Josh Gabert-Doyon
@joshgd100.bsky.social
Writer, audio producer for the Financial Times 'Tech Tonic' podcast.
Everyone thinks the UK should be building homes on brownfield land - but while we have a lot, most of it is in just a few urban areas. Most local authorites have less than five years' supply. Just one of many reasons Burnham will struggle to meet his housing ambitions
Fun fact: Warner sued Suno and then turned around last year, settled and started a joint venture to develop a new AI tool.
Joseph Cox@josephcox.bsky.social · 3w agoNew: the highly controversial AI music generator Suno was hacked. The hacker sent us Suno source code; it shows the company scraped YouTube Music, Deezer, and Genius. In all, Suno scraped *decades* worth of music from the internet. Obviously didn't pay artists www.404media.co/hack-reveals...
Interesting argument here around the impact of Palantir winning the NHS Federated Data Platform contract... From @laurahughesft.bsky.social and Madhumita Murgia's piece in the FT today. as.ft.com/r/e3df8845-d...
Big question in the coming months/year will be how the state responds to these kinds of moves by rental sector. Will cash-strapped local councils really have the capacity to carry out enforcement?
James Riding@jamesriding.bsky.social · 2mo agoNew: A build-to-rent landlord has used a loophole in the new Renters’ Rights Act to demand a 10% rent hike Get Living is using the legislation to treat a flatmate leaving as a new tenancy – allowing it to request a rent increase living.insidehousing.co.uk/news/reveale...
Fun NYT investigation looking at in-fighting in the kratom/wellness industry and regulatory capture. www.nytimes.com/2026/06/15/u...
This is an episode I've been keen to do ever since we launched The Story of Money. This week we explore the absolutely WILD 1990s pyramid schemes of Albania, in relative scale the equivalent to about 1,000 Bernie Madoffs at the same time. www.ft.com/content/5083...
The financial scams that brought Albania to the brink of war
1997 was the country’s year of financial horror
ft.com
A discussion about the social media ban on under 16s. BBC: “You’re gong to have a lot more time to fill. What will you do?” Student: “Stare at a wall.”
I went on Radio 4 to talk about wealth, the superrich, and what’s changed since Adam Smith wrote The Wealth of Nations (TLDR; the wretched spirit of monopoly is back, baby) www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...
BBC Radio 4 - Free Thinking, Wealth
Can the accumulation of wealth be ethical and what can we learn from Adam Smith's enquiry?
bbc.co.uk
Current DHSC permanent secretary: -Consulted for a healthcare company during the period when that company was bidding and working with Palantir on the Federated Data Platform contract. -Helped Global Counsel arrange a roundtable with Palantir while in her post at DHSC. as.ft.com/r/7635786e-3...
Top health official had close ties with Palantir partner at time of NHS contract
Scrutiny of Samantha Jones, permanent secretary at the Department of Health, comes amid pressure for ministers to use break clause in key contract
as.ft.com
The US is now spending more on data center construction than on public transportation infrastructure
Birmingham's post-local election political situation is getting interesting: Reform (largest party) and Labour (previous admin) have both ruled out being part of a coalition administration. It means any governing coalition will need to work with pro-Gaza independents. as.ft.com/r/bdee6bf3-b...
Birmingham braces for chaos as multi-party vote leaves council rudderless
Europe’s largest local authority has no leadership after the political scene fragmented in this month’s local elections
as.ft.com
Incredibly proud to publish this, by Robert Newton, a stunning piece of writing about a remote religious community in the shadow of a dormant nuclear plant, and what plans for a new plant reveal about the fractures caused by Britain's drive to decarbonise www.break-down.org/the-chapel-a...
The Chapel and the Nuclear Plant
At a remote Essex chapel shadowed by a dormant nuclear plant, a battle over a proposed new reactor reveals how Britain’s drive to decarbonise is reshaping old conflicts between conservation, community...
break-down.org
Worked with @antoniacundy.ft.com to look at the finances and strategy behind Opus Dei's foray into US higher education. as.ft.com/r/de440746-b...
Opus Dei’s opaque influence on US campus politics
Think-tank network that has prospered under Donald Trump has close operational ties to secretive Catholic group
as.ft.com
Fun data story: collapsed lender MFS appears to have caused a sudden spike in the national insolvency rate. The government's Insolvency Service said an 82% rise in administration was because of "more than 100 connected companies in the real estate sector”. w/ Euan Healy as.ft.com/r/f7741bc7-3...
MFS collapse prompts surge in national insolvency rates
Insolvency Service reports 82% year-on-year rise in administrations last month across England and Wales
as.ft.com
Delighted to say that our spring issue will be out May 6! This was a very surprising, insightful & motivating issue to edit. On everything from Big Tech's ever-growing Cloud empire to community-led fights for clean air in Beirut & The Bronx. Plus a chat w/the great @dwallacewells.bsky.social (!)
