Ashley Frawley
@ashleyafrawley.bsky.social
Senior Editor, Compact Magazine • Senior Research Fellow, MCC Brussels • Sociologist, Uni Kent • Author, most recently, of Significant Emotions (Bloomsbury, 2024)
Pinned
Do I want to get called a libtard by the Right or a Fascist by the Left?
I've decided both, so I will need to learn Bluesky.
I've decided both, so I will need to learn Bluesky.
Having a bust up with your MAGA uncle this Thanksgiving is probably better for you than sitting alone with your gratitude journal.
Read my latest for COMPACT 👇
www.compactmag.com/thanksgiving...
Read my latest for COMPACT 👇
www.compactmag.com/thanksgiving...
Compact
Compact, an online magazine founded in 2022, seeks a new political center devoted to the common good.
www.compactmag.com
November 27, 2025 at 9:39 AM
Having a bust up with your MAGA uncle this Thanksgiving is probably better for you than sitting alone with your gratitude journal.
Read my latest for COMPACT 👇
www.compactmag.com/thanksgiving...
Read my latest for COMPACT 👇
www.compactmag.com/thanksgiving...
The Vatican’s “repatriation” of Indigenous artifacts implies Catholicism is a white religion. But most Indigenous people in North America are Christian and many are Catholic.
Is this not our Church? Are we not Catholics too?
www.compactmag.com/article/are-...
Is this not our Church? Are we not Catholics too?
www.compactmag.com/article/are-...
Are We Not Catholics, Too?
If I think about my grandma, the first memory that pours into my head is us sitting in her 1970s living room on the reserve with rosaries in one hand and tobacco in the other, kitschy mass-produced po...
www.compactmag.com
November 18, 2025 at 3:12 PM
The Vatican’s “repatriation” of Indigenous artifacts implies Catholicism is a white religion. But most Indigenous people in North America are Christian and many are Catholic.
Is this not our Church? Are we not Catholics too?
www.compactmag.com/article/are-...
Is this not our Church? Are we not Catholics too?
www.compactmag.com/article/are-...
Marx said that the history of humanity’s expropriation is written "in letters of blood and fire."
But he also saw something else: history creates the universal. Today’s fetish of cultural difference destroys that possibility.
My latest for Compact 👇
www.compactmag.com/article/are-...
But he also saw something else: history creates the universal. Today’s fetish of cultural difference destroys that possibility.
My latest for Compact 👇
www.compactmag.com/article/are-...
Are We Not Catholics, Too?
If I think about my grandma, the first memory that pours into my head is us sitting in her 1970s living room on the reserve with rosaries in one hand and tobacco in the other, kitschy mass-produced po...
www.compactmag.com
November 18, 2025 at 3:02 PM
Marx said that the history of humanity’s expropriation is written "in letters of blood and fire."
But he also saw something else: history creates the universal. Today’s fetish of cultural difference destroys that possibility.
My latest for Compact 👇
www.compactmag.com/article/are-...
But he also saw something else: history creates the universal. Today’s fetish of cultural difference destroys that possibility.
My latest for Compact 👇
www.compactmag.com/article/are-...
"When ancient institutions are trying to save their skins, they are merciless even to their own members. But I do not think it will work."
Peter Hitches
@ClarkeMicah
argues that casting out Prince Andrew shows the monarchy's weakness, not its renewal:
www.compactmag.com/article/the-...
Peter Hitches
@ClarkeMicah
argues that casting out Prince Andrew shows the monarchy's weakness, not its renewal:
www.compactmag.com/article/the-...
The Folly of Ousting Prince Andrew
The best solution to Britain’s incessant palace scandals would be to have a monarchy but no actual monarch.
www.compactmag.com
November 7, 2025 at 4:44 PM
"When ancient institutions are trying to save their skins, they are merciless even to their own members. But I do not think it will work."
Peter Hitches
@ClarkeMicah
argues that casting out Prince Andrew shows the monarchy's weakness, not its renewal:
www.compactmag.com/article/the-...
