Regarding the Meta AI product demo fail, I have a food question about the setup. Is a Korean inspired sauce to put on a steak sandwich even a good idea? (Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy Korean flavors.) But wouldn’t it make more sense to have marinated the beef and cooked it with the sauce?

If Mike Myers ever comes back to SNL, there’s an update for the “Coffee Talk” when the host is feeling verklempt. “AI psychosis is neither artificial intelligence nor psychosis. Discuss.”

LSE's Department of Methodogy is searching for an Assistant Professor in Computational Social Science. Applicants from across the social sciences are very welcome! Please reach out if you would like any more details.

I see the world did not magically get better while I was on a plane for 8 hours. It seemed to even get slightly worse.

Of course it was intentional! Russia is always testing NATO defenses.

Additional levels of bureaucracy are the solution to the UK higher ed funding crisis! Rejoice!

Delighted to say I'm chairing a section at ECPG 2026 with @jess-smith.bsky.social @rosieshorrocks.bsky.social @gefjonoff.bsky.social and @liranharsgor.bsky.social on Elections, Parties, and Voters! Please send your abstracts in - full info here: ecpr.eu/Events/Event... @ecprgender.bsky.social

Slightly diminish a book The Sound and the Furry

Slightly diminish a book The Da Vinci Cod

Whoa, I didn’t see that coming at all. (Football post, political doomscrollers can skip this.)

For UK higher education bureaucracy aficionados, the latest REF2029 “guidance” is available. 2029.ref.ac.uk/news/pause-t...

The power of simple kindness never ceases to amaze me. (How’d it get so dusty in here all of a sudden or is somebody chopping onions?)

I’m really looking forward to the Xavi Simons “how to pronounce my name” video/clip. I hear at least four different pronunciations and all seem credible. I think at least one more surprise incoming for Spurs today, which is more deadline day fan frenzy rather than any insight or ITK gossip.

Yesterday, I had a paper come out at Science Advances that I’m really proud. Today I’m headed to London with my kids. One is seeing West End show and the other is going to a Spurs game with me. There are not many consecutive days as nice as this. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

New study by @brendannyhan.bsky.social, @jasonreifler.bsky.social & colleagues demonstrates that prebunking election fraud rumors — by warning about anticipated false claims & filling conceptual gaps that those claims exploit — helps to reduce belief in falsehoods: www.science.org/content/arti...

I’m not a tactico tape watcher, but from FBref profiles any 2+ on this list is decent transfer business: Akliouche, El Khannouss, Hincapie, Savinho, Schmid, Stiller. Those cover a range of positions on pitch, but common denom is good ball progression (mostly via passing, which Spurs lack).

Of course this is all moot if you don’t actually sign the player. But the need for a high quality 10 remains. Maybe El Khannouss from Leicester or Akliouche from Monaco (or maybe both!).

Another way to think about it — what would be a reasonable amount to pay for a one year loan fee for a PL proven attacking midfielder in their prime (given Spurs situation of their 2 most natural 10s being out with medium to long term injuries)?

Here’s my PL guess: 1. Arsenal 2. Liverpool 3. Chelsea 4. Man City 5. Newcastle 6. Spurs (assumes high quality incoming 10) 7. Villa 8. Brighton 9. Fulham 10. Palace 11. Man United 12. Forest 13. Bournemouth 14. West Ham 15. Everton 16. Leeds 17. Brentford 18. Wolves 19. Sunderland 20. Burnley

It makes me sick to wake up to news that a Spurs player is receiving abuse. It literally makes me feel like I’m going to throw up that some of this abuse is racial. I know this won’t reach the people who did it, and likely wouldn’t change behavior even if it did. But still needs to be condemned.

I liked 2-0 better than 2-2. PKs next. COYS!

Very bad. Also, does last sentence mean you can be hired without a college degree or that you can’t be hired with a college degree? Typical usage clearly is former, but so much is atypical these days.

