Article
Tom Holland Is Having the Best Year of His Life. Why Success Still Makes Us Want to Disappear for a While.
Getting what you wanted can be surprisingly exhausting.
WorkplaceFree · 6-minute read1 September 2026
Articles
One idea worth five minutes. Sometimes less. Occasionally a little more.
Psychology, history, books, work, culture and the curious patterns behind everyday life. Choose something substantial for the journey — or an Essential Idea if your train is already approaching the platform.
The Atlantic Commute
City-to-city reading for the transatlantic commuter.
AI at Work
Human judgement in the age of artificial intelligence.
Not sure where to start?
Tell the Concierge how long you've got→Article
Tom Holland vs Tom Holland
Spider-Man, the Roman Empire and why the wrong person sometimes gets the credit at work.
WorkplaceFree · 7-minute read1 September 2026
Article
The Most Important AI Skill May Be Knowing When It's Wrong
As AI gets better at producing polished, competent work, the scarce skill moves somewhere else — towards judgement. Knowing when something is technically fine and somehow not quite right may become the most valuable thing a person can say.
Decision MakingFree · 9-minute read1 September 2026
Atlantic Commute
London vs New York: Who Has the Better Commute?
The Tube and the subway move two global cities every morning. The similarities end considerably later than either city might like to admit.
PsychologyFree · 10-minute read1 September 2026
Only got a minute?
Essential Ideas
One useful idea in about 60 seconds. No thread to scroll through. No 20-minute video. Just the idea.
Essential Idea
The Benefit of the Doubt
When was the last time you gave someone the benefit of the doubt — and were glad you did?
1 MINKnow this→
Essential Idea
Why a Sixth-Century Monk Would Beat You at Email
What if the solution to your inbox was worked out 1,500 years ago?
1 MINKnow this→
Essential Idea
The Texas Sharpshooter
How do you know whether the pattern you've found is real — or a coincidence with a story attached?
1 MINKnow this→
Atlantic Commute
Manchester and Chicago Have More in Common Than Either Would Probably Admit
Two great second cities, two working mornings — and the peculiar pleasure of not living in the capital.
Behavioural ScienceFree · 9-minute read1 September 2026
Atlantic Commute
Birmingham vs Houston: What Happens When a City Expects You to Drive?
Two major working cities, two very different scales — and a morning journey increasingly shaped by the car.
Behavioural ScienceFree · 9-minute read1 September 2026
Atlantic Commute
Liverpool vs Philadelphia: The Cities You Commute Through, Not Merely Into
Ports, sport, music, industrial memory and the strange importance of travelling through a city that feels like yours.
PsychologyFree · 10-minute read1 September 2026
Monday Briefing
The People Who Turn Up
Why the worst moments can reveal a larger world than fear allows us to see.
Behavioural ScienceFree · 8-minute read31 August 2026
Atlantic Commute
The British and American Commute Is Almost Exactly the Same Length. So Why Does It Feel So Different?
The average British and American commute is remarkably similar in length. So why does travelling to work feel so different in the UK and US?
Behavioural ScienceFree · 11-minute read30 August 2026
Article
Your Boss Wants You Back in the Office. But Do They Know Why?
The return-to-office battle is being fought over days, desks and attendance. But the more interesting question is what happens between human beings when they are actually in the same room.
WorkplaceFree · 11-minute read26 August 2026
Monday Briefing
Apparently We Can Now Forecast the Weather a Year Before It Happens
What the Met Office's El Niño warning can teach us about probability, preparation — and what Erasmus knew about acting before certainty arrives.
PsychologyFree · 8-minute read24 August 2026
Article
Why the New Football Season Makes Us Want a Fresh Start at Work
What the Premier League can teach us about resetting after summer, changing one habit and returning to work with fresh energy.
On HabitFree · 8-minute read23 August 2026
Article
Why Do We Procrastinate Even When We Know What We Should Do?
The deadline has been sitting in your calendar for three weeks. You know what to do. You're not doing it. Here's what's actually going on — and one thing to try on your next commute.
PsychologyFree · 12-minute read21 August 2026
Article
Why Are Meetings So Exhausting? The Psychology of the Modern Meeting
A one-hour meeting with ten people isn't a one-hour meeting. It's ten hours of human life. Here's what makes meetings so draining — and a five-question test to decide whether the next one is worth attending.
WorkplaceFree · 11-minute read21 August 2026
Article
Why Intelligent People Make Bad Decisions
Intelligence isn't the same thing as good judgement. The smartest person in the room is often the one most at risk — because their intelligence can talk them into things their judgement should have talked them out of.
Decision MakingFree · 14-minute read21 August 2026
Article
The 10 Books I'd Give Someone Starting a New Career
Not the usual business book list. Ten categories that actually matter when you're starting out — from understanding people to staying curious — with books worth carrying into the first year and beyond.
