Christina Wolbrecht
@cwolbrecht.bsky.social
Political scientist @ Notre Dame. Gender, parties, suffrage, role models. New: See Jane Run: How Women Politicians Matter for Young People. https://bookshop.org/p/books/see-jane-run-how-women-politicians-matter-for-young-people-david-e-campbell/21729443
Reposted by Christina Wolbrecht
Even after Trump is gone, the world will remember that he threatened to forcibly seize the territory of a peaceful democratic ally, and our institutions failed to immediately remove him. That makes US dangerously unreliable, not just one senile gangster.
His not being impeached by the end of the business day as a result of this threat is as much a problem as the threat itself. It’s not just Trump that the world has to worry about, it’s a GOP that supports him and Democrats who suck their thumbs and refuse to even discuss pushing to remove him
January 21, 2026 at 2:46 PM
Even after Trump is gone, the world will remember that he threatened to forcibly seize the territory of a peaceful democratic ally, and our institutions failed to immediately remove him. That makes US dangerously unreliable, not just one senile gangster.
Reposted by Christina Wolbrecht
This is the most astonishing graph of what the Trump regime has done to US science. They have destroyed the federal science workforce across the board. The negative impacts on Americans will be felt for generations, and the US might never be the same again.
www.nature.com/immersive/d4...
www.nature.com/immersive/d4...
January 20, 2026 at 10:53 PM
This is the most astonishing graph of what the Trump regime has done to US science. They have destroyed the federal science workforce across the board. The negative impacts on Americans will be felt for generations, and the US might never be the same again.
www.nature.com/immersive/d4...
www.nature.com/immersive/d4...
Reposted by Christina Wolbrecht
Higher education trends:
Women far outnumber men in law school, med school, vet school and other professional programs
hechingerreport.org/women-far-ou...
Women far outnumber men in law school, med school, vet school and other professional programs
hechingerreport.org/women-far-ou...
As men stop going to college, women have now overtaken them in graduate and professional degrees
Women have outdistanced men in graduate and professional programs as male college-going rates continue to decline, with implications for the economy and even marriage and birth rates.
hechingerreport.org
January 20, 2026 at 7:35 PM
Higher education trends:
Women far outnumber men in law school, med school, vet school and other professional programs
hechingerreport.org/women-far-ou...
Women far outnumber men in law school, med school, vet school and other professional programs
hechingerreport.org/women-far-ou...
Reposted by Christina Wolbrecht
Some perspective: The S&P opened down -1.3% on Trump's Greenland saber-rattling. That's $750 billion of wealth destroyed -- roughly equal to estimates of the value of Greenland.
And so ~in dollar terms~ his shenanigans have already cost the US one Greenland, and we've got nothing to show for it.
And so ~in dollar terms~ his shenanigans have already cost the US one Greenland, and we've got nothing to show for it.
January 20, 2026 at 2:48 PM
Some perspective: The S&P opened down -1.3% on Trump's Greenland saber-rattling. That's $750 billion of wealth destroyed -- roughly equal to estimates of the value of Greenland.
And so ~in dollar terms~ his shenanigans have already cost the US one Greenland, and we've got nothing to show for it.
And so ~in dollar terms~ his shenanigans have already cost the US one Greenland, and we've got nothing to show for it.
Reposted by Christina Wolbrecht
Pew Research Institute (2023):
• Red State Texas has about 2.1 million undocumented immigrants
• Red State Florida has 1.6 M undocumented immigrants
• Blue State Minnesota has 130,000.
And yet only Minnesota is being occupied by masked thugs over "immigration."
It's *not* about immigration.
• Red State Texas has about 2.1 million undocumented immigrants
• Red State Florida has 1.6 M undocumented immigrants
• Blue State Minnesota has 130,000.
And yet only Minnesota is being occupied by masked thugs over "immigration."
It's *not* about immigration.
January 18, 2026 at 9:03 PM
Pew Research Institute (2023):
• Red State Texas has about 2.1 million undocumented immigrants
• Red State Florida has 1.6 M undocumented immigrants
• Blue State Minnesota has 130,000.
And yet only Minnesota is being occupied by masked thugs over "immigration."
It's *not* about immigration.
• Red State Texas has about 2.1 million undocumented immigrants
• Red State Florida has 1.6 M undocumented immigrants
• Blue State Minnesota has 130,000.
And yet only Minnesota is being occupied by masked thugs over "immigration."
It's *not* about immigration.
Reposted by Christina Wolbrecht
This is the sixth death in ICE custody in 18 days. This isn’t enforcement, it’s a system that cages people, outsources care, and shrugs when they die. Abolish ICE.
January 18, 2026 at 9:29 PM
This is the sixth death in ICE custody in 18 days. This isn’t enforcement, it’s a system that cages people, outsources care, and shrugs when they die. Abolish ICE.
