Emily Williams
@emilyw00.bsky.social
Book lover. Rights & publishing geek. Director, IP & content services at EL Education. All views expressed are my own. Vivo en inglés y español. pronoun.is/she
my kid started watching Drew Gooden as one of a handful of approved channels when he was ~8yo. he's now a sophomore in high school and just sent me this after watching it & thinking on it for the rest of the day into the next morning. he does not interact with traditional media. YouTube can be good.
DREW GOODEN: " This IS the best the economy ever — If you already have money… If you're living paycheck to paycheck, you're not thinking about the stock market. The average age of a home buyer is 59… It’s 2 economies moving in opposite directions.”
December 9, 2025 at 8:36 PM
my kid started watching Drew Gooden as one of a handful of approved channels when he was ~8yo. he's now a sophomore in high school and just sent me this after watching it & thinking on it for the rest of the day into the next morning. he does not interact with traditional media. YouTube can be good.
Reposted by Emily Williams
(2) seems to be an even more dubious point than (1). first because agencies are shaped by congress as well as executive appointments, and second because the agency rule-making process is more transparent and democratic than top-down decrees from political appointees
The theory of the unitary executive is that (1) the constitution requires it and (2) you get democratic accountability through presidential control through the power to remove agency heads. (1) is dubious (2) seems ridiculous at the present moment.
December 9, 2025 at 1:57 PM
(2) seems to be an even more dubious point than (1). first because agencies are shaped by congress as well as executive appointments, and second because the agency rule-making process is more transparent and democratic than top-down decrees from political appointees
Reposted by Emily Williams
"The non-racial and un-colonial world of Bridgerton, which does not account for the colonial origins of Regency opulence, rather than inviting us to work towards the possible, presents to us a complete fantasy world, so near to our own but completely out of reach."
folukeafrica.com/romance-is-n...
folukeafrica.com/romance-is-n...
Romance is not our way out of hell: Of #Bridgerton, representation & imagining a world beyond
The limits of temporary emotional escapes
folukeafrica.com
December 9, 2025 at 12:08 PM
"The non-racial and un-colonial world of Bridgerton, which does not account for the colonial origins of Regency opulence, rather than inviting us to work towards the possible, presents to us a complete fantasy world, so near to our own but completely out of reach."
folukeafrica.com/romance-is-n...
folukeafrica.com/romance-is-n...
Reposted by Emily Williams
it is actually kind of bananas how unitary executive theorists have taken a straightforward clause requiring the president to "faithfully execute the laws" and transformed it into a grant for the exercise of limitless unenumerated power.
The Take Care Clause was a byproduct of the lessons learned from the Glorious Revolution that the executive should not be able to dispense with the law promulgated by the legislature. It was not a constitutional provision to empower the executive branch— but to constrain it!
December 9, 2025 at 2:20 PM
it is actually kind of bananas how unitary executive theorists have taken a straightforward clause requiring the president to "faithfully execute the laws" and transformed it into a grant for the exercise of limitless unenumerated power.
Reposted by Emily Williams
Every legal story now is either
Ancient Circuit Judge Delivers Crystal Clear 100 Page Rebuke To Trumpist Overreach
or
In Unsigned Shadow Docket Decision, 6-3 Majority Declares Trump Can Hunt People For Sport
Ancient Circuit Judge Delivers Crystal Clear 100 Page Rebuke To Trumpist Overreach
or
In Unsigned Shadow Docket Decision, 6-3 Majority Declares Trump Can Hunt People For Sport
October 3, 2025 at 10:26 PM
Every legal story now is either
Ancient Circuit Judge Delivers Crystal Clear 100 Page Rebuke To Trumpist Overreach
or
In Unsigned Shadow Docket Decision, 6-3 Majority Declares Trump Can Hunt People For Sport
Ancient Circuit Judge Delivers Crystal Clear 100 Page Rebuke To Trumpist Overreach
or
In Unsigned Shadow Docket Decision, 6-3 Majority Declares Trump Can Hunt People For Sport
Reposted by Emily Williams
The “garbage” destroying America isn’t in Minnesota’s Somalian community. It’s in the Oval Office. www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/1...