Peter Hitches
@ClarkeMicah
argues that casting out Prince Andrew shows the monarchy's weakness, not its renewal:
www.compactmag.com/article/the-...
It seems quite obvious that the UK and similar countries are deeply divided, but this has been more or less the intentional strategy of governments up till now.
www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article...
www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article...
www.dailymail.co.uk
November 7, 2025 at 4:43 PM
It seems quite obvious that the UK and similar countries are deeply divided, but this has been more or less the intentional strategy of governments up till now.
www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article...
www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article...
"Teach mindfulness! Mental health! Wellbeing! We'll prevent problems before they start!"
When will we learn that we are creating the problems we're pretending to solve?
Cultivating excessive self-attention is good for no one, least of all kids.
When will we learn that we are creating the problems we're pretending to solve?
Cultivating excessive self-attention is good for no one, least of all kids.
September 19, 2025 at 9:44 AM
"Teach mindfulness! Mental health! Wellbeing! We'll prevent problems before they start!"
When will we learn that we are creating the problems we're pretending to solve?
Cultivating excessive self-attention is good for no one, least of all kids.
When will we learn that we are creating the problems we're pretending to solve?
Cultivating excessive self-attention is good for no one, least of all kids.
It seems obvious to me that Mandelson was appointed because his shady links to Epstein clearly made him the best Ambassador to the US with Trump in charge. Clearly a feature not a bug.
September 14, 2025 at 1:13 PM
It seems obvious to me that Mandelson was appointed because his shady links to Epstein clearly made him the best Ambassador to the US with Trump in charge. Clearly a feature not a bug.
Who would have thought that the Left and Right would finally come together over the murder of Charlie Kirk?
And yet here they are, all shouting in unison: "Freedom of speech is not freedom from consequences."
And yet here they are, all shouting in unison: "Freedom of speech is not freedom from consequences."
September 13, 2025 at 6:32 PM
Who would have thought that the Left and Right would finally come together over the murder of Charlie Kirk?
And yet here they are, all shouting in unison: "Freedom of speech is not freedom from consequences."
And yet here they are, all shouting in unison: "Freedom of speech is not freedom from consequences."
Bots only replaced people that psy professionals told us not to trust.
They made this therapy couch, and now we're all lying in it.
Read my latest on chatGPT as therapist in COMPACT:
www.compactmag.com/article/how-...
They made this therapy couch, and now we're all lying in it.
Read my latest on chatGPT as therapist in COMPACT:
www.compactmag.com/article/how-...
How Therapy Culture Led to Therapy Bots
Millions of people worldwide are turning to LLMs (large language models) like ChatGPT for mental health support.
www.compactmag.com
August 8, 2025 at 1:32 PM
Bots only replaced people that psy professionals told us not to trust.
They made this therapy couch, and now we're all lying in it.
Read my latest on chatGPT as therapist in COMPACT:
www.compactmag.com/article/how-...
They made this therapy couch, and now we're all lying in it.
Read my latest on chatGPT as therapist in COMPACT:
www.compactmag.com/article/how-...
I've done a lot of things in my life, but my greatest accomplishment must be that time I made french toast with leftover tsoureki.
June 28, 2025 at 8:31 AM
I've done a lot of things in my life, but my greatest accomplishment must be that time I made french toast with leftover tsoureki.
"Wokeness is distinguished specifically by its authoritarian aspect. It demanded not moral agreement, but ideological submission."
Read my review of Andrew Doyle's new book, "The End of Woke":
www.compactmag.com/article/woke...
Read my review of Andrew Doyle's new book, "The End of Woke":
www.compactmag.com/article/woke...
Woke Lost, but Freedom Didn’t Win
Andrew Doyle begins his new book The End of Woke by expressing his hope that the book will one day become a compendium of historical curiosities that merely makes “a decent doorstop.”
www.compactmag.com
May 30, 2025 at 5:56 PM
"Wokeness is distinguished specifically by its authoritarian aspect. It demanded not moral agreement, but ideological submission."
