Andy Carr
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andycarr.bsky.social
Andy Carr
@andycarr.bsky.social
3.3K followers 2.1K following 1.9K posts
he/him | 🏳️‍🌈 nerd | mid selfies

studying US law & politics: LPE, bureaucracy, reactionary movements | union stuff @ The New School, roaming adjunct elsewhere

opinions mine, mostly bad

site: andyjcarr.com
SSRN: https://ssrn.com/author=3069305
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andycarr.bsky.social
part of the reason for this open-ended approach is that it allowed us to pitch courses that had never before been taught—and might otherwise never *be taught*—for undergrads at Eugene Lang College. in that 2024–25 application cycle, for instance, I pitched (and later taught) this class on LPE.
screenshot of my 2024–25 Teaching Fellow application, which reads as follows: "Teaching Fellowship Proposed Course Description and Teaching Experience Statement, 2024–25 AY Andy Carr Ph.D. Student, Politics Department The New School for Social Research Law and Political Economy Course Description: This course introduces students to the study of “Law and Political Economy” (LPE). LPE has been described variously as a movement within legal scholarship or an emergent field cutting across law and the social sciences. LPE rejects common assumptions about law, politics, and the economy. Above all, LPE rejects a widespread view among mainstream legal scholars that these are—and should be—separate domains. Part I of the course will explore this rejection of mainstream views, including LPE’s assumption that law, politics, and economics cannot be disconnected from each other. Part II turns to illustrations of LPE’s theory and critiques, including cases drawn from several areas of U.S. law and politics: housing markets and ongoing housing crises; civil rights and liberties, such as freedom of speech and LGBTQ+ rights; and LPE’s connections to the labor movement and other movements for social justice, among others. Part III concludes with a series of current affairs-focused topics to be chosen collectively by the class."
February 12, 2026 at 5:25 PM
andycarr.bsky.social
above all, it's a bit...odd the vast bulk of NSSR departments have been tossed together when for all previous years' applications they defined and explained their own hiring needs, review processes, application materials/preferences – and they *always* included course description requests (e.g.)
screenshot from the "Politics" department hiring procedures/application materials from the 2024–2025 application year, which reads: "Applicants should submit a brief course description (150–200 words) and a C.V. Applicants should also list any prior teaching experience, at the New School or elsewhere."
February 12, 2026 at 5:25 PM
andycarr.bsky.social
reallyyyyyyyy interesting changes to how graduate employment is meant to be function in the latest Teaching Fellow application cycle at good ol' New School – doesn't exactly alleviate concerns of our higher ups being engaged in politically motivated retribution.

let me unpack that briefly.
top of a Google doc screenshot, with The New School's logo in the top left corner, and the text "Revised February 3, 2026" in the top right corner. the red, bolded text at the center below reads: "University Teaching Fellowship Program Opportunities, 2026-2027" screenshot from the same document, reading: "Eugene Lang College [liberal arts undergraduate division of The New School] Eugene Lang College hires Teaching Fellows to teach foundational courses in the majors. We look for students who are eager to engage undergraduates in a seminar format and have thought about the importance of good pedagogy and discussion as a way of teaching. For 2026-27, while Lang intends to hire TFs to teach in Math and Psychology, we reserve the right to make TF appointments based on institutional need. We anticipate that there will be a limited need for Teaching Fellows in the following areas: Anthropology, Culture and Media, Economics, Interdisciplinary Science, Philosophy, Politics, and Sociology, but welcome applications for consideration should a need become available." the last sentence quoted above is highlighted in my browser. screenshot again from the same document, one paragraph below, which reads: "Anthropology, Culture and Media, Economics, Interdisciplinary Science, Philosophy, Politics, and Sociology Applicants interested in teaching in these disciplines should include a one-page statement describing their approaches to seminar-based teaching and a paragraph describing relevant professional experience. Please do not provide course proposals."
February 12, 2026 at 5:25 PM
andycarr.bsky.social
newrepublic.com/article/2057...

