This is the first edition of what I’m tentatively calling ‘The United Report’.

The intention is to curate a collection of writing, audio and video – mostly in relation to cultural, social and political issues as they pertain to the United Kingdom and the United States of America.

I’ve been thinking a bit about class structures, and I’ve been running various searches online this morning.

I’ve discovered that there are fewer classes in the US than the UK, even though one might expect the opposite, given the relative size and population of the two countries.

The scale between the two countries never ceases to amaze me. For some basic context, the population of the UK stands at about 68 million, with a land mass of roughly 244,000 square kilometers.

The population of the US is estimated to be around 340 million (about 5x more than the UK), whilst its land mass is 9.1 million square kilometres (about 37x more than the UK).

The population of Texas alone is about 30 million – and that single state is bigger than the UK.

Though, I did learn a few things about my local borough here in London just yesterday. It’s relatively green around here; we are very much on the urban/suburban border. Not quite rural countryside, but there’s plenty of green space here.

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One of the reasons I’ve been thinking about class is in the context of sport. In England, our women’s football team have taken the nation on a roller-coaster over these last couple of weeks. In defending their title and winning, for the second time in a row (it’s worth repeating that for emphasis), they have broken all kinds of records.

Many of the players in the starting-11 and wider squad come from towns and cities in the middle and north of England:

image via The Sunday Times newspaper, 27th July 2025

I couldn’t help but think of the so called “middle class” vs the “working class” and, that of the divide between the “South” and the “North” of England.

I think of the same divide between the cities and the country in the US.

And I remember well-meaning folks I’d met in Fort Worth, Texas, warning me that"them folks are different out there", when I was on my way to visit friends out in the country. (I spent time in Gilmer and Pittsburg; the latter of which is to be found in Camp County and has an area of less than 4 square miles, and a population of less than 5000).

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When it comes to higher education, the (air-quote-marks) “aspirational thing” in society and, indeed, to rise up the class ladder – has been to go to University.

This was helped along by Tony Blair’s message of ‘Education, education, education’. The reality now is that University presents a significant debt for one to get into, with no promise of a job afterwards – let alone a job in the same industry or, indeed, one that will lift you up the socio-economic ladder. Combine that with inflation, the rising cost of rent and living in (university) cities, I find myself asking:

Is the deeply-held view that attending University is “the aspirational ideal” and synonymous with rising up aforementioned class ladder (whilst pursuing a trade or an apprenticeship is often considered “lesser”), a helpful one?

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As we have become more individualistic as time has gone on (see Richard Layard’s work, below), pursuing wealth and measuring national success by GDP, with widening gap between rich and poor in the US, UK and much of the world… we have to take stock and think, does the class system serve us, the majority?

How about a unifying CITIZEN class, instead?

One that sees northerner and southerner, university-goer and trade-school-goer, city dweller and country-bumpkin as equals.

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The reality is that the majority of us do not own £10 million in wealth, or even £5 million in wealth.

At the time of writing this Perplexity AI, drawing upon sources including The Sunday Times Rich List, tells us that around 1 in 350 UK adults is worth £10 million or more; that’s ~0.28% of the population, or less than a third of a per cent.

Roughly 1 in 100 UK adults could be worth £5 million or more.

I am increasingly wondering whether the class system actually benefits us.

And, indeed, if it possible to be aspirational, hard-working, and make a contribution to our local communities – beyond wealth – that is meaningful and lasting.

Richard Layard certainly thinks so. His was one of the books that inspired me to pursue a Masters in the field of Positive Psychology, or “human flourishing” back in 2015.

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I am increasingly of the view that there is a way to create good wellbeing outcomes and sustain ourselves, independently and as communities, financially.

Looking around at the state of the UK right now, the current model isn’t working.

I suppose the grand old question is “well, what’s the answer then?".

I am hopeful that, collectively, we can figure out the answers.

In fact, I’m quite sure of it.

Jazz.

July 29th 2025 ~ at the England Women’s homecoming celebration, St. James’s Park

The evening after the night before, I’m still reconciling exactly what this England team has done over this last fortnight.

They lost their very first match to France and have, since then, found their form – and built momentum – as the tournament progressed.

In their Quarter Final and Semi Final matches they went behind. In the midst of the ecstasy of those wins, their post-match interviews were measured and honest. In interviews with Lucy Bronze, Leah Williamson and Chloe Kelly, the tone was “we’re strong, we’re resilient, we know aren’t starting games in the best way, but we’re finding a way”.

Some of these individual stories have been remarkable.

Hannah Hampton being one of them. Her story and her performances through out the tournament, especially in these last three matches (two of which have gone to penalties), have been crucial. She she been a worthy replacement to her predecessor, Mary Earps.

