If you've ever been curious about how the Mafia helped the CIA in Cuba, how the US government planned to smuggled sea urchin toxin in a dart gun to kill elected African leaders, the real playbook by which the US government tried to tear apart the Civil Rights and anti-war movements--this is for you.

One month until the release of the Church Committee Report! For it's 50th anniversary, published by a major press for the first time and abridged to its most jaw-dropping findings and recommendations the report chronicles the abuses of the FBI, CIA, and Military from the 1950s to the 1970s.

DC area: For the upcoming release of The Church Committee Report from @wwnorton.com, @brianhochman.bsky.social and I are hosting an event on the past/future of civil liberties & unaccountable government with a panel of heavy hitters, Pulitzer prize winners, and a staffer of the Church Committee.

People of DC and beyond: we have a Dream Team lined up for the launch of the Church Committee Report at Georgetown on 1/23. Mark your calendars! @mguariglia.bsky.social @wwnorton.com

Just when you thought the academic job market couldn't get more dystopian: an ad for an opening at . . . ICE.

“Defend the District” protest and Go-Go concert against Trump’s takeover at 14th and U St:

The Church Committee Report is, to date, the most detailed articulation of the government's playbook for disrupting, surveilling, and crushing political movements. It was written in 1975 but could not be more relevant or useful in 2025.

Our edition of The Church Committee Report has a cover. Coming Jan '26. @mguariglia.bsky.social and I both hope its relevance diminishes between now and then.

I don't know, I'm no expert. But now is probably the time for universities in so-called Red States (and also maybe, um, Catholic and Jesuit schools too) to start standing the fuck up.

Once again, I hope this whets your appetite, because @brianhochman.bsky.social and I’s 50th anniversary edition of the Church Committee Report on unlawful and political activity of the CIA/FBI/NSA will published by Norton early next year.

This is gutting news. Sterne was a once-in-a-generation mind. How many careers did his *footnotes* launch, much less books like Audible Past and MP3?

they’ve detained a postdoc here at georgetown https://www.politico.com/news/2025/03/19/trump-deportation-georgetown-graduate-student-00239754

Jesse Helms was the last politician to push for the release of the King recordings, which tells you all you need to know about what this is about. www.nytimes.com/2025/03/19/u...

The CR's effect on DC is a five alarm fire. By treating the DC as a federal agency & compelling the city to return to 2024 spending, Congress is mandating that DC cut its budget--*its own tax dollars*--by almost 20%. None of this $ will be refunded to the fed gov; it was never theirs.

Seems impt to note, aside from the obvious, that the "NO MASKS!" bit openly confirms what activists and scholars have been saying for years: facial recognition technology is widespread and is being used to curtail constitutionally protected rights. (cc: @kashhill.bsky.social)

RIP to the one true king

Harvard Kennedy School is ***salivating*** for a Bannon or Miller. I'd put money on it.

Just FYI *thousands* of federal workers were required to complete a workplace harassment training module this past week. The irony isn't lost on any of them.

Trolling and governance are not the same thing.

An alternative headline could read DOGE SENDS SPAM EMAIL TO FEDERAL WORKERS, MUSK MAKES ILLEGAL THREAT

The first four weeks of this administration have merely consisted of the richest man in the world firing tens of thousands of ordinary workers and hectoring the ones who remain at their jobs.

When this happens (not if) this city is going to explode. www.nytimes.com/2025/02/20/u...

Hilarious that there is a pundit class advocating for the annexation of Canada because Canadians will help liberals in the electoral college. Bro Canadians aren't going to be allowed to vote under US occupation. That is not how empire works.

This. And the DC residents in this equation don't have representation in the government that has chosen to initiate the collapse.

Thousands of people protesting in front of congress right now, event planned well in advance. Not one dem leader here to speak or support.

Dispatch from the nation's capitol: close friend worked for a fed agency for *20 YEARS*, recruited last year to a different agency due to expertise--now fired because they are "probationary." Good plan!

