Ariel Ron
@arielron.bsky.social
ag, energy, econ & political history @ SMU // director Clements Center for Southwest Studies // web: arielron.net // book: Grassroots Leviathan (Johns Hopkins UP 2020) http://bit.ly/2CjHK1G // review: http://bit.ly/3xiKlja
Reposted by Ariel Ron
During the Great Recession (2008-09) UK GDP fell by 6%. Thankfully, it mostly recovered after 5 years.
Since Brexit referendum (2016) UK GDP has fallen between 6% and 8%. Unclear whether and when it will fully recover.
www.nber.org/papers/w3445...
Since Brexit referendum (2016) UK GDP has fallen between 6% and 8%. Unclear whether and when it will fully recover.
www.nber.org/papers/w3445...
The Economic Impact of Brexit
Founded in 1920, the NBER is a private, non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to conducting economic research and to disseminating research findings among academics, public policy makers, an...
www.nber.org
November 10, 2025 at 10:24 PM
During the Great Recession (2008-09) UK GDP fell by 6%. Thankfully, it mostly recovered after 5 years.
Since Brexit referendum (2016) UK GDP has fallen between 6% and 8%. Unclear whether and when it will fully recover.
www.nber.org/papers/w3445...
Since Brexit referendum (2016) UK GDP has fallen between 6% and 8%. Unclear whether and when it will fully recover.
www.nber.org/papers/w3445...
Apparently the Texas A&M board of regents is attempting to micromanage teaching to the level of absurdity. They intend to subject any and all teaching on race and gender to pre-clearance and to impose a vague rule about syllabi. Just adding to the administrative bloat.
www.tamus.edu/regents/wp-c...
www.tamus.edu/regents/wp-c...
November 10, 2025 at 10:16 PM
Apparently the Texas A&M board of regents is attempting to micromanage teaching to the level of absurdity. They intend to subject any and all teaching on race and gender to pre-clearance and to impose a vague rule about syllabi. Just adding to the administrative bloat.
www.tamus.edu/regents/wp-c...
www.tamus.edu/regents/wp-c...
“a through line that has rapidly become a top-tier issue in U.S. politics: electric bills”
💯 @ddayen.bsky.social, great messaging and policy pointers
prospect.org/2025/11/06/e...
💯 @ddayen.bsky.social, great messaging and policy pointers
prospect.org/2025/11/06/e...
The Electric Bill Election - The American Prospect
On Tuesday, the soaring cost of power was a key factor in several races, including those in Georgia, Virginia, and New Jersey. Democrats have a plan that can match their economic populist rhetoric.
prospect.org
November 7, 2025 at 3:14 AM
“a through line that has rapidly become a top-tier issue in U.S. politics: electric bills”
💯 @ddayen.bsky.social, great messaging and policy pointers
prospect.org/2025/11/06/e...
💯 @ddayen.bsky.social, great messaging and policy pointers
prospect.org/2025/11/06/e...
Reposted by Ariel Ron
The #1 lesson from yesterday’s blowout:
Humanities majors killed on the job market
1) Mamdani- Africana Studies
2) Spanberger -French
3) Sherill - Global History
Humanities majors killed on the job market
1) Mamdani- Africana Studies
2) Spanberger -French
3) Sherill - Global History
November 5, 2025 at 3:59 PM
The #1 lesson from yesterday’s blowout:
Humanities majors killed on the job market
1) Mamdani- Africana Studies
2) Spanberger -French
3) Sherill - Global History
Humanities majors killed on the job market
1) Mamdani- Africana Studies
2) Spanberger -French
3) Sherill - Global History
Heritage caping for Carlson platforming Fuentes on the eve of Mamdani winning is as good a lesson as one could hope for
November 6, 2025 at 5:02 PM
Heritage caping for Carlson platforming Fuentes on the eve of Mamdani winning is as good a lesson as one could hope for
On non-cooperation with ICE, has anyone written a piece comparing it to antebellum personal liberty laws?
November 6, 2025 at 12:07 AM
On non-cooperation with ICE, has anyone written a piece comparing it to antebellum personal liberty laws?
I've never been able to understand what DSA's real economic vision is, but Mamdani bringing in Lina Khan suggests that they're cool with smaller-scale, more competitive capitalism
www.wsj.com/us-news/mamd...
www.wsj.com/us-news/mamd...
Mamdani Taps Antitrust Crusader Lina Khan to Help Lead Transition
Her appointment is likely to do little to assuage a business community rattled by the mayor-elect’s progressive agenda.
www.wsj.com
November 5, 2025 at 10:27 PM
I've never been able to understand what DSA's real economic vision is, but Mamdani bringing in Lina Khan suggests that they're cool with smaller-scale, more competitive capitalism
www.wsj.com/us-news/mamd...
www.wsj.com/us-news/mamd...
