Better late than never, I guess? It only took two decades or so...

It's midway through week 11 of the semester. I teach 9 times per week. Today was the first time all semester that I had perfect attendance in any class. #HigherEd is a struggle these days.

Opinion | Teaching in an American University Is Very Strange Right Now

I have similar experiences and similar feelings. The last two paragraphs are the most important, I think. College students' life stage is inherently future-oriented. Criticism must be constructive at an existential level. It's so hard to do, even on a good day. www.nytimes.com/2026/04/06/o...

Opinion | This Is What Will Ruin Public Opinion Polling for Good

I'm sharing this with my #Sociology Research Methods students, not just because we're talking about the relationship between survey research and politics this week, but because this has the best animated artwork ever to appear in an op ed! www.nytimes.com/2026/04/06/o...

Universities of Wisconsin president refuses to leave after being told to resign or be fired The president of the 25-campus Universities of Wisconsin said in a letter obtained by The Associated Press that he’s been told to either resign or be fired, but has been given no reason and won’t step...

If this had been released on April 1, I would have thought it was a prank. Spicy! www.wpr.org/news/univers...

My university is wasting my time by making me sit through an online information security training for the umpteenth time. This is my passive aggressive response to their warnings about oversharing on social media. Good thing I’m not being productive!

Cesar Chavez, a Civil Rights Icon, Is Accused of Abusing Girls for Years

This is so terrible. But I love the quote from Esmerelda Lopez: "It makes you rethink in history all those heroes. The movement--that's the hero." Don't worship individuals--leave that to authoritarians & cults. The quest for justice involves us all & never ends www.nytimes.com/2026/03/18/u...

Can we get the balanced budget back too?

Trump orders federal agencies to stop using Anthropic technology in dispute over AI safety President Donald Trump says he's ordering all federal agencies to phase out use of Anthropic technology after the company’s unusually public dispute with the Pentagon over artificial intelligence safe...

AI company to Hegseth: “You can use our tech for anything except mass surveillance of US citizens and autonomous killing machines.”

Hegseth to AI company: “No deal. And I declare your company a national security threat for making such unreasonable demands!”

apnews.com/article/anth...

Professor Hamlet Contemplates Retirement (opinion) Such heady occasion demands a soliloquy.

A bit of genius, I think. I'm proud to call Sean a friend and colleague and miss his presence in Hibbard every day. But oh, what a happy permanent sabbatical!
www.insidehighered.com/opinion/care...

After 25 years, Wikipedia has proved that news doesn’t need to look like news It's not a news site. But there's a lot to learn from how Wikipedia constructs shared knowledge about what’s happening in the world.

It’s not a news site. But there’s a lot to learn from how Wikipedia constructs shared knowledge about what’s happening in the world. www.niemanlab.org/2026/01/afte...

Texas Governor Declares Muslim Civil Rights Group a ‘Terrorist Organization’

This is awful. By contrast, here's Bush after 9/11: "America counts millions of Muslims amongst our citizens... Muslims are doctors, lawyers, law professors, members of the military, entrepreneurs, shopkeepers, moms and dads. And they need to be treated with respect."
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/18/u...

Opinion | The Old Order Is Dead. Do Not Resuscitate.

Totally accurate diagnosis. Bonus points for the implicit Hegelian/Marxian dialectic, but maybe I'm just projecting. #ClosetHistoricalMaterialist The sooner we accept this, the sooner we find a better way forward. www.nytimes.com/2025/11/04/o...

Amazon announced plans to lay off 14,000 employees as it looks to invest more in AI.

Wall Street cheered the news, sending Amazon stock prices higher.

This will boost Amazon's CEO pay and bolster Jeff Bezos's net worth, which is now $250 billion.

The system is rigged.

Empirics which support the argument of Shah and Bender -- dl.acm.org/doi/fullHtml...

I had to postpone an exam today because the AWS outage took down Canvas for my entire campus. My students thought it was great, obviously.

I guess I’m a little slow to pick this up, but there is no better symbol for how toxic Silicon Valley has become for humanity than “Open AI steals name of children’s educational library app in order to release copyright-violating deep-fake video generator” #Sora #OpenAI soraapp.com/welcome

Thanks for the shout-out @duncanexley.bsky.social! Short answer isn't surprising: decades of courageous LGBTQ+ activism centered on coming out, which changed hearts, minds, and media representation. Others have written that story better than I ever could though!

Opinion | Students Hate Them. Universities Need Them. The Only Real Solution to the A.I. Cheating Crisis.

Great take from Clay Shirky on AI and higher ed. My favorite line: "Contrary to much popular opinion, college is not in the information transfer business; we are in the identity formation business." Gift article www.nytimes.com/2025/08/26/o...

The first time Charlie Chaplin used his voice in a film, he wielded it to forcefully condemn the rising forces of fascism around the globe. Will we listen to his words today?

The talking points by Netanyahu and Trump are such eerie echoes of the run-up to 2003’s invasion of Iraq. Sad that we seem to have learned nothing, and surely more innocent civilians will pay with their lives

When a person compares his own actions to The Office, you know things are bad. But did we expect anything less from DOGE? Veterans, thank you for your service! You deserve better than this

Greetings from No Kings Denver! I pledge allegiance to the flag and the Constitution. Therefore, I pledge to say no to would-be tyrants who trample both just to enrich themselves. Liberty and justice for all!

Yes, this is wild. "Breaking news" journalism now includes personal fight between world's most powerful man and world's richest man. What a time to be alive!

So it's Trump vs Musk, is it also Truth Social vs X? I always expected the personal relationship to blow up at some point, but I never considered how their social networks with ego-centric algorithms would also get pulled in. I'll be eager to learn about the spill-over effects someday...

Remember: If unions didn’t matter, powerful corporations wouldn’t spend millions of dollars every year to stop workers from organizing. Keep up the fight.

I'm having more fun on social media today than I have had in a long time.

Solidarity by Leah Hunt-Hendrix, Astra Taylor: 9780593701249 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books A MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK • From renowned organizers and activists Leah Hunt-Hendrix and Astra Taylor, comes the first in-depth examination of Solidarity—not just as a rallying cry, but as...

Just finished reading Solidarity, by @astra.bsky.social and @lhh.bsky.social It’s marvelous! Read this if you are looking for direction and inspiration in these dark times. I will be returning to it again and again… www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/740355...

The unemployment rate for recent grads is worse now relative to the overall economy than any time on record. Three flavors of explanation:

Short-term: It's Trump.
Medium-term: It's the flagging college premium.
Long-term: Is Gen-AI substituting for new hires?

www.theatlantic.com/economy/arch...

Looking forward to reading this!