jon ben-menachem
@jbenmenachem.com
criminalization, abolition, labor, politics, journalism—social science theory & methods too. sociology phd candidate @ columbia. @swcolumbia.bsky.social
Pinned
If We Want Mamdani to Beat the NYPD, the Left Must Build Power
We won’t be able to push Mamdani, or anyone else, to undermine police power unless we become a force to be reckoned with.
www.thenation.com
Zohran showed that a socialist can take City Hall—but the ruling class still forced him to keep Jessica Tisch at the NYPD. For Zohran to fight the police unions and win, the Left has to build power beyond the ballot box.
New from me for The Nation:
www.thenation.com/article/poli...
New from me for The Nation:
www.thenation.com/article/poli...
Reposted by jon ben-menachem
Looking for past Garfield Macy's balloons. Found a new reaction image
November 27, 2025 at 6:36 PM
Looking for past Garfield Macy's balloons. Found a new reaction image
We decided that society has progressed past the need for turkey. Large W.
November 27, 2025 at 10:35 PM
We decided that society has progressed past the need for turkey. Large W.
Reposted by jon ben-menachem
The Trump administration has reacted to a small scale lone wolf attack by in DC announcing a sweeping collective punishment, using the organs of government to heap blame on partisan rivals, and potentially dissuading anyone from collaborating with US forces abroad for a generation.
CIA statement about the Afghan man identified as the gunman who shot two National Guardsmen in Washington
November 27, 2025 at 2:38 PM
The Trump administration has reacted to a small scale lone wolf attack by in DC announcing a sweeping collective punishment, using the organs of government to heap blame on partisan rivals, and potentially dissuading anyone from collaborating with US forces abroad for a generation.
Reposted by jon ben-menachem
FYI: law and science, political science, and sociology all still have DDRIG programs run outside of the NSF but funded by NSF. The rest of these programs unfortunately do not.
I run the political science DDRIG.
I run the political science DDRIG.
NEW from me - NSF cancels grant scheme for social science research.
Seems the NSF quietly archived ALL calls for DDRIG grants in the SBE directorate. This is a massive blow for PhD students wanting to do cutting-edge social science research. 🏺🧪
Seems the NSF quietly archived ALL calls for DDRIG grants in the SBE directorate. This is a massive blow for PhD students wanting to do cutting-edge social science research. 🏺🧪
Today's biggest science news: Doomed comet explodes | Comet 3I/ATLAS course alteration | Dark matter detected?
Wednesday, Nov. 26, 2025: Your daily feed of the biggest discoveries and breakthroughs making headlines.
www.livescience.com
November 27, 2025 at 3:25 PM
FYI: law and science, political science, and sociology all still have DDRIG programs run outside of the NSF but funded by NSF. The rest of these programs unfortunately do not.
I run the political science DDRIG.
I run the political science DDRIG.
Reposted by jon ben-menachem
i'm writing to wish you a happy thanksgiving! also, to inquire about the status of my manuscript
November 27, 2025 at 2:35 PM
i'm writing to wish you a happy thanksgiving! also, to inquire about the status of my manuscript
Oh cool yeah just let the banks do whatever they want while the tech companies are all speedrunning 2008
November 27, 2025 at 3:10 PM
Oh cool yeah just let the banks do whatever they want while the tech companies are all speedrunning 2008
Reposted by jon ben-menachem
Happy Thanksgiving
November 27, 2025 at 2:23 PM
Happy Thanksgiving
Reposted by jon ben-menachem
The public nature of these enemies lists also encourages harassment. Some federal employees were fired, some resigned, but even those who stayed faced a stream of threats. One left the country.
www.reuters.com/investigatio...
www.reuters.com/investigatio...
Pro-Trump group wages campaign to purge “subversive” federal workers
Some have been fired. Two have moved abroad, fearing for their safety. Yet free-speech experts say the group's websites remain just outside the boundaries of violating personal privacy.
www.reuters.com
November 27, 2025 at 3:02 PM
The public nature of these enemies lists also encourages harassment. Some federal employees were fired, some resigned, but even those who stayed faced a stream of threats. One left the country.
www.reuters.com/investigatio...
www.reuters.com/investigatio...
I’ve said a few times that the discourse on these tools is limited to hypemen and haters, and both groups of people make statements that make me doubt they’ve ever tried using the tools. (For the record the hypemen are much worse and will crash the economy)
People on BlueSky: AI is useless! A stochastic parrot!
Mathematicians/biologists/physicists: It is already helping us do frontier technical research and in some cases solve open problems arxiv.org/pdf/2511.16072
(There are of course, as always, many caveats, but the paper is genuinely remarkable)
Mathematicians/biologists/physicists: It is already helping us do frontier technical research and in some cases solve open problems arxiv.org/pdf/2511.16072
(There are of course, as always, many caveats, but the paper is genuinely remarkable)
arxiv.org
November 27, 2025 at 3:01 PM
I’ve said a few times that the discourse on these tools is limited to hypemen and haters, and both groups of people make statements that make me doubt they’ve ever tried using the tools. (For the record the hypemen are much worse and will crash the economy)
why bother with dystopian fiction when the united states is already doing worse in real life
absolutely harrowing description of adx supermax in colorado boltsmag.org/death-row-cl...
November 27, 2025 at 2:49 PM
why bother with dystopian fiction when the united states is already doing worse in real life
Reposted by jon ben-menachem
Back down from what exactly? Fundraising off this?
The President doesn't want you standing up and speaking out against him, so he's coming after me to intimidate all of us.
