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Peter Zusi

@peterzusi.bsky.social
658 followers 553 following 495 posts

Director, NYU Prague. Honorary professor, UCL-SSEES. Czech, German and Comparative Literature. Verbal and visual modernisms. Kafka. Mushrooms. Cats (in particular, one very special cat). Opinions here are my own (re-post ≠ necessarily endorsement).

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Peter Zusi @peterzusi.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
I make periodic attempts to find the times we live in “interesting,” but most of the time I just get stuck on “mortifying” As Jack Smith Testifies, a Senator’s Accusation of Perjury Falters www.nytimes.com/2026/09/29/u...
nytimes.com
Jack Smith Defends Trump Charges as Senator’s Perjury Claim Falters (Gift Article)
A Republican eager to prove the former special counsel was dishonest appeared to instead demonstrate his own confusion over basic facts.
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Dr Danny Bate @dannybate.com · 28/09/2026
Greetings from the path from Prague to Stará Boleslav, where Czechs (and at least one Englishman) are gathering in honour of that "good king" from the carol. For the day that's in it, here's a new piece about why his name in English has an N, but not so in Czech. dannybate.com/2026/09/28/g...
dannybate.com
Good King Václav
Every September 28th, thanks to a brutal fratricide over a thousand years ago, the Czech Republic gives itself a day off. The victim of that crime was Wenceslaus, ruler of Bohemia from 921 to maybe…
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Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 29/09/2026
🤡 Schmitt beclowns himself 🤡 Schmitt concocted an elaborate conspiracy theory that Smith traveled to Atl for a Hawks game and to collude with Fani Willis, & flashed his "evidence" before accusing Smith of perjury. There's just one problem -- his facts were totally wrong. Here's the whole sequence:
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Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 29/09/2026
Jack Smith: "Our investigation developed proof beyond a reasonable doubt that President Trump engaged in serious crimes against our nation ... rather than accept his defeat in the 2020 election, he engaged in a criminal scheme to overturn the results and prevent the lawful transfer of power"
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The Ukrainian Review @theukrainianreview.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Academy of Sciences in Kyiv 🙏🇺🇦
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Carole Cadwalladr @carolecadwalla.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
NEW: Meet the real AI ‘rogue agent’: Lord Watson of Palantir. I am sick to the teeth of this current AI hype cycle & its perversion of language. The only thing going ‘rogue’ right now are AI boosters, a gullible & compliant press & a Labour Lord 1/ broligarchy.substack.com/p/meet-the-r...
broligarchy.substack.com
Meet the real AI “rogue agent”: Lord Tom Watson
A Labour leader is out of control. The world needs a containment strategy now
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Peter Zusi @peterzusi.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
“AND” is the conjunction you are looking for, @nytimes: “AND Denmark gets to keep it.” “But” implies an unexpected or irregular outcome. Denmark keeping their sovereign territory in the face of bullying demands by the U.S. president is decidedly NOT irregular. Seriously, why is this so difficult??
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Peter Zusi @peterzusi.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
The slip says it all: presumption of personal ownership of US government. Sure, he doesn’t need to let reporters into “his house.” But he sure does need to let them into “the people’s house.”
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Peter Zusi @peterzusi.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Let’s see, a fleeting shudder in one segment of the stock market, or a 10% chance of complete annihilation of human civilization, which is worse…? 🤷‍♂️🤔
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Peter Zusi @peterzusi.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Looks to me like a call for someone with a gazillion dollars to make a very public and very huge donation to the Kennedy Center contingent on that other name NOT being added in any form
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Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
'Despite all the progress, we still only understand a tiny fraction of what goes on inside these models.' The Dario Amodei statement. Worth a read. It's form is also proof that reports of the demise of the essay as a means of communication are premature.
darioamodei.com
Dario Amodei — We Must Pace the Frontier
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Peter Zusi @peterzusi.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
I will be deep-fried in a $105 barrel of Brent crude before I click on that headline @nytimes.com please oh please, in the name of all that is sacred on this day, do not make it about him! #September11
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UCL School of Slavonic and East European Studies @uclssees.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
State honours for a war criminal shake Serbia's EU ambitions. Dr Jessie Barton Hronešová discusses Ratko Mladić's legacy and whether the funeral could become a turning point in relations between Belgrade and the European Union. www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ojL...
youtube.com
State honors for a war criminal shake Serbia's EU ambitions | Jessie Barton-Hronešová
YouTube video by TALKING WITH TVP WORLD
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UCL Arts & Sciences @uclartssciences.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
📢 The UCL Arts and Sciences department is seeking a Professor of Creative Writing to lead our new Creative Writing MA course which starts in September 2027. Further information can be found at www.ucl.ac.uk/work-at-ucl/... The advert closes at 23.59 on 6 October.
