Joey Fishkin
@fishkin.bsky.social
Law prof @ UCLA. I study equality and oligarchy.
Most recent book @ https://anti-oligarchy.com
Most recent book @ https://anti-oligarchy.com
Pinned
Joey Fishkin
@fishkin.bsky.social
· Oct 22
The Inequality Podcast - Stone Center
stonecenter.uchicago.edu
@durlauf.bsky.social interviewed me for his terrific Inequality Podcast, which highlights different scholars' work on inequality.
It was a fun conversation—and if you'd like an introduction to my work, this is a great place to look (or listen).
Discusses both bottlenecks and oligarchy!
It was a fun conversation—and if you'd like an introduction to my work, this is a great place to look (or listen).
Discusses both bottlenecks and oligarchy!
Reposted by Joey Fishkin
The case of the Twitter purchase shows the bad media strategy from Biden-era top Democrats.
They were “indifferent” to a far-right billionaire oligarch buying a key element of our information infrastructure.
www.semafor.com/article/12/1...
They were “indifferent” to a far-right billionaire oligarch buying a key element of our information infrastructure.
www.semafor.com/article/12/1...
Why The White House isn’t stressed about Elon Musk’s Twitter
Biden’s team has never cared much about the platform and isn’t about to start now.
www.semafor.com
January 3, 2026 at 7:54 PM
The case of the Twitter purchase shows the bad media strategy from Biden-era top Democrats.
They were “indifferent” to a far-right billionaire oligarch buying a key element of our information infrastructure.
www.semafor.com/article/12/1...
They were “indifferent” to a far-right billionaire oligarch buying a key element of our information infrastructure.
www.semafor.com/article/12/1...
I will admit that this did not occur to me—and is probably right.
On opposition leader María Corina Machado, Trump said: “I think it’d be very tough for her to be the leader, she doesn’t have the support . . . She doesn’t have the respect.”
He means she got the peace prize I wanted…
He means she got the peace prize I wanted…
January 3, 2026 at 8:32 PM
I will admit that this did not occur to me—and is probably right.
Whether this particular move is a good idea, I honestly don't know, but I really appreciate @courtneymilan.com focusing on a concrete lever of power that he opposition party (the Democrats) has right now, instead of
(a) impeach them all now, or
(b) please may we have a briefing, sir
(a) impeach them all now, or
(b) please may we have a briefing, sir
I don’t love you and I’m not holding your hand: call your Senator and tell them that the must shut down the government on January 30th until this ends, a thing that Democrats have the hard power to do at this very moment.
I love you all and am holding your hand as I say this:
Dems wield zero hard power levers
Dems wield zero hard power levers
January 3, 2026 at 6:50 PM
Whether this particular move is a good idea, I honestly don't know, but I really appreciate @courtneymilan.com focusing on a concrete lever of power that he opposition party (the Democrats) has right now, instead of
(a) impeach them all now, or
(b) please may we have a briefing, sir
(a) impeach them all now, or
(b) please may we have a briefing, sir
This is perhaps not the ideal moment to point this out... but American high school students badly need to learn about the history of U.S. interventions in Latin America.
I was so lucky: I had one teacher who was interested in this. I was surprised to discover in college how unusual that was.
I was so lucky: I had one teacher who was interested in this. I was surprised to discover in college how unusual that was.
… Bernie Sanders statement: “Donald Trump has, once again, shown his contempt for the Constitution and the rule of law….”
January 3, 2026 at 6:24 PM
This is perhaps not the ideal moment to point this out... but American high school students badly need to learn about the history of U.S. interventions in Latin America.
I was so lucky: I had one teacher who was interested in this. I was surprised to discover in college how unusual that was.
I was so lucky: I had one teacher who was interested in this. I was surprised to discover in college how unusual that was.
Reposted by Joey Fishkin
I swear to god, a kid I went to high school with who was posting the “Harris will send me to war” memes reposted this with “we’re so back”
Trump posts footage of the Maduro raid set to "Fortunate Son" -- a protest song about the Vietnam War draft
January 3, 2026 at 5:59 PM
I swear to god, a kid I went to high school with who was posting the “Harris will send me to war” memes reposted this with “we’re so back”
Reposted by Joey Fishkin
Donald Trump Jr. joined Polymarket's board of advisors in Aug 2025
A side story is there’s a ton of insider trading on these prediction markets. New accounts making hundreds of thousands on their first and only trade, that maduro would be ousted. Seems like insider trading is legal if not encouraged on these platforms
January 3, 2026 at 6:04 PM
Donald Trump Jr. joined Polymarket's board of advisors in Aug 2025
Reposted by Joey Fishkin
A side story is there’s a ton of insider trading on these prediction markets. New accounts making hundreds of thousands on their first and only trade, that maduro would be ousted. Seems like insider trading is legal if not encouraged on these platforms
January 3, 2026 at 5:29 PM
A side story is there’s a ton of insider trading on these prediction markets. New accounts making hundreds of thousands on their first and only trade, that maduro would be ousted. Seems like insider trading is legal if not encouraged on these platforms
Reposted by Joey Fishkin
In celebration of Mamdani's first day in office, the map from our 2016 NYC atlas celebrating Queens as the most linguistically diverse place on earth. (800 languages spoken in NYC, according to NY's Endangered Language Institute, which collaborated with us on this map.
