John Merrick
@johnmerrick.bsky.social
Writer, critic, historian, editor etc
Editor: @the-breakdown.bsky.social
johnphilipmerrick@gmail.com / john.merrick@break-down.org
https://www.johnmerrick.co.uk/
Editor: @the-breakdown.bsky.social
johnphilipmerrick@gmail.com / john.merrick@break-down.org
https://www.johnmerrick.co.uk/
Pinned
John Merrick
@johnmerrick.bsky.social
· Jan 25
The prophet of the new right
In the life and work of Correlli Barnett, we can find all the most dangerous currents of contemporary conservatism.
www.newstatesman.com
For the @newstatesman.com i wrote a profile of the historian Correlli Barnett, which charts the perils of self-loathing nationalism and the rise of Britain's new right
www.newstatesman.com/ideas/2025/0...
www.newstatesman.com/ideas/2025/0...
Reposted by John Merrick
For the latest episode of @the-breakdown.bsky.social podcast (we're back!), I spoke to @sabrinafernandes.bsky.social about Brazilian ecological politics, developmentalism and her essay "Lula's Dilemma"
Listen below / wherever you get your podcasts 🌳🍃
www.break-down.org/lulas-dilemm...
Listen below / wherever you get your podcasts 🌳🍃
www.break-down.org/lulas-dilemm...
Lula’s Dilemmas and COP30
Adrienne speaks to Sabrina Fernandes about the complexities of Brazilian ecological politics at the start of the COP30 climate conference.
www.break-down.org
November 11, 2025 at 11:14 AM
For the latest episode of @the-breakdown.bsky.social podcast (we're back!), I spoke to @sabrinafernandes.bsky.social about Brazilian ecological politics, developmentalism and her essay "Lula's Dilemma"
Listen below / wherever you get your podcasts 🌳🍃
www.break-down.org/lulas-dilemm...
Listen below / wherever you get your podcasts 🌳🍃
www.break-down.org/lulas-dilemm...
Reposted by John Merrick
Sofia Menemenlis joins @poltheoryother.bsky.social podcast to discuss her article on solar geoengineering - or “solar radiation management" as it has become known.
They talk about how the implementation of SRM is imagined and what the potentially catastrophic side effects would be.
Uh… geostorm🎬
They talk about how the implementation of SRM is imagined and what the potentially catastrophic side effects would be.
Uh… geostorm🎬
November 6, 2025 at 2:00 PM
Sofia Menemenlis joins @poltheoryother.bsky.social podcast to discuss her article on solar geoengineering - or “solar radiation management" as it has become known.
They talk about how the implementation of SRM is imagined and what the potentially catastrophic side effects would be.
Uh… geostorm🎬
They talk about how the implementation of SRM is imagined and what the potentially catastrophic side effects would be.
Uh… geostorm🎬
I’m in this week’s @newstatesman1913.bsky.social with a review of Holly Smith’s brilliant history of house rise council housing in Britain, Up in the Air
www.newstatesman.com/culture/book...
www.newstatesman.com/culture/book...
Repopulating the high-rises
A new history of Britain’s tower blocks reveals the ways architecture and ideology have combined to ensure residents are always forgotten
www.newstatesman.com
November 6, 2025 at 11:07 AM
I’m in this week’s @newstatesman1913.bsky.social with a review of Holly Smith’s brilliant history of house rise council housing in Britain, Up in the Air
www.newstatesman.com/culture/book...
www.newstatesman.com/culture/book...
We're at the Historical Materialism conference all weekend, selling issues (with a discount on our already cheap subscriptions!). Come through if you're here
November 6, 2025 at 10:38 AM
We're at the Historical Materialism conference all weekend, selling issues (with a discount on our already cheap subscriptions!). Come through if you're here
Reposted by John Merrick
Recommended listen: with Sofia Menemenlis on @poltheoryother.bsky.social covering her superb essay on the science and politics of geoengineering for Issue 2 of @the-breakdown.bsky.social
podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/t...
podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/t...
