Will Cooling
@willcooling.bsky.social
Writes & Hosts the It Could Be Said substack & podcast; https://itcouldbesaid.substack.com/
Has contributed to a variety of outlets on politics, sport or pop culture
Contact email is w.cooling[at]gmail.com
All opinions his own & not of any employer
Has contributed to a variety of outlets on politics, sport or pop culture
Contact email is w.cooling[at]gmail.com
All opinions his own & not of any employer
Out of spite i spent most of the day reading a 110page chapter of a fairly dense history book because I said I'd read a chapter today and would not be defeated lol
A random moan - books with overly long chapters. A chapters should ideally be the length the average person can comfortably read in one sitting. That way you can help guide at what point they stop and restart reading.
December 27, 2025 at 8:50 PM
Out of spite i spent most of the day reading a 110page chapter of a fairly dense history book because I said I'd read a chapter today and would not be defeated lol
A random moan - books with overly long chapters. A chapters should ideally be the length the average person can comfortably read in one sitting. That way you can help guide at what point they stop and restart reading.
December 27, 2025 at 3:20 PM
A random moan - books with overly long chapters. A chapters should ideally be the length the average person can comfortably read in one sitting. That way you can help guide at what point they stop and restart reading.
The sad thing is that many of things people complain about in this thread are exactly why video podcasts are winning - they promote more engagement, are easier to clip or monetize, etc. Should be space for both audio & visual but there's a reason TV ultimately consigned radio to a select few niches
will also add - yes, this is my personal crusade - that turning podcasts into videos implicitly asks women to once again make more effort than men, as the bar for "camera-ready" for one gender is obviously higher than for the other
‘Painful to hear!’ How podcasts’ rush to video is turning them into dreadful listens
December 27, 2025 at 12:09 PM
The sad thing is that many of things people complain about in this thread are exactly why video podcasts are winning - they promote more engagement, are easier to clip or monetize, etc. Should be space for both audio & visual but there's a reason TV ultimately consigned radio to a select few niches
They're going to build us a Shellllldon Express
Sadly to genuinely know US pop culture nowadays would require engagement with the Big Bang Theory’s extended universe
Oh my god. I thought NCIS was the "old show that keeps getting best ratings" but turns out that's not true anymore.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Top-rat...
(writing alt text for Wikipedia lists is cumbersome on phone)
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Top-rat...
(writing alt text for Wikipedia lists is cumbersome on phone)
December 27, 2025 at 7:53 AM
They're going to build us a Shellllldon Express
Reposted by Will Cooling
And the England cricket team - who did NOT get whitewashed
December 27, 2025 at 7:40 AM
And the England cricket team - who did NOT get whitewashed
Uh-oh. I went to bed just before the Aussies collapsed and I've just put the TV back on to see Crawley get out.
December 27, 2025 at 5:08 AM
Uh-oh. I went to bed just before the Aussies collapsed and I've just put the TV back on to see Crawley get out.
It's actually worse than that. There *may* be an argument that the Democrats should be doing this in certain states where they're so shut out of societal power that a network of "Democratic Clubs" could in the long-term provide the party with the positive ID, activists & candidates it needs
This is the sort of community organising stuff that both Corbyn/Miliband tried in Labour.
Campaigns/parties need focus. You can be a political campaign. Or a charity. It is *very* difficult to do both.
Community organising has its place, but Im unconvinced its in political campaigns
Campaigns/parties need focus. You can be a political campaign. Or a charity. It is *very* difficult to do both.
Community organising has its place, but Im unconvinced its in political campaigns
I’m not going to hazard a guess how this campaign will turn out. But she’s framing this as part of a broader attempt to turn campaigns into charities - so you can see Dems actually give back or whatever - and that’s absurdly naive and unsustainable.
December 27, 2025 at 1:09 AM
It's actually worse than that. There *may* be an argument that the Democrats should be doing this in certain states where they're so shut out of societal power that a network of "Democratic Clubs" could in the long-term provide the party with the positive ID, activists & candidates it needs
Sigh
King Charles and Prince William expected to visit US in 2026 to revitalise trade deal
King Charles and Prince William expected to visit US in 2026 to revitalise trade deal
Royals are reported to plan separate trips, after Donald Trump paused implementation of agreement
King Charles III and the Prince of Wales are expected to make separate trips to the US in 2026 as part of a campaign to revitalise a trade deal with Donald Trump, it has been reported.
Advanced talks on a visit by the king are said to be under way, the Times reported. The paper suggested that King Charles’s visit to the US was likely to take place in April. Continue reading...
www.theguardian.com
December 27, 2025 at 12:36 AM
Sigh
Holy mother of God!
