Spencer K. Pevsner, MSc
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skpevsner.bsky.social
Spencer K. Pevsner, MSc
@skpevsner.bsky.social
1.5K followers 750 following 510 posts
synapsid enthusiast | PhD student at Oxford | UChicago and Bristol alum | half Indian half Jewish progressive paleontologist | he/him
spencerpevsner.com
https://spencers-music-lists.ghost.io
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skpevsner.bsky.social
Spencer K. Pevsner, MSc @skpevsner.bsky.social · Sep 27
I'm Spencer, and I'm a PhD student at Oxford studying paleontogy! More specifically, I'm looking at the evolution of tails in synapsids, which is the broad group that includes both mammals and everything more closely related to us than reptiles! I've also worked with marsupials and multituberculates
A photo of me taking measurements and photographs of a fossil cynodont as part of my PhD research A selfie of me in front of a river of large boulders A photo of me posing next to the mount of Dimeteodon at the American Museum of Natural History in NYC
Reposted by Spencer K. Pevsner, MSc
eesaupe.bsky.social
If you’re interested in extinction risk, please check out our new paper in @science.org led by my former PhD student Cooper: www.science.org/doi/full/10....
January 16, 2026 at 9:39 AM
Reposted by Spencer K. Pevsner, MSc
acyn.bsky.social
AOC: I want everybody to understand that the cuts to your health care are what’s paying for this. You get screwed over to pay a bunch of thugs in the street that are shooting mothers in the face.
January 13, 2026 at 1:20 AM
Reposted by Spencer K. Pevsner, MSc
jamellebouie.net
rare to see an american politician speak in these terms and it rocks
amandalitman.bsky.social Amanda Litman @amandalitman.bsky.social · 8d
“When I speak about making our city more affordable, my vision is not limited to the homes that we live in or the child care that we’re making universal — it’s also a vision where we make it possible for working people to afford lives of joy, of art, of rest, of expression.”
Handing Out Free Tickets, Mamdani Says Theater Should Not Be ‘a Luxury’
www.nytimes.com
January 10, 2026 at 2:48 AM
Reposted by Spencer K. Pevsner, MSc
acyn.bsky.social
AOC: What we saw today was a criminal murder a woman while she was trying to flee for her life. What we saw today was a manifestation of every American’s worst nightmare: their government turning into a tyranny.
January 8, 2026 at 12:20 AM
Reposted by Spencer K. Pevsner, MSc
willsavino.bsky.social
I had the great pleasure of scoring this adventure. If you want Die Hard in space with immaculate roleplaying and worldbuilding, give it a listen!
worldsbeyondnumber.bsky.social Worlds Beyond Number @worldsbeyondnumber.bsky.social · 11d
Welcome to outer space.

Ep. 1 of Flight of the Icaron is out NOW on your favorite podcasting platforms!

