Mark Foden
@markfoden.com
Proceeding by experiment
Complexity | Digital | Change
The Clock and the Cat podcast
Complexity | Digital | Change
The Clock and the Cat podcast
T’was ever thus - Mythical Man-Month (1975)
The most common things engineering leaders think will make dev teams go faster actually have the opposite effect.
codemanship.wordpress.com/2025/11/13/t...
codemanship.wordpress.com/2025/11/13/t...
The Seven Deadly Sins of “Go Faster”
Things that will make your dev team take longer to deliver worse software:1. Adding more people to the team2. Making them work longer hours3. Cutting down on work that “slows them down”…
codemanship.wordpress.com
November 13, 2025 at 9:26 AM
T’was ever thus - Mythical Man-Month (1975)
“Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope” - RFK
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/1...
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/1...
Why I Am Resigning
A federal judge explains his reasoning for leaving the bench.
www.theatlantic.com
November 9, 2025 at 6:32 PM
“Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope” - RFK
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/1...
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/1...
Reposted by Mark Foden
Ticket sales for the Washington National Opera have collapsed since Trump took over the Kennedy center
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
Washington National Opera may move out of Kennedy Center due to Trump ‘takeover’
Ticket sales at about 40% unsold compared with before president made himself chair of US performing arts center
www.theguardian.com
November 8, 2025 at 1:57 PM
Ticket sales for the Washington National Opera have collapsed since Trump took over the Kennedy center
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
Transactional solutions to interactional problems: things will get worse not better
Hilary has great ideas, with real traction - read Radical Help
Hilary has great ideas, with real traction - read Radical Help
#RadicalHelp ‘the overhaul we need’ @financialtimes.com
November 8, 2025 at 2:56 PM
Transactional solutions to interactional problems: things will get worse not better
Hilary has great ideas, with real traction - read Radical Help
Hilary has great ideas, with real traction - read Radical Help
“Is there anything that the president and the republicans are doing well right now?"
"Not that I can see"
Jim Wade, an impressively calm and pragmatic Kentuckian soybean farmer talking about the effect of tariffs on his business
"Not that I can see"
Jim Wade, an impressively calm and pragmatic Kentuckian soybean farmer talking about the effect of tariffs on his business
How is the ongoing trade war with China hitting American farmers?
From skyrocketing equipment costs to disappearing export markets, Jim Wade shares with @amymcgrath.bsky.social how chaotic tariff policies are threatening the survival of small family farms.
https://youtu.be/S0n8raBacog
From skyrocketing equipment costs to disappearing export markets, Jim Wade shares with @amymcgrath.bsky.social how chaotic tariff policies are threatening the survival of small family farms.
https://youtu.be/S0n8raBacog
November 7, 2025 at 7:29 AM
“Is there anything that the president and the republicans are doing well right now?"
"Not that I can see"
Jim Wade, an impressively calm and pragmatic Kentuckian soybean farmer talking about the effect of tariffs on his business
"Not that I can see"
Jim Wade, an impressively calm and pragmatic Kentuckian soybean farmer talking about the effect of tariffs on his business
Reposted by Mark Foden
Threads on Bluesky should feel more like conversations you’d have IRL.
We’re testing new systems to improve reply quality. See what’s coming: bsky.social/about/blog/1...
We’re testing new systems to improve reply quality. See what’s coming: bsky.social/about/blog/1...
Progress Update: Building Healthier Social Media - Bluesky
Over the next few months, we’ll be iterating on the systems that make Bluesky a better place for healthy conversations. Some experiments will stick, others will evolve, and we’ll share what we learn a...
bsky.social
October 31, 2025 at 6:48 PM
Threads on Bluesky should feel more like conversations you’d have IRL.
We’re testing new systems to improve reply quality. See what’s coming: bsky.social/about/blog/1...
We’re testing new systems to improve reply quality. See what’s coming: bsky.social/about/blog/1...
Reposted by Mark Foden
I have a very bad feeling about this...
