Dhananjay Jagannathan
@dhananjayj.bsky.social
academic, essayist
Substack (on culture and identity): https://culturedopinion.substack.com/
Writing portfolio: https://dhananjayj.com/
Books: ARISTOTLE'S PRACTICAL EPISTEMOLOGY (OUP 2024); CULTURE AS CONVERSATION (PENGUIN forthcoming 2026)
Substack (on culture and identity): https://culturedopinion.substack.com/
Writing portfolio: https://dhananjayj.com/
Books: ARISTOTLE'S PRACTICAL EPISTEMOLOGY (OUP 2024); CULTURE AS CONVERSATION (PENGUIN forthcoming 2026)
Pinned
Cultured Opinion | Dhananjay Jagannathan | Substack
Philosophical and personal essays about culture, politics, music, food, travel, &c. Click to read Cultured Opinion, by Dhananjay Jagannathan, a Substack publication. Launched 3 hours ago.
culturedopinion.substack.com
Hey y'all, I've launched a newsletter focused on culture and identity. I'll be writing about food, travel, music, religion, politics, and other topics, as I work toward my first trade book CULTURE AS CONVERSATION, to be published by Penguin Press in 2026. Subscribe here: culturedopinion.substack.com
Reposted by Dhananjay Jagannathan
Just to put this in context:
Estimates suggest that it would cost $9 to $11 billion dollars annually to effectively provide housing for those experiencing homelessness in the U.S.
The same is estimated to feed the hungry in the U.S.
ICE is spending $38 billion on cages.
Estimates suggest that it would cost $9 to $11 billion dollars annually to effectively provide housing for those experiencing homelessness in the U.S.
The same is estimated to feed the hungry in the U.S.
ICE is spending $38 billion on cages.
February 16, 2026 at 7:02 PM
Just to put this in context:
Estimates suggest that it would cost $9 to $11 billion dollars annually to effectively provide housing for those experiencing homelessness in the U.S.
The same is estimated to feed the hungry in the U.S.
ICE is spending $38 billion on cages.
Estimates suggest that it would cost $9 to $11 billion dollars annually to effectively provide housing for those experiencing homelessness in the U.S.
The same is estimated to feed the hungry in the U.S.
ICE is spending $38 billion on cages.
Mark it, nuncle, I'm 'jestermaxxing' (reading King Lear).
February 16, 2026 at 4:17 PM
Mark it, nuncle, I'm 'jestermaxxing' (reading King Lear).
Reposted by Dhananjay Jagannathan
On Thanksgiving, the immigrant children held at the Dilley detention center gathered in the gym for what they thought was a holiday feast.
The kids salivated over a spread of turkey, sandwiches, pastries and pies, a family told me.
But the food wasn’t for detainees — it was for the staff.
The kids salivated over a spread of turkey, sandwiches, pastries and pies, a family told me.
But the food wasn’t for detainees — it was for the staff.
February 13, 2026 at 7:41 PM
On Thanksgiving, the immigrant children held at the Dilley detention center gathered in the gym for what they thought was a holiday feast.
The kids salivated over a spread of turkey, sandwiches, pastries and pies, a family told me.
But the food wasn’t for detainees — it was for the staff.
The kids salivated over a spread of turkey, sandwiches, pastries and pies, a family told me.
But the food wasn’t for detainees — it was for the staff.
Reposted by Dhananjay Jagannathan
A blessed feast of St. Cyril and St. Methodius to all who celebrate. Here are these two excellent saints standing before the National Library in Sofia (took this photo in January 2024).
The story of what these two did to spread the Gospel is quite inspiring. Much better than chocolate ♥️.
⚓️
The story of what these two did to spread the Gospel is quite inspiring. Much better than chocolate ♥️.
⚓️
February 14, 2026 at 5:14 PM
A blessed feast of St. Cyril and St. Methodius to all who celebrate. Here are these two excellent saints standing before the National Library in Sofia (took this photo in January 2024).
The story of what these two did to spread the Gospel is quite inspiring. Much better than chocolate ♥️.
⚓️
The story of what these two did to spread the Gospel is quite inspiring. Much better than chocolate ♥️.
⚓️
Reposted by Dhananjay Jagannathan
I kept looking for the ‘this content has been sponsored by Anthropic’ footnote but you must have accidentally left it out.
February 11, 2026 at 3:38 PM
I kept looking for the ‘this content has been sponsored by Anthropic’ footnote but you must have accidentally left it out.
....
Correction: A previous version of this post misidentified the South Caucasus as belonging to Russia. The region, made up of territory in Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan, is not part of Russia. We deleted the previous post.
February 12, 2026 at 5:06 PM
....
This event listing has been taken down due to faculty advocacy.
Columbia University is advertising a Customs and Border Patrol recruiting event next week entitled "Help Defend the Homeland". Very cool!
careerdesignlab.sps.columbia.edu/events/2026/...
careerdesignlab.sps.columbia.edu/events/2026/...
