The sort of thing you get offered by a guy in a Hold Steady song
Chris Jones
@profchrismjones.bsky.social
Topekan. Religion professor. Teacher. I study Hebrew Bible, pedagogy, and trauma.
I finally have a reason to be glad my school uses D2L instead of Canvas
This is it. Part of why it has been tough for me to weigh in on the Epstein discourse is because we’re really just seeing an extreme manifestation of white patriarchy. The men involved have consolidated an obscene amount of power. But the violence itself is horrifically ordinary.
Something I picked up pretty early when I started studying sociology is that things that look like grand highly intentional conspiracies are so often just systems of power and incentive structures that connect people who have the same interests Which isn’t to say there are no conspiracies but
The deadliest antisemitic attack in US history, the 2018 Pittsburgh synagogue shooting, specifically targeted the Tree of Life synagogue because of their work with HIAS on refugee resettlement. Antisemitism and anti-migrant hatred are intertwined. www.nytimes.com/2026/01/31/u...
Bovino Is Said to Have Mocked Prosecutor’s Jewish Faith on Call With Lawyers
nytimes.com
Trump's backpedalling on Minnesota matters. It means he is not confident enough to try to impose and enforce a lie on his loyalists. He still feels that he must be responsive to media perception and public opinion, that he does not control the narrative. That's a massive setback.
Those in power have tried to convince us that resistance would be too tiring. But let Minnesotans teach you that it’s actually energizing to be a part of a movement to change society for the better. If you’re tired, get involved. You’ll be surprised by how quickly you start to feel better.
Chris Murphy: "This is really scary because what Bovino essentially told you is that if you just happen to be present when they are undertaking an operation, if you pull out your phone to record it, the use of force against you is justified. That is not true, it's not what the law says."
I was a sensitive kid. I loved cats. I had OCD, undiagnosed. When I was 9, a fraternity brother tortured a cat to death in my hometown. The details even now are beyond imagination. archive.is/xdmUL I was traumatized for years from reading the news story. The torturer? Now the head of the NRA.
ICE's actions are so egregious that even Senate Democrats have begun to take notice.
One basic lesson from political research is that secret police generally rely on mediocre men willing to do the dirty work of authoritarian regimes in order to advance their careers. donmoynihan.substack.com/p/how-the-fb...
So when the AHA says it's OK to use AI to summarize scholarship, the greatest risk this guideline poses isn't simply to the quality or accuracy of research; the hazard it poses is to the communal nature of the knowledge production. A pursuit that puts people across time & space into conversation 4/n
"universities across the US are shuttering their religion programs." that's all that goes through my mind when i see "bari weiss town halls about god." silly of me, but i believe religious literacy is a net plus for this country. and bari weiss ain't it, CBS.
Bari Weiss’ Next CBS News Move: Town Halls With JD Vance, Sam Altman and Debates About God and Feminism
The news division is also planning a town hall with Maryland Gov. Wes Moore in the 'Things That Matter' series, with Bank of America lined up as a sponsor.
hollywoodreporter.com
I'm not a political scientist but I'm pretty sure "fake award from FIFA" is a pretty strong indicator of a country's slide toward authoritarianism
Not to defend Olivia Nuzzi, who broke every rule in journalism and promoted a charlatan to his current position. But it's incredibly telling that she will lose her job, but RFK Jr. gets to stay in his job despite the reports of his drug use, his affairs and his defenestrating of public health.
Turns out it’s a short trip from Fox News host to war criminal. www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...
Hegseth order on first Caribbean boat strike, officials say: Kill them all
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issued a verbal order to kill all crew members in the Sept. 2 strike on a suspected drug boat. Navy SEALs fired a second missile.
washingtonpost.com
i’m thinking about every non-white immigrant in the US this AM. what a rough week, and that in a year full of rough weeks.
"We followed everything we were supposed to do" Legitimate green card applicants with US spouses are being arrested by armed, masked men at scheduled immigration interviews, taken away from their children, sent to prison www.nytimes.com/2025/11/26/u...
Green Card Interviews End in Handcuffs for Spouses of U.S. Citizens
nytimes.com
Yes. This is how fascism operates: by constantly redefining the boundaries of The People and exercising brutal force against whoever finds themselves outside. No one is truly safe. You will find yourself on the outside at some point.
Every single American should be concerned with the rapid increase of mass surveillance under ICE. It will not go away when they feel they’ve accomplished their mission of getting rid of all the non-white people.
Did Post Malone just drop an f-bomb on live TV? Anyway I can't understand any of his lyrics but it's great anyway. Somehow I don't think The Discourse on Post Malone will focus on that.
This year at AAR/SBL, I spent most of my time in trauma studies sessions. It was so different from what I'm used to in historical critical sessions. No pettiness, no "more of a comment than a question," no throat-clearing. Panelists freely expressed vulnerability. There was humor and grace.
This is the type of hater energy that will fuel us in the years ahead.
Good morning to Brazilian reporter Manuela Borges, who’s been waiting eleven years for this petty moment. ❤️ 🇧🇷
The problem with ICE is not that it's targeting people who aren't criminals. The problem with ICE is that it's an unaccountable secret deportation police. It cannot be reformed under a better president. It can be made less terrible, but the instrument of repression remains for the next tyrant.
Say what you will about Gen Z and social skills, you know you're always happy when the person next to you on the plane is under 30.
know what’s best about the mirrored keys? they “mirror” my argument, and thus gain new resonance if you read the book — just like “magic” does in early petrine literature. i mean, OUP crushed this cover design. PS: you should read my book! the inside is pretty too!
OMG look what was on my doorstep! i haven’t seen the print version yet, but it’s prettier than i expected!!
AOC: And they are able to radicalize a generation of young boys in particular, away from healthy masculinity and into an insecure masculinity that requires the domination of others who are poorer, browner, darker, or a different gender than them.