Category Archives: US politics

Real-life hopepunk

Posted on 29 April 2022 by Laura Akers, Ph.D.

I’ve been meaning to write about hopepunk. One of my online friends, Susan Kaye Quinn, is a novelist in this newly recognized genre, and today she posted “A Brief History of Hopepunk.” Another online friend, the novelist P.J. Manney, has … Continue reading →

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Every voice counts

Posted on 4 February 2022 by Laura Akers, Ph.D.

I heard a fascinating talk today by Martha Bayless, who is one of our university’s folklore professors, and whose CV is full of awesome things, like medieval humor and games, food, and magic. She also curated the ongoing exhibit on … Continue reading →

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Why we keep hanging onto the past – and what that costs us

Posted on 10 December 2021 by Laura Akers, Ph.D.

For a couple days this week, I found myself highly motivated to hold my head relatively still, so as not to aggravate the massive headache that had wrapped itself relentlessly around it. I needed a fairly mindless way to pass … Continue reading →

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The “make it so” mentality – some thoughts on trust and systems

Posted on 8 September 2021 by Laura Akers, Ph.D.

Q: What do Donald Trump, Elizabeth Holmes, and an alarming fraction of the vaccine “skeptics” have in common?A: Apparently, a belief in their own personal immunity from the basic laws of cause and effect. Let’s start with Trump. Well, first, … Continue reading →

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How the War on Terror gave us Donald Trump

Posted on 10 August 2021 by Laura Akers, Ph.D.

Twenty years ago, the United States began waging a “war” on terror, and now we learn that it was War on Terror ideas that fueled Trump’s rise to power. Today, the NYT’s Ezra Klein interviewed his colleague, Spencer Ackerman, about … Continue reading →

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George Packer’s four warring visions

Posted on 20 July 2021 by Laura Akers, Ph.D.

Are we really “Four Americas,” as George Packer’s recent Atlantic article tells us? Does this really mean, as he says, that “competing visions of the country’s purpose and meaning are tearing it apart”? I haven’t yet read his new book, … Continue reading →

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“Happily ever after!” The new GOP storyline

Posted on 27 June 2021 by Laura Akers, Ph.D.

On the one hand, it’s heartening that Republicans recently voted to make Juneteenth a new federal holiday. On the other hand, with all the Lost Cause handwringing during the Trump years, one wonders why. In a recent Slate interview, historian … Continue reading →

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There are storms, and then there are “storms” — reassurance from the world of survey science

Posted on 29 May 2021 by Laura Akers, Ph.D.

In yesterday’s Washington Post, columnist Karen Tumulty described her concerns about the Republicans’ failure to endorse the January 6 investigation for which they’d helped set the terms. Some of her worries are based on recent non-partisan polling. As she put … Continue reading →

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A thousand years of grievance? Here???

Posted on 6 March 2021 by Laura Akers, Ph.D.

When I write about speeches that get people really riled up – as part of our research team’s ongoing study of genocide – one of my favorite examples is Slobodan Milošević’s Gazimestan speech. About a million Serbs showed up to … Continue reading →

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The WWE model of American politics

Posted on 26 February 2021 by Laura Akers, Ph.D.

Way back in the day, my Grandpa Ben was a big fan of Portland Wrestling. A quiet man otherwise, he’d cheer on Dutch Savage and boo Bull Ramos. I was maybe 10, and I didn’t see the appeal. Looking back, … Continue reading →

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