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Kathryn Paige Harden

@kph3k.bsky.social

4.8K followers 630 following 220 posts

Psychology & behavior genetics. Author of THE GENETIC LOTTERY (2021) and ORIGINAL SIN (coming 2026).

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Kathryn Paige Harden @kph3k.bsky.social · Aug 3

I wrote another book & I'm very excited (& nervous) for it to be released into the world: www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/714593...

Original Sin by Kathryn Paige Harden: 9780593447628 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books

An intellectually daring and deeply intimate exploration of how genetics complicates our ideas about blame, punishment and moral responsibility—from acclaimed psychologist and author of The Genetic....

www.penguinrandomhouse.com

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Kathryn Paige Harden @kph3k.bsky.social · 2d

From Forward magazine:

"a revelatory, at times horrifying deconstruction of the New Right; it shows how we arrived at this moment, and it discusses the intentions of those who hope to push it further. ... We recommend her book for the essential knowledge it contains"

Mind the Truth

I write to you consumed by worry. I want to celebrate the beautiful stories in this issue, with their fairies and saints, their quests and luminescent LGBTQ+ love stories—and you should relish in each...

www.forewordreviews.com

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Kathryn Paige Harden @kph3k.bsky.social · 2d

My friend @lkatfield.bsky.social has a book coming out that I think is essential reading for everyone. A starred review in Publisher's Weekly called it a "formidable debut ... a meticulous and unsettling revelation of a right-wing plan for a 'new old-fashioned world.'"

Furious Minds

The story of the radical conservative intellectual movement shaping Donald Trump’s agenda—and how it threatens American freedoms, values, and democracy

press.princeton.edu

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Reposted by Kathryn Paige Harden

Dan Greene @dmgreene.bsky.social · 4d

Dwayne has his job back because we organized for it. We fight or we die. Join AAUP today www.aaup.org/join

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Reposted by Kathryn Paige Harden

Steve Vladeck @stevevladeck.bsky.social · 6d

We left Austin (and UT) for personal reasons, not political ones. That said, this story makes me relieved that we got out when we did—and despondent for the future of an amazing institution that played a really important role in my life; and whose students, staff, faculty, and alumni deserve better:

New Trump plan offers UT funding benefits with conditions on academics

The Trump administration named the University of Texas as one of nine schools that can access funding benefits in exchange for demands outlined in a compact.

www.statesman.com

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Kathryn Paige Harden @kph3k.bsky.social · 6d

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Elliot Tucker-Drob @tuckerdrob.bsky.social · 7d

Non-paywalled link to my commentary on @vw1234.bsky.social and colleagues new paper in @nature.com rdcu.be/eI2NG

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Reposted by Kathryn Paige Harden

Dave Morningstar @davemorningstar.bsky.social · 7d

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
A global academic freedom group has warned that the Trump administration’s assault on universities is turning the US into a “model for how to dismantle” academic freedom. ...

‘Unprecedented in history’: global academic freedom group warns of dismantling in US

Report from Scholars at Risk counts some 40 attacks against academic freedom in the US in the first half of 2025

www.theguardian.com

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Kathryn Paige Harden @kph3k.bsky.social · 10d

“People who believe so richly in the inherent goodness of whiteness that they believe empathy alone will grow the hearts of fascists are both hustlers and easily hustled.” - Hanif Abdurraqib, There’s Always This Year

Kathryn Paige Harden @kph3k.bsky.social · 10d

Only one of these men sounds like he’s ever been near an Evangelical church before.

Sincerely wish that Klein would have someone like Jen Hatmaker on, to disabuse him of this notion that no one on “our” side is having difficult conversations in Evangelical churches

www.nytimes.com/2025/09/28/o...

Kathryn Paige Harden @kph3k.bsky.social · 11d

Hard to choose just one quote from this piercingly articulate essay:

www.bostonreview.net/articles/wha...

But a similar process can be seen even among those who recoil from such cruel and explicit othering. Many people come to be deeply invested in condemning the disruptive act that threatens to upend order—whether it be Kirk’s killing or a protest in the streets—even as they eagerly accept the far greater violence that structures their daily lives. In this case, what is repressed is the violence of order itself; what is disavowed is our own entanglement with it and ethical responsibility to confront it. What cannot be acknowledged, because it is too incriminating or compromising to one’s identification with order, is projected outward onto the system itself. In this scheme, “political violence” can only be what threatens this system, not what the system itself does.

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Kathryn Paige Harden @kph3k.bsky.social · 11d

in addition to not seeming to get the scandalous claim at the heart of her religion—count it all joy, the meek shall inherit the earth, God incarnate was an innocent victim—she also really doesn’t understand how science works:

Kathryn Paige Harden @kph3k.bsky.social · 11d

💯💯💯💯💯💯

Kathryn Paige Harden @kph3k.bsky.social · 11d

The irony of two people who both profess to worship a crucified Christ complaining about ”culture of victimhood.”

www.nytimes.com/2025/09/25/o...

Opinion | The Grand Strategy Behind Trump’s Crackdown on Academia

www.nytimes.com

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Kathryn Paige Harden @kph3k.bsky.social · 11d

“There is no state or federal law that prohibits instruction on gender identity in college classes.“ This sentence is essential. They aren’t even bothering to pass laws now. The SB17 law in Texas specifically exempts instruction! They are just making things up and calling it law.

