Our Newsletters
The Newsletters are a pinch, punch, first-of-the-month update on our Altered State.
The Altered State- March 2025
Perhaps the next AS Book of The Month should be Donald Trump’s famed ‘Art of The Deal’. No, really. At least it would stop us looking at that ultra weird AI of Trump’s Gaza ‘plan’. How else are we going to understand the strategy and foresight of the purported leader for the free world as he castigated and humiliated Volodimir Zelenskyy in the White House in front of the world’s press? This followed on from Trump insisting Ukraine had started the war and that Zelenskyy was a dictator. At best it would seem a capricious Trump lost the plot after irritant-in-eyeliner JD Vance kicked off - it happens as we know - but more likely and at worst it would seem to enforce the sense that he looks at diplomacy as a trial of strength, that allies can be taken advantage of and autocrats are to be admired. That’s the clear direction of travel and perhaps we’ve all been in denial about a new world order forming in front of us.
Forgetting for a minute that Starmer gutted foreign aid to pay for weaponry, it led to him having his best week as PM as he meticulously played Trump’s ego in Washington and displayed leadership to Zelenskyy, the EU and Canada immediately after the Oval Office debacle. Just to top off the weekend, the real Vice President (one Elon Musk) condoned the US leaving NATO and the UN. Truly, we live in a changed world.
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Speaking of the megaloMusk, we have a fantastic panel confirmed for our next talk on March 27th BEWARE THE IDES OF MUSK - TIME TO PUT THE BRAKES ON ELON? Cllr Cara Lavan is the deputy leader of the Green Party group on Bristol City Council and can offer us the perspective of an elected official as unelected and unaccountable Elon calls for UK regime change and casts himself post Rochdale as an unlikely protector of women and girls. Cara’s joined by Professor Colin Gavaghan of Bristol Uni’s law school. Colin specialises in ethics and where the law meets new technology. He spoke on our AI panel last year and his dry humour and legal focus can help with solutions for those that feel helpless under the deluge of Musk’s money and misinformation. Author Dr Marcus Gilroy-Ware lectures at SOAS, he specialises in new media and disinformation, the very essence of Musk’s public facing methodology.
Steve Bannon maintains that no Govt can withstand it “if Elon comes at it full bore”. Musk has called for regime change in the UK, he’s coming after us and we’ll talk about what we can do about it. Rudy Millard is our host. There is a deal on a pair of tickets and the usual discounted rates for students.
On May 1st we will have our talk: GUT ROT- ARE UPFs THE NEW TOBACCO? Food entrepreneur and business owner, Charlie Bigham, and other speakers will be talking to us about UPFs. We will find out why our supermarket shelves are still groaning with addictive crap that cause obesity and health problems. What can we do to stem the ride of sugar, fat and salt? And what are they doing to our gut microbiome? Super early birds now available.
Our podcast is coming shortly from HEALTH AND HAPPINESS - THE MAGIC PROPERTIES OF CHOCOLATE AND MUSHROOMS, the brilliant talk that opened our 2025 programme. Our blog from the night is here.
Our actual Book of the Month for March is Walter Isaacson’s biography of the winsome and fragrant Elon Musk.Tracing his epic journey from humble beginnings in apartheid era South Arica, it explores his relentless drive, ground breaking businesses and complex personality. It helps us understand the braggadocio and why a liberal voting father has gone full dark MAGA.
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Some of stories that made us sit up and pay attention this last month:
The Byline Times looked at self-appointed Trump whisperer Nigel Farage’s Reform Party populist positions and asks if they are, er, actually popular, Byline Times Report.
Save the world by eating two less kebabs a week (how many per week is normal???). The Guardian’s guide to reaching net zero, The Guardian Article.
Prince Andrew, the Royal gift that keeps on giving to Republicans and those who wish to see a more accountable monarchy, The Guardian Article.
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The Welsh Parliament intends to defenestrate its politicians that are caught lying, BBC Article.
See you in the Hen & Chicken on the 27th.
