The big stories, calmly explained

What you get

Twice a week, one story that matters, explained in about ten minutes: what happened, why it matters, and the bigger picture. Then four very different thinkers read the same story, so you can see the argument rather than just one side of it.

We close with what it might mean for everyday costs, what to watch next, a short glossary and one question to think about. Every fact is dated and linked at the end.

How we work

1. Facts first, and dated.Every figure names its source and its date. If a number may change, we say when we will check it again.
2. Views are labelled as views.The Four Lenses are the named thinkers’ opinions, set against data or official counterpoints.
3. Non-partisan.We explain arguments from across the spectrum; we don’t campaign.
4. Never financial advice.We explain what moves prices and costs. We never tell you what to buy, sell or hold.
5. Corrections in the open.If we get something wrong we fix it and say so at the foot of the piece.

The Four Lenses

Luke Gromen (money and markets), Ray Dalio (big historical cycles), Robert Pape (war and escalation) and Multipolarity (a multipolar-world view, mainly co-host Philip Pilkington). They often disagree, and that is the point. Some weeks a lens has nothing to say about a story, and we say so rather than stretch it.

Who writes it

Big Picture Brief is written and edited by Peter Spence, in East Sussex.

Contact

Write to [email protected] or find us as @thebigpicbrief on X, Instagram and TikTok.