My neurodivergent self is super happy with this review in @thetimes by John Dugdale of my new thriller, The Kill Switch, which will be published on Thursday 16 July: “In this enthralling mash-up of whodunnit, political thriller, sci-fi and psychological novel (Gil is attacked too, with radical effects on his brain), AI is compellingly portrayed as inexorably corrupting the worlds the duo move between: Westminster, business and the media…In the last outing of his neurodivergent alter ego, Robert Peston has cracked it, finding a narrative method that works and a huge topical subject he handles impressively.” Four great thrillers to read this July thetimes.com/article/f1b99bb…

Given the militaristic ambitions of Russia, China and America, how close are we to a catastrophic trade shock? Do we face years of higher inflation because of the new frictions and costs in global supply chains? And why is the UK government the last government to end the tax break exploited by SHEIN and Temu? I discuss the hidden vulnerabilities of globalisation’s complex trade networks with Ed Conway, author of an important new book, Trade World open.spotify.com/episode/6rL…

Given the militaristic ambitions of Russia, China and America, how close are we to a catastrophic trade shock? Do we face years of higher inflation because of the new frictions and costs in global supply chains? And why is the UK government the last government to end the tax break exploited by SHEIN and Temu? I discuss the hidden vulnerabilities of globalisation’s complex trade networks with Ed Conway, author of an important new book, Trade World podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcas…

Why the world’s economic glue is becoming unstuck. New Rest is Money - with @EdConwaySky piped.video/VsFG6IafMqY?si=ceo8… via @YouTube

There is a lot of talk in Whitehall that the Chancellor will significantly reduce fiscal headroom in the forthcoming budget to avoid bigger tax rises. If he doesn’t knock this on the head pretty sharpish - against the backdrop of government bond prices falling across the developed world - he could find that the interest rate the government has to pay could increase in a very painful way. Not quite Truss style recklessness but not super smart

Bengio makes the obvious but important point to the UN Security Council that AI is the only potentially lethal technology that is not subject to any kind of licensing regime

Was Burnham’s love in with Trump a triumph or is it all downhill from here? Can he repeat the trick with Brussels? Should European governments attend the Trump-hosted G20 leaders’ meeting in Miami if Putin accepts Rubio’s invitation? These questions and more on tonight’s Peston show, with EU minister Hamish Falconer, former national security adviser Lord Darroch, Reform’s mayoral candidate Laila Cunningham and Mehdi Hasan. ITV 10.45 and YouTube at 9

Big show now, as per below

We are 🅻🅸🆅🅴 at 9PM on YouTube👇 Joining @Peston and @PippaCrerar tonight: 🎙️Broadcaster and Journalist @mehdirhasan 🌹EU Relations Minister Hamish Falconer MP 🇬🇧Former UK Ambassador to the US Lord Darroch ➡️Reform UK’s @policylaila #Peston piped.video/live/wQWB3mvQQqY…

Does Burnham really need to win over Trump? New Talking Politics piped.video/2Wgv4XZrx8c?si=uubd… via @YouTube

Andy Burnham’s and Donald Trump’s policies and values could not be further apart - whether on immigration, or sanctions against Israel or transferring ownership of the militarily important Chagos islands to Mauritius.   In a nutshell, Burnham is the kind of democratic socialist that Trump says he hates.  But Burnham is such a charmer that Trump said his relationship with him and the UK was “more up” than under Starmer.  Burnham will be pleased, because - as he told the UN general assembly - he adheres to the diplomatic cliché that the UK’s relationship with the US matters more any other.  In other words, he has not adopted Mark Carney’s “thus far, and no further” repudiation of Trump’s bullying.  There is an important unresolved question about this new prime minister in all this.  Burnham is a masterly people pleaser.  But is he tough enough to make enemies when the cause matters?  This is relevant not just to his relations with Trump but also to his agenda to fix Britain.  How comfortable is he to being unpopular, to being disliked by some of his MPs and some voters, when it matters?   When it comes to reinvigorating the economy and growth in living standards, when it comes to reassuring the nation's creditors who are charging the UK unaffordable interest rates, it really does matter. And he won’t be able to do that without upsetting a lot of people.

Burnham is either one of the most adept political operators or unbelievably lucky. Because for President Trump to say that the relationship with the UK was “more up” than under Sir Keir Starmer - when he and Burnham are miles apart on everything from Israel sanctions to Diego Garcia’s new lease - is quite something, for their first face-to-face meeting (in answer to @romillyweeks @itvnews question)

Trump vows to oppose any international regulation of artificial intelligence - which he wants to rename as “super intelligence” (even though that is a term of art in the AI industry, to describe when AI exceeds human capabilities) because “artificial” suggests “the intelligence is fake”. He vows to win the AI or “SI” race against China, because “whoever wins…wins”. And “we will only encourage super intelligence, not rein it in,” he says - because America “does not retreat from a frontier”.