December 4, 2025 at 5:08 PM
The “garbage” destroying America isn’t in Minnesota’s Somalian community. It’s in the Oval Office. www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/1...
Reposted by Emily Williams
This really is a must read for anyone in academia.
December 7, 2025 at 5:12 PM
This really is a must read for anyone in academia.
Reposted by Emily Williams
More and more research is showing that in the US, extreme weather exacerbates quality of life disparities more than anyone previously was accounting for. It’s going to get worse.
"Our analysis shows that in the aftermath of extreme weather events, lower-income neighbourhoods are less likely to rebuild and do not return to their pre-disaster state, whereas higher-income areas rebuild and tend to improve...highlighting increasing disparities in their built environments."
Nature research paper: Built environment disparities are amplified during extreme weather recovery
go.nature.com/3YcD2ZS
go.nature.com/3YcD2ZS
December 8, 2025 at 12:18 PM
More and more research is showing that in the US, extreme weather exacerbates quality of life disparities more than anyone previously was accounting for. It’s going to get worse.
Reposted by Emily Williams
December 8, 2025 at 1:40 PM
Reposted by Emily Williams
NEW:
Trump’s Own Mortgages Match His Description of Mortgage Fraud, Records Reveal
www.propublica.org/article/trum...
w/ @robert-faturechi.bsky.social @amierjeski.bsky.social
Trump’s Own Mortgages Match His Description of Mortgage Fraud, Records Reveal
www.propublica.org/article/trum...
w/ @robert-faturechi.bsky.social @amierjeski.bsky.social
Trump’s Own Mortgages Match His Description of Mortgage Fraud, Records Reveal
The Trump administration has argued that Fed board member Lisa Cook may have committed mortgage fraud by declaring more than one primary residence on her loans. We found Trump once did the very thing ...
www.propublica.org
December 8, 2025 at 12:32 PM
NEW:
Trump’s Own Mortgages Match His Description of Mortgage Fraud, Records Reveal
www.propublica.org/article/trum...
w/ @robert-faturechi.bsky.social @amierjeski.bsky.social
Trump’s Own Mortgages Match His Description of Mortgage Fraud, Records Reveal
www.propublica.org/article/trum...
w/ @robert-faturechi.bsky.social @amierjeski.bsky.social
Reposted by Emily Williams
So love wobbegongs. Everything is good about the wobbegong. Its name. Its flattened Oscar the Grouch face. Its frondy bits. Its lazy life as a hungry rug. And it’s a shark. Outstanding animal 10/10
The Tasselled Wobbegong is a master of disguise that can eat a fish almost as big as itself in one gulp. It's classified as a shark, but when it lays on the sea floor it looks like a harmless rug if you manage to see it. But with powerful jaws and sharp teeth they are no fish to mess with.
December 8, 2025 at 9:49 AM
So love wobbegongs. Everything is good about the wobbegong. Its name. Its flattened Oscar the Grouch face. Its frondy bits. Its lazy life as a hungry rug. And it’s a shark. Outstanding animal 10/10
Reposted by Emily Williams
Tom Nichols: “This ongoing game show of ‘strike a boat every day’ […] is making us into worse people — every one of us, whether we’re in uniform or just ordinary citizens. It is spiritually and morally corrosive on every level.”
@radiofreetom.bsky.social
@radiofreetom.bsky.social
December 6, 2025 at 9:03 PM
Tom Nichols: “This ongoing game show of ‘strike a boat every day’ […] is making us into worse people — every one of us, whether we’re in uniform or just ordinary citizens. It is spiritually and morally corrosive on every level.”
@radiofreetom.bsky.social
@radiofreetom.bsky.social
Reposted by Emily Williams
By “sovreignty” he means “states should be weak enough so that billionaires like me should be able to treat them as feudal vassals” bsky.app/profile/lora...
