Reposted by P
It is, and what goes unsaid is that the piece in question a) opened with one of the most blatantly racist ledes I’ve read in years* and b) was by Jeremy Peters, who for the last decade has functioned as effectively a Heritage Foundation-type operative inside the Times newsroom
This is fucking brilliant, and you should read it: lithub.com/maybe-dont-t...
Maybe Don’t Talk to the New York Times About Zohran Mamdani
It’s remarkable, the people you’ll hear from. Teach for even a little while at an expensive institution—the term they tend to prefer is “elite”—and odds are that eventually someone who was a studen…
lithub.com
November 9, 2025 at 1:05 PM
It is, and what goes unsaid is that the piece in question a) opened with one of the most blatantly racist ledes I’ve read in years* and b) was by Jeremy Peters, who for the last decade has functioned as effectively a Heritage Foundation-type operative inside the Times newsroom
Reposted by P
this really captures the specific set of cached/unconfronted assumptions that underlie a lot of discourse, especially here (from @andymasley.bsky.social)
November 7, 2025 at 1:16 PM
this really captures the specific set of cached/unconfronted assumptions that underlie a lot of discourse, especially here (from @andymasley.bsky.social)
Reposted by P
Some good-ish climate news.
10 Years After the Paris Climate Agreement, Here's Where We Are
Has anything really changed in the decade since the Paris Agreement was reached? Actually, quite a lot.
www.nytimes.com
November 7, 2025 at 1:44 PM
Some good-ish climate news.
Reposted by P
The bigger problem is that there was never a mass constituency in the North for any kind of comprehensive and lengthy Reconstruction.
There used to be a consensus in the alternate history community that any "harsh" punishment of defeated Confederates would have led to an endless guerrilla war agaisnt the US in the south and meh I was never convinced it was ever that plausible.
We should have punished the Confederates.
October 30, 2025 at 4:11 PM
The bigger problem is that there was never a mass constituency in the North for any kind of comprehensive and lengthy Reconstruction.
Reposted by P
Some see the mass appeal of today's rightwing politics in status anxiety, as formerly dominant groups resent their relative decline. It's illuminating to extend Du Bois's "psychological wage" to capture how right populists generate both demand for this wage & give themselves a monopoly to supply it.
October 28, 2025 at 4:58 PM
Some see the mass appeal of today's rightwing politics in status anxiety, as formerly dominant groups resent their relative decline. It's illuminating to extend Du Bois's "psychological wage" to capture how right populists generate both demand for this wage & give themselves a monopoly to supply it.
Reposted by P
Work-from-home increases birth rates, but firms seem to hate it. So despite a pro-fertility coalition growing in US politics, no politicians openly supports work from home
www.nber.org/papers/w30569
via Mike Konczal
www.nber.org/papers/w30569
via Mike Konczal
The Covid-19 Baby Bump: The Unexpected Increase in U.S. Fertility Rates in Response to the Pandemic
Founded in 1920, the NBER is a private, non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to conducting economic research and to disseminating research findings among academics, public policy makers, an...
www.nber.org
October 26, 2025 at 5:09 PM
Work-from-home increases birth rates, but firms seem to hate it. So despite a pro-fertility coalition growing in US politics, no politicians openly supports work from home
www.nber.org/papers/w30569
via Mike Konczal
www.nber.org/papers/w30569
via Mike Konczal
Reposted by P
One of the big things I’ve learned from all of this (cries) is that far and away the biggest consumers (and whether intended or not, targets) of political propaganda are political and economic elites, not average voters. Been wild (derogatory) to watch.
October 25, 2025 at 9:50 PM
One of the big things I’ve learned from all of this (cries) is that far and away the biggest consumers (and whether intended or not, targets) of political propaganda are political and economic elites, not average voters. Been wild (derogatory) to watch.
Reposted by P
France eager to remind us they did it first on having a guy who got elected president and then decided to crown himself a monarch before his regime collapsed in buffoonish incompetence.
October 19, 2025 at 4:39 PM
France eager to remind us they did it first on having a guy who got elected president and then decided to crown himself a monarch before his regime collapsed in buffoonish incompetence.
Reposted by P
Extra question: did hegseth and miller demand that the admiral overseeing this mass murder campaign resign for picking up survivors. Seems like kind of a big deal
October 17, 2025 at 4:45 PM
Extra question: did hegseth and miller demand that the admiral overseeing this mass murder campaign resign for picking up survivors. Seems like kind of a big deal
Reposted by P
let me note that one of the actual tests here is going to be 'what do people pushing these ideas want for their own children' and I will bet you a lot of money that the answer is 'the elite university model of Harvard et al' not 'learning through AI slop'
Wow. Just wow.