Really important work!

Just out at @polbehavior.bsky.social w/Carey Stapleton: Voting by mail has the upside of boosting correct voting. When people vote by mail rather than in-person, they are more likely to choose the presidential candidate best aligned with their preferences. link.springer.com/article/10.1...

Ryan Carlin and I are scheduling Elections and Voting Behavior sec for APSA and need discussants for 2 panels: "Supporting the Extreme Right in Europe" Fri Sep 12 8:00-9:30 "Life Happens: How Personal Difficulties Shapes Voter Turnout" Sun Sep 14 10:00-11:30 Let us know if you can help! Thanks!

My disposition makes me uncomfortable asking but, for grant application purposes, if you have (a) put any publication of mine in a reading list or (b) have cited it substantively in your own work, can you DM me? Thanks!!

*JOB* join us at @gesis.org to work on new approaches for making data from online platforms usable for (computational) social science. Feel free to reach out to @sebstier.bsky.social or me for details about this position.

Of course this is very bad. But also, the specific wording of the agreement seems like future enrolling cohorts could have larger shares of international students (when I assume the administration wants smaller and possibly zero).

The Lord of the Rings movies are terrible.

I love football! The highs, the lows, the joy, the heartache!

How does this not add fuel to the fire? I don’t understand. www.nytimes.com/live/2025/07...

Tickets for Spurs home games against Bournemouth and Wolves (both with my daughter!!!) secured! Great start to the week.

Happy England won. Sad for Sweden. They put in quite a shift. Strangest PKs I’ve ever seen.

Given size of its fan base, strongly suggests West Ham is literally punching above their weight.

UK: 16 year olds must specialize their education in ways have life long consequences Also UK: 16 year olds probably should not have a say in which party controls government for the next 5 years

100% this is my recurring stress dream!

Football thought — the same demonstrably active owner considering legal proceedings against Spurs (and maybe his own player in MGW) for possible technical contract violations maybe was not always in complete compliance with the terms of a blind trust. I bet CPFC would be interested in knowing more.

I notice I've had a bunch of new followers last couple of days, so thanks and also what you can expect from me:

We're hiring! academicjobsonline.org/ajo/jobs/30219 The Cornell Department of Communication is hiring an Assistant Professor in Science, Environment, and Risk Communication! Applications received by September 15, 2025, will be given full consideration.

MIT Political Science is hiring this fall, with junior lines in both American Politics (members.apsanet.org/CAREERS/eJob...) and IR. Please share widely!

Today I learned that “This is because animals on the railway” is one of the prerecorded announcements to explain delays at British rail stations.

Ok, hear me out: A Dr Strangelove reboot populated with various grifter crypto tech bros called “Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love AI.” Call me, Hollywood.

Our “most flavorless cheese” is a weird flex, but people like what they like.

I think Elon Musk gets away with a lot of illegal stuff. Even with that as a backdrop, I’m reasonably confident he won’t get away with breaking Duverger’s law.

Here's a scatterplot of the percentage of minutes played by best XI (Xipct) and the expected points (xp) for Spurs last season (PL matches only). You will be shocked to learn there is a very strong correlation -- the more minutes played by their best players, the better they do in xP.

I guess Spurs won’t wear the away kit at home. (Don’t forget to follow for other spicy takes!) That said, taking the field in that beautiful kit with AC/DC “Back in Black” blaring on the PA would be quite a scene.

Is this a good use of generative AI? No. But also, yes.

Other than that, Mrs Lincoln, how was the play?

Cons: This is insane rambling that means nothing. Pros: Maybe Internet weightlifting discussion boards of the world will finally know how many days are in a week.

As early-career colleagues start thinking about autumn job applications, I wrote a piece describing my post-PhD path. Reflecting on "project," "person," and "place" with mentors helped me immensely, so I hope this note pays it forward somehow. www.wlallen.com/wp-content/u...