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Peter Zusi @peterzusi.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Ukrainian equivalent of Patriot missle? Ukraine demonstrates Korall, a mobile anti-ballistic missile system (launched from chassis of Czech Tatra truck).
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Peter Zusi @peterzusi.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
NY Times Pitchbot wins comedy award with joke headline describing Trump’s latest venal lie about his role after 9/11: @nytpitchbot.bsky.social @nytimes.com
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Peter Zusi @peterzusi.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
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Jen Taub @jentaub.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
“A single-payer universal health care system could cover every American, save more than 100,000 lives a year, and still cost $1 trillion less than the system it would replace, according to a new preprint study led by researchers at the Yale School of Public Health.” ysph.yale.edu/news-article...
ysph.yale.edu
Universal Health Coverage Could Save $1 Trillion and 114,000 Lives Every Year, Yale Study Projects
A single-payer universal health care system could cover every American, save more than 100,000 lives a year, and still cost $1 trillion less than the system it
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Peter Zusi @peterzusi.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
Dotard gonna dote
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Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 16/08/2026
Trump allies himself w/Kim Jong Un against South Korea: “Based on my very good relationship w/Kim Jong Un, I am not happy that the US has agreed to Joint Military Exercises…I recently asked the President of SK if they would like to join us in the Denuclearization of Iran, & they said, ‘No thanks!’”
Trump allies himself with totalitarian dictator Kim Jong Un against South Korea: “Based on my very good relationship with Kim Jong Un, of North Korea, I am not happy with the fact that the United States has, long ago, agreed to participate in Joint Military Exercises with South Korea. These exercises are not only costly, with much of these costs paid for by the United States of America (as usual!), but send a signal that is totally inappropriate and hostile, to a Country that, as long as Donald J. Trump has been President, has been unthreatening and respectful … While somewhat unrelated (?), I recently asked the President of South Korea if they would like to join us in the Denuclearization of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and they said, ‘No thanks!’”
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Peter Zusi @peterzusi.bsky.social · 09/08/2026
“Dem socialists will eliminate our system of checks and balances.” Chuck, you may want to sit down and take a deep breath: I have something to tell you.
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James Cameron @jjjcameron.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
If you saw a US administration as dysfunctional and disdainful of its allies as this one, with its limited bandwidth reduced yet further by its futile adventure in Iran, and you were looking to shift the dynamic of your own unwinnable war, wouldn't you think of having a crack?
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Peter Zusi @peterzusi.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
Billions of dollars wasted in destroying our only hope to mitigate climate change because the man with the worst aesthetic sense in history finds windmills “ugly.” Mind-boggling. Trump Administration to Pay German Firm $1.2 Billion to Cancel Wind Leases www.nytimes.com/2026/08/06/c...
nytimes.com
Trump Administration to Pay RWE to Cancel Wind Leases
It was the fifth such deal struck by the administration to get companies to drop offshore wind projects.
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Peter Zusi @peterzusi.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
This does not bode well
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Peter Zusi @peterzusi.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
This—unfortunately—is a very clear-eyed thread:
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Peter Zusi @peterzusi.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
Periodic reality check how far we have fallen: the vocabulary of “choking” and “folding”—an explicit admission that the task at hand for POTUS is not evaluating evidence but blind resistance and insistence—is no longer something people even bother pointing out, let alone having consequences.
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The New Republic @newrepublic.com · 03/08/2026
President Trump is banning students majoring in degrees that don’t make enough money from taking out college loans. Degrees for social work, art, religious studies, teaching aides, and music will be hit the hardest. trib.al/aaAEu6v
trib.al
Trump Moves to Cut Off Student Loans for Tons of Degrees
Under a new rule, if your degree doesn’t make enough money, you won’t be able to get a student loan.
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Peter Zusi @peterzusi.bsky.social · 03/08/2026
So Blanche’s first official act to try to persuade congress that if made AG he will not act as personal attorney to POTUS is… an illegal act benefitting POTUS Blanche Gives G.O.P. Senators Written Assurances on Trump’s I.R.S. Deal www.nytimes.com/2026/08/03/u...
