Eric Knowles
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ericdknowles.bsky.social
Eric Knowles
@ericdknowles.bsky.social
1K followers 260 following 330 posts

Social and political psychologist. NYU professor. Music appreciator. Californian in Manhattan.

Videos
Political science 30%
Psychology 27%
Posts Replies Media Videos

ericdknowles.bsky.social
Eric Knowles @ericdknowles.bsky.social · 12h
I actually don't remember if Hegseth was verifiably drunk. But, you know, base rates.

ericdknowles.bsky.social
Eric Knowles @ericdknowles.bsky.social · 12h
Mom introduced me to Hysteria/This F*cking Guy, hosted by badasses @eringloriaryan.bsky.social and Alyssa Mastromonaco.

EP374 taught me about an axe-throwing photo op in which a drunk Pete Hegseth lobbed his blade over the target, seriously injuring a marching-band drummer.

url-shortener.me/596S
This F*cking Guy: Nancy Mace
Podcast Episode · Hysteria · 09/04/2025 · 43m
podcasts.apple.com

Reposted by Efrén O. Pérez, Eric D. Knowles, Ann Bartow , and 5 more

joshmcelwee.org
Joshua McElwee @joshmcelwee.org · 1d
Pope Leo said in a Christmas Eve sermon that the story of Jesus being born in a stable because there was no room at an inn should remind Christians that refusing to help the poor and strangers today is tantamount to rejecting God himself. For @reuters.com
Pope Leo, on Christmas Eve, says denying help to poor is rejecting God
Pope Leo said in a Christmas Eve sermon on Wednesday that the story of Jesus being born in a stable because there was no room at an inn should remind Christians that refusing to help the poor and stra...
www.reuters.com

ericdknowles.bsky.social
Eric Knowles @ericdknowles.bsky.social · 2d
We wrote a paper in 2008 examining how people bend popular ideologies to fit their social agendas.

It gives a psychological account of ideological cooptation—such as right-wingers touting colorblindess or freedom of speech for ends antithetical to these ideas’ original meaning.

shorturl.at/oCfC4
On the malleability of ideology: motivated construals of color blindness - PubMed
The authors propose that the content of certain sociopolitical ideologies can be shaped by individuals in ways that satisfy their social motivations. This notion was tested in the context of color-blind ideology. Color blindness, when construed as a principle of distributive justice, is an egalitari …
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

ericdknowles.bsky.social
Eric Knowles @ericdknowles.bsky.social · 2d
To be sure, what Weiss, Rufo, and their ilk are doing is much more self-aware and explicitly strategic, but the casuistry (opportunistic invocation of principle) is the same.

Reposted by Efrén O. Pérez

ericdknowles.bsky.social
Eric Knowles @ericdknowles.bsky.social · 2d
TL;DR: Free-speech (FS) principles are selectively applied to provide cover for racism.

When confronted with racist comments, high-prejudice individuals increased their endorsement of FS. But when the speech criticized coworkers or the police, prejudiced individuals reduced their endorsement of FS.

ericdknowles.bsky.social
Eric Knowles @ericdknowles.bsky.social · 2d
And this predates Weiss et al. by a lot.

I find a reason to mention this paper ever month or so—probably because it captures this legitimization process so well:

_Freedom of Racist Speech: Ego and Expressive Threats_ by Mark White and @chriscrandall.bsky.social

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28414483/
Freedom of racist speech: Ego and expressive threats - PubMed
Do claims of "free speech" provide cover for prejudice? We investigate whether this defense of racist or hate speech serves as a justification for prejudice. In a series of 8 studies (N = 1,624), we found that explicit racial prejudice is a reliable predictor of the "free speech defense" of racist e …
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

ericdknowles.bsky.social
Eric Knowles @ericdknowles.bsky.social · 2d
Distinctions between in-bounds and out-of-bounds speech are inevitable and evolving features of every culture.

The right’s biggest strategic innovation was to co-opt libertarian rhetoric to gain greater, and more centralized, control over speech than the American left ever did.

