Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Sara Grady

@saramgrady.bsky.social

320 followers 510 following 180 posts

Media psychologist, studying narratives & entertainment and why people spend time on them. Pop culture junkie, absolute nerd + social scientist

Posts Media Videos Starter Packs

Pinned

Sara Grady @saramgrady.bsky.social · Nov 18

I finally joined Bluesky people, here’s a little about what I do in podcast form

Nick Bowman (包尼克) he/him/his @bowmanspartan.bsky.social · Nov 14

Why do we choose the media we choose? Check out The Ohio State University colleagues mattgrizz.bsky.social and Sara Grady and the latest podcast, online at www.osu.edu/impact/now-a....

What Our Media Choices Say About Us | Now at Ohio State

In this episode of Now at Ohio State, two experts break down why we choose the shows we choose, why we like the characters we like and what those choices mean.

www.osu.edu

1 15

Sara Grady @saramgrady.bsky.social · 14d

Have international students in your sphere? ICE wants to limit grad student visas to 4 years (and limiting their timelines in a variety of other ways), then they get kicked out. Commenting is open until Sept 29 (and you can comment anonymously). www.regulations.gov/document/ICE...

Regulations.gov

www.regulations.gov

Reposted by Sara Grady

Youngki Hong @youngkihong.bsky.social · Aug 28

Job alert: I'm hiring a postdoc for my lab at CU Boulder starting Fall 2026!

We study person perception, stereotyping & prejudice, and intervention science using behavioral & neuroimaging methods.

Link: jobs.colorado.edu/jobs/JobDeta...

Review starts Nov 1 and continues until filled.

Postdoctoral Associate

jobs.colorado.edu

19 20

Reposted by Sara Grady

Dan Vock @danvock.bsky.social · 29d

It is as if our government has decided that there is no crime in the country worth pursuing other than immigration enforcement.

Garrett M. Graff @vermontgmg.bsky.social · 29d

New numbers show ICE is devouring US law enforcement: 1 in 5 US marshals, 1 in 5 FBI agents, half of all DEA agents, and over two-thirds of all ATF agents are now assigned to ICE enforcement. These are agencies with critical jobs they're now NOT doing.

www.doomsdayscenario.co/p/ice-is-eat...

ICE is Eating the Soul of America

Four things that show ICE increasingly considers itself outside the law

www.doomsdayscenario.co

23 140 430

Sara Grady @saramgrady.bsky.social · 29d

as I understand it, our journo position is broadly construed, so CCing @jessicahullman.bsky.social in case you know folks interested! ☝️

Sara Grady @saramgrady.bsky.social · Sep 8

#OhioState is hiring -- can you help us find an established journalism scholar? Deadline is 10/1 osu.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/OSUCareers/j... #commjobs #ICA26

Associate Professor or Professor in Journalism - School of Communication

Screen reader users may encounter difficulty with this site. For assistance with applying, please contact [email protected]. If you have questions while submitting an application, pleas...

osu.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com

1 2 3

Sara Grady @saramgrady.bsky.social · Aug 28

Communication always be happening on multiple levels

amanda moore 🐢 @noturtlesoup17.bsky.social · Aug 28

Yesterday, HSI and MPD set up a checkpoint on Rhode Island Ave in DC. Neighbors stood on either end, holding signs saying “LA MIGRA ADELATE.”

As HSI and MPD started to pack it up, residents told them, “we don’t think you’re good Americans” and “fuck you guys, go home.”

Reposted by Sara Grady

Miranda Yaver @mirandayaver.bsky.social · Aug 28

If RFK Jr. will not resign, he must be impeached and removed, for the sake of the nation's health and safety.

The Washington Post @washingtonpost.com · Aug 28

Three senior CDC leaders who resigned told The Post they were asked to participate in an unscientific vaccine recommendation process that they believe could harm the health of Americans.

CDC leaders who resigned said RFK Jr. undermined vaccine science, risking lives

As the CDC reels from the firing of its director, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. told Fox News the agency is “in trouble and we need to fix it.”

www.washingtonpost.com

17 180 670

Sara Grady @saramgrady.bsky.social · Aug 28

Science and health and risk communication coming to the front, a CDC infectious disease director’s resignation letter is chock full of 🔥 after the Covid vaccine announcement x.com/dr_demetre/s...