January 3, 2026 at 3:21 AM
In celebration of Mamdani's first day in office, the map from our 2016 NYC atlas celebrating Queens as the most linguistically diverse place on earth. (800 languages spoken in NYC, according to NY's Endangered Language Institute, which collaborated with us on this map.
Transparency & uniformity in pricing—treating likes alike—is a big part of what people demanded from the platform monopolies of a century ago, the railroads.
Today platforms use "algorithms" to make wages and pricing opaque enough to enable price discrimination and theft.
It's the same story!
Today platforms use "algorithms" to make wages and pricing opaque enough to enable price discrimination and theft.
It's the same story!
screenshot in case the post gets taken down or deleted
January 3, 2026 at 3:31 AM
Transparency & uniformity in pricing—treating likes alike—is a big part of what people demanded from the platform monopolies of a century ago, the railroads.
Today platforms use "algorithms" to make wages and pricing opaque enough to enable price discrimination and theft.
It's the same story!
Today platforms use "algorithms" to make wages and pricing opaque enough to enable price discrimination and theft.
It's the same story!
This incident encapsulates the current ruling party perfectly, in ways that go beyond Trump:
(1) Government's agenda set by social media influencers. Ignore actual investigations and prosecutions.
(2) Nationwide "fraud" is a plausible emergency
(3) Families needing child care is not an emergency
(1) Government's agenda set by social media influencers. Ignore actual investigations and prosecutions.
(2) Nationwide "fraud" is a plausible emergency
(3) Families needing child care is not an emergency
HHS freezing child care payments to all states after Minnesota fraud allegations: Official
An HHS official says the agency has "frozen all child care payments" to all states after allegations of fraudulent day care centers in Minnesota.
abcnews.go.com
January 2, 2026 at 4:37 PM
This incident encapsulates the current ruling party perfectly, in ways that go beyond Trump:
(1) Government's agenda set by social media influencers. Ignore actual investigations and prosecutions.
(2) Nationwide "fraud" is a plausible emergency
(3) Families needing child care is not an emergency
(1) Government's agenda set by social media influencers. Ignore actual investigations and prosecutions.
(2) Nationwide "fraud" is a plausible emergency
(3) Families needing child care is not an emergency
Congratulations, Bibi!
Just 5 years ago you were in the truly enviable position of having both American political parties firmly behind you.
Now you're down to one. And you kept the one with the eschatological Christian Nationalists and lost the one with most American Jews.
Incredible work!
Just 5 years ago you were in the truly enviable position of having both American political parties firmly behind you.
Now you're down to one. And you kept the one with the eschatological Christian Nationalists and lost the one with most American Jews.
Incredible work!
It seems the pro-Israel consensus among Democrats is well and truly dead at this point. Dem primary voters prefer candidates who refuse to travel to Israel (by net +45%) and back a bill to end military aid to Israel (by net +61%). www.filesforprogress.org/datasets/202...
December 31, 2025 at 12:56 AM
Congratulations, Bibi!
Just 5 years ago you were in the truly enviable position of having both American political parties firmly behind you.
Now you're down to one. And you kept the one with the eschatological Christian Nationalists and lost the one with most American Jews.
Incredible work!
Just 5 years ago you were in the truly enviable position of having both American political parties firmly behind you.
Now you're down to one. And you kept the one with the eschatological Christian Nationalists and lost the one with most American Jews.
Incredible work!
Useful data reported here.
Watch this space in a year: will we see numbers out of NSF for FY 2025? These figures seem like one of the best overall measures of what on earth is going on in federal science funding, flawed only by being fiscal years rather than calendar years, & reported a year late.
Watch this space in a year: will we see numbers out of NSF for FY 2025? These figures seem like one of the best overall measures of what on earth is going on in federal science funding, flawed only by being fiscal years rather than calendar years, & reported a year late.
