iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Kenny Lowande @lowande.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

shell is the worst; i live where they're headquartered and they still charge 30cents more/gallon

Kenny Lowande @lowande.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

Reading what lawyers write about the presidency, it surprises me how often they make empirical predictions about what will happen if we adopt their view of the law. Thanks to Trump, data is pouring in about policy under a unitary executive. It isn't good. www.civitasoutlook.com/symposium-ar...

civitasoutlook.com

Promises of the Unitary Executive

Conservatives should remember that unitary control’s core pathologies will remain for the next left-wing president.

143

Kenny Lowande @lowande.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

thanks David! (Didn't do one of those "Pleased to announce that..." posts bc it's bad for the soul.)

010

Kenny Lowande @lowande.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

Rice is recruiting 2(+) professors this Fall! Open rank, open field. Looking forward to meeting people who want to come do their best work in our growing Department, at a growing University. (I am not on the committee, but feel free to reach out with questions.) apply.interfolio.com/190537

1911

Reposted by Kenny Lowande

Isaiah Johnson @icjohnson.bsky.social · 30/06/2026

My son and I are happy to announce that I will be joining @ricepolisci.bsky.social this coming academic year as a Postdoctoral Associate! I will be working with @lowande.bsky.social in the Executive Policy Research Group (EPRG) to examine the effects of unilateral policymaking. 🍚🦉

2102

Kenny Lowande @lowande.bsky.social · 07/05/2026

Have you read the speech? He didn't say that. (Despite your quotes.) And the "progressives" he talks about in it are the ones who supported eugenics, something modern progressives would probably join him in disliking.

000

Kenny Lowande @lowande.bsky.social · 20/04/2026

indiv contributions by law enforcement since 2012 -- shifted sharply once Trump on the ballot

0143

Kenny Lowande @lowande.bsky.social · 02/04/2026

How should scholars who study American politics change what they do in a political time like ours? I'm skeptical it will get much circulation on this site, but in a new review, I critique the emerging turn toward a kind of political advocacy mixed with research. myumi.ch/w9R2W

1168

Kenny Lowande @lowande.bsky.social · 27/03/2026

NYT giving the president exactly what he wants. IT doesn't matter if this is legal or if it works. The point is the story. "The President Tried to Pay the TSA, but Congress Wouldn't Let Him"

25212

Kenny Lowande @lowande.bsky.social · 16/02/2026

what's there to debate, boris? It seems that we all should be very much opposed to shark attacks. Very bad for people, very bad in the long run for sharks. Holds regardless of whether it is 2026 or 1916. Case closed.

130

Kenny Lowande @lowande.bsky.social · 11/02/2026

This only holds if think presidential approval ratings measure anything meaningful in American politics today. Is focusing so much energy on them in both academic and journalistic work helpful for understanding the world? (I don't think so.)

131

Kenny Lowande @lowande.bsky.social · 19/12/2025

More context: The American presidency and the executive branch, more broadly, are far and away the most important political institutions in American politics. Yet every year, my discipline, political science, supports and trains few (if any) people dedicated to studying how it works.

000

Kenny Lowande @lowande.bsky.social · 18/12/2025

Also, this figure would seem to be at odds with all those "father of a daughter" studies

110

Kenny Lowande @lowande.bsky.social · 08/12/2025

This is technically true. But if the rule of law is actually an attitude, and people believe EOs matter, then the technicality doesn't matter. This is why presidents sign symbolic orders anyway. The hope that people will believe in them.

051

Kenny Lowande @lowande.bsky.social · 02/12/2025

Fong is changing the study of legislatures, and he's not doing it by finding neat little RDDs and natural experiments.

110

Kenny Lowande @lowande.bsky.social · 30/09/2025

in order to adequately assess your submission and do our annual editorial reports we will now need your ssn and five years of residency history; plz post

030

Kenny Lowande @lowande.bsky.social · 30/09/2025

i see your bat signal and respond by throwing a book

073

Kenny Lowande @lowande.bsky.social · 04/08/2025

Link to full study and more info: myumi.ch/W6Pz7

010

Kenny Lowande @lowande.bsky.social · 04/08/2025

The Trump admin owns the public narrative by taking executive action, over and over. Our new study shows this strategy has detectable impacts on Google search traffic for the incumbent president. Ballpark est. similar to pop artists when they release a new album.

