Unfortunately I will not have enough room in my suitcase for multiple belts. Too many Boston Celtics hats to pack.

Connor Ewing@cmewing.bsky.social · last mo.

APSA PSA: - Khaki pants? Brown shoes + belt - Blue or grey pants? Black or brown shoes + matching belt - Black pants? Just don’t - Mix patterns and textures - Don’t be afraid to look good Remember: 10 years from now no one will remember what you presented. But they will remember what you wore.

The 2026-27 Academic Year Schedule for the new APD Workshop Series is almost full. We have one slot left in March of 2027. I'm so grateful to all of the presenters, discussants, and co-organizers who have helped make this idea a reality. 🧵 with the schedule below. sites.google.com/maine.edu/ap...

Many policy problems that are generally described as problems of authority (the people who want to do the thing aren't in positions of power) are problems of capacity (the government doesn't have the resources and ability to do the thing).

Riley Bruce@rileybruce.bsky.social · 2mo ago

What’s a thing from your area of expertise (or special interest) that you think it would behoove everyone else to know?

When I think about trans people in sports, I don’t think about lobbies or legislation. I think about my friends. Wrote about pick-up hoops, queer community and love:

Column: When I think about transgender people in sports, I think about my friends

Despite the rabid fixation upon the concept of trans women in sports, those who beat the drum the loudest for exclusive policies rarely seem to care about trans people themselves.

chicagotribune.com

The fall schedule of the newly-launched APD Workshop Series is taking shape. We are really excited to be launching this initiative. Please sign up for the mailing list and consider joining us! sites.google.com/maine.edu/ap...

"The role of sports as small talk par excellence is eroded by the introduction of money on the line… Two strangers aren’t just shooting the breeze…they’re talking about dollars, not defensive lines. This quickly slides into trading the most rapidly inflating currency of our age—conspiracy theories."

Betting Alone

Sports betting is destroying an important part of the American social fabric.

liberalcurrents.com

🚨Attention American Political Development Scholars🚨 We are excited to announce a new APD Workshop Series where scholars--especially grad students, post-docs, junior faculty, and folks at institutions with limited research budgets--can present works-in progress. sites.google.com/maine.edu/ap...

Belgium still the only team to score on Spain this FWC #MoralVictories 🇧🇪🇧🇪🇧🇪

Indeed, the fact that left and center are locked in a factional battle is both an artifact anti-democratic aspects of our political system, and the thing distracting both from a shared theory of power (or, perhaps more importantly, a theory of shared power). www.offmessage.net/p/shared-the...

What makes the modern Supreme Court such a problem for democratic accountability? In a new article, @wsnead.bsky.social and I tackle the longstanding question of the Court's counter-majoritarian potential, and update some political science theory along the way: doi.org/10.1017/S153...

Warren Snead@wsnead.bsky.social · 4mo ago

Why does the modern #SCOTUS seem so prone to counter-majoritarian decisionmaking? In a new @poppublicsphere.bsky.social piece, @kumar.fyi and I argue that the Court's relationship to democratic politics has changed as parties have become more cohesive and competitive. doi.org/10.1017/S153...

Periodic reminder that publishing papers is not the goal in and of itself. The paper is a mechanism for sharing what you have learned--sharing processes and outcomes that others should be aware of/should think about too. 1/3

Louise Seamster@louiseseamster.bsky.social · 4mo ago

I’m reading another post about “I just wrote 10 papers and a grant and three books in a week with AI, academic work is over" and I’ll just say I’m still waiting to find the post from an academic that describes the time they spent happily **reading** AI-generated content vs spewing it out.

In Illinois, 1 million people are estimated to be compulsive gamblers or at risk of becoming one. Illinois Answers and @capitolnewsil.bsky.social spoke anonymously with people whose gambling spiraled into an addiction that cost them money, relationships and peace of mind. These are their stories.

Why does the modern #SCOTUS seem so prone to counter-majoritarian decisionmaking? In a new @poppublicsphere.bsky.social piece, @kumar.fyi and I argue that the Court's relationship to democratic politics has changed as parties have become more cohesive and competitive. doi.org/10.1017/S153...

NOW OUT ON FIRSTVIEW!! The #Countermajoritarian Difficulty Revisited: Theorizing Court–Party Relations in the #United #States By @wsnead.bsky.social & @kumar.fyi doi.org/10.1017/S153...

"Today’s social scientists (especially economists) tend to prize clean causal “identification” through “natural” experiments, with less emphasis on building big-picture narratives with theory and rich description."

Did the iPhone Cause the Baby Bust?

