The end of the year wouldn’t be complete without a list.

Top ten books

In no particular order the books I have enjoyed this year.

  • V13 by Emmanuel Carrère
  • The Hunter by Tara French
  • Quick Fixes: Drugs in America from Prohibition to the 21st Century Binge by Benjamin Yen-Yi Fong
  • If We Burn by Vincent Bevins
  • Believe Nothing Until it is Officially Denied by Patrick Cockburn
  • Nuclear War: A Scenario
  • Disaster Nationalism by Richard Seymour
  • Conversations with Allende: Socialism in Chile by Régis Debray
  • Mixing Pop and Politics: A Marxist History of Popular Music by Toby Manning

and I have finally started Gravity’s Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon.

Top ten podcasts

  • True Anon
  • American Exception
  • Ghost Stories for the End of the World
  • Fourth Reich Archeology
  • Death is Just Around the Corner
  • Politics Theory Other
  • Tech Won’t Save Us
  • Past Present Future
  • The Belgrano Diary
  • Master Plan

Top five films (including documentaries)

  • Dune Part 2
  • Longlegs
  • The Apprentice
  • Civil War
  • The Grab

Top ten TV shows

  • Industry: Season 3
  • Ripley
  • KAOS
  • Sherwood: Season 2
  • True Detective: Night Country
  • Slow Horses: Season 4
  • Responder: Season 2
  • How to with John Wilson: Season 3
  • Lioness
  • The Penguin

Political events of the year

  • The Trump assassination attempt
  • The English summer riots
  • Starmer’s wardrobe
  • The fall of Assad
  • Biden and the Presidential debate
  • Death of X

Thing of the year

  • Return of Substack

Here’s to 2025!


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