Maddie Shorman
@maddieshorman.bsky.social
Scholar, writer, & usually outside somewhere. PhD @ UT Austin studying religion, foreign policy, & Cold War Latin America. Editor-in-Chief of the Democracy of Hope Substack.
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Maddie Shorman
@maddieshorman.bsky.social
· May 13
The Vatican’s Quiet Intelligence Legacy and Why It Matters Now
On Easter Monday, Pope Francis died at the age of 88. His passing marked the end of a 12-year papacy characterized by a commitment to the poor, an insistence on peace over posturing, and an often-c…
www.duckofminerva.com
My latest article on the Vatican's quiet, yet powerful, intelligence legacy.
www.duckofminerva.com/2025/05/the-...
www.duckofminerva.com/2025/05/the-...
“Good Trouble Lives On” protests ripple across all 50 states today, tens of thousands gather for civil liberties, voting rights, and justice in John Lewis’s name. When civic structures fray, public action holds the line. A pulse check on democracy in rollback.
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
Tens of thousands in US set to join ‘Good Trouble’ protests honoring John Lewis
Rallies at more than 1,500 sites nationwide planned for Thursday to protest against Trump administration
www.theguardian.com
July 17, 2025 at 6:40 PM
“Good Trouble Lives On” protests ripple across all 50 states today, tens of thousands gather for civil liberties, voting rights, and justice in John Lewis’s name. When civic structures fray, public action holds the line. A pulse check on democracy in rollback.
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
NATO just pledged 5% of GDP on defense by 2035, a Cold War-level leap. But Europe’s alignment with U.S. goals hides fractures: Spain’s opt-out, Italy’s accounting tricks, and worries over social spending. The real question: what kind of world is Europe building?
www.reuters.com/business/aer...
www.reuters.com/business/aer...
NATO's Trump flattery buys time but dodges tough questions
Lavishing praise, playing the royal card and copying his slogans – NATO pulled out all the stops to keep Donald Trump happy and hold the alliance together at a summit in The Hague.
www.reuters.com
July 1, 2025 at 6:17 PM
NATO just pledged 5% of GDP on defense by 2035, a Cold War-level leap. But Europe’s alignment with U.S. goals hides fractures: Spain’s opt-out, Italy’s accounting tricks, and worries over social spending. The real question: what kind of world is Europe building?
www.reuters.com/business/aer...
www.reuters.com/business/aer...
Reposted by Maddie Shorman
I'm en route to my favorite conference of the year! It's a great program and I'm looking forward to the panels and to catching up with my SHAFR pals! 🗃️
June 25, 2025 at 3:24 PM
I'm en route to my favorite conference of the year! It's a great program and I'm looking forward to the panels and to catching up with my SHAFR pals! 🗃️
Mamdani’s win is a reminder that storytelling is strategy—especially when it’s rooted in place.
one more election thing this morning: because New York is large, people might lose sight of the Mamdani victory being local politics. but it is, and it points up the potential of local politics to reshape direction, to inspire broadly, to change the story
June 25, 2025 at 5:46 PM
Mamdani’s win is a reminder that storytelling is strategy—especially when it’s rooted in place.
The U.S. dropped 30,000-pound bombs on Iran’s nuclear sites—and barely scratched the program.
Tactical success. Strategic failure.
You can’t bomb resilience out of a nation.
And you definitely can’t bomb nuclear ambition.
This is a familiar American mistake—power mistaken for outcome
Tactical success. Strategic failure.
You can’t bomb resilience out of a nation.
And you definitely can’t bomb nuclear ambition.
This is a familiar American mistake—power mistaken for outcome
June 25, 2025 at 2:30 PM
The U.S. dropped 30,000-pound bombs on Iran’s nuclear sites—and barely scratched the program.
Tactical success. Strategic failure.
You can’t bomb resilience out of a nation.
And you definitely can’t bomb nuclear ambition.