Read my review of Andrew Doyle's new book, "The End of Woke":
www.compactmag.com/article/woke...
Read my review of Andrew Doyle's new book, "The End of Woke":
www.compactmag.com/article/woke...
"Man With Disabilities Begs Hospital To Stop Pushing Suicide"
I asked Roger to record hospital staff and he's shared the recordings with me. Imagine being cheerfully asked about suicide every time a healthcare worker walks into your room.
t.co/RDDfmh415D
I asked Roger to record hospital staff and he's shared the recordings with me. Imagine being cheerfully asked about suicide every time a healthcare worker walks into your room.
t.co/RDDfmh415D
https://dallasexpress.com/health/man-with-disabilities-begs-hospital-to-stop-pushing-suicide/
t.co
May 29, 2025 at 9:37 PM
"Man With Disabilities Begs Hospital To Stop Pushing Suicide"
I asked Roger to record hospital staff and he's shared the recordings with me. Imagine being cheerfully asked about suicide every time a healthcare worker walks into your room.
t.co/RDDfmh415D
I asked Roger to record hospital staff and he's shared the recordings with me. Imagine being cheerfully asked about suicide every time a healthcare worker walks into your room.
t.co/RDDfmh415D
I love all this discussion of "child poverty." Like there are these roving bands of orphan Victorian chimney sweeps.
Families are in poverty. Parents are poorly paid or unemployed. They aren't impoverished alone.
Families are in poverty. Parents are poorly paid or unemployed. They aren't impoverished alone.
May 29, 2025 at 9:08 PM
I love all this discussion of "child poverty." Like there are these roving bands of orphan Victorian chimney sweeps.
Families are in poverty. Parents are poorly paid or unemployed. They aren't impoverished alone.
Families are in poverty. Parents are poorly paid or unemployed. They aren't impoverished alone.
Reposted by Ashley Frawley
I reviewed a self-help book called Tiny Experiments. Thanks for the inspiration @ashleyafrawley.bsky.social @oliverburkeman.com
open.substack.com/pub/kitnouss...
open.substack.com/pub/kitnouss...
The Shifty Promise of Tiny Experiments
Self-help cannot be good philosophy and good business at the same time.
open.substack.com
May 28, 2025 at 6:30 AM
I reviewed a self-help book called Tiny Experiments. Thanks for the inspiration @ashleyafrawley.bsky.social @oliverburkeman.com
open.substack.com/pub/kitnouss...
open.substack.com/pub/kitnouss...
I remember someone on the radio confidently proclaiming that govts etc had figured out how to avoid economic crises and that we'd never see another one.
That was in 2007.
www.compactmag.com/article/ever...
That was in 2007.
www.compactmag.com/article/ever...
May 15, 2025 at 10:16 PM
I remember someone on the radio confidently proclaiming that govts etc had figured out how to avoid economic crises and that we'd never see another one.
That was in 2007.
www.compactmag.com/article/ever...
That was in 2007.
www.compactmag.com/article/ever...
"An observer from the mid-18th century might look at us and say that everything is amazing, but no one is happy. That the fate of capitalism has been neither doom nor bliss. So far."
Kyle Harper on Capitalism and Its Critics for COMPACT
www.compactmag.com/article/ever...
Kyle Harper on Capitalism and Its Critics for COMPACT
www.compactmag.com/article/ever...
Everything’s Amazing, and Nobody’s Happy
The comedian Louis C.K. has an unforgettable bit mocking people who whine about the inconveniences of modern life, especially air travel.
www.compactmag.com
May 15, 2025 at 10:13 PM
"An observer from the mid-18th century might look at us and say that everything is amazing, but no one is happy. That the fate of capitalism has been neither doom nor bliss. So far."
Kyle Harper on Capitalism and Its Critics for COMPACT
www.compactmag.com/article/ever...
Kyle Harper on Capitalism and Its Critics for COMPACT
www.compactmag.com/article/ever...
