Dr Joe Baker
@jsbaker.co.uk
Writer. PhD in religion and narrative from Bristol University; I post about writing, reading, philosophy, current affairs, business, and more. jsbaker.co.uk | figuration.al | helios360.co.uk
Reposted by Dr Joe Baker
The potholes! Man, the potholes. They’re awful. Maybe it’s the misfortune of living in Birmingham with a bankrupt council, but the roads are in an horrific state. Every single one has holes, and some of them are huge, vehicles slaloming to avoid them. It’s gonna cost so, so much to repair stuff now.
February 5, 2026 at 9:02 AM
The potholes! Man, the potholes. They’re awful. Maybe it’s the misfortune of living in Birmingham with a bankrupt council, but the roads are in an horrific state. Every single one has holes, and some of them are huge, vehicles slaloming to avoid them. It’s gonna cost so, so much to repair stuff now.
Reposted by Dr Joe Baker
You should never let your TBR pile fully deplete before buying more books.
That’s like waiting until your kitchen is empty to go to the supermarket. - Michael
That’s like waiting until your kitchen is empty to go to the supermarket. - Michael
February 5, 2026 at 8:33 AM
You should never let your TBR pile fully deplete before buying more books.
That’s like waiting until your kitchen is empty to go to the supermarket. - Michael
That’s like waiting until your kitchen is empty to go to the supermarket. - Michael
The potholes! Man, the potholes. They’re awful. Maybe it’s the misfortune of living in Birmingham with a bankrupt council, but the roads are in an horrific state. Every single one has holes, and some of them are huge, vehicles slaloming to avoid them. It’s gonna cost so, so much to repair stuff now.
February 5, 2026 at 9:02 AM
The potholes! Man, the potholes. They’re awful. Maybe it’s the misfortune of living in Birmingham with a bankrupt council, but the roads are in an horrific state. Every single one has holes, and some of them are huge, vehicles slaloming to avoid them. It’s gonna cost so, so much to repair stuff now.
Reposted by Dr Joe Baker
Today is Candlemas - which is a beautiful name. A chance to celebrate 'the return of light'
Artist: Roger Hall
Artist: Roger Hall
February 2, 2026 at 8:33 AM
Today is Candlemas - which is a beautiful name. A chance to celebrate 'the return of light'
Artist: Roger Hall
Artist: Roger Hall
Reposted by Dr Joe Baker
Take me down to the Parallax city where the far moves slow and the near moves quickly
February 1, 2026 at 3:40 PM
Take me down to the Parallax city where the far moves slow and the near moves quickly
Reposted by Dr Joe Baker
Trump might always chicken out, but it seems there's strong suspicion he follows through.
February 2, 2026 at 9:19 AM
Trump might always chicken out, but it seems there's strong suspicion he follows through.
Trump might always chicken out, but it seems there's strong suspicion he follows through.
February 2, 2026 at 9:19 AM
Trump might always chicken out, but it seems there's strong suspicion he follows through.
Reposted by Dr Joe Baker
Government to offer free training to all adults to help them learn to enjoy the smooth smooth taste of Benson and Hedges
January 28, 2026 at 10:18 AM
Government to offer free training to all adults to help them learn to enjoy the smooth smooth taste of Benson and Hedges
Reposted by Dr Joe Baker
This is effectively a government backed advertising campaign for Big Tech for a product that doesn't work properly.
The government’s suggestion that rolling out 20 minute courses on writing “AI“ prompts, sponsored by Google, Microsoft and Amazon, is somehow comparable to the founding of the Open University (the Wilson government‘s, & Jennie Lee’s, proudest achievement), is an insult to our human intelligence.
January 28, 2026 at 10:35 AM
This is effectively a government backed advertising campaign for Big Tech for a product that doesn't work properly.
Reposted by Dr Joe Baker
just build a software product that becomes a load bearing dependency for the stock market and the government will be forced to become a distribution partner and build a citizen sales channel for you
BREAKING: Free AI training will be offered to every adult in the UK, with short courses to teach people how to use simple AI tools effectively in the workplace.
Technology Secretary Liz Kendall tells #BBCBreakfast about the scheme
Technology Secretary Liz Kendall tells #BBCBreakfast about the scheme
January 28, 2026 at 9:54 AM
just build a software product that becomes a load bearing dependency for the stock market and the government will be forced to become a distribution partner and build a citizen sales channel for you
The @theguardian.com is autoplaying part of the video of the brutal ICE murder in Minnesota on its homepage as the first article, but I do not want to have to see such a horror and have it in my mind … and it doesn't seem that there's any way to turn off the autoplay video feature. Why? Why!
January 25, 2026 at 12:05 PM
The @theguardian.com is autoplaying part of the video of the brutal ICE murder in Minnesota on its homepage as the first article, but I do not want to have to see such a horror and have it in my mind … and it doesn't seem that there's any way to turn off the autoplay video feature. Why? Why!
A canal bridge on the Tardebigge flight.
January 24, 2026 at 2:36 PM
A canal bridge on the Tardebigge flight.
Reposted by Dr Joe Baker
Get me Vance’s speech writer! I want to find out if this is a deliberate shipwreck.
Vance on the economy:
"You don't turn the Titanic around overnight"
"You don't turn the Titanic around overnight"
January 22, 2026 at 6:50 PM
Get me Vance’s speech writer! I want to find out if this is a deliberate shipwreck.
Reposted by Dr Joe Baker
And why would we ever want to give that up to AI?
