Mike Wagner
@prowag.bsky.social
William T. Evjue Distinguished Chair for the Wisconsin Idea, Professor in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication, U of Wisconsin-Madison. Director, Center for Communication and Civic Renewal. Inflated sense of karaoke ability. 10/10 Room Rater.
Reposted by Mike Wagner
This was a disturbing assault on @repilhan.bsky.social, who is frequently the target of vilifying language by fellow elected officials and members of the public.
Mr. Kazmierczak has been charged with one felony count of terroristic threats and one count of fifth-degree assault.
Mr. Kazmierczak has been charged with one felony count of terroristic threats and one count of fifth-degree assault.
January 29, 2026 at 8:40 PM
This was a disturbing assault on @repilhan.bsky.social, who is frequently the target of vilifying language by fellow elected officials and members of the public.
Mr. Kazmierczak has been charged with one felony count of terroristic threats and one count of fifth-degree assault.
Mr. Kazmierczak has been charged with one felony count of terroristic threats and one count of fifth-degree assault.
Reposted by Mike Wagner
Racial-ethnic profiling -- which is DHS's main method -- is EXTREMELY unpopular.
Amid ramped-up immigration enforcement efforts around the country, Americans’ opinions on the actions of ordinary people and federal immigration officers vary.
Read more about the different outlooks. 🧵⬇️
Read more about the different outlooks. 🧵⬇️
January 29, 2026 at 8:13 PM
Racial-ethnic profiling -- which is DHS's main method -- is EXTREMELY unpopular.
Reposted by Mike Wagner
What we are watching is a paramilitary force learning that they can kill with impunity, that the regime will smear the victim and defend them. Unless politicians and the legal system exerts accountability, it will not stop. donmoynihan.substack.com/p/past-the-b...
January 24, 2026 at 4:32 PM
What we are watching is a paramilitary force learning that they can kill with impunity, that the regime will smear the victim and defend them. Unless politicians and the legal system exerts accountability, it will not stop. donmoynihan.substack.com/p/past-the-b...
Reposted by Mike Wagner
Video message from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome H. Powell:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=KckG...
www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/s...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=KckG...
www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/s...
Statement by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome H. Powell
YouTube video by Federal Reserve
www.youtube.com
January 12, 2026 at 12:35 AM
Video message from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome H. Powell:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=KckG...
www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/s...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=KckG...
www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/s...
Reposted by Mike Wagner
January 9, 2026 at 8:49 PM
An unarmed mother who said, “I’m not mad at you,” and turned to drive away.
January 9, 2026 at 8:52 PM
An unarmed mother who said, “I’m not mad at you,” and turned to drive away.
Reposted by Mike Wagner
Lol how can you tell this administration is lying to you? Because oil hasn't been shipped in actual barrels in over a century
www.cnn.com/2026/01/06/b...
www.cnn.com/2026/01/06/b...
January 7, 2026 at 3:47 PM
Lol how can you tell this administration is lying to you? Because oil hasn't been shipped in actual barrels in over a century
www.cnn.com/2026/01/06/b...
www.cnn.com/2026/01/06/b...
Reposted by Mike Wagner
Daily Caller reports that Tom Tiffany has raised $2 million in his campaign for governor. The story also notes that Wisconsin College Republicans, which has endorsed Tiffany, has raised $1 million this cycle. dailycaller.com/2026/01/08/t...
EXCLUSIVE: GOP Candidate Touts Multi-Million-Dollar Haul To Flip Key Swing State Red
'we are building a movement powered by the People of Wisconsin'
dailycaller.com
January 8, 2026 at 3:28 PM
Daily Caller reports that Tom Tiffany has raised $2 million in his campaign for governor. The story also notes that Wisconsin College Republicans, which has endorsed Tiffany, has raised $1 million this cycle. dailycaller.com/2026/01/08/t...
News organizations should simply describe what they can plainly see with their own eyes than hedge and report about a “disputed interpretation” over what happened in Minneapolis. Even by traditional standards of objectivity, the ICE person shot and killed a woman while she was driving away.
January 7, 2026 at 8:27 PM
News organizations should simply describe what they can plainly see with their own eyes than hedge and report about a “disputed interpretation” over what happened in Minneapolis. Even by traditional standards of objectivity, the ICE person shot and killed a woman while she was driving away.
Reposted by Mike Wagner
If the headline is "disputed shooting" rather than straightforwardly telling the public what happened this rewards the DHS for lying about these events
January 7, 2026 at 7:57 PM
If the headline is "disputed shooting" rather than straightforwardly telling the public what happened this rewards the DHS for lying about these events
Our public-facing piece from a few years ago about how local parties helped weaponize patriotism on Facebook to drive January 6th. theconversation.com/swing-state-...
January 7, 2026 at 3:39 AM
Our public-facing piece from a few years ago about how local parties helped weaponize patriotism on Facebook to drive January 6th. theconversation.com/swing-state-...
Reposted by Mike Wagner
Never forget. 🇺🇸
January 6, 2026 at 3:22 PM
Never forget. 🇺🇸
Reposted by Mike Wagner
🚨 New paper drop!
How does a social movement once started out powerful somehow turn into a partisan battle?
In our new publication in @icsjournal.bsky.social, we answer this question by analyzing 83 million #MeToo tweets from 2017–2020. 1/
How does a social movement once started out powerful somehow turn into a partisan battle?
In our new publication in @icsjournal.bsky.social, we answer this question by analyzing 83 million #MeToo tweets from 2017–2020. 1/
November 7, 2025 at 5:28 PM
🚨 New paper drop!
How does a social movement once started out powerful somehow turn into a partisan battle?
