Simon Kuper
@simonkuper.bsky.social
Financial Times columnist, and author of books including Chums, Good Chaps, Impossible City: Paris in the Twenty-First Century, Soccernomics and out in late 2025, World Cup Fever. British and now French too, lives in Paris with wife and kids.
How to watch/experience the World Cup? My tips for Town & Country magazine, based partly on my book World Cup Fever - out now in the UK and in North America from March 3 www.townandcountrymag.com/leisure/spor...
Life Goals: World Cup Edition
Making it to one World Cup is a win. But for this man, once is just not enough.
www.townandcountrymag.com
February 13, 2026 at 3:48 PM
How to watch/experience the World Cup? My tips for Town & Country magazine, based partly on my book World Cup Fever - out now in the UK and in North America from March 3 www.townandcountrymag.com/leisure/spor...
De volgende stad voor mijn @haagschcollege.bsky.social theatertour over "De macht van het WK-voetbal": @tivolivredenburg.bsky.social in Utrecht op 2 juni. Kaartverkoop nu begonnen: www.tivolivredenburg.nl/agenda/38675... Tot dan
De Macht van het WK Voetbal - TivoliVredenburg
De Macht van het WK Voetbal op dinsdag 2 juni 2026 in Hertz, TivoliVredenburg. Dé geopolitieke WK-voorbeschouwing met Simon Kuper.
www.tivolivredenburg.nl
February 13, 2026 at 2:54 PM
De volgende stad voor mijn @haagschcollege.bsky.social theatertour over "De macht van het WK-voetbal": @tivolivredenburg.bsky.social in Utrecht op 2 juni. Kaartverkoop nu begonnen: www.tivolivredenburg.nl/agenda/38675... Tot dan
In London on March 18? Please come to my talk about my new book World Cup Fever, at Backstory bookshop in Balham. Tickets here: backstory.london/products/18t...
18th March, 7:30pm - Simon Kuper, World Cup Fever
Please note event tickets are neither exchangeable nor refundable. Wednesday 18th March, 7:30pm Backstory, 71 Balham High Rd, SW12 9AP Sports writer Simon Kuper will be joined by Head of Sport at The ...
backstory.london
February 13, 2026 at 10:28 AM
In London on March 18? Please come to my talk about my new book World Cup Fever, at Backstory bookshop in Balham. Tickets here: backstory.london/products/18t...
Reposted by Simon Kuper
Simon Kuper: We know the trend, yet each new individual stat is still gobsmacking. The average Chinese woman now has 0.98 children. Last year, the country reported the fewest births since records began in 1949, Thailand the fewest since 1950 and France since the second world war.
Life in a depopulating world
With declining fertility rates, many countries will look very different by 2100
www.ft.com
February 12, 2026 at 3:31 PM
Simon Kuper: We know the trend, yet each new individual stat is still gobsmacking. The average Chinese woman now has 0.98 children. Last year, the country reported the fewest births since records began in 1949, Thailand the fewest since 1950 and France since the second world war.
Populations in most of the great landmass from Portugal to China will probably halve this century. What might life for our grandchildren look like? Me with an uncharacteristic optimistic take (drawing on the only historical precedent: the 14th-century Black Death)
@financialtimes.com
@financialtimes.com
Life in a depopulating world
[FREE TO READ] With declining fertility rates, many countries will look very different by 2100
as.ft.com
February 12, 2026 at 5:39 PM
Populations in most of the great landmass from Portugal to China will probably halve this century. What might life for our grandchildren look like? Me with an uncharacteristic optimistic take (drawing on the only historical precedent: the 14th-century Black Death)
@financialtimes.com
@financialtimes.com
Reposted by Simon Kuper
“Gallup Will No Longer Track Presidential Approval Ratings”
“Gallup’s decision comes as President Trump has escalated his threats against the press, and sued at least one respected pollster”
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/11/u...