Reposted by Eric D. Knowles

thediscoveryofzero.com
Well, That Was Spooky @thediscoveryofzero.com · 2d
I'd be happy to go to the land of Animals, Suns and Atoms
Tarwater - All Of The Ants Left Paris
YouTube video by Milena Ognjanovic
youtu.be

Reposted by Richard F. Catalano, Eric D. Knowles

muellershewrote.com
Mueller, She Wrote @muellershewrote.com · 3d
I’ve made a copy of the 60 Minutes INSIDE CECOT segment. If Substack takes it down, I’ll put it up on my website. I know there are cleaner copies out there, but I kinda like the punk rock bootlegged version. The link is in my pinned post if you haven’t seen it yet.

Reposted by Eric D. Knowles, Nicole Guenther Discenza

thetnholler.bsky.social
The Tennessee Holler @thetnholler.bsky.social · 3d
Of course they are — good luck putting the cat back in the bag, Bari. All you’re doing is guaranteeing more people will see it. #CBSNewsmax

ericdknowles.bsky.social
Eric Knowles @ericdknowles.bsky.social · 3d
It's painfully obvious but worth saying: All those paeans to free speech emanating Weiss, Rufo, and their ilk were never in the least sincere. From the get-go, these folks wanted to control the cultural narrative by eliminating speech they didn't like.

www.nytimes.com/2025/12/21/b...
‘60 Minutes’ Pulled a Segment. A Correspondent Calls It ‘Political.’
www.nytimes.com

Reposted by Anne Applebaum, Timothy Snyder, Kim L. Scheppele , and 29 more

annabower.bsky.social
Anna Bower @annabower.bsky.social · 4d
Per NY Times’s Michael Grynbaum on X, this is Sharyn Alfonsi’s email to her “60 Minutes” colleagues in full:
News Team, Thank you for the notes and texts. I apologize for not reaching out earlier. I learned on Saturday that Bari Weiss spiked our story, INSIDE CECOT, which was supposed to air tonight. We (Ori and I) asked for a call to discuss her decision. She did not afford us that courtesy/opportunity. Our story was screened five times and cleared by both CBS attorneys and Standards and Practices. It is factually correct. In my view, pulling it now-after every rigorous internal check has been met is not an editorial decision, it is a political one. We requested responses to questions and/or interviews with DHS, the White House, and the State Department. Government silence is a statement, not a VETO. Their refusal to be interviewed is a tactical maneuver designed to kill the story. If the administration's refusal to participate becomes a valid reason to spike a story, we have effectively handed them a "kill switch" for any reporting they find inconvenient. If the standard for airing a story becomes "the government must agree to be interviewed," then the government effectively gains control over the 60 Minutes broadcast. We go from an investigative powerhouse to a stenographer for the state. These men risked their lives to speak with us. We have a moral and professional obligation to the sources who entrusted us with their stories. Abandoning them now is a betrayal of the most basic tenet of journalism: giving voice to the voiceless. CBS spiked the Jeffrey Wigand interview due to legal concerns, nearly destroying the credibility of this broadcast. It took years to recover from that "low point." By pulling this story to shield an administration, we are repeating that history, but for political optics rather than legal ones. We have been promoting this story on social media for days. Our viewers are expecting it. When it fails to air without a credible explanation, the public will correctly identify this as corporate censorship. We are trading 50 years of "Gold Standard" reputation for a single week of political quiet. I care too much about this broadcast to watch it be dismantled without a fight. Sharyn

Reposted by Bruce D. Baker, Sanford F. Schram, Janet Murray , and 10 more

anamariecox.bsky.social
Ana Marie Cox @anamariecox.bsky.social · 4d
So Bari Weiss’s first real editorial intervention at CBS is to repress coverage of American concentration camps.

Reposted by Eric D. Knowles

brendelbored.bsky.social
Brendel @brendelbored.bsky.social · 4d
One thing about the old clip of Bing Crosby singing a Christmas duet with David Bowie is that at the time it was supposed to be “wow look at good ol Bing singing with this WEIRDO” but if you know about Bing Crosby it’s like “glad Bowie made it out of there after spending time with that maniac”

ericdknowles.bsky.social
Eric Knowles @ericdknowles.bsky.social · 6d
I'm genuinely blown away by how many rich and/or powerful men were in Jeffrey Epstein's orbit. He knew *everyone*.

ericdknowles.bsky.social
Eric Knowles @ericdknowles.bsky.social · 7d
Multiple Himalayas worth!

ericdknowles.bsky.social
Eric Knowles @ericdknowles.bsky.social · 7d
Yet he is glorious.

ericdknowles.bsky.social
Eric Knowles @ericdknowles.bsky.social · 7d
I’m not quite an atheist, but the existence of Maroon 5 almost gets me there.

