Timeline
Every post and feed across this instance
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Who Gets To Get the Olympics?
It’s gotten increasingly tricky to decide where each Olympic Games should go. There’s always gonna be a reason why not. And he has to face the music, every time. Now, here comes China, with Richard Pound. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicespdrl.fm -
The businessman who took on Putin
Bill Browder was the largest foreign investor in Russia until 2005, when he was denied entry to the country for exposing corruption in Russian state-owned companies. Browder's colleague Sergei Magnitsky uncovered a massive tax scam totalling hundreds of billions of dollars, and the officials he accused of stealing the funds threw him into jail, where he was beaten, tortured, and then died in custody in 2009. Browder decided to act, pushing for accountability of those involved in Magnitsky’s death. Browder’s activism has led to the passing of the Global Magnitsky Act, which authorizes the US government to sanction international government officials believed to be behind human rights violations. Julia Macfarlane sits down with Browder to discuss his work targeting corrupt Russian officials while Sir Richard Dearlove, former head of Britain's Mi6, shares his insight on the complex trails of Russian money, who's hiding it, and who has access to it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicespdrl.fm -
BONUS: Putin Drives Finland into NATO’s Arms
Vladimir Putin's efforts to prevent NATO’s expansion suffered a dramatic setback this week as Finland and Sweden were formally invited to join the seventy-three-year-old alliance. Finland's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Pekka Haavisto, joins host Julia MacFarlane on this special edition of One Decision recorded at this week's historic NATO Summit to discuss why the Nordic country decided to abandon its decades old policy of neutrality. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicespdrl.fm -
Khamenei Has Fallen. Is This the Rebirth of American Deterrence? Ex-MI6 Chief's Analysis
After weeks of buildup, the United States and Israel have attacked Iran, killing long-time leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. How will the downfall of his regime reverberate throughout the Middle East and beyond? Former MI6 Chief Sir Richard Dearlove and journalist Kate McCann (Political Editor at Times Radio) dive into the questions around the decision to strike Iran, what the death of Khamenei means for Iran’s future, and whether Iranian proxies in the region like Hezbollah have the strength to aid in retaliation. Plus: Does China have a reason to step in and help Iran? Should Russian President Vladimir Putin be concerned that he’s lost an ally, or emboldened because of the United States’ split attention? What will the UK’s involvement be in supporting the US and Israel in this conflict? In this episode: 01:37 - The decision behind killing Khamenei 03:43 - Ramifications of turning Khamenei into a martyr 06:32 - Why a popular uprising in Iran is unlikely 08:50 - Starlink and the information war 10:25 - How the Ayatollah’s downfall may be the death knell for Iran’s regional proxies 12:28 - Who backs Iran now? 13:51 - Will China be a mediator? 15:48 - Putin’s lost an ally 19:18 - Consequences of Starmer’s hesitancy 22:36 - The lethal combination of Israeli HUMINT and the CIA’s advanced surveillance Hosted by Sir Richard Dearlove (former MI6 Chief) and journalist Kate McCann (Political Editor at Times Radio). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicespdrl.fm -
John Bolton and Operation Iraqi Freedom Commander: The Lessons from Iraq Trump Can't Ignore
Former National Security Advisor John Bolton doesn't mince words: the opening strikes on Iran were just the beginning. In this special bonus episode, Bolton breaks down why he believes the Iranian regime will fragment from within, what the Gulf Arab states are about to do, and how war in Iran affects Russia, Ukraine, and China. Then, retired Lt. General Mark Hertling brings the view from the ground. A veteran of multiple Iraq deployments and the former Chief of War Plans on the Joint Staff. Hertling has seen this before. He's asking the question nobody in Washington seems to want to answer: Is there actually a plan for the day after the strikes? In this episode: 01:31 John Bolton 04:32 Power Vacuum Risks 08:44 Gulf States Reaction 10:50 Iran Retaliation Strategy 15:16 Israel Influence Question 17:03 Oil Shock And Putin 19:51 China And Taiwan 23:34 Deterrence And Alliances 29:51 Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling 34:28 Decapitation and Unrest 36:24 Iraq Lessons on Disbandment 42:02 Intel Gaps and Planning 52:19 Wider Regional Fallout Show Notes: Opinion | With attack on Iran, U.S. deterrence is being restored - The Washington Post Order Mark Harling’s book: If I Don’t Return: A Father’s Wartime Journal Lt. General Mark Hertling recorded on March 2, and Amb. John Bolton recorded on March 3. Hosted by Sir Richard Dearlove (former MI6 Chief) and Kate McCann (Political Editor at Times Radio). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicespdrl.fm -
Will Maduro's Regime Survive Trump's Pressure?
