Recent Entries

From The Week in Westminster at 2025-12-13 11:00:00

13/12/2025 (p0mn993z.mp3)

Radio 4's assessment of developments at Westminster

From More or Less at 2025-12-13 06:00:00

RCP 8.5: Why did the climate change model get it wrong? (p0mn8xfg.mp3)

Whether we like it or not, global warming is happening. The global temperature has already gone up, and it’s going to go up more, because the atmosphere is already full of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, and we’re continuing to add to that stock. Quite how much it will increase by is a very important question for all of us. Until relatively recently, during much of the 2010s and into the 2020s, many scientists claimed that if we kept on going down the path we were on, if we just kept on with business as usual, then by the end of the century global temperatures would increase by almost five degrees centigrade. This projection was based on something called RCP 8.5, a statistical scenario used by scientists to model the future of the climate. You can still find scientific papers published in 2025 that make the same claim. However, there’s a good case that RCP 8.5 should never have been used as the business-as-usual scenario. And in hindsight it doesn’t look like an accurate vision of the future at all. So what’s going on? Dr Zeke Hausfather, a climate scientist and the climate research lead at Stripe, explains the argument. Presenter: Tim Harford Series producer: Tom Colls Sound mix: Donald MacDonald Editor: Richard Vadon

From Risky Business with Nate Silver and Maria Konnikova at 2025-12-13 05:01:00

What’s In Store With Self-Driving Cars (audio.mp3?utm_source=Podcast&in_playlist=eb5e885e-6644-4680-aec4-b15c0150ffc0)

Nate has ridden in a Waymo, and it was like stepping into the future. Maria’s never been in one, but she’s been stuck behind a lot of autonomous vehicles… They swap human-driven car horror stories and discuss some of the risks and benefits of a future full of self-driving cars.

From the New York Times: The Data on Self-Driving Cars Is Clear. We Have to Change Course.

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The Leap from Maria Konnikova

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From A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry at 2025-12-13 01:23:48

Collections: Hoplite Wars, Part IIIb: A Phalanx By Any Other Name

This is the second half of the third part of our four-part series (I, II, IIIa) discussing the debates surrounding ancient Greek hoplites and the formation in which they (mostly?) fought, the phalanx. Last week, we discussed the development of hoplite warfare through the Archaic period (c. 750-480). Our evidence for that early period of … Continue reading Collections: Hoplite Wars, Part IIIb: A Phalanx By Any Other Name →

From Biz & IT – Ars Technica at 2025-12-12 22:16:42

OpenAI built an AI coding agent and uses it to improve the agent itself

"The vast majority of Codex is built by Codex," OpenAI told us about its new AI coding agent.

From Schneier on Security at 2025-12-12 22:00:30

Friday Squid Blogging: Giant Squid Eating a Diamondback Squid

I have no context for this video—it’s from Reddit—but one of the commenters adds some context:

Hey everyone, squid biologist here! Wanted to add some stuff you might find interesting.

With so many people carrying around cameras, we’re getting more videos of giant squid at the surface than in previous decades. We’re also starting to notice a pattern, that around this time of year (peaking in January) we see a bunch of giant squid around Japan. We don’t know why this is happening. Maybe they gather around there to mate or something? who knows! but since so many people have cameras, those one-off monster-story encounters are now caught on video, like this one (which, btw, rips. This squid looks so healthy, it’s awesome)...

From The Incomparable Mothership at 2025-12-12 18:00:00

796: Grape Juice Plus (a4a428fd-a66f-4dc4-8b37-cd699ab586af.mp3)

Our Ape Club reconvenes to celebrate the holidays with a viewing of 1971’s “Escape from the Planet of the Apes!” Is this an ape movie or an episode of “Mannix”? What happens when you change lanes on the Freeway of Time? Why is Zira the smartest of all creatures, ape or human? And was Dr. Cornelius framed by big government? Apes smart, humans dumb!...

From Schneier on Security at 2025-12-12 12:00:47

Building Trustworthy AI Agents

The promise of personal AI assistants rests on a dangerous assumption: that we can trust systems we haven’t made trustworthy. We can’t. And today’s versions are failing us in predictable ways: pushing us to do things against our own best interests, gaslighting us with doubt about things we are or that we know, and being unable to distinguish between who we are and who we have been. They struggle with incomplete, inaccurate, and partial context: with no standard way to move toward accuracy, no mechanism to correct sources of error, and no accountability when wrong information leads to bad decisions...

From School of War at 2025-12-12 10:30:00

Ep 256: Nadia Schadlow on Strategic Depth (NEBM1087131053.mp3)

Nadia Schadlow, former Assistant to the President and Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategy and senior fellow at Hudson Institute, joins the show to breakdown what strategic depth is and why the concept remains relevant. ▪️ Times 02:37 Unhinged, Frenetic Times 03:36 What is Strategic Depth? 07:50 A Lack of Space 12:50 Territory and War 14:55 How to Increase Time 23:18 Allies and Forward Defense 30:29 How Do You Get Freedom of Choice? 36:57 Keeping and Maintaining Strategic Depth Follow along on Instagram, X @schoolofwarpod, and YouTube @SchoolofWarPodcast Find more content on our School of War Substack

From Odd Lots at 2025-12-12 09:00:00

D.A. Wallach Explains Why Biotech VC Is So Different (audio.mp3?utm_source=Podcast&in_playlist=982f5071-765c-403d-969d-ae27003a8d83)

Most people think of venture capital as funding software startups or, these days, some new AI tool. But VC also plays a major role in developing new medicines and treatments. That’s the world of D.A. Wallach — though he didn’t start there. Before becoming a biotech investor, Wallach was the lead singer of the indie rock band Chester French. So how did he make the leap from music to venture capital? How does he spot promising biotech opportunities? What does it actually take to bring a new drug to market? And how does biotech investing differ from traditional VC? We talk to the co-founder of Time BioVentures about all of this — plus we get his thoughts on AI’s impact on music and a special performance.

Have a question for Joe and Tracy?  Now's your chance to be the perfect guest  - record a voice memo with your name, age, location and question and email to oddlots@bloomberg.net for a chance to be included in the holiday AMA episode.

Read More:
Big Pharma’s Patent Cliff Puts China Front and Center
Novartis Strikes Deal With UK Biotech for Up To $1.7 Billion

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From Battle Lines at 2025-12-12 05:00:00

The ex-Royal Marine Commando kicking Britain's armed forces into shape (media.mp3)

Britain's military has seen better days - that much everyone can agree on.

Enter ex-Royal Marine Commando Colonel Alistair Scott Carns, aka Wee Al, the UK's brand new Minister for Armed Forces. Part of the fresh batch of Labour MPs who entered Parliament in 2024, he has risen quickly through the Ministry of Defence and is considered "one to watch".

Carns sat down with The Telegraph's associated defence editor Dominic Nicholls to talk about his plans to get the military into shape, the UK's commitment to Ukraine, and the ongoing Ajax debate.

Plus he shared his views on Reform leader Nigel Farage and the legacy of Stakeknife in Northern Ireland.

Read Dom's profile of Al Carns: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/authors/d/dk-do/dominic-nicholls/

For backgrounders on the tensions between Trump and Venezuela: 

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/10/24/is-trump-about-to-invade-venezuela/

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/11/17/trump-builds-case-for-venezuela-war-as-worlds-biggest-aircr/

Listen to Venetia's dispatch from Sweden's Gotland Island: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2025/06/17/the-tiny-swedish-island-regiment-tasked-protecting-europe/

Producer: Peter Shevlin

Executive Producer: Louisa Wells

► Sign up to our most popular newsletter, From the Editor. Look forward to receiving free-thinking comment and the day's biggest stories, every morning. telegraph.co.uk/fromtheeditor

Contact us with feedback or ideas:

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From Biz & IT – Ars Technica at 2025-12-11 21:27:18

OpenAI releases GPT-5.2 after “code red” Google threat alert

Company claims new AI model tops Gemini and matches humans on 70% of work tasks.

From Schneier on Security at 2025-12-11 17:06:05

AIs Exploiting Smart Contracts

I have long maintained that smart contracts are a dumb idea: that a human process is actually a security feature.

Here’s some interesting research on training AIs to automatically exploit smart contracts:

AI models are increasingly good at cyber tasks, as we’ve written about before. But what is the economic impact of these capabilities? In a recent MATS and Anthropic Fellows project, our scholars investigated this question by evaluating AI agents’ ability to exploit smart contracts on Smart CONtracts Exploitation benchmark (SCONE-bench)­a new benchmark they built comprising 405 contracts that were actually exploited between 2020 and 2025. On contracts exploited after the latest knowledge cutoffs (June 2025 for Opus 4.5 and March 2025 for other models), Claude Opus 4.5, Claude Sonnet 4.5, and GPT-5 developed exploits collectively worth $4.6 million, establishing a concrete lower bound for the economic harm these capabilities could enable. Going beyond retrospective analysis, we evaluated both Sonnet 4.5 and GPT-5 in simulation against 2,849 recently deployed contracts without any known vulnerabilities. Both agents uncovered two novel zero-day vulnerabilities and produced exploits worth $3,694, with GPT-5 doing so at an API cost of $3,476. This demonstrates as a proof-of-concept that profitable, real-world autonomous exploitation is technically feasible, a finding that underscores the need for proactive adoption of AI for defense...

From Biz & IT – Ars Technica at 2025-12-11 16:43:30

Disney invests $1 billion in OpenAI, licenses 200 characters for AI video app Sora

Three-year deal lets users create AI videos of Mickey Mouse, Darth Vader, and more.

From The Django weblog at 2025-12-11 15:19:22

Django Code of Conduct Transparency Report 2025

The Code of Conduct working group received 4 reports and met 12 times in 2025. This transparency report is a brief account of how those reports were handled. This year’s number is lower than previous years in part because of the formation of the Online Community Working Group which handles moderation on our official spaces and has been able to act directly on smaller scale infractions. In some cases we received additional reporting while investigating initial reports, but have not counted those as separate instances.

This working group conducts business in several ways. It has online meetings, typically once per month. It also discusses issues in a Slack channel, but most cases are handled in the meetings. The group welcomed three new members this year: Ariane Djeupang, Natalia Bidart, and Priya Pahwa. Natalia was selected by the new Online Communities Working Group as their liaison to the Code of Conduct Working group; Ariane and Priya were elected by the working group. The group also saw Jay Miller step down this year. We all want to thank Jay for his continued role in our community and for all the work he did with the Code of Conduct group.

It was the group’s intention to work with a consultant to update our Code of Conduct and processes. We reached out to two consultants to help with that work, but unfortunately we weren’t able to engage either to get that work completed. We hope to progress with that in 2026. In the meantime, we made a few internal process tweaks - creating up a new “ask CoC” channel with key stakeholders to discuss moderation and CoC enforcement, and having our team set up as moderators in GitHub until we find a better model.

Two reports from late 2024 carried into this year. Two reports resulted in suspensions from the relevant platforms. Another was shared with local event organizers.

