This is a must read from @malindasmith.bsky.social !

Pleased to share my new commentary: How Higher Ed can Help Foster Hope the Pluralism Dividend — Academica Forum, forum.academica.ca/forum/illumi...

A new special edition of the CAUT Journal guest co-edited by @profsavage.bsky.social & Susan Spronk all about organizing for power in Canada’s university sector is now online! Read it at journal.caut.ca

So honoured to be selected by the Canadian Teachers' Federation as the winner of the: 2026 CTF/FCE Public Education Advocacy Award. So much gratitude to the STF for nominating me. Public education- and all our public institutions-are worth defending & fighting for! www.ctf-fce.ca/events/2026-...

Imported Instability: The Global Spread of Democratic Backsliding and What it Means for Canada Speakers: - Vandinika Shukla, The Obama Foundation - Annika Silva-Leander, International IDEA - Sanjay Ruparelia, Toronto Metropolitan University and Jarislowsky Democracy Chair

🔥 SPRINGSTEEN: "I’m here to support Stephen Colbert, the first guy who lost his show because a president can't take a joke - and the Ellisons feel they need to kiss his ass… small-minded people with no idea what freedoms of this beautiful country are supposed to be about." 🇺🇸

This is a provocative and timely collection that examines one of the defining questions of our era: What are universities for when trust in institutions is declining, public funding is tightening and political pressures are intensifying? teachonline.ca/tools-trends...

The reflex to treat strikes as a public policy ‘problem’ instead of a democratic tool to rebalance power shows how Carney sees unions: disruptions to contain, not organizations workers rely on for fair wages, safety, and a voice. www.thestar.com/politics/fed... #canlab #cdnpoli

Surprisingly more interesting and entertaining than I initially thought it would be part of the 2026 Canadian Vote Summit (Calgary). Note that’s not Ian Brodie, but rather Stephen Carter.

The Alberta UCP gov is so efficient it can send out the results in a press release before the vote has even taken place!!! #Democracy calgary.citynews.ca/2026/05/20/f...

Knowledge under siege: Charting a future for universities Our Schools/Our Selves, Winter/Spring 2026 www.policyalternatives.ca/news-researc...

Adapted and excerpted, with permission, from the chapter “When Should Universities Take a Stand?” by Shannon Dea in Knowledge Under Siege: Charting a Future for Universities, edited by Marc Spooner & James McNinch, published by the University of Regina Press, 2026.

The Walrus: As Universities Become Political Battlegrounds, They Cannot Afford to Remain Neutral Staying above the fray is an impossible ideal thewalrus.ca/as-universit... Adapted from the chapter “When Should Universities Take a Stand?” by Shannon Dea in uofrpress.ca/Books/K/Know...

Check out Andrew Stevens’ in-depth, comprehensive review of our book Knowledge Under: Charting a Future for Universities [open access] “Readers….should see the book as a call to action. It challenges tenured faculty to break out of their comfortable ices.library.ubc.ca/index.php/cr...

never ever ever accept their nonsense AI frames, always ask people they are trying to convert to think about these kinds of questions...

Sask Party’s plan to refit our old obsolete coal-fired power plants will cost how many billions?

Find someone that looks at you like a Montreal Canadiens power play

In other words, he lied.

I dedicate this census to Stephen Harper and Tony Clement- data 📈 destroyers extraordinaire

“Dozens of Alberta school divisions have pulled more than 170 books from library shelves this year to comply with a provincial order” #abpoli #ableg #cdnpoli theijf.org/article/41-a...

What are universities really for and why does it matter now? A review of Knowledge Under Siege: Charting a Future for Universities, University of Regina Press, 2026. universityaffairs.ca/opinion/what...

The National Post loved our book! “Peter MacKinnon: The clear and present danger to universities is not from without, but within There is declining confidence in our universities as institutions committed to the search for truth” nationalpost.com/opinion/the-...

Nearly One-Third of Faculty in Red States Say They’ve Censored Their Research www.chronicle.com/article/near...

Also bsky.app/profile/lind...

When forced to I’ll take a Starbucks coffee over a Timmies (airport problems), but neither one tastes that good to me and I just don’t get why either is popular. And for sure an incredibly privileged non-problem- I get that

We need better rural reporting in Saskatchewan. And it can't just be feel good stories or local opinion columns that we see in small town papers. Rural Saskatchewan's elite love the "black box" in which they live. tammyrobert.substack.com/p/why-did-no...

