Imagine if the US and Britain had real opposition parties. Imagine being as clear eyed as @judeinlondon.com

I had the opportunity to talk with @llassabe.bsky.social about one of the best/wildest stories from my new book about the education culture war. Check it out!

The Jeffrey Epstein Fellowship in Nabokov Studies:

How many men mentioned in the Epstein files have vowed to “fix” U.S. education?

You may have noticed there was no Sunday episode on the main feed over the weekend (Patreon subscribers got a bonus ep!!) I promise to make it up to yall tomorrow

Has anyone seen my joie de vivre

I had fun (as much as possible when talking authoritarianism) talking to historian @llassabe.bsky.social about the media & academia's surrender to The New Censorship. But there's a way out, and @stephencolbert134.bsky.social & @jimmykimmel.com already got it! Take a listen 👉 shorturl.at/CM9Xg

Fool-proof business plan 1. Ensure your snake oil isn’t regulated by passing a law in the 90s classifying it as “food” 2. Help make ordinary healthcare inaccessible and unaffordable through insurance privatization etc 3. Sell snake oil to desperate masses www.fda.gov/food/dietary...

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...

“To be respectful of everyone’s time, let’s get the meeting started” Oh You don’t want us to chit chat? You don’t want us to know each other deeply? You don’t want us to community build? You want us to get back to the “work” schedule?

I wonder what booktok has to say about the “no one reads anymore” discourse

Hey did you know a 60 minute massage is the equivalent of 60 mins of writing

Yesterday was the largest single day of downloads in the history of the pod, which I say with a certain ambivalence. I'm happy we are somewhere you can turn in times of crisis.

Writing procrastination has nothing on packing procrastination

I just finished this and it's a little outside my preferred reading zone but I thoroughly enjoyed it. I especially appreciated the parents' story, they're queer moms about 8-12 years older than me (and the protagonist is ~8-12 years older than my older kid) and the recent queer history was lovely.

Sorry, what? (do you think they’re lying to me)

It was my pleasure to speak with the wonderful Lauren Lassabe Shepherd @llassabe.bsky.social for the American Campus Podcast, @americancampus.bsky.social. The episode is linked here: americancampuspodcast.buzzsprout.com/2396665/epis...

CBS news assembling a panel of randos RIGHT NOW to report on their ChatGPT research about Maduro

More importantly George Leef is also platformed by libertarian/Koch-funded orgs such as John Locke Foundation and James Martin Center ($ from Art Pope...aka "the Charles Koch of NC"). Right-wing ideas about higher ed. pour out of these think tanks, and we pay the price. @kevinmkruse.bsky.social

Calling all listeners who like niche things (niche, get it?)

Yes,

Bluesky is a lefty safe space until you say exactly one thing critical of the Democrats, which is not permitted under the terms of service and makes you Hitler.

Listening to @llassabe.bsky.social terrific show this morning podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/c...

Screenshotted because I don't want to dump on this person, but a prime example of blaming "polarization" instead of political whim, corporate power, and their dreadful combination in today's authoritarianism.

Buckley against liberal universalism (he kinda ate w this)

Let me tell y'all something. In the 20s, 30s, and 40s, colleges were just hiring every one of their graduates. None of this "go work somewhere else first and then we'll bring you home" stuff.

Bari Weiss is guilty of many sins but calling herself "punk rock" is the most infuriating.

Peak woke was when we cancelled baby it’s cold outside

I appeared on American Campus podcast to discuss my new book, High School Students Unite!, with historian @llassabe.bsky.social. Check it out: americancampuspodcast.buzzsprout.com/2396665/epis...

I love it when the other side just comes out and says what all of us know to be true.

Liberal pundits get extremely worked up when the right takes steps towards monarchy, but I remember how yall acted when the queen died Let’s all get on the same page about monarchy = bad

Great news! @llassabe.bsky.social and I signed a contract for our edited volume, Degrees of Liberation: Public History, Campus Activism, and the Fight for Educational Justice. The book shows how campus activism drives change and advances public history work with communities. @sunypress.bsky.social

"The pause [in a faculty diversity initiative] was shared the same day that Hopkins announced its partnership with the American Enterprise Institute to recruit more conservative voices into academia, Makalani remembers. It was also the anniversary of the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr."

If you don’t coddle the men, they will become Nazis

This is one of HNN’s most read pieces in 2025? 🙏

Historians! I'm going to be at AHA, and I'm bringing my recorder. Find me and tell me the most influential writing advice you've ever gotten.

"universities are being infiltrated by a commercial industry that exploits students+faculty as data mines frenzy w/o consulting their faculty, collecting empirical data on whether gen AI is pedagogically useful, or pausing to inquire about the long-term impact" www.publicbooks.org/four-frictio...

An actual problem

What am I doing on this Saturday night? I’ll tell you what I’m not doing. I’m not writing.

Many universities including @umassamherst.bsky.social now claim that federal cuts mean that the institution has to defund scholarship & teaching. My colleague Kevin Young recently published a report showing that in the UMass case, at least, this is completely wrong: drive.proton.me/urls/VS9FJ3D...

Hey I'm on this week's episode of American Campus podcast @americancampus.bsky.social talking about my latest article “The Straight College Strikes Back: 1990s Backlash Against Inclusive Campuses.” Thanks @llassabe.bsky.social for having me!

The Enrollment Cliff is a Miff

Why the steep decline in community college enrollment in the last 15 years? One piece is driven by misleading aggregate federal statistics, because community colleges that start offering 4-year degrees get reclassified as 4-year institutions. Fixing that shrinks the decline somewhat.

Unread and half finished books staring at me as I use these cyber Monday discount codes

Free book idea if it hasn’t been written yet: Writers and Their Stimulants I’m glad to let you interview me about my own caffeine and sugar habits

an author put their target manuscript completion date and their "worst case scenario" completion date in a proposal and I'm 💀. I love it. YMMV but I'm all for smuggling some personality and realness into your materials.

A huge thanks to @llassabe.bsky.social for inviting me to spend some time talking about AI in higher ed on American Campus!

It’s officially pub day for Opium Slavery: Civil War Veterans and America‘s First Opioid Crisis! Available at a bookshop near you. Thanks to everyone who made it possible to bring this research to life! 🗃️ @uncpress.bsky.social uncpress.org/978146968953...