Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Nicole Hemmer @pastpunditry.bsky.social · 7h

hang with us in nyc tomorrow night!

Jody Avirgan @jodyavirgan.com · 7h

Hey NYC, my @thisdaypod.com pal @pastpunditry.bsky.social is going to be in town tomorrow night at Caveat - go check it out, say hi if you do. I'll be there --> www.caveat.nyc/events/this-...

This Guy Sucked - live from Cheerful Earful Podcast Festival

Performed live as part of Cheerful Earful Podcast Festival, a global festival of funny podcasts!

www.caveat.nyc

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Jody Avirgan @jodyavirgan.com · 7h

Hey NYC, my @thisdaypod.com pal @pastpunditry.bsky.social is going to be in town tomorrow night at Caveat - go check it out, say hi if you do. I'll be there --> www.caveat.nyc/events/this-...

This Guy Sucked - live from Cheerful Earful Podcast Festival

Performed live as part of Cheerful Earful Podcast Festival, a global festival of funny podcasts!

www.caveat.nyc

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Reposted by Nicole Hemmer

Robert L. Tsai @robertltsai.bsky.social · 4d

My new essay (with Bojan Bugaric): “How long can judicial resistance last when it is to come from unelected lower court judges, if it comes at all? We believe that the momentary flurry of judicial activity is fool’s gold.”

Can Judicial Resistance Last?

The law can protect democracy—but only up to a certain point. After that, it’s up to the people. And there’s the challenge.

democracyjournal.org

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Boston Review @bostonreview.bsky.social · 6d

The liberal-heterodox alliance over “free speech” engineered by people like Bari Weiss is precisely what has eased the way for the most authoritarian, anti-free speech government the United States has seen since the McCarthy era, argues @pastpunditry.bsky.social:

The actual politics of free speech is fueled by a right-wing political strategy. - Boston Review

Nicole Hemmer responds to Alex Gourevitch’s “The Right to Be Hostile.”

www.bostonreview.net

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Garrett M. Graff @vermontgmg.bsky.social · 7d

So unexpected that letting people keep their freedom, safety, and not be arbitrarily deported to foreign torture gulags might resonate with voters….

Greg Sargent @gregsargent.bsky.social · 7d

A top Mamdani adviser tells me internal data shows taking on Trump's authoritarian abuses resonates. It appeals to working class voters across all demographics, countering the frequent claim that this is a "distraction" from issues working people "really" care about.

newrepublic.com/article/2011...

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jamelle @jamellebouie.net · 7d

my latest is expanding on the observation that your view of the politics of opposition to the administration depend largely on your view of the election (gift link)

Opinion | Trump Has No Mandate to Destroy America

www.nytimes.com

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Christopher Mathias @letsgomathias.bsky.social · 8d

Always read @pastpunditry.bsky.social www.nytimes.com/2025/09/30/o...

Opinion | We Have Seen the ‘Woke Right’ Before, and It Wasn’t Pretty Then, Either

www.nytimes.com

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Nancy Gowler @revnancyg.bsky.social · 8d

Great piece by @pastpunditry.bsky.social

"For the right, this crackdown wasn’t a sign of the excesses of the early Cold War but rather the proper role of government: to police public life to make sure it conformed to conservative values."

www.nytimes.com/2025/09/30/o...

Opinion | The Right Didn’t Catch Cancel Culture From the Left

www.nytimes.com

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Victor Silverman @victorsilverman.bsky.social · 8d

Like the supposed "originalism" of so much of the right, the claims to defend "free speech" were simply instrumental, a cudgel to attack the left.

Excellent essay by @pastpunditry.bsky.social on the censorious history of the US right

jamelle @jamellebouie.net · 8d

great piece from the always-great @pastpunditry.bsky.social and a welcome antidote to vacuous commentators whose historical memories seem to go back no further than the first iron man movie

Opinion | The Right Didn’t Catch Cancel Culture From the Left

www.nytimes.com

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Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 8d

The idea that what is happening at the moment is just a backlash or response to left wing censoriousness is rapidly becoming a conventional wisdom, a shibboleth that must be uttered to engage with centrist punditry. This is an excellent rebuttal.

jamelle @jamellebouie.net · 8d

great piece from the always-great @pastpunditry.bsky.social and a welcome antidote to vacuous commentators whose historical memories seem to go back no further than the first iron man movie

Opinion | The Right Didn’t Catch Cancel Culture From the Left

www.nytimes.com

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Nicole Hemmer @pastpunditry.bsky.social · 8d

thank you, ansley 🙏

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Ansley Erickson @ansleyerickson.bsky.social · 8d

From the excellent @pastpunditry.bsky.social

Opinion | The Right Didn’t Catch Cancel Culture From the Left

www.nytimes.com

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Jonathan M. Katz @katz.theracket.news · 8d

A good oped! Props to @pastpunditry.bsky.social for getting one in.

