John Williams
@johnhuww.bsky.social
wine, gardens, churches and Wales will feature. Professionally interested in health and life sciences, mental health, academic clinical careers and science policy in general. I cross boundaries. @wi_john
“we’ve had too many politicians that don’t know what it’s like to graft.”
Yet they certainly know how to grift regardless of their politics!
www.newstatesman.com/politics/202...
Yet they certainly know how to grift regardless of their politics!
www.newstatesman.com/politics/202...
There is no working class party
Politics has fallen behind new class dynamics
www.newstatesman.com
February 17, 2026 at 6:15 PM
“we’ve had too many politicians that don’t know what it’s like to graft.”
Yet they certainly know how to grift regardless of their politics!
www.newstatesman.com/politics/202...
Yet they certainly know how to grift regardless of their politics!
www.newstatesman.com/politics/202...
More Parents Are Rejecting a Lifesaving Vitamin Shot for Newborns
“For decades, hospitals have given babies a vitamin K injection to protect against bleeding. Now, the shot appears to be facing resistance.”
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/03/w...
“For decades, hospitals have given babies a vitamin K injection to protect against bleeding. Now, the shot appears to be facing resistance.”
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/03/w...
More Parents Are Rejecting a Lifesaving Vitamin Shot for Newborns
www.nytimes.com
February 17, 2026 at 12:51 PM
More Parents Are Rejecting a Lifesaving Vitamin Shot for Newborns
“For decades, hospitals have given babies a vitamin K injection to protect against bleeding. Now, the shot appears to be facing resistance.”
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/03/w...
“For decades, hospitals have given babies a vitamin K injection to protect against bleeding. Now, the shot appears to be facing resistance.”
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/03/w...
Quite a statement!
“As an A.I. researcher, I believe that when used appropriately, these large language models are the greatest tool for empowering patients since the invention of the internet. But they also carry new and barely understood risks”
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/17/o...
“As an A.I. researcher, I believe that when used appropriately, these large language models are the greatest tool for empowering patients since the invention of the internet. But they also carry new and barely understood risks”
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/17/o...
Opinion | Take It From a Doctor: It’s OK if Your Medical Advice Comes From A.I.
www.nytimes.com
February 17, 2026 at 12:45 PM
Quite a statement!
“As an A.I. researcher, I believe that when used appropriately, these large language models are the greatest tool for empowering patients since the invention of the internet. But they also carry new and barely understood risks”
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/17/o...
“As an A.I. researcher, I believe that when used appropriately, these large language models are the greatest tool for empowering patients since the invention of the internet. But they also carry new and barely understood risks”
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/17/o...
Dinner Is Being Recorded, Whether You Know It or Not
“The responsibility of using these devices ethically falls largely on the wearer.”
Would could possibly go wrong ! Any tech out there that can disrupt their functioning… an opportunity surely?
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/16/d...
“The responsibility of using these devices ethically falls largely on the wearer.”
Would could possibly go wrong ! Any tech out there that can disrupt their functioning… an opportunity surely?
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/16/d...
Dinner Is Being Recorded, Whether You Know It or Not
www.nytimes.com
February 17, 2026 at 10:20 AM
Dinner Is Being Recorded, Whether You Know It or Not
“The responsibility of using these devices ethically falls largely on the wearer.”
Would could possibly go wrong ! Any tech out there that can disrupt their functioning… an opportunity surely?
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/16/d...
“The responsibility of using these devices ethically falls largely on the wearer.”
Would could possibly go wrong ! Any tech out there that can disrupt their functioning… an opportunity surely?
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/16/d...
“People are “exactly like the pigeons,” says Peter Balsam, a professor of psychology at Columbia University. Because, he says, we carry around a device that elicits this bizarre behavior: our phones. Swipe, swipe, swipe. Scroll, scroll, scroll. Tap, tap, tap.”
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/16/o...
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/16/o...
Opinion | What You Have in Common With a Pigeon and Why It’s Causing Problems for You
www.nytimes.com
February 17, 2026 at 7:43 AM
“People are “exactly like the pigeons,” says Peter Balsam, a professor of psychology at Columbia University. Because, he says, we carry around a device that elicits this bizarre behavior: our phones. Swipe, swipe, swipe. Scroll, scroll, scroll. Tap, tap, tap.”
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/16/o...
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/16/o...
Decades of medical insight unlocked as UK Biobank gets GP records
“After a years-long battle against bureaucracy, the initial promise of what was already a world-changing study has been fulfilled.”
www.thetimes.com/article/f734...
