Matt Nelsen

Read a free sample! It's enough for a citation for sure :)

Matt was a student of mine when he was an undergrad. Sometimes the student exceeds the teacher so much he must have started out halfway there in the first place.

Thanks for sharing, Chris!

Such a timely book… really recommend this episode and The Color of Civics by @mattnelsen.bsky.social

Matthew D. Nelsen, Podcast Episode · New Books in American Politics · 10/23/2025 · 47m

It was great chatting with @gorenlj.bsky.social from the @newbooksnetwork.bsky.social about The Color of Civics.

In the episode, we discuss key findings from the book, my experiences as a public school teacher that sparked my interest in civic education, and the story behind the book’s cover.

Racial Context(s) in American Political Behavior Racial Context(s) in American Political Behavior By Allison P. Anoll, Vanderbilt University, Lauren D. Davenport, Stanford University, and Rachel Lienesch, Vanderbilt University Since Key and Allport, scholars have argued that racial context affects political behavior, with some finding out-group contact increases intergroup hostility and others showing the opposite. We argue that Americans exist in multiple racial contexts simultaneously that may overlap or conflict, helping to explain past discord.

Racial Context(s) in American Political Behavior

Racial Context(s) in American Political Behavior By Allison P. Anoll, Vanderbilt University, Lauren D. Davenport, Stanford University, and Rachel Lienesch, Vanderbilt University Since Key and Allport, scholars have argued that racial context affects…

State rep. Hoan Huynh shared video of agents surrounding his vehicle/stopping him + staffers shortly after he said one agent pointed a gun inside his vehicle at him while another threatened to break a window. They were following feds in Albany Park after four people were reportedly taken.

Story tk.

ICE agents accused of pointing gun at state Rep. Hoan Huynh in Albany Park Hoan Huynh was alerting the community on the Northwest Side to the presence of federal agents when they blocked his vehicle on a residential street and an agent pointed a gun at him and others in the vehicle, according to a statement from his office.

Hoan Huynh was alerting the community on the Northwest Side to the presence of federal agents when they blocked his vehicle on a residential street and an agent pointed a gun at him and others in the vehicle, according to a statement from his office.
trib.al/edi6hIM

The Supreme Court Case That Could Hand the House to Republicans

white reactionaries disenfranchising black voters to secure political power? that’s a jim crow. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/15/u...

ICE Is Cracking Down on Chicago. Some Chicagoans Are Fighting Back.

Strong neighborhoods are precisely why Robert Sampson calls Chicago the “Great American City.”

“Residents have begun forming volunteer groups to monitor their neighborhoods for federal immigration agents. Others honk their horns or blow whistles when they see agents nearby.”

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to share my research with students and faculty at my alma mater—St. Olaf College (Um Yah Yah!)

Talking about the enormous and life changing potential of education at the place that helped lay the path for a research career has me feeling all the feels.

Bar chart showing age and party differences in Americans' views of whether the United States is providing too much, about the right amount or not enough military assistance to Israel. The chart is based on a September 2025 Pew Research Center survey of U.S. adults.

Bar chart showing age and party differences in Americans' views of whether the United States is providing too much, about the right amount or not enough humanitarian assistance to Palestinian citizens. The chart is based on a September 2025 Pew Research Center survey of U.S. adults.

Americans under 30 are the most likely age group to say the US is providing too much military assistance to Israel and too little humanitarian assistance to Palestinian citizens. www.pewresearch.org/politics/202...

The ICE agents deploying these are people without necessary training, those who couldn’t cut it in police training or didn’t want to join the military.

They are in this to hurt people and play Call of Duty on our streets, deploying chemical weapons on our neighbors as if they’re pressing L1.

If the Chicago FOP were actually a union representing the interests of its members, rather than a far right political operation and a mouthpiece for the lodge president (who hasn’t even been a cop for years), they might have some words about this.

This morning, the Trump Administration’s Department of War gave me an ultimatum: call up your troops, or we will. It is absolutely outrageous and un-American to demand a Governor send military troops within our own borders and against our will.

It was particularly meaningful to talk about this approach to research in this space, which is just down the street from a school that figures prominently in the Color of Civics. Truly a full circle moment!

I’m not teaching this semester, so it was great to dust off my teaching chops with a presentation on community engaged/participatory action research at the Japanese American Services Committee in Chicago.

I am grateful for JASC for the opportunity to engage with these inspiring, young organizers!

Labels can impact politics. My paper @apsrjournal.bsky.social "What Happens When You Can't Check the Box?" shows when Middle Eastern & North African (MENA) Americans are excluded from identity categories, they assert MENA identity when answering relevant political questions.
doi.org/10.1017/S000...

Backlash Presidents: From Transformative to Reactionary Leaders in American History by Julia R. Azari

How most presidents avoid upsetting the racial status quo—and why those who do pave the way for lawless, norm-violating successors.

Backlash Presidents by @juliaazari.bsky.social is out now. Learn more about this incisive book and order yours: press.princeton.edu/books/hardco...

#PoliticalScience

If this content mirrors 1776, it’s unclear what these orgs expect to accomplish. The 1776 content looked a lot like traditional civics courses, which have been shown to have very little impact on youth socialization.

Plus, you can only read so much Jefferson before you find the racism!

(2/2)

U.S. Education Dept. unites conservative groups to create 'patriotic' civics content The group of more than 40 conservative organizations met for the first time on Wednesday. The initiative is aimed at celebrations of the nation's founding next summer.

States that have the political capital to do so should be securing access to K-12 ethnic studies courses to preemptively address this. These courses are publicly popular, bolster a number of academic outcomes, and are politically empowering.

(1/2)

Chuck Grassley: Heard abt a company that will no longer make high fructose corn syrup bc false of MAHA claim HFCS is $.22 of $3.82 corn Last thing family farmers need is another hit to corn price$ Corn sugar = real sugar 2:51 PM • 9/18/25 • 40K Views

MAHA vs the U.S. corn lobby is going to be a real Let Them Fight situation

CDC advisers vote to recommend against combined measles, mumps, rubella and chickenpox vaccine for young children | CNN Vaccine advisers to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention voted Thursday to recommended against using the combined measles, mumps, rubella and varicella vaccine for young children.

Measles cases hit record highs with RFK Jr. in charge.

Now, his hand-picked vaccine panel just voted to make it harder for little babies to get vaccinated for measles and other diseases.

How does that keep our kids safe?

My latest from the GenForward Survey. Our national sample of young adults has told a fairly consistent story over the past four election cycles: young voters are hungry for a progressive, economic agenda that appeals to people across racial, economic, partisan, and geographic divides.

Mamdani Holds Huge Lead in Mayor’s Race, Times/Siena Poll Finds

New NYT/Siena poll of the NYC mayoral race has-

*Mamdani: 46%
*Cuomo: 24%
*Sliwa: 15%
*Adams: 9%

www.nytimes.com/2025/09/09/n...

Unions don't just protect a single worker, they protect and empower entire families. I have never had a union job, but my career has greatly benefitted from my spouse's union job. I've been able to take risks, do jobs that were longer-term investments, and negotiate harder because of the stability.

…and ringing in the start of the season with a freeform tomato tart, featuring basil and porch grown tomatoes that I fought squirrels over all summer.

Inside the World of “The Great British Bake Off” The show captures disastrous custard-making, quintessentially British faux-modesty, and the blistering hubris of bakers—including me.

‘Tis the season where I daily daydream about the role I feel I was born to play: gay man spiraling over soggy bottoms and underproofed dough on the Great British Bakeoff.

A great piece by season 4 contestant, Ruby!

This is a brilliant idea.