Jeff (Gutenberg Parenthesis) Jarvis @jeffjarvis.bsky.social · 8d

History: "But the right did not learn cancel culture from the left; the modern right in America emerged as a censorious movement."
The Right Didn’t Catch Cancel Culture From the Left www.nytimes.com/2025/09/30/o...

Opinion | The Right Didn’t Catch Cancel Culture From the Left

www.nytimes.com

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Nicole Hemmer @pastpunditry.bsky.social · 8d

appreciate you! 🙏

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Virginia Scharff @vscharff.bsky.social · 8d

Your history lesson for today. Explore this gift article from The New York Times. You can read it for free without a subscription. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/30/o...

Opinion | The Right Didn’t Catch Cancel Culture From the Left

www.nytimes.com

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Larry Glickman @larryglickman.bsky.social · 8d

This is a superb essay by @pastpunditry.bsky.social. The only thing I would add is that one could backdate the history of conservative "cancel culture" even earlier, if we consider the first Red Scare in the WWI era and the "gag rule" in the antebellum period. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/30/o...

Opinion | The Right Didn’t Catch Cancel Culture From the Left

www.nytimes.com

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Dannagal Goldthwaite Young @dannagal.bsky.social · 8d

Always love when Nicole Hemmer brings the history receipts to the chat!!
@pastpunditry.bsky.social

Curd Knüpfer @curdknupfer.bsky.social · 8d

Excellent Op-ed by @pastpunditry.bsky.social, on the history of the censorious right.
What she observes here for the US also goes for other national contexts, where formations on the far right often self-depict & are seen as free-speech absolutists, when they're anything but...

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Nicole Hemmer @pastpunditry.bsky.social · 8d

newt gingrich, the clear authority on the politics of government shutdowns 🙃

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jamelle @jamellebouie.net · 8d

great piece from the always-great @pastpunditry.bsky.social and a welcome antidote to vacuous commentators whose historical memories seem to go back no further than the first iron man movie

Opinion | The Right Didn’t Catch Cancel Culture From the Left

www.nytimes.com

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Nicole Hemmer @pastpunditry.bsky.social · 8d

🙏🙏🙏

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C. E. Aubin @ceaubin.bsky.social · 8d

There are still a few tickets available for our NYC live show featuring Kevin Schultz and Niki Hemmer @pastpunditry.bsky.social! If you’ve ever wanted to watch a lowly postdoc force two preeminent political historians to play stupid president-themed games, snag a seat via www.thisguysucked.com

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Kevin M. Kruse @kevinmkruse.bsky.social · 8d

Great piece by @pastpunditry.bsky.social -- check it out!

Virginia Scharff @vscharff.bsky.social · 8d

Your history lesson for today. Explore this gift article from The New York Times. You can read it for free without a subscription. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/30/o...

Opinion | The Right Didn’t Catch Cancel Culture From the Left

www.nytimes.com

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Nicole Hemmer @pastpunditry.bsky.social · 8d

thank you, friend 🙏🙏🙏

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Curd Knüpfer @curdknupfer.bsky.social · 8d

Excellent Op-ed by @pastpunditry.bsky.social, on the history of the censorious right.
What she observes here for the US also goes for other national contexts, where formations on the far right often self-depict & are seen as free-speech absolutists, when they're anything but...

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jhstoo @jhstoo.bsky.social · 10d

A must-read essay by @pastpunditry.bsky.social on political polarization in American politics, and why Democrats need to rethink their attachment to reflexive bipartisanship.

Boston Review @bostonreview.bsky.social · 10d

“Democratic politicians and analysts have zeroed in on polarization as the central villain of U.S. politics. The way out, the thinking goes, is to reclaim the spirit of the vital center, where moderation, bipartisanship, and compromise prevail.”

@pastpunditry.bsky.social on what this gets wrong:

The actual politics of free speech is fueled by a right-wing political strategy. - Boston Review

Nicole Hemmer responds to Alex Gourevitch’s “The Right to Be Hostile.”

www.bostonreview.net

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