Andrew Clough
@aclough.bsky.social
Because ten billion years' time is so fragile, so ephemeral...it arouses such a bittersweet, almost heartbreaking fondness.🔸🌎🏗
Reposted by Andrew Clough
To expand on this in a 'what should we do' sort of way, I think the prudent course here is for Dems to see if they can get the handful of GOP votes to force a discharge petition on a bill that affirmatively declares that military action against Denmark or Greenland would be illegal.
I was listening to @thebulwark.com's Next Level podcast today and they were thinking through the chance that Trump actually tries to seize Greenland and there was a @jvl.bsky.social sort of 'I kinda hope he does it to drop the mask entirely' and I just cannot scream loudly enough: No, You Do Not. 1/
January 7, 2026 at 6:59 AM
To expand on this in a 'what should we do' sort of way, I think the prudent course here is for Dems to see if they can get the handful of GOP votes to force a discharge petition on a bill that affirmatively declares that military action against Denmark or Greenland would be illegal.
Reposted by Andrew Clough
Far-UVC is something people have talked about for years in a "that would be great, if you could buy it" sort of way. But the future is now, and it costs $500. I think we're now at the point where dances, churches, offices, rationalist group houses, schools, etc. should consider them.
You Can Just Buy Far-UVC
Far-UVC is something people have talked about for years in a
www.jefftk.com
December 13, 2025 at 1:10 PM
Far-UVC is something people have talked about for years in a "that would be great, if you could buy it" sort of way. But the future is now, and it costs $500. I think we're now at the point where dances, churches, offices, rationalist group houses, schools, etc. should consider them.
Happy Smallpox Eradication Day! And here's looking forward to Polio Eradication Day when we can finally celebrate.
December 9, 2025 at 12:55 PM
Happy Smallpox Eradication Day! And here's looking forward to Polio Eradication Day when we can finally celebrate.
Reposted by Andrew Clough
The thing is, by refusing to truly engage with the public and to support/value scholars who do, we cede the public understanding of history to these 'history buffs,' - and at the same time, contribute to the decline of our field, as the public doesn't know what we *do* that they should pay for.
my favorite people on tiktok are the folks who call themselves “history buffs” by which they mean they read one book and then uncritically summarize it for their viewers
July 9, 2025 at 6:33 PM
The thing is, by refusing to truly engage with the public and to support/value scholars who do, we cede the public understanding of history to these 'history buffs,' - and at the same time, contribute to the decline of our field, as the public doesn't know what we *do* that they should pay for.
Reposted by Andrew Clough
That is because the United States is unusual in that it isn't a nation - indeed, it is something like the opposite of a nation - which entirely rejects the 'ancestral bonds' that might make someone more or less American in favor of the bonds of citizenship.
acoup.blog/2021/07/02/c...
acoup.blog/2021/07/02/c...
Collections: My Country Isn’t a Nation
I hope everyone will forgive me taking this week to break from our normal diet of history-and-pop-culture (though we are discussing a key historical concept here – it is me after all), but it…
acoup.blog
June 25, 2025 at 11:37 PM
That is because the United States is unusual in that it isn't a nation - indeed, it is something like the opposite of a nation - which entirely rejects the 'ancestral bonds' that might make someone more or less American in favor of the bonds of citizenship.
acoup.blog/2021/07/02/c...
acoup.blog/2021/07/02/c...
Reposted by Andrew Clough
One of the marvelous things about the United States - something it shares with Rome, I might add - is that American identity is fundamentally legal in definition and almost totally binary.
Regardless of my politics or his, Zohran Mamdani, naturalized in 2018, is every bit as much an American as me.
Regardless of my politics or his, Zohran Mamdani, naturalized in 2018, is every bit as much an American as me.
June 25, 2025 at 11:34 PM
One of the marvelous things about the United States - something it shares with Rome, I might add - is that American identity is fundamentally legal in definition and almost totally binary.
Regardless of my politics or his, Zohran Mamdani, naturalized in 2018, is every bit as much an American as me.
Regardless of my politics or his, Zohran Mamdani, naturalized in 2018, is every bit as much an American as me.
Reposted by Andrew Clough
Well worth reading this whole thread.
My concern is that I can't imagine anyone could really get POTUS to understand these complexities, but these realities, combined with Iranian retaliation, could easily pull the United States into further strikes, bogging us down in an unnecessary conflict.
My concern is that I can't imagine anyone could really get POTUS to understand these complexities, but these realities, combined with Iranian retaliation, could easily pull the United States into further strikes, bogging us down in an unnecessary conflict.