"Unregulated suicides"
This is very revealing: It isn't about freedom.
It is about making death something "regulated", scheduled, and controlled.
As I explain here:
brussels.mcc.hu/publication/...
This is very revealing: It isn't about freedom.
It is about making death something "regulated", scheduled, and controlled.
As I explain here:
brussels.mcc.hu/publication/...
May 13, 2025 at 8:54 PM
"Unregulated suicides"
This is very revealing: It isn't about freedom.
It is about making death something "regulated", scheduled, and controlled.
As I explain here:
brussels.mcc.hu/publication/...
This is very revealing: It isn't about freedom.
It is about making death something "regulated", scheduled, and controlled.
As I explain here:
brussels.mcc.hu/publication/...
Why are elites so obsessed with gender?
Whatever its reality, transgenderism signifies a model of subjectivity prized by technocratic elites: malleable, untethered from tradition, and committed to an endless project of self-creation.
Read my latest for Compact:
www.compactmag.com/article/how-...
Whatever its reality, transgenderism signifies a model of subjectivity prized by technocratic elites: malleable, untethered from tradition, and committed to an endless project of self-creation.
Read my latest for Compact:
www.compactmag.com/article/how-...
How Society Got a Sex Change
The UK Supreme Court’s recent ruling that “woman” and “man” in the Equality Act refer to biological sex has been hailed as a landmark victory for gender-critical views.
www.compactmag.com
May 7, 2025 at 1:58 PM
Why are elites so obsessed with gender?
Whatever its reality, transgenderism signifies a model of subjectivity prized by technocratic elites: malleable, untethered from tradition, and committed to an endless project of self-creation.
Read my latest for Compact:
www.compactmag.com/article/how-...
Whatever its reality, transgenderism signifies a model of subjectivity prized by technocratic elites: malleable, untethered from tradition, and committed to an endless project of self-creation.
Read my latest for Compact:
www.compactmag.com/article/how-...
The rule of law is not justice, or equality, or human rights, and it’s definitely not a synonym for democracy. Sometimes, it's the opposite.
Political Scientist Darel E Paul examines "the rule of law" as a political weapon:
www.compactmag.com/article/who-...
Political Scientist Darel E Paul examines "the rule of law" as a political weapon:
www.compactmag.com/article/who-...
Who Can Claim the Rule of Law?
In the view of his opponents, Donald Trump’s single greatest threat is to something called “the rule of law.”
www.compactmag.com
May 6, 2025 at 7:27 PM
The rule of law is not justice, or equality, or human rights, and it’s definitely not a synonym for democracy. Sometimes, it's the opposite.
Political Scientist Darel E Paul examines "the rule of law" as a political weapon:
www.compactmag.com/article/who-...
Political Scientist Darel E Paul examines "the rule of law" as a political weapon:
www.compactmag.com/article/who-...
"An inciting incident plus 184 pages of backstory isn’t the structure of a radical modernist novel. It’s just amateurish."
@valerie_reads on the myth of the Substacked great American novel
www.compactmag.com/article/the-...
@valerie_reads on the myth of the Substacked great American novel
www.compactmag.com/article/the-...
The Great American Novel Will Not Be Substacked
There’s been a recent trend of writers, mostly men, asserting the need for a new kind of fiction writing that will supposedly fix the publishing industry and draw in new readers.
www.compactmag.com
May 2, 2025 at 7:35 PM
"An inciting incident plus 184 pages of backstory isn’t the structure of a radical modernist novel. It’s just amateurish."
@valerie_reads on the myth of the Substacked great American novel
www.compactmag.com/article/the-...
@valerie_reads on the myth of the Substacked great American novel
www.compactmag.com/article/the-...
"What this movement cannot admit is that legitimacy is not a message problem. It is a material one.
No amount of focus-grouping will reverse the fact that millions of people no longer experience this system as responsive to their needs."
www.compactmag.com/article/why-...
No amount of focus-grouping will reverse the fact that millions of people no longer experience this system as responsive to their needs."
www.compactmag.com/article/why-...
