A bit of this and that

This Substack is about two things that annoy me because they get in the way of making better decisions: failing to think through unintended consequences and refusing to face up to tradeoffs.

How do you write a Substack? I was thinking about how I do it, and realised I think of it like cooking a meal. Sometimes improvised from what is in the cupboard and/or fridge (topics I’m interested in...

Pyramid Orchid

Letting nature take over at a former dairy farm has resulted in a surge of species in just three years

“Hope is important because it can make the present moment less difficult to bear.

Writer Kathryn Jezer-Morton coined friction-maxxing to describe deliberately choosing inconvenience over tech efficiency.

“You may not control all the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced by them.”

I hope you are enjoying spring if you’re in the northern hemisphere, and that autumn is being kind to you if you’re in the southern hemisphere.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics found that U.S. employers added 181,000 jobs last year, far fewer than the 1.46 million

Hello and welcome to new subscribers.

97 ways the world got better in 2025.

As 2026 begins, the days are slowly getting longer, here in the Northern hemisphere.

I can’t be outside as often as I would like because we’re having a lot of rain.

Visions of possible, positive futures

They’re known as the “ghost of the mountains,” so it makes sense that snow leopards can be extremely difficult to spot. Yet, these majestic, thick-furred cats, living in the high mountains of Asia, ar...

My personal Substack on making sense of the world, thinking about the future, writing and reasons to be optimistic. Click to read "It's not all bad...", by Patricia Lustig, a Substack publication with...

Some say advances in perovskite solar cells mean we are on the brink of the next solar energy revolution. Others aren't so sure.

No one on Earth has done more to promote the power of fungi than Paul Stamets, whose mycology work has earned him numerous patents, millions of followers and a Star Trek character.

After years of working abroad in marine conservation, Cassandra Garduño returned home to find the chinampas of her childhood, Mexico City’s ancient floating farms, choked with pollution and abandoned.

“What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.” JANE GOODALL

Sick of scrolling through junk results, AI-generated ads and links to lookalike products? The author and activist behind the term ‘enshittification’ explains what’s gone wrong with the internet – and ...

A Universal Rethinking of Futures Literacy

The Earth's protective ozone layer is on track to fully recover by mid-century, according to a report from the UN's World Meteorological Organization released Tuesday. The bulletin hailed the success…

The Endangered night parrot (Pezoporus occidentalis) is one of the rarest birds in Australia, with fewer than 20 known alive today.

In the remote state of Meghalaya, foraged foods are helping to diversify state-provided menus – and tackle chronic malnutrition

“Don’t let anyone rob you of your imagination, your creativity, or your curiosity.

A Comprehensive Critique of Language and Its Use

Labors of Destruction and Creation

“Breathing in, I calm my body.

The past few weeks have seemed to have little news that was good.

I have been kept away from this Substack due to a busy period of speaking at conferences, running workshops and Masterclasses and contributing a Chapter to the upcoming Knowledge Base for Future Studi...

YouTube video by Jimmy Kimmel Live

‘Pretty devastating’ Apple paper raises doubts about race to reach stage of AI at which it matches human intelligence

Today’s guest post is written by my long time writing partner (we wrote our first book together in 2010) Gill Ringland.

In most rich countries, child mortality has more than halved in the last thirty years; we know we can go further.

I wanted to write something about Bevrijdingsdag yesterday and wasn’t able to find the time with all the chores that seem to arise on a Bank Holiday weekend.