Heather Randell
@heatherrandell.bsky.social
Associate professor in the Humphrey School of Public Affairs, University of Minnesota. Sociologist/demographer studying the health impacts of climate change and dams, with a focus on Brazil and East Africa. https://sites.google.com/umn.edu/heatherrandell
Demographers —The PAA call for papers is now open! There are TWO qualitative sessions this year, including one that I’m organizing. If you do any qualitative demography or demography-adjacent work, please submit an extended abstract! paa_acgi.informz.net/z/cjUucD9taT...
Minnesota primaries are one week from today. Here are the DFL-endorsed candidates who will be on my ballot—don’t forget to make a plan and go vote!!!
The easiest possible layup for a President at war with another country would be to explain that they are attacking us. Trump won't do that because he views Minnesota as a bigger enemy than Iran.
Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · 5d agoTrump: "We heard in Minnesota there was a cyberattack and they blame it on Iran. I don't think so. I blame it on Minnesota because they're grossly incompetent. Iran's got bigger problems than worrying about Minnesota."
Incompetence is par for the course with this administration.
U.S. Government Mislabels Map of African Countries at AIDS Conference (Gift Article)
Nigeria, a coastal country in western Africa, was landlocked in the Sahara, among other errors. The department said it had been “hastily altered.”
nytimes.com
Overnight, a masked bandit broke into our kitchen. Armed with opposable thumbs, he proceeded to sample everything on offer. I’d just visited the farmers market, so the menu was extensive. I can now share a highly specific peer-reviewed list of what this particular raider did & did not enjoy. 🧵
Raccoon's Evil Smile: 'Good, Good'
Alt: Raccoon's Evil Smile: 'Good, Good'
static.klipy.com
I love Halloween, but seriously Walgreens? The seasonal creep is getting out of control.
Overland couple shot dead in Guatemala after local ICE stop led to deportations www.stlpr.org/law-order/20...
Overland couple shot dead in Guatemala after local ICE stop led to deportations
The couple’s 14-month-old daughter was found crying beside her mother’s body in a sugarcane field last week, according to Guatemalan authorities and media.
stlpr.org
Sociology is amazing. Our biggest problem is bad-faith actors who maliciously spurn the field because we teach people how societies work and they'd rather we all stay in the dark. Not today, Satan!
Laura K. Nelson@lauraknelson.bsky.social · 2w agoMy son wrote a report on spiders in STEM camp and just taught me about the Goliath birdeater. They can grow up to 12 inches long and females can live 15-25 years! www.aaas.org/news/weird-w...
Weird & Wonderful Creatures: Goliath Birdeater | American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
The Goliath Birdeater belongs to the Tarantula family and is the most massive spider in the world.
aaas.org
🇧🇷Saí-de-máscara-preta 🌎Dacnis lineata Conservação: Pouco Preocupante A saí-de-máscara-preta é uma ave passeriforme da família Thraupidae. 📷 Anselmo d`Affonseca
Cute little treefrog from my hike today. I think it’s a Cope’s Gray Treefrog, which interestingly can be green!
Andrew Curley is running for Navajo Nation President! He’s an expert on extractive industries and Indigenous communities, and we wrote a paper together that quantified the amount of tribal land flooded under the reservoirs of dams. I love having badass colleagues.
Arlyssa D. Becenti ✍️🗞️@abecenti.bsky.social · 3w agoA good friend of mine is running for Navajo President and he met up with me as I was shopping for a cute dress. It took ten minutes before people recognized him lol! I’m surprised Tucson media isn’t writing about the University of Arizona professor who is running for president. He’s gaining support.
GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO 🧵 1/783
“A 2024 study published in the journal Nature found fires in Canada from May to September of 2023 emitted more carbon dioxide than a majority of the countries on earth do in a year.” Climate change exacerbates wildfires, wildfire smoke exacerbates climate change. gothamist.com/news/smoke-f...
Smoke-filled skies are new normal for NYC summers, experts warn
Climate change has caused wildfires in Canada to grow more frequent and more intense, which creates a viscous cycle as the blazes pump more carbon into the atmosphere.
gothamist.com
Pumas cuddling while they nap at the Minnesota Zoo. If you think big cats are cool, you should read Tigers Between Empires, about Amur tiger conservation in the Russian Far East. One of the best books I’ve read in a long time!
