Michael Yarbrough (he/him)
@mwyarbrough.bsky.social
JD/PhD. Interdisciplinary sociologist, law & society, transnational gender & sexuality. I research marriage, esp in S Africa. And I organize with colleagues to defend higher ed. Opinions mine not employer's.
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2802-3365
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2802-3365
Pinned
TBH sometimes it's hilarious to me that they think they can erase LGBTQ+ people. Girl don't you know what we've ALREADY SURVIVED?
I'll call in the morning to confirm, and will update here.
So, CUNY and other NY city employees who've been shunted onto this new health plan--is it true that the new plan covers NOTHING for out-of-network therapy? Because that's what the website is telling me...
If that's true, I guess tomorrow will be my last session.
If that's true, I guess tomorrow will be my last session.
January 6, 2026 at 3:24 AM
I'll call in the morning to confirm, and will update here.
Reposted by Michael Yarbrough (he/him)
There’s so much Miller on the timeline, cleansing with Dolly Parton and a cat ✨
January 6, 2026 at 1:44 AM
There’s so much Miller on the timeline, cleansing with Dolly Parton and a cat ✨
So, CUNY and other NY city employees who've been shunted onto this new health plan--is it true that the new plan covers NOTHING for out-of-network therapy? Because that's what the website is telling me...
If that's true, I guess tomorrow will be my last session.
If that's true, I guess tomorrow will be my last session.
January 6, 2026 at 3:12 AM
So, CUNY and other NY city employees who've been shunted onto this new health plan--is it true that the new plan covers NOTHING for out-of-network therapy? Because that's what the website is telling me...
If that's true, I guess tomorrow will be my last session.
If that's true, I guess tomorrow will be my last session.
And here's my stoically optimistic playlist for the start of 2026 to sweeten the deal: tidal.com/playlist/702...
January 6, 2026 at 2:21 AM
And here's my stoically optimistic playlist for the start of 2026 to sweeten the deal: tidal.com/playlist/702...
TIDAL has better sound quality, recommends better music, and pays artists more. This is not at all difficult.
Spotify is running ads to help recruit for the regime’s secret police. Don’t use Spotify until the ICE ads stop: indivisible.org/cancel-spotify?source=bluesky
January 6, 2026 at 2:20 AM
TIDAL has better sound quality, recommends better music, and pays artists more. This is not at all difficult.
The real red pill
The gender studies coursework (and critical race theory) that I took in college and then law school has proved far more useful than many of my advisors at the time ever thought it would be.
Once you understand how it all links together, it’s impossible to unsee it.
Once you understand how it all links together, it’s impossible to unsee it.
kind of darkly funny that "gender studies" is the stereotypical "useless degree" because gender studies will help you understand a large and important chunk of the current psychosis in american life
January 6, 2026 at 2:12 AM
The real red pill
Reposted by Michael Yarbrough (he/him)
The gender studies coursework (and critical race theory) that I took in college and then law school has proved far more useful than many of my advisors at the time ever thought it would be.
Once you understand how it all links together, it’s impossible to unsee it.
Once you understand how it all links together, it’s impossible to unsee it.
kind of darkly funny that "gender studies" is the stereotypical "useless degree" because gender studies will help you understand a large and important chunk of the current psychosis in american life
January 6, 2026 at 2:09 AM
The gender studies coursework (and critical race theory) that I took in college and then law school has proved far more useful than many of my advisors at the time ever thought it would be.
Once you understand how it all links together, it’s impossible to unsee it.
Once you understand how it all links together, it’s impossible to unsee it.
Cassandra did what? She told you so!
kind of darkly funny that "gender studies" is the stereotypical "useless degree" because gender studies will help you understand a large and important chunk of the current psychosis in american life
January 6, 2026 at 2:10 AM
Cassandra did what? She told you so!
Reposted by Michael Yarbrough (he/him)
kind of darkly funny that "gender studies" is the stereotypical "useless degree" because gender studies will help you understand a large and important chunk of the current psychosis in american life
January 6, 2026 at 2:00 AM
kind of darkly funny that "gender studies" is the stereotypical "useless degree" because gender studies will help you understand a large and important chunk of the current psychosis in american life
Reposted by Michael Yarbrough (he/him)
On the first day back following the kidnapping of Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro & first lady Cilia Flores, 6 Senate Democrats vote yea to confirm Keith Bass as an Assistant Secretary of Defense by a vote of 50-35.
