Alan Allport
@alanallport.bsky.social
Professor, historian, husband, dad, scouser, gobby. Author of Demobbed (2009), Browned Off & Bloody-Minded (2015), Britain at Bay (2020), Advance Britannia (2025). “Awesome but a bit boring” (RMP). Personal account.
Pinned
Alan Allport
@alanallport.bsky.social
· Jan 6
Why the British Were Afraid of Winning World War II
www.nytimes.com
#AdvanceBritannia is released in North America today. The NYT review says (ahem): “Elegant and unsparing … Allport is a fluid writer, a conjurer with the rare ability to sustain a gripping narrative without resorting to Vaseline-lensed sentimentality.”
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/06/b...
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/06/b...
Reposted by Alan Allport
Saying "um, ah, well..." for thirty seconds and then changing the subject has been the literal policy of the united states as regards the defense of Taiwan for decades. The whole point is to avoid giving a straight answer. If you want to critique on FP at least read a Wikipedia first.
AOC’s Munich Stumble Is a Warning to the Left
It’s time for progressives to get more sophisticated about national security and foreign policy.
nymag.com
February 18, 2026 at 1:55 AM
Saying "um, ah, well..." for thirty seconds and then changing the subject has been the literal policy of the united states as regards the defense of Taiwan for decades. The whole point is to avoid giving a straight answer. If you want to critique on FP at least read a Wikipedia first.
Reposted by Alan Allport
We’re all way too bored on this website which is why I’m bringing back (tomorrow) the real reason we’re all here: litigating strategic bombing in World War II
Pre-litigating 2028 so that I'm ready when I'd disappointed
February 17, 2026 at 5:48 PM
We’re all way too bored on this website which is why I’m bringing back (tomorrow) the real reason we’re all here: litigating strategic bombing in World War II
Reposted by Alan Allport
Woke 2.0 means assigning anyone at DoD who says "Warfighter" - and not under active duress while doing so - to be a gate guard at Kwajalein.
February 17, 2026 at 11:59 PM
Woke 2.0 means assigning anyone at DoD who says "Warfighter" - and not under active duress while doing so - to be a gate guard at Kwajalein.
Reposted by Alan Allport
Rereading Taylor's Struggle for Mastery in Europe once again, as I do periodically, and what a brilliant fucking book.
Is the history right? This is almost beside the point. On the parts I've read most deeply on, he makes errors of fact and I find his judgment frequently suspect.
Is the history right? This is almost beside the point. On the parts I've read most deeply on, he makes errors of fact and I find his judgment frequently suspect.
February 18, 2026 at 12:57 AM
Rereading Taylor's Struggle for Mastery in Europe once again, as I do periodically, and what a brilliant fucking book.
Is the history right? This is almost beside the point. On the parts I've read most deeply on, he makes errors of fact and I find his judgment frequently suspect.
Is the history right? This is almost beside the point. On the parts I've read most deeply on, he makes errors of fact and I find his judgment frequently suspect.
Reposted by Alan Allport
The Guardsman was never found.
How is it possible that Kristi Noem still has this job. Imagine if you’re a family member or a shipmate of this guardsman.
www.nbcnews.com/politics/imm...
www.nbcnews.com/politics/imm...
February 18, 2026 at 12:30 AM
The Guardsman was never found.
Reposted by Alan Allport
AIPAC is a shrill, partisan undertaking that is really now just a MAGA cell. Not only does it have no credibility, it is making it increasingly clear that many Dems (and others) will simply not vote for anyone who takes their money or does business with them. Which is fine by me.
Curious as to whether or not AIPAC genuinely thinks this line of attack will work
February 18, 2026 at 12:05 AM
AIPAC is a shrill, partisan undertaking that is really now just a MAGA cell. Not only does it have no credibility, it is making it increasingly clear that many Dems (and others) will simply not vote for anyone who takes their money or does business with them. Which is fine by me.
Reposted by Alan Allport
BREAKING: An immigration judge has *terminated* the Trump-Vance administration's efforts to deport Columbia pro-Palestine student protestor Mohsen Mahdawi.
Mohsen was first detained 10 months ago, when agents ambushed him at a citizenship interview.