October 27, 2025 at 4:51 PM
I have a very bad feeling about this...
Reposted by Mark Foden
@aoc at the rally for Mamdani Sunday in NYC.
“This city was built by the Irish escaping famine, Italians fleeing fascism, Black Americans fleeing slavery and Jim Crow, Latinos seeking a better life, Native people standing for themselves, Asian Americans coming together…”
So good!! 🔥
“This city was built by the Irish escaping famine, Italians fleeing fascism, Black Americans fleeing slavery and Jim Crow, Latinos seeking a better life, Native people standing for themselves, Asian Americans coming together…”
So good!! 🔥
October 27, 2025 at 3:09 AM
@aoc at the rally for Mamdani Sunday in NYC.
“This city was built by the Irish escaping famine, Italians fleeing fascism, Black Americans fleeing slavery and Jim Crow, Latinos seeking a better life, Native people standing for themselves, Asian Americans coming together…”
So good!! 🔥
“This city was built by the Irish escaping famine, Italians fleeing fascism, Black Americans fleeing slavery and Jim Crow, Latinos seeking a better life, Native people standing for themselves, Asian Americans coming together…”
So good!! 🔥
There’s been a lot of it about
Idi Amin was a pioneer of populism. He styled himself as a straight-talking man of the people, thumbing his nose at the old imperial overlords and thwarting foreign saboteurs. Two new books make the case for taking him seriously
Idi Amin, a pioneer of mass deportation
Expelling Asians from Uganda was popular. How did it work out?
econ.st
October 26, 2025 at 7:08 AM
There’s been a lot of it about
Reposted by Mark Foden
Here's a version of the English nursery rhyme, "The Grand Old Duke of York" 🎶 about the man who says he isn't going to call himself it anymore ... though whether he should be taken at his word ... 🤔
youtu.be/hoETmTJM014
youtu.be/hoETmTJM014
"Grand Old Duke of York" - parody of English nursery rhyme by the Marsh Family on Prince Andrew
YouTube video by Marsh Family
youtu.be
October 21, 2025 at 6:46 AM
Here's a version of the English nursery rhyme, "The Grand Old Duke of York" 🎶 about the man who says he isn't going to call himself it anymore ... though whether he should be taken at his word ... 🤔
youtu.be/hoETmTJM014
youtu.be/hoETmTJM014
Reposted by Mark Foden
I've been sourcing additional content and updating my book "Fracture" in preparation for its Second Edition.
I recently found this slide from 2000 describing how the best teams were working in Whitehall back then—very similar to the recent discussion about the role and value of 'test-and-learn'.
I recently found this slide from 2000 describing how the best teams were working in Whitehall back then—very similar to the recent discussion about the role and value of 'test-and-learn'.
October 20, 2025 at 7:29 AM
Reposted by Mark Foden
I guess the question is how far those changes have helped govt deliver better policy outcomes? Looking around, the evidence seems patchy—digital's still often relegated to transactional service improvements rather than making the public sector become more effective in how it tackles policy issues
October 21, 2025 at 9:28 AM
I guess the question is how far those changes have helped govt deliver better policy outcomes? Looking around, the evidence seems patchy—digital's still often relegated to transactional service improvements rather than making the public sector become more effective in how it tackles policy issues
A super piece - critically important ideas about escaping the endless mire of underperformance in government
Iterate, if you can. A new post from me on the long struggle to create shorter feedback cycles in government:
medium.com/@jamestplunk...
medium.com/@jamestplunk...
Iterate, if you can
The long struggle to create shorter feedback cycles in government
medium.com
October 23, 2025 at 7:06 AM
A super piece - critically important ideas about escaping the endless mire of underperformance in government
Reposted by Mark Foden
Bertrand Russell to Oswald Mosley. Perfection.
October 16, 2025 at 3:04 PM
Bertrand Russell to Oswald Mosley. Perfection.
