Check out "Currents in U.S. Foreign Policy" (CUSFP) that I am working on with @cnwillis.bsky.social. We are publishing public-facing analyses on current issues together and solo. cusfp.substack.com

I find the whole UFO/UAP stuff fascinating. Do I think there's intelligent life out there? Maybe. But reading through this trove of information, I feel like there has to be a paper here! www.war.gov/ufo/

February: Gallup says that due to cost reasons it will no longer do presidential approval polling May: Gallup says it is exploring "digital twin" technology that replaces human respondents with AI/LLM-generated answers news.gallup.com/opinion/meth...

I went to a retirement benefits event at my university, because I didn't really know much about the programs except what I gleaned through orientation and knowledge I already had. One thing really resonated with me from the presentation: have a vision for what you want retirement to be for you.

I think if I could go back and do it all over again and change careers or take a different path, I'd love to be, in this order, a journalist, meteorologist, geologist, volcanologist, oceanographer, and a paleontologist.

Say what you will about confidential sources, but they got this story right! www.vox.com/the-logoff-n...

One of the perqs of working from home!

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I think the gasoline tax "holiday" is silly, especially since there's no guarantee that gas stations and fuel providers will pass that savings onto consumers: www.politico.com/live-updates...

Inflation coupled with higher gas prices? giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/... That Triumphal arch isn't going to do much good for anyone; let's focus on serious policy and doing good public policy rather than on vanity projects.

Isn't peace cheaper? www.newsnationnow.com/business/you...

Grades submitted for my courses! Let the summer of Keith begin on Friday!

Myanmar’s military regime wants the world to believe it is changing. It is not.

Strands #799 “A nice medley” 🔵🔵🔵🟡 🔵🔵 I usually give up fairly quickly and use hints but today made it through!

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Congrats to Diplomat columnist Jacob Sims for his listing as a finalist in the SOPA Awards! Jacob's work centers on Cambodia's scam industry, as summarized in this video:

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Wow… so while people in first and comfort plus get drinks and snacks the rest of us watch? 😂 This doesn’t feel like a wise move. www.washingtonpost.com/travel/2026/...

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Is it that sanctions are finally working or are there domestic political challenges to his rule and authority at work? www.theguardian.com/world/2026/m...

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The new national counterterrorism strategy points to drug cartels as the administration’s first priority, breaking from the strategies of Trump’s predecessors that placed more emphasis on threats emanating from jihadis or white supremacist groups.

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I wake up early every day and always watch the news in Australia online, and this was the big story of the day when I logged in. I guess a lot of Australian institutions have been impacted. I'm hoping it comes back soon in the US. I still have to download my gradebooks to calculate final grades.

If this isn't a signal that your foreign policy toward Iran is on a road to nowhere when the Saudis can't find anything redeemable, you know it's time to chance course: www.theguardian.com/world/2026/m...

👋Hi! I’m Jessica Lussenhop, and for the last 4 years, I served as ProPublica’s first Minnesota-based reporter. But now I’ve got big news: On May 14, ProPublica is launching a brand new podcast! It’s called “Paper Trail,” and I’ll be your host. Thread 🧵

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I made Scottish flapjacks this afternoon! They came out good 👍 Great grading snack. High energy and fiber, too. I’ll probably need to skip dinner! 😂 Probably the easiest sweet treat I’ve ever made.

While I'm not an alarmist type person, I don't think we should dismiss this as an "isolated case" - so many deaths in such a short time concentrated in one area is big. This facet coupled with diminished public health make this all the more problematic.

I guess they could just re-hired and/or not fired people to begin wtih but whatever... oh, I guess some people took "early retirement"... www.nytimes.com/2026/05/06/c...

Last year news of the vitamin-K shot being rejected kind of shocked me, but I can't say that I'm surprised that we are seeing the impacts of bad policy. I am heartbroken over the deaths of babies that are easily preventable: www.propublica.org/article/more...

Interesting results out from the latest Marist poll! maristpoll.marist.edu/polls/presid...

From May 2021:

Pi or tau...? www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-...

This administration isn’t an honest broker, and I’m not sure that drug prices alone will save this administration from challenging midterm elections: apnews.com/article/trum...

Congrats to Brian Goldstone, who won the Pulitzer in Nonfiction for his profoundly moving and important book, "There Is No Place for Us."

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North Korea denies it's involved in hacking - good for a laugh, I guess en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN2026...

NASA just dropped more than 12,000 photos from the Artemis II mission. It'll take me a few days to go through them all, but so far it's one stunner after another. Link: eol.jsc.nasa.gov/SearchPhotos... Credit: NASA/Artemis II Crew (h/t @jonostrower.com)

The Washington Post won a Pulitzer Prize for public service for coverage of DOGE and the federal workforce. It’s the second time The Post has won the prestigious award in five years. Read more about our winning coverage here: https://wapo.st/3OX3l5A

Global aluminum price: $3,500/t U.S. price, with tariffs: $6,100/t Trump's dream of a purely domestic auto industry is total fantasy, but industry is enabling it because they think he'll find some scuzzy way to make them whole. Good luck with that.

This is a thoughtful piece about the importance of graduate education to the cultivation of character. Like you can be smart and engaged and still be a “warrior.” You can also have ideological diversity and maintain your identity.

Time to do some grading!

Union busting is Unholy! St. John University must adhere to Catholic social teaching by honoring workers’ rights & returning to the bargaining table. “The needs of labor ought to take precedence over the needs of capital.” Sign the petition here: 👇 docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

Brad voted Trump bc he promised to be “the most pro-farmer president you’ve ever had.” Instead, tariffs cut Brad’s export market; the war surged fertilizer prices by 70%. So Brad arranged his family’s final sale. “Farm is going dry,” said the ad. “Every cow must go.” www.nytimes.com/2026/05/03/u...

Any guesses on the likelihood of this poll showing up on Fox News or another of the administration's media mouthpieces?

Anyone remember the Purcell doctrine, saying courts shouldn't change electoral districts too close to the election because it might cause confusion? Remember how SCOTUS applied it six months ago to say it was already too late to invalidate the Texas districts? Funny how that didn't happen in Callais