Recent Entries

From More or Less at 2025-12-27 06:00:00

Numbers of the year 2025 (p0mp7lkb.mp3)

We look back at some stand out numbers of 2025. How significant were Trump’s import tariffs? China sets the pace for solar power installation across the globe. We also look upwards to a particularly speedy comet - 3i Atlas.

Presenter: Tim Harford Producers: Charlotte McDonald and Katie Solleveld Production Co-ordinator: Maria Ogundele Sound Mix: Rod Farquhar Editor: Richard Vadon

From Risky Business with Nate Silver and Maria Konnikova at 2025-12-27 05:01:00

The Big Short Companion from Against the Rules: How the Financial Crisis Broke Wall Street (audio.mp3?utm_source=Podcast&in_playlist=eb5e885e-6644-4680-aec4-b15c0150ffc0)

We’re sharing another podcast we think you’ll enjoy, The Big Short Companion from Against the Rules, hosted by fellow Pushkin podcast host Michael Lewis. The Big Short is now 15 years old and to mark the occasion, Lewis narrated a new audiobook version of The Big Short and is looking back on how the 2008 financial crisis still affects the world today. To make sense of Wall Street’s hangover from the crash described in The Big Short, Lewis calls up Matt Levine, author of the Money Stuff newsletter for Bloomberg Opinion. He’s also a former investment banker who was working at Goldman Sachs during the market crisis of 2008. He and Lewis talk about Bitcoin, bank regulation, and new forms of risk-taking—all ways Wall Street has changed since the crisis.

Find The Big Short Companion from Against the Rules (00:45) on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your Podcasts.

Find The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine (00:10) on Apple Books or wherever you get your audiobooks.

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From School of War at 2025-12-26 10:30:00

Ep 260: Kevin Passmore on the Maginot Line and the Battle of France (NEBM9828227459.mp3)

Kevin Passmore, professor of History at Cardiff University and author of The Maginot Line: A New History, joins the show to talk about the most elaborate fortification system of the 20th century and why it failed. ▪️ Times 02:03 Attacking the Maginot Line 05:53 Fortifications and Warfare 11:48 Flexibility vs Depth 15:38 A Total Commitment to War 19:49 French Defensive Concepts 22:42 Living in the Line 27:31 Decision in Belgium  36:22 Breaking the Enemy’s Will  39:36 Ukrainian Fortifications Follow along on Instagram, X @schoolofwarpod, and YouTube @SchoolofWarPodcast Find more content on our School of War Substack

From Odd Lots at 2025-12-26 09:00:00

Merryn Talks Money: John Law, The Gambler Who Invented Modern Money (Part 1) (audio.mp3?utm_source=Podcast&in_playlist=982f5071-765c-403d-969d-ae27003a8d83)

Hello Odd Lots listeners! As we take a break for the holidays we'd like to take a moment and bring you an episode by one of our sister shows here at Bloomberg Podcasts, Merryn Talks Money. 

In this special two-part series, John Stepek and Merryn Somerset Webb tell the extraordinary story of John Law: a fugitive Scots gambler who became the most powerful financier in France and helped invent the modern monetary system. From murder and exile to paper money, banking revolutions and spectacular collapse, Law’s life reveals why today’s financial system works the way it does—and why it sometimes blows up. It’s history, scandal and monetary theory rolled into one irresistible tale.

We used a range of sources for this podcast but two key books to read if you'd like to find out more are:
John Law: A Scottish Adventurer of the Eighteenth Century (2018), by James Buchan
John Law: Economic Theorist and Policy-Maker (1997), by Antoin Murphy

Like this episode? Listen and Subscribe to the Merryn Talks Money podcast on Apple, Spotify, iHeart or wherever you get your podcasts

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From Battle Lines at 2025-12-26 06:00:00

No limits partnership: Why 2025 was China and Russia's year (media.mp3)

This has been a year when the world lurched from crisis to crisis at breakneck speed. Trump back in power. America wavering on Europe and Ukraine. China strutting with new confidence. Russia grinding on. Iran bombed. Gaza paused. If you feel dizzy you are not alone.

Venetia is joined by Adelie Pojzman-Pontay from Ukraine the Latest and Asia correspondent Allegra Mendelson to take a sharp eyed look back at the moments that mattered and the ones you may have missed but cannot afford to ignore. 

We focus on the three powers shaping everything China, Russia and the United States.

Producer: Peter Shevlin

Executive Producer: Louisa Wells

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From Net Assessment at 2025-12-25 11:00:00

What Does the United States Want From China and Why Can't We Get It? (Net_Assessment_-_25_Dec_2025_v1.mp3?dest-id=808287)

In this episode, Chris, Melanie, and Zack look at U.S. policy toward China. What does the United States, that is Donald Trump, want from China? What should the Trump administration be willing to compromise on to get it? And what does Trump need that China would be willing to give up? Grievances for President Trump's tasteless social media post following the murder of Rob and Michele Reiner; for those who bet on war (and rig the maps to win); and for the Pentagon's attacks on Sen. (and retired Navy Captain) Mark Kelly for daring to suggest that people in the military shouldn't follow unlawful orders. Speaking of unlawful orders, attas to Sen. Kelly and others calling out the Trump admin's dubious case for striking boats in the Caribbean and the Pacific. Plus a shout out for reporters covering the Trump administration, who manage to break news despite the hurdles.

Show Links:

• Derek Scissors and Zack Cooper, "Trump vs China is taking a turn," Washington Post, December 16, 2025.

• Lily Kuo, "From Chips to Security, China Is Getting Much of What It Wants From the U.S.," New York Times, December 12, 2025.

• Saif Khan, Tao Burga, Tim Fist, and Georgia Adamson, "Should the US Sell Hopper Chips to China?" Institute for Progress, December 7, 2025.

• Nick Cleveland-Stout, "Think tanker altered Ukraine war map before big Polymarket payout," Responsible Statecraft, December 11, 2025.

• Al Weaver and Filip Timotija, "Senate GOP Grows Uneasy as Pentagon's Kelly Escalates,"  The Hill, December 17, 2025.

• Jonathan Gilbert, "China Buys Rare Argentine Wheat Cargo as Milei Trims Tariffs," Bloomberg, December 14, 2025.

• Alan Beattie, "Donald Trump Stiffs Farmers and China Stiffs Donald Trump," Financial Times, December 15, 2025.

• Susannah Savage, "Donald Trump's Tariffs Intensify Strain on US Farmers, Deere Warns," Financial Times, December 10, 2025. 

From Odd Lots at 2025-12-25 09:00:00

Scott Kupor's New Plan to Bring Tech Workers Into the Federal Government (audio.mp3?utm_source=Podcast&in_playlist=982f5071-765c-403d-969d-ae27003a8d83)

If you're a high-skilled tech worker, then potentially huge fortunes await you working for a startup or one of our booming AI giants. But the government needs these types of workers too. And the government is not set up to pay commensurate salaries with the private sector -- particularly for these types of roles. This challenge has long been understood, and there have been numerous efforts over the years to infuse the government with high-tech talent. Scott Kupor is the director of the US Office of Personnel Management, which manages and coordinates recruiting of new government employees across the federal workforce. Scott was also previously one of the top partners at the famed VC firm Andreessen Horowitz. So he has a mind for bringing the recruiting practices of the tech world into DC. But of course, that's easier said than done. On this episode, we talk about how federal hiring works and doesn't work, and also his new endeavor called the US Tech Force, which aims to bring in top talent for a two-year stint of solving problems across the bureaus. We also talk about the DOGE initiative, and how he thinks about recruiting top talent at a time when the administration has been aggressive about shrinking the size of the overall federal workforce.

Read More: Federal Workforce’s Toll After a Year of DOGE and Trump: 317,000
USDA Lost a Third of DC Staff Even Before Relocation Effort 

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From The Rest Is History at 2025-12-25 00:05:00

629. WWI: The Christmas Truce (GLT5393732684.mp3?updated=1766065378)

Did the Christmas Truce - which saw a number of unofficial ceasefires between the combatants of the First World War, during the Christmas of 1914 - really occur, or has it all a myth? What is the real story behind this legendary event? And, did German and British soldiers really play football across no-man's land? Join Dominic and Tom as they delve into the history behind one of the most famous and moving events of the First World War. _______ Hive. Know your power. Visit https://hivehome.com to find out more. _______ Get our exclusive NordVPN deal here ➼ https://nordvpn.com/restishistory It's risk-free with Nord's 30-day money-back guarantee ✅ _______ Join The Rest Is History Club: Unlock the full experience of the show – with exclusive bonus episodes, ad-free listening, early access to every series and live show tickets, a members-only newsletter, discounted books from the show, and access to our private Discord chatroom. Sign up directly at therestishistory.com _______ For more Goalhanger Podcasts, head to ⁠www.goalhanger.com⁠ _______ Twitter: @TheRestHistory @holland_tom @dcsandbrook Video Editor: Jack Meek Social Producer: Harry Balden Assistant Producer: Aaliyah Akude Producer: Tabby Syrett Senior Producer: Theo Young-Smith Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

From Schneier on Security at 2025-12-24 12:03:03

Urban VPN Proxy Surreptitiously Intercepts AI Chats

This is pretty scary:

Urban VPN Proxy targets conversations across ten AI platforms: ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Microsoft Copilot, Perplexity, DeepSeek, Grok (xAI), Meta AI.

For each platform, the extension includes a dedicated “executor” script designed to intercept and capture conversations. The harvesting is enabled by default through hardcoded flags in the extension’s configuration.

There is no user-facing toggle to disable this. The only way to stop the data collection is to uninstall the extension entirely.

[…]

The data collection operates independently of the VPN functionality. Whether the VPN is connected or not, the harvesting runs continuously in the background...

From More or Less at 2025-12-24 09:30:00

Were there really Three Wise Men? (p0mpq8lz.mp3)

The surprising things we learn when we count everyone - a tour of the UK census through time.

We also figure out just how many parking officers there are versus soldiers in the British army.

Who really does all the housework? Plus - 20 years of ‘Freakonomics’ with Stephen Dubner.

And finally - were there really three wise men who visited baby Jesus? And were they kings as the Christmas hymn would lead us to believe?

