Catherine Prendergast🇺🇦🪬
@badtoss.bsky.social
Guggenheim Fellow, Prof Emerita and Author: The Gilded Edge (Dutton) and forthcoming, a book on America's home grown Soviet spy (37Ink). Oh, and tennis tweets. Expect them.
Lit rep: Mackenzie Brady Watson
Stacks at https://prendergastc.substack.com
Lit rep: Mackenzie Brady Watson
Stacks at https://prendergastc.substack.com
Pinned
American Songbirds for the Kremlin
On Calla Walsh's Trip to Tehran and its Foreboding Precedent
prendergastc.substack.com
I turned my previous thread on Calla Walsh, and why she is in deep, deep trouble, into a substack.
prendergastc.substack.com/p/american-s...
prendergastc.substack.com/p/american-s...
Reposted by Catherine Prendergast🇺🇦🪬
my most correct (historically-informed) opinion is that the right fetishizes Sparta, the crusades, confederacy, etc. BECAUSE they lost! the modern right needs these narratives of unjust/ unfair losses, to be followed by redemption at their hands in the not so distant future
...Sparta lost.
And then Spartan Oliganthropia enters the chat
February 16, 2026 at 4:57 PM
my most correct (historically-informed) opinion is that the right fetishizes Sparta, the crusades, confederacy, etc. BECAUSE they lost! the modern right needs these narratives of unjust/ unfair losses, to be followed by redemption at their hands in the not so distant future
Reposted by Catherine Prendergast🇺🇦🪬
I turned my previous thread on Calla Walsh, and why she is in deep, deep trouble, into a substack.
prendergastc.substack.com/p/american-s...
prendergastc.substack.com/p/american-s...
American Songbirds for the Kremlin
On Calla Walsh's Trip to Tehran and its Foreboding Precedent
prendergastc.substack.com
February 16, 2026 at 5:34 PM
I turned my previous thread on Calla Walsh, and why she is in deep, deep trouble, into a substack.
prendergastc.substack.com/p/american-s...
prendergastc.substack.com/p/american-s...
Reposted by Catherine Prendergast🇺🇦🪬
I'm going to make an effort to limit my engagement in the Maine Senate discourse, as I'm not a Maine resident and have enough on my plate.
That said: jesus christ dude.
That said: jesus christ dude.
I hadn't heard this shit until now and finding out Platner was all in on "black people don't tip" makes way too much sense. And it's a huge red flag for anyone who works in hospitality because it's not true. Everyone who's worked behind the stick knows who undertips and it's not the black community
February 16, 2026 at 9:15 PM
I'm going to make an effort to limit my engagement in the Maine Senate discourse, as I'm not a Maine resident and have enough on my plate.
That said: jesus christ dude.
That said: jesus christ dude.
Reposted by Catherine Prendergast🇺🇦🪬
This is a good thread, but as a Jewish Studies scholar, one of the major points I try to make to my students is that Jewish peoplehood contains elements of religion, ethnicity, and nationality, without totally fitting into any of these boxes.
India does not have the academic study of religion. IMO, this is part of the reason why modi’s Hindu nationalist regime gained control of India
the concept of religion is a western construct that doesn’t “fit” non-Abrahamic traditions. Many Hindus say Hinduism is not a religion but a way of life. 🧵
the concept of religion is a western construct that doesn’t “fit” non-Abrahamic traditions. Many Hindus say Hinduism is not a religion but a way of life. 🧵
If it is not clear, they are arresting Black activists & journalists b/c they can’t deport them legally & state terror can serve a dual purpose of chilling dissent & labeling Black folks as rioters (read-anti nationals)./1
A 🧵 showing how this worked in India from 2014-2019.
A 🧵 showing how this worked in India from 2014-2019.
February 16, 2026 at 8:16 PM
This is a good thread, but as a Jewish Studies scholar, one of the major points I try to make to my students is that Jewish peoplehood contains elements of religion, ethnicity, and nationality, without totally fitting into any of these boxes.
