1/7. In the few years that my university tracked COVID-19 cases, we saw some of the biggest infection spikes after Thanksgiving break (see this article from 2021 for example). Seeing that data in those years made me think about the tradeoffs associated with having... www.npr.org/sections/cor...

My piece has been published in PNAS today!!! "The importance of local racial demographic changes in democratic erosion in the mass American public" www.pnas.org/doi/epdf/10.... A few takeaways...

Pupdate!

The 47th Ward shows up.

The Democrats won several VA House seats where winning looked like a pipe dream going into the election. The Dems won these seats because they recruited candidates and actually campaigned. Important lesson for 26--the electorate is pissed--but you can only win when you run. Run everywhere!

Federal agents pulling a woman out of Rayito Del Sol, a daycare by Lane Tech high school

The gift I am giving myself today is a refusal to be baited into reading any of the many opinion pieces trivializing the results of NYC’s mayoral race Focusing on the concerns of working people is a winning strategy across contexts, and it’s time we embrace authentic regional variation in tactics

What we know, 10:20pm —VA Dems flip Gov, LG, *and* AG —BIG Dem gains in VA House —Dems win NJ-Gov —Mamdani wins —Dems keep PA supreme court —Larry Krasner & Bragg win — GA Dems flip 2 statewide offices —JD Vance’s half-brother loses Cincy —Dems sweep Orlando council —ME anti-mail vote measure loses

Mamdani has performed particularly well among young voters 18-30. This has not been surprising to us at the GenForward Survey. For years, our data has shown that young adults across racial, partisan, and regional divides are open and enthusiastic about a leftist, economic populism.

The media is doling out a lot of caveats about NYC being a unique context while discussing what Mamdani’s campaign might signal for the future of the Democratic Party. While this may be true, we also shouldn’t write off the significance of a message that can drive urban turnout to historic levels.

Several hundred kids just marched past my house because John Marshall High is doing an anti-ICE walk out. LA's tradition of high schoolers using their voices to push back on racism and inequality is really an inspiring thing.

We appreciate the opportunity to share our work about Evanston’s reparations initiative—and its implications for multiracial democracy in the U.S.—with @lseusablog.bsky.social!

When designing reparations policies, authorities must ensure Black Americans have a seat at the table from the start write @mattnelsen.bsky.social of @univmiami.bsky.social, Monique Newton of @polisciatnu.bsky.social and @asdurso.bsky.social of Georgetown University blogs.lse.ac.uk/usappblog/20...

I really enjoyed this conversation with @smettler.bsky.social about America’s urban-rural divide. In particular, emphasizing that Democrats should be consistently organizing—not just messaging—to rural Americans (and everyone for that matter) should be front of mind for the party. (1/4)

Today’s episode of The Ezra Klein Show. The Rural Power Behind Trump’s Assault on Blue Cities The political scientist @smettler.bsky.social examines the roots of America’s urban-rural divide and how Democrats can win back rural voters. open.spotify.com/episode/2zQ9... youtu.be/M9bjypc1rS4?...

Whether you believe the purpose of education is democracy or academic achievement, walking away from critical, engaging, and inclusive social studies curricula will negatively impact both. We need to start embracing the politics of curriculum debates and defend interventions that benefit kids.

Counterpoint: Teaching history is inherently and always political.

Read a free sample! It's enough for a citation for sure :)

Matt was a student of mine when he was an undergrad. Sometimes the student exceeds the teacher so much he must have started out halfway there in the first place.

Such a timely book… really recommend this episode and The Color of Civics by @mattnelsen.bsky.social

It was great chatting with @gorenlj.bsky.social from the @newbooksnetwork.bsky.social about The Color of Civics. In the episode, we discuss key findings from the book, my experiences as a public school teacher that sparked my interest in civic education, and the story behind the book’s cover.

Racial Context(s) in American Political Behavior Racial Context(s) in American Political Behavior By Allison P. Anoll, Vanderbilt University, Lauren D. Davenport, Stanford University, and Rachel Lienesch, Vanderbilt University Since Key and Allport, scholars have argued that racial context affects…

State rep. Hoan Huynh shared video of agents surrounding his vehicle/stopping him + staffers shortly after he said one agent pointed a gun inside his vehicle at him while another threatened to break a window. They were following feds in Albany Park after four people were reportedly taken. Story tk.

Hoan Huynh was alerting the community on the Northwest Side to the presence of federal agents when they blocked his vehicle on a residential street and an agent pointed a gun at him and others in the vehicle, according to a statement from his office. trib.al/edi6hIM

white reactionaries disenfranchising black voters to secure political power? that’s a jim crow. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/15/u...

