Happy to see the @newyorker.com got the description right. We’re in the middle of an outright assault on Higher Ed.
Trump’s vindictive and illegal campaigns to destroy the best of our society are not “crackdowns,” they’re assaults, attacks, onslaughts.
Another reminder that it’s worth thinking about dissent in as many ways as possible these days.
Resistance is always possible
Then he loaned me his bike for a year when we were in Budapest. I climbed the Buda hills on a Nobel Laureate’s bike. Wild!
Irina Denischenko brought him to the Harriman Institute when we were grad students at Columbia and I got to spend some time with him. Such a glorious kook and a great writer!
Thank you! These are great! Can’t wait to dig in!
Would love to read yours too! Do you have anything at the sharing stage on the Czech book world? I likewise know little about the world outside of Russia but I’ve been talking to a few people who work across the post socialist world. My next project will likely be more comparative
They even made it Book of the Day here: youtu.be/LfeVB3biL0o?...
I got to talk with Maria Lipman about my book last week. Check it out!
Totally normal headline
Masked agents kidnapping civilians, hanging 50 ft banners of the leader’s face, declaring war on an American city — that anyone can’t see this is evil is just insane
Masked agents kidnapping civilians, hanging 50 ft banners of the leader’s face, declaring war on an American city — that anyone can’t see this is evil is just insane
Or, you know, how does the illegal abduction and visa revocation of students fit into this ideal of universities being honestly beholden to taxpayers?
This guy says he wants universities to focus on the truth.
Why wasn’t the question asked whether it bothers him that the political movement he has aligned himself with is based on a rigorously enforced lie?
Universities: before you capitulate, remember that you’re up against a weak-willed petty tyrant who wasn’t able to face a stock market dip for more than a weak.
He gives up all the time. He gives in all the time. He loses interest even more.
Stand up. You’re stronger than this.
Meme of Britta from the TV show community with the caption "I can excuse fascism but I draw the line at damaging the economy"
Pretty much all US news items right now
I think this might actually be right
If a pediatrician talking about children dying “might be perceived as anti-government,” maybe the problem is not with the pediatrician
TODAY @ NOON ET in NYC:
COLUMBIA PROFESSORS TO HOLD EMERGENCY VIGIL AGAINST ADMIN CONCESSIONS TO TRUMP ADMINISTRATION.
Columbia gates at 116th & Amsterdam Ave (Not Broadway)
• Hands Off Our Students, Faculty, & Research
• Defend Science
• Defend Academic Freedom
• Defend Freedom of Speech
SCOOP: Hooded ICE agents snatched Indian-born Georgetown postdoc Badar Suri from Rosslyn street Monday, per court filing. Like Khalil, linked to pro-Palestinian views & Rubio 'foreign policy' power, lawyer says. Then whisked to Louisiana. w/ @kyledcheney www.politico.com/news/2025/03...
Awwww! Thanks, Gen! I hope it has something to say to our current moment. I think the embrace of capitalist nihilism traced in the book is a global phenomenon that makes us pretty vulnerable to the vindictive nihilism coming at us from all angles these days.
Then maybe buy my book: www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/9781501...
discount code 09BCARD for 30% off
Today is the official pub date for my book, Cultural Capitalism.
Get out there and protest extra-judicial arrests, the concerted destruction of expertise and knowledge creation, the defunding of social services, the attack on freedom of movement, and the gentle compliance of the Democratic Party.
There is no word for this other than evil. Ukraine is being bombed daily by a leader who has engaged in war crimes.
www.reuters.com/world/us/tru...
Makes me want to read the whole collection cover to cover!
Someone asked me why I seemed less depressed after Friday than after other recent events and I think this is it: Zelenskyy did what I have been waiting for ANY US politician to do. And it honestly gave me some hope.
I’m as disgusted as anyone with T&V’s behavior yesterday. But I don’t think Zelenskyy is getting his due. He wasn’t just the adult in the room. He handled himself with incredible dignity. He was walking into a trap. He knew it. He was prepared. And he refused to either back down or take the bait.
@juliusgoat.bsky.social
Office desk without any personal items or decor
Today, along with 2,000 other NIH employees, I had to clear out my office 😭
It was truly the honor of my life to work with such incredibly passionate people focused on improving human health. I’ve never experienced a more positive culture where *everyone* cared about their job and serving others.
Random cover from the TBR pile:
The Beasts by Leslie Garrett (1966)
This first novel about a nice young man who gets involved in satanic orgies was selected as the "Maxwell E. Perkins Commemorative Novel" by Scribers. "Sorry about that, Maxwell," quipped one reviewer.