Reposted by Catherine Prendergast🇺🇦🪬
Of course, none of this means that you need to personally accept Jewish nationalism. But it needs to be acknowledged that it was an understandable response to the perceived failure of defining Jewish peoplehood on strictly religious grounds, which itself as a Christian imposition from outside.
February 16, 2026 at 8:20 PM
Of course, none of this means that you need to personally accept Jewish nationalism. But it needs to be acknowledged that it was an understandable response to the perceived failure of defining Jewish peoplehood on strictly religious grounds, which itself as a Christian imposition from outside.
Reposted by Catherine Prendergast🇺🇦🪬
I see no downside.
Rep. Mark Alford: "If you tie a judicial warrant to what ICE is doing, it will never happen"
February 16, 2026 at 9:11 PM
I see no downside.
It hit 38 degrees on Cape Cod and someone’s flying a kite on the beach.
February 16, 2026 at 8:34 PM
It hit 38 degrees on Cape Cod and someone’s flying a kite on the beach.
Reposted by Catherine Prendergast🇺🇦🪬
pretty stunning chart
February 15, 2026 at 7:58 PM
pretty stunning chart
Reposted by Catherine Prendergast🇺🇦🪬
Fannie Lou Hamer's nephew, Eddie Fair, credits his aunt with providing a foundation for Mississippi to have the most Black elected officials in the country.
“All that happened because of Fannie Lou Hamer getting out and taking a stand, getting people ready to vote,” he said.
“All that happened because of Fannie Lou Hamer getting out and taking a stand, getting people ready to vote,” he said.
Fannie Lou Hamer’s Medal of Freedom Now Displayed at Mississippi Civil Rights Museum
Fannie Lou Hamer’s posthumously-awarded Presidential Medal of Freedom is now on display at the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum.
buff.ly
February 16, 2026 at 7:45 PM
Fannie Lou Hamer's nephew, Eddie Fair, credits his aunt with providing a foundation for Mississippi to have the most Black elected officials in the country.
“All that happened because of Fannie Lou Hamer getting out and taking a stand, getting people ready to vote,” he said.
“All that happened because of Fannie Lou Hamer getting out and taking a stand, getting people ready to vote,” he said.
Reposted by Catherine Prendergast🇺🇦🪬
Does anyone in .edu get Presidents’ Day off? I never have in almost 27 years.
February 16, 2026 at 7:45 PM
Does anyone in .edu get Presidents’ Day off? I never have in almost 27 years.
Reposted by Catherine Prendergast🇺🇦🪬
REPORT: OHIO SENATOR HUSTED HAS ACCEPTED OVER $100K FROM EPSTEIN CO-CONSPIRATOR LES WEXNER
A report from TiffinOhio.net shows that U.S. Sen. Husted took $116,892 in campaign donations from Jeffrey Epstein co-conspirator Leslie “Les” Wexner dating back to 2001.
Full story: https://bit.ly/46VOfmq
A report from TiffinOhio.net shows that U.S. Sen. Husted took $116,892 in campaign donations from Jeffrey Epstein co-conspirator Leslie “Les” Wexner dating back to 2001.
Full story: https://bit.ly/46VOfmq
February 16, 2026 at 7:50 PM
REPORT: OHIO SENATOR HUSTED HAS ACCEPTED OVER $100K FROM EPSTEIN CO-CONSPIRATOR LES WEXNER
A report from TiffinOhio.net shows that U.S. Sen. Husted took $116,892 in campaign donations from Jeffrey Epstein co-conspirator Leslie “Les” Wexner dating back to 2001.
Full story: https://bit.ly/46VOfmq
A report from TiffinOhio.net shows that U.S. Sen. Husted took $116,892 in campaign donations from Jeffrey Epstein co-conspirator Leslie “Les” Wexner dating back to 2001.
