📢WORK! At the Sociology department of @utrechtuniversity.bsky.social we are hiring a postdoc who will work on applications of AI in sociological research. Join our vibrant-yet-cohesive research community doing cutting-edge research. Please share or apply! www.uu.nl/en/organisat...

The Washington Post just laid off its entire award-winning photo team. They were our eyes in places we'll never see. It's a horrifying loss at a time when lying governments, propaganda and AI slop are on the rise.

This was to be expected - after cutting support to pro-democracy civil society last year, the US state is now looking to actively support far-right affiliated think tanks and charities in Europe.

Huge thanks to Patrick Präg @ppraeg.bsky.social, Evelyn Ersanilli, and Alexi Gugushvili @a-gugushvili.bsky.social for their outstanding service to European #sociology. What a difference their leadership at European Societies has made! doi.org/10.1162/EUSO...

The university funding crisis finally starting to make it into newspaper editorials www.ft.com/content/82f5...

So looking forward to reading this: Morbid - Debunking Modern Longevity Science, by Saul Justin Newman. Pre-ordered this morning, out in June. mitpress.mit.edu/978026205271...

“Jaywalking is permitted in London. In 1966, the police tried to crack down on it, but gave up after three months.” People walk and cycle on roads by right, people drive under licence. Jaywalking is not a thing in English law and Waymo must not change that. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Instead of conferring titles, gongs and baubles and then demanding those titles, gongs and baubles be removed… …perhaps as a modern, mature polity we should have far fewer titles, gongs and baubles in the first place.

Come join our workshop on excess mortality methodology! It will be two great days of expert talks, discussion groups, and me revealing the results of our many analyst project! 40+ teams have signed up to estimate 1918 pandemic deaths with the method of their choice -- results should be fascinating!

www.nature.com/articles/d41... #wikipedia @wikipedia.org #openscience #citizenscience

This is a great piece by @phillipspobrien.bsky.social on why it is the President and not his evil counsellors that is to blame for ICE and its excesses - and why the media are pretending otherwise.

We're hiring for a Post-Doctoral Researcher! Are you... Close to the completion of / have completed a doctorate in a social science discipline? A specialist in inequality, social policy, or social mobility? Experienced in data management and analysis? If so, apply: https://ow.ly/Uzse50Y15Gz

JOB! I'm hiring a postdoc for 2 years on my ERC MaMo project. Looking for someone with strong quant methods, ongoing work close to the project's aims, and a desire to publish in sociology. Start flexible in the next 12 months. Formal call out shortly, but contact me first.

Gabriel Zucman on the shocking concentration of extreme wealth in the United States…. gzucman.substack.com?r=nle0&utm_c...

As a journalist, I've spent lots of time climbing around in old coal plants. They're all rotted-out, cob-webbed piles of metal, industrial haunted houses on the verge of collapse. Keeping them going is yet another sign American energy poverty and political decline. www.nytimes.com/2026/01/16/c...

So depressing when the discourse of science as pure, separable from, and not related to, real world actions is being perpetuate by those with the power to change this... www.theguardian.com/science/2026...

What a wonderful book! If you read just one book in 2026, please consider this briliant one by @drkatemarvel.bsky.social. Rich, wise, challenging, moving, funny - all at the same time. Whatever you think, feel or know about climate change & science, it won't disappoint. bookshop.org/p/books/huma...

"Display screen manufacturer Tesla, hopes to add driving capabilities to latest model."

The utterly shameless & widely covered "report" out today, claiming net zero will "cost" £9tn is based on: * Assuming free fossil-fuel energy, free petrol cars, free gas boilers, free gas power plants etc AND * Including climate damages in the "cost" of net zero I kid you not, it is that stupid

Huge congratulations to Lucy Hu & Shreyas Hallur on receiving Halsey Prizes for the MSc in Sociology 2024–25 🎉 🏆 Lucy won Best Overall Performance while Shreyas won Best Thesis! www.sociology.ox.ac.uk/article/lucy...

Clarion news: We’re leaving Twitter (’X’). We can’t condone the objectionable content it now promotes, which goes against everything we believe and the Clarion tradition. Our live posting is now here on Bluesky, with all this plus much more in our email newsletter twice a week.

I would really caution anyone against implying that paywalling this feature is a legitimate response to public outcry. The paywall is an endorsement, not a restriction. Musk is saying "this thing you're all talking about is valuable. Pay me for it." The actual material effect is just monetization.

Trump just withdrew the US from the UN Population Fund. For obvious reasons: "working to uphold the rights and choices of women, girls and young people... Through our work, we ensure that every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe, and every young person can fulfil their potential."

What a wonderful book! If you read just one book in 2026, please consider this briliant one by @drkatemarvel.bsky.social. Rich, wise, challenging, moving, funny - all at the same time. Whatever you think, feel or know about climate change & science, it won't disappoint. bookshop.org/p/books/huma...

Silly Con Folly is at it again: Can you optimize love? Bleak. Gift article link: www.nytimes.com/2026/01/06/s...

