iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by Michelle Chihara

We Need Diverse Books @weneeddiversebooks.bsky.social · 14h

It’s #BannedBooksWeek, which means it’s the perfect time to dispel common myths and misconceptions about the prevalence and impacts of book bans across the United States. Here are five common myths about book banning that everyone should know the truth about 🧵

Gold-colored graphic depicting an illustration of a group of young people lounging in a book store, sitting on the hardwood floor, and reading books together. There are illustrations of bookshelves decorated with books, knick knacks, plants, and cactuses in the background. The graphic is titled “5 Myths You Should Know About Book Banning”.

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Michelle Chihara @thisblue.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Remember when journalists were like this is gonna kill newsrooms and it’s going to suck to run a democracy without newsrooms? Yeah, this is gonna be even worse

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Michelle Chihara @thisblue.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

At a certain level of obscene wealth, you’re just structurally Team Billionaire

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Michelle Chihara @thisblue.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

I did not, but I’m looking this essay up immediately

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Anna Kornbluh @annakornbluh.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

AAUP has a new tool and how-to webinar coming for FOIAing third party contracts! the people who do the teaching and research should be in charge of procurement of the tech used in teaching and research make the terrible terms of these contracts public! www.aaup.org/event/foias-...

aaup.org

FOIAs for Better Shared Governance Around Technology

The second session in our fall series of webinars on AI issues in higher education provides examples of how to conduct public records requests to gather and analyze information pertaining to an instit...

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Reposted by Michelle Chihara

Matt Seybold @mattseybold.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

Maybe we shouldn't let robber barons dictate the budget priorities of universities.

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Reposted by Michelle Chihara

Mikkel Krause Frantzen @mikkelkfrantzen.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

Many thanks and much gratitude to editor @alirizataskale.bsky.social and to the co-authors of and contributors to the forum: Michelle Chihara (@thisblue.bsky.social), Alec Howlett and Erdogan Sima

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Reposted by Michelle Chihara

ryan cooper @ryanlcooper.com · 24/08/2026

important piece of how journalism works right here www.hamiltonnolan.com/p/never-apol...

The Post, a truly immoral scumbag tabloid that is simultaneously the most skilled tabloid journalism publication in America in a way that we can all learn from, ran the story, and then it was picked up over the next few days by other right wing outlets making essentially the same “hey this left winger is a rich kid” joke, and then yesterday the story was picked up by the New York Times, which had profiled Gordillo earlier, and once that happened it instantly became acceptable fodder for non-right-wing reporters and pundits. This is a textbook case of how to shepherd a shallow partisan smear into the mainstream news cycle. You may find it distasteful, but you should admire its efficacy. Any competent cutthroat political communicator must be able to replicate this process on demand.

(When I worked at Gawker, we frequently played a similar but less political role in this general process, by writing about stories that the Times was interested in but considered disreputable, which would then allow them to write follow-ups framed as “People are talking about this thing,” which provides them an entry point to feed their readers salacious news while still maintaining an analytical, hands-off pose. Once you understand this dynamic you will see it all the time.)

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Michelle Chihara @thisblue.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

I don’t think I knew this!! I am so honored to have been part of your kid’s Dolly journey. 💔 Jolene was a complicated and important song for so many of us

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Michelle Chihara @thisblue.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

Total exploitation of everything people do for love, passion, art, intellect: "The private sector has long seen colleges and universities as a resource from which it can extract what it needs (job-specific training, research, data) for free or at a steep discount." post45.org/2026/08/side...

post45.org

Side Hustle: College Sports and the Future of Academic Labor –

Joseph Darda

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Michelle Chihara @thisblue.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

Always good to be reminded that 1) teaching redeems us 2) no one knows what to do about AI in the classroom rn and 3) even when it feels hella lonely up in here, we struggle together. Perhaps solidarity also redeems us. ✊🏽 @kwazana.bsky.social

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Nanjala @nanjala.bsky.social · 15/08/2026

Crickets when 4000 academic jobs a year are being lost in the UK and entire campuses are being shut down because of lack of funding and the secondary effects of Brexit but plenty of ink to hound a man to an early death. Despicable behaviour from the British press.

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Matt Seybold @mattseybold.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

Kyla created a good occasion to tidy up the webpage for the episode she links. There have been a lot of eureka moments in the process of making AV, but, when I was listening to Kyla & @thisblue.bsky.social talk about their working conditions all I could think was "THIS👇, people need to hear THIS."

theamericanvandal.com

The Shush (& The Chair) with Michelle Chihara & Kyla Wazana Tompkins

Bad Representations of Academe Continue Apace. What can we learn from them?