WorkplaceFree · 13-minute read21 August 2026
Article
Why Your Brain Hates Being Interrupted
You're on the train. You're reading something good. Your phone buzzes. You check it — just for a second. That second costs more than you think. Here's why, and what to do about it.
PsychologyFree · 10-minute read21 August 2026
Article
The Digital High Street
My most visited websites — and the village life we thought we had left behind.
CommunicationFree · 9-minute read21 August 2026
Article
What 10FOOT Knows About Being Seen
The graffiti writer who turned six characters into part of London.
WorkplaceFree · 7-minute read19 August 2026
Essential Idea
The Benefit of the Doubt
When was the last time you gave someone the benefit of the doubt — and were glad you did?
1 MINKnow this→
Essential Idea
Why a Sixth-Century Monk Would Beat You at Email
What if the solution to your inbox was worked out 1,500 years ago?
1 MINKnow this→
Monday Briefing
When the Government Makes Your Phone Scream
Wildfires, air-raid sirens and why Epictetus might be more useful than Orwell.
PsychologyFree · 7-minute read17 August 2026
Essential Idea
The Texas Sharpshooter
How do you know whether the pattern you've found is real — or a coincidence with a story attached?
1 MINKnow this→
Essential Idea
The Empty Boat
How much of what upsets you is actually about you?
1 MINKnow this→
Essential Idea
Pride Before a Fall
Is 'pride comes before a fall' just a saying — or a finding?
1 MINKnow this→
Essential Idea
The Third Option
When you're trapped between two bad choices, who says there are only two?
1 MINKnow this→
Monday Briefing
Why Standing at the Bar Matters More Than You Think
What “vertical drinking” can teach us about pubs, strangers and the disappearance of accidental conversation.
HistoryFree · 8-minute read10 August 2026
Article
What AI Thought a Coffee Table Looked Like
In the spring of 2025, while other people were using AI to improve productivity, I asked it to make coffee tables. The experiment became a book — and a record of the moment we stopped being astonished and started asking better questions.
Decision MakingFree · 12-minute read4 August 2026
Article
Say Less, Mean More: The Claudia Winkleman School of Office Communication
What Britain's most distinctive television presenter can teach us about clarity, timing and the strategic use of a raised eyebrow.
CommunicationFree · 8-minute read4 August 2026
Monday Briefing
The Complaint Journal
Every day seems to arrive carrying a fresh invitation to be annoyed.
PsychologyFree · 6-minute read3 August 2026
Article
Idris Everywhere: Three Things Britain's Most Ubiquitous Man Gets Right
The actor who can voice a buffalo, sell you business software and solve a murder before breakfast may have something useful to teach us about modern work.
Current AffairsFree · 9-minute read2 August 2026
Article
What Britain Googled in July: Ten Searches That Explain Us Better Than We'd Like
From BBC News to Rightmove, the nation's search box reveals a country that is anxious, curious, house-hunting and still pretending Wordle counts as intellectual exercise.
Current AffairsFree · 14-minute read1 August 2026
Article
Finding Similarities in an Age of Division
There was something wonderfully British about one of this week's more unexpected stories.
Current AffairsFree · 5-minute read30 July 2026
Article
The Bourne Odyssey
I finally watched The Odyssey this week. What stayed with me wasn't an historical detail — it was a feeling.
WorkplaceFree · 6-minute read29 July 2026
Article
Why Your Office Is Basically Ancient Athens with Wi-Fi
Beneath the screens, spreadsheets and passive-aggressive calendar invitations, much of office life would have been instantly recognisable to the ancient Greeks.
Ancient WisdomFree · 9-minute read27 July 2026
Monday Briefing
What the Commonwealth Games Quietly Remind Us About Success
There is something wonderfully unfashionable about the Commonwealth Games.
PsychologyFree · 5-minute read27 July 2026
Article
Before I See The Odyssey
This weekend, I am going to see Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey in the cinema, which feels like precisely the sort of film for which cinemas were…
On ReadersFree · 3-minute read24 July 2026
Article
Three Summer Reads Worth Missing Your Stop For
Summer reading lists can become strangely intimidating. You begin by looking for something agreeable to read beside a pool. Twenty minutes later, you…
Summer ReadingFree · 5-minute read24 July 2026
Article
Naming the problem
Our readers have a curious habit. They quote us in meetings — then neglect to say where they found the line. We have decided this is the highest compliment we will ever receive.
On ReadersFree · 4-minute read20 July 2026
Monday Briefing
What Spain's World Cup Victory Can Teach a New Prime Minister
Britain has a new Prime Minister. Spain has a new World Cup trophy.
