Daniel Knowles
@dlknowles.bsky.social
Midwest correspondent at The Economist, in Chicago. Before that, in London, Mumbai, Nairobi and DC.
Buy my book: http://shorturl.at/BJOUV
Buy my book: http://shorturl.at/BJOUV
So does this beat the record of the Anglo-Zanzibar war of 1896 for the shortest war ever?
January 3, 2026 at 12:06 PM
So does this beat the record of the Anglo-Zanzibar war of 1896 for the shortest war ever?
Reposted by Daniel Knowles
The helicopters that fired guns and missiles at ground targets in Venezuela are typically used only for high-value targets. What is unclear is whether someone in Nicolás Maduro’s inside circle sold him out to America econ.st/49sOfeq
Photo: Getty Images
Photo: Getty Images
January 3, 2026 at 11:23 AM
The helicopters that fired guns and missiles at ground targets in Venezuela are typically used only for high-value targets. What is unclear is whether someone in Nicolás Maduro’s inside circle sold him out to America econ.st/49sOfeq
Photo: Getty Images
Photo: Getty Images
Reposted by Daniel Knowles
Remember that there is a legitimately elected president of Venezuela: Edmundo Gonzalez. He won the election in 2024.
January 3, 2026 at 10:44 AM
Remember that there is a legitimately elected president of Venezuela: Edmundo Gonzalez. He won the election in 2024.
Reposted by Daniel Knowles
on the other hand, hundreds of thousands of people - at least - are going to die as a result of the combination of USAID and RFK Jr alone. (Including the demolition of the one unquestionably good thing GW Bush, Pepfar.)
rating presidents from best to worst is a bit of a mug’s game, but anyone who thinks that trump is *obviously* worse than GW Bush might consider what it was exactly that at least 100,000 Iraqi civilians died violent deaths for
January 3, 2026 at 9:05 AM
on the other hand, hundreds of thousands of people - at least - are going to die as a result of the combination of USAID and RFK Jr alone. (Including the demolition of the one unquestionably good thing GW Bush, Pepfar.)
Reposted by Daniel Knowles
grim posthumous scenario i had not previously considered: you post a picture of the missile headed straight for you, and are memorialized by a bunch of random assholes complaining about alt text
![A Bluesky user based in Venezuela posted 'I live near a military air base and five earth-shaking explosions were just heart.'
User @thenordic.bsky.social (a random asshole) replied 'was it too hard for you to to [sic] add a link?' along with a link to an AP piece. Quick, don't look, what do you think the odds are that this user responded gracefully to being told that OP was on the ground and reporting firsthand?](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:ycbmujtxprrwbkiw3x5qsyz4/bafkreieh2ddespqvcqdhpfy4g2higsw4lfiguzpaxs3rdessztcokmww6i@jpeg)
January 3, 2026 at 8:21 AM
grim posthumous scenario i had not previously considered: you post a picture of the missile headed straight for you, and are memorialized by a bunch of random assholes complaining about alt text
Reposted by Daniel Knowles
A good point that media outlets misreport this story if they give agency to the AI Grok itself - which generates contradictory statenents whenever prompted to do so
www.readtpa.com/p/grok-cant-...
www.readtpa.com/p/grok-cant-...
Grok Can't Apologize. Grok Isn't Sentient. So Why Do Headlines Keep Saying It Did?
Elon Musk’s chatbot has been “undressing” women and children in public. Journalists are letting xAI off the hook by pretending the bot is responsible.
www.readtpa.com
January 2, 2026 at 7:35 PM
A good point that media outlets misreport this story if they give agency to the AI Grok itself - which generates contradictory statenents whenever prompted to do so
www.readtpa.com/p/grok-cant-...
www.readtpa.com/p/grok-cant-...
Reposted by Daniel Knowles
Homicides in Chicago hit 60 year low. Yes, even fewer would be better but this is a huge accomplishment
www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news...
www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news...
