James Schamus
@jamesschamus.bsky.social
Leibniz: "Everything that is possible demands to exist."
Highly recommend: www.publicbooks.org/the-misuses-...
The Misuses of the University - Public Books
Have the funds that might have trained the next generation of scholars at the nation’s first research university have been blown on ostentatious new buildings?
www.publicbooks.org
February 20, 2026 at 1:23 PM
Highly recommend: www.publicbooks.org/the-misuses-...
Ok, this tracks...
🚨NEW: The Israeli Government Installed & Maintained Security System at Epstein Apartment
The Israeli gov't installed security equipment and controlled access to a Manhattan apartment building managed by convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, according to emails recently released by the Dep't of...
The Israeli gov't installed security equipment and controlled access to a Manhattan apartment building managed by convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, according to emails recently released by the Dep't of...
February 18, 2026 at 8:22 PM
Ok, this tracks...
Reposted by James Schamus
Oh...
Kristi Noem: "When it gets to Election Day, we've been proactive to make sure we have the right people voting, electing the right leaders to lead this country."
February 14, 2026 at 3:09 PM
Oh...
Reposted by James Schamus
so about the relationship between the state and capital
“Moderna’s CEO announced the company will no longer invest in new Phase 3 vaccine trials for infectious diseases: ‘You cannot make a return on investment if you don’t have access to the U.S. market.’ Vaccines for Epstein-Barr virus, herpes, and shingles have been shelved.”
Moderna chief: Company won’t invest in new late-stage vaccine trials
Moderna has already been facing declines in sales after a boom during the COVID-19 pandemic.
www.cidrap.umn.edu
February 13, 2026 at 2:17 PM
so about the relationship between the state and capital
Exactly three years ago: www.nytimes.com/2023/02/11/o...
Opinion | Bad Bunny Is [Winning in Non-English] (Published 2023)
www.nytimes.com
February 12, 2026 at 2:35 PM
Exactly three years ago: www.nytimes.com/2023/02/11/o...
Reposted by James Schamus
Yesterday, after being hospitalized for more than 72 hours following a seizure, Leqaa Kordia was discharged and returned to ICE detention.
February 10, 2026 at 7:16 PM
Yesterday, after being hospitalized for more than 72 hours following a seizure, Leqaa Kordia was discharged and returned to ICE detention.
Reposted by James Schamus
Note: Just like Mohsen Mahdawi, ICE snatched Leqaa at what she thought was a routine immigration check-in, after she protested Israel’s genocide of Gaza.
They then took her from New Jersey to Texas—where she’s been detained for nearly a year.
Now she’s hospitalized and her whereabouts are unknown.
They then took her from New Jersey to Texas—where she’s been detained for nearly a year.
Now she’s hospitalized and her whereabouts are unknown.
NEW: Leqaa Kordia — who’s been in ICE detention for nearly a year, since ICE took her the same week as Mahmoud Khalil — has been hospitalized after having a seizure.
Her whereabouts & health are now unknown.
The Trump admin alleges she supports Hamas because…she sent money to help family in Gaza.
Her whereabouts & health are now unknown.
The Trump admin alleges she supports Hamas because…she sent money to help family in Gaza.
February 8, 2026 at 4:32 AM
Note: Just like Mohsen Mahdawi, ICE snatched Leqaa at what she thought was a routine immigration check-in, after she protested Israel’s genocide of Gaza.
They then took her from New Jersey to Texas—where she’s been detained for nearly a year.
Now she’s hospitalized and her whereabouts are unknown.
They then took her from New Jersey to Texas—where she’s been detained for nearly a year.
Now she’s hospitalized and her whereabouts are unknown.
Reposted by James Schamus
A desperate plea sent to me by a Minneapolis resident who's been on the front lines since the beginning of the ICE occupation:
February 8, 2026 at 5:06 AM
A desperate plea sent to me by a Minneapolis resident who's been on the front lines since the beginning of the ICE occupation:
Reposted by James Schamus
“The claim that Republican anti-trans ads and rhetoric are winning over Democratic and independent voters is simply not true. Moreover, the assumption that abandoning trans rights will have no negative ramifications for Democrats is mistaken.” @juliaserano.bsky.social
Trans rights aren’t tanking the Democrats.
