Nicole M. Baran, Ph.D.
@nmbaran.bsky.social
Assistant Professor of Biology at Davidson College | Evolution & development of songbird social behavior, neuroendocrinology, & comparative genomics | STEMinist | Mostly here for the reading recommendations. (she/her) 🐦🧠🧬🌎🔬🌿🎺
Pinned
I believe that it is important that my students learn about the dynamic, complex process by which sexual differentiation occurs because it is the truth, writes @nmbaran.bsky.social.
#neuroskyence
www.thetransmitter.org/sex/what-bir...
#neuroskyence
www.thetransmitter.org/sex/what-bir...
What birds can teach us about the ‘biological truth’ of sex
Part of our job as educators is to give students a deeper understanding of the true diversity of sex and gender in the natural world.
www.thetransmitter.org
Excited to have this out in the world and to share my thoughts! Birds 🐣 have so much to teach us about sexual differentiation and diversity, which is so desperately needed in this moment. #neuroendocrinology
Reposted by Nicole M. Baran, Ph.D.
“We can still stop these abuses of power, but we need to be clear about what we’re facing. This is no longer a conversation about law enforcement or immigration policy. This is about authoritarianism.”
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/21/o...
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/21/o...
Opinion | I’ve Covered Police Abuse for 20 Years. What ICE Is Doing Is Different.
www.nytimes.com
January 21, 2026 at 11:13 AM
“We can still stop these abuses of power, but we need to be clear about what we’re facing. This is no longer a conversation about law enforcement or immigration policy. This is about authoritarianism.”
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/21/o...
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/21/o...
Reposted by Nicole M. Baran, Ph.D.
1. In a major victory, Democrats have managed to get all anti-trans riders stripped from the final appropriations bills.
This includes HHS and Ed, which had the worst provisions in congressional history.
If it passes, it will be a big win for 2026.
Subscribe to support our journalism.
This includes HHS and Ed, which had the worst provisions in congressional history.
If it passes, it will be a big win for 2026.
Subscribe to support our journalism.
Democrats Successfully Strip All Anti-Trans Riders From Final Appropriations Bills
The HHS and Education bills once contained the most sweeping anti-trans provisions in congressional history. Now they contain none.
www.erininthemorning.com
January 20, 2026 at 9:20 PM
1. In a major victory, Democrats have managed to get all anti-trans riders stripped from the final appropriations bills.
This includes HHS and Ed, which had the worst provisions in congressional history.
If it passes, it will be a big win for 2026.
Subscribe to support our journalism.
This includes HHS and Ed, which had the worst provisions in congressional history.
If it passes, it will be a big win for 2026.
Subscribe to support our journalism.
Reposted by Nicole M. Baran, Ph.D.
i think this MLK day the thing to focus on is the strategic focus and tactical brilliance of the civil rights movement and the way it was laser focused on a set of achievable goals
January 19, 2026 at 3:05 PM
i think this MLK day the thing to focus on is the strategic focus and tactical brilliance of the civil rights movement and the way it was laser focused on a set of achievable goals
Reposted by Nicole M. Baran, Ph.D.
Getting asked about how academics can continue to do science & inspire trainees even in the midst of a continued (escalated) assault on science, reason, truth, & human rights. I don’t have great answers.
I would love to hear from mentors about advice they’re giving to trainees/ colleagues.
I would love to hear from mentors about advice they’re giving to trainees/ colleagues.
January 17, 2026 at 6:47 PM
Getting asked about how academics can continue to do science & inspire trainees even in the midst of a continued (escalated) assault on science, reason, truth, & human rights. I don’t have great answers.
I would love to hear from mentors about advice they’re giving to trainees/ colleagues.
I would love to hear from mentors about advice they’re giving to trainees/ colleagues.
Reposted by Nicole M. Baran, Ph.D.
For @msnownews.bsky.social, I wrote an article about how ICE Watch is grounded in sociological theories of violence prevention.
The reality is that most men will only commit public violence in extremely specific scenarios and ICE Watch disrupts the conditions necessary for escalation.
The reality is that most men will only commit public violence in extremely specific scenarios and ICE Watch disrupts the conditions necessary for escalation.