any proposal that doesn’t acknowledge and grapple with this reality is unserious; it’s self-soothing, an attempt to deflect unwanted attention and pointed criticisms.
screenshot of article text, beginning with answers to questions about the feasibility of any actual ICE/CBP deescalation in communities they’re currently besieging: “The answers to those questions sure look like "no," "no," and "no." To wit, The Wall Street Journal reports that some Trump aides have realized that all this has become a "political liability," so they're in discussions over "how to continue deportations without clashing with protesters." They're also planning new steps to "improve ICE's image."
January 29, 2026 at 1:00 PM
andycarr.bsky.social
looking out the window rn
“she’s startin’.” meme. (showing Dorinda Medley, of Real Housewives of New York fame, taking a sip from her drink while saying that line, which is visible as a closed caption on the screen)
January 25, 2026 at 10:49 AM
andycarr.bsky.social
it’s such an overwhelming list, but as has been a refrain in MPLS for some time: there’s no such thing as other people’s children. made sense to literalize that, I suppose.

I don’t have much to give, but am really glad it may go just a bit further now — thanks for this, truly.

❤️
receipt for a $20.00 donation to Hamline Midway Coalition, which is helping to organize and distribute diapers and formula in the Twin Cities.
January 24, 2026 at 10:44 PM
andycarr.bsky.social
🫡
“sickos” meme, zoomed in on the guy
January 23, 2026 at 7:31 PM
andycarr.bsky.social
“in an effective, durable, and responsible way”
the tragically now-incredibly famous photo of Liam Ramos — the five-year-old boy detained in Minnesota yesterday, January 21, 2026. he’s standing in the snow in his blue hat and his plaid jacket, and it’s honestly soul-crushing to even try to describe the photo further so I will stop. he’s a five-year-old child and his abduction and abuse was just tacitly approved by the quoted member of Congress — and more abductions were just funded in the process.
January 22, 2026 at 11:48 PM
andycarr.bsky.social
totally 👍🏻
screenshot of a spammy fundraiser text, which reads in part: Chuck Schumer Amy Klobuchar Elizabeth Warren Adam Schiff Raphael Warnock EVERYONE is coming together to get a Constitutional Amendment PASSED! We must be DREAMING!! Look, we REFUSE to spoil our golden opportunity. It would be SO EMBARRASSING if we failed now! So we’re RACING to raise $100,000 by 12 a.m. to pass a Constitutional Amendment to OVERTURN Citizens United…”
January 22, 2026 at 5:41 PM
andycarr.bsky.social
some of the worst people on this planet are about to have a real, real bad time.
AccuWeather screenshot showing weather for Minneapolis, Minnesota this morning. Currently: -7º F (-22.7º C) Today's forecast: high of 2º F (-16.7º C), with the details reading "Breezy this morning; otherwise, frigid with times of clouds and sun; dangerously cold; bundle up" Today's "Real Feel" (wind chill) forecast: -14º F (-22.6º C) Minneapolis forecast for Friday, January 23: High of -12º F (-24.4º C) with a FealFeel (wind chill) of -24º F (-31.1º C)
January 19, 2026 at 2:16 PM
andycarr.bsky.social
*bzzt* wrong again neighbors, I’m sorry to say.

sneakers—much like a pillow, a pair of pants, a dead snake plant, a holiday wreath, and about 60% of all the other items you have ever put into this very clearly labeled box—are in fact not cardboard.
photo of an apartment building trash room, showing a blue recycling box under a sign that says “CARDBOARD ONLY,” and something that doesn’t quite look like cardboard inside the box; let’s take a closer look. inside the blue “CARDBOARD ONLY” bin: a pair of black and white Nike sneakers.
January 19, 2026 at 12:54 PM
andycarr.bsky.social
look, I'm happy to dunk on the law review-publication industrial complex for about a billion reasons, but publishing in the social sciences and humanities—for all their real merits!—really went fully off the rails in this specific regard.
an academic social science journal publisher's "Open Access Publishing" option's fine print, part of which reads as follows: "If the Open Access option [for publications in this specific journal] is selected, submissions will be subject to an [Article Publication Charge] if accepted and published in the journal: $3,460 USD / 2,330 GBP / 2,890 EUR"
January 18, 2026 at 3:49 PM
andycarr.bsky.social
when I was 7 or 8, I checked out a book about Nuuk from the library. why? no idea. why was it even in a random DOD library in Germany? beats me!

