Gerry Arthurs
@gerryarthurs
South East Technological University SETU (Ireland) Lecturer in International Relations & Politics. Views my own.
As @ossoff.bsky.social remarks on Natalie are having a moment, it reminds us of the power of speeches. All We Say by @rhodesben.bsky.social is a superb account of the evolution & impact of 15 speeches articulating American identity. Franklin, Lincoln, MLK, Obama & Trump. Should be required reading.
This Is A Love Story by @sallyhayd.bsky.social is a superb account of the resilience of love in times of extremis. Through Ukraine, Syria, Nigeria, Iraq & elsewhere, it recounts heartbreaking but essential experiences of family & life beyond the headlines. Heartily recommend, beautifully written.
I’m very excited to go see Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey, but so glad to have read this week the wonderful Mary Beard’s Talking Classics. Such an intuitive and inspiring, very engaging and readable, text on why the classics are so essential to understand who we are today.
Great to join the legendary Pat Kenny on @newstalkfm.bsky.social at the wonderful Avondale House in Co. Wicklow to discuss the latest on the US-Iran MoU. Listen at the link below. www.goloudplayer.com/episodes/us-...
Brilliant conversation between @alapaulhoward.bsky.social and @patrickfreyne.bsky.social on the coolness or otherwise of music. Patrick extremely controversial opinion on Springsteen, but what a couple of great Irish writers to round out the Borris Festival of Writing and Ideas.
The exceptional @praddenkeefe.bsky.social has done it again with London Falling, a scrupulously researched account of the foolhardy fabulist young man who falls foul of the network of oligarchic and criminal influences in London. The story is also a profound reflection on families coming to
Highly recommend the remarkable debut novel All Them Dogs by Djamel White, a visceral, vibrant account of unusual relationships within the Dublin crime scene. Published by @johnmurrays.bsky.social
Highly recommend @rorycarroll72.bsky.social A Rebel and a Traitor, well researched & written, providing a thrilling read about the remarkable, tragic heroic story of Sir Roger Casement over the 1914-1916 period leading to the Rising. Great example of narrative non-fiction.
Salman Rushdie is a giant of literary fiction. His latest, The Eleventh Hour, is a beautiful, late stage short story collection dealing with aging, memory & storytelling. A perceptive interview by @tanjilrashid.bsky.social of @newstatesman1913.bsky.social go to www.newstatesman.com/podcasts/new...
This is not ‘just’ an articulation of intent to commit war crimes, but an admission of intent to commit genocide. It is absolutely incredible that the Republican Party can abide by the ravings of this demented demagogue.
A good, concise & readable account setting Trump’s agenda in historical context, Ed Stourton’s Made in America traces tariffs, immigration, Christian Nationalism & birthright citizenship over 250 year history of the US. Trumpism is causing a rupture in geopolitics, but not without longstanding roots
Always fascinating to listen to Ambassador Kevin Conmy on the turbulence in geopolitics as we approach the Irish Presidency of the EU, as part of the SETU MBS International Study Prog to Belgium & the EU. Great privilege to have such insight from the Ambassador @setupresident.bsky.social
I highly recommend Challenger by @adamhigginbotham.bsky.social Superb narrative nonfiction account of the space shuttle programme & the 1986 disaster, meticulously researched & a compulsive & gripping read, detailing the technical achievement but also the admin & budgetary decisions. Fascinating.
This is a stark and compelling chart from @data.ft.com The JCPOA, though imperfect, was working. Then Trump withdrew.... Something to to be said for diplomatically negotiated deals by experienced, serious people.
Without drawing facile comparisons to the present, @jonathanfreedland.bsky.social has written a superb account of civilian opposition to an authoritarian regime even in the darkest of times. Thrillingly written, chilling reality of dissenters to the Nazi regime & the man who betrayed them. Excellent
I was privileged to see the performance of To Kill A Mockingbird at the Bord Gais Theatre in Dublin. Superb script by Aaron Sorkin, wonderful acting all round, & deft set choreography throughout. Set more than half a century ago, it still has deep resonance for the schisms in American culture today
For a cracking spy thriller, The Collaborators by @michaelidov.bsky.social really delivers, incorporating contemporary real life incidents such as the Ryanair flight over Belarus & strange goings on in Moscow. Captures the geopolitical context of 1990s & present day Russia in convincing manner.
The Gods of New York is a superb analysis of the sprawling social, political and financial shenanigans in the late 1980s, weaving multiple storylines like a nonfiction Bonfire of the Vanities by @jonathanmahler.bsky.social Highly recommend reading
A beautiful production from Steve Pyke and @lilliputpress.bsky.social Scribendi is a collection of portraits of Irish Writers with their reflections on creativity and belief in their work. As Pyke puts it, it is a gesture of acknowledgment and gratitude, and is a lovely companion on a bookshelf.
A beautifully written new book, On Friendship, by the great Andrew O’Hagan hits just the right note as the season of meeting up with old and new friends is upon us. Highly recommend it, published by @faberbooks.bsky.social
Honoured to host a fascinating conversation with Belgian Ambassador to Ireland, His Excellency Nicolas Nihon at SETU Graduate Business Seminar Series. Challenges to multilateralism, small state representation, & the deep trading & cultural links between Belgium & Ireland all on the agenda.
Really enjoyed Not Making Hay by The Irish Times’ @frankie49.bsky.social part memoir, part rumination on writing four columns a week for the last couple of decades. Lovely stuff.