Nicholas Guyatt
@nicholasguyatt.bsky.social
I teach American history at Cambridge. Views/opinions strictly personal. Content 40% political, 30% historical, 30% cat photos but ratio under constant review
Pinned
So it has taken a bit longer than promised but the Oxford Illustrated History of the United States is about to go into production! Watch this space for pub date and possible (shameless) semiquincentennial branding. And massive thanks to the stellar contributors who have been incredible to work with
The BBC’s core problem is that, like the NHS, it models the benefits and virtues of a not-for-profit public service in a world of rapacious corporate greed and unstinting right-wing hostility to the idea of the public good www.nytimes.com/2025/11/10/w...
Why the BBC Is Facing Its Gravest Crisis in Decades
www.nytimes.com
November 10, 2025 at 11:25 PM
The BBC’s core problem is that, like the NHS, it models the benefits and virtues of a not-for-profit public service in a world of rapacious corporate greed and unstinting right-wing hostility to the idea of the public good www.nytimes.com/2025/11/10/w...
ICYMI the Telegraph's reporting on the BBC bias 'crisis' included the fantastical claim that the right-wing and unabashedly anti-woke History Reclaimed website is a legitimate arbiter either of historical fact or political balance
November 10, 2025 at 9:10 AM
ICYMI the Telegraph's reporting on the BBC bias 'crisis' included the fantastical claim that the right-wing and unabashedly anti-woke History Reclaimed website is a legitimate arbiter either of historical fact or political balance
An orchestrated right-wing campaign against our public broadcaster is destroying the BBC while our supposedly left-leaning government with its massive majority either sits on its hands or cheers on the vandals
November 10, 2025 at 7:56 AM
An orchestrated right-wing campaign against our public broadcaster is destroying the BBC while our supposedly left-leaning government with its massive majority either sits on its hands or cheers on the vandals
wondering how many seconds Trump can go without mentioning Zohran
November 5, 2025 at 6:47 PM
wondering how many seconds Trump can go without mentioning Zohran
Hilarious to watch Starmer’s allies this morning pretending that they haven’t really heard of Zohran Mamdani
November 5, 2025 at 11:58 AM
Hilarious to watch Starmer’s allies this morning pretending that they haven’t really heard of Zohran Mamdani
Cannot be overstated that the liberal political and media establishment in the UK has spent the past ten users scorching the earth on the left while insisting that the very very best you'll ever get in elected politics is a Starmer/Cuomo type
November 5, 2025 at 10:03 AM
Cannot be overstated that the liberal political and media establishment in the UK has spent the past ten users scorching the earth on the left while insisting that the very very best you'll ever get in elected politics is a Starmer/Cuomo type
No surprise that the establishment media here in the UK are coming for Mamdani this morning. The boldness of his vision shows up our Labour government for what it is: timid, in hock to wealthy donors, and totally devoid of progressive energy www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
No free bus passes for under 22s, says goverment - BBC News
The Commons Transport Committee recommended scrapping bus fares for young people in August.
www.bbc.co.uk
November 5, 2025 at 9:28 AM
No surprise that the establishment media here in the UK are coming for Mamdani this morning. The boldness of his vision shows up our Labour government for what it is: timid, in hock to wealthy donors, and totally devoid of progressive energy www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
If you have half an hour to kill this sounds like a great party
November 5, 2025 at 1:20 AM
If you have half an hour to kill this sounds like a great party
An amazing exploration of the fusion of creativity and progressive politics which has inspired so many people, both within and far beyond NYC
watching the Mamdani campaign from afar during the primary, so many things were impressive, among them the incredible work his online video team was doing to spread the message in fun, creative, educational, invigorating ways that spoke to people
this is my story about how they did it
this is my story about how they did it
Selling Zohran | Defector
On a cool Sunday in November, a few days after Donald Trump’s re-election, Zohran Mamdani stood on a street corner in Jamaica, Queens, holding up a hastily drawn cardboard sign that read “DID YOU VOTE...
defector.com
November 4, 2025 at 2:41 PM
An amazing exploration of the fusion of creativity and progressive politics which has inspired so many people, both within and far beyond NYC
Cannot be said often enough that the political figure who inaugurated our age of lawlessness, arbitrary power and authoritarianism was not Donald Trump but Dick Cheney
November 4, 2025 at 2:16 PM
Cannot be said often enough that the political figure who inaugurated our age of lawlessness, arbitrary power and authoritarianism was not Donald Trump but Dick Cheney
Cambridge friends: come join us on Wednesday 12th November for a chat with Jim Zirin - lawyer, talk show host, and author of PLAINTIFF IN CHIEF: A PORTRAIT OF DONALD TRUMP IN 3500 LAWSUITS. Tickets free but going fast - here's the link www.alumni.cam.ac.uk/events/autoc...
Autocracy in America: Law and Politics in the Second Trump Administration
James D. Zirin, lawyer, author and talk-show host, explores the upheavals in American law and politics since the January inauguration of Donald J. Trump.
www.alumni.cam.ac.uk
November 3, 2025 at 8:27 AM
Cambridge friends: come join us on Wednesday 12th November for a chat with Jim Zirin - lawyer, talk show host, and author of PLAINTIFF IN CHIEF: A PORTRAIT OF DONALD TRUMP IN 3500 LAWSUITS. Tickets free but going fast - here's the link www.alumni.cam.ac.uk/events/autoc...
