Matt Farish
@mattfarish.bsky.social
Historical geographer, University of Toronto; Affiliate, U of T's Centre for the Study of the US. Writing a book about climate labs, survival schools, and the 20th-c. US militarization of the planet. Distracted by AC Milan and ⚽️. Posts are personal.
Reposted by Matt Farish
the nuzzi story is fun and all but at the center of it is the elevation of a man who has dedicated his life to making children catch preventable diseases to a position where he can enact harm at enormous scale
CDC has overhauled its website to assert that “the claim ‘vaccines do not cause autism’ is not an evidence-based claim”
November 20, 2025 at 3:19 AM
the nuzzi story is fun and all but at the center of it is the elevation of a man who has dedicated his life to making children catch preventable diseases to a position where he can enact harm at enormous scale
Reposted by Matt Farish
Elon Musk can't get humans to love him so he made a robot to love him instead and now all the humans are making fun of the robot. This is the smartest man in the world, a once-in-a-generation genius and clear member of the natural aristocracy
this thread is unbelievable
November 20, 2025 at 9:03 AM
Elon Musk can't get humans to love him so he made a robot to love him instead and now all the humans are making fun of the robot. This is the smartest man in the world, a once-in-a-generation genius and clear member of the natural aristocracy
Reposted by Matt Farish
Where are all the free market types? Turning the most powerful economy in the history of the world into a hotbed of crony capitalism with a rigged justice system
NEW: As Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick drives billions of dollars in foreign payments to help build AI data centers in the US, his sons help run a company earning tens of millions in fees helping finance AI data centers. A NYT investigation. (Free link)
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/20/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/20/u...
Family Affair: Commerce Secretary’s Sons Cash In on A.I. Frenzy
www.nytimes.com
November 20, 2025 at 1:51 PM
Where are all the free market types? Turning the most powerful economy in the history of the world into a hotbed of crony capitalism with a rigged justice system
"Their obsession with national greatness — with ethnic chauvinism and so-called traditional values — is little more than a cover story for common thieves whose great aspiration is to steal and loot with abandon."
wrote about the president’s flagrant and destructive corruption in a column that references street fighter, the simpsons, machiavelli, and a host of revolutionary-era americans (gift link)
Opinion | The White House Gold Rush Is On
www.nytimes.com
November 19, 2025 at 2:57 PM
"Their obsession with national greatness — with ethnic chauvinism and so-called traditional values — is little more than a cover story for common thieves whose great aspiration is to steal and loot with abandon."
Podcast: Brett Christophers and Thomas Jones · Where does our waste go?
www.lrb.co.uk
November 19, 2025 at 2:48 PM
Planning friends and colleagues are organizing this cool conference for May 2026: www.plannersnetwork.org/events/may-2...
Planning in the Face of Fascism (May 8-10, 2026) – Planners Network
www.plannersnetwork.org
November 19, 2025 at 1:29 AM
Planning friends and colleagues are organizing this cool conference for May 2026: www.plannersnetwork.org/events/may-2...
Reposted by Matt Farish
pretty much beyond question that Larry Summers led the charge against Claudine Gay because he is personally a vitriolic misogynist and racist www.thecrimson.com/article/2024...
88 Days: The Unraveling of Claudine Gay’s Harvard Presidency | News | The Harvard Crimson
Harvard President Claudine Gay resigned on Jan. 2, ending her tenure as the University's 30th president after it was clear the Harvard Corporation lost confidence in Gay's ability to lead amid mountin...
www.thecrimson.com
November 18, 2025 at 7:09 PM
pretty much beyond question that Larry Summers led the charge against Claudine Gay because he is personally a vitriolic misogynist and racist www.thecrimson.com/article/2024...
Reposted by Matt Farish
We are hiring in American History - TT open rank search
applications.caltech.edu/jobs/history
applications.caltech.edu/jobs/history
November 17, 2025 at 9:11 PM
We are hiring in American History - TT open rank search
applications.caltech.edu/jobs/history
applications.caltech.edu/jobs/history
Reposted by Matt Farish
i think vance is only interesting inasmuch as he extremely unprincipled and thus a good guide to where the GOP is going (gift link)
Opinion | JD Vance Is Idling at the Edges of American Politics
www.nytimes.com
November 16, 2025 at 2:34 PM
i think vance is only interesting inasmuch as he extremely unprincipled and thus a good guide to where the GOP is going (gift link)
Reposted by Matt Farish
Pleased to post this new Dig ep w/ my partner in all things @triofrancos.bsky.social on her beautiful book Extraction: The Frontiers of Green Capitalism. We go from Chile to Nevada, from dawn of colonialism to geoeconomic conflict between the US and China—and more www.thedigradio.com/podcast/extr...
