Matt Thompson
@mattthompson.bsky.social
• full-time urban geographer (UCL Bartlett)
• spare-time cyclejographer (London mostly)
• first-time author (*Reconstructing Public Housing: Liverpool’s hidden history of collective alternatives* https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctv153k6cx
• spare-time cyclejographer (London mostly)
• first-time author (*Reconstructing Public Housing: Liverpool’s hidden history of collective alternatives* https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctv153k6cx
Pinned
Through what kind of spaces might postcapitalist planning emerge? How will the process of wresting collective control over the relations of production and reproduction, and over our metabolic exchange with the rest of nature, unfold through struggle?
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
Reposted by Matt Thompson
🚨NEW article from me: a critique of the traditions of Ecological Marxism for neglecting working-class agency and political organization.
This one was a long strange trip (first submitted a version in 2023 before it found a home, after many revisions).
OPEN ACCESS👇👇👇
This one was a long strange trip (first submitted a version in 2023 before it found a home, after many revisions).
OPEN ACCESS👇👇👇
February 10, 2026 at 2:00 PM
🚨NEW article from me: a critique of the traditions of Ecological Marxism for neglecting working-class agency and political organization.
This one was a long strange trip (first submitted a version in 2023 before it found a home, after many revisions).
OPEN ACCESS👇👇👇
This one was a long strange trip (first submitted a version in 2023 before it found a home, after many revisions).
OPEN ACCESS👇👇👇
Reposted by Matt Thompson
New in @finandsoc.bsky.social: ‘The non-death of Adam Neumann’, unpacking the return of WeWork’s disgraced founder. It’s about Silicon Valley’s ambivalence to failure & fraud, and how venture capital rewards already-powerful, ruthless and deceptive serial founders. www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
February 11, 2026 at 8:12 AM
New in @finandsoc.bsky.social: ‘The non-death of Adam Neumann’, unpacking the return of WeWork’s disgraced founder. It’s about Silicon Valley’s ambivalence to failure & fraud, and how venture capital rewards already-powerful, ruthless and deceptive serial founders. www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
Reposted by Matt Thompson
Morgan McSweeney has now resigned as Keir Starmer's Chief of Staff
February 8, 2026 at 2:24 PM
Morgan McSweeney has now resigned as Keir Starmer's Chief of Staff
Reposted by Matt Thompson
The more I think about this problem, the more it seems like one of those fundamental Marxist contradictions — and it’s going to generalise. Coding is just the canary in the coalmine.
The real problem is that the only people qualified to drive an agentic coding model are people who are intimately familiar with the codebase and *familiarity with the codebase drops when you vibe code*
See, for example, the recent study commissioned by Anthropic: arxiv.org/abs/2601.20245
See, for example, the recent study commissioned by Anthropic: arxiv.org/abs/2601.20245
How AI Impacts Skill Formation
AI assistance produces significant productivity gains across professional domains, particularly for novice workers. Yet how this assistance affects the development of skills required to effectively su...
arxiv.org
February 8, 2026 at 11:34 AM
The more I think about this problem, the more it seems like one of those fundamental Marxist contradictions — and it’s going to generalise. Coding is just the canary in the coalmine.
Reposted by Matt Thompson
This is remarkably Stuart Hall-esque argumentation:
"many pages of intricate design [...] with a striking silence about political strategy. How does any of this become plausible? Contestable? Lovable? Winnable? [...] It cedes the terrain of technological imagination to the Thiels and the Musks"
"many pages of intricate design [...] with a striking silence about political strategy. How does any of this become plausible? Contestable? Lovable? Winnable? [...] It cedes the terrain of technological imagination to the Thiels and the Musks"
My essay on socialism after AI has triggered quite a debate - so much so that I wrote a much longer second essay. That same issue of The Ideas Letter also contains two lengthy responses to my original piece www.theideasletter.org/essay/the-so...