Chicago sees 30% drop in homicides in 2025, with fewest murders in a year since 1965
As overall crime continued to drop in Chicago in 2025, the city ended the year with the fewest homicides in 60 years.
www.cbsnews.com
January 2, 2026 at 7:38 AM
Homicides in Chicago hit 60 year low. Yes, even fewer would be better but this is a huge accomplishment
www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news...
www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news...
It is 18 hours into 2026 and I have taken six Lime bike rides today. Start as you mean to go on
January 1, 2026 at 6:12 PM
It is 18 hours into 2026 and I have taken six Lime bike rides today. Start as you mean to go on
Reposted by Daniel Knowles
Every new front for the culture war happened 3 years ago in the UK already
January 1, 2026 at 1:56 PM
Every new front for the culture war happened 3 years ago in the UK already
This is true and works both ways
Owning a dog is a pretty efficient way of letting your neighbours know how responsible and considerate a person you are
I don't dislike dogs to be clear. But I really really dislike how many dog owners allow their dogs to foul the streets and to yap at people and scare kids and still expect everyone to think their precious little pooch is such a good dog 14/10 whatever
January 1, 2026 at 12:59 PM
This is true and works both ways
Think one of the next big fronts in the culture wars will be between dog owners and people who really dislike dogs
January 1, 2026 at 12:28 PM
Think one of the next big fronts in the culture wars will be between dog owners and people who really dislike dogs
Reposted by Daniel Knowles
DHS now says it's aiming for 100 million deportations. In an amazing coincidence, there are 104 million Black and Hispanic people living in the U.S. right now.
![@DHSgov on X: The peace of a nation no longer besieged by the third world.
[Image of a beach] America after 100 million deportations](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:eppsmw5nfmdzhfeymtzd3xbe/bafkreiccvipzc5mayvbrzoo3cxhkp2iayuhphh4grk6lziqajuk7d2leee@jpeg)
December 31, 2025 at 11:04 PM
DHS now says it's aiming for 100 million deportations. In an amazing coincidence, there are 104 million Black and Hispanic people living in the U.S. right now.
This feels like it may be the first year that global warming is hitting the entire northern hemisphere ski season simultaneously. Other than a few spots in the Canadian Rockies, genuinely not sure where you can ski right now with good snow. Very depressing
December 31, 2025 at 11:55 AM
This feels like it may be the first year that global warming is hitting the entire northern hemisphere ski season simultaneously. Other than a few spots in the Canadian Rockies, genuinely not sure where you can ski right now with good snow. Very depressing
One of the ways I know I am back home, and that Britain is a very different country to America whatever our shared language, is looking around a packed out pub and seeing that not a single person is wearing a baseball cap
December 30, 2025 at 6:20 PM
One of the ways I know I am back home, and that Britain is a very different country to America whatever our shared language, is looking around a packed out pub and seeing that not a single person is wearing a baseball cap
It's hard to think of another policy that is so fundamentally a free lunch as congestion pricing is
Year 1 data on congestion pricing in Manhattan…
* Vehicle traffic: -11%
* Foot traffic: +3.4%
* Storefront vacancy: -0.9%
* Pollution: -22%
* Revenue for mass transit: $548M
So YES this has been a huge success.
* Vehicle traffic: -11%
* Foot traffic: +3.4%
* Storefront vacancy: -0.9%
* Pollution: -22%
* Revenue for mass transit: $548M
So YES this has been a huge success.
December 30, 2025 at 5:10 PM
It's hard to think of another policy that is so fundamentally a free lunch as congestion pricing is
Reposted by Daniel Knowles
Interested in how you square the circle of “British people who post ‘burn down a migrant hotel’ during race riots shouldn’t be arrested” with “someone who posted pretty objectionable and racist things 8 years before they became a British citizen should be deported” and am sure someone will ask Nigel
December 29, 2025 at 10:18 AM
Interested in how you square the circle of “British people who post ‘burn down a migrant hotel’ during race riots shouldn’t be arrested” with “someone who posted pretty objectionable and racist things 8 years before they became a British citizen should be deported” and am sure someone will ask Nigel
Reposted by Daniel Knowles
The Conservatives and Reform are currently saying that UK free speech laws are so draconian that people are routinely jailed for bad takes, and yet also the only way to deal with Alaa’s social posts is to extra-judicially strip him of citizenship.
www.thenewworld.co.uk/james-ball-c...
www.thenewworld.co.uk/james-ball-c...
