Hi I’m Alex goldman and I host a podcast called @hyperfixedpod.bsky.social that is like long form documentary journalism. If you’ve ever listened to Reply All before it’s sorta like that cuz I used to host that too. I’m asking you if you like the show to please share with your friends.

I'll say this for AI: it makes me much happier as I read papers written by students with very undeveloped writing skills, and as I put together the comments that I hope they will be able to use to become stronger writers. I'm so, so happy you wrote this yourselves, students!

Came across a hallucinated article attributed to me once doing a peer review (along with a few others). 💀🫠

one small thing that’s making me happy this week are the remixes of Project Hail Mary and the Artemis II mission and the way they are referencing one another. It illustrates the interplay btw science and pop culture. The humanities and STEM are co-projects! www.tiktok.com/t/ZP8g8E1Kg/

If you missed our #SCMS26 workshop on writing in the media studies classroom - you can check out our handout complete with keywords, slides, and assignment shares! Thanks to everyone who came for a wonderful discussion (and sometimes vent session). docs.google.com/document/d/1...

It’s fun to meet up with folks at an academic conference and be like “so what’s the main crisis at your institution?”

On my way to what I think is my 10th SCMS (wild) and got to the airport early just in case. Possibly the fastest I have ever gotten through security.

Coming up next week!

Join us for our first event of 2026!

Yep, this is what I’ve been thinking this whole year as I’ve been cheering for the team (but also mostly cheering for the band)

My IU marching band besties group chat is going wild.

Remix these works for a chance at fame & glory! Submissions are still open for the 2026 Public Domain Film Remix Contest: blog.archive.org/2025/12/01/2...

I haven’t been watching as many comedy specials as I used to, so I went wild and watched 7 this week after seeing Guy Branum’s new show in Philly (go see it if you have a chance!!) Sometimes when you study a thing for awhile you forget to enjoy it.

This app seems generally negative toward Tiktok, but Tiktok is the only reason I found Gaydar, one of my favorite shows. The best part of the ep was watching the young ones in the comments discover how delightful Josh is.

Someone has to save the film and TV that studios won't: defector.com/someone-has-...

I used to get really paranoid about typos or small grammar issues in my writing, but lately I’ve noticed I’ve been more relaxed about it bc mistakes are recognizably human and I’m sick of reading inhuman garbage.

Part of the issue, as this points out, is that, “higher education has been organized around the production of knowledge-shaped objects.” AI has amplified already existing issues of productivity for productivity’s sake.

Thank you @jennblaylock.bsky.social @stephbrown.bsky.social @lisawj.bsky.social for convening such a thoughtful event. Here’s link to @jcmsjournal.bsky.social's "Teaching Media" dossier page for links to all the “Experiments in Ungrading” contributions quod.lib.umich.edu/j/jcms/tm-pa...

every trans person i see post about the OU suspension knows that the suspended target is trans & a grad student, & has an innate awareness that this is about purging trans employees. every cis person i see thinks the target is a rando professor & that this is about giving conservatives good grades

Since our fucking government isn’t observing World AIDS Day, I will. In 1990, I started taking care of people in the last stages of AIDS in their homes. I did this for nearly two years. The home care company I worked for had meetings for those of us who solely (or nearly solely) took care of PWAs.

Yes! I’ve read a whole bunch of books this year I never would have known about if not for walking around the library.

Mark your calendars!

I continue to pay for and read @defector.com even though I am totally not a sports person because they keep making space for genuinely lovely and intelligent writing on all kinds of subjects (...and for David J. Roth occasionally eviscerating a politician with brutal glee). This is the former.

I’ve been experimenting this semester in my media theory class with collage making - and it has been going really well! I’m going to curate them at the end of the semester into a class zine. And make it a more robust and integrated element in future versions of the class.

“Bari is furiously trying to stop leakers,” three leakers told us.

