Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Anna Merlan

Will🇺🇸📎✌️🌲 @econaturalist.bsky.social · 23h

Scholars who study America are saying they won’t visit because it’s too risky.

"Too risky": Scholars who study America say they won't visit

At a recent panel in Vienna, academics who study America said the country has become similar to Russia and China.

www.salon.com

4 54 180

Anna Merlan @annamerlan.bsky.social · 14h

Yes and they’re wonderful actually! Bunch of restaurants

1 5

Anna Merlan @annamerlan.bsky.social · 14h

Lol sorry it was both while running AND yelling but yes

1 70

Anna Merlan @annamerlan.bsky.social · 14h

Now he should subscribe to Mother Jones 😇

1 50

Anna Merlan @annamerlan.bsky.social · 14h

He definitely thought I was about to yell something way weirder, which, fair

2 120

Anna Merlan @annamerlan.bsky.social · 14h

Pausing in a tunnel underneath Rockefeller Center to yell “THANKS SO MUCH FOR SUBSCRIBING TO FLAMING HYDRA” in the direction of Chris Hayes, like some sort of indie media bog witch

7 15 610

Anna Merlan @annamerlan.bsky.social · 1d

And alarming actions like this are why political contagion scholars are so concerned about the situation in the United States. Historically, if we decide it’s okay, a lot of other places feel they’re given license to do similar things: www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

Is America contagious?

Scholars in political extremism are documenting the global spread of right-wing populism.

www.motherjones.com

7 51

Anna Merlan @annamerlan.bsky.social · 1d

Gonna go out on a limb and agree

7

Anna Merlan @annamerlan.bsky.social · 1d

"A practice that would have been unthinkable under past administrations is becoming normalized: sending ICE detainees, without due process, to far-flung prisons in countries with notorious human rights records."

www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

ICE is sending people to a prison in Africa’s only absolute monarchy

Inside the “legal black hole” in Eswatini, where Trump is sending detainees.

www.motherjones.com

10 190 410

Anna Merlan @annamerlan.bsky.social · 1d

Every year I donate money to Nola to Angola, which raises money for a bus service that takes people to the Louisiana State Penitentiary to see their loved ones. What a phenomenal year for other people to do the same! www.mightycause.com/organization...

Support Nola to Angola on Mightycause

Nola to Angola is an annual three-day, 170-mile bicycle ride fundraiser. We ride from Orleans Parish Prison in New Orleans to Angola, the Louisiana State Penitentiary. Each rider raises money by solic...

www.mightycause.com

37 94

Reposted by Anna Merlan

Anna Merlan @annamerlan.bsky.social · 2d

“The effects can be unintentionally hilarious: CPAC Hungary, for instance, proclaimed itself to be ‘the epicenter of the global fight against globalism.’” www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

Is America contagious?

Scholars in political extremism are documenting the global spread of right-wing populism.

www.motherjones.com

11 21 130

Anna Merlan @annamerlan.bsky.social · 1d

May as well try this tbh

1 2

Anna Merlan @annamerlan.bsky.social · 1d

I only have to do this like twice a year and every time it’s emotionally scarring and also just ambiently damp

1 24

Anna Merlan @annamerlan.bsky.social · 1d

Participating in the curly hair Olympics today (trying desperately to get it to air dry sometime in the next like six hours)

2 67

Reposted by Anna Merlan

Stefanie Walter @stefwalter.bsky.social · 2d

Great reporting on the contagion risks of the Trump presidency, drawing in parts on insights from the @disintegrationerc.bsky.social project.

Is America contagious?

Scholars in political extremism are documenting the global spread of right-wing populism.

www.motherjones.com

1 20 44

Reposted by Anna Merlan

Mother Jones @motherjones.com · 2d

Far-right parties in Belgium call for "antifa" bans.

The UK's Reform Party is adopting policy positions that are a “copy and paste” of Trump’s.

The American flag is a symbol for Brazil's far-right.

As Trump tears apart the US, experts worry that other countries may dismantle themselves too.

Is America contagious?

Scholars in political extremism are documenting the global spread of right-wing populism.

www.motherjones.com

29 110 340

Anna Merlan @annamerlan.bsky.social · 2d

“The effects can be unintentionally hilarious: CPAC Hungary, for instance, proclaimed itself to be ‘the epicenter of the global fight against globalism.’” www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

Is America contagious?

Scholars in political extremism are documenting the global spread of right-wing populism.

www.motherjones.com

11 21 130

Reposted by Anna Merlan

Marvelous Hebden @marveloushebden.bsky.social · 2d

“Is America Contagious?”
Discussing global politics
Article by Anna Merlan, journalist and Mother Jones contributor

Quote from the linked article:

“The scholars I spoke to agree that the spread of far-right populism is, to some degree, organic, as such ideas pick up genuine popular support across countries. But it is also highly coordinated, with clear and deliberate cooperation among self-described anti-globalist groups who are working together to create an increasingly illiberal world.
There are now versions of America's annual CPAC gathering in Australia, Brazil, Hungary, Japan, Mexico, Paraguay, Poland, and South Korea-an irony, considering that far-right movements often position themselves as anti-globalist and concerned only with their countries' own self-interest. (The effects can be unintentionally hilarious: CPAC Hungary, for instance, proclaimed itself to be ‘the epicenter of the global fight against globalism.’)”

23 51

Anna Merlan @annamerlan.bsky.social · 2d

I loved it lol, I am AGHAST

1 4

Reposted by Anna Merlan

emily lipstein @emilylip.bsky.social · 2d

NEWS: I'm hiring! Apply to work on @nyc.streetsblog.org's award-winning social video team by 10/24 😎🆒📲 docs.google.com/document/d/1...

StreetsblogNYC Social Video Editor job description

Title: Streetsblog Social Video Producer Location: New York, NY Salary: $75,000-$80,000 annual salary plus benefits Date Posted: October 3, 2025 Application Due: October 24, 2025 Interviews w...

docs.google.com

1 23 41

Reposted by Anna Merlan

Anna Merlan @annamerlan.bsky.social · 2d

NEW: I talked to scholars who study political contagion about how America’s freefall could affect the rest of the world. They are… concerned. www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

Is America contagious?

Scholars in political extremism are documenting the global spread of right-wing populism.

www.motherjones.com