"North Atlantic right whales are one of the most endangered species in the United States. Whaling drove them to near extinction ... Only about 380 remain on the planet." #whales #conservation www.nytimes.com/2026/05/28/c...

some coming outs don’t feel shocking so much as 20 years of vibes suddenly clicking into place http://ow.ly/f0ZW30sW4mt

My students had the perfect guest judge for their final class of the semester last night - Antony Green, Australia's foremost election expert! #auspol #highered #australia

Tomorrow I teach my 41st and final 2-hour lecture of this 13-week semester. It. Was. Hard! But notes from students are lovely. #teaching #highered #usyd

I'm 95% done with my grading. The remaining 5% is focused on me writing comments on students' papers so they understand how I derived their grade and to provide guidance on what parts of the essay are excellent and what could be improved and how to improve it for clarity and rigor.

“To capture tunas, some purse seine vessels use FADs, floating structures that attract ish (Bromhead et al. 2003) and can result in a large amount of #shark bycatch. For example, from 2003 to 2005, 40 percent of sets made on FADs in the western-central Paciic Ocean captured sharks (Scott 2007).”

“What attracts #sharks? Sound: Sound, rather than sight or smell seems to be a shark's primary cue for moving into an area. Certain types of irregular sounds—like those made by a swimmer in trouble or a damaged fish—seem to attract sharks from great distances” www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/out...

"Shark nets are intended to capture large sharks, however captured animals may attract large sharks to protective nets. Increased net capture has shown correlation to shark attraction to nets" (Hoel and Chin, 2020: 16). www.publications.qld.gov.au/ckan-publica...

This Thurs. 28 May, I'm giving an online seminar for the Queer Populations and Policy (QPaP) Network @qpapinfo.bsky.social from 4-5pm (UK time / 11-12 US EST) - "Back to the Backlash: Understanding LGBTQ+ Moral Panic Agenda-Setting in 2026." To register: lnkd.in/gCr4w2xH #LGBTQ #PublicPolicy

People in southern Lebanon are living under "psychological terror" from Israeli air attacks and displacement orders https://aje.news/e5132d

"Larry Bushart, who spent 37 days in jail over his Facebook post about the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, will get $835,000 to settle a lawsuit against Tennessee officials." www.youtube.com/watch?v=ChPJ...

Review articles in the era of agentic artificial intelligence Artificial intelligence assistants can now survey a field rapidly and with increasing accuracy, but impactful Review and Perspective articles have never been just surveys. Their value lies in perspective provided by the author(s).

Sydney, Australia- 2026!

“There is no reason for a society to sponsor the suffering of minorities through legal provisions that result in discrimination and stigmatization.” Peru’s Supreme Court recently affirmed that being trans is not a mental illness. This ruling is a powerful reminder that laws should enable trans joy.

BALDWIN: Why are you sending programs that support elementary schools & elementary school students to the Dept of Labor? LINDA McMAHON: Education should provide an opportunity for children once they have finished their education to enter the workforce B: We're talking about elementary students

Were they tipped off by the fact that trans athletes weren't a problem for all of human history until conservatives started purchasing every major media institution in 2013 or so

"A history professor course could not allocate instructional time to the Stonewall riots or the gay rights movement. If a U.S. history textbook includes a chapter on the AIDS crisis, the professor must skip it." www.erininthemorning.com/p/texas-tech...

Today: META fired 8,000 workers, Microsoft fired 9,000 workers, Nike fired 1,400 tech jobs. That’s 18,000 jobs lost today.

"The responsibility of the great states is to serve, and not dominate the peoples of the world." President Harry S. Truman to the UN General Assembly April 25, 1945 2009-2017.state.gov/p/io/potusun...

#Lufthansa cutting 20,000 flights: www.nytimes.com/2026/04/22/b...

The core premise of my research has been the same since my first article on the "politics of shark attacks" in 2012: 1) The shark is a fish, not a movie monster 2) The human is a land animal, not neutral actor in the ocean 3) The ocean/beach is the wild, not a remote paradise #sharks #sharkattack

It’s giving: “free, gay, and happy” this morning. 🏳️‍🌈

Exit of members from Moms of Liberty who feel "used" - www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3nY...

Bobby Jr. understands mass culture in a way that most MAGA can't. And this could get to him.

😯 And in April @pepinneff.bsky.social presented their work on moral panic agenda-setting in the US, UK and Australia.

Controversial - but ethically appropriate opinion. In academia, its unethical for me to accept gifts from students that are in my class (because I'm marking them), and independence is important, which means the ABC as a public broadcaster should also not be donating to groups they are reporting on.

