Simon Kuper
@simonkuper.bsky.social
Financial Times columnist, football podcaster at Heroes and Humans, and author of books including Chums, Good Chaps, Impossible City: Paris in the Twenty-First Century, Soccernomics etc. British and now French, lives in Paris with wife and kids.
Reposted by Simon Kuper
I wish I didn’t have to share this. But the BBC has decided to censor my first Reith Lecture.
They deleted the line in which I describe Donald Trump as “the most openly corrupt president in American history.” /1
They deleted the line in which I describe Donald Trump as “the most openly corrupt president in American history.” /1
November 25, 2025 at 9:26 AM
I wish I didn’t have to share this. But the BBC has decided to censor my first Reith Lecture.
They deleted the line in which I describe Donald Trump as “the most openly corrupt president in American history.” /1
They deleted the line in which I describe Donald Trump as “the most openly corrupt president in American history.” /1
Very rich blog post by Catherine, which includes me banging on about my writing ideology: don't write a word until you've made a complete plan of what you're going to say
Respecting the marble means respecting the grain.
Writing is the same. Feeling stuck isn’t a verdict. It’s a sign that you need a skeleton.
Link: catherineeunicedevries.substack.com/p/feeling-st...
Big thanks to @simonkuper.bsky.social & @abenewman.bsky.social for sharing their thoughts
/end
Writing is the same. Feeling stuck isn’t a verdict. It’s a sign that you need a skeleton.
Link: catherineeunicedevries.substack.com/p/feeling-st...
Big thanks to @simonkuper.bsky.social & @abenewman.bsky.social for sharing their thoughts
/end
Feeling Stuck? Start With the Skeleton
Why the Hardest Part of Writing Happens Before the First Sentence
catherineeunicedevries.substack.com
November 25, 2025 at 8:44 AM
Very rich blog post by Catherine, which includes me banging on about my writing ideology: don't write a word until you've made a complete plan of what you're going to say
Mein neues WM-Buch ist gerade auf Deutsch erschienen www.prisma.de/magazin/hall...
Simon Kuper über sein neues Buch "Die größte aller Partys": „Für uns war Deutschland der Darth Vader“
Simon Kuper spricht über seine WM-Erfahrungen, von Frankreich 1998 bis Brasilien 2014, und erklärt, warum Deutschland für ihn der "Darth Vader der WM-Geschichte" ist.
www.prisma.de
November 24, 2025 at 10:33 AM
Mein neues WM-Buch ist gerade auf Deutsch erschienen www.prisma.de/magazin/hall...
Last year I interviewed the Turkish opposition leader Ekrem Imamoglu. Now he's in jail, and President Erdogan's state prosecutor has just demanded a jail sentence for him of over 2,000 years. Yet Imamoglu is a political star who terrifies Erdogan and could eventually replace him on.ft.com/3X45lcL
The man who weakened strongman Erdoğan
[FREE TO READ] Jailing Turkey’s opposition leader hasn’t stopped him looking like the country’s president in waiting
on.ft.com
November 20, 2025 at 2:37 PM
Last year I interviewed the Turkish opposition leader Ekrem Imamoglu. Now he's in jail, and President Erdogan's state prosecutor has just demanded a jail sentence for him of over 2,000 years. Yet Imamoglu is a political star who terrifies Erdogan and could eventually replace him on.ft.com/3X45lcL
Reposted by Simon Kuper
New: I can confirm hasty US-Russia proposal being pushed to Ukrainians via Dmitriev-Witkoff to Umerov. It would amount to Ukraine’s capitulation, with people familiar saying it’s Kremlin’s maximalist demands.
-Ukraine army cut 1/2
-Give up certain weapons
-Give up Donbas
-Zelensky displeased
More tk
-Ukraine army cut 1/2
-Give up certain weapons
-Give up Donbas
-Zelensky displeased
More tk
November 19, 2025 at 4:45 PM
New: I can confirm hasty US-Russia proposal being pushed to Ukrainians via Dmitriev-Witkoff to Umerov. It would amount to Ukraine’s capitulation, with people familiar saying it’s Kremlin’s maximalist demands.
