Peter Williams
@petermwilliams.bsky.social
Managing Editor, Prospect
Reposted by Peter Williams
US treasury secretary Scott Bessent said this morning that Denmark is “irrelevant”. But as Elisabeth Braw wrote last year, Trump and Vance shouldn’t underestimate the small Scandinavian nation.
Beware Denmark’s quiet power
Trump and Vance see the small Scandinavian nation as a pushover, but Denmark is a business giant. They may regret messing with it
www.prospectmagazine.co.uk
January 23, 2026 at 11:47 AM
US treasury secretary Scott Bessent said this morning that Denmark is “irrelevant”. But as Elisabeth Braw wrote last year, Trump and Vance shouldn’t underestimate the small Scandinavian nation.
Reposted by Peter Williams
ICE is freely kidnapping, beating up and killing people. This is no accident. It is deliberate public policy, writes dag
The new ICE Age
The implications of the transition to lawlessness as general policy
www.prospectmagazine.co.uk
January 19, 2026 at 12:13 PM
ICE is freely kidnapping, beating up and killing people. This is no accident. It is deliberate public policy, writes dag
Reposted by Peter Williams
Trump is pursuing an “ahistorical version of ‘greatness’ [which] rejects persuasion in favour of intimidation, legitimacy in favour of spectacle and leadership in favour of force,” argues Sasha Mudd.
Trump has destroyed American soft power
With its actions in Venezuela and the menacing of Greenland, the US is just another global bully
www.prospectmagazine.co.uk
January 15, 2026 at 2:24 PM
Trump is pursuing an “ahistorical version of ‘greatness’ [which] rejects persuasion in favour of intimidation, legitimacy in favour of spectacle and leadership in favour of force,” argues Sasha Mudd.
Reposted by Peter Williams
Badenoch has missed a trick not doing her sacking Jenrick video like his fare dodging one. Chasing him through Portcullis House saying 'you're bang to rights'.
January 15, 2026 at 11:24 AM
Badenoch has missed a trick not doing her sacking Jenrick video like his fare dodging one. Chasing him through Portcullis House saying 'you're bang to rights'.
Reposted by Peter Williams
New here on Bluesky, thanks to Grok’s mayhem on the Other Site? Our starter pack provides a great list of journalists to follow for news and analysis on UK politics and global affairs.
go.bsky.app/Vk8j7vP
go.bsky.app/Vk8j7vP
January 13, 2026 at 12:09 PM
New here on Bluesky, thanks to Grok’s mayhem on the Other Site? Our starter pack provides a great list of journalists to follow for news and analysis on UK politics and global affairs.
go.bsky.app/Vk8j7vP
go.bsky.app/Vk8j7vP
Reposted by Peter Williams
It was a little over three years ago that Keir Starmer promised to do away with the House of Lords altogether as part of his plans to restore trust in politics. Now, he's nominating his own (less than stellar) allies, writes @arusbridger.bsky.social
The PM vowed to abolish the Lords. Why is he stuffing it with allies?
In Matthew Doyle, we are about to get another less than stellar peer. Now is the time for change
www.prospectmagazine.co.uk
January 5, 2026 at 10:53 AM
It was a little over three years ago that Keir Starmer promised to do away with the House of Lords altogether as part of his plans to restore trust in politics. Now, he's nominating his own (less than stellar) allies, writes @arusbridger.bsky.social
Reposted by Peter Williams
The natural year prayers are for peace, prosperity and harmony
The odds of an embattled PM, however, could actually be improved by an unhappy new year
www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/politics/720...
The odds of an embattled PM, however, could actually be improved by an unhappy new year
www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/politics/720...
Keir Starmer’s unhappy new year
The natural new year prayers for the PM will be for prosperity, peace and political harmony. His survival, however, could be more likely if those pray...
www.prospectmagazine.co.uk
January 5, 2026 at 12:06 PM
The natural year prayers are for peace, prosperity and harmony
The odds of an embattled PM, however, could actually be improved by an unhappy new year
www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/politics/720...