Why am I so unimpressed by these strikes? Israel and the US have failed to target significant elements of Iran's nuclear materials and production infrastructure. RISING LION and MIDNIGHT HAMMER are tactically brilliant, but may turn out to be strategic failures. 🧵 1/17
June 23, 2025 at 5:44 AM
Well worth reading this whole thread.
My concern is that I can't imagine anyone could really get POTUS to understand these complexities, but these realities, combined with Iranian retaliation, could easily pull the United States into further strikes, bogging us down in an unnecessary conflict.
My concern is that I can't imagine anyone could really get POTUS to understand these complexities, but these realities, combined with Iranian retaliation, could easily pull the United States into further strikes, bogging us down in an unnecessary conflict.
Reposted by Andrew Clough
Let's face it, as Trump outrages go, his actions on the TikTok ban wouldn't seem to rate very high. But what he's claiming to do here -- suspend the operation of a federal law, even as to its enforcement by states and private parties -- is actually among his most radical and king-like moves.
Today, President Trump again extended the non-enforcement of the TikTok ban. @jacklgoldsmith.bsky.social argued that this non-enforcement is "blatantly unlawful" and has dangerous long-term implications. executivefunctions.substack.com/p/trumps-con...
Trump’s Continuing Illegal Refusal to Enforce the TikTok Ban
This executive branch precedent will have long and bad legs.
executivefunctions.substack.com
June 19, 2025 at 8:29 PM
Let's face it, as Trump outrages go, his actions on the TikTok ban wouldn't seem to rate very high. But what he's claiming to do here -- suspend the operation of a federal law, even as to its enforcement by states and private parties -- is actually among his most radical and king-like moves.
Reposted by Andrew Clough
I suppose to index my nat-sec views right now: no strikes on Iran are better than limited strikes is much better than regime change.
Even better still would have been a nuclear deal without Israeli strikes, but that's water under the bridge. 1/
Even better still would have been a nuclear deal without Israeli strikes, but that's water under the bridge. 1/
June 19, 2025 at 4:04 AM
I suppose to index my nat-sec views right now: no strikes on Iran are better than limited strikes is much better than regime change.
Even better still would have been a nuclear deal without Israeli strikes, but that's water under the bridge. 1/
Even better still would have been a nuclear deal without Israeli strikes, but that's water under the bridge. 1/
Reposted by Andrew Clough
I wrote a new piece on how much progress has been made in treating childhood leukemia.
The answer is: quite a lot!
Before the 1970s, fewer than 10% of children diagnosed survived 5 years after diagnosis.
Now most are cured and around 85% survive that long.
ourworldindata.org/childhood-le...
The answer is: quite a lot!
Before the 1970s, fewer than 10% of children diagnosed survived 5 years after diagnosis.
Now most are cured and around 85% survive that long.
ourworldindata.org/childhood-le...
June 9, 2025 at 7:43 AM
I wrote a new piece on how much progress has been made in treating childhood leukemia.
The answer is: quite a lot!
Before the 1970s, fewer than 10% of children diagnosed survived 5 years after diagnosis.
Now most are cured and around 85% survive that long.
ourworldindata.org/childhood-le...
The answer is: quite a lot!
Before the 1970s, fewer than 10% of children diagnosed survived 5 years after diagnosis.
Now most are cured and around 85% survive that long.
ourworldindata.org/childhood-le...
Reposted by Andrew Clough
I can’t believe it’s already been 90 days since the April 9th pause. How can businesses plan with time moving so quickly?
The mad king just posted he's going to implement a 50% tariff on the EU on June 1st.
May 24, 2025 at 1:46 PM
I can’t believe it’s already been 90 days since the April 9th pause. How can businesses plan with time moving so quickly?
We were married at the Boston Museum of Science, which recommended an obvious pair of figures on the cake.
May 11, 2025 at 1:13 PM
We were married at the Boston Museum of Science, which recommended an obvious pair of figures on the cake.
Reposted by Andrew Clough
If you're just waking up, the Liberals are poised to win Canada’s election
www.economist.com/interactive/...
www.economist.com/interactive/...
April 29, 2025 at 7:13 AM
If you're just waking up, the Liberals are poised to win Canada’s election
www.economist.com/interactive/...
www.economist.com/interactive/...
