Hettie O’Brien
@hettieobrien.bsky.social
Author of THE ASSET CLASS, April 2026 Weidenfeld & Nicolson (UK) and June 2026 Grand Central (US) | Writer and editor at the Guardian | she/her
Pinned
THE ASSET CLASS, my first book, will be published by @wnbooks.bsky.social on 9 April 2026. It’s a narrative investigation of private equity, a secretive and relentlessly destructive wing of finance that penetrates almost every aspect of our lives - and it’s available to pre-order now!
Reposted by Hettie O’Brien
Write for us!!
We're taking pitches for our third issue until December 5th
Send us your ideas for essays, dispatches, photojournalism, memoir, the works!
Full details at the link. 👩💻📚
We're taking pitches for our third issue until December 5th
Send us your ideas for essays, dispatches, photojournalism, memoir, the works!
Full details at the link. 👩💻📚
Submissions for ISSUE #3 – AIRBORNE, are now open!
We are accepting pitches exploring the importance of air in the climate and ecological crises, its role in environmental history and activism, and its future on a transformed planet.
More details 👇
We are accepting pitches exploring the importance of air in the climate and ecological crises, its role in environmental history and activism, and its future on a transformed planet.
More details 👇
Pitching
What We Publish We’re interested in original ideas and clear, compelling writing that breaks down complex subjects for an engaged but non-expert audience. The best guide to what we might like is to…
www.break-down.org
November 18, 2025 at 12:53 PM
Write for us!!
We're taking pitches for our third issue until December 5th
Send us your ideas for essays, dispatches, photojournalism, memoir, the works!
Full details at the link. 👩💻📚
We're taking pitches for our third issue until December 5th
Send us your ideas for essays, dispatches, photojournalism, memoir, the works!
Full details at the link. 👩💻📚
THE ASSET CLASS, my first book, will be published by @wnbooks.bsky.social on 9 April 2026. It’s a narrative investigation of private equity, a secretive and relentlessly destructive wing of finance that penetrates almost every aspect of our lives - and it’s available to pre-order now!
November 18, 2025 at 12:00 PM
THE ASSET CLASS, my first book, will be published by @wnbooks.bsky.social on 9 April 2026. It’s a narrative investigation of private equity, a secretive and relentlessly destructive wing of finance that penetrates almost every aspect of our lives - and it’s available to pre-order now!
Reposted by Hettie O’Brien
Excited to say that the beautiful Guardian Long Read Magazine is out now, ft. work by @mrkocnnll.bsky.social, @imogenwk.bsky.social, @jackgoulder.bsky.social, @tessairini.bsky.social, @hettieobrien.bsky.social + many other brilliant writers. Order your copy here guardianbookshop.com/long-read-50...
The Guardian Long Read
A better place to buy your books. Support independent journalism with everything you buy. Free UK P&P on online orders over £25
guardianbookshop.com
November 13, 2025 at 12:38 PM
Excited to say that the beautiful Guardian Long Read Magazine is out now, ft. work by @mrkocnnll.bsky.social, @imogenwk.bsky.social, @jackgoulder.bsky.social, @tessairini.bsky.social, @hettieobrien.bsky.social + many other brilliant writers. Order your copy here guardianbookshop.com/long-read-50...
Reposted by Hettie O’Brien
There are so many interesting threads in this piece - the explosion in fraud over the last decade, the rise of private policing, the former CPS lawyers and police officers spotting the business opportunities that austerity presented. Plus a con artist brought down by his furious ex-girlfriends.
My latest Guardian Long Read is about a shadowy area of criminal law that has exploded since austerity, and what “two tier justice” really means in Britain: www.theguardian.com/news/ng-inte...
‘The police weren’t interested’: what’s driving the rise in private prosecutions?
The long read: As the police and courts continue to struggle with the legacy of austerity, many people are seeking alternative routes to justice – but it could be making matters worse
www.theguardian.com
October 23, 2025 at 6:33 PM
There are so many interesting threads in this piece - the explosion in fraud over the last decade, the rise of private policing, the former CPS lawyers and police officers spotting the business opportunities that austerity presented. Plus a con artist brought down by his furious ex-girlfriends.
