We woke up to news of US airstrikes on Iran. Operation 'Midnight Hammer' was later outlined in a press conference at the Pentagon as an 'overwhelming success'. Trump's actions were commended as 'bold and brilliant', and soldiers were called 'warriors'. God was invoked several times. Watching from London, I couldn't help but remember Brian Massumi's analysis of speeches by Ronald Reagan, and the way the content of Reagan's speeches mattered less than the way affect was 'modulated' on screen. Today, affect was heavily 'modulated' with word choice, repetitive gestures, and an absurd performance of stature and power.

The longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere passed by in a blur of heat. This weekend, London faced its first amber heat warning from the Met Office since 2023. At Loughborough Junction in South London yesterday, passengers were forced to wait in overcrowded, boiling train cars for up to two hours, and ultimately to walk along the hot train tracks to evacuate between stations. The dry, brittle grass of Hackney Downs was dotted with sunbathers but many people also hurried across, not willing to stop at the height of noon.