The odds of an embattled PM, however, could actually be improved by an unhappy new year
www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/politics/720...
Reposted by Peter Williams
“Superman is the story of America. An immigrant that came from other places...” When @jamesgunn.bsky.social said this, the internet exploded.
@pghoskin.bsky.social on why the director’s comments are unimpeachable—as a lavish new book reveals.
@pghoskin.bsky.social on why the director’s comments are unimpeachable—as a lavish new book reveals.
The limits of Superman
Is he an immigrant? An American? A god? An average joe? The answer is all of these things and more, though he still can’t be everything to everyone
www.prospectmagazine.co.uk
January 1, 2026 at 4:46 PM
“Superman is the story of America. An immigrant that came from other places...” When @jamesgunn.bsky.social said this, the internet exploded.
@pghoskin.bsky.social on why the director’s comments are unimpeachable—as a lavish new book reveals.
@pghoskin.bsky.social on why the director’s comments are unimpeachable—as a lavish new book reveals.
Reposted by Peter Williams
“Christmas, as much as it is about anything,” writes @petermwilliams.bsky.social, “is about what we watch”—and we all used to watch Top of the Pops. Should we miss the programme, or should it stay in the past?
I miss Top of the Pops at Christmas, but it should never come back
The longrunning music show is Britain’s Ghost of Christmas past, and a unique archive of pop’s golden age. Yet the past is where it should stay
www.prospectmagazine.co.uk
December 24, 2025 at 1:29 PM
“Christmas, as much as it is about anything,” writes @petermwilliams.bsky.social, “is about what we watch”—and we all used to watch Top of the Pops. Should we miss the programme, or should it stay in the past?
Reposted by Peter Williams
Italy has been the “Silicon Valley of populism” since the 1990s—from Berlusconi to Meloni. So Giuliano da Empoli had a headstart in understanding how predator politics works:
Meet the 21st century’s apex predators
Giuliano da Empoli has spent his working life around power. He tells us where its holders are leading us now
www.prospectmagazine.co.uk
December 28, 2025 at 12:39 PM
Italy has been the “Silicon Valley of populism” since the 1990s—from Berlusconi to Meloni. So Giuliano da Empoli had a headstart in understanding how predator politics works:
Reposted by Peter Williams
I wrote a little, vaguely festive something on why Top of the Pops was perfect Christmas viewing, but also why it can't be resurrected:
www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/culture/musi...
www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/culture/musi...
I miss Top of the Pops at Christmas, but it should never come back
The longrunning music show is Britain’s Ghost of Christmas past, and a unique archive of pop’s golden age. Yet the past is where it should stay
www.prospectmagazine.co.uk
December 22, 2025 at 11:05 AM
I wrote a little, vaguely festive something on why Top of the Pops was perfect Christmas viewing, but also why it can't be resurrected:
www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/culture/musi...
www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/culture/musi...
Reposted by Peter Williams
Grokipedia promises a backward-looking dystopia where one conspiracy-minded individual can overturn established knowledge, writes @ethanz.bsky.social.
Elon Musk versus Wikipedia continues an age-old battle over truth
Musk’s Grokipedia wants to take us back to a time when established knowledge was controlled by one opaque voice
www.prospectmagazine.co.uk
December 20, 2025 at 6:58 PM
Grokipedia promises a backward-looking dystopia where one conspiracy-minded individual can overturn established knowledge, writes @ethanz.bsky.social.