Reposted by Aurélien Mondon

ericdknowles.bsky.social
Eric Knowles @ericdknowles.bsky.social · 7d
Excellent piece.

“Pointing out that neutral rules can be discriminatory … [is] a simple descriptive reality that anyone interested in achieving fair outcomes should take seriously.”

The idea that race-blind procedures can yield racially-biased outcomes is backed by mountains of empirical evidence.

Reposted by Eric D. Knowles

thediscoveryofzero.com
Well, That Was Spooky @thediscoveryofzero.com · 7d
I could listen to good space prog schlock rock forever.
a man in a white shirt is playing a keyboard on a ladder
Alt: a man in a white shirt and bandana is playing a keyboard surrounded by more keyboard on a rocky planet
media.tenor.com

Reposted by Bonnie Honig, Eric D. Knowles

cwnewser.bsky.social
Christopher Wiggins @cwnewser.bsky.social · 7d
I’m at HHS headquarters where RFK Jr. is announcing new restrictions on gender-affirming care for minors by spouting pseudoscience and political misinformation that goes against every major medical association.

Reposted by Robert W. Wallace, Andrew L. Whitehead, Eric D. Knowles , and 3 more

victorerikray.bsky.social
Victor Ray @victorerikray.bsky.social · 7d
ICYMI, I wrote about Yglesias making common cause with the right-wing moral panic over critical race theory. His supposed defense of liberalism is deeply illiberal. @liberalcurrents.com
A Tent Big Enough for Bigots but Too Small for Critical Race Theory
Like so many of critical race theory's detractors, Matthew Yglesias fails to engage with the actual scholarship.
www.liberalcurrents.com

ericdknowles.bsky.social
Eric Knowles @ericdknowles.bsky.social · 9d
Nate Silver wrote a whole article about one of his tweets. His verdict: "I think it was a good tweet."

Reposted by Rosemary A. Joyce, James Grimmelmann, Eric D. Knowles , and 1 more

lawrencehurley.bsky.social
Lawrence Hurley @lawrencehurley.bsky.social · 10d
One problem with this take is the number of high profile white millennial men in the media...

www.compactmag.com/article/the-...

Reposted by Eric D. Knowles, Ezra Golberstein

jamellebouie.net
jamelle @jamellebouie.net · 10d
watching the new criterion 4k of THIS IS SPINAL TAP. haven't seen this movie in a decade but I did watch it basically every week as a teenager and I still remember every single line

Reposted by American Library Association, Gerald Friedman, Eric D. Knowles , and 2 more

zohrankmamdani.bsky.social
Zohran Kwame Mamdani @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social · 10d
A million Muslims live in New York City. We belong here, as does every other New Yorker.

This is vile Islamophobia from the Councilwoman and it has no place in our city.
A Quote Tweet from NYC Councilmember Vickie Paladino @VickieForNYC stating: “We’re in the midst of a global jihad the likes of which the world has never seen, and we cannot ignore it. “We need to take every seriously the need to begin the expulsion of Muslims from western nations, or at the very least the severe sanction of them within western borders. “The administration needs to begin developing a formal legal framework for the denaturalization process and get it over with before we end up with another 9/11 or worse. Enough is enough.” The quoted tweet from @DrewPavlu stating: “AUSTRALIAN HERO TOOK GUN OFF SHOOTER “TERROR ATTACK SYDNEY AT LEAST 10 DEAD “AUSTRALIAN HERO TOOK DOWN GUNMAN”

Reposted by Eric D. Knowles

jacquelyngill.bsky.social
Jacquelyn Gill @jacquelyngill.bsky.social · 11d
The horrifying news from Bondi Beach breaks my heart. May the victims’ memory be a blessing, and may their families know peace. To my friends in the Jewish community, I am so sorry that a celebration of light has been marked by violence. I stand beside you in the spirit of care and repair.

Reposted by Eric D. Knowles

thomasswords.bsky.social
Thomas Swords 🇵🇸🇮🇪🏳️‍⚧️ @thomasswords.bsky.social · 12d
I already don’t like a few things Zohran Mamdani has done. It doesn’t mean he was wrong to do them (strategically speaking) or I am wrong to be disappointed.

Our favorite politicians are flawed humans like the rest of us, but for our purposes, they are tools to work with, not saviors to worship.