-Ukraine army cut 1/2
-Give up certain weapons
-Give up Donbas
-Zelensky displeased
More tk
-Ukraine army cut 1/2
-Give up certain weapons
-Give up Donbas
-Zelensky displeased
More tk
Reposted by Simon Kuper
on.ft.com/4nWiG1G A parent’s fear: the mother in hiding from her son
He was golden-haired, a “really happy” baby. “He was gorgeous. I absolutely doted on him, I loved being a mum.”
He was golden-haired, a “really happy” baby. “He was gorgeous. I absolutely doted on him, I loved being a mum.”
A parent’s fear: the mother in hiding from her son
[FREE TO READ] What happens when the person you gave life to, wants to take yours
on.ft.com
November 15, 2025 at 7:35 AM
on.ft.com/4nWiG1G A parent’s fear: the mother in hiding from her son
He was golden-haired, a “really happy” baby. “He was gorgeous. I absolutely doted on him, I loved being a mum.”
He was golden-haired, a “really happy” baby. “He was gorgeous. I absolutely doted on him, I loved being a mum.”
Reposted by Simon Kuper
On November 20, 1975, Franco died in his bed, and Spain unexpectedly went democratic - part of the global wave of democratisation from 1974 to 1990. Now we're in the worst democratic decline since the 1930s. But there's hope. Me @financialtimes.com on how to create more Spains on.ft.com/4nRUpK0
How democrats can fight back
[FREE TO READ] Fifty years after Franco’s death, autocracy is going strong
on.ft.com
November 13, 2025 at 5:53 PM
On November 20, 1975, Franco died in his bed, and Spain unexpectedly went democratic - part of the global wave of democratisation from 1974 to 1990. Now we're in the worst democratic decline since the 1930s. But there's hope. Me @financialtimes.com on how to create more Spains on.ft.com/4nRUpK0
On November 20, 1975, Franco died in his bed, and Spain unexpectedly went democratic - part of the global wave of democratisation from 1974 to 1990. Now we're in the worst democratic decline since the 1930s. But there's hope. Me @financialtimes.com on how to create more Spains on.ft.com/4nRUpK0
How democrats can fight back
[FREE TO READ] Fifty years after Franco’s death, autocracy is going strong
on.ft.com
November 13, 2025 at 5:53 PM
On November 20, 1975, Franco died in his bed, and Spain unexpectedly went democratic - part of the global wave of democratisation from 1974 to 1990. Now we're in the worst democratic decline since the 1930s. But there's hope. Me @financialtimes.com on how to create more Spains on.ft.com/4nRUpK0
Reposted by Simon Kuper
'You must understand the World Cup is a kind of religious feast that includes the whole world ... Whereas Easter is only for Christians, the World Cup is for everyone'
A fascinating interview with #WorldCupFever author @simonkuper.bsky.social for Football Makes History ⚽️
A fascinating interview with #WorldCupFever author @simonkuper.bsky.social for Football Makes History ⚽️
The World Cup as a Mirror of History: A Conversation with Simon Kuper - Football Makes History
Football Makes History sat down with writer and journalist Simon Kuper to discuss his latest book, "World Cup Fever".