U.S. Customs and Border Protection Virtual Career Expo – 02/18
Help Defend the Homeland Register today for the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Virtual Career Expo on Wednesday, February 18, 2026, from 11 AM to 4 PM ET. ** Registration is now open! ** If …
careerdesignlab.sps.columbia.edu
February 12, 2026 at 4:57 PM
This event listing has been taken down due to faculty advocacy.
If Democrats do not take this opportunity to relentlessly mock Trump, CBP, and DO'W' for this, I will be extremely disappointed.
According to multiple NYT sources, it wasn’t even military personnel at Fort Bliss that fired an anti-drone laser at alleged cartel drones. It was CBP who used the weapon on loan from DoD against a child’s party balloon they mistook for a drone. The Pentagon gave CBP an anti-aircraft weapon.
February 12, 2026 at 4:31 PM
If Democrats do not take this opportunity to relentlessly mock Trump, CBP, and DO'W' for this, I will be extremely disappointed.
Reposted by Dhananjay Jagannathan
This is the second account - the first being in Chicago - of DHS agents mass detaining people and then *sorting them by race*.
More than 400 people, including hundreds of citizens, were “sorted” at gun point into racial and ethnic groups by 200 ICE agents who fired flash-bang grenades into cars with people inside, pointed guns at children & demanded their zip tied parents not comfort them. apple.news/Ausdx6kWtT0e...
Idaho families sue over immigration raid that swept up hundreds, including U.S. citizens — NBC News
About 400 people, including children and U.S. citizens, were detained for four hours while they were denied food and water in the raid, according to the lawsuit.
apple.news
February 12, 2026 at 2:26 AM
This is the second account - the first being in Chicago - of DHS agents mass detaining people and then *sorting them by race*.
I thought this would just be another story about shooting a dog but it's a different sort of moral depravity altogether.
February 11, 2026 at 9:13 PM
I thought this would just be another story about shooting a dog but it's a different sort of moral depravity altogether.
Gallup, after 88 years of presidential approval polling, has just 14 words to explain its decision: “Donald Trump called us and told us he would destroy us unless we stopped.”.
Gallup will no longer measure presidential approval after 88 years thehill.com/homenews/med...
February 11, 2026 at 8:22 PM
Gallup, after 88 years of presidential approval polling, has just 14 words to explain its decision: “Donald Trump called us and told us he would destroy us unless we stopped.”.
This is morally equivalent to the neo-Nazi use of triple parentheses to identify Jewish people.
I have to say, I do not love this new trend of large liberal accounts with millions of followers identifying Jews.
February 11, 2026 at 3:30 PM
This is morally equivalent to the neo-Nazi use of triple parentheses to identify Jewish people.
Columbia University is advertising a Customs and Border Patrol recruiting event next week entitled "Help Defend the Homeland". Very cool!
careerdesignlab.sps.columbia.edu/events/2026/...
careerdesignlab.sps.columbia.edu/events/2026/...
U.S. Customs and Border Protection Virtual Career Expo – 02/18
Help Defend the Homeland Register today for the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Virtual Career Expo on Wednesday, February 18, 2026, from 11 AM to 4 PM ET. ** Registration is now open! ** If …
careerdesignlab.sps.columbia.edu
February 10, 2026 at 7:45 PM
Columbia University is advertising a Customs and Border Patrol recruiting event next week entitled "Help Defend the Homeland". Very cool!
careerdesignlab.sps.columbia.edu/events/2026/...
careerdesignlab.sps.columbia.edu/events/2026/...
Reposted by Dhananjay Jagannathan
I’m singing a concert of Renaissance polyphonic music this afternoon; I gather there is also something else going on around this time.
February 8, 2026 at 7:00 PM
I’m singing a concert of Renaissance polyphonic music this afternoon; I gather there is also something else going on around this time.
I love to point the manicule of contempt at people. ☞ ☞ ☞
February 7, 2026 at 10:10 PM
I love to point the manicule of contempt at people. ☞ ☞ ☞
Reposted by Dhananjay Jagannathan
ICE told nurses this Minneapolis man “purposefully ran headfirst into a brick wall.”
What actually happened is that they pulled him from a car, beat him so viciously with a steel baton that he had 8 skull fractures, 5 life-threatening brain hemorrhages, and couldn’t remember he had a daughter.
What actually happened is that they pulled him from a car, beat him so viciously with a steel baton that he had 8 skull fractures, 5 life-threatening brain hemorrhages, and couldn’t remember he had a daughter.
February 7, 2026 at 5:54 PM
ICE told nurses this Minneapolis man “purposefully ran headfirst into a brick wall.”
What actually happened is that they pulled him from a car, beat him so viciously with a steel baton that he had 8 skull fractures, 5 life-threatening brain hemorrhages, and couldn’t remember he had a daughter.
