Dr. Manuel Pastor

Contributor: Trump's ultimatum to USC and others is a dismally researched document We give it an F. Though considering portions of it are plagiarized, it probably shouldn't even be graded.

Why Trump’s Compact for Higher Ed deserves an ‘F’ (hint: it’s not just for the facism . . .) www.latimes.com/opinion/stor...

Opinion | The Grand Strategy Behind Trump’s Crackdown on Academia

Like so much of this administration: scary and stupid at the same time. Read the interview—The Grand Strategy Behind Trump’s Crackdown on Academia www.nytimes.com/2025/09/25/o...

Watching democracy die on the daily . . .

Foundations and Movements: Manuel Pastor in Conversation with Carmen Rojas - Non Profit News | Nonprofit Quarterly In a wide-ranging and personal conversation, scholar-activist Manuel Pastor and foundation president Carmen Rojas discuss how to respond effectively to rising authoritarianism.

Looking for inspiration? My interview with the amazing Carmen Rojas of the Marguerite Casey Foundation on how they prepared for the current moment -- and how they stepped up giving to match the moment @npquarterly.bsky.social @eri-usc.bsky.social

nonprofitquarterly.org/foundations-...

DUI to Deportation: What H.R. 875 Could Mean for Immigrant Communities  - USC Equity Research Institute (ERI) Data and Analysis to Power Social Change

Great new piece by three grad students who are part of @uscsociology.bsky.social and @eri-usc.bsky.social dornsife.usc.edu/eri/2025/09/...

Signature page for Open Letter of Support of Governor Lisa Cook and Federal Reserve Independence By filling out the form below, you are asking your signature to be added to this open letter.

I signed an open letter from economists supporting Gov. Lisa Cook and Fed Independence. Add your name by Monday: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F... | Letter: docs.google.com/document/d/1...

YouTube video by Snow Tha Product Snow Tha Product - SABADO

I have an article coming out on the Latino vote — and buyers remorse about Trump. Or you could just watch this by Snow Tha Product: youtu.be/RtcPhMiiYNU?...

In Conversation: Manuel Pastor For Professor Manuel Pastor, the road to climate action starts with community organizing.

Had a great conversation with Dr. Lande Ajose from the Waverley Street Foundation about community organizing, engaged research, and the climate crisis.
www.waverleystreet.org/news/in-conv...

Opinion | My workers voted for Trump. Now they’re absorbing the impact. Business was growing for our aluminum foundry. Then came the tariffs.

Gosh, so unexpected . . . not.

www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...

Trump orders firing of labor statistics chief hours after data showed jobs growth slowed US president accused of ‘firing the messenger’ as he makes claims without evidence about Erika McEntarfer

Anyone now doubting that authoritarianism is here? Trump fires the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics for reporting inconvenient data. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

YouTube video by will i am will.i.am + Taboo - East LA (Official Music Video)

Ok, I can write a long piece on how the community is responding to the ICE raids in LA, and how Black-Brown solidarity is being fortified -- or you can just want Will.i.am and Taboo tell the story.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=i7nH...

Republicans Say Tax Cuts Will Spur Growth. It Hasn’t Worked in the Past.

It remains striking to me how GOP tax-cutters can continue to talk about pro-growth outcomes in the absence of evidence. I'm, well, a bit more tethered to truth . . . www.nytimes.com/2025/06/25/u...

YouTube video by Legal AF Trump DECLARES WAR on CITIES as CHAOS ERUPTS

My interview with Sidney Blumenthal about the events in Los Angeles -- and what they mean for the nation. www.youtube.com/watch?v=BAag...

Untethered from truth and unbothered by deception, you can arrive at anything . . .

My Street Vendor Is Missing: The Impact of ICE Raids in Los Angeles - Non Profit News | Nonprofit Quarterly ICE raids pose fundamental questions of who counts as our community. Nonprofit and movement leaders must speak up about our shared humanity.

Today's must-read: this superb piece by Rudy Espinoza from Inclusive Action. nonprofitquarterly.org/my-street-ve...

Rage and Prayer in Los Angeles - Dissent Magazine The task of this moment is to build a broad front that can resist authoritarianism. The recent protests are early skirmishes in the fight that will be needed.

