Sociologist thinking and writing about authoritarianism, democracy, LGBTQ issues, feminism. Author of The Stranger Next Door, Unbound, other books. Child of immigrants. Never Again for Anyone. #KnittyGrittyJChttps://bsky.app/profile/ajoystein.bsky.socialhttps://bsky.app/profile/ajoystein.bsky.social/post/3ml6zd5egn225Boy, the #ACLU really got this one wrong. Look Inside the Case That Enshrined Political Power for Billionaires https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/06/us/politics/buckley-case-supreme-court-billionaires.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share06 May 2026 15:28 +0000at://did:plc:wyt4tgweiwgevhlzu76xlfim/app.bsky.feed.post/3ml6zd5egn225https://bsky.app/profile/ajoystein.bsky.social/post/3ml4jm4vk4223The latest assault on academic freedom and college governance. https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/05/us/politics/smith-college-transgender-admissions.html?smid=url-share05 May 2026 15:42 +0000at://did:plc:wyt4tgweiwgevhlzu76xlfim/app.bsky.feed.post/3ml4jm4vk4223https://bsky.app/profile/ajoystein.bsky.social/post/3mkxk3tvxv22shttps://www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-interactive/2026/may/03/christofascism-rfk-jr-health?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other03 May 2026 16:07 +0000at://did:plc:wyt4tgweiwgevhlzu76xlfim/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkxk3tvxv22shttps://bsky.app/profile/ajoystein.bsky.social/post/3mku3pfzst22pThis Is What’s Behind Trump’s Relentlessness https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/01/opinion/donald-trump-animal-spirits.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share02 May 2026 07:12 +0000at://did:plc:wyt4tgweiwgevhlzu76xlfim/app.bsky.feed.post/3mku3pfzst22phttps://bsky.app/profile/ajoystein.bsky.social/post/3mkq5sjrocc2aNetanyahu and Trump are endangering world Jewry. https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/30/world/europe/european-antisemitism-hybrid-warfare.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share30 Apr 2026 17:39 +0000at://did:plc:wyt4tgweiwgevhlzu76xlfim/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkq5sjrocc2ahttps://bsky.app/profile/ajoystein.bsky.social/post/3mkp5xscrr22z “I noticed a shift in the US political conversation: Americans were losing their sense of a common reality.” https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/apr/30/as-a-ukrainian-journalist-ive-covered-the-us-for-20-years-i-find-it-increasingly-shocking?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other30 Apr 2026 08:09 +0000at://did:plc:wyt4tgweiwgevhlzu76xlfim/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkp5xscrr22zhttps://bsky.app/profile/ajoystein.bsky.social/post/3mkp5ijdcz22dTucker Carlson blames Israel’s crimes on its Jewishness so he can pretend that America and Christianity are morally pure. What Tucker Carlson Means When He Talks About Israel https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/28/opinion/tucker-carlson-israel-conspiracy-theories.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share30 Apr 2026 08:00 +0000at://did:plc:wyt4tgweiwgevhlzu76xlfim/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkp5ijdcz22dhttps://bsky.app/profile/ajoystein.bsky.social/post/3mkntgo3nik2629 Apr 2026 19:28 +0000at://did:plc:wyt4tgweiwgevhlzu76xlfim/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkntgo3nik26https://bsky.app/profile/ajoystein.bsky.social/post/3mkklmta4c22mYes it does. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/apr/28/israels-direction-poses-existential-threat-to-judaism-uks-leading-progressive-rabbis-warn?