Cory Haala
@coryhaala.bsky.social
Views mine, not my employer's (obviously). Historian of populism, the Democratic Party, U.S. politics, and the Midwest: http://coryhaala.org. Book, When Democrats Won the Heartland, comes out on 4/14/26: https://www.press.uillinois.edu/books/?id=p089176.
Pinned
Cory Haala
@coryhaala.bsky.social
· Nov 10
When Democrats Won the Heartland
www.press.uillinois.edu
And just like that, it's real.
When Democrats Won the Heartland: Progressive Populism in the Age of Reagan, 1978-1992, from @illinoispress.bsky.social. Due out 4/14/26.
Thanks to everyone who tolerated this dream and made it happen. Pre-order if you'd like: www.press.uillinois.edu/books/?id=p0...
When Democrats Won the Heartland: Progressive Populism in the Age of Reagan, 1978-1992, from @illinoispress.bsky.social. Due out 4/14/26.
Thanks to everyone who tolerated this dream and made it happen. Pre-order if you'd like: www.press.uillinois.edu/books/?id=p0...
Reposted by Cory Haala
Just released - the preliminary program for @deindustrialpol.bsky.social's June 18-20 conference in Montreal on "(Un)Just Transitions? Deindustrialization and the Environment." Check it out!
deindustrialization.org/depot2025con...
deindustrialization.org/depot2025con...
January 7, 2026 at 2:16 AM
Just released - the preliminary program for @deindustrialpol.bsky.social's June 18-20 conference in Montreal on "(Un)Just Transitions? Deindustrialization and the Environment." Check it out!
deindustrialization.org/depot2025con...
deindustrialization.org/depot2025con...
My UW employer, Stevens Point, last had a winning season in 2016 and hasn't made the playoffs since 2008. (And they...uh...don't look close to doing it again soon.)
So, if the logic holds, I'll prep for the championship parade in 2041. Go Pointers.
So, if the logic holds, I'll prep for the championship parade in 2041. Go Pointers.
Unbelievable stuff here.
River Falls had a losing season every year from 2001 to 2019. They hadn't made the playoffs since 1996 before this year. And now they're national champions
River Falls had a losing season every year from 2001 to 2019. They hadn't made the playoffs since 1996 before this year. And now they're national champions
January 5, 2026 at 4:08 AM
My UW employer, Stevens Point, last had a winning season in 2016 and hasn't made the playoffs since 2008. (And they...uh...don't look close to doing it again soon.)
So, if the logic holds, I'll prep for the championship parade in 2041. Go Pointers.
So, if the logic holds, I'll prep for the championship parade in 2041. Go Pointers.
Reposted by Cory Haala
@coryhaala.bsky.social wrote a piece that compared the progressive/populist backgrounds in the DNC Chair race. It was truly a Midwestern moment. (I still think the wrong Midwesterner won)
Ken Martin, Ben Wikler, and the DNC Chair Race’s Midwestern Moment
The next chair of the Democratic National Committee will likely come from the Upper Midwest. To understand the politics of that region, we need to better appreciate the tradition of progressive, po…
clioandthecontemporary.com
December 31, 2025 at 7:05 PM
@coryhaala.bsky.social wrote a piece that compared the progressive/populist backgrounds in the DNC Chair race. It was truly a Midwestern moment. (I still think the wrong Midwesterner won)
Once in a while I check my personal site, just to see what random things people care about...
...today it's that more people cared about North Dakota
@dem-npl.bsky.social legend Buckshot Hoffner than me. (As is right and just.)
...today it's that more people cared about North Dakota
@dem-npl.bsky.social legend Buckshot Hoffner than me. (As is right and just.)
December 31, 2025 at 4:26 PM
Once in a while I check my personal site, just to see what random things people care about...
...today it's that more people cared about North Dakota
@dem-npl.bsky.social legend Buckshot Hoffner than me. (As is right and just.)
...today it's that more people cared about North Dakota
@dem-npl.bsky.social legend Buckshot Hoffner than me. (As is right and just.)
