Tim Smith-Laing
@timsmith-laing.com
Writer, reviewer, listener for @telegraphnews.bsky.social, @apollo-magazine.com, etc.
Senior Lecturer on Maastricht University's Executive Master in Cultural Leadship: https://maastrichtuniversity-emcl.org/
All views my own.
www.tim.smith-laing.com
Senior Lecturer on Maastricht University's Executive Master in Cultural Leadship: https://maastrichtuniversity-emcl.org/
All views my own.
www.tim.smith-laing.com
Reposted by Tim Smith-Laing
one of the coolest things about ChatGPT is how you can actually just never use it. you can fill your whole entire life with simply not once using it. it's incredible.
November 25, 2025 at 4:15 PM
one of the coolest things about ChatGPT is how you can actually just never use it. you can fill your whole entire life with simply not once using it. it's incredible.
Reposted by Tim Smith-Laing
Sometimes wonder if what the UK needs is a thinktank that doesn't do any new research, it just repeats obviously true statements that people try to ignore because they're inconvenient.
International students cross-subsidise home students. Your pension is paid for out of general taxation.
International students cross-subsidise home students. Your pension is paid for out of general taxation.
November 25, 2025 at 1:01 PM
Sometimes wonder if what the UK needs is a thinktank that doesn't do any new research, it just repeats obviously true statements that people try to ignore because they're inconvenient.
International students cross-subsidise home students. Your pension is paid for out of general taxation.
International students cross-subsidise home students. Your pension is paid for out of general taxation.
Reposted by Tim Smith-Laing
On Bregman, I was there in the audience and I can’t see what the BBC have gained by removing this line except more bad publicity. I will say that no such edits or censorship occurred when I gave the Reith Lectures and free-speech defenders might want think about whether this is the world they want.
November 25, 2025 at 12:11 PM
On Bregman, I was there in the audience and I can’t see what the BBC have gained by removing this line except more bad publicity. I will say that no such edits or censorship occurred when I gave the Reith Lectures and free-speech defenders might want think about whether this is the world they want.
Reposted by Tim Smith-Laing
Reading to Viollet-le-duc and enjoying him a lot. Nothing so far has topped this delicious turn of phrase, on refusing to heat churches out of fidelity to medievalism:
'qu'il oblige les fidèles à s'enrhumer par l'archéologie, cela tombe dans le ridicule'
'qu'il oblige les fidèles à s'enrhumer par l'archéologie, cela tombe dans le ridicule'
November 24, 2025 at 3:54 PM
Reading to Viollet-le-duc and enjoying him a lot. Nothing so far has topped this delicious turn of phrase, on refusing to heat churches out of fidelity to medievalism:
'qu'il oblige les fidèles à s'enrhumer par l'archéologie, cela tombe dans le ridicule'
'qu'il oblige les fidèles à s'enrhumer par l'archéologie, cela tombe dans le ridicule'
Reposted by Tim Smith-Laing
3y/o in the middle of the night: Daddy, tell a story! Daddy!
Me: Mmph...er...once upon a time at the court of king Arthur there was--
3yo: Yeah but it has to have Shaun the Sheep in it...
Me: Ok--
3yo: And Gawain & the green knight is a baddie and he has laser eyes.
Me: OK. Um.
3yo: *sleeps*
Me: Mmph...er...once upon a time at the court of king Arthur there was--
3yo: Yeah but it has to have Shaun the Sheep in it...
Me: Ok--
3yo: And Gawain & the green knight is a baddie and he has laser eyes.
Me: OK. Um.
3yo: *sleeps*
November 25, 2025 at 9:13 AM
3y/o in the middle of the night: Daddy, tell a story! Daddy!
Me: Mmph...er...once upon a time at the court of king Arthur there was--
3yo: Yeah but it has to have Shaun the Sheep in it...
Me: Ok--
3yo: And Gawain & the green knight is a baddie and he has laser eyes.
Me: OK. Um.
3yo: *sleeps*
Me: Mmph...er...once upon a time at the court of king Arthur there was--
3yo: Yeah but it has to have Shaun the Sheep in it...
Me: Ok--
3yo: And Gawain & the green knight is a baddie and he has laser eyes.
Me: OK. Um.
3yo: *sleeps*
Reposted by Tim Smith-Laing
There it is. Our national broadcaster living in fear of the most openly corrupt US president in American history. This is where the British patriots on the right have got us.
I wish I didn’t have to share this. But the BBC has decided to censor my first Reith Lecture.
