Jonathan Frewin
@jonfrewin.bsky.social
Journalist; truth seeker; enthusiast; currently bringing BBC news to listeners around the world. Devoted Dad and husband. Views my own...
Prime Minister’s Questions has sent both Arrietty and Rumi to sleep.
November 19, 2025 at 12:46 PM
Prime Minister’s Questions has sent both Arrietty and Rumi to sleep.
Reposted by Jonathan Frewin
I thought this was going to turn into a story needing its own True Crime Netflix series, but no.
This is quite something.
metro.co.uk/2025/11/18/w...
This is quite something.
metro.co.uk/2025/11/18/w...
'We invited a homeless man for dinner - he stayed for 45 years'
The man was only meant to stay for a day.
metro.co.uk
November 18, 2025 at 2:35 PM
I thought this was going to turn into a story needing its own True Crime Netflix series, but no.
This is quite something.
metro.co.uk/2025/11/18/w...
This is quite something.
metro.co.uk/2025/11/18/w...
Who knew the lifecycle of a pallet of returned goods could be so fascinating?
What happens to all the stuff you return? Wirecutter bought 450 pounds of mystery products at a liquidation warehouse to learn more about the return cycle — and where all the stuff no one wants ends up. “What I got was a whole heap of sadness.” nyti.ms/4rm5c2e
November 18, 2025 at 9:37 PM
Who knew the lifecycle of a pallet of returned goods could be so fascinating?
Regent Street looking resplendent tonight
November 15, 2025 at 9:02 PM
Regent Street looking resplendent tonight
Wowzers. [the chatbot suggested I get a smart ring] “I think of us as married”
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
They Fell in Love With A.I. Chatbots — and Found Something Real
Three people on the joys and anxieties of A.I. romances.
www.nytimes.com
November 13, 2025 at 10:27 PM
Wowzers. [the chatbot suggested I get a smart ring] “I think of us as married”
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
Reposted by Jonathan Frewin
Solar’s price drop is astonishing: panels are now 98% cheaper than when I first analyzed them in 2004.
Today, building a fence with solar can be cheaper than using wood.
Today, building a fence with solar can be cheaper than using wood.
November 10, 2025 at 8:10 AM
Solar’s price drop is astonishing: panels are now 98% cheaper than when I first analyzed them in 2004.
Today, building a fence with solar can be cheaper than using wood.
Today, building a fence with solar can be cheaper than using wood.
Interesting analysis
Quick thread on the BBC and the political and societal significance of recent developments:
One of the main reasons the UK has historically been so much less polarised than the US, is that Britain has a shared source of information, consumed and trusted by most people regardless of their politics.
One of the main reasons the UK has historically been so much less polarised than the US, is that Britain has a shared source of information, consumed and trusted by most people regardless of their politics.
November 11, 2025 at 7:47 AM
Interesting analysis
A moody looking London from Waterloo bridge this morning
November 8, 2025 at 6:22 AM
A moody looking London from Waterloo bridge this morning
My reading of this is that simply inadvertently allowing an app to monitor your location could lead to all sorts of nefarious things, via ad tracking shared via data brokers. Definitely safest not to allow location tracking in apps, unless absolutely necessary!
cyberinsider.com/precise-loca...
cyberinsider.com/precise-loca...
Precise Locations of EU Officials Retrieved Through Data Brokers
Phone location data, collected under the guise of ad tracking, can be used to precisely track the movements of millions in the EU.
cyberinsider.com
November 7, 2025 at 7:33 AM
My reading of this is that simply inadvertently allowing an app to monitor your location could lead to all sorts of nefarious things, via ad tracking shared via data brokers. Definitely safest not to allow location tracking in apps, unless absolutely necessary!
cyberinsider.com/precise-loca...
cyberinsider.com/precise-loca...
Reposted by Jonathan Frewin
I love that we can see all the fireworks displays of southeast London and Kent from our loft window! Here’s a timelapse of about a minute’s worth.
November 5, 2025 at 7:58 PM
I love that we can see all the fireworks displays of southeast London and Kent from our loft window! Here’s a timelapse of about a minute’s worth.
An interesting thought experiment - would America’s democratic socialists stand an even better chance of getting elected if they rebranded as (European-style) social democrats?
