Martin Concagh
@mconcagh.bsky.social
Brit living in Toronto. Politics, books, jazz, Doctor Who and many more
Reposted by Martin Concagh
My favourite thing about preppers is that they never seem to have an answer for what would inevitably happen after the balloon goes up and word inevitably gets around to the starving, desperate survivors about the bloke in the hills who has a century’s worth of canned goods and only one shotgun.
Bear Grylls: ‘I’ve bought an apocalypse-proof boat, with an array of weaponry’
Bear Grylls: ‘I’ve bought an apocalypse-proof boat, with an array of weaponry’
The adventurer on his family’s escape vessel, his crush on the Princess of Wales, and a disgusting toenail habit
www.theguardian.com
January 24, 2026 at 12:13 PM
My favourite thing about preppers is that they never seem to have an answer for what would inevitably happen after the balloon goes up and word inevitably gets around to the starving, desperate survivors about the bloke in the hills who has a century’s worth of canned goods and only one shotgun.
Reposted by Martin Concagh
Things the 13 year old said as we wandered around Canary Wharf last night to get some food before the theatre: “it’s so clean”, “it feels like the future”.
Reminded me of @duncanrobinson.bsky.social’s recent column.
Thatcher-on-Thames
economist.com/britain/2026...
Reminded me of @duncanrobinson.bsky.social’s recent column.
Thatcher-on-Thames
economist.com/britain/2026...
Thatcher-on-Thames
Docklands is a corner of England that is forever Maggieland
economist.com
January 24, 2026 at 8:03 AM
Things the 13 year old said as we wandered around Canary Wharf last night to get some food before the theatre: “it’s so clean”, “it feels like the future”.
Reminded me of @duncanrobinson.bsky.social’s recent column.
Thatcher-on-Thames
economist.com/britain/2026...
Reminded me of @duncanrobinson.bsky.social’s recent column.
Thatcher-on-Thames
economist.com/britain/2026...
Reposted by Martin Concagh
"in most cases, these videos appear to have been filmed secretly - using Meta smart glasses."
Argh for the love of god BAN. THE. PERVERT GLASSES.
Argh for the love of god BAN. THE. PERVERT GLASSES.
Women filmed in secret for TikTok content - then harassed online
Women filmed in secret for TikTok content - then harassed online
So-called manfluencers wearing smart glasses approach women and then post videos to TikTok.
www.bbc.com
January 24, 2026 at 8:02 AM
"in most cases, these videos appear to have been filmed secretly - using Meta smart glasses."
Argh for the love of god BAN. THE. PERVERT GLASSES.
Argh for the love of god BAN. THE. PERVERT GLASSES.
Reposted by Martin Concagh
Faine really brought some truly galaxy brained and bloodthirsty takes out of this post.
Mass Deaths are fine if Europe and North America, but Leftistly is some turbo charged bullshit. And frankly you ain’t a leftist if you don’t treat two continents worth of people as humans with dignity.
Mass Deaths are fine if Europe and North America, but Leftistly is some turbo charged bullshit. And frankly you ain’t a leftist if you don’t treat two continents worth of people as humans with dignity.
January 23, 2026 at 10:46 PM
Faine really brought some truly galaxy brained and bloodthirsty takes out of this post.
Mass Deaths are fine if Europe and North America, but Leftistly is some turbo charged bullshit. And frankly you ain’t a leftist if you don’t treat two continents worth of people as humans with dignity.
Mass Deaths are fine if Europe and North America, but Leftistly is some turbo charged bullshit. And frankly you ain’t a leftist if you don’t treat two continents worth of people as humans with dignity.
Reposted by Martin Concagh
Sorry I know this sounds like a shitpost but it is so mental that a portion of the UK hard left has gone from “no platform for fascists” to “pay a fascist to share a platform with fascists” in like five years
January 23, 2026 at 7:43 PM
Sorry I know this sounds like a shitpost but it is so mental that a portion of the UK hard left has gone from “no platform for fascists” to “pay a fascist to share a platform with fascists” in like five years
Reposted by Martin Concagh
[lips pressed directly on mic] yes
So you think kids should be vaccinated at gunpoint against their parents’ wishes or removed from the home?
January 23, 2026 at 8:48 PM
[lips pressed directly on mic] yes
Reposted by Martin Concagh
Unfortunately, we have discovered that this libertarian approach doesn't really work.
I do think parents should absolutely have the right to choose not to vaccinate their kids.
I also think schools, sports teams, and other clubs or activities should absolutely have the right to exclude those who don’t want to participate in keeping these communities safe by getting vaccinated.
