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Nicole Hemmer

@pastpunditry.bsky.social
72K followers 1.5K following 1.8K posts

Historian of conservatism, media, and the presidency at Vanderbilt. Author of PARTISANS & MESSENGERS OF THE RIGHT. Cohost of @thisdaypod.com from Radiotopia. Frequently posting on IG stories @pastpundit

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Reposted by Nicole Hemmer
Tressie McMillan Cottom @tressiemcphd.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
some descriptive statistics here on the civility industrial complex on college campuses that I haven’t seen analyzed before www.uncivilcollective.org/resources
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Julian Davis Mortenson @jdmortenson.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Michigan's fall 2026 public law workshop is presenting a marvelous range of work from an exceptional group of scholars. Our theme this semester is presidential power--anyone in the U of M community is warmly invited to join!
Aug 31 - Anne Joseph O'Connell
Sept 21 - Andrea Katz
Oct 9 - Shalev Roisman
Oct 26 - Rebecca Ingber
Nov 2 - Amanda Hollis Brusky
Nov 9 - Daryl Levinson
Nov 23 - Nicole Hemmer
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Boston Review @bostonreview.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
“As the GOP has grown more and more extreme, Democrats have held fast to defending a supposedly vital center—both for moral reasons (compromise and moderation are who we are) and strategic ones (the misguided appeal to the mythical ‘median voter’).” @pastpunditry.bsky.social
bostonreview.net
The actual politics of free speech is fueled by a right-wing political strategy.
Nicole Hemmer responds to Alex Gourevitch’s “The Right to Be Hostile.”
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Chris Yogerst @chrisyogerst.com · 09/09/2026
Great conversation about the American Scoundrel. Just finishing the new bio, which is fantastic. Roy Cohn: ‘The Evil Forrest Gump of the 20th Century’ @pastpunditry.bsky.social
nytimes.com
Opinion | Roy Cohn: ‘The Evil Forrest Gump of the 20th Century’
A new book reveals how the infamous lawyer helped shape Donald Trump.
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Knight First Amendment Institute @knightcolumbia.org · 28/08/2026
Meet our next speakers joining “The Forever War and the First Amendment” symposium! ✦ @philklay.bsky.social, Fairfield University ✦ Brett Max Kaufman, @aclu.org ✦ @pastpunditry.bsky.social, @vanderbilt.edu #FirstAmendment #PressFreedom 🔗 Register here! knightcolumbia.org/events/the-f...
knightcolumbia.org
The Forever War and the First Amendment
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Eva Montemaggi @evamontemaggi.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
Really good and concise summary of what has led us to these illiberal times from @pastpunditry.bsky.social and @edwardluce.bsky.social www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
bbc.co.uk
How Did We Get Here? - No World Order - 5: Bonfire of the Agreements - BBC Sounds
Obama's peace prize, populism's rise, and America walks away from its own order.
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Asheesh Kapur Siddique @asheeshks.org · 07/08/2026
This Center is a spinoff of the right-wing Civitas Institute www.statesman.com/news/educati...
statesman.com
UT quietly opens Center for Humanities but won't say how it was created
UT is adding 14 professors through a new humanities center, though the university has not explained how the initiative was formed.
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Josh Shepperd @joshshepperd.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
I was interviewed by Colorado Public Radio about how the the current FCC Commissioner is working to eliminate diversity in media ownership, local reporting, and viewpoint by ignoring Congressional oversight.
cpr.org
FCC expected to get rid of ownership caps for local TV
The FCC chair pushing the move says it will help local news, but others disagree. Vote will determine the future of television news across the country.
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Tressie McMillan Cottom @tressiemcphd.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
I’ve been screening our documentary with organizing communities in the South. So far, the organizers mention data centers first at every single event. From racial justice orgs to old school activists who don’t usually think about tech policy. This has legs.
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Jameel Jaffer @jameeljaffer.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
This September will mark 25 years since 9/11 and the inauguration of the “war on terror.” On Sept 9 & 10, join @knightcolumbia.org and the Li Center at @columbiajournalism.bsky.social for a major symposium about the war on terror’s legacy for democratic freedom. 1/ knightcolumbia.org/events/the-f...
knightcolumbia.org
The Forever War and the First Amendment
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Dahlia Lithwick @dahlialithwick.bsky.social · 02/08/2026
Episode Three of By the People, our series on popular constitutionalism and what Americans can do to make constitutional change. Marc Solomon in conversation with @mjsdc.bsky.social about the fight on the ground for marriage equality shows.acast.com/amicus-with-...
shows.acast.com
By The People | Two Steps Forward, One Step Back | Amicus With Dahlia Lithwick | Law, justice, and the courts
Everyday activism created a perfect storm at the Supreme Court in 2015. There’s a lot we can learn from it today.
