Apr 21, 2022(Throwback Thursday)Lessons from the predictable failure of Americans ElectThere’s an old saying that, once something is online, it is there forever. That’s not actually true. As Jonathan Zittrain points out, “the internet is rotting.” Blogs go offline, databases disappear, hyperlinks break. A lot of my old internet writing was at a site called ShoutingLoudly.com, started by a few…12 min read12 min read
Sep 23, 2021An Open Letter to the American Political Science Association regarding John Eastman and the Claremont Institute(Members of the APSA can sign on to this letter by clicking here) September 23, 2021 To the members of the APSA Council: On January 11, 2021, you issued the following statement on behalf of the APSA and its members: “The American Political Science Association strongly condemns President Trump, Republican…3 min read3 min read
Aug 9, 2018The Infowars Purge, and Life among Responsible Information Monopolies(Adapted and updated from my remarks at the 2018 International Communication Association Annual Meeting.) Now that most of the major social media platforms have done something about Alex Jones/Infowars, I think it’s worth taking a minute to think about what we should expect from our social media platforms. Should we…Tech6 min readTech6 min read
Aug 2, 2018QAnon, immersive gaming, and the impending nihilistic collapse of civic lifeQAnon, immersive gaming, and the impending nihilistic collapse of civic life When you dissolve the boundary between politics and entertainment, things start to get weird. That’s what I found myself thinking last night, as I read the latest story of how the dumbest-possible conspiracy theory, #QAnon, has climbed out of…Politics4 min readPolitics4 min read
Sep 14, 2017Sorting through the Facebook-Russia-Trump Advertising StoryWe learned from the Washington Post last week that a Kremlin-backed Russian firm spent at least $100,000 on Facebook ads to influence the 2016 election in favor of Donald Trump. Writing in The Intercept, Sam Biddle argues that it is time to make Mark Zuckerberg testify. there’s still a lot…Politics5 min readPolitics5 min read
Feb 1, 2017What about “President Bannon?” (an addendum)(This is a follow-up to Monday’s post, assessing the first week of the Trump Presidency. TL;DR version: I don’t believe we’re witnessing a trial balloon for a coup; I think this is what a nervous breakdown looks like in the Presidency.) Okay, so let’s talk about the Bannon problem. Josh…Politics3 min readPolitics3 min read
Jan 30, 2017Is this what a nervous breakdown looks like in the Presidency?An alternate reading of the first week of Trump’s Presidency — This is chaos. But what type of chaos? Last night on Medium, Yonotan Zunger analyzed the first week of the Trump presidency and concluded that it looked like a “trial balloon for a coup.” To summarize, Trump is shutting out career civil servants, installing his personal consigliere, Steve Bannon, onto…Donald Trump4 min readDonald Trump4 min read
Jan 17, 2017Political Problem-Solving in the Age of Trump. (We’re going to need a fresh sheet of paper.)(TL;DR version: if the big idea you have for 2017 would be identical under a Clinton Presidency, it’s time to adjust your frame of reference.) There’s an old saying about bankruptcy: it happens “slowly at first, then all at once.” America’s capacity for democratic self-governance has been going bankrupt slowly…4 min read4 min read
Nov 28, 2016When the Press Fails II: the Danger of Reflexive BalancingLast week, I taught my graduate students about the theory of the “semi-independent press” that comes from Lance Bennett, Regina Lawrence, and Steve Livingston’s book, When the Press Fails. Their book documents the failure of the mainstream media in the lead-up to the second Iraq War. …Politics6 min readPolitics6 min read
Nov 14, 2016The Riddle of Trumpian NormalizationHere’s a riddle that I hope we will all keep in mind: Two weeks ago, there was bipartisan consensus that Donald J. Trump was uniquely unqualified for the job of President of the United States. We heard this from Democrats, we heard this from Republicans, we heard this from every…Donald Trump3 min readDonald Trump3 min read