Moved these guys from the front of the house to the pumpkin graveyard out back
November 1, 2025 at 5:19 PM
Moved these guys from the front of the house to the pumpkin graveyard out back
incredible to hear former Sun editor David Yelland on the radio this morning praising the King and Keir Starmer for taking 'decisive action' against Andrew and Mandelson as if they hadn't also coddled/promoted them for *years* after we knew everything
October 31, 2025 at 10:13 AM
incredible to hear former Sun editor David Yelland on the radio this morning praising the King and Keir Starmer for taking 'decisive action' against Andrew and Mandelson as if they hadn't also coddled/promoted them for *years* after we knew everything
The Reuters investigation of Trump's soaring profits since becoming president is *wild* - so 90% of his income is from his insanely dodgy crypto company, which routinely accepts payments of tens of millions of dollars from non-U.S. citizens who I guess just love the Trump brand
October 29, 2025 at 7:16 PM
The Reuters investigation of Trump's soaring profits since becoming president is *wild* - so 90% of his income is from his insanely dodgy crypto company, which routinely accepts payments of tens of millions of dollars from non-U.S. citizens who I guess just love the Trump brand
Haven't been to London since September but back then it was not "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 5:19 PM
Haven't been to London since September but back then it was not "largely Muslim [with] women completely covered up"
So UCLA's draft agreement with the Trump administration bans foreign students who might criticise the US or Israel, and subjects any foreigners who actually make it to Los Angeles to mandatory training in "free speech and open debate"
October 28, 2025 at 11:50 PM
So UCLA's draft agreement with the Trump administration bans foreign students who might criticise the US or Israel, and subjects any foreigners who actually make it to Los Angeles to mandatory training in "free speech and open debate"
obligatory Halloween cat content
October 28, 2025 at 2:00 PM
obligatory Halloween cat content
Painfully on-the-nose metaphor for modern conservatism
October 23, 2025 at 9:17 AM
Painfully on-the-nose metaphor for modern conservatism
Coming next spring, in time for what will surely be a lively but respectful debate about the 250th anniversary of the Declaration
October 22, 2025 at 12:27 PM
Coming next spring, in time for what will surely be a lively but respectful debate about the 250th anniversary of the Declaration
That the US government is entirely shut down but Trump can somehow find the means to demolish the White House seems too absurd to be possible, I am looking for an irony epipen right now
October 21, 2025 at 12:20 PM
That the US government is entirely shut down but Trump can somehow find the means to demolish the White House seems too absurd to be possible, I am looking for an irony epipen right now
⏰SIX DAYS LEFT to apply for the Cambridge US history job⏰
Thanks to everyone who's already applied; if you're considering an application, NB that we will NOT contact referees unless you're longlisted so you can throw your hat into the ring with minimal hassle networks.h-net.org/jobs/69140/u...
Thanks to everyone who's already applied; if you're considering an application, NB that we will NOT contact referees unless you're longlisted so you can throw your hat into the ring with minimal hassle networks.h-net.org/jobs/69140/u...
University of Cambridge - UK - Assistant Professor, History of the United States since 1920 | H-Net
networks.h-net.org
October 21, 2025 at 12:14 PM
⏰SIX DAYS LEFT to apply for the Cambridge US history job⏰
Thanks to everyone who's already applied; if you're considering an application, NB that we will NOT contact referees unless you're longlisted so you can throw your hat into the ring with minimal hassle networks.h-net.org/jobs/69140/u...
Thanks to everyone who's already applied; if you're considering an application, NB that we will NOT contact referees unless you're longlisted so you can throw your hat into the ring with minimal hassle networks.h-net.org/jobs/69140/u...
Wild to come home from work at 10pm and discover that UK university tuition fees *may* rise in line with inflation (i.e. stand still) *if* we meet "tough standards", thank you to the Labour government for your enlightened stewardship of higher ed www.theguardian.com/education/20...
English universities can raise tuition fees if they meet ‘tough’ standards, says Phillipson
Measure, which will allow increase in line with inflation, is part of white paper on post-16 education and skills
www.theguardian.com
October 20, 2025 at 9:51 PM
Wild to come home from work at 10pm and discover that UK university tuition fees *may* rise in line with inflation (i.e. stand still) *if* we meet "tough standards", thank you to the Labour government for your enlightened stewardship of higher ed www.theguardian.com/education/20...
It's instructive to compare the outrage about the BBC's swiftly-pulled Gaza documentary, especially from politicians, with the silence or steadfast denial within the media and political establishment about the actual genocide www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
BBC Gaza documentary broke broadcasting rules, Ofcom says
The regulator said the documentary, broadcast earlier this year, was
www.bbc.co.uk
October 17, 2025 at 10:08 AM
It's instructive to compare the outrage about the BBC's swiftly-pulled Gaza documentary, especially from politicians, with the silence or steadfast denial within the media and political establishment about the actual genocide www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
ICYMI: link to the database of books stolen by Anthropic - NB this is a smaller list than the previous database so check this one to see if you can join the settlement and begin the fight with your publisher/agent about the size of their cut secure.anthropiccopyrightsettlement.com/lookup/?_gl=...
Submit a Claim
secure.anthropiccopyrightsettlement.com
October 3, 2025 at 8:07 AM
ICYMI: link to the database of books stolen by Anthropic - NB this is a smaller list than the previous database so check this one to see if you can join the settlement and begin the fight with your publisher/agent about the size of their cut secure.anthropiccopyrightsettlement.com/lookup/?_gl=...
Inspired to see if Pete Hegseth (with whom I overlapped at Princeton) and his Princeton Tory magazine had ever targeted me with the energy and lethality of true warfighters and whaddya know!? (from September 2002...)
October 1, 2025 at 9:59 PM
Inspired to see if Pete Hegseth (with whom I overlapped at Princeton) and his Princeton Tory magazine had ever targeted me with the energy and lethality of true warfighters and whaddya know!? (from September 2002...)