Erin Lockwood
@erinkaylockwood.bsky.social
Assistant professor of Political Science at the University of California, Irvine | researching and teaching IPE, financial politics, global inequality | fan of plants, birds, snacks, sci-fi, quilting | she/her
Pinned
Hello! I'm a political scientist at the University of California Irvine researching + teaching IR/IPE and interested in the politics of risk and uncertainty as they relate to financial regulation, AI, and climate intervention. I also work on the politics of global economic inequality.
Just encountered my first philosophical "just in case" meaning "iff" in the wild 🫡
November 11, 2025 at 12:21 AM
Just encountered my first philosophical "just in case" meaning "iff" in the wild 🫡
Entirely too close to @lailalalami.com's The Dream Hotel for comfort.
November 10, 2025 at 10:19 PM
Entirely too close to @lailalalami.com's The Dream Hotel for comfort.
Don't talk to me or my son ever again (about attacking the houseplants).
November 10, 2025 at 9:10 PM
Don't talk to me or my son ever again (about attacking the houseplants).
So Senate Dems caved in order to force* a vote on ACA subsidies which they will lose but which will make the GOP to go on the record as opposing ACA subsidies, the same issue which they have, very publicly, on the record, opposed to the point of shutting down the government over for 40 days?
*lol
*lol
November 10, 2025 at 8:17 PM
So Senate Dems caved in order to force* a vote on ACA subsidies which they will lose but which will make the GOP to go on the record as opposing ACA subsidies, the same issue which they have, very publicly, on the record, opposed to the point of shutting down the government over for 40 days?
*lol
*lol
The 2008 crisis was caused by exceptionally high correlation among default risks, which far exceeded risk models' estimates and capital buffers.
The more capital that gets funnelled into AI-related investment, the more highly correlated the default risks associated with new debt-backed securities.
The more capital that gets funnelled into AI-related investment, the more highly correlated the default risks associated with new debt-backed securities.
This is insane. This is *literally* doing the same mechanics of the housing crisis and 2008 recession but to create debt to finance construction of AI data centers
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/08/b...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/08/b...
November 10, 2025 at 4:55 PM
The 2008 crisis was caused by exceptionally high correlation among default risks, which far exceeded risk models' estimates and capital buffers.
The more capital that gets funnelled into AI-related investment, the more highly correlated the default risks associated with new debt-backed securities.
The more capital that gets funnelled into AI-related investment, the more highly correlated the default risks associated with new debt-backed securities.
On the collapse of COP30 and general climate inaction. I think this is correct and important: there are plenty of profits available in a full-scale green transition. But it won't happen without public orchestration and *that* is what threatens holders of capital.
The problem from their point of view is that rapid decarbonization requires public, collective decisions about the organization of production, in a way that threaten capital-owners' authority over both the production process and the political system.
November 10, 2025 at 4:40 PM
On the collapse of COP30 and general climate inaction. I think this is correct and important: there are plenty of profits available in a full-scale green transition. But it won't happen without public orchestration and *that* is what threatens holders of capital.
Reposted by Erin Lockwood
To put it another way, *capital* is perfectly capable of organizing decarbonization. The problem is *capital-owners*, who are political actors and not just the embodiments of the accumulation process. Elon Musk is symptomatic here.
November 10, 2025 at 4:26 PM
To put it another way, *capital* is perfectly capable of organizing decarbonization. The problem is *capital-owners*, who are political actors and not just the embodiments of the accumulation process. Elon Musk is symptomatic here.
Reposted by Erin Lockwood
UPDATE: Reached out to the Rev. Hannah Kardon, a United Methodist minister who was there that day and has been active in religious demonstrations at Broadview.
“They are making it clear that they are scared of prayer … it speaks the truth that what they are doing in that building is evil.”
“They are making it clear that they are scared of prayer … it speaks the truth that what they are doing in that building is evil.”
