"Unlike in Hungary, India, and Türkiye, where academic freedom declined gradually over many years, the U.S. deterioration unfolded in just six years, showing how quickly university autonomy can erode." Mapped: Which Countries Have the Most Academic Freedom? www.visualcapitalist.com/mapped-which...

Mapped: Which Countries Have the Most Academic Freedom?

Academic freedom is declining worldwide. Explore the latest rankings and see where the U.S. stands among its peers.

visualcapitalist.com

We are working on papers about Black protests 1994-2011 about worker and economic issues. Papers still in process but I produced time plots with first-pass categorizations to help us think through the work. Blog post (linked in next skeet) gives more information, graphs, and numerical tables. 1/2

Do centrist Dems realize that the incentive structure they're establishing by admonishing one of the few major Arab American figures who unequivocally endorsed Harris despite nothing being conceded on Gaza? The lesson for those Arabs will be to uh, not do that again.

#StupidSuez@diplomatofnight.com · 4w ago

"Arab American endorses the Democratic nominee for president even though she refused to budge on the question of whether or not Palestinians being killed by US made bombs was bad" doesn't make the Arab American in question look bad, it makes the person attacking them look bad.

These are insane numbers. If El-Sayed wins after being outspent by this much, wow, watch out!

Lollapalooza does weird things to people. I'm on the Blue line and a circle of young women is sitting on the floor of the train. In shorts and mini skirts. Bare skin on the train floor. And they're doing shots. Lots of them Oh, to be young

Yeesh. Amazing quote in this story by Kathy Gilsinan: www.politico.com/news/magazin...

I am beyond excited to share that our paper, "Neurodivergent Perceptions, Experiences, and Perspectives in Academic Biological Sciences Spaces" has been published! A 🧵incoming because this paper is so special to me and the co-authors. doi.org/10.1093/icb/...

Neurodivergent Perceptions, Experiences, and Perspectives in Academic Biological Sciences Spaces

Abstract. Neurodiversity has received considerable attention recently from the general population and academic researchers, coinciding with an increase in

doi.org

"A US government map of Africa mislabeled every country during a state department presentation at a global conference in Brazil this week, causing a stir among attenders who took screenshots and posted them online."

US government map of Africa mislabels every country at global conference

State department ‘takes full responsibility’ for erroneous, widely shared chart displayed at Aids conference in Brazil

theguardian.com

Half the world is on fire while the other is submerged in flood waters, and the capitalism machine marches on I think a lot about how terrified we were of the ozone hole in the 80s, and how the world united to fix it. And I wonder just how much more tragedy has to happen before we do the same now

It's almost like the Trump regime is trying to sell us on that old phrase "work will set you free." Where does that come from again...? [Trigger warning: a very bad place]

Trump Admin Argues Even Terminally Ill Patients Shouldn't Be Exempt From Medicaid Work Requirements | Common Dreams

Under a new policy the administration is defending in court, low-income people with cancer, HIV, Parkinson's, and other life-threatening illnesses must prove they're too sick to work or risk losing th...

commondreams.org

Goodbye, Minneapolis, Chicago. Hello, Mt. Holly Springs, Pa., pop. 2,300 The inhumanity of mass deportation hits small-town America as a tiny borough with just 4 cops partners with ICE and pulls over dozens of drivers, turning over 32 for deportation My new column www.inquirer.com/opinion/moun...

This quaint Pa. borough is a ‘speed trap’ nabbing immigrants for ICE | Will Bunch

Police in Mount Holly Springs, a tiny borough in central Pennsylvania, have turned over 32 immigrants to ICE since March.

inquirer.com

AI is making everyone's life more expensive, according to CNN. "Households must spend just over $375 more to purchase the same goods and services as they did this time last year due to AI’s inflationary impact,” Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, says. www.cnn.com/2026/07/28/e...

AI is making your life more expensive. Here’s how | CNN Business

AI is raising prices for Americans – and not just electricity bills.

cnn.com

ICE literally went into a national forest and arrested people who were swimming, etc. www.charlotteobserver.com/news/state/n...