I also think schools, sports teams, and other clubs or activities should absolutely have the right to exclude those who don’t want to participate in keeping these communities safe by getting vaccinated.
January 23, 2026 at 8:44 PM
Unfortunately, we have discovered that this libertarian approach doesn't really work.
Reposted by Martin Concagh
i would just settle for fewer no-information political posters tbh
I am increasingly frustrated with high engagement-low information political posters.
January 23, 2026 at 8:23 PM
i would just settle for fewer no-information political posters tbh
Reposted by Martin Concagh
A Brief Ranking of Hergé’s Adventures of Tintin
Great Snakes!
medium.com
January 23, 2026 at 7:41 PM
Relatedly, I’ve often thought that the interesting thing to do with M would be to have him played by an actor around the same age as whoever‘s playing Bond.
What if we make a Bond movie where M is George Smiley
January 23, 2026 at 7:14 PM
Relatedly, I’ve often thought that the interesting thing to do with M would be to have him played by an actor around the same age as whoever‘s playing Bond.
Reposted by Martin Concagh
I have several American friends and it's hard to convince the majority of them that even if it's unlikely to happen Canadians don't treat this as a "haha ol' Trump again is up to his antics." And that Americans treating it like a big joke is just making us exasperated
In a normal world, "US treasury secretary endorses American annexation of Canadian territory" should be front page news
January 23, 2026 at 6:28 PM
I have several American friends and it's hard to convince the majority of them that even if it's unlikely to happen Canadians don't treat this as a "haha ol' Trump again is up to his antics." And that Americans treating it like a big joke is just making us exasperated
Reposted by Martin Concagh
Pierre Poilievre was uncharacteristically silent for two days after Mark Carney's big speech in Davos. When he finally opened his mouth, he confirmed just how far out of his political and intellectual depth he is right now. #cdnpoli
www.nationalobserver.com/2026/01/23/o...
www.nationalobserver.com/2026/01/23/o...
Pierre Poilievre just can't meet the moment
After two days of uncharacteristic silence, the Conservative leader finally found his voice. What he had to say was the same thing he's been saying for years.
www.nationalobserver.com
January 23, 2026 at 6:18 PM
Pierre Poilievre was uncharacteristically silent for two days after Mark Carney's big speech in Davos. When he finally opened his mouth, he confirmed just how far out of his political and intellectual depth he is right now. #cdnpoli
www.nationalobserver.com/2026/01/23/o...
www.nationalobserver.com/2026/01/23/o...
Reposted by Martin Concagh
I hope it's not lost on anyone that the exact same motherfuckers on the Canadian right who spent decades wielding the idea of Canadian Patriotism like a cudgel, talking about "real Canadians", accusing every opponent of "hating Canada", are now pivoting to a platform of literal treason
January 23, 2026 at 5:26 PM
I hope it's not lost on anyone that the exact same motherfuckers on the Canadian right who spent decades wielding the idea of Canadian Patriotism like a cudgel, talking about "real Canadians", accusing every opponent of "hating Canada", are now pivoting to a platform of literal treason
Reposted by Martin Concagh
this whole moment is really demonstrating why those who shit on NATO but leftistly are dumbasses who cannot be trusted
January 23, 2026 at 5:41 PM
this whole moment is really demonstrating why those who shit on NATO but leftistly are dumbasses who cannot be trusted
Reposted by Martin Concagh
I have a whole thesis on the governing ethos of the Times and similar as 'weakly held liberalism' - people immersed in a liberal social context without any genuine belief or principle backing it up, who thus idealize conservatism as authentic and strong.
I honestly think a lot of it is that the NYT crowd really are the 'coastal elites' everyone complains about, so they went to find the Minnesota working class they expected: old, white and racist.
It never occurred to them to look for communities that didn't look like that.
It never occurred to them to look for communities that didn't look like that.
January 23, 2026 at 5:24 PM
I have a whole thesis on the governing ethos of the Times and similar as 'weakly held liberalism' - people immersed in a liberal social context without any genuine belief or principle backing it up, who thus idealize conservatism as authentic and strong.
You know that Simpsons episode where Homer and Bart realize the rocket they’re on is heading toward the sun?
I would like to take a moment to salute How The Light Gets in, for their unstinting dedication to just continually being the absolute fucking worst in every way imaginable.
January 23, 2026 at 11:09 AM
You know that Simpsons episode where Homer and Bart realize the rocket they’re on is heading toward the sun?
