Stories and links that are of interest or relevance to leaders, strategists, campaigners and organisers.
Inequality and the economy
Mariana Mazzucato: Why is there always money for war but never for public investment?
Economic growth is at the centre of British politics once again.
The Abundance Agenda’s Anti-Tenancy Blindspot
As policymakers pursue supply-side reforms to address rising housing costs, they must also confront a legal regime that affords tenants second-class status. Without confronting this anti-tenancy bias…
Politicians have long misunderstood the ‘working class’. The rise of the far right shows how mistaken they have been
Class has always mattered, and now labour parties around the world are finding out why.
Australia’s economic slowdown is just beginning, experts warn
The economy grew just 0.3 per cent in the first quarter, gross domestic product per capita went backwards, and interest rate rises and cost-of-living pressures are weighing on households.
Housing concentrated in the hands of a few investors as young people are locked out
The taxation statistics confirm that a tiny number of people are hoarding an enormous number of homes. They show that just 1% of taxpayers own 25% of all rental properties. Two generous tax concessions have created these conditions: negative gearing and the 50% capital gains tax (CGT) discount.
Condemned to plutocracy? The relentless rise of US inequality
Elon Musk is a beneficiary of America’s lopsided prosperity – does the country have any appetite for redistribution?
Wealth and the Political Power of Billionaires
Elon Musk’s trillion-dollar payday from the IPO of SpaceX has hugely amplified the public’s focus on extreme wealth inequality.
Organized People vs Organized Money: What can’t they buy?
Extreme wealth inequality completely wrecks democracy and civil society.
Global affairs
Exclusive leaked documents expose growing White supremacist group
The documents, provided by a source inside Patriot Front, shed new light on the inner-workings of the group.
BBC to Cut 550 Jobs and Reduce Commissioning Spend by More Than $100 Million as Part of Savings Plan, New Director General Says
New BBC director general Matt Brittin has outlined his savings plan, which includes cutting 550 jobs and reducing commissioning spend by $107 million.
Every British PM’s nightmare – Project Syndicate op-ed – Yanis Varoufakis
With Keir Starmer expected to fall on his sword shortly, here is my take on the conundrum facing Andy Burnham, indeed any and every British PM. The true nature of Britain’s ‘special relationship’ with the United States has far more to do with American financiers’ willingness to keep borrowing to purchase British government debt than […]
The Owners Have Already Left the Building
The contemporary nihilism that worries the commentariat is not a generational pathology but the predictable affect of a generation that has read its inheritance and found it sold.
Unions
Chipotle’s US Union Dissolves Without Securing Labor Contract
The Teamsters union has forfeited its rare union foothold at a Michigan Chipotle restaurant following more than three years without securing a contract, showing the steep challenges for US unions even at companies where workers voted to organize.
Union Busting Tactics Workers Rights and Labour Violations
Explore union busting tactics and their impact on workers’ rights. Discover how employers spend billions to oppose unions.
Workers’ rights
United States added to Watchlist as attacks on workers’ freedoms accelerate the erosion of democracy: ITUC Global Rights Index 2026
The United States placed on the Watchlist.
France downgraded from 2 to 3.
Argentina and Panama enter the 10 Worst Countries list for the first time.
France downgraded from 2 to 3.
Argentina and Panama enter the 10 Worst Countries list for the first time.
BHP tries to bury $11.4 billion wage theft scandal — and Michael West with it
Sworn evidence, a $2 shell company, and a disabled coal miner. Now they’re coming for the messenger.
