9 hours agoDisney’s death: is cinema really “healing”?Ho ho ho? It snowed today in London, briefly, and that inspired me to rashly commit to the idea of doing Blogmas, a new blog, here on Medium, every day until Christmas. Starting today, with this, the first window in your advent calendar. …Disney5 min readDisney5 min read
Nov 21A Tale of Two CEOs: is the age of the ‘Brand CEO’ over?This piece first appeared on my newsletter, Future Proof. Please subscribe, it’s free but you can support my writing there. Also, listen to my podcast. Update: Obviously, within 12 hours of this piece being published, Altman was back in at OpenAI (as semi-predicted a few paragraphs down). But that doesn’t…Technology9 min readTechnology9 min read
Nov 7Grok, AI and the humour test: would Douglas Adams find your LLM funny?This piece first appeared on my newsletter, Future Proof, which you can subscribe to for free. Also follow me on Twitter. I am in serious danger of losing my grip on reality if I don’t shut up and stop talking about Elon Musk. But, like moth to flame, I’m drawn…Artificial Intelligence8 min readArtificial Intelligence8 min read
Nov 3On AI and the end of the worldThis post first appeared on my newsletter, Future Proof. Please subscribe to that to support my writing and get early access. Honestly, it feels like human civilisation has enough to worry about at present, without a sudden focus on the existential threat of extinction. But that’s the conversation that we’re…AI8 min readAI8 min read
Oct 30Introducing The Ned Ludd Radio Hour!Readers of my blogs here on Medium will know that I’m sceptical about a lot of things from the world of technology. In my own field, podcasting, I’ve been a bear in a bull market for a while — and I think many of my concerns have proven to be…Technology3 min readTechnology3 min read
Oct 27Note for the UK’s parliamentarians on remote broadcastingThe writing of this blog is made possible thanks to the cool cats who subsribe to my newsletter, Future Proof. To support my writing, join the mailing list here. When the covid-19 virus struck in the early months of 2020, the way that we — the media — do business…Journalism5 min readJournalism5 min read
Oct 18Taylor Swift’s Money GrabThis post originally appeared on my beloved newsletter, Future Proof. Please subscribe to support my work — and also give me a follow on Twitter. I’m calling it: Taylor Swift’s “Eras Tour” is the most lucrative cultural product in human history. This is not based on anything concrete (though I’ll…Taylor Swift8 min readTaylor Swift8 min read
Oct 4The Audiobook Wars are BeginningThis piece first appeared on my newsletter, Future Proof. Please subscribe to help support my writing and general thinking. Also, follow me on Twitter if you fancy. I have a confession to make (shareholders in my podcasting business, cover your eyes now): I’m a big audiobook guy. I am currently…Technology12 min readTechnology12 min read
Aug 30The End of the Subscription Era is ComingThis piece exists thanks to the munificence of my paying newsletter subscribers. If you value you my writing on Medium, joining them is a great way to support that. Love it or hate it, we’re living in the subscription era. I’m not just talking about streaming platforms, which have been…Journalism10 min readJournalism10 min read
Aug 16Billion Dollar Barbie: what lessons should cinema draw?This piece first appeared on my newsletter, Future Proof. You can subscribe for free — and if you enjoy it, maybe you can take out a paid sub. Paid subscribers are, famously, more successful and attractive. In an interview with Rolling Stone, the actor Randall Park made the following observation…Movies5 min readMovies5 min read