What actually happened is that they pulled him from a car, beat him so viciously with a steel baton that he had 8 skull fractures, 5 life-threatening brain hemorrhages, and couldn’t remember he had a daughter.
Reposted by Dhananjay Jagannathan
“Renee Goodman [sic], Alex Pretti – there are no words,” DeLauro said.
“You said there were no words after the murder of those two individuals,” said Rev. Jack Perkins Davidson. “I think the words are ‘Abolish ICE.’”
www.ctpublic.org/news/2026-02...
“You said there were no words after the murder of those two individuals,” said Rev. Jack Perkins Davidson. “I think the words are ‘Abolish ICE.’”
www.ctpublic.org/news/2026-02...
DeLauro to pressing clergy: 'I will not vote to abolish ICE'
The Connecticut U.S. representative found herself at odds with faith leaders.
www.ctpublic.org
February 6, 2026 at 11:28 PM
“Renee Goodman [sic], Alex Pretti – there are no words,” DeLauro said.
“You said there were no words after the murder of those two individuals,” said Rev. Jack Perkins Davidson. “I think the words are ‘Abolish ICE.’”
www.ctpublic.org/news/2026-02...
“You said there were no words after the murder of those two individuals,” said Rev. Jack Perkins Davidson. “I think the words are ‘Abolish ICE.’”
www.ctpublic.org/news/2026-02...
I mean, it's not too hard to understand if you take into account the orthographic changes!
"Merry it is while summer lasts with fowls' song, yet now near winds blast and weather's strong."
The only really different word is 'fughel' (cf. German Vogel, pronounced fogel), but we do still have 'fowl'.
"Merry it is while summer lasts with fowls' song, yet now near winds blast and weather's strong."
The only really different word is 'fughel' (cf. German Vogel, pronounced fogel), but we do still have 'fowl'.
If you found Gaelic hard to understand, try some mediaeval English instead:
Mirie it iſ while ſumer ilaſt ƿið fugheleſ ſong, oc nu neheð ƿindeſ blaſt and ƿeder ſtrong! Ei, ei! Ƿhat ðiſ nicht iſ long, and ich ƿið ƿel michel wrong, ſoregh and murn and faſt!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=2HXT...
Mirie it iſ while ſumer ilaſt ƿið fugheleſ ſong, oc nu neheð ƿindeſ blaſt and ƿeder ſtrong! Ei, ei! Ƿhat ðiſ nicht iſ long, and ich ƿið ƿel michel wrong, ſoregh and murn and faſt!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=2HXT...
Vocantus - Mirie it is while sumer ilast
YouTube video by Veratus
www.youtube.com
February 6, 2026 at 6:32 PM
I mean, it's not too hard to understand if you take into account the orthographic changes!
"Merry it is while summer lasts with fowls' song, yet now near winds blast and weather's strong."
The only really different word is 'fughel' (cf. German Vogel, pronounced fogel), but we do still have 'fowl'.
"Merry it is while summer lasts with fowls' song, yet now near winds blast and weather's strong."
The only really different word is 'fughel' (cf. German Vogel, pronounced fogel), but we do still have 'fowl'.
Reposted by Dhananjay Jagannathan
again these people don’t act like they believe in hell
BREAKING: The federal government has filed a motion seeking to end asylum claims for the family of Liam Conejo Ramos, according to the lawyer representing the family.
DHS has requested expedited deportation proceedings against family of Liam Conejo Ramos
The federal government has filed a motion seeking to end asylum claims for the family of Liam Conejo Ramos, according to the lawyer representing the family.
www.mprnews.org
February 6, 2026 at 2:58 AM
again these people don’t act like they believe in hell
made bibimbap for dinner; ate bibimbap; now can't move; send help
February 4, 2026 at 2:57 AM
made bibimbap for dinner; ate bibimbap; now can't move; send help
Like the Covid pandemic, AI chatbots raise the question: at what rate of societal prevalence does this behavior tip over from mental illness to a new normal?
AI “deadbots” aim to replace the dead—and raise plenty of ethical issues, Charley Burlock argues. “Perhaps the biggest question is how such a product might shift our experience of personal grief and collective memory.”
The AI Companies Trying to Make Grief Obsolete
You can buy an AI version of your lost loved one. But should you?
bit.ly
February 1, 2026 at 9:58 PM
Like the Covid pandemic, AI chatbots raise the question: at what rate of societal prevalence does this behavior tip over from mental illness to a new normal?
Just say no to the bullshit machines
Talking to AI bots can lead to unhealthy emotional attachments or even breaks with reality. Some people affected by chatbot interactions or those of a loved one are turning to one other for support. n.pr/49Ogpll
AI chatbots upended their lives. Now they're finding support from each other
Talking to AI bots can lead to unhealthy emotional attachments or even breaks with reality. Some people affected by chatbot interactions or those of a loved one are turning to one other for support.
n.pr
January 30, 2026 at 10:51 PM
Just say no to the bullshit machines