“Gallup’s decision comes as President Trump has escalated his threats against the press, and sued at least one respected pollster”
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/11/u...
Gallup Will No Longer Track Presidential Approval Ratings
www.nytimes.com
February 12, 2026 at 9:06 AM
“Gallup Will No Longer Track Presidential Approval Ratings”
“Gallup’s decision comes as President Trump has escalated his threats against the press, and sued at least one respected pollster”
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/11/u...
“Gallup’s decision comes as President Trump has escalated his threats against the press, and sued at least one respected pollster”
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/11/u...
De volgende datum voor mijn theatertour staat: "De macht van het WK-voetbal" op 3 juni in Groningen. Kaartjes hier: www.spotgroningen.nl/programma/ar... Over voetbal, geopolitiek, Cruijff, de Duitsers, Trump, Mussolini, Dick Nanninga en wat het WK betekent. Met @haagschcollege.bsky.social
simon kuper - Spot Groningen
www.spotgroningen.nl
February 12, 2026 at 9:07 AM
De volgende datum voor mijn theatertour staat: "De macht van het WK-voetbal" op 3 juni in Groningen. Kaartjes hier: www.spotgroningen.nl/programma/ar... Over voetbal, geopolitiek, Cruijff, de Duitsers, Trump, Mussolini, Dick Nanninga en wat het WK betekent. Met @haagschcollege.bsky.social
Reposted by Simon Kuper
It is so embarrassing that it has taken nearly a decade for a British minister to say this, a statement of the absolute bloody obvious
February 11, 2026 at 7:40 AM
It is so embarrassing that it has taken nearly a decade for a British minister to say this, a statement of the absolute bloody obvious
Reposted by Simon Kuper
You go to the United States this can happen to you, too, my fellow Europeans.
"A modern-day concentration camp ... People have been killed by the staff here." Irish citizen Seamus Culleton has been in ICE detention since September, despite having a valid work permit and his own business in the US.
February 10, 2026 at 5:54 PM
You go to the United States this can happen to you, too, my fellow Europeans.
Ik ga met @HaagschCollege op theatertour! Onderwerp: "De macht van het WK-voetbal." Het plan: optredens in theaters in zes Nederlandse steden in mei/juni. De eerste, Het Nationale Theater in Den Haag, heeft net de kaartverkoop geopend voor 26 mei. Wees erbij! www.hnt.nl/nl/voorstell...
De Macht van het WK Voetbal — Haagsch College | Simon Kuper
Een geopolitieke WK-voorbeschouwing met Simon Kuper over voetbal, macht en wereldpolitiek. Voor iedereen die verder kijkt dan het veld.
www.hnt.nl
February 10, 2026 at 4:51 PM
Ik ga met @HaagschCollege op theatertour! Onderwerp: "De macht van het WK-voetbal." Het plan: optredens in theaters in zes Nederlandse steden in mei/juni. De eerste, Het Nationale Theater in Den Haag, heeft net de kaartverkoop geopend voor 26 mei. Wees erbij! www.hnt.nl/nl/voorstell...
Big difference between UK and US is that in Britain there is still a shared perception of truth: almost nobody there is arguing that the files are 'fake news', 'Democratic hoax' etc. Vast majority in the UK still agree on most facts, partly because much-maligned BBC is still collective news source
February 7, 2026 at 4:09 PM
Big difference between UK and US is that in Britain there is still a shared perception of truth: almost nobody there is arguing that the files are 'fake news', 'Democratic hoax' etc. Vast majority in the UK still agree on most facts, partly because much-maligned BBC is still collective news source
Dutch king, huge football fan, refuses to say if he'll go to the World Cup in US. I think heads of state/government ministers etcetera might stay away, like at Russia WCup 2018; boycotts by teams extremely unlikely unless Trump actually invades a Euro country www.voetbalprimeur.nl/nieuws/17399...