This week on One Decision, hosts Christina Ruffini and Sir Richard Dearlove, former head of Britain's MI6, are joined by Venezuela expert Phil Gunson, Senior Analyst for the International Crisis Group. In this conversation, the hosts discuss the new pressure campaign the Trump administration has placed on Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his regime, including the recent air strikes on drug boats off the Venezuelan coast. Gunson, who lives in Caracas, Venezuela, explains how Cuban intelligence continues to help Maduro maintain control over Venezuela and its military, why the military sees no benefit in turning against Maduro, and how gold mining and evading sanctions keep the regime financially afloat. The conversation explores why Maduro's dictatorship continues to endure, the divided Venezuelan opposition, and the risks of the next dangerous power struggle if Maduro falls. Gunson also shares vivid insights into daily life in Caracas, from blackouts to food shortages, and shares his thoughts on what it would take for Venezuela to move toward democracy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicespdrl.fm -
Bonus: Washington Post’s White House Bureau Chief on Covering Biden’s Foreign Policy
As the Washington Post's White House Bureau Chief, Toluse Olorunnipa has an outsized role in how the world—especially the power players in America’s capital city—interpret President Joe Biden’s diplomacy. In this week's bonus episode, Olorunnipa sits down with guest host Brett Bruen to look at what it’s like to travel the globe on Air Force One and write the first draft of history books on major moments from the Russian invasion of Ukraine to the controversial decision to withdraw from Afghanistan. They also discuss foreign anxiety over a second Donald Trump term and what role international affairs will play in the presidential election in the United States. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicespdrl.fm -
Bonus: Canada’s UN Ambassador on Assassination Allegations Against India
Canada’s Justin Trudeau threw a petrol bomb into the opening of the annual United Nations General Assembly in New York last week—announcing that there were “credible allegations” that Delhi was behind the shooting of a Canadian Sikh activist in Vancouver in June. Prime Minister Modi is riding high after a successful G20 summit, having entertained a slew of world leaders from the West, all hoping to curry favour with the biggest population in the world. Is Canada mad to start a fight with Delhi at a time when allies are needed to square up to China and Russia? Or does human rights trump geopolitics? One Decision sits down with Canadian Ambassador to the UN Robert Rae to discuss. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicespdrl.fm -
Exclusive: Former Head of MI6 Visited Ukraine. Here's What He Learned
One Decision's Sir Richard Dearlove was a guest of the Kyiv government during the last week of April - coinciding with the day that Russia launched its biggest air strikes on Ukraine in two months. Sir Richard reveals the details of his unfortunate night spent in a bomb shelter in Kyiv, what he learned from conversations on the ground with high-level government officials, Ukraine's focus on NATO's upcoming summit in Vilnius, preparations for the long awaited 'spring offensive' and why the Discord intelligence leaks worked to Ukraine's advantage. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicespdrl.fm -
EU Parliament President on Putin, Populism and the Biggest Problems it Faces
Europe today is being tested like never before in its recent memory—war and instability are on the edges of Europe, threatening to spill over into its borders; Russian influence and propaganda are sowing divisions across the continent, and rising inflation and unemployment are giving oxygen to divisive populist politics. One Decision sits down for a sweeping and wide-ranging conversation with Roberta Metsola, the President of the European Union Parliament to discuss the bloc’s biggest security priorities and what needs to happen now to address them, what the EU is doing about Putin weaponizing its energy needs, the migrant crisis and how populists have been exploiting divisions across the continent. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicespdrl.fm -
In Brief: Will Harvard Get Cut Off From the World?
