Iain King @iainbking.com · 28/09/2026It’s fascinating to have your previous views changed. There was much in this article which was new to me: www.theguardian.com/world/2026/s...theguardian.comBritain knew about the Holocaust as it happened. A new exhibition reckons with that truthResearch draws upon reporting and witness testimony, while a permanent memorial is planned for London 021
Iain King @iainbking.com · 27/09/2026I feel sorry for Monica Grenfell. She did her duty as a civil servant, by reporting her evidence relating to alleged war crimes committed by serving special forces officers (allegations which first emerged from SAS members) and everyone is mocking and ridiculing her. Awful. 011
Iain King @iainbking.com · 26/09/2026Great article by Johanthan Freedland on 7Up: www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...theguardian.comThe makers of the 7 Up series set out to prove a point about class. What they achieved is far more profound | Jonathan FreedlandThe epic documentary series reveals much about the shifting social attitudes of the last 60 years – and much more about the quiet mystery of human life, says Guardian columnist Jonathan Freedland 000
Iain King @iainbking.com · 18/09/2026www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...theguardian.comThe spectre of ‘remigration’ is haunting Europe. Slovenia in 1992 gives us a blueprint for this state terror | Miha MazziniIn February that year, the Slovenian government officially deleted 25,000 citizens, turning them overnight into illegal immigrants, says writer and film-maker Miha Mazzini 000
Iain King @iainbking.com · 14/09/2026www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...theguardian.comWarning: our democracy won’t survive the death of reading. Read on if you still can | John HarrisWhile fascists protest in UK ports and purvey nonsense and poison online, ever fewer people have the perspective or analytical tools to challenge them, says Guardian columnist John Harris 000
Iain King @iainbking.com · 31/08/2026I do hope more journalists press them on this. If you oppose early release (as they do), what’s their plan? Will they raise taxes for more prison places? (Etc) 181
Iain King @iainbking.com · 30/08/2026Excellent post by @samfr.bsky.social on how cynical arguments are used to undermine ‘Net Zero’ and other sensible policies: samf.substack.com/p/how-to-kil...samf.substack.comHow to kill a popular policyOpposing action to tackle climate change is getting tricker. 030
Iain King @iainbking.com · 23/08/2026On the anniversary of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, here’s something I wrote on it in 2019 - even more salient now, following Russia’s full scale invasion of Ukraine: www.csis.org/analysis/pas...csis.orgIs Past Prologue? The Eightieth Anniversary of the Start of World War II and a Secret Pact Between Great PowersEighty years after the signing of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, which precipitated the invasion of Poland and the beginning of World War II, CSIS’s Iain King discusses the lessons we should learn from ... 300
Iain King @iainbking.com · 22/08/2026What I find most troubling about today’s free speech debate is that those who mist loudly defend the right to say anything free from any government or public sanction, have no trouble at all with the regulation of speech by commercial or private interests. 1130
Iain King @iainbking.com · 22/08/2026engelsbergideas.com/notebook/the...engelsbergideas.comThe forgotten Forever WarThe trauma of the Vietnam War dominated American culture for decades, yet the nation's longest war – in Afghanistan – has largely vanished. Why? 000
Iain King @iainbking.com · 13/08/2026It's today when we're meant to show off about getting A-level results decades ago, and patronise young people with humblebrags, right? 000
Iain King @iainbking.com · 25/07/2026Never, in the history of opinion polling, has a question lent itself more to empirical testing. 010
Iain King @iainbking.com · 25/07/2026The Guardian excels at one-star reviews… www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio...theguardian.comBoris Johnson: Into Ukraine’s Kill Zone review – the self-serving narcissist ruins this documentaryJust by his being there, the ex-prime minister undermines the honour of every brave fighter he meets in this tour of the war’s frontline. It should never have made it to TV 053
