Nicholas Guyatt
@nicholasguyatt.bsky.social
I teach American history at Cambridge. Views/opinions strictly personal. Content 40% political, 30% historical, 30% cat photos but ratio under constant review
Pinned
I know I have been promising this forever but the Oxford Illustrated History of the United States will finally be out in June of next year, just in time to help unite the nation around the 250th
Even in the 'unipolar' years of the 1990s, US presidents were exasperated by their inability to control the United Nations; the idea of replacing the unruly Security Council with a pliant 'Board of Peace' is really a sign of US decline in the world, not of Trump's strength
January 18, 2026 at 12:48 AM
Even in the 'unipolar' years of the 1990s, US presidents were exasperated by their inability to control the United Nations; the idea of replacing the unruly Security Council with a pliant 'Board of Peace' is really a sign of US decline in the world, not of Trump's strength
A really excellent analysis of imperialism, gangsterism and regionalism under Trump 47 - and some sobering thoughts about the connections between violence abroad and the white nationalist agenda at home thedigradio.com/podcast/maga...
MAGA Empire w/ Aslı Bâli and Greg Grandin
Featuring Aslı Bâli and Greg Grandin on the MAGA model of US imperialism.
thedigradio.com
January 17, 2026 at 8:20 PM
A really excellent analysis of imperialism, gangsterism and regionalism under Trump 47 - and some sobering thoughts about the connections between violence abroad and the white nationalist agenda at home thedigradio.com/podcast/maga...
So much for the Trinity Hall reboot! www.theguardian.com/education/20...
Cambridge college to target elite private schools for student recruitment
Exclusive: Trinity Hall’s new policy described as a ‘slap in the face’ for state-educated students
www.theguardian.com
January 8, 2026 at 3:31 PM
So much for the Trinity Hall reboot! www.theguardian.com/education/20...
Madness for the UK government to get involved in the increasingly unhinged and dangerous foreign policy of the Trump administration, but Keir Starmer seems determined to outdo Tony Blair in becoming lickspittle-in-chief to a rogue U.S. president
January 7, 2026 at 4:08 PM
Madness for the UK government to get involved in the increasingly unhinged and dangerous foreign policy of the Trump administration, but Keir Starmer seems determined to outdo Tony Blair in becoming lickspittle-in-chief to a rogue U.S. president
You probably don't have a lot of bandwidth for recreational reading about a divided America, but just on the off chance I have a piece on the Mason-Dixon Line in the latest edition of the New York Review of Books www.nybooks.com/articles/202...
The Most Rancorous Line | Nicholas Guyatt
How did the Mason–Dixon Line—meant to resolve a longstanding colonial border dispute—come to represent the US’s foundational divide between slavery and freedom?
www.nybooks.com
January 6, 2026 at 7:38 PM
You probably don't have a lot of bandwidth for recreational reading about a divided America, but just on the off chance I have a piece on the Mason-Dixon Line in the latest edition of the New York Review of Books www.nybooks.com/articles/202...
Pure cowardice on the part of every European leader who refuses to call out the Trump administration for what it is: a criminal and utterly lawless extortion racket which poses a grave danger to the security of the entire world
January 6, 2026 at 1:47 PM
Pure cowardice on the part of every European leader who refuses to call out the Trump administration for what it is: a criminal and utterly lawless extortion racket which poses a grave danger to the security of the entire world
In the upside down world of the Daily Mail, If you're opposed to the US invading another country, kidnapping its president and then telling the world of its plan to "run" that country indefinitely, you're a "Maduro apologist"
January 5, 2026 at 6:49 PM
In the upside down world of the Daily Mail, If you're opposed to the US invading another country, kidnapping its president and then telling the world of its plan to "run" that country indefinitely, you're a "Maduro apologist"
Reposted by Nicholas Guyatt
that is what Bush said about Iraq - $7 trillion mistake
DID HE JUST SAY THE OIL WILL PAY FOR THE OCCUPATION
January 3, 2026 at 5:36 PM
that is what Bush said about Iraq - $7 trillion mistake
A gangster regime, with cheap dialogue to match
January 3, 2026 at 5:33 PM
A gangster regime, with cheap dialogue to match
So many lies in Trump's rambling speech, but his easy segue from the illegal use of the military overseas to the illegal use of the military in US cities is really chilling
January 3, 2026 at 5:02 PM
So many lies in Trump's rambling speech, but his easy segue from the illegal use of the military overseas to the illegal use of the military in US cities is really chilling
Hard not to wonder whether Trump has been using his recent hours-long phone calls with Putin to barter over Venezuela and eastern Ukraine; would be entirely on-brand for Trump to tell the Russian president about his invasion plan long before anyone in Congress gets the memo
January 3, 2026 at 3:15 PM
Hard not to wonder whether Trump has been using his recent hours-long phone calls with Putin to barter over Venezuela and eastern Ukraine; would be entirely on-brand for Trump to tell the Russian president about his invasion plan long before anyone in Congress gets the memo
Feels as if there's a real gap in the market right now for a peace prize for people who actually promote peace
January 3, 2026 at 1:26 PM
Feels as if there's a real gap in the market right now for a peace prize for people who actually promote peace
The media reaction to Trump's plainly illegal invasion/abduction this morning has been mostly shock, but Venezuelan opposition figures with "close ties to the US security establishment" have been boasting about this outcome for months (this from the FT in October)
January 3, 2026 at 1:20 PM
The media reaction to Trump's plainly illegal invasion/abduction this morning has been mostly shock, but Venezuelan opposition figures with "close ties to the US security establishment" have been boasting about this outcome for months (this from the FT in October)
Happy new year, everyone! Seeing in the new year by burying our 2025 lemon pig with full honours, helluva year to be a lemon pig
January 1, 2026 at 1:56 PM
Happy new year, everyone! Seeing in the new year by burying our 2025 lemon pig with full honours, helluva year to be a lemon pig
Since the "tech prosperity deal" was engineered to give Sam Altman, Satya Nadella and Jensen Huang even more encouragement to build AI data centres and produce yet more AI slop, the UK may have dodged a bullet here
The US has suspended implementation of a technology deal it struck with the UK during Donald Trump’s state visit to Britain, amid growing frustrations in Washington over the progress of trade talks with London ft.trib.al/lOOAInf
December 16, 2025 at 1:57 PM
Since the "tech prosperity deal" was engineered to give Sam Altman, Satya Nadella and Jensen Huang even more encouragement to build AI data centres and produce yet more AI slop, the UK may have dodged a bullet here
The madness of our civilisation, in which the super-rich are throwing money at AI which the rest of us don't want, and are meeting the ridiculous power demands of data centres mostly by burning gas and cooking our planet
December 16, 2025 at 1:40 PM
The madness of our civilisation, in which the super-rich are throwing money at AI which the rest of us don't want, and are meeting the ridiculous power demands of data centres mostly by burning gas and cooking our planet
I have a perverse admiration for the way in which Gianni Infantino has made FIFA an even more despicable organisation than it was during Sepp Blatter's constantly-disgraced tenure www.bbc.co.uk/sport/footba...
