On this episode of Brigadoon Radio, Gerald Ashley and Marc Ross discuss Boris Johnson's exit, the Conservative Party leadership election, global energy demand, Dutch farmers protesting, how to feed a troubled world, the status of the Ukraine war, and what they are reading and watching.

Show notes for this episode of Brigadoon Radio:

Tory leadership contest down to five candidates:

Tom Tugendhat
Kemi Badenoch
Liz Truss
Penny Mordaunt
Rishi Sunak

Who is Penny Mordaunt? The Tory leadership candidate with a radical style: The former cabinet minister and reality TV star has become the frontrunner among Conservative Party members, winning plaudits from Tony Blair and Bill Gates along the way. The Times

What Cleggmania tells us about Penny Mordaunt: Little-known minister’s stunning rise recalls the sharp but temporary surge in support for the Lib Dem leader in 2010. James Forsyth

UK prime minister race is shaken up by dark-horse candidate Penny Mordaunt: Two polls put the former defense secretary who once volunteered in a George W. Bush campaign ahead of pack aiming to succeed Boris Johnson. WSJ

Tory leadership campaign turns ugly as Mordaunt finds grassroots appeal: Junior minister becomes briefing target after poll shows strength of her support among party activists. FT

+ A YouGov poll of Conservative members suggested Mordaunt would beat all the other candidates if she ended up in the final two of the contest, which is voted on by the party membership

Ben Wallace ‘could be kingmaker’ in Tory leadership contest The Times

The Tory right favors betrayal over reality: Every leader eventually disappoints the Brexiteers because what they want bears no resemblance to what is possible. Daniel Finkelstein

Beware the coming wave of competent populists: Donald Trump and Boris Johnson have more disciplined successors. Janan Ganesh

End of quote. Repeat the line. Joe Biden can’t go on: The Democrats are ready to junk their failing President. Freddy Gray

Shell CEO warns parts of Europe may need to ration energy: WSJ reports as energy prices skyrocket, Ben van Beurden says Europe faces an uncertain winter.

The Times: ‘Really high gas prices’ loom for UK as Europe faces winter rationing

Macron urges French to save energy in face of Russian threat to gas supply: FT reports President Macron warns in Bastille Day interview that Moscow is prepared to use energy as a ‘weapon.’

Reuters: Japan PM Kishida: Asked industry minister to have up to 9 nuclear power plants operational this winter

India under spotlight for 'laundering' Russian oil: Reliance faces allegations of exploiting a loophole to refine sanctioned crude. Nikkei

Powering up in Space: Is nuclear the answer? Ryan Weed

Republicans threaten Wall Street over climate positions: WP reports in recent years, big finance companies have used their clout to advance causes that are popular with liberals. GOP officials are threatening to retaliate against those firms for their positions on climate and other issues, including gun sales.

Food Tank: The Think Tank For Food

America’s new agricultural frontier: vertical farms: After years of laboratory testing, companies are now racing to scale up their operations for the commercial production of plants. FT

The future of farming: How to feed a troubled world: Can agriculture solve the problems it helped to create? Three books suggest ways to sustain humanity without destroying the planet. FT

+ Rising prices for gas and auto insurance mean the average American is now paying $2,914 a year to commute, up $757 — or 35% — from last year

Ukraine says Big Tech has dropped the ball on Russian propaganda: As the war rages on, a new report finds that YouTube and Twitter are ignoring requests to take down hate and disinformation targeting Ukrainians. WP

AFP: Ukrainian Premier league to resume in August, despite war

Nikkei: China, Russia military activity near Japan up 2.5 times since Ukraine

NATO and EU sound alarm over risk of Ukraine weapons smuggling: FT reports countries call for greater tracking of arms to stop sales to Europe’s black market.

The Ukraine war is about to enter a dangerous new phase Thomas L. Friedman

Fortune: Vladimir Putin ‘most likely’ to permanently cut off Europe’s gas

Germany bolsters defenses against Russian cyber threats: DW reports Berlin is upping its cybersecurity defenses to counter the threat of Russian online attacks. Experts warn Germany is vulnerable to sabotage attempts and efforts to sow disinformation as war rages in Ukraine.

The Puritan Gift: Reclaiming the American Dream Amidst Global Financial Chaos - by Kenneth Hopper + William Hopper Amazon

Tour de France

Netflix will follow the 2022 Tour de France in a new documentary series: The eight-episode series will follow the journey of eight teams taking part in the iconic cycling race, starting from the preparation phase straight through to the finish line. It will weave in multiple perspectives, from cyclists to team managers. Variety

Eat. Race. Win. A behind-the-scenes adventure into the biggest annual sporting event on the planet: The Tour de France. The Queen of Performance Cooking, Chef Hannah Grant, takes you on her race within the race as she sources performance food for Australia’s pro cycling team, Orica-Scott. Hannah shows us exactly what it takes to perform at the edge of human endurance for 21 race days. Amazon Prime

How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy - Jenny Odell Amazon

The Bear IMDb