Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Melissa Baker @melissabaker.bsky.social · 9h

Important life update: I saw a kitten in a tree when I got to a coffeeshop this morning then later on realized another kitten had shown up & they were both watching me

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Reposted by Melissa Baker

Jo Wolff @jowolff.bsky.social · 11h

This was not a sample of academics.

YouGov @yougov.co.uk · 13h

How many browsing tabs do you typically have open?*

1: 6%
2-5: 54%
6-10: 14%
11-20: 8%
21-30: 2%
More than 30: 3%

*across all windows, on desktop/laptop

yougov.co.uk/topics/techn...

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Melissa Baker @melissabaker.bsky.social · 1d

Working on a project on attitudes related to AI generated revenge porn, which means I am sending a graduate student documents with "porn" & "revenge porn" in the name. Really hope my institution doesn't have a keyword email monitoring system otherwise I'm going to have to answer some questions.

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Melissa Baker @melissabaker.bsky.social · 1d

That’s amazing and very understandable haha

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Melissa Baker @melissabaker.bsky.social · 2d

Every time someone has this realization online it reminds me of when I was in Canada for my postdoc and made a Santa Supreme Court joke to several Canadian political scientists. Somehow NONE of them had ever realized they dress like Santa. I was flabbergasted 😂

derek guy @dieworkwear.bsky.social · 2d

i had no idea this is how canada's supreme court dresses

Nine members of the Canadian Supreme Court sitting for a photo. They are dressed in red robes trimmed in white.

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Melissa Baker @melissabaker.bsky.social · 2d

12 days since this post & I can’t stop making soup or finding excuses to make soup. Happy? Make soup. Stressed? Make soup. Good news? Make soup. Another day below 90 degrees? Make soup. A day back above 90 degrees? Make soup.

Melissa Baker @melissabaker.bsky.social · 14d

Did I immediately go out and buy ingredients for three different soups the first day the high is below 90 degrees? Absolutely. Did I also buy sourdough from the fancy French bakery? Of course. & does my kitchen smell amazing right now? 100%.

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Melissa Baker @melissabaker.bsky.social · 2d

This is cool in general but I especially appreciate it because my mom has been taking OLLI classes for a few years now & really enjoys them! A group of people who take OLLI classes in her city have even started a political discussion affinity group. It’s super interesting to hear about.

Journal of Political Science Education @jpseeditors.bsky.social · 2d

Are older adult learners that different from undergrads? We share insights from teaching OLLI courses that keep older adults engaged—and help us grow as educators. More below! @cnwillis.bsky.social

doi.org/10.1080/1551...

Learning at Any Age: Political Science Education and Older Adult Learners

While most pedagogical research in political science focuses on teaching undergraduate and graduate students, teaching political science to older adult learners is often overlooked. However, this i...

doi.org

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Reposted by Melissa Baker

Julia M. Rohrer @dingdingpeng.the100.ci · 2d

If it doesn’t survive the washing machine or the dish washer, maybe it was never meant to be part of your household in the first place.

essencesimmone.blacksky.app @essencesimmone.blacksky.app · 5d

Those who are 35+, what advice do you have for people just entering their 30s?

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Melissa Baker @melissabaker.bsky.social · 7d

I’m about to make marry me chicken and gnocchi soup for the second time in one week.

The temps are back above 90 but I am in denial.

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Melissa Baker @melissabaker.bsky.social · 8d

Student: is it normal for a government shutdown to happen with a unified government?

Me reflecting on politics before answering with “what do you mean by ‘normal’?”:

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Melissa Baker @melissabaker.bsky.social · 9d

Not sure how it feels like week 2 and week 16 of the semester at the same time, especially since it is week 6.

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Melissa Baker @melissabaker.bsky.social · 9d

I have bad news for people who are upset about that viral 2002 nostalgia video: A common sorority rush theme this year was 2016. TikTok comments were full of college students wishing they had gone to college in the mid 2010s because it seemed like the “best era of the past.”