Take a listen to Junod, in David Perell’s lovely conversation.
Take a listen to Junod, in David Perell’s lovely conversation.
January 21, 2026 at 7:01 PM
And why would we ever want to give that up to AI?
Take a listen to Junod, in David Perell’s lovely conversation.
Take a listen to Junod, in David Perell’s lovely conversation.
Reposted by Dr Joe Baker
… somebody grappling with the fuck up, and bearing witness to the pain and the suffering and the joy and the hope.
And, Junod says, that’s humanity’s greatest gift to humanity, the only thing maybe that humanity has done right, bearing witness. It’s our elemental need.
And, Junod says, that’s humanity’s greatest gift to humanity, the only thing maybe that humanity has done right, bearing witness. It’s our elemental need.
January 21, 2026 at 7:01 PM
… somebody grappling with the fuck up, and bearing witness to the pain and the suffering and the joy and the hope.
And, Junod says, that’s humanity’s greatest gift to humanity, the only thing maybe that humanity has done right, bearing witness. It’s our elemental need.
And, Junod says, that’s humanity’s greatest gift to humanity, the only thing maybe that humanity has done right, bearing witness. It’s our elemental need.
Reposted by Dr Joe Baker
Writers: this is a great conversation on what writing is for and about. Tom Junod, famous for his book ‘The Falling Man’, talking about why writers write, maybe with the fundamental pervasive human virtue. The closing few minutes are especially powerful.
podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/h...
podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/h...
Tom Junod: How to Write Unapologetically Well | How I Write
Podcast Episode · How I Write · 07/01/2026 · 1h 9m
podcasts.apple.com
January 21, 2026 at 6:37 PM
Writers: this is a great conversation on what writing is for and about. Tom Junod, famous for his book ‘The Falling Man’, talking about why writers write, maybe with the fundamental pervasive human virtue. The closing few minutes are especially powerful.
podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/h...
podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/h...
Writers: this is a great conversation on what writing is for and about. Tom Junod, famous for his book ‘The Falling Man’, talking about why writers write, maybe with the fundamental pervasive human virtue. The closing few minutes are especially powerful.
podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/h...
podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/h...
Tom Junod: How to Write Unapologetically Well | How I Write
Podcast Episode · How I Write · 07/01/2026 · 1h 9m
podcasts.apple.com
January 21, 2026 at 6:37 PM
Writers: this is a great conversation on what writing is for and about. Tom Junod, famous for his book ‘The Falling Man’, talking about why writers write, maybe with the fundamental pervasive human virtue. The closing few minutes are especially powerful.
podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/h...
podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/h...
Reposted by Dr Joe Baker
January 19, 2026 at 9:55 PM
Reposted by Dr Joe Baker
What Ben Affleck is saying about AI is spot on. Have a listen!
January 19, 2026 at 8:23 PM
What Ben Affleck is saying about AI is spot on. Have a listen!
Reposted by Dr Joe Baker
Reposted by Dr Joe Baker
Timely event with @ukandeu.bsky.social tomorrow evening....
What does Trump mean for relations between the UK and Europe, and the rest of the world?
Sir Simon Fraser, Fiona Hill and @anandmenon.bsky.social will join @drhannahwhite.bsky.social to discuss the impact of Trump's presidency on the UK and Europe🌍
www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/event/trump-...
Sir Simon Fraser, Fiona Hill and @anandmenon.bsky.social will join @drhannahwhite.bsky.social to discuss the impact of Trump's presidency on the UK and Europe🌍
www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/event/trump-...
January 19, 2026 at 9:28 AM
Timely event with @ukandeu.bsky.social tomorrow evening....
Yes, this short 🧵 on AI and learning, or to put it another way … the effort is the algorithm
(a phrase completely cribbed from @derekmuller.bsky.social and @veritasium.bsky.social — www.youtube.com/watch?v=0xS6...)
(a phrase completely cribbed from @derekmuller.bsky.social and @veritasium.bsky.social — www.youtube.com/watch?v=0xS6...)
Listening to a discussion about AI in university education with Amol Rajan & Prof Duncan Iveston on Radio 4 Today. Too short to get into the nuance of course, but an observation that copilot can do a literate review for you very quickly perfectly illustrates one of my main concerns with AI…1/1
January 19, 2026 at 9:11 AM
Yes, this short 🧵 on AI and learning, or to put it another way … the effort is the algorithm
(a phrase completely cribbed from @derekmuller.bsky.social and @veritasium.bsky.social — www.youtube.com/watch?v=0xS6...)
(a phrase completely cribbed from @derekmuller.bsky.social and @veritasium.bsky.social — www.youtube.com/watch?v=0xS6...)
Reposted by Dr Joe Baker
I'm honestly less mad at the President, who is clearly not well, that I am at his outriders and enablers.
They see messages like this and then, with straight faces, go on television or write op-eds retroactively constructing grand strategy justifications.
Pathetic.
They see messages like this and then, with straight faces, go on television or write op-eds retroactively constructing grand strategy justifications.
Pathetic.
January 19, 2026 at 7:38 AM
I'm honestly less mad at the President, who is clearly not well, that I am at his outriders and enablers.
They see messages like this and then, with straight faces, go on television or write op-eds retroactively constructing grand strategy justifications.
Pathetic.
They see messages like this and then, with straight faces, go on television or write op-eds retroactively constructing grand strategy justifications.
Pathetic.