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Jonathan Ladd

@jonathanmladd.com
38K followers 1.3K following 4.6K posts

I'm a political scientist in the @mccourtschool.bsky.social. I study trust in institutions & media effects on the public. Apologies for typos. Web page: www.jonathanmladd.com

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Jonathan Ladd @jonathanmladd.com · 3h
The point in the hearing **before Schmitt even knows he mixed up the basketball games** where he quickly takes down the poster and tries to hide it, while Dick Durbin asks if everyone can see the evidence Schmitt is trying to brag about, still gets to me.
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William B. Fuckley @opinionhaver.bsky.social · 6h
remember: it saved no net money, social services US citizens are getting cut, and left the US in a weaker place geopolitically. none of the debates about fiscal responsibility, obligation to US citizens first, or 'hard choices' actually apply. they're all bullshit. killed people for nothing at all.
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Louis @louisevans.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Pass a law clarifying that the supreme court’s appellate jurisdiction does not begin until a final ruling has been made by district and appeals courts.
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Jonathan Ladd @jonathanmladd.com · 13h
Oh my goodness. Congratulations to Carnegie Mellon! Even by the standards of higher ed development, $3 billion is a huge gift. www.cmu.edu/news/stories...
cmu.edu
Carnegie Mellon University Announces Historic $3 Billion Gift from Ken Griffin, Pioneering a New Model for Higher Education
Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) and Citadel founder and CEO Ken Griffin today announced a historic $3 billion gift to further elevate CMU in Pittsburgh and launch Carnegie Mellon University Miami.
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Jonathan Ladd @jonathanmladd.com · 30/09/2026
Many more questions: 1) Why did they think Smith going to a Hawks game was proof he had met with an Atlanta prosecutor? 2) When Sen. Eric Schmitt and his staff believed they were correct that Smith had gone to an Atlanta Hawks game, why did they only show the poster for 1 second and then hide it?
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Brendan Nyhan @brendannyhan.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Contrary to this op-ed, we don't actually have to give up on papers! New in @chronicle.com How to Assign Research Papers Again Three ways to counter AI and restore confidence in the integrity of student writing www.chronicle.com/article/how-...
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Jonathan Ladd @jonathanmladd.com · 30/09/2026
Amazing video of Republican Senator Katie Britt as the Hawks/Hawkeyes mistake is revealed. This should be viewed with Curb Your Enthusiasm music. www.thedailybeast.com/maga-senator...
thedailybeast.com
MAGA Senator Caught on Camera Watching Colleague Self-Combust
No one appeared more mortified by Sen. Eric Schmitt’s humiliating blunder than Katie Britt.
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Jonathan Ladd @jonathanmladd.com · 30/09/2026
This whole plan and their actions make very little sense, even apart from mixing up the basketball team name and getting the game wrong.
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Jonathan Ladd @jonathanmladd.com · 30/09/2026
Many more questions: 1) Why did they think Smith going to a Hawks game was proof he had met with an Atlanta prosecutor? 2) When Sen. Eric Schmitt and his staff believed they were correct that Smith had gone to an Atlanta Hawks game, why did they only show the poster for 1 second and then hide it?
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Jonathan Ladd @jonathanmladd.com · 29/09/2026
A great job at Tufts!!! www.youtube.com/watch?v=TaVR...
youtube.com
Tufts University's Fight Song, "Tuftonia's Day"
YouTube video by TualaTrout
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Jonathan Ladd @jonathanmladd.com · 29/09/2026
From Pedro Arrupe's 1973 address, where he articulated what would become a theme of Jesuit higher education: "Men and Women for others." www.americamagazine.org/faith/2024/0...
americamagazine.org
Men for Others: How the famous Jesuit maxim evolved—and what it means to Gen Z
On the surface, the message of the Jesuit maxim “men for others” is simple, but its history and evolution only add to its layered and meaningful message.
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Jonathan Ladd @jonathanmladd.com · 29/09/2026
"All of us would like to be good to others, and most of us would be relatively good in a good world. What is difficult is to be good in an evil world, where the egoism of others and the egoism built into the institutions of society attack us and threaten to annihilate us." Pedro Arrupe, S.J., 1973
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Jonathan Ladd @jonathanmladd.com · 29/09/2026
Somehow, Caitlin Clark ends up involved in a high percentage of online controversies.
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Jonathan Ladd @jonathanmladd.com · 29/09/2026
Some old school Wikipedia here. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Sc...
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Jonathan Ladd @jonathanmladd.com · 26/09/2026
Peter Thiel rediscovers "The Politics of Bureaucratic Structure" by Terry Moe (1989). x.com/dnapway/stat... (Apologize for the cross post of an X video.)
Peter Thiel explains what Trump got wrong in both of his terms 

"I think the two administrations made opposite mistakes."

"The first administration brought in all these people who couldn't agree, and it was just all this internal fighting."