This is a familiar American mistake—power mistaken for outcome
Tactical success. Strategic failure.
You can’t bomb resilience out of a nation.
And you definitely can’t bomb nuclear ambition.
This is a familiar American mistake—power mistaken for outcome
Right now, we are seeing a test of ceasefire credibility in the age of brinkmanship.
Who wins when everyone claims to be defending?
Who wins when everyone claims to be defending?
June 24, 2025 at 2:55 PM
Right now, we are seeing a test of ceasefire credibility in the age of brinkmanship.
Who wins when everyone claims to be defending?
Who wins when everyone claims to be defending?
Latin American leaders are pushing back hard on U.S. strikes in Iran.
This isn’t just anti-imperial instinct.
It’s history—echoes of the Cold War, when Catholic bishops in Brazil and Mexico framed peace as sovereignty.
The Church is still in the room, even when we don't see it.
This isn’t just anti-imperial instinct.
It’s history—echoes of the Cold War, when Catholic bishops in Brazil and Mexico framed peace as sovereignty.
The Church is still in the room, even when we don't see it.
June 24, 2025 at 2:33 PM
Latin American leaders are pushing back hard on U.S. strikes in Iran.
This isn’t just anti-imperial instinct.
It’s history—echoes of the Cold War, when Catholic bishops in Brazil and Mexico framed peace as sovereignty.
The Church is still in the room, even when we don't see it.
This isn’t just anti-imperial instinct.
It’s history—echoes of the Cold War, when Catholic bishops in Brazil and Mexico framed peace as sovereignty.
The Church is still in the room, even when we don't see it.
Yes, the US bombed Iran, but watch the Vatican’s next move. During the Cold War, the Pope(s) quietly pressured both the US and USSR. Could Leo XIV be nudging Washington and Tehran back to the table?
June 24, 2025 at 3:32 AM
Yes, the US bombed Iran, but watch the Vatican’s next move. During the Cold War, the Pope(s) quietly pressured both the US and USSR. Could Leo XIV be nudging Washington and Tehran back to the table?
Trying to fuse these two thinkers, currently, into my main argument of the dissertation: religion is a heavy-hitting undercurrent of policymaking and political discourse.
June 23, 2025 at 2:34 PM
Trying to fuse these two thinkers, currently, into my main argument of the dissertation: religion is a heavy-hitting undercurrent of policymaking and political discourse.
Reposted by Maddie Shorman
The Church Committee Report is, to date, the most detailed articulation of the government's playbook for disrupting, surveilling, and crushing political movements. It was written in 1975 but could not be more relevant or useful in 2025.
Excited to share the *incredible* cover for the Church Committee Report!
The first version of the 1975 report on illegal surveillance & the national security state ever published by a mainstream press. Abridged/introduced by @brianhochman.bsky.social and I. Published by W.W. Norton January 2026.
The first version of the 1975 report on illegal surveillance & the national security state ever published by a mainstream press. Abridged/introduced by @brianhochman.bsky.social and I. Published by W.W. Norton January 2026.
June 16, 2025 at 5:42 PM
The Church Committee Report is, to date, the most detailed articulation of the government's playbook for disrupting, surveilling, and crushing political movements. It was written in 1975 but could not be more relevant or useful in 2025.
My latest article on the Vatican's quiet, yet powerful, intelligence legacy.
www.duckofminerva.com/2025/05/the-...
www.duckofminerva.com/2025/05/the-...
The Vatican’s Quiet Intelligence Legacy and Why It Matters Now
On Easter Monday, Pope Francis died at the age of 88. His passing marked the end of a 12-year papacy characterized by a commitment to the poor, an insistence on peace over posturing, and an often-c…
www.duckofminerva.com
May 13, 2025 at 3:45 PM
My latest article on the Vatican's quiet, yet powerful, intelligence legacy.
www.duckofminerva.com/2025/05/the-...
www.duckofminerva.com/2025/05/the-...