They deleted the line in which I describe Donald Trump as “the most openly corrupt president in American history.” /1
They deleted the line in which I describe Donald Trump as “the most openly corrupt president in American history.” /1
November 25, 2025 at 11:20 AM
There it is. Our national broadcaster living in fear of the most openly corrupt US president in American history. This is where the British patriots on the right have got us.
3y/o in the middle of the night: Daddy, tell a story! Daddy!
Me: Mmph...er...once upon a time at the court of king Arthur there was--
3yo: Yeah but it has to have Shaun the Sheep in it...
Me: Ok--
3yo: And Gawain & the green knight is a baddie and he has laser eyes.
Me: OK. Um.
3yo: *sleeps*
Me: Mmph...er...once upon a time at the court of king Arthur there was--
3yo: Yeah but it has to have Shaun the Sheep in it...
Me: Ok--
3yo: And Gawain & the green knight is a baddie and he has laser eyes.
Me: OK. Um.
3yo: *sleeps*
November 25, 2025 at 9:13 AM
3y/o in the middle of the night: Daddy, tell a story! Daddy!
Me: Mmph...er...once upon a time at the court of king Arthur there was--
3yo: Yeah but it has to have Shaun the Sheep in it...
Me: Ok--
3yo: And Gawain & the green knight is a baddie and he has laser eyes.
Me: OK. Um.
3yo: *sleeps*
Me: Mmph...er...once upon a time at the court of king Arthur there was--
3yo: Yeah but it has to have Shaun the Sheep in it...
Me: Ok--
3yo: And Gawain & the green knight is a baddie and he has laser eyes.
Me: OK. Um.
3yo: *sleeps*
Reposted by Tim Smith-Laing
18th-century Dutch naturalist/collector Albertus Seba’s detailed engravings of hedgehogs (Thesaurus, 1734)
November 25, 2025 at 7:01 AM
18th-century Dutch naturalist/collector Albertus Seba’s detailed engravings of hedgehogs (Thesaurus, 1734)
Agreed. I'm predicting that traditional publishing will start doing something similar.
You’re going to see more and more of this, especially when the economic crash kicks in - despite the giant PR campaign and widespread use, there’s a growing understanding that generative AI has an air of shonkiness and poor quality about it.
Indie game developers have a new sales pitch: being ‘AI free’
November 25, 2025 at 7:28 AM
Agreed. I'm predicting that traditional publishing will start doing something similar.
Reposted by Tim Smith-Laing
Bringing up Farage being a racist won't shift any opinions on him. Pushing him on the fact his close associates take Russian money will.
November 25, 2025 at 7:14 AM
Bringing up Farage being a racist won't shift any opinions on him. Pushing him on the fact his close associates take Russian money will.
Reposted by Tim Smith-Laing
Auntie In The Dock: my SKETCH of Today in People Who Love The BBC And Definitely Didn't Leak Anything To The Telegraph.
Auntie in the dock | Robert Hutton | The Critic Magazine
“I have been defined by these two years at Number 10,” Robbie Gibb complained, sounding for all the world like the chap in the joke who only shagged one sheep. How dare anyone suggest that this…
thecritic.co.uk
November 24, 2025 at 9:43 PM
Auntie In The Dock: my SKETCH of Today in People Who Love The BBC And Definitely Didn't Leak Anything To The Telegraph.
Reposted by Tim Smith-Laing
Reading to Viollet-le-duc and enjoying him a lot. Nothing so far has topped this delicious turn of phrase, on refusing to heat churches out of fidelity to medievalism:
'qu'il oblige les fidèles à s'enrhumer par l'archéologie, cela tombe dans le ridicule'
'qu'il oblige les fidèles à s'enrhumer par l'archéologie, cela tombe dans le ridicule'
November 24, 2025 at 3:54 PM
Reading to Viollet-le-duc and enjoying him a lot. Nothing so far has topped this delicious turn of phrase, on refusing to heat churches out of fidelity to medievalism:
'qu'il oblige les fidèles à s'enrhumer par l'archéologie, cela tombe dans le ridicule'
'qu'il oblige les fidèles à s'enrhumer par l'archéologie, cela tombe dans le ridicule'
Excellent piece this.
A few months ago @thelocal.to got a promising pitch from a writer with bylines in whole bunch of reputable publications—The Cut, The Guardian, Dwell, Architectural Digest, etc. Then I started investigating. Here's a story about fabulists in journalism's AI slop era. thelocal.to/investigatin...
Investigating a Possible Scammer in Journalism’s AI Era | The Local
A suspicious pitch from a freelancer led editor Nicholas Hune-Brown to dig into their past work. By the end, four publications, including The Guardian and Dwell, had removed articles from their sites.
thelocal.to
November 24, 2025 at 11:19 AM
Excellent piece this.