Extraction w/ Thea Riofrancos
Featuring Thea Riofrancos on Extraction: The Frontiers of Green Capitalism. The green energy transition requires a vast array of inputs: copper, cobalt, rare earth elements, and the focus of this disc...
www.thedigradio.com
November 13, 2025 at 5:40 PM
Pleased to post this new Dig ep w/ my partner in all things @triofrancos.bsky.social on her beautiful book Extraction: The Frontiers of Green Capitalism. We go from Chile to Nevada, from dawn of colonialism to geoeconomic conflict between the US and China—and more www.thedigradio.com/podcast/extr...
Reposted by Matt Farish
One day the US will have to face the shame and horror of what has happened here: that a cabal of wealthy people have elevated a monster into the most powerful person in the world www.nytimes.com/2025/11/12/u...
Epstein Alleged in Emails That Trump Knew of His Conduct
www.nytimes.com
November 12, 2025 at 2:05 PM
One day the US will have to face the shame and horror of what has happened here: that a cabal of wealthy people have elevated a monster into the most powerful person in the world www.nytimes.com/2025/11/12/u...
Reposted by Matt Farish
bezos somehow made an editorial page worse than the one at the wall street journal
November 8, 2025 at 6:27 PM
bezos somehow made an editorial page worse than the one at the wall street journal
Reposted by Matt Farish
A good summary of why Cornell's capitulation to authoritarian extortion is an affront to democracy and academic freedom. aaup-cornell.org/2025/11/07/s...
November 8, 2025 at 2:33 PM
A good summary of why Cornell's capitulation to authoritarian extortion is an affront to democracy and academic freedom. aaup-cornell.org/2025/11/07/s...
A brilliant urban historian. RIP.
I've been waiting to comment publicly on this until the university made its announcement, but the Department of History at Princeton is devastated by the recent death of our wonderful colleague Alison Isenberg.
Alison Isenberg, distinguished urban historian and co-founder of Princeton-Mellon Initiative in Architecture, Urbanism and the Humanities, dies
A public memorial and celebration of Isenberg’s life will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 6, at the University Chapel.
www.princeton.edu
November 7, 2025 at 11:41 PM
A brilliant urban historian. RIP.
Reposted by Matt Farish
if we could only harness the power of try-hard, a single hegseth would keep even the largest of our cities lit for weeks
OK, one, there is a reason to go to wartime footing, and that is war. I get that he is excited about war but that doesn't mean there is one.
Two, we get it: you heard someone say FAFO and thought it was cool. It is not actually cool. Maybe you should say we will get 67 drones or something?
Two, we get it: you heard someone say FAFO and thought it was cool. It is not actually cool. Maybe you should say we will get 67 drones or something?
Hegseth: "We are not building for peacetime. We are pivoting the Pentagon and our industrial base to a wartime footing. Building for victory should our adversaries FAFO."
November 7, 2025 at 9:22 PM
if we could only harness the power of try-hard, a single hegseth would keep even the largest of our cities lit for weeks
I sure hope this guy's admirable humanity and his triumph over cruel, venal opposition inspires office-seekers in other places, including in my neck of the woods.
As New York City’s mayor-elect, Zohran Mamdani defied anti-Muslim backlash to his candidacy and shattered a barrier that seemed insurmountable since the Sept. 11 terror attacks transformed what it meant to be Muslim in the city.
A Muslim Mayor in New York City? Voters Say Yes, Emphatically.
Zohran Mamdani shattered a barrier that seemed insurmountable since the Sept. 11 attacks changed what it meant to be Muslim in the city.
nyti.ms
November 5, 2025 at 4:24 PM
I sure hope this guy's admirable humanity and his triumph over cruel, venal opposition inspires office-seekers in other places, including in my neck of the woods.
