Christine Harold
@christinescreen.bsky.social
UW Communication professor | Scholar of rhetoric, the politics of aesthetics, and consumerism | Author of OURSPACE and THINGS WORTH KEEPING | Mother of Dragons | Seattle | https://christineharold.com | Opinions, good and bad, my own.
Why do sons-in-law keep ending up at the center of power? From Ottoman damats to Kushner to Orbán’s Tiborcz. This week @baykurt.bsky.social and I on in-law power, nepotism, and what Hungary just told us. Subscribe! Episode + newsletter: open.substack.com/pub/itallhap... #Hungary #democracy
The Son-in-Law Problem
What Hungary's election, Jared Kushner's fund, and two Turkish damats tell us about the shape of autocratic rot
open.substack.com
New here: cultural critic and pop music writer with a new book, Punk in 50 Pieces, out in the fall (Sept. 8, HarperCollins). Where are my people at? Let’s talk about failure and imposter syndrome and all manner of jollity!
I just listened to an inspiring presentation by @lollardfish.bsky.social. I’m very much looking forward to his forthcoming book, The Public Scholar, out in April. 📚 #AcademicSky
The Public Scholar
A Practical Handbook
press.jhu.edu
“Beware—the Nerves!” Ukraine, 1975 Artist: Yevhen Syvokin Full video: dai.ly/x8js0lh
I just had to take a photo of this picnic table which as an incredible inclusive design that's useable for adults, young children, and folks using wheelchairs. We need to look at redesigning our public spaces and amenities so that they include everyone in little ways and big ways.
Pranksters vs. autocrats, for the win! Right now, you can download a free copy of this book from the Cornell University Press website: www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/9781501... Many thanks to @cornellupress.bsky.social
Pranksters vs. Autocrats by Srdja Popovic and Sophia A. McClennen | eBook | Cornell University Press
The Lawrence and Lynne Brown Democracy Medal, presented by the McCourtney Institute for Democracy at Penn State, recognizes outstanding individuals, groups, and organizations that produce innovations....
cornellpress.cornell.edu
"We are witnessing the dismantling of a system that once made space for pure curiosity. But if we lose our commitment to basic research, we risk stalling the very engine of innovation that has propelled us forward for generations." www.chronicle.com/article/in-d...
In Defense of ‘Silly’ Science
Basic research and the value of curiosity.
chronicle.com
Clip from “Chromophobia,” by Raul Servais (1966). On reclaiming creativity and hope from those who aim to drain it from you. Via @an.i.mat.tion (IG)
Lewelyn Dixon has been released! The University of Washington lab technician was held in ICE custody since Feb. 28.
Judge orders release of UW lab tech from ICE custody
An immigration judge ordered Lewelyn Dixon's release from ICE custody on Thursday.
king5.com
“Welcome, members of the Class of 2025… from down the street, across the country, and around the world. Around the world, just as it should be.”
NBC News@nbcnews.com · last yr.Harvard president receives standing ovation during commencement.
22 years ago I pivoted from working on antibiotic resistance to pandemic viruses. Since then, I've argued that if we care about saving US lives in expectation, advance capacity for producing bird flu vaccine offers by far the greatest expected return on investment. ... We were so goddamn close.
Trump administration cancels plans to develop a bird flu vaccine
The Department of Health and Human Services is ending a $766 million contract with the vaccine company Moderna to develop an mRNA vaccine for flu strains with pandemic potential, including bird flu.
npr.org
Today, we received notice that our team’s last remaining NSF grant was terminated. For the first time since 2009, when I received an NSF Fellowship for Graduate Research, I have no active NSF grants.
Although fair use exceptions to copyright include satire, Conan O’Brien was denied fair use of both the melody and lyrics to the Sound of Music when his new travel show went to Salzburg. His response:
On the “tragedy of the commons” as an alibi for the privatization of our common wealth. 🙏🏼 @theforestjar.bsky.social
Harvard launches FREE, self-paced courses focused on democratic principles, understanding the constitution, and crafting your civic voice. “We the People: Civic Engagement in a Constitutional Democracy” #AcademicSky #MomSky
We the People: Civic Engagement in a Constitutional Democracy | Harvard University
Gain a foundational knowledge of American constitutional democracy while crafting your own civic voice and identity.
pll.harvard.edu
America cannot long remain free, nor first among nations, if it becomes the kind of place where universities are dismantled because they don't align politically with the current head of the government.
I watched a ton of Phil Donahue when I was young. Above all, he always modeled curiosity. Non-judgmental, unbridled curiosity. He talked to Russian intellectuals during the Reagan era, trans people, people with all manner of beliefs. He always led with respect and a genuine desire to understand.
✨ A Goddess has NO KING ✨@the-goddess-speaks.bsky.social · last yr.Look at these two gents! 🥰 A young Bernie Sanders breaks down the difference between free enterprise and a corporate capitalist society to Phil Donahue.
I taught a course, Rhetoric and Popular Culture, for over 20 years, mostly focused on exactly these themes. I’ve been out of the classroom a while, but this makes me want to jump back into the conversation—about the relationship between commerce and counter-cultures. A lot has changed. Much hasn’t.
Before Central Park, there was Seneca Village, a predominantly Black community in Manhattan. They were forcibly removed in the 1850s to make way for Central Park. This displacement is recognized as a dark chapter in New York's history, involving the erasure of a thriving community.
My Brother in Christ I wrote a whole ass online course for nineteen-year-olds that starts by making that point before moving on to some modest degree of nuance that is being taught at dozens of universities around the country so why exactly are lecturing me on this again?
Modern-Day Oracles or Bullshit Machines: Introduction
A free online humanities course about how to learn and work and thrive in an AI world.
thebullshitmachines.com
“After months of headlines about the same half-dozen or so colleges, the Trump administration and its allies seem to be trying to broadcast a more expansive message: Any college can come under its eye, not just the household names.” #AcademicSky
The Trump Administration Widens Its Scrutiny of Colleges, With Help From the Internet
After months of headlines about elite colleges, the Trump administration is announcing investigations of less-prominent ones, sometimes seemingly in reaction to viral news.
chronicle.com
Read. Every. Word. Of. This. www.commonwealthfund.org/publications...
How National Medicaid Work Requirements Would Lead to Large-Scale Job Losses, Harm State Economies, and Strain Budgets
States could see billions of dollars in reduced economic activity, lower state/local tax revenues, and large job losses if Medicaid work requirements are imposed.
commonwealthfund.org
🎯 @ilanaglazer.com When do people 💩 themselves? When dying, Or giving birth. We are witnessing the modern era in its death throes. The 20thC is gnashing its teeth as it fades to history. Fascism sputtering one last hurrah. It’s ugly, and painful. But CHANGE is afoot. Let’s choose to birth PEACE.
Mrs. Frazzled does a great job breaking down the rhetorical power of satire, here. 🙌🏻