Phenomenal partisan hackery on the USDA's front page.
October 27, 2025 at 4:05 PM
Phenomenal partisan hackery on the USDA's front page.
The correlate to this is that there’s also some wonderful pedantry
Anyone considering a career in academia should be forewarned, of course, about the terrible job market and, now, about the terrible politics. But above all they should be warned about the terrible pedantry.
October 24, 2025 at 9:03 PM
The correlate to this is that there’s also some wonderful pedantry
Anyone considering a career in academia should be forewarned, of course, about the terrible job market and, now, about the terrible politics. But above all they should be warned about the terrible pedantry.
October 24, 2025 at 3:19 PM
Anyone considering a career in academia should be forewarned, of course, about the terrible job market and, now, about the terrible politics. But above all they should be warned about the terrible pedantry.
Reposted by Ariel Ron
You may have read that your protein supplements are giving you lead poisoning. That's not the case. If you want to have protein shakes, that's fine. But whether you need to and whether they're safely regulated is a different story. My latest for @vox.com.
www.vox.com/future-perfe...
www.vox.com/future-perfe...
No, your protein powder isn’t poisoning you
New testing finds two-thirds of popular protein powders exceed lead limits — especially plant-based brands. What you need to know before your next scoop — and why the reality is different.
www.vox.com
October 22, 2025 at 2:36 PM
You may have read that your protein supplements are giving you lead poisoning. That's not the case. If you want to have protein shakes, that's fine. But whether you need to and whether they're safely regulated is a different story. My latest for @vox.com.
www.vox.com/future-perfe...
www.vox.com/future-perfe...
Reposted by Ariel Ron
The former top soybean lobbyist who fought to keep the tree-wrecking pesticide dicamba on the market now runs EPA pesticide policy
and the agency just proposed re-approving dicamba with even fewer restrictions than before.
Gotta have dicamba to grow the soybeans we can’t sell.
Gift Article:
and the agency just proposed re-approving dicamba with even fewer restrictions than before.
Gotta have dicamba to grow the soybeans we can’t sell.
Gift Article:
From Industry to E.P.A.: Lobbyist Now Oversees Pesticide Rules
www.nytimes.com
October 21, 2025 at 6:36 PM
The former top soybean lobbyist who fought to keep the tree-wrecking pesticide dicamba on the market now runs EPA pesticide policy
and the agency just proposed re-approving dicamba with even fewer restrictions than before.
Gotta have dicamba to grow the soybeans we can’t sell.
Gift Article:
and the agency just proposed re-approving dicamba with even fewer restrictions than before.
Gotta have dicamba to grow the soybeans we can’t sell.
Gift Article:
The thing about beef, unlike pork and chicken, is that production isn't dominated by a handful of oligopolistic giants. It's a bunch of independents who're very committed to ranching as a whole way of life and they're politically engaged.
October 21, 2025 at 5:06 PM
The thing about beef, unlike pork and chicken, is that production isn't dominated by a handful of oligopolistic giants. It's a bunch of independents who're very committed to ranching as a whole way of life and they're politically engaged.
Very curious to see how farmers respond to the trade war closure of the China soy market, then Trump bailing out Milei as Argentina ups its own soy exports to China & now, apparently, Trump wants to raise US beef imports from ARG, presumably to support the peso. When do these people say enough?
Argentinian Beef Import Plan Harms U.S. Cattle Producers
WASHINGTON (October 20, 2025) – Today, the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) responded to comments from President Donald J. Trump that suggested importing Argentinian beef as a solution to ...
www.ncba.org
October 21, 2025 at 4:00 PM
Very curious to see how farmers respond to the trade war closure of the China soy market, then Trump bailing out Milei as Argentina ups its own soy exports to China & now, apparently, Trump wants to raise US beef imports from ARG, presumably to support the peso. When do these people say enough?
