Mark Simpson-Vos
@simpsonvos.bsky.social
I care about ideas doing work in the world
Professional humanist and book editing person
Seeking to enter by the narrow gate.
Religion | History | Indigeneity | Music | Sport
MN born NC by choice
Always #GDTBATH | #DurhamNC #BullCity
Professional humanist and book editing person
Seeking to enter by the narrow gate.
Religion | History | Indigeneity | Music | Sport
MN born NC by choice
Always #GDTBATH | #DurhamNC #BullCity
Horse race polls in January before November election are meaningless, but posts about polls in NC without crosstabs showing D/R/independents are especially meaningless.
Carolina Forward - North Carolina senate poll
🟦 Roy Cooper: 47%
🟥 Michael Whatley: 42%
carolinaforward.org/blog/the-jan...
🟦 Roy Cooper: 47%
🟥 Michael Whatley: 42%
carolinaforward.org/blog/the-jan...
The January Carolina Forward Poll - Carolina Forward
Summary:
carolinaforward.org
January 20, 2026 at 6:37 PM
Horse race polls in January before November election are meaningless, but posts about polls in NC without crosstabs showing D/R/independents are especially meaningless.
Reposted by Mark Simpson-Vos
Just spoke to The Hill about how the dismantling of the NIH is impacting science in America. We still face a cliff of unfathomable heights, w easily 1000+ labs poised to close in the next year due to funding ending. A generation of young scientists lost because there is nowhere for them to train.
January 20, 2026 at 4:03 PM
Just spoke to The Hill about how the dismantling of the NIH is impacting science in America. We still face a cliff of unfathomable heights, w easily 1000+ labs poised to close in the next year due to funding ending. A generation of young scientists lost because there is nowhere for them to train.
Let be be finale of seem.
January 20, 2026 at 5:28 PM
Let be be finale of seem.
How fortunate we are to live in an era of smartphones that document the world as we experience it.
But we must zealously fight for and protect the networks that allow us to share what we see, and to eliminate visual falsehoods that question the reality of our existence.
But we must zealously fight for and protect the networks that allow us to share what we see, and to eliminate visual falsehoods that question the reality of our existence.
January 20, 2026 at 5:23 PM
How fortunate we are to live in an era of smartphones that document the world as we experience it.
But we must zealously fight for and protect the networks that allow us to share what we see, and to eliminate visual falsehoods that question the reality of our existence.
But we must zealously fight for and protect the networks that allow us to share what we see, and to eliminate visual falsehoods that question the reality of our existence.
The incomparable @maggieblackhawk.bsky.social with a short explainer worth your attention
#SCOTUS hears oral argument today in Wolford (2d Am (right to "bear arms")). An issue lurks behind the scenes: whether Bruen's history & tradition preempts property/customary law, supplanting local law with a "national tradition." Here, preempting Hawai'i's tradition banning guns for over 200 years.
January 20, 2026 at 5:11 PM
The incomparable @maggieblackhawk.bsky.social with a short explainer worth your attention
Reposted by Mark Simpson-Vos
The book, The Best Science Stories and How They Work, is an invitation to engage with some of today’s most respected science journalists, from @maryroach.bsky.social to @bengoldfarb.bsky.social, as they take readers beneath the surface to tell the stories behind 11 of the best science stories.
The Best Science Stories and How They Work: A Collection with Commentary - The Open Notebook
An invitation to engage with some of today’s most respected science journalists as they take readers beneath the surface to tell the stories behind eleven of the best science stories.
www.theopennotebook.com
January 20, 2026 at 3:37 PM
The book, The Best Science Stories and How They Work, is an invitation to engage with some of today’s most respected science journalists, from @maryroach.bsky.social to @bengoldfarb.bsky.social, as they take readers beneath the surface to tell the stories behind 11 of the best science stories.
🍿
January 20, 2026 at 2:12 PM
🍿
Some seem annoyed that Dems continue to talk affordability while American democracy teeters on the brink.
Personally I’m okay with reminding people that every dime the regime spends on ICE stormtroopers and this Greenland fantasy could be spent providing healthcare for their family.
Personally I’m okay with reminding people that every dime the regime spends on ICE stormtroopers and this Greenland fantasy could be spent providing healthcare for their family.
January 20, 2026 at 2:11 PM
Some seem annoyed that Dems continue to talk affordability while American democracy teeters on the brink.
Personally I’m okay with reminding people that every dime the regime spends on ICE stormtroopers and this Greenland fantasy could be spent providing healthcare for their family.
