For all who want to understand— 1️⃣ The threat of fascist consolidation we face this Nov 2️⃣ What we must do to stop it —this memo by @dschrantz.bsky.social is a must-read. ✨"Act Free to Be Free: A State and Local Pro-Democracy Framework," by Doran Schrantz✨ www.documentcloud.org/documents/28...

Act Free to Be Free

documentcloud.org

I never want to read the ebook. The rest of the day is computer, book can be book. And the ebook is usually more expensive for the library! Crap deal.

In the article Pocan mentions Vought is responding directly to the book Taking America Back for God, which I wrote with @profsamperry.bsky.social. Vought didn’t like that we were revealing what he was up to. I hope you read it. www.amazon.com/Taking-Ameri...

Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · 2mo ago

POCAN: You are a Christian nationalist by declaration VOUGHT: This is the second time you've used that slander POCAN: You wrote an article, 'Is there anything actually wrong with Christian nationalism'

At the end of the term I asked my college creative wriing students to submit anonymous thoughts on AI. No real surprises: Mood ranges from resignation to despair, capitulation from embittered erosion of standards to total, feelings of betrayal from deep to furious. 1/

New piece up on @thesocietypages.bsky.social about one example of religious activism during the MN ICE siege, and the research that can help us make sense of it. (Kudos to @jackdelehanty.bsky.social, @ruthbraunstein.bsky.social, & others for their excellent scholarship in this area!) rb.gy/bdmg15

this is not true, and this guy doesn't speak for me! nymag.com/intelligence...

Grantland. How I miss that web site.

Claire Willett@clairewillett.bsky.social · 4mo ago

as we grieve the slop-ification of Google, I want to know everyone's favorite fun niche sites from Back When The Internet Was Good. what did you visit every day on your coffee break at work? we were a big Homestar Runner household, and I also loved Cake Wrecks and Animals Talking In All Caps

Reporters: So we hear that Americans are recently returning to religion, especially young people. That true? Reputable Pollsters: Nope. Reporters: Well, our vibes say yeah. So we’re just gonna do 100 articles and podcasts about how Americans are returning to religion.

This semester I taught a new course, "Culture and Social Policy." The idea was to identify the symbolic assumptions that drive policy discussions in the US, trace their historical roots, then see how they work in multiple policy domains.

I taught about parking minimums this semester and the students were astonished and enraged by the degree to which laws require filling space this way. By the end of the discussion they were all ready to either grab their pitchforks or apply for their local zoning boards.

David Ho@davidho.bsky.social · 4mo ago

It’s astounding how much of the world is empty parking lots.

this is also one of my hobbyhorses. you want a better caliber of lawmaker? you want to reduce the odds of corruption? pay them more. a lot more.

Waldo Jaquith@waldo.net · 4mo ago

I wrote a paper about this in 2010, for the Richmond Journal of Law and Public Interest. Basically, low-paying, part-time legislatures serve to enshrine conflicts of interest as a best practice. We should raise pay by 10x.

Top 15 TV shows ever, gut instincts only: The Wire The Americans Deadwood Boardwalk Empire Breaking Bad The Night Of Wolf Hall Rome True Detective (season 1) Downton Abbey Les Miserables (BBC version) Homeland Parks and Rec Planet Earth The Day of the Jackal (2025 version)

Kevin M. Kruse@kevinmkruse.bsky.social · 4mo ago

Name your top 15 TV shows ever, gut instincts only— Kids in the Hall MST3K Simpsons Homicide News Radio Arrested Development The Shield The Wire Deadwood Breaking Bad Justified Schitt's Creek Shrinking 30 Rock Veep

a reminder that a lot of the things people find unpleasant about cities - along with the noise and dirtiness - are largely a product of filling them with cars. get rid of the cars and the pleasantness of the environment improves dramatically

Doug Gordon@brooklynspoke.bsky.social · 4mo ago

Amazing. In Paris, school streets "with the full treatment — trees, gardens, light-colored pavement — were on average, an astonishing 9 degrees (Fahrenheit) cooler than nearby non-school streets."