The BREAK—DOWN@the-breakdown.bsky.social · 4mo agoIntroducing AIRBORNE Issue #3! Publishing 6 May. Pre-order or subscribe today: www.break-down.org/tag/issue-03/ 🔗
Quite aside from using AI to fake other complaints, in his own complaint this guy described EMBANKMENT as a "residential neighbourhood". Nightclub NIMBYism is out of control. www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
Man used AI to make false statements to shut down London nightclub, police say
Heaven club neighbour admits offences under Licensing Act, as Met says fictitious AI-generated complaints a growing issue
theguardian.com
Had fun reporting on the private security groups using open source intelligence to catch organised shoplifting groups as.ft.com/r/d30e1213-5...
How a London teenager shoplifted £140,000
What was unusual was not just the value of the goods — it was the fact that the boy was caught
as.ft.com
Interesting detail from student housing developer Unite's trading update today. They're selling £600mn worth of student accommodation, focus seems to be on disposing of assets in weaker performing student towns/cities. Wrote about the market earlier this week: as.ft.com/r/4e0e94b9-3...
For investors, student housing is an appealing de-risked asset: constant stream of students, backed by public institutions, exempt from various planning requirements, w/ rents increasing every year. Now there are concerns about over-saturation and councils are kicking off. as.ft.com/r/755219e6-6...
The hangover from Britain’s student housing boom
[FREE TO READ] Concerns about affordability and community impact are mounting, even as purpose-built accommodation gains traction elsewhere
as.ft.com
Property lawyers are seeing a surge of evictions in the run-up to the implementation of the Renters Rights Act. Landlords say they're re-pricing risk to deal with the new regulations. as.ft.com/r/d70fafb3-0...
Renters’ Rights Act brings big changes to UK property market
[FREE TO READ] New rules aim to provide safety and security for tenants, but landlords are anxious
as.ft.com
The Enhanced Games, the 'steroid olympics' backed by Peter Thiel, Don Jr and others, are the first to dive into peptide commercialisation off the back off an RFK Jr. appearance on the Joe Rogan podcast. Story with @mikepeeljourno.bsky.social and Patrick Temple-West as.ft.com/r/4d2cf814-5...
‘Steroid Olympics’ company to start selling peptides after Kennedy signals deregulation
[FREE TO READ] Enhanced Games, backed by Donald Trump Jr and Peter Thiel, is moving into consumer products
as.ft.com
"A rare source of bipartisanship has broken out in state capitols across the country: tackling data centers."
Reining in data centers sparks rare bipartisanship in statehouses
With voters wary of AI and both parties’ ability to tackle it, the issue has not fallen along usual partisan lines, even in an election year.
nbcnews.com
A fun Companies House find, someone appears to have accidentally inputted a Google search query about offshore jurisdictions into the 'Governing Law' section.
"Mancroft seems supremely unembarrassed" Genre-defining 'Lunch with the FT' by @henrymance.ft.com as.ft.com/r/646ff70e-0...
Hereditary peer Lord Mancroft: ‘They don’t care about fox hunting. It’s about us’
[FREE TO READ] The Conservative politician and former master of hounds on House of Lords reform, the pros and cons of privilege — and his numerous tattoos
as.ft.com
Great opener from @willdunn.bsky.social in this piece about the 'expo-expo' and the UK's conference economy. www.newstatesman.com/politics/eco...
Facial recognition cameras are much more prevalent among retailers than they are among law enforcement. Privacy campaigners are worried about the lack of oversight. Providers and users of the cameras say they're filling a gap left by unresponsive police forces. . as.ft.com/r/4e840ce8-e...
UK high streets turn to facial recognition in fight against shoplifting
Theft and threats against shop floor workers have risen sharply since the Covid-19 pandemic
ft.com
Wrote about Asif Aziz's Criterion Capital and how landlords are changing strategies - with more evictions and changes in tenancies - ahead of the Renters Rights Act. Building on great reporting by @jim.londoncentric.media @pollysmythe.bsky.social and others as.ft.com/r/97c52505-0...
London landlord begins evictions ahead of new renters’ rights law
[FREE TO READ] Asif Aziz’s Criterion Capital owns several apartment blocks in capital as well as Trocadero centre in Piccadilly
as.ft.com
Asif Aziz evictions story is going mainstream. Telegraph and Independent have covered in recent days. Now the FT has done a brilliant piece - including finding another property affected, where a Ukrainian refugee and their disabled son are being evicted by Aziz. giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...
London landlord begins evictions ahead of new renters’ rights law
Asif Aziz’s Criterion Capital owns several apartment blocks in capital as well as Trocadero centre in Piccadilly
giftarticle.ft.com
