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Spencer K. Pevsner, MSc

@skpevsner.bsky.social

1.5K followers 740 following 480 posts

synapsid enthusiast | PhD student at Oxford | UChicago and Bristol alum | half Indian half Jewish progressive paleontologist | he/him spencerpevsner.com

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Spencer K. Pevsner, MSc @skpevsner.bsky.social · Sep 27

I'm Spencer, and I'm a PhD student at Oxford studying paleontogy! More specifically, I'm looking at the evolution of tails in synapsids, which is the broad group that includes both mammals and everything more closely related to us than reptiles! I've also worked with marsupials and multituberculates

A photo of me taking measurements and photographs of a fossil cynodont as part of my PhD research

A selfie of me in front of a river of large boulders

A photo of me posing next to the mount of Dimeteodon at the American Museum of Natural History in NYC

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Reposted by Spencer K. Pevsner, MSc

Josh Luke Davis 🏳️‍🌈 @joshlukedavis.com · 2d

I would love to know at what point the right wingers will finally accept that fossil fuels are dying, but never underestimate the power of obstinance I guess lol
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Renewables overtake coal as world's biggest source of electricity

Developing countries lead the historic clean energy charge but the US and EU rely more on fossil fuels than before, a think tank study shows.

www.bbc.co.uk

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Spencer K. Pevsner, MSc @skpevsner.bsky.social · 2d

Got to see some of my fave comedians @jameswillems.bsky.social and @elysewillems.bsky.social, along with Nathan, Julia, and Jacob from Drawfee, Erin Farrington and Joey Dardano last night at an incredible live Answer For It show! Haven't laughed that hard at a show in a long time

A photo of a number of comedians on stage with a projector displaying blank comic strips for them to fill in behind them. From left to right the comedians are James Willems, Nathan Yaffe, Elyse Willems, Jacob Andrews, Julia Lepetit, Erin Farrington, and Joey Dardano.

Reposted by Spencer K. Pevsner, MSc

Perry Bacon @perrybaconjr.bsky.social · 6d

This piece is just an essential, important and excellent intervention as Coates' Vanity Fair essay was. One NYT column isn't that important, but an accommodationist mindset has spread in center-left elite circles. And it should be rejected forcefully. democracyamericana.com/posts/c5d024...

Where Is the Line?

On Ezra Klein, Ta-Nehisi Coates, and the struggle to define the boundaries of what is acceptable in America

democracyamericana.com

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Spencer K. Pevsner, MSc @skpevsner.bsky.social · 10d

I am reminded of the time I was fortunate enough to hear Jane Goodall speak while I was in college at the unveiling of a sculpture commemorating the moment she connected with chimpanzee David Greybeard. Goodall spoke with moral clarity and conviction, and we would do well to follow in her footsteps

A photo of Jane Goodall being honored on stage at the Field Museum in 2018

A photo of a bronze sculpture depicting a young Jane Goodall sitting and with a red palm nut in an outstretched arm, as chimpanzee David Greybeard tentatively reaches out to take the nut from Goodall's hand.

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ryan cooper @ryanlcooper.com · 10d

I think this is the best piece I've read so far about the large number of elites who basically can't deal with the situation we are in. it doesn't compute and they keep hunting for an exit that doesn't exist

ryan cooper @ryanlcooper.com · 10d

"You are—at most—going to be one piece of that solution in a chain of many people that begins before you were born and continues after you die." degenerateart.beehiiv.com/p/you-don-t-...

You don't have to swallow frogs

Klein and Coates show that if you don't know what your core beliefs are, you're going to get played.

degenerateart.beehiiv.com

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Reposted by Spencer K. Pevsner, MSc

Acyn @acyn.bsky.social · 10d

AOC: I think there's two things that are happening at once: One, there absolutely is an unprecedented abuse of power, destruction of norms, erosion of our government and our democracy in order to prop up an authoritarian style of governance

However, they are weaker than they look…

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jamelle @jamellebouie.net · 11d

the president of the united states wants to use the american military to kill american citizens on american soil. that's the whole story!

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Spencer K. Pevsner, MSc @skpevsner.bsky.social · 11d

At last, I have RESULTS! And they are unexpected, yet sensible! You guys, I am going to have so many cool things to say at SVP this year

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jamelle @jamellebouie.net · 13d

I think the case for “this was a decisive affirmation of the MAG ideology” is extremely weak & I think the view that we ought to take the election as an expression of where The People stand owes more to the insecurity and lack of confidence that is pervasive among our liberal elites than the facts.

