media studies, STS, cities, ethnography at UMass Amherst bbaykurt@umass.edu | https://baykurt.org/ | https://itallhappenedbefore.substack.com/https://bsky.app/profile/baykurt.bsky.socialhttps://bsky.app/profile/baykurt.bsky.social/post/3mq7eel6gsc2vJust a few years ago, Turkey and Erdoğan were labeled an exceptionally belligerent country and an authoritarian leader. Now it's clear that this regime has been enabled, encouraged, and strengthened by Western countries, which are also charting their own autocratic tactics in domestic politics. [contains quote post or other embedded content]09 Jul 2026 09:52 +0000at://did:plc:n4bcl3vfrlczbd3yplimpyop/app.bsky.feed.post/3mq7eel6gsc2vhttps://bsky.app/profile/baykurt.bsky.social/post/3mpvneffwr22xToday I learned the hard way that icloud has stopped backing up files and remains a "syncing" service only. I was scolded by an Apple engineer on the phone for not backing up my files on four different hard drives and not reading terms carefully (!) What kind of scam is this?05 Jul 2026 13:06 +0000at://did:plc:n4bcl3vfrlczbd3yplimpyop/app.bsky.feed.post/3mpvneffwr22xhttps://bsky.app/profile/baykurt.bsky.social/post/3mpqcajvg722rFourteen episodes later @ekoshy.bsky.social and I are taking a break until fall! Our season finale reflects on the term "democratic backsliding" and we discuss how useful (or not) the concept is for making sense of global authoritarianism https://itallhappenedbefore.substack.com/p/episode-14-on-rethinking-the-words-ed303 Jul 2026 10:04 +0000at://did:plc:n4bcl3vfrlczbd3yplimpyop/app.bsky.feed.post/3mpqcajvg722rhttps://bsky.app/profile/baykurt.bsky.social/post/3mpqpqdt7ps2zand they found that the recipe for success is "be a dick!" [contains quote post or other embedded content]03 Jul 2026 14:05 +0000at://did:plc:n4bcl3vfrlczbd3yplimpyop/app.bsky.feed.post/3mpqpqdt7ps2zhttps://bsky.app/profile/baykurt.bsky.social/post/3mpqcajvg722rFourteen episodes later @ekoshy.bsky.social and I are taking a break until fall! Our season finale reflects on the term "democratic backsliding" and we discuss how useful (or not) the concept is for making sense of global authoritarianism https://itallhappenedbefore.substack.com/p/episode-14-on-rethinking-the-words-ed303 Jul 2026 10:04 +0000at://did:plc:n4bcl3vfrlczbd3yplimpyop/app.bsky.feed.post/3mpqcajvg722rhttps://bsky.app/profile/baykurt.bsky.social/post/3mozniogfs22cThis is great! That said, having spent nearly two weeks in London, I'm genuinely surprised by how patchy the bandwidth is. I ended up testing this map on several different connections (mobile data, home internet, cafe wifi, etc.) before I could load the whole thing. [contains quote post or other embedded content]24 Jun 2026 09:54 +0000at://did:plc:n4bcl3vfrlczbd3yplimpyop/app.bsky.feed.post/3mozniogfs22chttps://bsky.app/profile/baykurt.bsky.social/post/3mon5r3ydoc26What does Brazil's fight against Bolsonaro teach us about resisting authoritarianism? This week @ekoshy.bsky.social and I talk with @karabekir.bsky.social about Lula's return and the fragile politics of a "rainbow coalition" https://itallhappenedbefore.substack.com/p/episode-13-weve-seen-the-story-turn-7c819 Jun 2026 10:41 +0000at://did:plc:n4bcl3vfrlczbd3yplimpyop/app.bsky.feed.post/3mon5r3ydoc26https://bsky.app/profile/baykurt.bsky.social/post/3mon5r3ydoc26What does Brazil's fight against Bolsonaro teach us about resisting authoritarianism? This week @ekoshy.bsky.social and I talk with @karabekir.bsky.social about Lula's return and the fragile politics of a "rainbow coalition" https://itallhappenedbefore.substack.com/p/episode-13-weve-seen-the-story-turn-7c819 Jun 2026 10:41 +0000at://did:plc:n4bcl3vfrlczbd3yplimpyop/app.bsky.feed.post/3mon5r3ydoc26https://bsky.app/profile/baykurt.bsky.social/post/3mo5vw4jpc22mThis week's newsletter is coming from Cape Town and reflects on a wonderful panel I chaired on challenging authoritarianism, which was also the theme of our podcast