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James Sims

@simsjames.bsky.social
4.1K followers 1.9K following 2.1K posts

Associate Vice President for Communications, Wesleyan University | Prior: Center Theatre Group, Lincoln Center, AMNH | Columbia Journalism Alum | Air Force Vet 🇺🇸 | Arts & Theatre Geek 🎭 Film/TV, Media, HigherEd & Democracy ✡️

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James Sims @simsjames.bsky.social · 10h
“By high school, having grown resentful of the intimidating jocks around me, I tucked my love of #baseball away with the rest of childhood…I had started dipping back into my love of the Dodgers when I got the chance to work some games through the radio station broadcasting them.”
open.substack.com
It’s Time for Dodger Baseball
How Little League humiliation, Vin Scully, the ghosts of Chavez Ravine, and a lifetime of loving Los Angeles brought me back to the game.
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James Sims @simsjames.bsky.social · 22h
Ditto for both! They still lurk in the recesses of my mind.
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Henry Snow @henrys.now · 05/10/2026
"unlike my main competitor I specifically believe our products justify some suffering" is not very good marketing
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James Sims @simsjames.bsky.social · 22h
Perhaps my love of the Dodgers is saving democracy? “Sports might be the last remaining American cultural institution that spans our political divides.”
nytimes.com
Opinion | We Surveyed 50,674 Americans. This Is What Brings Them Together. (Gift Article)
Americans are divided in their politics but not as sports fans.
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James Sims @simsjames.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
My latest: How Little League humiliation, Vin Scully, the ghosts of Chavez Ravine, and a lifetime of loving Los Angeles brought me back to the game. And now, as Vin would tell us at the start of every game: “It’s time for Dodgers baseball.”
simsjames.com
It’s Time for Dodger Baseball
How Little League humiliation, Vin Scully, the ghosts of Chavez Ravine, and a lifetime of loving Los Angeles brought me back to the game.
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James Sims @simsjames.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
My latest: How Little League humiliation, Vin Scully, the ghosts of Chavez Ravine, and a lifetime of loving Los Angeles brought me back to the game. And now, as Vin would tell us at the start of every game: “It’s time for Dodgers baseball.”
simsjames.com
It’s Time for Dodger Baseball
How Little League humiliation, Vin Scully, the ghosts of Chavez Ravine, and a lifetime of loving Los Angeles brought me back to the game.
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Christopher Terry @christopherterry.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Dems Lag in Senate Ad Spending; U.S. Government Spends $3.5M on Ads Touting Trump Administration By Wesleyan Media Project mediaproject.wesleyan.edu/releases-100...
mediaproject.wesleyan.edu
Dems Lag in Senate Ad Spending; U.S. Government Spends $3.5M on Ads Touting Trump Administration - Wesleyan Media Project
Cost of Living and Taxes Top Issue Mentions in Congressional Spots (MIDDLETOWN, CT) October 1, 2026 – Spending on ads in U.S. Senate races approached $500 million in the period between September 8 (th...
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Ben Model @silentfilmmusic.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
More thoughts about live-scoring in a silent film course at colleges, and why it's important. silentfilmmusic.com/university-c...
silentfilmmusic.com
University Class Screenings and “Audience Preservation” – part 2
I teach a silent film course at Wesleyan University's College of Film and the Moving Image, which has been offering it to students since 2015. On the first day of my class, I go around the room and as...
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James Sims @simsjames.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
What happens when no #highered institution wants to be the tallest blade of grass? Wesleyan University's @msroth.bsky.social and @ianbassin.bsky.social turn that metaphor into an urgent argument about collective action and the importance of standing together. Watch: www.youtube.com/watch?v=rPKq...
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James Sims @simsjames.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
What happens when no #highered institution wants to be the tallest blade of grass? Wesleyan University's @msroth.bsky.social and @ianbassin.bsky.social turn that metaphor into an urgent argument about collective action and the importance of standing together. Watch: www.youtube.com/watch?v=rPKq...