November 8, 2025 at 2:08 PM
UPDATE: Reached out to the Rev. Hannah Kardon, a United Methodist minister who was there that day and has been active in religious demonstrations at Broadview.
“They are making it clear that they are scared of prayer … it speaks the truth that what they are doing in that building is evil.”
“They are making it clear that they are scared of prayer … it speaks the truth that what they are doing in that building is evil.”
Re-reading Roberto Aragãoa and Lucas Linsi's @ripejournal.bsky.social article on how governments manipulate official statistics on the same day that the U.S. failed to publish the Oct. monthly jobs report. I thin their typology of manipulated statistics is going to be extra-useful in this era ...
November 7, 2025 at 8:22 PM
Re-reading Roberto Aragãoa and Lucas Linsi's @ripejournal.bsky.social article on how governments manipulate official statistics on the same day that the U.S. failed to publish the Oct. monthly jobs report. I thin their typology of manipulated statistics is going to be extra-useful in this era ...
My cat ate my syllabus planning notes.
November 7, 2025 at 5:58 PM
My cat ate my syllabus planning notes.
Incredible chart work here, 10/10
AI could end scarcity, end humanity - or boost trend growth by 0.2 percentage points
November 7, 2025 at 5:06 PM
Incredible chart work here, 10/10
Reposted by Erin Lockwood
NEW for the Ten Four:
The Adelanto ICE Processing Center and its conditions inside are the subject of dozens of concerning stories, but rarely is there an opportunity to actually talk to those inside the facility. I was able to get inside (kind of).
latenfour.com/2025/11/06/i...
The Adelanto ICE Processing Center and its conditions inside are the subject of dozens of concerning stories, but rarely is there an opportunity to actually talk to those inside the facility. I was able to get inside (kind of).
latenfour.com/2025/11/06/i...
Inside Adelanto: A Visit To Adelanto ICE Processing Facility
ADELANTO — Visitors pass through layers of security and silence to see those inside. Many haven’t seen their loved ones since they were detained by immigration authorities in Southern Califor…
latenfour.com
November 7, 2025 at 2:03 AM
NEW for the Ten Four:
The Adelanto ICE Processing Center and its conditions inside are the subject of dozens of concerning stories, but rarely is there an opportunity to actually talk to those inside the facility. I was able to get inside (kind of).
latenfour.com/2025/11/06/i...
The Adelanto ICE Processing Center and its conditions inside are the subject of dozens of concerning stories, but rarely is there an opportunity to actually talk to those inside the facility. I was able to get inside (kind of).
latenfour.com/2025/11/06/i...
Reposted by Erin Lockwood
1.This is not the only known example we know of ChatGPT cheering on a vulnerable young person to die by suicide, this time it is a recent Texas A&M grad
2. Every single university that has invited OpenAI into our midst should be asked to account for their choices.
www.cnn.com/2025/11/06/u...
2. Every single university that has invited OpenAI into our midst should be asked to account for their choices.
www.cnn.com/2025/11/06/u...
November 7, 2025 at 1:50 AM
1.This is not the only known example we know of ChatGPT cheering on a vulnerable young person to die by suicide, this time it is a recent Texas A&M grad
2. Every single university that has invited OpenAI into our midst should be asked to account for their choices.
www.cnn.com/2025/11/06/u...
2. Every single university that has invited OpenAI into our midst should be asked to account for their choices.
www.cnn.com/2025/11/06/u...
Reposted by Erin Lockwood
The AP tracked down details of some of the people killed in President Trump's military strikes on drug smugglers he describes as narco-terrorists.
They were, with one exception, not high-level criminals. One was a fisherman. One was a bus driver; another a taxi driver.
apnews.com/article/trum...
They were, with one exception, not high-level criminals. One was a fisherman. One was a bus driver; another a taxi driver.
apnews.com/article/trum...
November 7, 2025 at 3:18 PM
The AP tracked down details of some of the people killed in President Trump's military strikes on drug smugglers he describes as narco-terrorists.