Leah Williamson, who I’ve mentioned already, is another. I remember watching the live TV images of Leah Williamson and Billie Jean King chatting away, with passion and with focus, in the Royal Box during one of the Wimbledon Finals. I got goosebumps then, and I can’t help but wonder what words these two sporting powerhouses exchanged between them that day. (If you search their two names online, there are plenty of pictures and posts referencing this meeting of theirs).

And then there’s Lucy Bronze. Where to start? She has led by example from the back, running up and down the field from start to finish of every match, including these last 3 matches that have all gone beyond the 90 minutes. She revealed something yesterday that stopped me in my tracks:

“No one knew… but I broke my fibia before the tournament”.

Chloe Kelly, England’s heroine when they won their first major trophy, has seen herself frozen out of the Manchester City team in recent months. She created a move for herself to Arsenal, who won the Champions League this year. Last week, she celebrated the one-year anniversary of her marriage, calling it in a social media post “the happiest day of my life”. In an interview with The Times last year in which she opened up further on her wedding, saying:

“We’re in one room with everyone that you want to be there. I was more nervous than putting the ball in the back of the net against Germany. It doesn’t make sense.”

Coming off the bench yesterday, she created the equaliser that Alessia Russo beautifully rose for and headed into the net. Her words after the game?

“I knew I was going to score… I don’t miss two in a row!" She was referring to the penalty she initially have saved in extra time, before scoring with the re-bound, in the Semi Final against Italy.

I also think of Maya Le Tissier who, whilst is a rising star, had set up a WhatsApp group for the Euros tournament back in 2022 to celebrate images of their celebrations.

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‘Clicking’ celebrations & group chats - how England are bonding, via BBC Sport

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Something else I’ve noticed about this England team in an article I was reading in yesterday’s Times was many come from the middle and the north of the country, from rural towns and working class backgrounds. A marked difference from the backgrounds of those who find themselves playing sports like rugby and tennis, for example.

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This England team are the first women’s team to win back-to-back Euro tournaments, and the first English side to win a major trophy.

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I was heartened to see mentions of the love of wearing the English shirt, and the patriotism that shone through.

I find myself wondering how Thomas Tuchel and the England men’s team can feed off of this.

I think back to London 2012, the Olympics that saw a record medal haul, with investment being pumped into several sports following medal success. I think of Andy Murray who, up until that point, hadn’t won a Grand Slam. Beating Roger Federer in the Final in front of a home British crowd, he went on to win his first Grand Slam at the US Open a few weeks later, then won Wimbledon the following year (the first Men’s champions since Fred Perry in 1936), and went on to lift the Wimbledon trophy a second time, three years later.

There is much for the men to take from the example set by Lionesses' manager Sarina Wiegmann and what these players have achieved. Observing the post-match reactions on the pitch by the players and the coaching staff, morale is high (understandably) and, less obviously but more importantly (I would argue), the culture that has been created is strong.

I find myself thinking of the US women’s football team, and indeed of Mexico where the women’s football league there is one of the fast-growing in the world.

My Manchester United membership gets me a 1/3 off of women’s matches. I’m already casting my eye ahead to matches at Leigh Sports Village – and the likes of Maya Le Tissier, Grace Clinton (who came on as a substitute yesterday), Ella Toone and co.

And in London, you can watch 4 high-quality women’s matches at Chelsea’s iconic Stamford Bridge for as little as £55 with The Bridge Pass – including a fixture with newly-promoted side London City Lionesses.

The future of women’s football in the UK, and in England, is strong. I am looking forward to being a part of the story of the Lionesses and their counterparts, the Lions, over the months ahead and the years to come.

With the Women’s Super League growing year-on-year, there has never been a more exciting time for women’s football in England.

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“I’m really proud to be English right now, and I’m proud to be part of an amazing group of girls."

– Chloe Kelly, post-final press conference (via BBC Sport)

“U-n-i-t-e-d, United are the team for me…”

A crowd chant that can be heard up in the terraces of many football stadiums here in the UK.

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A couple of years ago, a friend invited me along to join her at an event at the London HQ for Tortoise Media (isn’t that a great name?).

Positioning themselves as an organisation in support of ‘slow journalism’, I was intrigued.

It actually took me 3 tried to successfully experience a Tortoise event; not the most exciting story in the world, but the short version is… the first event cancelled last minute, the second time I got lost (I was in one of my no-smartphone phases and, as has often been the case without the help of Googlemaps, I got lost going to the venue); at the third time of asking, I made it to a panel event in Manchester with Andy Burnham MP, Mayor of Great Manchester.

Tortoise was, at that time of that Manchester event, known to have been in talks re: a potential takeover/merger; it has now merged with The Observer newspaper.

At the time at which they were running as an independent entity (I have not been following them of late), they were a good example of a crowd-sourced project with high quality, long-form journalism at their core:

Do they carry a bias?

Of course.

Are they invested in certain outside interests?