Presenter: Tim Harford Reporter: Lizzy McNeil Producers: Charlotte McDonald, Nathan Gower and Katie Solleveld Production Coordinator: Maria Ogundele Sound Mix: Neil Churchill Editor: Richard Vadon

From Battle Lines at 2025-12-24 06:00:00

Photographing war, disease and nuclear accidents with Simon Townsley (media.mp3)

What's it like to photograph M-Pox outbreaks, military morgues and famines in Sudan? On this week’s episode of Battle Lines Global Health Security, international photojournalist Simon Townsley joins Arthur and Sophie to share his most memorable photographs of 2025. 

This year, Simon has traveled to Sierra Leone, Guyana, Sudan, Chad, Zambia, Honduras, Kazakhstan, and Burundi for the Telegraph Global Health Security Desk. He reflects on how the world has changed in his nearly 40 years of work, and why now people often mistake him as Chinese. 

Producer: Sophie O'Sullivan

Executive Producer: Louisa Wells

Studio Operator: Meghan Searle

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From Risky Business with Nate Silver and Maria Konnikova at 2025-12-24 05:01:00

Best Of Risky Business: Lessons From The River (audio.mp3?utm_source=Podcast&in_playlist=eb5e885e-6644-4680-aec4-b15c0150ffc0)

When Nate’s book “On The Edge” released in 2024, Maria interviewed him about why he wrote it and what we can learn from the enigmatic risk-loving community he calls The River.

Get your copy here

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The Leap from Maria Konnikova

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From Schneier on Security at 2025-12-23 12:02:32

Denmark Accuses Russia of Conducting Two Cyberattacks

News:

The Danish Defence Intelligence Service (DDIS) announced on Thursday that Moscow was behind a cyber-attack on a Danish water utility in 2024 and a series of distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks on Danish websites in the lead-up to the municipal and regional council elections in November.

The first, it said, was carried out by the pro-Russian group known as Z-Pentest and the second by NoName057(16), which has links to the Russian state.

Slashdot thread.

From School of War at 2025-12-23 10:30:00

Ep 259: Christian Brose on Rethinking How We Fight (NEBM1284143870.mp3)

Christian Brose, President and Chief Strategy Officer at Anduril Industries and author of The Kill Chain: Defending America in the Future of High-Tech Warfare, joins the show to talk about American industry and the future of war. ▪️ Times 02:26 Erosion of Military Advantage 11:11 The Nature of the Problem 16:42 Consensus and Urgency 21:01 Learning the Right Lessons in Ukraine 25:32 Scaling Up for the Offense 31:23 Leveraging AI for Defense 38:07 Will Liberal Arts and Humanities Win? 41:56 Arsenal-1 47:31 Silicon Valley and Defense 52:24 Collaborative Combat Aircraft Follow along on Instagram, X @schoolofwarpod, and YouTube @SchoolofWarPodcast Find more content on our School of War Substack

From Dan Carlin's Hardcore History at 2025-12-22 19:01:31

Show 73 - Mania for Subjugation III (dchha73_Mania_for_Subjugation_III.mp3)

Attacking the largest empire the world had ever seen is a huge endeavor at any age, but try doing it at 21. Alexander, fusing the qualities of a Napoleon with a gladiator, aims for immortality. The Persians are just in his way.

From Schneier on Security at 2025-12-22 17:05:09

Microsoft Is Finally Killing RC4

After twenty-six years, Microsoft is finally upgrading the last remaining instance of the encryption algorithm RC4 in Windows.

of the most visible holdouts in supporting RC4 has been Microsoft. Eventually, Microsoft upgraded Active Directory to support the much more secure AES encryption standard. But by default, Windows servers have continued to respond to RC4-based authentication requests and return an RC4-based response. The RC4 fallback has been a favorite weakness hackers have exploited to compromise enterprise networks. Use of RC4 played a ...

From Battle Lines at 2025-12-22 12:00:00

From Afghanistan to Everest: the double-amputee Gurkha veteran who made history (media.mp3)

In this special festive edition of Battle Lines, Roland Oliphant and Dominic Nicholls cut through the tinsel to tell a story that actually matters.

In aid of, The Not Forgotten, a charity born out of the carnage of the First World War, they are joined by Hari Budha Magar, a Gurkha veteran who lost both his legs while serving in Afghanistan. From a remote village in Nepal to the battlefields of Afghanistan, Harry recounts the moment an IED changed his life and how he rebuilt it again.

Join Roland, Dom and Hari for dark humour, blunt honesty and genuine inspiration.

Read Jack Rear's profile of Hari Budha Magar: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/christmas-charity-appeal/2025/12/02/first-double-amputee-to-summit-everest/

The Not Forgotten is one of The Telegraph’s four Christmas charity appeal charities, the others are Motor Neurone Disease Association, Prostate Cancer Research and Canine Partners. You can donate by visiting telegraph.co.uk/appeal2025 or call 0151 317 5247.

Producer: Peter Shevlin

Executive Producer: Louisa Wells

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From Breaking History at 2025-12-22 10:00:00

A History of Tough Jews (CBS2785949998.mp3?updated=1766380551)

After October 7, Jews around the world were reminded of an old, unsettling truth: Governments do not always protect minorities when mobs turn violent. From Bondi Beach to New York synagogues, the promise of public order has looked increasingly fragile. In this episode of Breaking History, Eli Lake revisits the last time Jews in America confronted that reality head-on. In the 1930s, as Nazi sympathizers rallied openly and police often stood aside, Jewish gangsters led by Meyer Lansky took matters into their own hands, waging a quiet street war against the German American Bund. What does Jewish self-defense look like when the state fails—and why are there no Meyer Lanskys today? A history of tough Jews, broken illusions, and what happens when people decide they will no longer be easy targets. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

From Odd Lots at 2025-12-22 09:00:00

Why Americans Are Falling Behind on Auto Loans At Their Highest Level Ever (audio.mp3?utm_source=Podcast&in_playlist=982f5071-765c-403d-969d-ae27003a8d83)

By and large, American households are in a healthy economic position. Yes, unemployment has been rising, but it's still at fairly low levels. Consumer spending has held up well despite terrible sentiment. And many households are sitting on huge stock market gains and have a big home equity cushion. And yet, there are signs of trouble. Most notably, auto loan delinquencies have been surging to their highest level in history. It's the same with student loans, where delinquencies are far higher than normal. So what's going on? On this episode, we speak with Rikard Bandebo, the chief economist at VantageScore, which offers a consumer credit score that's different from the traditional FICO measures. He explains how surging prices, rising interests, and -- crucially -- rising insurance costs have created an auto squeeze. We also discuss what this means for broader consumer health and whether this auto delinquency phenomenon signals something broader about consumer stress.

Read more:
Rise of the ‘Zombie’ Loans
First Brands Asks Lenders for Fresh Cash of Up to $800 Million

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From The Rest Is History at 2025-12-22 00:05:00

628. Jack The Ripper: The Killer Unmasked (Part 5) (GLT3796910737.mp3?updated=1766065370)

Who are the prime suspects for the identity of Jack the Ripper? Why did he suddenly halt his hellish killing spree, and never strike again? And, once and for all, who really was Jack the Ripper…? Join Dominic and Tom as they reveal, with shocking melodrama, the true identity of one of the world’s most mysterious serial killers: Jack the Ripper… _______ Hive. Know your power. Visit https://hivehome.com to find out more.  _______ Give The Rest Is History Club this Christmas – a year of bonus episodes, ad-free listening, early access, the private chat community hosted on Discord, and an exclusive t-shirt! Just go to https://therestishistory.supportingcast.fm/giftsAnd of course, you can still join for yourself at any time at therestishistory.com or on apple podcasts. _______ Get our exclusive NordVPN deal here ➼ ⁠https://nordvpn.com/restishistory⁠ It's risk-free with Nord's 30-day money-back guarantee ✅ _______ For more Goalhanger Podcasts, head to www.goalhanger.com _______ Twitter: @TheRestHistory @holland_tom @dcsandbrook Video Editor: Jack Meek Social Producer: Harry Balden Assistant Producer: Aaliyah Akude Producer: Tabby Syrett Senior Producer: Theo Young-Smith Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

From The Week in Westminster at 2025-12-20 11:00:00

20/12/2025 (p0mppgjr.mp3)

To discuss the major political stories and developments over the last twelve months, and what lies ahead for 2026, Ben Wright is joined by George Parker, the political editor of the Financial Times, Pippa Crerar, the political editor of the Guardian and Sebastian Payne, columnist and leader writer for The Times.

From More or Less at 2025-12-20 06:00:00

The shocking world of US health costs (p0mpny3s.mp3)

A loyal listener wrote in to question this claim made by neuroscientist Dr Daniel Levitin: "Here in the US valium in a pharmacy might be $3 that same pill in a hospital setting might be $750."

Our listener was shocked at how one pill can cost 250 x more in a hospital setting than in a pharmacy. But can it? Sort of.

We turned to Elisabeth Rosenthal to take us on a dive into the frankly shocking world of US Health costs.

Presenter: Tim Harford Producer: Lizzy McNeill Series Producer: Tom Colls Editor: Richard Vadon Production Coordinator: Maria Ogundele Sound Mix: Neil Churchill

From Risky Business with Nate Silver and Maria Konnikova at 2025-12-20 05:01:00

Best of Risky Business: Building a Championship Team (with Daryl Morey) (audio.mp3?utm_source=Podcast&in_playlist=eb5e885e-6644-4680-aec4-b15c0150ffc0)

We’re closing out the year with some of our (and your) favorite episodes to date. First up: Nate and Maria’s conversation with Philadelphia 76ers President of Basketball Operations Daryl Morey about bringing game theory and probabilistic thinking to the NBA.

For more from Nate and Maria, subscribe to their newsletters:

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From Schneier on Security at 2025-12-19 22:06:59

Friday Squid Blogging: Petting a Squid

Video from Reddit shows what could go wrong when you try to pet a—looks like a Humboldt—squid.

As usual, you can also use this squid post to talk about the security stories in the news that I haven’t covered.

Blog moderation policy.

From The Incomparable Mothership at 2025-12-19 17:00:00

797: Iceman Was Right (da308078-8d14-4e87-b803-1ce460e32d07.mp3)

Kilmas comes but once a year! This year we’re climbing into the cockpit and revisiting 1986’s “Top Gun,” starring some airplanes, Val Kilmer, and Tom Cruise. It’s a very subtle movie. Were Tony’s parents right in protecting his young mind from it? And most importantly, why do we remember Val Kilmer’s character being the villain when he’s actually the conscience of the entire film?...

From Ahoy at 2025-12-19 16:01:08

2001.