"Students pay premium prices for information that AI now delivers instantly and for free. A business student can ask ChatGPT to explain supply chain optimization or generate market analysis in seconds. The traditional lecture-and-test model faces its Blockbuster moment."
"Students pay premium prices for information that AI now delivers instantly and for free. A business student can ask ChatGPT to explain supply chain optimization or generate market analysis in seconds. The traditional lecture-and-test model faces its Blockbuster moment."
When Knowledge is Free, What are Professors For?
Higher Education Must Stop Competing with AI on Information and Start Teaching What Machines Can’t Do
www.forbes.com
October 16, 2025 at 2:57 PM
let me note that one of the actual tests here is going to be 'what do people pushing these ideas want for their own children' and I will bet you a lot of money that the answer is 'the elite university model of Harvard et al' not 'learning through AI slop'
Reposted by P
Big news, friends: on December 3rd, I'll be launching a brand-new history show, "Past Lives." Every episode focuses on the life of a real person from history and tries to make sense of their experiences and their world. There will be weekly scripted episodes and tons of bonus content on Patreon.
October 13, 2025 at 7:29 PM
Big news, friends: on December 3rd, I'll be launching a brand-new history show, "Past Lives." Every episode focuses on the life of a real person from history and tries to make sense of their experiences and their world. There will be weekly scripted episodes and tons of bonus content on Patreon.
Reposted by P
Absolute banger from @deadcarl.bsky.social
Clausewitz on Hegseth and the "Lethality" Obsession
The "Absolute Destruction" of America's Military
www.deadcarl.com
October 1, 2025 at 1:55 PM
Absolute banger from @deadcarl.bsky.social
Reposted by P
What a perfect formulation:
“This is, in many ways, the dynamic that defines reactionary centrism: the right must be understood, but never blamed. The left can be blamed, but need not be understood.” www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/politics/709...
“This is, in many ways, the dynamic that defines reactionary centrism: the right must be understood, but never blamed. The left can be blamed, but need not be understood.” www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/politics/709...
What is a reactionary centrist, and does the UK have them?
A term favoured by US progressives can help us understand Britain’s drift to the right
www.prospectmagazine.co.uk
October 1, 2025 at 11:16 AM
What a perfect formulation:
“This is, in many ways, the dynamic that defines reactionary centrism: the right must be understood, but never blamed. The left can be blamed, but need not be understood.” www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/politics/709...
“This is, in many ways, the dynamic that defines reactionary centrism: the right must be understood, but never blamed. The left can be blamed, but need not be understood.” www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/politics/709...
Reposted by P
i wrote about atproto and why it matters
Open Social — overreacted
The protocol is the API.
overreacted.io
September 26, 2025 at 3:33 PM
i wrote about atproto and why it matters
Reposted by P
If you’ve taught for a few years you’ve had a wildly disruptive grad student show up from an irrelevant department and troll every discussion. In the last few years, it’s become far more dangerous; that troll is trying to get you fired and your administration isn’t guaranteed to back you up.
Cornell Cut Classes by a Pro-Palestinian Professor After an Israeli Student’s Discrimination Complaint
Dr. Eric Cheyfitz, who has taught at Cornell for more than two decades, claims the university is attempting to silence him as part of a broader crackdown on pro-Palestinian activism.
www.thenation.com
September 29, 2025 at 2:34 PM
If you’ve taught for a few years you’ve had a wildly disruptive grad student show up from an irrelevant department and troll every discussion. In the last few years, it’s become far more dangerous; that troll is trying to get you fired and your administration isn’t guaranteed to back you up.
Reposted by P
"Practice being brave now, don’t wait for some special moment at the end to be a hero."
This is excellent. open.substack.com/pub/peaceful...
This is excellent. open.substack.com/pub/peaceful...
Defeating Fascism The Easy Way
Fighting fascism when peaceful means may still be a possibility
open.substack.com
September 28, 2025 at 1:49 PM
"Practice being brave now, don’t wait for some special moment at the end to be a hero."
This is excellent. open.substack.com/pub/peaceful...
This is excellent. open.substack.com/pub/peaceful...