In this edition of One Decision In Brief, hosts Christina Ruffini and Sir Richard Dearlove, former head of Britain's MI6, sit down to break down Germany's latest decision to support Ukraine with a €5 billion military aid package. They also explore the political and social ramifications of President Donald Trump's decision to block foreign visa applications from prospective Harvard students and the threat it poses on academic freedom. Plus, Sir Richard and Christina share stories on what it's like visiting Cuba during and after the Cuban embargo. Episode produced by Situation Room Studios. Original music composed and produced by Leo Sidran. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicespdrl.fm -
How Montenegro Escaped Russia
Montenegro is a young country where the stakes are especially high as the United States along with its NATO allies look to prevent a further Russian invasion of Ukraine. Former Montenegrin Prime Minister Igor Luksic shares the challenges and critical lessons learned from their independence to integration into NATO with our guest host from the Wall Street Journal, Vivian Salama. They take a close look at the current crisis in Ukraine and how the experience of freeing itself from Russia's nexus may provide valuable recommendations and even a roadmap for other nations. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicespdrl.fm -
China in Hollywood: Lights, Camera, Censorship
Hollywood used to rule. But now, American blockbusters often cannot break even without breaking into the Chinese box office. Not only that, sharp Chinese film executives who have studied decades of American success on the silver screen, are beating them at their own game. Erich Schwartzel has taken a deep dive on the growing links between Hollywood and China, the impact on freedom of expression, and how Beijing is weaponizing the arts to support its global strategic priorities. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicespdrl.fm -
Why This Israeli Security Expert Abandoned the Two-State Solution
In this episode of One Decision, Sir Richard Dearlove, former MI6 chief, and journalist Christina Ruffini speak with Professor Chuck Freilich, Israel’s former Deputy National Security Adviser. Freilich explains why he no longer sees a two-state solution as viable and lays out a three-pillar alternative for Gaza and the West Bank. He examines the aims and limits of Israel’s campaign against Hamas, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s political incentives, and what recent strikes mean for Iran’s nuclear program. Episode produced by Situation Room Studios. Original music composed and produced by Leo Sidran. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicespdrl.fm -
Canadian Foreign & Defence Ministers on Trump’s Threats
In this special episode, One Decision’s host Christina Ruffini takes us behind the scenes at the 2025 Munich Security Conference where she sits down with Canadian leaders to discuss the how the United States’ recent tariff threats are shaping the relationship between the two countries, and the possibility of Ukraine joining NATO. She speaks with Canadian Foreign Minister, Mélanie Joly, to unpack US Vice President JD Vance’s remarks at the conference and Canada’s important relationship with the Nordic and Arctic nations. Later in the episode, Christina sits down with Canadian Defence Minister, Bill Blair, to discuss working with U.S. Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, the future of the war in Ukraine, and fortifying Canada’s internal defense strategy. Episode produced by Situation Room Studios. Original music composed and produced by Leo Sidran. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicespdrl.fm -
In Brief: The Trump Effect on Global Elections
In this bonus episode, Christina Ruffini sits down with co-host Sir Richard Dearlove, former head of Britain's MI6, to discuss how President Donald Trump's second term in office has created a global response seen in elections worldwide. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's recent election victory will extend his tenure as his platform works against growing right-wing populism. Meanwhile, victories in recent Romanian and UK council elections have proven an interest in nationalist, right-wing politics, mirroring many of President Trump's politics. Plus, Sir Richard shares his insight on the Trump administration's policy shift on Ukraine and working with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Episode produced by Situation Room Studios. Original music composed and produced by Leo Sidran. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicespdrl.fm -
BONUS: The Great British Economic Meltdown
The British pound sterling plummeted this week after Prime Minister Liz Truss unveiled her budget containing a divisive 45-billion tax cut, spooking markets and leading to warnings from the IMF to the White House. The Bank of England took emergency measures to keep the economy afloat, promising to buy bonds at "whatever scale is necessary." Can the UK economy avoid catastrophe as it faces threats from inflation and fuel shortages? Leading British economist Alpesh Paleja explains what exactly happened to bond markets, giving us a sobering assessment of the country's financial health and whether we have seen the worst of the storm. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicespdrl.fm -
China's Most Wanted: Hong Kong Fugitive Samuel Chu talks China's National Security Law