November 5, 2025 at 5:47 PM
An interesting thought experiment - would America’s democratic socialists stand an even better chance of getting elected if they rebranded as (European-style) social democrats?
Zero star reviews are so rare in The Guardian that I didn’t know they actually existed. As someone who likes to read the often ridiculous one star Google reviews for restaurants (it wasn’t open when I visited!), it’s quite fun to see them all gathered together here.
The Guardian has only ever published 15 zero-star reviews. Here they all are
The Guardian has only ever published 15 zero-star reviews. Here they all are
As Kim Kardashian’s All’s Fair sets a new low for TV, we revisit every single thing our critics have mercilessly panned. Brace yourself for the Mount Rushmore of rubbish!
www.theguardian.com
November 5, 2025 at 5:35 PM
Zero star reviews are so rare in The Guardian that I didn’t know they actually existed. As someone who likes to read the often ridiculous one star Google reviews for restaurants (it wasn’t open when I visited!), it’s quite fun to see them all gathered together here.
One of the best news shows on the BBC if you want to really understand what’s going on with some of the big stories of the week.
@johnsimpsonnews.bsky.social’s ‘Unspun World’ at 23.00 on BBC Two, then iPlayer, News Channel & World Service: what do Russians feel about the Ukraine war? Why are Gulf states involved in the Sudan fighting? Who do Americans blame for the govt shutdown? And the climate change conference - any good?
November 5, 2025 at 5:00 PM
One of the best news shows on the BBC if you want to really understand what’s going on with some of the big stories of the week.
This is a really thought-provoking read.
Compelling argument here from @geoffmulgan.bsky.social that the centre must become more radical, more imaginative, and above all more HOPEFUL!
open.substack.com/pub/geoffmul...
open.substack.com/pub/geoffmul...
Hollowed out: can the centre hold?
Can the centre hold and resist the far right?
open.substack.com
November 2, 2025 at 8:57 PM
This is a really thought-provoking read.
London is such a beautiful city
October 22, 2025 at 11:23 AM
London is such a beautiful city
I just watched this - fascinating. Made an interesting point: “each engineering student costs the country £2000 a year, but it’s cheap at the price, given the benefit to the country these people bring”.
A tad sexist as engineers are pretty much assumed to be men. But of its age I suppose.
A tad sexist as engineers are pretty much assumed to be men. But of its age I suppose.
A look at the wide ranging work of the engineer and developing industries.
👀 LOOK AT LIFE: SALUTE THE ENGINEER (1964) 1:40pm on #TPTV
👀 LOOK AT LIFE: SALUTE THE ENGINEER (1964) 1:40pm on #TPTV
October 22, 2025 at 8:36 AM
I just watched this - fascinating. Made an interesting point: “each engineering student costs the country £2000 a year, but it’s cheap at the price, given the benefit to the country these people bring”.
A tad sexist as engineers are pretty much assumed to be men. But of its age I suppose.
A tad sexist as engineers are pretty much assumed to be men. But of its age I suppose.
Reposted by Jonathan Frewin
Under Over Over - West Hampstead
So it's taken a while, but I've finally found a location where you can clearly see London Underground trains traveling over London Overground trains.
The vantage point is at West Hampstead Overground station at the end of the platform.
So it's taken a while, but I've finally found a location where you can clearly see London Underground trains traveling over London Overground trains.
The vantage point is at West Hampstead Overground station at the end of the platform.
October 20, 2025 at 6:54 AM
Under Over Over - West Hampstead
So it's taken a while, but I've finally found a location where you can clearly see London Underground trains traveling over London Overground trains.
The vantage point is at West Hampstead Overground station at the end of the platform.
So it's taken a while, but I've finally found a location where you can clearly see London Underground trains traveling over London Overground trains.
The vantage point is at West Hampstead Overground station at the end of the platform.
A fascinating day at Tate Britain seeing the work of two artists: Lee Miller, the fashion turned war photographer, plus the paintings of Edward Burra. The common thread was that their lives were never quite the same after living through war.
Tempted to make one of Lee Miller’s “unusual” recipes.
Tempted to make one of Lee Miller’s “unusual” recipes.
October 19, 2025 at 8:10 PM
A fascinating day at Tate Britain seeing the work of two artists: Lee Miller, the fashion turned war photographer, plus the paintings of Edward Burra. The common thread was that their lives were never quite the same after living through war.
