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Ben Stephens

@stephensben.bsky.social
1.1K followers 2.3K following 2.4K posts

Brit living in Chicago – professional copywriter, occasional improviser, happily weaning off Tw*tter.

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Ben Stephens @stephensben.bsky.social · 17h
So the basic thesis of this book is— CURRENTLY the #7 dating book on Amazon — seems to be “To be a boss bitch, simply shrink yourself into a corncob, extinguish all your needs, jettison your communication skills, and see if maybe you can use ego-stroking to trick your man into doing the laundry.”
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Ben Stephens @stephensben.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
Listening to @mrjamesob.bsky.social talking about the attacks on the RNLI — if you stood in the midst of this mob and started loudly singing 🎵 “RULE BRITANNIA…” they would all instinctively join in with a full-throated “…BRITANNIA RULES THE WAVES” with absolutely zero sense of irony.
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Ben Stephens @stephensben.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
This, from Threads, is one of the most dead-on accurate descriptions of Trump I have seen
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Ben Stephens @stephensben.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
Heard you talking about the reduction in phone thefts in London — thought you might find it useful to know that the size of the reduction (13,000) is very close to the capacity of the OVO Wembley Arena. Could be a useful way to help people quantify it.
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Ben Stephens @stephensben.bsky.social · 08/05/2026
The average Brit will earn around £500,000 total over the course of their working life. Nigel Farage was handed 10x that sum (£5m) in a single payment from a Thailand-based crypto baron, and seems to feel it is the height of rudeness for any of us to ask about it. @mrjamesob.bsky.social
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Ben Stephens @stephensben.bsky.social · 20/04/2026
His every act and indulge his every whim. No matter how terrible the things he does (and he does!) they must always respond with "It's GOOD that you did that, Anthony." Deranged and terrifying and basically a snapshot of life in Trump's America. www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Zcd...
youtube.com
Twilight Zone: It's A Good Life
YouTube video by TV Gold HD
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Ben Stephens @stephensben.bsky.social · 20/04/2026
Your comparison of Trump to a toddler reminds me of a Twilight Zone episode that is never far from my thoughts these days: titled 'It's a Good Life,' the episode tells of a town that is held in the terrified thrall of Anthony, a 6-yr-old boy with terrible powers, who compels them to praise... (1/2)
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Ben Stephens @stephensben.bsky.social · 14/04/2026
We are being governed by the dumbest people to ever live.
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Ben Stephens @stephensben.bsky.social · 14/04/2026
Same writer.
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Ben Stephens @stephensben.bsky.social · 13/04/2026
Actual footage of @mrjamesob.bsky.social returning to work after a week off.
media.tenor.com
a man in a suit is carrying a stack of pizza boxes .
ALT: a man in a suit is carrying a stack of pizza boxes .
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Ben Stephens @stephensben.bsky.social · 30/03/2026
@mrjamesob.bsky.social your list of dumb slogans (Brexit Means Brexit, etc) needs to be titled “Thought-Terminating Clichés” as that is what they are. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thought...
en.wikipedia.org
Thought-terminating cliché - Wikipedia
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Ben Stephens @stephensben.bsky.social · 22/03/2026
(Deleting the post now you’ve seen it)
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Ben Stephens @stephensben.bsky.social · 13/03/2026
Listening to @mrjamesob.bsky.social describe the psyche of Donald Trump makes me think of the Buddhist concept of the Hungry Ghost — creatures with endless insatiable wants, cravings of hunger that can never be satisfied. (Coincidentally, depicted in art with huge empty stomachs and tiny mouths.)
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Radley Balko @radleybalko.bsky.social · 03/03/2026
Looking at the 2024 crime figures, it's absolutely insane how Trump, tech billionaires, and centrist pundits fooled everyone into thinking Biden had turned the U.S. into some Hobbesian hellscape. 50-year lows for violent crime, armed robbery, property crime. Second-lowest homicide rate.
ourworldindata.org
How have crime rates in the United States changed over the last 50 years?
Both violent and property crime are far below their 1990s peak, but some crimes see periodic rises.
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Ben Stephens @stephensben.bsky.social · 02/03/2026
As always, America is just tossing a grenade into a car parts store and hoping the blast somehow builds a working car.
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Anna Phylaxis @quatoria.bsky.social · 12/02/2026
The intention of policies like this proposal is to introduce so much friction, so much pain, so much discomfort and humiliation, that a child desists rather than continue to assert their true identity. It is nothing less than conversion therapy being written into school policy.
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Ben Stephens @stephensben.bsky.social · 03/02/2026
OMFG
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david ehrlich @davidehrlich.bsky.social · 20/01/2026
THE 25 BEST FILMS OF 2025 A Video Countdown vimeo.com/1156345183
vimeo.com
THE 25 BEST FILMS OF 2025: A Video Countdown
to watch previous video countdowns please visit: https://www.videocountdowns.com/ this year's video is once again in support of the Palestine Children's…
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Ben Stephens @stephensben.bsky.social · 15/01/2026
One thing I am continually struck by, every goddam day, is just how stupid Republicans think Americans are (or need them to be, to stay in power) — just a daily firehose of easily disprovable lies. But somehow that doesn’t get covered or discussed as “condescension.”
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Ben Stephens @stephensben.bsky.social · 09/01/2026
“I moved on her like a bitch.”
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Ben Stephens @stephensben.bsky.social · 09/01/2026
A number of beauty pageant contestants of yesteryear are very familiar with this exact approach.
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Ben Stephens @stephensben.bsky.social · 05/01/2026
I admire Walz as a person and sympathize with his plight, but it’s hard to avoid the conclusion that by stepping down he is showing bullies that bullying works. So…expect more of this.