December 26, 2025 at 11:06 PM
Holy mother of God!
Reposted by Will Cooling
12YO girl signed up to do “stand up comedy” at the talent show. 13YO boy decided to heckle her. Teacher started to tell the boy to leave her alone, but the 12YO comedian said “no, no, let him go, this is the closest he’s ever going to get to having a conversation with a girl.”
What's an insult you'll never forget?
December 26, 2025 at 4:43 PM
12YO girl signed up to do “stand up comedy” at the talent show. 13YO boy decided to heckle her. Teacher started to tell the boy to leave her alone, but the 12YO comedian said “no, no, let him go, this is the closest he’s ever going to get to having a conversation with a girl.”
What i think makes anti-London politics particularly shrill is the knowledge that thanks to modern technology, with the right infrastructure pretty much everywhere in Great Britain that has a significant number of people living in it, could be turned into a London commuter town
Good interview in the paper, this. I think Sadiq is right: London 'needs' to be less successful than it is for a bunch of political arguments here in the UK to work, hence the fictions being invented about it:
Populists attack London because it is ‘progressive and successful’, says Sadiq Khan
Rightwing attacks on one of the world’s most visited cities at odds with reality, says mayor
www.ft.com
December 26, 2025 at 4:14 PM
What i think makes anti-London politics particularly shrill is the knowledge that thanks to modern technology, with the right infrastructure pretty much everywhere in Great Britain that has a significant number of people living in it, could be turned into a London commuter town
Reposted by Will Cooling
My distressingly earnest take on a lot of stuff is that the real divide in politics is by people who are ultimately driven by love and joy and those who are primarily driven by hate and anger. Each finds different objects, policies and directions, but the chasm is between rather than among each side
December 26, 2025 at 1:00 PM
My distressingly earnest take on a lot of stuff is that the real divide in politics is by people who are ultimately driven by love and joy and those who are primarily driven by hate and anger. Each finds different objects, policies and directions, but the chasm is between rather than among each side
Look if they're not worth the bones of a pomeranian grenadier, how can they be worth tolerating inferior Christmas chocolates?
I admit it's true what people say, Quality Street isn't as good as it was in the 90s. But on the other hand look at the state of the Balkans then and the mostly thriving, relatively prosperous democracies down there now. So, you pick your battles really.
December 26, 2025 at 12:53 AM
Look if they're not worth the bones of a pomeranian grenadier, how can they be worth tolerating inferior Christmas chocolates?
The great secret of Britain in the Second World War
December 25, 2025 at 9:45 PM
The great secret of Britain in the Second World War
Merry Christmas to all! We have done a special series for @throughtimepod.bsky.social on A Christmas Carol. I think @davidolusoga.bsky.social & I both loved doing it & hope you enjoy listening.
Also I must apologize to all fans of Fan for calling her Fran. Yikes!😱 podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/5...
Also I must apologize to all fans of Fan for calling her Fran. Yikes!😱 podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/5...
59. A Christmas Carol: The Book That Brought Back Christmas (Ep 1)
Podcast Episode · Journey Through Time · 25/12/2025 · 58m
podcasts.apple.com
December 25, 2025 at 5:31 PM
Has to be said that despite my better judgement, uber is slightly wonderous at times. Hour long journey on Christmas Day less than £55. Would have cost more to do it by taxi+train yesterday and taken three times as long. Merry Christmas
December 25, 2025 at 10:53 AM
Has to be said that despite my better judgement, uber is slightly wonderous at times. Hour long journey on Christmas Day less than £55. Would have cost more to do it by taxi+train yesterday and taken three times as long. Merry Christmas
December 24, 2025 at 8:57 PM
Reposted by Will Cooling
podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/w...
And we’re back for part 2 of our review of adaptation’s of a #Christmascarol in this episode we look at a couple of horror inflected adaptations. My first book even gets a mention.
And we’re back for part 2 of our review of adaptation’s of a #Christmascarol in this episode we look at a couple of horror inflected adaptations. My first book even gets a mention.
Dark Christmas Carols: FX's A Christmas Carol (2019) vs. Carol for Another Christmas (1964)
Podcast Episode · Wool-Shift-Dust does Dune · 24/12/2025 · 2h 18m
podcasts.apple.com
December 24, 2025 at 7:18 PM
podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/w...
And we’re back for part 2 of our review of adaptation’s of a #Christmascarol in this episode we look at a couple of horror inflected adaptations. My first book even gets a mention.
