iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by Ryan LaRochelle

Ryan LaRochelle @rlarochelle.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

The APD Workshop Series launches next week! @benjaminrohr.bsky.social will present his working paper "Parties and Patronage in the Early American Republic" with Jeff Broxmeyer serving as discussant. Visit the link below to sign up for the mailing list or send me an email or DM!

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Ryan LaRochelle @rlarochelle.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

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Ryan LaRochelle @rlarochelle.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Playoff baseball is a uniquely awesome experience.

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Brian Schaffner @bfschaffner.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

we’re hiring an assistant professor in American politics 🐘 apply.interfolio.com/194599

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Ryan LaRochelle @rlarochelle.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

First fire of the season here in midcoast Maine.

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Ryan LaRochelle @rlarochelle.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Pretty sure the New York Times does those focus groups purely to fuel rage-posting.

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Ryan LaRochelle @rlarochelle.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

It's really nice to see a political leader exude some genuine happiness and try and make their constituents' lives just a little bit better.

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Ryan LaRochelle @rlarochelle.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

I have a piece in today's @bangordailynews.bsky.social where I argue that we need to defend the broader goals of higher ed: developing engaged and worldly citizens who know how to think critically and are prepared for democratic self-government. www.bangordailynews.com/2026/09/24/o...

bangordailynews.com

Opinion: Higher education is about much more than career preparation

“Post-secondary education has always been about creating an educated citizenry to benefit individuals and the nation as a whole.”

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Ryan LaRochelle @rlarochelle.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

bangordailynews.com

Opinion: Higher education is about much more than career preparation

“Post-secondary education has always been about creating an educated citizenry to benefit individuals and the nation as a whole.”

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Garrett M. Graff @vermontgmg.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

So much of what we’re living through right now, from Trump to AI, feels like it’s driven by an explicit strategy of “we just do the crimes so quickly that we can’t be stopped and by the time the courts weigh in, they have no choice but to accept our crimes.” www.doomsdayscenario.co/p/it-s-the-a...

doomsdayscenario.co

It's the accountability, stupid.

Doing crime

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Ryan LaRochelle @rlarochelle.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

I know people buy these stupid presidential campaign soft launch books, but does anyone actually read them?

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Ryan LaRochelle @rlarochelle.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

Reading the arguments that law professors have on here makes me really glad I didn't become a law professor.

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Ryan LaRochelle @rlarochelle.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

In case anyone is wondering what life is like in a small town in coastal Maine. Earlier this week a Little Caesars opened in town and members of the town Facebook group have been reporting on wait times and giving updates on order statuses since then.

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David W. Congdon @dwcongdon.com · 18/09/2026

If you want a history of Claremont Institute and its role in providing the intellectual foundation for Trump 2.0, check out Darrell Munsell’s new book, out now from @univpressofkansas.bsky.social. kansaspress.ku.edu/9780700642854/

Image of the new book, Architects of Authoritarianism: The Claremont Institute and the Making of the MAGA New Right

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Ryan LaRochelle @rlarochelle.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

My university announced that faculty and staff retrenchments are coming this year. Guess I should dust off my carpentry skills just in case in need to prepare for a career switch. I wonder how many other profs out there built their own house?

Some jackass standing on staging admiring his handiwork.

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Ryan LaRochelle @rlarochelle.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

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Ryan LaRochelle @rlarochelle.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

To celebrate (almost) Constitution Day earlier this week, my honors American political development class held a constitutional convention to draft a constitution for our class in our immersive Independence Hall room I created with a grad student last year.

A class hosting a constitutional convention.

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Ryan LaRochelle @rlarochelle.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Example number 10,389,201 that we are governed by incredibly unserious people. This isn't a game you foolish fucks. The Treasury secretary had dared “Bloomberg terminal bros” to bet against him and they did. www.nytimes.com/2026/09/14/b...

nytimes.com

Bond Market Rebukes Bessent by Sending Borrowing Costs Ever Higher (Gift Article)

The Treasury secretary had dared “Bloomberg terminal bros” to bet against him and they did.

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Jay Van Bavel, PhD @jayvanbavel.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

Social media discourse is driven by false #polarization We find that: 1) ideologues post opinions more than moderates 2) extreme attitudes are posted more than moderate one 3) This replicates in 40 countries 4) Opinions that users post are more hostile than the beliefs they keep to themselves

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Ryan LaRochelle @rlarochelle.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

I think the weirdest thing about Maine is that sub/grinder/hoagie shops call basically any sub an "Italian," even if doesn't include the usual Italian cold cuts like salami, capicola, prosciutto, sandwich pepperoni, etc. Like, they will have a "turkey Italian" which is just a turkey sub...

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Ryan LaRochelle @rlarochelle.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

This has been a perennial issue in efforts to resist unethical/bad/evil leaders. Barbara Kellerman's Bad Leadership and her more recent Leadership from Bad to Worse point out that bystanders--those who know what a leader is doing is wrong, but don't act--are just as complicit as leaders themselves.