But I won't back down — and neither should you.
But I won't back down — and neither should you.
November 27, 2025 at 1:00 PM
Back down from what exactly? Fundraising off this?
Reposted by jon ben-menachem
Nearly every mechanism that made my career possible—Ford, NSF, Harvard BiGS—is gone or on the way to the chopping block.
This means NSF dissertation improvement grants in the social sciences are simply...not happening.
NEW from me - NSF cancels grant scheme for social science research.
Seems the NSF quietly archived ALL calls for DDRIG grants in the SBE directorate. This is a massive blow for PhD students wanting to do cutting-edge social science research. 🏺🧪
Seems the NSF quietly archived ALL calls for DDRIG grants in the SBE directorate. This is a massive blow for PhD students wanting to do cutting-edge social science research. 🏺🧪
November 27, 2025 at 1:33 PM
Nearly every mechanism that made my career possible—Ford, NSF, Harvard BiGS—is gone or on the way to the chopping block.
see, if New Yorkers had chosen Sliwa, the mayor-elect would have affirmed every parade’s right to exist. Big mistake for the big apple
The current mayor of New York City, who isn't Jewish, tells the forthcoming mayor of New York City that in order to prove he is not an antisemite he should commit to being part of the Israel Day parade in May 2026.
November 27, 2025 at 2:41 AM
see, if New Yorkers had chosen Sliwa, the mayor-elect would have affirmed every parade’s right to exist. Big mistake for the big apple
i will no longer be posting about the revenge porn cuck guy
this fuckin guy ...dropping allegations of journalistic malpractice and source betrayal in separate piece meal events like it’s delicious media gossip and then writing, “we haven’t reached the halfway point, and I haven’t yet described the most bizarre, consequential, and newsworthy events”
November 26, 2025 at 10:14 PM
i will no longer be posting about the revenge porn cuck guy
Reposted by jon ben-menachem
God this is so depressing given the political response to it
"the economic response to the pandemic really worked. Indeed, there is a good case that it was the most successful example of countercyclical policy in US history." jwmason.org/slackwire/at...
At Groundwork: Lessons from the September Jobs Report – J. W. Mason
jwmason.org
November 26, 2025 at 9:34 PM
God this is so depressing given the political response to it
What’s with the medical care category responses?
It's not this platform. It's all of society that hates AI
November 26, 2025 at 8:34 PM
What’s with the medical care category responses?
“This is the earliest a candidate has declared victory in the speaker’s race in the modern era of the council, going back to 1986. The current speaker, Adrienne Adams, secured the necessary support on Dec. 17.” www.politico.com/news/2025/11...
Julie Menin declares victory in NYC Council speaker race
The Manhattan legislator said she has enough votes to secure the leadership post come January.
www.politico.com
November 26, 2025 at 7:32 PM
“This is the earliest a candidate has declared victory in the speaker’s race in the modern era of the council, going back to 1986. The current speaker, Adrienne Adams, secured the necessary support on Dec. 17.” www.politico.com/news/2025/11...
Everyone with a Canary Mission page should apply just for funsies
November 26, 2025 at 3:20 PM
Everyone with a Canary Mission page should apply just for funsies
Reposted by jon ben-menachem
Saying this but to a computer
November 24, 2025 at 3:41 PM
Saying this but to a computer
If you see this post an anime you love
November 26, 2025 at 2:43 PM
If you see this post an anime you love
one of the few upsides to the strong executive structure in NYC is a scenario like this, where we actually get a lefty mayor. the city council is a very very weak body
New: In vying to become the City Council’s next speaker, Julie Menin has in private conversations floated bringing back use of the chamber’s subpoena power, a tool that could be a check on incoming Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s admin, per sources. www.nydailynews.com/2025/11/25/n...
NYC Council speaker hopeful Julie Menin floats using subpoena power, a potential check on Mamdani
It’s not unusual for city agencies to refrain from providing all the information and documents requested by the Council — an issue that has become especially pitched under Mayor Adams, whose …
www.nydailynews.com
November 26, 2025 at 2:36 PM
one of the few upsides to the strong executive structure in NYC is a scenario like this, where we actually get a lefty mayor. the city council is a very very weak body
Reposted by jon ben-menachem
I wrote about the double-triple punishment given to an immigrant who had served his sentence for a serious crime, who was deported to a country where he was likely to be persecuted, and then quickly ejected from that country & rendered stateless.
nymag.com/intelligence...
nymag.com/intelligence...
What Happens When You Don’t Belong Anywhere?
More than 50 Bhutanese men with criminal records have been deported back to the country they fled — and swiftly deported out of it.
nymag.com
November 26, 2025 at 2:10 PM
I wrote about the double-triple punishment given to an immigrant who had served his sentence for a serious crime, who was deported to a country where he was likely to be persecuted, and then quickly ejected from that country & rendered stateless.
nymag.com/intelligence...
nymag.com/intelligence...
Reposted by jon ben-menachem
“We are racist” 🗣️🗣️🗣️
This rocks, whole communities are self-selecting themselves out of relevance because a nice man was democratically elected
www.foxnews.com/politics/nyc...
www.foxnews.com/politics/nyc...
NYC suburb makes major security move by city border after Mamdani victory: 'Talks like he's pro-criminal'
Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman said that he is directing cameras and security technology be installed along the New York City border in light of Zohran Mamdani's victory.
www.foxnews.com
November 25, 2025 at 9:29 PM
“We are racist” 🗣️🗣️🗣️
I have great timing what can I say
November 25, 2025 at 8:09 PM
I have great timing what can I say