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I’ve had so many nice messages about my Peter Pan essay. People are telling me they will be reading it to their children and grandchildren.

Should save this for a newsletter, but OpenAI's recent actions don't seem to be consistent with a company that believes AGI is right around the corner.

London murders have fallen to 89 in the last 12 months. The lowest rate on record.

Anyone know?

Had to leave James at home so I could actually do some work today

Pretty shocking that phone thefts in London tripled in four years, but police only discovered this massive smuggling ring because one victim tracked her stolen phone to a warehouse near Heathrow. *One* group sent ~40,000 stolen phones from the UK to China.

I disagree. if you believed agi was around the corner *and* was going to be an extremely capital intensive race defined by infrastructure, you would want to pump your revenue numbers and other relevant kpis rapidly to keep the capex train rolling until you hit "agi."

This week marks 100 years since Margaret Thatcher was born. Today I am publishing the chapter about Thatcher from Second Act. Whether you love or loathe her, the story of how the unremarkable Margaret Roberts became such a significant PM is fascinating. commonreader.co.uk/p/margaret-tha…

"Told with clarity, pace and tremendous verve." The #WolfsonHistoryPrize judges on why they have shortlisted Helen Castor's (Helen Castor) The Eagle and the Hart: The Tragedy of Richard II and Henry IV (@allenlanebooks), for the 2025 prize.

I wrote about Willa Cather’s The Professor’s House, which marks its centenary year. It is a triumph of concision, a powerful distillation of one of America’s greatest minds. Link below: Engelsberg Ideas

Happy birthday P.G. Wodehouse, born on this day in 1881, in the English town of Guilford. I was reminded of a good piece Henry Oliver wrote back in 2021, which I reread this morning with my cup of coffee. There was no Jeeves around to bring it to me though. P.G.Wodehouse's

Would it be "the western canon" if it had a clear inner principle? The canon such as it is is based on rebellion and disagreement.

Under this bill, new tenants will be able to challenge their rent at a tribunal within six months of moving in. This means tribunals will be able to control all market rents, not just rent rises within a tenancy. This is straightforward rent control across the entire market.

Shakespeare and Plato did not suddenly become canonical when a list was made in 1950. It was a codification, not an imposition.

And here he is in colour

I have been reading Peter Pan to my children. Does parenthood offer greater privileges? Who does not carry some sense within them of what it means to fly to Neverland, to fight Captain Hook, to hear the tick-tick-tick of the crocodile?

I need you all to know that Shakespeare was a best seller in his own time, on the page and the stage. The First Folio was the most expensive book ever made. He was routinely plagiarised. Charles I was a fan. He was always canonical.

I spoke at a Civic Future event and they sent me this wonderful, wonderful gift. I was so pleased a laughed with joy. Just when I thought I couldn’t have a higher opinion of them!

The Building Safety Regulator has held up 92% of applications, with the median wait time growing to 36 weeks. Initially, 69% of pre-construction applications were rejected. Instead of focusing on dangerous cladding and materials, the BSR has held up buildings across London.

New second staircase rules are especially damaging. For buildings 18-50m, second staircase rules will not even save a single life over 70-years, while imposing £1.8bn in costs. Other countries like France, Germany, and Ireland, all chose 50+m as their single-stair height limit.