In 2012 I stepped down from a lectureship-level role and spent 18 months stuck, never once considering leaving academia. Strong academic identity makes exit unthinkable. But if you can't leave, staying is a default, not a choice. Universities can make it an active decision.

ARPA vs NSF: directed 'pins' vs curiosity-led 'gradients' - the two most-copied research funding models in history. We can't predict the next Pasteur. But we can stop funding the next Red Balloon. UKRI bucket 2 isn't wrong - but redirecting talent without bounding the downside isn't strategy.

Is academic research a sport, a business, or a commons? As UK universities face unprecedented financial strain, we confront an uncomfortable truth: the sector is simply too large for the available funding. We've passed the 'Szilard point' - and it’s time to manage the market reality.

When evaluating a "portfolio-of-one," the attempt to use standard metrics isn't rigour, it’s category error. From promotions panels to VC offices, our obsession with defensible metric counting often masks the very potential we claim to be seeking.

"University isn't worth it?" Applying a corporate valuation model to UK HE reveals a £13bn asset - more than Man Utd & City combined. It’s time to stop managing universities like charities and start valuing them as sovereign utilities.