"House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and former Speaker Nancy Pelosi headlined a growing list of Democratic lawmakers called on Rep. Eric Swalwell Friday to withdraw his campaign for California governor amid allegations of sexual misconduct." www.politico.com/news/2026/04...

Just saying ... the biggest controversy over Michele Obama was a sleeveless dress.

Academics!! I propose rebranding attending University as "brainmaxing." "Brainmaxing is an extreme effort over 4 years of reading and writing, where they undergo an intellectual "ascension" that includes smashing poorly evidenced arguments to reach extreme rigour in critical analysis." #brainmaxing

Hall of fame FT correction

I have three degrees that address human-shark interactions, invented the field of human-shark studies, and run the largest social science lab on human-shark studies in the world. This is animal harassment.

Megyn Kelly to President Trump: "I'm sick of this shit. Can't he just behave like a normal human...Fucking shut up." youtube.com/shorts/6A2uS...

Catholics who support Trump over the Holy Father Pope Leo need to think carefully about who they worship. #Trump #MAGA #PopeLeo #Catholic

Biblical #Capitalism: "The effect of free-market faith-based governance models is the idea that there must be “losers” for there to be winners. If there is no difference between the prosperous & the poor then how does a Christian know if they are acting correctly or if they are going to heaven?"

I believe (1) people are more than their body parts, (2) people are who they say they are; and (3) they are not sure how you ignore the brain as the primary sexual anatomy of the body unless your eggplant is inflatable or uses a cord. #LGBTQ medium.com/@pepin-neff/...

"This brilliant new model legislation from the right wing is important because it could travel around the nation to all 50 states, ensuring that all American men identify as the dicks they are." #LGBTQ #trans medium.com/@pepin-neff/...

"Montana’s leaders want the nation (and all women) to know that when you think about Montana and sex, think primarily about its men as dicks." #Montana medium.com/@pepin-neff/...

'On March 24, 2026, Montana Governor Greg Gianforte signed a new law (Senate Bill 437) that defines sex by stating, “someone is male or female …as dictated by their primary sexual anatomy. ” #trans #LGBTQ medium.com/@pepin-neff/...

My latest article: New Montana Law Says ‘Men Are Dicks’ — Seriously. "After years of being asked, “What is a Woman?” Never have more women agreed on the new Montana law that writes into statute that men are, in fact, all dicks." pepin-neff.medium.com/new-montana-... #montana #trans #LGBTQ

Appreciated the chance to speak on Sunrise on the Seven Network this morning - and note that shark nets coming out today (31 March) for the season at NSW beaches is a good thing. Shark nets can attract #sharks. Here's the full clip: www.youtube.com/watch?v=HBOh...

Why are anti-trans moral panics taking off? This Thurs at 12pm (USA / EST) & 5pm (GMT), I'll be giving a talk about anti-trans/anti-gender moral panic agenda-setting in the US, UK, and Australia for @queerseminar.bsky.social. I hope you can join us! #LGBTQ #moralpanic #publicpolicy #trans

🌈 Today we are very excited to announce @pepinneff.bsky.social as our next speaker! 😯 They will present their work studying the factors behind the moral panic agenda-setting on anti-trans issues in the United Kingdom, the United States and Australia. 📆 Be sure to join us next Thursday April 2nd!

Making two podcast episodes on #LGBTQ history with Ian Palmquist and his 20 years of great work was fantastic! The YouTube podcasts are linked in this short piece I've written, and we wanted to share them with everyone!! pepin-neff.medium.com/ian-palmquis...

My parents bought me a pink floral kurta from their recent trip to India. So I figured the launch of my book in Melbourne would be the ideal time to debut it.

If you were hoping #Trump would start more wars, increase the price of gas, limit the availability of food, and spread measles - you are WINNING! Greatest week for America ever! MAGA! bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-03-14/fuel-shortages-from-war-begin-to-threaten-global-food-supply

What does it say about U.S. politics today, that Trump made a more compelling case for the invasion of Greenland than he did for the invasion of Iran.

The Shark Attack Industrial Complex is based on three lies: The shark is not a fish; The ocean is not the wild; The human is not intrusive. Can we turn the page and improve beach safety? #sharks #sharkattack #scicomm #science

Students still love physical books! This week, 18% of my undergrad students (9 of 50) in one of my units at the University of Sydney borrowed a physical book when I brought my bookshelf on wheels to class. Every week, my undergrad students can borrow books on my "book mobile" for one week. #book

It's clear that Donald thinks that God has a Trump Complex.