The Socialist Charcuterie Board - The Ideas Letter
Taking issue with Benanav’s institutional vision of a democratic political economy of technology, Morozov argues that generative AI exposes a deeper problem that socialism has yet to solve: how to…
www.theideasletter.org
February 5, 2026 at 10:19 PM
This is remarkably Stuart Hall-esque argumentation:
"many pages of intricate design [...] with a striking silence about political strategy. How does any of this become plausible? Contestable? Lovable? Winnable? [...] It cedes the terrain of technological imagination to the Thiels and the Musks"
"many pages of intricate design [...] with a striking silence about political strategy. How does any of this become plausible? Contestable? Lovable? Winnable? [...] It cedes the terrain of technological imagination to the Thiels and the Musks"
Reposted by Matt Thompson
I actually agree with a lot of stuff in @evgenymorozov.bsky.social's follow-up essay (which, despite the snark, I liked a lot more than the first one)! And yet, I vehemently disagree on the role of AI as sketched in the essay.
The Socialist Charcuterie Board - The Ideas Letter
Taking issue with Benanav’s institutional vision of a democratic political economy of technology, Morozov argues that generative AI exposes a deeper problem that socialism has yet to solve: how to…
www.theideasletter.org
February 7, 2026 at 12:34 AM
I actually agree with a lot of stuff in @evgenymorozov.bsky.social's follow-up essay (which, despite the snark, I liked a lot more than the first one)! And yet, I vehemently disagree on the role of AI as sketched in the essay.
Reposted by Matt Thompson
I've got a new major essay in The Ideas Letter - on the need to rethink socialism in the age of AI www.theideasletter.org/essay/social...
Socialism After AI - The Ideas Letter
Morozov argues that socialist attempts to harness AI have merely treated it like earlier tools of capitalist production—as a neutral instrument that can simply be redirected. In fact, he says,…
www.theideasletter.org
December 12, 2025 at 7:47 AM
I've got a new major essay in The Ideas Letter - on the need to rethink socialism in the age of AI www.theideasletter.org/essay/social...
Reposted by Matt Thompson
Hard to see how Josh Simons could possibly remain as an MP after this revelation. An absolute disgrace. A police investigation is urgently needed.
Simons has brought the Labour Party into even further disrepute.
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
Simons has brought the Labour Party into even further disrepute.
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
Labour minister was provided with intelligence files on journalists
Exclusive: Material gathered was personally given to Josh Simons when chair of pro-Starmer thinktank, say sources
www.theguardian.com
February 6, 2026 at 6:19 PM
Hard to see how Josh Simons could possibly remain as an MP after this revelation. An absolute disgrace. A police investigation is urgently needed.
Simons has brought the Labour Party into even further disrepute.
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
Simons has brought the Labour Party into even further disrepute.
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
Reposted by Matt Thompson
🔴 BREAKING: Labour Together paid controversial PR firm £30k to investigate journalists who were digging into how its undeclared funding
Reporters from Sunday Times, Guardian and other outlets targetted
*And* Morgan McSweeney knew about it
Full story:
democracyforsale.substack.com/p/exclusive-...
Reporters from Sunday Times, Guardian and other outlets targetted
*And* Morgan McSweeney knew about it
Full story:
democracyforsale.substack.com/p/exclusive-...
BREAKING: McSweeney’s think tank paid PR firm to investigate journalists
Labour Together put private investigators onto journalists writing about its funding. Starmer's right-hand man knew.
democracyforsale.substack.com
February 5, 2026 at 8:01 PM
🔴 BREAKING: Labour Together paid controversial PR firm £30k to investigate journalists who were digging into how its undeclared funding
Reporters from Sunday Times, Guardian and other outlets targetted
*And* Morgan McSweeney knew about it
Full story:
democracyforsale.substack.com/p/exclusive-...
Reporters from Sunday Times, Guardian and other outlets targetted
*And* Morgan McSweeney knew about it
Full story:
democracyforsale.substack.com/p/exclusive-...
