David S. Meyer

Twin Cities Redux: What a Resistance win looks like ICE is retreating from Minneapolis, but this time it’s not because of climate change. Instead, it’s a victory–albeit a very costly one–for the resistance to the Trump Admini…

Twin Cities Redux: What a Resistance win looks like politicsoutdoors.com/2026/02/12/t...

Protest songs, poetry, and political influence Long ago, I was seduced by Shelley’s Defense of Poetry, which concluded with a bold claim: “Poets are the unacknowledged legislators of the world.” At some point, I became skeptic…

Long ago, I thought Shelley had it nailed, identifying poets as the unacknowledged legislators of the world. Then I got skeptical and went to grad. school--an overreaction.

Protest songs, poetry, and political influence politicsoutdoors.com/2026/01/30/p...

Repression in Minneapolis backfires (2) Federal agents keeping the peace (?) in Minneapolis after killing a demonstrator. Repression is risky for everyone. It works for authorities when most opponents are deterred from taking visible act…

ICE made Alex Pretti a martyr.

Repression in Minneapolis backfires (2) politicsoutdoors.com/2026/01/25/r...

Repression backfires in Minneapolis (1) Federal agents seem determined to kill anti-deportation protesters, at least enough of them to kill the resistance. It’s not working–at least not yet. Minnesotans are fighting back. Who…

I'm trying to catch up with the horrifying killings in Minnesota and the resistance

Repression backfires in Minneapolis (1) politicsoutdoors.com/2026/01/24/r...

Filming ICE is legal but exposes you to digital tracking – here’s how to minimize the risk Federal agents have pepper-sprayed, tackled and detained people recording their actions. If you post your recordings of agents, you also risk the feds tracking you and those around you.

theconversation.com/filming-ice-...

Martin Luther King Day 2026 (repost plus) Commemoration is very much a salient issue at the moment. Donald Trump, president, is rewriting the history of the Capitol Hill invasion and American history more broadly. It’s no surprise th…

Here's something on Martin Luther King Day 2026 (repost plus) politicsoutdoors.com/2026/01/19/m...

Book cover: Citizen Scholar Public Engagement for Social Scientists Philip N. Cohen

💥 Citizen Scholar made the list of book forums for next year's @asanews.bsky.social meetings. 💥

Thanks to @nvancleve.bsky.social, @davidsmeyer.bsky.social, @daniellaurison.bsky.social, and @jessicacalarco.com for agreeing to discuss! And
@columbiaup.bsky.social
www.asanet.org/annual-meeti...

Trump pivots from bashing Mamdani, predicting he will ‘do a great job’ as mayor Trump warmed to Mamdani, even declaring he would finally feel comfortable moving back to the city with the 34-year-old democratic socialist running city hall.

What is this? Game knows game? Mamdani understands how to deploy charm? They shared favorite pizza places?

www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

Jury finds D.C. ‘sandwich guy’ not guilty of assaulting officer Sean C. Dunn admitted he flung the hoagie at a federal agent. His attorneys called it a “harmless gesture” of protest as Trump commandeered D.C. police.

Creating a moral hazard for food fights?

www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/202...

New nuclear tests are a political test Donald Trump announced that the United States would start testing its nuclear arsenal again–after foregoing nuclear weapons testing since 1992, when the Cold War ended and the Soviet Union fe…

Unintentionally, Donald Trump has fed citizen anxiety about America's expensive new nuclear buildup. New nuclear tests are a political test politicsoutdoors.com/2025/11/02/n... via @davidsmeyer1

Alright University of Arizona letter has arrived. I would say this reads as a soft rejection where they say they would love to chat more but: "We seek no special treatment and believe in our ability to compete for federally funded research strictly on merit."

president.arizona.edu/sites/defaul...

University of Arizona rejects the compact:

chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://president.arizona.edu/sites/default/files/2025-10/Suresh-Garimella-to-Sec-Linda-McMahon.pdf

The 3.5% fallacy Every media outlet is going to post estimated numbers on the No Kings rallies, and they’re sure to be impressive. Larger than the extremely large June 14 demonstrations will be seen as a sign…

The numbers of people who came out are extraordinary, but it will take more than large numbers at a one-day event to change the moment.

