Easing back into Substack with some light reading (not...)
Money laundering, Arctic threats, regime change, why I'm currently very angry (and sweary)...and some comedy and cats too
It’s been awhile, Substack. There have just been far too many things to do. Correction. There are too many things to do, and that I should be doing. But I’ve come into 2026 reflecting on two not entirely unrelated things.
The first is a quote from a book by Graham Allcott called How to Be a Productivity Ninja that I read years ago. In knowledge work, we continuously trick ourselves into thinking that it’s possible to catch up, that somewhere out there is a light at the end of the tunnel. However, as Graham says, ‘…when the light at the end of the tunnel approaches, you realise it's just some nasty bloke with a torch bringing you more work to do.’
The second is probably the same thing that everyone reading this is currently reflecting upon, and a gazillion others beyond: 2026 is pretty rubbish so far in all sorts of ways.
Despite the fact that much of what I read is related in one way or the other to much of the awfulness out there in the world, I love writing about it here on the ol’ Substack and find it all quite therapeutic. So, dear subscribers, if any of you are sitting there reading this thinking, ‘Heather, you know you do owe me that email/review/draft paper etc’, know that I’ve not forgotten you. I just need a break, because - I think I might’ve mentioned this before - 2026 sucks.
So let’s start with regime change, why don’t we.
United States interventions: what for?
I spent the Christmas break hiding from reality with a stack of lovely novels, not watching the news or even opening any news apps, until I was pulled back into reality on 3 January with a text from a friend that said, ‘I didn’t have the US kidnapping a foreign head of state before the end of the first week of January on my 2026 Bingo card’. Well, quite.
Back in 2005, historian John Coatsworth wrote this short piece about the US’s track record of regime change in Latin America. From 1898-1994, the US apparently successfully intervened to bring about regime change at least 41 times, or once every 28 months as he points out. Seventeen of these cases were direct, while the rest were indirect but dependent on the US for success. The list of reasons why are familiar: economic interests, protection of capitalism, domestic politics, some sort of strategic calculation against perceived future threats. By ‘success’, Coatsworth didn’t mean that regime change led to successful outcomes, for the US or for the countries in question. All he meant is that the objective - a change in government - was achieved. ‘Success’ came with a heavy price tag though: ‘It is difficult to escape the conclusion that U.S. interventions did not serve U.S. national interests well. They generated needless resentment in the region and called into question the U.S. commitment to democracy and rule of law in international affairs. The downward trend in the past decade and half is a positive development much to be encouraged.’
Ah, the heady days of 2005. Remember those? (I mean, burgeoning Global War on Terror notwithstanding and all that.) So I guess regime change seems to be back at the top of the menu. It’s well worth reading Alexander Downes’ excellent 2021 book called Catastrophic Success: Why Foreign-Imposed Regime Change Goes Wrong. This should be required reading for any politician writing up a pros and cons list for whether or not they should try to overthrow a foreign government. (Spoiler alert: pros column = pretty empty, cons column = pretty full.)
And on Maduro and Venezuela specifically, this article on 'After the fall: what Maduro’s capture means for criminal geopolitics’ by Irene Mia at IISS is well worth a read.
Polar War: Submarines, Spies and the Struggle for Power in a Melting Arctic
I’ve only read the first couple of chapters of Polar Wars by journalist Kenneth Rogan so far, but he’s certainly managing to do that thing that excellent journalists do well (and academics are, sadly, often discouraged from doing): tell a fast-paced, compelling story grounded in in-depth research conducted over several years, worn more lightly than perhaps it should, or certainly could. It’s already sparking thinking about potential research gaps, and may this continue as I finish reading it.
Last year, I was flying back to the UK and watched an absolutely fantastic documentary called Arming the Artic about the security consequences of climate change for the Arctic. It was terrifying, important, very timely…and I have yet to find a single place here in the UK or online where I can watch it again. (If anyone reading this knows people who can remedy this, please do…) In lieu, here are 3 ish minutes well spent.
