William Cullerne Bown
@williamcb.bsky.social
Technology and politics.
Newsletter https://bit.ly/3AELZDu
Foundations of AI https://bit.ly/3WiYJab
Law https://bit.ly/40YL1fU
Research Fortnight https://bit.ly/4i0
https://signal.me/#eu/xNzjw2P7XIGjBfdQicHbMp0V5SuVpgCQOeUZNpDRqH-mkt2Tan9G6Y0ZitEKsVkN
Newsletter https://bit.ly/3AELZDu
Foundations of AI https://bit.ly/3WiYJab
Law https://bit.ly/40YL1fU
Research Fortnight https://bit.ly/4i0
https://signal.me/#eu/xNzjw2P7XIGjBfdQicHbMp0V5SuVpgCQOeUZNpDRqH-mkt2Tan9G6Y0ZitEKsVkN
Pinned
Trump, Starmer and the populist tide
Old concepts such as left vs right, trust and class aren't enough to explain the trouble we're in
open.substack.com
Today I argue Keir Starmer can only be understood in the context of deep shifts in the character of our politics that are still hard to grasp
open.substack.com/pub/williamc...
open.substack.com/pub/williamc...
Reposted by William Cullerne Bown
1/ Donald Trump isn't the first person to be given someone else's Nobel Prize medal. The last recipient of an unearned Nobel medal was none other than Nazi propaganda chief Joseph Goebbels, at the instigation of Norwegian author Knut Hamsun. ⬇️
January 16, 2026 at 6:35 PM
1/ Donald Trump isn't the first person to be given someone else's Nobel Prize medal. The last recipient of an unearned Nobel medal was none other than Nazi propaganda chief Joseph Goebbels, at the instigation of Norwegian author Knut Hamsun. ⬇️
Reposted by William Cullerne Bown
Can also watch my conversation with @writesbright.bsky.social about dark money and hidden influence on the Democracy for Sale YouTube channel
www.youtube.com/watch?v=oP0O...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=oP0O...
Who Really Funds the Free Speech Union?
YouTube video by Democracy for Sale
www.youtube.com
January 17, 2026 at 10:08 AM
Can also watch my conversation with @writesbright.bsky.social about dark money and hidden influence on the Democracy for Sale YouTube channel
www.youtube.com/watch?v=oP0O...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=oP0O...
This is terrific.
The article by @alondra.bsky.social about “deregulation” of AI but applies I think to control of every industry under populist governments.
The article by @alondra.bsky.social about “deregulation” of AI but applies I think to control of every industry under populist governments.
January 17, 2026 at 10:08 AM
This is terrific.
The article by @alondra.bsky.social about “deregulation” of AI but applies I think to control of every industry under populist governments.
The article by @alondra.bsky.social about “deregulation” of AI but applies I think to control of every industry under populist governments.
Reposted by William Cullerne Bown
January 16, 2026 at 10:38 PM
Reposted by William Cullerne Bown
Over the last year the entire "free speech on campus" beat has been revealed as an utter fraud. Years of punditry puked out in ignorance and bad faith.
Yet even as the fraud becomes undeniable we still get stories about wide-eyed idealists who just wanted 'ideological diversity' and 'open debate'.
Yet even as the fraud becomes undeniable we still get stories about wide-eyed idealists who just wanted 'ideological diversity' and 'open debate'.
January 16, 2026 at 10:39 PM
Over the last year the entire "free speech on campus" beat has been revealed as an utter fraud. Years of punditry puked out in ignorance and bad faith.
Yet even as the fraud becomes undeniable we still get stories about wide-eyed idealists who just wanted 'ideological diversity' and 'open debate'.
Yet even as the fraud becomes undeniable we still get stories about wide-eyed idealists who just wanted 'ideological diversity' and 'open debate'.
On language, I concede this usage is common these days. But no, I don’t think they are straightforward. They claim an absolute objectivity that is a version of what Rosen calls “the view from nowhere”. For example, I would ask “bad for who?”
January 16, 2026 at 9:32 PM
On language, I concede this usage is common these days. But no, I don’t think they are straightforward. They claim an absolute objectivity that is a version of what Rosen calls “the view from nowhere”. For example, I would ask “bad for who?”
Savvy first. Cynical later.
I've increasingly come to view cynicism as the seedbed of totalitarianism, both because it can paralyze the opposition and because it implicitly validates the might-makes-right ethic of the authoritarian.
i have been reading Tom Ricks’ “Fighting the Good War” which is a military analysis of the civil rights movement, and one thing that comes abundantly across is that movement leaders and ordinary people made it a practice to refuse to fall into despair and cynicism.
January 16, 2026 at 8:52 PM
Savvy first. Cynical later.
Reposted by William Cullerne Bown
Big piece on how the UK is not getting the data it needs and how this is affecting policymaking. A key issue seems to be that the shift from surveys to admin data has not worked well as govt departments have not allowed the ONS access to the data it needs
on.ft.com/3WSCN6h
on.ft.com/3WSCN6h
How flawed data is leaving the UK in the dark
Trouble at the Office for National Statistics means policymakers cannot rely on key economic numbers, including on employment
on.ft.com
February 7, 2025 at 7:12 AM
Big piece on how the UK is not getting the data it needs and how this is affecting policymaking. A key issue seems to be that the shift from surveys to admin data has not worked well as govt departments have not allowed the ONS access to the data it needs
on.ft.com/3WSCN6h
on.ft.com/3WSCN6h
But I think you are on to something. What I thought a statement of the bleedin obvious, BlueSky found provocative.
