Conor Boyle
conorboyle9.bsky.social
Conor Boyle
@conorboyle9.bsky.social
Head of Programming Intelligence Squared. Views expressed my own
The Beatles Anthology is so moving. Loved watching it over the Christmas break
January 3, 2026 at 6:30 PM
Reposted by Conor Boyle
Irish citizen Donna Hughes-Brown, who had been held by immigration authorities in the US for almost five months, has said it is fabulous to be free but she is still feeling a bit overwhelmed since her release last week
'Family kept me going' - Irish woman after ICE detention
Irish citizen Donna Hughes-Brown, who had been held by immigration authorities in the US for almost five months, has said it is fabulous to be free but she is still feeling a bit overwhelmed since her...
www.rte.ie
December 22, 2025 at 9:39 AM
Reposted by Conor Boyle
Per NY Times’s Michael Grynbaum on X, this is Sharyn Alfonsi’s email to her “60 Minutes” colleagues in full:
December 22, 2025 at 3:37 AM
Reposted by Conor Boyle
CBS News Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss pulled a 60 Minutes segment on allegations of abuses at an El Salvador detention center where the Trump administration sent hundreds of Venezuelan migrants. n.pr/4pagOTD
CBS News chief Bari Weiss pulls '60 Minutes' story, sparking outcry
CBS News Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss pulled a 60 Minutes segment on allegations of abuses at an El Salvador detention center where the Trump administration sent hundreds of Venezuelan migrants.
n.pr
December 22, 2025 at 9:39 AM
It feels like in the last 12 months there has been an even more aggressive replacement of independent local businesses with private equity backed chains
December 20, 2025 at 7:40 PM
Reposted by Conor Boyle
US foreign policy also for sale in the Balkans:

"The Maga push overturning US policy in the Balkans"
giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/... via @FT
December 10, 2025 at 2:33 PM
Reposted by Conor Boyle
The lunatics are running the asylum.

Spent last Friday at a conference on the Digital Dark Ages and have been working on a paper on agnotology in this realm specifically and now the antivax cranks in power literally changed the government website today.
November 20, 2025 at 6:38 AM
Reposted by Conor Boyle
I don’t want to seem out of touch but I don’t actually understand the economy anymore.
November 18, 2025 at 3:23 AM
I could get back into catholicism if he keeps this up
Pope Leo absolutely cooking
November 18, 2025 at 9:13 AM
Reposted by Conor Boyle
Pope Leo absolutely cooking
November 16, 2025 at 7:47 AM
Reposted by Conor Boyle
Never forget that just a week ago, Ross Douthat and the NYTimes were asking if women ruined the workplace.
November 17, 2025 at 3:33 AM
Reposted by Conor Boyle
At a major "anti-hate" conference a few years ago I was on a panel where I lightly suggested big tech companies were faking their concerns about hate/misinfo. It didn't go over too well.

But let the record show that once again I was right. They only care about money.

www.yahoo.com/news/article...
YouTube reversing bans on creators flagged for COVID and election misinformation
YouTube will allow creators banned under its old COVID-19 and election misinformation policies to return, Alphabet said in a letter to Congress.
www.yahoo.com
September 25, 2025 at 2:40 PM
Can you really fight extremism in a world of attention based ‘recommendation’ algorithms?

If users only saw content from the other users they follow rather than constantly ‘recommended’ extreme content I wonder how politics would change overnight?
September 14, 2025 at 10:18 AM
Reposted by Conor Boyle
My colleague @thejohnsimpson.bsky.social has done a terrific deep dive into the financial links between US tech billionaires and Tommy Robinson