WE NEED TO TALK.
Previous Newsletters
Gaza ceasefire, Washington inauguration V2, Robert Jenrick raising the ghost of Enoch Powell and, er, Andrew Tate entering politics with his BRUV party (trips off the tongue as Britain Restoring Underlying Values according to Luton’s self-styled misogynist). It’s been a head spinning start to the new year but we begin with an uplifting talk this Thursday 6th Feb when we discuss HEALTH AND HAPPINESS - THE MAGIC PROPERTIES OF CHOCOLATE AND MUSHROOMS. Local independents Joe McDonnell from Radek’s Chocolate and Tom Baxter from the Bristol Fungarium will be talking us through how these two totemic products can work for mind, body and soul. They’ll go deep on the science behind their wondrous properties, share their knowledge on how best to use and enjoy them and yoga practitioner Miranda Shaw will lead us in a mindful tasting of Radek’s Chocolate with Lions Mane. Our host is Eliz Mizon of The Bristol Cable - you can sign up to them on the night, and both Radek’s and the Fungarium will have their goodies available to buy also- tickets.
We need to talk about Elon Musk. So we are. Unelected and unaccountable, we saw the new breed of American oligarchs sitting next to each other in row 2 at Trump’s inauguration, behind only The Donald’s family (the cabinet were in row 3). But it’s Musk that’s publicly looking to interfere in the UK - calling for regime change, supporting the far-right and bombarding us with coarse misinformation from his bully pulpit on X. But British success and security this century would seem tied to his AI, Starlink and Space companies and him being embedded in the US military complex. Does he really want Reform in number 10 or is it just about them supporting deregulation that suits his commercial ambitions? Perhaps it’s both? Either way, he’s here, he’s in all of our lives and he’s not going to go away as he rains money down on his political vessels. We have a really strong panel: Cllr Cara Lavan is the deputy leader of the Green Party Group on Bristol City Council, Prof. Colin Gavaghan lectures on ethics, law and new technology at Bristol University and Dr. Marcus Gilroy-Ware is an expert on misinformation and new media at SOAS.
Early bird tickets available now.
We are pleased to present our first podcast this year, from the final talk of last year, the well received A LIFE LESS ORDINARY - TALES OF INNER STRENGTH AND RESILIENCE. It lifts the spirits to listen back to these stories of endeavour and bravery in the face of great challenges of differing nature. Listen now.
Our book of the month for February is the peerless James O’Brien’s ‘How They Broke Britain’. A forensic deep dive into the actions of the ten people that O’Brien considers are most responsible for Britain’s rapid decline in the last decade. Eviscerating and exhaustively detailed, it’s a brilliant and illuminating read.
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We post on our social media about issues we’re interested in, if they vex or intrigue you, please let us know what you would like us to talk about. Here are some events and stories that got us going this last month:
Move over Jess Phillips with your career-long record of positive change. Elon Musk, Robert Jenrick, Tommy Robinson and Nigel Farage are now the unlikely protectors of women and girls. Marina Hyde weighs in as only she can, Gaurdian Article.
Gazillionaire Nick Candy installed as Treasurer and Elon looking to get his wallet out too. Byline Times looked at who currently funds Reform, Byline Times.
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META ends fact checking. Strange to think we may one day look back at the ‘golden era of Nick Clegg’s influence’ at the company, Guardian Article.
2024 was the first year to pass the milestone 1.5 degrees warmer than pre-industrial levels, BBC Article.
And harking back to points well made in our Why Oh Wye rivers talk last February, the costs and challenge of cleaning up ‘forever chemicals’, Guardian Article.
See you on Thursday in the Hen & Chicken.
WE NEED TO TALK.