Support me on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ahoy Merch: https://ahoy-shop.fourthwall.com/ Soundtrack: https://soundcloud.com/xahoy/2001-soundtrack 00:00 Introduction 00:39 Nintendo 64 01:11 GameBoy Color 01:50 GameBoy Advance 03:30 PlayStation 04:50 Dreamcast 07:43 Third Party 10:30 PC 16:01 PlayStation 2 19:17 GameCube 21:26 Xbox 25:30 Conclusion

From Schneier on Security at 2025-12-19 12:02:43

AI Advertising Company Hacked

At least some of this is coming to light:

Doublespeed, a startup backed by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) that uses a phone farm to manage at least hundreds of AI-generated social media accounts and promote products has been hacked. The hack reveals what products the AI-generated accounts are promoting, often without the required disclosure that these are advertisements, and allowed the hacker to take control of more than 1,000 smartphones that power the company.

The hacker, who asked for anonymity because he feared retaliation from the company, said he reported the vulnerability to Doublespeed on October 31. At the time of writing, the hacker said he still has access to the company’s backend, including the phone farm itself. ...

From School of War at 2025-12-19 10:30:00

Ep 258: Eric Cline on the Collapse of Civilizations (NEBM1760666471.mp3)

Eric Cline, professor of Classical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies and of Anthropology at The George Washington University and author of 1177 B.C.: The Year Civilization Collapsed, joins the show to break down the collapse of the Bronze Age civilization and why it matters today. ▪️ Times 02:57 Writing History for All 04:51 The Three Age System 10:32 Tin: The Oil of the Ancient World 11:37 Archeology in the Future 13:22 Bronze Age Society 21:02 The Beginning and End of History 26:07 The Sea Peoples 32:36 The Collapse  35:00 The Mystery of the Exodus 40:53 Resilience and Regeneration Post-Collapse Follow along on Instagram, X @schoolofwarpod, and YouTube @SchoolofWarPodcast Find more content on our School of War Substack

From Odd Lots at 2025-12-19 09:00:00

The Booming Business of Chinese Peptides (audio.mp3?utm_source=Podcast&in_playlist=982f5071-765c-403d-969d-ae27003a8d83)

You probably already know someone doing peptides — the amino acids that form the basis of popular new drug treatments like Ozempic and Wegovy. Today there are peptides meant to help with everything from weight loss, to cellular regeneration, to improved eye contact while talking. In San Francisco, there are even organized “peptide raves.” Yet most of these underground peptides haven’t been approved by regulators for human use in the US. So where are they coming from? And how do they get here? On this episode, we speak with two guests who have seen this growing subculture up close, Jasmine Sun, an independent writer covering AI and San Francisco culture, as well as Zak David, managing partner of Pirsek Technologies, which runs a peptide supplier, Peptide Partners.

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From Battle Lines at 2025-12-19 06:00:00

‘Russia-Ukraine deal impossible while Putin is alive’: ex-UK ambassador to Moscow (media.mp3)

Former UK ambassador Laurie Bristow speaks to Roland and delivers a blunt and unsettling warning about the state of the world and Britain’s place in it. Drawing on more than three decades at the heart of the Foreign Office, including some of the most dangerous postings of modern times, he argues we are living through the most volatile and complex global moment of our lifetimes.

From war returning to Europe and the rise of China, to artificial intelligence, pandemics and the collapse of old assumptions about power, nothing is stable and nothing is simple. Speaking candidly about Vladimir Putin, he explains why the west misread Moscow for years and why there are no easy deals or quick endings ahead.

This is a forensic, unsparing account of a world in turmoil and a challenge to Britain to wake up before it is too late.

Producer: Peter Shevlin

Executive Producer: Louisa Wells

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From A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry at 2025-12-18 23:46:22

Intermission: Battle Pulses

This week we’re going to take a brief break from our series on hoplites (I, II, IIIa, IIIb) to address a broader question in how we understand the mechanics of warfare with contact weapons, which is the mechanics of the concept of a ‘battle pulse.’ This notion, that front lines in contact might occasionally withdraw … Continue reading Intermission: Battle Pulses →

From The Django weblog at 2025-12-18 22:04:04

Hitting the Home Stretch: Help Us Reach the Django Software Foundation's Year-End Goal!

As we wrap up another strong year for the Django community, we wanted to share an update and a thank you. This year, we raised our fundraising goal from $200,000 to $300,000, and we are excited to say we are now over 88% of the way there. That puts us firmly in the home stretch, and a little more support will help us close the gap and reach 100%.

So why the higher goal this year? We expanded the Django Fellows program to include a third Fellow. In August, we welcomed Jacob Tyler Walls as our newest Django Fellow. That extra capacity gives the team more flexibility and resilience, whether someone is taking parental leave, time off around holidays, or stepping away briefly for other reasons. It also makes it easier for Fellows to attend more Django events and stay connected with the community, all while keeping the project running smoothly without putting too much pressure on any one person.

We are also preparing to raise funds for an executive director role early next year. That work is coming soon, but right now, the priority is finishing this year strong.

We want to say a sincere thank you to our existing sponsors and to everyone who has donated so far. Your support directly funds stable Django releases, security work, community programs, and the long-term health of the framework. If you or your organization have end-of-year matching funds or a giving program, this is a great moment to put them to use and help push us past the finish line.

If you would like to help us reach that final stretch, you can find all the details on our fundraising page

Other ways to support Django:

• Benevity Workplace Giving Program: If your employer participates, you can make donations to the DSF via payroll deduction.
• Sponsor Django via GitHub Sponsors: Support Django directly through GitHub's sponsorship platform.
• Official Merch Store: Buy official t-shirts, accessories, and more to support Django.

Thank you for helping support Django and the people who make it possible. We are incredibly grateful for this community and everything you do to keep Django strong.

From The Django weblog at 2025-12-18 18:50:00

Introducing the 2026 DSF Board

Thank You to Our Outgoing Directors

We extend our gratitude to Thibaud Colas and Sarah Abderemane, who are completing their terms on the board. Their contributions shaped the foundation in meaningful ways, and the following highlights only scratch the surface of their work.

Thibaud served as President in 2025 and Secretary in 2024. He was instrumental in governance improvements, the Django CNA initiative, election administration, and creating our first annual report. He also led our birthday campaign and helped with the creation of several new working groups this year. His thoughtful leadership helped the board navigate complex decisions.

Sarah served as Vice President in 2025 and contributed significantly to our outreach efforts, working group coordination, and membership management. She also served as a point of contact for the Django CNA initiative alongside Thibaud.

Both Thibaud and Sarah did too many things to list here. They were amazing ambassadors for the DSF, representing the board at many conferences and events. They will be deeply missed, and we are happy to have their continued membership and guidance in our many working groups.

On behalf of the board, thank you both for your commitment to Django and the DSF. The community is better for your service.

Thank You to Our 2025 Officers

Thank you to Tom Carrick and Jacob Kaplan-Moss for their service as officers in 2025.

Tom served as Secretary, keeping our meetings organized and our records in order. Jacob served as Treasurer, providing careful stewardship of the foundation's finances. Their dedication helped guide the DSF through another successful year.

Welcome to Our Newly Elected Directors

We welcome Priya Pahwa and Ryan Cheley to the board, and congratulate Jacob Kaplan-Moss on his re-election.

2026 DSF Board Officers

The board unanimously elected our officers for 2026:

• President: Jeff Triplett
• Vice President: Abigail Gbadago
• Treasurer: Ryan Cheley
• Secretary: Priya Pahwa
• Jacob Kaplan-Moss
• Paolo Melchiorre
• Tom Carrick

I'm honored to serve as President for 2026. The DSF has important work ahead, and I'm looking forward to building on the foundation that previous boards have established.

Our monthly board meeting minutes may be found at dsf-minutes, and December's minutes are available.

If you have a great idea for the upcoming year or feel something needs our attention, please reach out to us via our Contact the DSF page. We're always open to hearing from you.

From Schneier on Security at 2025-12-18 16:41:14

Someone Boarded a Plane at Heathrow Without a Ticket or Passport

I’m sure there’s a story here:

Sources say the man had tailgated his way through to security screening and passed security, meaning he was not detected carrying any banned items.

The man deceived the BA check-in agent by posing as a family member who had their passports and boarding passes inspected in the usual way.

From The Briefing Room at 2025-12-18 16:00:00

Should we worry about America’s security strategy? (p0mpd237.mp3)

As both the year and the current series of The Briefing Room draw to a close, Europe and much of the world have been digesting a lengthy document outlining the Trump administration’s view of foreign policy. The National Security Strategy covers much of the globe but extra special vitriol was reserved for Europe with dire warnings that the continent is facing “civilisational erasure” partly due to immigration. At the same time the growing influence of “patriotic European parties” (those on the far right) is welcomed. But there’s more - the US wants to dominate the “Western Hemisphere” - the Americas and countries on its doorstep. It wants more trade with Asia and China, as well as the Middle East. But there are notable absences -there's no talk of a significant threat from either Russia or China. David Aaronovitch and guests discuss what all this means and ask how worried we, in Europe, should be about the current US view of the world?

Guests: Frank Gardner, BBC Security Correspondent Shashank Joshi, Defence Editor, The Economist Rebecca Lissner, Senior fellow for U.S. foreign policy at the Council on Foreign Relations and lecturer, Jackson School of Global Affair, Yale University. Dr Christoph Heusgen, Former Chairman Munich Security Conference and former German Ambassador to United Nations

Presenter: David Aaronovitch Producers: Caroline Bayley, Kirsteen Knight, Cordelia Hemming Production Co-ordinator: Maria Ogundele Sound engineer: Neil Churchill Editor Richard Vadon

From Strong Message Here at 2025-12-18 09:55:00

Words of the Year (with Natalie Haynes) (p0mpb5y6.mp3)

As the year comes to a close, Natalie Haynes joins Armando to discuss and dissect the words of 2025.

Looking at official lists, and conjuring up some of their own, they set about breaking down the language that defined another frenetic year. We find out what links all of the official words of the year, and why we can learn a lesson from Austria when choosing them. Armando also denies he writes Pete Hegseth's speeches, and Natalie denies she is in a parasocial relationship with Taylor Swift

Got a strong message for Armando? Email us at strongmessagehere@bbc.co.uk

Sound editing: Chris Maclean Production Coordinator: Jodie Charman and Giulia Mazzu Executive Producer: Richard Morris Recorded at The Sound Company

Produced by Gwyn Rhys Davies. A BBC Studios production for Radio 4.