“After a years-long battle against bureaucracy, the initial promise of what was already a world-changing study has been fulfilled.”
www.thetimes.com/article/f734...
Decades of medical insight unlocked as UK Biobank gets GP records
A legal breakthrough allows years of health information from half a million Britons to be studied, offering unprecedented data on disease and ageing
www.thetimes.com
February 17, 2026 at 7:06 AM
Decades of medical insight unlocked as UK Biobank gets GP records
“After a years-long battle against bureaucracy, the initial promise of what was already a world-changing study has been fulfilled.”
www.thetimes.com/article/f734...
“After a years-long battle against bureaucracy, the initial promise of what was already a world-changing study has been fulfilled.”
www.thetimes.com/article/f734...
Berlin Noir — a new rival to Slow Horses?
Philip Kerr’s Bernie Gunther thrillers are being adapted for an Apple TV series starring Colin Firth and Jack Lowden — here’s why you should read the books
Excellent news…
www.thetimes.com/article/b04b...
Philip Kerr’s Bernie Gunther thrillers are being adapted for an Apple TV series starring Colin Firth and Jack Lowden — here’s why you should read the books
Excellent news…
www.thetimes.com/article/b04b...
Berlin Noir — a new rival to Slow Horses?
Philip Kerr’s Bernie Gunther thrillers are being adapted for an Apple TV series starring Colin Firth and Jack Lowden — here’s why you should read the books
www.thetimes.com
February 17, 2026 at 7:01 AM
Berlin Noir — a new rival to Slow Horses?
Philip Kerr’s Bernie Gunther thrillers are being adapted for an Apple TV series starring Colin Firth and Jack Lowden — here’s why you should read the books
Excellent news…
www.thetimes.com/article/b04b...
Philip Kerr’s Bernie Gunther thrillers are being adapted for an Apple TV series starring Colin Firth and Jack Lowden — here’s why you should read the books
Excellent news…
www.thetimes.com/article/b04b...
Regardless of the actual truth this is peak mandarin !
Someone somewhere take ownership of the decision !
“Rupert McNeil, who was then head of HR for the government, informed those involved that “the process has determined that there is no case to answer”
www.thetimes.com/article/cacd...
Someone somewhere take ownership of the decision !
“Rupert McNeil, who was then head of HR for the government, informed those involved that “the process has determined that there is no case to answer”
www.thetimes.com/article/cacd...
Bullying claims against Antonia Romeo ‘covered up’
Officials dropped an investigation into the woman Keir Starmer is tipped to make cabinet secretary
www.thetimes.com
February 17, 2026 at 6:57 AM
Regardless of the actual truth this is peak mandarin !
Someone somewhere take ownership of the decision !
“Rupert McNeil, who was then head of HR for the government, informed those involved that “the process has determined that there is no case to answer”
www.thetimes.com/article/cacd...
Someone somewhere take ownership of the decision !
“Rupert McNeil, who was then head of HR for the government, informed those involved that “the process has determined that there is no case to answer”
www.thetimes.com/article/cacd...
Robert Duvall, Apocalypse Now and Godfather star, dies aged 95 | Robert Duvall |
“In 1955 he enrolled at the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre in New York (alongside James Caan, Gene Hackman and Dustin Hoffman)”
a remarkable cast/class!
www.theguardian.com/film/2026/fe...
“In 1955 he enrolled at the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre in New York (alongside James Caan, Gene Hackman and Dustin Hoffman)”
a remarkable cast/class!
www.theguardian.com/film/2026/fe...
Robert Duvall, Apocalypse Now and Godfather star, dies aged 95
From the classic To Kill a Mockingbird to blockbuster Gone in 60 Seconds, the Oscar-winning actor’s films spanned a remarkable range
www.theguardian.com
February 17, 2026 at 6:40 AM
Robert Duvall, Apocalypse Now and Godfather star, dies aged 95 | Robert Duvall |
“In 1955 he enrolled at the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre in New York (alongside James Caan, Gene Hackman and Dustin Hoffman)”
a remarkable cast/class!
www.theguardian.com/film/2026/fe...
“In 1955 he enrolled at the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre in New York (alongside James Caan, Gene Hackman and Dustin Hoffman)”
a remarkable cast/class!
www.theguardian.com/film/2026/fe...
Labour take note: the politics of home cannot be ceded to the nativist right | Julian Coman | “but on sensitive subjects the left too often prefers preaching to analysis.”
