per the logic of the democratic backsliding literature, we shoudl now fear that NYC is sliding down the precipice to communism.

Mamdani is an affirmation of Trump, not a rejection. He rode an anti-system wave from the left. Trump rode onw from the right

The ending of The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966) is so iconic it almost overshadows the rest of the film. Leone spent 3 days shooting that standoff, timing every cut and Morricone cue to perfection. Pure cinema distilled into a few breathtaking minutes.

“My name is Maximus Decimus Meridius, commander of the Armies of the North. Father to a murdered son. Husband to a murdered wife. And I will have my vengeance, in this life or the next.”

Greg Maddux never shied away from telling his thoughts on Tony Gwynn

A woman spends the day with her lover while her husband is at work. Her husband arrives home unexpectedly, and the woman shoves her lover into the closet. She doesn't know that her 9-year-old son is already hiding in there. The little boy says, "It's dark in here." "Yes, it is,"

Here's a fun puzzle: What is the sum of the 5 angles of a 5-pointed star?

In a recent video, I showed that in a 3-4-5 right triangle, the radius of the inscribed circle is 1. We can generalize this: in an a-b-c right triangle, the radius of the inscribed circle is (a+b-c)/2. Here's how we know this:

Our new issue assesses constitutionalism in the age of extremes. Explore these extremes and potential responses with pieces on #academicfreedom, #economicinequality, #executivepower, #diplomaticextremes, #AI, #constitutionalreform, and more. Read at tinyurl.com/5n7zxtp6.

New issue from Constitutional Studies is out now!

The Arctic ocean photographed in the same place, 107 years ago vs today. See more photos: bit.ly/4cFoZT1

Fascinating to watch. 1000 years of European borders change.

Constantinople vs City of Istanbul vs Istanbul

New paper with Curtis Bradley: "General Law Revivalism and the Problem of 1938." Short version: Erie is incompatible with and precludes many versions of originalism. (Comments welcome.) papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cf…

A genuinely important paper here. Public law scholars: tolle, lege!

Michael Sandel’s polite but devastating review of John Rawls’s Political Liberalism: sandel.scholars.harvard.edu/sites/g/files/…

History is full of ironies.

At Lingnan forum #aacu2026

“I don’t remember the question, but that’s the answer” AAC&U plenary 👍

Five Americans on Going Broke Paying for Their Health Care nytimes.com/2026/01/22/opi… via @NYTOpinion. An n of five ?