For all the saints
Who from their labors rest
Who from their labors rest
Lots of people are talking about this obit, and for very good reason! What a life! www.nytimes.com/2026/01/14/w... (gift link)
Renfrew Christie Dies at 76; Sabotaged Racist Regime’s Nuclear Program
www.nytimes.com
January 17, 2026 at 8:15 PM
For all the saints
Who from their labors rest
Who from their labors rest
Reposted by Christina Wolbrecht
Parties, not institutions, explain everything Part 245,765
The Founders assumed that Members of Congress would jealously and zealously guard the powers and prerogatives of their branch of government against the grasping of an overweening Executive, and instead we got this supine GOP majority that yearns to lick the boot.
I would like to think the Mad King proclaiming “I will continue to illegally raise taxes on the American people until the NATO alliance collapses” would be the type of statement to cause Congress to act, but I’m not sure there’s any red line the GOP Congress has anymore.
January 17, 2026 at 8:02 PM
Parties, not institutions, explain everything Part 245,765
Reposted by Christina Wolbrecht
A book never feels real until you hold it in you hands. @profsorelle.bsky.social & I can now confirm that Uncivil Democracy is real! If you care about #peoplepower #housingjustice, #tenantorganizing & transforming our perverse political economy, this is a book for you.
Order here: bit.ly/3NLYCCw
Order here: bit.ly/3NLYCCw
January 16, 2026 at 6:40 PM
A book never feels real until you hold it in you hands. @profsorelle.bsky.social & I can now confirm that Uncivil Democracy is real! If you care about #peoplepower #housingjustice, #tenantorganizing & transforming our perverse political economy, this is a book for you.
Order here: bit.ly/3NLYCCw
Order here: bit.ly/3NLYCCw
A couple of senior people sent me emails about my first book when I was very junior. I printed them out and still have them.
I try to do the same thing. It's so easy to do and it often means the world to the recipient.
Give people their flowers now.
Give people their flowers now.
I started doing this a few years ago--when I read a great scholarly article, for example, I will drop a note to the author telling them how good I think it is. Especially if the author is a junior person. It takes two minutes and is a nice affirmation.
January 15, 2026 at 6:45 PM
A couple of senior people sent me emails about my first book when I was very junior. I printed them out and still have them.
Big day, everyone! We've finally solved the gender gap in political ambition. Women can also claim they are qualified for a job on the basis of vibes only!
Bam, equality.
Bam, equality.
Madison Sheahan, a 28-year-old former fish cop who Trump up-jumped to No. 2 at ICE, is the newest candidate in #OH09:
“I absolutely think I’m qualified for the job. Because at the end of the day, what really makes anybody qualified for any job?”
“I absolutely think I’m qualified for the job. Because at the end of the day, what really makes anybody qualified for any job?”
January 15, 2026 at 4:40 PM
Big day, everyone! We've finally solved the gender gap in political ambition. Women can also claim they are qualified for a job on the basis of vibes only!
Bam, equality.
Bam, equality.
Super, super interesting paper from Rosie Cooperman: "the two most distinct...partisans, D women & R men, are prominently featured in the opposing party’s negative messaging...D women as the focal point of negative messaging...has significant consequences for this group of officeholders."
New from Rosalyn Cooperman in the Journal of Policy History: "Gender and Party Polarization in the US Congress: Hypervisibility and Invisibility"
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
Gendersky Polisky
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
Gendersky Polisky
Gender and Party Polarization in the US Congress: Hypervisibility and Invisibility | Journal of Policy History | Cambridge Core
Gender and Party Polarization in the US Congress: Hypervisibility and Invisibility - Volume 37 Issue 4
www.cambridge.org
January 14, 2026 at 8:59 PM
Super, super interesting paper from Rosie Cooperman: "the two most distinct...partisans, D women & R men, are prominently featured in the opposing party’s negative messaging...D women as the focal point of negative messaging...has significant consequences for this group of officeholders."
Reposted by Christina Wolbrecht
Perennial reminder of this excellent paper about how secret police forces are swamped with underachievers
“We don’t want clever people. We want mediocrities.”
(Ungated summary here ajps.org/2019/10/08/w...)
“We don’t want clever people. We want mediocrities.”
(Ungated summary here ajps.org/2019/10/08/w...)
January 14, 2026 at 4:17 PM
Perennial reminder of this excellent paper about how secret police forces are swamped with underachievers
“We don’t want clever people. We want mediocrities.”
(Ungated summary here ajps.org/2019/10/08/w...)
“We don’t want clever people. We want mediocrities.”
(Ungated summary here ajps.org/2019/10/08/w...)
Reposted by Christina Wolbrecht
How many protester deaths are too much in the United States?