Elon Musk is against the European Union being the European Union —he posted this after X (fka Twitter) was fined for violations of the EU’s Digital Services Act.
December 6, 2025 at 10:16 PM
By “sovreignty” he means “states should be weak enough so that billionaires like me should be able to treat them as feudal vassals” bsky.app/profile/lora...
Reposted by Emily Williams
There is no sight that more efficiently puts the lie to immigration “court” than the common sight of children “representing themselves.” Children too small to climb into the chair, children in pajamas who don’t know where they are, children not yet old enough to speak.
Three-year-old child forced to serve as her own attorney in Tucson immigration court
More than a dozen undocumented minors were forced to make their case in front of an immigration judge as the Trump administration ramps up removal proceedings.
coppercourier.com
December 6, 2025 at 5:18 PM
There is no sight that more efficiently puts the lie to immigration “court” than the common sight of children “representing themselves.” Children too small to climb into the chair, children in pajamas who don’t know where they are, children not yet old enough to speak.
Reposted by Emily Williams
As a daughter of immigrants, witnessing Father Gary’s pilgrimage reach its end was truly inspiring. His walk honors the sacrifices, and echoes the hopes and fears of so many immigrant families.
Thank you, Father Gary, for carrying our voices, and for reminding the country that immigrants belong.
Thank you, Father Gary, for carrying our voices, and for reminding the country that immigrants belong.
Father Gary Graf’s 800-mile walk from Dolton, Illinois to the Statue of Liberty ended this week, but the mission he carried with him is far from over.
His message to all of us: "It is time to step up. It is time to speak out."
✍️: @tusk81.bsky.social
📸: @heylookitsruth.bsky.social
His message to all of us: "It is time to step up. It is time to speak out."
✍️: @tusk81.bsky.social
📸: @heylookitsruth.bsky.social
Chicago Priest Walks 800 Miles In Solidarity With Immigrant Neighbors, Says ‘It Is Time To Step Up’
Father Gary Graf, known as Father Gary, sought to honor our immigrant neighbors one step at a time.
americasvoicecnn.substack.com
December 5, 2025 at 8:05 PM
As a daughter of immigrants, witnessing Father Gary’s pilgrimage reach its end was truly inspiring. His walk honors the sacrifices, and echoes the hopes and fears of so many immigrant families.
Thank you, Father Gary, for carrying our voices, and for reminding the country that immigrants belong.
Thank you, Father Gary, for carrying our voices, and for reminding the country that immigrants belong.
Reposted by Emily Williams
Two independent studies found that AI chatbots were better at persuading voters than political ads. The most persuasive bots also lied the most. This is something that humans working in psyops have known for decades. AI is psyops at scale. www.technologyreview.com/2025/12/04/1...
December 5, 2025 at 7:58 PM
Two independent studies found that AI chatbots were better at persuading voters than political ads. The most persuasive bots also lied the most. This is something that humans working in psyops have known for decades. AI is psyops at scale. www.technologyreview.com/2025/12/04/1...
Reposted by Emily Williams
A massive problem today is the uneven distribution of shame. Some of us are running dedicated on-site shame servers 24/7 while others have no access to shame at all, even though they desperately need it. What we need to do is put shame in the cloud
December 6, 2025 at 2:54 AM
A massive problem today is the uneven distribution of shame. Some of us are running dedicated on-site shame servers 24/7 while others have no access to shame at all, even though they desperately need it. What we need to do is put shame in the cloud
Reposted by Emily Williams
There is no point along the chain of command—from then-VADM Bradley down to the crew member triggering the missile—where anyone has any excuse whatsoever for giving or following that order.
December 6, 2025 at 3:50 PM
There is no point along the chain of command—from then-VADM Bradley down to the crew member triggering the missile—where anyone has any excuse whatsoever for giving or following that order.
