Great speech by Bhaskar Sunkara in Australia. I'm really looking forward to his forthcoming book, sketched very briefly at the end. But what I loved most of all in the speech is the rally call for socialism in the middle: jacobin.com/2026/05/soci...
Very good article on the situation of my friend Sanjay at the New School. I mean, in my heart I wish this covered the whole New School Saga as the gob-smacking clusterfuck it is, using Sanjay's careful arguments. But if aim is to be fair & concentrate solely on tenure issue, hard to do better.
He Had Tenure. The New School Laid Him Off Anyway. (Gift Article)
The professor, a longtime critic of the university, was among 19 educators who lost their positions as the institution navigated financial woes.
nytimes.com
Great reflection by @dsquareddigest.bsky.social on the economics of Zohran’s city-owned supermarkets and the central question of Rent
rent, always rent
economics of the Zohranmarket
backofmind.substack.com
If you need cheering up, here's a great speech by Zohran on the grandest themes without notes or a teleprompter. Starts at 1:10:30
THE NELSON MANDELA GLOBAL LEADERSHIP FORUM 2026 Featuring Distinguished Lecturer: Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani
This year's inaugural U.S. lecture will be delivered by Mayor Zohran Mamdani. At a time when conversations about leadership, democracy, equity and civic participation are more important than ever, thi...
volume.com
Robinhood now makes more money from prediction markets than it does from stock trades or crypto. This adds weight to my theory that Bitcoin and crypto has crashed due to competition from Polymarket and Kalshi for the online gambler demographic.
so this is partly true BUT; it is certainly true, as the OP notes, that GM got convicted of monopoly practices around transit systems but I think a people (not the OP) come away from that with the idea (as in Roger Rabbit) that GM was replacing streetcars in the face of broad popularity (cont'd) /
David Ho@davidho.bsky.social · 3d agoIs everyone aware of the General Motors streetcar conspiracy? In the mid-20th century, auto and oil interests bought up electric streetcar systems across the US and systematically replaced them with bus routes and paved roads, funneling commuters toward private cars.
footage of Patti Smith meeting Pope Leo is a nice palate cleanser this Friday morning
Pope Leo XIV receives American singer Patti Smith at the Vatican
YouTube video by ROME REPORTS in English
youtube.com
Caravans were very real and often made a lot of sense for the migrants in them. They originated as a way to avoid cartel violence; when everyone is together in a caravan, you can’t be grabbed in a dark alley (or broad daylight) to be ransomed. Leaders could also assert pressure on Mexican officials.
Swiffy@swiffy.bsky.social · 4d agoDo we know about the caravans headed through Central America that always made news during US election season? Were they something besides real and proportional stories of an organic newsworthy development?
Even if you've been following the US rape of Honduras over the last 5 administrations, this is just jaw-dropping responsiblestatecraft.org/juan-orlando...
Trump's favorite drug trafficker returns triumphantly to Honduras
Juan Orlando Hernandez came home with a skip in his step after receiving a pardon despite moving 400 tons of cocaine
responsiblestatecraft.org
Time to offer this seminar again I see.
Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò@olufemiotaiwo.bsky.social · 5d agothere are a lot of philosophical concepts that get egregiously misused out of the seminar room (and in the seminar room, to be fair). but in terms of sheer pernicious misuse "social construct" has gotta be top 5 somewhere and it's not number 5
The most protected tenant is an organized tenant. Yesterday, we welcomed the 8609 Bay 16th St. Tenant Association as the 100th tenant union to organize with the City's support.
Uncommitted, but this time For Genocide. By Adam Johnson
A new, centrist Uncommitted Movement has emerged
Except this time it’s in support of genocide, rather than trying to stop one.
therealnews.com
‘If the Spanish authorities agree to James “Fergie” Chambers’s extradition, it will have a chilling effect on organising for Palestine and other socialist causes.’ Julian Sayarer on a US citizen accused of funding Hamas, from the blog. www.lrb.co.uk/blog/2026/ju...