Tempted to make one of Lee Miller’s “unusual” recipes.
Tempted to make one of Lee Miller’s “unusual” recipes.
Absolutely fascinating, and I’d bet driven by social media. The way a handful of videos can be amplified to make it seem like things have become really toxic is something governments really need to grapple with. You hear so much about how Americans think London is utterly crime-ridden, for example.
Useful reminder from Peter Kellner on the problems we refuse to acknowledge are getting better, and the politics of hopelessness that this breeds
open.substack.com/pub/kellnerp...
open.substack.com/pub/kellnerp...
September 23, 2025 at 7:17 AM
Absolutely fascinating, and I’d bet driven by social media. The way a handful of videos can be amplified to make it seem like things have become really toxic is something governments really need to grapple with. You hear so much about how Americans think London is utterly crime-ridden, for example.
Reposted by Jonathan Frewin
The dollar is taking the hit from worries over the US - column here from @katie0martin.ft.com. The stock rally is masking deep anxiety from investors about the path forward for the world’s biggest economy. Great chart from @raydouglas.bsky.social www.ft.com/content/ac9e...
September 19, 2025 at 5:45 PM
The dollar is taking the hit from worries over the US - column here from @katie0martin.ft.com. The stock rally is masking deep anxiety from investors about the path forward for the world’s biggest economy. Great chart from @raydouglas.bsky.social www.ft.com/content/ac9e...
Reposted by Jonathan Frewin
Now THAT’s what you call government efficiency
BLOOMBERG: Labor Dept. officials “who took the Department of Government Efficiency’s ‘Fork in the Road’ offer earlier this year have returned as full-time workers, after collecting their full pay and benefits for months without performing their job duties.”
news.bloomberglaw.com/daily-labor-...
news.bloomberglaw.com/daily-labor-...
September 18, 2025 at 11:31 PM
Now THAT’s what you call government efficiency
Reposted by Jonathan Frewin
Many people are convinced, because of what they’ve seen online, that the know what motivated the accused killer of Charlie Kirk.
The truth is we don’t have a motive and in some ways the picture is murkier than it was this morning.
Powerful people have blamed the “Left” - without evidence…
The truth is we don’t have a motive and in some ways the picture is murkier than it was this morning.
Powerful people have blamed the “Left” - without evidence…
September 12, 2025 at 8:25 PM
Many people are convinced, because of what they’ve seen online, that the know what motivated the accused killer of Charlie Kirk.
The truth is we don’t have a motive and in some ways the picture is murkier than it was this morning.
Powerful people have blamed the “Left” - without evidence…
The truth is we don’t have a motive and in some ways the picture is murkier than it was this morning.
Powerful people have blamed the “Left” - without evidence…
Reposted by Jonathan Frewin
We're on the cusp of a global debt crisis. To see that, don't look at 30-year yields, which get pulled down by falling short-term yields. Look at 10y20y forward yields (red) that strip out short-term yields. Those are up everywhere and at alarming levels in places like Japan, the UK and France...
September 11, 2025 at 9:08 PM
We're on the cusp of a global debt crisis. To see that, don't look at 30-year yields, which get pulled down by falling short-term yields. Look at 10y20y forward yields (red) that strip out short-term yields. Those are up everywhere and at alarming levels in places like Japan, the UK and France...
Reposted by Jonathan Frewin
For hours yesterday, starting minutes after Charlie Kirk was shot, @laurengoode.bsky.social and I combed through social media finding countless graphic videos of the incident. They autoplayed, without warning.
This is the post-content moderation world.
www.wired.com/story/charli...
This is the post-content moderation world.
www.wired.com/story/charli...
Charlie Kirk Was Shot and Killed in a Post-Content Moderation World
Videos of the shooting spread across TikTok, Instagram, and X. Researchers say that in some cases the platforms are falling short on enforcing their own content moderation rules.
www.wired.com
September 11, 2025 at 6:20 PM
For hours yesterday, starting minutes after Charlie Kirk was shot, @laurengoode.bsky.social and I combed through social media finding countless graphic videos of the incident. They autoplayed, without warning.
This is the post-content moderation world.
www.wired.com/story/charli...
This is the post-content moderation world.
www.wired.com/story/charli...