People are worried about gerrymandering. Rightfully so but it’s not hopeless. The map is Trump friendly but necessarily R friendly so split R is good for D. I am being very optimistic. It’s the only way to survive. Curious to know what others think. centerforpolitics.org/crystalball/...

What is at stake in the midterms? Senate Dems need to hold on to every seat then flip 4. The 4 possible TX, NV, ME, phew House Dems only need to flip 3. How are things looking over in SC, up state NY? Just 3. It’s a numbers and unity game. We can’t be in our feelings.

6,000 people in Nevada seriously said not today. I have to look at their ballot design 😂kidding aside this is another strong showing (numbers) by Dems. It will be a very close race. If the 6k choose one of these people and if dems can get R defectors then chances are strong.

Dems did sooo good in SC. Johnson has almost has many votes as the top 2 R. Republicans are good at uniting after primaries (see TX) but Dems should run with the intention to flip. South Carolina is def in play by the numbers, even if we don’t win senate. Momentum 💜 GO, SC. Cry harder #5😭😭😭😂😂😂

Really good turnout by DEMs in Maine. Democrats will be fine if only if they can keep up the good turnout. Suppressed turnout is not good for challengers. There are about 300k reg democrats in ME. Almost 200k voted in the senate primary with over half of them choosing Platner.

It's not every day your FIRST academic publication lands a @forbes.com FEATURE! Absolutely WILD. 🤯 Thank you to Dr. Gassam Asare for interviewing @emmarackstraw.bsky.social and I about our new study where we show why Black supervisors matter in the workplace and beyond. #blacksky #econsky #news

Maine: the lesson is that we all need to invest in a diverse pool of candidates. Actual investments not just words. Most viable people from Maine didn’t want to run for Senate. Good candidates are built and that takes time + collective effort. Until then we vote blue.

Polymarket offered me enough money to pay my rent for ten months for one post in my newsletter and I turned it down because I enjoy being able to sleep at night.

If we lose Maine I will be so disappointed. Why are people being so crazy? When have Dems been the party of high morals? Why start now when we are about to at least win the seat? So annoyed.

Heya, @wellesley.edu friends, Please join us for a rigorously intellectual and fun evening at the Wellesley Books on June 24th at 7pm. @ismarvolic.bsky.social, @kcarterjackson.bsky.social and I will be in conversation. Reserve your ticket here wellesleybooks.com/event/dender...

For the love of all that is good- the AI posters need to go.

I actually saw my Elders fired from jobs, humiliated, beaten, bombed, murdered, lynched and assassinated for the right to vote. I have a debt to pay. I repay that debt every Election Day when I vote for the candidate of my choice.

Tonight Texas might get its first open Rhodesian candidate for statewide office.

Democrats will need at least 1.5 million votes to flip Texas. Look at the votes for the railroad commissioner race. Railroads not about trains but about oil. Oil is everything in Texas. Bo French ran a culture war to “protect oil from sharia law” what now? Indeed. Good luck to us all.

Some dems are hopeful that we can flip Texas. I am cautious. Can Dems + left turnout a million people? And, at what point will a Dem voter switch to Republican? Ask the same question the other way. In a polarized state switches are really hard and rare. Would you vote MAGA? If no, then there you go.

I want people to read this and then ask yourself which one of these people you think is teaching a 'soft science' and which one is teaching economics and ask yourself if maybe being a professional cheerleader for capital is like growing up only having played tee ball.

You could just read scholarship before you cite it and only coauthor pieces with other people who do the same.

A story about KY GOP Senate nominee Andy Barr: In 2019 he got mad at AOC and demanded she come to his district to visit a coal mine. She said yes, which he didn't expect, so he withdrew the invitation. Then it turned out there were no working coal mines in his district. Because he's an idiot. 1/3

Me extricating my toddler from a birthday party when he crashes out after his third cupcake

We need more academic reviewers. Senior colleagues please say yes to the review. The demographics most likely to say yes are already burdened …pre-tenure or in grad schools Being an editor ==a lot of no.

Why do faculty and students have so little say in the governance of American universities? This terrific new paper by Daniel Hemel and David Pozen asks why American universities are liberal autocracies rather than stakeholder democracies. papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

felt like there was not much reporting on Trump's investigation of Yale Med School, and the reporting that did exist undersold how batshit the investigation is I have attempted to remedy these errors ballsandstrikes.org/law-politics...