January 16, 2026 at 5:28 PM
But I think you are on to something. What I thought a statement of the bleedin obvious, BlueSky found provocative.
This makes me think we could short circuit half the discussion here by getting everyone to rate the govt from A to F (fail) and stick it in their handle. It would deal with the disappointment.
January 16, 2026 at 5:03 PM
This makes me think we could short circuit half the discussion here by getting everyone to rate the govt from A to F (fail) and stick it in their handle. It would deal with the disappointment.
Frustration more but I'm always happy to see Tom Hardy
January 16, 2026 at 4:46 PM
Frustration more but I'm always happy to see Tom Hardy
I have plenty of criticisms of my own! But quite weird criticisms routinely make the rounds on my timeline without anyone saying, "Hang on..."
January 16, 2026 at 4:45 PM
I have plenty of criticisms of my own! But quite weird criticisms routinely make the rounds on my timeline without anyone saying, "Hang on..."
Haha. Just as Trump is manoeuvring internationally, so democrats need to do the same. It's a re-run of 1930s opposition to the Fascist International. This thread on Greenland fleshes that idea out a bit.
Deploying tripwire troops to Greenland is the right move for Europe, as this article argues. However, the rationale given, military deterrence, is not the only one. It is also a form of political deterrence in that a real shooting match with the Europeans would be terrible for Trump in the midterms.
January 16, 2026 at 3:31 PM
Haha. Just as Trump is manoeuvring internationally, so democrats need to do the same. It's a re-run of 1930s opposition to the Fascist International. This thread on Greenland fleshes that idea out a bit.
Right. I'm a Brit with the same sort of view of Labour's role over here. We need a party to win elections but it isn't going to contest the deeper political issues. So what is needed now is institutions that make it all happen, even if they are as loosely coordinated as MAGA.
January 16, 2026 at 3:05 PM
Right. I'm a Brit with the same sort of view of Labour's role over here. We need a party to win elections but it isn't going to contest the deeper political issues. So what is needed now is institutions that make it all happen, even if they are as loosely coordinated as MAGA.
Reposted by William Cullerne Bown
I kind of get what Eaton is saying here, but it's important to remember that:
a) many Liberals *did* join the Labour Party
b) the Labour platform wasn't much of a departure from that of the left of the Liberal Party (in fact, in some respects it was *less* radical)
a) many Liberals *did* join the Labour Party
b) the Labour platform wasn't much of a departure from that of the left of the Liberal Party (in fact, in some respects it was *less* radical)
Good point from @georgeeaton.bsky.social morningcall.substack.com/p/morning-ca...
January 16, 2026 at 1:39 PM
I kind of get what Eaton is saying here, but it's important to remember that:
a) many Liberals *did* join the Labour Party
b) the Labour platform wasn't much of a departure from that of the left of the Liberal Party (in fact, in some respects it was *less* radical)
a) many Liberals *did* join the Labour Party
b) the Labour platform wasn't much of a departure from that of the left of the Liberal Party (in fact, in some respects it was *less* radical)
The OODA thing is one thing I would take from Cummings.
January 16, 2026 at 2:54 PM
The OODA thing is one thing I would take from Cummings.
This seems fair.
January 16, 2026 at 2:27 PM
This seems fair.
Well I suppose I think this kind of terminology can have a substantive, non-savvy meaning. But it also may not. So in that sense it is highly ambiguous. My suggestion would be to write a few more words and make clear which you mean at the outset.
January 16, 2026 at 2:14 PM
Well I suppose I think this kind of terminology can have a substantive, non-savvy meaning. But it also may not. So in that sense it is highly ambiguous. My suggestion would be to write a few more words and make clear which you mean at the outset.
OMG we are sooooo bad now. If you don't beat us you should be embarrassed.
January 16, 2026 at 2:00 PM
OMG we are sooooo bad now. If you don't beat us you should be embarrassed.
It's just your point of view. "bad", "mistake" - these are technocratic labels being applied to highly political decisions.
January 16, 2026 at 1:59 PM
It's just your point of view. "bad", "mistake" - these are technocratic labels being applied to highly political decisions.
It's something like 70 manifesto pledges delivered or in progress, so not just some, it's unprecedented in recent times. The Tories managed just 3 in their last term.
January 16, 2026 at 1:57 PM
I'm trying to avoid getting into a savvy discussion because I think that's part of the problem. If you want to argue that the government should renege on its most important manifesto commitment, then fine. But that is quite different to saying the government is making mistakes.
January 16, 2026 at 1:55 PM
I'm trying to avoid getting into a savvy discussion because I think that's part of the problem. If you want to argue that the government should renege on its most important manifesto commitment, then fine. But that is quite different to saying the government is making mistakes.