Lauren Mitchell
llmitchell.bsky.social
Lauren Mitchell
@llmitchell.bsky.social
Developmental & personality psychology professor. Views are my own.
Reposted by Lauren Mitchell
CBS didn't run the 60 Minutes segment on CECOT, but over here at @propublica.org we've been working on the story since March, including finding out who each and every man sent to that maximum security prison was.

You can see our reporting here: www.propublica.org/series/depor...
Deported and Imprisoned Archives
A case-by-case investigation that examines the Trump administration’s claims that these immigrants are all “sick criminals” and “terrorists” and that shows what they suffered during months in one of t...
www.propublica.org
December 22, 2025 at 4:08 PM
Reposted by Lauren Mitchell
Observational research, broadly speaking, seeks to expand our knowledge of the the data-generating processes underlying reality.

Research using synthetic data expands our knowledge of the process that generated the synthetic dataset.

They are explicitly, trivially, and facially not the same thing.
Did you know that from tomorrow, Qualtrics is offering synthetic panels (AI-generated participants)?

Follow me down a rabbit hole I'm calling "doing science is tough and I'm so busy, can't we just make up participants?"
December 16, 2025 at 6:30 PM
Reposted by Lauren Mitchell
After ten years in Minnesota, I am comfortable saying that this man is so filled with incandescent fury, I’m surprised he doesn’t glow on film.
I genuinely don't know if this is a "Minnesotan" thing or an "old guy of a certain age" thing but in case it's Minnesotan and people need an anger translator: this guy is so angry he could just about set something on fire with his mind.
This one isn’t downloadable but if you have TikTok go watch it. Well worth your time www.tiktok.com/t/ZTr4gRL7v/
December 13, 2025 at 11:48 PM
Reposted by Lauren Mitchell
December 11, 2025 at 8:36 AM
Reposted by Lauren Mitchell
This.

Make a difference.

Vote.
It can often feel like there's a whole lot outside our control.

But if there's any kind of election in your town today, that's a way to make a meaningful difference in your state or local affairs.
Today I’m voting for school board. Keep the local MAGA out. Keep the ABA teacher with no real information about her out too (IYKYK).

Your local election for boards and judges and funding and so forth really do matter. Go vote!
November 4, 2025 at 12:48 PM
Reposted by Lauren Mitchell
And the renovation was carried out by a commission authorized by Congress and staffed with appointees of the president, House and Senate.

The president didn't just ring up a contractor one morning to have them tear things down.

Because it's not the president's goddamn house.
October 20, 2025 at 7:06 PM
Reposted by Lauren Mitchell
"About two dozen Americans have said they were held for more than a day without being able to phone lawyers or loved ones." www.propublica.org/article/immi...
More Than 170 U.S. Citizens Have Been Held by Immigration Agents. They’ve Been Kicked, Dragged and Detained for Days.
The government does not track how often immigration agents grab citizens. So ProPublica did. Our tally — almost certainly incomplete — includes people who were held for days without a lawyer. And near...
www.propublica.org
October 16, 2025 at 6:36 PM
Reposted by Lauren Mitchell
This is a very good paragraph.

From "The Last Days of the Pentagon Press Corps" in The Atlantic. www.theatlantic.com/national-sec...

By Nancy A. Youssef
October 16, 2025 at 1:26 AM
Reposted by Lauren Mitchell
“A clarinet player was arrested after playing her instrument to the tune of the ‘Ghostbusters’ theme song outside of a Portland ICE facility…”
Musician playing ‘Ghostbusters’ outside ICE facility is arrested by agents
‘Taking us citizens out of state to detain them without charge is a new action from the Feds and should be opposed,’ her band said
www.independent.co.uk
October 15, 2025 at 10:59 AM
Reposted by Lauren Mitchell
October 15, 2025 at 12:05 PM
Reposted by Lauren Mitchell
Indiana University has fired the staff director of the student newspaper, after disputes in which university leadership tried to pressure him to prevent students from publishing news.
October 14, 2025 at 11:56 PM
Reposted by Lauren Mitchell
20 paragraphs down in the NBC News story that broke the information that the administration is considering invoking the Insurrection Act is the report that Stephen Miller is driving the issue.
October 9, 2025 at 2:47 PM
Reposted by Lauren Mitchell
So if you're concerned about the dwindling independence of mainstream journalism, remember that the Associated Press is a nonprofit org that can never be bought by a corporation and is full of people genuinely passionate about doing good reporting: apnews.com