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Adam Serwer @adamserwer.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
Manosphere grifters have figured out that some men are easily manipulated by making them feel insecure about their masculinity. The GOP has turned this sales pitch into both an ideology and a campaign strategy. www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...
Any man who goes online today is apt to come across content telling him that he will never find a partner who will earn him the respect of other men if he lacks money and connections, if he is not bodybuilder-fit with a full head of hair, if he is not more than six feet tall. Online influencers who push this narrative have products to sell. They want you to buy their workout apps, their advice sessions, their investment plans. That’s just how a lot of advertising works: It makes you insecure so you’ll pay for a product in hopes of temporarily silencing your gnawing sense of inadequacy.Just as the manosphere and its galaxy of hucksters want you to fork over your cash so you can feel better about yourself as a man, Republicans want to make you feel insecure about your masculinity so that you vote Republican. Masculinity, in this sense, is a lifestyle product: one that comes with a set of political beliefs predicated on the subjugation of women, minority groups, and anyone else who men are told are their inferiors.
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Tressie McMillan Cottom @tressiemcphd.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
This is why Dems are reluctant to run on retribution, despite its popularity. They want the power he accrued and the surveillance infrastructure he formalized. Period.
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Nicole Hemmer @pastpunditry.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
The last half hour of JD Vance’s Rogan interview focused on labor unions & the working class. Vance argued unions are great and should be strengthened. Cool! What was his main example for how to make unions better? Allowing them to negotiate so that some workers make below minimum wage.
Transcript of Vance interview with Rogan: “There's a concrete example that Orin [Cass] uses all the time. So in some European countries, you have a minimum wage, right? In some European countries, the union can actually cut a deal with the employer to where you pay a brand new employee less than the minimum wage, then you pay a more senior person higher than the minimum wage.

But in order to pay the junior employee less than the minimum wage, you have to provide them job training and better benefits and so forth. So the idea is for the first couple of years, you turn the company almost into an educational institution. But in order to do that, the union has to have flexibility.

That kind of arrangement is effectively illegal in the United States of America. So it's that you create the ability for the union to be more flexible in how it negotiates. You don't set all the terms for it, you allow the union to figure out what's in the best interest of its membership.”
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John Garrison Marks @johngmarks.com · 15/07/2026
These exhibit panels diminish the actual lives of the people George Washington enslaved, while also cherry picking Washington’s statements opposing slavery to depict him as an early abolitionist. Visitors will now come away with a warped understanding of both Washington and the people he enslaved.
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Radley Balko @radleybalko.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
I have a piece in the NYT today arguing that the law should permit victims of ICE abuse to sue not just individual officers, but supervisors and policymakers like Stephen Miller and Gregory Bovino. A Democratic president and Congress could do this in 2029. And they could make it retroactive.
nytimes.com
Opinion | ICE Is Out of Control. Here’s What to Do About It.
Congress must push back against our inhumane immigration tactics.
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Alexis Coe @alexiscoe.bsky.social · 12/07/2026
I wrote about Kerri Greenidge because the vague-accusation-to-career-ending-punishment math isn’t mathing. Show us the work. substack.com/home/post/p-...
substack.com
The Scandal and the Scale
I was bleary-eyed on a delayed flight when I spotted a New York Times article about Kerri Greenidge, a historian of Black political life and memory.
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Scene on Radio @sceneonradio.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
New episode: As it turns 250, the American republic is in a precarious state, a danger to itself and others. Can we blame the state of our news media for THIS? With @chenjerai.bsky.social, @pastpunditry.bsky.social, @froomkin.bsky.social and Michael Tomasky @thenewrepublic.bsky.social @prx.org
podcasts.apple.com
S8 E7: Can We Blame the Media For THIS?
Podcast Episode · Scene on Radio · S8 E7 · 55m
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Matthew Sheffield @matthew.flux.community · 01/07/2026
This actually is how the Republican Party once was: a fragmented coalition of interest groups who either hated each other or were ambivalent. What changed was that reactionaries harnessed the power of media to radicalize co-partisans. Great book by @pastpunditry.bsky.social on this
pennpress.org
Messengers of the Right – Penn Press
From Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity to Glenn Beck and Matt Drudge, Americans are accustomed to thinking of right-wing media as integral to contemporary conse...
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unCivil @uncivilcollective.bsky.social · 28/06/2026
We tracked the right-wing funding networks behind the civility-industrial complex. At @theguardian.com, @alicesperi.bsky.social uses our research to explore the explosive growth of "civility" and "dialogue" programs on campuses across the U.S.: www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
theguardian.com
‘Dialogue is all the rage’: why is the right pouring millions into ‘civil discourse’ initiatives on US campuses?
