Paul Lay
@paullay.bsky.social
Senior Editor, Engelsberg Ideas, author of Providence Lost: The Rise and Fall of Cromwell’s Protectorate. Opera tragic. Formerly WBCU-C. Who/He.
Reposted by Paul Lay
I am delighted to announce that my chapter on espionage in Central Asia and the Great Game has been published as part of this wonderful collection, ‘Spies in History’.
It will be up on @engelsbergideas.bsky.social soon. A big thank you to @paullay.bsky.social and Lars Molin for the opportunity.
It will be up on @engelsbergideas.bsky.social soon. A big thank you to @paullay.bsky.social and Lars Molin for the opportunity.
November 14, 2025 at 2:43 PM
I am delighted to announce that my chapter on espionage in Central Asia and the Great Game has been published as part of this wonderful collection, ‘Spies in History’.
It will be up on @engelsbergideas.bsky.social soon. A big thank you to @paullay.bsky.social and Lars Molin for the opportunity.
It will be up on @engelsbergideas.bsky.social soon. A big thank you to @paullay.bsky.social and Lars Molin for the opportunity.
Reposted by Paul Lay
I've written a piece for @engelsbergideas.bsky.social on the sources of grand strategic ideas. Best enjoyed over the weekend with a brew ☕
Thanks to @jackfdickens.bsky.social, @paullay.bsky.social, and the EI team for publishing.
Thanks to @jackfdickens.bsky.social, @paullay.bsky.social, and the EI team for publishing.
November 7, 2025 at 10:53 AM
I've written a piece for @engelsbergideas.bsky.social on the sources of grand strategic ideas. Best enjoyed over the weekend with a brew ☕
Thanks to @jackfdickens.bsky.social, @paullay.bsky.social, and the EI team for publishing.
Thanks to @jackfdickens.bsky.social, @paullay.bsky.social, and the EI team for publishing.
Reposted by Paul Lay
I am very keen to read this book of @georgiosvarouxakis.bsky.social, because as I discussed some months ago with @paullay.bsky.social, it’s up against a tide of fashionable academic critique (of which I am deeply sceptical)—including 1 of David Graeber’s (who I did greatly admire) last essays—
September 7, 2025 at 5:36 PM
I am very keen to read this book of @georgiosvarouxakis.bsky.social, because as I discussed some months ago with @paullay.bsky.social, it’s up against a tide of fashionable academic critique (of which I am deeply sceptical)—including 1 of David Graeber’s (who I did greatly admire) last essays—
Reposted by Paul Lay
The Blitz club’s influence on eighties fashion proved to be far greater than its influence on music.
Blitz, the victory of style over substance | @paullay.bsky.social
engelsbergideas.com/reviews/blit...
Blitz, the victory of style over substance | @paullay.bsky.social
engelsbergideas.com/reviews/blit...
Blitz, the victory of style over substance
The Blitz club’s influence on eighties fashion proved to be far greater than its influence on music.
engelsbergideas.com
September 25, 2025 at 11:13 AM
The Blitz club’s influence on eighties fashion proved to be far greater than its influence on music.
Blitz, the victory of style over substance | @paullay.bsky.social
engelsbergideas.com/reviews/blit...
Blitz, the victory of style over substance | @paullay.bsky.social
engelsbergideas.com/reviews/blit...
Reposted by Paul Lay
The 18th-century philosopher Thomas Day, a fanatical believer in the virtues of Jean-Jacques Rousseau's educational methods, tested his theories to destruction.
The madness in Rousseau’s method | Nigel Andrew
engelsbergideas.com/notebook/the...
The madness in Rousseau’s method | Nigel Andrew
engelsbergideas.com/notebook/the...
The madness in Rousseau’s method
The 18th-century philosopher Thomas Day, a fanatical believer in the virtues of Jean-Jacques Rousseau's educational methods, tested his theories to destruction.
engelsbergideas.com
October 9, 2025 at 11:55 AM
The 18th-century philosopher Thomas Day, a fanatical believer in the virtues of Jean-Jacques Rousseau's educational methods, tested his theories to destruction.
The madness in Rousseau’s method | Nigel Andrew
engelsbergideas.com/notebook/the...
The madness in Rousseau’s method | Nigel Andrew
engelsbergideas.com/notebook/the...
Reposted by Paul Lay
Josephine Tey's early death denied her a rightful place among the pantheon of crime writers.
The forgotten queen of crime fiction | @alecmarsh.bsky.social
engelsbergideas.com/portraits/th...
The forgotten queen of crime fiction | @alecmarsh.bsky.social
engelsbergideas.com/portraits/th...
