Ben Jackson
@jacksobc.bsky.social
Welsh. Former central banker. Mostly skeeting about my cooking and LFC. Mostly. He/him. Almost died once and I wrote about my accident and the role Zwift had in my rehabilitation:
https://zwiftinsider.com/the-fresh-puncheur-of-watopia/
https://zwiftinsider.com/the-fresh-puncheur-of-watopia/
This is why Rachel Reeves has an impossible task. You already pay national insurance on your pension contributions. For most people this won’t change anything. If you currently do a salary sacrifice—receiving a lower salary and saving both income tax and NI contributions—then you’ll be hit by this.
November 26, 2025 at 12:28 AM
This is why Rachel Reeves has an impossible task. You already pay national insurance on your pension contributions. For most people this won’t change anything. If you currently do a salary sacrifice—receiving a lower salary and saving both income tax and NI contributions—then you’ll be hit by this.
@jacobs-ladder71.bsky.social I’m with you. Well said.
November 22, 2025 at 9:51 PM
@jacobs-ladder71.bsky.social I’m with you. Well said.
It wouldn’t surprise me if stories like this are deliberately placed by the Liverpool media team. Either way, we have a season defined by grief. No-one at the club will want to make excuses, but Robertson’s honesty has laid it bare. I hope we all keep the faith this season. #LFC #YNWA
‘He keeps a clear head’: how Slot’s last slump offers blueprint for Liverpool revival
Coach’s assistant during tough time at Feyenoord sees parallels with issues his former boss needs to deal with at Anfield
www.theguardian.com
November 22, 2025 at 1:02 AM
Neuroscience question. I have aphantasia. I have also recently, at the age of 44, developed visual snow syndrome. Both my vision and—when my eyes are closed—the black abyss that is my mind are overlayed with a static crackle 24/7 (although worse first thing).
#neuroskyence #Neurosky 🧠
#neuroskyence #Neurosky 🧠
November 21, 2025 at 10:17 PM
Neuroscience question. I have aphantasia. I have also recently, at the age of 44, developed visual snow syndrome. Both my vision and—when my eyes are closed—the black abyss that is my mind are overlayed with a static crackle 24/7 (although worse first thing).
#neuroskyence #Neurosky 🧠
#neuroskyence #Neurosky 🧠
I LOVE #Pluribus. Carol, Please is another great episode. Between this and Severance, Apple TV makes me very happy. Also, delighted Jeff Hiller is in it. Somebody Somewhere is a delight if you’ve not seen it. But I digress, I have lots of thoughts about Pluribus. 📺 #series
November 21, 2025 at 7:41 PM
Reminiscent of when Conor Oberst sang “When the President Talks to God” on Letterman during the Bush administration.
Wow! Jesse Welles performed his song “Join ICE” on the Colbert Show last night. 🏆
November 20, 2025 at 10:12 PM
Reminiscent of when Conor Oberst sang “When the President Talks to God” on Letterman during the Bush administration.
The Thanksgiving episode (S02E05) of A Man on the Inside is terrific. @kentremendous.bsky.social and the team have pulled off one of this year’s best episodes of TV. The perfect mix of humour and sentiment. And it must be so much fun writing for Mantzoukas. The trampoline line is so fucking funny. 📺
Rewatched A Man on the Inside ahead of the new season, and throughly enjoyed it all over again. Both touching and funny. Mike Schur has such a lovely knack for creating heartwarming TV shows 📺
November 20, 2025 at 9:13 PM
The Thanksgiving episode (S02E05) of A Man on the Inside is terrific. @kentremendous.bsky.social and the team have pulled off one of this year’s best episodes of TV. The perfect mix of humour and sentiment. And it must be so much fun writing for Mantzoukas. The trampoline line is so fucking funny. 📺
This is why I’m not panicking about Reform, yet. Sure, they poll well, but will they be able to find 650 credible people to stand for them? And will they be able to shake off a track record of 4-5 years of underperformance on local councils? I doubt they’ll get anywhere near 40% on election day.
My post on why Kent and Reform's other councils have got into such a mess....
samf.substack.com/p/the-realit...
samf.substack.com/p/the-realit...
November 19, 2025 at 4:27 PM
This is why I’m not panicking about Reform, yet. Sure, they poll well, but will they be able to find 650 credible people to stand for them? And will they be able to shake off a track record of 4-5 years of underperformance on local councils? I doubt they’ll get anywhere near 40% on election day.
This is another good season of In the Dark podcast. It is amazing how much my own opinions are largely based on how good an actor Freddie Fox is. He played Jeremy Bamber on TV, and for that and his role as Spider in Slow Horses, I would convict him of every crime ever.
Blood Relatives, Episode 5
Podcast Episode · In The Dark · S6 E5 · 40m
podcasts.apple.com
November 19, 2025 at 2:18 PM
This is another good season of In the Dark podcast. It is amazing how much my own opinions are largely based on how good an actor Freddie Fox is. He played Jeremy Bamber on TV, and for that and his role as Spider in Slow Horses, I would convict him of every crime ever.