Reposted by Sara Grady

Columbus Underground @colsunderground.bsky.social · Aug 26

No diversity, no equity, no inclusion! columbusunderground.com/back-to-scho...

Back to School: Ohio Students Running into New Challenges Thanks to SB1 - Columbus Underground

Ohio college students are navigating the ramifications of the state’s new higher education law that bans diversity efforts, prohibits faculty strikes, and regulates classroom discussion.

columbusunderground.com

2 7

Reposted by Sara Grady

Brendel @brendelbored.bsky.social · Aug 21

There’s a thin line between staying as informed as you should and making yourself anxious in a way that is completely unproductive and every single day the news is trying very hard to push you over into the latter

41 350 2.1K

Reposted by Sara Grady

Kaitlyn M. Werner, PhD @kaitlynmwerner.bsky.social · Aug 21

#psychjobs

Brendan Nyhan @brendannyhan.bsky.social · Aug 21

New job ad: Assistant Professor of Quantitative Social Science, Dartmouth College apply.interfolio.com/172357

Please share with your networks. I am the search chair and happy to answer questions!

Reposted by Sara Grady

YouGov America @today.yougov.com · Aug 20

NEW Economist/YouGov Aug 15-18
% who think federal funding for scientific research done by American universities should increase | decrease
U.S. adult citizens 39% | 13%
Democrats 63% | 2%
Independents 39% | 14%
Republicans 17% | 22%
today.yougov.com/politics/art...

A chart of YouGov polling data with the headline: "More Americans want funding for university scientific research to increase than
decrease."

The chart's sub-headline is: "Do you think federal funding for scientific research done by American universities should...? (%)."

8 12

Reposted by Sara Grady

Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · Aug 19

NEW: McCarthyism returns to immigration law, as @USCIS announces that it will begin screening applicants for immigration benefits for "Anti-America ideologies or activities." The term has no prior precedent in immigration law and its definition is entirely up to the Trump admin.

August 19, 2025 PA-2025-16
Policy Alert
SUBJECT: Clarifying Discretionary Factors in Certain Immigration Benefit Requests
Purpose
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is updating policy guidance in the USCIS
Policy Manual regarding the factors that officers may consider in certain benefit requests where an
exercise of discretion is required, including factors relating to aliens’ past requests for parole and
any involvement in anti-American or terrorist organizations.
Background
For certain immigration benefit requests, such as adjustment of status, the alien bears the burden of
proof to demonstrate that a favorable exercise of discretion is warranted.1 For these benefit requests,
the discretionary analysis is a separate component of adjudicating the benefit request which occurs
after an officer determines whether all threshold eligibility requirements have been met. The act of
exercising discretion involves weighing positive and negative factors and considering the totality of
the circumstances in each case. There are various factors officers may consider when conducting a
discretionary analysis, including facts relating to an alien’s conduct, character, family ties,
immigration history, and any humanitarian concerns.
USCIS guidance provides that an alien’s compliance with immigration laws is a relevant factor when
determining if a favorable exercise of discretion is warranted. USCIS is updating the Policy Manual
to provide additional guidance for officers on the significant negative discretionary weight USCIS
assigns in circumstances where an alien has endorsed, promoted, supported, or otherwise espoused
the views of a terrorist organization or group, including those who support or promote anti-American
ideologies or activities, antisemitic terrorism, antisemitic terrorist organizations, and antisemitic
ideologies, in any case involving an exercise of discretion.2
In cases where the alien has engaged in such activities, USCIS will enforce all relevant …

95 1.4K 2.7K

Reposted by Sara Grady

Daniel Lakens @lakens.bsky.social · Aug 15

An abbreviation (ABB) in a journal article (JA) or Grant Application (GA) is rarely worth the words it saves. Every ABB requires cognitive resources (CR) and at my age by the time I'm halfway through a JA or GA I no longer have the CR to remember what your ABB stood for.

