Evening all,

It’s Carole here. We’ve got a great bit of research that we’re publishing today about digital ID, the plan for nationwide mandatory identity cards that Keir Starmer apparently plucked out of his back pocket in September. It’s a policy that nobody asked for, wasn’t in the manifesto and is already proving wildly unpopular. 

I wish I could say that it’s a huge mystery as to why he’s so determined to push it through but the answer is quite simple: Tony Blair. We published an investigation in our launch edition about Blair’s billionaire patron, Larry Ellison, friend of Trump and Netanyahu and founder of the software company Oracle, and as our graphic – by our brilliant intern Anandita Abraham and creative director Lynsey Irvine – shows, Blair’s fingerprints are all over this plan. Read more about it here. 

In other somewhat weird and unlikely news, TED has just announced that my April TED talk This is What a Digital Coup Looks Like was its most popular talk of 2025. Not to gloat but I trounced OpenAI’s Sam Altman who didn’t even make the top 10. Better luck next time, Sammy. 

Today we’ve also got Philippa Perry on how to have a sane Christmas, our weekly culture Hotlist and an interview with composer Isobel Waller-Bridge. First, a couple of housekeeping notes – we get offered ad opportunities every week via our newsletter platform and today we got one (for ProtonMail, provider of secure email) that we felt we could support. We get a payment every time someone simply clicks on the ad, so it would really help us with a bit of extra funding if you could (click on the one at the end of this email).

Why is Britain’s PM set on introducing such a wildly unpopular policy as digital ID? Parliament debated the issue last night after a petition against the policy was signed by three million people. It’s a policy that has done the improbable job of uniting Nigel Farage, Jeremy Corbyn, Boris Johnson and Zack Polanski in opposition to the idea. In today’s column, Carole Cadwalladr joins the dots between Starmer’s policy and the Tony Blair Institute - and argues that the whole thing is a “techno-authoritarian’s wet dream”. Read it here.

“How do you actually feel about Christmas? Excited? Overwhelmed? Cautiously optimistic but with a rising sense of dread?” asks our resident agony aunt, Philippa Perry. “Most of us feel a complicated cocktail of obligation, memory, expectation and half-formed longing.“ Read her column for valuable tips on how to survive, maybe even enjoy, the festive season.

A journalist, podcaster and DJ, our critic Kate Hutchinson has been covering music since joining Time Out's Nightlife team aged 19. Today, her musical passions are rich, varied and extremely infectious so when she came to us enthusing about a "brilliant new ASMR-y" album of "Objects" with a tracklisting beginning Pillow / Glass / Tapes / Cushion...we were intrigued. The creation of composer Isobel Waller-Bridge, best known for scoring film and TV (including collaborating with her younger sister Phoebe on Fleabag), she talks to Kate about slow listening, sisterly love and her biggest regrets.

From an outstanding new production of Singin' in the Rain in Manchester and a "firecracker" of a show at the National, to a joyous screen outing for Sondheim, this week's hotlist has a distinctly theatrical feel. But the Nerve team also has a "jaw-dropping" new Netflix documentary to recommend and a great interview podcast series eschewing the trend for pods featuring "celebrities espousing life guidance like they've been watching Gabor Maté on a loop". Whether you're staying in or going out out, our hotlist has got you covered.

Thanks for reading,

Carole, co-founder

A private inbox doesn’t have to come with a price tag—or a catch. Proton Mail’s free plan gives you the privacy and security you expect, without selling your data or showing you ads.

Built by scientists and privacy advocates, Proton Mail uses end-to-end encryption to keep your conversations secure. No scanning. No targeting. No creepy promotions.

With Proton, you’re not the product — you’re in control.

Start for free. Upgrade anytime. Stay private always.

Get free private email