Dr. Jared Hall

NYT headline and image of four types of federal forces and their uniforms: border patrol, national guard, ICE and FBI/DEA-Secret Service. The headline says this is a way to make sense of federal forces in the streets, cheerily declaring “here’s how to tell them apart and what their powers are.”

Every so often you run across yet another reminder of how shameful the story of this era is going to be in the history books someday. On so many levels, including the dystopian cheery tone of this NYT caption…

You don't even need to read the article to know this is a durian.

Louis Armstrong playing the trumpet for his wife Lucille.

#vintagephoto #louisarmstrong #egypt #sphinx

I cannot emphasize enough that this administration shouldn’t get 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘦 𝘷𝘰𝘵𝘦 from the Dems until they start obeying the law.

Not. One.

Optics matter: if you want people to turn out next election despite troops in the streets, then show them it matters.

Do your goddamn jobs and hold the line.

In Memoriam: Paul A. Cohen (1934-2025) - Association for Asian Studies Paul A. Cohen, who died on September 15, 2025 at the age of 91, made significant contributions to both the interdisciplinary field of Chinese studies and the discipline of history. The most obvious wa...

Sad to hear of Paul Cohen's passing. I knew him mainly from his work—Discovering History in China and History in Three Keys are favorites. Also got a chance to interact with him on a few occasions in smaller settings; incredibly generous to budding scholars. www.asianstudies.org/in-memoriam-...

Trapped in a ChatGPT Spiral

Reflecting on important reporting by @kashhill.bsky.social on those who fall down "spiral" of ChatGPT. What can be done structurally and individually to avoid wider negative impact? open.spotify.com/episode/2Mhw...

If democrats wanted to shore up democracy/votes in a critical battleground state, finding ways to sustain local media would maybe be a priority

Those of us who study authoritarian societies understand well how political violence gets used. The leaders' rhetoric stokes fear & division, while the state increasing violence suppression. Any act of violence against the state or its supporters becomes a justification for additional state violence

Oh man, end of an era. IOT is incredible.

www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...

Philosophy Grad Student from China Deported upon Arrival in US - Daily Nous A 22-year-old student from China who had traveled from China to Texas to study philosophy at the University of Houston was detained upon arrival in the state, questioned, and deported back to China 36...

Officials deport a student from China who had a full scholarship to study philosophy at the University of Houston, 36 hours after he lands in Texas.

Donate to Support Helen's Children After Her Passing, organized by Marcus Arvan Help provide Helen De Cruz's children with a better start in life after her un… Marcus Arvan needs your support for Support Helen's Children After Her Passing

This fundraiser is still up and still worth donating to btw: www.gofundme.com/f/support-he...

A major problem with the implementation of most AI technology is that it fails the Domino's Pizza Tracker® test: unless a technology is at least as reliable as the Domino's Pizza Tracker®, it should not be used for any task more important than ordering a pizza.

White House Announces Comprehensive Review of Smithsonian Exhibitions

You can't teach U.S. history without "divisive" narratives. Slavery wasn't "unifying." The Japanese incarceration wasn't "unifying." The anti-immigrant Operation Wetback (real name) wasn't "unifying."
It's history's job to tell the truth, not cover up past racism to pave the way for future racism.

YouTube video by Road Less Marveled May 1, 1969: Fred Rogers testifies before the Senate Subcommittee on Communications

With news that the Corporation for Public Broadcasting is shutting down due to Trump’s meddling, it’s worth watching Mr. Rogers testifying to the Senate about the real value of what we’ve all lost.

Jon Zimmerman new op-ed: "Colleges must speak up for their Chinese students": Despite bold words on Hong Kong students in U.S., "we already tolerate the transnational oppression of one large group on our soil: Chinese students. And for the most part, our universities have kept silent about that."

Google’s NotebookLM can now make narrated slideshows with AI See and hear NotebookLM walk through a slideshow.

NotebookLM continues to develop useful features--now including visual slides to accompany audio overviews www.theverge.com/news/715283/...

It is an extraordinary loss of intellectual expertise that the American people invested millions in developing

Every scientist who earns a graduate degree in the US is the product of an investment by the public

This is like setting money on fire

This is Dewey's whole deal:

"But this annoying fact about experience, that deliberate action frequently yields effects that were unsought, constitutes uncertainty in its paradigmatic form, for in these cases is eventuates not only from the hand of nature but from our own." 🔥

The End of Cheating As We Know It Why We Must Reimagine Academic Integrity in the AI Era

By shifting from "Did you write this?" to "How did you write this?" @michaelgwagner.bsky.social sees opportunity to jettison "proving the absence of AI" in favor of "demonstrating the presence of human critical thinking, intellectual contribution, and—crucially—transparency about one’s process."

Beyond belief: Reframing teaching as a science-based profession Some reflections on Douglas Carnine's classic article, "Why Education Experts Resist Effective Practices.”

Agree more engagement with research would give big boost to learning. Teachers need training in evidence-based practices like retrieval practice and spaced repetition. What actually works isn't always what feels right. scienceoflearning.substack.com/p/beyond-bel...

As promised, in light of the WaPo report of Everglades camp detainees being swarmed by mosquitoes in the shower and unable to sleep at night due to being bitten, I want to briefly address concentration camp history and mosquitoes. I won't be comprehensive but will give a few examples. [1/17]

CBS canceled Colbert’s show just THREE DAYS after Colbert called out CBS parent company Paramount for its $16M settlement with Trump – a deal that looks like bribery.

America deserves to know if his show was canceled for political reasons.

Watch and share his message.

Guilherme Lemes Cardoso E Silva, an artist known for painting murals across the Bay Area, was taken into custody by ICE agents. His wife is now pleading for his release before their baby is born.

The people want trains. Folks should be able to take a high speed train from Binghamton to Bowling Green. From Mobile to Madison. From Pittsburgh to Portland. Don’t build detention camps. Build trains.

Can the abundance movement save the Democrats? The idea of building, fixing and providing more is sweeping the Democratic Party. But some critics say that in the era of Trump, it entirely misses the point.

Unusually thoughtful political coverage by Naftali Bendavid on Democrats from Rahm to Mamdani are reacting to the "abundance" agenda advocated by @ezrakleinbot.bsky.social and @dkthomp.bsky.social. I wish politics had more of this level of nuance and substance! www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

Helen De Cruz brought such joy and insight both to me and my students.

I successfully defended my dissertation "Navigating History and Memory in China: How Chinese Students Understand Their Nation’s Recent Past." So fortunate to be guided at @penngse.bsky.social by the generous & wise Jon Zimmerman, committee members Emily Hannum & Guobin Yang, and MCDPEL program. 🎉

Pierre Nora, 93, Who Probed Role of Memory in Writing of History, Dies

A giant. His provocations on history and memory still reverberate a decade and a half after I first encountered them.

www.nytimes.com/2025/06/03/b...

What does it mean to be an author in the age of AI? | Jonathan Boymal posted on the topic | LinkedIn The word ‘author’ did not always carry the weight of solitary genius we ascribe to it today. Its roots lie in the Latin ‘augere’, to augment, to grow, to steward. In the pre-modern world, to author a ...

"If we cling to the Romantic ideal of authorship, AI will forever be an imposter, a thief, a hollow mimic. But if we return to the idea of authorship as augmentation—as tending and transmission—then we might find a way to fit AI into the human project without surrendering our agency."