Reposted by Peter Williams
Top of the Pops is Britain’s Ghost of Christmas Past. A unique archive of pop’s golden age—and the darkness it contained, writes Prospect's @petermwilliams.bsky.social
I miss Top of the Pops at Christmas, but it should never come back
The longrunning music show is Britain’s Ghost of Christmas past, and a unique archive of pop’s golden age. Yet the past is where it should stay
www.prospectmagazine.co.uk
December 22, 2025 at 2:16 PM
Top of the Pops is Britain’s Ghost of Christmas Past. A unique archive of pop’s golden age—and the darkness it contained, writes Prospect's @petermwilliams.bsky.social
Reposted by Peter Williams
“Other PMs have had powerful advisers—Cummings, Mandelson—yet only Morgan McSweeney has effectively chosen a leader.” Stuart McGurk profiles the back-room fixer who captured the Labour party.
The curious rise of Morgan McSweeney
How a behind-the-scenes fixer captured the Labour party, only to become a symbol of Keir Starmer’s failing government
www.prospectmagazine.co.uk
December 24, 2025 at 8:13 AM
“Other PMs have had powerful advisers—Cummings, Mandelson—yet only Morgan McSweeney has effectively chosen a leader.” Stuart McGurk profiles the back-room fixer who captured the Labour party.
Reposted by Peter Williams
Italy has been the “Silicon Valley of populism” since the 1990s—from Berlusconi to Meloni. So Giuliano da Empoli had a headstart in understanding how predator politics works:
Meet the 21st century’s apex predators
Giuliano da Empoli has spent his working life around power. He tells us where its holders are leading us now
www.prospectmagazine.co.uk
December 21, 2025 at 5:48 PM
Italy has been the “Silicon Valley of populism” since the 1990s—from Berlusconi to Meloni. So Giuliano da Empoli had a headstart in understanding how predator politics works:
I wrote a little, vaguely festive something on why Top of the Pops was perfect Christmas viewing, but also why it can't be resurrected:
www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/culture/musi...
www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/culture/musi...
I miss Top of the Pops at Christmas, but it should never come back
The longrunning music show is Britain’s Ghost of Christmas past, and a unique archive of pop’s golden age. Yet the past is where it should stay
www.prospectmagazine.co.uk
December 22, 2025 at 11:05 AM
I wrote a little, vaguely festive something on why Top of the Pops was perfect Christmas viewing, but also why it can't be resurrected:
www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/culture/musi...
www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/culture/musi...
Reposted by Peter Williams
Control over copyright, and compensation for their work, is all the security musicians have, and retaining that control is hardly an unreasonable ask, writes @musicclerk.bsky.social.
The silence of Paul McCartney says a lot
The former Beatle has joined other famous musicians to make a stand against AI
www.prospectmagazine.co.uk
December 18, 2025 at 4:09 PM
Control over copyright, and compensation for their work, is all the security musicians have, and retaining that control is hardly an unreasonable ask, writes @musicclerk.bsky.social.
Reposted by Peter Williams
Speaking to Prospect’s @petermwilliams.bsky.social, Giuliano da Empoli warns that, in the age of AI, we’re like Aztec scribes recording the conquistadors… an old order encountering in a superior power it doesn’t understand:
Meet the 21st century’s apex predators
Giuliano da Empoli has spent his working life around power. He tells us where its holders are leading us now
www.prospectmagazine.co.uk
December 18, 2025 at 2:35 PM
Speaking to Prospect’s @petermwilliams.bsky.social, Giuliano da Empoli warns that, in the age of AI, we’re like Aztec scribes recording the conquistadors… an old order encountering in a superior power it doesn’t understand:
I had the great pleasure of interviewing Giuliano da Empoli about his new book, The Hour of the Predator, for the latest issue of Prospect - discussing power in the 21st century, the digital failed state, Giorgia Meloni, JG Ballard and much more: www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/culture/7184...
December 18, 2025 at 9:03 AM
I had the great pleasure of interviewing Giuliano da Empoli about his new book, The Hour of the Predator, for the latest issue of Prospect - discussing power in the 21st century, the digital failed state, Giorgia Meloni, JG Ballard and much more: www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/culture/7184...