The forgotten queen of crime fiction
Josephine Tey's early death denied her a rightful place among the pantheon of crime writers.
engelsbergideas.com
October 10, 2025 at 10:07 AM
Josephine Tey's early death denied her a rightful place among the pantheon of crime writers.
The forgotten queen of crime fiction | @alecmarsh.bsky.social
engelsbergideas.com/portraits/th...
The forgotten queen of crime fiction | @alecmarsh.bsky.social
engelsbergideas.com/portraits/th...
Reposted by Paul Lay
The West's political institutions should strive to do less, but better.
Why politicians need to show, not tell | Eliot Wilson
engelsbergideas.com/notebook/why...
Why politicians need to show, not tell | Eliot Wilson
engelsbergideas.com/notebook/why...
Why politicians need to show, not tell
The West's political institutions should strive to do less, but better.
engelsbergideas.com
October 3, 2025 at 6:50 AM
The West's political institutions should strive to do less, but better.
Why politicians need to show, not tell | Eliot Wilson
engelsbergideas.com/notebook/why...
Why politicians need to show, not tell | Eliot Wilson
engelsbergideas.com/notebook/why...
Reposted by Paul Lay
Reposted by Paul Lay
From Stalin’s 1941 May Day parade in Moscow to Xi’s Tiananmen Square display, military spectacles have long been used to project power and mask vulnerability.
The politics of a military parade | Peter Caddick-Adams
engelsbergideas.com/notebook/the...
The politics of a military parade | Peter Caddick-Adams
engelsbergideas.com/notebook/the...
The politics of a military parade
From Stalin’s 1941 May Day parade in Moscow to Xi’s Tiananmen Square display, military spectacles have long been used to project power and mask vulnerability.
engelsbergideas.com
September 10, 2025 at 3:40 PM
From Stalin’s 1941 May Day parade in Moscow to Xi’s Tiananmen Square display, military spectacles have long been used to project power and mask vulnerability.
The politics of a military parade | Peter Caddick-Adams
engelsbergideas.com/notebook/the...
The politics of a military parade | Peter Caddick-Adams
engelsbergideas.com/notebook/the...
Reposted by Paul Lay
On time and on budget? Whaaat? Make this man prime minister immediately www.ft.com/content/639a...
September 10, 2025 at 10:57 AM
On time and on budget? Whaaat? Make this man prime minister immediately www.ft.com/content/639a...
Reposted by Paul Lay
Reposted by Paul Lay
Black Ribbon Day, which commemorates the millions of victims who suffered under Nazism and Stalinism, could serve as a poignant reminder of the dangers of totalitarianism.
Black Ribbon Day’s new urgency | Keith Lowe
engelsbergideas.com/notebook/bla...
Black Ribbon Day’s new urgency | Keith Lowe
engelsbergideas.com/notebook/bla...
Black Ribbon Day's new urgency
Black Ribbon Day, which commemorates the millions of victims who suffered under Nazism and Stalinism, acts as a poignant reminder of the dangers of totalitarianism.
engelsbergideas.com
August 23, 2025 at 11:47 AM
Black Ribbon Day, which commemorates the millions of victims who suffered under Nazism and Stalinism, could serve as a poignant reminder of the dangers of totalitarianism.
Black Ribbon Day’s new urgency | Keith Lowe
engelsbergideas.com/notebook/bla...
Black Ribbon Day’s new urgency | Keith Lowe
engelsbergideas.com/notebook/bla...
Reposted by Paul Lay
New on the Writer’s Bookshelf: eight questions about writers, books, and reading with the great @paullay.bsky.social.
The writer's bookshelf: Paul Lay
Eight questions about writers, books, and reading…
open.substack.com
August 11, 2025 at 6:44 AM
New on the Writer’s Bookshelf: eight questions about writers, books, and reading with the great @paullay.bsky.social.
Reposted by Paul Lay
The industrialist Henry J. Kaiser played a pivotal role in the lightning mobilisation of American industry that took place after Pearl Harbor, a contribution that deserves wider recognition.
Who remembers Henry J. Kaiser? | Gordon F. Sander
engelsbergideas.com/portraits/wh...
Who remembers Henry J. Kaiser? | Gordon F. Sander
engelsbergideas.com/portraits/wh...
Who remembers Henry J. Kaiser?
The industrialist Henry J. Kaiser played a pivotal role in the lightning mobilisation of American industry that took place after Pearl Harbor, a contribution that deserves wider recognition.
engelsbergideas.com
July 21, 2025 at 10:58 AM
The industrialist Henry J. Kaiser played a pivotal role in the lightning mobilisation of American industry that took place after Pearl Harbor, a contribution that deserves wider recognition.
Who remembers Henry J. Kaiser? | Gordon F. Sander
engelsbergideas.com/portraits/wh...
