Kumar Ramanathan
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kumar.fyi
Kumar Ramanathan
@kumar.fyi
Political scientist at the University of Illinois Chicago. I study the politics of inequality, law, policy, parties, and cities in the United States. Timeline may include 🎬 /🏀 content. More at www.kumar.fyi.
Apologies! Correct title is A Consumer's Republic. Links for library catalogs and purchase:

search.worldcat.org/title/54471431

bookshop.org/p/books/a-co...
A Consumers' Republic: The Politics of Mass Consumption in Postwar America
The Politics of Mass Consumption in Postwar America
bookshop.org
October 23, 2025 at 10:37 PM
Whoops! Serves me right for posting from memory 😅
October 23, 2025 at 9:28 PM
Lizabeth Cohen's book The Consumer Republic is a great treatment of this development. She argues that postwar economic policy and suburbanization led to personal consumption becoming central to social identity and status. Been thinking about that book a lot lately.
October 23, 2025 at 9:15 PM
CHILEE OIL | Handcrafted Chili Oil from Chicago
CHILEE OIL
chileeoil.com
July 11, 2025 at 12:31 AM
Reposted by Kumar Ramanathan
More details on tonight's elections in San Diego (and also St. Louis!)—and what we know of the results—in the article below.

And also follow @boltsmag.org to make sure to stay on top of local elections happening in all corners!
The Six Elections to Watch This July - Bolts
We’re only days removed from the political earthquake in New York City’s mayoral race, but the election calendar matches on: There are many fewer contests on the ballot in July... Read More
boltsmag.org
July 2, 2025 at 5:56 AM
Rear, if I am remembering correctly
June 18, 2025 at 4:24 PM
I do not, but I remember it was on Pleasant St, near the corner of Home Ave
June 18, 2025 at 4:24 PM
A friend of mine used to live in an Oak Park courtyard building with an active inner space. They had some porch furniture and a shared grill + fridge setup. It was an awesome hangout space; wish more courtyard buildings did this.
June 18, 2025 at 4:15 PM
Spotted this in a store last week
May 3, 2025 at 2:47 AM
Generally true, but there is a (relatively new) Sri Lankan spot in Rogers Park! thecafenova.com
Cafe Nova
thecafenova.com
May 3, 2025 at 2:44 AM
The visualization is less appealing, but I wanted to share a similar analysis of these data that goes back further (made this for a presentation a while back). We've only had *two* instances since 1920 where a candidate won more votes than the (estimated) number of non-voters: 1964 and 2020.
April 18, 2025 at 7:55 PM
This is very well put. Even without reviewing any of the data, any claim about outcomes "if everyone voted" is immediately suspect for this reason.
March 26, 2025 at 1:48 PM
Looking forward to reading this!
February 14, 2025 at 6:37 PM