As an IU alum (and now media prof) this story literally is making me cry. I’m proud of these students 🩷 full story: www.heraldtimesonline.com/story/news/l...

“..the study above points to the growth in colorectal cancer in those of normal weight. Could it be that ultra-processed foods may be carcinogenic regardless of someone’s body mass index (BMI)?” I don’t buy the UPF panic -but “could it be?” is enraging. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

American fans of Great British Bake Off be like:

oh no, everyone is talking about the fake rapture here too. I thought it was just a TikTok thing.

The Hacks

I will be at this fun and welcoming conference talking about the intersection of digital body positivity, influencer labor, authenticity, and fat liberation! Or what the complex reactions to body positive influencers losing weight tells us about activist community building on social media.

this is bluesky pandering at the highest level, just shameless behavior by which I mean “go birds”

Also, I learned this week from PCHH that Werner Herzog is now on Insta—for those who weren’t aware: www.instagram.com/werner_herzog/

Seth Rogen has broken The Bear’s hold on the Emmy’s! Comedy is back, baby!

Anyone have recs for folks researching doomscrolling/news burnout and mental health? There’s interest at my school for bringing in a speaker to do a workshop on the topic in the fall.

Anyone have recs for folks researching doomscrolling/news burnout and mental health? There’s interest at my school for bringing in a speaker to do a workshop on the topic in the fall.

youtu.be/pZDUbKNiMsU?... One of my sister’s and mine: “You’re free cheesy bread, you’re free!”

The fallacye that "higher ed degree must leade to a job wyth same name" ys deeplye harmful to present-daye societye. A philosophye major kan do businesse just as well as a businesse major. Yn some wayes perhaps even bettir. Thys fallacye ys useful onlye to those who seeke to kill higher ed.

If you want to fund work defending Medicaid, donating to @littlelobbyists.com's (c)4 is the highest ROI I know of We're flying more families in this week. If (and only if) you can afford to help pay to get more disabled kids into the offices of Senators: secure.actblue.com/donate/littl...

I don’t have anything smart to add to the chorus of smart things being said. It’s just heartbreaking to watch my alma mater - that I chose because it was so strong in the Humanities - be forced to destroy the thing that makes it special.

Being involved with @scmspedagogy.bsky.social over the past several years and now working as co-chair with the amazing @stephbrown.bsky.social has been a professional highlight for me. Please consider joining us, as grad student rep, in advocating for transformative pedagogy in our field.

The full 2 part issue of Teaching Media on Ungrading is out! Shepherded by @jennblaylock.bsky.social and @lisawj.bsky.social. Check it out if you need an anti-dote to the New Yorker article discourse! (though, my entry in the issue *is* a little cranky). quod.lib.umich.edu/j/jcms/teach...

One of my classes ends with a group project instead of a final exam, but I still wanted an activity in which we reviewed material from the semester. So, we had a “trivia night” with 4 rounds of themed questions and the winning team got to drop a low or missing hw assignment from the semester.

The state of higher ed is a complete disaster right now, so it’s truly the perfect time to finally have converted from VAP to Assistant Professor (starting this fall).

Had a lovely time at #SCMS25– hit me up if you ever want to talk authenticity politics and embodiment in comedy and/or influencer labor!

@stephbrown.bsky.social explores the limits of labor-based grading when one considers the mental health of students and faculty in US academic institutions that increasingly rely on the labor of precarious faculty. quod.lib.umich.edu/j/jcms/18261...

I am happy to announce the publication of the first part of a 2-part @jcmsjournal.bsky.social Teaching Media dossier on #ungrading that @lisawj.bsky.social and I co-edited. Please check out "Part I: Critical Reflections on Ungrading" here: quod.lib.umich.edu/j/jcms/teach... Part two coming soon!

Not me tearing up during Laurie Ouellette’s paper on Zillow scrolling and precarity #SCMS25

. @caetlin.bsky.social calls out the great killjoys of Western philosophy in her compelling defense of escapism as resilience! #SCMS25