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Anne Whitesell

@annewhitesell.bsky.social

1.1K followers 540 following 360 posts

Associate Professor of Political Science at Miami University (Ohio). Very good at puzzles and correcting misinformation about welfare. My first book: https://nyupress.org/9781479828586/living-off-the-government/

nyupress.org

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Anne Whitesell @annewhitesell.bsky.social · Sep 4

Very excited to share the results from the survey @michalraucher.bsky.social & I conducted during our first year as @prri.org public fellows.

prri.org/spotlight/am...

We presented respondents with several vignettes and asked them, "Is this an abortion or a miscarriage?"

FIGURE 1
Title: Understanding Abortion vs. Miscarriage
Subtitle: Percent who say given scenario is:
Chart type: Stacked horizontal bar

Abortion
Miscarriage
Not Sure
Skipped
Person A
Self-medicate
71%
8%
20%
1%
Person B
Fetal defect
834%
4%
11%
1%
Person C
Five weeks
212%
62%
15%
1%
Person C
Seven weeks
23%
62%
15%
1%
Person D
No cardiac activity
24%
62%
14%
1%
Person E
Life at risk
75%
12%
12%
2%
Person E
Fertility at risk
79%
7%
14%
1%

Source: Reproductive Rights Public Fellows Ipsos Survey, 2025.

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Anne Whitesell @annewhitesell.bsky.social · 2d

Gotta love that even his relationship with God is transactional.

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 2d

Trump: "I want to be good because you want to prove to God so you go to that next step, right? So that's very important to me."

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Anne Whitesell @annewhitesell.bsky.social · 8d

I've seen Hegseth's pullup form. I think I could mimic that.

www.wonkette.com/p/lets-talk-...

Let's Talk About Pete Hegseth's Very Good Pull-Ups

Have you done the Burp Box and Secretary Shitfaced fitness challenge?

www.wonkette.com

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Anne Whitesell @annewhitesell.bsky.social · 9d

Today @garlicksauce.bsky.social zoomed into my health, advocacy, and policy class, and after I figured out how to work the audio, we enjoyed a great presentation and Q&A on the influence of lobbying in healthcare!

I expect book sales will soar.

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Anne Whitesell @annewhitesell.bsky.social · 13d

Posting about this before @reuning.bsky.social scoops me.

I emailed someone at my university about restrictions for spending grant money on April 21, 2024.

She emailed me back one week ago.

Anne Whitesell @annewhitesell.bsky.social · 14d

Also plaguing college classrooms.

Herb Scribner @herbscribner.bsky.social · 14d

The term "workslop" describes low-quality AI-generated content — memos, reports, emails — that's clogging up employees' lives and wasting their time.

AI "workslop" is crushing workplace efficiency, study finds

Vacuous AI-generated deliverables just make more work for the humans who receive them.

www.axios.com

Anne Whitesell @annewhitesell.bsky.social · 16d

Case closed, I guess.

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 16d

Trump: "Taking Tylenol is, uh, not good. I'll say it. It's not good."

Anne Whitesell @annewhitesell.bsky.social · 21d

Tuberculosis. It’s the cool new social network among the youth - can’t believe you haven’t heard about it yet. Really catching on.

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Anne Whitesell @annewhitesell.bsky.social · Sep 5

Me, reassuring my parents 15 years ago that getting a PhD in political science wasn’t a horrible idea: There will always be professor jobs!

Elizabeth (Bit) Meehan, PhD @elizabethbitmeehan.com · Sep 2

Final #polisky eJobs count (including 8/30-8/31):

May-August 2024: 319 total positions (219 open to assistant TT)

May-August 2025: 228 total positions (140 open to assistant TT)

Elizabeth (Bit) Meehan, PhD @elizabethbitmeehan.com · Aug 29

May-August total job number comparison is fucking brutal:

May-August 2024: 310 total positions (212 open to assistant TT)

May-August 2025: 226 total positions (138 open to assistant TT)

Anne Whitesell @annewhitesell.bsky.social · Sep 4

More than 40% of respondents were unsure if a given situation is legal in their state. And that uncertainty is greater among people with less education.

(There's super interesting findings when you break down these results by opinions on abortion, but you have to read the blog post for that.)

