Looking for reading recs on the sociology/political economy of college football. (Went to the Alabama/LSU game this weekend; marveling at how much the university feels like a professional football team with academics attached. The stadium & tailgate setup is bigger/better than a lot of NFL teams)

#polisky doctoral candidates: $10,000 for dissertation research, due December 1 www.horowitz-foundation.org/apply

my hometown 🥲

“It has been complete cowardice on the part of industry,” [Vecchione] said. “What about an alternate world where all the importers — all the Amazons, all the Walmarts, all the Targets — what if they had all said, ‘No, we’re not going to take this.’”

Previously I was hesitant to describe what I study (corporate lobbying) as corruption because I saw influence & capture happening through imperfect but valid processes of democratic engagement & expert consultation. Now it is very clear we are talking about corruption. apnews.com/article/whit...

Job market candidates right now

Went back to interviews from 6-7 years ago and it's really nice to notice how my interviewing skills have improved- knowing when to let people ramble, when to chime in, what to probe, when to let silence sit. It's making me want finish writing up this project and get back into the field...

This will be an interdisciplinary event: we're interested not just in Smith and his works, but the broader context of his time (abolition struggles! revolutions from Haiti to France!) and the state of his themes (labor, trade, finance, etc.) in the world today. If you work on *any* of these, apply!

We now have multiple visualizations of this phenomenon from various news organizations. Which one is the best?

Looking forward to digging into this report. In particular, glad that Chapter 2 speaks directly to the need to think more carefully about diversifying the policy workforce - with people from different class & education backgrounds, career paths, professional communities, etc.

Finding myself unexpectedly upset about this, not because of any attachment to the east wing but because this is such a clear encapsulation of so much that is wrong right now… an unaccountable president, destruction of federal government resources, pay-to-play corruption…

Call this what it is: rank corruption. Major corporations funding a president's vanity project is a textbook model for pay-to-play. Why else would tech giants, crypto firms, and defense contractors care about a 90,000 sq ft ballroom?

Here are some data to drive this point home in sociology. Over the last 10 years we saw a decline from 333 to 200 asst prof jobs posted to the ASA job board - and that's until 2024, which was widely seen as a better market year than 2025

"The new dynamic has transformed the business of Washington influence... With Congress and agencies often sidelined, outside lobbying firms and in-house specialists — many with decades of policy experience and cross-party relationships — are declining in importance. www.politico.com/news/2025/10...

Yes, quid pro quos have always happened, some more explicitly than others. But there was also a general agreement that you couldn't do it openly, and because politicals weren't going to get involved in every issue, you had to also win over the bureaucrats & policy community to back your interests up

Seeing this issue more broadly across elite politics, as rule of law declines: why go through the trouble of building expertise, credentials, skills, social capital, etc. to make yourself more legitimate, when you can just bribe the government?

The deadline to submit abstracts for our mini-conference has been extended to October 31!! And don't forget to save the date for our symposium on March 5 at the JHU DC center, with an all-star lineup!

“The question of who gets to live as long as they should isn’t moral but systemic. We often say that death is the great unifier as it’s the one thing that we all have in common. But sometimes, I look around and wonder if even the after-life is segregated.”

NEW: From the wholesale gutting of federal agencies to the ongoing government shutdown, Russ Vought has drawn the road map for Trump’s second term. Vought has consolidated power to an extent that insiders say they feel like “he is the commander in chief.” @andykroll.bsky.social w/ @newyorker.com

Cannot overstate how great this postdoc is - not only for the time and resources you get to do your own work, but also the amazing colleagues and support. Apply!!

D’Angelo, the neo-soul trailblazer and modern visionary whose three albums were all heralded as classic works of art, has died at age 51. Access the free article here: www.rollingstone.com/music/music-...

Sociologists, political scientists, other scholars & practitioners of US politics - submit a proposal to our People-Ing Politics conference as part of the Eastern Sociological Society's conference in DC this March 5 - 8th. Apply by 10/15 (unless they extend) & please share - ess2026.exordo.com/login

Calling political sociologists and political scientists! Submissions are open for the 2nd People-ing Politics Mini-Conference at ESS! This year's theme is "Bringing the People Back In." To submit a paper, please use the ESS conference portal and be sure to choose our mini-conference. www.essnet.org

Hahrie is such an inspiring and brilliant scholar, and I’m so glad she’s getting this well-deserved recognition! (That’s my boss y’all!!!)

Six of the nine Nobel Prize winners this year work in the U.S. Three of the six were born outside the U.S., which is the pattern most years. No country has benefited more from welcoming immigrants from around the world. www.nobelprize.org

JHU has so many buildings named Bloomberg that I have to actually send people street addresses and dropped pins to specify which location I mean

Like many others, I've been feeling a lot of whiplash lately as I try to write about interest groups, policymaking, and democracy, so this is a welcome reminder to look forward and think about what's needed ahead.

