It's that time of the year again.

Remember when these guys lied that they were preserving Confederate monuments because you had to leave up the whole messy contested historical record rather than erasing history?

There are 4 top races in the Wisconsin state Senate. Democrats need 3 of the 4 to win a majority. One of the Republicans just announced his retirement. open.substack.com/pub/charlesa...

Of course, there's no mention of the 200+ degree programs she cut or consolidated to help pay for this historic football win (by tripling the football budget).

Re the February Dear Colleagues letter that threatened funding for schools & universities over DEI-related efforts: ‘[Ed Dept]…moved to dismiss its appeal. It leaves in place a federal judge’s August decision finding that the anti-DEI effort violated the First Amendment & federal procedural rules.’

No one can be watching this Davos speech and reach any conclusion but that the President of the United States is mentally disturbed and that something is deeply wrong with him. This is both embarrassing and extremely dangerous.

so you should just know, if Indiana can win a national title, there's no reason for you to not have hope about...well, everything and anything

I can’t believe they did it

Mendoza 👀

Holy shit

Miami seems to have cracked the code

An FBI agent conducted an initial review of the Renee Good killing and determined sufficient grounds existed to open a civil rights probe into the actions of the ICE officer who shot her. Justice Department says no inquiry is warranted. @perrystein.bsky.social www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...

A special issue of the Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management will examine the financing of higher education. I'm an co-editor of this issue. Abstracts due 8 June 2026. think.taylorandfrancis.com/special_issu...

“Trump administration officials had been in discussions with Venezuela's hardline interior minister Diosdado Cabello months before the U.S. operation to seize President Nicolas Maduro, and have been in communication with him since then.” www.reuters.com/world/americ...

In addition to pushing out board members at UVA, Virginia's new governor has fired the lead attorneys at VMI and George Mason. Things are happening quickly as political control fully flips to Democrats.

"The sweeping study... found that using AI in education can 'undermine children's foundational development' and that 'the damages it has already caused are daunting.'" They include limiting kids' cognitive, social, and emotional developmen, and increasing inequity. www.npr.org/2026/01/14/n...

I am finally watching S5 of Stranger Things and… I want to like this more 😒

It would appear I am now a columnist at Inside Higher Ed. My first piece focuses on McCarthyism, censorship, and our current moment in higher education. This is an essay I started nearly 6 months ago so I'm glad to finally share it with y'all. www.insidehighered.com/opinion/colu...

Slightly diminish a band The Beatless

We should no longer trust data collected on MTurk link.springer.com/article/10.3... My guess is that other online data is going to drop in quality due to LLMs. This is going to be an existential crisis for the behavioral sciences.

People with more severe depression probably benefit more from psychotherapy than those with mild depression. Read our new meta-analysis of almost 400 randomized trials of therapies for depression. With Mathias Harrer, Clara Miguel, Eirini Karyotaki, Davide Papola doi.org/10.1016/j.ja...

Rocío San Miguel, Venezuelan Political Prisoner, Was Among Those Released www.nytimes.com/2026/01/08/w...

Happy 13th birthday to the most essential artwork of the current era, @kcg.bsky.social ‘s “This is fine,” to all those who celebrate.

I know attention here has shifted from Venezuela to MN—and rightly so. But there are confirmed reports that political prisoners in Venezuela are being released right now. I can’t overstate what this means for the Venezuelan people. Unclear whether this is a blip or a real shift, but for now: 💛💙❤️

also worth reading this much deeper dive from the wonderful @lawfaremedia.org team:

The invasion of Venezuela was baldly illegal under international law. But the indictment of Maduro seems solid, and American law is stacked against him if he claims immunity as a head of state

Many scholars of authoritarianism saw ICE & CBP as a likely source of secret police if Trump returned to power. Biden responded by increasing their funding and ranks. Pro tip for ruling parties facing authoritarian opposition: don’t fund your opponent’s secret police while they’re out of power.

a few thoughts youtu.be/lERS4kJIQR8

New at Tusk: The administration makes three attacks on US democracy in one day

This is a really good panel

Gotta say that my feed is full of people complaining about how bad Dems are at messaging and who knows but somehow Trump is record-unpopular for a first year president, underwater on most issues, and Dems are doing great in elections, so *maybe* they're not actually as bad as y'all think.

Extraordinary panel featuring colleagues at Stanford who are experts on Venezuela happening this Wednesday at noon pacific. Zoom open to public. Strongly recommend joining for this, if you can. cddrl.fsi.stanford.edu/events/venez... @stanfordcddrl.bsky.social

This is a helpful thread!

That nan is *not* “disturbingly hot,” Brianna.

I had a chance to participate in a conversation with other Venezuelans abroad about the current situation in the country. Thank you to the BBC World Service bbc.com/audio/play/w...

Venezuela's Machado says she hasn't spoken to Trump since October www.reuters.com/world/americ...

Maduro’s ouster sparked relief — but Venezuelans inside and abroad aren’t unified on what comes next for oil-rich nation. That uncertainty reveals more than any pundit thread. My take + why this matters: doubleclick.blog/nobody-can-a...

Just accepted at Nature Mental Health: Crises and Opportunities for Psychological Science under Fascism https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/nz42x_v3 1/9

Venezuelan government launches wave of repression after ousting of Nicolás Maduro giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/... via @financialtimes.com

The Sanchez family emphasized that this moment isn't about celebrating or politics. It's about staying informed, protecting family members still in Venezuela and ensuring the world continues paying attention once the headlines fade.

The Chavista regime has not collapsed despite Maduro's departure youtu.be/YN0zB_MFPKE?...

This is quite interesting, and also the sort of intelligence that probably shouldn’t leak so quickly, while the transition is still in process. www.wsj.com/politics/nat...

No plan to free political prisoners. Police ordered to hunt down and arrest anyone linked—real or alleged—to the U.S. attack. Maduro’s inner circle is untouched. Venezuela hasn’t been “liberated.” Nothing has changed. Apologies to my fellow Venezuelans, but there’s nothing to celebrate—por ahora.

Here are the lawyers in the Maduro case: - Maduro's lawyer is Barry Pollack, a prominent defense attorney best known for representing Julian Assange. hs-law.com/barry-pollack - Maduro's wife is represented by Mark Donnelly, who worked on the Paxton impeachment in Texas. www.psd.law/mark-donnelly

One of the most lopsided results you'll ever see in a poll, from our weekend Washington Post poll www.washingtonpost.com/politics/int...

Some early Venezuela polling: -40% haven't heard much, high DKs, room for opinion to shift -Early coalescing along party lines -Split on military action but consensus it req'd Congress authorization -Little appetite for US "taking control" of Venezuela