Kate Mackenzie
@katemac.bsky.social
understander of things climate-related, and some other things
@thepolycrisis.bsky.social
@thepolycrisis.bsky.social
Every so often I come across a fairly simple reported story that perfectly illustrates a big and *pervasive* reality that is fundamental to understanding how the world works, but rarely made explicit: giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...
Dassault Aviation: the defence group blocking the €100bn Franco-German jet project
The fate of FCAS hangs on whether French President Emmanuel Macron can get the contractor to bend
giftarticle.ft.com
February 12, 2026 at 12:35 AM
Every so often I come across a fairly simple reported story that perfectly illustrates a big and *pervasive* reality that is fundamental to understanding how the world works, but rarely made explicit: giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...
Reposted by Kate Mackenzie
"The Going Down of the Sun" (2022) by renowned British landscape artist, Paul Evans (born 1950).
Ink and acrylic on canvas
100cm x 100cm.
#art #painting #artist #BlueSkyArt
Ink and acrylic on canvas
100cm x 100cm.
#art #painting #artist #BlueSkyArt
February 8, 2026 at 10:38 AM
"The Going Down of the Sun" (2022) by renowned British landscape artist, Paul Evans (born 1950).
Ink and acrylic on canvas
100cm x 100cm.
#art #painting #artist #BlueSkyArt
Ink and acrylic on canvas
100cm x 100cm.
#art #painting #artist #BlueSkyArt
Reposted by Kate Mackenzie
reading a bunch of emails from dracula with the subject line "re: bood" body text "nd more thalls 4 blod" and being like "did he disable spell check, how is he even sending these out like this"
February 5, 2026 at 3:51 AM
reading a bunch of emails from dracula with the subject line "re: bood" body text "nd more thalls 4 blod" and being like "did he disable spell check, how is he even sending these out like this"
Reposted by Kate Mackenzie
i am trying not to joke about the Epstein stuff because it's so horrible but there's also this ridiculous element where it's like... discovering Dracula is real, he's taken over human society at the highest levels, he's involved in tons of evil and also he's a huge dipshit
February 5, 2026 at 3:43 AM
i am trying not to joke about the Epstein stuff because it's so horrible but there's also this ridiculous element where it's like... discovering Dracula is real, he's taken over human society at the highest levels, he's involved in tons of evil and also he's a huge dipshit
Reposted by Kate Mackenzie
The Wayback is now so load-bearing we should be protecting it with our actual lives
They closed the CIA World Factbook and deleted it entirely.
February 5, 2026 at 12:07 AM
The Wayback is now so load-bearing we should be protecting it with our actual lives
Reposted by Kate Mackenzie
🚨 The political economy of finance summer school is back, 3rd year running! Better still: We're bringing it to London via @lse-ei.bsky.social.
𝐓𝐨𝐩𝐢𝐜: Finance & democracy
𝙳̲̲𝚊̲̲𝚝̲̲𝚎̲: 4-5 June 2026
𝘈𝘱𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦: March 1. Link below.
We've got brilliant instructors as usual. Please spread the word!
𝐓𝐨𝐩𝐢𝐜: Finance & democracy
𝙳̲̲𝚊̲̲𝚝̲̲𝚎̲: 4-5 June 2026
𝘈𝘱𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦: March 1. Link below.
We've got brilliant instructors as usual. Please spread the word!
February 4, 2026 at 3:27 PM
🚨 The political economy of finance summer school is back, 3rd year running! Better still: We're bringing it to London via @lse-ei.bsky.social.
𝐓𝐨𝐩𝐢𝐜: Finance & democracy
𝙳̲̲𝚊̲̲𝚝̲̲𝚎̲: 4-5 June 2026
𝘈𝘱𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦: March 1. Link below.
We've got brilliant instructors as usual. Please spread the word!
𝐓𝐨𝐩𝐢𝐜: Finance & democracy
𝙳̲̲𝚊̲̲𝚝̲̲𝚎̲: 4-5 June 2026
𝘈𝘱𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦: March 1. Link below.
We've got brilliant instructors as usual. Please spread the word!
