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“Why, for fifty-three years, I’ve put up with it now! I MUST stop this Christmas from coming! But HOW?” — Dr. Seuss, How the Grinch Stole Christmas

1. He’s roughly fifty-three years old, give or take.

2. Unlike the music from his day, he thinks everything the youth are listening to is just a bunch of noise, noise, noise, NOISE.

3. Anticommercialist. Every year, he makes the same cynical comments about Christmas.

4. He’s used to being culturally excluded, forgotten, and ignored. But he doesn’t care.

5. Deep contempt for groupthink and is suspicious of the motivations of people, corporations, and the government.

6. He was a latch-key kid and still thrives with lots of alone time.

7. Definitely got some sort of heart trouble. You can tell by looking at him.

8. He wears his apathy as armor because he’s emotionally ill-equipped to handle the earnest sentimentality that comes with the holiday season.

9. His awkward presence could be described as “lurking.”

New polling suggests a progressive majority could come back to Labour if the PM embraces a more compassionate form of politics, argues Jennifer Nadel

FEATURES:

- Ossuary jars
- Anti-revolutionary painting
- Toxic dust
- Solastalgia

It was a cold, dry night in April, and a crowd had gathered in the center of Nukus, the capital of the Central Asian Republic of Karakalpakstan, to squint through a skein of toxic dust into the illuminated lobby of one of the world’s most peculiar cultural institutions: the Nukus Museum of Art.

Overall, you’ve got a strong concept: a log burning in a fireplace, on a loop for five hours. But we have a few notes.

• Can the log be more aspirational?
• Focus-group it to see if kids aged six to eleven think fire is too urban.
• The log seems passive. Provide more backstory.
• Can the fireplace have a cool sidekick? (e.g., a smart-mouthed pinecone.)
• Does the music have to be Christmas music?
• Will viewers know what a fireplace is?
• Make the fire more appealing to single men.
• Where’s the merchandising tie-in?
• Could the fire sing a duet with Michael Bublé?
• Instead of a holiday one-off, could it be a weekly series? (e.g., Jake Log is an ex-cop turned P.I. who plays by his own rules.)
• Why fire?

Otherwise, it’s perfect.

Happy Holidays!

Keir Starmer's decision to exclude Russian interference in the 2016 EU referendum from his inquiry into foreign interference in our elections should ring alarm bells, argues Sergei Cristo

“President Donald Trump on Wednesday assailed his White House predecessors for not pushing back against Venezuela earlier and stated that his intention is ‘getting land, oil rights, whatever we had’ returned by the government in Caracas.” — PBS

I’m absolutely disgusted by President Trump’s attempt to start a war with Venezuela without first putting in the years of tedious, brain-breaking propaganda work. Is it fun to poison the public consciousness with outrageous lies that border on blood libel and dehumanize innocent civilians in a country that most Americans couldn’t even find on a map? Of course not. But it’s what you do! Past presidents used to understand that. Past presidents used to care.

Ministers have so far refused demands to negotiate with the hunger strikers, as the risk of them dying in prison increases

British academic and his Nigerian wife repeatedly stopped from hosting family members, including at their own wedding, due to visa restrictions brought in by Keir Starmer's Government

Kate McCallister realizes that her son Kevin didn’t make it with them to the airport on their way to Paris for the holidays. She frantically pulls out her phone and calls him up.

KEVIN: Hello?

MOM: Kevin!

KEVIN: Mom?

MOM: I’m so sorry you’re home alone! Your sister accidentally took your jacket that had your AirTag in the pocket, and we were too busy listening to Audible to notice you were missing.

KEVIN: I feel so alone!

MOM: I know, sweetie! We just got to the airport, but we can catch a later flight. We might not get Delta One, alas, but that’s okay. Motion sensors say you’re in my bedroom.

KEVIN: I’m hiding under your bed.

The privilege of describing new species is skewed to Global Northerners

The post Parachute Science Continues to Prevail in Global South Biodiversity Studies appeared first on Nautilus.

The Senate approved the 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) yesterday, authorizing nearly $900 billion...

It is time to move away from a politics in which cruelty is always portrayed as “toughness” and moral abdication as “realism”, argues Green Party Deputy Leader Rachel Millward

EXT. — THE VASTNESS OF SPACE

A star, representing the angel ALBERT, shoots across the sky. It stops at a distant GALAXY. As the heavenly bodies talk, their lights blink.

ALBERT
You sent for me, sir?

GALAXY
Yes, Albert. Tonight’s going to be the crucial night for “Young Punk at Graduation Dance.”

ALBERT
Who, sir?

GALAXY
Sorry. That’s how I think of him. Tonight will be the crucial night for… Mickey Wincott.

A beat.

ALBERT
Who, sir?

GALAXY
(sighs)
The man who lurks by the controls in the Bedford Falls gymnasium to convince a jilted dancer to open the gym floor, so that the dancer’s rival falls into the swimming pool beneath.

Having watched the film, I thought I’d get Robert Linhart’s book off the shelf and finally read it. I think I bought it in Oxford in the early 80s. To remind you, it depicts Linhart’s experience as a Maoist cadre who has chosen to get a job in a Citroen factory in Paris in order […]

Far-right activists were seen stabbing dinghies and releasing dogs to intimidate migrants and aid workers

Bank Underground is about to take a break for the festive season. In keeping with tradition, we are pleased to present the annual Bank Underground Christmas Quiz! This year, it’s been prepared with the kind assistance of the Bank of England’s Archive team. We hope you enjoy testing your knowledge of the Bank’s history, especially … Continue reading The Bank Underground Christmas Quiz 2025 →

I haven’t provided detailed commentary on the US labour market for a while now. To some extent the month-to-month changes are not that interesting but after a lapse, discernible trends can be detected. The US President is about to give a national address today in the context of declining poll popularity and a series of…

Mouse brains perform a clever mechanism to count their steps and keep them on track

The post How Animals Navigate Darkness appeared first on Nautilus.

“At least George Bush had the decency to come to Congress for approval in 2002. Don’t the American people deserve that respect today?”

The post Congress Squanders Last Chance to Block Venezuela War Before Going on Vacation appeared first on The Intercept.

Close inspection of “exceptionally preserved” fossils suggests that some dinosaurs shed their ability to take off

The post The Feathery Dinosaurs That Couldn’t Fly appeared first on Nautilus.

“American Canto” is a story about the battle for the souls of a country and a journalist. But it’s certainly not about how things really work.

The post Olivia Nuzzi Is Completely Oblivious appeared first on The Intercept.

It triggers a reaction in the brains of mice that helps them change their behavior

The post The Silver Lining in Disappointment appeared first on Nautilus.

Here’s a review by Contributing Editor David Persails of the 30th anniversary version of “The Beatles Anthology” streaming on Disney+, including the new Episode 9 … “The Beatles Anthology 2025,” directed by Bob Smeaton and Oliver Murray, restored and remastered … Continue reading →