The Joy of Six 1593

"Reform’s problems today, reflected in its diminished polling, stem in large part from the difficulties and limits of professionalisation. The attempt to derive discipline from insurgency has exposed, rather than resolved, the tensions at the heart of the Reform project. And the fallout risks turning latent vulnerabilities into permanent liabilities for the party’s brand." Josh Self asks if the Reform project is unravelling.

"Just as David Tennant’s character bemoans the lack of training or education for young men in custody, so do prison staff across the country. They know what is blindingly obvious: angry people don’t come out of prison less angry if they’ve been banged up for 23 hours a day." Former prison officer Alex South watches the TV drama Time.

Geoff Mulgan makes the case for cognitive rearmament: "That process of developing robust critical thinking skills needs to start early, in primary school. Finland is a trailblazer and has for several years ensured that young people learn about disinformation. Denmark has done the same. But education is just as important for the adult population and should become a primary duty of public broadcasters."

Emma Brookes says Donald Trump seems to be losing his battle with the BBC.

"Like American films of the 1930s and 40s who had to make gangsters pay for their crimes to justify the preceding hour of swagger and violence, British ones of the late 1960s had to make sure the swingers suffered for their pleasure." Ray Newman examines how sickness, sex and death got tangled up in British films 1968-72.

Paul Rees tells the story of the making of Jethro Tull's 1977 album Songs from the Wood, though I loved it then because its songs featured poachers as well as sprites.