The New Year’s Honours… Goldenballs Beckham has been passed over yet again, Sadiq’s in however, along with Stephen Fry and so is Southgate. Arise Sir Gareth: specialist in failure. It doesn’t take much to get under the skin at this liverish time of year and incredulity about recipients of gongs is right up there, as is the Herculean effort at mitigating our Christmas holiday gluttony. So it’s with some relief for those of us whose idea of Christmas chocolate is a Terry’s Chocolate Orange (guilty, M’Lud) that we look forward to our first talk of the New Year on 6th Feb HEALTH & HAPPINESS - THE MAGIC PROPERTIES OF CHOCOLATE AND MUSHROOMS. Host Eliz Mizon of The Bristol Cable will explore the science behind responsibly sourced craft chocolate and medicinal mushrooms and how they can work together to benefit us and our moods. Our speakers will be Bristol locals Joe McDonnell of Radek’s Chocolate, a purpose driven brand of artisanal chocolate and Tom Baxter of the Bristol Fungarium, who produce organic medicinal mushrooms. There will be a (free) mindful tasting led by yoga practitioner Miranda Shaw and I cannot think of a better way to banish the early February blues. Tickets and student discounts are available now. Reduced price early birds available until Sunday night.
Our podcast from the well received talk A LIFELESS ORDINARY - TALES OF INNER STRENGTH AND RESILIENCE will be available next week and will give us all a lift when fighting the January blues.
Our first book of the month this year is Hannah Ritchie’s ‘Not the End of the World’. Coming from an environmental and scientific viewpoint, Hannah debunks some of the myths around climate science and she finds many positives with which to start 2025. Check out all our choices from 2024 on our Book of the Month page.
We thought we’d also look back at some of the key events and narratives that sparked Altered State’s interest over the last month:
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We were warned in our AI talk that existing bias in society might reveal itself in AI and so it has transpired in the system used to detect benefit fraud, Guardian article.
The Romanian judiciary found that the first round of their elections was perverted in the favour of the Kremlin-supporting nationalist via an intense social media campaign on TikTok whose cost was illegal. The results were annulled, BBC article.
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Party-of-the-people Reform revealed billionaire Nick Candy as their new treasurer, initiating rumours that Elon Musk was to circumnavigate foreign donation laws via his UK companies and donate $100million to the party (the previous highest British political donation was the £8m given to Vote Leave by Aaron Banks). Campaigners called for the laws surrounding foreign donations to be tightened, the Cabinet seemed unmoved, Byline times report.
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The big geopolitical story was the Russian and Iranian reverse in Syria, to the apparent advantage of the US, Turkey and Israel. Putin’s power derives from his projection of strength and so the collapse of his brutal pet Assad regime will be felt acutely in the Kremlin. For the rest of us, seeing the signs and songs of freedom was hugely uplifting, BBC Article.
Happy new year to all Altered Staters and see you in the Hen and Chicken.
WE NEED TO TALK.
Break through the BS.
I think we’d all recognise that the credibility defining question for cultural commentators in ten years’ time will likely not be “where were you at the first Altered State”? But for us, it was a big deal. It was minus 4 degrees on North St (the Hen & Chicken heating shut off during the questions) and whilst we were passionate we didn’t really know what we were doing, and so the question remained: would anyone show up? 38 hardy souls took a chance on a talk about THE PRICE OF PROTEST and people have continued to come in increasing numbers as our conversation has flowed this year.
Alongside the seismic political, environmental, cultural and technological changes of the era I think we can also all relate to the need to talk about more quirky subjects, especially in the gloom of February, so our first 2025 talk is ‘HEALTH & HAPPINESS - THE MAGIC PROPERTIES OF CHOCOLATE AND MUSHROOMS’ on Thurs Feb 6th. Our host Eliz Mizon of The Bristol Cable will talk to two local artisan producers, Radek’s Chocolate and The Bristol Fungarium, about the science and wonders of chocolate and mushrooms. How their ingredients give us health benefits, lift our mood and can be sustainably sourced in contrast to BIG chocolate and food. Best of all: there’ll be a free tasting. Super early bird tickets for a tenner and the usual student discounts are available now.
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Our podcast from an uplifting and positive talk about the comparison between GREENWASHING AND CREDIBLE CLIMATE ACTION is also live now from the website and apple podcasts.
