Welcome to Lines To Take
What is the value of a daily newsletter when you can just head to the BBC, skim your newspaper of choice or ask ChatGPT?
If you only have time for one subscription in your life, please make that a paper. For one thing, this newsletter would not exist without them. But many readers have generously told me they find something here they don’t get elsewhere: a voice, a point of view and the willingness to go deep on one thing rather than shallow on everything.
Lines To Take brings you analysis of one big story of the day, every day. By which I mean weekday. And by big story, that might mean anything from the Budget unravelling to the rise and the history of the balance of payments to what it’s like to go horribly, horribly viral. The subject changes. The standard doesn’t.
Who am I? I’m Jack Kessler. Before going independent, I spent three years as a policy advisor at HM Treasury and worked in Parliament. I then wrote West End Final, a daily newsletter that won awards and reached 100,000 subscribers. I’m not neutral — no one writing a daily column really is. I believe in institutions, human rights, economic rigour, and the occasional Roger Federer reference. But I try to be honest about what I think and why.
Where to start:
What it’s like to go horribly, horribly viral — the most-read edition
The history of the balance of payments — the kind of thing no one else writes about
Now We Are One — a year on Substack, and what I’ve learned
Free subscribers get one edition a week
Paid subscribers get all five editions, plus audio versions, the ability to comment, direct access to me. If you find it valuable, it’s the best way to keep it going.
Thanks for stopping by — Jack
What it's like to go horribly, horribly viral
Tony Hsieh, the former chief executive of Zappos and fabled internet entrepreneur, was known for his killer job interview questions. One in particular struck a chord with me. Hsieh would ask candidates to name the biggest misperception that others had about them.
Whatever happened to the balance of payments?
Uncollected rubbish piling up in the streets, NHS workers blockading hospital entrances and, most famously of all, the bereaved being forced to grab their own shovels as the gravediggers walked out. The Winter of Discontent of late 1978 to early 1979 shone a blinding light on excessive trade union power in Brita…
The EU is a US success story
“The European Union was formed in order to screw the United States. That’s the purpose of it. They have done a good job of it, but now I am president.”
A walk on the coast
First things first, you’ll have to get yourself down to Brighton. In summer, feel free to take your sweet time. Sip a coffee on the balcony, browse the FT Weekend. If we’re talking daylight savings, good for you! Still, you’ve got to be quick. It may only be an hour on the train from London Bridge, but the sun is alre…
American Paradox
Perhaps it is because I spent last night compiling old bank statements for my US tax return, or because I awoke to images of the president making threats against his political opponents in front of serving military officers. Either way, I’ve been thinking a lot about America recently. My guess is that you have been too.
