iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by Dr Seth Thévoz

TheKnightIrish @theknightirish.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Where better to read @seththevoz.bsky.social’s The Secret Life of London Private Members’ Clubs than in my own little club, the Soho Whisky Club. I’ve combined in with a rich @glendronach.bsky.social from a PX sherry cask. #readingndrinking

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Dr Seth Thévoz @seththevoz.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

I grew up with this show, and never cease to be amazed at how it doesn’t age. The characters are beautifully written and played; and above all, it’s so pacy. No wonder Phil Silvers ended up having a string of strokes, throwing himself into the scenarios with such aplomb.

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Jonathan Calder @lordbonkers.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Liberal England: Violet Bonham Carter and Mary Stocks remember the struggle for women's suffrage A television discussion from 1968, chaired by a young Joan Bakewell, with two women who were there.

liberalengland.blogspot.com

Violet Bonham Carter and Mary Stocks remember the struggle for women's suffrage

I thought I had finished blogging for today, but this video is too good not to share with you tonight. It's a BBC2 discussion from 1968 with...

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dls100.bsky.social @dls100.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

Mark Carney graduated magna cum laude from Harvard in 1985. He got his Masters & PHD in Economics at Oxford. He worked at Goldman Sachs. He was the governor of the Bank of England, then the governor of the Bank of Canada. Here's Trump's background in "economics"🙄, from his niece, Mary Trump:

Donald, on the other hand, couldn't even get into college. When he graduated from New York Military Academy that spring, he hadn't yet been accepted anywhere and asked his older sister, Maryanne, for help. She drove him around to local schools close enough to my grandparents' house so he could commute, and Fordham University finally found a spot for him. Fordham, however, wasn't prestigious enough for him. He had his sights set on the University of Pennsylvania and the Wharton School.
Because Maryanne did his homework for him and wrote his papers, his grades were decent enough, but he worried about the SATs. To hedge his bets, he paid a guy he knew, with a reputation for being a good test taker, to take his SATs for him. Just to be on the safe side, he also asked my dad to speak with his fraternity brother, who worked in Penn's admissions office to put in a good word.

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Dr Seth Thévoz @seththevoz.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

I’m bemused to see that Podmasters now have me as a meme, with a “doomed, but chipper” expression when analysing bad news.

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Oh God, What Now? – the politics podcast @ohgodwhatnow.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

In the wake of Farage and Reform’s record-breaking £36m donation from Ben Delo, @seththevoz.bsky.social looks back at some of British politics' biggest donations. Hear the full conversation via ➡️ linktr.ee/ohgodwhatnowpod

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Dr Seth Thévoz @seththevoz.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Insomnia means watching the Republican National Convention of 1976, while the band is playing 'Tie a Yellow Ribbon' on the convention floor as the runners & riders are discussed; and along with the wide suit lapels, it is the most seventies thing ever. youtu.be/0MBl40dv18w?...

youtu.be

1976 Republican National Convention

YouTube video by Memoryretro

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Dr Seth Thévoz @seththevoz.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

Lots to discuss, on Farage’s £36 million mega-donations..

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Dr Seth Thévoz @seththevoz.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

Some G. K. Chesterton fan should do a pastiche of ‘The Man Who Was Thursday’, where it turns out that *everyone* at the BBC is an undercover right-winger trying to do an exposé on how it’s supposedly secretly run by left-wingers.

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George Monbiot @georgemonbiot.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

Perhaps, during his private education, fake bloke Daniel Thomas read PG Wodehouse's Code of the Woosters and thought "that Roderick Spode and his Black Shorts sounds like a spiffing fellow, and just the chap I want to be when I grow up." And there they are, black shorts and all. A dream come true.

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Oh God, What Now? – the politics podcast @ohgodwhatnow.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

🚨NEW EPISODE🚨 Farage is trying every excuse he can after *that* documentary. Will they work? @seththevoz.bsky.social, @jonnelledge.bsky.social, @rmcunliffe.bsky.social & @rafaelbehr.bsky.social discuss the fallout ➡️ linktr.ee/ohgodwhatnowpod

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Dr Seth Thévoz @seththevoz.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

Well, I've got to grant Dr. James Orr this, his "impact" submission for REF 2029 is already sorted.