Well worth a read

observer.co.uk/news/nationa...
US cash turned Tommy Robinson into the poster boy of UK f...
Outside the Old Bailey in 2018, a reinvented Tommy Robinson flashed his perfect new teeth to 2,000 diehard supporters at a “free Tommy” rally on a stage ...
observer.co.uk
September 14, 2025 at 6:09 AM
Reposted by Conor Boyle
The owner of and absolute unquestionable algorithm controller of a preferred communications channel of the UK Government calling for violence and the overthrow of the Government. www.theguardian.com/politics/liv...
Elon Musk addresses the ‘unite the kingdom’ march crowd via video link – UK politics live
Met Police believe 110,000 people attending rally, with one group in Whitehall throwing projectiles at officers
www.theguardian.com
September 13, 2025 at 4:39 PM
Reposted by Conor Boyle
The newly ousted director of the CDC refused to fire top agency leaders or approve changes to vaccines from RFK Jr.’s hand-picked panel of advisers.
Monarez refused to fire top CDC leaders, ‘rubber-stamp’ vaccine changes, confidante says
The former CDC director was ousted late Wednesday after refusing to resign despite pressure from Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
www.politico.com
August 28, 2025 at 2:38 PM
Reposted by Conor Boyle
Four more top #CDC officials have submitted their resignation in the past few hours - Debra Houry (chief medical officer), Demere Daskalakis (director of NCIRD), Daniel Jernigan (director of NCEZID) + Jen Layden (director of OPHDST) www.nbcnews.com/health/healt...

It is horrifying
August 27, 2025 at 10:51 PM
Reposted by Conor Boyle
“It’s safe to say that Trump does not have a single policymaking person who knows Russia and Ukraine advising him,” said Eric Rubin, a former career diplomat who served as US ambassador to Bulgaria during Trump’s first term.
www.ft.com/content/89f3...
No experts in the room: Donald Trump to meet Vladimir Putin after loss of Russia specialists
Reduction in federal workforce has hollowed out the number of knowledgeable officials in Washington
www.ft.com
August 13, 2025 at 1:13 PM
Reposted by Conor Boyle
Dr. Michael Osterholm cuts to the chase on why cutting mRNA research funding is such a dangerous idea.
August 12, 2025 at 8:38 PM
Genuine question - If there was a new pandemic tomorrow would the US government block the development of mRNA vaccines?
Cutting off mRNA research because the first mRNA vaccines weren't good enough - *even if that were true, which it really isn't* - is like if we banned personal computers in 1981 because the IBM PC was too expensive
How RFK Jr. Mastered Fake Science—and Screwed Us in the Process
He’s Making America Great Again—for lethal pathogens.
www.thebulwark.com
August 13, 2025 at 9:42 AM
Despite the chaos, sport and entertainment continue to drive growth and social good:

www.nytimes.com/athletic/653...
August 2, 2025 at 9:03 AM
Very good substack from Jamie Bartlett about what Labour need to learn from Donald Trump.

open.substack.com/pub/jamiejba...
August 1, 2025 at 8:29 AM
Really enjoyed speaking to @joeydurso.bsky.social about his new book ‘More Than A Shirt’ and what football shirts can tell us about the world.

@intelligence2.bsky.social

open.spotify.com/episode/0lcc...
How Can Football Shirts Explain Money, Power and Politics?
Intelligence Squared · Episode
open.spotify.com
July 21, 2025 at 7:38 PM
It’s no longer possible to hide behind ‘it’s complicated’ anymore. Keep talking about Kneecap but this is published by Haaretz.

IDF Soldiers ordered to shoot starving civilians.

www.haaretz.com/israel-news/...
IDF soldiers ordered to shoot deliberately at unarmed Gazans waiting for humanitarian aid
***
www.haaretz.com
June 28, 2025 at 8:20 PM
Reposted by Conor Boyle
Tour dates for my book ‘This is for Everyone’ released today. Join me in London Sept 9th, Oxford Sept 10th or Edinburgh Sept 13th.

More on US dates and the rest of the 🌍 soon.
‪‪
🙏 @intelligence2.bsky.social @blackwells.bsky.social @portybooks.bsky.social

linktr.ee/thisisforeve...
thisisforeveryoneukevents | Instagram | Linktree
The groundbreaking memoir from the inventor of the World Wide Web
linktr.ee
May 29, 2025 at 9:04 AM