The Sunlight Managers w/ Sofia Menemenlis
Podcast Episode · Politics Theory Other · 05/11/2025 · 46m
podcasts.apple.com
November 5, 2025 at 12:13 PM
Recommended listen: with Sofia Menemenlis on @poltheoryother.bsky.social covering her superb essay on the science and politics of geoengineering for Issue 2 of @the-breakdown.bsky.social
podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/t...
podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/t...
Reposted by John Merrick
Just TWO DAYS until our Issue 2 launch party in London!
Tickets for readings are sold out, but there are still a handful available for the party from 8pm — See you there!
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-breakd...
Tickets for readings are sold out, but there are still a handful available for the party from 8pm — See you there!
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-breakd...
November 5, 2025 at 12:19 PM
Just TWO DAYS until our Issue 2 launch party in London!
Tickets for readings are sold out, but there are still a handful available for the party from 8pm — See you there!
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-breakd...
Tickets for readings are sold out, but there are still a handful available for the party from 8pm — See you there!
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-breakd...
Reposted by John Merrick
Hats off to the BBC for restoring Peter Watkins' The War Game to the iPlayer. www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/epis...
The War Game
Controversial drama depicting the consequences of a nuclear attack on Britain. The film was made in 1965 but not televised until 1985 as the BBC judged it 'too horrifying'.
www.bbc.co.uk
November 5, 2025 at 8:52 AM
Hats off to the BBC for restoring Peter Watkins' The War Game to the iPlayer. www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/epis...
Reposted by John Merrick
Excited to see Sofia Menemenlis discussing her @the-breakdown.bsky.social essay on solar geoengineering on the great @poltheoryother.bsky.social podcast
podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/p...
podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/p...
The Sunlight Managers w/ Sofia Menemenlis
Podcast Episode · Politics Theory Other · 05/11/2025 · 46m
podcasts.apple.com
November 5, 2025 at 9:42 AM
Excited to see Sofia Menemenlis discussing her @the-breakdown.bsky.social essay on solar geoengineering on the great @poltheoryother.bsky.social podcast
podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/p...
podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/p...
Reposted by John Merrick
This feels about right.
October 31, 2025 at 1:37 PM
This feels about right.
Reposted by John Merrick
Subscribe now if you'd like to get our latest essays and interviews sent straight to your inbox 📨👇
www.break-down.org/newsletter/
www.break-down.org/newsletter/
Newsletter
Subscribe for free
www.break-down.org
October 30, 2025 at 1:03 PM
Subscribe now if you'd like to get our latest essays and interviews sent straight to your inbox 📨👇
www.break-down.org/newsletter/
www.break-down.org/newsletter/
Reposted by John Merrick
"This is not stabilization—it is the active production of instability that justifies permanent external control."
LOLA ALLEN on Javier Milei, the IMF and the contradictions of Argentina's extractive economy.
Read the full essay👇
LOLA ALLEN on Javier Milei, the IMF and the contradictions of Argentina's extractive economy.
Read the full essay👇
Javier Milei and the Long Shadow of the IMF
In Argentina, economic chaos and political upheaval expose how the IMF’s stabilizing promise has become a mechanism of managed decline.
www.break-down.org
October 30, 2025 at 1:03 PM
"This is not stabilization—it is the active production of instability that justifies permanent external control."
LOLA ALLEN on Javier Milei, the IMF and the contradictions of Argentina's extractive economy.
Read the full essay👇
LOLA ALLEN on Javier Milei, the IMF and the contradictions of Argentina's extractive economy.
Read the full essay👇
Reposted by John Merrick
Calling all Milei-heads
Incisive new piece from Lola Allen on Milei's latest victory, the IMF and extractivism in Argentina.
As Allen writes: "This is not stabilization—it is the active production of instability to justify permanent external control."
www.break-down.org/javier-milei...
Incisive new piece from Lola Allen on Milei's latest victory, the IMF and extractivism in Argentina.
As Allen writes: "This is not stabilization—it is the active production of instability to justify permanent external control."
www.break-down.org/javier-milei...
Javier Milei and the Long Shadow of the IMF
In Argentina, economic chaos and political upheaval expose how the IMF’s stabilizing promise has become a mechanism of managed decline.
www.break-down.org
October 30, 2025 at 1:07 PM
Calling all Milei-heads
Incisive new piece from Lola Allen on Milei's latest victory, the IMF and extractivism in Argentina.
