Katherine Smock
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ksmock.bsky.social
Katherine Smock
@ksmock.bsky.social
87 followers 99 following 14 posts
doctoral candidate at UCLA Sociology studying housing and homelessness, organizations, and local governance in LA
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ksmock.bsky.social
@cicojournal.bsky.social has a snazzy new look!
annowens.bsky.social Ann Owens @annowens.bsky.social · 5h
Give @cicojournal.bsky.social a follow! Check out the fresh look and keep informed about all the exciting urban sociology scholarship we've got coming soon!
February 10, 2026 at 11:03 PM
ksmock.bsky.social
I wish I had time for a whole nother research agenda because I want to spend many years studying why people assume AI will be good at things
histoftech.bsky.social jennifer uncoolidge @histoftech.bsky.social · 1d
When AI was added to a tool for sinus surgery: “Cerebrospinal fluid leaked from one patient’s nose. In another… a surgeon mistakenly punctured the base of a patient’s skull. In two other cases, patients suffered strokes after a major artery was accidentally injured”

www.reuters.com/investigatio...
As AI enters the operating room, reports arise of botched surgeries and misidentified body parts
Medical device makers have been rushing to add AI to their products. While proponents say the new technology will revolutionize medicine, regulators are receiving a rising number of claims of patient ...
www.reuters.com
February 10, 2026 at 5:26 PM
Reposted by Katherine Smock
propublica.org
5/ “I have already spent more than 60 days waking up eating the same repetitive meals…going to the doctor and that the only thing they tell you is to drink more water and the worst thing is that it seems like the water is what makes people sick here…”

From 12-year-old Ender, detained 60+ days
Page 1 of a child’s handwritten letter, written in Spanish in a cursive script. Translation: “Hello I am Ender and I am 12 years old, I have been at this center  for 2 months. I arrived here for an immigration appointment and I don’t think they should grab immigrants who are innocent, like instead of grabbing criminals because I mean they prefer to lock up children than look for people who really shouldn’t be in the U.S. They told me I could only be here 21 days but I have already spent more than 60 days waking up eating the same repetitive meals, going outside and that the majority of guards never pay attention to people, eating dinner  always the same as the day before, seeing people cry every day for the same reasons, trying to sleep in that horrible uncomfortable bed, going to the doctor and that the only thing they tell you is to drink more water and the worst thing is that it seems like the water is what makes people sick here…” Page 2 of a child’s handwritten letter, written in Spanish in a cursive script. Translation: “…going to wait for the bad answers from the judges, hearing the bad news from people who no longer have hope, having to share a room with minimum 3 families, and all that so they send us back to our countries.” Below the text is a drawing in pen of three women, titled “My family” and labeled with “Mama,” “Sister,” and “me” in Spanish.
February 9, 2026 at 12:34 PM
Reposted by Katherine Smock
ilhanmn.bsky.social
Liam is home now and we are grateful to @joaquincastrotx.bsky.social for traveling to Minneapolis with him and his dad.

Welcome home Liam ❤️❤️
February 1, 2026 at 5:40 PM
ksmock.bsky.social
These people are so evil and horrible, I truly have no words
We Found More Than 40 Cases of Immigration Agents Using Banned Chokeholds and Other Moves That Can Cut Off Breathing
Civilians have had apparent seizures. One had his eyes roll back. Another had ribs broken. “I felt like I was going to pass out and die,” said a 16-year-old citizen put in a chokehold. The government ...
www.propublica.org
January 16, 2026 at 6:31 PM
Reposted by Katherine Smock
dominicervolina.com
A video of ICE agents conducting door-to-door searches today in Minneapolis

The homeowner requests a warrant repeatedly, is told they don't require one, then is told they're getting it, then the agents storm in anyway

They also point a taser at her to try and disrupt filming
January 12, 2026 at 1:42 AM
Reposted by Katherine Smock
philabcoulter.bsky.social
Best TikTok thing going is the two dudes trying food from every country without leaving NYC. If you haven’t seen them yet, it’s incredible. My favorite so far is last week’s. Legit got me emotional.
January 9, 2026 at 1:50 AM
Reposted by Katherine Smock
katmabu.bsky.social
You and your wife drop your 6-year-old off at school. You just moved here. You see ICE terrorizing your new neighbors. You film them, as is your legal right. Your wife complies with orders. She is then shot in the head. You still have to pick up your child later today.

