Jack Kessler
@jackkessler.bsky.social
I write the newsletter, Lines To Take, bringing you one big story of the day, every day.
Sign up for free: https://www.linestotake.com/
I like human rights and French cuisine.
Sign up for free: https://www.linestotake.com/
I like human rights and French cuisine.
Pinned
Jack Kessler
@jackkessler.bsky.social
· Mar 14
What it's like to go horribly, horribly viral
I incurred the wrath of a continent (and the Daily Mail)
www.linestotake.com
What it's like to go horribly, horribly viral.
That time I incurred the wrath of a continent (and the Daily Mail).
My new newsletter, Lines To Take, out now.
That time I incurred the wrath of a continent (and the Daily Mail).
My new newsletter, Lines To Take, out now.
Reposted by Jack Kessler
Ask a teenager what they did today and there's a good chance they'll reply — in a tone suggesting you may be the stupidest person ever to have lived — “stuff”.
That's also me, when asked about anything I've read.
My newsletter, out now.
That's also me, when asked about anything I've read.
My newsletter, out now.
Why remembering everything is overrated
I spent a year reading Stalin, LBJ and the history of oil — and recall almost none of it
www.linestotake.com
January 16, 2026 at 11:28 AM
Ask a teenager what they did today and there's a good chance they'll reply — in a tone suggesting you may be the stupidest person ever to have lived — “stuff”.
That's also me, when asked about anything I've read.
My newsletter, out now.
That's also me, when asked about anything I've read.
My newsletter, out now.
Ask a teenager what they did today and there's a good chance they'll reply — in a tone suggesting you may be the stupidest person ever to have lived — “stuff”.
That's also me, when asked about anything I've read.
My newsletter, out now.
That's also me, when asked about anything I've read.
My newsletter, out now.
Why remembering everything is overrated
I spent a year reading Stalin, LBJ and the history of oil — and recall almost none of it
www.linestotake.com
January 16, 2026 at 11:28 AM
Ask a teenager what they did today and there's a good chance they'll reply — in a tone suggesting you may be the stupidest person ever to have lived — “stuff”.
That's also me, when asked about anything I've read.
My newsletter, out now.
That's also me, when asked about anything I've read.
My newsletter, out now.
Reposted by Jack Kessler
Short, sweet and gloriously chaotic — the 1 Point Slam proves you can turn sport into content without selling your soul.
My newsletter, out now.
My newsletter, out now.
The 1 Point Slam
How to turn sport into content — without selling your soul
www.linestotake.com
January 15, 2026 at 7:52 AM
Short, sweet and gloriously chaotic — the 1 Point Slam proves you can turn sport into content without selling your soul.
My newsletter, out now.
My newsletter, out now.
Short, sweet and gloriously chaotic — the 1 Point Slam proves you can turn sport into content without selling your soul.
My newsletter, out now.
My newsletter, out now.
The 1 Point Slam
How to turn sport into content — without selling your soul
www.linestotake.com
January 15, 2026 at 7:52 AM
Short, sweet and gloriously chaotic — the 1 Point Slam proves you can turn sport into content without selling your soul.
My newsletter, out now.
My newsletter, out now.
This is a story about Carole King, the friendliest concert ever held, and how 2016 was the year everything started to fall apart.
The friendliest concert ever held
An evening with Carole King
www.linestotake.com
January 14, 2026 at 10:01 AM
This is a story about Carole King, the friendliest concert ever held, and how 2016 was the year everything started to fall apart.
Reposted by Jack Kessler
Wanted: a normie centre-right party.
The Tories' defence of Britain's fiscal watchdog offers a rare encouraging sign.
My newsletter, out now.
The Tories' defence of Britain's fiscal watchdog offers a rare encouraging sign.
My newsletter, out now.
Wanted: a normie centre-right party
The Tories' defence of Britain's fiscal watchdog offers a rare encouraging sign
www.linestotake.com
January 13, 2026 at 8:01 AM
Wanted: a normie centre-right party.
The Tories' defence of Britain's fiscal watchdog offers a rare encouraging sign.
My newsletter, out now.
The Tories' defence of Britain's fiscal watchdog offers a rare encouraging sign.
My newsletter, out now.
Cadence-wise, the “acTuAlly laBouR iS a CenTre-rigHt pArtY” replies must be satisfying, but they only reveal you slept through the last two budgets, in which taxes and spending rose by tens of billions of pounds.
