James Ball
@jamesrball.com
Tech, policy, politics.
Political editor @ The New World
Opinion @ The i Paper
Fellow @ Demos
PhD researcher @ UCL Laws
newsletter @ techtris
Latest book: The Other Pandemic – How QAnon Contaminated The World. 🏳️🌈
https://www.jamesrball.com/
Political editor @ The New World
Opinion @ The i Paper
Fellow @ Demos
PhD researcher @ UCL Laws
newsletter @ techtris
Latest book: The Other Pandemic – How QAnon Contaminated The World. 🏳️🌈
https://www.jamesrball.com/
Pinned
James Ball
@jamesrball.com
· Aug 11
Techtris | James Ball | Substack
A weekly(ish) newsletter on technology, policy and society, from James Ball. Click to read Techtris, by James Ball, a Substack publication with thousands of subscribers.
www.jamesrball.com
Enjoying my posts? (If not: sorry..?)
I have a newsletter here, plz do subscribe: www.jamesrball.com
Details of books I’ve written here: www.jamesrball.com/p/books
And all my writing for @thenewworldmag.bsky.social is here: www.thenewworld.co.uk/contributor/...
I often pop up elsewhere, too.
I have a newsletter here, plz do subscribe: www.jamesrball.com
Details of books I’ve written here: www.jamesrball.com/p/books
And all my writing for @thenewworldmag.bsky.social is here: www.thenewworld.co.uk/contributor/...
I often pop up elsewhere, too.
Reposted by James Ball
the deal doesn't include CNN or the Discovery family of channels, which are so irrelevant Netflix didn't want them
December 5, 2025 at 9:55 PM
the deal doesn't include CNN or the Discovery family of channels, which are so irrelevant Netflix didn't want them
Reposted by James Ball
🔴 Nigel Farage’s Reform is more reliant on super-rich backers than any major party in modern British political history
75% of *all* Reform donations *ever* have come from just three rich men
Is this what democracy looks like?
New on Democracy for Sale
democracyforsale.substack.com/p/75-of-refo...
75% of *all* Reform donations *ever* have come from just three rich men
Is this what democracy looks like?
New on Democracy for Sale
democracyforsale.substack.com/p/75-of-refo...
75% of Reform UK’s donations have come from just three rich men
Calls grow for donation caps as Democracy for Sale research reveals that three-quarters of Reform’s funding comes from a trio of wealthy donors
democracyforsale.substack.com
December 5, 2025 at 10:55 AM
🔴 Nigel Farage’s Reform is more reliant on super-rich backers than any major party in modern British political history
75% of *all* Reform donations *ever* have come from just three rich men
Is this what democracy looks like?
New on Democracy for Sale
democracyforsale.substack.com/p/75-of-refo...
75% of *all* Reform donations *ever* have come from just three rich men
Is this what democracy looks like?
New on Democracy for Sale
democracyforsale.substack.com/p/75-of-refo...
Reposted by James Ball
FOR THE LOVE OF GOD USE HYPHENS
December 5, 2025 at 3:40 PM
FOR THE LOVE OF GOD USE HYPHENS
"There is an obvious lesson to take from this, that the government seems almost certain to ignore: there is no way for the government to win for as long as it plays this game…The goalposts will be endlessly shifted."
www.thenewworld.co.uk/james-ball-t...
www.thenewworld.co.uk/james-ball-t...
The crazy right will never be satisfied about migration
Keir Starmer slashed net migration as the Mail and Farage demanded - and still got hammered for it
www.thenewworld.co.uk
December 5, 2025 at 12:54 PM
"There is an obvious lesson to take from this, that the government seems almost certain to ignore: there is no way for the government to win for as long as it plays this game…The goalposts will be endlessly shifted."
www.thenewworld.co.uk/james-ball-t...
www.thenewworld.co.uk/james-ball-t...
This feels pretty seismic
Netflix agrees to buy Warner Bros studio and streaming business in $83bn deal on.ft.com/4pQip1C
Netflix agrees to buy Warner Bros studio and streaming business in $83bn deal
Deal will transform US tech company into the dominant player in Hollywood
on.ft.com
December 5, 2025 at 12:14 PM
This feels pretty seismic
Reposted by James Ball
So the House of Lords functions as the UK’s version of the Senate, and really is entirely unelected. 92 people in there are hereditary peers: they’re literally there because they’re aristocrats.