My latest Guardian Long Read is about a shadowy area of criminal law that has exploded since austerity, and what “two tier justice” really means in Britain: www.theguardian.com/news/ng-inte...
‘The police weren’t interested’: what’s driving the rise in private prosecutions?
The long read: As the police and courts continue to struggle with the legacy of austerity, many people are seeking alternative routes to justice – but it could be making matters worse
www.theguardian.com
October 23, 2025 at 11:50 AM
My latest Guardian Long Read is about a shadowy area of criminal law that has exploded since austerity, and what “two tier justice” really means in Britain: www.theguardian.com/news/ng-inte...
“Blair may be creating new realities, but few would want to inhabit them.” - excellent piece from Oliver Eagleton on Tony Blair’s imperial fantasies www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Why Tony Blair just can’t kick the habit of imperial interference in the Middle East | Oliver Eagleton
The Blair-Trump fantasy for postwar Gaza shows the former PM still thinks that free enterprise can solve all the world’s ills, says associate editor at the New Left Review Oliver Eagleton
www.theguardian.com
October 9, 2025 at 9:18 AM
“Blair may be creating new realities, but few would want to inhabit them.” - excellent piece from Oliver Eagleton on Tony Blair’s imperial fantasies www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
I’ll be interviewing Cahal Moran (that’s @unlearnecon.bsky.social to people on here) at the Conduit Club next Thursday about his new book, Why We’re Getting Poorer - you can sign up here: www.theconduit.com/upcoming-eve...
Why We’re Getting Poorer: With Cahal Moran - The Conduit
Thurs 2 Oct, 6pm - 7:30pm Economist and Unlearning Economics creator Cahal Moran reveals why our economy is failing us—and what we can do about it.
www.theconduit.com
September 26, 2025 at 12:38 PM
I’ll be interviewing Cahal Moran (that’s @unlearnecon.bsky.social to people on here) at the Conduit Club next Thursday about his new book, Why We’re Getting Poorer - you can sign up here: www.theconduit.com/upcoming-eve...
We hear a lot about privatisation, but rarely are the numbers laid out so starkly: £193bn paid to shareholders and private equity firms, a £250 premium for every citizen. Only Russia, Hungary and the Czech Republic have shed public wealth faster than Britain www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
UK public has paid £200bn to shareholders of key industries since privatisation
Analysis reveals ‘privatisation premium’ of £250 per household per year paid to owners of water, rail, bus, energy and mail services since 2010
www.theguardian.com
September 16, 2025 at 5:14 PM
We hear a lot about privatisation, but rarely are the numbers laid out so starkly: £193bn paid to shareholders and private equity firms, a £250 premium for every citizen. Only Russia, Hungary and the Czech Republic have shed public wealth faster than Britain www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
Reposted by Hettie O’Brien
This is a great story.
I’ve been piecing together this Guardian long read for over a year - about a thoroughly plausible, utterly crooked lawyer who pretended to be the perfect gentleman while he spun a web of deceit. Thanks to @davidedgarwolf.bsky.social www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
An English gentleman, a crooked lawyer: the secrets of Stephen David Jones
The long read: With his brilliant mind and impeccable credentials, it’s little wonder that wealthy clients trusted him with their fortunes. Then they started to get suspicious
www.theguardian.com
June 2, 2025 at 9:13 PM
This is a great story.
Reposted by Hettie O’Brien
New piece: been working on this for the best part of a year. But really it's trying to draw on everything I've seen and thought about since I first started reporting on far right politics in the late 2000s. Online now and in tomorrow's LRB.
www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
Daniel Trilling · Is this fascism?
