Jenna Bednar
@jennabednar.bsky.social
Umich prof, polisci & public policy, Director of UMICH Votes &
Democratic Engagement, & Santa Fe Institute. Institutions, federalism, robustness, sustainability. New work on democratic norms, coming soon.
Democratic Engagement, & Santa Fe Institute. Institutions, federalism, robustness, sustainability. New work on democratic norms, coming soon.
"Regimes that rely on repression face a challenge: The more force they deploy, the more they risk exposing their own brutality to politically persuadable observers. Overreach doesn’t just project strength; it also undermines legitimacy." @owasow.bsky.social www.nytimes.com/2026/01/28/o...
Opinion | We’re Seeing the Weakness of a Strong State
www.nytimes.com
January 28, 2026 at 4:26 PM
"Regimes that rely on repression face a challenge: The more force they deploy, the more they risk exposing their own brutality to politically persuadable observers. Overreach doesn’t just project strength; it also undermines legitimacy." @owasow.bsky.social www.nytimes.com/2026/01/28/o...
Reposted by Jenna Bednar
If you need some hope today — and don’t we all? — read @adambonica.bsky.social . As a bonus, you’ll also find an agenda and a source of resolve to make it happen.
open.substack.com/pub/data4dem...
open.substack.com/pub/data4dem...
The Wall Looks Permanent Until It Falls
On the optimism of preparation in a time of democratic decay.
open.substack.com
January 11, 2026 at 2:34 PM
If you need some hope today — and don’t we all? — read @adambonica.bsky.social . As a bonus, you’ll also find an agenda and a source of resolve to make it happen.
open.substack.com/pub/data4dem...
open.substack.com/pub/data4dem...
Reposted by Jenna Bednar
Here is a poem Renee Good, under her earlier name Renee Macklin, wrote, "On Learning to Dissect Fetal Pigs." It won a prize. It's really good. "it’s the ruler by which i reduce all things now; hard-edged & splintering from knowledge." poets.org/2020-on-lear...
2020 Academy of American Poets Prize
On Learning to Dissect Fetal Pigs by Renée Nicole Macklin
poets.org
January 8, 2026 at 1:52 PM
Here is a poem Renee Good, under her earlier name Renee Macklin, wrote, "On Learning to Dissect Fetal Pigs." It won a prize. It's really good. "it’s the ruler by which i reduce all things now; hard-edged & splintering from knowledge." poets.org/2020-on-lear...
Reposted by Jenna Bednar
Applications open for SFI’s 2026 UCR program.
Are you fascinated by transdisciplinary questions that transcend or combine disciplines? UCR is a fully funded, 10-week summer research experience for undergraduates curious about complexity science.
Apply by Jan 14, 2026
santafe.edu/ucr
Are you fascinated by transdisciplinary questions that transcend or combine disciplines? UCR is a fully funded, 10-week summer research experience for undergraduates curious about complexity science.
Apply by Jan 14, 2026
santafe.edu/ucr
December 11, 2025 at 10:04 PM
Applications open for SFI’s 2026 UCR program.
Are you fascinated by transdisciplinary questions that transcend or combine disciplines? UCR is a fully funded, 10-week summer research experience for undergraduates curious about complexity science.
Apply by Jan 14, 2026
santafe.edu/ucr
Are you fascinated by transdisciplinary questions that transcend or combine disciplines? UCR is a fully funded, 10-week summer research experience for undergraduates curious about complexity science.
Apply by Jan 14, 2026
santafe.edu/ucr
From interim President Mahoney's letter: "We seek no special treatment.... the integrity of science ... depends on merit-based assessment." Yay UVa.
The University of Virginia said it would not sign the Trump administration’s proposed offer of priority access for federal funding, the fifth university to turn down the “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education.”
University of Virginia turns down Trump deal for priority federal funding
The rejection comes after a tumultuous summer at the University of Virginia during which President James E. Ryan resigned amid DOJ pressure over DEI investigations.
www.washingtonpost.com
October 17, 2025 at 10:05 PM
From interim President Mahoney's letter: "We seek no special treatment.... the integrity of science ... depends on merit-based assessment." Yay UVa.
Reposted by Jenna Bednar
My department is hiring an assistant professor of environmental behavioral sciences. The research area is open but we are particularly interested in people with research on collective action or computational social sciences.
Happy to answer questions about the Doerr School or the department.
Happy to answer questions about the Doerr School or the department.
Stanford | Faculty Positions: Details - Assistant Professor, Department of Environmental Social Sciences (Environmental Behavioral Sciences)
facultypositions.stanford.edu
September 7, 2025 at 2:45 PM
My department is hiring an assistant professor of environmental behavioral sciences. The research area is open but we are particularly interested in people with research on collective action or computational social sciences.