It's encouraging to see new data coming out of NSF. I'm very interested to see how the Survey of Earned Doctorates holds up.
New HERD survey: The top 25 universities for R&D expenditures. #AcademicSky #HigherEd www.forbes.com/sites/michae...
December 30, 2025 at 12:56 PM
Useful data reported here.
Watch this space in a year: will we see numbers out of NSF for FY 2025? These figures seem like one of the best overall measures of what on earth is going on in federal science funding, flawed only by being fiscal years rather than calendar years, & reported a year late.
Watch this space in a year: will we see numbers out of NSF for FY 2025? These figures seem like one of the best overall measures of what on earth is going on in federal science funding, flawed only by being fiscal years rather than calendar years, & reported a year late.
This is not breaking news to most of us, but I appreciated this opinion piece from current Harvard undergrad @alexbronzini.bsky.social making concrete some of what the new regime of campus speech restriction looks like.
We need more of this, especially students describing their direct experience.
We need more of this, especially students describing their direct experience.
Opinion | Harvard’s New Campus Orthodoxy Is Even More Stifling Than the Old
www.nytimes.com
December 29, 2025 at 12:53 PM
This is not breaking news to most of us, but I appreciated this opinion piece from current Harvard undergrad @alexbronzini.bsky.social making concrete some of what the new regime of campus speech restriction looks like.
We need more of this, especially students describing their direct experience.
We need more of this, especially students describing their direct experience.
Reposted by Joey Fishkin
Insane but true fact: making US roads as safe as Canadian, Australian, or European roads would save more lives than eliminating murder from the US.
November 21, 2025 at 3:01 AM
Insane but true fact: making US roads as safe as Canadian, Australian, or European roads would save more lives than eliminating murder from the US.
Reposted by Joey Fishkin
All of the money that changed hands in the Teapot Dome scandal totaled less than $10 million after adjusting for inflation, and it was considered so corrupt we still teach it in high school government classes a century later.
Corruption so pungent, it wafts right off the page:
Lobbyists who do pardon deals “say their going rate is $1 million. Pardon-seekers have offered some lobbyists close to the president success fees of as much as $6 million if they can close the deal.”
Gift link www.wsj.com/politics/pol...
Lobbyists who do pardon deals “say their going rate is $1 million. Pardon-seekers have offered some lobbyists close to the president success fees of as much as $6 million if they can close the deal.”
Gift link www.wsj.com/politics/pol...
Inside the New Fast Track to a Presidential Pardon
Even some of the president’s closest advisers have been surprised by a number of the recent series of pardons.
www.wsj.com
December 27, 2025 at 9:24 PM
All of the money that changed hands in the Teapot Dome scandal totaled less than $10 million after adjusting for inflation, and it was considered so corrupt we still teach it in high school government classes a century later.
Reposted by Joey Fishkin
We are getting to the point where white collar criminals are thinking, "why take the plea deal my high-priced lawyer negotiated when I can just bribe the President and skip jail altogether?"
donmoynihan.substack.com/p/pardon-the...
donmoynihan.substack.com/p/pardon-the...
December 27, 2025 at 6:27 PM
We are getting to the point where white collar criminals are thinking, "why take the plea deal my high-priced lawyer negotiated when I can just bribe the President and skip jail altogether?"
donmoynihan.substack.com/p/pardon-the...
donmoynihan.substack.com/p/pardon-the...
Reposted by Joey Fishkin
Imagine watching Sinatra, son of Dolly & Antonini born in Genoa & Sicily, respectively, and Martin, son of Gaetano & Angela, born in Montesilvano, Italy & Ohio respectively, (Angela to parents born in Monasterolo, Italy), and crusading against the value of children of immigrants to the U.S.
December 26, 2025 at 7:03 PM
Imagine watching Sinatra, son of Dolly & Antonini born in Genoa & Sicily, respectively, and Martin, son of Gaetano & Angela, born in Montesilvano, Italy & Ohio respectively, (Angela to parents born in Monasterolo, Italy), and crusading against the value of children of immigrants to the U.S.
Maybe if we publicize enough that this is Trump's argument, we can at least get some polarization on it: get Democrats who oppose Trump to think, huh, maybe this argument for protecting home values by not building housing is actually a bad, let's-make-the-rich-richer sort of argument...?
Trump: If we build more housing, the price of homes will go down, and homeowners will lose their wealth.
December 26, 2025 at 9:30 PM
Maybe if we publicize enough that this is Trump's argument, we can at least get some polarization on it: get Democrats who oppose Trump to think, huh, maybe this argument for protecting home values by not building housing is actually a bad, let's-make-the-rich-richer sort of argument...?