Did you know that cheetahs live in the grasslands of Africa…and in Iran? The Asiatic cheetah is the rarest big cat in the world, with fewer than 30 left in the wild. And this senseless war is taking a toll on cheetah conservation. news.mongabay.com/2026/04/war-...
War on Iran disrupts efforts to save the Asiatic cheetah, world’s rarest big cat
Before the war began in February 2026, there was some rare good news for Iran’s imperiled Asiatic cheetahs. Rangers spotted and filmed a female in the North Khorasan province accompanied by five cubs ...
news.mongabay.com
China is currently building a set of 5 large dams in Tibet, in the world's longest and deepest canyon. The area is earthquake prone and is habitat for snow leopards, Bengal tigers, and Tibetan brown bears. Read more here: e360.yale.edu/digest/yarlu...
Risks Loom for Chinese Dam Project Being Built on Active Fault Line
e360.yale.edu
Think about those who can't shield themselves from exposure to this toxic air: All of the wildlife: the birds, squirrels, wolves, foxes, frogs, snakes, and the list goes on. People who: work outdoors, don't own a car and still have to get to work, can't afford an air purifier, are homeless.
Jeff Berardelli @weatherprof.bsky.social · 3w agoAt what point is it safer to just stop breathing, than to breathe this air? 🤔 #smoke #fire . This is more than 3X the EPA upper scale limit of AQI.
China is currently building a set of 5 large dams in Tibet, in the world's longest and deepest canyon. The area is earthquake prone and is habitat for snow leopards, Bengal tigers, and Tibetan brown bears. Read more here: e360.yale.edu/digest/yarlu...
Risks Loom for Chinese Dam Project Being Built on Active Fault Line
e360.yale.edu
I feel like a broken record when I say that the future is now, climate-wise. The best time to act was decades ago, the second best time is today. If only those with power cared about the rest of us. www.cbsnews.com/news/wildfir...
Wildfires expose millions in Midwest, Northeast to dangerous smoke: "Perfect storm for really dry conditions"
Heavy smoke from several large wildfires blazing in Canada and Minnesota is expected to engulf large swaths of the Midwest and Northeast U.S. this week.
cbsnews.com
The state is accepting public comments on the proposed Tamarack nickel mine until Sept. 14. The Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe opposes the project. Written by Andrew Hazzard
Minnesota DNR opens comment period on controversial nickel mine near pristine waters. Here’s how to weigh in.
Here’s how to comment on the proposed Tamarack Mine near Mille Lacs Lake for the Minnesota DNR.
sahanjournal.com
Link ftom a source I trust to a Go Fund Me for the family of the man murdered by ICE in Biddeford: #mepolitics www.gofundme.com/f/justice-an...
Donate to Justice and Support for Johan Sebastián’s Family, organized by Friends of de Guerrero Family
[English version below] Hoy, una vida fue arrebatada inju… Friends of de Guerrero Family needs your support for Justice and Support for Johan Sebastián’s Family
gofundme.com
This is a picture of my great-grandparents, taken in NYC in the late 1800s. On the back of the photo is some writing. Anyone read Yiddish and can help translate?
My mom just showed me this kid’s newspaper that she saved from summer 1961. JFK was president and his daughter got a puppy as a gift from the Russian government. The puppy’s mom was a Russian space dog who was “shot into space by rocket and returned to Earth”. Times sure have changed!
I hate tests, and so do many students. But for the first time, I’m going to give a midterm and final in my statistics class. If students are using AI for their assignments, in-class exams seem like the only way forward, learning-wise. And ultimately, our job as professors is to facilitate learning.
Michael Lobel@mlobelart.bsky.social · 4w agoFor those outside academia who are curious: as someone who has taught for ~25 years, many of us now face an existential crisis in assessing student work. Anything you haven't viewed a student actually writing down with their own hand is basically suspect; it's a shitty feeling, to put it bluntly
Absolutely 💯 🎯—for anyone who’s not paying attention, universities across the US are alerting all faculty about how research practices will have to change if this policy stands. 👇
Daniel Drezner@dandrezner.bsky.social · 4w agoGood morning. Nothing to see here, just the possible end of American scientific research as we know it. open.substack.com/pub/danieldr...