A humble academic proposal: let's not have stars. Everyone hired as an academic at a university is there to teach younger generations, to make new knowledge, to have that knowledge critically evaluated by others, and to act on collective insights. We do not need to designate some people as stars.

Ok this is great. Enjoying reading while I have my coffee.

Spencer McDaniel@spencermcdaniel.bsky.social · 2w ago

I have a master's degree in Ancient Greek and Roman Studies, I've studied the 'Odyssey' in Ancient Greek, and I've been writing about the ancient world for over a decade. This is my exhaustive review of Christopher Nolan's 'The Odyssey'. #Odyssey #classics talesoftimesforgotten.com/2026/07/23/a...

BOOM. The AAUP is suing Texas A&M University System over their censorship policy that prohibits faculty from discussing topics & viewpoints related to race, sexual orientation, & gender. www.aclutx.org/app/uploads/... 1

The kind of Swerve we need

Dr. Katja Thieme (she/they)@katjathieme.bsky.social · yesterday

A humble academic proposal: let's not have stars. Everyone hired as an academic at a university is there to teach younger generations, to make new knowledge, to have that knowledge critically evaluated by others, and to act on collective insights. We do not need to designate some people as stars.

Sweet friends, It's Quillette. Summer greetings, Woke Sauron

Dr. Katja Thieme (she/they)@katjathieme.bsky.social · 4w ago

Question: What is Dr. Rubin (objective and neutral sociologist) doing at a conference headlined by Chris Rufo and Richard Hanania? Is there something. . .political (!) going on here? <theatrically puzzled face>

@rikiwilchins.bsky.social 2026 Jul ErinReed Coach Cheryl Reeve wore a “Trans Kids Belong” tee as her MN Lynx opened a whole can of whoopass on Sophie Cunningham and the IN Fever, ending their 5-game winning streak 108-100. "We need to protect trans kids,” Reeve said. “It’s a human rights issue.”

WNBA Coach Cheryl Reeve Wore “Trans Kids Belong” While Beating Sophie Cunningham’s Team

The crowd was equally indignant, reportedly booing whenever Cunningham touched the ball.

erininthemorning.com

Such a load is not humanly possible. 😢

Plashing Vole@plashingvole.bsky.social · 3d ago

Definitely the case here. In two weeks we find which 9 of 12 in my group will be gone. The other 3 will then have a month to prepare and find hourly-paid replacements for all the classes across two degrees. And supervise 25 PhDs. Plus admin and pastoral care and research. Management doesn’t care.

A humble academic proposal: let's not have stars. Everyone hired as an academic at a university is there to teach younger generations, to make new knowledge, to have that knowledge critically evaluated by others, and to act on collective insights. We do not need to designate some people as stars.

I quite like this genre.

Brett Karlan@oldjerryfodor.bsky.social · last wk.

Bro if Christopher Nolan ever directs a big-budget retelling of the Wittgenstein-Popper poker incident, imma write a review in the LRB that is SO scathing

It's not quite the point but dipping into the talk around Arday and the Ph.D. process and it feels *criminal* to me how little supervision there is for doctoral students. I remember telling some colleagues in UK and DE about the more-or-less weekly meetings with my supervisor and they were aghast.

getting tired of people on the left still launching substack newsletters after all the reporting on that company in recent years

Seems to me there’s good evidence that both these things are in fact true.

Dr Matt Lodder@mattlodder.com · 6d ago

Two things that can be true at once: the virulent attacks on Jason Arday are motivated by rancid racism with which we should have absolutely no truck; but there is absolutely pretty compelling evidence of fabulism and academic misconduct which it discredits all of us to minimise and ignore.

🔥

charjaebug@jael.bsky.social · 2d ago

the biggest and best movie of the year revolves around the perils and horrors that come with sacrificing a trans life in the name of a short term victory

The presidents who helped draft the letter — Andrew Martin of Washington University in St. Louis, Michael Crow of Arizona State University, Douglas Girod at the University of Kansas, and Ronald Daniels of Johns Hopkins University — should be ashamed. www.forbes.com/sites/michae...

Trump Administration Tries A New Reform Pitch To The Nation’s Universities

The Trump administration has sent a letter to the nation’s universities asking them to answer how they will address reforms in seven policy areas before the end of 2026.

forbes.com

Personally I would love to see Bluesky expand. It shouldn’t just be the app for leftists who can’t stand Matt Yglesias! It should also be the app for liberals who can’t stand Matt Yglesias. And apolitical folks who can’t stand Yglesias. And, yes, even conservatives who can’t stand Matt Yglesias!