The 3.5% fallacy politicsoutdoors.com/2025/10/18/t...

Why The ‘No Kings’ March Won’t Change Anything — Until It Does - WhoWhatWhy Millions may march this weekend. Some will go home thinking it didn’t matter. Here’s why they’re wrong — and right.

Our podcast guest @davidsmeyer.bsky.social
isn’t interested in the romance of resistance; he examines its machinery. And what he’s found might surprise cynics: Protests work, but not the way we think they do, and almost never on the timeline we expect. #NoKingsOct18

whowhatwhy.org/podcast/why-...

Anchoring academic resistance Last week the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) rejected the “Compact” offered by the Trump Administration, crossing a line into resistance and (implicitly) inviting other uni…

MIT, by emphasizing data and merit, rather than politics, set out a standard for the rest of academia.

Anchoring academic resistance politicsoutdoors.com/2025/10/17/a...

Solidarity and higher education Virtually everyone starts with a gripe about higher education: costs, grades, debt, jobs, parking, artificial intelligence, natural intelligence, and so and so on. The Trump administration has floa…

Academic leaders fight first for their own schools--and higher ed becomes more vulnerable as a result.

Solidarity and higher education politicsoutdoors.com/2025/10/16/s...

Academic freedom and free speech mean space for ideas you don't like. Threats of violence, often credible, shut down free inquiry. The case of Mark Bray:https://politicsoutdoors.com/2025/10/10/thugs-threats-and-repression/

Massive congratulations!

The Trump/OMB/Vought threat is all about taking tens of thousands of government employees hostage. Use the language.

Jimmy Kimmel, free speech, and turning points When the Trump episode (epoch?) in American life ends, the brief suspension of a late night talk show host may well mark the turning point when Republicans and conservatives began to abandon this p…

The win on Kimmel is one of what will be many turning points that end up mattering.

Jimmy Kimmel, free speech, and turning points politicsoutdoors.com/2025/09/24/j...

Cho toner did a really good job in prepping and conducting the interview. Sunstein comes off as someone confident that he can continue to get by primarily on charm.

When is the president of antifa going to issue a statement?

I can imagine a future where ABC bringing Kimmel back while Trump calls for immediate prosecution of his "enemies" is a turning point in American politics and life--and things get better. Point: we don't have to give in to every dangerous initiative from the White House.

President Trump can do a lot now to promote peace and comity by condemning political violence from any corner--just as he did when crazed men attacked Paul Pelosi and, more recently, Josh Shapiro, and Melissa and Mark Hortman.

Oh, wait, he didn't do that.

Trump ally Charlie Kirk shot during event at Utah Valley University Turning Point USA executive director in critical condition after being struck while hosting UVU event

We are horrified to learn of the shooting of Charlie Kirk. Political violence has no place in democracy. The foundation of democracy rests on the principle that differences can be debated vigorously, but peacefully, without intimidation or acts of violence.

Searching for Solidarity in Higher Education (1) I want to know what we’re doing to save higher education in America from the Trump Administration. Tell me what you know about. Here’s what I’ve seen: The victims of the Trump Adm…

Searching for Solidarity in Higher Education (1) Trying to figure the response to a mass attack on higher education in the United States. There's lots of opposition, but it seems scattered--and lacking an overarching message or strategy. Help me think it through. politicsoutdoors.com/2025/09/05/s...

Labor Day (repost and rewritten) (2021) Here’s a repost and re-edit of some thoughts about Labor Day and its origins. As long as I’ve been aware, Labor has faced a moment of crisis–an extended moment. But things can al…

Labor Day (repost and rewritten) politicsoutdoors.com/2025/09/01/l...

Curious about why everyone is talking about "central bank independence" in the context of Trump's attempt to fire Fed Governor Lisa Cook?

This paper is a bit old now, but remains one of the more useful things I have written: a critical review of the Political Science scholarship on central banking.

He didn't just invoke MLK's "arc of the moral universe" line.

He added that the arc won't bend itself and people need to step up to make that change happen.

Absolutely right. Pitch perfect.

Russia is fine with any and all security guarantees that won't guarantee security for Ukraine.