Academic freedom and democracy go hand in hand. The Trump “Loyalty Oath” Compact threatens both. UC must lead with integrity, not ideology—standing for inquiry, truth, and independence. Sign and share! actionnetwork.org/petitions/9c... #UCChooseIntegrity #DefendDemocracy #RejectTheCompact

teaching #OOTD 🌟

Universities attempting to stay out of the Trump admin's line of fire by being silent and doing nothing publicly to support faculty, staff, and students are going to find themselves with no faculty, staff, or students. Might as well grow a spine.

teaching #OOTD

👀 New Substack post is up! I’ve been deep in re-reading my book manuscript (And How Does That Make You Feel? Theratainment and the Digital Commodification of Mental Health, UC Press, 2027). This week I’m sharing a peek at Chapter 1: Out of Network, Into the Algorithm.

✨ in honor of seeing one of my all-time faves, ani difranco, this week, i couldn’t resist bringing her into the classroom. ✨

Super pumped to share that I’m now a Research Affiliate in Dr. Kishonna Gray’s @kishonna.bsky.social brilliant Intersectional Tech Lab at the University of Michigan’s School of Information! 💻✨

As many of us people who study or work in tech tried to tell y’all, move fast & break things was always about POWER, not progress.

In many places in America, it's easier to buy a gun than it is to adopt a cat from a shelter.

✨ teaching OOTD ✨ first week back. i am honored to be featured in UC Blue Ash News Notes this week, and even more excited to be in the classroom teaching intro to comm studies and media literacy.

today was my first day of year 14 teaching 🖤 with everything going on federally and here in ohio with sb1, it feels really difficult to show up. but i’m grounding myself in community and care, and doing the best i can for my students and those around me.

New semester, new experiment ✨ After 14 years of teaching, I’ve redesigned my courses around what I’m calling the Reflect & Act Model: Mondays = reading & reflection, Wednesdays = action & application.

Excited to share that I got to chat with @nbcnews.com about the rise of man-on-the-street interviews and their transformation into a popular social media trend. The segment went live this summer—check it out here:

great new blog post from the brilliant @krystenstein.bsky.social (and a sneak peak about our autoethnographic project about disability and academic labour! 👀)

I’ve been under the weather this week (10/10 do not recommend), which left me thinking a lot about illness, access, and what it means to “show up” in spaces that were never built with all bodies and minds in mind.

The University of California system is publicly mobilizing against federal attacks. That’s historic. It's time for ALL of us in US #highered to act. Join our movement at standtogetherhighered.org. #academicsky #highered #standtogether 🔗 universityofcalifornia.edu/get-involved/stand-up-for-uc

✨ New on Glitter Drop — my weekly mix of media moods, cultural crumbs, and whatever made me feel something. This week: 📚 On reading Normal People aloud (and why the TV adaptation might actually win) 🧠 TherapyTok, “theratainment,” and Illinois’ bold move to ban AI therapists

Just published a new Substack essay I’ve been dreaming about for ages: “The Bondi Blue That Launched a Thousand Clicks” On Y2K technofemme aesthetics, girlhood, digital design, and the pastel gadgets that shaped our emotional relationships with tech. It’s soft, critical, nostalgic, and sparkly. ✨

I’ve been having a few too many conversations like this. Them: Hi Kate, how are things with your work, with the world? Me: the university is under attack, democratic norms being broken in half, so, pretty bad. Them: But everything is going to come back and be okay after the midterms. Me: Uhh, no.

mood

Just launched my new newsletter: Glitter Against the Machine ✨ It’s cute tech, hard truths, pop culture deep dives, TherapyTok takes, and yes… cat pics. Subscribe here → open.substack.com/pub/glittera...

It's syllabus season, so here's a revised version of my undergrad-level Gender & the Media course! We're covering feminist media theory, popular representations, consumer culture... pretty much a dream syllabus. Feel free to share widely! ✨ docs.google.com/document/d/1...

a very cool data viz from a talk I gave last week at McMaster University! thanks to Melanie Parlette-Stewart for bringing my presentation to life. ✨recorded lecture coming soon...