Please join us TONIGHT for the launch of "Knowledge Under Siege: Charting a Future for Universities" on April 27th at 7:00 PM EDT at Perfect Books (258A Elgin Street, Ottawa).

OK Ottawa Interested in knowledge, universities, freedom? Alarmed about gag orders, censorship, racism? This might just be for you!

tRump just fired multiple scientists from the National Science Board—the independent experts who guide NSF policy & America’s scientific future. Not “draining the swamp.” Straight-up sabotage because he hates facts & expertise. He's handing the 21st century to China. mcsp.short.gy/DlJd

Jeezers USA is in trouble for many reasons, here’s another: Undermining science & evidence based research. Trump ousts National Science Board members Members of the independent board National Science Foundation said notice from the White House that they were being terminated

Shock greets ‘gender ideology’ ban in Texas universities “Creighton’s memo breaks new ground by placing the first-in-the-nation ban on “unacceptable” masters theses and PhD dissertations.” www.universityworldnews.com/post-mobile....

Dr. Ken Montgomery's full review of our book Knowledge Under Siege: Charting a Future for Universities is out on University Affairs @UA_magazine universityaffairs.ca/opinion/what...

Canada’s quiet economic driver: Universities and colleges www.policyalternatives.ca/news-researc...

I can't say enough about this new joint UnivCan/CAUBO report. That the report calls for an increase in funding with a decrease in gov interference is truly historic. -speaks volumes to just how pronounced & alarming the authoritarian turn we’re seeing is univcan.ca/publication/...

I think it's pretty noteworthy that this report calling for more government funding and less government interference is from UnivCan & CAUBO univcan.ca/publication/... Great work! @univcan.ca @universityaffairs.bsky.social

"Blakeney wasn’t about to let oil companies be the sole beneficiary of price hikes to a commodity that was wholly owned by the province. Instead, Blakeney implemented a 100 per cent windfall profits tax on Saskatchewan-produced oil." paherald.sk.ca/saskatchewan...

A new review of our book Knowledge Under Siege: Charting a Future for Universities was just released in the CAUT Bulletin. “…Universities are for resistance; they are for the future. And in an increasingly authoritarian world, they are for hope.” www.caut.ca/bulletin/kno...

Agreed with every letter in the Saturday April 11th, Edmonton Journal (Well one was mine so…)

Book Launch/Celebration for Knowledge Under Siege: Charting a Future for Universities Monday, April 27th, 7:00 PM – 8:30 PM Perfect Books, 258A Elgin St. Ottawa www.perfectbooks.ca Defining the value of universities has never been so urgent. Pls join us for this crucial conversation.

Worth noting as the rural municipality south of Regina is about to become the home of the largest data centre in Canada.

The malicious vindictiveness on display here is also how this moment more broadly enforces compliance among those who know better. “Nice job, would be sad if you lost it.”

Harvard wanted to tear down the Gordon Block in 2011 and turn it into a SURFACE PARKING LOT. Council said no. Harvard said at the time the building was "past its usable life" & left it to decompose after that. Years later, surprise (aka no surprise) a fire ultimately claimed it. #yqrcc

Mamdani: When I ran for mayor, I said I was going to tax the rich 
Well, today we're taxing the rich...

When did Conservatives become so anti-intellectual, anti-knowledge, and anti-expertise? I kind of like my bridges, surgery, piloting, & more being overseen by people with years study & experience. Not everyone has been privileged to study, but ignorance is nothing to brag about

"Canada’s system of public postsecondary education is being hollowed out through chronic underfunding combined with a marketized orientation that values postsecondary education primarily as a pipeline to train students for specific jobs."

Notifications for deleted shouldn't remain in any OS notification database, and we've asked Apple to address this. In the meantime, you can prevent any preview text from your Signal messages from appearing in your notifications. Signal Settings > Notifications > Show “No Name or Content”

I had a great time on the CBC IDEAS podcast discussing the unprecedented wealth & power of billionaires. The world’s 12 richest billionaires currently hold more wealth than the bottom 50 percent of people on Earth. Have a listen: app.magellan.ai/listen_links...

Check it out! Knowledge Under Siege: Charting a Future for Universities Universities face existential threats, from slashed budgets & closing programs, to explicitly political attacks —& their struggle to define their role in a rapidly changing world www.cbc.ca/listen/live-...

Knowledge Under Siege: Charting a Future for Universities | CBC Ideas | Universities face existential threats, from slashed budgets and closing programs, to explicitly political attacks —& their struggle to define their role app.magellan.ai/listen_links...