One might also add an inability to speak plainly..
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
One might also add an inability to speak plainly..
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Labour take note: the politics of home cannot be ceded to the nativist right | Julian Coman
Reform’s version of patriotism is opportunistic and bogus, but it is swaying voters. Labour must look to its roots to find a reply, says Guardian associate editor Julian Coman
www.theguardian.com
February 17, 2026 at 6:39 AM
Labour take note: the politics of home cannot be ceded to the nativist right | Julian Coman | “but on sensitive subjects the left too often prefers preaching to analysis.”
One might also add an inability to speak plainly..
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
One might also add an inability to speak plainly..
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
The inability to get the fundamentals of being a good employer right is staggering!
A spokesperson for NHS England said it had "immediately established a payroll improvement programme after hearing about these awful cases and the distress caused".
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
A spokesperson for NHS England said it had "immediately established a payroll improvement programme after hearing about these awful cases and the distress caused".
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Bailiffs used to pursue NHS staff over pay errors
Thousands of NHS workers were pursued by debt collectors after salary overpayments, the BBC finds.
www.bbc.co.uk
February 17, 2026 at 6:38 AM
The inability to get the fundamentals of being a good employer right is staggering!
A spokesperson for NHS England said it had "immediately established a payroll improvement programme after hearing about these awful cases and the distress caused".
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
A spokesperson for NHS England said it had "immediately established a payroll improvement programme after hearing about these awful cases and the distress caused".
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
“Difficult choices have to be made, but they have to be good choices or we risk profound long-term damage to our research ecosystem. And making a good choice requires an attention to detail that seems to have been lacking from UKRI so far.”
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
These cuts to physics research will be a disaster for UK scientists – and for our standing in the world | Jon Butterworth
If plans by the UK’s science funding body go ahead, we won’t be able to benefit from Britain’s membership of Cern and other large international projects, says Jon Butterworth, professor of physics at ...
www.theguardian.com
February 16, 2026 at 10:47 AM
“Difficult choices have to be made, but they have to be good choices or we risk profound long-term damage to our research ecosystem. And making a good choice requires an attention to detail that seems to have been lacking from UKRI so far.”
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Reposted by John Williams
I don't think Starmer has any conception of the "teaching" role of the premiership: the responsibility (& opportunity) to talk to the public, to shape how they understand the world & the choices before them.
All the most impactful PMs have been teachers. Starmer seems actively to repudiate the role
All the most impactful PMs have been teachers. Starmer seems actively to repudiate the role
I simply do not understand why the PM himself is not banging on about this. Planned increases in defence expenditure are going to necessitate some hideous fiscal trade offs. www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
Top British and German military chiefs press ‘moral’ case for rearmament
Defence leaders write joint appeal urging public on need to be prepared for war with Russia and resulting costs
www.theguardian.com
February 15, 2026 at 10:01 PM
I don't think Starmer has any conception of the "teaching" role of the premiership: the responsibility (& opportunity) to talk to the public, to shape how they understand the world & the choices before them.
All the most impactful PMs have been teachers. Starmer seems actively to repudiate the role
All the most impactful PMs have been teachers. Starmer seems actively to repudiate the role
What French Romance Novels Could Tell Us About A.I. and Translation Jobs
“Popular paperbacks are being translated with the help of machines, raising anxiety among professionals in the field.”
The art of translation sadly, is poorly understood.
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/15/w...
“Popular paperbacks are being translated with the help of machines, raising anxiety among professionals in the field.”
The art of translation sadly, is poorly understood.
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/15/w...
What French Romance Novels Could Tell Us About A.I. and Translation Jobs
www.nytimes.com
February 16, 2026 at 7:56 AM
What French Romance Novels Could Tell Us About A.I. and Translation Jobs
“Popular paperbacks are being translated with the help of machines, raising anxiety among professionals in the field.”
The art of translation sadly, is poorly understood.
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/15/w...
“Popular paperbacks are being translated with the help of machines, raising anxiety among professionals in the field.”
The art of translation sadly, is poorly understood.
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/15/w...
“A university vice-chancellor has warned of the “quiet disappearance” of sex as a recorded variable in academic research, likening pressure to abandon politically sensitive classifications to Stalin-era persecution of statisticians.”
www.thetimes.com/article/4fb9...
www.thetimes.com/article/4fb9...