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James Sims @simsjames.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Love to see Phylicia Rashad returning to Center Theatre Group to close out their final production in August Wilson’s Century Cycle. Her touch with Wilson’s work at the Taper has always been exquisite. 👏
playbill.com
Phylicia Rashad Will Direct August Wilson's Fences in Los Angeles
The Pulitzer-winning play will come to Center Theatre Group in 2027.
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Wesleyan Media Project @wesmediaproject.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
"2026 is shaping up to be a banner year" in U.S. political advertising, per @efranklinfowler.bsky.social. Why? 👉 Record TV airings in House & Gov races 👉 Rise of digital ads has not slowed TV ads 👉 Volume of federal TV ads in 2026 congressional contests nearly 2x what it was in 2012
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James Sims @simsjames.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
Wesleyan University’s President @msroth.bsky.social sits down with alumni working in law, journalism, academia, advocacy, and the arts to discuss how the fundamental skills and values of a Wesleyan education can help us navigate this complicated moment. #highered
wesleyan.edu
The World Needs More Wesleyan: Conversations with President Roth
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James Sims @simsjames.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Indeed! “Sons and fathers bond at the accordion-wielding pop parodist’s concerts.” @alyankovic.bsky.social
nytimes.com
Weird Al Never Grew Up. Neither Did These Fans (or Their Dads). (Gift Article)
Sons and fathers bond at the accordion-wielding pop parodist’s concerts.
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James Sims @simsjames.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Trump is desperate for a historical footprint. Like everything else he touches, he has no idea what actually makes a lasting impact worth celebrating. He’s all marketing, no substance, always.
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Carl Quintanilla @carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
WAPO: The architect quit “after warning repeatedly that Trump was insisting on a preliminary design that did not provide adequate emergency exit routes or fire-containment measures .. .. ‘I am the code,” Trump said.” @washingtonpost.com www.washingtonpost.com/investigatio...
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James Sims @simsjames.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
"President Trump is reportedly looking for a way to stick his name on Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C.—where former President Abraham Lincoln was shot and killed in 1865."
newrepublic.com
Trump Aides Have a List of Other Places They Could Put His Name
Trump’s aides reportedly want him to rename Ford’s Theatre, where Abraham Lincoln was assassinated.
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Allison Gill @muellershewrote.com · 20/09/2026
NEW: ICE shooting in Austin. Scant details at this time.
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James Sims @simsjames.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
And impeachment would be an “inexpensive price to pay” for democracy.
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James Sims @simsjames.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
Noted!
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James Sims @simsjames.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
From @ianbassin.bsky.social to Harvard Law School Dean John C.P. Goldberg and MIT Media Lab Executive Director @jrosenworcel.bsky.social, NYTimes’ @hannahdreier.bsky.social, and author Maggie Nelson, hear how they demonstrate the power of the Wesleyan University community in the world. #highered
youtube.com
The World Needs More Wesleyan: Conversations with President Michael S. Roth ’78 - YouTube
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James Sims @simsjames.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
Wesleyan University’s President @msroth.bsky.social sits down with alumni working in law, journalism, academia, advocacy, and the arts to discuss how the fundamental skills and values of a Wesleyan education can help us navigate this complicated moment. #highered
wesleyan.edu
The World Needs More Wesleyan: Conversations with President Roth
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Dan Froomkin/Press Watch/Heads Up News @froomkin.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
Gripping, raw, and important story by Nikole Hannah-Jones about one of the most troubling and intractable problems in our society. www.nytimes.com/2026/09/20/m...
nytimes.com
In Fighting for Every Black Child, Did I Betray My Own? (Gift Article)
A decade ago, I made a decision about my daughter’s education that I hoped would challenge New York City’s separate and unequal school system. Now 16, she thinks I made the wrong choice.
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James Sims @simsjames.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
@weswingsguy.bsky.social Order up!
youtu.be
Wes Wings: A Campus Dining Favorite Co-Owned and Operated by a Wesleyan Alum
YouTube video by Wesleyan University
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Alexander Chee @alexanderchee.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
I wrote about being Annie Dillard's student at Wesleyan in the spring of my last year in college for Elizabeth Benedict's Mentors and Monsters anthology, and The Morning News: themorningnews.org/annie-dillar...
themorningnews.org
Annie Dillard and the Writing Life - The Morning News
Writers aren’t born, they’re made—from practice, reading, and a lot of caffeine. And sometimes tutelage.
