Mark Foden
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markfoden.com
Mark Foden
@markfoden.com
Proceeding by experiment
Complexity | Digital | Change
The Clock and the Cat podcast
Reposted by Mark Foden
You know what to do baby ❤️
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December 4, 2025 at 12:15 AM
I asked ChatGPT if there was any evidence that Somalian immigrants commit more crime in the US than native-born citizens. Guess what…

www.bbc.com/news/article...
Trump says he doesn't want Somalis in US as ICE plans operation
The president says the US will "go the wrong way if we keep taking in garbage into our country".
www.bbc.com
December 3, 2025 at 6:42 AM
Reposted by Mark Foden
Here is a list of reasons why some of my hearings and trials this year have been delayed and kicked off into the long grass, stuck in our record court backlog. Serious allegations which will now be tried *years* after the event. 🧵👇
November 27, 2025 at 8:01 PM
Sounds about right

medium.com/@alysion42/i...
Is Modern Civilization Unsustainable?
B, The Honest Sorcerer, thinks it is not remotely sustainable
medium.com
November 22, 2025 at 9:24 AM
"People offer simple solutions to problems and yet there are all these complex things going on" - Gareth Southgate

Wise

@therestpolitics.bsky.social open.spotify.com/episode/2Qdy...
162. Gareth Southgate: Patriotism, Leadership, and How To Inspire Young Men
Spotify video
open.spotify.com
November 20, 2025 at 8:25 AM
T’was ever thus - Mythical Man-Month (1975)
November 13, 2025 at 9:26 AM
“Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope” - RFK

www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/1...
Why I Am Resigning
A federal judge explains his reasoning for leaving the bench.
www.theatlantic.com
November 9, 2025 at 6:32 PM
Reposted by Mark Foden
Ticket sales for the Washington National Opera have collapsed since Trump took over the Kennedy center

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
Washington National Opera may move out of Kennedy Center due to Trump ‘takeover’
Ticket sales at about 40% unsold compared with before president made himself chair of US performing arts center
www.theguardian.com
November 8, 2025 at 1:57 PM
Transactional solutions to interactional problems: things will get worse not better

Hilary has great ideas, with real traction - read Radical Help
November 8, 2025 at 2:56 PM
“Is there anything that the president and the republicans are doing well right now?"

"Not that I can see"

Jim Wade, an impressively calm and pragmatic Kentuckian soybean farmer talking about the effect of tariffs on his business
How is the ongoing trade war with China hitting American farmers?

From skyrocketing equipment costs to disappearing export markets, Jim Wade shares with @amymcgrath.bsky.social how chaotic tariff policies are threatening the survival of small family farms.

https://youtu.be/S0n8raBacog
November 7, 2025 at 7:29 AM
Reposted by Mark Foden
Threads on Bluesky should feel more like conversations you’d have IRL.

We’re testing new systems to improve reply quality. See what’s coming: bsky.social/about/blog/1...
Progress Update: Building Healthier Social Media - Bluesky
Over the next few months, we’ll be iterating on the systems that make Bluesky a better place for healthy conversations. Some experiments will stick, others will evolve, and we’ll share what we learn a...
bsky.social
October 31, 2025 at 6:48 PM
Reposted by Mark Foden
I have a very bad feeling about this...
October 27, 2025 at 4:51 PM
Reposted by Mark Foden
@aoc at the rally for Mamdani Sunday in NYC.

“This city was built by the Irish escaping famine, Italians fleeing fascism, Black Americans fleeing slavery and Jim Crow, Latinos seeking a better life, Native people standing for themselves, Asian Americans coming together…”

So good!! 🔥
October 27, 2025 at 3:09 AM
There’s been a lot of it about
Idi Amin was a pioneer of populism. He styled himself as a straight-talking man of the people, thumbing his nose at the old imperial overlords and thwarting foreign saboteurs. Two new books make the case for taking him seriously
Idi Amin, a pioneer of mass deportation
Expelling Asians from Uganda was popular. How did it work out?
econ.st
October 26, 2025 at 7:08 AM
Reposted by Mark Foden
Here's a version of the English nursery rhyme, "The Grand Old Duke of York" 🎶 about the man who says he isn't going to call himself it anymore ... though whether he should be taken at his word ... 🤔

youtu.be/hoETmTJM014
"Grand Old Duke of York" - parody of English nursery rhyme by the Marsh Family on Prince Andrew
YouTube video by Marsh Family
youtu.be
October 21, 2025 at 6:46 AM
Reposted by Mark Foden
... more like at least 25 years than 15! :)

bsky.app/profile/ntou...
I've been sourcing additional content and updating my book "Fracture" in preparation for its Second Edition.

I recently found this slide from 2000 describing how the best teams were working in Whitehall back then—very similar to the recent discussion about the role and value of 'test-and-learn'.
October 20, 2025 at 7:29 AM
Reposted by Mark Foden
I guess the question is how far those changes have helped govt deliver better policy outcomes? Looking around, the evidence seems patchy—digital's still often relegated to transactional service improvements rather than making the public sector become more effective in how it tackles policy issues
October 21, 2025 at 9:28 AM
A super piece - critically important ideas about escaping the endless mire of underperformance in government
Iterate, if you can. A new post from me on the long struggle to create shorter feedback cycles in government:

medium.com/@jamestplunk...
Iterate, if you can
The long struggle to create shorter feedback cycles in government
medium.com
October 23, 2025 at 7:06 AM
Reposted by Mark Foden
Bertrand Russell to Oswald Mosley. Perfection.
October 16, 2025 at 3:04 PM
A disturbing (and plausible) view on AI. Development progressing geometrically. Huge change in next few years. Real possibility of bad stuff. Needs rapid but measured global collaboration between big players to avoid. US (hence Trump) being one of those…

youtu.be/5KVDDfAkRgc
We're Not Ready for Superintelligence
YouTube video by AI In Context
youtu.be
October 19, 2025 at 11:45 AM
Reposted by Mark Foden
October 17, 2025 at 10:05 PM
Reposted by Mark Foden
Brain tumours are rare, but their early signs are easy to mistake for stress, tiredness or the menopause. Researchers explain what to look for – and why it matters.
The seven symptoms that can delay brain tumour diagnosis – and why early detection matters
Brain tumours are rare, but their early signs are easy to mistake for stress, tiredness or the menopause. Researchers explain what to look for – and why it matters.
tcnv.link
October 15, 2025 at 6:12 AM
Reposted by Mark Foden
The age verification chickens, it seems, are inbound
BREAKING: A catastrophic breach has impacted Discord user data including selfies and identity documents uploaded as part of the app’s verification process, email addresses, phone numbers, approximately where the user lives, and much more.

🔗 www.404media.co/the-discord-...
The Discord Hack is Every Users’ Worst Nightmare
A hack impacting Discord’s age verification process shows in stark terms the risk of tech companies collecting users’ ID documents. Now the hackers are posting peoples’ IDs and other sensitive informa...
www.404media.co
October 9, 2025 at 10:03 PM