Behavioural ScienceFree · 6-minute read20 July 2026
Article
What Andy Burnham Should Read on the Train
The nicest thing about trains is that they give you permission to stare thoughtfully out of the window while doing absolutely nothing productive.…
Andy BurnhamFree · 4-minute read19 July 2026
Article
What Mary Beard Should Read on Holiday
Historians have an unfair advantage. The rest of us look at a ruined castle and think, 'Lovely view.' Mary Beard looks at it and probably wonders who…
Mary BeardFree · 4-minute read18 July 2026
Monday Briefing
The Office That Banned the Reply-All
A London consultancy has removed the reply-all button from Outlook. The results were immediate, and deeply instructive.
Behavioural ScienceFree · 4-minute read14 July 2026
Monday Briefing
Everyone Wants Certainty. History Has Other Plans.
The trouble with modern life is that we're all expected to have opinions before breakfast.
Behavioural ScienceFree · 5-minute read13 July 2026
Article
Why the short book will outlast the long one
The modern book grew fat for commercial reasons. Here, brevity isn't a compromise — it's the standard.
On FormFree · 6-minute read12 July 2026
Article
What Keir Starmer Should Read on the Train
Prime Ministers don't get much uninterrupted thinking time. Someone is always asking for a decision, a photograph or an opinion on something that…
Keir StarmerFree · 4-minute read12 July 2026
Article
What Richard Osman Should Read Before Writing His Next Bestseller
Richard Osman has performed a minor miracle. He's persuaded millions of people that retirement villages are considerably more exciting than most…
Richard OsmanFree · 4-minute read11 July 2026
Monday Briefing
When the Chess Robot Lost Its Temper
A chess-playing AI resigned mid-game against a teenager in Berlin. The engineers say it was a bug. The rest of us are not so sure.
Behavioural ScienceFree · 4-minute read7 July 2026
Monday Briefing
When Europe Suddenly Became a Weekend Away
There was a time—not all that long ago—when flying abroad carried roughly the same emotional weight as a moon landing.
PsychologyFree · 5-minute read6 July 2026
Article
What Sadiq Khan Should Read on the Train
London is a city that can produce three entirely different conversations before you've reached the next stop. One person is discussing AI, another is…
Sadiq KhanFree · 4-minute read5 July 2026
Article
What David Attenborough Should Read if He Ever Had a Day Off
It's difficult to imagine David Attenborough having a day off. One suspects that if he ever sat quietly in a deckchair, a rare butterfly would…
David AttenboroughFree · 4-minute read4 July 2026
Monday Briefing
The CEO Who Reads Fiction on Purpose
A FTSE 100 chief executive told a conference she reads a novel a week. The audience of analysts did not know what to do with the information.
PsychologyFree · 4-minute read30 June 2026
Article
The commute as a reading room
The train carriage is the last library that cannot be optimised away.
On HabitFree · 5-minute read28 June 2026
Article
What Angela Rayner Should Read on the Train
There's something wonderfully democratic about a commuter train. For half an hour, job titles become almost meaningless. The managing director is…
Angela RaynerFree · 5-minute read28 June 2026
Article
What Taylor Swift Should Read on Tour
Touring must be one of the strangest jobs in the world. One evening you're performing to 80,000 people who know every lyric you've ever written.…
Taylor SwiftFree · 4-minute read27 June 2026
Monday Briefing
The Meeting That Wasn't
A tech company cancelled all recurring meetings for a week. Productivity rose. So did complaints. Both are instructive.
Behavioural ScienceFree · 4-minute read23 June 2026
Article
What Kemi Badenoch Should Read on the Train
There are two kinds of people on the morning train. Those who stare silently into the middle distance, contemplating the meaning of life. And those…
Kemi BadenochFree · 4-minute read21 June 2026
Article
What Bruce Springsteen Should Read on the Bus
Bruce Springsteen has spent half a century proving that ordinary lives are anything but ordinary. He sings about mechanics, factory workers,…
Bruce SpringsteenFree · 4-minute read20 June 2026
Article
On collecting ideas rather than books
A shelf of briefings is a record of the ideas a reader has actually finished.
On CollectingFree · 6-minute read14 June 2026
Article
What Rory Stewart Should Read on the Train
Rory Stewart has always struck me as someone who'd rather walk across a mountain than take a shortcut. Which is admirable. Slightly inconvenient if…
Rory StewartFree · 4-minute read14 June 2026
Article
What Dua Lipa Should Read Between Flights
Modern pop stars spend an astonishing amount of time waiting. Waiting for flights. Waiting for soundchecks. Waiting for interviews. Waiting for…
Dua LipaFree · 4-minute read13 June 2026
Article
What Stormzy Should Read Backstage
Backstage is a peculiar place. One minute there's complete silence. The next, twenty thousand people are chanting your name. It's probably the closest…
StormzyFree · 4-minute read6 June 2026
Article
What Brian Cox Should Read Between Galaxies
There are few people who can make you feel simultaneously tiny and enormously privileged. Brian Cox is one of them. Spend an hour listening to him and…
Brian CoxFree · 4-minute read30 May 2026