Mohsen was first detained 10 months ago, when agents ambushed him at a citizenship interview.
February 17, 2026 at 9:14 PM
BREAKING: An immigration judge has *terminated* the Trump-Vance administration's efforts to deport Columbia pro-Palestine student protestor Mohsen Mahdawi.
Mohsen was first detained 10 months ago, when agents ambushed him at a citizenship interview.
Mohsen was first detained 10 months ago, when agents ambushed him at a citizenship interview.
Reposted by Alan Allport
I'm really hard-pressed to think of any other private citizen who has suffered a year of vindictive persecution from the highest levels US government like this - through absolutely no fault of his own, but so the government can prove it will break people who resist it
NEW: Judge Xinis continues her order preventing the government from re-detaining Killmar Abrego Garcia, finding "no 'good reason to believe' removal is likely in the reasonably foreseeable future." storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
February 17, 2026 at 5:29 PM
I'm really hard-pressed to think of any other private citizen who has suffered a year of vindictive persecution from the highest levels US government like this - through absolutely no fault of his own, but so the government can prove it will break people who resist it
Reposted by Alan Allport
i bet she tells people she doesn’t ski
February 16, 2026 at 9:11 PM
i bet she tells people she doesn’t ski
Reposted by Alan Allport
"DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin to leave Trump administration" She wants to spend more time lying to her family. 😀
February 17, 2026 at 4:44 PM
"DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin to leave Trump administration" She wants to spend more time lying to her family. 😀
Well, “trip up and fly headlong onto the floor in front of the whole class” is one to check off my teaching bucket list as of this morning
a r2d2 robot is laying in the dirt next to a rock
ALT: a r2d2 robot is laying in the dirt next to a rock
media.tenor.com
February 17, 2026 at 5:21 PM
Well, “trip up and fly headlong onto the floor in front of the whole class” is one to check off my teaching bucket list as of this morning
Reposted by Alan Allport
One of the lesser malignancies of billionaires running amok is the way they infect other "elites" - university presidents, cabinet secretaries, newspaper editors. Everyone must have private jets, private assistants - no room for public goods or public service.
The interior of Kristi Noem’s new billionaire-class luxury jet is complete with two bidets and a wet bar with a wine chiller. It will be purchased on our dime from the slush fund Congress approved in the One Big Beautiful Bill.
open.substack.com/pub/newsnotn...
open.substack.com/pub/newsnotn...
Let Them Fly First Class: Kristi Noem’s DHS Luxury Jet Scandal
Inside Noem's flying palace. Plus: Pentagon demands obedient, deadly AI. The race to deploy untested nuclear reactors. Lawmakers move to rein in presidential pardons. And remembering Robert Duvall.
open.substack.com
February 17, 2026 at 1:55 PM
One of the lesser malignancies of billionaires running amok is the way they infect other "elites" - university presidents, cabinet secretaries, newspaper editors. Everyone must have private jets, private assistants - no room for public goods or public service.
Today in ‘Philip K Dick novels weren’t supposed to be aspirational”
Meta has patented AI that can run a dead person's account, continuing to post and chat on their behalf
It can message and video call by replicating a user's online behavior using their past data
It can message and video call by replicating a user's online behavior using their past data
February 17, 2026 at 1:10 PM
Today in ‘Philip K Dick novels weren’t supposed to be aspirational”
Reposted by Alan Allport
Make fun all you want, but InfantryDort is right. This is why Sparta is one of the oldest cities in the world, having been continually occupied for 5,000 years. In contrast, Athens is primarily known for losing a battle with style. /s
February 16, 2026 at 4:16 PM
Make fun all you want, but InfantryDort is right. This is why Sparta is one of the oldest cities in the world, having been continually occupied for 5,000 years. In contrast, Athens is primarily known for losing a battle with style. /s
RIP Robert Duvall aka Colonel Radl. “A wink from a pretty girl at a party results rarely in climax, Karl. But a man is a fool not to push a suggestion as far as it will go.”
February 16, 2026 at 9:02 PM
RIP Robert Duvall aka Colonel Radl. “A wink from a pretty girl at a party results rarely in climax, Karl. But a man is a fool not to push a suggestion as far as it will go.”
