Greetings Nerve gang,

Jane here, welcoming you to our Tuesday edition. Today we have Sangita Myska on the shady world of cryptocurrency and politicians; Deborah Frances-White, aka the Guilty Feminist, exploring the implications of CNN’s shocking investigation into online “rape academies”, which the mainstream media seems to be largely ignoring; and our weekly hotlist packed with culture recommendations.

But before any of that – and apologies for the troubling image – I dare you to imagine ripping the shirt off the back of America’s “secretary of war”, Pete Hegseth. 

Here you would see Hegseth’s array of tattoos, which have caused huge controversy in the US but which really merit some close analysis. So we asked US journalist Kat Tenbarge to write us a guide to them, and what they can tell us about US foreign policy. “Beneath his navy suits and American flat pocket squares, Hegseth has ‘Deus Vult’ (‘God wills it’) inked on his forearm and the Arabic word for ‘infidel’ just below it…. These are the same symbols that white supremacists paraded through Charlottesville in 2017. What Hegseth has tattooed on his skin is not incidental to what he is doing in the Middle East.” 

Hegseth denies his tattoos are rooted in violent extremism, but in his 15 months as war secretary, and in his role overseeing the Iran conflict, he has ushered in an unprecedented level of Christian extremist influence. As Kat writes: “One commander reportedly called it ‘part of God’s divine plan’ and said Trump was ‘anointed by Jesus’ to trigger the kind of Armageddon and second coming of Christ described in the Book of Revelation.”

If you need a hand visualising it, our brilliant creative director and co-founder Lynsey has conjured up a tiny Hegseth Action Man with his shiny plastic torso covered with tats. Just so we know what’s where. Gruesome. 

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Here are the links to today’s stories:

America’s secretary of war has “God wills it” inked on his right arm and a Jerusalem cross – a symbol of the Crusades – on his chest. As the US journalist Kat Tenbarge writes: “What Hegseth seems to be speaking to is the belief that the US is a nation by and for Christians, committed to violently purging non-Christians from desired territory around the world. That’s another way of describing Christian nationalism, a far-right ideology that has accumulated frightening power during Trump’s second term.” Read Kat’s guide to Hegseth’s body art here.

“Nigel Farage, the man who helped deliver Brexit, the greatest act of economic self-harm in living memory, has joined forces with Kwasi Kwarteng, the former Tory chancellor responsible for the disastrous mini-budget of 2022, to offer us, of all things – financial advice,” writes Sangita Myska. But should Nigel Farage, an MP, the leader of Reform UK and bitcoin investor, be promising laws to boost cryptocurrency? Her must-read column is here.

In the wake of the Gisèle Pelicot case, you might think that the issue of online sexual abuse forums would be front and centre in the news. But the uncovering of a huge so-called “sleep content” network on a US dark porn site, featuring how-to guides on sedation and rape, has barely been talked about outside feminist social media. That needs to change, Deborah says, and it especially needs to change for men. She writes: “Decent men need to show their outrage now. They need to express their abhorrence to the men who are watching this vile material online, fantasising about it and doing it. There is no way of knowing who these men are, so they need to talk about it publicly.” Read her powerful piece here

Is it too early to start talking about summer reading tips? Not for me! I thoroughly enjoyed the latest novel from Kiran Millwood Hargrave, Almost Life, a romance that begins on the steps of the Sacré-Coeur in 1978 Paris. But if you’re looking beyond book recommendations and fancy going out this week, my colleagues suggest Jade Franks’s five-star standup show; an excellent-sounding new touring production of Miss Saigon that, says Laura Davis, “interrogates American identity and challenges our attitudes to immigration”; and the “magnetic” Romola Garai in the Almeida’s A Doll’s House. You can find all these tips and much more in this week’s Hotlist.

Thank you for reading  and we’ll be back on Friday. Don’t forget to click on the ad below…

Jane, co-founder

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