Full story: https://bit.ly/46VOfmq
Reposted by Catherine Prendergast🇺🇦🪬
“The foreigners who paid for the privilege of killing innocent civilians were mainly wealthy men, but there were women too, claimed Licanin…who was a volunteer with a Bosnian Serb tank unit…They included Britons, Italians and Germans, he said.” www.thetimes.com/world/europe...
Sarajevo sniper tourists ‘killed children by day, then partied at night’
Rich foreigners, including Britons, have been accused of paying to shoot children and pregnant women during the siege of the Bosnian capital in the early 1990s
www.thetimes.com
February 13, 2026 at 11:40 PM
“The foreigners who paid for the privilege of killing innocent civilians were mainly wealthy men, but there were women too, claimed Licanin…who was a volunteer with a Bosnian Serb tank unit…They included Britons, Italians and Germans, he said.” www.thetimes.com/world/europe...
Reposted by Catherine Prendergast🇺🇦🪬
We have to talk about this, because this woman is one in a looooong train of women carrying water for the Russia regime. And my next book is about one of them.
cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thu...
cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thu...
February 16, 2026 at 2:46 PM
We have to talk about this, because this woman is one in a looooong train of women carrying water for the Russia regime. And my next book is about one of them.
cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thu...
cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thu...
Reposted by Catherine Prendergast🇺🇦🪬
do you know what would help!!!!!!!! living in a society that lets people experiment with their gender without treating it like the most important thing in the world!!!!!!! letting people get it right or wrong without politicising their decisions!!!!!!! just being chilled about gender!!!!!! aaahhhhhh
"if they socially transition too early we think they can get locked onto a trajectory that may not have been the correct natural trajectory for them"
Direct quote.
Direct quote.
February 16, 2026 at 5:03 PM
do you know what would help!!!!!!!! living in a society that lets people experiment with their gender without treating it like the most important thing in the world!!!!!!! letting people get it right or wrong without politicising their decisions!!!!!!! just being chilled about gender!!!!!! aaahhhhhh
Reposted by Catherine Prendergast🇺🇦🪬
Read this about Lutnick from the FBI
February 16, 2026 at 7:10 PM
Read this about Lutnick from the FBI
Reposted by Catherine Prendergast🇺🇦🪬
Breaking my social media hiatus to share some good news! I’ve just signed a deal with Basic Books for my next book, Impunity, which uncovers the right’s decades-long effort to destroy political accountability and protect their friends in power. I’m so excited for this one!
February 16, 2026 at 3:08 PM
Breaking my social media hiatus to share some good news! I’ve just signed a deal with Basic Books for my next book, Impunity, which uncovers the right’s decades-long effort to destroy political accountability and protect their friends in power. I’m so excited for this one!
Reposted by Catherine Prendergast🇺🇦🪬
“.. First we need to push back on the lies; then crush the pedo/trafficking narrative; then rebuild your image as philanthropist,” Mr. Bannon wrote to Mr. Epstein in April 2019.
@nytimes.com
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/16/u...
@nytimes.com
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/16/u...
February 16, 2026 at 7:11 PM
“.. First we need to push back on the lies; then crush the pedo/trafficking narrative; then rebuild your image as philanthropist,” Mr. Bannon wrote to Mr. Epstein in April 2019.
@nytimes.com
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/16/u...
@nytimes.com
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/16/u...
Reposted by Catherine Prendergast🇺🇦🪬
The good news is that no voter will switch to Orban just because Rubio visited Hungary. Not one single voter.
Rubio on Orban: “President Trump is deeply committed to your success, because your success is our success.” www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...
Rubio lends hand to Hungary’s Orban as he faces tough election
“We want this country to do well,” Marco Rubio said during a visit to Budapest, “especially as long as you’re the prime minister.”
www.washingtonpost.com
February 16, 2026 at 7:11 PM
The good news is that no voter will switch to Orban just because Rubio visited Hungary. Not one single voter.