New Prospect out now! A brilliant winter double issue—bumper, one might even say. Highlights include @arusbridger.bsky.social , in his last issue as editor, on Haaretz, Lucy Jones on tardigrades, @katemaltby.bsky.social on Marlowe, and Stuart McGurk on Morgan McSweeney
bsky.app/profile/pros...
bsky.app/profile/pros...
Our winter double issue has just hit newsstands! Here’s a peek at what’s inside... 🧵
For our cover story, @wblau.bsky.social speaks to Ed Miliband and @billmckibben.bsky.social about renewable energy—a surprisingly hopeful take on our future climate: www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/ideas/techno...
For our cover story, @wblau.bsky.social speaks to Ed Miliband and @billmckibben.bsky.social about renewable energy—a surprisingly hopeful take on our future climate: www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/ideas/techno...
December 17, 2025 at 10:09 AM
New Prospect out now! A brilliant winter double issue—bumper, one might even say. Highlights include @arusbridger.bsky.social , in his last issue as editor, on Haaretz, Lucy Jones on tardigrades, @katemaltby.bsky.social on Marlowe, and Stuart McGurk on Morgan McSweeney
bsky.app/profile/pros...
bsky.app/profile/pros...
Reposted by Peter Williams
Hats off to @arusbridger.bsky.social as his final issue of @prospectmagazine.co.uk goes off to press
Under him, the mag had a far-sighted focus on the feedbacks between new media, culture & a darkening politics
Witness this pair of covers waking readers up early to GB News & Reform
Under him, the mag had a far-sighted focus on the feedbacks between new media, culture & a darkening politics
Witness this pair of covers waking readers up early to GB News & Reform
December 11, 2025 at 4:20 PM
Hats off to @arusbridger.bsky.social as his final issue of @prospectmagazine.co.uk goes off to press
Under him, the mag had a far-sighted focus on the feedbacks between new media, culture & a darkening politics
Witness this pair of covers waking readers up early to GB News & Reform
Under him, the mag had a far-sighted focus on the feedbacks between new media, culture & a darkening politics
Witness this pair of covers waking readers up early to GB News & Reform
Reposted by Peter Williams
Trump’s pooping fighter jet video conjures, as Freud put it, the opposite of civilisation: a fantasy of excretion without consequence, of the unfiltered id released from every restrain, writes Sasha Mudd.
The politics of the potty
Trump’s defecating fighter jet is an emblem of a man in revolt against civilisation
www.prospectmagazine.co.uk
November 2, 2025 at 2:26 PM
Trump’s pooping fighter jet video conjures, as Freud put it, the opposite of civilisation: a fantasy of excretion without consequence, of the unfiltered id released from every restrain, writes Sasha Mudd.
Reposted by Peter Williams
Zohran Mamdani became the Democratic candidate for New York mayor on a wave of enthusiasm for his left populist agenda. Atul Dev asks: why is the party’s establishment trying to stop him?
www.prospectmagazine...
www.prospectmagazine...
October 21, 2025 at 11:51 AM
Zohran Mamdani became the Democratic candidate for New York mayor on a wave of enthusiasm for his left populist agenda. Atul Dev asks: why is the party’s establishment trying to stop him?
www.prospectmagazine...
www.prospectmagazine...
Reposted by Peter Williams
“Description is revelation!” Oliver Soden reviews THE POEMS OF SEAMUS HEANEY, a vast new collection revealing a poet who got blood and mud under his fingernails.
In the bogs with Seamus Heaney
For all the beauty of his work, a new collection shows that the Irish poet was rooted in darkness and mud
www.prospectmagazine.co.uk
October 14, 2025 at 9:51 AM
“Description is revelation!” Oliver Soden reviews THE POEMS OF SEAMUS HEANEY, a vast new collection revealing a poet who got blood and mud under his fingernails.
Reposted by Peter Williams
It helps to be able to spell the country you say only you are competent enough to run.
October 6, 2025 at 2:06 PM
It helps to be able to spell the country you say only you are competent enough to run.