sr_toliver
@srtoliver.bsky.social
Assistant Professor @ University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign | #Literacies, #EduSky, #AcademicSky, #BlackSky |she/her| Award-winning author (😆) | website: www.ReadingBlackFutures.com 💖💚
Reposted by sr_toliver
They WERE NOT hype enough for my boi.
HE WAS GOIN DUMB ON THEM KEYS
HE WAS GOIN DUMB ON THEM KEYS
November 10, 2025 at 9:57 PM
They WERE NOT hype enough for my boi.
HE WAS GOIN DUMB ON THEM KEYS
HE WAS GOIN DUMB ON THEM KEYS
Reposted by sr_toliver
"This isn’t a maintenance bill. It’s a systems-building bill. And it positions Illinois to do something few American states have attempted: build a modern, frequent, interconnected railway network that treats mobility as essential infrastructure rather than a social service."
A striking innovation in the Illinois Transit Bill is the explicit embrace of “regional rail”—a term that signals a complete departure from the commuter rail model that has defined suburban train service for over a century www.hsrail.org/blog/illinoi...
Illinois Quietly Rewrote the Rules: Intercity Rail is Now Transit | High Speed Rail Alliance
This new bill positions Illinois to build a modern, frequent, interconnected railway network that treats mobility as essential infrastructure
www.hsrail.org
November 11, 2025 at 2:39 AM
"This isn’t a maintenance bill. It’s a systems-building bill. And it positions Illinois to do something few American states have attempted: build a modern, frequent, interconnected railway network that treats mobility as essential infrastructure rather than a social service."
Reposted by sr_toliver
Hi writers! I’m looking to assign a couple of features for Slate before the end of the year. If you have anything in mind that you think would be a fit please send me a pitch! Jenée.Desmond- harris@slate.com or dm me.
RTs are appreciated so this can reach more people. Thanks!
RTs are appreciated so this can reach more people. Thanks!
November 10, 2025 at 6:06 PM
Hi writers! I’m looking to assign a couple of features for Slate before the end of the year. If you have anything in mind that you think would be a fit please send me a pitch! Jenée.Desmond- harris@slate.com or dm me.
RTs are appreciated so this can reach more people. Thanks!
RTs are appreciated so this can reach more people. Thanks!
Reposted by sr_toliver
I'm legitimately confused about the play here. No person who now is going to go without coverage in the ACA is going to just blame the GOP. They will rightly blame the Democrats too. Dems won't get "points" for "fighting" if they cave. It makes little sense.
November 9, 2025 at 10:48 PM
I'm legitimately confused about the play here. No person who now is going to go without coverage in the ACA is going to just blame the GOP. They will rightly blame the Democrats too. Dems won't get "points" for "fighting" if they cave. It makes little sense.
Reposted by sr_toliver
look I know being an engaged citizen IS the work of democracy but it is also the work of elected officials not to create situations where everyone has to be mobilized all the time to prevent them from allowing some kind of Dickensian horror on a Sunday night while you're in between loads of laundry
November 9, 2025 at 11:37 PM
look I know being an engaged citizen IS the work of democracy but it is also the work of elected officials not to create situations where everyone has to be mobilized all the time to prevent them from allowing some kind of Dickensian horror on a Sunday night while you're in between loads of laundry
Reposted by sr_toliver
Just imagining the meeting where they must have been like “they might cancel my flight? Time to kill the sick.”
November 10, 2025 at 1:03 AM
Just imagining the meeting where they must have been like “they might cancel my flight? Time to kill the sick.”
Reposted by sr_toliver
I don’t think this is chess. I think this is as straight forward as it looks.
November 10, 2025 at 1:45 AM
I don’t think this is chess. I think this is as straight forward as it looks.
Reposted by sr_toliver
did it happen like this
November 10, 2025 at 1:41 AM
did it happen like this
Reposted by sr_toliver
pre-writing a devastating obituary for your enemy is god-tier hating of a kind you don’t often see anymore. renaissance haterism. beautiful stuff.
A Sharon Begley byline, almost 5 years after her death.
Upon hearing the news James Watson had died, a STAT reporter said in our Slack, "I wish I could read what Sharon would have written."
Incredible news: Sharon in fact did pre-write a Watson obit. And it is masterful and excoriating.