Huh. DeepSeek has people directly training the model in humanities-related knowledge.
February 2, 2026 at 11:41 AM
Huh. DeepSeek has people directly training the model in humanities-related knowledge.
Notable that Skanda talks about Warsh's RECORD (actions and words) across different administrations, while El-Erian etc praise seems to be mostly along the lines of "we've hung out with him in G30, yeah he's a serious guy".
I’m always ride or die with @skandaamarnath.bsky.social, but I thought his Odd Lots episode on Warsh yesterday was particularly good.
February 1, 2026 at 11:17 PM
Notable that Skanda talks about Warsh's RECORD (actions and words) across different administrations, while El-Erian etc praise seems to be mostly along the lines of "we've hung out with him in G30, yeah he's a serious guy".
Brits, French, and other NATO partners going to Beijing. Plenty of countries have been navigating this China-US alignment challenge for years. And energy is part of this tension over sovereignty.
You thought it was just Carney in Beijing this January?
the west wants an 'outside option' from US bullying....
"new world order" is about building their sovereignty
@katemac.bsky.social & I wrote about it last year:
www.phenomenalworld.org/analysis/bri...
the west wants an 'outside option' from US bullying....
"new world order" is about building their sovereignty
@katemac.bsky.social & I wrote about it last year:
www.phenomenalworld.org/analysis/bri...
February 1, 2026 at 11:12 PM
Brits, French, and other NATO partners going to Beijing. Plenty of countries have been navigating this China-US alignment challenge for years. And energy is part of this tension over sovereignty.
Reposted by Kate Mackenzie
Solar provided 59% of electricity in the Australian national (east coast) grid between 9am and 6pm over the past week. It was 30% of total generation.
Life moves pretty fast etc.
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Life moves pretty fast etc.
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Australia’s grid now relies on renewable energy as much as coal. Those who doubted it look foolish
Solar met the majority of electricity demand between 9am and 6pm in the past week as much of the country cranked air conditioners
www.theguardian.com
January 30, 2026 at 9:35 PM
Solar provided 59% of electricity in the Australian national (east coast) grid between 9am and 6pm over the past week. It was 30% of total generation.
Life moves pretty fast etc.
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Life moves pretty fast etc.
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Reposted by Kate Mackenzie
I cannot tell you how much doubt was consistently directed at the Gaza Health Ministry’s casualty numbers and how much pressure was put on news organizations to couch those numbers as unreliable.
Biden himself said they were fabricated!
www.haaretz.com/israel-news/...
Biden himself said they were fabricated!
www.haaretz.com/israel-news/...
IDF accepts Gaza Health Ministry death toll of over 71,000 Palestinians killed in the war
Although Many International Experts Have Accepted the Health Ministry's Data as Reliable, and Even Conservative Relative to the True Death Toll, Israel Had Refused to Accept the Health Ministry's Coun...
www.haaretz.com
January 29, 2026 at 3:31 PM
I cannot tell you how much doubt was consistently directed at the Gaza Health Ministry’s casualty numbers and how much pressure was put on news organizations to couch those numbers as unreliable.
Biden himself said they were fabricated!
www.haaretz.com/israel-news/...
Biden himself said they were fabricated!
www.haaretz.com/israel-news/...
Reposted by Kate Mackenzie
"China adds more power capacity in a year than most countries have total" @katemac.bsky.social
Bloomberg:China’s Four-Year Energy Spree Has Eclipsed Entire US Power Grid
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Bloomberg:China’s Four-Year Energy Spree Has Eclipsed Entire US Power Grid
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
January 29, 2026 at 6:13 AM
"China adds more power capacity in a year than most countries have total" @katemac.bsky.social
Bloomberg:China’s Four-Year Energy Spree Has Eclipsed Entire US Power Grid
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Bloomberg:China’s Four-Year Energy Spree Has Eclipsed Entire US Power Grid
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Reposted by Kate Mackenzie
What you can expect from Warsh as Fed Chair
-More emphasis on what suits POTUS if it's a Republican
-Sudden concerns about inflation and fiscal deficits the moment it's not an R in the WH.