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Noah Isenberg @noahisenberg.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
During my first teaching stint at Wesleyan, I forged a friendship with #AnnieDillard that was based on a mutual love of off-color jokes and irreverent party talk (she was a teetotaler, but asked me to roll her a joint at the first dinner we hosted with her). #RIP www.nytimes.com/2026/09/16/b...
nytimes.com
Annie Dillard, Meditative Author of ‘Pilgrim at Tinker Creek,’ Dies at 81
Her Thoreau-like account of journeys in the woods, published when she was 28, was the first of many ruminations on life and nature, good and evil.
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Gregg Levine @greggjlevine.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
I was fortunate to be an undergrad when Dillard taught at Wesleyan. I’ll always remember her saying the problem with being a writer in academia is that you stop talking to other writers about the books they’ve written & start talking about what writers wrote about other writers’ books.
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James Sims @simsjames.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Spoiler alert. There is no such thing as too much Steve Kornacki. ❤️
nytimes.com
How Much Steve Kornacki Is Too Much Steve Kornacki? (Gift Article)
For the midterms, NBC News hopes to turn its khaki-wearing data analyst into a livestreaming star.
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James Sims @simsjames.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
The performing arts are undoubtedly facing challenges, but only Donald Trump could have inserted himself into the situation, appointing enough lackeys to The Kennedy Center’s board before declaring bankruptcy or closure as the sole options. His ill-fated influence has touched the arts. Shame. Shame.
simsjames.com
The Kennedy Center Is Not a Trump Tower
The MAGA takeover of America’s flagship arts institution drove artists away, sent ticket sales sliding, and revealed a simple truth: culture doesn’t work like real estate.
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James Sims @simsjames.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
The performing arts are undoubtedly facing challenges, but only Donald Trump could have inserted himself into the situation, appointing enough lackeys to The Kennedy Center’s board before declaring bankruptcy or closure as the sole options. His ill-fated influence has touched the arts. Shame. Shame.
simsjames.com
The Kennedy Center Is Not a Trump Tower
The MAGA takeover of America’s flagship arts institution drove artists away, sent ticket sales sliding, and revealed a simple truth: culture doesn’t work like real estate.
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James Sims @simsjames.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
The Wesleyan Media Project talks with @npr.org about the impact of data centers in political advertising across both parties as the midterms ramp up. @wesmediaproject.bsky.social
npr.org
Voters are fed up with data centers. Both parties are trying to cash in for midterms
Democrats and Republicans have found common ground in this campaign season. Both parties have poured millions into ads attacking data centers as the public continues to protest the AI facilities.
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James Sims @simsjames.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
Said in the audio of the interview embedded in the story.
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The New York Times @nytimes.com · 05/09/2026
In @nytopinion.nytimes.com “Today’s students are trying to work out what it means to be decent humans in world growing more heated, hostile and, sometimes, heartless,” Michael S. Roth, the president of Wesleyan University, writes. “We should cheer them on, for their sake and ours.”
nyti.ms
Opinion | This Is the Real Point of College
It’s all about the practice of freedom.
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James Sims @simsjames.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
“The Secretary of the Treasury is using the IRS to advance a pro-White Nationalist agenda. That is extraordinary.” —Wesleyan University President @msroth.bsky.social on @npr.org with @steveinskeep.bsky.social #highered
npr.org
Wesleyan University president on administration's efforts to revoke tax-exempt status
NPR's Steve Inskeep asks Wesleyan University president Michael Roth about U.S. Treasury and IRS efforts to revoke tax-exempt status from private schools that help students based on race.
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Greg Pak @gregpak.net · 05/09/2026
White supremacy at work.
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New York Times Opinion @nytopinion.nytimes.com · 04/09/2026
“Today’s students are trying to work out what it means to be decent humans in world growing more heated, hostile and, sometimes, heartless,” Michael S. Roth, the president of Wesleyan University, writes. “We should cheer them on, for their sake and ours.”
nyti.ms
Opinion | This Is the Real Point of College
It’s all about the practice of freedom.
