62 Comments
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Andrew Lane's avatar

Thank God for courageous women !

Willy & Bill's avatar

Carole,

Just wanted to say a huge congratulations. The Nerve is exactly what the media world has been crying out for. Journalism with guts, wit, and absolutely no billionaire leash attached.

We cover the news in our own way. Half outrage, half comedy, occasionally powered by caffeine and disbelief. But you cover it in a way that actually changes things. It is fearless, forensic, and often very funny, which is no small feat when your subjects include Tony Blair (Satan's little helper), a man who seems to collect defence contracts the way most of us collect mugs.

And of course there is Larry Ellison and Rupert Murdoch, the Batman and Robin of billionaire influence, now apparently adding TikTok to their midlife crisis portfolios. Only you could turn that unholy alliance into must-read journalism.

Honestly, thank you. Independent, principled, and gloriously chaotic in the best way. The fact that it is an all-women powerhouse makes it even sweeter.

So here is to The Nerve. May it keep growing, keep stinging, and keep making the powerful very uncomfortable. We are all cheering you on from the sidelines, with love, laughter, and just enough sarcasm to stay sane.

Willy & Bill

TikTok - Algorithmic Failure Meets Statutory Breach - Oh and do check out this!

https://satiricalplanet.substack.com/p/mandatory-enforcement-and-systemic

Carole Cadwalladr's avatar

Ah! What a beautiful reply. Thank you so much! Independent, principled & gloriously chaotic’ just about sums it up. Thank you!

Kiwi Rebel's avatar

Carol, I’m so pleased that you and your powerful women friends have taken this on – for all of us – for the world!

Jon Notabot's avatar

This is the best news I've heard in years. Looking forward to everything the Nerve will bring that our crime syndicate-owned media would prefer to bury. Thank you for true courage, for determination and a tenacity for finding fact.

Elizabeth Laino's avatar

Fantastic! Am just a humble reader but a long time admirer of your work Carole. Please go after Farage and Co with all your might. Our the mainstreams to shame.

Richard Madden's avatar

Many, many congratulations, Carole and team. You have the Nerve. You have the Verve! Xx

Carole Cadwalladr's avatar

Thanks so much, Richard! Xx

Pat Sidley's avatar

Aside from wanting to know what it will cost (another broke journalist) I think it's a wonderful thing and hope it lasts . I had to stop reading even the free pages of the Guardian when it began blotting out the first story with bright yellow to get me to pay! My first job was as a secretary at the Guardian. I was 21 and South African. I always loved it and when I got home subscribed to the weekly . I still think it would be among the few left doing a reasonable job. But from when I started as journalist for the Rand Daily Mail which died about a year after I started I have seen by dozens and dozens die and online too. I know why. I'm still steeped in the industry. I do hope yours works . What is the minimum I would have to pay to read it.

Carole Cadwalladr's avatar

Hey Pat, thanks for that & hear you. It’s free to read. We are launching with a membership model whereby paying for it will bring membership and community benefits which will bring readers closer…

Pat Sidley's avatar

I am so unfamiliar with Substack that I have no idea of where to find it. So please can you help

Pat Sidley's avatar

Thanks for the note. Somehow I am getting a lot of notices that I'm subscribed and paying. I can't afford that but I like a lot of what I read.

The Annihilated Truth's avatar

Congratulations on the new (ad)venture! Looking forward to reading the best of what The Guardian used to offer. Nice that it's mostly women in a world where female voices are being smothered. Keep on investigating, please!

Elisabeth N-G Elmquist's avatar

Congratulations and have admired your work for some time

H Dhinsa's avatar

Never underestimate the power of a few good women.

Suzeworld's avatar

Yep. I am another one, cancelling my Grauniad sub and sending the money to you instead. We need you.

Schmargaret's avatar

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. I just subscribed as a founding member. Much less than the NYT subscription I canceled long ago.

Carole Cadwalladr's avatar

Ah! Thank you so much. What a vote of confidence 💪💪💪.

J Scott Christianson's avatar

Nice. Just subscribed. Keep up the great work.

mredmagnus's avatar

The Hedge Fund Blackshirts

The studio breathes. Red lights pulse

like arteries. In makeup chairs,

the guests calibrate their anger—

each soundbite a measured dose.

“Are we rolling?” The floor manager

nods. History begins recording.

The autocue scrolls its scripture:

Your heritage. Under attack.

Behind the cameras, capital flows

through fibre optic veins—algorithms

pumping fury frame by frame,

each pixel a viral particle.

The host adjusts his tie. “Now then.”

His smile could cut glass. “You mentioned

the problem with this country…”

The guest’s eyes narrow to slits.

“I mentioned nothing.”

“Nothing?”

“Nothing that matters.”

Silence. The studio holds its breath.

Commercial break. The klieg lights dim

but never die. In the green room,

donors sip champagne from crystal flutes

while the country rots.

The old baronet’s ghost shadows the lens,

his uniform tailored into pinstripes now,

his jackboots now Bloomberg terminals

clicking orders in tribal hate.

“Five seconds.” The cameras wake.

The host leans in like a confessor:

“What would you say to viewers

who think you’ve gone too far?”

“Too far from what?” The guest’s voice

is velvet wrapped around a blade.

“From the truth? From what we owe

our children.” His hands fold like benediction.

The teleprompter scrolls. The viewers

lean closer to their screens, hypnotised

by the drumbeat of curated rage

broadcast live from Studio B.

In the server room, the machines

hum their binary lullabies—

ones and zeros spawning the future

while democracy sleeps in code.

The revolution wears a suit now.

It speaks in quarterly reports.

It marches through the feeds

in formation, vote by vote.

Graham Landi's avatar

What joyous news for a Monday

Cella's avatar

Thank you