Other agencies are also claiming that existing union agreements are "illegal" and saying that there is no recourse for affected employees. (Ask me how I know...) The crisis of democracy is, among many things, a crisis of labor.

People "on here" love citing statutes when the Supreme Court ruled *SIX MONTHS AGO* that presidents are immune from prosecution for official acts. The law ain't saving us bro.

At least one federal building to which workers were ordered to return has not had potable running water for the last two years. (Ask me how I know.)

Also, I should add: many of the 2 million people whose jobs are at risk live and work in DC, a city where tax-paying residents aren't given the privilege of democratic representation. There is a word we sometimes use to describe this relationship. . .

Send love and support to anyone you know who is a federal worker. They really, really need it. (Ask me how I know...)

Did I mention that it’s a really really good time for @brianhochman.bsky.social and I to be releasing a 50th anniversary edition of the Church Committee Report.

I cannot over emphasize how much fun it was work on this, but also how harrowing it was in our current context. In a time when so many politically-engaged college students feel surveilled, we hope this book can be a bit of catharsis. It’s not in your head and you’re not alone.

EVERYBODY RAISE YOUR DART GUNS: our edition of the Church Committee Report is on the way. Forthcoming Fall 2025. @mguariglia.bsky.social

🚨 JOB 🚨 Assistant Prof. of Black Indigenous Studies -Georgetown BLST/AMST. 10/4 application deadline. Spread the word!

Psyched to announce that THE LISTENERS was awarded the Surveillance Studies Network 2023 Book Prize. Thank you @SurvStudiesNet @SurvSoc_Journal @Harvard_Press--all of whom should get on bsky! www.amazon.com/Listeners-Hi...

Some news: the indefatigable @mguariglia.bsky.social and I are working on a new edition of the Church Committee Report for modern readers, with an afterword by Beverly Gage. Coming your way in October 2025!

We're putting out a 50th anniversary single-volume version of the Church Committee Report on government surveillance, assassinations, and sabotage in the 20th century--and hopefully provide a much-needed (but unfulfilled) blueprint for a new era of transparency and accountability in the IC.

Some news: the indefatigable @mguariglia.bsky.social and I are working on a new edition of the Church Committee Report for modern readers, with an afterword by Beverly Gage. Coming your way in October 2025!

Parents w/ young kids: are your schools requiring virtual learning on snow days?

"we must defeat trump at the ballot box to save democracy" is so fucking stupid. We did! And he fomented an insurrection to overthrow the results. Anyone who actually believed this would be arguing that he should already be disqualified.

'Tis the season once again: my book THE LISTENERS: A HISTORY OF WIRETAPPING IN THE UNITED STATES is 30% off at the Harvard UP site. Listen to it before it listens to you 🍸🍸🍸🍸

Pet theory/prediction: these stories are coming not from the left but from the MAGA right, and they will increase in volume to keep certain justices in line as the court decides the J6 and Colorado cases. www.propublica.org/article/clar...

News pundits, members of congress, wealthy donors, and even journalists from reputable outlets generally have NO IDEA what goes on in college classrooms and on college campuses on a day to day basis. To continue to proceed otherwise is dangerous to the people who study and work there.

Idk, on Wednesday--THIS WEEK--a deranged guy with a legally purchased firearm walked onto a college campus and killed three people. Maybe this is the "safety" problem our society should be concerned about?

Academics: if you aren't channeling Ben Franklin and revolting against the madness of letter of rec season, what are you really doing?

This won't stop Harvard Kennedy School from offering him a visiting lecturer position next semester.

This book is a massive, massive addition to a growing body of scholarship on the history of US law enforcement. I'm already planning on teaching it next fall. READ IT!!!

Every book about the US between the years 1850 and 1877 is required to feature this color/layout/font scheme. No exceptions allowed.

As a matter of spatial awareness and tech design, how is it possible that I put my AirPods in the wrong charging hole fully 100% of the time?