Finally, this section provides a brief summary of the kinds of cases that were handled:

• One case involved repeated violations of the Discourse rules about self promotion. The working group recommended a suspension from the forum.
• One case involved repeated behavior across several platforms that discouraged participation and created problems for others. The working group recommended a suspension from all relevant platforms and working groups.
• One case involved an incident at a PSF-sponsored event. The information was passed on to the local organizers.

From The Briefing Room at 2025-12-11 15:08:00

Why are early career doctors angry? (p0mmyv58.mp3)

In a few days time resident doctors -who used to be known as junior doctors - were meant to be going on strike. This would be the 14th strike by the doctors’ union since March 2023. The ostensible reason was pay but now the dispute may be over without more increases to salary levels. The Government has instead made an offer to do something about the other big issue for early career doctors - working conditions and specialist training places. David Aaronovitch and guests discuss what's going on and ask what the problem is with the way we in Britain train our doctors?

Guests: Hugh Pym, BBC Health Editor Sir Andrew Goddard, Consultant Gastroenterologist Professor Martin McKee, Professor of European Public Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine Mark Dayan, Policy Analyst, Nuffield Trust.

Presenter: David Aaronovitch Producers: Caroline Bayley, Kirsteen Knight, Cordelia Hemming Production Co-ordinator: Maria Ogundele Sound Engineers: Michael Regaard, Gareth Jones Editor: Richard Vadon

From Biz & IT – Ars Technica at 2025-12-11 14:39:21

Oracle shares slide on $15B increase in data center spending

Company raises its capital expenditure forecast as it doubles down on AI infrastructure bet.

From Net Assessment at 2025-12-11 11:03:00

'Safer, Richer, Freer, Greater'? Trump's New Strategy for American Power (Net_Assessment_-_Dec_11_2025_v2.mp3?dest-id=808287)

Chris, Zack, and Melanie take a look at the Trump administration's newly-released US National Security Strategy. Is it a coherent strategy? How will diplomacy, military might, and economic power be developed and deployed to advance American interests? Will the strategy usher in a new Golden Age, and "make America safer, richer, freer, greater, and more powerful than ever before," as the President claims in the preface?

Chris has a grievance for the inability of the Navy to design and produce small surface combatants, Zack is pleased with Congress asserting itself in the new NDAA, and Melanie has shoutouts for three friends who are moving on to new adventures in their lives.

Show Links:

• National Security Strategy of the United States of America, The White House, November 2025.

• Matt Jamison, "Why I Declined Brigade Command," LinkedIn, December 2, 2025.

• Bryan McGrath, "The End of This Road," Substack, December 1, 2025. 

• Sam LaGrone, "Navy Cancels Constellation-class Frigate Program, Considering Small New Surface Combatants," USNI News, November 25, 2025. 

• Evan Cooper, The Power of US Cultural Diplomacy, Stimson Center, December 2, 2025. 

• Sam LaGrone, "Navy Cancels Constellation-class Frigate Program, Considering Small New Surface Combatants," USNI News, November 25, 2025. 

• Evan Cooper, The Power of US Cultural Diplomacy, Stimson Center, December 2, 2025. 

From Strong Message Here at 2025-12-11 09:45:00

Civilisational Erasure (with Stewart Lee) (p0mms4t7.mp3)

Is 'Civilisational Erasure' upon us?

This week, Armando is joined again by Stewart Lee to look at this phrase, and others from the US' new National Security Strategy. Would this kind of language have been unthinkable even a few years ago?

We also look at other elements of the strategy, and whether it's time to forget the idea that Trump is playing '3-dimensional chess' with his language. Outside civilisational erasure, we look at whether leaders need to communicate on social media, given Starmer's new TikTok account and Liz Truss' YouTube show both launched this week.

If you want to know what Liz Truss has got against Gails, and why 70s sitcoms are back in the spotlight both sides of the Atlantic, then this programme is for you.

Got a strong message for Armando? Email us on strongmessagehere@bbc.co.uk to have your missive read out in our listener mailbag special.

Sound editing: Chris Maclean Production Coordinator: Jodie Charman Executive Producer: Pete Strauss Recorded at The Sound Company

Produced by Gwyn Rhys Davies. A BBC Studios production for Radio 4.

From Odd Lots at 2025-12-11 09:00:00

This Is What It Takes to Get a Data Center Financed (audio.mp3?utm_source=Podcast&in_playlist=982f5071-765c-403d-969d-ae27003a8d83)

Data centers are weird things. They're partly real estate assets. They're partly extremely advanced technological products. And they have to find a way to consume a tremendous amount of electricity from the grid -- or they increasingly have their own power plants on site. And beyond that, they've become extremely controversial, with more and more communities pushing back on their development. So how do you get all your ducks in a row when a new project is proposed? Who provides the financing at which stage of the agreement? What are the legal complications that arise? On this episode, we speak with Travis Wofford, a partner at the law firm Baker Botts, who works in the firm's AI practice. We discuss all the intricacies of these projects, the challenges that arise, and how things have changed in this space just since the beginning of the year.

Read more:
Oracle Earnings May Not Be Enough to Assuage Debt, AI Deal Fears
NextEra Shares Fall Amid Push to Move Into Data Centers and Gas

Only Bloomberg - Business News, Stock Markets, Finance, Breaking & World News subscribers can get the Odd Lots newsletter in their inbox each week, plus unlimited access to the site and app. Subscribe at  bloomberg.com/subscriptions/oddlots

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From The Rest Is History at 2025-12-11 00:05:00

625. Jack The Ripper: Horror in Whitechapel (Part 2) (GLT2555108111.mp3?updated=1765366078)

Who was Jack the Ripper’s second victim, and why was their murder considered the true starting point of his terrifying killing spree? How did the police investigation unfold? And, when and how did the Ripper strike again…? Join Dominic and Tom as they travel further into the dark streets of Victorian London and follow Jack the Ripper’s depraved trail, as they unravel the truth behind the world’s most famous murderer. Hive. Know your power. Visit https://hivehome.com to find out more. Learn more at https://www.uber.com/onourway Give The Rest Is History Club this Christmas – a year of bonus episodes, ad-free listening, early access, the private chat community hosted on Discord, and an exclusive t-shirt! Just go to https://therestishistory.supportingcast.fm/giftsAnd of course, you can still join for yourself at any time at therestishistory.com or on apple podcasts. Get our exclusive NordVPN deal here ➼ https://nordvpn.com/restishistory It's risk-free with Nord's 30-day money-back guarantee ✅ For more Goalhanger Podcasts, head to www.goalhanger.com _______ Twitter: @TheRestHistory @holland_tom @dcsandbrook Video Editor: Jack Meek Social Producer: Harry Balden Assistant Producer: Aaliyah Akude Producer: Tabby Syrett Senior Producer: Theo Young-Smith Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

From Biz & IT – Ars Technica at 2025-12-10 20:38:58

A new open AI coding model is closing in on proprietary options

Open-weights Devstral 2 model scores 72% on industry benchmark, nearing proprietary rivals.

From The Media Show at 2025-12-10 17:32:00

The battle for Warner Bros, Eurovision controversy latest over Israel participation, festive TV battles and Meta’s pivot to AI. (p0mmrvt6.mp3)

Katie Razzall and Ros Atkins on some of the biggest media stories this week:

Hollywood is in turmoil as Netflix agrees to buy Warner Bros Discovery’s film and streaming businesses for $72bn, but Paramount has stepped in with a rival bid that could reshape the industry. We’ll hear from Natalie Jarvey, reporter at The Ankler, and Dade Hayes, Business Editor at Deadline, and Charlotte Henry author of Streaming Wars about what this means for franchises like Harry Potter and Game of Thrones, and for the future of streaming itself.

Eurovision faces its biggest crisis in years, with countries pulling out over Israel’s participation and broadcasters debating whether to air the contest at all - BBC Music Reporter Mark Savage joins us with the latest. Meanwhile, the Christmas edition of the Radio Times, once as much a part of the season as mince pies and port, fights to remain relevant in the streaming era. We’ll be joined by Shem Law, Brand Editor of the Radio Times.

And as Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta cuts back on its metaverse ambitions, shifting billions into artificial intelligence we talk to Alex Hern, AI writer at The Economist.

Producer: Lisa Jenkinson Assistant Producer: Lucy Wai

From Biz & IT – Ars Technica at 2025-12-10 12:32:21

Operation Bluebird wants to relaunch “Twitter,” says Musk abandoned the name and logo

“Abandonment” offers rare chance to reclaim one of tech’s most recognized brands.

From Schneier on Security at 2025-12-10 12:05:37

FBI Warns of Fake Video Scams

The FBI is warning of AI-assisted fake kidnapping scams:

Criminal actors typically will contact their victims through text message claiming they have kidnapped their loved one and demand a ransom be paid for their release. Oftentimes, the criminal actor will express significant claims of violence towards the loved one if the ransom is not paid immediately. The criminal actor will then send what appears to be a genuine photo or video of the victim’s loved one, which upon close inspection often reveals inaccuracies when compared to confirmed photos of the loved one. Examples of these inaccuracies include missing tattoos or scars and inaccurate body proportions. Criminal actors will sometimes purposefully send these photos using timed message features to limit the amount of time victims have to analyze the images...

From Breaking History at 2025-12-10 10:00:00

From the Archives: Why Jews Wrote Your Favorite Christmas Songs (CBS6738915871.mp3?updated=1765316218)

Did you know the soundtrack of Americans’ Christmas was written largely by . . . Jews? Most of the composers behind the holiday canon were the children of immigrants who fled pogroms and conscription in Russia and Eastern Europe between 1880 and 1920. Sammy Cahn, Frank Sinatra’s go-to lyricist, gave us “Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!” Mel Tormé, son of a Belarusian refugee, wrote “The Christmas Song”) (a.k.a. “Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire”). Frank Loesser—whose family escaped the Kaiser’s draft—penned the mischievous “Baby, It’s Cold Outside.” And Johnny Marks, responsible for “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” “A Holly Jolly Christmas,” and “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree,” was also one of the chosen few. Towering above them all is Irving Berlin, whose “White Christmas” remains one of the biggest-selling singles in American history. Berlin’s own childhood began with a pogrom and  escape from Siberia before landing in New York in 1893. In a replay of this classic Breaking History episode, Eli Lake digs into how a generation of Jewish immigrants ended up shaping the very sound of America’s most beloved holiday. CREDITS Producer Greg Collard Executive Producer Alex Miller Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

From Risky Business with Nate Silver and Maria Konnikova at 2025-12-10 05:01:00

What Movies Get Right and Wrong About Poker (audio.mp3?utm_source=Podcast&in_playlist=eb5e885e-6644-4680-aec4-b15c0150ffc0)

Maria finally gets to reveal a project she’s been working on that’s been kept under wraps, and then it’s movie night on Risky Business! Nate and Maria talk about their favorite poker movies and explain why portrayals of poker for a movie audience often don’t get the game quite right. Plus, they share what poker movie they’d like to make and who’d play them in it.

