Chris Clapp
LightNews LightNews
banner
chrisclapp.bsky.social
Chris Clapp
@chrisclapp.bsky.social
810 followers 480 following 300 posts
Assistant Instructional Professor at Harris Public Policy | he/him

https://chrisclapp.org/
Posts Replies Media Videos
chrisclapp.bsky.social
Harris students are wicked awesome!!!
A selfie of a fantastic student dressed as the green-skinned Elphaba from Wicked and a his jubilant professor.
October 30, 2025 at 11:22 PM
chrisclapp.bsky.social
Just how many bald people who are unaware they’re bald are there?
Walgreens sign that says, “National Hair Loss Awareness Month.”
August 17, 2025 at 8:10 PM
chrisclapp.bsky.social
Great read on invasive plants in forests around Chicago. TL;DR: they're out of control. 77% of forests have been overrun (see: map) & require constant maintenance.
"Researchers with Purdue University and The Morton Arboretum used LiDAR to map where invasive shrubs are located in the Chicago Region."
August 13, 2025 at 2:31 PM
chrisclapp.bsky.social
Hyde Park ended Pride Month w/ a flourish at dusk last night.
A double rainbow at dusk. A rainbow over a backyard.
July 1, 2025 at 2:42 PM
chrisclapp.bsky.social
If you work for a #nonprofit, let us help you make the world a better place w/ science! On September 17, match w/ researchers at the Science of Philanthropy Initiative Conference to tackle your charitable-giving questions:

fs2.formsite.com/UChicagoEcon...

#philanthropy #charity #econsky
Banner that says, "Science of Philanthropy Initiative Conference. Nonprofits and Philanthropies: Join Forces with Researchers to Put Science, Data, and Academic Expertise to Work on Issues You Care About. September 2025."
June 20, 2025 at 8:38 PM
chrisclapp.bsky.social
Great picture from graduation w/ two fantastic students from the Harris Class of 2025, their son (Class of ~2050), & a stellar colleague!
Two proud professors, two happy students, and a sleepy baby in academic regalia at graduation.
June 11, 2025 at 3:43 PM
chrisclapp.bsky.social
This part, in particular, does a nice job of clearly demonstrating the past & present benefits of researcher findings (w/ a UVA connection).

Worth a read! We (in science) need to do more of this!
“They have created this anti-infectious disease, anti-vaccine sentiment that is very problematic for a department like mine,” said Garcia-Blanco, who studies autoimmune diseases. More than a century ago, UVA played a foundational role in infectious disease research in America through Walter Reed (Col 1869), who graduated from medical school after earning his degree at age 17. Reed went on to pioneer research into the causes of typhoid and yellow fever. He debunked incorrect theories on their spread in military encampments, saving untold numbers of lives. Today, infectious disease research at UVA is making discoveries such as finding links between herpes virus infection and higher rates of Alzheimer’s disease. Links like these underscore the false dichotomy between infectious disease and chronic disease.
June 4, 2025 at 6:40 PM
chrisclapp.bsky.social
Took Boomer for a walk on the UChicago Quad tonight. He was living his best life.
A group of students stopped to pet my golden retriever, who loved every second of it.
April 14, 2025 at 3:18 AM
chrisclapp.bsky.social
My @harrissocial.bsky.social students are the best! On the last day of class, one of my very talented Machine Learning students made a chocolate-banana cake to share w/ the class. It was fantastic!
A group of smiling students & their dashingly-handsome professor holding plates of chocolate-banana cake in the front of a classroom on the last day of class. A group of students & their dashingly-handsome professor happily taking bites of chocolate-banana cake in the front of a classroom on the last day of class.
March 13, 2025 at 5:34 PM
chrisclapp.bsky.social
One of my students gave me milk tea when she came to office hours. Another said my ML class is “definitely better than watching videos on the internet! 😉”