footballmakeshistory.eu
November 10, 2025 at 10:56 AM
'You must understand the World Cup is a kind of religious feast that includes the whole world ... Whereas Easter is only for Christians, the World Cup is for everyone'
A fascinating interview with #WorldCupFever author @simonkuper.bsky.social for Football Makes History ⚽️
A fascinating interview with #WorldCupFever author @simonkuper.bsky.social for Football Makes History ⚽️
The UK ambassador's residence in Paris (bought by Wellington from Napoleon's sister in 1815) is the house where Churchill's parents married, where Churchill sang in bath while France was being invaded, where a British servant stopped Nazis in 1941 etc. My tour with the ambassador on.ft.com/495OYDF
Britain’s new ambassador to France: ‘You all play the game of influence’
[FREE TO READ] Mere weeks into the job, ‘securocrat’ Sir Thomas Drew has positioned Paris’s 18th-century Hôtel de Charost as ‘an informal annex to formal discussions at the Élysée’. It’s no small feat
on.ft.com
November 9, 2025 at 12:00 PM
The UK ambassador's residence in Paris (bought by Wellington from Napoleon's sister in 1815) is the house where Churchill's parents married, where Churchill sang in bath while France was being invaded, where a British servant stopped Nazis in 1941 etc. My tour with the ambassador on.ft.com/495OYDF
Maccabi Tel Aviv vs Aston Villa – What have we learned?
Online discussion 11am Saturday. Sports historian David Goldblatt, Football Supporters’ Association CEO Kevin Miles, Nick McGeehan of FairSquare and others explore the issues raised by the Europa League game
us02web.zoom.us/j/8673874747...
Online discussion 11am Saturday. Sports historian David Goldblatt, Football Supporters’ Association CEO Kevin Miles, Nick McGeehan of FairSquare and others explore the issues raised by the Europa League game
us02web.zoom.us/j/8673874747...
Join our Cloud HD Video Meeting
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us02web.zoom.us
November 7, 2025 at 6:30 PM
Maccabi Tel Aviv vs Aston Villa – What have we learned?
Online discussion 11am Saturday. Sports historian David Goldblatt, Football Supporters’ Association CEO Kevin Miles, Nick McGeehan of FairSquare and others explore the issues raised by the Europa League game
us02web.zoom.us/j/8673874747...
Online discussion 11am Saturday. Sports historian David Goldblatt, Football Supporters’ Association CEO Kevin Miles, Nick McGeehan of FairSquare and others explore the issues raised by the Europa League game
us02web.zoom.us/j/8673874747...
From my FT column on the 3 worst books I've ever read
November 7, 2025 at 6:27 PM
From my FT column on the 3 worst books I've ever read
The Russian Londoner Jana Bakunina on her excellent book The Good Russian, which is out this week inews.co.uk/news/world/r...
I'm a Russian living in London - this is what people back home think of Putin
Jana Bakunina reveals what pro-Putin friends and family told her while visiting Yekaterinburg, and how opponents are burying their heads in the sand to survive
inews.co.uk
November 4, 2025 at 9:54 AM
The Russian Londoner Jana Bakunina on her excellent book The Good Russian, which is out this week inews.co.uk/news/world/r...
Happy Halloween. Here's my guide for @financialtimes.com to the ghosts of the world's most visited cemetery, Père-Lachaise in Paris - from Jim Morrison to the fertility and sex god Victor Noir. as.ft.com/r/24de0ea2-c...
Dead famous: The ghosts of Paris’s Père-Lachaise cemetery
[FREE TO READ] Many of the bucolic burial ground’s celebrated residents are still, according to local lore, making their presence felt
as.ft.com
October 31, 2025 at 4:31 PM
Happy Halloween. Here's my guide for @financialtimes.com to the ghosts of the world's most visited cemetery, Père-Lachaise in Paris - from Jim Morrison to the fertility and sex god Victor Noir. as.ft.com/r/24de0ea2-c...
Reposted by Simon Kuper
In praise of being a football fan, by my colleague Simon Kuper: as.ft.com/r/349446da-4...
(I am not really a fan, but my son is, and I loved this piece.)
(I am not really a fan, but my son is, and I loved this piece.)
How sport unites us
[FREE TO READ] In a divided world, fandom is a social superpower
as.ft.com
October 31, 2025 at 8:48 AM
In praise of being a football fan, by my colleague Simon Kuper: as.ft.com/r/349446da-4...