Iain King @iainbking.com · 16/07/2026I watched the England vs Argentina match, but only now - the next day - feel radicalised by the scandalously poor refereeing, after seeing social media posts. It’s a funny feeling. 000
Iain King @iainbking.com · 05/07/2026In the US, Biden is the only 21st century president with lots of relevant experience. Post war, you could include Bush I, Ford, Nixon, Truman and LBJ (perhaps Reagan too). It doesn’t correlate strongly with performance. 000
Iain King @iainbking.com · 30/06/2026Great article on the ethics within AI, and how philosophers have shaped the evolution of non-human decision making: www.theguardian.com/news/ng-inte...theguardian.com‘There’s this deep mystery of what, actually, is this thing?’: the philosopher inside Google DeepMindThe long read: Since 2017, Iason Gabriel has worked at the tech giant, trying to anticipate – and think through – the impact of AI. But as commercial and geopolitical pressures escalate, can ethicists... 120
Iain King @iainbking.com · 21/06/2026If Andy Burnham (born 1970) becomes British Prime Minister, it means Liz Truss will no longer be the only PM from Generation X. 000
Iain King @iainbking.com · 12/06/2026www.theguardian.com/science/2026...theguardian.comSubterranean fungi networks more than 100 quadrillion km in length, study findsFirst ever global mapping of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi shows scale of hyphal systems that sustain plant life 010
Iain King @iainbking.com · 10/06/2026Macdonalds has David Beckham on their World Cup merchandise, implying he’s still a player. 010
Iain King @iainbking.com · 28/05/2026It was early June, a few weeks before the UK GE poll on 4 July. It took more than a month after this for him to step down. 000
Iain King @iainbking.com · 28/05/2026Good to see some accountability, but yet again its a woman who may be punished for Epstein-related actions : www.theguardian.com/news/2026/ma...theguardian.com‘Seriously the best boss ever’: inside the world of Jeffrey Epstein’s assistantThe long read: She was quick, polite, relentlessly positive, military-grade efficient. A trawl through the Epstein files raises the troubling question: what did Lesley Groff know? 000
Reposted by Iain KingTrish Greenhalgh @trishgreenhalgh.bsky.social · 23/05/2026Every summer I repost this article on how to spot drowning. Please read it and pass on. In the last few years I’ve had SIX messages from people who saved a kid’s life after clicking on the link from my feed. slate.com/technology/2...slate.comDrowning Doesn’t Look Like DrowningDrowning is not the violent, splashing call for help that most people expect. 253133959735
Iain King @iainbking.com · 01/05/2026Excellent new public art from Banksy in central London. Clever, contemporary, controversial, well executed, and a great prompt for discussion. 0184
Iain King @iainbking.com · 19/04/2026A long read, but worth it: www.theguardian.com/news/2026/ap...theguardian.comThe impossible promise: are we witnessing the return of fascism?Some of today’s far right is openly violent and undemocratic – and even in its less extreme forms, far-right populism is a profound threat. But that doesn’t mean it is just a re-run of history 000
Iain King @iainbking.com · 04/04/2026On the front lines, Russian soldiers pay officers to stay alive - The Economist. apple.news/AB_qTtdUPT7a...apple.newsOn the front lines, Russian soldiers pay officers to stay alive — The EconomistThe war against Ukraine has created a corrupt economy of blood money 021
Iain King @iainbking.com · 24/02/2026Mostly, yes. But public inquiries can also deal with compound failures, where several micro-failures contribute to a macro-failure. 010
Iain King @iainbking.com · 11/02/2026Agreed - he’s done something rare for such an interview: he’s materially altered the options available to the PM. 080
Iain King @iainbking.com · 11/02/2026Is there a link to the document, please? (And what was the four year period referenced by the parent she quoted?) 000
Iain King @iainbking.com · 07/02/2026“Each communications revolution rewrotes the political order it inherits” - very insightful piece, well worth a read: engelsbergideas.com/notebook/aft...engelsbergideas.comAfter the Eighth Great PowerEach communications revolution rewrites the political order. Democracies will not survive by clinging to broadcast certainties or chasing every viral falsehood. 110
Iain King @iainbking.com · 04/02/2026There’s a similar list by Churchill in his 1930 biography, ‘My Early Life’ where he laments how almost all of his contemporary members of the military polo team in India in the 1890s died in WWI. Well worth digging up if you can. 031
