Mark Schaffer
LightNews LightNews
banner
markeschaffer.bsky.social
Mark Schaffer
@markeschaffer.bsky.social
600 followers 520 following 32 posts

Professor of Economics, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh

Videos
Economics 64%
Political science 16%
Posts Replies Media Videos
Pinned
markeschaffer.bsky.social
Mark Schaffer @markeschaffer.bsky.social · Oct 14
The UK macro policy problem is like the classic Irish joke about the lost traveler who asks a local farmer how to get to Dublin.

Farmer thinks for a bit and replies, "Well, I wouldn't start from here."

Reposted by Mark E. Schaffer

acjsissons.bsky.social
Andrew Sissons @acjsissons.bsky.social · 9d
Weekend plug for my new personal post: Why does regulation often feel so toothless?

Sometimes regulators are just useless, but more often the problem is that governments don’t give them the tools or the powers to deter bad behaviour
Why does regulation often feel so toothless?
A sewage outfall pipe in the River Solway, Cumbria, with (probably) a regulator in the background. Photo by John Collins
acjsissons.medium.com

Reposted by Shannon Vallor, Mark Bray, Axel Bruns , and 35 more

astrokatie.com
Katie Mack @astrokatie.com · 15d
A reminder to the news media: “conflicting accounts” is what you say BEFORE the incontrovertible video evidence appears. After that, your job is to ask why one side is lying, not to repeat the lie and pretend no one knows the truth.

Reposted by Mark E. Schaffer

columnist.bsky.social
Dr Stylite @columnist.bsky.social · 16d
Brutal and excellent www.ft.com/content/6f84...
The rise of the answer machines
Universities trained students to produce polished responses on demand. Then AI learnt the same trick. What now?
www.ft.com

Reposted by Jonathan Portes, Shannon Vallor, Richard S.J. Tol , and 24 more

sundersays.bsky.social
Sunder Katwala (sundersays) @sundersays.bsky.social · 16d
The BBC coverage is absolutely terrible.

It leads on "sharply contested narratives"

It has a dramatic skew to the US government

It has posted the video but has failed to report on what it shows: it shows the US govt account is untrue

Reposted by Mark E. Schaffer

500songspodcast.bsky.social
A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs @500songspodcast.bsky.social · 28d
Today we’re looking back at Episode 165: ‘Dark Star’ by the Grateful Dead.

Cocking in at 4.5 hours long, Andrew delves into the career of the American rock band - but also the historical and cultural context.

Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and via the website: 500songs.com/podcast/epis...

Reposted by Mark E. Schaffer

nytpitchbot.bsky.social
NY Times Pitchbot @nytpitchbot.bsky.social · 29d
What a Long Strange Trump
It’s Been

Uncle Don’s hair has nary a touch of grey, but he and Epstein shared the women, shared the wine. And his “new” right-wing boogie? It’s a hand-me-down.

by Maureen Dowd

Reposted by Mark E. Schaffer

atherton.bsky.social
Kelsey Atherton @atherton.bsky.social · Jan 3
You ever think about how the Roman Senate kept meeting centuries into the reigns of emperors. Hanging out, shooting the shit, giving speeches, and play-acting that their positions of privilege remained positions of power.

Reposted by Mark E. Schaffer, Robert C. Richards, Alan Richardson , and 2 more

astrokatie.com
Katie Mack @astrokatie.com · Jan 1
Do other countries have this weird notion that you’re not a “real” representative of the nation if you live in an urban center? Like do the French say Parisians aren’t really French? Are you considered not a real German if you live in Berlin? Or is this mainly a weird American thing?

Reposted by Mark E. Schaffer, Alan Richardson, Greg Linden , and 1 more

bencollins.bsky.social
Tim Onion @bencollins.bsky.social · Nov 20
Incredible headline.
Elon Musk Could 'Drink Piss Better Than Any Human in History,' Grok Says
Grok has been reprogrammed to say Musk is better than everyone at everything, including blowjobs, piss drinking, playing quarterback, conquering Europe, etc.
www.404media.co

Reposted by Mark E. Schaffer

emollick.bsky.social
Ethan Mollick @emollick.bsky.social · Nov 20
Tell all the truth but tell it slant—
Success in Circuit lies
Too bright for our infirm Delight
The Truth's superb surprise

This paper finds poetry is a universal single shot jailbreak for LLMs. Systems built to stop prosaic attacks fail when the request is phrased in verse arxiv.org/abs/2511.15304

Reposted by Mark E. Schaffer

rewildscotland.bsky.social
Rewild Scotland @rewildscotland.bsky.social · Nov 15
When asked, most people (72.4%) living near lynx in Norway say they LIKE living with lynx. Just 8.3% say they dislike lynx. In Scotland, where we're currently denied the opportunity to live near lynx, the majority of people WANT to see lynx reintroduced.