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other28 Apr 2026 12:30 +0000at://did:plc:wyt4tgweiwgevhlzu76xlfim/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkklmta4c22mhttps://bsky.app/profile/ajoystein.bsky.social/post/3mkifjc6kb22aBillionaires stick together. Oprah Winfrey Moves Her Podcast (and Books and Products) to Amazon https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/27/business/media/oprah-winfrey-video-podcast-amazon.html?smid=bs-share27 Apr 2026 15:35 +0000at://did:plc:wyt4tgweiwgevhlzu76xlfim/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkifjc6kb22ahttps://bsky.app/profile/ajoystein.bsky.social/post/3mkiap3wfis2tIf you find yourself in Coimbra, Portugal on May 11, I’ll be speaking about why Americans know so little about the history of our own fascist movements.27 Apr 2026 14:09 +0000at://did:plc:wyt4tgweiwgevhlzu76xlfim/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkiap3wfis2thttps://bsky.app/profile/ajoystein.bsky.social/post/3mkfd3lbhn22fProud of my union. @AAUP @ruaaup-aft.bsky.social https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/24/us/aaup-professor-union-trump.html?smid=bs-share26 Apr 2026 10:14 +0000at://did:plc:wyt4tgweiwgevhlzu76xlfim/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkfd3lbhn22fhttps://bsky.app/profile/ajoystein.bsky.social/post/3mkf5ao2i2k2pFar right activists disrupt Indigenous Speakers During Commemorations of Australia’s War Dead. Shameful. https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/25/world/australia/anzac-day-indigenous-speakers-booed.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share26 Apr 2026 08:29 +0000at://did:plc:wyt4tgweiwgevhlzu76xlfim/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkf5ao2i2k2phttps://bsky.app/profile/ajoystein.bsky.social/post/3mkcn7eq7i22eDisillusioned, some former Trump acolytes are defaulting to an older conspiracy theory: The ones in control are the Jews. https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/24/opinion/conspiracy-theory-tucker-antisemitism.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share25 Apr 2026 08:37 +0000at://did:plc:wyt4tgweiwgevhlzu76xlfim/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkcn7eq7i22ehttps://bsky.app/profile/ajoystein.bsky.social/post/3mkckx24gjs2uSo happy to be at the University of Coimbra as visiting researcher, hosted by @anacristinasantos.bsky.Today is the anniversary of Portugal’s Carnation Revolution, reclaiming democracy from dictatorship. May we in the US do the same! [contains quote post or other embedded content]25 Apr 2026 07:57 +0000at://did:plc:wyt4tgweiwgevhlzu76xlfim/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkckx24gjs2uhttps://bsky.app/profile/ajoystein.bsky.social/post/3mkbccsi6pk2wWell, that’s going to do hell if a lot of good. Iran War Live Updates: Kushner and Witkoff to Talk With Iranian Officials in Pakistan https://www.nytimes.com/live/2026/04/24/world/iran-war-trump-hormuz?smid=nytcore-ios-share24 Apr 2026 19:49 +0000at://did:plc:wyt4tgweiwgevhlzu76xlfim/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkbccsi6pk2whttps://bsky.app/profile/ajoystein.bsky.social/post/3mk7w6uypts25And yet his party continues to march in lockstep, refusing to go against him. Recipe for political suicide? Let’s hope so. Disapproval of Trump Hits Highest Level of His Second Term https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/23/us/politics/trump-approval-rating-poll.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share24 Apr 2026 06:40 +0000at://did:plc:wyt4tgweiwgevhlzu76xlfim/app.bsky.feed.post/3mk7w6uypts25https://bsky.app/profile/ajoystein.bsky.social/post/3mk7vv2eja225Advancing organized ignorance in Texas. https://open.substack.com/pub/erininthemorn/p/texas-tech-issues-ban-on-students?r=15ej9r&utm_medium=ios24 Apr 2026 06:34 +0000at://did:plc:wyt4tgweiwgevhlzu76xlfim/app.bsky.feed.post/3mk7vv2eja225https://bsky.app/profile/ajoystein.bsky.social/post/3mjzacpp3q22wVoters in this country twice elected a president with no ethics, no empathy and no end to his narcissism. There Is a Contest Trump Is Winning https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/21/opinion/trump-legacy-history-presidents.html?smid=bs-share21 Apr 2026 14:52 +0000at://did:plc:wyt4tgweiwgevhlzu76xlfim/app.bsky.feed.post/3mjzacpp3q22whttps://bsky.app/profile/ajoystein.bsky.social/post/3mjtkh6gezc2gWe need to reckon with the fact that Israel is an apartheid state. https://www.nytimes.com/video/opinion/100000010830068/israels-one-state-reality.