episode with Dr. Maria Repnikova #ica26 @acsj-ica.bsky.social https://itallhappenedbefore.substack.com/p/what-does-challenging-authoritarianism13 Jun 2026 09:10 +0000at://did:plc:n4bcl3vfrlczbd3yplimpyop/app.bsky.feed.post/3mo5vw4jpc22mhttps://bsky.app/profile/baykurt.bsky.social/post/3mnrfqmghqs2rIf you're still in Cape Town tomorrow, join me at the African Centre for Cities at 1 pm for a conversation on smart cities, test-beds, and urban inequalities #ICA26 [contains quote post or other embedded content]08 Jun 2026 09:49 +0000at://did:plc:n4bcl3vfrlczbd3yplimpyop/app.bsky.feed.post/3mnrfqmghqs2rhttps://bsky.app/profile/baykurt.bsky.social/post/3mnrfqmghqs2rIf you're still in Cape Town tomorrow, join me at the African Centre for Cities at 1 pm for a conversation on smart cities, test-beds, and urban inequalities #ICA26 [contains quote post or other embedded content]08 Jun 2026 09:49 +0000at://did:plc:n4bcl3vfrlczbd3yplimpyop/app.bsky.feed.post/3mnrfqmghqs2rhttps://bsky.app/profile/baykurt.bsky.social/post/3mnosngsins2bI don't normally advertise each panel, but this is a special one. If you're around #ICA26 at noon today, please come join @acsj-ica.bsky.social panel on reflecting on activism/activist scholarship at ICA as a one-year-old division 🥳07 Jun 2026 09:02 +0000at://did:plc:n4bcl3vfrlczbd3yplimpyop/app.bsky.feed.post/3mnosngsins2bhttps://bsky.app/profile/baykurt.bsky.social/post/3mnmgr6mirc2c#ICA26: Please take a few minutes to support efforts to create an ICA Urban Communication Interest Group www.TinyURL.com/ICA-UrbanComm https://www.TinyURL.com/ICA-UrbanComm06 Jun 2026 10:24 +0000at://did:plc:n4bcl3vfrlczbd3yplimpyop/app.bsky.feed.post/3mnmgr6mirc2chttps://bsky.app/profile/baykurt.bsky.social/post/3mnmgr6mirc2c#ICA26: Please take a few minutes to support efforts to create an ICA Urban Communication Interest Group www.TinyURL.com/ICA-UrbanComm https://www.TinyURL.com/ICA-UrbanComm06 Jun 2026 10:24 +0000at://did:plc:n4bcl3vfrlczbd3yplimpyop/app.bsky.feed.post/3mnmgr6mirc2chttps://bsky.app/profile/baykurt.bsky.social/post/3mnf4u5sm6c2mFolks going #ICA26 in Cape Town: if you’re still around on June 9th, please join me at the African Centre for Cities where I will talk about Smart as a City @icahdq.bsky.social03 Jun 2026 12:38 +0000at://did:plc:n4bcl3vfrlczbd3yplimpyop/app.bsky.feed.post/3mnf4u5sm6c2mhttps://bsky.app/profile/baykurt.bsky.social/post/3mnfk64mr7c2xFrom Russian journalists in exile to Chinese journalists who never left, @ekoshy.bsky.social & I talked with Dr. Maria Repnikova this week about what political action looks like when it walks around autocratic obstacles instead of confronting them https://itallhappenedbefore.substack.com/p/episode-12-weve-been-walking-around-39103 Jun 2026 16:36 +0000at://did:plc:n4bcl3vfrlczbd3yplimpyop/app.bsky.feed.post/3mnfk64mr7c2xhttps://bsky.app/profile/baykurt.bsky.social/post/3mnfk64mr7c2xFrom Russian journalists in exile to Chinese journalists who never left, @ekoshy.bsky.social & I talked with Dr. Maria Repnikova this week about what political action looks like when it walks around autocratic obstacles instead of confronting them https://itallhappenedbefore.substack.com/p/episode-12-weve-been-walking-around-39103 Jun 2026 16:36 +0000at://did:plc:n4bcl3vfrlczbd3yplimpyop/app.bsky.feed.post/3mnfk64mr7c2xhttps://bsky.app/profile/baykurt.bsky.social/post/3mnf5yv5yms2mLove that the book is coming to Cape Town! Can't wait to see you soon @katiemontalbano.bsky.social [contains quote post or other embedded content]03 Jun 2026 12:58 +0000at://did:plc:n4bcl3vfrlczbd3yplimpyop/app.bsky.feed.post/3mnf5yv5yms2mhttps://bsky.app/profile/baykurt.bsky.social/post/3mnf4u5sm6c2mFolks going #ICA26 in Cape Town: if you’re still around on June 9th, please join me at the African Centre for Cities where I will talk about Smart as a City @icahdq.bsky.social03 Jun 2026 12:38 +0000at://did:plc:n4bcl3vfrlczbd3yplimpyop/app.bsky.feed.post/3mnf4u5sm6c2m