Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Jen Howard @jenhoward.bsky.social · 2h

Well done, @sunyoswego.bsky.social. Heartening to see a school investing in the #humanities rather than cutting them.

Rob Townsend @rbtownsend.bsky.social · 2h

“Upon moving here and figuring out what I want to do, I came to realize what history means... I didn’t realize how many answers we can find today from studying history. I don’t think generally people think about history that way.” bit.ly/4q5vvZO

New School of Humanities seeks solutions to big problems

SUNY Oswego’s new School of Humanities –- part of the College of Liberal Arts, Sciences and Engineering (CLASE) –- is connected by storytelling, searching and solutions, said Candis Haak, the inaugura...

bit.ly

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Jen Howard @jenhoward.bsky.social · 2h

Wow, this is great. Thanks for sharing.

Jen Howard @jenhoward.bsky.social · 2h

Good. Keep up the pressure. www.insidehighered.com/news/governa...

Democratic Lawmakers Amplify Pressure on UVA

Democrats are demanding answers over the University of Virginia president’s resignation and warning the board against signing a proposed federal compact.

www.insidehighered.com

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Reposted by Jen Howard

McSweeney's @mcsweeneys.net · 2h

"This is a good book. It has a cover and many pages. This book is endorsed by parents and is church-friendly. It is clean and full of Grace, as in it was approved by a Florida state media consultant named Grace."

Finally, a Book That Cannot Be Banned

This is a good book. It has a cover and many pages. This book is endorsed by parents and is church-friendly. It is clean and full of Grace, as in i...

buff.ly

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Jen Howard @jenhoward.bsky.social · 15h

Dreading all the faux-tombstone "RIP Democracy" Halloween decorations I am sure I will see in my DC neighborhood this year.

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Jen Howard @jenhoward.bsky.social · 18h

Thinking you might skip the flu jab this year for yourself and your kiddos? Please reconsider. wapo.st/476xgNJ

Opinion | Thinking of skipping your flu shot? Here’s why you should reconsider.

Four recent CDC studies highlight the necessity of getting this year’s vaccine.

wapo.st

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Reposted by Jen Howard

Meg Reid 🦦 @megireid.bsky.social · 23h

The clearest place the burnout from our times is showing up in my line of work is in acquisitions. Readers and editors are tired just thinking about a 400-page novel. The question does this even matter? feels more complex than ever. We need to keep making art, but the artmakers are worn out.

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Jen Howard @jenhoward.bsky.social · 1d

Guy's biweekly Five Things newsletter is worth your time, BTW. loudpoet.com/newsletter/

The Newsletter | @glecharles | As in guillotine...

As in Guillotine: The "newsletter" (blog posts sent via email) from Guy LeCharles Gonzalez — aka glecharles and loudpoet.

loudpoet.com

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Jen Howard @jenhoward.bsky.social · 1d

@loudpoet.com on Bluesky's moderation snafus: "It’s another reminder that social media at scale is just an ephemeral data collection scheme, and you shouldn’t make any of these platforms your primary source of news, engagement, or connections with people you care about." loudpoet.com/2025/10/09/f...

Five Things: October 9, 2025 | As in guillotine...

"Please let Bluesky be the last time y'all fall for this trick." On 'rust out', indie magazines, punk zines, waffles, and Blacksky.

loudpoet.com

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Jen Howard @jenhoward.bsky.social · 1d

I did not know there was an app! Thank you.

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Jen Howard @jenhoward.bsky.social · 1d

Thank you!

Jen Howard @jenhoward.bsky.social · 1d

I wish this weren't paywalled, because I've love to read it. Both my Gen Z kids both learned to drive stick because we've always had manual-transmission cars. It was hell in their early days behind the wheel—but they learned fast, and now they have bragging rights with their friends.

The Wall Street Journal @wsj.com · 1d

A Gen Z affinity for old-school technology is just one of the reasons my daughter decided to learn how to drive a stick shift.

I Thought I Could Drive Stick. Then My Gen Z Daughter Asked Me to Teach Her.

When my 16-year-old said she wanted to learn to drive a manual transmission, I decided it was time to sharpen my own clutch-pedal skills.

on.wsj.com

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Reposted by Jen Howard

jamelle @jamellebouie.net · 2d

i desperately want everyone involved in the destruction of USAID to have to, st the very least, answer to the american people for the suffering and misery they have caused apnews.com/article/myan...