Personally I’m okay with reminding people that every dime the regime spends on ICE stormtroopers and this Greenland fantasy could be spent providing healthcare for their family.
Reposted by Mark Simpson-Vos
I’m a black woman, and I love GOODFELLAS—good luck classifying me. If you’ve got an issue with me, take your shot. You’ve never seen the likes of me. I’m so unpredictable, so heterodox.
January 20, 2026 at 1:02 AM
I’m a black woman, and I love GOODFELLAS—good luck classifying me. If you’ve got an issue with me, take your shot. You’ve never seen the likes of me. I’m so unpredictable, so heterodox.
Reposted by Mark Simpson-Vos
"To Every American Who's Sorry:
To be blunt, none of that actually matters. You can say you're different from the rest of Americans, but to the rest of the world, that distinction doesn't exist."
www.reddit.com/r/greenland/...
To be blunt, none of that actually matters. You can say you're different from the rest of Americans, but to the rest of the world, that distinction doesn't exist."
www.reddit.com/r/greenland/...
January 20, 2026 at 1:39 AM
"To Every American Who's Sorry:
To be blunt, none of that actually matters. You can say you're different from the rest of Americans, but to the rest of the world, that distinction doesn't exist."
www.reddit.com/r/greenland/...
To be blunt, none of that actually matters. You can say you're different from the rest of Americans, but to the rest of the world, that distinction doesn't exist."
www.reddit.com/r/greenland/...
Another is to put your life on the line for the disadvantaged in our society.
Americans across the U.S. are celebrating King's legacy this weekend. One way to reflect on his life and message is by revisiting his celebrated 1963 speech delivered at the Lincoln Memorial.
Read Martin Luther King Jr.'s 'I Have a Dream' speech in its entirety
Americans across the U.S. are celebrating King's legacy this weekend. One way to reflect on his life and message is by revisiting his celebrated 1963 speech delivered at the Lincoln Memorial.
n.pr
January 19, 2026 at 8:29 PM
Another is to put your life on the line for the disadvantaged in our society.
Had a sobering but necessary conversation with a friend today who responded to my lament about the situation in Minneapolis by innocently asking, “Is that still going on?”
Classic case of a person who opposes the regime in principle but doesn’t consume much news media. We need to tell our neighbors
Classic case of a person who opposes the regime in principle but doesn’t consume much news media. We need to tell our neighbors
January 19, 2026 at 8:28 PM
Had a sobering but necessary conversation with a friend today who responded to my lament about the situation in Minneapolis by innocently asking, “Is that still going on?”
Classic case of a person who opposes the regime in principle but doesn’t consume much news media. We need to tell our neighbors
Classic case of a person who opposes the regime in principle but doesn’t consume much news media. We need to tell our neighbors
Whether the king is actually mad or merely acting mad, the insanity endangers the people.
(NYT) - President Trump is now claiming that one reason he is pushing to acquire Greenland is that he didn’t win the Nobel Peace Prize, according to a message he sent to Norway’s prime minister over the weekend.
@nytimes.com
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/19/w...
@nytimes.com
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/19/w...
January 19, 2026 at 8:24 PM
Whether the king is actually mad or merely acting mad, the insanity endangers the people.
Maybe one prayer too few.
That is hereby forever known as The Fling and a Prayer. #DaBears
January 19, 2026 at 3:00 AM
Maybe one prayer too few.
Reposted by Mark Simpson-Vos
Caleb Williams threw that game-tying TD pass to Cole Kmet from 26 yards behind the line of scrimmage:
January 19, 2026 at 2:38 AM
Caleb Williams threw that game-tying TD pass to Cole Kmet from 26 yards behind the line of scrimmage:
Reposted by Mark Simpson-Vos
close enough
i feel compelled to watch the entire Bears game even though I know it will end with Caleb Williams throwing a 37-yard touchdown under intense pressure on 4th-and-11
January 19, 2026 at 2:37 AM
close enough
Reposted by Mark Simpson-Vos
Reposted by Mark Simpson-Vos
Reposted by Mark Simpson-Vos
NO WAY. CALEB WILLIAMS HEAVES IT ON 4TH DOWN.
January 19, 2026 at 2:37 AM
NO WAY. CALEB WILLIAMS HEAVES IT ON 4TH DOWN.
This is a great thread. Let’s keep it going.
Mine is Crook’s Corner in Chapel Hill, where the famous shrimp and grits put North Carolina on the national food map.