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Robert Saunders @robertsaunders.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

90 years ago, Parliament responded to the rise of Oswald Mosley's Blackshirts by passing the Public Order Act, which banned political uniforms, private militias and the threat of force for political objects. The debates make very resonant reading today. Here's the Liberal Robert Bernays. (Short 🧵)

You cannot conduct a fair match when one side is playing with a ball and the other with bombs and, if democracy is to survive, it must be conducted according to definite and recognised rule. One of them is that no political party should resort to any weapon other than reason and argument. The introduction of private armies, as I see it, strikes at the root of democracy. I know it is contended that the Blackshirts are not armed and, therefore, are not an army, but I do not think that argument can be upheld. … Uniformed men in military formation suggest, and are meant to suggest, the idea of force. It is no argument to reply that at this or that demonstration no force is intended. It is an inescapable fact that a uniform in politics symbolises force, to be used either now or in the future.

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derek guy @dieworkwear.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

this is the kind of design costume designers make to tell you who are the bad guys in a space movie

Donald Trump posts an image on his Truth Social account. It shows a new uniform for US Space Force members, comprising of an all-black outfit with knee-high black leather boots, black cap, and minimalist looking suit.

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Dr Seth Thévoz @seththevoz.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

I’m as surprised as you that so much of the Channel 4’s Reform UK fundraising investigation overlaps with Clubland. One other thing went unnoticed: Nigel Farage’s predilection for Black Velvet, the Guinness-and-champagne cocktail that came out of Brooks’s, where Farage has been a guest in the past.

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Movies Silently @moviessilently.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

"Billie" is such an interesting name. Tons of 1910s and 1920s silent actresses took it as a screen name, almost none of them actually had it as a birth name. It started taking off IRL in the 1920s and peaked in 1930. So it was pretty much an astroturfed name.

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Dr Seth Thévoz @seththevoz.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

More “spot the London club“. Channel 4 have now posted an expanded version of their fly-on-the-wall investigative documentary, with extra scenes at Oswald’s. You can view it here: m.youtube.com/watch?v=RugP...

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Dr Seth Thévoz @seththevoz.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

Is this what Reform UK meant by “the lanyard classes”?

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Dr Seth Thévoz @seththevoz.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

A bold move, denying dishonesty whilst cosplaying as a bookie.

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Reposted by Dr Seth Thévoz

Robert Hutton @roberthutton.co.uk · 04/09/2026

With all respect to the BBC, the reason this story "matters" is not about whether it distracts from Reform's conference. It "matters" because it is important our leaders are not conspiring to break the law.

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Dr Seth Thévoz @seththevoz.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

Hang on. First there was a White House ballroom which was just meant to be a ballroom; but later magically snuck in a state-of-the-art 6-storey military bunker & underground complex. Now we have this ludicrous triumphal arch, which we’re now told will also host…a “military observation deck”?!?

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Dr Seth Thévoz @seththevoz.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

"So the Reality is We Can Easily Get Away With It" sounds like the title of a confessional memoir, published 18 months later.

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Dr Seth Thévoz @seththevoz.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

A game of “spot the London club“, as a setting in Channel 4 News’s most recent undercover investigation. www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXut...

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Reposted by Dr Seth Thévoz

Charlotte Nichols MP @charlotte2153.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

For someone that had never been a backbench MP, and who broadly treated backbench MPs with at best indifference and at worst contempt during his time as leader, I'm not that surprised at all though I'd hoped he might actually have a crack at it (who knows, might have even enjoyed it?)

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Oh God, What Now? – the politics podcast @ohgodwhatnow.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

🗞️ NEW EPISODE 🗞️ What used to be called Fleet Street is ecstatic at the return of ”Harry and Meghan“. The rest of us are going to get spammed by news stories we don’t care about. Why??? 🗞️ We look at newsroom psychosis and more 🗞️ Listen linktr.ee/ohgodwhatnow...

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Dr Seth Thévoz @seththevoz.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

Everything you ever wanted to know about Welsh rarebit/Welsh rabbit, but were afraid to ask. clubland.substack.com/p/welsh-rare...

clubland.substack.com

Welsh Rarebit

A Clubland staple

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Dr Seth Thévoz @seththevoz.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

You can usually get a pretty good sense of someone’s character from their opinion of the late, great Dolly Parton.

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Dr Seth Thévoz @seththevoz.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

RIP Dolly Parton. Kudos to someone who used their unique position in popular culture to consistently and unashamedly call for love and conciliation, rather than hatred and division.

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The Bunker podcast – News without the nonsense @bunkerpod.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

The “Middle East” has been widely used for more than a century. But is it time the region was given a new name? Historian and author Simon Sebag Montefiore weighs in 👇 🎧 Listen to the full episode with @seththevoz.bsky.social: www.patreon.com/bunkercast

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Dr Seth Thévoz @seththevoz.bsky.social · 22/08/2026

This episode of 'Oh God, What Now', with Chris Bryant & Marie Le Conte, was actually my debut in the presenter's chair. While I've been a regular on the show since 2022 (and first turned up as a guest in 2020), it's hard to believe that this was only a year ago today...