This could be you.
Distraught woman says ICE killed her wife in video after deadly Minneapolis shooting "They killed my wife," the distraught woman says, adding, "They shot her in the head." An ICE agent shot and killed a 37-year-old woman who was driving an SUV in Minneapolis on Wednesday. / Screenshot/@Breaking911 "They killed my wife. I don't know what to do," the woman says through sobs in the footage, with a damaged SUV visible in the distance behind her. "We stopped to videotape, and they shot her in the head," the woman cries. "We have a six-year-old at school," she says, almost unable to breathe, as a chaotic scene in which federal officers prevented at least one doctor who was on the scene from assisting the shot victim unfolds. "We're new here," the distraught woman says in despair.
January 8, 2026 at 12:15 AM
Reposted by Katherine Smock
laprofmme.bsky.social
THIS THIS THIS. ALL OF THIS

THIS is why faculty resist technological strategies for teaching. There is no engaging with Edtech without this context
December 30, 2025 at 1:50 AM
Reposted by Katherine Smock
mkushel.bsky.social
What would be the real world impacts of the loss of federal funding for Housing First programs? We modeled it: an additional 44,590 ppl beyond anticipated growth due to economic factors. @jabarocas.bsky.social @kirkfetters.bsky.social @ucsfbhhi.bsky.social url: jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
Potential Changes in US Homelessness by Ending Federal Support for Housing First Programs
This decision analytical model estimates the change in the number of people experiencing homelessness in a year following termination of federal support for Housing First programs.
jamanetwork.com
December 19, 2025 at 6:18 PM
Reposted by Katherine Smock
dieworkwear.bsky.social
This NYT story failed the reader by not digging deeper. One subject dropped out of college after one year (five years ago) and lists "Windows" as his skillset. Story should be: young conservatives who blame immigrants for their personal failures and whose lives won't be improved w/ fewer immigrants
NYT headline reads: "The Young People Fixated on Who Gets to Work in America For some Gen Z conservatives, H-1B visas are a hot new topic." Excerpt reads: "Take Mitchell Boone, a 27-year-old Trump supporter. Five years after leaving a computer science program at the University of Missouri, and what he says are over 1,000 job applications later, Mr. Boone claims he has landed just a single job interview. Today, he says he keeps three part-time jobs in Greenville, S.C., and grows his own food to cut down on expenses. Having abandoned hopes of working in tech, Mr. Boone says he is exploring alternative fields like construction or farming. Mr. Boone, who said he voted for Mr. Trump in the last two presidential elections, spoke of his post-grad years with an air of exasperation. But he’s finally settled on an explanation for his bleak economic straits: the H-1B." On his LinkedIn, it says he spent one year at University of Missouri-Columbia, studying computer science from Aug 2022 to Sept 2023. He says he dropped out to join the workforce. Skillset includes Windows and attention to detail.
December 15, 2025 at 8:36 AM
ksmock.bsky.social
Me transcribing interviews with developers lol
liamjdillon.com Liam Dillon @liamjdillon.com · Dec 10
I see that New York Times transcription service is unfamiliar with California's Regional Housing Needs Assessment
Q&A with Ezra Klein and Gavin Newsom. Transcribed California's RHNA as "arena" Why is it so hard? Because you’ve wanted to do this. You set a 3.5 million housing production goal. That was the aspirational goal. And then the legal goal, 2.5 million by 2030, became what we call the arena goals —
December 10, 2025 at 9:40 PM
Reposted by Katherine Smock
nathanihoff.bsky.social
With the semester finishing, I wanted to give an update about building this intro statistics course for PhD students in sociology. Thanks to everyone who gave advice! I ended up having a blast teaching it, and students seemed to like it.

Here's the syllabus: docs.google.com/document/d/1...
December 9, 2025 at 9:06 PM
Reposted by Katherine Smock
awalkerinla.bsky.social
*taps sign*
awalkerinla.bsky.social Alissa Walker @awalkerinla.bsky.social · Jun 26
Two years ago I interviewed a 31-year-old NY state assemblymember about a 7-year-old girl killed by an SUV driver in his district. I hung up the phone, astonished that I'd talked to a legislator who so thoughtfully articulated what actually needs to change on our streets.

He'll make a great mayor
In February, 7-year-old Dolma Naadhun was crossing the intersection of Newtown Road and 45th Street in Astoria with her mother and sister when the driver of a 2021 Ford Explorer blew through a stop sign, striking and killing Dolma. One month later, New York City Department of Transportation commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez visited the crash site with other officials, met with community members demanding a traffic signal be installed, and promised to make changes to the street - including "daylighting" the intersection using curb extensions and plastic bollards. State assemblymember Zohran Mamdani also visited the scene that day and realized that something else needed to change. "When you take a step back and think about traffic violence in New York City," he said, "you start to understand that this is a systemic issue that is incentivized by the policies that we have in place with regard to the design of our streets and what kind of vehicles we allow to be on our roads." Whether a driver runs a stop sign or a red light, statistically, certain cars - namely, bigger SUVs and trucks - are more likely to kill a 7-year-old. This is why Mamdani is co- introducing legislation for a weight-based vehicle-registration fee intended to discourage people from purchasing heavier vehicles. "The car industry is pushing the sale of heavier and larger vehicles," he says. "The state has to make it clear that these types of vehicles come with a certain kind of cost." soar above adult shoulders. But there may be another way to disincentivize the purchases of such vehicles, says Edwards. "One other potential idea would be for someone, maybe a city's DOT, to start keeping a list of the different makes and models of vehicles that are killing pedestrians and cyclists, or kids specifically, and post that publicly," he says. "That could bring awareness to which cars are more dangerous and also potentially affect insurance rates, which would possibly convince people not to buy certain cars." There's a bit of accountability in New York's bill, which would require the State DOT to track all fatal crashes by vehicle weight. But the other encouraging aspect of the proposal is that the collected fees stay local, by county, and, after the annual dedications to highway, bridge, and transit trust funds are met, a full 75 percent of the funds raised will go toward safety improvements like bike lanes, bollards, road diets, pedestrianization of streets, and raised crosswalks. This means the neighborhoods most impacted by large vehicles are likely to see the biggest changes. And that might be the most important part of the legislation, says Mamdani. "This is an initiative to make our streets safer for our children," he says. "And we are making sure a significant portion of this funding goes toward creating the very streetscapes that we know will save their lives."
November 5, 2025 at 2:12 AM
ksmock.bsky.social
It's really giving live, laugh, love
onestpress.onestnetwork.com Olga Nesterova @onestpress.onestnetwork.com · Nov 5
New sign outside the Oval Office..
November 5, 2025 at 10:29 PM
Reposted by Katherine Smock
drjoehanson.bsky.social
When people learn with ChatGPT instead of following their own searches, they end up knowing less, caring less, and producing worse advice, even when the facts are the same.