Reposted by P
The fertility decline is everywhere in the world today. The reason involves greater female autonomy and a mismatch between the desires of men and of women, from Claudia Goldin https://www.nber.org/papers/w34268
September 26, 2025 at 1:25 PM
The fertility decline is everywhere in the world today. The reason involves greater female autonomy and a mismatch between the desires of men and of women, from Claudia Goldin https://www.nber.org/papers/w34268
Reposted by P
Reposted by P
Good @aselrod.bsky.social reading of Stephen Miller's exploitation of Charlie Kirk's death. "Miller’s words drip with his own fascist salivation...Miller is not a subtle propagandist, but he is an opportunist. And he has rarely seen an opportunity like this."
www.liberalcurrents.com/charlie-kirk...
www.liberalcurrents.com/charlie-kirk...
Charlie Kirk, Martyrdom, and America’s Authoritarian Apostles
The entanglement of fascist politics and Christian imagery is not new, and it is dangerously powerful.
www.liberalcurrents.com
September 25, 2025 at 5:40 PM
Good @aselrod.bsky.social reading of Stephen Miller's exploitation of Charlie Kirk's death. "Miller’s words drip with his own fascist salivation...Miller is not a subtle propagandist, but he is an opportunist. And he has rarely seen an opportunity like this."
www.liberalcurrents.com/charlie-kirk...
www.liberalcurrents.com/charlie-kirk...
Reposted by P
BREAKING: Judge orders Columbia activist Mahmoud Khalil to be deported to Algeria or Syria, alleging he omitted information from his green card application.
Immigration judge orders Mahmoud Khalil to be deported to Algeria or Syria
“It is no surprise that the Trump administration continues to retaliate against me for my exercise of free speech," Khalil, a former Columbia University grad student, said in a statement.
nbcnews.to
September 18, 2025 at 1:22 AM
BREAKING: Judge orders Columbia activist Mahmoud Khalil to be deported to Algeria or Syria, alleging he omitted information from his green card application.
Reposted by P
It is a pretty shocking that near-complete energy independence through home solar+storage is inching towards viability. If you're an eccentric affluent person you could probably afford to pay $200k right now and live a normal middle class life off-grid
How big a solar battery do I need to store *all* my home's electricity?
I have a modest set of solar panels on an entirely ordinary house in suburban London. On average they generate about 3,800kWh per year. We also use about 3,800kWh of electricity each year. Obviously,...
shkspr.mobi
September 15, 2025 at 5:38 PM
It is a pretty shocking that near-complete energy independence through home solar+storage is inching towards viability. If you're an eccentric affluent person you could probably afford to pay $200k right now and live a normal middle class life off-grid
Reposted by P
so "everything bagel liberalism" amounted to "liberal values are bad because projects are too slow"
but now that racist values actually Halt, and not just prolong, these projects, nobody cares....
but now that racist values actually Halt, and not just prolong, these projects, nobody cares....
September 15, 2025 at 12:56 AM
so "everything bagel liberalism" amounted to "liberal values are bad because projects are too slow"
but now that racist values actually Halt, and not just prolong, these projects, nobody cares....
but now that racist values actually Halt, and not just prolong, these projects, nobody cares....
Reposted by P
This is so cool - and an example of good scientific-historical work.
Scientists Prove Justinian’s Plague, which Continued through the Rise of Islam, was Caused by Y. Pestis
Scientists Prove Justinian’s Plague, which Continued through the Rise of Islam, was Caused by Y. Pestis
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The first recorded world-historical pandemic took place (541–750 CE) in the Roman Empire and Sasanian Iran, as well as neighboring areas such as Arabia, 541- 750 CE. It began during the reign of Justinian (r.527 – 565) and continued during the rise of Islam and the fall of the Sasanian […]
dlvr.it
September 14, 2025 at 5:10 PM
This is so cool - and an example of good scientific-historical work.
Reposted by P
To be honest, I think this is what some people--the people most likely to be interviewed by media-- mean when they say "the economy". They want services to be cheap because low wage workers have terrible outside options. Instacart and Uber being expensive was "the economy". Now it's better. 😖
America's lowest wage workers were experiencing the fastest wage growth from 2015-2022.
Now they are experiencing the slowest wage growth and the most abrupt deceleration.
Now they are experiencing the slowest wage growth and the most abrupt deceleration.
September 12, 2025 at 1:33 PM
To be honest, I think this is what some people--the people most likely to be interviewed by media-- mean when they say "the economy". They want services to be cheap because low wage workers have terrible outside options. Instacart and Uber being expensive was "the economy". Now it's better. 😖
Reposted by P
Media elites care about media personalities and don’t give a shit about democratic lawmakers
September 11, 2025 at 3:19 AM
Media elites care about media personalities and don’t give a shit about democratic lawmakers