Jonathan Derbyshire

as.ft.comThe meaning of Michigan — part twoDemocrats’ hopes of taking back the Senate hinge in part on Abdul El-Sayed winning this key state

In today's edition of the FT's Swamp Notes newsletter, @guychazan.bsky.social and I discuss the increasingly rancorous Senate race in Michigan as.ft.com/r/02eb2acc-6...

as.ft.comThe money vs message electionA distracted Trump appears to be leading the Republicans to a historic defeat in the midterms

Me on America’s ‘money vs message election’ in the latest edition of the FT’s Swamp Notes newsletter as.ft.com/r/bb80337a-3...

Jonathan Derbyshire reposted

David Henig

@davidheniguk.bsky.social

Scrapping de minimis on imports is good for incumbent multinationals, bad for small businesses. Obvious, but such are the fears of Europe and the US right now that economic self harm is fashionable. @alanbeattie.bsky.social has the receipts... www.ft.com/content/15bf...

ft.comHow Trump’s tariff war is clobbering the Hanks of AmericaThe end of the ‘de minimis’ exception can inflict major damage on niche companies

as.ft.comTrump vs the US Supreme CourtThe president lashed out at the justices he nominated after a defeat last week — is the judicial tide turning against him?

21 Sept

In the latest edition of the FT's Swamp Notes newsletter, @brookeamasters.ft.com and I discuss Trump's latest defeat at the hands of the US Supreme Court as.ft.com/r/cb9db5df-e...

as.ft.comThe politics of AI, part twoFirst it was data centres that concerned voters and lawmakers — now they’re worrying about the models themselves

14 Sept

In today's edition of the FT's Swamp Notes newsletter, Richard Waters and I discuss the rapidly evolving politics of AI as.ft.com/r/66332208-1...

as.ft.comTrump has put himself on the midterm ballot — should Republicans be worried?The president’s low approval ratings could be a drag on GOP candidates in tight congressional races

28 Aug

Trump has put himself on the midterm ballot — should Republicans be worried? My latest FT Swamp Notes newsletter, with a response from James Politi as.ft.com/r/95396c9e-2...

as.ft.comThe Spectre of Pep — has football reached peak Guardiolismo?A study of the coach’s hegemonic hold over the game portrays him as a pilferer of ideas as much as a philosopher

13 Aug

I've reviewed @jonmackenzie.bsky.social's splendid new book about Pep Guardiola as.ft.com/r/ea34eec3-f...

as.ft.comThe meaning of MichiganWhat conclusions should Democrats draw from Abdul El-Sayed’s narrow win in the state’s Senate primary?

7 Aug

In today's edition of the FT's Swamp Notes newsletter, @ranaforoohar.bsky.social and I discuss the meaning of @abdulelsayed.bsky.social's victory in Michigan as.ft.com/r/6b62cd40-7...

as.ft.comCan Democrats win over the working class?A new report shows that the party can’t take disillusioned Trump voters for granted

3 Aug

Today's FT Swamp Notes newsletter, in which Lauren Fedor and I discuss how the Democrats can win back working-class Biden-Trump 'switchers' as.ft.com/r/88f18acc-5...

Jonathan Derbyshire reposted

as.ft.comHow French theory captured the American mindThe roots, rise and heady influence of the intellectual movement that swept US universities and sparked the early ‘culture wars’

28 July

My review of Emily Eakin’s new book THE FRENCHMEN as.ft.com/r/d0641965-e...

as.ft.comHow French theory captured the American mindThe roots, rise and heady influence of the intellectual movement that swept US universities and sparked the early ‘culture wars’

28 July

My review of Emily Eakin’s new book THE FRENCHMEN as.ft.com/r/d0641965-e...

Jonathan Derbyshire reposted

as.ft.comWhy Mullin is struggling to keep ICE out of the headlinesTwo killings by federal agents in the space of a week have drawn attention to the downsides of a DHS hiring spree

20 July

In today's edition of the FT's Swamp Notes newsletter, @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social and I discuss why Markwayne Mullin is struggling to keep ICE out of the headlines as.ft.com/r/15d5da39-a...

as.ft.comWhy Mullin is struggling to keep ICE out of the headlinesTwo killings by federal agents in the space of a week have drawn attention to the downsides of a DHS hiring spree

20 July

In today's edition of the FT's Swamp Notes newsletter, @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social and I discuss why Markwayne Mullin is struggling to keep ICE out of the headlines as.ft.com/r/15d5da39-a...

as.ft.comMoney in politics, part 94The US Supreme Court handed down a potentially transformative judgment on campaign finance last week

6 July

In the latest edition of the FT's Swamp Notes newsletter, James Politi and I discuss money in US politics and the implications of the Supreme Court's decision in National Republican Senatorial Committee et al vs Federal Election Commission et al as.ft.com/r/2ae7c804-d...

nytimes.comOpinion | Five Words That Changed America

2 July

This by @jamellebouie.net is superb on equality as a metaphysical category and a political one www.nytimes.com/2026/07/01/o...

as.ft.comAI money is going to swamp the midterms this yearAlex Bores’ defeat in a New York congressional primary was a taste of things to come

