Each Monday, Alister and Meridyth deliver quick news and interesting stories from the past week to prepare you for the “water cooler” banter, while also squabbling over a topical issue.
Alister is your classic Labour champion with a “dad joke” like humour. Meridyth (an American expat) brings a transatlantic, moderate take with eye-rolling groans.
ALISTER: Hear about the euthanasia clinic in trouble because of the cereal they serve? MERIDYTH: No? What was wrong with it? ALISTER: It was Cheerios. MERIDYTH: 🙄
ALISTER: The far-right had their biggest showing in London a couple of weekends ago. They’re claiming it to be a massive showing, but at only 110,000 marchers, seriously? It’s all much ado about nothing. Reform's polling might be impressive but at maybe 35% support at most, two-thirds of the country still disagrees. The media needs to stop giving them air time.
MERIDYTH: Ummm… you can’t simply dismiss 35% of the population, especially when they’re quickly gaining traction. Farage claims that Reform membership has quadrupled in the past year. You have to take this seriously.
ALISTER: But it's still a minority. The real issue is that we keep giving these grifters the oxygen of publicity. Every headline, every TV slot legitimises their message. If we treat them like the fringe they are, instead of indulging them as “the voice of the people,” their momentum would stall.
MERIDYTH: That’s wishful thinking. Ignoring them doesn’t make the issues go away. People on both sides are angry about immigration, housing, and wages. And with the rise of Reform’s voice, some are even saying that Labour is moving more right on these topics.
ALISTER: And that’s the trap. Mainstream parties, like Labour, chasing Reform’s talking points only drags the whole debate further right. Better to starve them of attention than let them dictate the agenda.
MERIDYTH: But they’re tapping into underlying frustrations. This is what happened in America and other European nations. Don’t be so naive to think that there won’t be a shift like that here. You’d better buckle up!
🚁 What’s that nuisance? Apart from noisy helicopters, Trump’s 2nd state visit brought a £150bn US investment pledge and a tech deal across AI, nuclear power, and data centres - a win for business. But there’s still no relief on steel tariffs, pharma is still wary, and half of Britons felt the visit brought little value.
🇵🇸 Commonwealth, common stand. The UK, Canada, and Australia have formally recognised Palestinian statehood, supporting a peaceful two-state solution, while ruling out Hamas. Israel and the US argue it “rewards terrorism,” but with France and others likely to follow, pressure on Israel is mounting ahead of the UN General Assembly.
🛬 Flight delays. A service provider for several major European airports has been hit with a cyber-attack. Heathrow Airport has been forced to cancel or delay countless flights. Electronic check-in and bag drop off have been impacted, but BA avoided most of the pain with their own in-house backup system.
📚 Move over Oxbridge! Both Oxford and Cambridge are now out of the Top 3 of UK university rankings. LSE, Univ of St Andrews, and Durham University are now the countries best schools! Time to rethink academic goals for your kids.
⚖️ Prison pills. The voluntary chemical castration pilot is being expanded to 20 prisons, giving 6,400 sex offenders drugs to dampen urges alongside therapy. Justice Secretary Lammy touts early success, but critics warn about ethics and consent, and whether “voluntary” will stay that way under prison reform pressure.
GOOD NEWS… for Americans sharing random TikTok stories through dance choreography, after Trump announced a new deal with China for the social media’s US operations. BAD NEWS… for those who want a work transfer to the US, after Trump announced that companies will now have to pay $100,000 per worker, per year for skilled foreign worker visas.
✝️ Papal pay gap. Pope Leo XIV warned “we’re in big trouble” over soaring inequality, speaking out against CEO pay ratios of 600:1 and Elon Musk’s proposed trillion-dollar package.
🚀 “Spaaaace”. A new report has raised concerns that China’s space program is not only catching up with the US, but it’ll overtake the States in the next five to ten years. Currently only SpaceX is keeping the US ahead in terms of active launches.
🎤 Eurovision boycott threat. Austria is urging nations not to boycott the 2026 contest in Vienna over Israel’s participation. Spain, Ireland, Slovenia, Iceland, and the Netherlands have threatened to withdraw over Gaza. Austria insists Eurovision must stay about music, not politics. Israel’s fate is decided in December.
An endangered bonobo, a primate which is the closest living relative to humans, has given birth at Twycross Zoo in Leicestershire! Share your ideas for a name while you share The AM Squabble!
🚿 My dark desires. Dark showering isn’t some edgy gothic version of personal hygiene. Showering in total darkness works like sensory deprivation. The idea: switch off your senses, switch off your brain, and ease into sleep.
💊 D2 vs D3. A study suggests vitamin D2 supplements may actually suppress your body’s natural D3 production, which is the type we get from sunlight and what our bodies need the most. So choose wisely.
🚬 Life threatening munchies. Data from 4m adults shows cannabis users face four times the risk of type 2 diabetes. While the link is likely due to lifestyle similarities and not the drug directly, more research is needed.
👀 Drop the granny specs. Scientists say new eye drops could help aging people ditch their reading glasses. In trials, patients read two to three extra lines on a eyechart, with effects lasting up to two years. Still in the study phase, but it’s promising.
🍻 Drinking buddies. Wild chimpanzees are knocking back the fruit equivalent of a half-pint a day. The ripened fruit ferments naturally, producing alcohol, leading researchers to consider this might be how humans first learned to drink. Evolution with a hangover.
🚽 Another toilet article. Welcome the the future! A public restroom in China will only provide toilet paper after you watch an advert! Is this the cost cutting of the future or just taking the piss?
🤖 AI becoming human? ChatGPT 4.5 just passed the Turing Test, tricking 73% of people into thinking it was human. Alan Turing predicted this 75 years ago, but passing doesn’t prove AI can “think.” It just shows machines can mimic us so well, we can’t tell the difference. Where is our world headed towards?!?! 🤯
By Meridyth
When I moved to London from NYC 10 years ago, I was almost run over (quite a few times) by cars at junctions. I quickly learned that in the UK, vehicles had the right of way, which I thought was bonkers!
But in 2022, the country finally agreed with me and updated The Highway Code. Unfortunately, 3 years on, very few seem to be aware - not drivers and certainly not the cyclist, who yelled at me last week for not yielding to him.
So I’m here to set the record straight… Pedestrians have the right of way, first and foremost. We are at the top of the traffic chain. Next time a cyclist shouts or a car honks at you while crossing the road, take comfort in knowing that you’re in the right. (And if you’re a cyclist or car owner, take note!)
By Meridyth
It’s the ongoing battle between To Recline or Not To Recline when flying… And this mother says, definitely not, especially when you have an empty seat next to you.
@matildanorton Hear me out.. he had an empty seat next to him. He could have moved over and put the other seat back.. where they was no baby behind him. ... See more
While I tend to not recline (unless it’s a long haul flight) and empathise with the mother, I can’t help but wonder… why wouldn’t she just swap seats with her toddler in the middle seat? 🤔
Whew, you made it!
Strictly Come Dancing has started again, an hour in and we were wondering when the dancing would begin… Be sure to join us next week for another Squabble, aren’t you glad we start with what we promise?
Alister & Meridyth