every time I say this, someone didn't know: you can get the NYRB, the New Yorker, the LRB, Paris Review, The Spectator (weirdly not New Statesman), The Week, both French & Italian Vogue & New Scientist among many many other magazines FREE via the Libby app from your local library?

Where’s the next NYT deep dive into GOP Congressman Max Miller assaulting his wife? Where’s the outrage over these horrific acts of violence like intentionally burning his wife?

Scientists found yeast growing inside the guts of a frozen mummy for thousands of years. They used it to create a “very, very good” sourdough bread.

Congrats, John Roberts! You ended the three-branch method of governance!

I feel like this can't be posted about enough, so here's yet another for the algorithm(s) I guess: Trump wants to kill science and yoke its zombified corpse to the fascism wagon

Nothing says "intellectual freedom" like forcing students to take mandatory conservative indoctrination classes. Shout-out to all the embarrassing academics who believe any of this was in good faith.

A new study has found that the National Guard's presence in Washington, D.C. had no effect on violent crime in the city. The Guard has been deployed since last August as part of a federal task force to fight crime, and their numbers are set to double in the coming weeks. n.pr/3PWDxqK

Discrimination based on gender identity or expression is illegal in New York City. Trans New Yorkers are protected by law. Our City will protect your rights, defend your humanity and stand beside you without hesitation.

The only message not voting sends to a politician is that your opinion can be safely ignored because you will never hold them accountable. That's it. You can tell yourself not voting is good for your personal brand or your moral well being, but never pretend it makes a difference in the real world.

The correct terms are "racism" and "sexism," not anti-diversity politics.

New paper by Donahue & Reich, forthcoming in AJS. Using 18 years of Florida voter records, they find Republicans significantly more likely than Democrats to shift Hispanic→White. Democrats more likely to shift White→Hispanic. 1/ www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/epdf/10.... HT @mattgrossmann.bsky.social

New this week: I'm building a Crime Data Assistant and you are formally (and exclusively!) invited to test it out. It's designed to (hopefully quickly and correctly) answer questions on more than a billion rows of crime data. Give it a whirl! jasher.substack.com/p/im-buildin...

This sounds like @agadjanian.bsky.social “s music. Cool research.

"A coalition of ~40 organizations representing hard-science disciplines...recently told Congress...that losing the SBE division could lead to 'long-lasting, potentially permanent' damage to national research... The stickiest barriers to progress in... AI, biotechnology—are 'fundamentally human'"

Another example of provisions of IIRIRA that always sucked but now are being enforced in unprecedented way. news.bloomberglaw.com/daily-labor-...

The Trump Administration Is Done With Social Science: The National Science Foundation division that covers social, behavioral, and economic sciences is in the crosshairs. (@hana-kiros.bsky.social) www.theatlantic.com/science/2026...

For now the unofficial vote.gov is just a pre-build that isn’t accessible but if and when it is deployed as part of the totally unconstitutional White House takeover of elections, it would decimate the wall Congress put up between the executive branch and voter data.

This is Ken Paxton's mugshot. He was indicted on 3 felony counts for investment fraud. He was reported to the FBI by his own staff for bribery. He was impeached by his own party for corruption. Now he’s the Republican nominee for US Senate in Texas. Together we will stop him.

Reporters don't talk enough about how Republicans do not consider Democratic voters to be fully American.

Scoop: NSF has been quietly blocking new funds and grants to four top universities: Duke, Harvard, Princeton, and Yale. Dozens of proposals from PIs at these universities—and their collaborators—have been stuck at the Office of Award Management awaiting finalization for months.

FBI Arrests CIA Official With $40 Million in Gold Bars https://politicalwire.com/2026/05/27/fbi-arrests-cia-official-with-40-million-in-gold-bars/

Talarico calling Paxton "the most corrupt politician in America" is a great start. His challenge won't be distancing himself from the base's support for trans rights, which he shares. It'll be distancing himself from the establishment's reluctance to address corruption, which he doesn't.

The Sloan Foundation is searching for a new Director of its Economics Program. At a critical time when federal research funding is limited, this is a critical position. Please circulate this opportunity to shape and support economics and economists widely! sloan.org/about/careers

Really, really excited to share our new deep-dive polling on affordability and the economy -- what it means for Americans across the country (and, yes, what the potential political ramifications are.) Main story here: www.cnn.com/2026/05/12/p...