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The Leap from Maria Konnikova

Silver Bulletin from Nate Silver 

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From GoodFellows: Conversations from the Hoover Institution at 2025-12-10 01:00:00

Tiny Cars and 70’s Problems with Ben Sasse | GoodFellows | Hoover Institution (GoodFellows_2025-12-08_-_Ben_Sasse_wiop03_podcast_a5j9q.mp3)

Two institutional sectors are in both steady and rapid decline in terms of public trust: Congress and academia. Ben Sasse, former US senator from Nebraska and president of two universities, joins GoodFellows regulars Niall Ferguson, John Cochrane, and H.R. McMaster to discuss what ails Congress and how to fix it (based on his eight years in the Senate), plus how America’s educational system has set a low bar for readying students for higher learning and life after college. Next the three fellows weigh the merits of the Trump administration’s new National Security Strategy and what strategy there is (or isn’t) regarding Venezuela and drug trafficking; the shortcomings of fuel-efficiency standards; whether they’d buy an American-made “tiny car” (no way, says our resident former tank driver); and, with the World Cup coming to America in 2026, how to clear up the confusion between US-brand “football” and the international “beautiful game” that goes by the same name (Sir Niall’s solution: Change US football to “armored rugby”).    Subscribe to GoodFellows for clarity on today’s biggest social, economic, and geostrategic shifts — only on GoodFellows.

From The Rest Is History at 2025-12-10 00:05:00

The Beatles: The British Invasion, with Conan O’Brien (Part 2) (GLT4240205398.mp3?updated=1765280297)

| This episode is available a week early for members of The Rest Is History Club | What happens when fame, drugs, and genius collide? How did the Beatles survive John Lennon’s “more popular than Jesus” interview and the death of Brian Epstein? And, why did the band eventually break up? Conan O’Brien returns with Tom to dive into the Beatles’ final years: rooftop gigs, groundbreaking records, and the inner conflicts that defined - and arguably destroyed - the band. The Beatles’ nine-part “Anthology” documentary series has been restored and is now available to watch on Disney+. Thank you to Apple Corps and Disney for the opportunity to use archive from the Anthology in these special Beatles episodes. Hive. Know your power. Visit https://hivehome.com to find out more. Get our exclusive NordVPN deal here ➼ https://nordvpn.com/restishistory It's risk-free with Nord's 30-day money-back guarantee ✅ _______ Twitter: @TheRestHistory @holland_tom @dcsandbrook Video Editor: Jack Meek / Harry Swan Social Producer: Harry Balden Assistant Producer: Aaliyah Akude Producer: Tabby Syrett Senior Producer: Theo Young-Smith Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

From The Django weblog at 2025-12-09 14:00:47

Online Community Working Group GitHub repo and project

The Online Community Working Group has introduced a new GitHub repository designed to manage and track ideas, suggestions, and improvements across Django's various online community platforms.

Introducing the Online Community Working Group Repository

Primarily inspired by the rollout of the New Features repository, the Online Community Working Group has launched their own version that works in conjunction with the Online Community Working Group Ideas GitHub project to provide a mechanism to gather feedback, suggestions, and ideas from across the online community and track their progression.

The primary aim is to help better align Django's presence across multiple online platforms by providing:

1. Centralisation: A community-platform-agnostic place to collect feedback, suggestions, and ideas from members of any of Django's online communities.
2. Visibility: With a variety of platforms in use across the community, some of which require an account before their content can even be read, discussions can happen in what effectively amount to private silos. This centralised repository allows all suggestions and ideas to be viewed by everybody, regardless of their community platform of choice.
3. Consistency: A suggestion for one platform can often be a good idea for another. Issues and ideas raised centrally can be assessed against all platforms to better align Django's online community experience.

How to use the Online Community Working Group Repo

If you have an idea or a suggestion for any of Django's online community platforms (such as the Forum, Discord, or elsewhere), the process starts by creating an issue in the new repository.

You'll be asked to summarise the idea, and answer a couple of short questions regarding which platform it applies to and the rationale behind your idea.

The suggestion will be visible on the public board, and people will be able to react to the idea with emoji responses as a quick measure of support, or provide longer-form answers as comments on the issue.

The Online Community Working Group will review, triage, and respond to all suggestions, before deciding whether or how they can be implemented across the community.

Existing Online Communities

Note that we're not asking that you stop using any mechanisms in place within the particular community you're a part of currently—the Discord #suggestions channel is not going away, for example. However, we may ask that a suggestion or idea flagged within a particular platform be raised via this new GitHub repo instead, in order increase its visibility, apply it to multiple communities, or simply better track its resolution.

Conclusion

The Online Community Working Group was relatively recently set up, with the aim of improving the experience for members of all Django's communities online. This new repository takes a first step in that direction. Check out the repository at django/online-community-working-group on GitHub to learn more and start helping shape Django's truly excellent community presence online.

From Schneier on Security at 2025-12-09 12:07:53

AI vs. Human Drivers

Two competing arguments are making the rounds. The first is by a neurosurgeon in the New York Times. In an op-ed that honestly sounds like it was paid for by Waymo, the author calls driverless cars a “public health breakthrough”:

In medical research, there’s a practice of ending a study early when the results are too striking to ignore. We stop when there is unexpected harm. We also stop for overwhelming benefit, when a treatment is working so well that it would be unethical to continue giving anyone a placebo. When an intervention works this clearly, you change what you do...

From School of War at 2025-12-09 11:06:00

Ep 255: Roya Hakakian on the Islamic Revolution (NEBM8941494503.mp3)

Roya Hakakian, author of Assassins of the Turquoise Palace and A Beginner's Guide to America: For the Immigrant and the Curious, joins the show to discuss the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran, the rise of Ayatollah Khomeini, and how these events have shaped the world. ▪️ Times 02:56 Life Before the Revolution 11:02 Antisemitism in Revolutionary Iran 21:56 Khomeini’s Rise to Power 22:32 The Global Left and the Soviet Union 29:49 A Catastrophe of the 20th Century 37:21 The State of the Iranian Regime 42:19 The Revolution is Alive and Well 52:01 The Future of Iran and Its Leadership Follow along on Instagram, X @schoolofwarpod, and YouTube @SchoolofWarPodcast Find more content on our School of War Substack

From Emperors of Rome at 2025-12-09 05:33:24

Episode CLXII - Anthology of Interest IV (251209-aoiiv.mp3)

Rhiannon Evans, Caillan Davenport, Matt Smith and special guest William Dalrymple share items of Roman interest! You will hear:

- A phoenix in the forum

- The unknown Queens of Rome

- The Roman perception of elephants

- Trade between India and Rome

- The low bar of Roman insults

- The false female centurion

- What Emperors called themselves

- An accurate population of Pompeii

- The false Theodosius

- Sallust and ethnic etymology in North Africa

Guests:

Associate Professor Rhiannon Evans (Classics and Ancient History, La Trobe University)

Professor Caillan Davenport (Centre for Classical Studies, Australian National University))

William Dalrymple (Esteemed author and host of Empire podcast)

From Battle Lines at 2025-12-08 19:20:19

More Russia, less China and no Europe: Trump’s new security strategy unveiled (media.mp3)

Donald Trump has detonated a political earthquake with a National Security Strategy that doesn’t just tweak America’s global role, it torches seven decades of US foreign policy. In a move that’s left European allies stunned and scrambling, Trump’s new blueprint casts Europe as weak, directionless and on the brink of “civilisational erasure,” while pointedly avoiding calling Russia a threat.

And guess who’s absolutely thrilled? The Kremlin. Vladimir Putin’s spokesman practically applauded the document, hailing it as “largely consistent” with Moscow’s own vision. While EU leaders warn the strategy dangerously rewrites reality and echoes far-right rhetoric, Trump is pushing ahead, embracing “patriotic” parties across Europe and accusing the EU of holding back peace in Ukraine.

It’s a bold, brash, America-First gambit and one that’s left America’s closest allies wondering if Washington has just switched sides. To find out more, Roland talks to former British Ambassador to the United States Kim Darroch. 

► Sign up to our most popular newsletter, From the Editor. Look forward to receiving free-thinking comment and the day's biggest stories, every morning. telegraph.co.uk/fromtheeditor

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From Biz & IT – Ars Technica at 2025-12-08 14:57:11

Meta offers EU users ad-light option in push to end investigation

Facebook agrees to change "pay or consent" model after talks with European Commission.

From Schneier on Security at 2025-12-08 12:04:11

Substitution Cipher Based on The Voynich Manuscript

Here’s a fun paper: “The Naibbe cipher: a substitution cipher that encrypts Latin and Italian as Voynich Manuscript-like ciphertext“:

Abstract: In this article, I investigate the hypothesis that the Voynich Manuscript (MS 408, Yale University Beinecke Library) is compatible with being a ciphertext by attempting to develop a historically plausible cipher that can replicate the manuscript’s unusual properties. The resulting cipher­a verbose homophonic substitution cipher I call the Naibbe cipher­can be done entirely by hand with 15th-century materials, and when it encrypts a wide range of Latin and Italian plaintexts, the resulting ciphertexts remain fully decipherable and also reliably reproduce many key statistical properties of the Voynich Manuscript at once. My results suggest that the so-called “ciphertext hypothesis” for the Voynich Manuscript remains viable, while also placing constraints on plausible substitution cipher structures...

From Odd Lots at 2025-12-08 09:00:00

Dan Ivascyn Is Excited About a New Era in Fixed Income (audio.mp3?utm_source=Podcast&in_playlist=982f5071-765c-403d-969d-ae27003a8d83)

In the years since the financial crisis, bond investors didn't get much return for taking on risk. With low interest rates and little sign of inflation, investors had to accept lower-quality assets to get any semblance of yield. Now that's changing according to Dan Ivascyn, the chief investment officer of Pimco, one of the biggest bond fund managers around. In this special 10-year anniversary episode, Dan reflects on longer-term trends in the bond market, as well as more immediate issues like independence at the Federal Reserve, concerns around data center financing, and worries of "dangerous" and inflated credit ratings.

Read more:
French Budget Endgame Means Stress Test for Stocks and Bonds
Pinebridge Sees Emerging-Markets Rally Tilting Toward Bonds

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From Risky Business with Nate Silver and Maria Konnikova at 2025-12-08 05:01:00

Deep Cover Presents: Snowball [ft. Maria Konnikova] (audio.mp3?utm_source=Podcast&in_playlist=eb5e885e-6644-4680-aec4-b15c0150ffc0)

We’re sharing a preview of another podcast, Deep Cover Presents: Snowball, that Maria participated in. Snowball follows journalist Ollie Wards as he unravels the wild story of how his family lost everything after their brush with a charming Californian con woman. He embarks on a question to find out how she did it, why she did it, and where she is now. Here’s a preview of Snowball. If you can’t wait to find out what happens, binge episodes of Deep Cover Presents: Snowball early and ad-free with a Pushkin+ subscription. Find Pushkin+ on the Deep Cover show page in Apple Podcasts or at pushkin.fm/plus.