This month, China has been marking the 25th anniversary of the handover of Hong Kong, from British rule back to China. For many Hong Kongers, this was not a day of celebration - including for Samuel Chu, a Hong-Kong born American activist, founder and President of the non-profit group Campaign for Hong Kong. His father, a retired pastor, was one of the leading figures behind the Occupy Central movement, the pro-democracy mass movement that sparked the Umbrella Revolution in Hong Kong back in 2014. As the first foreigner wanted by China under China's National Security Law, Samuel joins Julia Macfarlane to discuss how China’s actions in Hong Kong may inform Taiwan’s future, while Sir Richard Dearlove reveals new details about the negotiations and his scepticism of China during this time. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicespdrl.fm -
In Brief: Trump's Tomahawk Turnaround
In this episode of One Decision In Brief, hosts Kate McCann and Sir Richard Dearlove, former head of Britain's MI6, break down the recent meeting in Washington D.C. between President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. They assess the ramifications of Trump pulling back from his original stance on supplying Ukraine with Tomahawk missiles, the reaction from European leaders, and what all of this means for Ukraine. Plus, they discuss the prospective summit in Budapest, Hungary with Trump and Vladimir Putin and whether that meeting could lead to peace negotiations. Finally, they examine the latest case of alleged Chinese spying in the UK, what this reveals about the Chinese threat, and what it could mean for Prime Minister Keir Starmer's political leadership. Episode produced by Situation Room Studios. Original music composed and produced by Leo Sidran. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicespdrl.fm -
“Disappointed Across the Board”: Is Iran Causing the US-EU Alliance to Crumble?
President Trump’s call for naval assistance in the Strait of Hormuz has not been answered by European allies. Does this signal a growing crisis of confidence in the West? Former MI6 Chief Sir Richard Dearlove and international journalist Rosanna Lockwood examine the latest developments in the war with Iran, as well as rising political polarization in France and the UK, fears of domestic terrorist attacks in the West, and the critical importance of Kharg Island to the global energy market. In this episode: 01:48 – The divisive dilemma at the Strait of Hormuz 04:05 – Fears of Iranian proxy terror attacks in the West 06:14 – Political polarization in European elections 12:45 – Iran’s internal media strategy 14:47 – The strategic importance of Kharg Island Hosted by Sir Richard Dearlove (former MI6 Chief) and guest co-host Rosanna Lockwood (International Journalist) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicespdrl.fm -
Bonus: What the Wagner Mutiny Means for Putin’s Grip on Power and the Ukraine War
Former Director of Global Engagement in the Obama White House, Brett Bruen hosts our weekly special One More Decision with Sir Richard Dearlove for analysis on Wagner group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin's short-lived coup against Russia and exile to Belarus. Sir Richard shares his views on the aftermath, and what this means for Russian President Vladimir Putin's grip on power and the war in Ukraine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicespdrl.fm -
Bonus: What’s Behind the Coup in Niger?
Last week’s coup in Niger is the latest in a string of recent military takeovers in Africa—seemingly the final domino to fall in a region plagued by instability and the battle between Russia and the West for influence in the Sahel. Coup leaders are now facing an ultimatum from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to reinstate democratically elected President Mohamed Bazoum or face the consequences including possible military intervention. On this week’s bonus episode, Julia Macfarlane asks her co-host Sir Richard Dearlove what he’s hearing from the French intelligence community about what’s behind the rebellion and if there’s any truth to reports about the Kremlin’s involvement. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicespdrl.fm -
A Year of Decisions: Our First Anniversary Episode
The former head of MI6 does not often take questions from the public. To mark One Decision’s first year, Sir Richard Dearlove agreed to take a few submitted by our listeners via social media and the web site. He provides analysis, intrigue and his behind-the-scenes insights on the issues that are on the top of your minds. We look back at pivotal points in recent history like the Iraq War and the role that intelligence played in the West’s decision to go to war. We look ahead to what China is likely to do on Taiwan. We look around at how the world is responding to the threats of climate change, changing demographics, and our polarizing political environment. This is a truly unique episode created by our audience across the globe. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicespdrl.fm -
A Year of War - 2024 May Be Worse…
What decision had the most international impact in 2023? The war in Ukraine continued to loom large among Western nations’ foreign policy priorities. The sudden, shocking resurgence of war in the Middle East quickly dominated the global agenda, raised questions about how long the Israeli-Hamas conflict could drag on and whether peace there can even be achieved. One Decision's annual roundtable of top world affairs reporters takes stock of 2023 and what big decisions are coming up next year. One major moment the whole world will be watching is the outcome of the United States presidential elections, which could potentially see the return of Donald Trump to the White House. Host Julia Macfarlane is joined by The Independent's Bel Trew, Semafor's Prashant Rao, and Foreign Policy's Robbie Gramer. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicespdrl.fm -
Bonus: How Bad is the Democratic Damage in Israel?