🧪🧬🧫
Upon hearing the news James Watson had died, a STAT reporter said in our Slack, "I wish I could read what Sharon would have written."
Incredible news: Sharon in fact did pre-write a Watson obit. And it is masterful and excoriating.
🧪🧬🧫
James Watson, dead at 97, was a scientific legend and a pariah among his peers
James Watson, the co-discoverer of the structure of DNA who died Thursday at 97, was a scientific legend and a pariah among his peers.
www.statnews.com
November 9, 2025 at 12:55 AM
pre-writing a devastating obituary for your enemy is god-tier hating of a kind you don’t often see anymore. renaissance haterism. beautiful stuff.
Reposted by sr_toliver
“woke” is when you acknowledge that black people have contributed to the united states
Two panels commemorating the contribution of Black American soldiers towards the liberation of the Netherlands in World War Two have been quietly removed from a cemetery in Limburg. It follows a complaint by right-wing think tank The Heritage Foundation to the American Battle Monuments Commission.
November 8, 2025 at 9:01 PM
“woke” is when you acknowledge that black people have contributed to the united states
I’ve been trying to grapple with why I’m feeling drawn (or, perhaps compelled) to use AI. And after much thought I’ve decided that it’s because academia (and other jobs/fields), push us to find a way to do more and more with less.
November 8, 2025 at 10:10 PM
I’ve been trying to grapple with why I’m feeling drawn (or, perhaps compelled) to use AI. And after much thought I’ve decided that it’s because academia (and other jobs/fields), push us to find a way to do more and more with less.
Reposted by sr_toliver
my one true love is a beautifully written piece that draws blood, and this hits the spot
What an amazing essay from the former chair of Africana Studies at Bowdoin. I'll share a few sections in the reply but seriously, read the whole thing. It's all insightful and beautifully written.
lithub.com/maybe-dont-t...
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 8, 2025 at 8:23 PM
my one true love is a beautifully written piece that draws blood, and this hits the spot
Reposted by sr_toliver
People are desperately drawn to phrenology. You could set your clock by the regularity at which those stupid papers come out and are debunked. Can't people FINALLY know better?
No, the urge to judge people by characteristics they can't control is too strong...
No, the urge to judge people by characteristics they can't control is too strong...
A new paper suggests a photo can tell a recruiter much about an applicant’s personality
Should facial analysis help determine whom companies hire?
A new paper suggests a photo can tell a recruiter much about an applicant’s personality
econ.st
November 6, 2025 at 11:36 PM
People are desperately drawn to phrenology. You could set your clock by the regularity at which those stupid papers come out and are debunked. Can't people FINALLY know better?
No, the urge to judge people by characteristics they can't control is too strong...
No, the urge to judge people by characteristics they can't control is too strong...
Reposted by sr_toliver
This is happening at scale to who knows how many people and it's by design. These chatbots are designed to keep you engaging with it, apparently at any cost.
November 7, 2025 at 1:50 AM
This is happening at scale to who knows how many people and it's by design. These chatbots are designed to keep you engaging with it, apparently at any cost.
Reposted by sr_toliver
No it’s important to listen to this. Because then you understand that many of them will do ANYTHING to keep power. Remember Musk got involved in the 2024 election after saying to Tucker “if she wins” I am definitely going to prison.
So we need to move knowing that nothing is off the table for them.
So we need to move knowing that nothing is off the table for them.
Steve Bannon: If we lose the midterms and we lose 2028, some in this room are going to prison, myself included.
November 7, 2025 at 12:22 AM
No it’s important to listen to this. Because then you understand that many of them will do ANYTHING to keep power. Remember Musk got involved in the 2024 election after saying to Tucker “if she wins” I am definitely going to prison.
So we need to move knowing that nothing is off the table for them.
So we need to move knowing that nothing is off the table for them.
Reposted by sr_toliver
If sandwich shops don’t start offering a sandwich named “the acquittal” then what are we even doing
November 6, 2025 at 9:27 PM
If sandwich shops don’t start offering a sandwich named “the acquittal” then what are we even doing
Reposted by sr_toliver
To put this in scale, Elon Musk's salary from Tesla alone could fund the SNAP program for the entire country into 2034.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk scored a resounding victory on Thursday as shareholders approved a pay package of as much as $878 billion over the next decade, endorsing his vision of morphing the EV maker into an AI and robotics juggernaut.
