Xander Lenc
@xlenc.bsky.social
Geographer. California apologist. Writing about prison history, ecology, labor, and capitalism. Go read @oaklandreviewofbooks.org
Using the word "chaos" in a headline isn't just alarmist, it's bad journalism and bad editing. All the word signifies is "lots of stuff going on, maybe in a bad way." Headlines are supposed to provide clarity, but "chaos" is obscurantist and offers moral judgement without any content.
November 21, 2025 at 11:58 PM
Using the word "chaos" in a headline isn't just alarmist, it's bad journalism and bad editing. All the word signifies is "lots of stuff going on, maybe in a bad way." Headlines are supposed to provide clarity, but "chaos" is obscurantist and offers moral judgement without any content.
Reposted by Xander Lenc
Me assuring my advisors that I'll send them a finished chapter draft by the weekend.
April 14, 2025 at 7:39 PM
Me assuring my advisors that I'll send them a finished chapter draft by the weekend.
Reposted by Xander Lenc
Oakland Review of Books calendar of literary events is up! And amended bc I missed an event coming up this weekend & publishing to the web is flexible like that.
www.oaklandreviewofbooks.org/calendar/
I'm going to the Bay Aerial event Friday with @eastbayyesterday.bsky.social! What about you?
www.oaklandreviewofbooks.org/calendar/
I'm going to the Bay Aerial event Friday with @eastbayyesterday.bsky.social! What about you?
Oakland Review of Books calendar of (not just) literary events, November 18 - November 23
Notice and be noticed
www.oaklandreviewofbooks.org
November 19, 2025 at 10:16 PM
Oakland Review of Books calendar of literary events is up! And amended bc I missed an event coming up this weekend & publishing to the web is flexible like that.
www.oaklandreviewofbooks.org/calendar/
I'm going to the Bay Aerial event Friday with @eastbayyesterday.bsky.social! What about you?
www.oaklandreviewofbooks.org/calendar/
I'm going to the Bay Aerial event Friday with @eastbayyesterday.bsky.social! What about you?
As an American the best time to use social media is after midnight, because posters will casually introduce you to horrors beyond your comprehension that are apparently considered normal and aired on television in the UK.
Starkey is hardly Christopher Hitchens. I'm now intellectually curious about the debate. It must have been like Homer Simpson debating Worzal Gummidge.
November 19, 2025 at 8:15 AM
As an American the best time to use social media is after midnight, because posters will casually introduce you to horrors beyond your comprehension that are apparently considered normal and aired on television in the UK.
It's amazing that I still somehow manage to forget that Ben Shaprio and Charlie Kirk are two distinct people even though one of them was publicly assassinated and one wasn't.
November 19, 2025 at 8:01 AM
It's amazing that I still somehow manage to forget that Ben Shaprio and Charlie Kirk are two distinct people even though one of them was publicly assassinated and one wasn't.
Reposted by Xander Lenc
WE JUST KEEP WINNING. (UC President's Postdoctoral Fellowship Program RESTORED!!!!)
![On official UC letterhead:
UNIVERSITY
OF
CALIFORNIA
James B. Milliken President
Office of the President
1111 Franklin Street Oakland, CA 94607
universityofcalifornia.edu
CAMPUSES Berkeley
Davis
Irvine
UCLA
Merced
Riverside San Diego San Francisco
Santa Barbara Santa Cruz
MEDICAL CENTERS
Davis
Irvine
UCLA
San Diego
San Francisco
NATIONAL LABORATORIES Lawrence Berkeley Lawrence Livermore Los Alamos
DIVISION OF AGRICULTURE AND NATURAL RESOURCES
November 18, 2025
Dear Chancellors:
I'm writing with regard to the President's Postdoctoral Fellowship Program (PPFP) and the program's associated faculty hiring incentive.
As you know, for more than 40 years, PPFP has provided postdoctoral research fellowships, professional development, and faculty mentoring to scholars in all fields whose research, teaching, and service advance the academic and research missions of the University of California.
Since 2003, UC campuses that hire current and former PPFP fellows into ladder-rank positions have been eligible for a hiring incentive funded by the University that provides support for newly hired fellows for five years. Since the creation of the incentive, more than $162 million has been invested by the University to support PPFP faculty hires. This commitment has enabled our campuses to successfully recruit and retain outstanding faculty across a range of disciplines.
Given the myriad challenges currently facing UC - including disruptions to billions of dollars in annual federal support, as well as uncertainty around the state budget- reasonable questions were raised in recent months about whether the University could maintain the commitment to current levels of incentive funding. After considering a recommendation to sunset the incentive program due to these significant fiscal constraints, I consulted with all of you as well as faculty and campus academic administrators and systemwide Academic Senate leadership.
[continued on next image]](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:rzn6yramffebefeitqifiqqz/bafkreigiwq5ongzwpj4wqmgjam3yfvhyjnv5e3dbq6cnrrbwblqvs624gq@jpeg)
November 18, 2025 at 10:34 PM
WE JUST KEEP WINNING. (UC President's Postdoctoral Fellowship Program RESTORED!!!!)