As the historian Ian Kershaw says, trying to define fascism is ‘like trying to nail jelly to a wall’, yet for all...
www.lrb.co.uk
May 27, 2025 at 5:17 PM
New piece: been working on this for the best part of a year. But really it's trying to draw on everything I've seen and thought about since I first started reporting on far right politics in the late 2000s. Online now and in tomorrow's LRB.
www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
Reposted by Hettie O’Brien
“I felt there was a need to bring to third world countries God’s principles of running an economy” is just one of many jaw-dropping lines and plot twists in this gripping @hettieobrien.bsky.social long read www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
An English gentleman, a crooked lawyer: the secrets of Stephen David Jones
The long read: With his brilliant mind and impeccable credentials, it’s little wonder that wealthy clients trusted him with their fortunes. Then they started to get suspicious
www.theguardian.com
May 15, 2025 at 2:56 PM
“I felt there was a need to bring to third world countries God’s principles of running an economy” is just one of many jaw-dropping lines and plot twists in this gripping @hettieobrien.bsky.social long read www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
Reposted by Hettie O’Brien
if i were very very rich i would be so terrified by this piece i'd hire a private investigator. happily i am not so i can enjoy it for the brilliant piece of writing it is @hettieobrien.bsky.social
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
An English gentleman, a crooked lawyer: the secrets of Stephen David Jones
The long read: With his brilliant mind and impeccable credentials, it’s little wonder that wealthy clients trusted him with their fortunes. Then they started to get suspicious
www.theguardian.com
May 14, 2025 at 9:11 AM
if i were very very rich i would be so terrified by this piece i'd hire a private investigator. happily i am not so i can enjoy it for the brilliant piece of writing it is @hettieobrien.bsky.social
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
Reposted by Hettie O’Brien
I’ve been piecing together this Guardian long read for over a year - about a thoroughly plausible, utterly crooked lawyer who pretended to be the perfect gentleman while he spun a web of deceit. Thanks to @davidedgarwolf.bsky.social www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
An English gentleman, a crooked lawyer: the secrets of Stephen David Jones
The long read: With his brilliant mind and impeccable credentials, it’s little wonder that wealthy clients trusted him with their fortunes. Then they started to get suspicious
www.theguardian.com
May 13, 2025 at 7:14 AM
I’ve been piecing together this Guardian long read for over a year - about a thoroughly plausible, utterly crooked lawyer who pretended to be the perfect gentleman while he spun a web of deceit. Thanks to @davidedgarwolf.bsky.social www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
Reposted by Hettie O’Brien
Today’s Guardian long read is an absolutely stunning piece of reporting and storytelling by @hettieobrien.bsky.social about a gentleman lawyer who was not what he seemed…
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
An English gentleman, a crooked lawyer: the secrets of Stephen David Jones
The long read: With his brilliant mind and impeccable credentials, it’s little wonder that wealthy clients trusted him with their fortunes. Then they started to get suspicious
www.theguardian.com
May 13, 2025 at 10:11 AM
Today’s Guardian long read is an absolutely stunning piece of reporting and storytelling by @hettieobrien.bsky.social about a gentleman lawyer who was not what he seemed…
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
Reposted by Hettie O’Brien
Brilliant piece. Some fine lunchtime reading
I’ve been piecing together this Guardian long read for over a year - about a thoroughly plausible, utterly crooked lawyer who pretended to be the perfect gentleman while he spun a web of deceit. Thanks to @davidedgarwolf.bsky.social www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
An English gentleman, a crooked lawyer: the secrets of Stephen David Jones
The long read: With his brilliant mind and impeccable credentials, it’s little wonder that wealthy clients trusted him with their fortunes. Then they started to get suspicious
www.theguardian.com
May 13, 2025 at 11:52 AM
Brilliant piece. Some fine lunchtime reading
Reposted by Hettie O’Brien
Take some time today and read this incredible story, by @hettieobrien.bsky.social and then tell me you don’t want to read a whole book about it.
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
An English gentleman, a crooked lawyer: the secrets of Stephen David Jones
The long read: With his brilliant mind and impeccable credentials, it’s little wonder that wealthy clients trusted him with their fortunes. Then they started to get suspicious
www.theguardian.com
May 13, 2025 at 9:21 AM
Take some time today and read this incredible story, by @hettieobrien.bsky.social and then tell me you don’t want to read a whole book about it.