November 18, 2025 at 11:26 PM
November 18, 2025 at 7:50 PM
Rewatched A Man on the Inside ahead of the new season, and throughly enjoyed it all over again. Both touching and funny. Mike Schur has such a lovely knack for creating heartwarming TV shows 📺
November 16, 2025 at 4:53 PM
Rewatched A Man on the Inside ahead of the new season, and throughly enjoyed it all over again. Both touching and funny. Mike Schur has such a lovely knack for creating heartwarming TV shows 📺
What are travellers in Germany doing with the kettles?!
November 14, 2025 at 3:43 PM
What are travellers in Germany doing with the kettles?!
Another interesting article by @migueldelaney.bsky.social, who seems the one most on top of this story. The evidence of City’s wrongdoing definitely exists, so surely all of this is about how to manage the fall out.
www.independent.co.uk/sport/footba...
www.independent.co.uk/sport/footba...
What’s behind the delay in Man City’s 115 Premier League charges?
Despite another flurry of international break rumours that an outcome was ‘imminent’, the game is still waiting. Miguel Delaney explores the saga and its wider implications in the latest edition of In...
www.independent.co.uk
November 14, 2025 at 11:26 AM
Another interesting article by @migueldelaney.bsky.social, who seems the one most on top of this story. The evidence of City’s wrongdoing definitely exists, so surely all of this is about how to manage the fall out.
www.independent.co.uk/sport/footba...
www.independent.co.uk/sport/footba...
Really enjoying the Lichen debut album. If you like Geese / Cameron Winter I think there’s a lot to enjoy here. Michael Clark has a similar vocal style to his dad, Gavin, and the comparisons are inevitable. I suspect he’ll make the next Shane Meadows soundtrack. lichen.bandcamp.com/album/in-my-...
In My Dreams You Were Golden, by Lichen
10 track album
lichen.bandcamp.com
November 12, 2025 at 8:22 PM
Really enjoying the Lichen debut album. If you like Geese / Cameron Winter I think there’s a lot to enjoy here. Michael Clark has a similar vocal style to his dad, Gavin, and the comparisons are inevitable. I suspect he’ll make the next Shane Meadows soundtrack. lichen.bandcamp.com/album/in-my-...
Reposted by Ben Jackson
NYT opinion section defends enslaving AI should it become conscious.
Maybe one day we can talk about real problems too!!! 🤞🏻
Maybe one day we can talk about real problems too!!! 🤞🏻
November 10, 2025 at 10:32 PM
NYT opinion section defends enslaving AI should it become conscious.
Maybe one day we can talk about real problems too!!! 🤞🏻
Maybe one day we can talk about real problems too!!! 🤞🏻
People critical of the BBC view it as a tax, but this is the key point. If it becomes a subscription service it no longer has to represent everyone. It just needs to satisfy those that pay for it. Which will increasingly become right wing billionaires.
A reminder that a subscription service would be the end of the BBC universality, which makes the BBC the BBC
November 10, 2025 at 10:19 PM
People critical of the BBC view it as a tax, but this is the key point. If it becomes a subscription service it no longer has to represent everyone. It just needs to satisfy those that pay for it. Which will increasingly become right wing billionaires.
Trump doesn’t know how magnets work, and there is definitely fun to be had here.
Do you know exactly how magnets work?
This is how Trump works. He says something that seems dumb, but also relatable. If I didn’t know better, I’d love to think that nobody except Trump knows how magnets work.
Do you know exactly how magnets work?
This is how Trump works. He says something that seems dumb, but also relatable. If I didn’t know better, I’d love to think that nobody except Trump knows how magnets work.
November 10, 2025 at 10:03 PM
Trump doesn’t know how magnets work, and there is definitely fun to be had here.
Do you know exactly how magnets work?
This is how Trump works. He says something that seems dumb, but also relatable. If I didn’t know better, I’d love to think that nobody except Trump knows how magnets work.
Do you know exactly how magnets work?
This is how Trump works. He says something that seems dumb, but also relatable. If I didn’t know better, I’d love to think that nobody except Trump knows how magnets work.
Reposted by Ben Jackson
The reaction to the Panorama edit has been nothing short of hysterical. Yes the BBC has some impartiality problems. But its biggest isn't the one you think.
New piece from me.
open.substack.com/pub/goodalla...
New piece from me.
open.substack.com/pub/goodalla...
The truth about impartiality at the BBC
And the hysteria of the current "crisis"
open.substack.com
November 10, 2025 at 7:22 PM
The reaction to the Panorama edit has been nothing short of hysterical. Yes the BBC has some impartiality problems. But its biggest isn't the one you think.
New piece from me.
open.substack.com/pub/goodalla...
New piece from me.
open.substack.com/pub/goodalla...
I’m attempting to recreate one of the greatest sitcom episodes of all time by getting to Wales without finding out what happened in Traitors, so I can watch it with my niece. Words have been muted. No radio. But it’s the work meetings that are hardest. Everyone wants to talk about it!
a man wearing a plaid shirt and a white jacket makes a surprised face
Alt: It’s a gif of James Bolam in Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads? In the episode, No Hiding Place, Terry and Bob have to get through the day without learning the England score. Hilarity ensures.
media.tenor.com
November 7, 2025 at 10:28 AM
I’m attempting to recreate one of the greatest sitcom episodes of all time by getting to Wales without finding out what happened in Traitors, so I can watch it with my niece. Words have been muted. No radio. But it’s the work meetings that are hardest. Everyone wants to talk about it!