Unfortunately, with The Observer deal, yes.

Still, I like what they stand for as it pertains to longer- and slower-form journalism.

We really, really need that 🐢

Somewhere between bookending by busy commute with free daily newspapers and realising that the “news” is quite negative / heavy, that many of CNN’s ‘key election alerts’ during the US election coverage really wasn’t that significant, and generally observing the emotional-levers-slash-click-tactics that news outlets are now resorting to… I realised that daily news is a LOT to consume — and that it’s difficult to discern what can be trusted and what is (or isn’t) to quote the US president, “fake news”.

Whether it’s the Pew Research ‘Political Typology Quiz’ or the UK’s newly-created Common Good one; btw, British folks who are reading this, I’d like to know which one you are. I’m a DD — and a couple of friends of mine are, too. You?

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A confession to make here…

I have occupied just about every position there is on the ‘political spectrum’.

I find this not altogether surprising (the ‘echo chamber’ effect is real, let me tell you — I believe it goes a long way to explaining why friends and family members in the US have stopped speaking to one another over differences in political opinion — it still seems maddening to think about that…

Whilst my political identity may have changed (aka: taken time to form more fully), I find it interesting that my Myers-Briggs personality type hasn’t changed at all in the last 15 years. I am, apparently, a solid INFP / mediator personality type.

Whilst we must be careful with labels, in using them to divide us and separate (collectively) and diminish us (individually), the description still describes me pretty accurately.

My forthcoming second book, The INFP Writer, will talk more about that. I’ll share more with you over the coming weeks.

In other words I am a dreamer, an idealist, who is learning to balance that with a healthy dose of realism.

I am firm in my convictions, yet endlessly curious about the world around me — and the people in it. I am always learning.

At different times in my life, I’ve considered myself a Republican, a Democrat, a leftist, a conservative, a liberal, etc etc

As polarisation has ramped up, and my curiosity has remained, I’ve found myself sort of… middling. Yup, as boring as it sounds, sat on the fence. Or, probably, a little to the right of the fence, depending on who you ask (or the media you consume).

A few years ago, I might’ve been described as a “liberal with some conservative values”, and these days I’ve become somewhat… “conservative with some liberal values”. Quite the almighty leap, eh?

You see, the poles of ‘left’ and ‘right’ seem to have moved so far apart that, if I were to read some of what I read online, I might be considered “far right”. And, in previous years, “far left”.

These labels in and of themselves are as dangerous as they are divisive.

A divided nation, like a divided community, a divided school or a divided household, is an unstable and unhappy one — one that isn’t rooted in a sense of psychological safety in themselves, and connectedness with the parents, the siblings, the neighbours and the communities around us.

What on earth has happened to ‘love thy neighbour’?

In the parts of London I’ve spent time in in the last few weeks (central, west, southwest), I’ve seen people enjoying the sunshine. Being kind to one another on public transport and in public spaces. Being open, a communicative. Increasingly, I’m noticing, talking about feelings.

(This, reflected in the new Jurassic Park film I watched with my dad recently).

Community spirit is there.

It’s only when I open the papers, or switch on the news in the evening, that I am confronted with the sense of fear and dread, of “us” against “them”.

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A lifelong conclusion

Following the many, many conversations I’ve had over the years with British folks (I’ve been here my whole life), and Americans too (I’ve spent more than 6 months in the US over various trips, across several states, cities & suburbs — from New York and San Francisco to rural parts of Wisconsin and Texas), the overwhelming conclusion I’ve come to having been in all of these places is this:

There is more we agree upon — more that we share in common — than that which separates us.

Let me tell you, being polarised and divided and emotive against one another, does NOT serve the 99% of us.

This brings me back to the title of this article. It is why I’m opting, instead, for a 7/52 news cycle at best… over the 24/7 one.

In other words, more thoughtful and slow consumption of daily and weekly news, rather than constantly trying to take it all in, all at once, interrupting my day.

I’ve realised that constant consumption of news actually skews my perception of reality, of humanity, of truth.

Rather than spend hours cooped up indoors, isolating ourselves from one another — literally — by being glued to the internet (the pandemic has contributed significantly to the sense of isolation, fear and divide in the world), I will continue to go out and BE IN the world.

Watch this space.

And here’s to creating more space in our lives. We don’t need any more stress. If anything, we need to lighten our cognitive loads rather than add to it.

A big, collective, mindful pause.

But not a “one and done”. If I know what’s good for me, this will be ‘integrating it into my daily life’ kind of collective pause.

Here’s to a slower future,

Jazz.

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i’ve been writing on the internet for more than 10 years, i’m still figuring things out, but i’m choosing to create + consume things, slowly… 🐌

📷 May 2025: Attending a rodeo with my parents at the Cowtown Coliseum. This photo was taken shortly before the crowd stood, in unison, for the national anthem.