Mexico cuts workweek, bans after-hours contact, and guarantees no worker will take a pay cut in the most sweeping labor reform in a generation
Mexico amends its constitution to cut the maximum workweek from 48 to 40 hours by 2030 and gives 13.5 million workers the legal right to ignore their boss’s
Data, tech and privacy
AI and the future of work
Unlawful by design: Exposing the human rights costs of generative AI
This briefing examines how standalone generative AI systems, based on unlawful web scraping, are in conflict with international human rights law (IHRL) and standards through their design, development and deployment. While these technologies promise sophisticated automation and efficiency, they rely on data collection and model training practices that abuse privacy rights, enable discrimination, and threaten […]
Working class neighborhoods are resisting data centers at 5 times the rate of wealthy ones
And other key insights about the data center protest movement. Plus, Bernie Sanders’ AI sovereign wealth fund proposal, Ted Chiang’s argument against AI consciousness, and much more.
If LLMs Have Human-Like Attributes, Then So Does Age of Empires II
Much research has been carried out on large language models (LLMs) and LLM-powered agentic workflows. However, many works within the field state emergence of, ascribe to, or assume, generalised anthropomorphic attributes to them (e.g., morality or understanding of natural language).
While Google’s CEO Pumps Up AI, Its Actual Employees Are Disgusted by It
Google employees are sharing dozens of anti-AI memes in an internal message board, mocking their bosses’s insistence on the tech.
What Would It Look Like If the AI Bubble Popped?
It’s now consensus that we’re in a bubble of investment in AI data centers, and that it’s a risk to our economy. If the stock market declines, how bad could it get? Where are there areas of contagion?
The First Company-Wide AI Ban Just Hit My Inbox. Here’s What It Means
AI buyer’s remorse is starting to creep into the ROI equation
Campaigning, communications and social media
The Economist prepares for a two‑track internet: one for humans and one for AI agents
The Economist is experimenting with content designed to be readable by agents first, and is building a vibe-coding culture.
Socialism’s next test: Swing states
Francesca Hong is part of an array of lefty candidates running in competitive states emboldened by a turn toward economic populism amid widespread cost-of-living concerns.
The Worst Advice for Democrats on How to Win Elections
[Hot Tips] Every election cycle, a certain type of argument makes the rounds on what exactly Democrats need to do to win in November.
Organizing young people via text still works…you’re just doing it wrong
Lessons we learned 1 million texts later
Bad Digital and Other Ways to Lose
When a campaign tells you it’s running digital, it is telling you nothing.
How Did the Feds Get Into Anti-ICE Activists’ Signal Messages?
ICE investigators leaned on Signal communications to build their case against protesters. Take these steps to keep your chats safe.
Society, media, news and culture
What Is Rustin’s Challenge?
Why did the Left turn its back on a transformative economic and social program in favor of maximalist sloganeering and alienating tactics?
The Bounty Economy Is Breaking Reality
On Pump Fun GO you can get paid to post election fraud conspiracies and more.
Paramount Refused to Air an Ad Criticizing Its Merger With Warner Bros.
The commercial was submitted by the Freedom of the Press Foundation to run during Donald Trump’s UFC event. It criticized the $111 billion merger as a threat to the First Amendment.
The radical Christian nationalist plan to colonize rural America and establish sharia-style governance
Pastor Raymond Simmons’s calls on Christians to eliminate religious freedom and establish adultery and abortion as capital crimes
Hugh Jackman plays Robin Hood as wicked – it’s a badly timed take on the hero of the poor
Who was the ‘real’ Robin Hood – community champion or violent criminal? Those in power and the people who shared his tales in pubs have long disagreed.
This tiny Australian spider uses a high-powered web catapult to trap and eat aggressive ants
The ballista spider only feeds on extremely fierce green tree ants – so it has evolved sophisticated tools to safely catch its prey.
Climate Change
Europe must choose between AI and climate goals, data center lobby says
Tech sector says only carbon-emitting gas plants are reliable enough today to power the EU’s AI goals.
False Promises: The “Solution” to the Climate Crisis That Won’t Work
As global leaders look to tech advances to solve climate change, one leading idea involves capturing carbon pollution from the air and burying it underground forever. While carbon capture may sound practical, there is no conceivable way it can work.