Why the ‘Pro-Democracy’ Center Can’t Save America
Donald Trump is back in the White House, and the “pro-democracy” movement that emerged during his first term is warning once again that America is on the brink.
www.compactmag.com
May 2, 2025 at 7:17 PM
"What this movement cannot admit is that legitimacy is not a message problem. It is a material one.
No amount of focus-grouping will reverse the fact that millions of people no longer experience this system as responsive to their needs."
www.compactmag.com/article/why-...
No amount of focus-grouping will reverse the fact that millions of people no longer experience this system as responsive to their needs."
www.compactmag.com/article/why-...
Are Syria's new leaders trading jihad for GDP growth?
Djene Rhys Bajalan documents the surreal turn from sectarian war to Silicon Valley reformism:
@compactmag_
www.compactmag.com/article/neol...
Djene Rhys Bajalan documents the surreal turn from sectarian war to Silicon Valley reformism:
@compactmag_
www.compactmag.com/article/neol...
Neoliberalism With Salafi Characteristics
For many Syrians, the events of December 2024 had a surreal quality. After nearly a decade and a half of brutal civil war, it had seemed that the regime of Bashar al-Assad had fended off any serious c...
www.compactmag.com
May 1, 2025 at 7:24 PM
Are Syria's new leaders trading jihad for GDP growth?
Djene Rhys Bajalan documents the surreal turn from sectarian war to Silicon Valley reformism:
@compactmag_
www.compactmag.com/article/neol...
Djene Rhys Bajalan documents the surreal turn from sectarian war to Silicon Valley reformism:
@compactmag_
www.compactmag.com/article/neol...
Trump talks tough on immigration, but his actual policy somehow manages to blend cowardice with cruelty and failure.
Hamilton Craig writes on the perverse outcomes of an immigration policy built on the rhetoric of a Trump rally:
www.compactmag.com/article/welc...
Hamilton Craig writes on the perverse outcomes of an immigration policy built on the rhetoric of a Trump rally:
www.compactmag.com/article/welc...
Welcome to the War on Terror 2.0
During the 2024 campaign, I became addicted to watching Trump rallies streamed on YouTube.
www.compactmag.com
April 30, 2025 at 6:32 PM
Trump talks tough on immigration, but his actual policy somehow manages to blend cowardice with cruelty and failure.
Hamilton Craig writes on the perverse outcomes of an immigration policy built on the rhetoric of a Trump rally:
www.compactmag.com/article/welc...
Hamilton Craig writes on the perverse outcomes of an immigration policy built on the rhetoric of a Trump rally:
www.compactmag.com/article/welc...
"That a globalist technocrat has embraced the language of assertive nationhood marks perhaps the most significant turning point in our post-global world yet."
Is Carney's Canadian election victory the end of globalism?
@thephilippics.bsky.social for Compact
www.compactmag.com/article/how-...
Is Carney's Canadian election victory the end of globalism?
@thephilippics.bsky.social for Compact
www.compactmag.com/article/how-...
How Trump Won the Canadian Election
The victory of Mark Carney’s Liberal Party in Canada’s election is widely hailed as marking a significant turning point in world politics.
www.compactmag.com
April 30, 2025 at 5:57 PM
"That a globalist technocrat has embraced the language of assertive nationhood marks perhaps the most significant turning point in our post-global world yet."
Is Carney's Canadian election victory the end of globalism?
@thephilippics.bsky.social for Compact
www.compactmag.com/article/how-...
Is Carney's Canadian election victory the end of globalism?
@thephilippics.bsky.social for Compact
www.compactmag.com/article/how-...
Do I want to get called a libtard by the Right or a Fascist by the Left?
I've decided both, so I will need to learn Bluesky.
I've decided both, so I will need to learn Bluesky.
April 29, 2025 at 8:17 PM
Do I want to get called a libtard by the Right or a Fascist by the Left?
I've decided both, so I will need to learn Bluesky.
I've decided both, so I will need to learn Bluesky.