Nick Harkaway
@nickharkaway.com
Author: Karla’s Choice, Gnomon, Titanium Noir etc. Also husband, dad and occasional clothing-repairer, dog-walker, enthusiastic improviser of temporary solutions to random problems. Decreasingly rigorous on social media.
www.linktr.ee/harkaway
He/him
www.linktr.ee/harkaway
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Nick Harkaway
@nickharkaway.com
· Dec 5
Boring update: I am not the owner/operator of the asknickharkaway Gmail account. If you get mail from it, no, that’s not me. (And please let me know.)
Reposted by Nick Harkaway
“When mayors in other cities ask me how #Copenhagen afforded to invest in its cycling networks, I ask them how on earth they have been able to afford highway projects. We invested in bike lanes because that was the cheapest option.”
What the world can learn from Copenhagen’s cycling revolution.
What the world can learn from Copenhagen’s cycling revolution.
What the world can learn from Copenhagen’s cycling revolution
Close to two-thirds of the city’s residents commute by bike to school or work every day.
theprogressplaybook.com
January 23, 2026 at 8:13 AM
“When mayors in other cities ask me how #Copenhagen afforded to invest in its cycling networks, I ask them how on earth they have been able to afford highway projects. We invested in bike lanes because that was the cheapest option.”
What the world can learn from Copenhagen’s cycling revolution.
What the world can learn from Copenhagen’s cycling revolution.
Reposted by Nick Harkaway
“The crown used to trumpet their connections to the transatlantic slave trade. They put the royal brand on this practice and literally on people’s bodies.”
British crown was world’s largest buyer of enslaved people by 1807, book reveals — The Guardian
Exclusive: Author of The Crown’s Silence tells how navy and monarchy protected slave trade for hundreds of years
apple.news
January 24, 2026 at 9:56 AM
“The crown used to trumpet their connections to the transatlantic slave trade. They put the royal brand on this practice and literally on people’s bodies.”
Reposted by Nick Harkaway
In news that is in no way allegorical www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Nuclear bunker in East Yorkshire topples from crumbling cliff
The brick building, on the East Yorkshire coast, is now sitting at the foot of a collapsed cliff.
www.bbc.co.uk
January 24, 2026 at 9:45 AM
In news that is in no way allegorical www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Le sigh.
Starmer was always going to have to draw a line with Trump somewhere. Turns out the line is insulting British war dead, but there was going to be something.
So now he’s demanding an apology, and his softly-softly pragmatism is blown away.
Starmer was always going to have to draw a line with Trump somewhere. Turns out the line is insulting British war dead, but there was going to be something.
So now he’s demanding an apology, and his softly-softly pragmatism is blown away.
January 24, 2026 at 9:42 AM
Le sigh.
Starmer was always going to have to draw a line with Trump somewhere. Turns out the line is insulting British war dead, but there was going to be something.
So now he’s demanding an apology, and his softly-softly pragmatism is blown away.
Starmer was always going to have to draw a line with Trump somewhere. Turns out the line is insulting British war dead, but there was going to be something.
So now he’s demanding an apology, and his softly-softly pragmatism is blown away.
Reposted by Nick Harkaway
Fantastic investigative journalism here - if you haven’t subscribed to LondonCentric, you should!
This is one of the strangest and most screwed-up stories I’ve worked on. www.londoncentric.media/p/tiktok-lon...
Who's secretly filming fake TikToks inside Londoners' homes?
We tracked down the viral video account invading people's houses to spread false claims about immigrants.
www.londoncentric.media
January 24, 2026 at 9:23 AM
Fantastic investigative journalism here - if you haven’t subscribed to LondonCentric, you should!
Honestly now wondering whether they chose this route because “suppressing” the report guarantees more coverage than just releasing it.
Quick thread on how it is shocking the government has supressed this report, but it is equally shocking that anyone should be surprised by its contents.
www.businessgreen.com/news/4524657...
www.businessgreen.com/news/4524657...
Government accused of 'suppressing' report warning of catastrophic climate risks
The Times reports unabridged version of security services' analysis sets out 'reasonable worst case scenario' where climate impacts trigger mass migration and conflict
www.businessgreen.com
January 23, 2026 at 1:06 PM
Honestly now wondering whether they chose this route because “suppressing” the report guarantees more coverage than just releasing it.
Jesus. What is it with British politicians being completely unable to recognise crisis when it‘s coming down the pipe?