Don't expect the Fed to be a good-faith broker if govt is divided in the next crisis
-More emphasis on what suits POTUS if it's a Republican
-Sudden concerns about inflation and fiscal deficits the moment it's not an R in the WH.
Don't expect the Fed to be a good-faith broker if govt is divided in the next crisis
Sure sounds like Kevin Warsh is Trump's Fed Chair choice
His views mostly change based on which master he intends to serve, and general partisan convenience.
Thought rates were too low until...November 2024. What a shocker
Tired: Data-dependence
Wired: Presidential-dependence
His views mostly change based on which master he intends to serve, and general partisan convenience.
Thought rates were too low until...November 2024. What a shocker
Tired: Data-dependence
Wired: Presidential-dependence
January 30, 2026 at 1:30 AM
What you can expect from Warsh as Fed Chair
-More emphasis on what suits POTUS if it's a Republican
-Sudden concerns about inflation and fiscal deficits the moment it's not an R in the WH.
Don't expect the Fed to be a good-faith broker if govt is divided in the next crisis
-More emphasis on what suits POTUS if it's a Republican
-Sudden concerns about inflation and fiscal deficits the moment it's not an R in the WH.
Don't expect the Fed to be a good-faith broker if govt is divided in the next crisis
Reposted by Kate Mackenzie
I will simply never recover from reading this sentence:
"Since Georgia implemented work requirements in 2020, they have spent twice as much on Deloitte consultants and administrative costs as on healthcare for people."
"Since Georgia implemented work requirements in 2020, they have spent twice as much on Deloitte consultants and administrative costs as on healthcare for people."
Today, Luke Farrell (@lukef.bsky.social) explains how complex eligibility requirements have turned America’s safety net into a lucrative revenue stream for monopolistic private contractors.
The Means-Testing Industrial Complex
As Republicans tightened work requirements and eligibility rules for Medicaid and SNAP last year, Equifax’s CEO openly celebrated the profits to be made from administering this deprivation.
lpeproject.org
January 28, 2026 at 4:33 PM
I will simply never recover from reading this sentence:
"Since Georgia implemented work requirements in 2020, they have spent twice as much on Deloitte consultants and administrative costs as on healthcare for people."
"Since Georgia implemented work requirements in 2020, they have spent twice as much on Deloitte consultants and administrative costs as on healthcare for people."
Sovereignty requires a population willing to withstand pain for what they believe in - that was the background to Carney’s Davos speech. Tim and I chatted about what Canada has actually been doing the past year - building a coalition that will endure suffering inflicted by the US:
Canada's new non-alignment
What sovereignty means now
buttondown.com
January 24, 2026 at 3:00 AM
Sovereignty requires a population willing to withstand pain for what they believe in - that was the background to Carney’s Davos speech. Tim and I chatted about what Canada has actually been doing the past year - building a coalition that will endure suffering inflicted by the US:
"self-proclaimed pragmatists who quote “the strong do what they can” imagine this as a stable equilibrium, a description of how power works forever. But the Athenians who deliver that ultimatum to Melos are not wise statesmen..They’re men drunk on their own power, ready to sail into catastrophe."
The Strong Will Suffer What They Must
Vaclav's Grocer and American Hubris
hegemon.substack.com
January 23, 2026 at 12:43 AM
"self-proclaimed pragmatists who quote “the strong do what they can” imagine this as a stable equilibrium, a description of how power works forever. But the Athenians who deliver that ultimatum to Melos are not wise statesmen..They’re men drunk on their own power, ready to sail into catastrophe."
“Is 🇨🇳 the climate champion we deserve? Probably.
“I’m still on the fence on whether it‘s the champion we need.”
“I’m still on the fence on whether it‘s the champion we need.”
Idk where this brings us. China is already weaponizing its green revolution and will dominate the 2nd half of the 21st c, among other things, w/ a cultural narrative of climate leadership.
Is 🇨🇳 the climate champion we deserve? Probably.
I’m still on the fence on whether it‘s the champion we need.