29 June

In today's edition of the FT Swamp Notes newsletter, @joemillerjr.ft.com and I discuss how AI money is shaping America's elections as.ft.com/r/37dbccfa-a...

as.ft.comThe Democrats’ DSA siren songDemocratic Socialists are winning in New York, but the city is not America

26 June

In today's edition of the FT Swamp Notes newsletter, @edwardluce.bsky.social and I agree to differ on the meaning of DSA's clean sweep in NYC on Tuesday as.ft.com/r/e7208e5a-7...

as.ft.comWhy is getting to a World Cup game so hard?Fans travelling to the stadium in New Jersey are having to contend with high train fares, limited bus seats and a ban on walking or cycling

24 June

Why is getting to a World Cup game so hard, asks Greg Meyer, who tried cycling to the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey as.ft.com/r/cc87a362-7...

as.ft.comJosh Hawley and the future of pro-worker conservatismWhere does the Missouri senator fit in a party that has long promoted the interests of the wealthy?

22 June

In today's edition of the FT's Swamp Notes newsletter, @sohrabahmari.bsky.social and I discuss the GOP, the labour unions and the future of 'pro-worker conservatism' as.ft.com/r/16de40f0-a...

as.ft.comGraham Platner and the politics of authenticityRevelations about the candidate’s past have some senior Democrats worrying about the party’s ability to win back the Senate

15 June

I wrote about @grahamformaine.bsky.social and the politics of authenticity in today's edition of the FT Swamp Notes newsletter, riffing on an excellent @newyorker.com piece by @jonallsop.bsky.social as.ft.com/r/a8276b0e-9...

as.ft.comPeople are starting to eat the richFree-floating rage against a super-wealthy elite could favour economic populists in the midterms

8 June

In today's edition of the FT Swamp Notes newsletter, @ranaforoohar.bsky.social and I discuss class war in America and the fortunes of the Democrats as.ft.com/r/3471259b-8...

as.ft.comOn yer bike! Freud and middle-aged men in LycraThe ever-present fear of ridicule among cycling’s weekend warriors tells us a thing or two about human nature

6 June

I wrote about cycling and the narcissism of minor differences as.ft.com/r/2c2c422d-7...

Jonathan Derbyshire reposted

Edward Luce

@edwardluce.bsky.social

5 June

"“America First” died in Operation Epic Fury. Real median wages are falling. Most of America is turned off by ICE’s shock troop tactics. All that’s left is Trump’s grand homage to himself and his pocket book." My Swamp notes with @jderbyshire.ft.com Free to read. as.ft.com/r/2b1aa8a8-8...

as.ft.comThe Republican frogCritical stands taken by GOP lawmakers against Trump are largely symbolic

Jonathan Derbyshire reposted

Edward Luce

@edwardluce.bsky.social

29 May

"California’s Democratic field us monotonous and complacent. If this is the best the party can muster, perhaps it deserves a shock." My Swamp Notes with Richard Waters. Free to read. as.ft.com/r/f8f9f8d0-4...

as.ft.comCalifornia’s zombie DemocratsThe primary field is so uninspiring it could clear the way for the English-born Republican Steve Hilton

as.ft.comCounting the cost of New York’s sky-high food billsSpiralling prices could lead to more public programmes

25 May

Siona Jenkins on the political economy of grocery shopping in NYC as.ft.com/r/edfca8c2-9...

Jonathan Derbyshire reposted

as.ft.comPolitics just got even more partisan in the USThe gutting of the Voting Rights Act by the Supreme Court will intensify the fight over redistricting

4 May

In today's edition of the FT"s Swamp Notes newsletter, @ranaforoohar.bsky.social and I discuss the consequences of the gutting of the Voting Rights Act as.ft.com/r/feca7f30-1...

as.ft.comPolitics just got even more partisan in the USThe gutting of the Voting Rights Act by the Supreme Court will intensify the fight over redistricting

4 May

In today's edition of the FT"s Swamp Notes newsletter, @ranaforoohar.bsky.social and I discuss the consequences of the gutting of the Voting Rights Act as.ft.com/r/feca7f30-1...

30 Apr

I first got a sense that something remarkable was brewing in Maine when driving around conservative Somerset County in the fall, eight months before the Democratic primary. This was a county that Trump won 60.4% to 37% in 2024. And it was thick with Platner signs

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as.ft.comWhat the Grasset affair tells us about modern elitesProtests by authors at the French publishing house are a symptom of the struggle between establishment and insurgents

28 Apr

Here's @hdrochon.bsky.social writing for the @financialtimes.com on the Grasset affair and what it tells us about modern elites as.ft.com/r/13ae7269-1...

as.ft.comStarbucks, Nashville and the new corporate geographyBig US companies are realising they can unbundle their headquarters

27 Apr

Richard Florida on America's changing corporate geography as.ft.com/r/7c59d984-6...

ft.comThe European right is pivoting away from AmericaElectoral logic is driving a shift as polls lay bare European disgust at the US administration

20 Apr

@jeremycliffe.bsky.social on the emergence of the neo-Gaullist right in Europe www.ft.com/content/cba2...

