"Them's the breaks." | Gerald Ashley

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

What will next generation car designers create? | Paul Snyder

Recorded in June 2022, a Brigadoon Monthly Call with Paul Snyder.

Paul Snyder, the Paul & Helen Farago Chair of Transportation Design @ College for Creative Studies, will lead a discussion on transportation design and emerging mobility systems.

Paul’s experience spans four continents and encompasses both exterior and interior development for a number of automotive brands, including Ford, Lincoln, Renault, Honda, and Acura.

For Ford Motor Company, he designed exterior and interior solutions for the Taurus/Sable and Explorer production vehicles and later oversaw projects for the Taurus X, Ford Five Hundred, Ranger, and Flex production vehicles.

Prior to joining the College for Creative Studies, Snyder worked at Honda Research and Development in California where he was Assistant Chief Designer, overseeing production and concept projects for the Civic, Accord, Crosstour, Odyssey, Tokyo Motor Show EV-Ster Concept, and Honda AC-X Concept theme vehicles, as well as a 2013 Acura RL vision theme.

Paul previously taught transportation design and visual communications at Pratt Institute as well as a range of undergraduate and graduate courses at Wayne State University and CCS.

In addition to his work as a car designer, Paul is an accomplished figure painter, sculptor, and collagist, having earned a Master of Fine Arts degree cum laude in fine art and cultural studies from the New York Academy of Art in New York City, where he has also shown his work.

Notes:

Cadillac introduces InnerSpace autonomous concept at CES 2022: Two-person electric luxury concept offers vision of future personal mobility focused on elevating the passenger experience, grows Cadillac Halo Concept Portfolio. Press Release

Zoox: The future is for riders: This is on-demand autonomous ride-hailing. Let Zoox handle the traffic, while you enjoy a smooth, relaxing ride in a spacious cabin designed around you.

Covestro: The company serves a range of applications in the automotive industry including interior and exterior elements, lighting, seating, and electric vehicle battery (EVB) packaging, using dedicated raw materials for coatings and adhesives, thermoplastics, foams, films, composites, and more.

Ground Vehicle Systems Center: Develop, integrate, demonstrate, and sustain ground vehicle systems capabilities to support Army modernization priorities and improve readiness. The United States Army Combat Capabilities Development Command (DEVCOM) Ground Vehicle Systems Center (GVSC), located in Warren, Michigan, is the United States Armed Forces’ research and development facility for advanced technology in ground systems.

2022 Ford Mustang Mach-E

NIO: A Chinese multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Shanghai, specializing in designing and developing electric vehicles. The company is known for its development of battery-swapping stations for its vehicles as an alternative to conventional charging stations.

Vehicle technology @ CES

Bugatti Chiron

Michigan plans 'first-in-the-US' wireless electric vehicle-charging road: ElectReon has been tapped to build the mile-long section of road outside Detroit. PC Mag

Michigan and Cavnue creating road of future between Ann Arbor and Detroit: A first-of-its-kind connected and autonomous vehicle (CAV) corridor will improve transportation across Southeast Michigan and continue Michigan’s leadership in smart infrastructure and future mobility. Cavnue, a company founded by Sidewalk Infrastructure Partners, was selected to lead the project in partnership with the state of Michigan. Press Release

Japan is one step closer to launching driverless vehicles: The framework has been put in place to allow fully autonomous cars on Japan’s roads. IoT World Today

5G network as foundation for autonomous driving: Autonomous means that the car is fully independent in making decisions and responding to situations, including emergencies; no driver and no external intervention are needed. Enabling an even faster connection between transport systems, the 5G network will offer new application options advancing the development of autonomous cars. Not only will they be able to make autonomous decisions in the future, they will also communicate and cooperate with each other. Telekom

Apple embraces the ever-expanding dashboard touchscreen: The company recently announced a souped-up evolution of CarPlay. But do larger infotainment systems make distracted driving worse? Wired

Apple and Google are coming for your car: Big Tech’s big car ambitions have antitrust advocates worried. Recode

BMW i4

The most basic tenet of the Bauhaus was form follows function.