Julian Sayarer | Don’t extradite him
James ‘Fergie’ Chambers, a US citizen, was detained by Spanish police on Ibiza earlier this month. He was visiting...
lrb.co.uk
Fun NAM/DSOC merger footnote: news.bloomberglaw.com/employee-ben...
Democratic Socialists Win $5.2 Million NYU Retirement Account
A deceased New York University sociology professor’s $5.2 million retirement account will go to the Democratic Socialists of America Inc. based on his 50-year-old beneficiary designation favoring the ...
news.bloomberglaw.com
This has all the details. Neil Barofsky is a lying asshole who is corrupting the office of Monitor from serving justice to serving injustice out of spite & to promote genocide. And doing his best to crush the biggest advance in unionism in the last half century. www.thenation.com/article/econ...
The War on the UAW
The United Auto Workers called for a ceasefire in Gaza. The union’s federal monitor didn’t like it—and now he’s investigating Shawn Fain, just weeks before union elections.
thenation.com
“We’re telling them we’re ready to do this for a week, for a month, if it means that each one of our colleagues can live with dignity,” said Conrad Blackburn, the Bronx Defenders attorney who returned to the firm after losing a Harlem Assembly seat primary in June. www.amny.com/law/bronx-de...
Bronx Defenders union walks off the job, joining ongoing strike of attorneys who represent court clients that can’t afford to pay | amNewYork
Yet another union representing public defenders representing clients who cannot afford attorneys in the city's justice system has gone on strike.
amny.com
These seem like good proposals from COGE. And a good presentation. His team is great at distilling out the best parts and discarding the rest.
Mamdani panel OK’s ballot proposals to speed up outdoor dining permits, build bike lanes
The ballot proposals, approved in an unanimous vote, include measures to speed up approvals for outdoor dining, create new bus and bike lanes and set goals for the city’s rainy day fund.
nydailynews.com
Yes, the Problems are bad, but this is no time for radical things like Solutions
Seth Ackerman gives a great 50-minute interview on this proposal of his on the podcast Occupied Thoughts: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/r...
Reeling Israel In: A Conversation with Seth Ackerman
Podcast Episode · Occupied Thoughts · July 22 · 53m
podcasts.apple.com
Nature: "Batteries based on sodium ions are entering mass production. They could ultimately be a cheaper, safer alternative to lithium"
Beyond lithium: how sodium-ion batteries could change the world
Batteries based on sodium ions are entering mass production. Some researchers say they could ultimately be a cheaper, safer alternative to lithium in electric cars and other energy applications.
nature.com
1st half of this @eileenj19.bsky.social piece is a delightful mapping of O Brother Where Art You onto the Odyssey. There was more there than I remembered. I missed the vital connection between the kind of lame prophecy & the brilliant soundtrack
Great Cinematic Odysseys to Prepare You for The Odyssey
From Preston Sturges and the Coen brothers to Martin Scorsese and John Ford, the Criterion Channel’s “Odysseys” series traces the enduring appeal of Homer’s epic in American cinema.
jacobin.com
Very clear and concise piece. Climate change has changed how fast the rain comes down - the titular "rain bombs." If 2 inches falls in a day, no problem. If it falls in 10 minutes, the pipes can't possibly contain it (1/2)
How to Handle a Rain Bomb
Eric Klinenberg and Daniel Aldana Cohen discuss flash flooding and sponge infrastructure in New York City
nycpolicyforum.substack.com
David Dayen@ddayen.bsky.social · 2w agoIncome from investment—the primary source of income for roughly 1 percent of Americans—is soaring. The remaining 99 percent, who depend primarily on income from work, are struggling. Harold Meyerson writes about what it would take to change this. prospect.org/2026/07/21/g...
My universal laws: Politician misunderstands something fundamental about society? Alcohol/drugs somewhere in there Business with no customers survives? Money laundering Business with very weird model survives? Data harvesting/private equity Local politics seem baffling? Real estate scam
Anthrodiva Bot 2026@anthrodiva.bsky.social · 2w ago"Applebee's requires ID, how very dare?" Did you order an alcoholic beverage perchance? Do you want Applebee's to ignore state liquor laws? That you probably imposed way back in your career?