Nate Ela
@nateela.bsky.social
Law prof + sociologist thinking and writing about property, land, cities, democracy, sometimes Philly. Posts ≠ speaking for the institution where I work (obvs).
nateela.net | SSRN: bit.ly/ElaSSRN
(Views are mine, not those of any institution.)
nateela.net | SSRN: bit.ly/ElaSSRN
(Views are mine, not those of any institution.)
Pinned
Nate Ela
@nateela.bsky.social
· Nov 15
A Path to Multiparty Democracy
Americans are sick of the two-party system. Yet in almost every state, a crucial ballot access restriction denies them any meaningful alternative. A century ago
papers.ssrn.com
Here’s a piece on how we could get from here to multiparty democracy in the U-S-A, via state courts. Revising some this month, all ears 👂if you have thoughts… papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
Reposted by Nate Ela
Working on Restoring Justice kept me grounded this past year, so I share it w/ excitement & some nervousness.
Written w/ Meredith Elizalde, whose son Nick was killed in a shooting at his high school, we argue for a right to restorative justice.
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
Written w/ Meredith Elizalde, whose son Nick was killed in a shooting at his high school, we argue for a right to restorative justice.
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
February 17, 2026 at 2:46 PM
Working on Restoring Justice kept me grounded this past year, so I share it w/ excitement & some nervousness.
Written w/ Meredith Elizalde, whose son Nick was killed in a shooting at his high school, we argue for a right to restorative justice.
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
Written w/ Meredith Elizalde, whose son Nick was killed in a shooting at his high school, we argue for a right to restorative justice.
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
When life gives flu that cancels the family Hanukkah get together, make latkes for Valentinukkah with @sustras.bsky.social
February 14, 2026 at 11:30 PM
When life gives flu that cancels the family Hanukkah get together, make latkes for Valentinukkah with @sustras.bsky.social
Reposted by Nate Ela
Excited to have signed a contract for my book with U. Chicago Press. Now to get this thing done and out so it can be an actual physical thing next spring... whoa.
February 11, 2026 at 2:58 AM
Excited to have signed a contract for my book with U. Chicago Press. Now to get this thing done and out so it can be an actual physical thing next spring... whoa.
I've been working on this paper on how our political economy is shaped by jagoffs who benefit from laws that keep resources from being put to use... and now I see it everywhere (even in threats of lawless action aimed at keeping things out of use)
A billionaire family that owns a bridge crossing between Michigan and Canada has wanted Trump to stop a new bridge — and Trump is now threatening to block its opening (with authority he doesn’t have). www.nytimes.com/2026/02/09/u...
Trump Threatens to Block Opening of New Bridge to Canada
www.nytimes.com
February 11, 2026 at 4:16 AM
I've been working on this paper on how our political economy is shaped by jagoffs who benefit from laws that keep resources from being put to use... and now I see it everywhere (even in threats of lawless action aimed at keeping things out of use)
Excited to have signed a contract for my book with U. Chicago Press. Now to get this thing done and out so it can be an actual physical thing next spring... whoa.
February 11, 2026 at 2:58 AM
Excited to have signed a contract for my book with U. Chicago Press. Now to get this thing done and out so it can be an actual physical thing next spring... whoa.
“As a matter of fact, our leverage in the elections quite candidly goes up as the voting populace goes down."
February 8, 2026 at 4:51 PM
“As a matter of fact, our leverage in the elections quite candidly goes up as the voting populace goes down."
Would I prefer if suburban/exurban folk turn against warehouse concentration camps on principle? Yes. (And polls suggest they’re souring on mass deportation.)
Is it okay to use traffic, parking, etc as wedge issue to trigger freakout about massive new developments? Yes.
NIMBY judo ftw.
Is it okay to use traffic, parking, etc as wedge issue to trigger freakout about massive new developments? Yes.
NIMBY judo ftw.