They were, with one exception, not high-level criminals. One was a fisherman. One was a bus driver; another a taxi driver.
apnews.com/article/trum...
They were, with one exception, not high-level criminals. One was a fisherman. One was a bus driver; another a taxi driver.
apnews.com/article/trum...
Reposted by Erin Lockwood
I wonder what it feels like to be so alienated from God and humanity that causing the deaths of over half a million people doesn't wrack your entire body and soul, doesn't tear you apart with grief and horror, doesn't haunt your every waking moment and torment your every minute of sleep.
One analytical model shows that, as of November 5th, the dismantling of U.S.A.I.D. has already caused the deaths of 600,000 people, two-thirds of them children. https://newyorkermag.visitlink.me/jUzNSc
The Shutdown of U.S.A.I.D. Has Already Killed Hundreds of Thousands
The short documentary “Rovina’s Choice” tells the story of what goes when aid goes.
newyorkermag.visitlink.me
November 7, 2025 at 5:35 AM
I wonder what it feels like to be so alienated from God and humanity that causing the deaths of over half a million people doesn't wrack your entire body and soul, doesn't tear you apart with grief and horror, doesn't haunt your every waking moment and torment your every minute of sleep.
I wonder what it feels like to be so alienated from God and humanity that causing the deaths of over half a million people doesn't wrack your entire body and soul, doesn't tear you apart with grief and horror, doesn't haunt your every waking moment and torment your every minute of sleep.
One analytical model shows that, as of November 5th, the dismantling of U.S.A.I.D. has already caused the deaths of 600,000 people, two-thirds of them children. https://newyorkermag.visitlink.me/jUzNSc
The Shutdown of U.S.A.I.D. Has Already Killed Hundreds of Thousands
The short documentary “Rovina’s Choice” tells the story of what goes when aid goes.
newyorkermag.visitlink.me
November 7, 2025 at 5:35 AM
I wonder what it feels like to be so alienated from God and humanity that causing the deaths of over half a million people doesn't wrack your entire body and soul, doesn't tear you apart with grief and horror, doesn't haunt your every waking moment and torment your every minute of sleep.
Obvious this was a 'wich hunt from the beginning.
🚨🚨🚨 The jury has reached a verdict. Sean Dunn, aka the DC Sandwich Guy, has been found NOT GUILTY of assault.
November 6, 2025 at 7:52 PM
Obvious this was a 'wich hunt from the beginning.
Reposted by Erin Lockwood
Every month for the last 77 years, the Bureau of Labor Statistics has estimated Americans' unemployment rate
This streak dies tomorrow
Govt staff could not survey Americans about whether they're working or looking for work in Oct, the 1st time in 934 months
This blind spot will remain forever
This streak dies tomorrow
Govt staff could not survey Americans about whether they're working or looking for work in Oct, the 1st time in 934 months
This blind spot will remain forever
Here's the planned BLS data release schedule for Nov 2025.
On Tues, it couldn't release Sept job openings, hires, layoffs and firings data.
This morning, it couldn't release 2025Q3 business Productivity and Costs data.
Tomorrow, it can't release Oct 2025 #JobsReport
www.bls.gov/schedule/202...
On Tues, it couldn't release Sept job openings, hires, layoffs and firings data.
This morning, it couldn't release 2025Q3 business Productivity and Costs data.
Tomorrow, it can't release Oct 2025 #JobsReport
www.bls.gov/schedule/202...
November 6, 2025 at 2:34 PM
Every month for the last 77 years, the Bureau of Labor Statistics has estimated Americans' unemployment rate
This streak dies tomorrow
Govt staff could not survey Americans about whether they're working or looking for work in Oct, the 1st time in 934 months
This blind spot will remain forever
This streak dies tomorrow
Govt staff could not survey Americans about whether they're working or looking for work in Oct, the 1st time in 934 months
This blind spot will remain forever
Reposted by Erin Lockwood
Today feels like a good day to remind everyone that there is literally no empirical evidence that economic growth will just continue if the world heats up to, say, 3°C by 2100.