I know disciplinary boundaries often get a bad rep and we have decades of treating the label of “interdisciplinary“ as designating work that is—presumably—superior, or more ambitious, complex, and insight-promising. 1/

Faculty senates passed mutual academic defense compacts and resolutions to reject loyalty compacts, but admin rolled their eyes. AAU has engaged in active betrayal and every member institution that does not attempt to censure AAU leadership should be presumed complicit. Unionize and join @aaup.org

Jonathan Feingold@jpygold.bsky.social · 2d ago

My lord at this point it’s either incompetence or collusion. any university president who thinks they can “work” with the Trump regime lacks fitness for the job.

Seems to me there’s good evidence that both these things are in fact true.

Dr Matt Lodder@mattlodder.com · 6d ago

Two things that can be true at once: the virulent attacks on Jason Arday are motivated by rancid racism with which we should have absolutely no truck; but there is absolutely pretty compelling evidence of fabulism and academic misconduct which it discredits all of us to minimise and ignore.

Time to add another formerly respected institution to the garbage pile, this time @aau.edu, which just worked with the Trump admin to endorse resegregation in high education, embedding MAGA fraudsters as faculty, and banning student expression. www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Chris Rufo, Jordan Lasker, Nathan Cofnas—there are some noticeable playbook similarities.

Leonid Schneider@forbetterscience.bsky.social · last wk.

I am not defending a litigious plagiarist. But befriending and celebrating Cofnas, whose ideology is not much different from Nazis and KKK, is.... well, yes it is exclusive. Please assure me that RW doesn't jump into attack mode when the fraudster is Black.... dailynous.com/2026/03/18/f...

"Our role as academics is to protect this one institution. This is why we receive tax money; why we're basically civil servants. The role of the university is even lost on many, so bears repeating: produce knowledge and educate at the highest level. AI destroys both at their core"

Olivia Guest · Ολίβια Γκεστ@olivia.science · 3d ago

If useful, here's my attempt to process my feelings about how I feel sadly kinda — or rather very — sick from all this AI fascist nonsense as an academic. 😶‍🌫️ I'd be pleased if even one person finds something useful because there's something to be said for processing this all together, so, um, enjoy?

I need more people to understand that those kinds of treatment adherence figures are BONKERS. There’s worse figures than that for just about any ongoing lifesaving medical treatment you can name. 98% concordance with treatment is unheard of. Doctors dream of this level of patient motivation.

Doc Impossible@impossiblephd.bsky.social · 3d ago

Another study on youth transition that find that about 97% of all youth who says they're trans turn out to be. Only 1.1% who start HRT stopped it for any reason whatsoever. This is, like, the fifth youth transition study that I'm aware of, and all of their results have been identical.

There are more people who've parlayed middling athletic prospects into profitable careers decrying the inclusion of trans women in sports than there are trans women in sports.

I have a food sensitivity so I notice this more but. If you won’t be honest with me abt what the food looks like, I can’t trust you to be honest with me abt what’s in it Which is my entire objection to AI. It devalues communication and deprives us of the opportunity to make informed choices

Khristoff@khristofflee.bsky.social · 3d ago

Like you couldn’t just get pictures of your food??!!?!

If you're still on Substack, you're helping platform fascists and their enthusiastic minions, such as Bari Weiss, whom they actively partnered with just before her move to CBS. Go check out @buttondown.com and @ghost.org instead. You can even migrate yours subscribers and subscriptions!

s. e. smith@sesmith.lol · 3d ago

What if instead of starting substacks in twenty-fucking-twenty-six people learned to give one iota of a fuck about whether they want to associate themselves with nazis.

This is my feeling, exactly. 😆 “As a postgraduate student I attended a workshop where a senior professor describes turning the same conference paper into five publications. FIVE!? Who do they think was going to read all this samey shit?”

Seth Kahn (he/him)@badpacifist.bsky.social · 3d ago

Lots in this post worth reading, but the title is <chef's kiss> and has become one of my mantras.

> The genocide against the Palestinian people should make Israeli scientists uncomfortable. It should make all Israelis uncomfortable, as it should make all people, all moral actors uncomfortable. It should break hearts and inspire necessary radical action.

Dr Kiri Thornalley@kizzythechemist.bsky.social · 3d ago

And whilst I'm at it @olivia.science you might like: coreacter.org/posts/20260708_on_censorship_comfort_and_genocide the YT presentation that goes with it is quite good as well :)

Essential thread. We still have heard no convincing reasons for NCTE’s sudden dismantling of #CCCC. And that’s aside from the unacceptable process by which the dismantling is being carried out by the #NCTE executive committee.

Donnie Johnson Sackey@donniejsackey.bsky.social · 5d ago

Update on CCCC 2027 I just got off a call with Antero Garcia and Emily Kirkpatrick. 1/21