I wrote about Nucleus Genomics' "Have your best baby" ad campaign and Kris Jenner's "best version of myself" facelift, the parallels between embryo selection and cosmetic surgery, and competing definitions of "eugenics" kathrynpaigeharden.substack.com/p/have-your-...

Interesting court decision: marriage annulled because the officiant used ChatGPT for the vows Dutch law (1:67(1) BW) requires fiancées recognize one another as spouse and accept the duties of marriage The ChatGPT vows, that they 'stand beside' and 'choose' one another were considered insufficient

Critically, we also need the public to support actions that enable older people to live great lives without having to drive for when they fail the eye tests. So the public need to get onboard with no pavement parking, pedestrian priority, denser housing, fewer out-of-town shopping centres, etc etc

‘A silent majority’: MPs underestimate support for green policies, study reveals

📢 1 week left to apply for the 3yr postdoc in the ERC project SINGLE (Barcelona). I'm looking for a postdoc w/survey experience who'd be interested in singlehood & social inequality in EU. Postdoc can pursue their own social research interest. Deadline: 12-Jan (noon, CET). Correct link👇🏻

The commodification of play is a scandal. Indoor play areas that have to be driven to, soft play, trampoline parks, expensive 'experiences' that have to be booked & organised, & attended by adults for the duration. When all kids actually need is green space and a safe way to get to it.

Nina Jankowicz: “They’re not doing this because they have any evidence of censorship — they lost a Supreme Court case that made those claims… They’re doing this because the group of researchers and advocates have stood up to liars like Donald Trump and the platforms that enable them.”

This US administration is now completely losing any semblance of sanity in sanctioning "censorship masterminds". There's no other way to put it, this is tin pot dictatorship territory and must be called out as such. Including in the US.

Good morning, sunshine: The seemingly unstoppable growth of renewable energy is Science’s 2025 Breakthrough of the Year www.science.org/content/arti...

Wow @thetimes.com, that’s impressive An entire article about “freak heat” in the Dolomites causing mayhem amongst skiers without once mentioning climate change…🤷🏼‍♀️ 🧵 1/5

Silver lining.

With road transportation accounting for almost one-fifth of global carbon dioxide emissions, it’s hard to see how the world will reach its net zero climate goals unless people give up their gasoline and diesel cars.

New year, new job? Join us at the Department of Sociology & Nuffield College. The post is open to candidates from different areas of empirical specialisation and at different levels of experience. Please consider applying! closes Jan 5th. www.sociology.ox.ac.uk/event/associ...

1/ In a recent @britishacademy.bsky.social video @rebeccasear.bsky.social from @brunelpsy.bsky.social takes a clear-eyed look at the 21st‑century rise of eugenics - an ideology that should have been left behind, yet is now re‑emerging in a number of troubling ways ⚠️🧬 🧪 Watch the full talk here 🎥👇

📢 Analytical sociology is coming home! Call 4 INAS26 is open 🌍 1-3Jul26 @nuffieldcollege.bsky.social and @sociologyoxford.bsky.social (☔) ☢️ Deadline: 1Feb26 🦹 Organisers: @aksoyundan.bsky.social , @kasimirdederichs.bsky.social, D Kretschmer, @awaldendorf.bsky.social Info: tinyurl.com/yc2tusjx

Reverence

This article on helping students spot disinformation (and talk to others about beliefs that aren’t true) features UMN sociologist Rob Warren and his new course on Calling BS. www.startribune.com/more-college...

There aren’t many things worse one can imagine than the loss of a child. But the loss of a child to a vaccine preventable disease is a pain no parent or family should ever have to bear. Sowing distrust about vaccines, arguably the greatest public health success of all time, is pure evil.

This is why: 1. Never stop writing. If you are using AI only use it as a light editor. 2. Politicians should write the first draft of all their speeches to organise their thoughts. 3. Prose is vital to democratic societies.

Political polarization on confidence in the scientific community accelerated in the 2024 General Social Survey, with moderates now showing a significant downturn. (Apologies if I missed this updated with 2024 data already) /1

“Can you imagine being that rich and that miserable?” I’m personally in favour of dreadful people all living in one place, far away from me, ideally somewhere with limited natural resources and no military protection

Someone who once worked for this guy told me he was at a party where everyone was in one way or another, economically dependent upon him. Under those circumstances you don't get much pushback for dumb statements. When they do encounter that pushback, they think its wokeness that must be destroyed.

Energy transitions can happen faster than we think: In 2000 almost 90% of Denmark's electricity was from fossil fuels. In 2024 less than 10% of Danish electricity was from fossil fuels.

Want a break from the budget? Good news! Across Europe, there are zebra crossings at side roads. They make it clear that people walking and wheeling have priority, rather than stopping every few metres. In the UK, governments haven't officially allowed them - until today 🧵

Extraordinary WSJ reporting today that unveils the extent to which Trump, Witkoff, Kushner and US business executives are salivating over business deals with Russia while Putin’s forces kidnap Ukranian children and bomb civilians in their apartments. 🎁 www.wsj.com/world/russia...