I never know how much to care, but so many of the things that people on here call "eugenics" are awful and violent and inexcusable but absolutely NOT eugenics.
November 18, 2025 at 2:11 AM
I never know how much to care, but so many of the things that people on here call "eugenics" are awful and violent and inexcusable but absolutely NOT eugenics.
Bret Stephens is a war criminal, and because the United States refuses to punish its own war criminals he continues to commit war crimes with impunity. We cannot afford to allow a broken, genocidal system like this continue.
November 18, 2025 at 12:15 AM
Bret Stephens is a war criminal, and because the United States refuses to punish its own war criminals he continues to commit war crimes with impunity. We cannot afford to allow a broken, genocidal system like this continue.
The growing ubiquity of predatory sports gambling companies is an actual, non-imaginary problem that is ruining the lives of young men right now, yet I have NEVER heard any of the prominent "men are struggling ☹️" commentators mention it. It's almost as if helping young men isn't actually their goal!
November 16, 2025 at 4:53 AM
The growing ubiquity of predatory sports gambling companies is an actual, non-imaginary problem that is ruining the lives of young men right now, yet I have NEVER heard any of the prominent "men are struggling ☹️" commentators mention it. It's almost as if helping young men isn't actually their goal!
Epstein doesn't seem to have regularly corresponded with any trans rights activists, but it sure seems like he was close friends with a lot of high-profile anti-trans demagogues, hmmm wonder what that's about!
November 16, 2025 at 4:42 AM
Epstein doesn't seem to have regularly corresponded with any trans rights activists, but it sure seems like he was close friends with a lot of high-profile anti-trans demagogues, hmmm wonder what that's about!
Reposted by Xander Lenc
We very much still need submissions for New Session!!! We currently have VERY FEW submissions, and that means we need you to send us interactive/literally dynamic writing to publish. I want to see yr beautiful wordssssss<3333
hi!!!! you may notice that Nov. 7 has Happened Already; we're gonna push back the submission deadline to Sunday, December 21st. please please please keep sending us stuff, we would love to publish your stories and poems!!
excited to announce the fourth issue of New Session, the world's premiere telnet-based literary magazine
"Upheaval"
submissions are open today, and close November 7th, for a December release
read the guidelines and theme here: anewsession.com/issue4
"Upheaval"
submissions are open today, and close November 7th, for a December release
read the guidelines and theme here: anewsession.com/issue4
November 16, 2025 at 3:10 AM
We very much still need submissions for New Session!!! We currently have VERY FEW submissions, and that means we need you to send us interactive/literally dynamic writing to publish. I want to see yr beautiful wordssssss<3333
The youtube comment section continues to be a grand intellectual symposium.
November 16, 2025 at 3:04 AM
The youtube comment section continues to be a grand intellectual symposium.
Academic conferences are so surreal, you're seriously gonna tell me those freaks on bluesky/twitter are real people??
November 16, 2025 at 1:34 AM
Academic conferences are so surreal, you're seriously gonna tell me those freaks on bluesky/twitter are real people??
Reposted by Xander Lenc
BREAKING: In AAUP et al v. Trump (wall-to-wall union lawsuit challenging the administration’s unlawful use of TItle VI to reshape the University of California system), the faculty and staff of the UC system WON!!!
We were granted our preliminary injunction! @aaup.org
We were granted our preliminary injunction! @aaup.org
November 14, 2025 at 11:55 PM
BREAKING: In AAUP et al v. Trump (wall-to-wall union lawsuit challenging the administration’s unlawful use of TItle VI to reshape the University of California system), the faculty and staff of the UC system WON!!!
We were granted our preliminary injunction! @aaup.org
We were granted our preliminary injunction! @aaup.org
I applied to a nonprofit job with extremely specific qualifications that I fit perfectly. 13-month assignment. There were well over 200 applicants. The job market is SO bad right now.
November 15, 2025 at 12:04 AM
I applied to a nonprofit job with extremely specific qualifications that I fit perfectly. 13-month assignment. There were well over 200 applicants. The job market is SO bad right now.
A new study from Colombia's Labor Lab finds that the use of prisoner labor along Hyundai's supply chain in Alabama lowered non-incarcerated worker wages.
"We find that a 10% increase in the share of incarcerated workers in a plant is associated with a 10-14% drop in wages for free workers."
"We find that a 10% increase in the share of incarcerated workers in a plant is associated with a 10-14% drop in wages for free workers."
November 14, 2025 at 11:45 PM
A new study from Colombia's Labor Lab finds that the use of prisoner labor along Hyundai's supply chain in Alabama lowered non-incarcerated worker wages.
"We find that a 10% increase in the share of incarcerated workers in a plant is associated with a 10-14% drop in wages for free workers."
"We find that a 10% increase in the share of incarcerated workers in a plant is associated with a 10-14% drop in wages for free workers."
Hey quick question, is this normal?
"In 2025, 40% of women aged 15 to 44 say they would move abroad permanently if they had the opportunity. The current figure is four times higher than the 10% who shared this desire in 2014, when it was generally in line with other age and gender groups"
Something tells me it's more than wanderlust
Something tells me it's more than wanderlust
November 13, 2025 at 9:10 PM
Hey quick question, is this normal?