Protests have picked up in Israel this week as the Knesset takes up the controversial legislation proposed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that critics say would compromise the integrity and independence of Israel’s judicial system. If passed, the measure would eliminate the so-called "reasonableness clause" and would permit the judiciary to put curbs on government decisions granting Netanyahu and his coalition unfettered powers. One Decision's Julia Macfarlane speaks to journalist Noga Tarnopolsky from Jerusalem for an update on what's happening on the ground and the state of US-Israeli relations after President Joe Biden criticized the judicial overhaul plan. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicespdrl.fm -
What Went Wrong? Ex-Head of MI6 on the Attacks and Israeli Intelligence
The world is still reeling from the shocking invasion of Israel over the weekend, where Hamas militants staged the most audacious and horrific attacks in Israel resulting in the biggest loss of Jewish life since the Holocaust. But questions are now being asked, to how the country's high tech military and sophisticated intelligence services missed what Hamas was planning? Did Mossad drop the ball? What responsibility belongs to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu? One Decision's Sir Richard Dearlove, the former Chief of MI6, examines the issues that may have impacted Israeli intelligence agencies' ability to anticipate the worst attack in the state's history. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicespdrl.fm -
Eastern European Leaders on the Russian Risks
In this bonus episode, One Decision's Christina Ruffini sits down with the Czech Republic's Foreign Minister, Jan Lipavsky, and Poland's Ambassador to the United Nations, Krzysztof Szczerski, in New York City during the United Nations General Assembly. They discuss Russia's military threat in Eastern Europe, the strain of illegal migration, international support for Ukraine, and the role of multilateralism in a changing world. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicespdrl.fm -
How Dangerous is a Second Trump Term? We Ask a Fellow Candidate
One Decision sits down with Republican presidential candidate Asa Hutchinson, the former governor of Arkansas to talk about America’s foreign policy priorities and what should be done about China. Hutchinson is an outsider in the race, but insists he is there to widen the parameters of the debate, as Trump and DeSantis continue to offer a populist, nativist vision of America to voters. And, Sir Richard Dearlove reacts to the unsealing of the criminal indictment against former President Trump, as the world learns what exactly was sitting in the rooms at Mar-a-Lago before the FBI carried out raids to retrieve the highly classified intelligence Trump was hoarding nearly a year ago. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicespdrl.fm -
Nothing is Safe. Have a Nice Day.
Governments around the world can now slip into your DM’s—and everything else—unnoticed. A team of journalists vows to expose it all. Listen to Laurent Richard and Danna Ingleton on the NSO Group. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicespdrl.fm -
Ex-US Diplomat on His Time in Moscow, Ukraine, & Putin's Next Move
In this week's episode of One Decision, hosts Christina Ruffini and Leon Panetta, former United States Secretary of Defense and former CIA Director, sit down with Ambassador John Sullivan. Sullivan is a former Deputy Secretary of State and served as U.S. Ambassador to Russia during the Trump and Biden presidential administrations. They discuss the reality of navigating diplomatic relations with Russia, Sullivan's experience in Moscow at the start of the war in Ukraine, and what the fall of the Syrian Assad regime could mean for Putin's grip on power. Plus, Sullivan and Panetta share an insider view of how foreign diplomats navigate life in Russia and the number one thing a spy needs to do to protect themselves under the Kremlin's watchful eye. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicespdrl.fm -
What Would Victory Look Like for Putin?