Opinion | I'm a Minneapolis sociologist who studies violence. Here's how ICE observers are helping.
Research into how violence occurs shows that disapproval from the people around you can help reduce it.
www.ms.now
January 16, 2026 at 6:55 PM
For @msnownews.bsky.social, I wrote an article about how ICE Watch is grounded in sociological theories of violence prevention.
The reality is that most men will only commit public violence in extremely specific scenarios and ICE Watch disrupts the conditions necessary for escalation.
The reality is that most men will only commit public violence in extremely specific scenarios and ICE Watch disrupts the conditions necessary for escalation.
Reposted by Nicole M. Baran, Ph.D.
I don’t think people quite understand that the occupation by ICE in the Twin Cities has more or less erased non-white people from public life. They cannot safely exist in any space accessible to the public and moving between private places leaves folks vulnerable to kidnapping by armed masked goons.
January 16, 2026 at 10:15 PM
I don’t think people quite understand that the occupation by ICE in the Twin Cities has more or less erased non-white people from public life. They cannot safely exist in any space accessible to the public and moving between private places leaves folks vulnerable to kidnapping by armed masked goons.
Reposted by Nicole M. Baran, Ph.D.
On the ground here in Minnesota, it’s hard to reconcile the immense bonds of community that have been built in a week with the fact that we live in a country whose government appropriated billions of dollars to an unaccountable paramilitary force whose sole purpose is ethnic cleansing.
January 15, 2026 at 5:05 AM
On the ground here in Minnesota, it’s hard to reconcile the immense bonds of community that have been built in a week with the fact that we live in a country whose government appropriated billions of dollars to an unaccountable paramilitary force whose sole purpose is ethnic cleansing.
Reposted by Nicole M. Baran, Ph.D.
Frey: "You cannot drag pregnant women through the snow. You're not allowed to take teenagers out of their car and detain them when they are in fact American citizens. That is against the law in every state. That is against our US Constitution."
January 12, 2026 at 9:51 PM
Frey: "You cannot drag pregnant women through the snow. You're not allowed to take teenagers out of their car and detain them when they are in fact American citizens. That is against the law in every state. That is against our US Constitution."
Reposted by Nicole M. Baran, Ph.D.
This is what I meant when I wrote that "we can overthrow them with a union of care."
"At schools, volunteers are forming human chains as students and employees enter and leave, with whistles to blow if ICE shows up.
Volunteers—many of them moms already involved at their schools—divvy up tasks, such as delivering groceries to immigrant families..."
www.wsj.com/us-news/insi...
Volunteers—many of them moms already involved at their schools—divvy up tasks, such as delivering groceries to immigrant families..."
www.wsj.com/us-news/insi...
Inside Minneapolis’s Sprawling Network of ICE Watchers
Renee Nicole Good lived in a community where residents by the thousands are using text alerts, whistles and Google documents to shadow federal agents
www.wsj.com
January 11, 2026 at 9:23 PM
This is what I meant when I wrote that "we can overthrow them with a union of care."
Reposted by Nicole M. Baran, Ph.D.
Separate from the obvious misogyny of the last few days, it’s been striking to watch the right wing media apparatus really confront the role of normie middle-aged women as a leading and increasingly radical force of opposition to trump
January 11, 2026 at 9:55 PM
Separate from the obvious misogyny of the last few days, it’s been striking to watch the right wing media apparatus really confront the role of normie middle-aged women as a leading and increasingly radical force of opposition to trump
Reposted by Nicole M. Baran, Ph.D.
I think the misogynist contempt that’s evident as a motivation in the murder of Renee Good makes her killing by a state actor more similar to so-called private violence—eg domestic violence homocides—than some arguments that rely on a firm distinction between state and private violence can sustain.
January 11, 2026 at 8:29 PM
I think the misogynist contempt that’s evident as a motivation in the murder of Renee Good makes her killing by a state actor more similar to so-called private violence—eg domestic violence homocides—than some arguments that rely on a firm distinction between state and private violence can sustain.
Reposted by Nicole M. Baran, Ph.D.
Also, its illegal to discuss gender in some American universities now.
This is the second time in three months a DHS agent called a US citizen a "bitch" as he shot her. donmoynihan.substack.com/p/whos-threa...
