List three things you can talk about for 3 hours with no prep: 1. The history of the book 2. Fairies in classical and medieval literature 3. Ontological presence and absence in language (but like, probably confusingly)

Thesis: The male loneliness crisis discourse is cursed bc it’s an example of there being no outside the text. Men may be lonely in a unique way, but it’s because of brutality of patriarchy, and discussing it on its own also reinscribes patriarchy by treating male loneliness as uniquely significant.

I participated in a @nytopinion.nytimes.com @nytimes.com roundtable and they asked me what a better world for #ActuallyAutistic people would look like if Trump and RFK Jr. didn't focus so much on Tylenol or vaccines. This was my honest-to-God response. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/23/o...

Sharing these posts not to make anybody’s admin look bad but bc @miriamposner.com is absolutely correct that it’s VITAL to know where the power came from that got this funding back: Faculty. Organizing.

There was a rumor going around that at least some UC scientists were ready to lop off the humanities and social sciences in the misconceived idea that this would allow them to “get back to work.” We want to make sure everyone knows who made this lawsuit happen.

People think of faculty as doddering and inept and, look, I’m not going to argue that I can always find my keys. But there are a lot of us, my colleagues are smart AF, and we actually *believe in the university*.

(UC Faculty Association + AAUP + a coalition of unions, to be clear!!)

To read the university’s triumphant all-campus email about restored NIH funding, you’d think UC administrators made it happen. But that’s not true. In fact the UC *Faculty Association* organized the lawsuit; administrators kept their heads down and hoped it’d go away.

It sucks the way the humanities are being eroded & labeled unimportant. For every rant against a “new identity,” there is an ancient poem or painting or song or or or that tells us there is nothing new under the sun

This made me laugh extra hard today

Im begging the NYT to spend time talking to people who actually teach and work at universities. Especially ones that don't have billion dollar endowments. My issues are AI use, crumbling infrastructure, vanishing staff, unfunded state mandates, a customer service model of education...

The dragon from the 1958 Mugnaini-illustrated edition of 'Beowulf'. #BookologyThursday #dragon #monster #folklore #legend

Is this a trick question?

This is what Parks & Rec got so indelibly right in a way that has aged like fine wine

Yeah, I'm a tough guy, I'm not afraid of much except escalators

CHOTINER: So let’s consider your cat Joffrey. SMART: For he is the servant of the Living God duly and daily serving him! IC: And he does that by- S: Wreathing his body 7 times round. IC: Sure. S: For he looks on his forepaws to see if they are clean. S: OK, but- CS: FOR HE SHARPENS HIS PAWS BY WOOD.

My students always want to say Grendel wasn’t really a monster, which I can’t really endorse, but I am much more at home to the idea that Grendel’s mother did little to nothing wrong.

I want to go back, out of the bad stories, John Ashbery

Having now finished ADOLESCENCE, I still think it’s pretty flawed, but something it does manage in its best moments is capturing how narrowly humans can teeter between violence and warmth and how this is very heightened right now because of computer.

Also gonna note that this is a student newspaper. Once again doing the work that the big guys ought to.

When you have an administration that so constantly, shamelessly, openly lies, pretty soon there’s no faith in any information streams coming from the administration, so there’s no way to convey true information in a way that lands right, which leads to more chaos.

OK also regardless of where you place this on the L-R spectrum, can we PLEASE stop acting as if this kind of posture isn’t a politics? This is a politics! Just bc it’s bad politics doesn’t make it not politics. bsky.app/profile/mehd...

A feed of all the Chotiner memes!

I actually think it's off base for the descriptor of these angry young white men who think violence is cool and/or funny to be "non-political." They are making rape jokes and saying racist things and wanting to sow chaos. That's literally the Alex Jones, Steve Bannon playbook.

