On the one-year anniversary of EMPIRE OF AI, I am so, so excited to announce The AI Resist List, a new project that documents examples of resistance to the AI empires around the world 😍 airesistlist.org

I try not to harbor resentment or regret that my academic training did not lead to a faculty position, but I always feel a little twinge when this comes up. Because it reminds me that I really liked teaching, reading, writing, and even service. It can feel like the jobs go to people who don't.

Hello fellow academic colleagues and friends who suffer from anxiety 👋. Could you share any practices, techniques, apps, websites, books that have been really helpful as you navigate professional life and experiences with moments of intense anxiety? Thanks in advance ❤️

I promised myself when I left my position at NEH that after a year had passed, I'd write something about my experience as an un/under/employed former fed. Here it is: halperta.com/public%20wri...

Interactions off on QT bc folks are welcome to read my peer-reviewed paper featuring a literal "I don’t give a shit about rigor." before unrelated replies performing High Standards & hirability 💜 journals.publishing.umich.edu/jep/article/...

One struggle is that, because it's just vowels, it's really hard to mute ai :(

hannah's reflections, in conversation with my original post, are so beautifully and truthfully written. I've been thinking a lot about how much the world has changed even in the four years since I quit my job. I still think, though, that giving yourself time to *fucking rest* is essential.

I promised myself when I left my position at NEH that after a year had passed, I'd write something about my experience as an un/under/employed former fed. Here it is: halperta.com/public%20wri...

This was the biggest surprise I had when collaborating with researchers in computer science. It is simply not true in that field.

I will ABSOLUTELY jump on a best books trend as long as it's just me telling you about some novels I loved that I read in 2026: ✨ Julia Armfield, Private Rites ✨ Solvej Balle, On the Calculation of Volume ✨ Sara Nović, True Biz

I will ABSOLUTELY jump on a best books trend as long as it's just me telling you about some novels I loved that I read in 2026: ✨ Julia Armfield, Private Rites ✨ Solvej Balle, On the Calculation of Volume ✨ Sara Nović, True Biz

Check out this great project that maps Black digital and public humanities work.

Budget literacy is essential.

Spending the afternoon writing a manifesto (job application)

Thank you to everyone who voted! It's an honor to be part of this amazing team.

I thought this was really interesting, and since I happened to be conducting peer review on an article when I read it, I decided to see what it would look like to check for hallucinated sources as a peer reviewer in the humanities. Here's what I found:

I know it's not what it used to be, but text based social media remains a fun way to meet really smart and interesting people who you would never have gotten to know otherwise.

Grantmakers play a crucial role in helping cultural orgs during disasters.

this is one of the most true and saddest things i've read. unrelated, ask me about colleagues reacted when my department was dissolved this year

Students, if you’re thinking about dropping a note to that teacher or professor about what their class/project/mentorship has meant to you, but you worry it will be cringe or cheesy, let me just tell you they will coast on the fuzzy feelings prompted by that note for months, if not years

plotting a coup but its just getting senior faculty to support efforts to save their own profession

In an article about tuition increases at my local public university, the president reported proudly that "We're spending sixty percent of our unrestricted revenues to support the students and the academic enterprise." Universities are really hanging onto their mission by the weakest of threads.

One request for help in assembling my PhD by Prior Publications dossier: if you taught, were influenced by, or otherwise used something I'm sharing (especially if there's public evidence of it!), please reply to the relevant post with that fact and some context 🙏

Something I did not expect about the transition from early to mid-career is how absolutely funny it is to be considered seriously for leadership positions. Like yes I've been working for a decade to be thought of as trustworthy and competent but every time an opportunity arises I'm like, who, me?

Quote is from @halperta.bsky.social's "Open letter to my friend, who I love, who wants to get a PhD in literature" (halperta.medium.com/open-letter-...). Proceeds from print sales go to a student queer+trans research fund! 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️🎓 store.wolfproofpress.com/product/you-...

Graduate education is one path to learning; there are other options, including less fraught w/loan debt, gatekeeping, hidden rules. @halperta.bsky.social's essay reminds us how empowered we already are to do meaningful knowledge work: regardless of how we've learned, what roles we hold. +

ICYMI, a print empowering you regardless of credentialing: "You already have everything to need to write, to teach, to be a voice for your community. Fuck credentials. You are already extraordinary & powerful & valuable in this world" - @halperta.bsky.social +

"The Government cannot escape liability for DOGE’s work by scapegoating ChatGPT." A US judge slammed DOGE's use of AI in a decision today blocking the termination of $100M in humanities grants, finding DOGE lacked authority and unlawfully based decisions on race and viewpoint buff.ly/Qw0qcDH

wowwwwww wow wow wow!

oh wow 😭

oh wow.

Grateful to reporter Matt Hartman for telling this story about changes in leadership at NEH. The firing of 22 out of 26 board members, including all members appointed by past presidents, is nothing short of a coup at an agency where the board reviews and votes on every single grant application.

How Two Duke Alumni Helped Conservatives Take Over the NEH The Trump administration fired most of the National Endowment for the Humanities’ advisory board last year. Two Duke-trained political theorists are key figures now running the agency.

With @theassemblync.bsky.social and @grist.org: Harm reduction groups and health care workers helped avert the worst after Hurricane Helene. But what about the next emergency? www.bpr.org/climate-envi...

I don't only think that college should be FREE but I think young people should also receive living stipends while in school. Finally, I do not care what they major in because education needs to actually BE DECOUPLED from a future job. You are welcome. You should have 4 years to study anything.

Attended an absolutely stellar dissertation defense today. People who get to do this regularly are so lucky - it's such a privilege to see brilliant people shine.

So excited to have received my copy of Gather by the brilliant Ashanté Reese today. ✨ www.blackgathering.net

"Less than half of Philly-area full-time workers make a living wage, report says: The report compared payroll data for the region with the estimated income workers must earn to cover their basic needs."

Yikes

Resharing this because I have read more of it now and this collection is really excellent. Just extremely wise and wide-ranging and on point.

Hey academic friends, if you're planning some writing over the summer and could use some support, I offer coaching and editing services for non-fiction writers. halperta.com/categories/e...

Is anyone else reading Search Work, the new collection on job hunting edited by @smithmeade.bsky.social? I just started it today and I'm finding it gentle, smart, and thoughtful. It's also beautifully designed. orbooks.com/catalog/sear...

Sharing a screenshot of an AI response to a research question of any kind is so embarrassing. Like you really want to admit right there up front that your source is .... typing your question into a publicly available search bar famous for its inaccuracies?

Good morning especially to everyone who replied to this post with their favorite radio stations. What an absolute delight.

In an attempt to move away from streaming services, I've started listening to public and college radio. With online apps, it turns out you can listen to radio from anywhere in the world! So what are your favorite local radio stations?

National Endowment for the Humanities staff worked every day to build this kind of capacity. The need is so great, and we did so much - even with a staff of fewer than 200 people, we managed to reach communities all over the US. It begs the question, then, why it was all so quickly destroyed. #NEH

Talked with a funder recently whose portfolio includes arts and culture orgs in a very rural county in the midwest. She talked about the need for data-grounded information about the economic and cultural impact and value of cultural work, and then I cried because were *this close* to having it.