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From The Rest Is History at 2025-12-08 00:05:00

624. Jack The Ripper: History’s Darkest Mystery (Part 1) (GLT7829555893.mp3?updated=1764858656)

Was Jack the Ripper the first serial killer of all time? Who was his first victim, and why was the murder so shocking? And, what did the Ripper phenomenon reveal about the anxieties of Victorian London? Join Tom and Dominic as they delve into the darkest days of London’s long history, as Jack the Ripper’s terrible, grisly reign of terror begins... Join The Rest Is History Club: Unlock the full experience of the show – with exclusive bonus episodes, ad-free listening, early access to every series and live show tickets, a members-only newsletter, discounted books from the show, and access to our private Discord chatroom. Sign up directly at therestishistory.com For more Goalhanger Podcasts, head to www.goalhanger.com _______ Hive. Know your power. Visit https://hivehome.com to find out more. _______ Visit auraframes.co.uk and get £35 off Aura’s best-selling Carver Mat frame by using promo code HISTORY at checkout. Terms and conditions apply. _______ Get our exclusive NordVPN deal here ➼ https://nordvpn.com/restishistory It's risk-free with Nord's 30-day money-back guarantee ✅ _______ Twitter: @TheRestHistory @holland_tom @dcsandbrook Video Editor: Jack Meek  Social Producer: Harry Balden Assistant Producer: Aaliyah Akude  Producer: Tabby Syrett Senior Producer: Theo Young-Smith Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

From Odd Lots at 2025-12-07 09:00:00

How Microsoft Excel Conquered Corporate America (audio.mp3?utm_source=Podcast&in_playlist=982f5071-765c-403d-969d-ae27003a8d83)

Excel. If you work in corporate America, that word either inspires laser-focused productivity or pure dread. Over the last 40 years, the spreadsheet software has become synonymous with the best — and worst — of late-stage capitalism. It’s seeped into popular culture and, along the way, made Microsoft one of the world’s most valuable companies.But in a world of AI and new competition where Excel=Sum(39+1), can it stay on top? From the Big Take podcast, Bloomberg’s Dina Bass and Businessweek’s Max Chafkin join host Sarah Holder to track the rise and challenges ahead for one of the most ubiquitous programs around.

Like this episode? Listen and Subscribe to the Big Take podcast on Apple, Spotify, iHeart or wherever you get your podcasts

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From The Week in Westminster at 2025-12-06 11:30:00

06/12/2025 (p0mlvsdp.mp3)

The Daily Telegraph's political editor, Ben Riley-Smith, analyses the latest developments at Westminster.

Following further fallout from Rachel Reeves' Budget, and accusations that she misled the public about the state of the public finances, Ben speaks to two members of the Treasury select committee who have been investigating the issue: Labour MP, Yuan Yang, and Conservative MP, Dame Harriet Baldwin.

After the Prime Minister signalled that the government would make a fresh attempt to reform the welfare system, Ben is joined by the Labour chair of the Work and Pensions select committee, Debbie Abrahams, and the former Conservative Work and Pensions Secretary, Sir Iain Duncan Smith, who introduced Universal Credit.

Former Labour Home Secretary, Jack Straw, and former Conservative Justice Secretary, Alex Chalk, debate the government's proposals to reduce the number of jury trials.

And the state of Anglo-German relations was in focus this week following a state visit by the German President. To discuss this Ben brings together two German-born British politicians: Former Labour MP, Baroness Gisela Stuart, and Wera Hobhouse, the Liberal Democrat MP for Bath.

From More or Less at 2025-12-06 06:00:00

Is RFK right about US sperm counts? (p0mls38b.mp3)

Around the world, many countries are concerned about tackling the decline in birth rates and total fertility rates. The US is no exception. To tackle this issue the US government announced that it would provide subsidies for Americans seeking IVF treatment. The announcement was accompanied by one suspect sounding stat from US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. "Today the average teenager in this country has 50% of the sperm count, 50% of the testosterone as a 65-year-old man," he said. We speak to Professor Allan Pacey, Professor of Andrology at the University of Manchester, and Adith Arun, a researcher at Yale University to find out whether this statement is accurate. Producer/Presenter: Lizzy McNeill Series Producer: Tom Colls Editor: Richard Vadon Sound Mix: James Beard

From Risky Business with Nate Silver and Maria Konnikova at 2025-12-06 05:01:00

Introducing: Odd Lots with Joe Weisenthal and Tracy Alloway (audio.mp3?utm_source=Podcast&in_playlist=eb5e885e-6644-4680-aec4-b15c0150ffc0)

Here’s a preview of another podcast we enjoy, Odd Lots with Tracy Alloway and Joe Weisenthal.

Odd Lots has some of the most interesting conversations in finance, markets and economics, and every episode has the “perfect guest” – from truckers and bakers to portfolio managers and CEOs. As longtime financial journalists with a wide breadth of experience, Joe and Tracy dive into everything from poultry farming to AI valuations, as well as big questions about manufacturing, geopolitics, central banking and much more. New episodes drop on Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays wherever you get your podcasts.

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From Schneier on Security at 2025-12-05 22:06:14

Friday Squid Blogging: Vampire Squid Genome

The vampire squid (Vampyroteuthis infernalis) has the largest cephalopod genome ever sequenced: more than 11 billion base pairs. That’s more than twice as large as the biggest squid genomes.

It’s technically not a squid: “The vampire squid is a fascinating twig tenaciously hanging onto the cephalopod family tree. It’s neither a squid nor an octopus (nor a vampire), but rather the last, lone remnant of an ancient lineage whose other members have long since vanished.”

As usual, you can also use this squid post to talk about the security stories in the news that I haven’t covered...

From A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry at 2025-12-05 21:26:17

Collections: Hoplite Wars, Part IIIa: An Archaic Phalanx?

This is the third part of our four-part series (I, II) discussing the debates surrounding ancient Greek hoplites and the formation in which they (mostly?) fought, the phalanx. Last week, we looked at how the equipment which defined the hoplite – hoplite (ὁπλίτης), after all, means ‘equipped man’) – and how it weighs on on … Continue reading Collections: Hoplite Wars, Part IIIa: An Archaic Phalanx? →

From The Incomparable Mothership at 2025-12-05 17:30:00

795: Put the Magic Baby Down (276a0876-3d72-46bf-acea-6b554f45d78f.mp3)

Set in a bright retro-future world, “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” doesn’t have anything to do with the Marvel Cinematic Universe… yet. We analyze the latest attempt to translate Marvel’s first family to the big screen, including the trade-offs involved in introducing characters, not retreading the origin story again, turning Galactus into Rumplestiltskin, and the inevitable downbeat ending that never comes....

From School of War at 2025-12-05 10:30:00

Ep 254: Frank Gavin on History and Statecraft (NEBM4619515893.mp3)

Frank Gavin, Giovanni Agnelli Distinguished Professor and Director of the Henry A. Kissinger Center for Global Affairs at Johns Hopkins University SAIS and author of Thinking Historically: A Guide to Statecraft and Strategy, joins the show to discuss the promise and perils of using history to guide today’s statecraft. ▪️ Times 02:20 Political Science vs. History 05:37 The Importance of Historical Thinking 08:13 Historical Interpretation 11:22 Counterfactuals  14:26 The Misuse of History in Policy Making 17:19 Thinking in Time 22:27 Errors When Thinking Historically 31:57 Putin’s View of History 40:01 Philosophical Understanding 47:05 Does History Have a Direction? 53:34 A Checklist for Historical Thinking Follow along on Instagram, X @schoolofwarpod, and YouTube @SchoolofWarPodcast Find more content on our School of War Substack

From Odd Lots at 2025-12-05 09:00:00

Affirm's Max Levchin Breaks Down How Buy Now, Pay Later Really Works (audio.mp3?utm_source=Podcast&in_playlist=982f5071-765c-403d-969d-ae27003a8d83)

Max Levchin probably knows as much about online payments as anyone. He was part of the original "PayPal mafia" before going on to become co-founder and CEO of Affirm, the $22 billion player in the Buy Now, Pay Later industry that's hoping to disrupt the incumbent credit card companies. While BNPL is booming, there is still a lot of confusion about how it works, how it makes money, and how transparent its activities are. On this episode, we speak with Max about why he started his company, and why he believes that BNPL offers a superior product to traditional forms of payment and credit. We also discuss the current state of the economy, AI, and what he sees as the role of crypto in payments.

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From Schneier on Security at 2025-12-05 08:08:21

New Anonymous Phone Service

A new anonymous phone service allows you to sign up with just a zip code.

From Battle Lines at 2025-12-05 06:02:00

Why can't Britain build a decent tank? (media.mp3)

Ajax was meant to be the British Army’s modern embodiment of the mighty Greek warrior, strong, unbreakable, unstoppable. Instead, it’s become a national embarrassment. This week the Army suspended the entire fleet after 31 soldiers fell ill inside vehicles that were supposed to protect them. We’re talking tingling hands, ringing ears and troops vomiting on Salisbury Plain. It’s a £6.3 billion “world-beating” programme that’s been spiralling into chaos for two decades. To make matters worse, a whistleblower claims the manufacturer, General Dynamics, tried to shift the blame onto soldiers which was followed by an astonishing Facebook outburst from a company employee. With inquiries now launched and Parliament demanding answers, Roland is joined in the studio by The Telegraph’s Dom Nichols and Ben Barry from The International Institute for Strategic Studies.

Read Tom's story: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/12/04/defence-boss-mocks-troops-deafened-ajax-armoured-vehicle/

For blow-by-blow coverage of the peace talks, follow Ukraine the Latest: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2022/03/02/russia-ukraine-war-listen-daily-podcast/

► Sign up to our most popular newsletter, From the Editor. Look forward to receiving free-thinking comment and the day's biggest stories, every morning. telegraph.co.uk/fromtheeditor

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Contact us with feedback or ideas:

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From Biz & IT – Ars Technica at 2025-12-04 21:51:36

In comedy of errors, men accused of wiping gov databases turned to an AI tool

Defendants were convicted of similar crimes a decade ago. How were they cleared again?

From The Briefing Room at 2025-12-04 13:30:00

Are the old robbing the young? (p0mljwm1.mp3)

In her budget the Chancellor increased the state pension by 4.8 % in line with the government's triple lock formula. It was good news for pensioners but is it good news for the young? A constant background to spending and economic decisions for well over a decade now has been an argument about generational injustice. That the young are getting poorer. David Aaronovitch and guests look at the facts and ask whether the old are robbing the young and if so what should be done about it?