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Alissa Wilkinson @alissawilkinson.bsky.social · 20/07/2026

This Guardian caption is real

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Michelle Chihara @thisblue.bsky.social · 10/07/2026

Thank you for posting that beautiful essay

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Michelle Chihara @thisblue.bsky.social · 10/07/2026

Page and I did the MFA together. Such a talented writer. My husband and I talked every year about visiting him and Allison in Mammoth more, but I hadn’t seen him for almost a year. One of those friends you think about more than you’re able to get together. It is soul crushing that he’s gone 💔

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Elad Nehorai @eladn.bsky.social · 10/07/2026

This is also why we need populist progressives and leftists to prioritize racial justice AND economic justice. When people like Platner come along, the message is you can only have one but not both. Whereas they only really are effective together.

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Reposted by Michelle Chihara

Miriam Posner @miriamposner.com · 10/07/2026

Hey, I have these postcards of my book's cover (by Vera Villanueva for Yale UP). I'd love to mail you one. Will you send me a screenshot of 1) your pre-order OR 2) your (free!!) request that your library purchase the book? And of course an address to mail it to.

Book cover for Seeing Like a Supply Chain: the Hidden Life of Logistics by Miriam Posner shows a colorful arrangement of lines that branch out as they descend.

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Reposted by Michelle Chihara

London Review of Books @lrb.co.uk · 27/06/2026

‘Andy Burnham aims to help people who just want somewhere warm to live and a way of getting to work. This is Manchesterism: public intervention that makes the essentials of life cheaper and more reliable.’ @will-davies.bsky.social, online now from the next issue. www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...

lrb.co.uk

William Davies · Burnham’s Political Economy

Whatever rash remarks he may have made about the bond markets or spending commitments, Andy Burnham understands...

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Reposted by Michelle Chihara

Matt Seybold @mattseybold.bsky.social · 26/06/2026

Once again, books fuckin’ rule. Start your day with this story. “The book’s power comes from a simple but stark truth, one that lies beneath the policy recommendations and legal terms: Sometimes, ‘there are places in the world where it stops being safe for people to live.’” - @thisblue.bsky.social

latimes.com

The children's book that beat 'Heated Rivalry' on the charts is officially getting a reprint

A viral TikTok recommendation sent the 2022 picture book 'Our World Is a Family' straight to the New York Times bestseller list. Now it's being reprinted June 19.

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Michelle Chihara @thisblue.bsky.social · 25/06/2026

But all of this stubbornly committed to something larger than himself, to a vision of France that would outlast him (not to drinking the blood of others so that his body could live forever)

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Michelle Chihara @thisblue.bsky.social · 25/06/2026

“It just provides a gentle, revolutionary reminder: Almost any parent of any child would climb into that boat if they believed it was their best chance at safety.”

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Michelle Chihara @thisblue.bsky.social · 23/06/2026

The Internet remains weird! I grew up in Cali using the ‘s’ that way so this backhandedly makes me feel more local. Sorry, bot!

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Michelle Chihara @thisblue.bsky.social · 23/06/2026

Thanks, Eileen! I did just spend a week in the Sierras. Part of it is the shock of re-entry ❤️‍🩹

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Michelle Chihara @thisblue.bsky.social · 22/06/2026

It's all moving too fast. My nervous system keeps telling me to shut down after every headline.

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Michelle Chihara @thisblue.bsky.social · 22/06/2026

Sometimes children's books carry real weight, like *Our World Is A Family*, which has never been more relevant. Glad I snuck Heated Rivalry into the headline of my piece... Check it out. But most importantly, buy the book for a kid in your city www.latimes.com/entertainmen...

latimes.com

The children's book that beat 'Heated Rivalry' on the charts is officially getting a reprint

A viral TikTok recommendation sent the 2022 picture book 'Our World Is a Family' straight to the New York Times bestseller list. Now it's being reprinted June 19.

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Reposted by Michelle Chihara

Money on the Left @moneyontheleft.bsky.social · 13/06/2026

In this 1st episode, we introduce what we at MotL call “the Loop”—a generative fiscal framework that utilizes a city-owned public bank to internalize municipal debt, capture interest revenues that would otherwise leak to private creditors, and reinvest that wealth back into local infrastructure.

moneyontheleft.org

In the Loop: Revolutionizing Public Finance, Ep. 1

The Money on the Left Collective is proud to launch its new podcast series, In the Loop: Revolutionizing Public Finance, hosted by Scott Ferguson, Tyler Suksawat, and Will Beaman. In this debu…

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Reposted by Michelle Chihara

Spooky Back From The Dead Lazarus @jlazarus.bsky.social · 05/06/2026

Periodic reminder that Teapot Dome, the worst scandal in American history prior to Watergate, involved $9 million changing hands. That’s adjusted for inflation. This story by itself is 55500% bigger than Teapot Dome. That’s not a typo.