Join us by the fireside: www.patreon.com/posts/public...
January 6, 2026 at 9:28 PM
Reposted by Spencer K. Pevsner, MSc
lauren.rotatingsandwiches.com
good piece with an incidental insanely brutal takedown of klein
The media has spent the last few months trying to make sense out of nonsense, attempting to conjure motive, manifesto, and meaning out of the dumbest shit scrawled onto bullets. These were sad attempts to impose meaning on an increasingly incoherent world by a literati that has not yet accepted its irrelevance in a postliterate society. But the most humiliating display of literate obliviousness in the face of the total collapse of meaning, however, was Ezra Klein's bizarre eulogy to Charlie Kirk. The now-infamous column ("Charlie Kirk Was Practicing Politics the Right Way") can best be understood as an expression of class solidarity. Klein, I would argue, sees both himself and Kirk as being Debate Guys, wordcels who engage in the marketplace of ideas and let speech sort itself out into political action. Kirk did not commit violence, not because he abhorred it, but because committing violence was someone else's job. Last year, he called for using whips against migrants, saying, "Of course you should be able to use whips against foreigners that are coming into your country. Why is that controversial?" In early June of this year, as the president deployed troops to Los Angeles, Kirk publicly advocated for invoking the Insurrection Act of 1807 to crush the immigration protests. And in August, he called for "federalizing" the district of Columbia, saying, "Roll in the tanks, bring in the military." With his close relationship to the commander in chief of the United States of America, Charlie Kirk was no mere talker, idea-peddler, or purveyor of discourse. He built an empire on legitimizing violence and harvesting the enthusiasm and glee around it. Even before his death became a pretext to enact violence on American cities, he had already substantively shaped history. Charlie Kirk was a part of the real world in a way that Ezra Klein will never be.
December 31, 2025 at 2:51 PM
skpevsner.bsky.social
Quick note: I am moving my lists to Ghost so now you can sign up to get my annual reviews (plus occasional other music reviews) in your email inbox - the link to sign up is here: spencers-music-lists.ghost.io
skpevsner.bsky.social Spencer K. Pevsner, MSc @skpevsner.bsky.social · 28d
Some of you may not know this, but every year I write up an article reviewing my top ten albums that came out in the past year, and my list for the year is now out! You can check it out here: skpevsner.medium.com/spencers-top...
Anything you think I missed? Let me know your faves!
Spencer’s Top Ten Albums of 2025
Is this all we got?
skpevsner.medium.com
December 26, 2025 at 10:33 PM
Reposted by Spencer K. Pevsner, MSc
skpevsner.bsky.social
Some of you may not know this, but every year I write up an article reviewing my top ten albums that came out in the past year, and my list for the year is now out! You can check it out here: skpevsner.medium.com/spencers-top...
Anything you think I missed? Let me know your faves!
Spencer’s Top Ten Albums of 2025
Is this all we got?
skpevsner.medium.com
December 20, 2025 at 2:25 PM
skpevsner.bsky.social
I have finally successfully baked challah for the first time and managed to get that eggy challah taste! Huzzah!
Two loaves of braided challah cooking on a wire rack. The loaf on the right has raisins while the loaf on the left has none. The left loaf appears neater. The two loaves share a deep brown color. They are delicious.
December 24, 2025 at 1:33 AM
Reposted by Spencer K. Pevsner, MSc
angryblacklady.blacksky.app
I just fundamentally don't understand how you write a paper without checking sources or a brief without checking citations.

I cannot fathom it
benpatrickwill.bsky.social Ben Williamson @benpatrickwill.bsky.social · 29d
Closing out my year with a journal editor shocker 🧵

Checking new manuscripts today I reviewed a paper attributing 2 papers to me I did not write. A daft thing for an author to do of course. But intrigued I web searched up one of the titles and that's when it got real weird...
December 20, 2025 at 1:09 PM
skpevsner.bsky.social
Some of you may not know this, but every year I write up an article reviewing my top ten albums that came out in the past year, and my list for the year is now out! You can check it out here: skpevsner.medium.com/spencers-top...
Anything you think I missed? Let me know your faves!
Spencer’s Top Ten Albums of 2025
Is this all we got?
skpevsner.medium.com
December 20, 2025 at 2:25 PM
Reposted by Spencer K. Pevsner, MSc
colincarlson.bsky.social
NSF is about to dismantle NCAR at Russell Vought's direction to protect the fossil fuel industry. It's hard to communicate just how much NCAR does, so let's take a look: I've never worked at NCAR, and I've worked with NCAR researchers once ever. What scientific discoveries has NCAR made possible? 👇
Russ Vought (piss man) tweet about doing piss man shit: The National Science Foundation will be breaking up the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Boulder, Colorado. This facility is one of the largest sources of climate alarmism in the country. A comprehensive review is underway & any vital activities such as weather research will be moved to another entity or location.
December 17, 2025 at 4:14 AM
Reposted by Spencer K. Pevsner, MSc
gelliottmorris.com
Earlier this year, Matt Yglesias and Hakeem Jeffries urged progressives to shut up about immigration and Kilmar Abrego Garcia. Yglesias said "bad groups" were pushing Dems left on immigration and would help Trump's numbers.
How did they get this so wrong? www.gelliottmorris.com/p/the-cost-o...
The cost of playing defense on immigration
What Matt Yglesias, Hakeem Jeffries, and Keir Starmer got wrong about the politics of immigration
www.gelliottmorris.com
December 16, 2025 at 1:01 PM
skpevsner.bsky.social
Happy #FossilFriday everyone! Today we’ve got this pair of juvenile Thrinaxodon, affectionately known as “The Kids”. It’s rare to get such complete skeletons of young cynodonts, so to have two together like this is a real treat! There remains much work to be done to understand cynodont ontogeny! 🧪🦊⚒️
A picture of a fossil block on display at the Iziko South African Museum in Cale Town showing two young Thrinaxodon liorhinus preserved together with their skulls nuzzled against each other.
December 12, 2025 at 4:58 PM
Reposted by Spencer K. Pevsner, MSc
jamellebouie.net
none of these people (inclusive of UK labour) seem to understand that voters want their leaders to *lead* them, not reflect their own ill thought preferences back at them
December 10, 2025 at 2:34 PM
skpevsner.bsky.social
Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?