Guests: Bobby Duffy, Professor of Public Policy at King’s College, London Sophie Hale, Principal Economist, Resolution Foundation Xiaowei Xu, Senior Research Economist at the Institute for Fiscal Studies Jane Falkingham Professor of Demography, Southampton University

Presenter: David Aaronovitch Producers: Caroline Bayley, Cordelia Hemming, Kirsteen Knight Production Co-ordinator: Maria Ogundele Sound Engineer: James Beard Editor: Richard Vadon

From Strong Message Here at 2025-12-04 09:45:00

AI Hallucinations (with Stewart Lee and Sarah Wynn-Williams) (p0mlfd5y.mp3)

This week, Armando is joined again by Stewart Lee to discuss the language around AI.

They are also joined by public policy expert and author of Careless People, A Cautionary Tale of Power, Greed, and Lost Idealism Sarah Wynn-Williams.

For legal reasons, Sarah is not allowed to say anything negative about Meta, so we discuss lots of other areas around tech and AI.

We look at hallucinations - what are they, and are they solvable? Do we respond to the sycophancy of AI? Should there be rules around AI in weapons, and why is that even up for debate?

We also take a retrospective look at the budget, headlice, and the Your Party members' decision to call Your Party 'Your Party'.

Got a strong message for Armando? Email us on strongmessagehere@bbc.co.uk and your email could be read out on our listener mailbag special episode over the festive period

Sound editing: Rich Evans Production Coordinator: Jodie Charman Executive Producer: Pete Strauss Recorded at The Sound Company

Produced by Gwyn Rhys Davies. A BBC Studios production for Radio 4.

From Odd Lots at 2025-12-04 09:00:00

AI Can Tell Us Something About Credit Market Weakness (audio.mp3?utm_source=Podcast&in_playlist=982f5071-765c-403d-969d-ae27003a8d83)

There have been some wobbles in credit markets lately. It hasn't been too dramatic, but we've had some blowups, leading Jamie Dimon to speculate about the presence of other "cockroaches" lurking in the industry. But what do we actually know about the quality and practices of credit underwriting right now? Dan Wertman is the co-founder and CEO of Noetica, a startup that uses AI to scan deal documents and measure linguistic and term trends over time. Dan talks to us about what he's been seeing in the language of deal documents, and why there are reasons to think that more blowups are lurking around the corner. He also talks to us about how credit agreements are structured in the AI space, and how we should understand some of these huge data center financing deals we've seen lately.

Read more:
Oracle Credit Fear Gauge Hits Highest Since 2009 on AI Bubble Fears
Secretive $3 Trillion Fund Giant Makes Flashy Move Into Private Assets

Only Bloomberg - Business News, Stock Markets, Finance, Breaking & World News subscribers can get the Odd Lots newsletter in their inbox each week, plus unlimited access to the site and app. Subscribe at  bloomberg.com/subscriptions/oddlots

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From The History Book Buffs at 2025-12-04 06:39:00

Books you have to read - or give as presents - this Christmas. Part 1. (https%3A%2F%2Fd3ctxlq1ktw2nl.cloudfront.net%2Fstaging%2F2025-11-3%2F413685361-44100-2-08ff1386e39a.mp3)

🎄 21 Days of Christmas Book Gifts – Round-Up of the First 10 Books 🎄

In this special episode, we run through the first ten titles in our 21 Days of Christmas Book Gifts series — a curated collection of the very best in history, espionage, military narrative, and historical fiction. If you’re looking for the perfect present for the history lover in your life, or simply want a fast-paced guide to the standout books of the season, this round-up has you covered.

We revisit each title, why it matters, and who it’s perfect for — from gripping World War II narratives to dazzling Tudor intrigue and brilliantly reimagined classics.

📚 Featured Books

• Victory 45 — James Holland & Al Murray’s vivid account of the final months of WWII.

• The Boleyn Traitor — Philippa Gregory’s tense Tudor power struggle brought to life.

• Tank — Mark Urban’s masterful deep-dive into armoured warfare.

• Sharpe’s Storm — Bernard Cornwell’s Napoleonic hero at his very best.

• Suetonius (trans. Tom Holland) — A fresh, sharp, and wildly readable take on the Twelve Caesars.

• Tunisgrad — Saul David’s gripping portrait of catastrophe and courage in North Africa.

• Wolfpack — Roger Moorhouse’s thrilling history of the U-boat hunters who helped win the war.

• The Pretender — Jo Harkin’s brilliant, witty, and genre-bending historical novel.

• The White Lady — Helen Fry’s powerful account of Belgian resistance and forgotten heroism.

• The Mission — Tim Weiner's compelling account of the CIA in the 21st Century.

🎧 In This Episode

• Fast, insightful rundowns of each book

• Why these titles make exceptional gifts

• The wider historical themes tying them together

• Recommendations for readers who love: WWII history, Cold War intrigue, Tudor drama, classical biography, Napoleonic campaigns, and literary historical fiction

If you’re following along with the full 21-day series or simply need the ultimate history-lover’s gift guide, this episode is your festive cheat-sheet.

From The History Book Buffs at 2025-12-04 06:39:00

Brilliant Books for Christmas Stockings — Part 1 (https%3A%2F%2Fd3ctxlq1ktw2nl.cloudfront.net%2Fstaging%2F2025-11-3%2F413685361-44100-2-08ff1386e39a.mp3)

🎄 21 Days of Christmas Book Gifts – Round-Up of the First 10 Books 🎄

In this special episode, we run through the first ten titles in our 21 Days of Christmas Book Gifts series — a curated collection of the very best in history, espionage, military narrative, and historical fiction. If you’re looking for the perfect present for the history lover in your life, or simply want a fast-paced guide to the standout books of the season, this round-up has you covered.

We revisit each title, why it matters, and who it’s perfect for — from gripping World War II narratives to dazzling Tudor intrigue and brilliantly reimagined classics.

📚 Featured Books

• Victory 45 — James Holland & Al Murray’s vivid account of the final months of WWII.

• The Boleyn Traitor — Philippa Gregory’s tense Tudor power struggle brought to life.

• Tank — Mark Urban’s masterful deep-dive into armoured warfare.

• Sharpe’s Storm — Bernard Cornwell’s Napoleonic hero at his very best.

• Suetonius (trans. Tom Holland) — A fresh, sharp, and wildly readable take on the Twelve Caesars.

• Tunisgrad — Saul David’s gripping portrait of catastrophe and courage in North Africa.

• Wolfpack — Roger Moorhouse’s thrilling history of the U-boat hunters who helped win the war.

• The Pretender — Jo Harkin’s brilliant, witty, and genre-bending historical novel.

• The White Lady — Helen Fry’s powerful account of Belgian resistance and forgotten heroism.

• The Mission — Tim Weiner's compelling account of the CIA in the 21st Century.

🎧 In This Episode

• Fast, insightful rundowns of each book

• Why these titles make exceptional gifts

• The wider historical themes tying them together

• Recommendations for readers who love: WWII history, Cold War intrigue, Tudor drama, classical biography, Napoleonic campaigns, and literary historical fiction

If you’re following along with the full 21-day series or simply need the ultimate history-lover’s gift guide, this episode is your festive cheat-sheet.

From The Rest Is History at 2025-12-04 00:05:00

623. The Nazis at War: Churchill’s Finest Hour (Part 4) (GLT7746266438.mp3?updated=1764777567)

With Adolf Hitler at the apex of his power during the Second World War, how did he move on Britain? How did Winston Churchill respond? And, would Britain’s airforce triumph over Hitler’s Luftwaffe in the legendary Battle of Britain? Join Dominic and Tom as they reach one of the watershed moments of the Second World War, as the Nazis strive to eliminate Britain from the skies, before severing their crucial alliance with the Soviet Union. Give The Rest Is History Club this Christmas – a year of bonus episodes, ad-free listening, early access, the private chat community hosted on Discord, and an exclusive t-shirt! Just go to https://therestishistory.supportingcast.fm/gifts And of course, you can still join for yourself at any time at therestishistory.com or on apple podcasts. For more Goalhanger Podcasts, head to www.goalhanger.com _______ Hive. Know your power. Visit https://hivehome.com to find out more. _______ Learn more at https://www.uber.com/onourway _______ Visit auraframes.co.uk and get £35 off Aura’s best-selling Carver Mat frame by using promo code HISTORY at checkout. Terms and conditions apply. _______ Get our exclusive NordVPN deal here ➼ https://nordvpn.com/restishistory It's risk-free with Nord's 30-day money-back guarantee ✅ _______ Twitter: @TheRestHistory @holland_tom @dcsandbrook Video Editor: Jack Meek / Harry Swan Social Producer: Harry Balden Assistant Producer: Aaliyah Akude Producer: Tabby Syrett Senior Producer: Theo Young-Smith Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

From Biz & IT – Ars Technica at 2025-12-03 23:16:03

Maximum-severity vulnerability threatens 6% of all websites

Open source React executes malicious code with malformed HTML—no authentication needed.

From Biz & IT – Ars Technica at 2025-12-03 18:24:06

Microsoft slashes AI sales growth targets as customers resist unproven agents

Report: Microsoft declared "the era of AI agents" in May, but enterprise customers aren't buying.

From The Media Show at 2025-12-03 17:36:00

Ian Hislop, Gary Lineker's new podcast deal with Netflix, YouTubers filming drug and alcohol use in Manchester, football piracy (p0mlcxw5.mp3)

This week on The Media Show with Ros Atkins: Ian Hislop joins us to talk satire, lawsuits, and the making of Private Eye. We’ll hear why the Manchester Evening News is putting up a paywall, and ask whether YouTubers filming drug and alcohol use in Manchester count as journalists. Football piracy is costing the sport billions - we’ll explore the scale of the problem. And Gary Lineker signs with Netflix for his Rest Is Football podcast.

Producer: Lisa Jenkinson Assistant Producer: Lucy Wai

From Biz & IT – Ars Technica at 2025-12-03 17:23:26

Fraudulent gambling network may be a nation-state spying operation

Researchers say there's more to the network, which has operated for 14 years.

From The Django weblog at 2025-12-03 12:00:00

Django 6.0 released

The Django team is happy to announce the release of Django 6.0.

The release notes assembles a mosaic of modern tools and thoughtful design. A few highlights are:

• Template Partials: modularize templates using small, named fragments for cleaner, more maintainable code. (GSoC project by Farhan Ali Raza, mentored by Carlton Gibson)
• Background Tasks: run code outside the HTTP request-response cycle with a built-in, flexible task framework. (Jake Howard)
• Content Security Policy (CSP): easily configure and enforce browser-level security policies to protect against content injection. (Rob Hudson)
• Modernized Email API: compose and send emails with Python's EmailMessage class for a cleaner, Unicode-friendly interface. (Mike Edmunds)

You can get Django 6.0 from our downloads page or from the Python Package Index.

The PGP key ID used for this release is Natalia Bidart: 2EE82A8D9470983E

With the release of Django 6.0, Django 5.2 has reached the end of mainstream support. The final minor bug fix release, 5.2.9, was issued yesterday. Django 5.2 will receive security and data loss fixes until April 2028. All users are encouraged to upgrade before then to continue receiving fixes for security issues.