From Odd Lots at 2025-12-18 09:00:00

Meet the Politician the AI Industry Is Trying to Stop (audio.mp3?utm_source=Podcast&in_playlist=982f5071-765c-403d-969d-ae27003a8d83)

The politics of AI are already exploding. Whether we're talking about data centers, electricity prices, labor displacement, water consumption, competition with China, or users of chatbots becoming psychotically obsessed, AI is already a major topic in elections. And since there's so much money at stake, the industry is already spinning up super PACs and lobbying arms. Last month, it was reported that a new $100 million AI-industry super PAC called Leading the Future would be directly targeting Alex Bores, a Democrat who is running for his party's nomination for New York's 12th congressional district. Why target Bores? Well, as an New York assemblymember, he has led the push for the regulation of AI at the state level. The industry, of course, views state-level regulation as an existential threat to their business. So on this episode we speak with Alex about how he views AI and the optimal approach to regulation. Alex also has a tech background, and so we talk about the technology more broadly, as well as other issues in contemporary politics.

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From The Rest Is History at 2025-12-18 00:05:00

627. Jack The Ripper: From Hell (Part 4) (GLT6270048402.mp3?updated=1765988289)

Why was Jack the Ripper’s final murder the most appalling of all? Who was the mysterious Mary-Jane Kelly, his unfortunate victim? And, what enduring impact would his crimes have upon the cultural climate of England, and the treatment of women? Join Tom and Dominic as they reach the nightmarish crescendo of Victorian London’s darkest days, as Jack the Ripper’s killing spree culminates with his most horrifying murder so far. Give The Rest Is History Club this Christmas – a year of bonus episodes, ad-free listening, early access, the private chat community hosted on Discord, and an exclusive t-shirt! Just go to https://therestishistory.supportingcast.fm/gifts And of course, you can still join for yourself at any time at therestishistory.com or on apple podcasts. For more Goalhanger Podcasts, head to www.goalhanger.com _______ Hive. Know your power. Visit https://hivehome.com to find out more. _______ Learn more at https://www.uber.com/onourway _______ Get our exclusive NordVPN deal here ➼ https://nordvpn.com/restishistory It's risk-free with Nord's 30-day money-back guarantee ✅ _______ Twitter: @TheRestHistory @holland_tom @dcsandbrook Video Editor: Jack Meek Social Producer: Harry Balden Assistant Producer: Aaliyah Akude Producer: Tabby Syrett Senior Producer: Theo Young-Smith Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

From GoodFellows: Conversations from the Hoover Institution at 2025-12-17 23:00:00

Are We Doing This Again? Andrew Ross Sorkin on “1929” and the GoodFellows on 2025 | GoodFellows | Hoover Institution (GoodFellows_2025-12-16_-_Andrew_Sorkin_wip03_podcast_8iutv.mp3)

Nearly a century ago, after years of investors on a champagne high and warning signs ignored, a stock market crash led to a descent into a global depression. Andrew Ross Sorkin, a New York Times financial journalist and author of the bestseller 1929: Inside the Greatest Crash in Wall Street History—and How It Shattered a Nation, joins GoodFellows regulars Niall Ferguson, John Cochrane, and H.R. McMaster to discuss how the events of 1929 resonate to this day, what’s misunderstood about the fabled crash, whether Herbert Hoover (only seven months into his presidency when disaster struck) gets a fair shake, plus what the future holds for Federal Reserve independence, the bidding war for Warner Bros. Discovery, and Wall Street’s relationship with Washington. After that: The three fellows look back on 2025 with their choices for individual of the year, the most significant or ignored stories, what they learned in 2025, plus predictions and resolutions for the new year. Finally, a surprise visit by Hoover Institution visiting fellow Kris Kringle, who asks the panel for its holiday wishes (oddly enough, H.R. is never around when jolly old St. Nick shows up).      Subscribe to GoodFellows for clarity on today’s biggest social, economic, and geostrategic shifts — only on GoodFellows.

From Biz & IT – Ars Technica at 2025-12-17 22:22:33

OpenAI’s new ChatGPT image generator makes faking photos easy

New GPT Image 1.5 allows more detailed conversational image editing, for better or worse.

From The Media Show at 2025-12-17 17:17:00

Jeremy Vine’s legal battle, Bondi Beach attack coverage, , BBC charter renewal pressures, Trump’s $5bn lawsuit and microdramas (p0mp5vtl.mp3)

Ros Atkins on some of this week's biggest global media stories.

Jacqueline Maley of the Sydney Morning Herald talks us through the newsroom’s challenge in covering the Bondi Beach attack during a Hanukkah celebration - a story shaped by rapidly circulating bystander video, fraught community tensions and intense scrutiny over tone and verification.

Jeremy Vine reflects on his hard‑fought legal victory after sustained defamatory and harassing posts from former footballer Joey Barton.

Media correspondent Alex Farber of The Times examines the BBC’s newly launched charter renewal process, the debate around future funding models, and how all this intersects with President Donald Trump’s lawsuit against the corporation over an edited Panorama clip.

And finally, Mengchen Zhangfrom the BBC’s Global China Unit explains the rapid global rise of the microdrama - the ultra‑short, phone‑first video dramas attracting huge investment and reshaping viewing habits around the world.

Producer: Lisa Jenkinson Assistant Producer: Lucy Wai

From Biz & IT – Ars Technica at 2025-12-17 15:25:25

Browser extensions with 8 million users collect extended AI conversations

The extensions, available for Chromium browsers, harvest full AI conversations over months.

From Schneier on Security at 2025-12-17 12:02:01

Deliberate Internet Shutdowns

For two days in September, Afghanistan had no internet. No satellite failed; no cable was cut. This was a deliberate outage, mandated by the Taliban government. It followed a more localized shutdown two weeks prior, reportedly instituted “to prevent immoral activities.” No additional explanation was given. The timing couldn’t have been worse: communities still reeling from a major earthquake lost emergency communications, flights were grounded, and banking was interrupted. Afghanistan’s blackout is part of a wider pattern. Just since the end of September, there were also major nationwide internet shutdowns in ...

From More or Less at 2025-12-17 09:00:00

Do we really have ‘superflu’? (p0mnzdjm.mp3)

The NHS is warning of an unprecedented flu season - we check what the numbers say.

Is there really a mass exodus of Brits leaving the UK due to Labour tax policies? We look at the latest emigration figures.

We take a look at the prison service’s curious habit of letting prisoners out early – or keeping them in for too long - is there a trend?

Plus - why the US economy can’t grow at 25 percent a year.

Presenter: Tim Harford Reporter: Nathan Gower Producers: Charlotte McDonald, Katie Solleveld, Lizzy McNeill and Tom Colls. Production co-ordinator: Maria Ogundele Sound mix: Gareth Jones Editor: Richard Vadon

From Risky Business with Nate Silver and Maria Konnikova at 2025-12-17 05:01:00

The Riskies! 2025 Edition (audio.mp3?utm_source=Podcast&in_playlist=eb5e885e-6644-4680-aec4-b15c0150ffc0)

Nate and Maria give out their second annual awards for decision-making in 2025: Who made the best decision this year? Who made the worst? Who were 2025’s biggest nits and degens? And which host had the best poker year?

For more from Nate and Maria, subscribe to their newsletters:

The Leap from Maria Konnikova

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From Schneier on Security at 2025-12-16 12:02:32

Chinese Surveillance and AI

New report: “The Party’s AI: How China’s New AI Systems are Reshaping Human Rights.” From a summary article:

China is already the world’s largest exporter of AI powered surveillance technology; new surveillance technologies and platforms developed in China are also not likely to simply stay there. By exposing the full scope of China’s AI driven control apparatus, this report presents clear, evidence based insights for policymakers, civil society, the media and technology companies seeking to counter the rise of AI enabled repression and human rights violations, and China’s growing efforts to project that repression beyond its borders...

From School of War at 2025-12-16 10:30:00

Ep 257: Elliott Abrams on the Venezuela Crisis (NEBM3882689732.mp3)

Elliott Abrams, senior fellow for Middle Eastern studies at the Council on Foreign Relations and U.S. Special Representative for Venezuela and Iran from 2019 to 2021, joins the show to discuss events in the Caribbean. ▪️ Times 01:56 Venezuela Through Multiple Administrations  06:05 Maduro 11:53 Trump to Biden 17:56 U.S. Military Capabilities  24:05 Political Justifications  30:11 The Venezuelan Opposition 35:56 Machado in Hiding 41:27 Worst Case Scenarios Follow along on Instagram, X @schoolofwarpod, and YouTube @SchoolofWarPodcast Find more content on our School of War Substack

From Biz & IT – Ars Technica at 2025-12-15 22:41:43

Merriam-Webster’s word of the year delivers a dismissive verdict on junk AI content

Dictionary codifies the term that took hold in 2024 for low-quality AI-generated content.

From Biz & IT – Ars Technica at 2025-12-15 21:15:55

Microsoft will finally kill obsolete cipher that has wreaked decades of havoc

The weak RC4 for administrative authentication has been a hacker Holy Grail for decades.

From Battle Lines at 2025-12-15 16:08:36

'The frontline is everywhere': 10 surprising conflict hotspots for 2026 (media.mp3)

Today, Britain’s MI6 chief delivered a chilling message: the frontline is now everywhere.

Look around the world and the evidence is overwhelming. From Ukraine to Gaza to Sudan, violence is spreading fast and growing more lethal by the month. New data from ACLED shows that Europe is now the most intense conflict zone on the planet - a fact that should shock anyone in the West still clinging to the idea that war happens elsewhere. Plus, with drone strikes now accounting for more than a quarter of all attacks worldwide, war is only a short flight away. 

This is not a bad patch, this is a dangerous new era. And next year will be even bloodier still. The warning signs are screaming at us. 

The Armed Conflict Location and Event Data organisation, known as ACLED, has been tracking all of this data and more. Venetia speaks to their CEO Clionadh Raleigh to find out more.

Read ACLED's report: https://acleddata.com/conflict-index-2026-watchlist

Producer: Peter Shevlin

Executive Producer: Louisa Wells

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From Biz & IT – Ars Technica at 2025-12-15 15:24:41

Roomba maker iRobot swept into bankruptcy

Shenzhen-based Picea Robotics, its lender and primary supplier, will acquire all of iRobot’s shares.