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share19 Apr 2026 08:38 +0000at://did:plc:wyt4tgweiwgevhlzu76xlfim/app.bsky.feed.post/3mjtkh6gezc2ghttps://bsky.app/profile/ajoystein.bsky.social/post/3mjruxixnlc2iTrump admin stops research on mass violence because fear enhances authoritarian power. He Looked for Ways to Stop Mass Violence https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/17/science/lost-science-eisenman-violence.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share18 Apr 2026 16:40 +0000at://did:plc:wyt4tgweiwgevhlzu76xlfim/app.bsky.feed.post/3mjruxixnlc2ihttps://bsky.app/profile/ajoystein.bsky.social/post/3mjqwx4qrik2o#NottheOnion https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/17/us/trump-bible.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share18 Apr 2026 07:43 +0000at://did:plc:wyt4tgweiwgevhlzu76xlfim/app.bsky.feed.post/3mjqwx4qrik2ohttps://bsky.app/profile/ajoystein.bsky.social/post/3mjkv422hi224Even his far right cronies are waking up. Trump and Meloni Split Amid Growing Dispute Over Pope and Iran https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/15/world/europe/trump-meloni-italy-iran-pope.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share15 Apr 2026 21:54 +0000at://did:plc:wyt4tgweiwgevhlzu76xlfim/app.bsky.feed.post/3mjkv422hi224https://bsky.app/profile/ajoystein.bsky.social/post/3mjjrnvvbnk2pMore, please! A Progressive Group Rolls Out a Campus Competitor to Turning Point https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/15/us/politics/a-progressive-group-rolls-out-a-campus-competitor-to-turning-point.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share15 Apr 2026 11:20 +0000at://did:plc:wyt4tgweiwgevhlzu76xlfim/app.bsky.feed.post/3mjjrnvvbnk2phttps://bsky.app/profile/ajoystein.bsky.social/post/3mjfg3shees2sMore, please! [contains quote post or other embedded content]13 Apr 2026 17:43 +0000at://did:plc:wyt4tgweiwgevhlzu76xlfim/app.bsky.feed.post/3mjfg3shees2shttps://bsky.app/profile/ajoystein.bsky.social/post/3mjffsua4oc2sTrump’s Erratic Behavior and Extreme Comments Revive Mental Health Debate https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/13/us/politics/trump-mental-fitness-25th-amendment.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share13 Apr 2026 17:37 +0000at://did:plc:wyt4tgweiwgevhlzu76xlfim/app.bsky.feed.post/3mjffsua4oc2shttps://bsky.app/profile/ajoystein.bsky.social/post/3mjf5qcemzs2kArtemis shone a light [and] made me believe we might make meaningful progress on putting an end to that other, dark half of America: the Confederates, fascists, Christian nationalists, and all who hate all that is good not just about this country, but about humanity itself (Liberal Currents).13 Apr 2026 15:13 +0000at://did:plc:wyt4tgweiwgevhlzu76xlfim/app.bsky.feed.post/3mjf5qcemzs2khttps://bsky.app/profile/ajoystein.bsky.social/post/3mjdq7crkjs24The federal government that serves us is being starved while the federal government that serves the Trump agenda and the oligarchy is glutting itself on taxpayer money. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/apr/12/united-states-trump-destruction?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other13 Apr 2026 01:38 +0000at://did:plc:wyt4tgweiwgevhlzu76xlfim/app.bsky.feed.post/3mjdq7crkjs24