The lawsuit describes truly horrifying conditions at CoreCivic California City Immigration Processing Center. ICE needs to be abolished and CoreCivic needs to pay for their crimes against humanity.
calmatters.org/justice/2025...
calmatters.org/justice/2025...
ICE opened a detention center in a former California prison. Detainees are suing over conditions inside
Immigrants in California's newest ICE detention center allege they're experiencing inhumane conditions and that they're not getting access to lawyers. Until recently, the site was a state prison.
calmatters.org
November 13, 2025 at 8:29 PM
The lawsuit describes truly horrifying conditions at CoreCivic California City Immigration Processing Center. ICE needs to be abolished and CoreCivic needs to pay for their crimes against humanity.
calmatters.org/justice/2025...
calmatters.org/justice/2025...
I am so ready for Woke 2.0.
November 12, 2025 at 7:49 PM
I am so ready for Woke 2.0.
If SCOTUS extends qualified immunity for clear human rights abuses to prison contractors then we are cooked. Luckily they seem skeptical of the case so far.
www.denver7.com/news/politic...
www.denver7.com/news/politic...
The Supreme Court questions lawyers' claims of immunity at GEO Group ICE detention facilities
The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments Monday in a class action lawsuit by immigrants against the Aurora U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Detention Center owned by The GEO Group Inc.
www.denver7.com
November 12, 2025 at 7:32 PM
If SCOTUS extends qualified immunity for clear human rights abuses to prison contractors then we are cooked. Luckily they seem skeptical of the case so far.
www.denver7.com/news/politic...
www.denver7.com/news/politic...
"Walking those halls, you can feel the age of the place... the bitter cold in winter, the lack of ventilation that makes it hard to breathe. The walls are cracking, the infrastructure is failing, & the environment itself strips people of their dignity."
wisconsinexaminer.com/2025/11/12/i...
wisconsinexaminer.com/2025/11/12/i...
I lived inside Green Bay Correctional. Wisconsin can’t wait another four years. • Wisconsin Examiner
The reality inside our prisons doesn’t have four years to wait. People are dying. Staff are exhausted. We need to act now.
wisconsinexaminer.com
November 12, 2025 at 7:25 PM
"Walking those halls, you can feel the age of the place... the bitter cold in winter, the lack of ventilation that makes it hard to breathe. The walls are cracking, the infrastructure is failing, & the environment itself strips people of their dignity."
wisconsinexaminer.com/2025/11/12/i...
wisconsinexaminer.com/2025/11/12/i...
There isn't even a conservative criminological justification for this. Phone access has repeatedly been shown to reduce recidivism. The goal here, as always, is to enable corruption and abuse.
ctmirror.org/2025/11/12/f...
ctmirror.org/2025/11/12/f...
FCC allows prisons, jails to charge more for phone and video calls
The vote last month reverses rate caps FCC adopted last year under a 2023 law allowing the agency to set limits on prison phone and video call rates.
ctmirror.org
November 12, 2025 at 7:09 PM
There isn't even a conservative criminological justification for this. Phone access has repeatedly been shown to reduce recidivism. The goal here, as always, is to enable corruption and abuse.
ctmirror.org/2025/11/12/f...
ctmirror.org/2025/11/12/f...
Reposted by Xander Lenc
Subscribe to the Oakland Review of Books, I guess! www.oaklandreviewofbooks.org#/portal/signup
November 12, 2025 at 3:55 PM
Subscribe to the Oakland Review of Books, I guess! www.oaklandreviewofbooks.org#/portal/signup
"As of February, 5,671 inmates were on waiting lists for educational programs, highlighting the demand that far surpasses DOC’s capacity..."
virginiamercury.com/2025/11/11/q...
virginiamercury.com/2025/11/11/q...
Quarter of Virginia inmates stuck waiting for prison education programs, study finds • Virginia Mercury
oughly one in four inmates in Virginia are waiting to enroll in prison education programs — a backlog that state officials say could hinder rehabilitation and reduce chances of success after release. ...
virginiamercury.com
November 12, 2025 at 2:04 AM
"As of February, 5,671 inmates were on waiting lists for educational programs, highlighting the demand that far surpasses DOC’s capacity..."
virginiamercury.com/2025/11/11/q...
virginiamercury.com/2025/11/11/q...
I really don't want to hear more about how Barrett et al. are champions of religious liberty after this.
www.scotusblog.com/2025/11/cour...
www.scotusblog.com/2025/11/cour...
Court appears skeptical of prison inmate’s religious liberty claim
The Supreme Court on Monday appeared unsympathetic to the plight of a Louisiana man who is suing prison officials who shaved his dreadlocks despite a federal appeals court ruling that […]
www.scotusblog.com
November 12, 2025 at 2:00 AM
I really don't want to hear more about how Barrett et al. are champions of religious liberty after this.
www.scotusblog.com/2025/11/cour...
www.scotusblog.com/2025/11/cour...