Books and Boats | The Friday Update

Welcome to this week’s edition of the Friday Update, in which I give a little insight into what I’ve been up to for the past seven days.

What have I been up to this week?

So, my video about the rise (and fall) of Patreon is very nearly done. As I type, Georgia is making some final tweaks to the edit and it’s looking great.

With that in hand, I’ve been focusing on the script to the video which will follow it. Which currently has the working title…

Britain’s New Prison Ships.

The video is about Bibby Stockholm, an engineless accommodation barge which was recently commandeered by the UK government to serve as housing for asylum seekers; by which I mean people who have arrived in the UK and submitted an application for refugee status but who are still awaiting a decision on that application.

The boat has rightly proven deeply controversial in the UK. Conditions on board are horrifyingly cruel, with the vessel having repeatedly been described as a prison ship.

My video aims to provide a bit of context for both Brits and for international viewers. I want to explore how it is that the UK got to a point where the creation of such a facility is not only viewed as acceptable but actively desirable.

And outside of work?

I made time this week to go and give blood at my local hospital.

Blood donation is something I’ve done for some time now. While I’m sure it varies in other countries, in the UK it’s something you do voluntarily; although you do get some free crisps and biscuits!

I’ve been a bit lax with it lately as, where they used to do some “pop up” sessions slightly nearer my house, these days I have to go to a permanent facility at the local hospital; which is a tiny bit of a trek.

That being said, I always find it quite rewarding. It’s very little effort on my part (outside of a tiny bit of a needle scratch) and it’s great to feel like you might be making a difference to someone somewhere. These days they even tell you which hospital your blood has ended up at which is a nice touch!

What have I been reading/watching/listening to?

This week, I’ve returned to Kate Raworth’s Doughnut Economics. This was a book that I made a previous stab at around a year or so again but never quite finished. I don’t think it was necessarily anything to do with this book in particular, sometimes I simply get a bit overwhelmed with reading for my videos and end up having to neglect my slightly wider reading (which I ostensibly do for fun but which is nonetheless highly linked to my work!).

The book is an attempt to redefine the goals of political economics. Most politicians and policy wonks seek to optimise solely for economic growth; the logic being that a growing economy is a healthy economy. Economic growth, however, can be a pretty vague measure. “The economy” growing doesn’t necessarily mean that everyone is sharing in that growth. It also pushes aside other measures of human wellbeing and happiness which are harder to measure in conventional economic terms.

In place of a “line goes up” model of economic success, Raworth proposes a doughnut within which humanity should try to remain. She suggests we focus on ensuring our economy does not dip below a “social foundation” in which people have enough food to eat, access to energy, healthcare and education whilst also ensuring we don’t exceed the “environmental ceiling” above which we continue to damage our planetary home.

It’s certainly not a fast-moving book and I do occasionally find it hovers on a particular point a little longer than I’d like. Nevertheless, there’s a lot to be learned in here about the failures of economics as it currently exists and how we might reshape it to better serve humanity as a whole.

That brings us to the end of this week’s edition of the Friday Update. I hope you’ve found it mildly insightful.

Thanks as ever for your generous support and I’ll look forward to updating you more next week!!