As the second anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine approaches, and United States support to arm Ukraine fades, One Decision's Sir Richard Dearlove and guest host Jane Ferguson talk to renowned Russia expert Dr. Fiona Hill about what's inside Russian President Vladimir Putin's playbook and how the conflict might ultimately end. Dr. Hill served as a top national security advisor to three American administrations - including famously as the leading White House official on Russia for President Donald Trump. She discusses what victory would look like for Putin, the implications of a Trump return as commander-in-chief. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicespdrl.fm -
How the World Got Owned Episode 2: The 1990s, Part One
In this special documentary episode, Patrick Gray and Amberleigh Jack take a look back at hacking throughout the 1990s, from the feel-good vibes of the early hacking communities to the antics of young hackers who wound up on the run from the FBI.
Part one features recollections from:
- Jeff Moss (The Dark Tangent), DefCon and Black Hat founder
- Chris Wysopal (Weld Pond), L0pht member, co-founder, @Stake
- Kevin Poulsen (Dark Dante), 1990s hacker turned journalist
- Elias Levy (Aleph One), author of Smashing the Stack for Fun and Profit, Phrack, 1996
How the World Got Owned is produced in partnership with SentinelOne.
Show notes
- Elias Levy (Aleph1), Former Principle Engineer, Google
- Kevin Poulsen, Journalist
- Jeff Moss, DefCon founder
- Chris Wysopal, @Stake founder, L0pht member
- Hackers testifying at the United States Senate, May 19, 1998
- Hackers May ‘Net’ Good PR for Studio
- DefCon Archives | DefCon 1
- A Not So Terribly Brief History of the Electronic Frontier Foundation
- Innocent Hackers Want Their Computers Back
- Breakdowns in Computer Security
- Unsolved Mysteries, Season 3, Episode 4
- The Last Hacker: He Called Himself Dark Dante. His Compulsion Led Him to Secret Files and, Eventually, The Bar of Justice
- Justia appeal summary, Kevin Poulsen, 1994
- Smashing the Stack for Fun and Profit, Phrack Magazine, November 1996
- From subversives to CEOs: How radical hackers built today’s cybersecurity industry
dts.podtrac.com -
People and Blogs: Anthony Nelzin-Santos
People and Blogs is a series by Manuel Moreale featuring the people behind personal blogs and the stories of their corners of the web. This conversation is with Anthony Nelzin-Santos. Do go visit thei... -
12-month Inoreader Pro for $75US
Looking to sell the remainder of my Inoreader subscription. Expires on May 17, 2027. DM me for details. I'll simply replace my email with your email address, ensure confirmation and send a reset password.
Happy to answer any questions or provide screenshots.
submitted by /u/adtdePhi
[link] [comments] -
Speaking of RSS, Marc Weidenbaum is using FeedLand and GitHub to curate an OPML file of electronic music feeds: https://disquiet.com/2026/07/31/electronic-music-rss-starter-kit/
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Claude, we need to fix the default markdown style sheet for pagepark.
https://news.rss.chat/blogroll/readme.md
This can be quickly fixed with one of the public domain style sheets.
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MLM ou arnaque pyramidale ? 4/4, avec Manon Lasne — SHOCKING #31
Chapitre 4 : Épuisement et désillusion. Malmenée par un système auquel elle veut pourtant croire, Manon nous raconte comment elle persiste et signe en entrant chez une troisième société de marketing de réseau. Jusqu’où ira-t-elle dans son engageme... -
Linkception
So many links in one post. I ended up going down all kinds of rabbit holes off the back of this single post (also the second time I've linked to Sal's blog today 🙃).
I discovered Coyote's blog, and Sylvia's. So went ahead and read some of their posts. I was already aware of Brennan's fantastic blog, but it's a great read, so check it out.
Anyway, I completely agree with what Sal, Coyote, and Brennan say in their posts - the backbone of the internet is the hyperlink, so go forth and link out to your fellow bloggers with reckless abandon.