Iain King @iainbking.com · 03/02/2026Several European countries, including the UK, have already moved forward on accountability and justice re Epstein. The fact so few (any?) Americans have faced any sanctions reflects v badly on the one-time ‘shining city on the hill.’ 000
Reposted by Iain KingJust Jack @just-jack-1.bsky.social · 20/01/2026Maybe Greenland could invade us instead? 48297953459
Iain King @iainbking.com · 11/01/2026To mark the 250th anniversary of the publication of his world-changing pamphlet ‘Common Sense’, here’s a biography of its author, the quixotic Thomas Paine: www.military-history.org/feature/thin...military-history.orgTHINKERS AT WAR - Thomas Paine | Military History MattersIain King evaluates the life and work of journalist, politician, and firebrand Tom Paine. 0125
Iain King @iainbking.com · 07/01/2026Agreed, but on that example, ‘There will be different reactions to this’ is passive. Perhaps the best is, ‘Some people will have different reactions to this’ (still not quite right) 020
Iain King @iainbking.com · 05/01/2026Vaccines do not cause autism - in fact, there’s a greater correlation between autism and people who haven’t been vaccinated : www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/...acpjournals.orgMeasles, Mumps, Rubella Vaccination and Autism: A Nationwide Cohort Study: Annals of Internal Medicine: Vol 170, No 8Background: The hypothesized link between the measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) vaccine and autism continues to cause concern and challenge vaccine uptake. Objective: To evaluate whether the MMR vaccine i... 021
Iain King @iainbking.com · 23/12/2025www.theatlantic.com/magazine/arc...theatlantic.comThere’s No Such Thing as Free WillBut we all may be better off believing in it anyway. 010
Iain King @iainbking.com · 21/12/2025Excellent article : Singapore (perhaps the UK’s greatest defeat in WWII) offers important lessons for today: engelsbergideas.com/notebook/nat...engelsbergideas.comNATO’s 1937 momentIn 1937, British officers tried – and failed – to challenge orthodox assumptions about the defence of Singapore. Their experience offers a warning for how NATO should think about Russia today. 021
Iain King @iainbking.com · 15/12/2025Brilliant analysis by Peter Kellner, which explains the long term decline in productivity (in the UK and elsewhere ) and says where to point the finger (not where you think - read to the end): kellnerp.substack.com/p/rachel-ree...kellnerp.substack.comRachel Reeves’s biggest crisis isn’t overProductivity remains a headache. Blame big tech, not just the Tories 000
Iain King @iainbking.com · 09/12/2025Sobering talk on how the human rights movement can be corrupted, but also on how it can be saved. By the ever-excellent Gerald Knaus youtu.be/nSxXjp6_54gyoutu.beWhy The Human Rights Movement Needs To Be Reinvented | Gerald Knaus | TEDxGrazYouTube video by TEDx Talks 010
Iain King @iainbking.com · 27/11/2025Great article: www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...theguardian.comDo you feel lucky? Why acknowledging our own good fortune would make the world a better place | Julian RicherI have been fortunate, and I know it. Now I’d like more successful people to admit that meritocracy is a myth, says Julian Richer, founder of Richer Sounds 010
Reposted by Iain KingAdam Bienkov @adambienkov.bsky.social · 22/11/2025So the line is that he wasn't getting paid for any of this 1611760750
Iain King @iainbking.com · 22/11/2025A doomed attempt to establish peace in Europe, initiated by a once-defeated superpower keen to restore its credentials, and sponsored by the aloof world hyperpower, focussed on its own economy. 100 years since the Locarno Treaty. Prescient. engelsbergideas.com/essays/the-l...engelsbergideas.comThe Locarno Pact's enduring legacyThe Locarno Pact of 1925 provided the foundations for a more just, durable and peaceful European order. Although its early promise was snuffed out by the global crisis of the 1930s, the pact's guiding... 0102
Iain King @iainbking.com · 21/11/2025www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...bbc.co.ukNathan Gill: How WhatsApp messages revealed ex-Reform politician's pro-Russian bribesThe former leader of Reform UK in Wales has admitted bribery and will be sentenced on Friday. 020
Iain King @iainbking.com · 20/11/2025Kiss, skim, touch and stroke: light contact. Enamel, crown, pulp and root: tooth parts. 000