Reposted by Emily Williams
It really feels like prediction markets aren’t gambling platforms as much as they are coordinated influence operations
Sources: Polymarket has recruited staff for a market making team that could face off against its customers; Kalshi's similar unit exposed Kalshi to criticism (Bloomberg)
Main Link | Techmeme Permalink
Main Link | Techmeme Permalink
December 4, 2025 at 5:43 PM
It really feels like prediction markets aren’t gambling platforms as much as they are coordinated influence operations
Reposted by Emily Williams
Americans' views of the job market are the most negative Gallup has recorded since the closing days of Trump’s first term, in January 2021 during the pandemic.
December 4, 2025 at 1:07 PM
Americans' views of the job market are the most negative Gallup has recorded since the closing days of Trump’s first term, in January 2021 during the pandemic.
Reposted by Emily Williams
New @ms.now: @jacobsoboroff.bsky.social spoke to the Babson College student who Immigration and Customs Enforcement deported to Honduras after she tried to fly to visit her parents for Thanksgiving.
“It felt like if I was a criminal when I’m not,” she said of being shackled, arrested and deported.
“It felt like if I was a criminal when I’m not,” she said of being shackled, arrested and deported.
'It felt like if I was a criminal when I'm not.'
First-year college student Any Lopez Belloza was caught up in President Trump's mass deportation campaign when ICE agents detained her in a Boston airport on the way home for Thanksgiving and deported...
www.ms.now
December 4, 2025 at 1:10 PM
New @ms.now: @jacobsoboroff.bsky.social spoke to the Babson College student who Immigration and Customs Enforcement deported to Honduras after she tried to fly to visit her parents for Thanksgiving.
“It felt like if I was a criminal when I’m not,” she said of being shackled, arrested and deported.
“It felt like if I was a criminal when I’m not,” she said of being shackled, arrested and deported.
Reposted by Emily Williams
The impact of the destruction of USAID is so wide-ranging. We got a field report from one of the poorest states in India, where foreign aid funded "TB champions" who educate and assist tuberculosis patients. Without their help, advocates expect a 36% increase in cases & 68% rise in deaths from TB.
Losing India’s Guardian Angels - The American Prospect
USAID funding supported efforts to eradicate tuberculosis in India, one of the country’s deadliest diseases. Now, that money and support is gone.
prospect.org
December 4, 2025 at 1:40 PM
The impact of the destruction of USAID is so wide-ranging. We got a field report from one of the poorest states in India, where foreign aid funded "TB champions" who educate and assist tuberculosis patients. Without their help, advocates expect a 36% increase in cases & 68% rise in deaths from TB.
Reposted by Emily Williams
Yesterday, the Deportation Data Project posted new FOIA data on ICE arrests through October 15 and it’s staggering how much it instantly disproves every claim the Trump admin has made about targeting “criminals” during its splashy arrest operations.
Here’s arrests in Illinois since April.
Here’s arrests in Illinois since April.
December 4, 2025 at 1:27 PM
Yesterday, the Deportation Data Project posted new FOIA data on ICE arrests through October 15 and it’s staggering how much it instantly disproves every claim the Trump admin has made about targeting “criminals” during its splashy arrest operations.
Here’s arrests in Illinois since April.
Here’s arrests in Illinois since April.
Reposted by Emily Williams
Listen. If you don't have any spirited 12 year olds on your list, feel free to buy this for yourself. I LOVED this queer Chinese reclaiming of the myths of the American West.
If you're buying gifts for spirited 12 year olds who have read most of the middle grade graphic novel canon, can I recommend my book The Legend of Auntie Po? It's multi-awarded, and well reviewed, but hasn't entirely found its commercial footing.
www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/601780...
www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/601780...
The Legend of Auntie Po by Shing Yin Khor: 9780525554882 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books
A NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST Part historical fiction, part fable, and 100 percent adventure. Thirteen-year-old Mei reimagines the myths of Paul Bunyan as starring a Chinese heroine while she works ...
www.penguinrandomhouse.com
December 4, 2025 at 4:25 AM
Listen. If you don't have any spirited 12 year olds on your list, feel free to buy this for yourself. I LOVED this queer Chinese reclaiming of the myths of the American West.