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Ryan LaRochelle @rlarochelle.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

I was on the news last week and thought I looked old and tired so I decided to shave my increasingly graying beard and now I look like a ten year old with giant bags under my eyes.

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Ryan LaRochelle @rlarochelle.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Nixie wanted to come to work with me today.

A beautiful Labrador retriever on a dog bed.

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Ryan LaRochelle @rlarochelle.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Nixie wanted to come to work with me today.

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Ryan LaRochelle @rlarochelle.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

A few days late, but I am excited to share the winners of the @apsa.bsky.social Politics and History section awards. Thread with all of the prize winners below!

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Ryan LaRochelle @rlarochelle.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

Seems like a good day to mute “$5000”

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Miranda Yaver @mirandayaver.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

1) Obviously, this is an impeachable offense, if that phrase means anything anymore. 2) To anyone actually thinking Trump will really pay them $5,000, I imagine there are many Nigerian princes who want to help you if you just give them your bank information and SSN.

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Ryan LaRochelle @rlarochelle.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

Upon returning from my first APSA in almost ten years, I couldn't help but be struck by how many people I spoke with seemed so hell-bent on critiquing every bit of research they encountered (esp in private). On the one hand, we obviously don't want to be blindly accepting of scholars' claims. But...

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Ryan LaRochelle @rlarochelle.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

Back home after #APSA2026. And of course Facebook shows me a memory of this pic that my undergrad adviser posted of me at APSA back in 2015. My hair looks like a LEGO piece.

A man with very funny hair presenting at a podium.

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Ryan LaRochelle @rlarochelle.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

#APSA26 highlight: at a bar, hanging with a friend from grad school and my adviser. We’re discussing LBJ and the Great Society. I get up to use the restroom and the son of Richard and Doris Goodwin says he overheard our convo and called his mom and I spend a few minutes chatting with Doris Goodwin.

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Ryan LaRochelle @rlarochelle.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

Todays Politics and History @apsa.bsky.social panels 👇 Hope to see some of you throughout the day.

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Ryan LaRochelle @rlarochelle.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

I agree with a lot of these sorts of claims in spirit, but how do you do this logistically in a profoundly polarized country with a deeply damaged and fractured media environment. If this were to actually happen, it could very well worsen our divisions.

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Ryan LaRochelle @rlarochelle.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

Hey #polisky folks heading to @apsa.bsky.social Check out these terrific Politics and History panels while you're in Boston. 👇

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Ryan LaRochelle @rlarochelle.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

I guess we just didn't realize that Ariely was telling on himself when he titled one of his most well-know books The Honest Truth About Dishonesty: How We Lie To Everyone (Especially Ourselves).

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Tressie McMillan Cottom @tressiemcphd.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

Again. Again. It was just the usual white supremecist double standard the first dozen times. After Arday‘s sad, avoidable tragedy it feels like more than the usual distraction. They want to gaslight us to death. www.dukechronicle.com/article/duke...

dukechronicle.com

‘Insane data’: Duke professor Dan Ariely accused of additional research fraud

New evidence released Monday shows that Dan Ariely, professor of business administration in the Fuqua School of Business, likely tampered with or fabricated data in an influential research paper from ...

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Ryan LaRochelle @rlarochelle.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

For everyone heading to APSA: it’s important to know that the pro tip is to wear your name tag and badge EVERYWHERE around the city in the off chance that you run into a conference attendee in a pedestrian setting. Best to put it on when you get there and leave it until you get home.

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Ryan LaRochelle @rlarochelle.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

The only attire that I remember anyone wearing at a conference was when a very well-established senior scholar at APSA showed up to their panel in full rock climbing gear, with very short bouldering shorts, like they had quite literally just come off a cliff.

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Ryan LaRochelle @rlarochelle.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

Heading to @apsa.bsky.social this week? Be sure to check out these fantastic Politics and History panels. 🧵 with a chronological list of all the section panels below. Politics and History panels cover every subfield and we hope to see many of you in the audience at the conference!

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Julia Rose Kraut @juliarosekraut.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

“‘This is the people’s court, it’s not our court,’” Harold Hongju Koh, a Yale law professor and former Blackmun clerk, recalled his boss saying. “‘Who cares if we’re embarrassed. The main purpose here is to educate the public.’” 🗃️ www.nytimes.com/2026/09/01/u...

nytimes.com

How the Supreme Court Locks Away Its Own History (Gift Article)

After Justice Scalia died, the justices held private negotiations about locking away their papers. We may not see the ultimate record of the Roberts court for decades.

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Ryan LaRochelle @rlarochelle.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

Kevin Kruse is a great historian, but I really wish I could mute those "My man" posts that seem to go on for days...

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Ryan LaRochelle @rlarochelle.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

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