I am seeing a pattern where some Professors are quick to accuse students of color of using AI because the students can’t possibly be that good. Says a lot about faculty because I often isn’t that good.

i have been writing about the virginia supreme court decision with a certain amount of analytical detachment but if i’m being honest i’m also fucking furious i took the time to go vote and then my ballot got tossed out by these dipshits

I like having both twitter and Bluesky. Twitter is important for African/non American politics & view into right wing politics. Bluesky is nice because I like reading educated view points that we can use when engaging with counterpoints. Trending on twitter- Cassidy & Massie re-election

New York City right now is like being in a wormhole. It’s the largest city in Trump’s America but it’s also Mumdani’s New York City. People are buoyant and also depressed.

Xi told Trump that a major question for the two countries was whether they could avoid the “Thucydides Trap,” according to an official English translation of his remarks broadcast by CCTV. @cnbc.com www.cnbc.com/2026/05/14/t...

Many people have a vested interest in pretending otherwise, but the US research university is globally dominant to an almost unbelievable degree. The typical state university is a football team stapled to a R&D lab with a budget bigger than the entire nation of Belgium.

Black people are doing worse in Trump's economy than anybody else... which is a big reason white folks voted for Trump's economy. talkingpointsmemo.com/news/black-p...

The weaponization of various civil rights protections against black folks is heartbreaking. What’s worse to me is progressive folks whose first thoughts are that 44 black med students at Yale out of over 500 is a black advantage. Or that 9 tenured blacks is an advantage. The foolishness of it all.

PabloReports: Ted Cruz called you a parasite and disparaged your work as a bartender. AOC: I think it’s funny that he’s been taking a government paycheck for 23 years but has the audacity to criticize someone who has come from a family that had to work their way up and earn their place here.

Heavy on the “it depends on Bluesky-the-corporation for none of its operation.” 🗣️🗣️🗣️

Brett Meiselas says RFK Jr. blaming teenagers' sperm and Dr. Oz saying Americans are "under babied" are not only weird—they miss the point. The reason people aren't having kids is simple: income inequality has become so extreme that Americans can barely afford housing and food, let alone raise kids.

A round-trip bus ticket from New York City to the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey has been reduced from $80 to $20. ft.trib.al/0JHIS1p

The Trump administration is suspending a requirement that visitors from countries that have qualified for the World Cup and bought tickets for the tournament pay as much as $15,000 in bonds to enter the U.S. n.pr/49unWVK

BURGUM: When the sun goes down, solar produces zero electricity HUFFMAN: I want to enter into the record this amazing new technology that apparently the secretary is unaware of -- it's a battery

This Politico piece is 🔥 "The images of white Republican legislators wearing MAGA flags to vote, Black lawmakers being jostled by white police officers...speak louder than words. And that was just last week. The ads write themselves." www.politico.com/news/magazin...

🚨BREAKING: The U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS) has allowed Alabama to select a different map for this year’s congressional elections in a stunning, last-minute move to interfere with another state primary election that has already begun. www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/...

"One study found that increasing the number of people who receive SNAP benefits by 5 percent could have prevented nearly 32,000 suicides over 15 years. And a $1 increase in minimum wage has been linked to roughly 8,000 fewer suicide deaths over a decade."

Another feature of the arguments in Death, Diversion and Departure from @wellesleycollege. www.wellesley.edu/news/how-to-...

So much world anguish could have been avoided by voting for a qualified woman.

My latest @nytimes.com oped shows that the White House is dramatically understating the cost of the war in Iran. By my calculations—and I show my work—this war will cost the typical American family thousands, and it could cost them tens of thousands. Gift link: www.nytimes.com/2026/05/08/o...

They sell these at the grocery store but they absolutely do not hit the same when you’re not eating them at 9 am with a Diet Coke an hour after takeoff

Voting rights

I really love being an academic. I am also often puzzled by academia and the lack of moral grounding.

I was on SABC’s The National Pulse is a popular afternoon radio show on SABC’s SAfm talking about the recent (ongoing) migration crisis in South Africa. Podcast link: omny.fm/shows/the-na...

People are talking about Winnie Mandela and the collective efforts of women in the struggle against Apartheid. Here is a little bit of history from @wellesley.edu. More than 200 students gathered to protest apartheid. 43 arrested. When asked their names each one said, “Winnie Mandela”. The power!

SA migration is making headlines again. It is complicated and yet so simple. As long as African gov prioritize self worth (corruption) at the expense of development people will leave home. The poor get caught up in fights because elites have failed.

I got orangetheory to get fit. I also spend just as much time icing my body 😂😂😂😂

A beautiful review of my book in the @Wellesley_News. “Dendere’s warning lands loud and clear: Sometimes authoritarianism wins because the people most capable of resisting it have already been driven out, worn down or disappeared from political life” thewellesleynews.com/23394/featur...