"The second administration, I think overcorrected for the mistake of the first term with all these loyalty tests. You got an administration staffed by not very smart, but very loyal people."
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Jonathan Ladd @jonathanmladd.com · 29/09/2026
In an era of sneering cynics, where being on the take and sucking up to power is often considered normal, be Jack Smith. Stand up for the republic and the Constitution, even at personal risk.
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Jonathan Ladd @jonathanmladd.com · 29/09/2026
A brave hero, who took real risks to defend democracy and the American Constitution. 🇺🇲🇺🇲🇺🇲
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Jonathan Ladd @jonathanmladd.com · 28/09/2026
I preordered it in the summer and look what came today! Very excited for this one. Congratulations to @jlray.bsky.social, @angelaxocampo.bsky.social, and the off-BlueSky authors!
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Jonathan Ladd @jonathanmladd.com · 28/09/2026
I assigned it in one of my fall classes—on the syllabus in November because I had faith it would arrive in time!
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Jonathan Ladd @jonathanmladd.com · 28/09/2026
I preordered it in the summer and look what came today! Very excited for this one. Congratulations to @jlray.bsky.social, @angelaxocampo.bsky.social, and the off-BlueSky authors!
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Ian Dunt @iandunt.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
This week on Origin Story: The life & ideas of John Rawls, the most celebrated liberal philosopher of the post-war period. These are some of the most beautiful arguments in progressive thought. We do it as a one hour crash course. Everything you need to know. podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/j...
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Clsn @clsn.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
They're real logicians these people.
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Jonathan Ladd @jonathanmladd.com · 27/09/2026
The construction of Maguire Hall in 1855 required Georgetown to move the cemetery for Jesuit priests from that location to where it still resides. Here is a 1874 photo taken from approximately where the Leavey Center is today. The future location of ICC (built in 1981) is on the left.
Jesuit cemetery, 1874
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Ned Resnikoff @resnikoff.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
The entire state government of California is a parable about how giving people more opportunities to vote on something is not, in fact, the same thing as making your political system more democratic.
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Mark Histed @markhisted.org · 27/09/2026
In a private discussion today this came up: “We need the January 6th Commission hearings, for DOGE.” One could do a lot with NIH and NSF alone. There are clinical trials that ended, patients that died, young people leaving the US… and bad stuff that happened inside the agencies.
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David Simon @audacityofdespair.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
With regard to the overt and jaw-dropping use of public money to manufacture and broadcast Trump politicals ads, I'm just spitballing here, but maybe, perhaps, if the U.S. Supreme Court didn't give the president blanket immunity from prosecution for crimes he wouldn't feel so comfortable criming.
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Jonathan Ladd @jonathanmladd.com · 27/09/2026
From the amazing 1874 collection in the Georgetown archives: library.georgetown.edu/exhibition/1...
library.georgetown.edu
1874 Photograph Series: An Exhibit from the Georgetown University Archives | Georgetown University Library
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Jonathan Ladd @jonathanmladd.com · 27/09/2026
The construction of Maguire Hall in 1855 required Georgetown to move the cemetery for Jesuit priests from that location to where it still resides. Here is a 1874 photo taken from approximately where the Leavey Center is today. The future location of ICC (built in 1981) is on the left.
Jesuit cemetery, 1874
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Dan O’Sullivan @osullyville.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
I should also add that when the movie got to showing people burning Teslas and vandalizing dealerships, the theater of mostly older folks in Santa Monica started applauding. I think it is possible Trump and Musk turned libs over 50 into John Brown.
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Jonathan Ladd @jonathanmladd.com · 26/09/2026
Peter Thiel rediscovers "The Politics of Bureaucratic Structure" by Terry Moe (1989). x.com/dnapway/stat... (Apologize for the cross post of an X video.)
Peter Thiel explains what Trump got wrong in both of his terms 

"I think the two administrations made opposite mistakes."

"The first administration brought in all these people who couldn't agree, and it was just all this internal fighting."