The White House has cut or frozen billions in scientific research funds that had been approved by Congress. It’s an assault on the rule of law and on the security, health, and prosperity of all Americans. bit.ly/42ytB9B

God bless America

Language evolved to get us.collectively, to the waterhole alive, more than to make each of us a little scientist. Our minds are bad Bayesians on purpose: herding, bullshit, and charismatic-obedience shortcuts are, I think, features of group life, not bugs. Collective intelligence, when it... 1/

website that picks the Rothko closest to how the weather feels in your location (by Joonas Virtanen) rothko.joonas.wtf

The @iea.org’s new report, “Global EV Outlook 2026,” projects that electric vehicles will be close to 30% of all car sales worldwide this year, building on 2025 growth and consumer reaction to the Iran War.

I have been saying for years that Democrats should run against Republicans on the issue of corruption. Make fighting corruption the centerpiece of their hopefully populist campaigns. Well, if they don’t run on corruption this year, against Trump, then they deserve to lose.

I just posted a lengthy analysis of Philadelphia primary voter turnout on FB, where it's been a hotly contested (and I believe misunderstood) issue. Rather than try to thread it, here's the whole thing.

Philly, the best

How did Fair Work Week policies gain momentum? Social science research showed that unpredictable work hours affect income, health, inequality and led to poorer job performance. This is how research shapes policy. Watch here: youtu.be/TknnM03MY-s?... #PoweredBySocialScience #EconomicInequality

I’m old enough to remember when Trump was accusing Democrats of being socialists. What do you call this? Government ownership of the means of production. www.nytimes.com/2026/05/21/b...

A decade ago, research highlighted how unpredictable schedules were affecting workers’ lives. Today, that evidence has helped shape Fair Work Week laws across multiple U.S. cities. www.instagram.com/p/DYkRCQ2FD5...

Again, that this stuff doesn’t immediately end his presidency is a total failure of Article I of the Constitution. A complete collapse of the polity.

I’m not sure why this isn’t being mentioned more, but: IRS policy for 50 years has been that the sitting president & VP get audited every year, in an effort to reassure the public they’re not corruptly abusing the office to enrich themselves.

Each day, Americans are spending about $800 million more on gas and diesel than they were a year ago. The total increased fuel cost since the Iran War began? $45 billion. www.wsj.com/economy/cons...

“It’s concerning because massive loss of sea ice destabilises the world’s ocean current systems, warming our planet far quicker than expected.” #ClimateEmergency

When a federal agency tasked with protecting all Americans decides to mandate a specific religious worldview, it ceases to protect democracy and begins to threaten it.

This @ft graphic shows that trump suddenly got very interested in trading stocks

👇🏻💡 "People do not give up democracy in a calculating way to gain politically. Instead, they find ways to convince themselves that they are getting their desired policy and democracy. They still act as undemocratically as concluded in the literature; they just do not perceive it that way."

Trump’s approval rating hits second-term low among his Latino voters, though many still approve www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/...

This settlement violates the separation of powers under Article I and it is being contemplated in order to avoid an order from an Article III that a President cannot instruct a federal agency to give him money. I am not sure this could be more wildly unconstitutional.

This is insanity: Trump's DOJ is about to "settle" his lawsuit against the IRS by creating a $1.7 billion slush fund to pay off victims of Biden "weaponization." I talked to Jamie Raskin about this. It's even more corrupt than it first appears. 1/ (new piece) newrepublic.com/article/2105...

All the philosophy students who pursued their passion made a wise decision. Learning how to think is a always a good investment. Psychology grads are not doing too badly on the job market either.

As Republicans weaken the Voting Rights Act of 1965, remember: even when fully in force, many local officials resist implementing it. Years ago, @mjonescorrea.bsky.social and I found major gaps in Section 203 language-access compliance. Rights on paper are not always rights in practice.

And then they deported the Dreaners. www.nytimes.com/2026/05/15/u...

Never great when the level-headed headline reads "West Braces for Critical Water Shortages After Unprecedented Snow Drought." www.drought.gov/drought-stat...

This piece by Jonathan Kirshner is very thought-provoking. His focus on inflation as a microeconomic phenomenon, particularly relevant to positional goods rather than normal goods, could explain a lot of arguments about inflation and the cost of living crisis blueblaze.substack.com/p/a-front-ro...