122

Kenny Lowande @lowande.bsky.social · 23/07/2025

This study is joint work with some smart undergraduates at the University of Michigan, all of whom, would make great White House staffers -- for any president! 6/6

030

Kenny Lowande @lowande.bsky.social · 23/07/2025

White House alumni lean correlates with 2025 investigations and funding cuts, after accounting for observables. We aren't saying this is causal. But it is a good illustration of how Trump actions reflect deeper, political divisions in higher ed itself. 5/6

110

Kenny Lowande @lowande.bsky.social · 23/07/2025

Highly ranked (i.e., by US News) university alumni are overwhelmingly Dem-leaning, while large publics and small colleges are more diverse... (I am having fun with my alma mater in this figure. Sic'em.) 4/6

110

Kenny Lowande @lowande.bsky.social · 23/07/2025

Republican leaning majors: 3/6

110

Kenny Lowande @lowande.bsky.social · 23/07/2025

Even within credentials, staffers were polarized by degree field. Democrat leaning majors: 2/6

110

Kenny Lowande @lowande.bsky.social · 23/07/2025

NEW STUDY: White House staff hiring over 1996-2024 shows the diploma divide is in the White House. Elite universities sent far more alumni to work for Democratic presidents. Full paper: myumi.ch/pVMM5 Details: First --> Overall, Democratic presidents tend to value more credentials... 1/6

195

Kenny Lowande @lowande.bsky.social · 07/07/2025

This plots data from the DOD's 1033 program -- there are other programs, of course, and we'll be adding them as we process what we've obtained through FOIs.

020

Kenny Lowande @lowande.bsky.social · 07/07/2025

Policymakers and the public need to understand how/if these programs are working. We'll soon release some of our own findings, but we hope the underlying data will help others who want to study domestic law enforcement -- and how it has been changed by shift toward homeland security.

020

Kenny Lowande @lowande.bsky.social · 07/07/2025

We'll be updating these data as they become available, and eventually adding the billions more in homeland security subsidies that have gone out since 2007.

110

Kenny Lowande @lowande.bsky.social · 07/07/2025

The DOD has billions in military hardware circulating among state and local police. Pleased to announce a tool developed to visualize and track this equipment, along with clean, historical data on all controlled items circulated between 2014-2025. police.executivepolicy.org

police.executivepolicy.org

Police Map - EPRG

Interactive map showing Department of Defense equipment on loan to local law enforcement

34324

Kenny Lowande @lowande.bsky.social · 01/07/2025

Counterpoint: there's never been more data available about what the government actually does. Most political scientists just have a soft spot for what happens between peoples' ears.

0163

Kenny Lowande @lowande.bsky.social · 01/06/2025

Especially on Sundays in Ann Arbor, where street parking only costs a small portion of your soul.

010

Kenny Lowande @lowande.bsky.social · 20/05/2025

and if you're considering it for a course, are a journalist, or a student of any kind, please write to me. I'll send you a copy. For free.

030

Kenny Lowande @lowande.bsky.social · 20/05/2025

My book won the 2025 Neustadt award for best book on the American presidency. Presidents enact bad policies, on purpose, because it helps them define their brand & gives the impression they're in charge. If that basic message resonates, please give it some of your reading time: lnkd.in/dVPsriXt

2227

Kenny Lowande @lowande.bsky.social · 16/05/2025

are these hemingway chapters or shelby foote chapters

000

Kenny Lowande @lowande.bsky.social · 16/05/2025

When someone tells you a unitary executive will lead to more "energy" (a la Hamilton) remember that the President is a decision-making bottleneck. It's not complicated. The more things you put on his plate, the slower government moves.

051

Kenny Lowande @lowande.bsky.social · 02/05/2025

The modern White House has the annual turnover rate of a Chili's. Full paper: shorturl.at/9u1LX

000

Kenny Lowande @lowande.bsky.social · 25/04/2025

only acceptable if the audience chants "RING THAT BELL"

010

Kenny Lowande @lowande.bsky.social · 23/04/2025

i am sorry but you will not be allowed to carry your coef plots through TSA screening

020

Kenny Lowande @lowande.bsky.social · 22/04/2025

Why 100 days? Because humans like this number. How many policies were pushed out the door before they should have so the administration could pad its stats? More than any American should be comfortable with.

031

Kenny Lowande @lowande.bsky.social · 14/04/2025

i assign this in my institutions seminar also, but i think it belongs in both subfield seminars: www.cambridge.org/us/universit...

cambridge.org

Frustrated Majorities | Political economy

000

Kenny Lowande @lowande.bsky.social · 12/04/2025

Thank God for Mark Richardson.

020

Kenny Lowande @lowande.bsky.social · 09/04/2025

The irony is that Congress started delegating this power a century ago because taking it out of their hands helped REDUCE uncertainty about economic winners and losers after elections.

023