Michael Kaplan
@differance.bsky.social
Writer. Teacher. Scholar of rhetoric, media and democracy.
Chicago Bears and Arsenal fan. My work is mysterious and important.
Chicago Bears and Arsenal fan. My work is mysterious and important.
Good will triumph over ICE
January 11, 2026 at 3:11 AM
Good will triumph over ICE
Fare thee well, Bob
Grateful Dead - Brokedown Palace (Official Audio)
YouTube video by Grateful Dead
youtu.be
January 11, 2026 at 12:56 AM
Fare thee well, Bob
maybe instead of the goofy #NoKings marches, we should embrace a #FuckingBitch ethos and barricade ICE facilities
January 10, 2026 at 3:44 PM
maybe instead of the goofy #NoKings marches, we should embrace a #FuckingBitch ethos and barricade ICE facilities
We are living in a moment when the ruling ideas are starkly opposed to the ruling elites
January 9, 2026 at 5:00 PM
We are living in a moment when the ruling ideas are starkly opposed to the ruling elites
it's profoundly misleading to say that "absolute power corrupts absolutely." absolute power *is in itself* nothing other than absolute corruption.
January 9, 2026 at 3:41 PM
it's profoundly misleading to say that "absolute power corrupts absolutely." absolute power *is in itself* nothing other than absolute corruption.
I remain a Chicagoan at heart, but this is just facts
January 9, 2026 at 3:21 PM
I remain a Chicagoan at heart, but this is just facts
Martinelli makes an embarrassing meal of that, but it was in fact a shove in the back.
January 8, 2026 at 9:25 PM
Martinelli makes an embarrassing meal of that, but it was in fact a shove in the back.
I swear I remember MLS being a good bit faster
January 8, 2026 at 9:21 PM
I swear I remember MLS being a good bit faster
let's see some subs, Mikel.
January 8, 2026 at 9:20 PM
let's see some subs, Mikel.
and Mac Allister has set one up…
January 8, 2026 at 9:19 PM
and Mac Allister has set one up…
Could Gyökeres be any more useless?
January 8, 2026 at 8:40 PM
Could Gyökeres be any more useless?
Why on earth isn’t Jesus starting this match?
January 8, 2026 at 8:23 PM
Why on earth isn’t Jesus starting this match?
Saka needs to give way to Madueke for a spell.
January 8, 2026 at 8:19 PM
Saka needs to give way to Madueke for a spell.
Ødegaard makes more passes to the CB than he does to forwards
January 8, 2026 at 8:16 PM
Ødegaard makes more passes to the CB than he does to forwards
Fuck Anthony Taylor
January 8, 2026 at 8:15 PM
Fuck Anthony Taylor
the 70s malaise gave us some amazing art, especially in music and film. we deserve something on par with it, but no such luck.
January 8, 2026 at 7:58 PM
the 70s malaise gave us some amazing art, especially in music and film. we deserve something on par with it, but no such luck.
why is it that most (all?) analyses of Melville's "Bartleby" focus on the titular figure rather than the narrator? it is, after all, emphatically a story of the narrator's dislocated subjectivity. even Žižek seems utterly oblivious to this very basic fact. weird.
January 8, 2026 at 6:48 PM
why is it that most (all?) analyses of Melville's "Bartleby" focus on the titular figure rather than the narrator? it is, after all, emphatically a story of the narrator's dislocated subjectivity. even Žižek seems utterly oblivious to this very basic fact. weird.
January 6 in Historical Perspective
January 6 in Historical Perspective
January 6, 2026
open.substack.com
January 8, 2026 at 3:11 PM
January 6 in Historical Perspective
"we're a republic not a democracy," they say, right before banning Plato's Republic
January 8, 2026 at 2:07 PM
"we're a republic not a democracy," they say, right before banning Plato's Republic