Indigenous nations on the Great Plains probably practiced some kind of active tree management, esp. of cottonwoods, bc these were essential for surviving winter by providing fuelwood & bark as food for their horses. This suggests they practiced pollarding, a technique for encouraging new growth. 1/
October 18, 2025 at 3:27 PM
Indigenous nations on the Great Plains probably practiced some kind of active tree management, esp. of cottonwoods, bc these were essential for surviving winter by providing fuelwood & bark as food for their horses. This suggests they practiced pollarding, a technique for encouraging new growth. 1/
Reposted by Ariel Ron
@arielron.bsky.social has it out for Eli Whitney in this terrific Commonplace Article
How Eli Whitney Single-handedly Started the Civil War . . . and Why That’s Not True - Commonplace
The real Whitney story is less grand than the legend, but more interesting and, ultimately, more edifying.
commonplace.online
October 15, 2025 at 12:23 AM
@arielron.bsky.social has it out for Eli Whitney in this terrific Commonplace Article
Reposted by Ariel Ron
We know Eli Whitney's story, right? He invented the cotton gin, interchangeable parts, and set the South and North on course for War -- except that didn't actually happen writes Ariel Ron @arielron.bsky.social in an important new Commonplace piece. Check it out:🗃️
commonplace.online/article/how-...
commonplace.online/article/how-...
How Eli Whitney Single-handedly Started the Civil War . . . and Why That’s Not True - Commonplace
The real Whitney story is less grand than the legend, but more interesting and, ultimately, more edifying.
commonplace.online
October 14, 2025 at 5:37 PM
We know Eli Whitney's story, right? He invented the cotton gin, interchangeable parts, and set the South and North on course for War -- except that didn't actually happen writes Ariel Ron @arielron.bsky.social in an important new Commonplace piece. Check it out:🗃️
commonplace.online/article/how-...
commonplace.online/article/how-...
one of my favorite things in academia is the chance to read a lot of work in manuscript, but the definite downside is that I know a lot of stuff I can't cite or talk about in my own work!
October 14, 2025 at 7:05 PM
one of my favorite things in academia is the chance to read a lot of work in manuscript, but the definite downside is that I know a lot of stuff I can't cite or talk about in my own work!
Reposted by Ariel Ron
Well done. I especially appreciated Ariel's attention to the real history of . . . . interchangeable parts - ooh la la.
Had to give a talk about Eli Whitney of all people and anyway now it's an article on Common Place
commonplace.online/article/how-...
commonplace.online/article/how-...
How Eli Whitney Single-handedly Started the Civil War . . . and Why That’s Not True - Commonplace
The real Whitney story is less grand than the legend, but more interesting and, ultimately, more edifying.
commonplace.online
October 14, 2025 at 5:31 PM
Well done. I especially appreciated Ariel's attention to the real history of . . . . interchangeable parts - ooh la la.
No matter how much I proofread a piece before publication, I always find cause to regret I hadn't done so even more carefully. It's not typos so much as stylistic mistakes. Something in the process of revisions and copyedits involving other people inevitably seems to mangle key stylistic choices.
October 14, 2025 at 5:22 PM
No matter how much I proofread a piece before publication, I always find cause to regret I hadn't done so even more carefully. It's not typos so much as stylistic mistakes. Something in the process of revisions and copyedits involving other people inevitably seems to mangle key stylistic choices.
Had to give a talk about Eli Whitney of all people and anyway now it's an article on Common Place
commonplace.online/article/how-...
commonplace.online/article/how-...
How Eli Whitney Single-handedly Started the Civil War . . . and Why That’s Not True - Commonplace
The real Whitney story is less grand than the legend, but more interesting and, ultimately, more edifying.
commonplace.online
October 14, 2025 at 4:57 PM
Had to give a talk about Eli Whitney of all people and anyway now it's an article on Common Place
commonplace.online/article/how-...
commonplace.online/article/how-...
Reposted by Ariel Ron
"How much soy we produce shouldn’t be a barometer for how well our agriculture sector is doing, but for how unsustainable it is."
I wrote for @newrepublic.com that the trade war with China shows we grow too many crops to feed not people but factory-farmed animals.
newrepublic.com/article/2014...
I wrote for @newrepublic.com that the trade war with China shows we grow too many crops to feed not people but factory-farmed animals.
newrepublic.com/article/2014...
Trump’s Tariffs Should Force a Reckoning With America’s Soy Industry
The industry became the world’s second largest not because of human demand for soy, but to feed China’s pigs.
newrepublic.com
October 10, 2025 at 12:43 PM
"How much soy we produce shouldn’t be a barometer for how well our agriculture sector is doing, but for how unsustainable it is."
I wrote for @newrepublic.com that the trade war with China shows we grow too many crops to feed not people but factory-farmed animals.
newrepublic.com/article/2014...
I wrote for @newrepublic.com that the trade war with China shows we grow too many crops to feed not people but factory-farmed animals.
newrepublic.com/article/2014...
why do copyeditors hate style?
October 6, 2025 at 8:46 PM
why do copyeditors hate style?
Ricardo was "the third of at least seventeen children"!
September 30, 2025 at 3:49 PM
Ricardo was "the third of at least seventeen children"!