January 13, 2026 at 9:26 PM
How many protester deaths are too much in the United States?
Today the Supreme Court hears oral argument on state bans on transgender athletes. In our recent paper, Fiona Rodger and I find that the public distinguishes between different kinds of trans policies, but only about a quarter of Americans oppose those bans.
www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi...
www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi...
January 13, 2026 at 6:32 PM
Today the Supreme Court hears oral argument on state bans on transgender athletes. In our recent paper, Fiona Rodger and I find that the public distinguishes between different kinds of trans policies, but only about a quarter of Americans oppose those bans.
www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi...
www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi...
New paper! Attacks on transgender rights are part of a global attack on what conservatives call gender ideology. In this paper, grad student Fiona Rodger and I investigate the links between anti-democratic attitudes and opposition to trans rights policies after the 2024 election...
Fiona Rodger and @cwolbrecht.bsky.social draw connections between support for democracy, attitudes toward right-wing authoritarianism, and support for transgender rights after the 2024 election.
www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi...
www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi...
Transgender Attitudes and Anti-Democratic Sentiment After the 2024 Election
In recent years, conservative actors have decried what they call “gender ideology,” defined as efforts to recognize the complexity of sexuality and gender beyond the simple binary. We first review the...
www.degruyterbrill.com
January 13, 2026 at 5:11 PM
New paper! Attacks on transgender rights are part of a global attack on what conservatives call gender ideology. In this paper, grad student Fiona Rodger and I investigate the links between anti-democratic attitudes and opposition to trans rights policies after the 2024 election...
bread and roses
“When I speak about making our city more affordable, my vision is not limited to the homes that we live in or the child care that we’re making universal — it’s also a vision where we make it possible for working people to afford lives of joy, of art, of rest, of expression.”
Handing Out Free Tickets, Mamdani Says Theater Should Not Be ‘a Luxury’
www.nytimes.com
January 10, 2026 at 11:12 PM
bread and roses
Reposted by Christina Wolbrecht
In America you drop your kid off at school, get your brains blown out on the ride home, then the Vice President drops everything for a week to call you a terrorist, to slander your family, to protect the circumstances that led to your death so they can do it again. It is government by Alex Jones.
January 9, 2026 at 7:24 PM
In America you drop your kid off at school, get your brains blown out on the ride home, then the Vice President drops everything for a week to call you a terrorist, to slander your family, to protect the circumstances that led to your death so they can do it again. It is government by Alex Jones.
Reposted by Christina Wolbrecht
It's incredibly demoralizing to constantly see the highest institutions of government and academia and the most important and widely seen news outlets knuckle under one after another, but then to see the gulf between that and the bravery of communities and neighbors and teachers - that's something
January 10, 2026 at 12:33 AM
It's incredibly demoralizing to constantly see the highest institutions of government and academia and the most important and widely seen news outlets knuckle under one after another, but then to see the gulf between that and the bravery of communities and neighbors and teachers - that's something
Reposted by Christina Wolbrecht
Current* conditions near Highland Park, IL:
January 10, 2026 at 12:36 AM
Current* conditions near Highland Park, IL:
THIS WEEK HAS DESTROYED MY WILL TO LIVE. #momentsofgender
@cwolbrecht.bsky.social bat signal
what fresh hell is this on the streets of brooklyn?
January 9, 2026 at 10:59 PM
THIS WEEK HAS DESTROYED MY WILL TO LIVE. #momentsofgender
Wifi was down at the WH today so I didn’t get to post this, which, once again people: everything is gender.
January 9, 2026 at 5:29 PM
Reposted by Christina Wolbrecht
Renee Macklin Good's wife, Becca Good, released a statement and it moved me to sobbing tears:
archive.is/ur35j
archive.is/ur35j
January 9, 2026 at 4:40 PM
Renee Macklin Good's wife, Becca Good, released a statement and it moved me to sobbing tears:
archive.is/ur35j
archive.is/ur35j
Reposted by Christina Wolbrecht
This was a major initiative from the Biden White House, based in the idea of getting together all the countries with a stake in this crisis. They pressured China to stop precursor chemicals, hit hard at the capital funding for production in Mexico, and funded Narcan in the U.S. It apparently worked.
China's fentanyl crackdown led to a stunning drop in U.S. overdoses, research says
China's fentanyl crackdown led to a stunning drop in U.S. overdoses, research says
Diplomatic pressure worked. Street-level busts didn't.
www.axios.com
January 9, 2026 at 4:41 PM
This was a major initiative from the Biden White House, based in the idea of getting together all the countries with a stake in this crisis. They pressured China to stop precursor chemicals, hit hard at the capital funding for production in Mexico, and funded Narcan in the U.S. It apparently worked.