And we’re back for part 2 of our review of adaptation’s of a #Christmascarol in this episode we look at a couple of horror inflected adaptations. My first book even gets a mention.
Oh no. Not content with sports betting and right-wing ownership of the press, the Americans are starting to learn passive aggressiveness.
JUST IN: CBS’s Kennedy Center Honors just hit an all-time ratings low. Preliminary Nielsen data shows only ~2.65M viewers tuned in to the Trump-hosted show, down from 4.1M in 2024. A stunning 35% year-over-year collapse.
December 24, 2025 at 8:11 PM
Oh no. Not content with sports betting and right-wing ownership of the press, the Americans are starting to learn passive aggressiveness.
It's a fun joke but in reality is that 9/11 is definitely when our current era began. And arguably the second phase of the Boer War (specifically Britain's shock at how difficult it was & its unpopularity across Europe) was the start of the 20th Century
My beloved AP European History teacher always said that modern centuries only truly "begin" 14 to 18 years after the technical turn of the calendar:
1517 (Luther's Theses)
1618 (Defenestration of Prague)
1714 (Peace of Utrecht)
1815 (Napoleon defeated)
1914 (WWI begins)
and
2016 (Trump wins)
1517 (Luther's Theses)
1618 (Defenestration of Prague)
1714 (Peace of Utrecht)
1815 (Napoleon defeated)
1914 (WWI begins)
and
2016 (Trump wins)
December 24, 2025 at 2:18 PM
It's a fun joke but in reality is that 9/11 is definitely when our current era began. And arguably the second phase of the Boer War (specifically Britain's shock at how difficult it was & its unpopularity across Europe) was the start of the 20th Century
Reposted by Will Cooling
The nature of every government is that it has at least one world historical sin of omission, and I think New Labour's is not intervening when the CMA vetoed the PSBs all sharing a single platform for the Internet.
This is really good. Still think Britbox was a missed opportunity (and a terrible name). If BBC, ITV & C4 had decided to share a domestic platform (iPlayer best of the three) that they could sell subs for internationally (inc. massive back catalogues) they could have been a major global competitor.
Fascinating piece on the future of British TV in the age of streaming:
December 24, 2025 at 11:47 AM
The nature of every government is that it has at least one world historical sin of omission, and I think New Labour's is not intervening when the CMA vetoed the PSBs all sharing a single platform for the Internet.
Reposted by Will Cooling
podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/w...
And we’re back, me and @elysiacb.bsky.social begin our by now traditional look at adaptations of Charles Dickens a Christmas Carol. We start by looking at more traditional adaptations
And we’re back, me and @elysiacb.bsky.social begin our by now traditional look at adaptations of Charles Dickens a Christmas Carol. We start by looking at more traditional adaptations
A Christmas Carol Classics, take 2: Seymour Hicks, The Stingiest Man, & Jim Carrey
Podcast Episode · Wool-Shift-Dust does Dune · 23/12/2025 · 1h 27m
podcasts.apple.com
December 24, 2025 at 8:30 AM
podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/w...
And we’re back, me and @elysiacb.bsky.social begin our by now traditional look at adaptations of Charles Dickens a Christmas Carol. We start by looking at more traditional adaptations
And we’re back, me and @elysiacb.bsky.social begin our by now traditional look at adaptations of Charles Dickens a Christmas Carol. We start by looking at more traditional adaptations
Reading A History of the Muslim World. Not sure I'm meant to think "fair's, fair" at Muhammad executing the guy who bragged in poetry at tricking him to pay blood money
December 23, 2025 at 11:53 PM
Reading A History of the Muslim World. Not sure I'm meant to think "fair's, fair" at Muhammad executing the guy who bragged in poetry at tricking him to pay blood money
No We Can't
urgent news: man at Stansted wearing a t-shirt with a picture of Keir Starmer in the style of that famous Obama poster (??)
December 23, 2025 at 11:28 PM
No We Can't
Funniest/Most shameful fact is that I've posted here every single day this year
This year on Bluesky I wrote 1,692 posts and 5,679 replies. I received 31,362 likes, whereas 345 was from my most popular post, and apparently I love saying "its" and 😂!
www.madebyolof.com/bluesky-wrap...
www.madebyolof.com/bluesky-wrap...
willcooling.bsky.social's Bluesky Wrapped 2025
Check out willcooling.bsky.social's year on Bluesky!
www.madebyolof.com
December 23, 2025 at 8:25 PM
Funniest/Most shameful fact is that I've posted here every single day this year