December 30, 2025 at 11:03 AM
The Conservatives and Reform are currently saying that UK free speech laws are so draconian that people are routinely jailed for bad takes, and yet also the only way to deal with Alaa’s social posts is to extra-judicially strip him of citizenship.
www.thenewworld.co.uk/james-ball-c...
www.thenewworld.co.uk/james-ball-c...
Reposted by Daniel Knowles
And, repeating myself just to be clear: The true story (Fraudsters stole money and pushed off accountability for a while by saying it was racist to probe it) is losing market share to a wilder, less true story (citizen journalists uncovered the scheme that Dems covered up to steal elections)
December 29, 2025 at 1:51 AM
And, repeating myself just to be clear: The true story (Fraudsters stole money and pushed off accountability for a while by saying it was racist to probe it) is losing market share to a wilder, less true story (citizen journalists uncovered the scheme that Dems covered up to steal elections)
Reposted by Daniel Knowles
But step back and look at the machinery and you see how sturdy this media/WH infrastructure is. If they want to make a humiliating Democratic scandal the biggest story in the country, they can do it. Dems who think it'll go away if they "win" with local media are going to lose.
December 29, 2025 at 1:46 AM
But step back and look at the machinery and you see how sturdy this media/WH infrastructure is. If they want to make a humiliating Democratic scandal the biggest story in the country, they can do it. Dems who think it'll go away if they "win" with local media are going to lose.
Reposted by Daniel Knowles
Can't retweet this enough
One of my more controversial opinions is that the US needs to significantly raise taxes to the tune of a couple % of GDP right now, even before any expansive social democratic reforms, and that means you—yes you, dear highly educated professional—will need to pay up, not just nebulous billionaires.
December 30, 2025 at 8:05 AM
Can't retweet this enough
Got this fantastically clever Christmas gift. It's a dedicated algorithm free music player that you can carry around without the distractions of your phone, and it can hold thousands of songs without needing an internet connection. The UI is so simple anyone can manage it. Fantastic
December 28, 2025 at 12:40 PM
Got this fantastically clever Christmas gift. It's a dedicated algorithm free music player that you can carry around without the distractions of your phone, and it can hold thousands of songs without needing an internet connection. The UI is so simple anyone can manage it. Fantastic
Latest in UK relative poverty (or as I choose to think about it, greater strength of will).
For the Americans, 17C is about 62 degrees fahrenheit
For the Americans, 17C is about 62 degrees fahrenheit
December 27, 2025 at 5:42 PM
Latest in UK relative poverty (or as I choose to think about it, greater strength of will).
For the Americans, 17C is about 62 degrees fahrenheit
For the Americans, 17C is about 62 degrees fahrenheit
Reposted by Daniel Knowles
Denmark lost more troops per capita in the post 9/11 war on Afghanistan. Saying they “are not a good ally” because they won’t surrender their territories to the US is lunacy. We are betraying our allies to satisfy the whims of a would-be Emperor for whom the US is not enough.
They’re again advocating against Denmark when it comes to Greenland
December 27, 2025 at 4:13 PM
Denmark lost more troops per capita in the post 9/11 war on Afghanistan. Saying they “are not a good ally” because they won’t surrender their territories to the US is lunacy. We are betraying our allies to satisfy the whims of a would-be Emperor for whom the US is not enough.
The inverse of this is that having shoved all of my money into non-US stocks in January I am up the most I've been any year in five years
A wild statistic from @katie0martin.ft.com here. www.ft.com/content/a9f5...
December 27, 2025 at 3:07 PM
The inverse of this is that having shoved all of my money into non-US stocks in January I am up the most I've been any year in five years