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Spencer K. Pevsner, MSc @skpevsner.bsky.social · 14d

Verdict: A film that offers no easy answers throughout and ends with even more questions, leaving the audience to fill in the blanks themselves. Tbh I wish I'd seen this with other people so I could discuss it more and clarify my thoughts

Spencer K. Pevsner, MSc @skpevsner.bsky.social · 14d

The film festival adventures continue as I attend a handful of screening for #NYFF! On opening night tonight I'm seeing After The Hunt, the latest film from Luca Guadagnino

A photo of a film screen with a screen grab of a Pedro Almodovar film before the movie starts

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Bethany Brookshire @beebrookshire.bsky.social · 19d

Some people think ChatGPT has a place writing things like news briefs, stuff written to a specific style and tone and, y'know, kinda boring.

So Science did a study.

ChatGPT failed.

Why? It got stuff wrong. "Also, extensive editing for hyperbole was needed." www.science.org/content/blog...

Can ChatGPT help science writers?

www.science.org

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Spencer K. Pevsner, MSc @skpevsner.bsky.social · 21d

It is resources like this that remind me that the internet can, at times, be an incredible force for good

Corrie Moreau @corriemoreau.bsky.social · 22d

UPDATE: The 2025-2026 list of faculty and postdoc positions in ecology and evolutionary biology is out! Be sure to check out this active and helpful community run resources! docs.google.com/spreadsheets...

ecoevojobs.net 2025-26

docs.google.com

Reposted by Spencer K. Pevsner, MSc

Ryan Enos @ryanenos.bsky.social · 23d

What is to prevent Brendan Carr from canceling the licenses of affiliates who accurately report election results unfavorable to Trump? Or a scandal involving a Trump associate? Or bad economic numbers. Unbridled authoritarianism.

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Adam Serwer @adamserwer.bsky.social · 25d

www.vanityfair.com/news/story/c...

Charlie Kirk, Redeemed: A Political Class Finds Its Lost Cause

By ignoring the rhetoric and actions of the Turning Point USA founder, pundits and politicians are sanitizing his legacy.

www.vanityfair.com

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Michael Hobbes @michaelhobbes.bsky.social · 25d

Despite what Klein says, he’s not trying to understand the American right. Understanding them requires being honest about their beliefs, policies and (far!) higher propensity toward violence. Pretending this is all a polite philosophical disagreement is the opposite of fostering understanding.

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Peter @notalawyer.bsky.social · Sep 11

“awful people don’t deserve to be killed, but they don’t deserve to be praised, either” is apparently a thought too complex for the pundit mind

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Spencer K. Pevsner, MSc @skpevsner.bsky.social · Sep 10

Now that my #TIFF50 experience is over, here’s my summary: Hedda, Left-Handed Girl, Nouvelle Vague, and The Christophers are must-sees; Egghead Republic, Babystar, Hamnet, Tuner, and Blue Moon are also recommended. Thanks to everyone who helps make #TIFF happen and I’ll be back next year for more!

Spencer K. Pevsner, MSc @skpevsner.bsky.social · Sep 6

Alrighty it’s that time of year again! I’m attending #TIFF once more, so here is my annual thread of movie reviews for the films I see at the festival! This year we’ve got a couple of world premieres, North American premieres, and Canadian premieres lined up, so should be fun!

Spencer K. Pevsner, MSc @skpevsner.bsky.social · Sep 10

Verdict: very similar in structure to Nouvelle Vague in that it takes a particular moment in cinematic (or in this case, theatrical) history and brings to life major figures to dwell in and examine the people and the particulars of that moment in time. The theater kids will like this one

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Spencer K. Pevsner, MSc @skpevsner.bsky.social · Sep 10

And now the follow-up, and my final film of the festival: Blue Moon

A photo of a movie screen with TIFF-related ads before the screening starts

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Spencer K. Pevsner, MSc @skpevsner.bsky.social · Sep 10

Verdict: a fantastic film about the making of Jean-Luc Godard’s film Breathless, featuring an outstanding performance from Guillaume Marbeck, who surprisingly had only been an extra prior to this film. If you have even a vague interest in French new wave cinema, go see this film!

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Spencer K. Pevsner, MSc @skpevsner.bsky.social · Sep 10

Next up is the first of a Richard Linklater double feature: Nouvelle Vague

A photo of a movie screen with TIFF-related promo

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Spencer K. Pevsner, MSc @skpevsner.bsky.social · Sep 9

Verdict: really fun, in spite of being a bit predictable. But it’s a new skin on a story you’ve seen before, with some excellent music and performances and a depiction of a hearing condition I haven’t seen on screen before, this film is a good time for sure!

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Spencer K. Pevsner, MSc @skpevsner.bsky.social · Sep 9

Today’s the final day of the festival for me, so I’m in the home stretch of films! First up today is Tuner

A photo of a movie screen with TIFF-related ads before the film screening starts

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Spencer K. Pevsner, MSc @skpevsner.bsky.social · Sep 9

Verdict: two estranged relatives try to run a restaurant together with dangers and stresses at every turn that threaten to undo everything they’ve worked for, with scenes filled to the brim with tension - and somehow I am describing a show that is completely different from The Bear. Will watch!

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