Starving children screaming for food as US aid cuts unleash devastation and death across Myanmar

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has repeatedly said “no one has died" because of his government’s decision to gut its foreign aid program.

apnews.com

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Martin Paul Eve @eve.gd · 2d

This makes me so angry. These people view all life as training for lifelong servitude/work. There's no room for interest, enjoyment, and culture in their bleak vision of education. At least she'll never be in power to see it through. Though Reform are probably worse.

Badenoch: Curb students taking "rip-off" degrees such as English. The performing arts, sociology and anthropology are among the subjects the Conservatives would like to cut

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Reposted by Jen Howard

Anne Trubek @atrubek.bsky.social · 3d

B & T going under is terrible but it’s been a slow slide down for years now and as the Readerlink failed deal details made public, they weren’t paying their bills to publishers for a long time.

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Jen Howard @jenhoward.bsky.social · 2d

When it comes to most-challenged books nationally, DC "circulation data from the library shows residents are accessing these titles in varying numbers, from five checkouts to nearly 300."

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Jen Howard @jenhoward.bsky.social · 2d

Proud of my fellow DC library patrons: "In 2025, the DC Public Library received no challenges to books in its collection, even as attempts to remove library materials reached near-record levels nationwide." 📚 #libraries #bannedbooks www.dclibrary.org/news/distric...

District Readers Make Their Own Choices on Challenged Books

Library reports zero challenges in 2025 for Banned Books Week

www.dclibrary.org

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Reposted by Jen Howard

Sam Bagenstos @sbagen.bsky.social · 3d

Feel free to attribute the following to a former OMB General Counsel: The supposed "new legal analysis" is, to use a technical legal term, horseshit. What the law actually says is that when Congress enacts a law ending a lapse, furloughed employees get paid at the earliest date possible. Period.

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 3d

Johnson: "It's true that in previous shutdowns, many or most furloughed employees have been paid for the time they were furloughed, but there is new legal analysis - I don't know the details, I just saw a headline - but there are some legal analysts saying that might not be appropriate or necessary"

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Capital Weather Gang @capitalweather.bsky.social · 4d

So cool! Brennan Gilmore captured this photo of Comet Lemmon (C/2025 A6) on Saturday about 10 miles east of Charlottesville.

This comet might become visible to the naked eye later this month.

More info at cwg.live

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Reposted by Jen Howard

Lindsay P Cohn @lindsaypcohn.bsky.social · 4d

Folks we are watching the adjudication of some of the most important constitutional issues of federalism, executive discretion, and judicial review since the 19th c

www.oregonlive.com/politics/202...

Judge issues new broader order barring any National Guard from relocating to Oregon

Judge asked federal government lawyer: 'Do you believe this is an appropriate way to deal with a judge’s order that you disagree with?'

www.oregonlive.com

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Clara Jeffery @clarajeffery.bsky.social · 5d

To understand the chaos in Chicago, here are some must-follows:

@unraveledpress.com
@thetriibe.com
@blockclubchi.bsky.social
@chicago.suntimes.com
@katmabu.bsky.social
@bencollins.bsky.social
@dansinker.com
@wttw.bsky.social

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Jen Howard @jenhoward.bsky.social · 5d

Attn! Are you an alum from one of the 9 schools the federal government just attacked? Sign this alumni petition now to support your school, defend democracy, and build a grassroots movement for campus freedom across America. alumni.controlshift.app/petitions/tr...

STAND WITH YOUR SCHOOL: Trump attacks 9 universities. Sign the alumni petition now.

Are you an alum from one of the 9 schools the federal government just attacked? Sign this alumni petition now to support your school, defend democracy, and build a grassroots movement for campus freed...

alumni.controlshift.app

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Reposted by Jen Howard

Tressie McMillan Cottom @tressiemcphd.bsky.social · 6d

I think we’re really going to have to do a lot more of this. A massive deprogramming so that people can read more than ten words at a time without anxiety.

www.thetimes.com/uk/education...?

Universities teaching literature students how to cope with long novels

Critics blame GCSE English for deterring teenagers from the subject, describing the literature syllabus as boring and repetitive

www.thetimes.com

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Jen Howard @jenhoward.bsky.social · 7d

(Did I work my dog Allie into the lede? Yes, yes I did.)