Disappearance of biological sex in research ‘is like Stalin-era purge’
Sir Anthony Finkelstein, a university vice-chancellor, laments that the category has become ‘politically uncomfortable’
www.thetimes.com
February 16, 2026 at 7:32 AM
“A university vice-chancellor has warned of the “quiet disappearance” of sex as a recorded variable in academic research, likening pressure to abandon politically sensitive classifications to Stalin-era persecution of statisticians.”
www.thetimes.com/article/4fb9...
www.thetimes.com/article/4fb9...
hard policy choices will only get harder
“Like many other countries, the UK confronts insoluble long-term challenges: it has inescapable obligations that impose painful trade-offs”
Neither the public nor the politician are prepared to make tough choices!
giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...
“Like many other countries, the UK confronts insoluble long-term challenges: it has inescapable obligations that impose painful trade-offs”
Neither the public nor the politician are prepared to make tough choices!
giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...
Student loans show that hard policy choices will only get harder
The debate over university funding is a good example of the intractable challenges facing the UK government
giftarticle.ft.com
February 16, 2026 at 7:19 AM
hard policy choices will only get harder
“Like many other countries, the UK confronts insoluble long-term challenges: it has inescapable obligations that impose painful trade-offs”
Neither the public nor the politician are prepared to make tough choices!
giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...
“Like many other countries, the UK confronts insoluble long-term challenges: it has inescapable obligations that impose painful trade-offs”
Neither the public nor the politician are prepared to make tough choices!
giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...
“Any political party - or funding body - that understands that to govern is to choose has nothing to fear from sensible fiscal rules”
www.ft.com/content/202f...
www.ft.com/content/202f...
Letter: How the Attlee government ran such big fiscal surpluses
From Tim Leunig, Visiting Professor, London School of Economics and Political Science, School of Public Policy, London WC2, UK
www.ft.com
February 16, 2026 at 7:15 AM
“Any political party - or funding body - that understands that to govern is to choose has nothing to fear from sensible fiscal rules”
www.ft.com/content/202f...
www.ft.com/content/202f...
Britain’s penchant for self-destruction
“the rising number of career politicians — hailing from political parties, unions or lobby groups — could be contributing to Britain’s struggles.”
giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...
“the rising number of career politicians — hailing from political parties, unions or lobby groups — could be contributing to Britain’s struggles.”
giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...
Britain’s penchant for self-destruction
Political instability saps confidence, investment and policymakers’ bandwidth
giftarticle.ft.com
February 16, 2026 at 6:56 AM
Britain’s penchant for self-destruction
“the rising number of career politicians — hailing from political parties, unions or lobby groups — could be contributing to Britain’s struggles.”
giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...
“the rising number of career politicians — hailing from political parties, unions or lobby groups — could be contributing to Britain’s struggles.”
giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...
I love this….
Starting at Harvard and Falling for Your First Tree
“A tree may not have advanced degrees, nor even neurons to give it voice, but its genius as an educator would be hard for even a well-credentialed human to exceed.”
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/10/r...
Starting at Harvard and Falling for Your First Tree
“A tree may not have advanced degrees, nor even neurons to give it voice, but its genius as an educator would be hard for even a well-credentialed human to exceed.”
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/10/r...
Starting at Harvard and Falling for Your First Tree
www.nytimes.com
February 15, 2026 at 7:27 AM
I love this….
Starting at Harvard and Falling for Your First Tree
“A tree may not have advanced degrees, nor even neurons to give it voice, but its genius as an educator would be hard for even a well-credentialed human to exceed.”
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/10/r...
Starting at Harvard and Falling for Your First Tree
“A tree may not have advanced degrees, nor even neurons to give it voice, but its genius as an educator would be hard for even a well-credentialed human to exceed.”
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/10/r...
NHS drug rules ‘killing’ UK life sciences
“Nice’s “unwillingness to modernise its approach or update its [cost‑effectiveness] thresholds — unchanged for more than 25 yrs—is a key reason why the UK is now widely seen as uninvestable from a life sciences perspective”
www.thetimes.com/article/e00f...
“Nice’s “unwillingness to modernise its approach or update its [cost‑effectiveness] thresholds — unchanged for more than 25 yrs—is a key reason why the UK is now widely seen as uninvestable from a life sciences perspective”
www.thetimes.com/article/e00f...
NHS drug rules ‘killing’ UK life sciences, says pharma boss
Novartis boss says Nice reforms to cost-effectiveness thresholds for new medicines don’t go far enough and the country is ‘uninvestable’ for drug giants
www.thetimes.com
February 15, 2026 at 7:08 AM
NHS drug rules ‘killing’ UK life sciences
“Nice’s “unwillingness to modernise its approach or update its [cost‑effectiveness] thresholds — unchanged for more than 25 yrs—is a key reason why the UK is now widely seen as uninvestable from a life sciences perspective”
www.thetimes.com/article/e00f...