My most recent book was budgeted at 180k and eventually reached 230k. I still had to cut a ton of stuff.
The first final draft of my book was 180,000 words.
If you now read it and think "that reads a little concisely; you could have said more about that", or, "why didn't you include that topic/event?", the answer is, I probably did, and had to cut it out.
If you now read it and think "that reads a little concisely; you could have said more about that", or, "why didn't you include that topic/event?", the answer is, I probably did, and had to cut it out.
My first draft of the book is comically over the word limit, so I'm digging into the process of making some massive cuts. I'm going to need to drop several chapters altogether and significantly trim many more.
This is going to be less of a "kill your darlings" situation and more of a mass murder.
This is going to be less of a "kill your darlings" situation and more of a mass murder.
February 16, 2026 at 8:42 PM
My most recent book was budgeted at 180k and eventually reached 230k. I still had to cut a ton of stuff.
That album is fucking wild. The final track is about a girl committing suicide after becoming pregnant via an affair with her brother. She wrote half these songs when she was 13.
Kate Bush is one of my favourite artists and maybe every year or two I revisit her discography and always find something new.
For example, after being part-way through her biography, I realise that (if you can believe it) this song is not about flying a kite, but actually being completely baked.
For example, after being part-way through her biography, I realise that (if you can believe it) this song is not about flying a kite, but actually being completely baked.
Kite
open.spotify.com
February 16, 2026 at 7:52 PM
That album is fucking wild. The final track is about a girl committing suicide after becoming pregnant via an affair with her brother. She wrote half these songs when she was 13.
Reposted by Alan Allport
my favorite Robert Duvall role is where he appears as a priest on a swing for 2 seconds for no apparent reason in Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978)
February 16, 2026 at 6:23 PM
my favorite Robert Duvall role is where he appears as a priest on a swing for 2 seconds for no apparent reason in Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978)
On the island of Golem Grad in North Macedonia, nonstop attention from male tortoises seemed to be driving females to early deaths. On multiple occasions, scientists saw them throw themselves off the cliffs. nyti.ms/4rf0ToM
February 16, 2026 at 5:28 PM
Reposted by Alan Allport
Terrific little book. Allport explains that Britain’s leaders knew the consequences of another world war – it wasn’t a matter of winning or losing, but the almost certain knowledge that even a victory would be the end of the British Empire. putteringinthestudy.com/2026/02/15/b... #HistBookChat
February 15, 2026 at 8:34 PM
Terrific little book. Allport explains that Britain’s leaders knew the consequences of another world war – it wasn’t a matter of winning or losing, but the almost certain knowledge that even a victory would be the end of the British Empire. putteringinthestudy.com/2026/02/15/b... #HistBookChat
Reposted by Alan Allport
douglas adams was our most accurate futurist
We are at an airport restaurant. A robot just drove up to us with our food, said, "Hi! Here I am!" and then drove away with our food.
February 15, 2026 at 10:10 PM
douglas adams was our most accurate futurist
Reposted by Alan Allport
the loss of the World Service would be a tragedy and huge lost of soft power for Britain
And another bites the dust?
The BBC World Service will run out of funding in just seven weeks. Its funding arrangement with the Foreign Office finishes at the end of March. There is no plan for what happens next.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
The BBC World Service will run out of funding in just seven weeks. Its funding arrangement with the Foreign Office finishes at the end of March. There is no plan for what happens next.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
The Guardian view on the BBC World Service: this is London calling | Editorial
Editorial: With just seven weeks before its funding runs out, the UK’s greatest cultural asset and most trusted international news organisation must be supported
www.theguardian.com
February 15, 2026 at 8:02 PM
the loss of the World Service would be a tragedy and huge lost of soft power for Britain
Reposted by Alan Allport
Pete Hegseth (Princeton/ Harvard) and Brett Kavanaugh (Yale/ Yale) exemplify a standard type of elite-educated Likes Beer guy.
February 15, 2026 at 7:55 PM
Pete Hegseth (Princeton/ Harvard) and Brett Kavanaugh (Yale/ Yale) exemplify a standard type of elite-educated Likes Beer guy.