11 110 360

Sara Grady @saramgrady.bsky.social · Aug 21

Yeah, it seems we are a bellweather for plans around the country. I’d watch this space, but also be prepared for similar efforts from sea to shining sea

1 2

Sara Grady @saramgrady.bsky.social · Aug 20

In the last few days admins have published “guidance” that students are prohibited from chalking any campus sidewalks & land acknowledgements are prohibited on syllabi or at campus events under the new state law. Welcome to campus, everyone!

2 1 2

Sara Grady @saramgrady.bsky.social · Aug 19

In a similar vein, I’ve been finding @edzitron.com’s analysis really helpful for tracking the overpromise and hype bubble of AI versus what it actually offers (and distracts from) in the here and now, recommend!

Reposted by Sara Grady

Reyhan Harmanci @harmancipants.bsky.social · Aug 19

👉 Come work for @wired.com features team in NYC! Must have experience with big stories and a desire to have fun while holding tech leaders to account! Best in business, etc.! Ping me with questions condenast.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com/CondeCareers...

Features Editor

WIRED is where a better future is imagined. For three decades, we have been the indispensable guide to a world in constant transformation. We cover humanity’s biggest challenges, from climate change t...

condenast.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com

51 85

Reposted by Sara Grady

Erica Chenoweth @chenoweth.bsky.social · Aug 13

Here is the chart showing the growth of reported protest over time, 2025 vs. 2017, referenced in the piece below.

Line chart showing a steep blue line indicating the growth of the number of protests in 2015 over time, compared with a green line showing a more modest growth of the number of protests in 2017.

27 570 1.6K

Reposted by Sara Grady

Chanda Prescod-Weinstein 🌌 @chanda.blacksky.app · Jul 10

“The dismantling of Harvard’s diversity offices arrived at Harvard College on Wednesday as websites for centers serving minority students, LGBTQ students, and women disappeared suddenly and without fanfare.”

www.thecrimson.com/article/2025...

Harvard College, Faculty of Arts and Sciences Replace Diversity Offices Amid DEI Purge | News | The Harvard Crimson

The dismantling of Harvard’s diversity offices arrived at Harvard College on Wednesday as websites for centers serving minority students, LGBTQ students, and women disappeared suddenly and without fan...

www.thecrimson.com

44 610 1K

Reposted by Sara Grady

Lea Woods @lea9223.bsky.social · Jul 10

HHS announced today they will consider Head Start a welfare program, not an education program, and will subject it to new citizenship requirements. This goes against decades of legal precedence that all children in America have a right to education. Announcement here. www.hhs.gov/press-room/p...

www.hhs.gov

160 1.4K 2.6K

Reposted by Sara Grady

Robert Hawkins @rdhawkins.bsky.social · Jul 10

Seamless Interaction dataset with 4000+ hrs of face-to-face dyadic interactions! 🤯

Seems like it could be a game changer for studying embodied turn-taking & mutual adaptation complementary with CANDOR, etc...

arxiv.org/abs/2506.22554

Seamless Interaction: Dyadic Audiovisual Motion Modeling and Large-Scale Dataset

Human communication involves a complex interplay of verbal and nonverbal signals, essential for conveying meaning and achieving interpersonal goals. To develop socially intelligent AI technologies, it...

arxiv.org

2 8 19

Reposted by Sara Grady

Climate Science Legal Defense Fund @csldf.org · Jul 10

The 1st Amendment protects scientists who engage in advocacy & activism - even if they work for a federal agency. We joined forces with @aclu.org to create a guide for scientists who wish to speak out while minimizing negative repercussions: www.csldf.org/resource/fir...

A Pocket Guide for Scientists: The First Amendment - Climate Science Legal Defense Fund

We wrote this guide so scientists can make informed decisions about how to safely and effectively participate in advocacy and activism.

www.csldf.org

1 8 15

Reposted by Sara Grady

Mark Copelovitch @mcopelov.bsky.social · Jul 9

This sounds batsh*t crazy but it's, quite literally, a straightforward & purely factual description of what's going on here

Jonathan Cohn @jonathancohn.bsky.social · Jul 9

Trump wants to impose a tax on you so that his buddy can avoid consequences for a coup attempt.

Trump hits Brazil with 50% tariff, in part due to trial of ally Jair Bolsonaro

"The way Brazil has treated former President Bolsonaro ... is an international disgrace," Trump wrote.

www.nbcnews.com

34 600 1.8K