World Cup ticket prices: Fifa's prices a 'monumental betrayal' says Football Supporters Europe
Fans' group Football Supporters Europe says it is
www.bbc.co.uk
December 11, 2025 at 5:37 PM
I have a perverse admiration for the way in which Gianni Infantino has made FIFA an even more despicable organisation than it was during Sepp Blatter's constantly-disgraced tenure www.bbc.co.uk/sport/footba...
I know I have been promising this forever but the Oxford Illustrated History of the United States will finally be out in June of next year, just in time to help unite the nation around the 250th
December 10, 2025 at 6:11 PM
I know I have been promising this forever but the Oxford Illustrated History of the United States will finally be out in June of next year, just in time to help unite the nation around the 250th
I wish the BBC would simply ask Lisa Nandy directly to confirm the widely-reported story that Keir Starmer dropped Labour's support for the crucial second phase of the Leveson enquiry into press corruption in return for Murdoch's backing in the general election
December 10, 2025 at 1:09 PM
I wish the BBC would simply ask Lisa Nandy directly to confirm the widely-reported story that Keir Starmer dropped Labour's support for the crucial second phase of the Leveson enquiry into press corruption in return for Murdoch's backing in the general election
Reposted by Nicholas Guyatt
Not cat-related, but you've reminded me of @nicholasguyatt.bsky.social and the marrow spoons:
bsky.app/profile/yvon...
bsky.app/profile/yvon...
November 21, 2025 at 6:20 PM
Not cat-related, but you've reminded me of @nicholasguyatt.bsky.social and the marrow spoons:
bsky.app/profile/yvon...
bsky.app/profile/yvon...
After Trump I don't know how you go back to the presidency being even vaguely dignified and not perpetually batshit-crazy
November 20, 2025 at 9:47 PM
After Trump I don't know how you go back to the presidency being even vaguely dignified and not perpetually batshit-crazy
ICYMI here's the recording of my chat last week about law, politics and autocracy in America with Jim Zirin, author and talk-show host. Some great questions from the audience and a persistent effort from yours truly to find some hope in the current moment www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jj3o...
Autocracy in America: Law and Politics in the Second Trump Administration
YouTube video by Cambridge Development & Alumni Relations
www.youtube.com
November 20, 2025 at 11:36 AM
ICYMI here's the recording of my chat last week about law, politics and autocracy in America with Jim Zirin, author and talk-show host. Some great questions from the audience and a persistent effort from yours truly to find some hope in the current moment www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jj3o...
Surreal to see the media architects of Starmerism, the guys who cheered every one of Starmer's deceptions and assaults on the left, now scratching their heads about why he's become a terrible and reviled prime minister who stands for nothing www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Starmer’s squandering of a historic election victory is a tragedy nearing its finale | Rafael Behr
The tactics that gave Labour its huge majority in 2024 were no preparation for government – and the prime minister has proved he has nothing more to offer, says Guardian columnist Rafael Behr
www.theguardian.com
November 19, 2025 at 8:57 AM
Surreal to see the media architects of Starmerism, the guys who cheered every one of Starmer's deceptions and assaults on the left, now scratching their heads about why he's become a terrible and reviled prime minister who stands for nothing www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Obviously this is another trumpet of doom hailing the imminent collapse of the AI bubble, but for now it's nice that Microsoft and Nvidia are helping to fund the gigantic settlement for all the authors Anthropic ripped off
Tech giants pour billions into Anthropic as circular AI investments roll on
ChatGPT competitor secures billions from Microsoft and Nvidia in deal to use cloud services and chips.
arstechnica.com
November 18, 2025 at 10:53 PM
Obviously this is another trumpet of doom hailing the imminent collapse of the AI bubble, but for now it's nice that Microsoft and Nvidia are helping to fund the gigantic settlement for all the authors Anthropic ripped off
“Mr Summers added that he would continue teaching at Harvard”
Summers, ‘Ashamed’ Over Epstein Ties, Steps Back From Public Commitments
www.nytimes.com
November 18, 2025 at 1:19 PM
“Mr Summers added that he would continue teaching at Harvard”