January 10, 2026 at 7:53 PM
Also, its illegal to discuss gender in some American universities now.
Reposted by Nicole M. Baran, Ph.D.
NIH is losing so may good people. First they were fired or RIFd or pressured to retire early.
Now they are leaving because “no longer lend our credibility to an organization that has lost its integrity.”
Proud to know these brave scientists!
www.statnews.com/2026/01/10/n...
Now they are leaving because “no longer lend our credibility to an organization that has lost its integrity.”
Proud to know these brave scientists!
www.statnews.com/2026/01/10/n...
The NIH has lost its scientific integrity. So we left
“We can no longer lend our credibility to an organization that has lost its integrity,” write four scientists and administrators who recently resigned from the NIH.
www.statnews.com
January 10, 2026 at 1:44 PM
NIH is losing so may good people. First they were fired or RIFd or pressured to retire early.
Now they are leaving because “no longer lend our credibility to an organization that has lost its integrity.”
Proud to know these brave scientists!
www.statnews.com/2026/01/10/n...
Now they are leaving because “no longer lend our credibility to an organization that has lost its integrity.”
Proud to know these brave scientists!
www.statnews.com/2026/01/10/n...
Reposted by Nicole M. Baran, Ph.D.
The transformation of ICE into a type of national police force, backed, in some cases, by soldiers from the National Guard, has been covered as immigration story—but these forces are reshaping democracy for all of us.
Listen to 'Autocracy in America' here:
www.theatlantic.com/podcasts/202...
Listen to 'Autocracy in America' here:
www.theatlantic.com/podcasts/202...
Federal Agents Are Violating the Rights of Americans
ICE and the National Guard are acting with impunity.
www.theatlantic.com
January 10, 2026 at 9:10 AM
The transformation of ICE into a type of national police force, backed, in some cases, by soldiers from the National Guard, has been covered as immigration story—but these forces are reshaping democracy for all of us.
Listen to 'Autocracy in America' here:
www.theatlantic.com/podcasts/202...
Listen to 'Autocracy in America' here:
www.theatlantic.com/podcasts/202...
Reposted by Nicole M. Baran, Ph.D.
The everyday courage of normal people is breathtaking
January 10, 2026 at 12:24 AM
The everyday courage of normal people is breathtaking
Reposted by Nicole M. Baran, Ph.D.
If the video Hayes is referencing here is authentic, then Good was murdered in cold blood by a man who had no reason to be afraid because he was angry at her for talking back.
And Renee Good’s last words appear to be “We’re not mad at you.”
In the video that the shooter took, which I believe was leaked to be exculpatory, he appears to yell “fucking bitch” after he shoots Renee Good.
January 9, 2026 at 6:53 PM
If the video Hayes is referencing here is authentic, then Good was murdered in cold blood by a man who had no reason to be afraid because he was angry at her for talking back.
Reposted by Nicole M. Baran, Ph.D.
Continually sickened by the misogyny and homophobia that runs through this whole affair--from the words of her murderer to the many attempts by conservatives to devalue her life since
In the video that the shooter took, which I believe was leaked to be exculpatory, he appears to yell “fucking bitch” after he shoots Renee Good.
January 9, 2026 at 7:09 PM
Continually sickened by the misogyny and homophobia that runs through this whole affair--from the words of her murderer to the many attempts by conservatives to devalue her life since
Reposted by Nicole M. Baran, Ph.D.
Never escaping the adage "men are afraid that women are laughing at them; women are afraid that men will kill them"
He never dropped his phone.
Even while “fearing for his life” and shooting her with the other hand.
Even while “fearing for his life” and shooting her with the other hand.
January 9, 2026 at 7:11 PM
Never escaping the adage "men are afraid that women are laughing at them; women are afraid that men will kill them"
Reposted by Nicole M. Baran, Ph.D.
The ICE agent who shot Marimar Martinez in Chicago tried to goad her out of her car.
He said “do something b*tch” and shot her 5 times.
The ICE agent who shot Nicole Renee Good did the same thing. Stood right in front of her vehicle and yelled “f*cking bitch”.
They hate women & it shows.
He said “do something b*tch” and shot her 5 times.
