Tamsin Shaw
@professorshaw.bsky.social
NYU, articles in NYRB, NYT etc, formerly Princeton Politics Department, Institute for Advanced Study, King's College Cambridge
Imagine the very people who made you laugh your head off when you were 18 and living in cheery, optimistic times also found a way to make you laugh in the midst of our dystopian hellscape today!
Brilliant Waiting for Godot. It makes every character so fresh. Bravo @alexwinter.com et al
Brilliant Waiting for Godot. It makes every character so fresh. Bravo @alexwinter.com et al
November 13, 2025 at 5:27 AM
Imagine the very people who made you laugh your head off when you were 18 and living in cheery, optimistic times also found a way to make you laugh in the midst of our dystopian hellscape today!
Brilliant Waiting for Godot. It makes every character so fresh. Bravo @alexwinter.com et al
Brilliant Waiting for Godot. It makes every character so fresh. Bravo @alexwinter.com et al
My cat, Tiny, downcast after listening to the story of acoustic kitty on the Mission Implausible podcast with @johnsipher.bsky.social
(but he still recommends the podcast)
(but he still recommends the podcast)
November 9, 2025 at 8:40 PM
My cat, Tiny, downcast after listening to the story of acoustic kitty on the Mission Implausible podcast with @johnsipher.bsky.social
(but he still recommends the podcast)
(but he still recommends the podcast)
How's that eternal youth thing going? Worth the $700m so far?
October 10, 2025 at 1:40 AM
How's that eternal youth thing going? Worth the $700m so far?
Even the cats want to sleep through it all
October 3, 2025 at 9:28 PM
Even the cats want to sleep through it all
My cats are bored of all the toys. Please tell me about your best home-made cat toys. And please share so we can pool as many ideas as possible. After all, our pets are bearing some big emotional burdens these days...
October 2, 2025 at 4:07 AM
My cats are bored of all the toys. Please tell me about your best home-made cat toys. And please share so we can pool as many ideas as possible. After all, our pets are bearing some big emotional burdens these days...
From AFTER we knew who it was (Fox News and the Daily Mail still pushing the Antifa narrative)
September 13, 2025 at 7:18 PM
From AFTER we knew who it was (Fox News and the Daily Mail still pushing the Antifa narrative)
I knew it was him
September 8, 2025 at 9:56 PM
I knew it was him
The House Judiciary Committee will be hearing Nigel Farage's thoughts on UK efforts to protect children from online pornography, which apparently impede freedom of expression for Americans. No, seriously.
September 2, 2025 at 5:01 AM
The House Judiciary Committee will be hearing Nigel Farage's thoughts on UK efforts to protect children from online pornography, which apparently impede freedom of expression for Americans. No, seriously.
Can we now look back at almost every "woke" phenomenon and see the right was driving the argument and millions of people on both sides were swept up into it? Does America really think trans kids playing sports should be an issue in a presidential election? Social media outrage fuels their agenda.
August 7, 2025 at 10:23 PM
Can we now look back at almost every "woke" phenomenon and see the right was driving the argument and millions of people on both sides were swept up into it? Does America really think trans kids playing sports should be an issue in a presidential election? Social media outrage fuels their agenda.
Let me guess. She broke the rules...?
May 26, 2025 at 12:59 AM
Let me guess. She broke the rules...?
Over on X it's really hard to tell what is and isn't parody
March 11, 2025 at 4:17 AM
Over on X it's really hard to tell what is and isn't parody
How can Musk and Trump rule together? The tech bros and others (Thiel, Andreesson, Vance) influenced by Curtis Yarvin want a figurehead and a corporation. You can spare yourself the headache of reading Yarvin with this little Wikipedia summary.
March 2, 2025 at 7:25 PM
How can Musk and Trump rule together? The tech bros and others (Thiel, Andreesson, Vance) influenced by Curtis Yarvin want a figurehead and a corporation. You can spare yourself the headache of reading Yarvin with this little Wikipedia summary.
How many of his kids is he going to have to disown?
February 17, 2025 at 10:01 PM
How many of his kids is he going to have to disown?
I stay sane by doing a few mindless things every day: working out a lot (that endorphin high is essential) and spending quality time with my cats. What do you guys do?
February 16, 2025 at 9:00 AM
I stay sane by doing a few mindless things every day: working out a lot (that endorphin high is essential) and spending quality time with my cats. What do you guys do?
I guess it may be obvious, but AI in media organizations will reproduce the prejudices of their owners much more effectively than humans with all their inconvenient free will.
January 31, 2025 at 4:59 AM
I guess it may be obvious, but AI in media organizations will reproduce the prejudices of their owners much more effectively than humans with all their inconvenient free will.
Leaving open the possibility of "disciplinary action" against anyone involved in the letter (construed by Trump as a conspiracy to interfere in the election) - pretty open-ended, no?
January 21, 2025 at 3:26 AM
Leaving open the possibility of "disciplinary action" against anyone involved in the letter (construed by Trump as a conspiracy to interfere in the election) - pretty open-ended, no?
How did this come to see OK?
(Rhetorical question. The toxic myth of supply side economics)
(Rhetorical question. The toxic myth of supply side economics)
December 22, 2024 at 3:54 AM
How did this come to see OK?
(Rhetorical question. The toxic myth of supply side economics)
(Rhetorical question. The toxic myth of supply side economics)
I agree with Andrew Sullivan on the significance of pardon power, absent any ethical constraints.
Just one element in the unraveling of the rule of law.
andrewsullivan.substack.com/p/the-pardon...
Just one element in the unraveling of the rule of law.
andrewsullivan.substack.com/p/the-pardon...
December 7, 2024 at 8:29 AM
I agree with Andrew Sullivan on the significance of pardon power, absent any ethical constraints.
Just one element in the unraveling of the rule of law.
andrewsullivan.substack.com/p/the-pardon...
Just one element in the unraveling of the rule of law.
andrewsullivan.substack.com/p/the-pardon...
This is my younger cat, Valentine, in an excellent box
November 23, 2024 at 12:07 AM
This is my younger cat, Valentine, in an excellent box