From Schneier on Security at 2025-12-15 12:02:15

Against the Federal Moratorium on State-Level Regulation of AI

Cast your mind back to May of this year: Congress was in the throes of debate over the massive budget bill. Amidst the many seismic provisions, Senator Ted Cruz dropped a ticking time bomb of tech policy: a ten-year moratorium on the ability of states to regulate artificial intelligence. To many, this was catastrophic. The few massive AI companies seem to be swallowing our economy whole: their energy demands are overriding household needs, their data demands are overriding creators’ copyright, and their products are triggering mass unemployment as well as new types of clinical ...

From Odd Lots at 2025-12-15 09:00:00

MeatEater's Steven Rinella on the Economic History of Hunting (audio.mp3?utm_source=Podcast&in_playlist=982f5071-765c-403d-969d-ae27003a8d83)

When we think about America’s economic rise, we usually point to agriculture or the industrial revolution. But in the early days of colonization, one of the biggest economic drivers wasn’t crops or factories — it was animal products. Deerskins were a booming trade that pushed hunters into new frontiers. In the early 1800s, beaver pelts became a fashion craze. And of course, later that century, we nearly hunted buffalo to extinction in another frenzy of resource extraction. On this episode, we talk to Steven Rinella, author and founder of MeatEater, about this overlooked chapter in US economic history, plus how the hunting economy functions today.

Read more:
USDA Lowers Cattle Price Outlook After Tyson Beef Plant Closure
RFK Jr. Eyes Single National Standard on Food Labeling and Safety

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From The Rest Is History at 2025-12-15 00:05:00

626. Jack The Ripper: The Killer Strikes Again (Part 3) (GLT7980605076.mp3?updated=1765453887)

How did Jack the Ripper manage to strike twice in the same night without getting caught? Did he have an accomplice? And, what chilling clues did the police discover in the wake of the murder…? Join Dominic and Tom as they decode the next horrific phase of Jack the Ripper’s shocking killing spree, as they seek to reveal his identity once and for all. _______ Hive. Know your power. Visit https://hivehome.com to find out more.  _______ Learn more at https://www.uber.com/onourway _______ Visit auraframes.co.uk and get £35 off Aura’s best-selling Carver Mat frame by using promo code HISTORY at checkout. Terms and conditions apply. _______ Join The Rest Is History Club: Unlock the full experience of the show – with exclusive bonus episodes, ad-free listening, early access to every series and live show tickets, a members-only newsletter, discounted books from the show, and access to our private Discord chatroom. Sign up directly at therestishistory.com For more Goalhanger Podcasts, head to www.goalhanger.com _______ Twitter: @TheRestHistory @holland_tom @dcsandbrook Video Editor: Jack Meek Social Producer: Harry Balden Assistant Producer: Aaliyah Akude Producer: Tabby Syrett Senior Producer: Theo Young-Smith Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

From Schneier on Security at 2025-12-14 17:10:39

Upcoming Speaking Engagements

This is a current list of where and when I am scheduled to speak:

• I’m speaking and signing books at the Chicago Public Library in Chicago, Illinois, USA, at 6:00 PM CT on February 5, 2026. Details to come.
• I’m speaking at Capricon 44 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. The convention runs February 5-8, 2026. My speaking time is TBD.
• I’m speaking at the Munich Cybersecurity Conference in Munich, Germany on February 12, 2026.
• I’m speaking at Tech Live: Cybersecurity in New York City, USA on March 11, 2026.
• I’m giving the Ross Anderson Lecture at the University of Cambridge’s Churchill College on March 19, 2026...

From The Week in Westminster at 2025-12-13 11:00:00

13/12/2025 (p0mn993z.mp3)

Radio 4's assessment of developments at Westminster

From More or Less at 2025-12-13 06:00:00

RCP 8.5: Why did the climate change model get it wrong? (p0mn8xfg.mp3)

Whether we like it or not, global warming is happening. The global temperature has already gone up, and it’s going to go up more, because the atmosphere is already full of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, and we’re continuing to add to that stock. Quite how much it will increase by is a very important question for all of us. Until relatively recently, during much of the 2010s and into the 2020s, many scientists claimed that if we kept on going down the path we were on, if we just kept on with business as usual, then by the end of the century global temperatures would increase by almost five degrees centigrade. This projection was based on something called RCP 8.5, a statistical scenario used by scientists to model the future of the climate. You can still find scientific papers published in 2025 that make the same claim. However, there’s a good case that RCP 8.5 should never have been used as the business-as-usual scenario. And in hindsight it doesn’t look like an accurate vision of the future at all. So what’s going on? Dr Zeke Hausfather, a climate scientist and the climate research lead at Stripe, explains the argument. Presenter: Tim Harford Series producer: Tom Colls Sound mix: Donald MacDonald Editor: Richard Vadon

From Risky Business with Nate Silver and Maria Konnikova at 2025-12-13 05:01:00

What’s In Store With Self-Driving Cars (audio.mp3?utm_source=Podcast&in_playlist=eb5e885e-6644-4680-aec4-b15c0150ffc0)

Nate has ridden in a Waymo, and it was like stepping into the future. Maria’s never been in one, but she’s been stuck behind a lot of autonomous vehicles… They swap human-driven car horror stories and discuss some of the risks and benefits of a future full of self-driving cars.

From the New York Times: The Data on Self-Driving Cars Is Clear. We Have to Change Course.

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From A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry at 2025-12-13 01:23:48

Collections: Hoplite Wars, Part IIIb: A Phalanx By Any Other Name

This is the second half of the third part of our four-part series (I, II, IIIa) discussing the debates surrounding ancient Greek hoplites and the formation in which they (mostly?) fought, the phalanx. Last week, we discussed the development of hoplite warfare through the Archaic period (c. 750-480). Our evidence for that early period of … Continue reading Collections: Hoplite Wars, Part IIIb: A Phalanx By Any Other Name →

From Biz & IT – Ars Technica at 2025-12-12 22:16:42

OpenAI built an AI coding agent and uses it to improve the agent itself

"The vast majority of Codex is built by Codex," OpenAI told us about its new AI coding agent.

From Schneier on Security at 2025-12-12 22:00:30

Friday Squid Blogging: Giant Squid Eating a Diamondback Squid

I have no context for this video—it’s from Reddit—but one of the commenters adds some context:

Hey everyone, squid biologist here! Wanted to add some stuff you might find interesting.

With so many people carrying around cameras, we’re getting more videos of giant squid at the surface than in previous decades. We’re also starting to notice a pattern, that around this time of year (peaking in January) we see a bunch of giant squid around Japan. We don’t know why this is happening. Maybe they gather around there to mate or something? who knows! but since so many people have cameras, those one-off monster-story encounters are now caught on video, like this one (which, btw, rips. This squid looks so healthy, it’s awesome)...

From The Incomparable Mothership at 2025-12-12 18:00:00

796: Grape Juice Plus (a4a428fd-a66f-4dc4-8b37-cd699ab586af.mp3)

Our Ape Club reconvenes to celebrate the holidays with a viewing of 1971’s “Escape from the Planet of the Apes!” Is this an ape movie or an episode of “Mannix”? What happens when you change lanes on the Freeway of Time? Why is Zira the smartest of all creatures, ape or human? And was Dr. Cornelius framed by big government? Apes smart, humans dumb!...

From Schneier on Security at 2025-12-12 12:00:47

Building Trustworthy AI Agents

The promise of personal AI assistants rests on a dangerous assumption: that we can trust systems we haven’t made trustworthy. We can’t. And today’s versions are failing us in predictable ways: pushing us to do things against our own best interests, gaslighting us with doubt about things we are or that we know, and being unable to distinguish between who we are and who we have been. They struggle with incomplete, inaccurate, and partial context: with no standard way to move toward accuracy, no mechanism to correct sources of error, and no accountability when wrong information leads to bad decisions...

From School of War at 2025-12-12 10:30:00

Ep 256: Nadia Schadlow on Strategic Depth (NEBM1087131053.mp3)

Nadia Schadlow, former Assistant to the President and Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategy and senior fellow at Hudson Institute, joins the show to breakdown what strategic depth is and why the concept remains relevant. ▪️ Times 02:37 Unhinged, Frenetic Times 03:36 What is Strategic Depth? 07:50 A Lack of Space 12:50 Territory and War 14:55 How to Increase Time 23:18 Allies and Forward Defense 30:29 How Do You Get Freedom of Choice? 36:57 Keeping and Maintaining Strategic Depth Follow along on Instagram, X @schoolofwarpod, and YouTube @SchoolofWarPodcast Find more content on our School of War Substack

From Odd Lots at 2025-12-12 09:00:00

D.A. Wallach Explains Why Biotech VC Is So Different (audio.mp3?utm_source=Podcast&in_playlist=982f5071-765c-403d-969d-ae27003a8d83)

Most people think of venture capital as funding software startups or, these days, some new AI tool. But VC also plays a major role in developing new medicines and treatments. That’s the world of D.A. Wallach — though he didn’t start there. Before becoming a biotech investor, Wallach was the lead singer of the indie rock band Chester French. So how did he make the leap from music to venture capital? How does he spot promising biotech opportunities? What does it actually take to bring a new drug to market? And how does biotech investing differ from traditional VC? We talk to the co-founder of Time BioVentures about all of this — plus we get his thoughts on AI’s impact on music and a special performance.

Have a question for Joe and Tracy?  Now's your chance to be the perfect guest  - record a voice memo with your name, age, location and question and email to oddlots@bloomberg.net for a chance to be included in the holiday AMA episode.

Read More:
Big Pharma’s Patent Cliff Puts China Front and Center
Novartis Strikes Deal With UK Biotech for Up To $1.7 Billion

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From Battle Lines at 2025-12-12 05:00:00

The ex-Royal Marine Commando kicking Britain's armed forces into shape (media.mp3)

Britain's military has seen better days - that much everyone can agree on.

Enter ex-Royal Marine Commando Colonel Alistair Scott Carns, aka Wee Al, the UK's brand new Minister for Armed Forces. Part of the fresh batch of Labour MPs who entered Parliament in 2024, he has risen quickly through the Ministry of Defence and is considered "one to watch".

Carns sat down with The Telegraph's associated defence editor Dominic Nicholls to talk about his plans to get the military into shape, the UK's commitment to Ukraine, and the ongoing Ajax debate.

Plus he shared his views on Reform leader Nigel Farage and the legacy of Stakeknife in Northern Ireland.