Nothing good will come from this decision. There are so many Americans that RELY on public media to not only keep them informed, but to keep them safe. Rural Americans will be hit the hardest by this. The same base that this administration pretends to care about. Sickening decisions all about.

she got me through the dissertation, so it’s only fitting she’s curled up next to me as i write this book. my forever writing buddy. love my grl 😻📚🖊️ #AcademicCat #WritingWithCats #BookInProgress

You can now pre-order my book *Making the Liberal Media* on Amazon! Hate Amazon? Tell your local bookstore you'd like to order a copy. It goes on sale Nov. 18. www.amazon.com/Making-Liber...

reposting because i am going to start writing tomorrow!!!!

So many great panels at @cp25atlanta.bsky.social this weekend but one of my favourites has to be the one this morning featuring amazing papers from @kmsweeneyromero.bsky.social , @krystenstein.bsky.social , Angel Trazo and Stephanie Pérez - Wow wow thank you all so much 💖📺

An update from Feminist Media Studies! Hi everyone — I’m Dr. Krysten Stein (she/her), and I’ve had the joy of serving as the Social Media Editor for Feminist Media Studies since 2022. I’m thrilled to continue in this role as we grow our presence on BlueSky!

You want to talk about dangerous ideologies? Start with white Christian nationalism. The most violent movements in American history have all wrapped themselves in God, guns, and the flag.

Tariffs. Stock market down. Medicaid slashed Secret police throwing anyone who looks Latino in unmarked vans. National guard and marines deployed in LA. No end to the wars in Gaza or Ukraine Bombing Iran This is the worst first six months of any presidential term in my lifetime.

I am begging people not to look to the NYT for coverage of what's happening. The BBC, Le Monde, Ajazeera and others will have more truthful coverage.

it’s even more demoralizing when the history you’re repeating is history you were around for the first time

yes i am sure

You will ask yourself—does anything matter? You will wonder if the protests mean anything, if resistance means anything. It does. They do. I know how it feels, but don’t give up. It took a decade to oust Nazis. Many, many decades to end slavery. Resistance is long and difficult. But it is the way.

Just to be crystal clear: bombing Iran is completely illegal.

Journal metrics update! We’re thrilled to share that Feminist Media Studies has achieved a 2023 Impact Factor of 1.6 and a 2024 Impact Factor of 1.7!

Elon saying he’s going to reprogram his chatbot’s view of history is a perfect example of why these kinds of AI products aren’t the neutral “tools” people always defend them as. They’re little political projects reflecting the ideologies of their creators

🎓⚰️ Calling all in Cincinnati: Join us for a Funeral for Academic Freedom ⚰️🎓 On June 24 at 8:00 AM, we’ll gather outside the UC Board of Trustees meeting to mourn what SB1 has killed and stand united for higher ed and academic freedom.

#ICA25 dump 2 💥 Even when senior male scholars act wildly inappropriate, we band together and care for one another. A necessary reminder: associations and institutions will never save us—but community will.

I hope when male senior scholars - and their romantic partners - bully junior faculty and PhD students, they realize everyone is pointing and laughing at them as examples of everything wrong with academia.

come chat with us about communication research today! our presentation focuses on how the label “too descriptive” is often used to delegitimize interpretive, critical, and community-based research in communication studies.

Excited for the incredible Ankolika De to present our work at this year’s FAccT! We call out the “hard to reach” myth for international participants, address IRB’s demands that misalign with participant experiences, & how IRBs don’t understand social media platform specificity @shaheenk.bsky.social

if you’re at #ICA25 in denver, come join us monday at 9am for the (hybrid) theme session: consolidating communication research: theoretical, organizational, and methodological developments

Home from #ICA25, where I’m still basking in the intellectual community emerging from @weareccsn.bsky.social’s #DebatingCreatorCulture precon. Reunited with old friends and mentors, made new ones. During times like these, I couldn’t ask for anything better. 💕✨💕 until next time!

The revolution is full of 60-year-old women who love their trans kids.

All the credit that Tim Walz got as a VP candidate for good stuff that Minnesota has done? Melissa Hortman (and a bunch of other women) led the hard fight to get bills on his desk and make it politically safe for him to sign.

Protesters in Chicago have started chanting in front of Trump Tower for the No Kings Day march. 🍿