Happy to answer questions about the Doerr School or the department.
Happy to answer questions about the Doerr School or the department.
Reposted by Jenna Bednar
If you think the attack on the Fed's Lisa Cook has nothing to do with you, you're wrong — any one of us may be next paulkrugman.substack.com/p/we-are-all...
We Are All Lisa Cook
Nobody is safe from weaponized government
paulkrugman.substack.com
August 25, 2025 at 12:49 PM
If you think the attack on the Fed's Lisa Cook has nothing to do with you, you're wrong — any one of us may be next paulkrugman.substack.com/p/we-are-all...
⭐ Book rec to understand Trump's Epstein August: www.harpercollins.com/products/the.... There's no better guide to the evangelicals’ embrace of Trump. This is no outsider’s ethnography; he is a pastor’s son trying to understand how the church he loves has chosen earthly power over the Gospel.
The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory
Instant New York Times Bestseller
One of Barack Obama's Favorite Books of the Year
An Economist and Air Mail Best Book of the Year
\"Brave and abso...
www.harpercollins.com
July 24, 2025 at 10:30 PM
⭐ Book rec to understand Trump's Epstein August: www.harpercollins.com/products/the.... There's no better guide to the evangelicals’ embrace of Trump. This is no outsider’s ethnography; he is a pastor’s son trying to understand how the church he loves has chosen earthly power over the Gospel.
Reposted by Jenna Bednar
The launch of an important new public resource.
The Anti-Corruption Tracker: Mapping the Erosion of Oversight and Accountability
www.justsecurity.org/117267/anti-...
The Tracker is a living document that will be continually updated.
A screenshot below gives you a sense of the Chart and its data.
The Anti-Corruption Tracker: Mapping the Erosion of Oversight and Accountability
www.justsecurity.org/117267/anti-...
The Tracker is a living document that will be continually updated.
A screenshot below gives you a sense of the Chart and its data.
July 23, 2025 at 2:37 PM
The launch of an important new public resource.
The Anti-Corruption Tracker: Mapping the Erosion of Oversight and Accountability
www.justsecurity.org/117267/anti-...
The Tracker is a living document that will be continually updated.
A screenshot below gives you a sense of the Chart and its data.
The Anti-Corruption Tracker: Mapping the Erosion of Oversight and Accountability
www.justsecurity.org/117267/anti-...
The Tracker is a living document that will be continually updated.
A screenshot below gives you a sense of the Chart and its data.
"Fear is the tool of a tyrant."
Maurene Comey's goodbye note to SDNY colleagues:
July 17, 2025 at 8:13 PM
"Fear is the tool of a tyrant."
Cutting the CPB devastates rural public radio. On a recent roadtrip w @scottepage.bsky.social we listened only to public radio. It was incredibly...local: hog sales, new biz, swaps, & in western KS, a book club of Verghese's Covenant of Water. We lose more than emergency alerts. We lose community.
July 17, 2025 at 7:31 PM
Cutting the CPB devastates rural public radio. On a recent roadtrip w @scottepage.bsky.social we listened only to public radio. It was incredibly...local: hog sales, new biz, swaps, & in western KS, a book club of Verghese's Covenant of Water. We lose more than emergency alerts. We lose community.
Reposted by Jenna Bednar
Special Issue Captures Vibrant Moment in #ComplexityEconomics
Editorial team:
@jennabednar.bsky.social @sfiscience.bsky.social @maria-drc.bsky.social @doynefarmer.bsky.social @francoislafond.bsky.social
+J.Kaszowska-Mojsa, P.Mealy, M.Pangallo & A.Pichler
#EconSky
www.inet.ox.ac.uk/news/vibrant...
Editorial team:
@jennabednar.bsky.social @sfiscience.bsky.social @maria-drc.bsky.social @doynefarmer.bsky.social @francoislafond.bsky.social
+J.Kaszowska-Mojsa, P.Mealy, M.Pangallo & A.Pichler
#EconSky
www.inet.ox.ac.uk/news/vibrant...
Special Issue Captures Vibrant Moment in Complexity Economics
An edition of the Journal of Economic Behavior co-edited by INET Oxford shows how complexity economics can answer the policy questions of the day
www.inet.ox.ac.uk
June 27, 2025 at 8:28 AM
Special Issue Captures Vibrant Moment in #ComplexityEconomics
Editorial team:
@jennabednar.bsky.social @sfiscience.bsky.social @maria-drc.bsky.social @doynefarmer.bsky.social @francoislafond.bsky.social
+J.Kaszowska-Mojsa, P.Mealy, M.Pangallo & A.Pichler
#EconSky
www.inet.ox.ac.uk/news/vibrant...