In our new publication in @icsjournal.bsky.social, we answer this question by analyzing 83 million #MeToo tweets from 2017–2020. 1/
How does a social movement once started out powerful somehow turn into a partisan battle?
In our new publication in @icsjournal.bsky.social, we answer this question by analyzing 83 million #MeToo tweets from 2017–2020. 1/
Reposted by Mike Wagner
This is exactly right
I'm opening my democratization book w/ the story of an ordinary person who made extraordinary contributions to creating US democracy, & whose story + context link many of the big themes for the book about what we face & how we win in the years ahead.
Thinking Fannie Lou Hamer. Thoughts? Others?
Thinking Fannie Lou Hamer. Thoughts? Others?
January 5, 2026 at 10:27 PM
This is exactly right
Reposted by Mike Wagner
Trump very openly saying the US will be governing Venezuela with the support of US oil companies
January 3, 2026 at 5:02 PM
Trump very openly saying the US will be governing Venezuela with the support of US oil companies
This news conference has strong authoritarian country vibes.
January 3, 2026 at 5:08 PM
This news conference has strong authoritarian country vibes.
Reposted by Mike Wagner
How is the U.S. public going to react to the invasion of Venezuela & capture of Maduro? Regardless of legality (which legal scholars I’ve seen say is plainly illegal), we can apply the late UW professor Murray Edelman’s work here to think about public response in our fractured media environment. 1/
January 3, 2026 at 2:44 PM
How is the U.S. public going to react to the invasion of Venezuela & capture of Maduro? Regardless of legality (which legal scholars I’ve seen say is plainly illegal), we can apply the late UW professor Murray Edelman’s work here to think about public response in our fractured media environment. 1/
Reposted by Mike Wagner
Excellent thread 🧵
Some thoughts on what Trump has done in Venezuela and what it might mean for US national security. Caveat: not a Latin America scholar so this is focused on US policy. Clearly huge consequences for Venezuela that others can address.
First, despite the buildup, I didn't think Trump would do it.
1/
First, despite the buildup, I didn't think Trump would do it.
1/
January 3, 2026 at 3:05 PM
Excellent thread 🧵
How is the U.S. public going to react to the invasion of Venezuela & capture of Maduro? Regardless of legality (which legal scholars I’ve seen say is plainly illegal), we can apply the late UW professor Murray Edelman’s work here to think about public response in our fractured media environment. 1/
January 3, 2026 at 2:44 PM
How is the U.S. public going to react to the invasion of Venezuela & capture of Maduro? Regardless of legality (which legal scholars I’ve seen say is plainly illegal), we can apply the late UW professor Murray Edelman’s work here to think about public response in our fractured media environment. 1/
Reposted by Mike Wagner
In 2026 I want all of the decent people to remember one thing.
You aren’t meant to be this disciplined, this self-sacrificing to survive. The environment is supposed to support good living. We can have that. You are not a failure. That is politics.
That is all.
You aren’t meant to be this disciplined, this self-sacrificing to survive. The environment is supposed to support good living. We can have that. You are not a failure. That is politics.
That is all.
January 1, 2026 at 10:30 PM
In 2026 I want all of the decent people to remember one thing.
You aren’t meant to be this disciplined, this self-sacrificing to survive. The environment is supposed to support good living. We can have that. You are not a failure. That is politics.
That is all.
You aren’t meant to be this disciplined, this self-sacrificing to survive. The environment is supposed to support good living. We can have that. You are not a failure. That is politics.
That is all.
Reposted by Mike Wagner
The Tech Policy Press newsletter is free. It comes out weekly on Sundays. Join now to stay up to date in 2026: www.techpolicy.press/newsletter/
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December 29, 2025 at 1:07 PM
The Tech Policy Press newsletter is free. It comes out weekly on Sundays. Join now to stay up to date in 2026: www.techpolicy.press/newsletter/
Reposted by Mike Wagner
This is the real cancel culture.
Using the full force of the government to punish perceived enemies, aid their billionaire tech cronies, and protect pedophiles, neo-Nazis, and other extremist, antisemitic hate groups.
THIS is the threat to our rights and freedoms.
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/23/t...
Using the full force of the government to punish perceived enemies, aid their billionaire tech cronies, and protect pedophiles, neo-Nazis, and other extremist, antisemitic hate groups.
THIS is the threat to our rights and freedoms.
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/23/t...
U.S. Bars 5 European Tech Regulators and Researchers
www.nytimes.com
December 24, 2025 at 1:45 AM
This is the real cancel culture.
Using the full force of the government to punish perceived enemies, aid their billionaire tech cronies, and protect pedophiles, neo-Nazis, and other extremist, antisemitic hate groups.
THIS is the threat to our rights and freedoms.
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/23/t...
Using the full force of the government to punish perceived enemies, aid their billionaire tech cronies, and protect pedophiles, neo-Nazis, and other extremist, antisemitic hate groups.
THIS is the threat to our rights and freedoms.
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/23/t...
Reposted by Mike Wagner
How do we teach students to disagree productively? A new UW–Madison feature spotlights ERC affiliate Amber Wichowsky’s course, Advancing Public Policy in a Divided America and how students can learn to practice disagreement productively.
🔗 news.wisc.edu/teaching-stu...
🔗 news.wisc.edu/teaching-stu...
December 19, 2025 at 3:40 PM
How do we teach students to disagree productively? A new UW–Madison feature spotlights ERC affiliate Amber Wichowsky’s course, Advancing Public Policy in a Divided America and how students can learn to practice disagreement productively.
🔗 news.wisc.edu/teaching-stu...
🔗 news.wisc.edu/teaching-stu...