Harley Earl – the inventor of American car design: The Unites States of America in the late '50s. Television, rock and roll, neon signs, and eight-lane highways flooded with chromed giants five meters long, with their tailfins proudly jutting out in a nod to the Space Age and wraparound windscreens that made it possible to see the Soviet missiles in Cuba. These and other design elements that are only associated with cars produced in that particular country were the creation of one person – Harley Earl, the most famous American automotive designer of the 20th century. Dyler

+ "Most advanced, yet acceptable" -- Raymond Loewy

The four-letter code to selling just about anything: What makes things cool? The Atlantic

+ Loewy believed that consumers are torn between a curiosity about new things and a fear of anything too new

2022 North American International Auto Show: In addition to the show at Huntington Place, there will be additional city-wide activations taking place throughout downtown Detroit. The show will highlight a wide range of vehicles, the technology enabling global mobility and electrification race, and Michigan’s position as a mobility and technology incubator. Web

+ Dates = 14 - 25 September 2022

Detroit Concours: As the cultural epicenter of the country's automotive capital, the Detroit Institute of Arts helps Hagerty to marry our bold celebration of American automotive history. Web

+ The Detroit Concours show field will display 144 historically significant vehicles vying for various awards and accolades

+ Dates = 16-18 September 2022

Signal + Noise | Gerald Ashley

On this episode of Brigadoon Radio, Gerald Ashley and Marc Ross discuss France's legislative elections, Colombia's presidential election, the rise of nationalism, Ukraine's second-order effects, the Suwałki Gap, releasing the psyops, Kremlin's rebranding of the war, the politicization of sport, and what they are reading and watching.

Macron calls for compromise after losing majority in French parliament: WSJ reports President Emmanuel Macron said he was open to building an alliance with other parties, in his first televised address since the election.

'We will have to learn a new way to govern and to legislate,' Macron says: Le Monde reports after his party fell short of an absolute majority in the Assemblée Nationale, the French president has no choice but to find a way to work with the opposition.

French legislative elections: The 'dam' holding back the far right is crumbling: Le Monde reports France's tradition of mainstream parties uniting to defeat the far-right Rassemblement National failed for the first time on Sunday, June 19, allowing 89 MPs to enter the Assemblée Nationale.

Macron suddenly faces Biden's dilemma David A. Andelman

A former leftist guerrilla wins Colombia’s election: Gustavo Petro’s past leaves a legacy of distrust to overcome. Economist

As Latin America embraces a new left, the US could take a back seat WP

Latin America’s political tumult will last until its economies reform: Colombian election was the latest in which voters chose candidates promising radical change. FT - Editorial

Can Brazil turn back the clock? Latin America’s nostalgia trap and the return of Lula. Brian Winter

How Kaliningrad, Russian land ringed by NATO, is tangled in Ukraine war WP

WP: Russia threatens Lithuania for enforcing E.U. sanctions on Kaliningrad

Ukraine becomes an official EU membership candidate: WSJ reports the decision was agreed to by European Union leaders at a summit in Brussels and fulfills one of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s biggest requests of European countries.

+ The European Parliament voted 529 to 45 to call on European Union leaders to approve Ukraine's candidate status for the organization “without delay”

+ EU leaders have voted to promote Ukraine and Moldova to candidate status

Putin urges BRICS nations to cooperate with Russia: President Vladimir Putin has slammed the West as Russia is hit by sanctions. He called on emerging economies to cooperate with Russia as the Kremlin seeks to reroute trade. DW

EU tries to get grain from Ukraine as Russia's war drags on: DW reports EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has called on Russia to allow Ukraine to export wheat. Russia's blockade on Ukrainian grains is a war crime, Borrell told EU foreign ministers.

How to stop Russia’s plan for global food chaos: A naval coalition of the willing could ensure that Ukrainian grain is able to reach foreign ports. Seth Cropsey

Macron, Scholz, and Draghi meet Zelenskyy in Kyiv during historic visit: Politico reports the EU leaders were greeted with air raid sirens in the Ukrainian capital.