/readies the "shameless plug" cannon
...and if you want to fall back IN love with nonfiction, DO I HAVE A BOOK FOR YOU!
(pre-order) www.press.uillinois.edu/books/?id=p0...
...and if you want to fall back IN love with nonfiction, DO I HAVE A BOOK FOR YOU!
(pre-order) www.press.uillinois.edu/books/?id=p0...
December 30, 2025 at 6:47 PM
/readies the "shameless plug" cannon
...and if you want to fall back IN love with nonfiction, DO I HAVE A BOOK FOR YOU!
(pre-order) www.press.uillinois.edu/books/?id=p0...
...and if you want to fall back IN love with nonfiction, DO I HAVE A BOOK FOR YOU!
(pre-order) www.press.uillinois.edu/books/?id=p0...
As we enjoy Bears-Niners and the absurdities of Christian McCaffrey, please remember that he was once out-dueled in a single game by Justin Jackson the Ball-Carrier AND Clayton Thorson.
December 29, 2025 at 4:20 AM
As we enjoy Bears-Niners and the absurdities of Christian McCaffrey, please remember that he was once out-dueled in a single game by Justin Jackson the Ball-Carrier AND Clayton Thorson.
The Hawai'i Bowl is on (and a banger, as the prophecies foretold) and the presents are (almost) wrapped, with plenty of help from a whole lot of cheap scotch. God bless us, everyone.
December 25, 2025 at 4:26 AM
The Hawai'i Bowl is on (and a banger, as the prophecies foretold) and the presents are (almost) wrapped, with plenty of help from a whole lot of cheap scotch. God bless us, everyone.
Did a Friends theme for our sibling Christmas. I was responsible for bringing the traditional English trifle, and I think I did a great job.
December 21, 2025 at 12:29 AM
Did a Friends theme for our sibling Christmas. I was responsible for bringing the traditional English trifle, and I think I did a great job.
How do we feel about Roseanne here: a show that lived the 80s/90s Midwest in its original form (the prison opening in S8!), but in the reboot opted for...well, other things.
people simply do not remember the recession of the early 1990s (which formed the backdrop of films like FALLING DOWN). and the idea that the 80s were a decade of economic stagnation for most americans just isn't in the popular mind at all.
December 20, 2025 at 3:37 PM
How do we feel about Roseanne here: a show that lived the 80s/90s Midwest in its original form (the prison opening in S8!), but in the reboot opted for...well, other things.
Same boat. Enrollments up (esp history ed, run in-dept), yet when we tried to make a cost-SAVING move of hiring a like-for-like TT line w/supervisory certification to replace a retiring prof w/o it, provost said no, MAYBE we'd get an NTT if we behaved.
It'd start a death spiral, and we'd be blamed.
It'd start a death spiral, and we'd be blamed.
one of the great, pernicious myths perpetrated about higher ed—which media, higher ed administrators, politicians, and a number of faculty are complicit in spreading—is that humanities departments close due to some combination of cratering student demand and unjustifiable cost. It’s not true
My humanities dept was relevant. Majors were up. Courses were 100% enrolled. Revenue positive, GE serving, etc etc. We were still eliminated.
The problem is ideological administrative destruction. Couldn’t write a report, a self study, or a spreadsheet against that.
The problem is ideological administrative destruction. Couldn’t write a report, a self study, or a spreadsheet against that.
December 16, 2025 at 1:32 AM
Same boat. Enrollments up (esp history ed, run in-dept), yet when we tried to make a cost-SAVING move of hiring a like-for-like TT line w/supervisory certification to replace a retiring prof w/o it, provost said no, MAYBE we'd get an NTT if we behaved.
It'd start a death spiral, and we'd be blamed.
It'd start a death spiral, and we'd be blamed.
A great idea! May I offer a suggestion?
www.press.uillinois.edu/books/?id=p0...
www.press.uillinois.edu/books/?id=p0...