Django 5.1 has reached the end of extended support. The final security release, 5.1.15, was issued on Dec. 2, 2025. All Django 5.1 users are encouraged to upgrade to a supported Django version.

See the downloads page for a table of supported versions and the future release schedule.

From Risky Business with Nate Silver and Maria Konnikova at 2025-12-03 05:01:00

Frisky Business: Olivia Nuzzi, Ryan Lizza, and Journalistic Ethics (audio.mp3?utm_source=Podcast&in_playlist=eb5e885e-6644-4680-aec4-b15c0150ffc0)

Nate and Maria game out the comparative benefits (and risks) of flying vs. driving vs. taking the train when traveling for the holidays. They also discuss Olivia Nuzzi’s new memoir, her ex-fiancé Ryan Lizza’s substack revelations about her, and the current state of journalistic ethics.

For more from Nate and Maria, subscribe to their newsletters:

The Leap from Maria Konnikova

Silver Bulletin from Nate Silver 

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From The Rest Is History at 2025-12-03 00:05:00

The Beatles: The Band that Changed the World, with Conan O’Brien (Part 1) (GLT5632094525.mp3?updated=1764730276)

How did four Liverpool teenagers become the most influential band on earth? What made their music and charisma irresistible to a generation? And, how did their ambition and timing spark a cultural revolution that still resonates today? In the first of two special episodes, Tom is joined by Conan O’Brien to explore the Beatles’ meteoric rise: the personalities, the breakthroughs, and the explosive cultural impact that turned a local act into the defining band of the 20th century. The Beatles’ nine-part “Anthology” documentary series has been restored and is now available to watch on Disney+. Thank you to Apple Corps and Disney for the opportunity to use archive from the Anthology in these special Beatles episodes. _______ Hive. Know your power. Visit https://hivehome.com to find out more. _______ Get our exclusive NordVPN deal here ➼ https://nordvpn.com/restishistory It's risk-free with Nord's 30-day money-back guarantee ✅ _______ Twitter: @TheRestHistory @holland_tom @dcsandbrook Video Editor: Jack Meek / Harry Swan Social Producer: Harry Balden Assistant Producer: Aaliyah Akude Producer: Tabby Syrett Senior Producer: Theo Young-Smith Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

From The Rest Is History at 2025-12-03 00:05:00

The Beatles: The Band that Changed the World, with Conan O’Brien (Part 1) (GLT5632094525.mp3?updated=1764693332)

How did four Liverpool teenagers become the most influential band on earth? What made their music and charisma irresistible to a generation? And, how did their ambition and timing spark a cultural revolution that still resonates today? In the first of two special episodes, Tom is joined by Conan O’Brien to explore the Beatles’ meteoric rise: the personalities, the breakthroughs, and the explosive cultural impact that turned a local act into the defining band of the 20th century. The Beatles’ nine-part “Anthology” documentary series has been restored and is now available to watch on Disney+. Thank you to Apple Corps and Disney for the opportunity to use archive from the Anthology in these special Beatles episodes. _______ Hive. Know your power. Visit https://hivehome.com to find out more. _______ Get our exclusive NordVPN deal here ➼ https://nordvpn.com/restishistory It's risk-free with Nord's 30-day money-back guarantee ✅ _______ Twitter: @TheRestHistory @holland_tom @dcsandbrook Video Editor: Jack Meek / Harry Swan Social Producer: Harry Balden Assistant Producer: Aaliyah Akude Producer: Tabby Syrett Senior Producer: Theo Young-Smith Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

From Biz & IT – Ars Technica at 2025-12-02 22:42:09

OpenAI CEO declares “code red” as Gemini gains 200 million users in 3 months

Three years after Google sounded alarm bells over ChatGPT, the tables have turned.

From Biz & IT – Ars Technica at 2025-12-02 12:15:55

Syntax hacking: Researchers discover sentence structure can bypass AI safety rules

New research offers clues about why some prompt injection attacks may succeed.

From Schneier on Security at 2025-12-02 12:03:01

Like Social Media, AI Requires Difficult Choices

In his 2020 book, “Future Politics,” British barrister Jamie Susskind wrote that the dominant question of the 20th century was “How much of our collective life should be determined by the state, and what should be left to the market and civil society?” But in the early decades of this century, Susskind suggested that we face a different question: “To what extent should our lives be directed and controlled by powerful digital systems—and on what terms?”

Artificial intelligence (AI) forces us to confront this question. It is a technology that in theory amplifies the power of its users: A manager, marketer, political campaigner, or opinionated internet user can utter a single instruction, and see their message—whatever it is—instantly written, personalized, and propagated via email, text, social, or other channels to thousands of people within their organization, or millions around the world. It also allows us to individualize solicitations for political donations, elaborate a grievance into a well-articulated policy position, or tailor a persuasive argument to an identity group, or even a single person...

From The Django weblog at 2025-12-02 12:00:00

Django security releases issued: 5.2.9, 5.1.15, and 4.2.27

In accordance with our security release policy, the Django team is issuing releases for Django 5.2.9, Django 5.1.15, and Django 4.2.27. These releases address the security issues detailed below. We encourage all users of Django to upgrade as soon as possible.

From School of War at 2025-12-02 10:30:00

Ep 253: Michael Pack on the Battle of Fallujah (NEBM3303895100.mp3)

Michael Pack, President and CEO of Palladium Pictures LLC and director of The Last 600 Meters: The Battles of Najaf and Fallujah, joins the show to discuss his remarkable documentary of the Iraq war and the Marines and battles that it portrays. ▪️ Times 01:59 The Journey of Creating 'The Last 600 Meters' 06:24 Censored 10:55 Combat and Valor  21:06 Political Decisions and Military Strategy  26:02 The Human Experience of War  36:29 The Hell House 40:24 Beyond the Battlefield 45:42 Full Metal Jacket 50:45 The Withdrawal from Afghanistan: A New Perspective Follow along on Instagram, X @schoolofwarpod, and YouTube @SchoolofWarPodcast Find more content on our School of War Substack

From Risky Business with Nate Silver and Maria Konnikova at 2025-12-02 05:01:00

How to Experience the Joy of Giving Right Now: A Giving Tuesday Special from The Happiness Lab (audio.mp3?utm_source=Podcast&in_playlist=eb5e885e-6644-4680-aec4-b15c0150ffc0)

According to the science, it really is better to give than receive. Donating a dollar; sharing a kind word or lending someone a hand changes lives, but can also hugely boost your happiness. So we're teaming up with other podcasts from Hidden Brain to Revisionist History to ask you to give to a charity helping some of the poorest people around. We're calling it #PodsFightPoverty.     

Go to givedirectly.org/happinesslab right now and give whatever you can.

Even a small donation will make you feel good and have a much larger impact on the world than you thought possible. To help inspire you, this special episode examines the science of giving and shares stories of heartwarming and impactful acts of kindness.   

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

From Battle Lines at 2025-12-01 16:27:28

Europe is mobilising to face Russia. Is the UK falling behind? (media.mp3)

French President Emmanuel Macron has announced the return of military service in the country, 25 years after mandatory national service was phased out. And he's not alone, with the German parliament set to vote on similar measures, while Belgium and the Netherlands have introduced similar voluntary military service.

But what do the measures entail exactly? How effective, or even necessary are they, and will the UK follow suit?

To discuss all of this Venetia Rainey is sits down with Dr Lynette Nusbacher, a military historian and strategist, and James Crisp, The Telegraph’s Europe editor, to hear more.

► Sign up to our most popular newsletter, From the Editor. Look forward to receiving free-thinking comment and the day's biggest stories, every morning. telegraph.co.uk/fromtheeditor

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From Schneier on Security at 2025-12-01 12:59:47

Banning VPNs

This is crazy. Lawmakers in several US states are contemplating banning VPNs, because…think of the children!

As of this writing, Wisconsin lawmakers are escalating their war on privacy by targeting VPNs in the name of “protecting children” in A.B. 105/S.B. 130. It’s an age verification bill that requires all websites distributing material that could conceivably be deemed “sexual content” to both implement an age verification system and also to block the access of users connected via VPN. The bill seeks to broadly expand the definition of materials that are “harmful to minors” beyond the type of speech that states can prohibit minors from accessing­potentially encompassing things like depictions and discussions of human anatomy, sexuality, and reproduction...

From Odd Lots at 2025-12-01 09:00:00

Travis Kavulla Explains Why Electric Bills Shot Up (audio.mp3?utm_source=Podcast&in_playlist=982f5071-765c-403d-969d-ae27003a8d83)

There's an incredible amount of focus on the grid this days. That's notable because for a long time, the grid was hardly of any interest. For years, load growth was flat. It was a sleepy market. And in fact, because it was sleepy, regulators and politicians and private companies started focusing on phasing out the dirtier parts of energy production. Now things have flipped. Prices are on the rise. Load growth is on the rise. And everyone's tying to figure out how we're going to attach all of these AI datacenters to the grid. On this episode, we speak with Travis Kavulla, the vice president of regulatory affairs at NRG. Prior to his current role, Travis served for eight years on Montana's Public Service Commission, and therefore has a good feel for what drives prices in both regulated and competitive electricity markets. He explains the factors that have pushed electricity costs up, particularly since the pandemic, and the calculations that have to be made to plan for the future burdens that will be placed on the grid.

Read more:
Americans Paying Record Electricity Prices as Gas Costs Climb
As Federal Support Withers, California Invests in Cheap Heat Pumps

Only Bloomberg - Business News, Stock Markets, Finance, Breaking & World News subscribers can get the Odd Lots newsletter in their inbox each week, plus unlimited access to the site and app. Subscribe at  bloomberg.com/subscriptions/oddlots
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From The Rest Is History at 2025-12-01 00:05:00

622. The Nazis at War: The Fall of France (Part 3) (GLT6447940829.mp3?updated=1764261729)

How did the Battle of Dunkirk unfold in 1940? Why was it one of the key turning points of the Second World War for Hitler and his Nazi regime? And, how did the Allies manage to evade the jaws of annihilation at this crucial stage of the Second World War…? Join Dominic and Tom as they march further into the Nazis at war, with Hitler’s forces closing in on the Allies at Dunkirk, before wreaking devastation upon the French. Give The Rest Is History Club this Christmas – a year of bonus episodes, ad-free listening, early access, the private chat community hosted on Discord, and an exclusive t-shirt! Just go to https://therestishistory.supportingcast.fm/gifts And of course, you can still join for yourself at any time at therestishistory.com or on apple podcasts. For more Goalhanger Podcasts, head to www.goalhanger.com _______ Hive. Know your power. Visit https://hivehome.com to find out more. _______ Visit auraframes.co.uk and get £35 off Aura’s best-selling Carver Mat frame by using promo code HISTORY at checkout. Terms and conditions apply. _______ Get our exclusive NordVPN deal here ➼ https://nordvpn.com/restishistory It's risk-free with Nord's 30-day money-back guarantee ✅ _______ Twitter: @TheRestHistory @holland_tom @dcsandbrook Video Editor: Jack Meek / Harry Swan Social Producer: Harry Balden Assistant Producer: Aaliyah Akude Producer: Tabby Syrett Senior Producer: Theo Young-Smith Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

From The Week in Westminster at 2025-11-29 11:30:00

29/11/2025 (p0mkf9wr.mp3)

Sonia Sodha takes a look at Chancellor Rachel Reeves' long-awaited Budget with former Treasury Minister and now Shadow Leader of the House, Conservative MP Jesse Norman and Labour MP Jeevun Sandher who until recently served on the Treasury Select Committee.