+ Ukraine is only able to fire 5,000 to 6,000 artillery rounds per day

Kremlin ‘rebranding’ war in Ukraine as officials banish Z symbol The Times

The permanent politicization of sport Terrence Burns + Jeremy Galbraith

AFP: PGA Tour confirms schedule overhaul, prize money boost

The good, the bad, and the weird from the first LIV golf event: The renegade Saudi-backed tour promised to deliver a different kind of golf event—and with a draft, loud music, and unsupervised galleries, its first tournament is definitely different. WSJ

Golf has done so very much good — for Phil Mickelson and his pals Sally Jenkins

Sky transformed English soccer. Will Apple’s $2.5bn deal do the same for MLS? The league’s matches will now be broadcast behind a paywall on a streaming service. But that doesn’t mean fans will be driven away. Guardian

Talleyrand -- Duff Cooper Amazon

Michelin Star restaurants in Cornwall

Sonic Boom: The Impossible Rise of Warner Bros. Records, from Hendrix to Fleetwood Mac to Madonna to Prince - Peter Ames Carlin Amazon

The Lost Kitchen

How Erin French made a tiny Maine town a dining destination NYT

A tiny, in-demand restaurant in Maine asked for reservations by notecard — and got 20,000 of them WP

"What do we do now?" | Gerald Ashley

On this episode of Brigadoon Radio, Gerald Ashley and Marc Ross discuss what's next for Boris Johnson and UK politics after he survived a no-confidence vote, the US losing the Pacific, Japan and NATO, US and South Korean missile tests, 100+ days of the conflict in Ukraine, the future of warfare is agile drones or aircraft carriers, and what they are reading and watching.

Boris Johnson will find history has unhappy lessons for premiers who survive first blow Oliver Wright

As bad a result for Boris Johnson as a victory can be: The country faces further political paralysis as more than two-fifths of the PM’s colleagues say he should go. Robert Shrimsley

Why we shouldn’t write off Boris Johnson just yet: The cabinet backs him and the rebels are a disparate, rudderless faction — meaning the PM is stronger than you think. Daniel Finkelstein

The Candidate: “What do we do now?” YouTube

US urged to step up in the Pacific after China’s whirlwind trip: Fijians warn the US is at risk of losing influence as Beijing seeks closer ties in the region. “It’s not only about having McDonald’s in Fiji.” WSJ

Dust off that dirty word detente and engage with China: Joe Biden's grand strategy is setting the US and Beijing on a collision course. It's bad foreign policy and terrible domestic politics. Niall Ferguson

Japan's Kishida considers joining NATO summit: Reuters reports Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is considering attending a summit of leaders from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in late June to spur coordination with the West over Russia's invasion of Ukraine, sources familiar with the matter said.

Kishida could become first Japanese leader to attend NATO summit: The Japan Times reports Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is planning to attend a NATO summit slated for late June in Spain, a development that would make him the first Japanese leader to take part in a gathering of the Western alliance, a government source said Saturday. Kishida’s attendance at the June 29-30 event in Madrid is dependent on the domestic political situation leading up to an Upper House election likely to be held July 10, the source said.

US, South Korea fire missiles to sea, matching North’s launches: Politico reports South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the allies’ live-fire exercise involved eight Army Tactical Missile System missiles.

NATO Press Release: Relations with the four Asia-Pacific partners (July 2021): NATO is developing closer relations with its four Asia-Pacific partners, namely Australia, Japan, the Republic of Korea and New Zealand. In today’s complex security environment, relations with like-minded partners across the globe are increasingly important to address cross-cutting security issues and global challenges, as well as to defend the rules-based international order. Ensuring NATO adopts a global approach is central to the NATO 2030 agenda. NATO’s relations with the four Asia-Pacific partners have a key role to play in this. 

The spy-diplomat sent on Biden’s toughest missions: CIA Director and veteran diplomat William Burns has a unique role on President Biden’s national-security team as a sort of special envoy for difficult problems and “people you don’t want to talk with,” according to a former senior administration official. WSJ

The war in Ukraine: A new nuclear era: With his threats to use the bomb, Russia’s president has overturned the nuclear order. The Economist

Private groups work to bring specialized combat gear to Ukraine: A network of former military veterans is providing commercially available equipment they say is lacking in front-line units engaging Russian forces, often at close range. WP

Butterfly Economics: A New General Theory of Social and Economic Behavior - Paul Ormerod Amazon

Jubilee Trooping the Colour Flypast YouTube

Eat Like a Fish: My Adventures as a Fisherman Turned Restorative Ocean Farmer - Ben Smith Amazon