Tesla shareholders approve $878 billion pay plan for Elon Musk
Tesla CEO Elon Musk scored a resounding victory on Thursday as shareholders approved a pay package of as much as $878 billion over the next decade, endorsing his vision of morphing the EV maker into an AI and robotics juggernaut.
reut.rs
November 6, 2025 at 10:19 PM
To put this in scale, Elon Musk's salary from Tesla alone could fund the SNAP program for the entire country into 2034.
Reposted by sr_toliver
one of my least favorite new publishing "truths" is that books only deserve consistent marketing & publicity if they are already doing well, it's the new "needs experience to get experience" 🤡
November 6, 2025 at 6:55 PM
one of my least favorite new publishing "truths" is that books only deserve consistent marketing & publicity if they are already doing well, it's the new "needs experience to get experience" 🤡
Reposted by sr_toliver
BREAKING: JUSTICE DEPARTMENT EATS A LOSS IN 'SANDWICH GUY' CASE AS JURORS FIND DEFENDANT NOT GUILTY www.nbcnews.com/politics/jus...
Jury acquits D.C. 'sandwich guy' charged with chucking a sub at a federal agent
Sean Dunn faced single misdemeanor offense after federal grand jurors refused to indict him on the felony charge sought by prosecutors.
www.nbcnews.com
November 6, 2025 at 7:27 PM
BREAKING: JUSTICE DEPARTMENT EATS A LOSS IN 'SANDWICH GUY' CASE AS JURORS FIND DEFENDANT NOT GUILTY www.nbcnews.com/politics/jus...
Reposted by sr_toliver
Since folks are talking a lot about democratic socialism this week, just gonna re-up this thread on how MLK voiced religious support for democratic socialism — but most folks aren't aware of when he did so most explicitly.
That was in an obscure, little-known speech he gave in Frogmore, SC in 1966.
That was in an obscure, little-known speech he gave in Frogmore, SC in 1966.
1. Religion aside: Mamdani cites a 1961 speech by MLK here, but King was actually more explicit about his support for democratic socialism later on.
I know this because I went to great lengths to confirm the quote — which comes from a 1966 speech to staff in SC — for my book American Prophets.
I know this because I went to great lengths to confirm the quote — which comes from a 1966 speech to staff in SC — for my book American Prophets.
November 6, 2025 at 3:26 PM
Since folks are talking a lot about democratic socialism this week, just gonna re-up this thread on how MLK voiced religious support for democratic socialism — but most folks aren't aware of when he did so most explicitly.
That was in an obscure, little-known speech he gave in Frogmore, SC in 1966.
That was in an obscure, little-known speech he gave in Frogmore, SC in 1966.
Reposted by sr_toliver
November 5, 2025 at 11:09 PM
Reposted by sr_toliver
here is my story about how Zohran's focus on community amid the loneliness epidemic helped young people connect their politics to an organizing infrastructure, that interviewed ZM, and does not use the NYT's framing of "they don't know how to make friends" :-) and also ran 4 days before NYT's lol
Zohran Mamdani's Establishment-Fighting Campaign Built Community for Young People
“What Mamdani has done is not only inspire and mobilize young people, but he has exposed the establishment and some of their calcified views of participation and inclusion.”
www.teenvogue.com
November 5, 2025 at 2:14 PM
here is my story about how Zohran's focus on community amid the loneliness epidemic helped young people connect their politics to an organizing infrastructure, that interviewed ZM, and does not use the NYT's framing of "they don't know how to make friends" :-) and also ran 4 days before NYT's lol
Reposted by sr_toliver
One of the big ones.
The Illinois legislature had passed the “Illinois Bivens Act,” allowing people to sue ICE agents in state court. Just waiting for Pritzker’s signature.
dailynorthwestern.com/2025/11/03/c...
dailynorthwestern.com/2025/11/03/c...
November 5, 2025 at 12:57 PM
One of the big ones.
Reposted by sr_toliver
I love that Zohran did not praise Cuomo in his speech. You absolutely do not have to say nice things about bad people. We should normalize that in “polite” politics: Praising bad people is not actually “civility.”
November 5, 2025 at 5:04 AM
I love that Zohran did not praise Cuomo in his speech. You absolutely do not have to say nice things about bad people. We should normalize that in “polite” politics: Praising bad people is not actually “civility.”