Friction is an essential ingredient for learning! Convenience makes us shallow.

academic.oup.com/pnasnexus/ar...
Experimental evidence of the effects of large language models versus web search on depth of learning
Abstract. The effects of using large language models (LLMs) versus traditional web search on depth of learning are explored. A theory is proposed that when
academic.oup.com
October 28, 2025 at 3:14 PM
Reposted by Katherine Smock
knockdotla.bsky.social
New on Knock: Getting up early to beat the crowds? LAPD and City Attorney Feldstein Soto sought court permission to use force against journalists ahead of the No Kings protests. City Council disagreed, unanimously voting to block the attempt.

knock-la.com/lapd-city-at...
LAPD, City Attorney want to shoot more journalists; City Council disagrees - Knock LA
"Shooting journalists with rubber bullets while they are covering protests is bad." - Controller Kenneth Mejia
knock-la.com
October 18, 2025 at 12:47 AM
ksmock.bsky.social
my paper with my colleague and friend Victoria Tran is finally out!
uaanews.bsky.social Urban Affairs Association (UAA) @uaanews.bsky.social · Oct 6
NEW JUA #ARTICLE: Between the city and the people: The pitfalls and potential of hyper-local governance of the homelessness crisis in Los Angeles www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.... @bhanlonurban.bsky.social
October 7, 2025 at 7:26 PM
Reposted by Katherine Smock
knockdotla.bsky.social
New on Knock: the looming redevelopment of William Mead Homes in Chinatown raises fears in Mar Vista Gardens, the only public housing project on the west side of LA. Story from @marvistavoice.bsky.social

knock-la.com/william-mead...
William Mead Redevelopment Raises Fears for Mar Vista Gardens - Knock LA
Los Angeles is once again at a crossroads in its treatment of public housing, threatening communities like Mar Vista Gardens.
knock-la.com
September 24, 2025 at 7:29 PM
ksmock.bsky.social
this may be controversial but maybe tv stars should NOT be the last word on urban development

laist.com/news/climate...
A former reality star is influencing LA's post-fires rebuilding
Spencer Pratt is best known from his time on MTV reality show "The Hills." But he's now using his social media presence to weigh in on rebuilding efforts after the L.A. fires.
laist.com
September 16, 2025 at 8:40 PM
Reposted by Katherine Smock
jacobsoboroff.bsky.social
Nory Sontay Ramos was a thriving high school student in L.A. until she and her mom were deported by the Trump administration in July. For @msnbc.com, we visited her in Guatemala as she tries to graduate remotely while hiding from the same gang they fled years ago. www.msnbc.com/msnbc/news/n...
The disappearance of Nory Sontay Ramos
Nory and her mother were following the rules. But as MSNBC reports from L.A. and Guatemala, U.S. officials deported them anyway — throwing their futures into jeopardy.
www.msnbc.com
September 2, 2025 at 5:06 PM
Reposted by Katherine Smock
jessicacalarco.com
This is the fruit of a seed planted in the first Trump administration--a seed of skepticism around "social emotional learning" that, I'd argue, was planted to test whether fear-mongering around "too much empathy and not enough real learning in schools" could be used to justify attacks on DEI. 1/🧵
A New York Times opinion headline: “Is ‘Toxic Empathy’ Pulling Christians to the Left? How Allie Beth Stuckey is holding the line on the right.
July 17, 2025 at 7:26 PM
Reposted by Katherine Smock
mkushel.bsky.social
📣Older adults are the fastest growing group of people experiencing homelessness. This @nytimes.com makes the crisis vivid. Proposed cuts & policy changes will make this problem so much worse. @ucsfbhhi.bsky.social Proud to have contributed 🧵 1/x www.nytimes.com/2025/05/27/u...
How a Generation’s Struggle Led to a Record Surge in Homelessness
www.nytimes.com
May 29, 2025 at 5:06 PM
Reposted by Katherine Smock
sorayanadiamcdonald.com
A masked woman in neon workout gear creating a dance video during the covid pandemic as the Myanmar coup unrolls behind her.
January 31, 2025 at 11:43 PM