Read Dom's profile of Al Carns: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/authors/d/dk-do/dominic-nicholls/

For backgrounders on the tensions between Trump and Venezuela: 

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/10/24/is-trump-about-to-invade-venezuela/

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/11/17/trump-builds-case-for-venezuela-war-as-worlds-biggest-aircr/

Listen to Venetia's dispatch from Sweden's Gotland Island: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2025/06/17/the-tiny-swedish-island-regiment-tasked-protecting-europe/

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Executive Producer: Louisa Wells

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From Biz & IT – Ars Technica at 2025-12-11 21:27:18

OpenAI releases GPT-5.2 after “code red” Google threat alert

Company claims new AI model tops Gemini and matches humans on 70% of work tasks.

From Schneier on Security at 2025-12-11 17:06:05

AIs Exploiting Smart Contracts

I have long maintained that smart contracts are a dumb idea: that a human process is actually a security feature.

Here’s some interesting research on training AIs to automatically exploit smart contracts:

AI models are increasingly good at cyber tasks, as we’ve written about before. But what is the economic impact of these capabilities? In a recent MATS and Anthropic Fellows project, our scholars investigated this question by evaluating AI agents’ ability to exploit smart contracts on Smart CONtracts Exploitation benchmark (SCONE-bench)­a new benchmark they built comprising 405 contracts that were actually exploited between 2020 and 2025. On contracts exploited after the latest knowledge cutoffs (June 2025 for Opus 4.5 and March 2025 for other models), Claude Opus 4.5, Claude Sonnet 4.5, and GPT-5 developed exploits collectively worth $4.6 million, establishing a concrete lower bound for the economic harm these capabilities could enable. Going beyond retrospective analysis, we evaluated both Sonnet 4.5 and GPT-5 in simulation against 2,849 recently deployed contracts without any known vulnerabilities. Both agents uncovered two novel zero-day vulnerabilities and produced exploits worth $3,694, with GPT-5 doing so at an API cost of $3,476. This demonstrates as a proof-of-concept that profitable, real-world autonomous exploitation is technically feasible, a finding that underscores the need for proactive adoption of AI for defense...

From Biz & IT – Ars Technica at 2025-12-11 16:43:30

Disney invests $1 billion in OpenAI, licenses 200 characters for AI video app Sora

Three-year deal lets users create AI videos of Mickey Mouse, Darth Vader, and more.

From The Django weblog at 2025-12-11 15:19:22

Django Code of Conduct Transparency Report 2025

The Code of Conduct working group received 4 reports and met 12 times in 2025. This transparency report is a brief account of how those reports were handled. This year’s number is lower than previous years in part because of the formation of the Online Community Working Group which handles moderation on our official spaces and has been able to act directly on smaller scale infractions. In some cases we received additional reporting while investigating initial reports, but have not counted those as separate instances.

This working group conducts business in several ways. It has online meetings, typically once per month. It also discusses issues in a Slack channel, but most cases are handled in the meetings. The group welcomed three new members this year: Ariane Djeupang, Natalia Bidart, and Priya Pahwa. Natalia was selected by the new Online Communities Working Group as their liaison to the Code of Conduct Working group; Ariane and Priya were elected by the working group. The group also saw Jay Miller step down this year. We all want to thank Jay for his continued role in our community and for all the work he did with the Code of Conduct group.

It was the group’s intention to work with a consultant to update our Code of Conduct and processes. We reached out to two consultants to help with that work, but unfortunately we weren’t able to engage either to get that work completed. We hope to progress with that in 2026. In the meantime, we made a few internal process tweaks - creating up a new “ask CoC” channel with key stakeholders to discuss moderation and CoC enforcement, and having our team set up as moderators in GitHub until we find a better model.

Two reports from late 2024 carried into this year. Two reports resulted in suspensions from the relevant platforms. Another was shared with local event organizers.

Finally, this section provides a brief summary of the kinds of cases that were handled:

• One case involved repeated violations of the Discourse rules about self promotion. The working group recommended a suspension from the forum.
• One case involved repeated behavior across several platforms that discouraged participation and created problems for others. The working group recommended a suspension from all relevant platforms and working groups.
• One case involved an incident at a PSF-sponsored event. The information was passed on to the local organizers.

From The Briefing Room at 2025-12-11 15:08:00

Why are early career doctors angry? (p0mmyv58.mp3)

In a few days time resident doctors -who used to be known as junior doctors - were meant to be going on strike. This would be the 14th strike by the doctors’ union since March 2023. The ostensible reason was pay but now the dispute may be over without more increases to salary levels. The Government has instead made an offer to do something about the other big issue for early career doctors - working conditions and specialist training places. David Aaronovitch and guests discuss what's going on and ask what the problem is with the way we in Britain train our doctors?

Guests: Hugh Pym, BBC Health Editor Sir Andrew Goddard, Consultant Gastroenterologist Professor Martin McKee, Professor of European Public Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine Mark Dayan, Policy Analyst, Nuffield Trust.

Presenter: David Aaronovitch Producers: Caroline Bayley, Kirsteen Knight, Cordelia Hemming Production Co-ordinator: Maria Ogundele Sound Engineers: Michael Regaard, Gareth Jones Editor: Richard Vadon

From Biz & IT – Ars Technica at 2025-12-11 14:39:21

Oracle shares slide on $15B increase in data center spending

Company raises its capital expenditure forecast as it doubles down on AI infrastructure bet.

From Net Assessment at 2025-12-11 11:03:00

'Safer, Richer, Freer, Greater'? Trump's New Strategy for American Power (Net_Assessment_-_Dec_11_2025_v2.mp3?dest-id=808287)

Chris, Zack, and Melanie take a look at the Trump administration's newly-released US National Security Strategy. Is it a coherent strategy? How will diplomacy, military might, and economic power be developed and deployed to advance American interests? Will the strategy usher in a new Golden Age, and "make America safer, richer, freer, greater, and more powerful than ever before," as the President claims in the preface?

Chris has a grievance for the inability of the Navy to design and produce small surface combatants, Zack is pleased with Congress asserting itself in the new NDAA, and Melanie has shoutouts for three friends who are moving on to new adventures in their lives.

Show Links:

• National Security Strategy of the United States of America, The White House, November 2025.

• Matt Jamison, "Why I Declined Brigade Command," LinkedIn, December 2, 2025.

• Bryan McGrath, "The End of This Road," Substack, December 1, 2025. 

• Sam LaGrone, "Navy Cancels Constellation-class Frigate Program, Considering Small New Surface Combatants," USNI News, November 25, 2025. 

• Evan Cooper, The Power of US Cultural Diplomacy, Stimson Center, December 2, 2025. 

• Sam LaGrone, "Navy Cancels Constellation-class Frigate Program, Considering Small New Surface Combatants," USNI News, November 25, 2025. 

• Evan Cooper, The Power of US Cultural Diplomacy, Stimson Center, December 2, 2025. 

From Strong Message Here at 2025-12-11 09:45:00

Civilisational Erasure (with Stewart Lee) (p0mms4t7.mp3)

Is 'Civilisational Erasure' upon us?

This week, Armando is joined again by Stewart Lee to look at this phrase, and others from the US' new National Security Strategy. Would this kind of language have been unthinkable even a few years ago?

We also look at other elements of the strategy, and whether it's time to forget the idea that Trump is playing '3-dimensional chess' with his language. Outside civilisational erasure, we look at whether leaders need to communicate on social media, given Starmer's new TikTok account and Liz Truss' YouTube show both launched this week.

If you want to know what Liz Truss has got against Gails, and why 70s sitcoms are back in the spotlight both sides of the Atlantic, then this programme is for you.

Got a strong message for Armando? Email us on strongmessagehere@bbc.co.uk to have your missive read out in our listener mailbag special.

Sound editing: Chris Maclean Production Coordinator: Jodie Charman Executive Producer: Pete Strauss Recorded at The Sound Company

Produced by Gwyn Rhys Davies. A BBC Studios production for Radio 4.

From Odd Lots at 2025-12-11 09:00:00

This Is What It Takes to Get a Data Center Financed (audio.mp3?utm_source=Podcast&in_playlist=982f5071-765c-403d-969d-ae27003a8d83)

Data centers are weird things. They're partly real estate assets. They're partly extremely advanced technological products. And they have to find a way to consume a tremendous amount of electricity from the grid -- or they increasingly have their own power plants on site. And beyond that, they've become extremely controversial, with more and more communities pushing back on their development. So how do you get all your ducks in a row when a new project is proposed? Who provides the financing at which stage of the agreement? What are the legal complications that arise? On this episode, we speak with Travis Wofford, a partner at the law firm Baker Botts, who works in the firm's AI practice. We discuss all the intricacies of these projects, the challenges that arise, and how things have changed in this space just since the beginning of the year.

Read more:
Oracle Earnings May Not Be Enough to Assuage Debt, AI Deal Fears
NextEra Shares Fall Amid Push to Move Into Data Centers and Gas

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From The Rest Is History at 2025-12-11 00:05:00

625. Jack The Ripper: Horror in Whitechapel (Part 2) (GLT2555108111.mp3?updated=1765366078)

Who was Jack the Ripper’s second victim, and why was their murder considered the true starting point of his terrifying killing spree? How did the police investigation unfold? And, when and how did the Ripper strike again…? Join Dominic and Tom as they travel further into the dark streets of Victorian London and follow Jack the Ripper’s depraved trail, as they unravel the truth behind the world’s most famous murderer. Hive. Know your power. Visit https://hivehome.com to find out more. Learn more at https://www.uber.com/onourway Give The Rest Is History Club this Christmas – a year of bonus episodes, ad-free listening, early access, the private chat community hosted on Discord, and an exclusive t-shirt! Just go to https://therestishistory.supportingcast.fm/giftsAnd of course, you can still join for yourself at any time at therestishistory.com or on apple podcasts. Get our exclusive NordVPN deal here ➼ https://nordvpn.com/restishistory It's risk-free with Nord's 30-day money-back guarantee ✅ For more Goalhanger Podcasts, head to www.goalhanger.com _______ Twitter: @TheRestHistory @holland_tom @dcsandbrook Video Editor: Jack Meek Social Producer: Harry Balden Assistant Producer: Aaliyah Akude Producer: Tabby Syrett Senior Producer: Theo Young-Smith Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

From Biz & IT – Ars Technica at 2025-12-10 20:38:58

A new open AI coding model is closing in on proprietary options

Open-weights Devstral 2 model scores 72% on industry benchmark, nearing proprietary rivals.