- Mary Oliver, “The Summer Day”
achillesthe2nd.bsky.social Achilles Micawber @achillesthe2nd.bsky.social · Dec 5
Which lines of poetry live rent-free in your head?
December 6, 2025 at 9:19 PM
Reposted by Spencer K. Pevsner, MSc
jonathancohn.bsky.social
Exactly. It's disingenuous to call it a purity test to say "You shouldn't be beholden to right-wing billionaires pushing right-wing policies and right-wing candidates."

newrepublic.com/article/2039...
No, Progressives Don’t Want “Purity.” They Just Want Some Courage.
When left-leaning Democrats complain about corporate influence, it’s not a “purity test.” It’s a demand for a better politics.
newrepublic.com
December 5, 2025 at 1:02 PM
skpevsner.bsky.social
Complete summary, for those interested
My summarized Spotify wrapped. My top artists are: 1. Nine Inch Nails 2. Magdalena Bay 3. Massive Attack 4. Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross 5. Arcade Fire My top songs are: 1. catch these fists by Wet Leg 2. Chippin’ In by Samurai/Refused 3. Never Fade Away by Samurai/Refused 4. Secrets (Your Fire) by Magdalena Bay 5. The Ballad of Buck Ravers by Samurai/Refused I had 40,159 minutes listened and my top genre was indie rock
December 3, 2025 at 1:34 PM
skpevsner.bsky.social
Surprising absolutely no one who knows me,
My Spotify wrapped showing me that Nine Inch Nails was my top artist this year, with 4,876 minutes listened making me a top 0.06% global fan
December 3, 2025 at 1:27 PM
Reposted by Spencer K. Pevsner, MSc
pdpolly.bsky.social
Leicester's Palaeontology program has a long track record including discovery that conodonts were vertebrates, graduates who are Fellows of the Royal Society, innovative researchers, and a growing body of undergraduate students.
c.org/HJW7FVxPwv
Sign the Petition
Save Geology at the University of Leicester
c.org
November 23, 2025 at 3:25 PM
Reposted by Spencer K. Pevsner, MSc
gelliottmorris.com
Good morning. I've got a banger new post out today that develops a new method for placing voters on the left-right ideological spectrum, and adds a new, "non-ideological"/affordability axis to usual way we chart & think about US voters (esp swing voters). www.gelliottmorris.com/p/not-just-l...
Not just left vs right: Most voters think about affordability and material wellbeing, not in ideological terms
Most voters want a party that emphasizes cost of living issues and makes the world a better place. Few Americans think in solidly ideologically terms. "Moderates" are mostly non-ideological.
www.gelliottmorris.com
November 20, 2025 at 1:00 PM
Reposted by Spencer K. Pevsner, MSc
nhcooper123.bsky.social
@societyofvertpaleo.bsky.social #2025SVP #SVP2025. Can people check they didn’t grab the wrong tote last night? Marc’s had his coat (blue waterproof) in it and he really needs it back!
marcehjones.bsky.social Marc Jones @marcehjones.bsky.social · Nov 16
Can everyone who left their tote bag behind in Meeting Room Hall 3, or picked up the wrong one, please pop by the International Convention Centre this morning.

#2025SVP
#SVP2025
November 16, 2025 at 10:31 AM
skpevsner.bsky.social
Thank you to everyone who came and saw my talk! The paper should hopefully be forthcoming soon, fingers crossed! It was so great getting to catch up with so many old friends and meet so many new ones - hope to see you all at the next one!
A photo of me giving my talk at #2025SVP
November 16, 2025 at 11:29 AM
skpevsner.bsky.social
Happening tomorrow! Be there!
skpevsner.bsky.social Spencer K. Pevsner, MSc @skpevsner.bsky.social · Nov 11
Are you attending #2025SVP #SVP2025? Come see my talk on Thursday at 2pm in the Synapsida technical session on tail length evolution in across stem mammals, and find out why this long-neglected part of the skeleton has a much more complicated story to tell than we previously thought!
The title slide for my SVP talk entitled “Comparative Evidence for Independent Evolutionary Reductions of Tail Length Among Stem Mammals”. Authors for the talk are myself (Spencer K. Pevsner), Katrina E. Jones, and Roger B. J. Benson. The slide shows photos of skeletons of Sphenacodon, Diictodon, and Thrinaxodon, all with tails present.
November 12, 2025 at 3:02 PM