A view from Los Angeles:
www.dissentmagazine.org/online_artic...

In Vietnam, an unlikely outpost for Chicano culture An outpost for Chicano culture in Vietnam attracts community — and occasional concerns among older generations inclined to associate tattoos with gangs.

A welcome break from the noise . . . ¡Adelante! www.latimes.com/world-nation...

What Happens in Lithium Valley - The New Press What Happens in Lithium Valley . . . By Manuel Pastor* In a dusty corner of southeastern California, the contradictions and tensions of our move from a fossil fuel past […]

A blog about our book, CHARGING FORWARD. thenewpress.org/author-op-ed...

A Better Next Big Thing The Salton Sea region sees an economic opportunity, but wants to ensure it works for everyone.

A new film about Lithium Valley, inspired by our book, Charging Forward, and directed and produced by Jacob Kornbluth. It's a remarkably balanced view of an incredibly complicated (and conflictual) situation. Check it out: video.kvcr.org/show/a-bette...

Everyone’s talking #lithium. But what if the green transition was actually green—and just?

"A Better Next Big Thing" documentary (inspired by my book) features communities fighting for their future in #California's #ImperialValley #SaltonSea.

Watch it on PBS: video.kvcr.org/video/a-bett...

Powering Up Lithium Valley Southern California’s Imperial Valley is a region of economic distress and environmental trauma. Can untapped lithium reserves near the Salton Sea fuel a clean-energy economy — and a more prosperous f...

The possibilities and perils of lithium development in the Imperial Valley -- wrote a book about it, got interviewed about it (with other cool USC researchers!). @eri-usc.bsky.social today.usc.edu/powering-up-...

Here's a quick clip of me at the Salton Sea from the film!

#powerinthedesert #documentary #saltonsea #lithium

As the global economy transitions to renewable energy, this film by Jacob Kornbluth asks: Can this rural, underserved community rewrite the rules of economic opportunity and ensure the green energy revolution works for everyone?

More info here: www.chargingforwardbook.org/events/bette...

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“A Better Next Big Thing” documentary on PBS KVCR — Charging Forward Watch "A Better Next Big Thing" on PBS KVCR New documentary based on Charging Forward premieres April 10 Renowned filmmaker  Jacob Kornbluth  brings to life a compelling new documentar...

Watch the premiere of A BETTER NEXT BIG THING on PBS KVCR on April 10. The documentary, inspired by our book Charging Forward, examines issues at stake for the world’s largest & cleanest #lithium supply in California’s Salton Sea region.

www.chargingforwardbook.org/events/bette...

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#Lithium connects California's Imperial Valley to deserts in South America —turns out it's about much more than batteries. It’s about justice, communities, & sustainability.

Join us on #EarthDay 4/22 for the online premiere of a new documentary, Power in the Desert.

RSVP bit.ly/power-in-the-desert

Opinion | The Anti-D.E.I. Crusader Who Wants to Dismantle the Department of Education Christopher Rufo’s mission to make universities feel “existential terror.”

From Rufo: "Putting the universities into a recession would discipline them . . . a long-term goal is to adjust the formula of finances from the federal government to the universities in a way that puts them in an existential terror." Will universities see & respond?
www.nytimes.com/2025/03/07/o...

I just washed, dried, and folded my clothes, and noticed a theme . . .

What could possibly go wrong?

Why economists got free trade with China so wrong The "China Shock" is revisited, and it raises questions about why economists failed to see the costs of free trade.

Key article & clipped quote: 'Daniel Kahneman—winner of the Nobel Prize—called this thinking in economics "theory-induced blindness." "Once you have accepted a theory & used it as a tool in your thinking, it is extraordinarily difficult to notice its flaws," he wrote.'
www.npr.org/2025/02/11/g...

Trump Says U.S. Will Hold Migrants at Guantánamo Bay The president suggested 30,000 migrants could be housed on the base. It is unclear how the plan will take shape.

Known for being a prison for terrorists, Guantánamo Bay has space created for humanitarian relief (used that way in 1990s). Gosh, what could go wrong w housing 30,000 supposedly dangerous migrants in a place that that was previously used for asylum-seeking families? www.nytimes.com/2025/01/29/u...