Wanted: a normie centre-right party.
The Tories' defence of Britain's fiscal watchdog offers a rare encouraging sign.
My newsletter, out now.
The Tories' defence of Britain's fiscal watchdog offers a rare encouraging sign.
My newsletter, out now.
Wanted: a normie centre-right party
The Tories' defence of Britain's fiscal watchdog offers a rare encouraging sign
www.linestotake.com
January 13, 2026 at 11:50 AM
Cadence-wise, the “acTuAlly laBouR iS a CenTre-rigHt pArtY” replies must be satisfying, but they only reveal you slept through the last two budgets, in which taxes and spending rose by tens of billions of pounds.
Our dollar assets are going to be frozen, aren't they.
The world's central bankers are rallying around Jay Powell
January 13, 2026 at 10:21 AM
Our dollar assets are going to be frozen, aren't they.
Reposted by Jack Kessler
That's my POL108 lecture slide right there 😀
Yes, Labour was a more generous opponent than the Liberals, but the Tories have been able to rely on a set of durable strengths. Quick and dirty summary below:
January 13, 2026 at 8:09 AM
That's my POL108 lecture slide right there 😀
Wanted: a normie centre-right party.
The Tories' defence of Britain's fiscal watchdog offers a rare encouraging sign.
My newsletter, out now.
The Tories' defence of Britain's fiscal watchdog offers a rare encouraging sign.
My newsletter, out now.
Wanted: a normie centre-right party
The Tories' defence of Britain's fiscal watchdog offers a rare encouraging sign
www.linestotake.com
January 13, 2026 at 8:01 AM
Wanted: a normie centre-right party.
The Tories' defence of Britain's fiscal watchdog offers a rare encouraging sign.
My newsletter, out now.
The Tories' defence of Britain's fiscal watchdog offers a rare encouraging sign.
My newsletter, out now.
Reposted by Jack Kessler
Central bank independence keeps inflation in check. But authoritarians care more about amassing and maintaining monopoly power.
My newsletter, out now.
My newsletter, out now.
Conflict of interest rates
Trump's investigation into the Fed Chair is about power, not price stability
www.linestotake.com
January 12, 2026 at 8:05 AM
Central bank independence keeps inflation in check. But authoritarians care more about amassing and maintaining monopoly power.
My newsletter, out now.
My newsletter, out now.
Central bank independence keeps inflation in check. But authoritarians care more about amassing and maintaining monopoly power.
My newsletter, out now.
My newsletter, out now.
Conflict of interest rates
Trump's investigation into the Fed Chair is about power, not price stability
www.linestotake.com
January 12, 2026 at 8:05 AM
Central bank independence keeps inflation in check. But authoritarians care more about amassing and maintaining monopoly power.
My newsletter, out now.
My newsletter, out now.
I feel like if our political leaders responded to the fracturing of the Western alliance with the same intensity they did to that time Obama referred to BP as British Petroleum during the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, we'd be in better shape.
January 11, 2026 at 11:53 AM
I feel like if our political leaders responded to the fracturing of the Western alliance with the same intensity they did to that time Obama referred to BP as British Petroleum during the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, we'd be in better shape.
British Airways Avios guy here: not true. Machado simply needs to open up a Nobel Household Account, move into the White House and then she can transfer the prize to Trump.
The Norwegian Nobel Prize committee has been forced to make a statement, declaring that the prize cannot be transferred.
It's hard even to comprehend how stupid this has become
It's hard even to comprehend how stupid this has become
January 10, 2026 at 10:36 AM
British Airways Avios guy here: not true. Machado simply needs to open up a Nobel Household Account, move into the White House and then she can transfer the prize to Trump.
What is up with people (often on podcasts) who laugh at the end of every sentence, regardless of content? It’s the verbal equivalent of the work email’s “No worries if not!”
January 9, 2026 at 10:57 AM
What is up with people (often on podcasts) who laugh at the end of every sentence, regardless of content? It’s the verbal equivalent of the work email’s “No worries if not!”
Neither a value judgement nor one of those made up Fesshole accounts but until this morning I had no idea Burnley were in the Premier League.
January 9, 2026 at 7:48 AM
Neither a value judgement nor one of those made up Fesshole accounts but until this morning I had no idea Burnley were in the Premier League.