From The Media Show at 2025-12-10 17:32:00

The battle for Warner Bros, Eurovision controversy latest over Israel participation, festive TV battles and Meta’s pivot to AI. (p0mmrvt6.mp3)

Katie Razzall and Ros Atkins on some of the biggest media stories this week:

Hollywood is in turmoil as Netflix agrees to buy Warner Bros Discovery’s film and streaming businesses for $72bn, but Paramount has stepped in with a rival bid that could reshape the industry. We’ll hear from Natalie Jarvey, reporter at The Ankler, and Dade Hayes, Business Editor at Deadline, and Charlotte Henry author of Streaming Wars about what this means for franchises like Harry Potter and Game of Thrones, and for the future of streaming itself.

Eurovision faces its biggest crisis in years, with countries pulling out over Israel’s participation and broadcasters debating whether to air the contest at all - BBC Music Reporter Mark Savage joins us with the latest. Meanwhile, the Christmas edition of the Radio Times, once as much a part of the season as mince pies and port, fights to remain relevant in the streaming era. We’ll be joined by Shem Law, Brand Editor of the Radio Times.

And as Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta cuts back on its metaverse ambitions, shifting billions into artificial intelligence we talk to Alex Hern, AI writer at The Economist.

Producer: Lisa Jenkinson Assistant Producer: Lucy Wai

From Biz & IT – Ars Technica at 2025-12-10 12:32:21

Operation Bluebird wants to relaunch “Twitter,” says Musk abandoned the name and logo

“Abandonment” offers rare chance to reclaim one of tech’s most recognized brands.

From Schneier on Security at 2025-12-10 12:05:37

FBI Warns of Fake Video Scams

The FBI is warning of AI-assisted fake kidnapping scams:

Criminal actors typically will contact their victims through text message claiming they have kidnapped their loved one and demand a ransom be paid for their release. Oftentimes, the criminal actor will express significant claims of violence towards the loved one if the ransom is not paid immediately. The criminal actor will then send what appears to be a genuine photo or video of the victim’s loved one, which upon close inspection often reveals inaccuracies when compared to confirmed photos of the loved one. Examples of these inaccuracies include missing tattoos or scars and inaccurate body proportions. Criminal actors will sometimes purposefully send these photos using timed message features to limit the amount of time victims have to analyze the images...

From Breaking History at 2025-12-10 10:00:00

From the Archives: Why Jews Wrote Your Favorite Christmas Songs (CBS6738915871.mp3?updated=1765316218)

Did you know the soundtrack of Americans’ Christmas was written largely by . . . Jews? Most of the composers behind the holiday canon were the children of immigrants who fled pogroms and conscription in Russia and Eastern Europe between 1880 and 1920. Sammy Cahn, Frank Sinatra’s go-to lyricist, gave us “Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!” Mel Tormé, son of a Belarusian refugee, wrote “The Christmas Song”) (a.k.a. “Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire”). Frank Loesser—whose family escaped the Kaiser’s draft—penned the mischievous “Baby, It’s Cold Outside.” And Johnny Marks, responsible for “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” “A Holly Jolly Christmas,” and “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree,” was also one of the chosen few. Towering above them all is Irving Berlin, whose “White Christmas” remains one of the biggest-selling singles in American history. Berlin’s own childhood began with a pogrom and  escape from Siberia before landing in New York in 1893. In a replay of this classic Breaking History episode, Eli Lake digs into how a generation of Jewish immigrants ended up shaping the very sound of America’s most beloved holiday. CREDITS Producer Greg Collard Executive Producer Alex Miller Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

From Risky Business with Nate Silver and Maria Konnikova at 2025-12-10 05:01:00

What Movies Get Right and Wrong About Poker (audio.mp3?utm_source=Podcast&in_playlist=eb5e885e-6644-4680-aec4-b15c0150ffc0)

Maria finally gets to reveal a project she’s been working on that’s been kept under wraps, and then it’s movie night on Risky Business! Nate and Maria talk about their favorite poker movies and explain why portrayals of poker for a movie audience often don’t get the game quite right. Plus, they share what poker movie they’d like to make and who’d play them in it.

For more from Nate and Maria, subscribe to their newsletters:

The Leap from Maria Konnikova

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From GoodFellows: Conversations from the Hoover Institution at 2025-12-10 01:00:00

Tiny Cars and 70’s Problems with Ben Sasse | GoodFellows | Hoover Institution (GoodFellows_2025-12-08_-_Ben_Sasse_wiop03_podcast_a5j9q.mp3)

Two institutional sectors are in both steady and rapid decline in terms of public trust: Congress and academia. Ben Sasse, former US senator from Nebraska and president of two universities, joins GoodFellows regulars Niall Ferguson, John Cochrane, and H.R. McMaster to discuss what ails Congress and how to fix it (based on his eight years in the Senate), plus how America’s educational system has set a low bar for readying students for higher learning and life after college. Next the three fellows weigh the merits of the Trump administration’s new National Security Strategy and what strategy there is (or isn’t) regarding Venezuela and drug trafficking; the shortcomings of fuel-efficiency standards; whether they’d buy an American-made “tiny car” (no way, says our resident former tank driver); and, with the World Cup coming to America in 2026, how to clear up the confusion between US-brand “football” and the international “beautiful game” that goes by the same name (Sir Niall’s solution: Change US football to “armored rugby”).    Subscribe to GoodFellows for clarity on today’s biggest social, economic, and geostrategic shifts — only on GoodFellows.

From The Rest Is History at 2025-12-10 00:05:00

The Beatles: The British Invasion, with Conan O’Brien (Part 2) (GLT4240205398.mp3?updated=1765280297)

| This episode is available a week early for members of The Rest Is History Club | What happens when fame, drugs, and genius collide? How did the Beatles survive John Lennon’s “more popular than Jesus” interview and the death of Brian Epstein? And, why did the band eventually break up? Conan O’Brien returns with Tom to dive into the Beatles’ final years: rooftop gigs, groundbreaking records, and the inner conflicts that defined - and arguably destroyed - the band. The Beatles’ nine-part “Anthology” documentary series has been restored and is now available to watch on Disney+. Thank you to Apple Corps and Disney for the opportunity to use archive from the Anthology in these special Beatles episodes. Hive. Know your power. Visit https://hivehome.com to find out more. Get our exclusive NordVPN deal here ➼ https://nordvpn.com/restishistory It's risk-free with Nord's 30-day money-back guarantee ✅ _______ Twitter: @TheRestHistory @holland_tom @dcsandbrook Video Editor: Jack Meek / Harry Swan Social Producer: Harry Balden Assistant Producer: Aaliyah Akude Producer: Tabby Syrett Senior Producer: Theo Young-Smith Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

From The Django weblog at 2025-12-09 14:00:47

Online Community Working Group GitHub repo and project

The Online Community Working Group has introduced a new GitHub repository designed to manage and track ideas, suggestions, and improvements across Django's various online community platforms.

Introducing the Online Community Working Group Repository

Primarily inspired by the rollout of the New Features repository, the Online Community Working Group has launched their own version that works in conjunction with the Online Community Working Group Ideas GitHub project to provide a mechanism to gather feedback, suggestions, and ideas from across the online community and track their progression.

The primary aim is to help better align Django's presence across multiple online platforms by providing:

1. Centralisation: A community-platform-agnostic place to collect feedback, suggestions, and ideas from members of any of Django's online communities.
2. Visibility: With a variety of platforms in use across the community, some of which require an account before their content can even be read, discussions can happen in what effectively amount to private silos. This centralised repository allows all suggestions and ideas to be viewed by everybody, regardless of their community platform of choice.
3. Consistency: A suggestion for one platform can often be a good idea for another. Issues and ideas raised centrally can be assessed against all platforms to better align Django's online community experience.

How to use the Online Community Working Group Repo

If you have an idea or a suggestion for any of Django's online community platforms (such as the Forum, Discord, or elsewhere), the process starts by creating an issue in the new repository.

You'll be asked to summarise the idea, and answer a couple of short questions regarding which platform it applies to and the rationale behind your idea.

The suggestion will be visible on the public board, and people will be able to react to the idea with emoji responses as a quick measure of support, or provide longer-form answers as comments on the issue.

The Online Community Working Group will review, triage, and respond to all suggestions, before deciding whether or how they can be implemented across the community.

Existing Online Communities

Note that we're not asking that you stop using any mechanisms in place within the particular community you're a part of currently—the Discord #suggestions channel is not going away, for example. However, we may ask that a suggestion or idea flagged within a particular platform be raised via this new GitHub repo instead, in order increase its visibility, apply it to multiple communities, or simply better track its resolution.

Conclusion

The Online Community Working Group was relatively recently set up, with the aim of improving the experience for members of all Django's communities online. This new repository takes a first step in that direction. Check out the repository at django/online-community-working-group on GitHub to learn more and start helping shape Django's truly excellent community presence online.

From Schneier on Security at 2025-12-09 12:07:53

AI vs. Human Drivers

Two competing arguments are making the rounds. The first is by a neurosurgeon in the New York Times. In an op-ed that honestly sounds like it was paid for by Waymo, the author calls driverless cars a “public health breakthrough”:

In medical research, there’s a practice of ending a study early when the results are too striking to ignore. We stop when there is unexpected harm. We also stop for overwhelming benefit, when a treatment is working so well that it would be unethical to continue giving anyone a placebo. When an intervention works this clearly, you change what you do...

From School of War at 2025-12-09 11:06:00

Ep 255: Roya Hakakian on the Islamic Revolution (NEBM8941494503.mp3)

Roya Hakakian, author of Assassins of the Turquoise Palace and A Beginner's Guide to America: For the Immigrant and the Curious, joins the show to discuss the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran, the rise of Ayatollah Khomeini, and how these events have shaped the world. ▪️ Times 02:56 Life Before the Revolution 11:02 Antisemitism in Revolutionary Iran 21:56 Khomeini’s Rise to Power 22:32 The Global Left and the Soviet Union 29:49 A Catastrophe of the 20th Century 37:21 The State of the Iranian Regime 42:19 The Revolution is Alive and Well 52:01 The Future of Iran and Its Leadership Follow along on Instagram, X @schoolofwarpod, and YouTube @SchoolofWarPodcast Find more content on our School of War Substack

From Emperors of Rome at 2025-12-09 05:33:24

Episode CLXII - Anthology of Interest IV (251209-aoiiv.mp3)

Rhiannon Evans, Caillan Davenport, Matt Smith and special guest William Dalrymple share items of Roman interest! You will hear:

- A phoenix in the forum

- The unknown Queens of Rome

- The Roman perception of elephants

- Trade between India and Rome

- The low bar of Roman insults

- The false female centurion

- What Emperors called themselves

- An accurate population of Pompeii

- The false Theodosius

- Sallust and ethnic etymology in North Africa

Guests:

Associate Professor Rhiannon Evans (Classics and Ancient History, La Trobe University)

Professor Caillan Davenport (Centre for Classical Studies, Australian National University))

William Dalrymple (Esteemed author and host of Empire podcast)

From Battle Lines at 2025-12-08 19:20:19

More Russia, less China and no Europe: Trump’s new security strategy unveiled (media.mp3)

Donald Trump has detonated a political earthquake with a National Security Strategy that doesn’t just tweak America’s global role, it torches seven decades of US foreign policy. In a move that’s left European allies stunned and scrambling, Trump’s new blueprint casts Europe as weak, directionless and on the brink of “civilisational erasure,” while pointedly avoiding calling Russia a threat.

