The Observer Daily: One way out

The best of The Observer, from across our newsroom View in browser One way out The best of The Observer, from across our newsroom Xavier Greenwood • Friday 4 July 2025 Dear friend, It's hard to think of a more bruising few days for Labour. A heated battle over welfare reform, the passing of a Frankenstein bill that had become shorn of all its major contents, and then on Wednesday the chancellor sat behind the prime minister in tears. Even if the reason was private, the speculation was hardly helpful to a government staggering into its second year. So what's the answer? Will Hutton thinks it won't come from robbing Peter (lurching around for possible savings in the name of reform) to pay Paul (allow Rachel Reeves to stick to her fiscal rules). Instead it requires thinking big and "audaciously carving out space in increasingly rightwing times to make the progressive case and head off the left's potential fragmentation". Hutton argues that Keir Starmer's Labour needs to cut out the unforced errors and own the future, because without forward motion, he writes, "government dies". Click here for to read the full piece → "The enemy of nonsense" – George Orwell Also in The Observer The battle for the soul of Taiwan In spring 2014, a group of young political activists occupied the floor of Taiwan's legislature. If something similar had happened in Beijing in 1989, or Hong Kong in 2019, the activists would have been jailed. But they were acquitted, because Taiwan is a different beast. Rana Mitter writes a review of Ghost Nation, a book that tracks the story of the island. It argues that its shift from "an authoritarian state abusive of human rights to one of the most liberal societies in the world" didn't happen by accident, but "because of the self-sacrificing acts of democracy activists". It's this shift that has made Taiwan a powerful challenge to China today. Click here to read more → Even the brightest stars are mortal by Rory Smith       Yesterday the usual transfer rumour mills and action in the Club World Cup suddenly became unimportant. The death of footballer Diogo Jota and his brother in a car crash in Spain brought the sport to a halt. Jota had got married two weeks earlier, he had three young children and he was just 28. Rory Smith pens a beautiful piece. It is the story not only of the man Jota was, but of the lasting impact he will have on the city of Liverpool, the club and fans the world over. Click here to read more → Musk and co should ask an AI what defines intelligence by John Naughton       The Dunning-Kruger effect is a term used frequently in viral posts. It is an in-joke among the educated, or at least casually aware. It was coined in 1999 and refers to a cognitive bias in which individuals with low ability in a specific area overestimate their skills and knowledge. John Naughton argues that Elon Musk and Sam Altman are prime examples of the phenomenon, especially when it comes to AI. Is their evangelical boosting just a marketing stunt, or do they actually believe this stuff? Experimenting with a large language model, Naughton asks what the "intelligence" in "artificial intelligence" actually means. Its answer is revealing. Click here to read more → The hot commies are coming to save summer by Róisín Lanigan       Collectivism is sexy again, according to Róisín Lanigan, and it's all thanks to Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic candidate for New York City mayor. Lanigan writes how even the left leaning youth in the UK have been inspired by what's happening in the Big Apple, and why that's impacting pop culture. "The heatwave has broken, the rain is back, the politics are tedious and nobody's even allowed to enjoy festivals any more. Give us the hot commie summer we deserve."   Click here to read more → Listen Daily Sensemaker What happened in the Sean 'Diddy' Combs trial? The eight-week trial has concluded and the former media mogul has been found guilty of two federal charges and is now facing time in prison     Click here to listen → Thanks for reading. We'll be back on Monday.   Xavier Greenwood Senior editor, newsletters The Observer Brad Gray Production editor, newsletters The Observer   My Account To manage your newsletters, track tickets and more, go to the 'My account' page on the Observer website: Manage my newsletters Follow Follow The Observer on social media on your preferred platform:   The Observer     The Observer Food Monthly The Observer Magazine The Observer New Review   Listen Listen for free in the Tortoise app or wherever you get your podcasts: Want to change how you receive these emails? Update email preferences Copyright © 2025 Tortoise Media. All rights reserved. Did this email get caught in your spam filter? Add editor@newsroom.tortoisemedia.com to your address book to never miss an email again. No longer want to receive this newsletter? Unsubscribe here.