I needed that! It’s been a rough day!!!
A jasmine milk tea on a desk.
February 28, 2025 at 10:14 PM
chrisclapp.bsky.social
Much needed “look for the helpers” vibes.
Mr. Rogers quote: “When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, “Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.”
February 3, 2025 at 9:19 PM
chrisclapp.bsky.social
I did not think I could love @ipums.bsky.social more!
An email from IPUMS about their efforts to preserve public data. Use it for good!
February 3, 2025 at 9:11 PM
chrisclapp.bsky.social
My feed is inadvertently [chef's kiss] right now. Well done, @aaronsojourner.org & @dynarski.bsky.social.
Top image: a post by @aaronsojourner.org about Mark Zuckerberg bemoaning "feminine energy." Bottom image: a picture of @dynarski.bsky.social‬ exuding big feminine energy with a handle of liquor & a cigar.
January 12, 2025 at 10:06 PM
chrisclapp.bsky.social
If Zillow sunset its ZTRAX data and required users to destroy the data by 9/2023, how was a new working paper based on ZTRAX data released today?
Screenshot of https://www.zillow.com/research/ztrax/ indicating that users must have destroyed ZTRAX data by September 30th, 2023.
December 9, 2024 at 8:43 PM
chrisclapp.bsky.social
Hope everyone’s Monday is going as well as this squirrel’s is.
Squirrel eating a bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich.
December 9, 2024 at 3:35 PM
chrisclapp.bsky.social
Finally got confirmation that my vote was counted! The vote-by-mail website kept saying the Post Office hadn’t delivered it.

I know it won’t affect anything, but I am irrationally relieved.
Screenshot of an email from the Chicago Board of Elections confirming my ballot was counted.
November 12, 2024 at 3:44 PM
chrisclapp.bsky.social
Absolutely savage, but tremendously informative, ending to a JEL book review by Mark Bellemare!
Examples of conventional wisdom about food and agriculture that are unsupported. Book review bottom line: I would not recommend this book to my students.
November 8, 2024 at 7:00 PM
chrisclapp.bsky.social
The floor at daycare captures how I’m feeling today.
Angry, sad, and sick faces drawn on paper and taped to the floor to help young children learn emotions.
November 6, 2024 at 3:01 PM
chrisclapp.bsky.social
I must be getting old. I have zero recollection of 2025-2027….

Happy Fall Quarter & welcome to the UChicago class of 2028!
Picture of “2028” in balloons.
October 1, 2024 at 7:48 PM
chrisclapp.bsky.social
Happy Spooky Season from the UChicago Lab School! 🦇
A bat sleeping on the wall outside of a school entrance. Close up of a very cute bat on a wall.
October 1, 2024 at 3:20 PM
chrisclapp.bsky.social
Wish I could have made it to Wrigley for The Professor’s probably (but hopefully not!) start as a Cub. But Boomer’s making the couch seem not so bad!
Adorable Golden Retriever snoozing on his person’s leg.
September 28, 2024 at 7:56 PM
chrisclapp.bsky.social
Well, this is refreshing (& exciting for UChicago)!
September 26, 2024 at 9:11 PM
chrisclapp.bsky.social
Love the roof deck at the Keller Center! I’ve had worse views while refereeing a paper.
A view of the UChicago Chapel from the Harris Public Policy roof, complete with green roof and solar panels.
August 20, 2024 at 9:08 PM
chrisclapp.bsky.social
Hyde Park is a great example. Aided by UChicago divesting their rental holdings to two firms who then essentially merged, the rental market is dominated by a single corporate landlord. They provide abysmal customer service & regularly raise rents by 20+%.

Address the antitrust issues instead!
"The measure would only apply to landlords who own more than 50 units, which represents roughly half of all rental properties...."
July 16, 2024 at 3:22 PM
chrisclapp.bsky.social
Tremendous (& uplifting) data vis from the @ucsusa.bsky.social via the rff.org newsletter!

blog.ucsusa.org/wp-content/u...
May 24, 2024 at 7:13 PM