Reposted by Tim Smith-Laing
*Dandles grandchild on knee*
“Yes, junior. It is funny looking back. But in the olden days someone decided the right way to mark the birth of Christ was to have amateurs edit the country’s foremost current affairs programme.”
“Yes, junior. It is funny looking back. But in the olden days someone decided the right way to mark the birth of Christ was to have amateurs edit the country’s foremost current affairs programme.”
November 24, 2025 at 7:32 AM
*Dandles grandchild on knee*
“Yes, junior. It is funny looking back. But in the olden days someone decided the right way to mark the birth of Christ was to have amateurs edit the country’s foremost current affairs programme.”
“Yes, junior. It is funny looking back. But in the olden days someone decided the right way to mark the birth of Christ was to have amateurs edit the country’s foremost current affairs programme.”
I strongly desire this book.
Graveyards by @theprofrog.bsky.social is a lyrical, frequently unexpected account of the grave as a signpost to the afterlife, a site of remembrance and self-reflection, and an object of enduring fascination.
Out now: press.princeton.edu/books/hardco...
#History
Out now: press.princeton.edu/books/hardco...
#History
November 21, 2025 at 7:24 PM
I strongly desire this book.
This is a logical consequence of chasing people who will always despise you while alienating the quite specific subset of people (me, I guess) who actually liked you.
After another week of banging on about immigration, Keir Starmer's ratings fall to their lowest ever level.
At what point do Labour strategists start to think that maybe this isn't quite the winning strategy they believed?
At what point do Labour strategists start to think that maybe this isn't quite the winning strategy they believed?
November 20, 2025 at 2:44 PM
This is a logical consequence of chasing people who will always despise you while alienating the quite specific subset of people (me, I guess) who actually liked you.
It me.
NEWS! Man declares himself fully fit for two months of bullshitting about The Ashes newsthump.com/2025/11/20/m...
Man declares himself fully fit for two months of bullshitting about The Ashes
A man has declared himself fit for the forthcoming Ashes series despite having a very limited grasp of even the most basic cricketing concepts. Simon Williams has read one preview article in the Su…
newsthump.com
November 20, 2025 at 2:41 PM
It me.
In other news, I am writing a short piece about Marguerite Yourcenar and realising that L'Oeuvre au noir has been out of print in English for thirty years. What the hell guys! It's right there. One of the greatest historical novels of all time! Just reprint it already!
November 20, 2025 at 2:40 PM
In other news, I am writing a short piece about Marguerite Yourcenar and realising that L'Oeuvre au noir has been out of print in English for thirty years. What the hell guys! It's right there. One of the greatest historical novels of all time! Just reprint it already!
I deleted a post because it just made me too sad about the state of English politics right now. Normal service will resume shortly.
November 20, 2025 at 2:38 PM
I deleted a post because it just made me too sad about the state of English politics right now. Normal service will resume shortly.
Reposted by Tim Smith-Laing
tomorrow's newsletter is literally called "aren't you tired of feeling insane all the time?" and boy isn't this a darling example, a phrase popularised by full-on racists on Elon Musk's Twitter now being bandied around in the mainstream press and sold as a Labour term
November 20, 2025 at 2:38 PM
tomorrow's newsletter is literally called "aren't you tired of feeling insane all the time?" and boy isn't this a darling example, a phrase popularised by full-on racists on Elon Musk's Twitter now being bandied around in the mainstream press and sold as a Labour term
Reposted by Tim Smith-Laing
Just the most embarrassing person on planet Earth.
oh my god i take it back, grok is amazing
November 20, 2025 at 7:20 AM
Just the most embarrassing person on planet Earth.
Reposted by Tim Smith-Laing
Not satisfied with just destroying their own brand goodwill, OS companies are now using AI to try to destroy the good names of the apps users install. (Scrivener taking out adds to explain how it has no AI but Apple adds some anyway.)
November 19, 2025 at 8:19 PM
Not satisfied with just destroying their own brand goodwill, OS companies are now using AI to try to destroy the good names of the apps users install. (Scrivener taking out adds to explain how it has no AI but Apple adds some anyway.)
Reposted by Tim Smith-Laing
What the Labour Party used to understand was that it wasn’t that immigration was tearing the country apart, but that immigration was what was holding the country together. Immigration kept our NHS going, our transport system going, our education and much more.
It’s still true. They must know it.
It’s still true. They must know it.
November 18, 2025 at 8:23 AM
What the Labour Party used to understand was that it wasn’t that immigration was tearing the country apart, but that immigration was what was holding the country together. Immigration kept our NHS going, our transport system going, our education and much more.
It’s still true. They must know it.
It’s still true. They must know it.