Universities looking for a fix to relentless controversy are flocking to ‘civility’ initiatives. Critics say these efforts mask a darker project
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Nicole Hemmer @pastpunditry.bsky.social · 24/06/2026
boston folks! come join us tonight for our live show at city space—it’s going to be amazing! (i am touching down now and heading straight to the nearest oyster bar to fuel up)
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Jody Avirgan @jodyavirgan.com · 24/06/2026
Have all the political and policy disagreements you want, I think it’s actually quite healthy, but this logic has to die. The GOP is gonna put whatever they want into an ad — often regardless of whether it’s true or not — no matter what.
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jamelle @jamellebouie.net · 24/06/2026
in addition to every other problem here, mamdani spends the vast majority of his time in the public eye speaking about hyper-local new york city governance issues. the idea that he is preoccupied with israel at all times is based on nothing other than the fact that he is muslim
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Nicole Hemmer @pastpunditry.bsky.social · 15/06/2026
boston peeps! start your july 4th celebrations early at our live show next week! ticket info below ⬇️
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Paul Renfro @renfro.bsky.social · 07/06/2026
My favorite conference, hands down—fantastic panels, friendly and brilliant people, and good vibes (even in a city where the vibes are currently atrocious). Already excited for the next meeting.
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Kathryn Cramer Brownell @kathrynbrownell.bsky.social · 07/06/2026
Thank you to everyone who made the last three days so special!!!
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Matthew Guariglia @mguariglia.bsky.social · 07/06/2026
This was a truly amazing conference.
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Kevin M. Kruse @kevinmkruse.bsky.social · 07/06/2026
Heading out of DC this morning after an amazing American Political History Conference here. What @leahrigueur.bsky.social @kathrynbrownell.bsky.social & @pastpunditry.bsky.social have created here is impressive beyond belief.
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Greg Sargent @gregsargent.bsky.social · 01/06/2026
Pam Bondi testifying that Todd Blanche was to blame for Epstein files fiasco is big. If Dems win House they'll subpoena Blanche and Kash Patel to testify under oath about cover up. On the pod, historian Nicole Hemmer is so illuminating on the MAGA/Epstein crackup: newrepublic.com/article/2111...
newrepublic.com
Trump Epstein Leaks Worsen as MAGA Cracks Up: “He Lame-Ducked Himself”
As Trump’s travails cause MAGA to fracture and GOP defenses to crumble, a historian of the right explains how all the turmoil reflects growing awareness that Trump is passing from the scene.
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donnayoungdc @donnayoungdc.bsky.social · 01/06/2026
Important point from @pastpunditry.bsky.social to @gregsargent.bsky.social "We should be worried about the minoritarian politics that [Trump] leaves behind, because even the Republican Party that's not entirely bought into Donald Trump at this moment is 100 percent bought into ruling as a minority."
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Bolts @boltsmag.org · 22/05/2026
Activists in Memphis are facing retaliation for trying to document an ongoing occupation by federal agents:
motherjones.com
Memphis is “under full-blown occupation” by ICE. Here’s why you may not know that.
Community members face retaliation for trying to spread the word out, a lawsuit alleges.
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Michael Edison Hayden @michaelehayden.bsky.social · 21/05/2026
Psychosexual breakdown happening at the Tucker Carlson merch store
Hats saying FAGA and low IqHats that say Neocons are gay
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This Day (A History Podcast) @thisdaypod.com · 14/05/2026
People looked way older in the past, right? Very important conversation broke out at the end of this week's episode. @jodyavirgan.com @kcarterjackson.bsky.social @pastpunditry.bsky.social offer their theories -- what's yours?
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Victor Ray @victorerikray.bsky.social · 15/05/2026
I'm working on a piece I'm slightly behind on for @liberalcurrents.com on reconstruction. And I'm always struck by the fact that we only needed the Civil Rights Act, Voting Rights Act, and Fair Housing Act because the state and federal governments just ignored the Reconstruction Amendments.
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Nicole Hemmer @pastpunditry.bsky.social · 11/05/2026
NYC may have the tall ships but Boston has This Day live! Plan your 250th celebrations accordingly.
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Jody Avirgan @jodyavirgan.com · 11/05/2026
Boston! We're bringing @thisdaypod.com to WBUR's City Space on June 24th, talking all things America 250. Will be there with @pastpunditry.bsky.social @kcarterjackson.bsky.social and more. A great way to kick off your summer semi-quincentennial happenings... www.wbur.org/events/10850...
wbur.org
‘This Day (A History Show)’ live: 50 Weeks That Made America
CitySpace celebrates cutting edge conversations, adventurous art, innovative ideas. CitySpace is WBUR on stage. Convening leaders in all fields for an array of offerings — readings, interviews, debate...