10 Apr

In today's edition of the FT Swamp Notes newsletter, @philgordondc.bsky.social and I discuss whether this is the US's Suez moment as.ft.com/r/0f682616-6...

Pigeon Town Steppers second line, New Orleans

Jonathan Derbyshire reposted

as.ft.comAuthor Jay McInerney: ‘I went from being a nobody to being somebody’[FREE TO READ] The unofficial laureate of 1980s hedonism on the truths behind his New York novels — and when the ‘Bolivian Marching Powder’ got out of hand

'I notice he has barely touched his prosecco, while I’ve guzzled most of mine.' I had lunch with Jay McInerney as.ft.com/r/3a99aa58-2...

giftarticle.ft.comTrump’s poll ratings should worry RepublicansSeven months out from the midterms, Americans are feeling economic pain

Not waving but drowning: Trump’s poll ratings should worry Republicans - my latest FT Swamp Notes appearance giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...

Jonathan Derbyshire reposted

Janine Gibson

@janinegibson.ft.com

I do like it when the lunchee just takes some big swings. Have a free prosecco at Balthazar with the laureate of 1980s hedonism as.ft.com/r/819b10b5-7...

'I notice he has barely touched his prosecco, while I’ve guzzled most of mine.' I had lunch with Jay McInerney as.ft.com/r/3a99aa58-2...

as.ft.comTrump’s war is delivering a gut punch to the US economy[FREE TO READ] A supply chain crisis will hit ordinary Americans with higher prices at a time when they are already feeling stretched

26 Mar

Trump's war is delivering a gut punch to the US economy, argues @warren.senate.gov for @financialtimes.com as.ft.com/r/54fd3b40-7...

newstatesman.comThe NS Profile: Ralph MilibandRalph Miliband, father of the Labour leadership rivals David and Ed, is remembered as a great teache

25 Mar

Reading @willoyd.bsky.social’s excellent profile of Ed Miliband, which rightly stresses the influence on him of his father, reminded me of this piece about Miliband père that I wrote for the NS in 2010, during that year’s Labour leadership campaign www.newstatesman.com/uncategorize...

Jonathan Derbyshire reposted

as.ft.comFear and Fury — law, disorder and white rage in 1980s America[FREE TO READ] Heather Ann Thompson’s history returns to the Goetz shootings that divided New York — and continue to cast a long shadow today

24 Mar

My review of Heather Ann Thompson’s book about the Bernie Goetz shootings and the politics of law and order in Eighties America as.ft.com/r/d4142f72-4...

24 Mar

My review of Heather Ann Thompson’s book about the Bernie Goetz shootings and the politics of law and order in Eighties America as.ft.com/r/d4142f72-4...

as.ft.comTrump’s Iran playbook was written in the 1980s[FREE TO READ] From oil threats to ultimatums, the US president has a decades-old view of how to confront Tehran

23 Mar

As my colleague Alex Barker argues here, you can find the entire Trump worldview in utero in the late 1980s - including the obsession with taking Kharg Island as.ft.com/r/c712ace2-4...

as.ft.comJürgen Habermas, master thinker of postwar Germany, 1929-2026[FREE TO READ] The philosopher and social theorist thought deeply about the foundations of liberal democracy

19 Mar

Fine FT obituary of Habermas by @iprnickp.bsky.social as.ft.com/r/92bbb72b-6...

as.ft.comNew York shivers in one of the most severe winters since the Gilded Age[FREE TO READ] Only three in history have endured a colder stretch with more snow

26 Feb

My colleague @okr.bsky.social crunches the numbers on NYC's big freeze as.ft.com/r/cb54e5e5-d...

eventbrite.comHow Principled Conservatives Stopped Worrying and Learned to Love TrumpJoin the Moynihan Center for a panel discussion featuring Sohrab Ahmari, Jonathan Derbyshire, Naomi Schaefer Riley, and Matthew Sitman.

26 Feb

Looking forward to moderating this discussion www.eventbrite.com/e/how-princi...

as.ft.comPam Bondi vs the courts[FREE TO READ] The US attorney-general believes there is a co-ordinated judicial attack on the authority of the executive

13 Feb

In which I discuss Alexander Hamilton on the 'least dangerous' branch of government and Pam Bondi's war against the courts as.ft.com/r/983435f2-9...

podcasts.apple.comInfinite Jest is a novel for 2026Podcast Episode · The New Society | culture from the New Statesman · 31/01/2026 · 26m

31 Jan

Thanks to @tanjilrashid.bsky.social for inviting me on to the @newstatesman1913.bsky.social’s excellent new culture podcast to revisit one of the first pieces I ever wrote for the magazine and to talk about David Foster Wallace’s Infinite Jest at 30 podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/t...

@ranaforoohar.bsky.social

30 Jan

The mighty Hudson at bay

Jonathan Derbyshire reposted

Rana Foroohar

20 Jan

My latest Swamp Note: as.ft.com/r/ae01cce7-b... Occupied America @jderbyshire.ft.com

as.ft.comOccupied America[FREE TO READ] The Trump administration is over-reaching in Minneapolis and creating a sense of dread and anxiety in the process