Julia Serano responds in a forum on “How Not to Defeat Authoritarianism.”
www.bostonreview.net
February 7, 2026 at 6:45 PM
“The claim that Republican anti-trans ads and rhetoric are winning over Democratic and independent voters is simply not true. Moreover, the assumption that abandoning trans rights will have no negative ramifications for Democrats is mistaken.” @juliaserano.bsky.social
Reposted by James Schamus
The project to distance Epstein’s associates and collaborators from his abuse, a project which has been taken on by the likes of Ezra Klein and people at the elite institutions that enabled Epstein, is a project to prevent fully understanding why abusers get away with it and how they can be stopped
February 1, 2026 at 4:24 PM
The project to distance Epstein’s associates and collaborators from his abuse, a project which has been taken on by the likes of Ezra Klein and people at the elite institutions that enabled Epstein, is a project to prevent fully understanding why abusers get away with it and how they can be stopped
Reposted by James Schamus
“bari weiss’s wife in the epstein files” is simply too perfect
If I have the right Nellie Bowles, the partner in question is Bari Weiss
January 31, 2026 at 4:12 PM
“bari weiss’s wife in the epstein files” is simply too perfect
Reposted by James Schamus
this handful of independent journalists (my former colleagues at Motherboard) do more impactful journalism than 75% of the corporate tech press on a fraction of the budget
SCOOP: 404 Media is publishing a version of the user guide for ELITE, a tool Palantir made for ICE which brings up dossiers on individual people and provides a “confidence score” of their address.
The full user guide here:
The full user guide here:
Here is the User Guide for ELITE, the Tool Palantir Made for ICE
404 Media is publishing a version of the user guide for ELITE, which lets ICE bring up dossiers on individual people and provides a “confidence score” of their address.
www.404media.co
January 31, 2026 at 5:17 PM
this handful of independent journalists (my former colleagues at Motherboard) do more impactful journalism than 75% of the corporate tech press on a fraction of the budget
Reposted by James Schamus
so bari definitely got the heads up that noem is being shitcanned, right?
January 26, 2026 at 5:51 PM
so bari definitely got the heads up that noem is being shitcanned, right?
Reposted by James Schamus
"ICE will leave Minnesota if you hand over your voter rolls" tells you everything you need to know.
This was never about immigration or fraud. It was always about rigging elections.
This was never about immigration or fraud. It was always about rigging elections.
January 25, 2026 at 11:01 PM
"ICE will leave Minnesota if you hand over your voter rolls" tells you everything you need to know.
This was never about immigration or fraud. It was always about rigging elections.
This was never about immigration or fraud. It was always about rigging elections.
Reposted by James Schamus
I was a sensitive kid. I loved cats. I had OCD, undiagnosed.
When I was 9, a fraternity brother tortured a cat to death in my hometown. The details even now are beyond imagination. archive.is/xdmUL
I was traumatized for years from reading the news story.
The torturer? Now the head of the NRA.
When I was 9, a fraternity brother tortured a cat to death in my hometown. The details even now are beyond imagination. archive.is/xdmUL
I was traumatized for years from reading the news story.
The torturer? Now the head of the NRA.
January 25, 2026 at 4:55 AM
I was a sensitive kid. I loved cats. I had OCD, undiagnosed.
When I was 9, a fraternity brother tortured a cat to death in my hometown. The details even now are beyond imagination. archive.is/xdmUL
I was traumatized for years from reading the news story.
The torturer? Now the head of the NRA.
When I was 9, a fraternity brother tortured a cat to death in my hometown. The details even now are beyond imagination. archive.is/xdmUL
I was traumatized for years from reading the news story.
The torturer? Now the head of the NRA.
Note to self: When purchasing tickets online for chamber music concerts in Scandinavian countries with high percentages of tall blonde people, double check for raked seating.
