Stunned and deeply saddened to read this. I only knew him a little bit, but he was one of the kindest and most enthusiastic scholars I have ever met.

It's hard to imagine a purer combination of the abuse of executive power and naked corruption. In short, this is a quintessential impeachable offense.

I say without hyperbole that this is the most brazenly corrupt action in US Presidential history. That it does not immediately lead to impeachment is a dangerous sign of how far the rule of law has declined.

I often say that the fight for democracy is the fight of our generation. But let me be clear, if you aren’t fighting for Black voting rights right now then you aren’t really fighting for democracy.

Video of Jens Ludwig's talk @taubmancenter.bsky.social @watsonschoolbrown.bsky.social on his important book Unforgiving Places: The Unexpected Origins of American Gun Violence www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9E0...

I'm back to writing a weekly column! Free, no ads, no paywall. Today's post—one of my favorites—tells how 20 internet strangers cracked the mystery of my flight to San Diego. Why did suddenly abandon its landing? And did our Delta pilot lie about it? pogueman.substack.com/p/the-myster...

@chenoweth.bsky.social and the Crowd Counting Consortium are doing amazing work always and in this exceptional moment in particular.

🚨 the best state policy & public opinion database is now online. ~200 (!!!) state policies and 80 public opinion series on abortion, labor, taxes, environment, guns, education… dynamicdemocracy.shinyapps.io Massive public goods provision from @devincaughey.bsky.social & @chriswarshaw.bsky.social

Dimitri Neonakis is back in the skies with another stellar piece of sky art. Watch as the flight path grows three sizes today and the Grinch comes together. Well done! View playback of this and other impressive sky art flights by Dimitri in his SR-22 at www.flightradar24.com/data/aircraf...

For a great behind the scenes look at Dulles airport read @ad-mastro.bsky.social www.thebulwark.com/p/a-city-whe...

Quiet virtue still exists. In the ranks of the citizen-soldiers whom civilian leaders ask to walk our streets and guard our institutions, there are young Americans who embody the best of us. lnk.thebulwark.com/3M8Bb5O

This story is riveting!

🚨🚨Hey #polisky job market folks! My former colleagues at Lafayette are hiring two positions: American/public law (provost.lafayette.edu/2025-26-gov-...) IR/CP (provost.lafayette.edu/2026-27-gl-a...). Great students, great colleagues, great department chairs for both! You should apply!

Lifting up this powerful piece by OKC Mayor David Holt, one of the good guys. www.nytimes.com/2025/08/20/o...

Bonica changing the world with blog posts

How about some good news? Gun violence is way down. The always insightful @ejdionne.bsky.social explains why, with help from the scholars and advocates who understand the issue best. wapo.st/45b6cf9

“I Watched It Happen in Hungary. Now It’s Happening Here. After years watching Hungary suffocate under the weight of its democratic collapse…the real danger of a strongman isn’t his tactics; it’s how others, especially those with power, justify their acquiescence.” www.nytimes.com/2025/07/23/o...

🧵Introducing the Trump Action Tracker website! Today I’m launching www.trumpactiontracker.info - a live, searchable list of authoritarian‑style actions from Trump’s second term (over 740 actions so far). 1/14

💯What Andrew said! Loving these new Cockpit Casual episodes - so interesting to those of us who have to ride in the back of the plane. Congrats to @stevenomadic.bsky.social et al.

Catch me at this year's Research Conference on the American Political Economy on 7/29 at 12 pm ET! I'll be on a roundtable called "Plutocracy" with @adambonica.bsky.social and @kagoss.bsky.social, moderated by @awhf.bsky.social. It's virtual, so you can attend from wherever. Sign-up link below.

Whohoo, my favourite youtube series is back - www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nvze... #avgeek Thanks @stevenomadic.bsky.social!

"Detroit, New Orleans, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and Baltimore each reported fewer murders through May than any year since the 1960s, and New York City reported the fewest murders ever reported through May 2025." jasher.substack.com/p/why-i-thin...

NEW: I analyzed nearly 300 federal cases involving the Trump administration. Federal judges—across the political spectrum—are using language I’ve never seen before. One called government actions “unconscionable.” Another quoted Kafka. They’re begging us to pay attention.

An engaging and absolutely epic whodunnit about this one thing that's actually about 🙌 everything 🙌. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

🚨NEW PAPER: Why are Members of Congress so extreme? We conducted a 4-wave panel of thousands of voters in 27 districts during last year’s primary AND general elections to trace polarization’s roots The results challenge conventional wisdom… and suggest lessons for parties🧵👇

If we stop calling these “grants” and start calling them “contracts,” it’s clearer to people why this is such an abuse of power. This wasn’t a bunch of gifts. This was a bunch of binding contracts between researchers and the US govt for specific agreed upon projects.

New report from BrightLineWatch.org with lots on threats to academic freedom as well as updates on the state of American democracy. With @brendannyhan.bsky.social, Gretchen Helmke, and Sue Stokes

New, from me: Trump is whitewashing American history, removing not just people, but also the stories, images, and values to anyone who does not conform to his impoverished vision of America. Here is a partial inventory. 🧵 donmoynihan.substack.com/p/whitewashi...

1/5th over 10 years is not comparable to what is apparently being proposed. The implications for tax compliance, enforcement, and revenue are on a totally different order. But we know what happens when you gut the IRS: you hurt honest taxpayers and reward tax cheats.

The IRS was drastically understaffed in the 2010s, when the service lost >1/5 of its staff over ten years. Here are a few consequences: * Audits of millionaires declined by 71%. * 90% of calls to the IRS identity theft hotline went unanswered. www.brookings.edu/articles/the...

The NYT is reporting that the Trump Administration is planning to cut the IRS workforce in half. To do so would cripple the revenue service and therefore the functioning of the U.S. government.

Hey, we're launching a new newsletter called GOOD NEWS, about, well, the good news that does not get enough attention. Sign it up here: www.vox.com/newsletters

Attn "never forget, never again" consensus, if you ever were an actual thing...

Powerful, compelling piece by my Duke colleague Sarah Bermeo on @lseblogs.bsky.social "Trump’s foreign aid freeze is unlawful, destructive, and a poor substitute for meaningful reform" blogs.lse.ac.uk/usappblog/20...

With insights from my Duke colleague Sarah Bermeo... www.nytimes.com/2025/02/08/c...

This. Exactly.

What does it feel like to evacuate a plane that's flipped upside down on the runway? Pete Koukov filmed his evacuation from Delta flight 4819 and posted it on Instagram. Caption: "being alive feels pretty cool today" www.instagram.com/p/DGMEswSp9Vk/

Gutted. She was the best of us.

From @anntelnaes.bsky.social: "As an editorial cartoonist, my job is to hold powerful people and institutions accountable. For the first time, my editor prevented me from doing that critical job. So I have decided to leave the Post." anntelnaes.substack.com/p/why-im-qui...

Every year on this day I think of this man, his family, and every person I met in Newtown in December 2012 www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc...

Striking shift in GOP donor base - top 400 donors now provide over 60% of GOP funds, nearly double 2020 levels. Both parties are far too reliant on mega-donors. But the GOP is now on another level. (1/n)

Max is here!

Here is a public policy starter list. Mostly people who are studying the social safety net. go.bsky.app/6W6j6oS

wait why does the dept of government efficiency have two co-chairs

Here are some of the best voices -- mostly in political science but also in history, economics, law, and journalism -- on the increasingly fraught relationship between democracy and capitalism in the United States: go.bsky.app/M6p7Ahw