(I am not really a fan, but my son is, and I loved this piece.)
(I am not really a fan, but my son is, and I loved this piece.)
Brilliant story: Suspects of the Louvre jewellery heist appear to be fans of newly promoted Paris FC, which is owned by the billionaire Arnault family. They were arrested while queuing to get into the game against Lyon www.eurosport.fr/football/cam...
www.eurosport.fr
October 31, 2025 at 11:53 AM
Brilliant story: Suspects of the Louvre jewellery heist appear to be fans of newly promoted Paris FC, which is owned by the billionaire Arnault family. They were arrested while queuing to get into the game against Lyon www.eurosport.fr/football/cam...
With social isolation rising, about the last thing that brings people together - even across political divides - is sports fandom. Me @financialtimes.com on why fans have more friends, social connections and democratic sympathies - with help from @moreincommonus.bsky.social as.ft.com/r/671ea66b-4...
How sport unites us
[FREE TO READ] In a divided world, fandom is a social superpower
as.ft.com
October 30, 2025 at 4:00 PM
With social isolation rising, about the last thing that brings people together - even across political divides - is sports fandom. Me @financialtimes.com on why fans have more friends, social connections and democratic sympathies - with help from @moreincommonus.bsky.social as.ft.com/r/671ea66b-4...
Reposted by Simon Kuper
On the “defeat” of the far right in the Netherlands 🇳🇱
The total number of far-right seats in the Tweede Kamer:
2021: 28
2023: 41
2025: 42 👈
And I don’t even count BBB here, which has radicalized significantly in the last year.
The total number of far-right seats in the Tweede Kamer:
2021: 28
2023: 41
2025: 42 👈
And I don’t even count BBB here, which has radicalized significantly in the last year.
October 30, 2025 at 1:24 PM
On the “defeat” of the far right in the Netherlands 🇳🇱
The total number of far-right seats in the Tweede Kamer:
2021: 28
2023: 41
2025: 42 👈
And I don’t even count BBB here, which has radicalized significantly in the last year.
The total number of far-right seats in the Tweede Kamer:
2021: 28
2023: 41
2025: 42 👈
And I don’t even count BBB here, which has radicalized significantly in the last year.
Reupping this ahead of today's Dutch elections, with far right having essentially walked away from government
Me ahead of next week's Dutch elections on the three ways of being a far-right leader: Trump's maximalism, Meloni's compromise, and in 🇳🇱, Geert Wilders' approach of changing the country by shouting from opposition. He's the man who sets the national agenda @financialtimes.com on.ft.com/3Jly9tK
What nationalist leaders will learn from Geert Wilders
[FREE TO READ] By shouting at the system, the Dutch politician moves it rightwards
on.ft.com
October 29, 2025 at 2:31 PM
Reupping this ahead of today's Dutch elections, with far right having essentially walked away from government
Reposted by Simon Kuper
Me ahead of next week's Dutch elections on the three ways of being a far-right leader: Trump's maximalism, Meloni's compromise, and in 🇳🇱, Geert Wilders' approach of changing the country by shouting from opposition. He's the man who sets the national agenda @financialtimes.com on.ft.com/3Jly9tK
What nationalist leaders will learn from Geert Wilders
[FREE TO READ] By shouting at the system, the Dutch politician moves it rightwards
on.ft.com
October 24, 2025 at 2:35 PM
Me ahead of next week's Dutch elections on the three ways of being a far-right leader: Trump's maximalism, Meloni's compromise, and in 🇳🇱, Geert Wilders' approach of changing the country by shouting from opposition. He's the man who sets the national agenda @financialtimes.com on.ft.com/3Jly9tK
Reposted by Simon Kuper