U.S. Sen. John Fetterman says planned ICE detention facilities in Berks and Schuylkill counties would strain local resources.
John Fetterman asks DHS to halt development of ICE detention centers in Pennsylvania, saying they will burden local communities
www.inquirer.com
February 8, 2026 at 3:14 AM
Would I prefer if suburban/exurban folk turn against warehouse concentration camps on principle? Yes. (And polls suggest they’re souring on mass deportation.)
Is it okay to use traffic, parking, etc as wedge issue to trigger freakout about massive new developments? Yes.
NIMBY judo ftw.
Is it okay to use traffic, parking, etc as wedge issue to trigger freakout about massive new developments? Yes.
NIMBY judo ftw.
👀 Depeche Mode (1985); Boogie Down Productions (1988); Pavement (1992); Neutral Milk Hotel (1997); Tortoise (2005); Bjork (pitchfork 2013, cut off by huge storm, we all ran for the L and got soaked); so; much; more...
🎧🔊🤘
🎧🔊🤘
Everyone should be following the digitization and posting of the Adam Jacobs Collection. A 10,000 live concert chronicle of rocknroll-live-in-Chicago between the mid-1980s and today. archive.org/details/aada...
February 8, 2026 at 12:44 AM
👀 Depeche Mode (1985); Boogie Down Productions (1988); Pavement (1992); Neutral Milk Hotel (1997); Tortoise (2005); Bjork (pitchfork 2013, cut off by huge storm, we all ran for the L and got soaked); so; much; more...
🎧🔊🤘
🎧🔊🤘
Inject this straight into my Land Use syllabus veins
Trump and Mamdani find unlikely common ground on New York City zoning
The president’s long history in New York City real estate looms large over the ongoing conversation with Mamdani.
www.politico.com
February 7, 2026 at 11:30 PM
Inject this straight into my Land Use syllabus veins
And if you’re a sociologist of law and would like to mentor or be mentored, let me know since our section is also matching mentors/mentees!
Niche announcement for the sociologists of law: our @asanews.bsky.social section is organizing a couple online writing groups for this spring.
Thursdays 11:30a ET and Fridays 2pm ET.
If you’d like to join, email me!
Thursdays 11:30a ET and Fridays 2pm ET.
If you’d like to join, email me!
February 7, 2026 at 9:25 PM
And if you’re a sociologist of law and would like to mentor or be mentored, let me know since our section is also matching mentors/mentees!
Niche announcement for the sociologists of law: our @asanews.bsky.social section is organizing a couple online writing groups for this spring.
Thursdays 11:30a ET and Fridays 2pm ET.
If you’d like to join, email me!
Thursdays 11:30a ET and Fridays 2pm ET.
If you’d like to join, email me!
February 7, 2026 at 9:23 PM
Niche announcement for the sociologists of law: our @asanews.bsky.social section is organizing a couple online writing groups for this spring.
Thursdays 11:30a ET and Fridays 2pm ET.
If you’d like to join, email me!
Thursdays 11:30a ET and Fridays 2pm ET.
If you’d like to join, email me!
The fact that they actually tweeted this suggests DOGE-successors have seized the quasi-public corporation and will shut it down before I can train back from the LPE conference this weekend.
@amtrak.com blink twice if you need help.
@amtrak.com blink twice if you need help.
February 5, 2026 at 9:49 PM
The fact that they actually tweeted this suggests DOGE-successors have seized the quasi-public corporation and will shut it down before I can train back from the LPE conference this weekend.
@amtrak.com blink twice if you need help.
@amtrak.com blink twice if you need help.
Reposted by Nate Ela
Concept for extremely niche speculative socio-legal alternate-history fiction (to be sure, a narrow genre): what would have happened to sociology of law and CLS if, at the first meeting of CLS, the sociologists hadn't (in DK's telling) "basically left... horrified" but had instead stayed?