Reposted by Matt Thompson
Slopologia?
Why Slop Matters | ACM AI Letters
AI-generated “slop” is often seen as digital pollution. We argue that this dismissal
of the topic risks missing important aspects of AI Slop which deserve rigorous study.
AI Slop serves a social funct...
dl.acm.org
February 4, 2026 at 7:27 PM
Slopologia?
Reposted by Matt Thompson
We're recruiting 2 PhD candidates in human geography here in Uppsala, one position focused on urban/housing issues and one in political ecology.
Please spread the word/repost etc. Being a PhD student in Sweden is a good gig.
Please spread the word/repost etc. Being a PhD student in Sweden is a good gig.
2 PhD student positions in Human Geography - Uppsala University
2 PhD student positions in Human Geography, Department of Human Geography, Uppsala University
www.uu.se
February 2, 2026 at 3:23 PM
We're recruiting 2 PhD candidates in human geography here in Uppsala, one position focused on urban/housing issues and one in political ecology.
Please spread the word/repost etc. Being a PhD student in Sweden is a good gig.
Please spread the word/repost etc. Being a PhD student in Sweden is a good gig.
Reposted by Matt Thompson
'The Winter King (of the Hill)'
Oil Paint
Oil Paint
February 1, 2026 at 9:08 PM
'The Winter King (of the Hill)'
Oil Paint
Oil Paint
Reposted by Matt Thompson
'Winter Meadow (Misty Copse)'
Ink
Ink
January 19, 2026 at 8:35 AM
'Winter Meadow (Misty Copse)'
Ink
Ink
Reposted by Matt Thompson
‘A Black Afternoon’
Charcoal & Varnish sketch.
'Over wide open stretches of undulating fields the wind blew furiously, icy cold cutting like a razor. Clustered here and there were oases of timeless pools within black wet forests that fractured the driving force, dissipating it for sweet relief.'
Charcoal & Varnish sketch.
'Over wide open stretches of undulating fields the wind blew furiously, icy cold cutting like a razor. Clustered here and there were oases of timeless pools within black wet forests that fractured the driving force, dissipating it for sweet relief.'
February 2, 2026 at 9:04 PM
‘A Black Afternoon’
Charcoal & Varnish sketch.
'Over wide open stretches of undulating fields the wind blew furiously, icy cold cutting like a razor. Clustered here and there were oases of timeless pools within black wet forests that fractured the driving force, dissipating it for sweet relief.'
Charcoal & Varnish sketch.
'Over wide open stretches of undulating fields the wind blew furiously, icy cold cutting like a razor. Clustered here and there were oases of timeless pools within black wet forests that fractured the driving force, dissipating it for sweet relief.'
Reposted by Matt Thompson
My latest post on Substack tells the story of Plymouth's earliest council housing - some of only 24,000 council homes built before the First World War.
municipaldreams.substack.com/p/council-ho...
municipaldreams.substack.com/p/council-ho...
February 1, 2026 at 8:44 AM
My latest post on Substack tells the story of Plymouth's earliest council housing - some of only 24,000 council homes built before the First World War.
municipaldreams.substack.com/p/council-ho...
municipaldreams.substack.com/p/council-ho...
Reposted by Matt Thompson
While on the one hand I think queuing at pubs represents the death of society, there is an upside because I really enjoy ignoring everyone in the queue and going to the bar where staff are literally stood waiting to serve you
www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...
www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...
‘It’s ridiculous’: publicans bemused by rise of single-file queues to get served
Bar owners say they struggle to dissuade people from forming a line as behavioural experts point to post-pandemic ‘new norms’
www.theguardian.com
January 31, 2026 at 8:06 PM
While on the one hand I think queuing at pubs represents the death of society, there is an upside because I really enjoy ignoring everyone in the queue and going to the bar where staff are literally stood waiting to serve you
www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...
www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...