Reposted by Mark E. Schaffer

acjsissons.bsky.social
Andrew Sissons @acjsissons.bsky.social · Nov 9
‘A new service called Objector is offering “policy-backed objections in minutes” to people who are upset about planning applications near their homes.’

Another reminder that AI can be used for things you don’t like as well as things you like…

Reposted by Mark E. Schaffer, Jonathan Hopkin

anandmenon.bsky.social
Anand Menon @anandmenon.bsky.social · Nov 9
Bloody hell www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
www.theguardian.com

Reposted by Jason Mittell, Michael Barnett, Michael S. Rosenberg , and 30 more

brittanytrang.com
Brittany Trang @brittanytrang.com · Nov 8
A Sharon Begley byline, almost 5 years after her death.

Upon hearing the news James Watson had died, a STAT reporter said in our Slack, "I wish I could read what Sharon would have written."

Incredible news: Sharon in fact did pre-write a Watson obit. And it is masterful and excoriating.
🧪🧬🧫
James Watson, dead at 97, was a scientific legend and a pariah among his peers
James Watson, the co-discoverer of the structure of DNA who died Thursday at 97, was a scientific legend and a pariah among his peers.
www.statnews.com

Reposted by Mark E. Schaffer, John Mullahy, Kevin Carey , and 8 more

ddiamond.bsky.social
Dan Diamond @ddiamond.bsky.social · Nov 8
sometimes an Oxford comma can make all the difference
What we're watching: A new take on "Frankenstein," a lavish legal drama starring Kim Kardashian and a Tracy Morgan-led spinoff.

Reposted by Mark E. Schaffer, Paul Goldsmith-Pinkham, Michael H. Whitworth , and 1 more

zachweinersmith.bsky.social
Zach Weinersmith @zachweinersmith.bsky.social · Nov 7
Haha, this from the New Yorker is getting passed around the math dork community. I did a comic about this kind of thought a few years ago: www.smbc-comics.com/comic/commut...

Reposted by Mark E. Schaffer

explodingheads.bsky.social
The Exploding Heads @explodingheads.bsky.social · Nov 7
"it's always the fault of the migrants. Except when it isn't."

Colin from Portsmouth thinks we should blame immigrants for things before they even happen.

Reposted by Mark E. Schaffer

libbyheeren.bsky.social
Libby Heeren @libbyheeren.bsky.social · Oct 31
Me: The least-helpful workshops are often the ones given by people who just Know Too Much 🥹
Data Friend: Have you see that blog post about this?
Me: No, show me!
Data Friend: anniemueller.com/posts/how-i-...
Me: BRB SENDING THIS TO EVERYONE I KNOW 😂

#rstats #python #databs
How I, a non-developer, read the tutorial you, a developer, wrote for me, a beginner - annie's blog
“Hello! I am a developer. Here is my relevant experience: I code in Hoobijag and sometimes jabbernocks and of course ABCDE++++ (but never ABCDE+/^+ are you kidding? ha!)  and I like working with ...
anniemueller.com

Reposted by Will Jennings, Mark E. Schaffer, Jonathan Hopkin

danneidle.bsky.social
Dan Neidle @danneidle.bsky.social · Oct 31
The fundamental problem:

58% of voters want public spending maintained or increased.

67% want taxes to stay at their current level or be cut.

In reality, it’s a binary choice. Taxes go up, or spending is cut. That’s it.