February 4, 2026 at 4:49 PM
Concept for extremely niche speculative socio-legal alternate-history fiction (to be sure, a narrow genre): what would have happened to sociology of law and CLS if, at the first meeting of CLS, the sociologists hadn't (in DK's telling) "basically left... horrified" but had instead stayed?
Good on @wyden.senate.gov - may he take to the floor and tell us as much as possible about what's going on.
February 4, 2026 at 8:35 PM
Good on @wyden.senate.gov - may he take to the floor and tell us as much as possible about what's going on.
1. States *can* run elections, just fine.
2. If we're so worried about who's voting in big cities, states could let cities require *everyone* to vote, at least in state+local races. Keep good lists to check who does their duty, and build a good habit of voting that carries over to other races. 🗳️👍
2. If we're so worried about who's voting in big cities, states could let cities require *everyone* to vote, at least in state+local races. Keep good lists to check who does their duty, and build a good habit of voting that carries over to other races. 🗳️👍
February 4, 2026 at 8:25 PM
1. States *can* run elections, just fine.
2. If we're so worried about who's voting in big cities, states could let cities require *everyone* to vote, at least in state+local races. Keep good lists to check who does their duty, and build a good habit of voting that carries over to other races. 🗳️👍
2. If we're so worried about who's voting in big cities, states could let cities require *everyone* to vote, at least in state+local races. Keep good lists to check who does their duty, and build a good habit of voting that carries over to other races. 🗳️👍
Concept for extremely niche speculative socio-legal alternate-history fiction (to be sure, a narrow genre): what would have happened to sociology of law and CLS if, at the first meeting of CLS, the sociologists hadn't (in DK's telling) "basically left... horrified" but had instead stayed?
February 4, 2026 at 4:49 PM
Concept for extremely niche speculative socio-legal alternate-history fiction (to be sure, a narrow genre): what would have happened to sociology of law and CLS if, at the first meeting of CLS, the sociologists hadn't (in DK's telling) "basically left... horrified" but had instead stayed?
Reposted by Nate Ela
I finally got the latest version of my Civil Procedure Game! Now with a box, better cards, and individualized pawns and tokens..
February 4, 2026 at 2:26 PM
I finally got the latest version of my Civil Procedure Game! Now with a box, better cards, and individualized pawns and tokens..
Reposted by Nate Ela
This is tremendous. Take the time to watch it.
Highlighting the speaker who stood in front of the Surprise mayor and told him to consider what the Mayor of Ohrdruf must’ve thought before he died by suicide: “He might have thought ‘how is this my fault I had no jurisdiction over this’ maybe he said ‘this site was not subject to local zoning.’”
February 4, 2026 at 1:48 PM
This is tremendous. Take the time to watch it.
I don't see sociology or law up here yet, but I suppose it's just a matter of time... 😱
Should you want to browse through the new academic public sphere of papers fully written by autonomous AI agents
www.clawxiv.org
www.clawxiv.org
clawXiv.org
The world's first preprint server for agents.
www.clawxiv.org
February 2, 2026 at 9:33 PM
I don't see sociology or law up here yet, but I suppose it's just a matter of time... 😱
Reposted by Nate Ela
The Fugitive Slave Law of 1850 established a new office of Federal Commissioner to assist in the process of reenslaving people across the north. In some places opinion was so against the law that it was impossible to recruit commissioners to fill the positions.
Same vibes.
Same vibes.
DM me? We used to get hundreds of highly qualified applicants for a single job posting. Good prosecutors are increasingly hesitant to work for this DOJ.
February 1, 2026 at 1:34 AM
The Fugitive Slave Law of 1850 established a new office of Federal Commissioner to assist in the process of reenslaving people across the north. In some places opinion was so against the law that it was impossible to recruit commissioners to fill the positions.
Same vibes.
Same vibes.
Reposted by Nate Ela
If I were a blue state governor, I’d be looking into adding a bunch of tenure lines at my state schools.