(Yeah, we’re all old 😂)

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Melissa Baker @melissabaker.bsky.social · 10d

Its time required to deliciousness ratio is elite. & I am definitely going to try the pineapple chicken bowls sometime soon!

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Melissa Baker @melissabaker.bsky.social · 10d

I’m making marry me chicken + gnocchi soup and hoping it lasts quite a few meals so I don’t have to think about what to eat this week again haha

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Melissa Baker @melissabaker.bsky.social · 11d

Five years since one of the weirdest experiences of my life. It was early pandemic, so these skies + getting used to everyone in masks + caution tape blocking off outdoor gathering spaces = truly eerie. It felt like a dystopian novel.

San Francisco Chronicle @sfchronicle.com · 12d

An image of unsettling skies during unsettling times that one San Francisco Chronicle photographer will never forget.

How a Chronicle photographer captured a surreal viral photo shared by Obama

An image of unsettling skies during unsettling times that one San Francisco Chronicle photographer will never forget.

bit.ly

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Reposted by Melissa Baker

Junior Americanist Workshop Series @jawspolisci.bsky.social · 13d

🌊🦈 WE'RE BACK!!! 🌊🦈

Update your calendars bc JAWS is back for Fall 2025 📅 And our first session is next week, Wed 10/1!

Also: NEW TIME! We've heard our old time was difficult for those with school pickups, so our new time is 1-2:30PM ET / 10-11:30AM PT 💫

More info below ⬇️

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Melissa Baker @melissabaker.bsky.social · 13d

This week I launched pilot data collection and measure validation for a new stream of projects I am incredibly excited about. The schedule for the Texas American Behavior Conference also went out this week and I'm looking forward to presenting a piece of it there in November!

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Melissa Baker @melissabaker.bsky.social · 13d

Actually loled when I got to "technology"

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Melissa Baker @melissabaker.bsky.social · 14d

Did I immediately go out and buy ingredients for three different soups the first day the high is below 90 degrees? Absolutely. Did I also buy sourdough from the fancy French bakery? Of course. & does my kitchen smell amazing right now? 100%.

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Melissa Baker @melissabaker.bsky.social · 14d

Eric Merkley and I have a paper on personality and pandemic policy attitudes and behaviors in this latest issue!

Check out the entire issue, PLS always has cool stuff. Mia Carbone’s psychophysiology and news attention paper was an interesting read & already on my Pol Comm syllabus.

Cambridge University Press Political Science & IR @cambup-polsci.cambridge.org · 14d

Where not #OpenAccess the latest issue of Politics and the Life Sciences is free to read until the end of October -

Volume 44 - Issue 2 - Fall 2025 - https://cup.org/4mxtQcu

w/ papers by @lbernardi.bsky.social, @ericmerkley.bsky.social, @melissabaker.bsky.social, & more

Banner reading "Politics and the Life Sciences, Latest Issue" with text in white on a blue background.

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Melissa Baker @melissabaker.bsky.social · 14d

I just need everyone to know that my dog spent 5 minutes rearranging blankets on the guest bed (including catapulting one entirely off the bed) to snuggle up then fell asleep with her tongue out.

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Reposted by Melissa Baker

Patch Thompson @patchthompson.bsky.social · 14d

Anyway, here is some actually incredible news

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Huntington's disease successfully treated for first time

One of the most devastating diseases finally has a treatment that can slow its progression and transform lives, tearful doctors tell BBC.

www.bbc.co.uk

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Reposted by Melissa Baker

Kathleen Bachynski @bachynski.bsky.social · 14d

This is huge: “A drug that provides near-perfect protection against H.I.V. with shots just twice a year will be made available at $40 per patient annually in low- and middle-income countries, offering new hope… making lenacapavir a realistic choice in countries with constrained resources.”

Philanthropies Strike a Promising Deal to Turn Back H.I.V.

www.nytimes.com

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Melissa Baker @melissabaker.bsky.social · 16d

Dun dun dunnnn

"Required reviews completed" on a submission to a journal

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Melissa Baker @melissabaker.bsky.social · 16d

Sent this to a friend of mine who is super into the genre and she said one of the books is already on her tbr list!

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