I set up a small recurring donation
Associated Press News: Breaking News | Latest News Today
Read the latest headlines, breaking news, and videos at APNews.com, the definitive source for independent journalism from every corner of the globe.
apnews.com
October 6, 2025 at 3:34 PM
Reposted by Lauren Mitchell
This evening, President Trump is ordering 400 members of the Texas National Guard for deployments to Illinois, Oregon, and other locations within the United States. No officials from the federal government called me directly to discuss or coordinate.
October 6, 2025 at 1:44 AM
Reposted by Lauren Mitchell
ICE admits that up to 50% of arrests in its Chicago raids are "collateral.” These aren't statistics. They are parents taken from their children, neighbors taken from our communities. When does a "collateral" U.S. citizen child's trauma matter? This isn't law enforcement; it's a campaign of terror.
October 5, 2025 at 1:58 PM
Reposted by Lauren Mitchell
UVA Faculty Senate passed a resolution strongly opposing the Trump “Compact.” We, at least, remain committed to the historic values and mission of the university.
October 3, 2025 at 9:51 PM
Reposted by Lauren Mitchell
An 84-year-old said she sustained a concussion and was hit with a projectile after she and her husband, a Vietnam vet, were knocked down by federal officers.
Federal agents knock down elderly couple during Portland protest
An 84-year-old said she sustained a concussion and was hit with a projectile after she and her husband, a Vietnam vet, were knocked down by federal officers.
www.oregonlive.com
October 5, 2025 at 2:15 AM
Reposted by Lauren Mitchell
My husband was detained by ICE today

Juan Muñoz, an American citizen, father of 2, and local government official, was peacefully protesting w. other elected officials. He was assaulted and taken away

I have had zero contact or updates since

#SOS
@duckworth.senate.gov @durbin.senate.gov
October 3, 2025 at 5:12 PM
Reposted by Lauren Mitchell
Here's the assignment folks. Write op-eds for your local papers and campus newspapers too. Just. Say. No. This is a classic authoritarian move and risks the future of higher education and science and innovation in the US. Speak out today. No time to lose. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/02/o...
Opinion | Trump’s ‘Compact’ With Universities Is Just Extortion
www.nytimes.com
October 3, 2025 at 10:08 AM
Reposted by Lauren Mitchell
Apropos of recent open science conversations - this paper is an awesome primer for grad students and faculty who want to learn more: online.ucpress.edu/collabra/art...
Easing Into Open Science: A Guide for Graduate Students and Their Advisors
This article provides a roadmap to assist graduate students and their advisors to engage in open science practices. We suggest eight open science practices that novice graduate students could begin ad...
online.ucpress.edu
October 3, 2025 at 11:00 AM
Reposted by Lauren Mitchell
October 2, 2025 at 1:54 AM
Reposted by Lauren Mitchell
I served with the National Guard in Afghanistan.

American cities are not “training grounds.”

What a disgusting concept.
Trump to top military officials: "I told Pete, we should use some of these dangerous cities as training grounds for our military. National Guard, but our military. Because we're going into Chicago very soon. That's a big city with an incompetent governor. Stupid governor."
September 30, 2025 at 4:27 PM
Reposted by Lauren Mitchell
In any other country, if federal agents fired upon journalists when unprovoked — what would we call it?

If federal agents marched down streets demanding papers — what would we say?

Authoritarianism — let’s not pretend it’s something else when it happens in our American cities.
September 30, 2025 at 12:01 AM
Reposted by Lauren Mitchell
Universities are moving rapidly to comply with laws that don't exist.
“I’m emotionally shellshocked right now,” said one professor in the Texas Tech system. “What does it say about academic freedom? It says we don’t have it.” The professor spoke by phone from the inside of a car to avoid being overheard by colleagues.

www.nytimes.com/2025/09/26/u...
Texas Tech Moves to Limit Academic Discussion to 2 Genders
www.nytimes.com
September 27, 2025 at 10:53 AM