So many of my older Jewish friends and relatives, including much of my own family, supported the Anti-Defamation League, literally for generations, for reasons including:
— They cared about civil rights
— They cared about fighting antisemitism
— They understood that the two are inseparable
1/
— They cared about civil rights
— They cared about fighting antisemitism
— They understood that the two are inseparable
1/
Top ADL civil rights lay leader quits, accusing group of being ‘useful idiot’ for Trump
Joe Berman cites failure to respond aggressively to antisemitism on the right, narrowing of focus from broader civil rights issues to antisemitism and anti-Zionism only
www.timesofisrael.com
December 25, 2025 at 6:50 PM
So many of my older Jewish friends and relatives, including much of my own family, supported the Anti-Defamation League, literally for generations, for reasons including:
— They cared about civil rights
— They cared about fighting antisemitism
— They understood that the two are inseparable
1/
— They cared about civil rights
— They cared about fighting antisemitism
— They understood that the two are inseparable
1/
Brilliant article.
😉
😉
I'm reminded of Dan Farber's 1986 article, "The Case Against Brilliance," which is pretty much about that problem in the legal academy.
scholarship.law.umn.edu/cgi/viewcont...
scholarship.law.umn.edu/cgi/viewcont...
December 25, 2025 at 1:22 AM
Brilliant article.
😉
😉
Bari Weiss has inadvertently created a crucible in which the hermetically sealed system of one party’s ideological commitments comes into white-hot contact with the system of norms and mores of professional journalism.
Melting down CBS into a FOX News-like alloy is somehow both slow and explosive.
Melting down CBS into a FOX News-like alloy is somehow both slow and explosive.
The Erika Kirk townhall was:
A. more legwork
B. unexpected stories
C. overlooked topics
D. all of the above
A. more legwork
B. unexpected stories
C. overlooked topics
D. all of the above
Bari Weiss just sent this Christmas Eve email to the CBS News staff about "building trust," which includes her tripling down on spiking the CECOT piece "to make sure it's comprehensive and fair."
One CBS staffer tells me: "She really has no idea how insulting she comes across."
One CBS staffer tells me: "She really has no idea how insulting she comes across."
December 24, 2025 at 7:47 PM
Bari Weiss has inadvertently created a crucible in which the hermetically sealed system of one party’s ideological commitments comes into white-hot contact with the system of norms and mores of professional journalism.
Melting down CBS into a FOX News-like alloy is somehow both slow and explosive.
Melting down CBS into a FOX News-like alloy is somehow both slow and explosive.
Reposted by Joey Fishkin
Kudos to @martylederman.bsky.social , who’s most responsible for this good result.
The crux of the majority’s reasoning is here. The issue was barely touched in the lower courts but @martylederman.bsky.social highlighted it in amicus brief to SCOTUS, prompting the justices to invite supplemental briefing from the parties.
December 23, 2025 at 8:29 PM
Kudos to @martylederman.bsky.social , who’s most responsible for this good result.
Reposted by Joey Fishkin
It’s interesting that the administration wants you to know that Bari Weiss is in league with them.
December 23, 2025 at 3:07 PM
It’s interesting that the administration wants you to know that Bari Weiss is in league with them.
Reposted by Joey Fishkin
We really need to clear out the thicket of junk that has built up in these local building codes in California. We have a statewide code and there is virtually no oversight over, or analysis required, of local code amendments.
“Their ceilings were 7 feet high — an acceptable minimum height for residential space under state code, but 6 inches too low to meet San Francisco’s more stringent requirement — meaning the units were “unwarranted” and couldn’t legally be rented.“
🎁 link:
www.sfchronicle.com/personal-fin...
🎁 link:
www.sfchronicle.com/personal-fin...
She wants S.F. to legalize her in-law rental units. City rules could trigger $1 million in costs
A San Francisco woman has been on a yearslong quest to bring two small ADUs to code. She’s faced an uphill battle every step of the way.
www.sfchronicle.com
December 23, 2025 at 5:33 AM
We really need to clear out the thicket of junk that has built up in these local building codes in California. We have a statewide code and there is virtually no oversight over, or analysis required, of local code amendments.
There is so much in this comment. If only we could make some of the travesties of the present U.S. government a little more hidden —the way so much of it is openly corrupt or openly destructive really kills public interest in the story!
I hadn’t thought about 60 Minutes in forever, but then they started hiding the news, like a cool scavenger hunt.
December 23, 2025 at 2:24 AM
There is so much in this comment. If only we could make some of the travesties of the present U.S. government a little more hidden —the way so much of it is openly corrupt or openly destructive really kills public interest in the story!