As Allen writes: "This is not stabilization—it is the active production of instability to justify permanent external control."
www.break-down.org/javier-milei...
Incisive new piece from Lola Allen on Milei's latest victory, the IMF and extractivism in Argentina.
As Allen writes: "This is not stabilization—it is the active production of instability to justify permanent external control."
www.break-down.org/javier-milei...
Reposted by John Merrick
Due to popular demand we have had to UPGRADE the space for the forthcoming London launch of @the-breakdown.bsky.social issue 2! Only a handful of tickets left, so book soon –– and come along to party and celebrate with us.
PARTY UPDATE: we’ve moved our sold out Issue #2 launch party just around the corner to a larger venue and added a handful more tickets 🎈
Join us at the OCTOBER GALLERY on 7 Nov for readings + a party!
📍 October Gallery, WC1
🗓️ Fri 7 Nov, from 18:30
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-breakd...
Join us at the OCTOBER GALLERY on 7 Nov for readings + a party!
📍 October Gallery, WC1
🗓️ Fri 7 Nov, from 18:30
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-breakd...
October 29, 2025 at 4:31 PM
Due to popular demand we have had to UPGRADE the space for the forthcoming London launch of @the-breakdown.bsky.social issue 2! Only a handful of tickets left, so book soon –– and come along to party and celebrate with us.
Ignoring the obvious racism of Cuomo, it's nuts to hear the Fox presenter say that London now is "largely Muslim" with "women completely covered up"
So here's Andrew Cuomo reacting to Maria Bartiromo wondering if Mamdani will "change the look of New York" and have Muslim women "completely covered up," telling her that Mamdani "doesn't understand New York culture" because he has "dual citizenship" and "he's a citizen of Uganda."
October 29, 2025 at 8:47 PM
Ignoring the obvious racism of Cuomo, it's nuts to hear the Fox presenter say that London now is "largely Muslim" with "women completely covered up"
A brilliant essay by a former journalist at the The Inner Mongolia Life Weekly –– about recent Chinese and Mongolian history, the art of the reporter, China's persecution of minorities, and the power of boozing to get a story
www.equator.org/articles/the...
www.equator.org/articles/the...
The Xi Jinping School of Journalism • Articles • EQUATOR
The education and reeducation of a Mongolian reporter
www.equator.org
October 29, 2025 at 8:20 PM
A brilliant essay by a former journalist at the The Inner Mongolia Life Weekly –– about recent Chinese and Mongolian history, the art of the reporter, China's persecution of minorities, and the power of boozing to get a story
www.equator.org/articles/the...
www.equator.org/articles/the...
Due to popular demand we have had to UPGRADE the space for the forthcoming London launch of @the-breakdown.bsky.social issue 2! Only a handful of tickets left, so book soon –– and come along to party and celebrate with us.
PARTY UPDATE: we’ve moved our sold out Issue #2 launch party just around the corner to a larger venue and added a handful more tickets 🎈
Join us at the OCTOBER GALLERY on 7 Nov for readings + a party!
📍 October Gallery, WC1
🗓️ Fri 7 Nov, from 18:30
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-breakd...
Join us at the OCTOBER GALLERY on 7 Nov for readings + a party!
📍 October Gallery, WC1
🗓️ Fri 7 Nov, from 18:30
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-breakd...
October 29, 2025 at 4:31 PM
Due to popular demand we have had to UPGRADE the space for the forthcoming London launch of @the-breakdown.bsky.social issue 2! Only a handful of tickets left, so book soon –– and come along to party and celebrate with us.
Reposted by John Merrick
PARTY UPDATE: we’ve moved our sold out Issue #2 launch party just around the corner to a larger venue and added a handful more tickets 🎈
Join us at the OCTOBER GALLERY on 7 Nov for readings + a party!
📍 October Gallery, WC1
🗓️ Fri 7 Nov, from 18:30
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-breakd...
Join us at the OCTOBER GALLERY on 7 Nov for readings + a party!
📍 October Gallery, WC1
🗓️ Fri 7 Nov, from 18:30
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-breakd...