Strong neighborhoods are precisely why Robert Sampson calls Chicago the “Great American City.” “Residents have begun forming volunteer groups to monitor their neighborhoods for federal immigration agents. Others honk their horns or blow whistles when they see agents nearby.”

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to share my research with students and faculty at my alma mater—St. Olaf College (Um Yah Yah!) Talking about the enormous and life changing potential of education at the place that helped lay the path for a research career has me feeling all the feels.

Americans under 30 are the most likely age group to say the US is providing too much military assistance to Israel and too little humanitarian assistance to Palestinian citizens. www.pewresearch.org/politics/202...

The ICE agents deploying these are people without necessary training, those who couldn’t cut it in police training or didn’t want to join the military. They are in this to hurt people and play Call of Duty on our streets, deploying chemical weapons on our neighbors as if they’re pressing L1.

If the Chicago FOP were actually a union representing the interests of its members, rather than a far right political operation and a mouthpiece for the lodge president (who hasn’t even been a cop for years), they might have some words about this.

This morning, the Trump Administration’s Department of War gave me an ultimatum: call up your troops, or we will. It is absolutely outrageous and un-American to demand a Governor send military troops within our own borders and against our will.

I’m not teaching this semester, so it was great to dust off my teaching chops with a presentation on community engaged/participatory action research at the Japanese American Services Committee in Chicago. I am grateful for JASC for the opportunity to engage with these inspiring, young organizers!

Labels can impact politics. My paper @apsrjournal.bsky.social "What Happens When You Can't Check the Box?" shows when Middle Eastern & North African (MENA) Americans are excluded from identity categories, they assert MENA identity when answering relevant political questions. doi.org/10.1017/S000...

How most presidents avoid upsetting the racial status quo—and why those who do pave the way for lawless, norm-violating successors. Backlash Presidents by @juliaazari.bsky.social is out now. Learn more about this incisive book and order yours: press.princeton.edu/books/hardco... #PoliticalScience

States that have the political capital to do so should be securing access to K-12 ethnic studies courses to preemptively address this. These courses are publicly popular, bolster a number of academic outcomes, and are politically empowering. (1/2)

MAHA vs the U.S. corn lobby is going to be a real Let Them Fight situation

Measles cases hit record highs with RFK Jr. in charge. Now, his hand-picked vaccine panel just voted to make it harder for little babies to get vaccinated for measles and other diseases. How does that keep our kids safe?

My latest from the GenForward Survey. Our national sample of young adults has told a fairly consistent story over the past four election cycles: young voters are hungry for a progressive, economic agenda that appeals to people across racial, economic, partisan, and geographic divides.

New NYT/Siena poll of the NYC mayoral race has- *Mamdani: 46% *Cuomo: 24% *Sliwa: 15% *Adams: 9% www.nytimes.com/2025/09/09/n...

Unions don't just protect a single worker, they protect and empower entire families. I have never had a union job, but my career has greatly benefitted from my spouse's union job. I've been able to take risks, do jobs that were longer-term investments, and negotiate harder because of the stability.

‘Tis the season where I daily daydream about the role I feel I was born to play: gay man spiraling over soggy bottoms and underproofed dough on the Great British Bakeoff. A great piece by season 4 contestant, Ruby!

For those who don’t know a “clap out”is when fellow employees line the exit & beyond to clap together in appreciation for respected colleagues, esp the truly best of them, as they walk by, departing their positions for good. Clap outs are the least the 3 deserved. RFK & his cronies NEVER gon get em.

A lot gets said about Chicago at the national level, but what folks overlook while invoking tired tropes about the city is that neighborhoods are incredibly organized at the hyper local level and will adeptly resist a federal presence.

imagine being so maniacally racist that you side with the fire over the firefighter

Democrats just picked up a seat that was +11 pts for Trump in 2024 to break an Iowa supermajority. Trump wants to appear indomitable. But he's also a lame duck and those winds can shift quickly. www.the-downballot.com/p/iowa-democ...

The Full Release of the ANES 2024 Time Series Study is now available! The data and documentation can be downloaded from the ANES website at: electionstudies.org/data-center/...

I’ve spent the summer interviewing white urbanites across the U.S. Many rightfully decry federal takeovers of cities while also espousing a quiet reverence for local efforts to clear homeless encampments such as those in D.C.

Posting a movie-trailer-style video of 20 heavily marmed goons arresting an unarmed dude for throwing a sandwich doesn't feel like the actions of a regime confident in its public support

Don’t let this die. Keep elevating this.