Wendy Y. Li

This is tomorrow! Last chance to register and join us!

NEW SPEAKERS ANNOUNCED!
Join us for the Peopling Politics Symposium on March 5 in DC, featuring Rep. Greg Casar, former USTR Katherine Tai, and former Asst. AG Kristen Clarke, plus brilliant panelists across academia, government, and civil society!

RSVP Here: www.eventbrite.com/e/bringing-t...

A line graph showing NSF grant awards made through 2/27/26 for fiscal year 2026 compared with grant awards for fiscal years 2021-2025 for the Directorate of Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences.

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NEW SPEAKERS ANNOUNCED!
Join us for the Peopling Politics Symposium on March 5 in DC, featuring Rep. Greg Casar, former USTR Katherine Tai, and former Asst. AG Kristen Clarke, plus brilliant panelists across academia, government, and civil society!

RSVP Here: www.eventbrite.com/e/bringing-t...

Community meme: I CAN EXCUSE FASCISM. BUTI DRAW THE LINE AT MERCANTILISM.

The Supreme Court:

Supreme Court strikes down Trump's tariffs. A stitched together majority, as expected.

Read along thread here.👇
www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/25p...

So if IEEPA does not authorize the tariffs, and the tariffs were used to negotiate the trade deals ... what exactly is the statutory authorization for these trade deals? Does the administration think IEEPA authorizes negotiating the deals separately from the tariffs? What will SCOTUS think of that?

University of Texas regents OK limits on controversial subjects Opponents warned the policy’s vagueness could push professors to self-censor and leave students less prepared for the workplace.

The University of Texas System’s Board of Regents unanimously approved a rule requiring its universities to ensure students can graduate without studying “unnecessary controversial subjects,” despite warnings it could leave them less prepared for the real world.

Yesterday, those who teach Intro to Sociology at Florida colleges (as opposed to universities) received a ready-made curriculum from the state and were ordered to teach it.

Yes, you read that correctly. The *state* is enforcing a curriculum on college profs, complete w/ the following restrictions:

Flyer with beige background and purple heading. Text on purple heading reads "Peopling Politics" which is sponsored by "HEARD Initiative - Swarthmore College" and "Sheila Y. Oliver Center for Politics and Race in America". Main text of flyer reads "Understanding the Political Disconnect: Working Class and Low-Income People on What Politics Means to Them and How They Might Be Mobilized." Event details read "Monday, February 23, 2026 3PM EST." Flyer includes QR, which below reads "Scan to Register or visit: https://bit.ly/PoliticalDisconnect." Flyer also features headshot of Daniel Laurison with text that reads "Associate Professor of Sociology at Swarthmore College, Director of the Healthy, Equitable, and Responsive Democracy (HEARD) Initiative, Director of the Politics and Equal Participation Lab (PEPL), Carnegie Fellow, and author of Producing Politics, Beacon Press 2022" and headshot of James R. Jones with text that reads "Associate Professor and Director of the Center for Politics and Race in America at Rutgers University, Robert K. Merton Award for Best Contribution to Sociological Research or Public Policy, and author of The Last Plantation, Princeton University Press."

Learn more about the Political Disconnect - the gap between what politics is meant to do, and how everyday people experience it. Join me and Dr. James Jones of the Sheila Y. Oliver Center for Politics and Race in America for a webinar on Monday, Feb 23, at 3p Eastern.
bit.ly/PoliticalDisconnect

Two weeks until we convene in DC for the first-ever Peopling Politics Symposium! Spots are filling up so RSVP now! go.rutgers.edu/peoplingpoli...

Very cool - excited to use this in my research & teaching!

Over at Lawfare, I examine the peculiar constitutional theory undergirding OPM's final rule on Schedule Policy/Career

I am so excited to share that registration for the first-ever PEOPLING POLITICS SYMPOSIUM is now open! Please join us on March 5 at the Hopkins Bloomberg Center in Washington DC for an amazing lineup of speakers and discussions. RSVP at go.rutgers.edu/peoplingpoli...

The rule of law can’t survive this

Happy birthday to one of my favourite haters, Charles Darwin

If you exclude healthcare employment, the U.S. has actually lost jobs since 2024 Cumulative change in payroll employment by sector (Thousands of jobs) Healthcare & Private Ed. 1500 1000 500 -500 -Leisure and hospitality Construction Government Other services & Utilities • Financial activities & Tansportation and warehousing • Mining and logging • Wholesale trade Retail trade • Information| All Non-Healthcare Jobs Professional and business services -Manufacturing Jan 2026 Jan 1 2024 Apr 2024 Jul 2024 Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) うつつい Oct 2024 Jan 2025 Apr 2025 Jul 2025 Oct 2025

The Economy These Days

capital: AI

labor: caring for the elderly

h/t @maiamindel.bsky.social

The thrill and frustration of knowing you're so close to finishing something but the only things left to do are the difficult parts you've been putting off...

Report: Employers Created 40,000 New Jobs For Existing Employees Last Month WASHINGTON—In a promising development for the nation’s workforce, a report released Wednesday by the U.S. Department of Labor shows that employers created approximately 40,000 new jobs, additional res...

It's The Onion, and yet: "In every industry, companies are drastically increasing the amount of work that needs to be completed, as well as tacking on thousands of assignments previously performed by departed employees."
theonion.com/report-emplo...

That makes sense to me! Hopefully wherever this work ends up, editors/reviewers will understand and will be flexible about citation format.

I was gonna say, you could refer to Case A, B, C, etc. and then have footnotes or an appendix that references the specific case by name. Sometimes when I write about publicly available data but names are distracting or unnecessary, I use initials.

Join us on March 5th in Washington, DC, for the Peopling Politics symposium!

Curling has completely dominated my household's attention this past week. Love the mix of physics, logic, and physical technique that the sport requires. This is so cool!

God bless América

Vital reading for all scholars, regardless of discipline, institution, region.

There are democratic deficits within federal agencies and civil servants could be more accountable to the public. But this is not how we do it. This will tie the hands of policymakers and stifle their public engagement, especially with groups & viewpoints that run counter to the President's agenda.

The Trump Admin just put out a rule that would reclassify federal workers as "Schedule Policy/Career" (previously Schedule F) if they work in policy-relevant roles. Potentially huge swaths of the civil service could become at-will employees.

public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2026-02375.pdf

If you are coming to town for the #ESS2026 meeting, please join us! The symposium is open to all and free to attend. Breakfast and lunch will also be provided, with a reception in the evening to follow the event.

@blackcapitol.bsky.social @daniellaurison.bsky.social @cmslaughter.bsky.social @kanikak.bsky.social @chloericks.bsky.social @hahrie.bsky.social @povertyscholar.bsky.social @alondra.bsky.social @lindsayowens.bsky.social @choprausa.bsky.social @dorianwarren.bsky.social @karayoungponder.bsky.social