Koning Willem-Alexander pareert WK-vraag: 'De toekomst is de toekomst'
Koning Willem-Alexander wil zich niet uitspreken over het aanstaande WK in Amerika. Samen met zijn gezin is de koning aanwezig bij de Olympische Spelen in Milaan. Daar krijgt hij de vraag of hij komen...
www.voetbalprimeur.nl
February 7, 2026 at 1:48 PM
Dutch king, huge football fan, refuses to say if he'll go to the World Cup in US. I think heads of state/government ministers etcetera might stay away, like at Russia WCup 2018; boycotts by teams extremely unlikely unless Trump actually invades a Euro country www.voetbalprimeur.nl/nieuws/17399...
Why Trump is Europe's perfect enemy, even better than Putin and the Brexiteers. Now with a link that works (sorry about previous one): as.ft.com/r/567b004c-d...
Trump is Europe’s best enemy yet
[FREE TO READ] Lack of a common foe enfeebled Europe — but not any more
as.ft.com
February 6, 2026 at 8:44 PM
Why Trump is Europe's perfect enemy, even better than Putin and the Brexiteers. Now with a link that works (sorry about previous one): as.ft.com/r/567b004c-d...
Trump has done more to create European unity than any European ever has. Me @financialtimes.com on how he is the perfect enemy for Europe, even better than the Brexiteers and Putin. Free link here: giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...
Trump is Europe’s best enemy yet
Lack of a common foe enfeebled Europe — but not any more
giftarticle.ft.com
February 6, 2026 at 6:25 PM
Trump has done more to create European unity than any European ever has. Me @financialtimes.com on how he is the perfect enemy for Europe, even better than the Brexiteers and Putin. Free link here: giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...
Reposted by Simon Kuper
@simonkuper.bsky.social:
"I’ve never previously seen Europeans feel so European"
"I’d always doubted that Europe existed as anything more than an unfinished single market. That might be changing"
www.ft.com/content/dc9e...
"I’ve never previously seen Europeans feel so European"
"I’d always doubted that Europe existed as anything more than an unfinished single market. That might be changing"
www.ft.com/content/dc9e...
Trump is Europe’s best enemy yet
Lack of a common foe enfeebled Europe — but not any more
www.ft.com
February 5, 2026 at 2:09 PM
@simonkuper.bsky.social:
"I’ve never previously seen Europeans feel so European"
"I’d always doubted that Europe existed as anything more than an unfinished single market. That might be changing"
www.ft.com/content/dc9e...
"I’ve never previously seen Europeans feel so European"
"I’d always doubted that Europe existed as anything more than an unfinished single market. That might be changing"
www.ft.com/content/dc9e...
Reposted by Simon Kuper
I wanna keep doing this work, in any form (podcast! newsletter! movie? AI literacy class!). Pls msg me on Signal at nitasha.10 if you need someone who’s well-sourced in AI & SV, worked hard to understand the technology + ideas + players, cares about getting it right and informing the public
February 4, 2026 at 7:40 PM
I wanna keep doing this work, in any form (podcast! newsletter! movie? AI literacy class!). Pls msg me on Signal at nitasha.10 if you need someone who’s well-sourced in AI & SV, worked hard to understand the technology + ideas + players, cares about getting it right and informing the public
Reposted by Simon Kuper
A publisher who lays off a reporter whose pen is freezing because she's covering a frigid war zone while dodging missiles is not an editor you want to work for, in a more perfect world
February 4, 2026 at 5:07 PM
A publisher who lays off a reporter whose pen is freezing because she's covering a frigid war zone while dodging missiles is not an editor you want to work for, in a more perfect world
Reposted by Simon Kuper
always bears repeating that this is NOT a financial decision. jeff bezos is worth over 250 billion dollars. he can afford to lose many millions and never even notice it. this is, at its core, a political and personal decision by bezos to destroy the post
WASHINGTON (AP) — Washington Post says one-third of its staff across all departments, not just the newsroom, is being laid off.