Reposted by Matt Thompson
Once again, extraordinary things happening on the social media of the German foreign ministry
www.instagram.com/reel/DUGW47K...
www.instagram.com/reel/DUGW47K...
January 29, 2026 at 10:41 PM
Once again, extraordinary things happening on the social media of the German foreign ministry
www.instagram.com/reel/DUGW47K...
www.instagram.com/reel/DUGW47K...
Reposted by Matt Thompson
what do we talk about when we talk about energy? my answer features (among many others) adorno, bogdanov, and the austrian communist wilhelm frank, who experimented with national exergy balances in the 1950s. out april 2026.
January 28, 2026 at 7:38 AM
what do we talk about when we talk about energy? my answer features (among many others) adorno, bogdanov, and the austrian communist wilhelm frank, who experimented with national exergy balances in the 1950s. out april 2026.
Reposted by Matt Thompson
‼️New article out "Thirsty Forests and Expansive Droughts: The Environmental Impacts of Data Centers in Latin America" where we investigate the feral effects of cloud industry's compensatory projects to mitigate environmental impacts.
journals.sagepub.com/doi/epub/10....
journals.sagepub.com/doi/epub/10....
January 27, 2026 at 1:23 PM
‼️New article out "Thirsty Forests and Expansive Droughts: The Environmental Impacts of Data Centers in Latin America" where we investigate the feral effects of cloud industry's compensatory projects to mitigate environmental impacts.
journals.sagepub.com/doi/epub/10....
journals.sagepub.com/doi/epub/10....
Reposted by Matt Thompson
brass solidarity band performing “stand by me” in the streets of whittier next to alex pretti’s memorial. the crowd started chanting “the people united will never be defeated” so they incorporated it into the song. i love minneapolis
January 27, 2026 at 12:22 AM
brass solidarity band performing “stand by me” in the streets of whittier next to alex pretti’s memorial. the crowd started chanting “the people united will never be defeated” so they incorporated it into the song. i love minneapolis
Reposted by Matt Thompson
#SundayArches Caledonian Estate, Islington
January 25, 2026 at 8:29 AM
#SundayArches Caledonian Estate, Islington
Reposted by Matt Thompson
In this paper I show that the prevalent forms of knowledge production and use are inadequate to guarantee the perpetuation of a safe ecological space and argue in favor of planning episteme against green finance 1/
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
@tandfresearch.bsky.social @dehes.bsky.social
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
@tandfresearch.bsky.social @dehes.bsky.social
The problem of knowledge in the Anthropocene
In the twentieth century, debates about economic planning were largely shaped by arguments concerning knowledge and the acquisition of information. As the century drew to a close, the dispute was a...
www.tandfonline.com
January 23, 2026 at 9:50 AM
In this paper I show that the prevalent forms of knowledge production and use are inadequate to guarantee the perpetuation of a safe ecological space and argue in favor of planning episteme against green finance 1/
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
@tandfresearch.bsky.social @dehes.bsky.social
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
@tandfresearch.bsky.social @dehes.bsky.social
Reposted by Matt Thompson
while the richest person on the planet cannot shut up about satellites, we mere mortals (w. @joschabels.bsky.social) are left to study the pesky cables here down on earth in the mud (or rather on the seabed).
Check what we found out in our new open access paper in Globalizations: lnkd.in/ep4q94XK
Check what we found out in our new open access paper in Globalizations: lnkd.in/ep4q94XK
January 23, 2026 at 10:10 AM
while the richest person on the planet cannot shut up about satellites, we mere mortals (w. @joschabels.bsky.social) are left to study the pesky cables here down on earth in the mud (or rather on the seabed).
Check what we found out in our new open access paper in Globalizations: lnkd.in/ep4q94XK
Check what we found out in our new open access paper in Globalizations: lnkd.in/ep4q94XK
Reposted by Matt Thompson