Reposted by Matt Farish
I knew that Mamdani had it; he had the people and did the work, and has been the clearest and most lucid in rejecting the untenable current state of things. But the vile, bigoted shit against him was so constant, and I am conditioned to that working better than I want. This feels like an exorcism.
November 5, 2025 at 3:45 AM
I knew that Mamdani had it; he had the people and did the work, and has been the clearest and most lucid in rejecting the untenable current state of things. But the vile, bigoted shit against him was so constant, and I am conditioned to that working better than I want. This feels like an exorcism.
Reposted by Matt Farish
. @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social dropped in on many online microfandoms to conquer the fragmented media problem, including a personal favorite of mine, the streamer who walks around New York making beats for strangers to freestyle to @ariathome.bsky.social
November 4, 2025 at 3:13 PM
. @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social dropped in on many online microfandoms to conquer the fragmented media problem, including a personal favorite of mine, the streamer who walks around New York making beats for strangers to freestyle to @ariathome.bsky.social
Reposted by Matt Farish
Raise your hand if your brain is sufficiently capable of complex thought to understand why advocating an explicitly Christian volunteer military is not ideal.
Add a dose of propaganda to your morning coffee.. This smells of Russian-like “special operation”
November 2, 2025 at 9:01 PM
Raise your hand if your brain is sufficiently capable of complex thought to understand why advocating an explicitly Christian volunteer military is not ideal.
Reposted by Matt Farish
We're going to war against a "cartel" that may or may not exist?
(Miami Herald) - The Trump Administration has made the decision to attack military installations inside Venezuela and the strikes could come at any moment, sources with knowledge of the situation told the Miami Herald ..
@miamiherald.com
www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-...
@miamiherald.com
www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-...
U.S. poised to strike military targets in Venezuela in escalation against Maduro regime
The Trump Administration has made the decision to attack military installations inside Venezuela and the strikes could come at any moment, sources with knowledge of the situation told the Miami Herald...
www.miamiherald.com
October 31, 2025 at 4:39 PM
We're going to war against a "cartel" that may or may not exist?
Broad & Sanger are serious journalists & know a lot about things nuclear. I'm struck, though, by the continued use of the Cold War "Nevada Test Site", and more importantly by the frustratingly familiar adjective "desolate". The perpetual geography of sacrifice: www.nytimes.com/2025/10/30/u...
Trump’s Call to Resume Nuclear Testing After Decades Revives a Cold War Debate
www.nytimes.com
October 31, 2025 at 2:05 PM
Broad & Sanger are serious journalists & know a lot about things nuclear. I'm struck, though, by the continued use of the Cold War "Nevada Test Site", and more importantly by the frustratingly familiar adjective "desolate". The perpetual geography of sacrifice: www.nytimes.com/2025/10/30/u...
Reposted by Matt Farish
Maybe I've missed it, but I've been wondering when we would see coverage of this subject.
And actually astonishing when you think about it: The Trump administration's top officials are choosing to separate themselves from the public—more to the point: separate themselves from any visible protest—and live on military bases.
Gift link here: www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc...
Gift link here: www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc...
Top Trump Officials Are Moving Onto Military Bases
Stephen Miller, Marco Rubio, Kristi Noem, and others have taken over homes that until recently housed senior officers.
www.theatlantic.com
October 30, 2025 at 3:58 PM
Maybe I've missed it, but I've been wondering when we would see coverage of this subject.
Reposted by Matt Farish
even the democratic consultants are evaluating the democratic party according to the caricatures put out by republican-aligned media
Incredible to claim that “abolish the police” is in any way a Democratic policy
October 27, 2025 at 7:49 PM
even the democratic consultants are evaluating the democratic party according to the caricatures put out by republican-aligned media
Reposted by Matt Farish
DC friends!! Join us on this Sunday on the National Mall for a teach-in in defense of history and museums, ft. an all-star line-up! We’ll be there from sun-up to sun-down. More info here: linktr.ee/historyteachin
October 21, 2025 at 3:28 PM
DC friends!! Join us on this Sunday on the National Mall for a teach-in in defense of history and museums, ft. an all-star line-up! We’ll be there from sun-up to sun-down. More info here: linktr.ee/historyteachin