February 4, 2026 at 3:04 PM
always bears repeating that this is NOT a financial decision. jeff bezos is worth over 250 billion dollars. he can afford to lose many millions and never even notice it. this is, at its core, a political and personal decision by bezos to destroy the post
Reposted by Simon Kuper
@SimonKuperFT: "Any politician still invoking “the international community” or calling the US an “ally” is either a liar or hasn’t been paying attention."
www.ft.com/content/fcb5...
www.ft.com/content/fcb5...
The ‘Little West’ takes on the new world order
Terrified into co-operation by outside threats, a surprisingly solid bloc is emerging
www.ft.com
January 31, 2026 at 1:05 AM
@SimonKuperFT: "Any politician still invoking “the international community” or calling the US an “ally” is either a liar or hasn’t been paying attention."
www.ft.com/content/fcb5...
www.ft.com/content/fcb5...
The "hope you're enjoying Saudi" is the perfect sign-off line here, beautifully caps whole email
February 1, 2026 at 8:22 AM
The "hope you're enjoying Saudi" is the perfect sign-off line here, beautifully caps whole email
Reposted by Simon Kuper
As Mark Carney said, we're in a new world order. So how does it work? What are its rules? Errr - are there are any rules? Me @financialtimes.com. Free to read as.ft.com/r/2bae5b49-b...
The ‘Little West’ takes on the new world order
[FREE TO READ] Terrified into co-operation by outside threats, a surprisingly solid bloc is emerging
as.ft.com
January 29, 2026 at 1:44 PM
As Mark Carney said, we're in a new world order. So how does it work? What are its rules? Errr - are there are any rules? Me @financialtimes.com. Free to read as.ft.com/r/2bae5b49-b...
Reposted by Simon Kuper
‘Weirdly, the only multilateral organisation that is getting stronger is the one whose demise was always being predicted: the EU.’
As Mark Carney said, we're in a new world order. So how does it work? What are its rules? Errr - are there are any rules? Me @financialtimes.com. Free to read as.ft.com/r/2bae5b49-b...
The ‘Little West’ takes on the new world order
[FREE TO READ] Terrified into co-operation by outside threats, a surprisingly solid bloc is emerging
as.ft.com
January 31, 2026 at 8:29 AM
‘Weirdly, the only multilateral organisation that is getting stronger is the one whose demise was always being predicted: the EU.’
As Mark Carney said, we're in a new world order. So how does it work? What are its rules? Errr - are there are any rules? Me @financialtimes.com. Free to read as.ft.com/r/2bae5b49-b...
The ‘Little West’ takes on the new world order
[FREE TO READ] Terrified into co-operation by outside threats, a surprisingly solid bloc is emerging
as.ft.com
January 29, 2026 at 1:44 PM
As Mark Carney said, we're in a new world order. So how does it work? What are its rules? Errr - are there are any rules? Me @financialtimes.com. Free to read as.ft.com/r/2bae5b49-b...
Reposted by Simon Kuper
Martin Wolf too!!
📷 Last chance: the FT charity lunch auction closes on Saturday. Bid now for lunch with me, or with one of my much more impressive colleagues, e.g. @mccrum.bsky.social or @jemima.bsky.social 📷 ft.com/auction #FTCharityLunchAuction
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ft.com
January 29, 2026 at 9:53 AM
Martin Wolf too!!
📷 Last chance: the FT charity lunch auction closes on Saturday. Bid now for lunch with me, or with one of my much more impressive colleagues, e.g. @mccrum.bsky.social or @jemima.bsky.social 📷 ft.com/auction #FTCharityLunchAuction
Sorry, GalaBid took too long to load. Please check your internet speed or try again.
ft.com
January 29, 2026 at 9:49 AM
📷 Last chance: the FT charity lunch auction closes on Saturday. Bid now for lunch with me, or with one of my much more impressive colleagues, e.g. @mccrum.bsky.social or @jemima.bsky.social 📷 ft.com/auction #FTCharityLunchAuction