And *still* the Lords would never dare look as partisan as the US Supreme Court did today. Seriously.
And *still* the Lords would never dare look as partisan as the US Supreme Court did today. Seriously.
Yep, the Supreme Court really is just a House of Lords—a purely political branch with bizarre veto power, wielded capriciously and without accountability. Time for massive reform.
December 5, 2025 at 2:23 AM
So the House of Lords functions as the UK’s version of the Senate, and really is entirely unelected. 92 people in there are hereditary peers: they’re literally there because they’re aristocrats.
And *still* the Lords would never dare look as partisan as the US Supreme Court did today. Seriously.
And *still* the Lords would never dare look as partisan as the US Supreme Court did today. Seriously.
So the House of Lords functions as the UK’s version of the Senate, and really is entirely unelected. 92 people in there are hereditary peers: they’re literally there because they’re aristocrats.
And *still* the Lords would never dare look as partisan as the US Supreme Court did today. Seriously.
And *still* the Lords would never dare look as partisan as the US Supreme Court did today. Seriously.
Yep, the Supreme Court really is just a House of Lords—a purely political branch with bizarre veto power, wielded capriciously and without accountability. Time for massive reform.
December 5, 2025 at 2:23 AM
So the House of Lords functions as the UK’s version of the Senate, and really is entirely unelected. 92 people in there are hereditary peers: they’re literally there because they’re aristocrats.
And *still* the Lords would never dare look as partisan as the US Supreme Court did today. Seriously.
And *still* the Lords would never dare look as partisan as the US Supreme Court did today. Seriously.
Reposted by James Ball
This is unfair. On the House of Lords
Yep, the Supreme Court really is just a House of Lords—a purely political branch with bizarre veto power, wielded capriciously and without accountability. Time for massive reform.
December 5, 2025 at 2:03 AM
This is unfair. On the House of Lords
Reposted by James Ball
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announces another boat strike in response to a request/wish from Turning Point USA’s Andrew Kolvet.
December 5, 2025 at 1:47 AM
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announces another boat strike in response to a request/wish from Turning Point USA’s Andrew Kolvet.
Reposted by James Ball
Agree with this thread. Worth reading in full.
25 years ago John Roberts, Brett Kavanaugh, and AC Barrett all worked on GWBush's 2000 Florida recount team. What they're doing now is, if anything, more nakedly partisan.
Fire-breathing dissent by Kagan, with Sotomayor and Jackson.
25 years ago John Roberts, Brett Kavanaugh, and AC Barrett all worked on GWBush's 2000 Florida recount team. What they're doing now is, if anything, more nakedly partisan.
Fire-breathing dissent by Kagan, with Sotomayor and Jackson.
They're not even trying to appear nonpartisan anymore.
December 4, 2025 at 11:57 PM
Agree with this thread. Worth reading in full.
25 years ago John Roberts, Brett Kavanaugh, and AC Barrett all worked on GWBush's 2000 Florida recount team. What they're doing now is, if anything, more nakedly partisan.
Fire-breathing dissent by Kagan, with Sotomayor and Jackson.
25 years ago John Roberts, Brett Kavanaugh, and AC Barrett all worked on GWBush's 2000 Florida recount team. What they're doing now is, if anything, more nakedly partisan.
Fire-breathing dissent by Kagan, with Sotomayor and Jackson.
Reposted by James Ball
As Justice Kagan begins her dissent by pointing out, what is even the point of trial, of fact-finding, of clear error, of standards of review, when the Supreme Court simply ignores every single part of that and decides everything purely on the papers without any real consideration of the facts?
December 4, 2025 at 11:08 PM
As Justice Kagan begins her dissent by pointing out, what is even the point of trial, of fact-finding, of clear error, of standards of review, when the Supreme Court simply ignores every single part of that and decides everything purely on the papers without any real consideration of the facts?
Jonathan is apparently the world’s oldest known land animal, has had a male partner called Frederick since 1991, and has met Queen Elizabeth II and her father George VI, as well as Prince Edward (luckily not Andrew).