December 15, 2025 at 4:25 PM
A great idea! May I offer a suggestion?
www.press.uillinois.edu/books/?id=p0...
www.press.uillinois.edu/books/?id=p0...
Grateful to the State Historical Society of Missouri for awarding me a Gary R. Kremer Center for Missouri Studies fellowship in 2026: I'll spend a few weeks researching the Farm Crisis, community organizing, and struggles to rebuild rural and urban communities alike.
shsmo.org/news/2025/sh...
shsmo.org/news/2025/sh...
SHSMO Awards Gary R. Kremer Center for Missouri Studies for 2026 | The State Historical Society of Missouri
The State Historical Society of Missouri is awarding three Gary R. Kremer Center for Missouri Studies fellowships in 2026. The 2026 fellows are Deborah Cohen,
shsmo.org
December 12, 2025 at 10:11 PM
Grateful to the State Historical Society of Missouri for awarding me a Gary R. Kremer Center for Missouri Studies fellowship in 2026: I'll spend a few weeks researching the Farm Crisis, community organizing, and struggles to rebuild rural and urban communities alike.
shsmo.org/news/2025/sh...
shsmo.org/news/2025/sh...
Ten(?) years ago I joined an amazing co-op. Tonight the lights went out for the last time.
Thanks for everything, Fair State Brewing Cooperative, and especially the bar staff who made it the community that it was. -#694
Thanks for everything, Fair State Brewing Cooperative, and especially the bar staff who made it the community that it was. -#694
December 8, 2025 at 4:27 AM
Ten(?) years ago I joined an amazing co-op. Tonight the lights went out for the last time.
Thanks for everything, Fair State Brewing Cooperative, and especially the bar staff who made it the community that it was. -#694
Thanks for everything, Fair State Brewing Cooperative, and especially the bar staff who made it the community that it was. -#694
Currently on the Chronicle of Higher Ed's job board for history. Wonder if I should throw in my CV; I can promise them I'd take a pay cut and I wouldn't leave for LSU.
December 4, 2025 at 3:21 AM
Currently on the Chronicle of Higher Ed's job board for history. Wonder if I should throw in my CV; I can promise them I'd take a pay cut and I wouldn't leave for LSU.
Really important. Cool to hear Daniel's work at a 2023 @brennancenter.org symposium and sobering to see gaps' growth since.
Also, kick in the ass I need to refine my paper from that event on Paul Wellstone's 33% Campaign + a 1996 Native voter registration drive...working-class mobilization abounds!
Also, kick in the ass I need to refine my paper from that event on Paul Wellstone's 33% Campaign + a 1996 Native voter registration drive...working-class mobilization abounds!
Lower-income people are less likely to vote than higher-income people, across racial groups - and that gap has been growing.
That’s a real problem for the future of US democracy.
It’s not apathy or ignorance - for many, it’s a sense that politics is not for or about them.
In a report out in Jan +
That’s a real problem for the future of US democracy.
It’s not apathy or ignorance - for many, it’s a sense that politics is not for or about them.
In a report out in Jan +
December 1, 2025 at 8:39 PM
Really important. Cool to hear Daniel's work at a 2023 @brennancenter.org symposium and sobering to see gaps' growth since.
Also, kick in the ass I need to refine my paper from that event on Paul Wellstone's 33% Campaign + a 1996 Native voter registration drive...working-class mobilization abounds!
Also, kick in the ass I need to refine my paper from that event on Paul Wellstone's 33% Campaign + a 1996 Native voter registration drive...working-class mobilization abounds!
**readies the Shameless Plug Cannon**
I KNOW A BOOK HE COULD TRY
www.press.uillinois.edu/books/?id=p0...
I KNOW A BOOK HE COULD TRY
www.press.uillinois.edu/books/?id=p0...
November 30, 2025 at 4:18 PM
**readies the Shameless Plug Cannon**
I KNOW A BOOK HE COULD TRY
www.press.uillinois.edu/books/?id=p0...