Editorial team:
@jennabednar.bsky.social @sfiscience.bsky.social @maria-drc.bsky.social @doynefarmer.bsky.social @francoislafond.bsky.social
+J.Kaszowska-Mojsa, P.Mealy, M.Pangallo & A.Pichler
#EconSky
www.inet.ox.ac.uk/news/vibrant...
Over 1K rejected kings in Brighton, MI, a red town of 8k in the midst of a deep red county. The vibe: highly patriotic, pro people power, pro freedom. A rousing collective pledge of allegiance. Pro constitution signs on fishing poles and marshmallow sticks.
June 14, 2025 at 9:32 PM
Over 1K rejected kings in Brighton, MI, a red town of 8k in the midst of a deep red county. The vibe: highly patriotic, pro people power, pro freedom. A rousing collective pledge of allegiance. Pro constitution signs on fishing poles and marshmallow sticks.
Reposted by Jenna Bednar
Melissa Hortman, who was assassinated last night, was the Speaker of the Minnesota House in the 2023-2024 session, when Democrats ran the state government.
That means she had a leading role in shepherding the many landmark reforms that Dems adopted in that period—an important legacy. Brief 🧵.
That means she had a leading role in shepherding the many landmark reforms that Dems adopted in that period—an important legacy. Brief 🧵.
June 14, 2025 at 3:51 PM
Melissa Hortman, who was assassinated last night, was the Speaker of the Minnesota House in the 2023-2024 session, when Democrats ran the state government.
That means she had a leading role in shepherding the many landmark reforms that Dems adopted in that period—an important legacy. Brief 🧵.
That means she had a leading role in shepherding the many landmark reforms that Dems adopted in that period—an important legacy. Brief 🧵.
Can federalism hold? Here's a decent review of recent federalization of national guard troops. Last time done over a gov's wishes was 60 years ago, to protect protesters. BTW the president's order can include all states, not just CA. Where are the R governors? D govs? Pritzker? wapo.st/3ZXocaZ
When have presidents called in the National Guard to quell domestic unrest?
The National Guard was also called during the 1992 L.A. riots and the unrest that followed Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination in 1968. Trump’s order was unlike any other.
wapo.st
June 9, 2025 at 5:13 PM
Can federalism hold? Here's a decent review of recent federalization of national guard troops. Last time done over a gov's wishes was 60 years ago, to protect protesters. BTW the president's order can include all states, not just CA. Where are the R governors? D govs? Pritzker? wapo.st/3ZXocaZ
Reposted by Jenna Bednar
this @adambonica.bsky.social piece deserves to be read beside the yeoman work that @donmoyn.bsky.social and @pamherd.bsky.social have been doing. The dismantling of administrative expertise is one of those stories that is so big that pro journalists with beats find it hard to focus on or explain .
How to Dismantle a Democracy, One Job Posting at a Time
OPM’s new hiring memo imports the authoritarian playbook—quietly, bureaucratically, and by design.
data4democracy.substack.com
June 1, 2025 at 1:36 PM
this @adambonica.bsky.social piece deserves to be read beside the yeoman work that @donmoyn.bsky.social and @pamherd.bsky.social have been doing. The dismantling of administrative expertise is one of those stories that is so big that pro journalists with beats find it hard to focus on or explain .
DeVos family creates a 501c4, headed by Ronna McDaniel, to promote R candidates in Michigan. Open seats in 2026 for gov, AG, SOS, and US Senate.
Billionaire DeVos family backs new effort to make Michigan a Republican stronghold
The political organization will be led by former Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel.
www.mlive.com
June 2, 2025 at 10:24 PM
DeVos family creates a 501c4, headed by Ronna McDaniel, to promote R candidates in Michigan. Open seats in 2026 for gov, AG, SOS, and US Senate.
On the flight to Amsterdam a rowdy group of septuagenarian women from New Orleans kept saying 86 this trash, 86 this movie, 86 this wine, it’s terrible. It’s true, they killed me.
May 17, 2025 at 10:08 PM
On the flight to Amsterdam a rowdy group of septuagenarian women from New Orleans kept saying 86 this trash, 86 this movie, 86 this wine, it’s terrible. It’s true, they killed me.
Reposted by Jenna Bednar
A lot has changed in the world, so my colleagues and I at the @fordschool are opening up a special emergency admissions cycle for folks who want to start a Masters of Public Policy this fall.