I know that seems like “kick ‘em when they’re down,” but it’s more like “let academics who can escape to where they can do real work.”
Builds up your own schools AND protect US academic output.
I know that seems like “kick ‘em when they’re down,” but it’s more like “let academics who can escape to where they can do real work.”
Builds up your own schools AND protect US academic output.
The governor of Texas is rapidly turning world-class universities into minor regional ones. Example:
Greg Abbott halts H-1B visas at Texas universities, agencies
The governor said public universities and state agencies may not seek new visas without permission through the end of the 2027 legislative session.
www.texastribune.org
January 30, 2026 at 11:15 PM
If I were a blue state governor, I’d be looking into adding a bunch of tenure lines at my state schools.
I know that seems like “kick ‘em when they’re down,” but it’s more like “let academics who can escape to where they can do real work.”
Builds up your own schools AND protect US academic output.
I know that seems like “kick ‘em when they’re down,” but it’s more like “let academics who can escape to where they can do real work.”
Builds up your own schools AND protect US academic output.
Odds that IRS starts auditing people scanned by ICE? 100%? Feds say they are planning to "follow the money" on "domestic terrorists," so seems reasonable to believe them.
Hans von Spakovsky & Heritage say IRS shouldn't be used to suppress speech. They'd surely agree here, too... right?
Hans von Spakovsky & Heritage say IRS shouldn't be used to suppress speech. They'd surely agree here, too... right?
January 30, 2026 at 5:24 PM
Odds that IRS starts auditing people scanned by ICE? 100%? Feds say they are planning to "follow the money" on "domestic terrorists," so seems reasonable to believe them.
Hans von Spakovsky & Heritage say IRS shouldn't be used to suppress speech. They'd surely agree here, too... right?
Hans von Spakovsky & Heritage say IRS shouldn't be used to suppress speech. They'd surely agree here, too... right?
Reposted by Nate Ela
A drawing by a 5-year-old girl detained at the Dilley Immigration Processing Center in Texas with her mother Hayam El-Gamal. “I am 5 years old” is written at the top of the page. Lower down, next to stick figures, are the words “let us go.” Courtesy of Eric Lee, Lee & Godshall-Bennett, LLP
January 29, 2026 at 9:20 PM
A drawing by a 5-year-old girl detained at the Dilley Immigration Processing Center in Texas with her mother Hayam El-Gamal. “I am 5 years old” is written at the top of the page. Lower down, next to stick figures, are the words “let us go.” Courtesy of Eric Lee, Lee & Godshall-Bennett, LLP
For anyone interested, here’s a nice little clip on squatters movement in Philly in the 1980s, featuring ACORN activists and future mayor John Street.
phillymettle on Instagram: "A 1984 documentary looking at the debate in Philadelphia over squatters rights, and property ownership laws. Featuring then- mayor …"
A 1984 documentary looking at the debate in Philadelphia over squatters rights, and property ownership laws. Featuring then- mayor Wilson Goode and future mayor John Street. #philly #retro #1980s #phillymettle
www.instagram.com
January 29, 2026 at 5:44 PM
For anyone interested, here’s a nice little clip on squatters movement in Philly in the 1980s, featuring ACORN activists and future mayor John Street.
Reposted by Nate Ela
I wrote this song on Saturday, recorded it yesterday and released it to you today in response to the state terror being visited on the city of Minneapolis. It’s dedicated to the people of Minneapolis, our innocent immigrant neighbors and in memory of Alex Pretti and Renee Good.
Stay free
Stay free
Bruce Springsteen - Streets Of Minneapolis (Official Audio)
YouTube video by Bruce Springsteen
youtu.be
January 28, 2026 at 5:02 PM
I wrote this song on Saturday, recorded it yesterday and released it to you today in response to the state terror being visited on the city of Minneapolis. It’s dedicated to the people of Minneapolis, our innocent immigrant neighbors and in memory of Alex Pretti and Renee Good.
Stay free
Stay free