It's what makes the web, the web. 🕸️
Thanks for reading this post via RSS. RSS is ace, and so are you. ❤️
You can reply to this post by email, or leave a comment.
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Stateless MCP has recaptured my interest (and inspired mcp-explorer and datasette-mcp)
Tuesday was Stateless MCP day - the rollout of MCP 2.0, or the 2026-07-28 Model Context Protocol specification to use the more formal but less memorable name. This is the most significant change to the MCP spec since it first launched, and has also served to reignite my personal interest in the protocol.
For background: MCP is the Model Context Protocol, which describes a standard way to expose new tools to LLM-powered agent frameworks. It was introduced by Anthropic back in November 2024, had a huge spike of interest through much of 2025, and then became somewhat eclipsed by Skills (another Anthropic invention) when it became apparent that an agent harness with access to a terminal and
curlcould do most of what MCP did in a more flexible way. I wrote about that in my review of 2025.I'm coming back around to MCP now. Giving an agent a shell environment with the ability to access the internet is fraught with risk, and requires a strong model that is capable of effectively driving such an environment. MCP tools are easier to audit and control, and simple enough that smaller models that run on a laptop can still drive them reasonably well.
The new stateless MCP specification also greatly decreases the complexity of implementing both clients and servers for the protocol. I built three of those this week!
What's easier with stateless MCP
The best demonstration of the difference between stateful and stateless MCP is in this May 21st blog post that introduced the RC for the new specification. It included a clear before-and-after example.
The older stateful MCP (I'm going to call it "legacy MCP") required two HTTP requests - the first to initialize a session and obtain a
Mcp-Session-Id, and the second to actually call the tool:POST /mcp HTTP/1.1 Content-Type: application/json { "jsonrpc": "2.0", "id": 1, "method": "initialize", "params": { "protocolVersion": "2025-11-25", "capabilities": { }, "clientInfo": { "name": "my-app", "version": "1.0" } } } POST /mcp HTTP/1.1 Mcp-Session-Id: 1868a90c-3a3f-4f5b Content-Type: application/json { "jsonrpc": "2.0", "id": 2, "method": "tools/call", "params": { "name": "search", "arguments": { "q": "otters" } } }The new stateless way uses a single HTTP request which looks like this:
POST /mcp HTTP/1.1 MCP-Protocol-Version: 2026-07-28 Mcp-Method: tools/call Mcp-Name: search Content-Type: application/json { "jsonrpc": "2.0", "id": 1, "method": "tools/call", "params": { "name": "search", "arguments": { "q": "otters" }, "_meta": { "io.modelcontextprotocol/clientInfo": { "name": "my-app", "version": "1.0" } } } }This is so much cleaner from both a client- and server-side implementation perspective. It's also a better fit for building scalable web applications, since now you don't need to maintain server-side state to keep track of those session IDs, or worry about routing the same session to the same backend machine.
mcp-explorer
I couldn't find a great CLI tool for interactively probing an MCP server, so I had Codex help build my own.
mcp-explorer is the result. It's a stateless Python CLI tool, so you don't even need to install it to try it out - it works with uvx like this:
uvx mcp-explorer list https://agentic-mermaid.dev/mcp
This queries Ade Oshineye's agentic-mermaid.dev demo MCP. The above command returns the following list of tools:
execute(code: string, timeoutMs?: integer) - Execute Mermaid SDK code Run JavaScript in an isolated sandbox; return a value. describe_sdk(family: string, detail?: string) - Describe Mermaid SDK operations Return version-matched mutation operations for one diagram family. render_svg(source: string, options?: object) - Render Mermaid as SVG Render a Mermaid source string to themeable SVG. Returns { ok, svg }. render_ascii(source: string, useAscii?: boolean, targetWidth?: integer, options?: object) - Render Mermaid as text Render a Mermaid source string to text. Returns { ok, text }. render_png(source: string, scale?: number, background?: string, fitTo?: object, options?: object) - Render Mermaid as PNG Rasterize a Mermaid source string to PNG. Returns { ok, png_base64 }. ...Then to inspect a tool:
uvx mcp-explorer inspect render_svg
This outputs a whole bunch of information, including the JSON schema of the inputs and outputs.
