#polisky the absolute decimation of the social sciences cc @professormusgrave.bsky.social @mcopelov.bsky.social

I am excited about this new paper, Negativity & Misinformation, just out with @cbwlezien.bsky.social in @polcommjournal.bsky.social: "durable biases in information processing, by media organizations and humans more generally, can produce misinformation and misperceptions..." doi.org/10.1080/1058...

LFG 🦫🇨🇦🍁

Attendance is free, and our speakers are generously donating their time and energy. But if you want to help us do more events like this, consider donating to Pulaski's 2026 fundraiser: www.zeffy.com/en-US/donati...

straight up Gestapo shit

This incident alone would have triggered hearings and probably a senior-level resignation in another administration.

Our BPP paper on government shutdowns, need for chaos, and prospect theory (w/ Erin Fitz, @stecula.bsky.social, Matt Hitt, and me). Here's the abstract and link for "Mindset to Gain? Framing Effects, Need for Chaos, and the Limits of 'Burning It All Down'." www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

Stephen Miller is an evil ghoul

If you like the writing I do, know that the same spirit and analysis animates my org. We think we’ve got a lot to offer in the fight for democracy. Please consider supporting us today.

2026 is the year we level up The Pulaski Institution in our mission to promote democracy in the heartlands. I’m so proud of what we’ve done so far on an almost non-existent budget, and I know we have a unique vision that is more relevant than ever. Won’t you join us? www.zeffy.com/en-US/donati...

On Jan. 5, Acting Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Jim O’Neill signed a memorandum that reduced the number of diseases targeted in the childhood vaccine schedule for all children to 11, just one more than Denmark's schedule.

Canadians are justifiably worried. I wrote about the need for Americans to stand up for the US-Canada friendship, but people simply don't care or don't take it seriously. We do so at our peril. www.usnews.com/opinion/arti...

If there is a label we can put on Trump its that he's a mercantilist

There was simply no way to predict that the guy who renamed the Department of Defense the Department of War will start a war

The dream of back to back FIFA Peace Prizes is fading away

Unfortunately, now is the time to circle back

Pure, unmitigated hate.

George Will: "Pete Hegseth seems to be a war criminal. Without a war. An interesting achievement. ... The killing of the survivors by this moral slum of an administration should nauseate Americans. A nation incapable of shame is dangerous, not least to itself" www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...

Oh please just fuck off

Postdoctoral Researcher Positions!

Republicans increasingly oppose requiring healthy kids to get MMR vaccines to attend public schools 2016 19% 2019 20% 2023 42% 2025 47% www.pewresearch.org/science/2025... 🧪

More than twice as many Republicans report getting news regularly from the Joe Rogan Experience podcast than from Tucker Carlson. Also more Republicans get news on JRE than on Newsmax, Daily Wire, or Breitbart

Very happy to see this out!

new paper by Sean Westwood: With current technology, it is impossible to tell whether survey respondents are real or bots. Among other things, makes it easy for bad actors to manipulate outcomes. No good news here for the future of online-based survey research

Just when you think we've reached the absolute bottom, Donald Trump shows up with a shovel

Seems like a fantastic opportunity and you get to be Jacob's colleague, which is pretty cool as well.

I just ran a survey (with @stecula.bsky.social and Alex Rivard) and we found that people have no idea what housing prices are like in their community. People simultaneously underestimate what homes cost in their metros and think that where they live is much more expensive than the rest of the US.

Call me old fashioned, but I think freedom of speech is good, ackschually, and we shouldn't be jailing people for posting memes. Glad that to see the GOP commitment to free speech was full fledged and unwavering and not at all cynical political theater. www.newschannel5.com/news/newscha...

Our universities are truly a US superpower. Most states have at least one world class research university that is an engine of the local economy and a magnet for top talent from all over the world. Policies like this are not like stepping on a rake, its like blowing your own head off with a cannon.

in case you missed it when I posted the preprint on acceptance, here's the more aesthetically pleasing, actually formatted (and unfortunately timely) article for your reading pleasure! (cc: Fitz, @stecula.bsky.social, @matthewhitt.bsky.social): www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

Old enough to remember when scenes like this would have been unthinkable in America. (It was 9 months ago)

ICE is not only chasing down every random brown person in Chicago, they have a cameraman following them to film this for social media. Cruelty and inhumanity as content.

Not happening somewhere else. Here. In America. Right now.

Just lost a paper after an R&R. One reviewer said accept. The other said “At the risk of frustrating the authors, however, I’m afraid the paper is still pretty badly written.” The latter comment, a constructive, intellectual feast of a comment, prevailed. Editor rejected it. Peer review is a joke.

Throwback Thursday! Let’s take a moment to look back at the 2025 Political Communication APSA Preconference! The many smiling faces in the selection of pictures show just how amazing the preconference was. You can find more pictures at this link: shorturl.at/EJj3v

New (very timely!) paper with Erin Fitz, @stecula.bsky.social, @matthewhitt.bsky.social & myself, accepted at Behavioural Public Policy entitled "Mindset to Gain? Framing Effects, Need for Chaos, and the Limits of 'Burning It All Down'"--a thread and a link: osf.io/preprints/ps...

Trump is launching a full blown attack on free speech while his harem of billionaires buys up every media platform. This is no coincidence. It’s a coordinated attack on your fundamental right to speak freely without worrying if you’ll lose your job or worse.

APSA in Vancouver was a blast, so great to see old friends. See you all next year in Boston.

Today's ACIP meeting may use VAERS data to make false claims about vaccine injury. To help sort out what's true from what's false, @stecula.bsky.social and I updated an explainer we wrote several years ago for @us.theconversation.com. theconversation.com/vaccine-deat...

What are we doing here, @nytimes.com? You were obviously not built for covering authoritarianism.

New job ad: Assistant Professor of Quantitative Social Science, Dartmouth College apply.interfolio.com/172357 Please share with your networks. I am the search chair and happy to answer questions!

Will is fantastic and you should hire him immediately

Interested in doing a postdoc with me & @dgrand.bsky.social? Consider applying to Cornell's Klarman Fellowship: as.cornell.edu/research/kla... It involves a competitive internal application process, but it's 3 years of funding @$80k/year Please email me/Dave if you're interested! Oct 15th deadline

Consider the stark contrast between how Trump and Vance treated Zelensky and Putin. American soldiers, on their knees, rolling the red carpet before war criminal Putin. A shameful day.

Few Americans actively support the Trump admin's attacks on higher ed. But, our data show that many seem to have no problem with it. @stecula.bsky.social ‬and I discuss why Americans should *demand* that our elected officials stand up for higher ed. www.scientificamerican.com/article/atta...

🚨🚨 Only a few days left to submit a paper for the Political Communication Preconference at APSA! 🚨🚨 @ashleymuddiman.bsky.social @stecula.bsky.social and I are looking forward to your submissions! DEADLINE: May 25th, 11.59pm PDT (GMT-7). CFP here: u.osu.edu/apsa2025/

3 more days! Get your applications in and share widely!

new working paper (reposted with fixed/public link): osf.io/gbkn5