Reposted by Catherine Prendergast🇺🇦🪬
‼️ Russia: “Russia has begun to impose restrictions on the sale of cucumbers to one person after prices rose by 111% in three months.”
Let them eat banana! 🍌
ru.themoscowtimes.com/2026/02/16/v...
Let them eat banana! 🍌
ru.themoscowtimes.com/2026/02/16/v...
February 16, 2026 at 5:15 PM
‼️ Russia: “Russia has begun to impose restrictions on the sale of cucumbers to one person after prices rose by 111% in three months.”
Let them eat banana! 🍌
ru.themoscowtimes.com/2026/02/16/v...
Let them eat banana! 🍌
ru.themoscowtimes.com/2026/02/16/v...
Reposted by Catherine Prendergast🇺🇦🪬
We should not fund a Department of Homeland Security that terrorizes children and forces them to spend their dying days trying to see their father one last time.
February 16, 2026 at 6:00 PM
We should not fund a Department of Homeland Security that terrorizes children and forces them to spend their dying days trying to see their father one last time.
Reposted by Catherine Prendergast🇺🇦🪬
Hey friends.
We need a quick refresher on what discipline actually is. I keep seeing folks ask “how do ppl discipline if they don’t spank their kids”.
First and foremost, spankings is a cruel punishment, it’s not discipline. Let’s start there.
We need a quick refresher on what discipline actually is. I keep seeing folks ask “how do ppl discipline if they don’t spank their kids”.
First and foremost, spankings is a cruel punishment, it’s not discipline. Let’s start there.
February 16, 2026 at 5:59 PM
Hey friends.
We need a quick refresher on what discipline actually is. I keep seeing folks ask “how do ppl discipline if they don’t spank their kids”.
First and foremost, spankings is a cruel punishment, it’s not discipline. Let’s start there.
We need a quick refresher on what discipline actually is. I keep seeing folks ask “how do ppl discipline if they don’t spank their kids”.
First and foremost, spankings is a cruel punishment, it’s not discipline. Let’s start there.
Reposted by Catherine Prendergast🇺🇦🪬
Coco Gauff: “I don’t think people should be dying in the streets just for existing.”
www.theguardian.com/sport/2026/f...
www.theguardian.com/sport/2026/f...
Coco Gauff: ‘I don’t think people should be dying in the streets just for existing’
The world No 5 says she has been disturbed by events back home, and is not afraid to speak up about issues in the United States
www.theguardian.com
February 16, 2026 at 10:26 AM
Coco Gauff: “I don’t think people should be dying in the streets just for existing.”
www.theguardian.com/sport/2026/f...
www.theguardian.com/sport/2026/f...
Reposted by Catherine Prendergast🇺🇦🪬
DRAMA in the world of yelling-at-rocks
Sweden curling set up a sting operation to catch Canada cheating i’m fucking losing it
February 16, 2026 at 4:10 AM
DRAMA in the world of yelling-at-rocks
Reposted by Catherine Prendergast🇺🇦🪬
“A man who wouldn’t cheat for a poke don’t want one bad enough.” RIP Gus.
February 16, 2026 at 6:47 PM
“A man who wouldn’t cheat for a poke don’t want one bad enough.” RIP Gus.
Russian imperialism in Africa
Russia’s foreign intelligence service prepared plans for a military coup in Senegal, seeking to exploit unrest in the country by recruiting local soldiers to take power. I had warned about Russia’s plan to target democracies in Africa. Europe could be next
united24media.com/latest-news/...
united24media.com/latest-news/...
Leaked Documents Reveal Russia’s Plot to Stage Coup in Senegal
Russian intelligence drafted coup scenarios in Senegal and expanded covert influence tools across Africa after Wagner’s takeover.
united24media.com
February 16, 2026 at 7:02 PM
Russian imperialism in Africa