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Reposted by Michelle Chihara

Martijn Konings @mkonings.bsky.social · 31/05/2026

"What makes universities particularly valuable as a ‘space for exceptions’ is the same thing that makes people hate them." newleftreview.org/sidecar/post...

newleftreview.org

Lorna Finlayson, Irreversible — Sidecar

On Britain’s universities.

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Money on the Left @moneyontheleft.bsky.social · 30/05/2026

🔊 Coming soon! 🔊 ✨ In the Loop: Revolutionizing Public Finance ✨ A new podcast series from the Money on the Left Collective, hosted by @publicporpoise.bsky.social, @greenbackbetter.bsky.social & @videotroph.bsky.social. Watch this space 👀

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Reposted by Michelle Chihara

Nathan Kalman-Lamb @nkalamb.bsky.social · 21/05/2026

UC Berkeley Law creates new AI policy that bans AI for "conceptualizing, outlining, drafting, revising, translating, or editing any work submitted for credit" or exams because "thinking remains the sine qua non of good lawyering (and of a quality legal education)." That's what I'm talking about.

Rule:
The use of AI is prohibited for aid in conceptualizing, outlining, drafting, revising,
translating, or editing any work submitted for credit. AI use is prohibited for any use for
any purpose in any exam situation. Students may not upload course
materials—including assignments, readings, slides, class recordings, or other class
content—into generative AI systems. AI can be used for research on papers ONLY for the
limited purpose of identifying sources, such as cases, statutes, or secondary sources.
Students are responsible for the accuracy of their research and all other aspects of their
submitted work. Citations to sources that do not exist will raise a presumption of
prohibited AI use

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Michelle Chihara @thisblue.bsky.social · 20/05/2026

(“This friend speaks my mind” is something we say at my Quaker college when we agree. I don’t actually know this author.)

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Rima I Anabtawi @rimaanabtawi.bsky.social · 20/05/2026

“In 🇱🇧 , we start our days with a deluge of stories and images: buildings targeted, cars struck on highways, families wiped out.. Israel seems to be following the same logic it deployed in Gaza: emptying out entire areas through what amounts to ethnic cleansing.” www.bostonreview.net/articles/mil...

bostonreview.net

Millenarian Fantasies

In Lebanon, Israel seems to be following the same logic it deployed in Gaza: emptying out entire areas through what amounts to ethnic cleansing.

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Michelle Chihara @thisblue.bsky.social · 20/05/2026

This friend speaks my mind. "It is true that one particular form of the university—the post-WWII research university—is dead, its death rattles readily apparent. It is too early to say, however, exactly what will wear its skin. Let us hope that it is not this preview of an undead university..."

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Robert Reich @rbreich.bsky.social · 11/05/2026

Residents in Fayette County, Georgia noticed their water pressure was unusually low. Turns out that a data center 20 miles away had been drawing 30 million gallons of water in secret through connections the county didn't know existed. Is it any wonder why so many are opposed to data centers?

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Michelle Chihara @thisblue.bsky.social · 09/05/2026

I really want those creepy little cars to exist. But they seem like they must not be real.

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Matt Seybold @mattseybold.bsky.social · 07/05/2026

who indeed

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Dan Froomkin/Press Watch/Heads Up News @froomkin.bsky.social · 23/04/2026

The "Yale report" argues that "improving the world today," and fostering "an ethical, interdependent and diverse community” should not be part of Yale's mission. It couldn't be more wrong. Gift link to a NYT op-ed by Wesleyan president Michael Roth, a righteous dude. www.nytimes.com/2026/04/22/o...

nytimes.com

Opinion | Yale Has Come Up With a Surefire Way to Make a Terrible Situation Worse

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London Review of Books @lrb.co.uk · 27/04/2026

‘The surviving population of Gaza has been reduced to a condition of bare existence, subject to unrelenting hunger and thirst under the ever present hum of killer drones and bomber jets.’ Eyal Weizman on the demolition of Gaza. www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...

lrb.co.uk

Eyal Weizman · All they will find is sand: Gaza’s Yellow Line

Most of the Gaza Strip – cities, refugee camps, schools, universities, mosques, the health infrastructure, agriculture...

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