I KNOW A BOOK HE COULD TRY
www.press.uillinois.edu/books/?id=p0...
oh man then we're gonna love gopher-badger and HAT. absolute snowy FILTH incoming
November 29, 2025 at 8:31 PM
oh man then we're gonna love gopher-badger and HAT. absolute snowy FILTH incoming
With A Game, 🪓, and 🎩 today (all due respect to 🌽 and 🪣 yesterday), a line that's stuck with me on the 1988 election is that Bush-Dukakis was Harvard-Yale when voters really wanted a Big Ten slugfest.
Whether it's politics or football, deep down we're all absolute populist sickos.
Whether it's politics or football, deep down we're all absolute populist sickos.
November 29, 2025 at 8:12 PM
With A Game, 🪓, and 🎩 today (all due respect to 🌽 and 🪣 yesterday), a line that's stuck with me on the 1988 election is that Bush-Dukakis was Harvard-Yale when voters really wanted a Big Ten slugfest.
Whether it's politics or football, deep down we're all absolute populist sickos.
Whether it's politics or football, deep down we're all absolute populist sickos.
Rename it the Mallory Thompson School of Music.
November 29, 2025 at 4:05 AM
Rename it the Mallory Thompson School of Music.
Reached a verdict: happy I did it.
Hope you are, too: When Democrats Won the Heartland, available for pre-order. Lots of economic populism, Democrats winning R+[lots] states, and how grassroots activists kept the flame alive.
Link, if you'd like: press.uillinois.edu/books/?id=p0...
Hope you are, too: When Democrats Won the Heartland, available for pre-order. Lots of economic populism, Democrats winning R+[lots] states, and how grassroots activists kept the flame alive.
Link, if you'd like: press.uillinois.edu/books/?id=p0...
November 25, 2025 at 1:03 AM
Reached a verdict: happy I did it.
Hope you are, too: When Democrats Won the Heartland, available for pre-order. Lots of economic populism, Democrats winning R+[lots] states, and how grassroots activists kept the flame alive.
Link, if you'd like: press.uillinois.edu/books/?id=p0...
Hope you are, too: When Democrats Won the Heartland, available for pre-order. Lots of economic populism, Democrats winning R+[lots] states, and how grassroots activists kept the flame alive.
Link, if you'd like: press.uillinois.edu/books/?id=p0...
My daughter's daycare is LUCKY. Wonder if they're ordering Lou's or Giordano's.
November 24, 2025 at 2:07 PM
My daughter's daycare is LUCKY. Wonder if they're ordering Lou's or Giordano's.
Was a good morning to roll into Point.
a man in a white shirt and tie is talking to another man in a black jacket .
ALT: a man in a white shirt and tie is talking to another man in a black jacket .
media.tenor.com
November 19, 2025 at 2:45 AM
Was a good morning to roll into Point.
Can't forget the Mass I went to in Grand Forks on Assumption in 2017. Homily started by defining ex cathedra infallibility, then 15 mins on how Francis was not to be taken as infalliable on climate change and immigration.
I have no problem thinking conservative Catholics can square this circle.
I have no problem thinking conservative Catholics can square this circle.
lolol these fucks. you're catholic! the pope is infallible! you don't like that, go be an evangelical, which is what you really want to be.
Trump’s border czar rebukes US bishops over immigration stance
Tom Homan, a self-described 'lifelong Catholic', has launched a sharp attack on the US Conference of Catholic Bishops after they issued a collective statement raising concerns over the Trump administr...
thecatholicherald.com
November 16, 2025 at 5:32 AM
Can't forget the Mass I went to in Grand Forks on Assumption in 2017. Homily started by defining ex cathedra infallibility, then 15 mins on how Francis was not to be taken as infalliable on climate change and immigration.
I have no problem thinking conservative Catholics can square this circle.
I have no problem thinking conservative Catholics can square this circle.
...so yeah, I'd say recruitment to our Museum Studies minor at UWSP is going pretty well.
November 12, 2025 at 4:47 PM
...so yeah, I'd say recruitment to our Museum Studies minor at UWSP is going pretty well.