To discuss proposed peace plans for Ukraine, Sonia is joined by Ivanna Klympush Tsintsadze, who chairs the Ukrainian parliament’s committee on integration with the EU.

Leaked proposals this week suggest the government is considering limiting trial by jury to only the most serious crimes. To discuss this. Sonia is joined by criminal defence barrister Joanna Hardy-Susskind and Danny Shaw, a former BBC correspondent and former adviser to Yvette Cooper.

And, this week, the Education Select Committee launched an inquiry looking into the decline in reading for pleasure by children. To discuss how to keep the joy of reading alive, Sonia is joined by Labour MP Jess Asato, who is on the Committee and children’s author AF Steadman, whose Skandar series has been translated into 46 languages.

From More or Less at 2025-11-29 06:00:00

Richard Thaler and The Winner’s Curse (p0mkbl7h.mp3)

In the later part of the 20th century, a pioneering group of economists started shaking up their academic field.

These “behavioural economists” used findings from experimental psychology and everyday life to challenge the prevailing view that human beings were rational decision makers – acting in predictable ways to maximize their wealth.

One of those pioneers was Richard Thaler, who noted down some of these “anomalies” in a column in the 1980s, which was turned into a book - The Winner’s Curse - first published in 1992. His work also won him the Nobel memorial prize in economics in 2017.

More than 30 years on, he has returned to that book, publishing a new, updated version with co-author Alex Imas, which looks at whether those anomalies in rational thinking have stood the test of time.

Tim asks him to set out two of his most famous ideas – the winner’s curse itself, and the idea of “mental accounting”.

Presenter: Tim Harford Series producer: Tom Colls Sound mix: Donald MacDonald Editor: Richard Vadon

From Risky Business with Nate Silver and Maria Konnikova at 2025-11-29 05:01:00

The Prisoners’ Dilemma of Performance-Enhancing Drugs (audio.mp3?utm_source=Podcast&in_playlist=eb5e885e-6644-4680-aec4-b15c0150ffc0)

This week we answer a question from listener Brandon, who’s noticed a rise in performance-enhancing drugs outside of sports. Nate and Maria discuss their own philosophies on PEDs, their impact on equilibriums, and what people risk when they decide to juice.

For more from Nate and Maria, subscribe to their newsletters:

The Leap from Maria Konnikova

Silver Bulletin from Nate Silver 

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From A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry at 2025-11-28 23:35:00

Gap Week, November 28, 2025 (Thanksgiving)

Hey folks! This week is Thanksgiving in the United States and I’ve opted to take advantage of the break in teaching to focus down on getting some chapter revisions done, so we’ll be back to hoplites next week. In the meantime, if you are looking for things to read or watch, I have a few … Continue reading Gap Week, November 28, 2025 (Thanksgiving) →

From Dan Carlin's Hardcore History: Addendum at 2025-11-28 21:50:00

EP34 Atomic Accountability (dchh-Addendum34-Atomic-Accountability.mp3?dest-id=596146)

Dan visits with Professor Alex Wellerstein, whose new book about Truman and the dropping of the atomic bombs will challenge everything you think you know about the subject.

From Schneier on Security at 2025-11-28 20:56:20

Friday Squid Blogging: Flying Neon Squid Found on Israeli Beach

A meter-long flying neon squid (Ommastrephes bartramii) was found dead on an Israeli beach. The species is rare in the Mediterranean.

From Schneier on Security at 2025-11-28 14:54:38

Prompt Injection Through Poetry

In a new paper, “Adversarial Poetry as a Universal Single-Turn Jailbreak Mechanism in Large Language Models,” researchers found that turning LLM prompts into poetry resulted in jailbreaking the models:

Abstract: We present evidence that adversarial poetry functions as a universal single-turn jailbreak technique for Large Language Models (LLMs). Across 25 frontier proprietary and open-weight models, curated poetic prompts yielded high attack-success rates (ASR), with some providers exceeding 90%. Mapping prompts to MLCommons and EU CoP risk taxonomies shows that poetic attacks transfer across CBRN, manipulation, cyber-offence, and loss-of-control domains. Converting 1,200 ML-Commons harmful prompts into verse via a standardized meta-prompt produced ASRs up to 18 times higher than their prose baselines. Outputs are evaluated using an ensemble of 3 open-weight LLM judges, whose binary safety assessments were validated on a stratified human-labeled subset. Poetic framing achieved an average jailbreak success rate of 62% for hand-crafted poems and approximately 43% for meta-prompt conversions (compared to non-poetic baselines), substantially outperforming non-poetic baselines and revealing a systematic vulnerability across model families and safety training approaches. These findings demonstrate that stylistic variation alone can circumvent contemporary safety mechanisms, suggesting fundamental limitations in current alignment methods and evaluation protocols...

From School of War at 2025-11-28 10:30:00

Ep 252: Andrew Lambert on the British Empire’s Strategic Challenges and America’s Today (NEBM6814332148.mp3)

Andrew Lambert, Laughton Professor of Naval History in the Department of War Studies, King's College London and No More Napoleons: How Britain Managed Europe from Waterloo to World War One,  joins the show to discuss how the British Empire maintained the balance in Europe between the fall of Napoleon to the summer of 1914. ▪️ Times 02:59 Studying the Problem of War 06:20 British Perspectives of the European Coast 11:33 The French Likelihood of Invading Britain  21:40 The Scheldt River Estuary  30:33 Marlborough, Wellington, and Eisenhower  36:48 The 19th Century and the Rise of Steampower 47:35 Divided attention and British Mistakes of 1914 54:40 The Failure of British Strategic Off-Shore Balancing Follow along on Instagram, X @schoolofwarpod, and YouTube @SchoolofWarPodcast Find more content on our School of War Substack

From Odd Lots at 2025-11-28 09:00:00

This Is Why Credit Card Interest Rates Are So High (audio.mp3?utm_source=Podcast&in_playlist=982f5071-765c-403d-969d-ae27003a8d83)

Some people pay off their credit cards at the end of each month. They use the cards as a payment method and collect points and rewards, and never have to pay any interest. For other users, interest can be sky high — way higher than what would be expected simply based on a user's credit or default risk. Why is this? And how do credit card companies get away with charging interest at these levels? On this episode, we speak with Itamar Dreschsler, a finance professor at Wharton, who recently co-authored a piece titled Why Are Credit Card Rates so High? Drechsler walks us through the costs of running a credit card operation and explains what borrowers are really paying for.

Read more:
US Consumer Confidence Falls by Most Since April on Economy
Gambling, Prediction Markets Create New Credit Risks, BofA Warns

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From The Django weblog at 2025-11-28 06:15:12

2026 DSF Board Election Results

The 2026 DSF Board Election has closed, and the following candidates have been elected:

• Jacob Kaplan-Moss
• Priya Pahwa
• Ryan Cheley

They will all serve two years for their term.

2026 Board

Directors elected for the 2025 DSF Board - Abigail Gbadago, Jeff Triplett, Paolo Melchiorre, Tom Carrick - are continuing with one year left to serve on the board.

Therefore, the combined 2026 DSF Board of Directors are:

• Abigail Gbadago
• Jacob Kaplan-Moss*
• Jeff Triplett
• Paolo Melchiorre
• Priya Pahwa*
• Ryan Cheley*
• Tom Carrick

* Elected to a two year term

Congratulations to our winners, and a huge thank you to our departing board members Sarah Abderemane and Thibaud Colas.

Thank you again to everyone who nominated themselves. Even if you were not successful, you gave our community the chance to make their voices heard in who they wanted to represent them.

From Battle Lines at 2025-11-28 06:02:00

Inside Ukraine-Russia talks: Britain's Kissinger, Putin's enforcer and Trump's envoy (media.mp3)

Donald Trump’s latest effort to end the war in Ukraine unleashed a week of diplomatic turmoil.

And some of the most dramatic diplomatic twists and turns bear the finger prints of one man: Jonathan Powell, the British national security advisor, not only led a diplomatic rescue mission to recast Donald Trump’s original Russian-inspired proposals in Ukraine and Europe’s favour. His influence can also be seen in Anglo-French plans for a “coalition of the willing,” and even earlier this year in Donald Trump’s Gaza Peace Plan.

He is a low-profile figure who wields real influence. So can the man who some have called Britain’s Henry Kissinger guide the war in Ukraine to a peaceful and palatable conclusion? Is his philosophy of engagement suited to grappling with Putin’s Kremlin? And have the week’s acrobatics brought Ukraine and Russia any closer to peace?

David Blair, the Telegraph’s chief foreign affairs commentator, and Orysia Lutsevych, the head of the Ukraine Forum at Chatham House, joins Roland Oliphant on this edition of Battle Lines.

David Blair on Jonathan Powell:

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/11/25/jonathan-powell-britains-kissinger-ukraine/

For blow-by-blow coverage of the peace talks, follow Ukraine the Latest: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2022/03/02/russia-ukraine-war-listen-daily-podcast/

► Sign up to our most popular newsletter, From the Editor. Look forward to receiving free-thinking comment and the day's biggest stories, every morning. telegraph.co.uk/fromtheeditor

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From The Briefing Room at 2025-11-27 15:10:00

What's happening with the Ukraine peace plan? (p0mk5pf5.mp3)

President Trump wants an end to the war in Ukraine. The Ukrainians want peace too - but not at any cost. The past week saw the emergence of a leaked US 28 - point- plan which was wholly unacceptable to President Zelensky and European leaders. But how it originated and why it looked like a Russian wish list has led to intense debate. ( It included Ukraine giving up territory it still holds in the east, as well as the area already occupied by Russia, a cap on the Ukrainian army of 600 thousand, a permanent ban on NATO membership for Ukraine and an amnesty on all war crimes. ) Talks hastily took place in Europe and Abu Dhabi and there’s now a revised version still to be agreed with Russia. President Zelensky wants to meet President Trump to agree the most sensitive issues.. So why did this latest attempt at peace in Ukraine emerge through a leaked document which many assumed had come straight from Russia? How has Europe and Ukraine responded and could it really mean an end to nearly four years of war?

Guests: Angela Stent, Senior Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and former National Intelligence Officer for Russia and Eurasia. Sir Lawrence Freedman, Emeritus Professor of War Studies at King’s College, London Christopher Miller, Financial Times’ Chief Ukraine Correspondent Sir Laurie Bristow, former UK Ambassador to Russia and President of Hughes Hall, Cambridge.