Reposted by Martin Concagh
This has clearly been sped up by the migration to Bluesky - there are fewer lefties around and the only demands politicians hear there are easy ones like 'crack down on outgroups and yell slogans about abundance', so they don't feel any need to remind themselves Twitter isn't the real world anymore
developing a theory of “twitter-facilitated elite capture” where many elites have integrated social media into how they interpret the world and have not only come to confuse its content with “the real” but are also suffering from extreme manifestations of every associated ailment of excessive use
January 23, 2026 at 8:44 AM
This has clearly been sped up by the migration to Bluesky - there are fewer lefties around and the only demands politicians hear there are easy ones like 'crack down on outgroups and yell slogans about abundance', so they don't feel any need to remind themselves Twitter isn't the real world anymore
Reposted by Martin Concagh
I think within a generation we're going to see the kind of backlash to vices like gambling that made the Victorians, well, Victorian.
Been reading Atkinson’s series on the Revolutionary War (which everyone should read) and he notes how when the war with the colonies broke out, Great Britain also found itself overwhelmed with the popularity of gambling on everything to the point of gamblers taking out life insurance on other people
i feel like the on-going polymarketization of life isn't going to end well
January 23, 2026 at 2:42 AM
I think within a generation we're going to see the kind of backlash to vices like gambling that made the Victorians, well, Victorian.
Reposted by Martin Concagh
🚨NEW BLOGPOST🚨
Fast answers, overconfidence and the superficial appearance of rigour. Airport bookstores are the perfect place for those who chase fresh ideas without doing the legwork.
Unfortunately, much of our policy is shaped by the same impulse.
www.joxleywrites.jmoxley.co.uk/p/airport-bo...
Fast answers, overconfidence and the superficial appearance of rigour. Airport bookstores are the perfect place for those who chase fresh ideas without doing the legwork.
Unfortunately, much of our policy is shaped by the same impulse.
www.joxleywrites.jmoxley.co.uk/p/airport-bo...
Airport Book Brain
How faddish ideas keep seducing.
www.joxleywrites.jmoxley.co.uk
January 23, 2026 at 8:26 AM
🚨NEW BLOGPOST🚨
Fast answers, overconfidence and the superficial appearance of rigour. Airport bookstores are the perfect place for those who chase fresh ideas without doing the legwork.
Unfortunately, much of our policy is shaped by the same impulse.
www.joxleywrites.jmoxley.co.uk/p/airport-bo...
Fast answers, overconfidence and the superficial appearance of rigour. Airport bookstores are the perfect place for those who chase fresh ideas without doing the legwork.
Unfortunately, much of our policy is shaped by the same impulse.
www.joxleywrites.jmoxley.co.uk/p/airport-bo...
Reposted by Martin Concagh
do you also sob when someone steals your nose? x
January 22, 2026 at 8:50 PM
do you also sob when someone steals your nose? x
Reposted by Martin Concagh
As usual, @nikostratis.com gets it: “Heated Rivalry works not just because it is a well-crafted icon of modern television, but because it is unafraid to commit to the version of itself it sees in the mirror, never needing to translate the unspoken parts of it.” www.cbc.ca/arts/canadia...
OPINION | Canadian TV needs to get weird again | CBC Arts
In the ‘80s and ‘90s, English Canadian screens were filled with bizarre, fever dream-like shows. Writer Niko Stratis argues that we need to back to that
www.cbc.ca
January 21, 2026 at 8:39 PM
As usual, @nikostratis.com gets it: “Heated Rivalry works not just because it is a well-crafted icon of modern television, but because it is unafraid to commit to the version of itself it sees in the mirror, never needing to translate the unspoken parts of it.” www.cbc.ca/arts/canadia...
Really don’t like the roaring, raging return of acceptable-for-progressives homophobia
Newsom shows off knee pads for CEOs 'selling out' to the Trump administration
Newsom shows off knee pads for CEOs 'selling out' to the Trump administration
The Governor of California showed off knee pads that he suggested were for leaders "selling out" to the Trump administration, during an interview at Davos.
cnb.cx
January 22, 2026 at 7:25 PM
Really don’t like the roaring, raging return of acceptable-for-progressives homophobia
January 22, 2026 at 6:24 PM
Reposted by Martin Concagh
I am loath to the idea that progress is a fool's ambition when my parents marriage was illegal in large parts of the US within their own lifetimes. Every day we live lives that our own parents and grandparents considered impossible
January 22, 2026 at 5:50 PM
I am loath to the idea that progress is a fool's ambition when my parents marriage was illegal in large parts of the US within their own lifetimes. Every day we live lives that our own parents and grandparents considered impossible
Reposted by Martin Concagh
we're leaving this back in woke I
January 22, 2026 at 5:36 PM
we're leaving this back in woke I