FIGURE 2
Title: High Levels of Uncertainty About Abortion Legality
Subtitle: Percent who are not sure if given scenario is legal in their state:
Chart type: Horizontal bar
Person A
Self-medicate
49%
Person B
Fetal defect
50%
Person C
5 weeks
45%
Person C
7 weeks
48%
Person D
No cardiac activity
43%
Person E
Life at risk
44%
Person E
Fertility at risk
50%

Source: Reproductive Rights Public Fellows Ipsos Survey, 2025.

Anne Whitesell @annewhitesell.bsky.social · Sep 4

Turns out there's a fair amount of uncertainty, and people with less education are more likely to be unsure.

If people don't know what constitutes an abortion, how do they know what's legal in their state?

Well, turns out they don't.

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Anne Whitesell @annewhitesell.bsky.social · Sep 4

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Anne Whitesell @annewhitesell.bsky.social · Sep 3

One of my other courses this semester is based on evidence-based policymaking. God help me. 🫠

Anne Whitesell @annewhitesell.bsky.social · Sep 3

@mirandayaver.bsky.social - are you talking about this in your health policy class?

Asking for me, due to teach health policy at 2:50 today.

Joshua Weitz @joshuasweitz.bsky.social · Sep 3

1000+ current and former HHS staff speak out:

"Should he decline to resign, we call upon the President and U.S. Congress to appoint a new Sec. of HHS, one whose qualifications and experience ensure that health policy is informed by independent and unbiased peer-reviewed science."

www.savehhs.org

savehhs.org calling for RFK Jr to resign

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Anne Whitesell @annewhitesell.bsky.social · Sep 1

Are you posting this as a reminder to yourself?

Anne Whitesell @annewhitesell.bsky.social · Aug 28

Thrilled to be back for another year as a PRRI Public Fellow!

PRRI @prri.org · Aug 28

We’re excited to introduce the 2025-2026 PRRI Public Fellows cohort! 🎉 Meet 12 public scholars conducting innovative research that explores religion’s intersection with immigration, racial justice, reproductive health and rights, and LGBTQ rights.

Learn more here: prri.org/press-releas...

Anne Whitesell @annewhitesell.bsky.social · Aug 28

I can use AI to message my advisees.

Do we think they can use AI to message me back?

What are we even doing here?

Screenshot of "Enhance with AI" feature in online platform. There is textbox for prompt that says, "What would you like help to write?" and options for tone that include casual, direct, formal, inclusive, and urgent.

Anne Whitesell @annewhitesell.bsky.social · Aug 26

Here’s a secret: I’ve been on the market a lot.

I won’t apply for jobs at departments with PhD programs.

Teaching in a PhD program doesn’t have to be the goal.

Anne Whitesell @annewhitesell.bsky.social · Aug 26

Political science professors should receive hazard pay for working during Interesting Times ™.

Anne Whitesell @annewhitesell.bsky.social · Aug 21

I’m not going to turn down the original, but homemade Nutella is 💯.

minimalistbaker.com/4-ingredient...

4-Ingredient Nutella (Vegan + GF)

Confession: This one time, in college, I ate a half jar of Nutella...in one evening...after dinner...on Ritz crackers. Oh, don't act like I'm the only one

minimalistbaker.com

Anne Whitesell @annewhitesell.bsky.social · Aug 19

Played this and Minnesotan @reuning.bsky.social had VERY STRONG FEELINGS about it.

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · Aug 19

Brooke Rollins lies out of her ass on Fox Business. Minnesota is not overrun by solar panels.

Anne Whitesell @annewhitesell.bsky.social · Aug 18

Definitely not me tearing up reading an email from a former student telling me about her first week at law school.

Nope.

Definitely just something in my eye.

Anne Whitesell @annewhitesell.bsky.social · Aug 14

Here's the problem with going on a family vacation to Germany in summer 2025: all the Nuremberg and Dachau content feels wayyyy too familiar.

Reposted by Anne Whitesell

McSweeney's @mcsweeneys.net · Aug 12

- Undesirables from seedy underground locations making lots of noise at night (cicadas)

- How much an ice cream vendor on the Mall tries to charge you for one chocolate ice cream before you explain you aren’t a tourist

- Preferring Rehoboth over Bethany

Crimes I Have Witnessed as a Resident of Washington, DC

“President Donald Trump said on Monday he was deploying 800 National Guard troops to Washington and temporarily taking over the city’s police depar...

buff.ly

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