A disturbing (and plausible) view on AI. Development progressing geometrically. Huge change in next few years. Real possibility of bad stuff. Needs rapid but measured global collaboration between big players to avoid. US (hence Trump) being one of those…
youtu.be/5KVDDfAkRgc
youtu.be/5KVDDfAkRgc
We're Not Ready for Superintelligence
YouTube video by AI In Context
youtu.be
October 19, 2025 at 11:45 AM
A disturbing (and plausible) view on AI. Development progressing geometrically. Huge change in next few years. Real possibility of bad stuff. Needs rapid but measured global collaboration between big players to avoid. US (hence Trump) being one of those…
youtu.be/5KVDDfAkRgc
youtu.be/5KVDDfAkRgc
Reposted by Mark Foden
Reposted by Mark Foden
Brain tumours are rare, but their early signs are easy to mistake for stress, tiredness or the menopause. Researchers explain what to look for – and why it matters.
The seven symptoms that can delay brain tumour diagnosis – and why early detection matters
Brain tumours are rare, but their early signs are easy to mistake for stress, tiredness or the menopause. Researchers explain what to look for – and why it matters.
tcnv.link
October 15, 2025 at 6:12 AM
Brain tumours are rare, but their early signs are easy to mistake for stress, tiredness or the menopause. Researchers explain what to look for – and why it matters.
Reposted by Mark Foden
The age verification chickens, it seems, are inbound
BREAKING: A catastrophic breach has impacted Discord user data including selfies and identity documents uploaded as part of the app’s verification process, email addresses, phone numbers, approximately where the user lives, and much more.
🔗 www.404media.co/the-discord-...
🔗 www.404media.co/the-discord-...
The Discord Hack is Every Users’ Worst Nightmare
A hack impacting Discord’s age verification process shows in stark terms the risk of tech companies collecting users’ ID documents. Now the hackers are posting peoples’ IDs and other sensitive informa...
www.404media.co
October 9, 2025 at 10:03 PM
The age verification chickens, it seems, are inbound
Reposted by Mark Foden
"When you’re trying to bring about significant change in any complex system, it’s impossible to know up front exactly what’s going to work, how the various risks are going to pan out or how the context is going to change."
'Being a leader isn’t about becoming great at everything': Civil service reform DG Janet Hughes sets out her priorities
Hughes, who became Cabinet Office DG for civil service reform and efficiency in June, on bringing the spirit of One Team Gov to her new role, test ...
www.civilserviceworld.com
October 1, 2025 at 5:53 PM
"When you’re trying to bring about significant change in any complex system, it’s impossible to know up front exactly what’s going to work, how the various risks are going to pan out or how the context is going to change."
Reposted by Mark Foden
After Donald Trump's address to military leaders today, "senior U.S. officers have to wonder who will shield them from the impulses of the person they just saw onstage," Tom Nichols argues in The Atlantic Daily.
https://theatln.tc/0WI2Lqm9
https://theatln.tc/0WI2Lqm9
October 2, 2025 at 6:15 PM
After Donald Trump's address to military leaders today, "senior U.S. officers have to wonder who will shield them from the impulses of the person they just saw onstage," Tom Nichols argues in The Atlantic Daily.
https://theatln.tc/0WI2Lqm9
https://theatln.tc/0WI2Lqm9
Reposted by Mark Foden
An early look at next week’s cover: "Remote Control,” by Barry Blitt.
nyer.cm/6ApBXER
nyer.cm/6ApBXER
September 18, 2025 at 10:46 PM
An early look at next week’s cover: "Remote Control,” by Barry Blitt.
nyer.cm/6ApBXER
nyer.cm/6ApBXER
Reposted by Mark Foden
Dear USA
Deploying troops against civilians will not go well.
Yours
Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Deploying troops against civilians will not go well.
Yours
Great Britain and Northern Ireland
June 9, 2025 at 8:31 PM
Dear USA
Deploying troops against civilians will not go well.
Yours
Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Deploying troops against civilians will not go well.
Yours
Great Britain and Northern Ireland