but it kicked off a lifelong love for it and learning about it; fascinating and beautiful and (meteorologically) terrifying.

and it's best left alone.
🇬🇱❤️
photo of Nuuk, Greenland, with a large mountain behind its skyline. "skyline" might sound like a joke but it does have a very cool mix of modern-block apartments on the righthand side, atop the rocky coastline of the city, plus older, Danish-colonial buildings with gabled roofs and brightly colored facades.
January 18, 2026 at 12:49 AM
andycarr.bsky.social
rapidly developing a niche conspiracy theory about how the weather apps are denying the existence of snow, watch this space.
extended forecast for Chicago showing a “wintry mix” for Wednesday, except the temperature range for the entire day is 14° to 29° F — which I guess is technically possible (a layer or thin pocket of warm low-level air or whatever could partly melt falling snow, etc. etc.), but I feel like I am going nuts seeing this sort of thing on every forecast I check.
January 17, 2026 at 5:10 PM
andycarr.bsky.social
well I don’t know what to believe anymore.
screenshot of the default Apple weather app, saying it is 37° F and raining, but then also saying “Sleet [is forecasted] for the next hour” directly below that. photo of snow falling directly outside a window. like, a lot of snow.
January 17, 2026 at 5:10 PM
andycarr.bsky.social
okay, but as I was saying:

bsky.app/profile/senl...
screenshot of a "mirror bot" (reposting an account's content from That Other Site) for Democratic Party leader and Virginia State Senator, President Pro Tem, L. Louise Lucas. incredibly, it reads as follows: "I have the utmost respect for [United States] Senator Kaine and Senator Warner but we do not need 'coaching' on redistricting coming from a cuck chair in the corner. How about you all stay focused on the fascist in the White House and let us handle redistricting in Virginia. 10-1" (the last figure, "ten to one," refers to the Democratic Party advantage in redistricting that Sen. Lucas is pushing for in Virginia.)
January 16, 2026 at 11:26 PM
andycarr.bsky.social
shot/chaser etc.
screenshot of a New School LinkedIn post, which reads: "The New School's Parsons School of Design is proud to announce a collaborative initiative with Adobe, Not Generated, to examine the evolving relationship between creativity and technology. Together, Parsons students and faculty and Adobe's creative teams will focus on how generative AI can transform design processes and workflows, reshape creative education, and raise new questions about ethics and responsibility in the field. The pilot partnership was recognized at the Adobe MAX 2025 conference." anonymized comment on the previously screenshot post, which reads: "So while Parsons and The New School are near collapse, the university is contributing to reversing the value and significance of actual human designers in creative industries. Got it [thumbs up emoji]"
January 15, 2026 at 5:26 PM
andycarr.bsky.social
double the psf pricing of this one in…Midtown Manhattan. though ig a skyline view can’t compete with The Big House 🤷🏻‍♂️
Zillow property listing for a Midtown West/Hells Kitchen-ish Manhattan condo, in a renovated 1912 building — three bedrooms, two baths, just under 2,100 square feet and priced at $1,495,000, or roughly $720 per square foot. photo of the main living room space in the Manhattan apartment, with light wood floors, simple modern furniture, and a wall of windows and sliding doors out to a large balcony. it’s not really my style, but it’s pretty inoffensive. photo of the view, showing an old brick church with asymmetric towers in the foreground, and rows of modern glass towers.
December 20, 2025 at 5:08 PM
andycarr.bsky.social
& baby’s first quote in a paper of record ig 🥺🤷🏻‍♂️