I'm not so convinced. An interesting new paper highlights the power and pitfalls of simple stories

jenndowd.substack.com

If your background is data analytics and not politics you don't understand the meaning of the political data you analyze

Yes! This is one reason why turning political science departments into fascimilies of data science programs would be an enormous mistake.

Michael McDonald@electproject.bsky.social · 4mo ago

If your background is data analytics and not politics you don't understand the meaning of the political data you analyze

I wrote a post about this recently. It is a central fact about industrial capitalism that real resources are allocated on the basis of hopes and dreams, rather than as a rational response to prices in existing markets. jwmason.org/slackwire/mo...

A beautiful piece about the Pedway, the oft-forgotten and fascinating web of underground tunnels that connects downtown Chicago.

Places Journal@placesjournal.bsky.social · 5mo ago

“The Pedway is not a disgrace. To saunter through its corridors is to immerse oneself in the archaeology of downtown Chicago. It’s a glimpse of the city at its interstices: above & below ground, municipal & corporate, 20th century & 21st.” @arh12.bsky.social on Chicago’s subterranean Pedestrianway:

Sky draft pick analysis just for you. yes you! www.theixsports.com/features/gab...

What No. 5 pick Gabriela Jaquez brings to Chicago Sky | The IX Basketball

The Chicago Sky selected UCLA's Gabriela Jaquez with the No. 5 overall pick and took Latasha Lattimore and Tonie Morgan in later rounds.

theixsports.com

The critical thing about Supreme Court term limits is not the "limit" part, it's the "term" part. Defined term lengths -- whether multiple terms are allowed or not -- are the feature of the reform that would enable judicial appointments to be responsive to political change.

New from me, @wsnead.bsky.social, & @rbayes.bsky.social! We look at who the public holds responsible for Supreme Court decisions, test frames that can change this responsibility attribution, and discuss implications for democratic accountability. Full article, no paywall: doi.org/10.1017/jlc....

The most ironic possible year for WB to tie a record for wins by a single studio

Justin LaLiberty@jlalibs.bsky.social · 7mo ago

A big takeaway this year has to be that Sinners and One Battle After Another were big, artist driven, swings bankrolled by WB whose future is ultimately unclear. I like living in a world where people like PTA and Ryan Coogler get to make the films they want to make with those resources.

Eight Oscar wins for Warner Bros. so far with several virtually guaranteed to come, continuing the best critical and financial year for a studio in decades. The only reason it's getting sold is the mountain of debt after 3 failed mergers, a problem it's solving with another debt-fueled merger.

I believe this is the fourth year in a row I've lost to Matt in the Oscars prediction pool. My sisyphean struggle continues. 🫡

Matt Nelsen@mattnelsen.bsky.social · 7mo ago

We are now one third of the way through and @kumar.fyi's chances of winning the pool have dropped to zero, despite being in third place for the raw count. He made the inspired prediction of Delroy Lindo for supporting actor, costing him two points in this weighted category.

Meet Ronald, a dedicated Rapid Transit Operator who’s been moving Chicago for 30 years! For Ronald, it’s all about connecting with riders, and serving the community with professionalism and heart. Thank you, Ronald, for the incredible work you do in making every ride safe, reliable, and welcoming!

Even as they split on the tariffs case, SCOTUS conservatives in both camps tried to apply the major questions doctrine—underscoring that their shared project of concentrating policymaking authority in the Court continues. More on how the MQD imperils policymaking from me and @wsnead.bsky.social 👇

Warren Snead@wsnead.bsky.social · 8mo ago

The SCOTUS majority that struck Trump's #tariffs argued extensively about whether to use the major questions doctrine (MQD) to do so. Why would the use of this doctrine matter? In a recent article, @kumar.fyi and I discuss the emergence of the MQD and its high stakes for policymaking.

The SCOTUS majority that struck Trump's #tariffs argued extensively about whether to use the major questions doctrine (MQD) to do so. Why would the use of this doctrine matter? In a recent article, @kumar.fyi and I discuss the emergence of the MQD and its high stakes for policymaking.

There is still time to yeet your Academia dot edu profile into the sun.

Hilary Davidson@fourredshoes.bsky.social · 8mo ago

FYI, Academia.edu has changed its terms of service to give an irrevocable worldwide license for anything uploaded to its site to be used for generative AI. I do not consent to this and have pulled all my papers.

This is so incredibly clear and insightful. I found it very useful in thinking through the problems facing rental housing in Chicago, even though we're not dealing the specific question of rent regulation at the moment.

JW Mason@jwmason.bsky.social · 8mo ago

I have a new piece out today in Phenomenal World, on the economics of a freeze in NYC regulated rents. www.phenomenalworld.org/analysis/aft...