Reposted by Mark E. Schaffer

sjwrenlewis.bsky.social
Simon Wren-Lewis @sjwrenlewis.bsky.social · Oct 23
This week's post: What the call for fiscal headroom reveals mainlymacro.blogspot.com/2025/10/what...
Exaggerated claims about market reactions to debt and deficits infantilize fiscal policy, and that can be dangerous. The call for more fiscal headroom is just a small example of that danger.
What the call for fiscal headroom reveals
Everyone, including the IFS, is agreed that the Chancellor should in the budget create more fiscal headroom than she did previously. Rath...
mainlymacro.blogspot.com

Reposted by Mark E. Schaffer, Simon Wren‐Lewis, Steven Fielding

jdportes.bsky.social
Jonathan Portes @jdportes.bsky.social · Oct 20
"The government needs to take ownership of the Budget and use it to construct a convincing narrative. That means not blaming the OBR or HMT but explaining why tax reform is necessary, why it will be good for growth and public services and how pain will be fairly shared.

www.ft.com/content/a06d...
Blaming the OBR for the Budget maths is a waste of time
The government must explain why tax reform is necessary and desirable for fiscal sustainability
www.ft.com

Reposted by Mark E. Schaffer, Tom Griffin, Dean Eckles

andycraig.bsky.social
Andy Craig @andycraig.bsky.social · Oct 18
Great moments in redaction history.
Interview from the Titan submarine investigation. The witness name is blacked out. The first line is "Well, I'm sure you're familiar with my film Titanic."

Reposted by Mark E. Schaffer, Andrew Leyshon

Reposted by Will Jennings, Patrick Dunleavy, Andrew Scott , and 5 more

adambienkov.bsky.social
Adam Bienkov @adambienkov.bsky.social · Oct 16
In today's least surprising news

Reposted by Mark E. Schaffer, Vaughan S. Roberts

sjwrenlewis.bsky.social
Simon Wren-Lewis @sjwrenlewis.bsky.social · Oct 14
ew post: Populism and Economic Prosperity
mainlymacro.blogspot.com/2025/10/popu...
We would expect populist governments to damage the economy, and the evidence suggests that they do so in a big way. But we know from Brexit that the media typically nullifies the impact of this evidence on voters.
Populism and Economic Prosperity
Mainstream political parties normally claim that populist parties, if they ever got to power, would damage the economy. We have clear evid...
mainlymacro.blogspot.com

Reposted by Mark E. Schaffer

josephstrummered.bsky.social
josephstrummered.bsky.social @josephstrummered.bsky.social · Oct 10
That's pretty fucking cool too.

Reposted by Steve Peers, Mark E. Schaffer, Margot C. Finn

davidallengreen.bsky.social
dag @davidallengreen.bsky.social · Oct 9
NEW

Law versus politics

Both the UK and the US face a choice between unchecked executive power or a balanced constitution

By me at @prospectmagazine.co.uk

www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/ideas/law/th...
This is the crucial choice facing those both in the United Kingdom and the United States. What is to be the relationship between those with political power and the force of law? In the United States it would seem that, at a federal level, both Congress and the Supreme Court are content to nod along with excessive use of presidential power. It is only the individual states themselves and the lower courts that are seeking to hold that executive power to account. While in the United Kingdom there are louder political demands for the government to be free from the constraints placed by international law and supposedly activist judges. The implicit call is that ministers and officials should be able to do as they like to the rest of us without any possibility of a court ever saying otherwise. What will happen in this contest between executive power and legal restraint cannot be predicted. The happy assumption of the Whig interpretation of history may not be well-grounded. From a liberal perspective things are not only getting worse, but could get a lot worse. The illiberals know what they are doing and they are doing it well.

Reposted by Ben H. Ansell, Mark E. Schaffer

sophieehill.bsky.social
Sophie E. Hill @sophieehill.bsky.social · Oct 6
A thread of inspirational quotes from two of my idols: Kemi Badenoch and Ange Postecoglou

(uh-oh, I may have gotten some mixed up... or have I??)

🧵

Reposted by Mark E. Schaffer, Lesley A. Hall, Christian E. Weller , and 2 more

richardkadrey.bsky.social
Richard Kadrey @richardkadrey.bsky.social · Oct 3
The mystery of medical diagnosis!
Anyone: Why are there suddenly so many AHDH diagnoses? Dr. Jen: Same reason there are suddenly more stars after we built telescopes.

Reposted by Anna O. Law, Norbert Schwarz, Patrick Dunleavy , and 11 more

kenwhite.bsky.social
Meat And Ferments Hat @kenwhite.bsky.social · Oct 1
Every few months now I re-read this "Who Goes Nazi?" piece from 1941 and am blown away by how it captures the people we are dealing with 80 years later.

harpers.org/archive/1941...
Who Goes Nazi?, by Dorothy Thompson
harpers.org