Borgen - Power & Glory Netflix

The Price of Fish: A New Approach to Wicked Economics and Better Decisions - Michael Mainelli + Ian Harris - Amazon

Food + Fuel + Finance | Gerald Ashley

On this episode of Brigadoon Radio, Gerald Ashley and Marc Ross discuss Australia's federal election, how climate is splintering Australia's political parties, a controversial plan to allow Aussie first home buyers to dip into pensions, wheat imports and exports, a global economy with little fires everywhere, Andrew Bailey, governor of the Bank of England, calls on an 'apocalyptic' rise in food prices, a proposal calling for 25% of NYC's street space to be converted into walkable pedestrian plazas and green space by 2025, if the WFH revolution is hampering the EV revolution, and what they are reading and watching.

Show notes for this episode of Brigadoon Radio:

Australia will hold a federal election on Saturday. 

+ Latest opinion polls point to a change in the ruling party after nine years of a conservative coalition government led by the Liberal Party

+ The incumbent, Prime Minister Scott Morrison, faces a challenge from opposition Labor Party leader Anthony Albanese

Economy key to Australian election: 5 things to know: National security vis-a-vis China is also a big challenge for the next government. Nikkei

How climate is splintering Australia’s political parties: This week’s election will be a lesson for governments around the world, as rising fossil fuel prices make energy a hazardous issue to navigate. David Fickling

The climate champions hoping to play kingmaker in Australia’s election: The pro-business, pro-environment ‘teal independents’ could help to usher in a greener government in the May 21 vote. FT

Ditching climate outcast tag may test a new Australia government: Election contenders in the fossil fuel powerhouse differ on diplomacy, though both offer only modest plans to cut emissions and will support the coal sector. Bloomberg

Dislike of Morrison remains the dominant factor in this campaign: There has never been such an orchestrated disavowal of a leader by a party and its members as there has of Morrison in this campaign. Niki Savva

Australia's election is a contest about character and competence: Six-week campaign has been uninspiring and at times unedifying. Michelle Grattan

Morrison enters last week with controversial plan to allow first home buyers to dip into super:  SMH reports Prime Minister Scott Morrison has picked a policy brawl with Labor to shape the final week of the election campaign by unveiling plans to allow first home buyers to withdraw up to $50,000 from their superannuation to get into the property market.

CNBC: India bans wheat exports to try and tame prices as a scorching heatwave curtailed output

+ India has prohibited wheat exports, the government said in a notification late on Friday

+ The world’s second-biggest wheat producer is trying to calm local prices

Beware a global economy with little fires everywhere: Rich countries have shown impressive unity in helping Ukraine counter the Russian invasion. They now need to demonstrate the same level of resolve to prevent the global economic fallout from the conflict from destroying the lives or livelihoods of many of the world’s most vulnerable people. Mohamed A. El-Erian

Andrew Bailey, governor of the Bank of England, speaks:

+ Britain faces 'apocalyptic' rises in food prices because of war in Ukraine

+ Admits Bank of England is 'a bit helpless' because 80% of drivers of inflation are external shocks

+ Households face 'very real income shock'

Asia's food crisis: Ukraine war triggers chain reaction of shortages: Deadly combination of conflict, misgovernance, and climate change threatens widespread hunger. Nikkei

NYC 25×25: The proposal calls for 25% of NYC’s street space to be converted into walkable pedestrian plazas, bike lanes, green space, and bus lanes by 2025.

Inside Google’s push to nail hybrid work and bring its 165,000-person workforce back to the office part-time: The search giant is one of the biggest companies ever to attempt to transition to a fully hybrid work model. Even the experts aren't sure it can be done: “I don’t know whether it will work. It sounds like Google doesn’t know if it will work either.” Fortune

Happy Odyssey - Adrian Carton de Wiart  Amazon

Eddie the Eagle IMDb

Italy Unpacked: Art critic Andrew Graham-Dixon and chef Giorgio Locatelli travel to regions of Italy in `Italy Unpacked'. On a quest to discover the country's cultural heritage, history, food, art, and architecture. IMDb + BBC2 

The Science of Storytelling: Why Stories Make Us Human and How to Tell Them Better - Will Storr Amazon

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