The New McCarthyism was started by liberals (just like the old McCarthyism, in fact). thenation.com/article/societ…

The honest B or C student, submitting essays filled with awkward constructions, malapropisms, earnest, if failed or surface-y arguments--a surprise hero of the present age.

6. ‘The Dispersion of Power’ by Sam Bagg (migrating to @samuel-bagg.bsky.social). This book makes a very convincing case for seeing resistance to ‘state capture’ as the essence of democracy. That has interesting implications for how we see constitutional design and democratic resilience in these difficult times.

I love it when I am able to incorporate recent reading, of excellent new books, directly into my teaching. I heartily recommend Sam Bagg (migrating to @samuel-bagg.bsky.social)'s 'The Dispersion of Power' as an addition to reading lists on democratic and constitutional theory.

now in material form

🚨Job Alert 🚨 My department is hiring! We are advertising for three positions, including an open-subfield Assistant Professor with a focus on "Problems of Democracy," for which political theorists will be considered. DM / email me your questions! uscjobs.sc.edu/postings/192118

Free Gifts is officially out today!!

Good morning! My book, Chains of Command: The Rise and Cruel Reign of the Franchise Economy now has a beautiful cover, and a release date: April 20th. So you'll have something to enjoy with your 4/20 Taco Bell order.

I wrote about the failure of higher ed to confront the existential crisis posed by AI cheating. Colleges have 2 choices: they can give in and give up. Or they can exercise the nuclear option. That means radically de-teching campus: No laptops. No phones. No wifi. Ban it all. 🧵

🗳️ Millions of Americans, including South Carolinians, are heading to the polls. Sam Bagg (migrating to @samuel-bagg.bsky.social), a USC political professor and McCausland Faculty Fellow, examines how democracy empowers everyday people in "Dispersion of Power." Read more 🔗 bit.ly/3JK1caD

Common sense narratives about misinformation and voter ignorance are partly right and partly wrong. In this piece I sort through the good and the bad, and draw some conclusions for how democrats should respond.