Political commentators love the phrase “the battle for Number 10”. It’s shorthand for a general election. Until this week. In his speech at The People’s History Museum in Manchester, Andy Burnham stated he would create a “No 10 North”. So now we have to ask. Which No 10? The phrase only worked because it was … Read more
On her 16th Birthday, 12th July 2013, Malala Yousafzai made a speech at the United Nations, on the importance of education; the education of young girls in particular. 13 years later, at the recent TED, Malala gave another speech. It could have been titled: “On Failure”. Indeed there was an implied admission of failure in … Read more
In St Paul, Minnesota, Bernie Sanders delivered a strong speech to the “No KIngs” rally. He spoke from notes; and the speech was carefully crafted. For the first one third (almost exactly: to 9:53) of the speech Sanders addresses what he is against. The vocabulary is choice: authoritarianism, oligarchy, kleptocrat, pathological liar, narcissist. Then there … Read more
Silent Night: The Ecology of “Club Death”. by Talks Decoded Thoughts on a TEDx talk by Freek Wallagh at TEDx Amsterdam.Read on Substack Freek Wallagh is a poet and the current Night Mayor of Amsterdam. His TEDx talk was a defence of the city’s nocturnal life. And something considerably more. On first viewing, it is … Read more