This submission is made up of two short essays linked by a chain of thinking that becomes evident as their stories unfold. The first reflects contemporary events against an interpretation of history Michel Foucault started to develop in the last few years of his life. That view is itself reflected against events of the not-too-distant past in the context of strategic leadership of a global enterprise with deep UK roots. The second is a reflection on those reflections. It ponders what the first and second drafts of history have to say about the nature of news and social science research, and how we tell such stories