Happy Birthday (Observed) to the uncontested KING Jonathan The Tortoise, estimated to be 192 years old
192 MORE YEARS! 192 MORE YEARS!
192 MORE YEARS! 192 MORE YEARS!
December 4, 2025 at 9:37 PM
Jonathan is apparently the world’s oldest known land animal, has had a male partner called Frederick since 1991, and has met Queen Elizabeth II and her father George VI, as well as Prince Edward (luckily not Andrew).
Reposted by James Ball
(being mindful, centered and in the moment) man this fucking sucks
December 19, 2024 at 3:27 AM
(being mindful, centered and in the moment) man this fucking sucks
Reposted by James Ball
It's astoundingly bad. Like an encyclopedia of all the ways government screws up procurement all on the same project.
The British army wanted an armoured monster truck with a gun on it. £6 billion and 31 hospitalised soldiers later, they got one of the biggest procurement fuckups of all time defence-blog.com/insider-says...
Insider says only hull redesign can save British Ajax
The British Army’s troubled Ajax armoured fighting vehicle has returned to the centre of national criticism in recent days, after new noise-related injuries forced the suspension of training and sent ...
defence-blog.com
December 4, 2025 at 9:27 PM
It's astoundingly bad. Like an encyclopedia of all the ways government screws up procurement all on the same project.
The UK parliament is essentially addicted to passing strict and sweeping new laws and then not giving regulators nearly enough money to actually enforce them. Or come close.
So you get Ofcom, the ICO, the Office for Students, etc, who all prove totally ineffective. So parliament passes a new law…
So you get Ofcom, the ICO, the Office for Students, etc, who all prove totally ineffective. So parliament passes a new law…
December 4, 2025 at 7:56 PM
The UK parliament is essentially addicted to passing strict and sweeping new laws and then not giving regulators nearly enough money to actually enforce them. Or come close.
So you get Ofcom, the ICO, the Office for Students, etc, who all prove totally ineffective. So parliament passes a new law…
So you get Ofcom, the ICO, the Office for Students, etc, who all prove totally ineffective. So parliament passes a new law…
Reposted by James Ball
🔊 The one in which @jamesrball.com shoots through the myths and summarises it as “everything’s a hobby for these guys. They’re rich enough that everything’s a kind of play.”
Fill-in by @nndroid.bsky.social, “he’s kind of the Velvet Underground of big tech.”
🌎 #PoliticsAndAllThat 🗳️ #Podcasts 📻
Fill-in by @nndroid.bsky.social, “he’s kind of the Velvet Underground of big tech.”
🌎 #PoliticsAndAllThat 🗳️ #Podcasts 📻
Anti-Christ Superstar — What’s the deal with Peter Thiel? Thiel-watcher @jamesrball.com of The New World magazine joins @nndroid.bsky.social to explain the odd philosophy of this superpowered misfit 👉 linktr.ee/bunker_pod
#PeterThiel #politics #podcast #podcasts
#PeterThiel #politics #podcast #podcasts
December 4, 2025 at 5:51 PM
🔊 The one in which @jamesrball.com shoots through the myths and summarises it as “everything’s a hobby for these guys. They’re rich enough that everything’s a kind of play.”
Fill-in by @nndroid.bsky.social, “he’s kind of the Velvet Underground of big tech.”
🌎 #PoliticsAndAllThat 🗳️ #Podcasts 📻
Fill-in by @nndroid.bsky.social, “he’s kind of the Velvet Underground of big tech.”
🌎 #PoliticsAndAllThat 🗳️ #Podcasts 📻
Reposted by James Ball
I spoke to the New York Times in this great explainer piece by Charlie Savage
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/04/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/04/u...
December 4, 2025 at 1:50 PM
I spoke to the New York Times in this great explainer piece by Charlie Savage
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/04/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/04/u...
Reposted by James Ball
Quite breathtaking story - military grade drones at Dublin airport which flew on the path Zelensky's plane took. The drones reached the flight path of his plane exactly the time it should have been there, but just missed it because Zelensky arrived ahead of schedule:
Four unidentified military-style drones breached no-fly zone to target Zelenskyy's arrival in Dublin
Gardaí are investigating whether the drones took off from land in Dublin or from an undetected ship.
www.thejournal.ie
December 4, 2025 at 3:20 PM
Quite breathtaking story - military grade drones at Dublin airport which flew on the path Zelensky's plane took. The drones reached the flight path of his plane exactly the time it should have been there, but just missed it because Zelensky arrived ahead of schedule:
Reposted by James Ball
A lot of people don't realise the UK right-wing grifting circuit promises neither the riches nor longevity of the US one.