Guy who supported the Great Society and Vietnam War but went Nixon in ‘68 on the basis of how LBJ treated beagles.
December 31, 2025 at 10:12 AM
Guy who supported the Great Society and Vietnam War but went Nixon in ‘68 on the basis of how LBJ treated beagles.
I've ummed and ahhed about doing a thread because it feels a little LinkedIn-coded, but I'm proud of some of the things I've written this year and wanted a share a few of my favourites.
Like the time I went horribly viral for saying what I still maintain were *nice* things about Australia.
Like the time I went horribly viral for saying what I still maintain were *nice* things about Australia.
What it's like to go horribly, horribly viral
I incurred the wrath of a continent (and the Daily Mail)
www.linestotake.com
December 31, 2025 at 8:09 AM
I've ummed and ahhed about doing a thread because it feels a little LinkedIn-coded, but I'm proud of some of the things I've written this year and wanted a share a few of my favourites.
Like the time I went horribly viral for saying what I still maintain were *nice* things about Australia.
Like the time I went horribly viral for saying what I still maintain were *nice* things about Australia.
Classic of the genre, in many ways:
1. Someone does something antisemitic 2. Someone else uses the opportunity to attack an unrelated Jew they don't like.
1. Someone does something antisemitic 2. Someone else uses the opportunity to attack an unrelated Jew they don't like.
December 29, 2025 at 1:21 PM
Classic of the genre, in many ways:
1. Someone does something antisemitic 2. Someone else uses the opportunity to attack an unrelated Jew they don't like.
1. Someone does something antisemitic 2. Someone else uses the opportunity to attack an unrelated Jew they don't like.
Reposted by Jack Kessler
England‘s strategy is to bankrupt Cricket Australia by only playing two day matches. Come 2036 it will really start to reap benefits.
December 27, 2025 at 6:31 AM
England‘s strategy is to bankrupt Cricket Australia by only playing two day matches. Come 2036 it will really start to reap benefits.
What kind of conspiracy theorist sends an email to the FBI asking for digital authentication?
This purported "suicide" video of Jeffrey Epstein in his prison cell is in the latest batch of Epstein files. But it's a fake 3D render posted to YouTube in 2020.
It's in the files because a Florida conspiracy theorist sent an email to federal investigators in March 2021 asking if it was real.
It's in the files because a Florida conspiracy theorist sent an email to federal investigators in March 2021 asking if it was real.
December 24, 2025 at 12:46 PM
What kind of conspiracy theorist sends an email to the FBI asking for digital authentication?
Having to sit through Reels I don't like on subjects I'm usually interested in so as not to throw the algorithm off whack is exactly how I expected to spend my thirties.
December 24, 2025 at 9:02 AM
Having to sit through Reels I don't like on subjects I'm usually interested in so as not to throw the algorithm off whack is exactly how I expected to spend my thirties.
My latest special interest is sports YouTube video titles and in particular the use of all caps. I can just about live with "ONE-SIDED" but why "REFLECTS'?
"ONE-SIDED contest!" - Journalist Daniel Cherny REFLECTS on why this Ashes hasn't been competitive
YouTube video by talkSPORT Cricket
www.youtube.com
December 23, 2025 at 11:05 AM
My latest special interest is sports YouTube video titles and in particular the use of all caps. I can just about live with "ONE-SIDED" but why "REFLECTS'?
Collective responsibility is my passion.
December 22, 2025 at 12:18 PM
Collective responsibility is my passion.
Reposted by Jack Kessler
Today is my final day as the Standard's Courts Correspondent
After a decade, it's time for a new challenge
I'll continue to cover the courts & remain obsessed with open justice
The joy of this job has been working with very talented & hard-working people who I will miss a lot
After a decade, it's time for a new challenge
I'll continue to cover the courts & remain obsessed with open justice
The joy of this job has been working with very talented & hard-working people who I will miss a lot
December 22, 2025 at 12:02 PM
Today is my final day as the Standard's Courts Correspondent
After a decade, it's time for a new challenge
I'll continue to cover the courts & remain obsessed with open justice
The joy of this job has been working with very talented & hard-working people who I will miss a lot
After a decade, it's time for a new challenge
I'll continue to cover the courts & remain obsessed with open justice
The joy of this job has been working with very talented & hard-working people who I will miss a lot