greek askos, made in the shape of a lobster claw. Dating back to approximately 450 BC, the vessel was used to hold perfumed oil. 🦞 📷️ Antikensammlung Kassel #archaeology 🏺

I read Stoner recently, in part because I wanted to understand its viral appeal. Having now read it, I don’t understand its viral appeal, or at least the superlatives thrown at it across booktok.

Where 14 years of “betrayal” rhetoric set to 11 gets you: shouting at school bags

A possible Zeitenwende from Burnham to Ben Riley-Smith: open to freedom of movement, no to the euro or Schengen

More than 1mn antiquities returned, loot database shows "The countries with the best record in reclaiming items tend to have sustained government engagement, specialist law enforcement units for cultural property and active civil society groups." www.ft.com/content/82f2... by @joshspero.ft.com

Again, worth analysing Burnham as if he is really good at politics: moving red lines from things EU can't accept (free movement) to things it might (euro). Changing terms of debate on an issue from negative (uncontrolled immigration) to positive (Brits can go abroad for work).

literally this comic except he apparently lives in Czechia instead of Nebraska

The youngest to be shot was 11 years old. ELEVEN YEARS OLD. In 2026, in the United States of America, the leading cause of death for children is a bullet. The victims and families are in my prayers. But they are also in my actions. We must end gun violence.

Blimey, I wonder WHY? Mysterious. www.ft.com/content/2770...

Evergreen message from the Financial Times to its readers www.ft.com/content/88c8...