"The second administration, I think overcorrected for the mistake of the first term with all these loyalty tests. You got an administration staffed by not very smart, but very loyal people."
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Jonathan Ladd @jonathanmladd.com · 26/09/2026
If you’re doing Meta’s comms, this can’t be what you hope for.
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Mar Hicks @histoftech.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Just found out that there’s a new, and final, installment of ITV’s groundbreaking 7up documentary series. Original creator/director Michael Apted died a few yrs ago so they got Asif Kapadia (dir. of Senna) to do it. Can’t wait to watch & have an existential crisis.
70 Up poster shows pictures of the children from 7up and them currently as 70 year olds
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Jonathan Ladd @jonathanmladd.com · 25/09/2026
My top 15: 1) The Wire 2) The Americans 2) Key and Peele 4) 30 Rock 5) Deadwood 6) Arrested Development 7) Mad Men 8) Watchmen 9) Chapelle's Show 10) Veep 11) The Office (US) 12) Schitt's Creek 13) Modern Family 14) Reservation Dogs 15) Generation Kill
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Jonathan Ladd @jonathanmladd.com · 24/09/2026
Wait. The NY Times really ranked The Diplomat higher than Community and Gilmore Girls? www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
nytimes.com
The 100 Best TV Shows of the 21st Century
More than 500 influential stars, showrunners and other notable names in the world of TV voted on the best series released since Jan. 1, 2000. See what they chose.
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Jonathan Ladd @jonathanmladd.com · 24/09/2026
Key and Peele is as good as any sketch show ever produced. (I know that's a big statement). Modern Family is just an expertly executed conventional-format family sitcom.
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Jonathan Ladd @jonathanmladd.com · 24/09/2026
Gilmore (99), Community (97), Reservation Dogs (87), Always Sunny (78), Modern Family (77), Parks and Rec (50), Key and Peele (29). Hard to fathom some of the shows they ranked above these.
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Jonathan Ladd @jonathanmladd.com · 24/09/2026
Wait. The NY Times really ranked The Diplomat higher than Community and Gilmore Girls? www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
nytimes.com
The 100 Best TV Shows of the 21st Century
More than 500 influential stars, showrunners and other notable names in the world of TV voted on the best series released since Jan. 1, 2000. See what they chose.
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Jonathan Ladd @jonathanmladd.com · 24/09/2026
Yes. I think the consensus among US elite pundits and senior politicians that the way to protect liberal democracy is *not* to punish elite figures who violate its rules is wrong. A norm starting at least with the Watergate pardon. The opposite is true. You need to enforce the law and Constitution.
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Jack Jenkins @jackjenkins.me · 23/09/2026
NEW: Last month, I flew to Kansas to speak with Rev. Adam Hamilton, the megachurch pastor running for Senate — as a Democrat. He talked to me about "progressive evangelicalism," and I talked to his congregants. And here's the thing: he has a real chance of winning. religionnews.com/2026/09/23/h...
religionnews.com
How megapastor Adam Hamilton could break the GOP's hold on Kansas
LEAWOOD, Kansas (RNS) — While Democrats have long been considered a longshot for statewide races in Kansas, the Rev. Adam Hamilton's candidacy has proven unexpectedly competitive.
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Jonathan Ladd @jonathanmladd.com · 23/09/2026
And before anyone gets too excited about this. Remember to look at the inflation takeoff that immediately followed the 1972 cash injection, while the economy declined. The beginning of a decade of stagflation.
inflation
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Jonathan Ladd @jonathanmladd.com · 23/09/2026
Yes! But it is underrated that the economic slump that followed that 1972 cash injection must have, to some extent, fueled his popularity collapse during the Watergate scandal in 73-74. I mean, compare that with Clinton 98-99.
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Jonathan Ladd @jonathanmladd.com · 23/09/2026
Mind blowing.
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Jonathan Ladd @jonathanmladd.com · 23/09/2026
These are still some of the most amazing graphs ever published in a political science book. From: Edward Tufte. 1978. Political Control of the Economy. Princeton University Press.
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Jonathan Ladd @jonathanmladd.com · 22/09/2026
I did a Q&A with coauthor Lisa Singh for the @mccourtschool.bsky.social website about a short book our team wrote for the Cambridge Elements Series. It is about the lessons Trump has taught us about the "attention economy" during presidential campaigns. mccourt.georgetown.edu/news/is-all-...
mccourt.georgetown.edu
The Attention Economy of Presidential Campaigns
McCourt School faculty explore how presidential campaigns compete for attention in a changing media landscape.
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Josh Zingher @zingherpolisci.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
I think there is solid evidence to suggest Latinos will be one of the country's most important swing constituencies over the coming decade. The bigger the group, the harder it is to find common threads to hold them together. Latinos will be one of the kingmakers in American politics moving forward.
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Drew Engelhardt @amengel.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
+1. Consistent with some of this, linked piece finds some rightward shift in outlooks among people of color, including Latinos, that follows partisanship. But key is the reversion post Nov. Meaningful election response but unlikely long-term force without reinforcement. eoperez.com/wp-content/u...
eoperez.com
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Jonathan Ladd @jonathanmladd.com · 23/09/2026
Now that I have your attention, check out my new Cambridge Element on the attention economy in presidential campaigns. It's available free online! www.jonathanmladd.com/american-pre...
jonathanmladd.com
American Presidential Campaigns in the Attention Economy
This book, "American Presidential Campaigns in the Attention Economy" is the The definitive account of how presidential candidates can exploit the attention economy in the social media era.
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Jonathan Ladd @jonathanmladd.com · 23/09/2026
I do not believe there was some course of action Trump could have taken in 2025 in which Trumpist Republicans won national majorities for 20 years straight, for example. I see no evidence for that claim. Historical patterns point the other direction.
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Jonathan Ladd @jonathanmladd.com · 23/09/2026
I always get a lot of grief online when I write that the solution to America's problems cannot be "Democrats win every election forever." That's not democracy. The solution is having at least two parties where the major center-right and center-left parties accept liberal democracy.
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Jonathan Ladd @jonathanmladd.com · 23/09/2026
The biggest challenge for the US political system is reforming itself so that it can work with regular alternation in party control without either party trying to murder the other party's voters with secret police outside the law or, more generally, ignoring our Constitution.
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