Is 🇨🇳 the climate champion we deserve? Probably.
I’m still on the fence on whether it‘s the champion we need.
January 22, 2026 at 4:40 AM
“Is 🇨🇳 the climate champion we deserve? Probably.
“I’m still on the fence on whether it‘s the champion we need.”
“I’m still on the fence on whether it‘s the champion we need.”
The chaos of the green energy/electrification revolution shows how our ideas of the energy future have massive ramifications. So much for an "orderly transition"...
This is why the fights over arcane long-term scenarios matter so much. From @jeremywall.bsky.social
This is why the fights over arcane long-term scenarios matter so much. From @jeremywall.bsky.social
Hot, Cheap, and Out of Control
The green tech revolution is canonically chaotic good
thechinalab.substack.com
January 22, 2026 at 2:03 AM
The chaos of the green energy/electrification revolution shows how our ideas of the energy future have massive ramifications. So much for an "orderly transition"...
This is why the fights over arcane long-term scenarios matter so much. From @jeremywall.bsky.social
This is why the fights over arcane long-term scenarios matter so much. From @jeremywall.bsky.social
“...we have a hot war happening on our border, and then over on another continent both sides are in the same group chat where some Chinese factory is saying, ‘Oh, the Russians are paying more. So sorry, come back next year.’”
Incredible stuff on drone supply chains
www.ft.com/content/5841...
Incredible stuff on drone supply chains
www.ft.com/content/5841...
Russia, Ukraine and the race for Chinese drone components
As both sides scramble to source vital parts, some experts are convinced Russian buyers are being favoured by Beijing
www.ft.com
January 22, 2026 at 1:58 AM
“...we have a hot war happening on our border, and then over on another continent both sides are in the same group chat where some Chinese factory is saying, ‘Oh, the Russians are paying more. So sorry, come back next year.’”
Incredible stuff on drone supply chains
www.ft.com/content/5841...
Incredible stuff on drone supply chains
www.ft.com/content/5841...
Reposted by Kate Mackenzie
hey.hagelb.org/@technomancy... we're at the "casting spells to ward off the LLMs" stage of things
January 22, 2026 at 1:51 AM
hey.hagelb.org/@technomancy... we're at the "casting spells to ward off the LLMs" stage of things
Reposted by Kate Mackenzie
Reposted by Kate Mackenzie
okay so fun news, I am launching a macro newsletter from Common Wealth about the supply side data and the US economy called Forces of Production
Charts for bsky forthcoming at: @forcesofproduction.com
Launch essay below:
www.forcesofproduction.com/p/atop-the-f...
Charts for bsky forthcoming at: @forcesofproduction.com
Launch essay below:
www.forcesofproduction.com/p/atop-the-f...
Atop the Forces of Production
Announcing the launch of the Forces of Production macro data newsletter
www.forcesofproduction.com
January 20, 2026 at 8:10 PM
okay so fun news, I am launching a macro newsletter from Common Wealth about the supply side data and the US economy called Forces of Production
Charts for bsky forthcoming at: @forcesofproduction.com
Launch essay below:
www.forcesofproduction.com/p/atop-the-f...
Charts for bsky forthcoming at: @forcesofproduction.com
Launch essay below:
www.forcesofproduction.com/p/atop-the-f...
*this* is the funniest thing of all
January 21, 2026 at 1:30 PM
*this* is the funniest thing of all
wasn't it just last year we were hearing Davos was over
January 21, 2026 at 1:27 PM
wasn't it just last year we were hearing Davos was over
Reposted by Kate Mackenzie
Somehow Al Gore heckling a current US Commerce Secretary at Davos is absolutely and completely wild and also only about the 1000th most bonkers thing that has happened so far in 2026, on this, the 21st day of January
“One of the hecklers was Al Gore, the former US vice-president, according to two executives present.”
Into my veins www.ft.com/content/e2ae...
January 21, 2026 at 1:14 PM
Somehow Al Gore heckling a current US Commerce Secretary at Davos is absolutely and completely wild and also only about the 1000th most bonkers thing that has happened so far in 2026, on this, the 21st day of January