CHOTINER: I want to go back to this late night phone call. SWIFT: Yes, it was very important that his mama didn't know. CHOTINER: But you say he was talking real slow. Shouldn't he have been talking low, as in quietly? SWIFT: Well I— CHOTINER: On another topic, do vigilantes usually call the FBI?

Strongly agree with @clbergpowers.bsky.social that this IS a description of a right-wing shooter

CHOTINER: And you didn’t know this person - what did you call him again? CELEBRIMBOR GREATEST OF THE ELVEN SMITHS: Right, his name was Annatar but CHOTINER: And you taught him to create a ring harnessing all his malice and cruelty? CELEBRIMBOR: Well I mean I was deceived CHOTINER: So you’ve said

Me: Nobody ever talks about the times I handled the crickets responsibly. Chotiner: Have there been any other incidents? Me: Not really. It's actually not as easy as you think, you know. Chotiner: Keeping the crickets in the box? Me: Yeah. Chotiner: What did you mean by "not really"?

I remain extremely concerned about the fact that 2/3 of the men from “alligator Alcatraz” are missing amp.miamiherald.com/news/local/i...

BREAKING: A federal judge has ordered the University of South Dakota to reinstate a professor who posted criticism of Charlie Kirk on his Facebook page the day of the shooting, finding the action likely violated the First Amendment. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

CHOTINER: And when was that? MY CAT: I mean at least 14 hours ago CHOTINER: Well hold on. You're telling me you haven't been fed at all today but if I look in your bowl here I see a- MY CAT: An untouched serving, I know, but if you'd let me finish- CHOTINER: Yeah, of course.

CHOTINER: So you’ve become very famous for hating fish AHAB: One fish in particular CHOTINER: Yes, I see that, and, in this case the fish is actually a whale AHAB: I’m not sure I see what you’re getting at

“This one has everything—war, pestilence, famine, and jorts.”

I get that the news cycle is packed right now, but I just heard from a colleague at the Smithsonian that this is fully a GIANT SQUID BEING EATEN BY A SPERM WHALE and it’s possibly the first ever confirmed video according to a friend at NOAA 10 YEAR OLD ME IS LOSING HER MIND (a thread 🧵)

I do enjoy getting to talk about Grendel’s mother and her super cool mere, which I got to do today

Bunch of diving, playacting soccer players if you ask me; only not attractive or good at anything

Are you a humanities faculty member who has worked with your campus government realtions office? If so, let me know--I could use you on a panel at #mla26

There’s a joke in here about my dinner with Andre somehow but I can’t quite seem to find it

Breaking: it’s good to double down on your brand

My latest column for the Chronicle of Higher Ed is now live. It's an argument for including AI-critical voices in campus conversations and policymaking workgroups, and I'm proud to get this dissenting piece into the mainstream genAI/higher ed discourse. Please read and share if you're so inclined 🙂

CHOTINER: So You created us right GOD: Yes CHOTINER: In Your image GOD: Yes CHOTINER: And sometimes we do bad things GOD: Oh Yes CHOTINER: And then you send plagues and floods GOD: OK I think I see where you are going with this

"Our problems stem from our acceptance of this filthy, rotten system." - Dorothy Day

Conference announcement/call for papers! You’ll note that there’s no theme beyond “new research on apocryphal Christian literature.” We truly just want to hear about whatever interests you most in apocryphal Christian literature right now. More info here: www.nasscal.com/meetings/

White nationalist livestreamer Nick Fuentes has never been more popular, and he has a plan in place to leverage that popularity to infiltrate all aspects of US society to spread his racist, antisemitic worldview. And it's already happening... www.wired.com/story/nick-f...

Why don't we know the names of these despicable thugs? www.bostonglobe.com/2025/09/23/m...

The book of Revelation:

Similar energy?

There’s a very specific moment every evening when the kitten switches from sweet and cuddly to tiny ginger monster. Usually 9:32.

Lmaooooooo

I think Chotiner could interview me and I would come out of it well, we'd be friends by the end actually