Deets are here: fordschool.umich.edu/masters-prog...
I hope to see you in class in September!
Deets are here: fordschool.umich.edu/masters-prog...
I hope to see you in class in September!
Master's programs
Become the leader you've always wanted to be and work to create meaningful change in public policy and affairs that impact our communities and the world.
fordschool.umich.edu
April 24, 2025 at 6:50 PM
A lot has changed in the world, so my colleagues and I at the @fordschool are opening up a special emergency admissions cycle for folks who want to start a Masters of Public Policy this fall.
Deets are here: fordschool.umich.edu/masters-prog...
I hope to see you in class in September!
Deets are here: fordschool.umich.edu/masters-prog...
I hope to see you in class in September!
Reposted by Jenna Bednar
Is it just me, or is military.com significantly more clear-eyed about this than most news sources? www.military.com/daily-news/2...
April 16, 2025 at 11:21 PM
Is it just me, or is military.com significantly more clear-eyed about this than most news sources? www.military.com/daily-news/2...
Reposted by Jenna Bednar
HAPPENING NOW: Following the Supreme Court's decision requiring the government to "facilitate" the release of Abrego Garcia, a hearing before Judge Paula Xinis is about to begin.
I'm in Greenbelt, Maryland for @lawfare.bsky.social
Follow along for updates
I'm in Greenbelt, Maryland for @lawfare.bsky.social
Follow along for updates
April 11, 2025 at 4:59 PM
HAPPENING NOW: Following the Supreme Court's decision requiring the government to "facilitate" the release of Abrego Garcia, a hearing before Judge Paula Xinis is about to begin.
I'm in Greenbelt, Maryland for @lawfare.bsky.social
Follow along for updates
I'm in Greenbelt, Maryland for @lawfare.bsky.social
Follow along for updates
Consumer confidence is in free fall, across all segments of the population. www.sca.isr.umich.edu/files/featur...
April 11, 2025 at 2:41 PM
Consumer confidence is in free fall, across all segments of the population. www.sca.isr.umich.edu/files/featur...
Reposted by Jenna Bednar
Oh man
*UMICH PRELIM APRIL CONSUMER SENTIMENT FALLS TO 50.8; EST 53.8
*MICHIGAN 5-10 YR INFLATION EXPECTATIONS RISE TO 4.4% VS 4.1%
*UMICH YR-AHEAD EXPECTED INFLATION AT 6.7%, HIGHEST SINCE 1981
*UMICH PRELIM APRIL CONSUMER SENTIMENT FALLS TO 50.8; EST 53.8
*MICHIGAN 5-10 YR INFLATION EXPECTATIONS RISE TO 4.4% VS 4.1%
*UMICH YR-AHEAD EXPECTED INFLATION AT 6.7%, HIGHEST SINCE 1981
April 11, 2025 at 2:00 PM
Oh man
*UMICH PRELIM APRIL CONSUMER SENTIMENT FALLS TO 50.8; EST 53.8
*MICHIGAN 5-10 YR INFLATION EXPECTATIONS RISE TO 4.4% VS 4.1%
*UMICH YR-AHEAD EXPECTED INFLATION AT 6.7%, HIGHEST SINCE 1981
*UMICH PRELIM APRIL CONSUMER SENTIMENT FALLS TO 50.8; EST 53.8
*MICHIGAN 5-10 YR INFLATION EXPECTATIONS RISE TO 4.4% VS 4.1%
*UMICH YR-AHEAD EXPECTED INFLATION AT 6.7%, HIGHEST SINCE 1981
Problem solving by cognitively diverse teams is such a dangerous idea that the Navy has pulled @scottepage.bsky.social ‘s book The Difference from their shelves. press.princeton.edu/books/paperb...
The Difference
press.princeton.edu
April 5, 2025 at 12:58 AM
Problem solving by cognitively diverse teams is such a dangerous idea that the Navy has pulled @scottepage.bsky.social ‘s book The Difference from their shelves. press.princeton.edu/books/paperb...
Reposted by Jenna Bednar
A coalition of 21 state attorneys general filed a lawsuit on Friday challenging the Trump administration’s efforts to dismantle the federal agency charged with supporting the nation’s libraries.
States Challenge Trump’s Effort to Dismantle Library Agency
In a lawsuit, 21 state attorneys general argued that the steep cuts to the Institute of Museum and Library Services violate the Constitution and other federal laws related to spending.
www.nytimes.com
April 4, 2025 at 11:43 PM
A coalition of 21 state attorneys general filed a lawsuit on Friday challenging the Trump administration’s efforts to dismantle the federal agency charged with supporting the nation’s libraries.