To call that tool and pass arguments to it:
uvx mcp-explorer call \ https://agentic-mermaid.dev/mcp \ render_svg \ -a source 'graph TD; A-->B' \ -a options '{"padding":24}'
Which returns:
{"ok":true,"svg":"<svg xmlns=\"http://www.w3.org/2000/svg\" width=...To get just the raw SVG try adding
| jq .svg -rto that command. I got back this image:
There are a few more commands in the README, but you get the general idea. I find building CLI tools like this to be a really productive way to get familiar with a specification, even if an agent writes most of the actual code.
datasette-mcp
The second project is datasette-mcp, a Datasette plugin which adds a
/-/mcpendpoint to any Datasette instance.This is probably the fourth time I've tried building this plugin, but thanks to the new stateless MCP specification I finally have a version that feels good to release.
It provides just three tools:
list_databases(),get_database_schema(database_name), andexecute_sql(database_name, sql). They do exactly what you would expect them to do - thoughexecute_sql()is read-only for the moment.Wire these into an agent, or a chat tool like ChatGPT or Claude, and they'll gain the ability to run SQL queries against your hosted Datasette instance.
So far I'm running it on the Datasette mirror of my blog, at datasette.simonwillison.net/-/mcp. It took a bit of fiddling to figure out how to attach that to ChatGPT and Claude, but I got there in the end. Here's a new TIL showing exactly how to do that.
Here's a shared Claude session where I asked it:
list tables in simonwillison.netAnd then:
what has Simon said recently about MCP?It ran 7 separate SQL queries to figure out the answer.
llm-mcp-client
My LLM tool is long overdue for an official MCP integration. The new alpha llm-mcp-client plugin is my attempt at exactly that:
llm install llm-mcp-client llm -T 'MCP("https://datasette.simonwillison.net/-/mcp")' 'count the notes'
Here's the output (including reasoning trace, I'm using LLM 0.32rc2):
Considering note count
I see the question "count the notes" is probably asking me to tally up blog notes. It could also mean published notes or drafts, so there's some ambiguity there. I'll need to figure out the total number of notes, likely by querying the count for both published notes and drafts to get a clear answer. Let's execute that count!
There are 151 notes.
And the output of llm logs for that prompt.
Once this is fully baked, I'm considering bringing it directly into LLM core. I'm excited to experiment with MCP in Datasette Agent and llm-coding-agent as well.
MCP is a safer way to build with agents
A few months after MCP was first released, I wrote Model Context Protocol has prompt injection security problems, where I noted that the pattern of having end users mix and match tools pushed responsibility for avoiding data exfiltration attacks out to the users themselves. I hadn't coined the Lethal Trifecta yet, but that was absolutely what I had in mind.
Then general agents with arbitrary shell and
curlaccess came along, and that's so much harder to keep secure!Something I've come to appreciate about MCP is that it's much easier to reason about agent capabilities and what might go wrong than with arbitrary command execution in an open network environment - the default for most of today's general and coding agent tools.
I plan to lean into MCP a whole lot more when I'm building sensitive applications on top of LLMs.
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The Furious Minds of the MAGA Right (with Laura Field)
Join Samantha and guest Laura Field, author of the new book *Furious Minds*, as they discuss how ideas have driven history, from John Maynard Keynes to Abraham Lincoln to Project 2025. How did highly online right-wing weirdos become "the brain trust and influencer arm" of the Republican Party? What sects and factions are operating beneath the surface? And how do they marry grandiose philosophy, gutter racism, and relentless posting to rise to power?
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And if you like what we're doing here at Liberal Currents, consider supporting our fundraiser so we can continue our mission of reinvigorating liberal culture and politics: https://www.gofundme.com/f/the-liberal-currents-startup-fund
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The Porn Brain of the New Right
Content warning: rape, pedophilia, and historical atrocities.
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Links to essays on the subject from Alan and Samantha:
https://www.liberalcurrents.com/guys-win-andrew-tate-rape-politics-and-the-authoritarian-right/
https://www.liberalcurrents.com/the-new-gender-synthesis/
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https://www.liberalcurrents.com/the-far-right-canon/#/portal/signup
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