ICE agents target NC’s Pisgah National Forest and make multiple arrests, feds say

Immigration and Customs Enforcement extends its reach to western North Carolina’s wilderness areas and makes 13 arrests in Pisgah National Forest, feds say.

charlotteobserver.com

July 27, 1926: "Chicagoland" as a term for the Chicago metro area is coined in a headline that runs in the Chicago Tribune over the beginning of a series on the area's cultural treasures and tourist destinations. Publisher Robert McCormick will relentlessly plug the phrase for years.

These storms in Chicago today are dumping so much rain they've overwhelmed the gutters and the water is pouring off the roof in a solid sheet

Have you heard of Eightfold AI? According to a lawsuit, if you applied for a job at a major corporation - like LG, Bayer, CITI, or HP - Eightfold has scraped internet data to score your potential success from 0 to 5 You're rejected from a job based on a secret algorithm and data you didn't submit

once again thinking about how several genuinely brilliant philosophers hated trans people so much that they signed onto an amici brief with errors that would get you a B-/C+ in your 101 class at best

In recent weeks, there has been a remarkable surge in large, intense, fast-moving, and unfortunately in many cases destructive/deadly wildfires in multiple Northern Hemisphere regions spanning a wide range of climates & ecologies, but they all share one key commonality. [Thread]

UPDATE Brazil has denied visas to the two State Department officials Trump planned to send to undermine confidence in the country’s electoral system

Brazil denies visas to U.S. delegation aiming to impugn election system, officials say

The U.S. delegation had planned to visit the Brazilian capital and cast doubt on the integrity of the voting system before a presidential election this fall, officials said.

washingtonpost.com

The car attack on the Berlin Pride event has been designated a mass casualty event.

‼️ A Monster El Niño keeps leveling up! Here’s a quick soup to nuts breakdown of where we stand now, how strong it will get in historical context, and what kind of impacts we can expect for hurricane season and winter too in the Deep South and #Florida. #ElNino

Miracle Max doing press for McConnell's office

The Daily Beast@thedailybeast.bsky.social · 2w ago

Mitch McConnell’s aides have provided an “update” about his health that includes no photo or video evidence of the Republican senator himself.

On this official day of remembrance in Illinois on what would’ve been his 85th birthday: the gravestone of Emmett Till, a Chicago teen lynched in 1955 in Mississippi. You can find his grave at Burr Oak Cemetery in Alsip, Illinois.

Half the world is on fire while the other is submerged in flood waters, and the capitalism machine marches on I think a lot about how terrified we were of the ozone hole in the 80s, and how the world united to fix it. And I wonder just how much more tragedy has to happen before we do the same now

This piece will make you angry but read it anyway

The New Yorker@newyorker.com · 2w ago

Senior U.S. officials told David Kirkpatrick that virtually everyone involved in Gaza policy thought that Israel was killing more Palestinians than was necessary to achieve any legitimate objective. But the Biden Administration came to believe that it could not persuade Israel to alter its approach.

My website is through Squarespace. Got an email saying the annual price was increasing to $204, last year it was $138 Got another email saying sorry, new price is actually $165. That's a 20% increase! The price has risen 72% over the past 6 years, but inflation was <30% Advice on leaving 🟨space?

📄 New pre-print on SSRN New evidence on a timely question: Does holding anti-democratic leaders legally accountable produce democratic backlash? Contrary to widespread concerns, I find no evidence that accountability increased affective polarisation or reduced support for democracy. 🧵👇

Insane new research. Scientists gave asthma patients free electric stoves to replace their gas stoves, then checked to see if symptoms improved. Not only did symptoms improve, ditching gas was *better than medicine.* Details in today's newsletter: www.climatecoloredgoggles.com/p/electric-s...

Researchers used electric stoves to treat asthma. It worked.

The latest evidence that gas is bad for your health.

climatecoloredgoggles.com

We are now in the "worrisome" part of the AI bubble, says a J.P. Morgan analyst: "Who is going to pay for the AI boom if the tech sector’s primary customers are not making more money as well?" www.edwardconard.com/macro-roundu...

Tech sector divergence signals potential AI funding gap

Hyperscaler stagnation contrasts with semiconductor growth, raising concerns about AI boom funding as tech sector earnings decline among primary customers.

edwardconard.com

Have you heard of Eightfold AI? According to a lawsuit, if you applied for a job at a major corporation - like LG, Bayer, CITI, or HP - Eightfold has scraped internet data to score your potential success from 0 to 5 You're rejected from a job based on a secret algorithm and data you didn't submit