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Tufty McTavish @tuftymctavish.com · 20/08/2026

🎧 The one where @seththevoz.bsky.social talks Middle East politics with guest Simon Sebag-Montefiore, who suggests the name is “obsolete.” “If you look at the Middle East now… you see this grand convergence of theaters. And you really need a new expression for the Middle East.” 🌍 #Podcasts 📻

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The Bunker podcast – News without the nonsense @bunkerpod.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

📍 NEW EPISODE 📍 Who made the Middle East? Can Trump’s “peace efforts” really reshape the region? And will it swing between hope and catastrophe forever? @seththevoz.bsky.social and bestselling historian Simon Sebag-Montefiore unpick the region’s complicated history ➡️ linktr.ee/bunker_pod

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Reposted by Dr Seth Thévoz

The Economist @economist.com · 18/07/2026

Private members’ clubs are a precarious business. Around 90% fail, often within three years, says Seth Thévoz, a historian of clubland

bit.ly

London’s private members’ clubs are proliferating

But building a new community is harder than it looks

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Oh God, What Now? – the politics podcast @ohgodwhatnow.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

📳 NEW EPISODE 📳 Was the media alone responsible for the death of Jason Arday? Or was it more complex and sadder than that? 📳 With @seththevoz.bsky.social @youngvulgarian.marieleconte.com @jamesrball.com & special guest @londonstani.bsky.social 📳 Listen linktr.ee/ohgodwhatnow...

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Dr Seth Thévoz @seththevoz.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

Not an easy episode to do, but an important one.

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Dr Seth Thévoz @seththevoz.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

Of course the government’s “Don’t start a barbecue” phone alert rang out just as I was doing the most sensitive part of a spot of DIY; and I’ve now smeared my hands in superglue…

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Oh God, What Now? – the politics podcast @ohgodwhatnow.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

Shaking hands with Binface is up there with having to ask the Monarch for leave to form a government. Surprised Farage would trample on our national traditions like this.

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Dr Seth Thévoz @seththevoz.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

Any serious British politician doesn’t fear being photographed next to Count Binface at an election count - indeed, for an aspiring Prime Minister, it’s a rite of passage.

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Oh God, What Now? – the politics podcast @ohgodwhatnow.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

🗑️ LATEST EPISODE 🗑️ Farage’s troubles aren’t over just because he won in Clacton. But he might just swerve having to face another by-election… 🗑️ With @seththevoz.bsky.social @jasonhazeley.bsky.social @nndroid.bsky.social & special guest @rewearmouth.bsky.social 🗑️ Listen – linktr.ee/ohgodwhatnow...

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Matt Green @mattgreencomedy.com · 14/08/2026

For his next stunt Farage is going to challenge a toddler to a tennis match and then crow about his overwhelming victory when he wins in a tie break

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Dr Seth Thévoz @seththevoz.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

In the unlikely event Count Binface wins… Until 1998, it actually used to be compulsory for MPs to wear a hat in the Commons chamber, if they were making a Point of Order during a division. A stock of top hats was kept for that purpose. Here’s Gyles Brandreth modelling one.

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Dr Seth Thévoz @seththevoz.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

This is a dreadful development in our politics, which is bound to see dodgy & illegal lobbying now go unnoticed. And I say this as someone who, 20 years ago, was included in the register of MPs’ staff interests, when I worked for an MP. I never begrudged my inclusion on the register.

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Dr Seth Thévoz @seththevoz.bsky.social · 09/08/2026

People often don't believe me when I give the closure rate of private members' clubs as 90%. But this piece (notionally on Victorian cartoons) was a chance to look at why so many clubs closed down. Many of these patterns can be seen in today's club "boom." clubland.substack.com/p/max-beerbo...

clubland.substack.com

Max Beerbohm’s ‘Clubland Types’ cartoons - 4

The fourth and final part

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Oh God, What Now? – the politics podcast @ohgodwhatnow.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

🥵 WRONG HOT SUMMER 🥵 Britain is parched and burning… but Badenoch is purging climate realists and the Greens just want to tax the rich. WTF is going on? 🔥 With @rostaylor.bsky.social @rmcunliffe.bsky.social @seththevoz.bsky.social & @zoegrunewald.bsky.social ☀️ Listen linktr.ee/ohgodwhatnow...

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Dr Seth Thévoz @seththevoz.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

This week, we tut-tutted at everything from global warming to Kemi Badenoch.

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Count Binface @countbinface.bsky.social · 06/08/2026

There now follows a party election broadcast by the Count Binface Party, And if I do say so myself, it's a banger. #VoteBinface #Clacton

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