On December 17, five days after voting ended in the UK General Election, Thomas Stoeckle, Sam Knowles, and I got together for lunch in London followed by a good old chat over a few beers in a live conversation we recorded for episode 31 of the Small Data Forum podcast. We continued our conversation about the state of the UK we started earlier in the year, informed somewhat by the outcome of #GE2019 where we have moved onward from the hung Parliament territory of the 2017 General Election to … [Read more...] about SDF 31: Opportunity and chaos from #GE2019
Brexit
SDF 30: Of Giants and Donkeys
On the first day after Brexit Day, Thomas, Sam and I joined in conversation on the Big Day that didn't happen. #NoBrexitDay, in a hashtag. In this latest installment of our Small Data Forum podcast, episode 30, we again discuss the political shenanigins in the ongoing Brexit saga as we now head towards a General Election in the UK on December 12. We set the scene with a just-published book from the four men behind 'Led By Donkeys,' a political activism campaign that unfolded on … [Read more...] about SDF 30: Of Giants and Donkeys
SDF 29: Back to the Future
By Sam Knowles, co-presenter, SDF Podcast. When Rome teetered on the brink of democratic collapse in the first century BCE, as it prepared – unknowingly – to move from a form of notional democracy to imperial rule, three men came together to save the ever-expanding city state and advance their political careers. Caesar, Pompey, and Crassus – the swashbuckler, the strategist, and the finance guy – effectively took power under emergency measures. Known collectively as the First Triumvirate, … [Read more...] about SDF 29: Back to the Future
SDF Podcast 28: Summertime Special
Show notes by Sam Knowles. In England’s distant past, long before the spread of wealth and the explosive growth of the middle classes, holidays were a rarity. Overseas holidays were unheard of, except for those gilded few who’d grown fat on the Empire and took a ‘grand tour’ of Europe for months at a time, or else went off to add new lands to said Empire. The closest most workers got to any kind of holiday was being taken in a charabanc to the nearest seaside resort, where enforced fun … [Read more...] about SDF Podcast 28: Summertime Special
SDF Podcast 27: When April Fool’s meets Groundhog Day
So this is the episode when the three stooges of the SmallDataForum were meant to reflect wistfully on what was Great Britain exiting Greater Europe. The irony of recording this on April Fool’s Day wasn’t lost on us. Brexit Fool’s day is every day, these days. Our resident classicist Sam even managed to squeeze in Juvenal’s Satire VI, and even though the reference was in regard to another April Fool’s – Facebook regulation, haha – Quis Custodiet Ipsos Custodes might just as well … [Read more...] about SDF Podcast 27: When April Fool’s meets Groundhog Day