Sadly suppressing such a devastating report doesn’t make the risks go away - it just makes them even harder to deal with. Facing up to the truth is the first step to coping with it - it’s beyond scandalous that ministers tried to prevent this. They need to act - and fast
January 23, 2026 at 10:12 AM
Jesus. What is it with British politicians being completely unable to recognise crisis when it‘s coming down the pipe?
Also just a propos of nothing… Liquid Glass is infuriating so far.
January 22, 2026 at 8:12 PM
Also just a propos of nothing… Liquid Glass is infuriating so far.
I am enjoying Starfleet Academy.
January 22, 2026 at 7:10 PM
I am enjoying Starfleet Academy.
I am a British writer specialising in the kind of novel where *clockwork bees are an existential threat to reality*. I chose to read this to avoid sounding too silly when talking about the state of things in the US. Also it’s interesting.
Can ICE enter a home to make an arrest with only an administrative warrant?
@orinkerr.bsky.social says DHS’s new policy is probably unconstitutional.
www.lawfaremedia.org/article/can-...
@orinkerr.bsky.social says DHS’s new policy is probably unconstitutional.
www.lawfaremedia.org/article/can-...
Can ICE Enter a Home to Make an Arrest With Only an Administrative Warrant?
A tentative take, on both the rights and the remedies.
www.lawfaremedia.org
January 22, 2026 at 5:10 PM
I am a British writer specialising in the kind of novel where *clockwork bees are an existential threat to reality*. I chose to read this to avoid sounding too silly when talking about the state of things in the US. Also it’s interesting.
Reposted by Nick Harkaway
In the pub tonight I witnessed a man at the next table give his lady companion a stuffed capybara (I mean like a teddy bear, not taxidermy, though tbh either would be acceptable), which I am furious to admit no man has ever done for me
January 22, 2025 at 8:25 PM
In the pub tonight I witnessed a man at the next table give his lady companion a stuffed capybara (I mean like a teddy bear, not taxidermy, though tbh either would be acceptable), which I am furious to admit no man has ever done for me
What a pointless, stupid waste of friendship and mutual interest.
European governments have reached a difficult conclusion: The Americans are the baddies now.
As leaders of the EU’s 27 countries assemble in Brussels for an emergency summit, that assessment is predominant across almost all capitals in Europe.
As leaders of the EU’s 27 countries assemble in Brussels for an emergency summit, that assessment is predominant across almost all capitals in Europe.
‘Our American Dream is dead’: EU concedes Trump is not on its side
The crisis summit in Brussels goes ahead despite U.S. president’s about-face on Greenland tariff threats.
www.politico.eu
January 22, 2026 at 8:41 AM
What a pointless, stupid waste of friendship and mutual interest.
This is one of those algebraic documents so beloved of negotiators trying to get various parties to agree on things they don’t agree on.
www.timesofisrael.com/full-text-ch...
www.timesofisrael.com/full-text-ch...
Full text: Charter of Trump’s Board of Peace
No mention of Gaza, which bolsters ToI's reporting that US also envisions panel helping resolve other conflicts worldwide; member countries must pay $1 billion for permanent spot
www.timesofisrael.com
January 21, 2026 at 9:50 AM
This is one of those algebraic documents so beloved of negotiators trying to get various parties to agree on things they don’t agree on.
www.timesofisrael.com/full-text-ch...
www.timesofisrael.com/full-text-ch...
Terrible restaurant could close unless people enthusiastically embrace bad food, complains chef.
AI boom could falter without wider adoption, Microsoft chief Satya Nadella warns
AI boom could falter without wider adoption, Microsoft chief Satya Nadella warns
Big tech boss tells delegates at Davos that broader global use is essential if technology is to deliver lasting growth
www.irishtimes.com
January 20, 2026 at 5:03 PM
Terrible restaurant could close unless people enthusiastically embrace bad food, complains chef.
Gavin Newsom wants to chide Europe over Trump?
Huh. I really hope that’s for a US audience, because I can’t see it impressing any of us on this side of the big blue wet thing.
Huh. I really hope that’s for a US audience, because I can’t see it impressing any of us on this side of the big blue wet thing.
January 20, 2026 at 5:00 PM
Gavin Newsom wants to chide Europe over Trump?
Huh. I really hope that’s for a US audience, because I can’t see it impressing any of us on this side of the big blue wet thing.
Huh. I really hope that’s for a US audience, because I can’t see it impressing any of us on this side of the big blue wet thing.
It occurs to me that if we just give him a scale model of Greenland, maybe that would do the trick.
