Process is boring, and yes, it can be used to delay things to death. But it can give interested parties and the public a chance to weigh in, offering lawmakers a better insights in benefits, drawbacks, and tradeoffs.

I've gone full old-man-yelling-at-cloud on AI

Celebrating 50 years … ✨ More than 15 billion trips … ✨ And even more memories! Thank you to all who made our anniversary ride unforgettable. What Metro means to you means the world to us! You keep us moving!

This feels like a good take on a genuine puzzle: why is economic sentiment so much worse than the economic data? David French points to deepening inequality, and rational market responses to that inequality. Interesting stuff!

My reminder to stop thinking of policy positions as purely campaign stuff that candidates and parties are free to optimize for electoral reasons; they are instead substantive questions party actors deeply care about, and electoral considerations are at best only part of the decision. That said...

A very smooth, predictable Oscars. That’s not a criticism.

Cinematography for Sinners is the first win I’d consider a genuine surprise (aside from Casting which was always going to be hard to call). 27% chance on GoldDerby.

Oscars 2026: Who I predict will win, and who I would vote for. Visual Effects: Avatar will win, and I would vote for it. Nothing in the same ballpark. Sound: F1 will win, and I would vote for it. A really powerful theater experience.

@ringwiss.bsky.social Has voting by thumbs up or thumbs down always been accepted in the U.S. Senate for roll call votes? Any interesting procedural history there?

Really thoughtful and nuanced work from NPR’s Planet Money!

This phenomenon was the subject of my dissertation research, specifically in local politics where internal expertise can be particularly hard to come by.

This data collection is so valuable, and the qualitative work is very welcome!

One irony here: a shutdown won't shut down ICE or the Border Patrol, which got massive infusion of money last year in the GOP's 'One Big Beautiful Bill,' and the White House would surely deem these operations 'essential.'

Worth remembering, when you see passages like the one below, that this was not inevitable--the WPR mechanism does not allow for a presidential veto. It is only because of the Supreme Court's Chadha opinion that the president could veto the Venezuela resolution. www.nytimes.com/live/2026/01...

A solid crop of books this year! I definitely recommend the Fable app to anyone who loves reading (transferring your data from Goodreads is easy!)

The trend is real, but this NYT analysis at the Congressional district level has big ecological bias Poor *areas* vote Republican, but it's often the richer *individuals* within those poorer areas that are most Republican And many poor *individuals* rich blue urban *areas* vote Dem

Policymakers do listen to strong evidence & rate it more highly, regardless of ideological alignment with policy goodauthority.org/news/do-poli...

Note that terminating the emergency control of DC’s police before 30 days requires the “enactment into law of a joint resolution,” or “the end of such emergency” as determined by the President. A one-house resolution isn’t sufficient as of a 1984 amendment. code.dccouncil.gov/us/dc/counci...

Amusing, but also a useful example. If you squint, this *looks* like the diagram as requested. But it doesn’t provide reliable or useful information; it is just an imitation of similar content. Worth keeping in mind whenever you use AI to generate “information” on a topic.

This article is now open access: www.annualreviews.org/content/jour...

Any list of “Best Movies” is fraught, but these are ones that have stuck with me.

Two separate plans hatched in 1960 by Congress—to build a third Library of Congress building & to dedicate a national monument to James Madison—eventually converged. Nine years after excavation began, the Library's James Madison Building opened to the public on this day in 1980.

Mission Impossible very subjective Tier List: Tier 1: Fallout, Ghost Protocol Tier 2: Rogue Nation, Dead Reckoning, Final Reckoning Tier 3: The OG, Mission 3 Tier 4 (Much worse): Mission 2

You asked to see how the custom boxes that house the Library’s miniature globe collection are made. Today, we are happy to show you the steps, materials and skills that go into protecting these (and many other) Library treasures. Let us know what else you’d like to see!

What better day to launch a Bluesky account than our birthday? We turn 225 today! 🎂 🥳 Here's a brief summary of the Library's history, courtesy of Dr. Carla Hayden, the 14th Librarian of Congress. www.loc.gov/about/histor...

2) Persuasion: Lobbyists do better when they have an informational advantage over legislators, and we talk about the different types of information that matters (e.g. business is advantaged) and who it works on (usually ideological allies)

Every year, I like to do a rundown of the Best Picture nominees once I’ve had a chance to see them all:

God bless the Metro Rewind metrorewind.com

I don't remember what I knew/thought before graduate school. But now I think the most important thing to know is this: You need to be very, very good. Among those who achieve that, some will get lucky. Being an outstanding graduate student and early career scholar gets you a ticket to the lottery.

I usually align pretty well with popular opinion, so I’m surprised by just how much Anora underwhelmed me (I also really disliked Tangerine so maybe Sean Baker just isn’t for me). Between that and Emilia Pérez, I’m not really vibing with 2024’s crop of awards contenders!

This article gives interesting context about rent data, and how to reconcile reports of falling rents in Austin with reports that more renters than ever are cost burdened.

As a political scientist, Kingdon’s “Agendas, Alternatives, and Public Policies.” As a houser, Goetz’s “New Deal Ruins.” Countless honorable mentions, but that’s not the point!

New Research Thread🧵: We examine the spatial patterns and eviction rates of single-family landlords in the Twin Cities. We find Private Equity firms and REITs each have their own distinct geographies and evict tenants at higher rates than smaller landlords. 1/