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Jay Willis @jaywillis.net · 04/05/2026
I know it’s early, but I think the conservative legal movement’s Serious Intellectual starting a tweet with “Let’s be real” and then arguing that the Supreme Court actually decided the presidential immunity case so it could protect *Joe Biden* is the funniest shit I will read all week
Sarah Isgur
@whignewtons
X.com
I would have written the immunity decision differently but let's be real: DOJ reindicted Trump on the exact same 4 counts. SCOTUS didn't shield him; voters did. The person it shielded was Joe Biden. Does anyone doubt this admin would have indicted him for nonsense?
4:58 AM • 5/3/26 • 118K Views
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Dannagal Goldthwaite Young @dannagal.bsky.social · 03/05/2026
You do, however, confirm that he is full of shit: Denies saying things they roll tape of him saying. Denies saying things he *just* said. When called out, says he never meant to say it, & moves on to another disingenuous, incoherent statement, dripping with contempt for those who dare pose questions
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Nicole Hemmer @pastpunditry.bsky.social · 03/05/2026
spoiler: you do not find out what tucker carlson really believes
Cover image of the New York Times podcast “The Interview” with a black-and-white picture of Tucker Carlson and the headline “What Does Tucker Carlson Really Believe? I Went to Maine to Find Out.”
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Mother Jones @motherjones.com · 03/05/2026
Where are the student protests? The real answer isn’t that students decided to shut up. It’s that universities, and a hostile federal government, have expended massive resources trying to ensure they do.
motherjones.com
“Where have all the student protests gone?”
Trump wanted campus crackdowns. Colleges couldn't wait to oblige.
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Jenny Hunter @jennyhunter.bsky.social · 30/04/2026
1. Expanding the Court wouldn’t “weaken” it. 2. Some reforms, like removing the Court’s jurisdiction to overturn federal laws, would “weaken” it by restoring Congress’ power --> a good thing 3. Nobody wants to to eliminate an independent judiciary! Courts should enforce fed. laws, not gut them.
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Steve Vladeck @stevevladeck.bsky.social · 30/04/2026
The Callais ruling is the latest evidence that the real problem with #SCOTUS is that it can do whatever it wants without any fear of pushback from Congress. The way to fix that is by making the Court *accountable* again, something that expanding it or imposing term limits won't actually accomplish:
stevevladeck.com
Bonus 223: "They Are Who We Thought They Were"
The Callais ruling has prompted renewed calls for Court reform. It's also a reminder of why the most popular proposals *aren't* how we should fix the Court.
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Andrew Lawrence @ndrew.bsky.social · 30/04/2026
theres just no coming back from this without a complete tear down and rebuild of some of our most major institutions
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Barred and Boujee aka Madiba Dennie @audrelawdamercy.blacksky.app · 29/04/2026
yes. one of the reasons why The Originalism Trap focuses on changing the way we read and interpret the Constitution is because clearly changing the text of the Constitution alone is not enough often necessary, yes, but insufficient on its own www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/735353...
penguinrandomhouse.com
The Originalism Trap by Madiba K. Dennie: 9780593729250 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books
A rallying cry for a more just approach to the law that bolsters social justice movements by throwing out originalism—the theory that judges should interpret the Constitution exactly as conservatives....
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Elizabeth Spiers @espiers.bsky.social · 27/04/2026
Accountability is not just about convinction. It is also about the public documentation of his crimes, the historical record and building a case for action later, all of which the last impeachment accomplished. And no one said anything about November.
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Ken Schwencke @schwanksta.com · 27/04/2026
We've updated our habeas tracker again, and more than **40,000** new cases have been opened since Trump took office again. projects.propublica.org/habeas-track...
projects.propublica.org
Tracking the Historic Rise of Habeas Cases Filed by Detained Immigrants
ProPublica is tracking the historic rise in challenges filed by immigrants claiming their detention is illegal.
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Nicole Hemmer @pastpunditry.bsky.social · 24/04/2026
as dystopian as having ai read bedtime stories to your kids sounds, this isn’t even a good use-case! we’ve had technology to read to kids for decades! i had a little fisher-price record player that read books. we have audio books and podcasts with real human voice actors. we don’t even need this
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Benjamin Balthaser @blbalthaser.bsky.social · 24/04/2026
The problem is not that older faculty are sticking around - it’s that they are not being replaced. The argument of this piece is quite pernicious as it substitutes a class war btw workers and a neoliberal administration w an age war btw different ranks of workers
Professors Are Too
Old
The academy's gerontocracy problem is worse than anyone admits.
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