Reposted by Andrew Clough
Whoever wins, it is one of the most dramatic elections in Canadian history
April 28, 2025 at 1:41 PM
Whoever wins, it is one of the most dramatic elections in Canadian history
The Malden cherry blossoms trees are in bloom. 🌸
April 21, 2025 at 5:07 PM
The Malden cherry blossoms trees are in bloom. 🌸
Reposted by Andrew Clough
1760:
🇫🇷25 million people
🏴5.5 million
2025
🇫🇷68 million
🏴56 million
If France’s population growth had kept pace with England’s, there would be 250 million Frenchmen and another 320 million abroad.
What happened? 🧵
www.worksinprogress.news/p/570-millio...
🇫🇷25 million people
🏴5.5 million
2025
🇫🇷68 million
🏴56 million
If France’s population growth had kept pace with England’s, there would be 250 million Frenchmen and another 320 million abroad.
What happened? 🧵
www.worksinprogress.news/p/570-millio...
570 million Frenchmen
France's decline coincided with a collapse in its birth rate – now we know why.
www.worksinprogress.news
April 16, 2025 at 4:09 PM
1760:
🇫🇷25 million people
🏴5.5 million
2025
🇫🇷68 million
🏴56 million
If France’s population growth had kept pace with England’s, there would be 250 million Frenchmen and another 320 million abroad.
What happened? 🧵
www.worksinprogress.news/p/570-millio...
🇫🇷25 million people
🏴5.5 million
2025
🇫🇷68 million
🏴56 million
If France’s population growth had kept pace with England’s, there would be 250 million Frenchmen and another 320 million abroad.
What happened? 🧵
www.worksinprogress.news/p/570-millio...
Reposted by Andrew Clough
MIT following Harvard's lead here
April 15, 2025 at 1:07 AM
MIT following Harvard's lead here
Reposted by Andrew Clough
Tariff pause announcement on Wednesday night UK time = malevolent act of war by Trump admin on @economist.com
Donald Trump has dedicated his life in politics with single-minded ferocity to one luminous goal: the utter and final destruction of the weekly magazine
April 9, 2025 at 5:39 PM
Tariff pause announcement on Wednesday night UK time = malevolent act of war by Trump admin on @economist.com
Wrote a thing on my the usual structural forces didn't stop Trump. I feel a decade late to this party but better late than never. hopefullyintersting.blogspot.com/2025/04/myth...
"Myth of the Rational Voter" as applied to the current situation
It might not seem likely from the title, but Bryan Caplan's The Myth of the Rational Voter: Why Democracies Choose Bad Policies is an effec...
hopefullyintersting.blogspot.com
April 6, 2025 at 6:00 PM
Wrote a thing on my the usual structural forces didn't stop Trump. I feel a decade late to this party but better late than never. hopefullyintersting.blogspot.com/2025/04/myth...
A friend brought these to our house warming. 😄
April 5, 2025 at 9:30 PM
A friend brought these to our house warming. 😄
Reposted by Andrew Clough
In this moment, with so many of our institutions - economic, social, educational - being actively undermined, when I think of what my role as a historian is, my mind goes to my favorite passage from The Lord of the Rings.
For I also am a steward. Did you not know?
For I also am a steward. Did you not know?
April 4, 2025 at 11:08 PM
In this moment, with so many of our institutions - economic, social, educational - being actively undermined, when I think of what my role as a historian is, my mind goes to my favorite passage from The Lord of the Rings.
For I also am a steward. Did you not know?
For I also am a steward. Did you not know?
Reposted by Andrew Clough
Donald Trump has committed the most profound, harmful and unnecessary economic error in the modern era. Almost everything he said—on history, economics and the technicalities of trade—was utterly deluded econ.st/3YbbFjq
April 3, 2025 at 9:19 AM
Donald Trump has committed the most profound, harmful and unnecessary economic error in the modern era. Almost everything he said—on history, economics and the technicalities of trade—was utterly deluded econ.st/3YbbFjq
Reposted by Andrew Clough
‘President Donald Trump did not rule out the possibility of seeking a third term in the White House, which is prohibited by the Constitution under the 22nd Amendment, saying …that there were methods for doing so and clarifying that he was “not joking.”’ www.nbcnews.com/politics/don...
Trump won’t rule out seeking a third term in the White House, tells NBC News ‘there are methods’ for doing so
President Donald Trump said in a Sunday-morning phone call that he was “not joking” about a third term, adding that “it is far too early to think about it.”
www.nbcnews.com
March 31, 2025 at 7:13 AM
‘President Donald Trump did not rule out the possibility of seeking a third term in the White House, which is prohibited by the Constitution under the 22nd Amendment, saying …that there were methods for doing so and clarifying that he was “not joking.”’ www.nbcnews.com/politics/don...