Who remembers Henry J. Kaiser? | Gordon F. Sander
engelsbergideas.com/portraits/wh...
Reposted by Paul Lay
Syria’s Druze have often been caught between their commitment to national independence and a wariness of Sunni domination.
The Druze, no friends but the mountains | @jackfdickens.bsky.social
engelsbergideas.com/notebook/the...
The Druze, no friends but the mountains | @jackfdickens.bsky.social
engelsbergideas.com/notebook/the...
The Druze, no friends but the mountains
Syria’s Druze have often been caught between their commitment to national independence and a wariness of Sunni domination.
engelsbergideas.com
July 21, 2025 at 4:47 PM
Syria’s Druze have often been caught between their commitment to national independence and a wariness of Sunni domination.
The Druze, no friends but the mountains | @jackfdickens.bsky.social
engelsbergideas.com/notebook/the...
The Druze, no friends but the mountains | @jackfdickens.bsky.social
engelsbergideas.com/notebook/the...
Reposted by Paul Lay
Top marks to @paullay.bsky.social for suggesting putting Bede on a bank note.
This is a sharp, incisive & learned BBCRadio4 Moral Maze discussion of a classic culture war topic: *heroes*. Responses from witnesses @paullay.bsky.social @maddyfryabides.bsky.social Simon Goldhill @elliscashmore.bsky.social
I’m with PL. 🙂
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...
I’m with PL. 🙂
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...
BBC Radio 4 - Moral Maze, Is it time to ditch historical figures as heroes?
Is the time up for heroes and heroines on banknotes and in society in general?
www.bbc.co.uk
July 14, 2025 at 6:25 AM
Top marks to @paullay.bsky.social for suggesting putting Bede on a bank note.
Reposted by Paul Lay
This is a sharp, incisive & learned BBCRadio4 Moral Maze discussion of a classic culture war topic: *heroes*. Responses from witnesses @paullay.bsky.social @maddyfryabides.bsky.social Simon Goldhill @elliscashmore.bsky.social
I’m with PL. 🙂
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...
I’m with PL. 🙂
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...
BBC Radio 4 - Moral Maze, Is it time to ditch historical figures as heroes?
Is the time up for heroes and heroines on banknotes and in society in general?
www.bbc.co.uk
July 10, 2025 at 8:30 AM
This is a sharp, incisive & learned BBCRadio4 Moral Maze discussion of a classic culture war topic: *heroes*. Responses from witnesses @paullay.bsky.social @maddyfryabides.bsky.social Simon Goldhill @elliscashmore.bsky.social
I’m with PL. 🙂
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...
I’m with PL. 🙂
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...
Reposted by Paul Lay
Weekend listen: Cogent and entertaining review of the English Civil War and Oliver Cromwell’s Protectorate by “Providence Lost” author @paullay.bsky.social podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/s...
School of War
History Podcast · Updated Weekly · This podcast seeks to learn what war teaches. There has been a steady decline in the study of military history and its associated theoretical discipline, strategy.Th...
podcasts.apple.com
July 13, 2025 at 2:04 AM
Weekend listen: Cogent and entertaining review of the English Civil War and Oliver Cromwell’s Protectorate by “Providence Lost” author @paullay.bsky.social podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/s...
Reposted by Paul Lay
Nietzsche’s manifesto for reading | @chountisdefabbri.bsky.social
engelsbergideas.com/notebook/nie...
engelsbergideas.com/notebook/nie...
Nietzsche's manifesto for reading
Nietzsche did not write for the distracted, the hurried, or the comfortable. He believed that a book should demand effort, provoke resistance, and leave a mark.
engelsbergideas.com
July 2, 2025 at 10:01 AM
Nietzsche’s manifesto for reading | @chountisdefabbri.bsky.social
engelsbergideas.com/notebook/nie...
engelsbergideas.com/notebook/nie...
Reposted by Paul Lay
The composer Erik Satie would have understood our era of atrophied attention spans and mass-produced music.
Erik Satie, prophet of the aurally overloaded world | Richard Bratby
engelsbergideas.com/notebook/eri...
Erik Satie, prophet of the aurally overloaded world | Richard Bratby
engelsbergideas.com/notebook/eri...
Erik Satie, prophet of the aurally overloaded world
The composer Erik Satie would have understood our era of atrophied attention spans and mass-produced music.
engelsbergideas.com
July 1, 2025 at 1:29 PM
The composer Erik Satie would have understood our era of atrophied attention spans and mass-produced music.
Erik Satie, prophet of the aurally overloaded world | Richard Bratby
engelsbergideas.com/notebook/eri...
Erik Satie, prophet of the aurally overloaded world | Richard Bratby
engelsbergideas.com/notebook/eri...