Take Five: Stories beyond the news cycle

Well the news cycle over the last 24 hours was one for the ages. The belated yet always inevitable Trump-Musk break-up showed how the world's most powerful man and the richest are both as petty, pathetic and childish as 10 year olds in the school playground.

The further damage to the USA brand is massive as well. But for all that, this latest instalment of the Trump reality tv show was utterly compelling. Popcorn sales in the US will have gone through the roof yesterday! And so all in all, it's probably harder this week than most to divert from the main headlines (and we haven't even got to Friday, the traditional peak viewing day for the live-streamed Trump reality show).

But diversion is the aim here, so here are some suggestions with that aim in mind...

1. I did Political Science at uni and Joe Nye (who coined the term 'soft power') was one of the most prominent voices in that field. This is the last thing he co-wrote before he died recently at the age of 88. It lays out the 'end of the long American century': https://www.foreignaffairs.com/united-states/end-long-american-century-trump-keohane-nye
2. To a rather less wise American voice - The New Yorker has profiled the far right 'intellectual' Curtis Yarvin beloved of JD Vance et al and he's as off his head as you'd imagine: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/06/09/curtis-yarvin-profile
3. As is Englishman Graham Hancock, the 'conspiracy theorists favourite historian: https://www.economist.com/1843/2025/05/23/how-graham-hancock-became-conspiracy-theorists-favourite-historian
4. Peter Zeihan meanwhile sits out somewhere all by himself, determinedly looking at the big picture and the deep future. Compelling and sometimes infuriating interview here with Scott Galloway (who points out he's often wrong, but always thought-provoking): https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-prof-g-pod-with-scott-galloway/id1498802610?i=1000711360133
5. Lastly, to my impressive countrywoman Jacinda Ardern and a very interesting question posed by The New Yorker: Why did New Zealand turn on her (when she's highly regarded globally)?: https://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/why-did-new-zealand-turn-on-jacinda-ardern

Cheers,

Will, PRmoment Leaders