I’m starting to notice a trend in the polling data… —Top Public Worry: Corruption —Biggest problem in Fed Gov: Corruption —Top fear: Corruption —What one word would you use to describe American government?: “Corrupt” It’s almost like voters are trying to tell us something.

IMO, when it comes to "who is a liberal," rather than judging people by what they say or intend, we should be looking at the real, knowable effects and functions of their actions. Through that lens it is hard to argue that certain SC justices or policymakers are continuing the liberal tradition.

HOLY SHIT GO BIRDS 🦅 🏈

As I argued earlier this year, businesses have become increasingly incapable of working collectively towards their economic and political interests. Their silence and willingness to cave to the administration will hurt the economy, the rule of law, and democracy. www.promarket.org/2025/05/09/t...

Calling political sociologists and political scientists! Submissions are open for the 2nd People-ing Politics Mini-Conference at ESS! This year's theme is "Bringing the People Back In." To submit a paper, please use the ESS conference portal and be sure to choose our mini-conference. www.essnet.org

Texas A&M’s President just removed a dean and department head from their positions after they supported a professor whose lesson on gender was challenged by a student. www.kbtx.com/2025/09/09/a...

Very excited to share my new paper in Socius, "Unicorns and Hacks": Revolving Door Lobbyists and the Cultivation of Political Credibility ! And it's open access!! Many thanks to my respondents, research assistants, and colleagues for making this paper possible. journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

TIL that a sentence like "I'm done the book" is not actually standard English. My husband insisted it sounds wrong and no one says that, but I've said it all my life and it sounds correct to me. Being a nerd, I looked into it, and alas, it is a Philly-ism: ygdp.yale.edu/phenomena/do...

It’s mega-fucked that SEPTA has to be bailed out by a betting app: defector.com/its-mega-fuc...

NFL ads: YOU HUNGRY. You order. We make food. You eat food. YUM. US Open ads: You deserve the finest in life. Here is our AI-powered wealth management system for you and your beneficiaries to have peace of mind as you enjoy our exclusive lounges and concierge services on sinking tropical islands

🦄 Who gets heard in Washington? Dr. @wendyyli.bsky.social (from @jhu.edu)'s #Socius study unpacks how revolving-door #Lobbyists cultivate #PoliticalCredibility through claims to #Expertise & #InsiderKnowledge. Read: doi.org/10.1177/2378...

Very excited to share my new paper in Socius, "Unicorns and Hacks": Revolving Door Lobbyists and the Cultivation of Political Credibility ! And it's open access!! Many thanks to my respondents, research assistants, and colleagues for making this paper possible. journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

"Smith’s free trade is not freedom from tariffs; it’s freedom from monopolists." Highly recommend this piece by Beth Baltzan on re-visiting Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations.

any historians (legal or otherwise) in the DC area want to be a special guest in one of my sessions for this? politics.georgetown.edu/2025/08/21/m...

Very ironic that despite billions of dollars flowing from this name at my university, our library does not provide access to Bloomberg News.

We try to clarify what happened in D.C. this week, what we can expect in the future, and what this all means for the residents who call D.C. home. There's a lot we don't know, but we'll continue following this story in the days and weeks to come. 51st.news/trump-dc-mpd...

So much fun at the political soc “People-ing Politics” riverboat reception last night along the Chicago River! Thanks to @blackcapitol.bsky.social @daniellaurison.bsky.social & @wendyyli.bsky.social for organizing! #ASA2025 #Sociology #AcademicSky @fisherdanar.bsky.social @michaelrosino.bsky.social

BREAKING: After the Jan. 6 insurrection, nearly 250 companies pledged to no longer donate to lawmakers who voted against certifying the 2020 election. But over 2,000 corporate and industry group PACs have donated over $174 million since then.

Very excited to share that my article, "Unicorns and Hacks": Revolving Door Lobbyists and the Cultivation of Political Credibility, was just accepted at Socius! Will share when it gets published, but for now, a bit of BTS:

We're hiring! Please share with your networks! The Department of Sociology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison invites applications for a tenure-track position at the rank of assistant professor in the field of demography of health and aging beginning in August 2026 jobs.wisc.edu/jobs/assista...

NPR's Gaza producer faced Israeli military fire, private U.S. contractors pointing laser beams at his forehead and masked thieves as he tried to get food from a U.S.-supported group. By Anas Baba

Heading to SASE in Montreal later this week. Excited to be a part of the mini-conference on elites once again. Please reach out if you'll be there and want to meet up!

One of the most honest things a super PAC donor has ever said