But what I’m ordering are the soft shell crabs in season with a side of jalapeño hush puppies and banana pudding for dessert.
Mine is Crook’s Corner in Chapel Hill, where the famous shrimp and grits put North Carolina on the national food map.
But what I’m ordering are the soft shell crabs in season with a side of jalapeño hush puppies and banana pudding for dessert.
Sunday night timeline cleanse
please tell me about your favorite lost restaurant (closed for at least 5 years, like I really want you to go back into the vault), why you loved it and what you ate there
please tell me about your favorite lost restaurant (closed for at least 5 years, like I really want you to go back into the vault), why you loved it and what you ate there
January 19, 2026 at 2:36 AM
This is a great thread. Let’s keep it going.
Mine is Crook’s Corner in Chapel Hill, where the famous shrimp and grits put North Carolina on the national food map.
But what I’m ordering are the soft shell crabs in season with a side of jalapeño hush puppies and banana pudding for dessert.
Mine is Crook’s Corner in Chapel Hill, where the famous shrimp and grits put North Carolina on the national food map.
But what I’m ordering are the soft shell crabs in season with a side of jalapeño hush puppies and banana pudding for dessert.
For Minneapolis.
Keep making good trouble, boys and girls.
Keep making good trouble, boys and girls.
Today was the 40th anniversary of the Replacements' infamous SNL performance that got them banned for life from the show.
Last night Finn Wolfhard, who is writing a Replacements biopic with his dad, hosted SNL and wore a vintage 1991 Replacements t-shirt.
Here's my story (gift link):
Last night Finn Wolfhard, who is writing a Replacements biopic with his dad, hosted SNL and wore a vintage 1991 Replacements t-shirt.
Here's my story (gift link):
On ‘SNL,’ Finn Wolfhard pays tribute to the Replacements 40 years after they were banned from the show
While introducing musical guest A$AP Rocky on Saturday night’s show, Wolfhard wore a vintage Replacements t-shirt from the group’s final tour in 1991.
www.twincities.com
January 19, 2026 at 2:18 AM
For Minneapolis.
Keep making good trouble, boys and girls.
Keep making good trouble, boys and girls.
Reposted by Mark Simpson-Vos
can we just quickly clear up an often repeated idea that Minneapolis is a “small city of 500k” or the “47th largest city in the US”?
it is directly connected to st. paul, a city of 400,000. with the suburbs, the metro area is over 3.5 million people.
your city won’t be safer because it is bigger.
it is directly connected to st. paul, a city of 400,000. with the suburbs, the metro area is over 3.5 million people.
your city won’t be safer because it is bigger.
January 18, 2026 at 10:04 PM
can we just quickly clear up an often repeated idea that Minneapolis is a “small city of 500k” or the “47th largest city in the US”?
it is directly connected to st. paul, a city of 400,000. with the suburbs, the metro area is over 3.5 million people.
your city won’t be safer because it is bigger.
it is directly connected to st. paul, a city of 400,000. with the suburbs, the metro area is over 3.5 million people.
your city won’t be safer because it is bigger.
Reposted by Mark Simpson-Vos
The incredibly lukewarm Democratic response on Greenland is being noticed in Europe, incidentally.
Chuck Schumer not finding a stronger word than “quixotic” for Trump’s plan to seize Greenland has been name checked to me more than once.
Chuck Schumer not finding a stronger word than “quixotic” for Trump’s plan to seize Greenland has been name checked to me more than once.
But Americans who want to save the alliance with Europe must have no illusions about how bad a condition this transatlantic partnership is in.
January 18, 2026 at 10:05 PM
The incredibly lukewarm Democratic response on Greenland is being noticed in Europe, incidentally.
Chuck Schumer not finding a stronger word than “quixotic” for Trump’s plan to seize Greenland has been name checked to me more than once.
Chuck Schumer not finding a stronger word than “quixotic” for Trump’s plan to seize Greenland has been name checked to me more than once.
Reposted by Mark Simpson-Vos
I keep thinking about the toxic, pervasive mythology of "rugged individualism" as a driving force in American culture, and how the collective efforts in the Twin Cities right now are proof that the only way through hard times is together, as a community.
January 17, 2026 at 3:00 PM
I keep thinking about the toxic, pervasive mythology of "rugged individualism" as a driving force in American culture, and how the collective efforts in the Twin Cities right now are proof that the only way through hard times is together, as a community.