(**probably the only usable one — neither profanity-laced nor packed with dense organizational/financial minutiae 🙃)
screenshot from the article: “‘I think they [senior executives and the Board] understate how central the Ph.D. program is to education here,’ said Andy Carr, a doctoral student in politics who attended the emergency rally against the cuts.”
December 19, 2025 at 12:44 PM
andycarr.bsky.social
back on my bullshit (prowling newspapers dot com for sources) and there was this jarring little find: the single-payer plan was killed in the Senate 16 years ago today (Dec. 16, 2009).
header of a newspaper reading: "[page] 4 A – Thursday, December 17, 2009" Partial clip of an article titled "Single-payer plan dies in Senate" Article text reads in part: "David Espo [byline] The Associated Press WASHINGTON – The liberals' longtime dream of a government-run health care system for all died Wednesday [December 16] in the Senate, but Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont vowed it will return when the realization dawns that private insurance companies 'are no longer needed.'"
December 17, 2025 at 12:21 AM
andycarr.bsky.social
unfortunately, YouTube algorithm is cooking again
YouTube video title screenshot which reads: "Which Pokemon Region is the closest to Communist Revolution?"
December 14, 2025 at 11:04 AM
andycarr.bsky.social
a sure sign that your bold new restructuring plan is all above board is how frequently and instantly highly secretive documents get leaked.

apropos nothing in particular: here’s some planning documents for, idk, “UATX at The New School”(??)

what we *do* have time, energy, and money for is…wild.
the memo I’ve linked here is annoyingly long, so my alt text is sketchy at best. it announces something called “The Center for the American Experience,” or CAE, and literally everything about it reads as lazy, unserious “both-sides”-framed analyses of American history, culture, and politics. I promise to link the documents in the next post, so they should be accessibly readable in those forms. second page of the leaked memo, including forecasts of expenses (totaling $250,000 in year one), alongside the three founding co-directors. no comment on the latter.
December 11, 2025 at 3:47 PM
andycarr.bsky.social
gothamist.com/news/the-new...

well obviously, of course, it’s not like the cuts overwhelmingly target social research programs with longstanding leftist faculties!

excellent coverage and a good overview via Gothamist.
excerpt from the Gothamist story, repeating empty rhetoric and bald-faced dishonesty from a university spokesperson. it’s not worth repeating in full but the upshot is this line: “There is no targeting of any division, department or individuals…That’s not how The New School thinks or operates.”
December 10, 2025 at 1:46 PM
andycarr.bsky.social
NYC / NEW SCHOOLERS❗❗❗

busy times, but we'd love to see you at either/both of these events.

the first of them welcomes any and all support; if you're around Manhattan at 4:00 PM tomorrow (Dec. 10), please join.

and of course: please feel free to share widely.
Flyer for Wednesday event, the text of which reads in relevant part: "CUT THE CUTS Students, Staff and Faculty [of The New School] Against Austerity Wednesday, 10 December 2025, at 4:00 PM 66 West 12th Street [between Fifth and Sixth Avenues] [Demands include] Suspend 'realignment measures,' rescind all 'voluntary separation' package agreements, cap on salaries over $200,000, [and] call on the [University] Board of Trustees to hold a public meeting with the community" The bottom of the flyer features co-sponsoring campus organizations, including the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) chapter; faculty, staff, and student workers' unions; and the University Student Senate (USS). Flyer for Thursday event—for New School-affiliated folks in particular—the text of which reads in relevant part: "In response to restructure plans our community calls students, faculty, staff to... NSSR Town Hall Thursday [December] 11th 12:00 PM [Noon] Wolff Room [D1103, on the 11th floor of the NSSR's 16th Street building]"
December 9, 2025 at 5:12 PM
andycarr.bsky.social
worth noting these two underlined execs—our new Provost and President, respectively—finally, reluctantly disclosed some further information at the university student senate meeting last night: JT's base salary at least doubled with his promotion – i.e., $700k now.

(*pre-expenses/benefits)

:)

1/7
zoomed-in screenshot of the financial documents from the quoted post, showing the following text: "Six highly compensated [New School] employees have the same role in 2021 as in 2023. Based on the 2021 Form 990, their 2021-2022 pay increases were: Darrick Hamilton: 14.7 percent [next two names underlined in red for emphasis] Richard Kessler: 10.3 percent Joel Towers: 21.2 percent"
December 6, 2025 at 6:58 PM