New study @sfjournal.bsky.social: Initial work on my theory of "rulling class religion," which I'll developfurther at @russellsagefdn.bsky.social next year. Using 3 data sets, we link Christian nationalism with endorsing economic inequality BUT only among higher earners. 1/3 doi.org/10.1093/sf/s...

This story captures a lot of what's so great about my alma mater. www.nytimes.com/2026/04/17/d...

Other Colleges Have Frat Houses. This One Has a Cookie House.

nytimes.com

I'm not going to provide details, so don't ask. Nevertheless: No, it is not OK to have one hallucinated cite. No, you can't delete that and expect me to take the rest of your work seriously. No, absolutely not. It should never ever happen.

A pleasure to contribute to this piece in Newsweek on the jump in religiosity among young men: www.newsweek.com/gen-z-mens-v...

i'll read any article of any length. i'll read any book. but i will not watch a youtube explainer or monologue that is longer than three minutes. write it down buddy

BREAKING: Following the American threat of an “Avignon Papacy,” Robert Kennedy has begun a Diet of Worms

Neoliberal Consensus: College should be about ROI Humanists: Um, no NC: Sorry yes Humanists: Ok your premise is flawed but also humanists have really strong ROI data and have for decades. NC: We're pivoting to AI www.startribune.com/what-should-...

Opinion: College students, go ahead and major in what you love

"The lesson here is simple: Major in what you love, not what you think will get you a job," David M. Perry writes.

startribune.com

So many things are awful these days, much of academic life included. Which makes it really worth saying that today, I get to spend the morning carefully reading a rich, rewarding text, and the afternoon discussing it with bright, passionate, highly motivated students. This job can still be great.

friend, this is Marcus Junius Brutus CAESAR has declared himself DICTATOR FOR LIFE and MUST BE STOPPED can you rush a donation of ten denarii today to show that you STAND WITH THE REPUBLIC?

Sociological theory thread! Jason Furman is in the NYT today arguing that we get Adam Smith wrong, and if we got him right, our capitalist system would work better. I agree with Furman on the premise, but I think he also gets Smith wrong. www.nytimes.com/2026/03/09/o...

Opinion | Have You Actually Read Adam Smith? Maybe You Should.

nytimes.com

Sociological theory thread! Jason Furman is in the NYT today arguing that we get Adam Smith wrong, and if we got him right, our capitalist system would work better. I agree with Furman on the premise, but I think he also gets Smith wrong. www.nytimes.com/2026/03/09/o...

Opinion | Have You Actually Read Adam Smith? Maybe You Should.

nytimes.com

Come you masters of war…

In order for kids to walk to school and bus stops safely tomorrow the sidewalks and street corners need to be cleared. Let’s all do our part to clear them so kids don’t walk in the street! And please slow down while driving. The snow banks make it hard to see kids trying to cross!

“Everyone thinks universities have to do what donors want because they pay the bills. But that gets it backward, and not just at Hopkins.” I highly recommend reading this piece. www.publicbooks.org/the-misuses-...

The Misuses of the University - Public Books

Have the funds that might have trained the next generation of scholars at the nation’s first research university have been blown on ostentatious new buildings?

publicbooks.org

Fabulous thread. Reading : writing :: proper fueling : athletic endurance

If you ever wanted to know how to define Christian nationalism, I got you. This business with @jamestalarico.bsky.social and @colbertlateshow.bsky.social has got people wondering. kettering.org/five-element...

Five Elements of Christian Nationalism

Christian nationalism envisions a very particular nation: one that is ordered in such a way that only a certain group remains at the top and in charge while others have limited access to the levers of...

kettering.org

It's also still impossible to safely travel on foot from Chandler to May on Park, on either side of the road. Nearly three weeks after the storm, the city still hasn't enforced the law. I'm sure there are dozens of other examples. It's outrageous.

Matthew Noe (Vacation)@noethematt.bsky.social · 7mo ago

Love having to walk in the street on Major Taylor weeks after most of this snow fell The lack of sidewalk clearing in this city is an embarrassment