“Nice’s “unwillingness to modernise its approach or update its [cost‑effectiveness] thresholds — unchanged for more than 25 yrs—is a key reason why the UK is now widely seen as uninvestable from a life sciences perspective”
www.thetimes.com/article/e00f...
The age of the disposable leader
“Leaders who move fast and break things can accomplish much. Those who go slower and fix things can end up doing even more.”
These who do neither often display remarkable longevity in role.
giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...
“Leaders who move fast and break things can accomplish much. Those who go slower and fix things can end up doing even more.”
These who do neither often display remarkable longevity in role.
giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...
The age of the disposable leader
Chief executive churnover is less visible than political headrolling but can be just as disruptive
giftarticle.ft.com
February 15, 2026 at 6:47 AM
The age of the disposable leader
“Leaders who move fast and break things can accomplish much. Those who go slower and fix things can end up doing even more.”
These who do neither often display remarkable longevity in role.
giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...
“Leaders who move fast and break things can accomplish much. Those who go slower and fix things can end up doing even more.”
These who do neither often display remarkable longevity in role.
giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...
As someone who is 🏴 with little to celebrate one can’t help but feel a frisson of joy up on reading this sentence 🥳😂
“A most rude and humbling awakening”
www.telegraph.co.uk/rugby-union/...
“A most rude and humbling awakening”
www.telegraph.co.uk/rugby-union/...
Six Nations: Error-strewn England humbled by Scotland in huge wake-up call for Borthwick
A most rude and humbling awakening for England.
www.telegraph.co.uk
February 14, 2026 at 6:58 PM
As someone who is 🏴 with little to celebrate one can’t help but feel a frisson of joy up on reading this sentence 🥳😂
“A most rude and humbling awakening”
www.telegraph.co.uk/rugby-union/...
“A most rude and humbling awakening”
www.telegraph.co.uk/rugby-union/...
Excellent analysis
“I think the current conversation reveals something important: people know they don’t like the system we have but seemingly have no real idea of what a big reform to it would look like”
www.hepi.ac.uk/2026/02/14/i...
“I think the current conversation reveals something important: people know they don’t like the system we have but seemingly have no real idea of what a big reform to it would look like”
www.hepi.ac.uk/2026/02/14/i...
If everyone hates today’s student loans, where are the big alternative ideas? - HEPI
HEPI Director, Nick Hillman OBE, considers the paucity of big alternative ideas from those behind the campaigns against student loans. The student loan row rumbles on for another weekend … It is an od...
www.hepi.ac.uk
February 14, 2026 at 3:10 PM
Excellent analysis
“I think the current conversation reveals something important: people know they don’t like the system we have but seemingly have no real idea of what a big reform to it would look like”
www.hepi.ac.uk/2026/02/14/i...
“I think the current conversation reveals something important: people know they don’t like the system we have but seemingly have no real idea of what a big reform to it would look like”
www.hepi.ac.uk/2026/02/14/i...
Rishi Sunak:
“When I speak to CEOs, I am struck by how AI deployment is dominating their thinking and time. This isn’t true in Westminster and Whitehall. But we’ll only get adoption in the public sector if ministers make it their priority.”
www.thetimes.com/article/3e75...
“When I speak to CEOs, I am struck by how AI deployment is dominating their thinking and time. This isn’t true in Westminster and Whitehall. But we’ll only get adoption in the public sector if ministers make it their priority.”
www.thetimes.com/article/3e75...
Rishi Sunak: Every CEO is talking about AI — why aren’t our leaders?
Britain will become a tourist theme park if we don’t fix our productivity problem — Keir Starmer has an opportunity to solve it with technology
www.thetimes.com
February 14, 2026 at 1:20 PM
Rishi Sunak:
“When I speak to CEOs, I am struck by how AI deployment is dominating their thinking and time. This isn’t true in Westminster and Whitehall. But we’ll only get adoption in the public sector if ministers make it their priority.”
www.thetimes.com/article/3e75...
“When I speak to CEOs, I am struck by how AI deployment is dominating their thinking and time. This isn’t true in Westminster and Whitehall. But we’ll only get adoption in the public sector if ministers make it their priority.”
www.thetimes.com/article/3e75...