I have a new post up on Substack about some troubling intellectual trends on the Right—and how modernity is to blame! open.substack.com/pub/jessespa...

I know I've already largely missed the "should academics insist on being called 'doctor'" debate—my thinking/writing can't keep up with the discourse cycle—but here's my quick case against the use of academic titles. open.substack.com/pub/jessespa...

Here's my contribution to the "is continental philosophy meaningless" debate. I've tried to say something new here that might move the debate forward a bit: open.substack.com/pub/jessespa...

My first substantive post on Substack is me raising some worries about Joseph Heath's theory of populism: substack.com/home/post/p-...

I haven’t been posting here much, but I’m now posting longer-form ideas on Substack! Here’s my brief introductory post: jessespafford.substack.com/p/about-this...

Not sure what the best way to counter the far right is, but this thread on the rise of Sanseito in Japan suggests to me that the accommodationist approach—i.e., the approach endorsed in the thread—is a dead end.

With all the details coming out on Cremieux/Jordan Lasker, I’m reminded of an email I wrote to a friend explaining why I’m not interested in the rationalist social movement (wherein Jordan has become an influential figure): x.com/rivertamydn/...

Nice piece discussing the merits, politics, and practical implementation of Zohran's policies: www.dissentmagazine.org/online_artic...

Abrego Garcia describes conditions at CECOT: “He and 20 other Salvadorans were forced to kneel from approximately 9pm to 6am with guards striking anyone who fell from exhaustion. During this time, he was denied bathroom access and soiled himself.” storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

Ironically, this post is breaking my brain a little. bsky.app/profile/kend...

Stancilism partly undefeated

These are the kind of arrests that you know are just driving while brown arrests.

Pretty grim the extent to which the UK is descending into fascism. The willingness to label non-violent protests “terrorism” is particularly troubling (though this is also just one of many troubling shifts in the country): www.bbc.com/news/article...

Noticed that ICE in Los Angeles has started carrying spare tires in the bed of their pickups

From a dear comrade who was kind enough to let me share their video. Veterans stage a sit-in on the US Capitol steps and say, “Military off our streets!” Hell yeah!

it’s cool how the whole trump coalition is a circular firing squad of grievances. this guy thought trump was homophobic/transphobic but mostly joking about the immigration stuff lol

This administration is marked by not just its cruelty but its complete inability to craft coherent policies or consider the obvious consequences of those policies. bsky.app/profile/phil...

It seems like the only option left is to show that it implies something significant and surprising! www.cambridge.org/core/books/s... bsky.app/profile/last...

Striking how so many of the pundits from this cohort have become simultaneously more conservative and less thoughtful: t.co/6vS6KhptpH

It’s been almost eight years since Alex Pareene wrote this piece, and it looks like he was 100% correct: www.splinter.com/charlottesvi... bsky.app/profile/whst...

It’s the biggest story in the country that the media is ignoring - how this explicitly white supremacist and antisemitic ideology has consumed the minds of virtually the entire organized right, from Elon Musk on down

To give you a sense about the ideological drift being caused by Twitter, here's Noah Smith talking in 2021 about the account that would become "i/o" and "avidseries." And then here's a screenshot from today, where Noah Smith has constant friendly interactions with him.

Every day the authoritarianism grows worse - Christopher Rufo calling for the Trump administration to "dispatch unmarked vans to follow key agitators and snatch them from the streets while the media are not looking" christopherrufo.com/p/trump-shou...

This is not a good sign.

Elected Dems need to start grappling with the fact that the official GOP position is that elections should be stolen when the opportunity presents itself: bsky.app/profile/eili...

My friend just got arrested blocking the highway in Joshua Tree to try and prevent the Marines from making it to LA

Yeah. There is no universe where DHS can support this happening every time.

just superbly done. first round KO www.gelliottmorris.com/p/kilmar-abr...

One thing I find interesting is the extent to which people treat LLMs like conscious agents. I've seen a bunch of exchanges where the user berates the LLM for "lying"—a complaint (and associated reactive attitude) that seems inapt: amandaguinzburg.substack.com/p/diabolus-e...

With Yarvin back in the news, I think it's worth asking why obscurantists (of all political stripes) frequently become so influential despite saying nothing of substance.

It's often bemoaned that our side draws purist lines, progressively expelling more and more people, who are then taken in by the fash, inevitably leading to their total triumph. But it's important to note that is often a process of *infection* and the systematic undermining of the right.

A good nonprofit effort over the next 43 months would be to keep a running draft indictment of every Trump administration official, published and updated regularly, so it is ready to go in January 2029.

Today Milford high school students participated in their graduation and then marched to the town hall in protest of Ice kidnapping their peer. #milfordma

Objectifying women—in this case, a 22 year old college student—is a recurring tactic men use to take those who challenge them and put them in their place:

Unbelievable! Today, San Diego witnessed a government-sanctioned kidnapping. ICE stormed Buona Forchetta in military gear ripping workers away, then unleashing tear gas and smoke on the terrified community. Full on police state, fascism now used on American citizens. Stay aware. #OnYourSide

A nice piece on the fall and rise of Marty Peretz and his fellow travelers: jewishcurrents.org/the-end-of-t...

Not great that the European far right is getting its largest share of the vote since... the 1930s. bsky.app/profile/owen...

Not quite my view, but pretty close: bsky.app/profile/mcka...

With 82% of Israelis supporting the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians from Gaza, a big question for liberals anywhere is how do you keep your society from becoming like Israel.

One of my more aggressive Project 2029 ideas is that the next Democratic president should have an open policy of only abiding by Supreme Court decisions where at least one justice nominated by a Democrat signs onto the opinion: bsky.app/profile/jonm...

This points to another difficulty with popularism: you can’t fund the people pushing your ideological line without hurting your poll-chasing candidates. bsky.app/profile/matt...

thread

A kind of natural selection in action. Shame used to drive people out of politics, so a new shame-resistant class of political entities evolved and took over a whole party.

Very creative way of looking into whether the center-right views the far-right as more socially acceptable than they do the center-left (which they do)

Interesting Rorschach test: do you think Biden’s two minute rambling monologue about how technology changes society is an appropriate response to a question about why he kept a memo here? bsky.app/profile/katz...

Who could have predicted that UATX would turn out to be a right-wing echo chamber rather than a bastion of liberal heterodoxy? quillette.com/2025/05/16/i...

I was on CBC Radio in Fredericton this morning discussing my recent experiences with the border. Spoiler [and I'm shocked to report this]: they aired my reference to "Israel's genocidal campaign in Gaza." www.cbc.ca/listen/live-...

NPR has identified three Trump administration officials with close ties to antisemitic extremists, including a prominent Holocaust denier.