January 16, 2026 at 9:40 AM
It occurs to me that if we just give him a scale model of Greenland, maybe that would do the trick.
Reposted by Nick Harkaway
Reminder that in the UK an incoming radical, populist government would have immediate access to immense, unchecked executive power.
And the current government is doing nothing to protect us from that.
And the current government is doing nothing to protect us from that.
NEW
The UK constitution is even more vulnerable than the US constitution
In the face of an illiberal radical assault, what has happened politically in America could easily happen in the UK
By me, at @prospectmagazine.co.uk
www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/ideas/law/th...
The UK constitution is even more vulnerable than the US constitution
In the face of an illiberal radical assault, what has happened politically in America could easily happen in the UK
By me, at @prospectmagazine.co.uk
www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/ideas/law/th...
January 15, 2026 at 5:34 PM
Reminder that in the UK an incoming radical, populist government would have immediate access to immense, unchecked executive power.
And the current government is doing nothing to protect us from that.
And the current government is doing nothing to protect us from that.
Reposted by Nick Harkaway
the European mission to Greenland was fourth in the BBC news running order this morning, which feels a bit like doing a light "and finally..." item about the archduke's motorcade taking a wrong turn in Sarajevo
January 15, 2026 at 10:01 AM
the European mission to Greenland was fourth in the BBC news running order this morning, which feels a bit like doing a light "and finally..." item about the archduke's motorcade taking a wrong turn in Sarajevo
Currently searching something on the interwebs. Let’s say it’s “weasels made of chocolate”. Apparently there was a fad for chocolate wurzels in France in 1970s, and it does not matter how many times I say “-wurzels” the main search engines will not shut up about the wurzels.
January 16, 2026 at 9:16 AM
Currently searching something on the interwebs. Let’s say it’s “weasels made of chocolate”. Apparently there was a fad for chocolate wurzels in France in 1970s, and it does not matter how many times I say “-wurzels” the main search engines will not shut up about the wurzels.
Reposted by Nick Harkaway
This intro to David Frost's Telegraph column sums up so much that is wrong with British politics.
January 16, 2026 at 8:46 AM
This intro to David Frost's Telegraph column sums up so much that is wrong with British politics.
Mm. I had assumed Starfleet Academy would be jaunty from the get-go. I’m adjusting.
January 15, 2026 at 9:32 PM
Mm. I had assumed Starfleet Academy would be jaunty from the get-go. I’m adjusting.
A thread of quiet genius.
THREAD.
A collection of random dogs I have met on my adventures in the British countryside.
You will find the captions to the photos in the alt text.
A collection of random dogs I have met on my adventures in the British countryside.
You will find the captions to the photos in the alt text.
January 15, 2026 at 6:06 PM
A thread of quiet genius.
The Guardian has that "an incredible self-own" at the foot of every article and I'm sure it seemed like a great idea at the time, but now every time I see it I have to go through the process of going "oh, it's that clever joke, they're not actually saying they screwed up" and it's... not working.
January 15, 2026 at 3:14 PM
The Guardian has that "an incredible self-own" at the foot of every article and I'm sure it seemed like a great idea at the time, but now every time I see it I have to go through the process of going "oh, it's that clever joke, they're not actually saying they screwed up" and it's... not working.
Today I am the stupidest harmless situation I have been in for YEARS
January 15, 2026 at 11:22 AM
Today I am the stupidest harmless situation I have been in for YEARS
View from Portugal @publico.pt:
“Europeus querem reforço da defesa perante divórcio atlântico.“
“Europeans want to strengthen [the continent’s] defences in the face of the Atlantic divorce.”
Just let “Atlantic divorce” sit for a bit. It’s not a trial separation or a bumpy patch.
“Europeus querem reforço da defesa perante divórcio atlântico.“
“Europeans want to strengthen [the continent’s] defences in the face of the Atlantic divorce.”
Just let “Atlantic divorce” sit for a bit. It’s not a trial separation or a bumpy patch.
January 15, 2026 at 8:10 AM
View from Portugal @publico.pt:
“Europeus querem reforço da defesa perante divórcio atlântico.“
“Europeans want to strengthen [the continent’s] defences in the face of the Atlantic divorce.”
Just let “Atlantic divorce” sit for a bit. It’s not a trial separation or a bumpy patch.
“Europeus querem reforço da defesa perante divórcio atlântico.“
“Europeans want to strengthen [the continent’s] defences in the face of the Atlantic divorce.”
Just let “Atlantic divorce” sit for a bit. It’s not a trial separation or a bumpy patch.