The panel elicited sound advice on how we can all intervene and make a difference. It was uplifting to know that with the tipping point looming (and a fat orange finger now back on the scales) we do have agency and for every COP obscenity and its 60k delegates, there is an Altered State and our 60 enthusiasts with enquiring minds. Drill, baby, drill? TALK, BABY, TALK!
Somewhat grandly, we’ve also been nominating our Book Of The Month in recent times. This month we’re going with Andrew O’Hagan’s magnificent ‘Mayflies’ (yes, we know it’s not super-duper new but we’ve only just read it). Jim and Tully are two music obsessed Scots, the first in their families to go to university in Thatcher’s Britain in the 1980s. The first half of the book charts their raucous week travelling to Manchester for the 1986 Festival Of The 10th Summer that featured The Smiths, New Order and The Fall. Continuing in the present day, grave news now inhabits their relationship. Male friendships, class and attitudes to love and life are explored in an original manner- book available here.
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This being the final newsletter of what has been a life affirming first year for us, we asked some of our speakers from the varying talks this year to give us a heads up on developments since we listened to them.
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Such is the pace of change with AI, that author Heather Child might now find her books moved from the Dystopian Fiction section to Current Affairs, and she says: “The further development of generative AI. If a standard search engine serves up a buffet of results, a generative AI search goes further - loading your plate and perhaps even chewing and digesting for you too. It's helpful for planning and brainstorming, but is one of the many aspects of AI that should make us think carefully about where we'd prefer to be on the spectrum of convenience versus control.”
Journalist Sian Norris (CONSPIRACY THEORY): "Since speaking at Altered State, Trump was re-elected to the White House on a toxic combination of disinformation and conspiracy theories. This included his false claims that migrant people were eating pets, and continued attacks on LGBTQ+ people, as well as false claims about abortion.
He was aided in his election campaign by social media billionaire Elon Musk, who has used his platform on X to share far right disinformation, including most recently about the UK's far right influencer Tommy Robinson. Meanwhile, pro-Trump influencers have been exposed as spreading pro-Kremlin talking points, paid for by Russian money.
It's a worrying time. Trends that I started reporting on from the darker corners of the far right infosphere are now mainstream, and the Trump campaign demonstrates the power of conspiracist narratives and disinformation. Trump is not alone as a far right leader elected on a sea of disinformation and division, look at Modhi in India for example. But the fact his hateful conspiracies have taken hold in the US, at a time of growing global instability, is of real concern.”
Food scientist Johnathan Napier (SUSTAINABILITY OF FOOD SUPPLY): “The big change is the new Government. Their manifesto had a commitment to British farming but they’ve since clobbered family farmers in their budget.”
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Director at ARUP Will McBain (BRITAIN'S RIVERS) “Water (Special Measures) Bill was introduced into parliament in September. This will aim to address issues related to excessive bonus payments, will introduce new criminal charges for persistent rule breakers, and automatic severe fines for wrongdoing. An independent commission has also been appointed, led by former Deputy Governor of the Bank of England, sir Jon Cunliffe, to review the industry and identify the actions required to restore public and investor confidence.”
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Environmental consultant Jessica Ferrow (GREENWASHING) “while there are many bad actors, there are also plenty of purpose-driven business leaders out there who actively want to do the right thing. B Corp is a great community for such people and businesses, and is still undoubtedly a worthy certification to pursue. Sure, it's by no means perfect, but I really hope most of the issues B Corp has faced recently will be settled with their new certification standards - due to be finalised in 2025. Unfortunately there's a tendency to see the B Corp badge as the trophy, or the final destination, when really it's just one milestone on a journey of continuous improvement. The world keeps changing, so to truly lead and create positive impact, businesses have to keep moving with the times."
We’ll see you for a pint and a chinwag in the Hen & Chicken on the other side. Feb 6th to be precise. The full 2025 programme will be unveiled soon and remember,
WE NEED TO TALK.