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Peter Zusi @peterzusi.bsky.social · 03/08/2026
It really boggles the mind that anyone in control of big money pays any attention to this anymore. “What we’re doing now is we’re talking to them in the form of a negotiation.” 🙄 🥱
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Glen O'Hara @gsoh31.bsky.social · 02/08/2026
So it's farewell to the History subject area at the University of Hertfordshire, not the first nor the last to go. One of the best departments in the country, just extinguished like a snap of the fingers. Think of the waste. (1/2)
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Peter Zusi @peterzusi.bsky.social · 01/08/2026
The heat this summer is not simply tropical, it’s polytropical (Sorry)
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Peter Zusi @peterzusi.bsky.social · 31/07/2026
Seems to me this should be getting more media attention than it is: Anthropic Says Its A.I. Systems Broke Into Computers at 3 Organizations www.nytimes.com/2026/07/30/t...
nytimes.com
Anthropic Says Its A.I. Systems Broke Into Computers at 3 Organizations (Gift Article)
The disclosure followed OpenAI’s report last week that its own artificial intelligence had hacked into the network of an online library.
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Peter Zusi @peterzusi.bsky.social · 31/07/2026
The first two words *entirely* undermine the rest of this headline
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Olesya Khromeychuk @okhromeychuk.bsky.social · 25/07/2026
Friends in Edinburgh, we'll be recording The Ukraine Shelf in front of a live audience at the @edbookfest.bsky.social for the second year running. This year’s guests are Charlotte Higgins, Chief Culture Writer at The Guardian & Bohdana Laiuk, Ukraine's Deputy Minister of Culture. 1/2
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EMILY WILSON @emilyrcwilson.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
There is a lot to say about the Nolan Odyssey movie. But one point that I think has not been emphasized enough is: this is a film about living in LA, as Nolan, my erstwhile British compatriot and age mate, has done for years. I gather it’s a strange place.
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Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani @mayor.nyc.gov · 22/07/2026
Benjamin Netanyahu is a war criminal.
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Peter Zusi @peterzusi.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
Skies of western Bohemia
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Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
'Government investment in defence-related higher education recognises the need for engineering, computing, cyber, robotics and autonomous systems. But if universities educate the next generation of defence specialists while weakening subjects that teach conflict resolution' [continued] 1/3
hepi.ac.uk
What universities count – and what they cannot afford to ignore - HEPI
This blog was kindly authored by Anna Zimdars, Christopher Playford, Eve Worth, Luke Graham, Joanna Merrett and Joseph Crawford, members of the Centre for Social Mobility, University of Exeter. He tha...
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Peter Zusi @peterzusi.bsky.social · 20/07/2026
Rule No. 1 of football shithousery: if you’re gonna do that, make damn sure you win
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Peter Zusi @peterzusi.bsky.social · 19/07/2026
This is so utterly shameful
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Peter Zusi @peterzusi.bsky.social · 18/07/2026
Hard to know where to start with this so I’ll just ease my way in and say it really gets my goat that they justify the title on the grounds of it being a verb when in fact it’s a noun
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Peter Zusi @peterzusi.bsky.social · 18/07/2026
There are things it’s just best not to know
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Peter Zusi @peterzusi.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
New monkey species drops
static.klipy.com
Baby Monkey with Mango Falls
ALT: Baby Monkey with Mango Falls
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Peter Zusi @peterzusi.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
Trump Is Undermining Faith in Elections Again. Don’t Buy It. www.nytimes.com/2026/07/16/o...
nytimes.com
Opinion | Trump’s Election Denial Has Never Been More Dangerous
Don’t fall for dramatic claims based on selective declassification.
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Peter Zusi @peterzusi.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
Aha, so *that’s* how Messi does it: he has two knees in each leg!
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Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
“Without intervention, we risk narrowing the UK’s research and development knowledge base, reducing opportunity and access to key subjects, particularly in regions already underserved, and weakening the long-term sustainability of the Shape disciplines". (Margot Finn) 1/3
researchprofessionalnews.com
British Academy urges ‘intervention’ over slowing academic pipeline - Research Professional News
Analysis shows decline in early career researchers across Shape disciplines and rise in teaching-only contracts
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Peter Zusi @peterzusi.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
Very grim tidings:
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Peter Zusi @peterzusi.bsky.social · 14/07/2026
In complete control of the Straight of the Bedroom
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Peter Zusi @peterzusi.bsky.social · 14/07/2026
Political oversight of scientific research: utterly, gut-wrenchingly, Orwellianly chilling www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...
washingtonpost.com
Researchers worry a Trump rule could end U.S. scientific dominance
Research organizations warn a proposed rule for federal grants would upend the medical and technological advances that set U.S. science apart.
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The Associated Press @apnews.com · 13/07/2026
BREAKING: A federal judge says President Trump's lawsuit against the IRS was filed for an "improper purpose" and refers attorneys for disciplinary action.
bit.ly
Judge blasts Trump's IRS lawsuit as filed for 'improper purpose,' recommends attorney discipline
A federal judge says President Donald Trump’s lawsuit against the IRS over his leaked tax returns was filed for an “improper purpose” as she referred attorneys for disciplinary actions.
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