And guess who’s absolutely thrilled? The Kremlin. Vladimir Putin’s spokesman practically applauded the document, hailing it as “largely consistent” with Moscow’s own vision. While EU leaders warn the strategy dangerously rewrites reality and echoes far-right rhetoric, Trump is pushing ahead, embracing “patriotic” parties across Europe and accusing the EU of holding back peace in Ukraine.

It’s a bold, brash, America-First gambit and one that’s left America’s closest allies wondering if Washington has just switched sides. To find out more, Roland talks to former British Ambassador to the United States Kim Darroch. 

► Sign up to our most popular newsletter, From the Editor. Look forward to receiving free-thinking comment and the day's biggest stories, every morning. telegraph.co.uk/fromtheeditor

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From Biz & IT – Ars Technica at 2025-12-08 14:57:11

Meta offers EU users ad-light option in push to end investigation

Facebook agrees to change "pay or consent" model after talks with European Commission.

From Schneier on Security at 2025-12-08 12:04:11

Substitution Cipher Based on The Voynich Manuscript

Here’s a fun paper: “The Naibbe cipher: a substitution cipher that encrypts Latin and Italian as Voynich Manuscript-like ciphertext“:

Abstract: In this article, I investigate the hypothesis that the Voynich Manuscript (MS 408, Yale University Beinecke Library) is compatible with being a ciphertext by attempting to develop a historically plausible cipher that can replicate the manuscript’s unusual properties. The resulting cipher­a verbose homophonic substitution cipher I call the Naibbe cipher­can be done entirely by hand with 15th-century materials, and when it encrypts a wide range of Latin and Italian plaintexts, the resulting ciphertexts remain fully decipherable and also reliably reproduce many key statistical properties of the Voynich Manuscript at once. My results suggest that the so-called “ciphertext hypothesis” for the Voynich Manuscript remains viable, while also placing constraints on plausible substitution cipher structures...

From Odd Lots at 2025-12-08 09:00:00

Dan Ivascyn Is Excited About a New Era in Fixed Income (audio.mp3?utm_source=Podcast&in_playlist=982f5071-765c-403d-969d-ae27003a8d83)

In the years since the financial crisis, bond investors didn't get much return for taking on risk. With low interest rates and little sign of inflation, investors had to accept lower-quality assets to get any semblance of yield. Now that's changing according to Dan Ivascyn, the chief investment officer of Pimco, one of the biggest bond fund managers around. In this special 10-year anniversary episode, Dan reflects on longer-term trends in the bond market, as well as more immediate issues like independence at the Federal Reserve, concerns around data center financing, and worries of "dangerous" and inflated credit ratings.

Read more:
French Budget Endgame Means Stress Test for Stocks and Bonds
Pinebridge Sees Emerging-Markets Rally Tilting Toward Bonds

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From Risky Business with Nate Silver and Maria Konnikova at 2025-12-08 05:01:00

Deep Cover Presents: Snowball [ft. Maria Konnikova] (audio.mp3?utm_source=Podcast&in_playlist=eb5e885e-6644-4680-aec4-b15c0150ffc0)

We’re sharing a preview of another podcast, Deep Cover Presents: Snowball, that Maria participated in. Snowball follows journalist Ollie Wards as he unravels the wild story of how his family lost everything after their brush with a charming Californian con woman. He embarks on a question to find out how she did it, why she did it, and where she is now. Here’s a preview of Snowball. If you can’t wait to find out what happens, binge episodes of Deep Cover Presents: Snowball early and ad-free with a Pushkin+ subscription. Find Pushkin+ on the Deep Cover show page in Apple Podcasts or at pushkin.fm/plus.

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From The Rest Is History at 2025-12-08 00:05:00

624. Jack The Ripper: History’s Darkest Mystery (Part 1) (GLT7829555893.mp3?updated=1764858656)

Was Jack the Ripper the first serial killer of all time? Who was his first victim, and why was the murder so shocking? And, what did the Ripper phenomenon reveal about the anxieties of Victorian London? Join Tom and Dominic as they delve into the darkest days of London’s long history, as Jack the Ripper’s terrible, grisly reign of terror begins... Join The Rest Is History Club: Unlock the full experience of the show – with exclusive bonus episodes, ad-free listening, early access to every series and live show tickets, a members-only newsletter, discounted books from the show, and access to our private Discord chatroom. Sign up directly at therestishistory.com For more Goalhanger Podcasts, head to www.goalhanger.com _______ Hive. Know your power. Visit https://hivehome.com to find out more. _______ Visit auraframes.co.uk and get £35 off Aura’s best-selling Carver Mat frame by using promo code HISTORY at checkout. Terms and conditions apply. _______ Get our exclusive NordVPN deal here ➼ https://nordvpn.com/restishistory It's risk-free with Nord's 30-day money-back guarantee ✅ _______ Twitter: @TheRestHistory @holland_tom @dcsandbrook Video Editor: Jack Meek  Social Producer: Harry Balden Assistant Producer: Aaliyah Akude  Producer: Tabby Syrett Senior Producer: Theo Young-Smith Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

From Odd Lots at 2025-12-07 09:00:00

How Microsoft Excel Conquered Corporate America (audio.mp3?utm_source=Podcast&in_playlist=982f5071-765c-403d-969d-ae27003a8d83)

Excel. If you work in corporate America, that word either inspires laser-focused productivity or pure dread. Over the last 40 years, the spreadsheet software has become synonymous with the best — and worst — of late-stage capitalism. It’s seeped into popular culture and, along the way, made Microsoft one of the world’s most valuable companies.But in a world of AI and new competition where Excel=Sum(39+1), can it stay on top? From the Big Take podcast, Bloomberg’s Dina Bass and Businessweek’s Max Chafkin join host Sarah Holder to track the rise and challenges ahead for one of the most ubiquitous programs around.

Like this episode? Listen and Subscribe to the Big Take podcast on Apple, Spotify, iHeart or wherever you get your podcasts

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From The Week in Westminster at 2025-12-06 11:30:00

06/12/2025 (p0mlvsdp.mp3)

The Daily Telegraph's political editor, Ben Riley-Smith, analyses the latest developments at Westminster.

Following further fallout from Rachel Reeves' Budget, and accusations that she misled the public about the state of the public finances, Ben speaks to two members of the Treasury select committee who have been investigating the issue: Labour MP, Yuan Yang, and Conservative MP, Dame Harriet Baldwin.

After the Prime Minister signalled that the government would make a fresh attempt to reform the welfare system, Ben is joined by the Labour chair of the Work and Pensions select committee, Debbie Abrahams, and the former Conservative Work and Pensions Secretary, Sir Iain Duncan Smith, who introduced Universal Credit.

Former Labour Home Secretary, Jack Straw, and former Conservative Justice Secretary, Alex Chalk, debate the government's proposals to reduce the number of jury trials.

And the state of Anglo-German relations was in focus this week following a state visit by the German President. To discuss this Ben brings together two German-born British politicians: Former Labour MP, Baroness Gisela Stuart, and Wera Hobhouse, the Liberal Democrat MP for Bath.

From More or Less at 2025-12-06 06:00:00

Is RFK right about US sperm counts? (p0mls38b.mp3)

Around the world, many countries are concerned about tackling the decline in birth rates and total fertility rates. The US is no exception. To tackle this issue the US government announced that it would provide subsidies for Americans seeking IVF treatment. The announcement was accompanied by one suspect sounding stat from US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. "Today the average teenager in this country has 50% of the sperm count, 50% of the testosterone as a 65-year-old man," he said. We speak to Professor Allan Pacey, Professor of Andrology at the University of Manchester, and Adith Arun, a researcher at Yale University to find out whether this statement is accurate. Producer/Presenter: Lizzy McNeill Series Producer: Tom Colls Editor: Richard Vadon Sound Mix: James Beard

From Risky Business with Nate Silver and Maria Konnikova at 2025-12-06 05:01:00

Introducing: Odd Lots with Joe Weisenthal and Tracy Alloway (audio.mp3?utm_source=Podcast&in_playlist=eb5e885e-6644-4680-aec4-b15c0150ffc0)

Here’s a preview of another podcast we enjoy, Odd Lots with Tracy Alloway and Joe Weisenthal.

Odd Lots has some of the most interesting conversations in finance, markets and economics, and every episode has the “perfect guest” – from truckers and bakers to portfolio managers and CEOs. As longtime financial journalists with a wide breadth of experience, Joe and Tracy dive into everything from poultry farming to AI valuations, as well as big questions about manufacturing, geopolitics, central banking and much more. New episodes drop on Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays wherever you get your podcasts.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

From Schneier on Security at 2025-12-05 22:06:14

Friday Squid Blogging: Vampire Squid Genome

The vampire squid (Vampyroteuthis infernalis) has the largest cephalopod genome ever sequenced: more than 11 billion base pairs. That’s more than twice as large as the biggest squid genomes.

It’s technically not a squid: “The vampire squid is a fascinating twig tenaciously hanging onto the cephalopod family tree. It’s neither a squid nor an octopus (nor a vampire), but rather the last, lone remnant of an ancient lineage whose other members have long since vanished.”

As usual, you can also use this squid post to talk about the security stories in the news that I haven’t covered...

From A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry at 2025-12-05 21:26:17

Collections: Hoplite Wars, Part IIIa: An Archaic Phalanx?

This is the third part of our four-part series (I, II) discussing the debates surrounding ancient Greek hoplites and the formation in which they (mostly?) fought, the phalanx. Last week, we looked at how the equipment which defined the hoplite – hoplite (ὁπλίτης), after all, means ‘equipped man’) – and how it weighs on on … Continue reading Collections: Hoplite Wars, Part IIIa: An Archaic Phalanx? →