Continued growth is just *assumed* in every economic model of the relationship between temperatures and growth.
🧵
Continued growth is just *assumed* in every economic model of the relationship between temperatures and growth.
🧵
November 6, 2025 at 1:52 PM
Today feels like a good day to remind everyone that there is literally no empirical evidence that economic growth will just continue if the world heats up to, say, 3°C by 2100.
Continued growth is just *assumed* in every economic model of the relationship between temperatures and growth.
🧵
Continued growth is just *assumed* in every economic model of the relationship between temperatures and growth.
🧵
Reposted by Erin Lockwood
lol
November 6, 2025 at 4:47 AM
lol
Reposted by Erin Lockwood
A devastating set of decisions on the part of UC leadership to withdraw support from our nationally recognized postdoc program that prioritizes research excellence combined with addressing our university public service mission. www.insidehighered.com/news/faculty...
UC to Stop Funding Systemwide Postdoc Program
Established in 1984 to encourage women and minority Ph.D.s to pursue academia, the program has attracted right-wing criticism for prioritizing diverse candidates.
www.insidehighered.com
November 5, 2025 at 6:53 PM
A devastating set of decisions on the part of UC leadership to withdraw support from our nationally recognized postdoc program that prioritizes research excellence combined with addressing our university public service mission. www.insidehighered.com/news/faculty...
Yes, Vance's zeal has more to do with tradcath aesthetics licensing misogynistic authoritarianism than with actual Catholic theology, but also "a more liberal Catholic Church hierarchy in the United States" is, uh, quite a phrase. The USCCB is certainly not "liberal."
It's quite fascinating how tradcath converts like JD Vance and Kevin Roberts are increasingly at war with much of a more liberal Catholic Church hierarchy in the United States
November 5, 2025 at 5:59 PM
Yes, Vance's zeal has more to do with tradcath aesthetics licensing misogynistic authoritarianism than with actual Catholic theology, but also "a more liberal Catholic Church hierarchy in the United States" is, uh, quite a phrase. The USCCB is certainly not "liberal."
Yes, this is what political scientists refer to as a competitive authoritarian regime. There are still elections, but incumbent authoritarians put their thumbs on the scale to ensure they continue to win every time.
Amazing how upfront and unfiltered he is about his ongoing authoritarian project. The goal is to make sure the opposition can never win, and he flat-out says it.
Trump: "They're gonna make DC a state and they're gonna make Puerto Rico a state. So now they pick up two states, four senators. They're gonna pick up electoral votes. It's gonna be a very, very bad situation. Now, if we do what I'm saying, they'll most likely never obtain power."
November 5, 2025 at 4:48 PM
Yes, this is what political scientists refer to as a competitive authoritarian regime. There are still elections, but incumbent authoritarians put their thumbs on the scale to ensure they continue to win every time.
Reposted by Erin Lockwood
The video now rapidly circulating (which also does not have a date or time marked) does not blur this poor woman's face. Here's one that does:
wgntv.com/news/chicago...
wgntv.com/news/chicago...
November 5, 2025 at 3:22 PM
The video now rapidly circulating (which also does not have a date or time marked) does not blur this poor woman's face. Here's one that does:
wgntv.com/news/chicago...
wgntv.com/news/chicago...
Reposted by Erin Lockwood
Normal people are just sick to fucking death of the cruelty and meanness
BREAKING: Colorado voters approved a ballot measure that would raise state income taxes on higher-earning households to fund free meals for all public school students.
Follow AP for live updates.
Follow AP for live updates.
Live updates: US voters head to the polls in first general election since Trump's return to power
One year after Donald Trump retook the presidency, 2025 Election Day includes closely watched races for New York City mayor, New Jersey governor and California's Proposition 50.
bit.ly
November 5, 2025 at 3:50 AM
Normal people are just sick to fucking death of the cruelty and meanness