January 5, 2026 at 11:37 PM
On the first day back following the kidnapping of Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro & first lady Cilia Flores, 6 Senate Democrats vote yea to confirm Keith Bass as an Assistant Secretary of Defense by a vote of 50-35.
While dancing at a party at my house, I picked up a vase vaguely shaped like a decorative gourd, used it as a prop, and broke the bottom half off my top front tooth.
What's the most ridiculous way you ever hurt yourself? I got out of the tub, skidded in water and tripped over the toilet. Ankle sprain.
😅
😅
January 6, 2026 at 12:21 AM
While dancing at a party at my house, I picked up a vase vaguely shaped like a decorative gourd, used it as a prop, and broke the bottom half off my top front tooth.
This is both terrifying and ludicrous to type, but the outlines of a possible Europe-Canada-Mexico-Brazil-Colombia etc. military alliance against the US are becoming visible in a way I never would have predicted.
TAPPER: Can you rule out the US is going to take Greenland by force?
MILLER: Greenland should be part of the US. By what right does Denmark assert control over Greenland? The US is the power of NATO
T: So force is on the table?
M: Nobody is gonna fight the US militarily over future of Greenland
MILLER: Greenland should be part of the US. By what right does Denmark assert control over Greenland? The US is the power of NATO
T: So force is on the table?
M: Nobody is gonna fight the US militarily over future of Greenland
January 6, 2026 at 12:20 AM
This is both terrifying and ludicrous to type, but the outlines of a possible Europe-Canada-Mexico-Brazil-Colombia etc. military alliance against the US are becoming visible in a way I never would have predicted.
Reposted by Michael Yarbrough (he/him)
A reminder that the US killed 80 people in Venezuela, and it would be nice if the US media cared enough to think that the life of a grandmother in Caracas whose building is destroyed by a US bomb matters as much as the life of a person in the US.
January 5, 2026 at 5:54 PM
A reminder that the US killed 80 people in Venezuela, and it would be nice if the US media cared enough to think that the life of a grandmother in Caracas whose building is destroyed by a US bomb matters as much as the life of a person in the US.
This *should* be obvious to anyone who's spent two seconds thinking about how they work, but apparently it's not. Many thanks to the author of the linked article and everyone else trying to get the message out.
The core problem with large language model AI programs like Chat-gpt or Grok or Gemini is that their “hallucinations” are a normal part of how they work.
Such hallucinations reveal that they have no concept of truth and by definition cannot place value on it.
Such hallucinations reveal that they have no concept of truth and by definition cannot place value on it.
“This article urges a fresh view on [AI large language model] hallucinations by arguing that, rather than being errors in any conventional sense, they are evidence of a probabilistic system incapable of dealing with questions of knowledge.”
January 5, 2026 at 8:31 PM
This *should* be obvious to anyone who's spent two seconds thinking about how they work, but apparently it's not. Many thanks to the author of the linked article and everyone else trying to get the message out.
Reposted by Michael Yarbrough (he/him)
January 5, 2026 at 7:42 PM
I'm on day 11 of this flu and FINALLY on a clear upswing. I did get my shot (always do!) and can't imagine how this would have gone without it. This is a persistent flu, and you don't want it! Get your shot, and mask!
So even if you made it through ok last winter don’t assume you’ll be ok this year. For that matter you may not be ok as we don’t see long term effects of viruses immediately: turns out MS & dementia seem to be triggered by common viruses. So is AIDS.
January 5, 2026 at 7:16 PM
I'm on day 11 of this flu and FINALLY on a clear upswing. I did get my shot (always do!) and can't imagine how this would have gone without it. This is a persistent flu, and you don't want it! Get your shot, and mask!
Reposted by Michael Yarbrough (he/him)
If you really want to protect yourself from mag/ha mask and vax. These people want you infected & if you don’t take those two steps how can you stand up to the admin & protect your future health?
Mehmet Oz dismisses flu shots even as hospitalizations surge nationwide, promoting questionable “MAHA” flu strategies backed by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services chief.
Mehmet Oz Downplays Flu Shots as Hospitalizations Surge Across US
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services head pushed dubious MAHA strategies for dealing with the flu instead.
truthout.org
January 5, 2026 at 7:03 PM
If you really want to protect yourself from mag/ha mask and vax. These people want you infected & if you don’t take those two steps how can you stand up to the admin & protect your future health?