What exactly is the end game here? Fail at banking, fail at being a business guru, try to become fixture of right wing think tank set?
Finally home after > 27 hours of grindset creating shareholder value through AI agentic workflow and guiding a warrior-ethos meditation during my ketamine break.
My 8 year old dog: "Do you have to slay so hard because the villain misrepresented an OBR analysis to Parliament?"
Me: "Bitcoin."
My 8 year old dog: "Do you have to slay so hard because the villain misrepresented an OBR analysis to Parliament?"
Me: "Bitcoin."
December 4, 2025 at 2:56 PM
A lot of people don't realise the UK right-wing grifting circuit promises neither the riches nor longevity of the US one.
Reposted by James Ball
The writer coined the word ‘enshittification’ to describe how useful tech inevitably gets worse. Now he’s turning his sights on AI
✏️ @jamesrball.com
✏️ @jamesrball.com
Cory Doctorow, the gatecrasher at the AI party
The writer coined the word ‘enshittification’ to describe how useful tech inevitably gets worse. Now he’s turning his sights on AI
www.thenewworld.co.uk
December 4, 2025 at 11:00 AM
The writer coined the word ‘enshittification’ to describe how useful tech inevitably gets worse. Now he’s turning his sights on AI
✏️ @jamesrball.com
✏️ @jamesrball.com
Reposted by James Ball
Dating site name for people who lead fantasy game campaigns: "Slide in to our DMs". £8
December 4, 2025 at 10:58 AM
Dating site name for people who lead fantasy game campaigns: "Slide in to our DMs". £8
Reposted by James Ball
"Why is anti-semitism tolerated in the UK?" asks Suella Braverman, shortly before defending man accused of saying "Hitler was right" and telling Jewish people they should be sent to the gas chamber
December 4, 2025 at 9:06 AM
"Why is anti-semitism tolerated in the UK?" asks Suella Braverman, shortly before defending man accused of saying "Hitler was right" and telling Jewish people they should be sent to the gas chamber
Reposted by James Ball
A Thailand-based crypto investor has handed a record-breaking £9 million to Reform UK, shortly before Nigel Farage used media interviews to plug his crypto firm and promise lower taxes and deregulation on the industry
bylinetimes.com/2025/12/04/c...
bylinetimes.com/2025/12/04/c...
Crypto Investor Donates £9 Million to Reform UK After Nigel Farage Plugs His Company and Tells Industry 'I Am Your Champion'
The Reform leader recently used media interviews to back Christopher Harborne's company while promising to cut taxes and regulations on crypto firms
bylinetimes.com
December 4, 2025 at 10:19 AM
A Thailand-based crypto investor has handed a record-breaking £9 million to Reform UK, shortly before Nigel Farage used media interviews to plug his crypto firm and promise lower taxes and deregulation on the industry
bylinetimes.com/2025/12/04/c...
bylinetimes.com/2025/12/04/c...
It’s the mark of an amateur – in journalistic writing, book writing, TV, whatever – that they think ideas are the currency, where the value is, and need fiercely protecting.
Everyone has ideas. Usually ten before breakfast. Executing them well is the hard bit.
Everyone has ideas. Usually ten before breakfast. Executing them well is the hard bit.
'The words are AI, but the idea is all me.'
'This is MY story, I just needed telling it.'
'The voice is authentically my own.'
'The novel is mine, but I used AI to write it.'
'This is MY story, I just needed telling it.'
'The voice is authentically my own.'
'The novel is mine, but I used AI to write it.'
December 4, 2025 at 10:33 AM
It’s the mark of an amateur – in journalistic writing, book writing, TV, whatever – that they think ideas are the currency, where the value is, and need fiercely protecting.
Everyone has ideas. Usually ten before breakfast. Executing them well is the hard bit.
Everyone has ideas. Usually ten before breakfast. Executing them well is the hard bit.