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Ben Stephens @stephensben.bsky.social · 30/12/2025
[Naomi Wolf voice] OH GOD, NO! LOOK WHAT THEY ARE DOING TO US!!!!!1!!!!
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David Brauer @dbrauer.net · 26/12/2025
This shit is made up, actually
Anecdotal evidence also suggests that men are being pushed out of the literary world. A few weeks ago, I heard of a man who attended a writer's convention, hoping to break into the field of fantasy fiction. To his surprise, his fellow attendees wanted to know what was unique about him. Was he gay? Black? Queer?
Uh, no. He was just a straight, white male and therefore essentially a nobody in the book world.
Perhaps this shouldn't be a surprise.
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Michael Hobbes @michaelhobbes.bsky.social · 24/12/2025
This is genuinely horrifying. Fact-free far-right agitprop given accolades by credible media across the political spectrum.
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Ben Stephens @stephensben.bsky.social · 24/12/2025
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Ben Stephens @stephensben.bsky.social · 19/12/2025
Hearing it afresh in this episode, can we all just pause and reflect on how FUCKING DERANGED it is that the richest man in the world routinely and casually describes opposition to fascism and bigotry as a “MIND VIRUS” that has to be eradicated? Like, that is some scary shit.
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Ben Stephens @stephensben.bsky.social · 17/12/2025
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Glenn Westfield @romanx.bsky.social · 15/12/2025
It was never about "free speech", it was always about controlling who got to speak and about what. They didn't like that the academy (for all it's failings) was teaching critical thinking or holding up a mirror to evaluate history through a critical lens.
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Ben Stephens @stephensben.bsky.social · 09/12/2025
I did click play and listen to a bit of it, and it is utterly hilarious the way she has all the brain-rot of the most dangerous dipshits on the planet but absolutely none of the charisma or salesmanship. Her voice just kind of sits there, like a slightly worn Dr Scholl insole kicked under the couch.
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Ben Stephens @stephensben.bsky.social · 09/12/2025
I needed someone to see this and the first person i thought of was @michaelhobbes.bsky.social (Liz Truss has pivoted to video. And it’s going great.)
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Ben Stephens @stephensben.bsky.social · 09/12/2025
<Absolutely never stops laughing>
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Ben Stephens @stephensben.bsky.social · 09/12/2025
media.tenor.com
a man in a plaid shirt says one person can t just eat all the fully loaded ones
ALT: a man in a plaid shirt says one person can t just eat all the fully loaded ones
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Ben Stephens @stephensben.bsky.social · 09/12/2025
New name for Fully Loaded Nachos just dropped
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Ben Stephens @stephensben.bsky.social · 09/12/2025
Walter Isaacson to Elon Musk: (@ifbookspod.bsky.social)
media.tenor.com
a woman in a white dress is standing in front of a group of people and says tell me lies tell me sweet little lies
ALT: a woman in a white dress is standing in front of a group of people and says tell me lies tell me sweet little lies
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Ben Stephens @stephensben.bsky.social · 08/12/2025
James, can I request that you post Simon Marks’ appearances as standalone social media clips. He is one of the only clear-eyed observers who is treating the US situation with the solemnity and urgency it deserves. These clips would do a genuine service to Americans, and would be shared widely.
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Ben Stephens @stephensben.bsky.social · 07/12/2025
As Donald Trump’s father Fred’s dementia worsened, his family still let him pretend he was in charge of his real estate empire — coming into the office every day, shuffling around empty papers, his phone disconnected from the outside world. I think about that a lot lately.
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Ben Stephens @stephensben.bsky.social · 07/12/2025
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Ben Stephens @stephensben.bsky.social · 06/12/2025
Quick note to all: THIS IS A.I. It is not real.
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Nicholas Grossman @nicholasgrossman.bsky.social · 06/12/2025
Focusing on a single incident makes it resonate with the public more. It doesn't somehow justify the other killings, it illustrates the larger problem. The right is good at this, sometimes in bad faith. For example, Laken Riley. Basically "one death is a tragedy, a million deaths is a statistic."
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Ben Stephens @stephensben.bsky.social · 06/12/2025
So wild that Vanity Fair cut ties with her for ethics breaches rather than her egregious writing.
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Ben Stephens @stephensben.bsky.social · 02/12/2025
Should we be concerned that our president is clearly being screened for dementia and doesn’t seem to know it? Like, he just thinks he’s a Big Boy who is wowing all the doctors, while his medical team huddle over his test results shaking their heads sadly while he merrily sucks on his free lollipop.
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Ben Stephens @stephensben.bsky.social · 01/12/2025
And I’m sure the reporters present really pressed her on that, right? Like, they didn’t just let her wriggle out of it? Right?
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Ben Stephens @stephensben.bsky.social · 30/11/2025
I mean there is literally a constitutional amendment (the 14th) that could/should have kept Trump from retaking power.
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Ben Stephens @stephensben.bsky.social · 30/11/2025
“Obama was a divisive president!” I mean. Sure. He divided America into racists and non-racists.
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Ben Stephens @stephensben.bsky.social · 29/11/2025
I want him dragged screaming out of that Oval Office like William H. Macy out of the motel room at the end of Fargo.
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Ben Stephens @stephensben.bsky.social · 29/11/2025
I think of this often
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Ben Stephens @stephensben.bsky.social · 29/11/2025
I have become fully jokerified on the issue of reminding people on the internet that art is subjective. Stop saying films/shows/bands etc are “overrated,” just say you don’t like them! Or they’re not for you! Is that film “bad” or did you just not enjoy it?
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