"Such is their fear of jail, bankruptcy or reprisal, that most people I spoke to insisted on anonymity. This was in spite of the fact that many of the same people said Trump would only be restrained by powerful voices standing up to him." My Weekend FT essay. Please read it. on.ft.com/4hqblpr
The Trump Supremacy
[FREE TO READ] Opponents in disarray, allies in line, followers enthralled — the US president is already on his way to building a new world order
on.ft.com
October 24, 2025 at 9:41 AM
"Such is their fear of jail, bankruptcy or reprisal, that most people I spoke to insisted on anonymity. This was in spite of the fact that many of the same people said Trump would only be restrained by powerful voices standing up to him." My Weekend FT essay. Please read it. on.ft.com/4hqblpr
Me ahead of next week's Dutch elections on the three ways of being a far-right leader: Trump's maximalism, Meloni's compromise, and in 🇳🇱, Geert Wilders' approach of changing the country by shouting from opposition. He's the man who sets the national agenda @financialtimes.com on.ft.com/3Jly9tK
What nationalist leaders will learn from Geert Wilders
[FREE TO READ] By shouting at the system, the Dutch politician moves it rightwards
on.ft.com
October 24, 2025 at 2:35 PM
Me ahead of next week's Dutch elections on the three ways of being a far-right leader: Trump's maximalism, Meloni's compromise, and in 🇳🇱, Geert Wilders' approach of changing the country by shouting from opposition. He's the man who sets the national agenda @financialtimes.com on.ft.com/3Jly9tK
Reposted by Simon Kuper
Journalist Simon Kuper: ‘Mijn liefde voor voetbal herkende ik weer door mijn kinderen’
Journalist Simon Kuper: ‘Mijn liefde voor voetbal herkende ik weer door mijn kinderen’
Journalist Simon Kuper schreef een boek over de negen WK’s die hij bezocht. Hoe bleef hij van voetbal houden terwijl randzaken en misstanden de sport steeds meer beheersen? ‘Zeg niet dat mensen geen plezier meer mogen hebben.’
www.trouw.nl
October 23, 2025 at 4:03 AM
Journalist Simon Kuper: ‘Mijn liefde voor voetbal herkende ik weer door mijn kinderen’
Reposted by Simon Kuper
🎧 Thursday morning listening 🎧
Catch up with @simonkuper.bsky.social discussing his new book #WorldCupFever on Monocle Radio below ⚽️
Catch up with @simonkuper.bsky.social discussing his new book #WorldCupFever on Monocle Radio below ⚽️
Simon Kuper on his new book, ‘World Cup Fever: A Footballing Journey in Nine Tournaments’ - Monocle
We speak with author and ‘Financial Times’ journalist Simon Kuper about his new book, ‘World Cup Fever: A Footballing Journey...
monocle.com
October 23, 2025 at 8:38 AM
🎧 Thursday morning listening 🎧
Catch up with @simonkuper.bsky.social discussing his new book #WorldCupFever on Monocle Radio below ⚽️
Catch up with @simonkuper.bsky.social discussing his new book #WorldCupFever on Monocle Radio below ⚽️
Over George Blake schreef ik de biografie De vrolijke verrader. Hier vertel ik op @nporadio1.bsky.social over de KGB-spion uit Spangen, zijn legendarische ontsnapping uit de gevangenis, en zijn vlucht (o.m. in een campervan) van Londen naar Moskou www.nporadio1.nl/fragmenten/v...
Terug naar Toen: Spion George Blake ontsnapt uit gevangenis
Op 22 oktober 1966 ontsnapt dubbelspion George Blake uit de gevangenis. Aanvankelijk spioneerde hij voor de geallieerden maar in de jaren 50 werd hij communist en werd hij dubbelspion. Journalist Simo...
www.nporadio1.nl
October 22, 2025 at 6:13 PM
Over George Blake schreef ik de biografie De vrolijke verrader. Hier vertel ik op @nporadio1.bsky.social over de KGB-spion uit Spangen, zijn legendarische ontsnapping uit de gevangenis, en zijn vlucht (o.m. in een campervan) van Londen naar Moskou www.nporadio1.nl/fragmenten/v...