Presenter: David Aaronovitch Producers: Caroline Bayley, Cordelia Hemming, Kirsteen Knight Production co-ordinator: Maria Ogundele Sound Engineer: James Beard Editor: Richard Vadon

From The Incomparable Mothership at 2025-11-27 13:00:00

794: Oops! All Rats (f26ced1c-f4eb-497b-b7a7-c04333368dd3.mp3)

We celebrate Fangsgiving with a visit to darkest Transylvania (and Germany) for the plague-stricken, rat-infested tale of “Nosferatu”, a legally questionable knock-off of “Dracula” more than a century old that surprisingly reinvigorates the classic lines of the Dracula story....

From Strong Message Here at 2025-11-27 09:45:00

Spooking the Markets (with Natalie Haynes and Stewart Lee) (p0mk1wbv.mp3)

It's budget week, Armando is joined by two members of the Strong Message Here commune, Natalie Haynes and Stewart Lee.

How do markets get 'spooked'? Who has the broadest shoulders? And what does 'a Labour Budget with Labour values' actually mean?

We discuss how taxes get their nicknames, why we know so much about the budget ahead of time these days, and whether Rachel Reeves could've taken inspiration from Taylor Swift to make the budget more exciting.

In the longer edition, we also look at 'the banter defence', and decide a new name for 'the markets' that feels more apt for the way they behave.

Got a strong message for Armando? Email us on strongmessagehere@bbc.co.uk

Sound editing: Rich Evans Production Coordinator: Jodie Charman Executive Producer: James Robinson Recorded at The Sound Company

Produced by Gwyn Rhys Davies. A BBC Studios production for Radio 4.

From Odd Lots at 2025-11-27 09:00:00

Graham Allison on the Risks of a US-China War (audio.mp3?utm_source=Podcast&in_playlist=982f5071-765c-403d-969d-ae27003a8d83)

The US and China are in a "Thucydides Trap," whereby the risk of war is heightened when an established power is threatened by a rapidly rising power. This is the framework that's been popularized by Graham Allison, the Douglas Dillon Professor of Government at Harvard University. Professor Allison has been writing about China and the US-China relationship for decades. He's been focused on the growing odds of a violent conflict between the two powers. On this episode, he explains his work and the conditions that drive greater risk of armed conflict. He also tells us what both sides get wrong about each other, and what it will take to reduce the odds of military involvement.

More: Henry Wang on China's Role in the New Emerging World Order

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From The Rest Is History at 2025-11-27 00:05:00

621. The Nazis at War: Blitzkrieg (Part 2) (GLT8711886512.mp3?updated=1764158218)

When Hitler’s eye fell on Norway and Denmark, how did he and the Nazis enact their terrible plan of conquest? How did the Allies respond to this western campaign? And, how did the French fare against the furious German attack…? Join Dominic and Tom as they discuss the next bombastic phase of the Nazis at war. Join The Rest Is History Club: Unlock the full experience of the show – with exclusive bonus episodes, ad-free listening, early access to every series and live show tickets, a members-only newsletter, discounted books from the show, and access to our private Discord chatroom. Sign up directly at therestishistory.com For more Goalhanger Podcasts, head to www.goalhanger.com _______ Hive. Know your power. Visit https://hivehome.com to find out more. _______ Whether you’re hosting or guesting this Christmas, you need the UK’s best mobile network and broadband technology, only from EE. _______ Get our exclusive NordVPN deal here ➼ https://nordvpn.com/restishistory It's risk-free with Nord's 30-day money-back guarantee ✅ _______ Twitter: @TheRestHistory @holland_tom @dcsandbrook Video Editor: Jack Meek / Harry Swan Social Producer: Harry Balden Assistant Producer: Aaliyah Akude Producer: Tabby Syrett Senior Producer: Theo Young-Smith Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

From GoodFellows: Conversations from the Hoover Institution at 2025-11-26 17:43:08

Viewer Mail: War & Peace, Reading & Writing, Why Babies Are Good, and Thanksgiving Memories | GoodFellows | Hoover Institution (GoodFellows_2025-11-25_-_Mailbag_podcast_b30qc.mp3)

Is the bitter war in Ukraine soon to wind down now that a peace settlement is being negotiated (think a Panmunjom-style compromise, not Munich-style appeasement), and how should America prepare for economic and military parity with China? In an episode devoted solely to viewers’ questions, Hoover senior fellows Sir Niall Ferguson, John Cochrane and H.R. McMaster delve into matters ranging from those somber (allaying twenty-somethings’ climate alarmism, “ideal” interest rates, the future of tank warfare as well as AI’s redesign of future workforces) to those more lighthearted (H.R.’s service nickname, the artist behind John’s wall hangings, and how the fellows would ride out a future pandemic). Finally, on the eve of America’s Thanksgiving holiday, the fellows count their blessings – especially “Papa” Ferguson, who recently joined John (aka, “Blah-Blah” to his grandchildren) and H.R. (likewise, his grandkids’ “Papa”) as a first-time grandfather. Subscribe to GoodFellows for clarity on today’s biggest social, economic, and geostrategic shifts — only on GoodFellows.

From The Media Show at 2025-11-26 17:29:00

The Reith Lecture row, Telegraph sale & CNN documentary MisinfoNation: White Genocide (p0mk0668.mp3)

Katie Razzall and Ros Atkins on some of the biggest stories shaping the UK and global media. Dame Caroline Dineage MP Chair of the Culture Media and Sport Committee, former Financial Times editor Lionel Barber, and Max Goldbart from Deadline discuss the BBC crisis: from Samir Shah’s leadership challenges to Shumeet Banerji’s damning resignation letter, and the controversy over editing Rutger Bregman’s Reith Lecture to remove a line about Donald Trump. We also examine the £500m sale of the Telegraph to the Daily Mail group – one of the biggest consolidations in British media – and ask what it means for press plurality with Dr Alice Enders from Enders Analysis and CNN’s Donie O’Sullivan on his new documentary MisinfoNation: White Genocide

Producer: Lisa Jenkinson Assistant Producer: Lucy Wai

From Biz & IT – Ars Technica at 2025-11-26 17:19:35

HP plans to save millions by laying off thousands, ramping up AI use

Product development, internal operations among teams expected to be hit hardest.

From Biz & IT – Ars Technica at 2025-11-26 15:37:47

Crypto hoarders dump tokens as shares tumble

Several companies are selling crypto stockpiles in effort to fund share buybacks, shore up stock prices.

From Net Assessment at 2025-11-26 15:09:00

Reciprocity: The Once and Future Strategy? (Net_Assessment_-_27_Nov_2025_v1.mp3?dest-id=808287)

Chris, Melanie, and Zack discuss Oren Cass's recent article articulating a "Grand Strategy of Reciprocity." Cass argues that the United States should build a bloc of countries that agree to engage with each other on comparable terms while jointly excluding others that will not fulfill the same obligations. Is this possible or realistic? And how does it align with the Trump administration's approach? Meanwhile, Chris commends the Eurasia Group's Institute for Global Affairs, Melanie criticizes Chinese entities purchasing properties near critical US installations, and Zack laments a fundamental misreading of game theory by Scott Bessent.

Show Links:

• Oren Cass, "A Grant Strategy of Reciprocity," Foreign Affairs, November/December 2025, https://www.foreignaffairs.com/united-states/grand-strategy-reciprocity.

• Scott Bessent, "It's time to end the filibuster," Washington Post, November 23, 2025.

• Nate Jones, "State Department erases 15 pages of nuclear history — with no warning," Washington Post, November 13, 2025.

• Jonathan Guyer, Lucas Robinson, Eloise Cassier, Ransom Miller, "Reckless Peacemaker?" Institute for Global Affairs, November 6, 2025

• Chris Mason and Becky Morton, "UK Expected to Approve Plans for Chinese Mega Embassy," BBC, November 21, 2025.

• Philip Lenczycki, "US Nuclear Bomber Fleet Shares Fence With Trailer Park Linked To Chinese Intel-Tied Fraudster," Daily Caller, November 10, 2025.  

• Supporting Stimson, https://www.stimson.org/support/

From Schneier on Security at 2025-11-26 12:05:14

Huawei and Chinese Surveillance

This quote is from House of Huawei: The Secret History of China’s Most Powerful Company.

“Long before anyone had heard of Ren Zhengfei or Huawei, Wan Runnan had been China’s star entrepreneur in the 1980s, with his company, the Stone Group, touted as “China’s IBM.” Wan had believed that economic change could lead to political change. He had thrown his support behind the pro-democracy protesters in 1989. As a result, he had to flee to France, with an arrest warrant hanging over his head. He was never able to return home. Now, decades later and in failing health in Paris, Wan recalled something that had happened one day in the late 1980s, when he was still living in Beijing...

From Breaking History at 2025-11-26 10:00:00

How Clinton, Trump, and Epstein Rewired America’s Moral Compass (CBS3793359173.mp3?updated=1764163091)

We revisit the scandal-soaked 1990s—Packwood, Thomas, Clinton—and explore how failing to enforce norms around abuse of power helped create the world in which the Epstein scandal could flourish. This episode traces the unraveling of political accountability from the Clinton impeachment to the Trump Access Hollywood moment, and finally the global Epstein reckoning. We show how feminists in the ’90s and evangelicals in the 2010s made parallel bargains—each excusing their champion’s abuses for political gain. The result is a culture that normalized impunity for the powerful, and primed America for a populist revolt against a ruling class that protects its own. ----- CREDITS Executive Producer: Poppy Damon Associate Producer: Adam Feldman Sound Designer and Composer: Tony Peer Original theme songs by Eli Lake Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

From Battle Lines at 2025-11-26 06:00:00

Why cutting aid to buy bombs is making us less safe (media.mp3)

With conflicts raging around the world, aid budgets are being slashed in favour of defence spending. 

But experts are warning that cutting aid may not just hurt the world’s most vulnerable, it could make life in Britain more dangerous.

This week, Lord Dannatt, the former head of the British Army, tells Venetia and Arthur why cutting aid to boost defence actually makes us less safe. 

Plus we hear from the author of a new Chatham House report, Olivia O'Sullivan, about the risk of China filling the power gap and the impact on global health.

Producer: Sophie O'Sullivan

Executive Producer: Louisa Wells

Studio Operator: Meghan Searle

Read Lord Dannatt's Telegraph article here: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/11/24/britain-invest-security-sudan-dangerous-world/

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From Risky Business with Nate Silver and Maria Konnikova at 2025-11-26 05:01:00

NO LIMIT, Some AI… Poker’s Documentary-Gate (audio.mp3?utm_source=Podcast&in_playlist=eb5e885e-6644-4680-aec4-b15c0150ffc0)

The WSOP’s NO LIMIT docuseries has been scrubbed from the internet following revelations that it includes AI-generated content, despite creator Dustin Ianotti’s explanation that the material “tracked closely” with other quotes and was only used for “faster scene transitions and narrative pacing."

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