The ICE agent who shot Nicole Renee Good did the same thing. Stood right in front of her vehicle and yelled “f*cking bitch”.
They hate women & it shows.
January 9, 2026 at 9:11 PM
The ICE agent who shot Marimar Martinez in Chicago tried to goad her out of her car.
He said “do something b*tch” and shot her 5 times.
The ICE agent who shot Nicole Renee Good did the same thing. Stood right in front of her vehicle and yelled “f*cking bitch”.
They hate women & it shows.
He said “do something b*tch” and shot her 5 times.
The ICE agent who shot Nicole Renee Good did the same thing. Stood right in front of her vehicle and yelled “f*cking bitch”.
They hate women & it shows.
Reposted by Nicole M. Baran, Ph.D.
Senators from states where Trump’s Gestapo have killed people should publicly commit to rejecting unanimous consent in the senate until the House holds public hearings on what happened and the people responsible resign.
I'm monitoring first awful reports of two people shot in Portland by federal law enforcement. I'll keep you updated, but Trump's deployment of federal agents in my hometown is clearly inflaming violence — and must end.
January 9, 2026 at 1:05 AM
Senators from states where Trump’s Gestapo have killed people should publicly commit to rejecting unanimous consent in the senate until the House holds public hearings on what happened and the people responsible resign.
Reposted by Nicole M. Baran, Ph.D.
the spectrum of queer experience is vast and complex, and none of us know what's going on inside families that are not our own
but my feed is full of media outlets describing a woman with a very-much-living-and-in-the-picture wife first and foremost as though she was a man's widow, and I just
but my feed is full of media outlets describing a woman with a very-much-living-and-in-the-picture wife first and foremost as though she was a man's widow, and I just
January 8, 2026 at 10:06 PM
the spectrum of queer experience is vast and complex, and none of us know what's going on inside families that are not our own
but my feed is full of media outlets describing a woman with a very-much-living-and-in-the-picture wife first and foremost as though she was a man's widow, and I just
but my feed is full of media outlets describing a woman with a very-much-living-and-in-the-picture wife first and foremost as though she was a man's widow, and I just
Reposted by Nicole M. Baran, Ph.D.
The ICE agent who murdered Renee Good must be prosecuted for murder. He enjoys no immunity from state murder charges.
Then, Blue state governors must call up their National Guard to protect us from the armed ICE terrorists.
My latest in @thenation.com
www.thenation.com/article/soci...
Then, Blue state governors must call up their National Guard to protect us from the armed ICE terrorists.
My latest in @thenation.com
www.thenation.com/article/soci...
Prosecute Renée Nicole Good’s Murderer
The ICE agent who killed Renée Nicole Good not only can be held accountable for murder—he must be.
www.thenation.com
January 8, 2026 at 4:27 PM
The ICE agent who murdered Renee Good must be prosecuted for murder. He enjoys no immunity from state murder charges.
Then, Blue state governors must call up their National Guard to protect us from the armed ICE terrorists.
My latest in @thenation.com
www.thenation.com/article/soci...
Then, Blue state governors must call up their National Guard to protect us from the armed ICE terrorists.
My latest in @thenation.com
www.thenation.com/article/soci...
Reposted by Nicole M. Baran, Ph.D.
Here’s some things that can be done by a party out of power
- file impeachment articles every day in the House
- withhold unanimous consent in the senate and filibuster every nominee
- be everywhere with comms saying this is lawless and impeachable
- file impeachment articles every day in the House
- withhold unanimous consent in the senate and filibuster every nominee
- be everywhere with comms saying this is lawless and impeachable
January 8, 2026 at 3:16 AM
Here’s some things that can be done by a party out of power
- file impeachment articles every day in the House
- withhold unanimous consent in the senate and filibuster every nominee
- be everywhere with comms saying this is lawless and impeachable
- file impeachment articles every day in the House
- withhold unanimous consent in the senate and filibuster every nominee
- be everywhere with comms saying this is lawless and impeachable
Reposted by Nicole M. Baran, Ph.D.
a few thoughts youtu.be/lERS4kJIQR8
Abolish ICE
YouTube video by Takes™ by Jamelle Bouie
youtu.be
January 8, 2026 at 1:42 AM
a few thoughts youtu.be/lERS4kJIQR8