January 25, 2026 at 4:50 PM
Note to self: When purchasing tickets online for chamber music concerts in Scandinavian countries with high percentages of tall blonde people, double check for raked seating.
Reposted by James Schamus
Reposted by James Schamus
I've talked to people on the ground about the strike here tomorrow, and the single thing everyone brings up is just how shockingly wide the support for the strike is. Businesses that no one would have expected to support it are doing so.
National media should really be covering the fact thay every major school, museum, and arts institution in the Twin Cities, and hundreds of local businesses are closed tomorrow to protest federal occupation.
Nothing like this at this scale has happened anywhere in America anytime in living memory.
Nothing like this at this scale has happened anywhere in America anytime in living memory.
January 23, 2026 at 12:15 AM
I've talked to people on the ground about the strike here tomorrow, and the single thing everyone brings up is just how shockingly wide the support for the strike is. Businesses that no one would have expected to support it are doing so.
Reposted by James Schamus
I've been thinking about this a lot, for months: Gaza was a breaking point between verifiable reality and liberal governance. "AI" sparks fears ppl will believe things that aren't true, but Gaza SHOWED things that WERE true—& western governments, universities & news outlets pretened they were not.
What did we think Trump was going to do, if Europe showed him we would fully collaborate on the total destruction of the Gaza Strip and ferociously repeat even the most absurd lies about it to our citizens? Did we think he would decide: best to not push the law breaking and war crimes, be sensible.
January 21, 2026 at 10:28 AM
I've been thinking about this a lot, for months: Gaza was a breaking point between verifiable reality and liberal governance. "AI" sparks fears ppl will believe things that aren't true, but Gaza SHOWED things that WERE true—& western governments, universities & news outlets pretened they were not.
Reposted by James Schamus
Trump posting the texts of European leaders groveling is funny ngl. They are all a bunch of worms “thanks for the the intervention you’re doing in the global south. Please don’t touch Greenland. Let’s be best friends”
January 20, 2026 at 12:16 PM
Trump posting the texts of European leaders groveling is funny ngl. They are all a bunch of worms “thanks for the the intervention you’re doing in the global south. Please don’t touch Greenland. Let’s be best friends”
Reposted by James Schamus
The NFL has fined Texans linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair $11,593 for wearing eye black that called to "stop the genocide" during a playoff match last week.
The message referenced the genocide in Gaza & was visible also during his post-game TV interview on ESPN. The league says this violated its...
The message referenced the genocide in Gaza & was visible also during his post-game TV interview on ESPN. The league says this violated its...
January 18, 2026 at 6:50 PM
The NFL has fined Texans linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair $11,593 for wearing eye black that called to "stop the genocide" during a playoff match last week.
The message referenced the genocide in Gaza & was visible also during his post-game TV interview on ESPN. The league says this violated its...
The message referenced the genocide in Gaza & was visible also during his post-game TV interview on ESPN. The league says this violated its...
Reposted by James Schamus
Excited to share, well, not sure i can yet call them *thoughts* exactly, but if you happen to be near Cambridge next week, please come by - www.film.cam.ac.uk/events/himes...
“Prof James Schamus: Himes, Hitchcock and Noir’s Racialized Borders” » Cambridge Film & Screen
Noir scholarship inevitably solicits questions of genre and canon formation; it invokes the idea of genre even as it appears to fail or to elude generic solidity. This failure is troubled, perhaps eve...
www.film.cam.ac.uk
January 14, 2026 at 10:30 PM
Excited to share, well, not sure i can yet call them *thoughts* exactly, but if you happen to be near Cambridge next week, please come by - www.film.cam.ac.uk/events/himes...
Can you imagine if the media reported everything else the way they do the ongoing genocide, like "Man Liquidates Family Amid Ongoing Restraining Order Tensions"?
January 10, 2026 at 5:26 PM
Can you imagine if the media reported everything else the way they do the ongoing genocide, like "Man Liquidates Family Amid Ongoing Restraining Order Tensions"?