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James Sims @simsjames.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
“The Secretary of the Treasury is using the IRS to advance a pro-White Nationalist agenda. That is extraordinary.” —Wesleyan University President @msroth.bsky.social on @npr.org with @steveinskeep.bsky.social #highered
npr.org
Wesleyan University president on administration's efforts to revoke tax-exempt status
NPR's Steve Inskeep asks Wesleyan University president Michael Roth about U.S. Treasury and IRS efforts to revoke tax-exempt status from private schools that help students based on race.
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James Sims @simsjames.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
Wesleyan University’s @msroth.bsky.social from last week’s @realtimers.bsky.social. #highered
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James Sims @simsjames.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
It was an honor to speak with Gloria Steinem before she accepted her honorary degree at Wesleyan University. She helped change the course of American history. As the father of a young girl, I am heartened to know that Gloria made my daughter’s future that much brighter. May her memory be a blessing.
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James Sims @simsjames.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
“Diversity and democracy are like a tree, they grow not from the top down, but from the bottom up. And they are growing…what you do everyday matters—what you say, what you encourage, what you oppose, what you imagine, what you love with all your hearts.” Gloria Steinem at Wesleyan University in 2022
wesleyan.edu
Steinem: “Hope is a form of planning”
Gloria Steinem, Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters at Wesleyan’s 190th Commencement, called for the Class of 2022 to address the ills of the world with laughter.
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James Sims @simsjames.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
“Diversity and democracy are like a tree, they grow not from the top down, but from the bottom up. And they are growing…what you do everyday matters—what you say, what you encourage, what you oppose, what you imagine, what you love with all your hearts.” Gloria Steinem at Wesleyan University in 2022
wesleyan.edu
Steinem: “Hope is a form of planning”
Gloria Steinem, Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters at Wesleyan’s 190th Commencement, called for the Class of 2022 to address the ills of the world with laughter.
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James Sims @simsjames.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
Wesleyan University’s @msroth.bsky.social from last week’s @realtimers.bsky.social. #highered
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James Sims @simsjames.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
“This is not a freedom of expression issue. This is a judgment issue, and I am baffled that anyone saw this as anything other than a terrible idea that would amount to the normalization of antisemitism.”
nytimes.com
John Galliano Bows Out of Met Museum Show After Criticism Mounts
Donors, politicians and Jewish leaders questioned the Met’s decision to honor Galliano, a fashion designer who was found guilty of a hate crime for his antisemitic outbursts.
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James Sims @simsjames.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
Watch the full episode of @realbillmaher.bsky.social featuring @msroth.bsky.social on HBO Max and catch his appearance on the “Overtime” after show on YouTube. #highered
youtu.be
Overtime with Bill Maher: Byron Donalds, Molly Jong-Fast, Michael S. Roth (HBO)
YouTube video by Real Time with Bill Maher
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James Sims @simsjames.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
A whirlwind trip in and out of Los Angeles was worth it to have Wesleyan University president @msroth.bsky.social bring his defense of higher education to @realbillmaher.bsky.social tonight. 👏 (now for a red eye back to CT) #highered
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James Sims @simsjames.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
Home sweet home, if only for a day 🌴☀️
Palm trees in Los Angeles, CA
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James Sims @simsjames.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
“Trump is putting America in a position that Niccolò Machiavelli warned all princes against: We are hated, but not feared.”
nytimes.com
Opinion | The Pompous Proof of an America in Decline (Gift Article)
Even Machiavelli wouldn’t like Trump’s doings.
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James Sims @simsjames.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
Watch out for Wesleyan University’s @msroth.bsky.social on @realbillmaher.bsky.social tomorrow night. #highered
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James Sims @simsjames.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
Great to have had Wesleyan University's @msroth.bsky.social join Stephen Dubner's new show, "Better in Person," to talk about leading in #highered at such an inflection point for all institutions in America. Full episode: www.youtube.com/watch?v=dnr1...
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