Texas Tribune @texastribune.org · 12d

Breaking: Texas Tech chancellor limits academic mentions of transgender and nonbinary identities at five universities.

Texas Tech chancellor limits academic mentions of transgender and nonbinary identities at five universities

Advocacy groups say the new state law, presidential executive order and gubernatorial letter Tedd Mitchell cited do not prohibit classroom discussions of particular LGBTQ+ identities.

www.texastribune.org

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Kathryn Paige Harden @kph3k.bsky.social · 11d

This morning I was supposed to be giving a keynote address for #SRP2025 — but instead laid up at home after blowing out my knee. Perhaps it’s fitting to be prescribed opiate painkillers on a day I was supposed to be talking about the genetics of substance use disorders?

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Reposted by Kathryn Paige Harden

Texas Conference of the AAUP @texasaaup.bsky.social · 11d

“I’m emotionally shellshocked right now,” said one professor in the Texas Tech system. “What does it say about academic freedom? It says we don’t have it.” The professor spoke by phone from the inside of a car to avoid being overheard by colleagues.

www.nytimes.com/2025/09/26/u...

Texas Tech Moves to Limit Academic Discussion to 2 Genders

www.nytimes.com

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Texas Conference of the AAUP @texasaaup.bsky.social · 11d

“On Friday, a Hays County judge ruled that a fired Texas State University (TXST) professor will be reinstated to his job while his lawsuit against the school proceeds, according to the professor’s attorney.” 👏✊🙌

Ben Johnson @benjaminhjohns1.bsky.social · 11d

actual good news this week: www.kxan.com/news/local/h...

www.kxan.com

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Kathryn Paige Harden @kph3k.bsky.social · 12d

A brief history of the birth control movement that acknowledges Sanger’s ties to eugenics while affirming the necessity of birth control to improve maternal health, & connects that history to current problems faced by people he wants to represent, & promises material help for that problem!

Hex Anderson @dexanderson.com · 12d

Cuomo could never.

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Kathryn Paige Harden @kph3k.bsky.social · 13d

“Drawing on feminist rhetorical theory and histories of evangelicalism in the US, 'I Grew Up in the Church' argues that these writers model alternatives to the conservative politics, rhetorics of certainty and combat, and rigid gender roles that have been hallmarks of the movement.“

Ordered!

Bethany Mannon @drbethany.bsky.social · Aug 2

If you've been thinking of ordering my book, it is 50% off at Amazon right now!
www.amazon.com/dp/148131893...

"I Grew Up in the Church": How American Evangelical Women Tell Their Stories

I Grew Up in the Church : How American Evangelical Women Tell Their Stories [Mannon, Bethany Ober] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. I Grew Up in the Church : How American Evangelical Women Tell Their Stories

www.amazon.com

Kathryn Paige Harden @kph3k.bsky.social · 14d

"shame serves as a robustly liberal alternative to . . .political violence. It is, quite literally, the least one can do to ensure rules of social conduct that upheld minimal levels of dignity for all involved. Most of the alternatives involve either subjugation, combat, or both."

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Kathryn Paige Harden @kph3k.bsky.social · 14d

An excellent essay on the necessary function of shame in liberal society, from @olufemiotaiwo.bsky.social

www.bostonreview.net/articles/how...

How Can We Live Together? - Boston Review

Ezra Klein is wrong: shame is essential.

www.bostonreview.net

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Kathryn Paige Harden @kph3k.bsky.social · 14d

I have been saying this for years:

There is nothing inherently progressive about emphasizing environmental causes over genetic ones.

Bad speculation about environmental causes can also be dangerous.

I wish, though, that the current administration hadn’t illustrated my point so spectacularly.

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Kathryn Paige Harden @kph3k.bsky.social · 16d

book tour schedule coming soon!

Kathryn Paige Harden @kph3k.bsky.social · 16d

if the recent entwined rise of MAHA & Christian nationalism have you wondering how fundamentalist Christian ideas about sin & blame shape attitudes about genetics, mental illness, and psychological differences, I have a book recommendation for you:

Kathryn Paige Harden @kph3k.bsky.social · Aug 3

I wrote another book & I'm very excited (& nervous) for it to be released into the world: www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/714593...

Original Sin by Kathryn Paige Harden: 9780593447628 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books

www.penguinrandomhouse.com

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Reposted by Kathryn Paige Harden

Alejandra Caraballo @esqueer.net · 16d

Under pressure from Texas government officials, Angelo State University in Texas is banning all discussion or mention of the existence of trans people along with banning the LGBTQ pride flag from campus and forced misgendering of trans people.

conchoobserver.com/2025/09/19/a...

Alt text: Screenshot of a document outlining a new university policy. The bullet points state:

No discussion of transgender topics or anything suggesting more than two genders.

All information in syllabi about transgender topics must be removed.

Instructors must use students’ given names, not preferred names.

Safe-space stickers, LGBTQ flags, etc. are banned and must be removed.

Employees must remove pronouns from email signatures.

The university will not support faculty who teach or discuss these topics in class.

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