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
Reposted by Hettie O’Brien
You should read this fantastic article by @hettieobrien.bsky.social. It's got it all: crooked lawyer, inept British police, sordid offshore behaviour.
theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
An English gentleman, a crooked lawyer: the secrets of Stephen David Jones
The long read: With his brilliant mind and impeccable credentials, it’s little wonder that wealthy clients trusted him with their fortunes. Then they started to get suspicious
theguardian.com
May 13, 2025 at 8:40 AM
You should read this fantastic article by @hettieobrien.bsky.social. It's got it all: crooked lawyer, inept British police, sordid offshore behaviour.
theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
I’ve been piecing together this Guardian long read for over a year - about a thoroughly plausible, utterly crooked lawyer who pretended to be the perfect gentleman while he spun a web of deceit. Thanks to @davidedgarwolf.bsky.social www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
An English gentleman, a crooked lawyer: the secrets of Stephen David Jones
The long read: With his brilliant mind and impeccable credentials, it’s little wonder that wealthy clients trusted him with their fortunes. Then they started to get suspicious
www.theguardian.com
May 13, 2025 at 7:14 AM
I’ve been piecing together this Guardian long read for over a year - about a thoroughly plausible, utterly crooked lawyer who pretended to be the perfect gentleman while he spun a web of deceit. Thanks to @davidedgarwolf.bsky.social www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
if i hear the word “playbook” once more, i’m gonna explode
February 21, 2025 at 6:54 PM
if i hear the word “playbook” once more, i’m gonna explode
“I have lost count of the number of times a self-identified climate progressive has explained to me that our individual consumption and emissions are irrelevant” - this excellent piece from @brettchristophers.bsky.social is worth your time:
www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
Brett Christophers · So much for Paris: Climate Overshoot
All fossil fuel projects are politically constituted. Either they are state projects, controlled and administered by...
www.lrb.co.uk
February 11, 2025 at 4:17 PM
“I have lost count of the number of times a self-identified climate progressive has explained to me that our individual consumption and emissions are irrelevant” - this excellent piece from @brettchristophers.bsky.social is worth your time:
www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
Reposted by Hettie O’Brien
"Industry executives told the Financial Times the deregulatory push was akin to “doubling demand” for the private capital industry..."
Currently state plans (pink) are the main conduit for retirement capital to get into PE hands. Now they're eying green and orange. Prize is huge, and they'll win.
Currently state plans (pink) are the main conduit for retirement capital to get into PE hands. Now they're eying green and orange. Prize is huge, and they'll win.
January 6, 2025 at 10:11 AM
"Industry executives told the Financial Times the deregulatory push was akin to “doubling demand” for the private capital industry..."
Currently state plans (pink) are the main conduit for retirement capital to get into PE hands. Now they're eying green and orange. Prize is huge, and they'll win.
Currently state plans (pink) are the main conduit for retirement capital to get into PE hands. Now they're eying green and orange. Prize is huge, and they'll win.
Reposted by Hettie O’Brien
Many months spent reading + meeting + emailing + party planning @whitingfoundation.bsky.social have led to the best part of the job - announcing a terrific cohort of nonfiction writers at work on books that will change lives. Read all about it! whiting.org/nonfiction
December 20, 2024 at 7:05 PM
Many months spent reading + meeting + emailing + party planning @whitingfoundation.bsky.social have led to the best part of the job - announcing a terrific cohort of nonfiction writers at work on books that will change lives. Read all about it! whiting.org/nonfiction
"It is a strange kind of businessman who avidly accrues property, only to let much of it moulder – but Smith has a strong claim to being Britain’s strangest businessman" - this long read on the Sam Smith pub empire is an absolute delight: www.theguardian.com/news/2024/de...
Humphrey’s world: how the Samuel Smith beer baron built Britain’s strangest pub chain
Since the 1970s, Humphrey Smith has acquired scores of pubs and historic properties around the UK. But time after time, he has left the buildings empty. Why has he allowed his empire to moulder?
www.theguardian.com
December 19, 2024 at 9:09 AM
"It is a strange kind of businessman who avidly accrues property, only to let much of it moulder – but Smith has a strong claim to being Britain’s strangest businessman" - this long read on the Sam Smith pub empire is an absolute delight: www.theguardian.com/news/2024/de...