October 29, 2025 at 4:12 PM
PARTY UPDATE: we’ve moved our sold out Issue #2 launch party just around the corner to a larger venue and added a handful more tickets 🎈
Join us at the OCTOBER GALLERY on 7 Nov for readings + a party!
📍 October Gallery, WC1
🗓️ Fri 7 Nov, from 18:30
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-breakd...
Join us at the OCTOBER GALLERY on 7 Nov for readings + a party!
📍 October Gallery, WC1
🗓️ Fri 7 Nov, from 18:30
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-breakd...
Reposted by John Merrick
We've moved around the corner and added more tickets! 🎟️
Escape the November blues with us next Friday — we'll be celebrating Issue 2 of @the-breakdown.bsky.social, listening to some lovely readings and spending time among friends!
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-breakd...
Escape the November blues with us next Friday — we'll be celebrating Issue 2 of @the-breakdown.bsky.social, listening to some lovely readings and spending time among friends!
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-breakd...
October 29, 2025 at 4:16 PM
We've moved around the corner and added more tickets! 🎟️
Escape the November blues with us next Friday — we'll be celebrating Issue 2 of @the-breakdown.bsky.social, listening to some lovely readings and spending time among friends!
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-breakd...
Escape the November blues with us next Friday — we'll be celebrating Issue 2 of @the-breakdown.bsky.social, listening to some lovely readings and spending time among friends!
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-breakd...
PLEASE WAIT A FEW WEEKS!!!
October 29, 2025 at 4:10 PM
PLEASE WAIT A FEW WEEKS!!!
EQUATOR
Equator is a magazine of politics, culture and art.
www.equator.org
October 29, 2025 at 3:28 PM
Reposted by John Merrick
This by @willoyd.bsky.social is the kind of writing we need at the moment. Democracy's enemies think seriously about the realities of power, and act accordingly. It's one reason they're winning. Democrats have to do the same.
www.newstatesman.com/politics/202...
www.newstatesman.com/politics/202...
Abolish the monarchy
It’s more than Prince Andrew – the whole House of Windsor is rotten to the core
www.newstatesman.com
October 29, 2025 at 11:09 AM
This by @willoyd.bsky.social is the kind of writing we need at the moment. Democracy's enemies think seriously about the realities of power, and act accordingly. It's one reason they're winning. Democrats have to do the same.
www.newstatesman.com/politics/202...
www.newstatesman.com/politics/202...
Reposted by John Merrick
🚨 TOMORROW
Join us at The October Gallery in London as we launch the Green Planning Commission, a transatlantic initiative building a new era of democratic planning and recovering a democratic and decarbonised future from the crises of our age.
🔗 www.eventbrite.com/e/launch-the...
Join us at The October Gallery in London as we launch the Green Planning Commission, a transatlantic initiative building a new era of democratic planning and recovering a democratic and decarbonised future from the crises of our age.
🔗 www.eventbrite.com/e/launch-the...
October 29, 2025 at 9:45 AM
🚨 TOMORROW
Join us at The October Gallery in London as we launch the Green Planning Commission, a transatlantic initiative building a new era of democratic planning and recovering a democratic and decarbonised future from the crises of our age.
🔗 www.eventbrite.com/e/launch-the...
Join us at The October Gallery in London as we launch the Green Planning Commission, a transatlantic initiative building a new era of democratic planning and recovering a democratic and decarbonised future from the crises of our age.
🔗 www.eventbrite.com/e/launch-the...
I think this is partly true, but it also gives permission for them to remove politics from their analysis. Civil wars are caused by conflict between rival ethnic blocs which move as if by force of nature –– politics doesn't mediate at all.
This is absolutely right. It’s about creating a permission structure for violence, whether that violence is conducted by the state directly or simply permitted by the state.
The claim that "civil war is inevitable in the UK" is better understood as an expression of the author's desire to see blood spilt on British streets.
October 29, 2025 at 10:29 AM
I think this is partly true, but it also gives permission for them to remove politics from their analysis. Civil wars are caused by conflict between rival ethnic blocs which move as if by force of nature –– politics doesn't mediate at all.