Reposted by Michael Yarbrough (he/him)
Here's the link to the story
Organizer arrested in Grand Rapids following protest in response to U.S. attack in Venezuela
An officer can be heard telling the woman she's being arrested for "obstructing a roadway" and "failure to obey a lawful command from a police officer."
www.wzzm13.com
January 5, 2026 at 4:13 PM
Here's the link to the story
Reposted by Michael Yarbrough (he/him)
What in the Gestapo is going on in Grand Rapids?
Watch this activist get arrested *mid-interview* for speaking out against U.S. action in Venezuela.
Watch this activist get arrested *mid-interview* for speaking out against U.S. action in Venezuela.
January 5, 2026 at 4:12 PM
What in the Gestapo is going on in Grand Rapids?
Watch this activist get arrested *mid-interview* for speaking out against U.S. action in Venezuela.
Watch this activist get arrested *mid-interview* for speaking out against U.S. action in Venezuela.
Reposted by Michael Yarbrough (he/him)
Fwiw, the same day I left the nyt in mid-2024, another trans journalist left as well. They worked within the system to call attention to the nyt bias but had no success. The nyt shut down all avenues of internal discussion by the time we left.
I’ve had the luxury of being able to speak out publicly
I’ve had the luxury of being able to speak out publicly
January 5, 2026 at 3:56 PM
Fwiw, the same day I left the nyt in mid-2024, another trans journalist left as well. They worked within the system to call attention to the nyt bias but had no success. The nyt shut down all avenues of internal discussion by the time we left.
I’ve had the luxury of being able to speak out publicly
I’ve had the luxury of being able to speak out publicly
Reposted by Michael Yarbrough (he/him)
Absolutely. The nyt has a long record of driving out trans journalists who dare to raise questions about its bias. The journalist @translash.org and @imarajones.bsky.social featured in this report was a rising star who tried mightily to work for change within the system. Please give this a listen
For more on this story, listen to @imarajones.bsky.social 's @translash.org podcast built around an interview with a trans Times reporter, back from 2023.
translash.org/podcasts/the...
translash.org/podcasts/the...
January 5, 2026 at 11:58 AM
Absolutely. The nyt has a long record of driving out trans journalists who dare to raise questions about its bias. The journalist @translash.org and @imarajones.bsky.social featured in this report was a rising star who tried mightily to work for change within the system. Please give this a listen
Reposted by Michael Yarbrough (he/him)
Eyes wide open, folks. They're revealing the supervillain plot.
January 5, 2026 at 5:53 PM
Eyes wide open, folks. They're revealing the supervillain plot.
Reposted by Michael Yarbrough (he/him)
🤠 Hey, Texas faculty! As you prep for the spring semester check out our blog for tips + advice. 👇
1) Don’t self-censor, know your rights! 2) Report censorship of your teaching, research, or expression.
3) Organize your department. We are stronger together!
aaup-texas.org/blog/f/2025-...
1) Don’t self-censor, know your rights! 2) Report censorship of your teaching, research, or expression.
3) Organize your department. We are stronger together!
aaup-texas.org/blog/f/2025-...
2025: A Year of Resistance, Solidarity and Resolve
CONTACT: Brian L. Evans, PhD, President, Texas Conference of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP), affiliated with the Texas American Federation of Teachers (AFT), aaup.texas@gmai...
aaup-texas.org
January 4, 2026 at 9:37 PM
🤠 Hey, Texas faculty! As you prep for the spring semester check out our blog for tips + advice. 👇
1) Don’t self-censor, know your rights! 2) Report censorship of your teaching, research, or expression.
3) Organize your department. We are stronger together!
aaup-texas.org/blog/f/2025-...
1) Don’t self-censor, know your rights! 2) Report censorship of your teaching, research, or expression.
3) Organize your department. We are stronger together!
aaup-texas.org/blog/f/2025-...
I would be curious to read a story about how--and why--she got the votes to win the job.
Menin should probably be viewed by the NYC left as a local version of Gov. Kathy Hochul – a powerful moderate Democrat who will collaborate with Mamdani on some initiatives (like universal childcare) but who fundamentally disagrees with his political project and will never oppose Israel.
January 5, 2026 at 3:19 AM
I would be curious to read a story about how--and why--she got the votes to win the job.
"We want a client autocracy" remains the most parsimonious theory of the attack on Venezuela and consistent with all the available info to date.
January 5, 2026 at 1:43 AM
"We want a client autocracy" remains the most parsimonious theory of the attack on Venezuela and consistent with all the available info to date.