Hello everyone!

It’s Imogen here with our Tuesday edition, still slightly bleary-eyed but buzzing from our biggest event to date, the Nerve Live. Today, powered by even more coffee than we got through for that, we’re bringing you a moving and infuriating report by the Nerve’s Brenna Spain about the harsh reality of living in Slough, the data centre capital of Europe; Carole Cadwalladr on Palantir’s Tom Watson going on the offensive against the company’s critics; political commentator Sangita Myska on Andy Burnham’s big promise; and of course our weekly culture hotlist.

But first a huge thank-you to everyone who came on Sunday, who bought merch and made it a total blast. We’ll be sharing highlights on our socials and future editions for everyone else.

The day kicked off with a lively conversation between Sangita and our Reform UK correspondent, John Sweeney. Ghosts/Stath Lets Flats star Kiell Smith-Bynoe provided comic relief by sharing his current cultural highlights for the Recommender Live (we’ll publish a print version on Friday), including why Saturday Night Live UK is such a welcome addition to political discourse in this country. Finally, Carole Cadwalladr hosted a discussion on “Fighting Hate with Humour” with the Guilty Feminist, Deborah Frances-White, and satirist Cody Dahler, in which Cody reflected on the time he was told he was “way too leftwing”. I think he spoke for many when he said: "The planet's on fire. I don't think billionaires should exist. I don't think rich people should be able to squirrel away their wealth in tax havens. I think if everyone paid tax, our public services would be good… I'm like, what is ideological about all that?!"

The always inspiring Deborah Frances-White also talked about the simple act of “putting your shoes on”, getting out of the house and taking steps to come together and be part of the resistance. That’s exactly what the Nerve’s Brenna Spain has been doing – since starting with us this summer she’s been digging into the large number of data centres that have been popping up in the UK and talking to local communities about their negative impact, particularly in Slough, where she reports from today.

Brenna says: “For me, data centres have become a good means of exploring what’s at stake in 2026: local democracy, fossil fuels, human health, private equity and Big Tech, all at once. 'The cloud' is a euphemism for energy-hungry servers housed in buildings the size of football fields that squeeze through the red tape of local planning.” 

Here are the links to today’s stories:

Susan lives in social housing just metres from a data centre in Slough. She tells reporter Brenna Spain that its constant hum and vibrations have kept her awake at night and coincided with bouts of dizziness, nausea and headaches. Her story is a glimpse into how the infrastructure that keeps Big Tech running is causing increasing concern for people over their health and quality of life. Read Brenna’s feature here (and do get in touch with her - [email protected] - if you have data centre stories from your community).

Today, in his first speech as leader to the Labour conference, Andy Burnham set out his vision for the future of the country – and didn’t shy away from the big issues, zooming in on the essential but incredibly arduous task of fixing social care. Our political columnist has both witnessed and reported on the parlous state of the system and knows how important, and difficult, reform will be. She says what we need “is for Burnham to stick to his guns, spend the personal political capital he says he’ll sacrifice and, most importantly, face down the enemy.” Read Sangita’s column here.

This month it came as a shock to learn that former Labour deputy leader Lord Watson had joined Peter Thiel’s Palantir as a senior vice-president. Yesterday, at a Labour conference fringe event, it emerged that he has now written to his party colleague Clive Lewis MP – who has been outspoken about the surveillance company that is embedding itself in the British state – to enumerate and object to all Lewis’s criticisms. “That, to me, was an implicit threat,” Lewis tells Nerve co-founder Carole Cadwalladr – and from a politician who spoke out in the past about the dangers of surveillance during the phone-hacking scandal. Read Carole’s story here. 

“Oh my god, an actually good new sitcom,” wrote Julia Raeside in her excited email recommending Break Clause, Channel 4’s new sitcom penned by Jess Bray, for this week’s hotlist. Starting on Thursday, it centres around a young couple who sign the lease on a new flat then instantly break up. Love is also central to Georgia Oakley’s fresh new adaptation of Sense and Sensibility and Sunil Gupta’s new photography show at Kettle’s Yard in Cambridge, which, says Nerve art critic Ben Luke, showcases “Gupta’s commitment to exploring queer love, everyday life and politics”. For these tips and more across theatre, film, TV and books, read this week’s hotlist here.

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We’ll see you on Friday.

Imogen