Everybody Loves Our Dollars: How Money Laundering Won
I’ve known Oliver Bullough, the journalist and author, for quite a few years now, but that doesn’t stop me from getting excited when he has a new book out. I know I’m going to end up depressed, and I know I’m going to end up angry, but I also know I’m going to end up even more committed to doing everything I can to work with others in trying to help make the world less shitty than it currently is. And there’s no doubt about it: dark and dirty money makes the world unbelievably shitty.
Oliver manages to balance deep, technical research with brilliant story telling (he’s a beautiful writer), and we’re all so much more knowledgable about how dirty money works as well as about the harms that it causes. He also walks us through all of the excuses given for why it’s just not possible to really do all that much about it. It’s infuriating, insightful reading.
Why does this matter? Because if you’re currently reading any of the awful, awful, awful things coming out of the Epstein Files, understanding the importance of offshore finance, secrecy jurisdictions, enablers, and all the things that make dark and dirty money go round is absolutely key. (As someone wrote in a post on Threads about entries on the creation of crypto in the Files, “You can’t exactly pay for trafficked children with your Bank of America card.”) I’ve said many times, in many places, that someday I hope our children are able to look back at this time and think, ‘Isn’t it crazy that people created a system that enabled some of the most heinous crimes possible just so a few wealthy people and companies could hide and hoard that wealth, and yet there was no political will to do anything about it, until [fill in the blank] happened?’ Well, the Epstein Files have to be that thing. There is no more heinous crime than the systematic trafficking, sexual abuse and, apparently, torture and murder of children. And this is parking all the crazy geopolitical stuff off to one side for the moment. As Oliver puts it in his conclusion:
You don’t tackle money laundering to appease politicians in Washington DC any more than you tackle money laundering for its own sake; you fight it because without money laundering, there would be no kleptocrats, no cartels, no fraudsters, no people trafficking, no child pornographers, no illegal trade in wildlife and so much more. The world would be improved immeasurably, which is why it is something worth doing, and worth doing now, alone if necessary.
Buy the book. While you’re at it, buy his earlier book Moneyland: Why Thieves And Crooks Now Rule The World And How To Take It Back. Read it alongside Peter Geoghegan’s excellent book Democracy For Sale: Dark Money and Dirty Politics. Subscribe to Peter’s Democracy For Sale Substack. Get angry, angry enough to convince the powers that be that we need to end dark and dirty money now. No more lack of political will. I’m sorry, but there can be no more fucking excuses.
Deep breath. Let’s move on to something a bit lighter…
If you’re in the UK and subscribe to NowTV, I urge you to watch Utopia, an Australian mocumentary about the imaginary government infrastructure agency Nation Building Australia. If you’re elsewhere in the world, do try to find it. And if you’re Australian, well… 👏. It is laugh out loud funny, and it’s also quite possibly the best thing out there to help explain why modern governments don’t work like they should. This clip, for example, goes out to all of my friends who have ever had to write, rewrite, read, present or engage with a government security or defence paper.
I can’t resist adding another clip, one I’ve shown countless people. If you’ve ever sat in a meeting with someone senior saying they want to be ‘data driven’ or that ‘AI is the answer’, but they can’t quite explain why let alone how, this one is for you.
I was sad to hear that Catherine O’Hara died a few days ago. I loved her in Beetlejuice and Home Alone when I was younger, and in Best in Show and A Mighty Wind more recently, among many other things. But I fell in love with her as Moira Rose in Schitts Creek.
I have a vague feeling that I’ve written about this before, but that’s ok. Schitts Creek was one of the series that got us through the first Covid lockdown, and it will always have a special place in my heart as a result. This scene was a particular favourite. It’s just joyful, but at a time when all I wanted to do was to be in the same room with friends and family it was also terribly poignant. I love it no less almost six years later, and it’s now also poignant watching Catherine O’Hara at her very best.
Finally, in the middle of January we had to say goodbye to our much loved 17 year old pussycat, Bonnie. We’re all very sad, so we decided to adopt another elderly cat from the shelter where we donated Bonnie’s food as a way to say thank you to her, but also for us. So hello, Brewster, you lovely old chap, and welcome to the family!
Fellow cat lovers will enjoy David Baddiel: Cat Man on Channel 4 (in the UK). It’s pure joy, just like cats themselves, and a welcome distraction from all the awfulness, even if only for a little while.
