Erol Akcay
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akcay.theoretical.bio
Erol Akcay
@akcay.theoretical.bio
3.9K followers 3.7K following 330 posts

Ecology, evolution, and social dynamics at the University of Pennsylvania. He/him
https://akcay.theoretical.bio

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Biology 27%
Sociology 16%
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akcay.theoretical.bio
Erol Akcay @akcay.theoretical.bio · Nov 6
I deleted my twitter/X account. I am now only on here and (rarely) on Mastodon.

Reposted by Robert J. Geller, Andreas Ortmann, David W. Kerstetter , and 3 more

thetnholler.bsky.social
The Tennessee Holler @thetnholler.bsky.social · 4d
🎵 “Join Ice” - @wellesmusic on Colbert

Reposted by Lisa W. Fazio, Steve Peers, Trevon D. Logan , and 8 more

brendannyhan.bsky.social
Brendan Nyhan @brendannyhan.bsky.social · 6d
Any President who calls for the opposition party to be hanged should be immediately impeached and removed from office.

Reposted by Erol Akçay, Hisham Zerriffi

derek.bike
derek van vliet @derek.bike · 7d
good morning specifically to Claire Sharpe

www.bbc.com/news/article...
Woman refuses Cycling UK award over trans women being left out
Claire Sharpe says she disagrees with Cycling UK only naming biological women in their top 100 list.
www.bbc.com

Reposted by Joanna Bryson, Jan W. Mueller, Elizabeth Saunders , and 38 more

karenattiah.bsky.social
Karen Attiah @karenattiah.bsky.social · 8d
I will never forget having to edit Jamal’s final, posthumous piece for the Washington Post, after he was murdered.

He was calling for free expression in the Arab world. You can read it here :

www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/glo...
Opinion | Jamal Khashoggi: What the Arab world needs most is free expression
The Arab world needs a modern version of the old transnational media so citizens can be informed about global events.
www.washingtonpost.com

Reposted by Erol Akçay

peiferlabunc.bsky.social
Mark Peifer (He, him) @peiferlabunc.bsky.social · 8d
The fight has come to NC, and it just hit close to home. Our daughter teaches in Durham public schools and she said almost all of the Latinx kids are not in school today. ICE is targeting everyone who "looks Hispanic", citizen or not. I am even more angry today-kids need to go to school!
wilbur looking at the web charlotte wove, with resist woven into it

Reposted by Daniel Webster, Mark D. White, David Rothschild , and 6 more

jeisinger.bsky.social
Jesse Eisinger @jeisinger.bsky.social · 8d
NEW: The White House intervened in a DHS investigation.

The target? Sex offender Andrew Tate.

The WH person? Paul “Nazi Streak” Ingrassia.

Who was previously also Tate’s lawyer.

A banger from @robert-faturechi.bsky.social & Avi Asher-Shapiro

www.propublica.org/article/andr...

Reposted by Mark D. White, Rosemary A. Joyce, Erol Akçay , and 2 more

nycsouthpaw.bsky.social
southpaw @nycsouthpaw.bsky.social · 8d
I’m not going to pretend it’s easy to say something in the moment when you witness the president do this and you’re aboard Air Force One with all the uniformed officers and secret service and fancy wood accents, but this is really an instance where you should. people.com/donald-trump...
Donald Trump Snaps at Female Reporter Who Asks About Epstein Files: 'Quiet Piggy'
Donald Trump Says 'Quiet Piggy' to Female Reporter Asking About Epstein Files
people.com

Reposted by Jan W. Mueller, Richard S.J. Tol, Will Jennings , and 17 more

paleofuture.bsky.social
Matt Novak @paleofuture.bsky.social · 8d
"Quiet! Quiet, Piggy."

Reposted by Joanna Bryson, Shannon Vallor, Anna O. Law , and 5 more

bgrueskin.bsky.social
Bill Grueskin @bgrueskin.bsky.social · 10d
Here’s a story for every national news outlet:

In N.C., churchgoers are literally running into the woods as federal agents descend on the property.

“Inside the church, women and children sobbed as they wondered whether their loved ones had been taken.”

www.charlotteobserver.com/news/politic...
6d Listen to this article Congregants of an east Charlotte church scattered into the woods Saturday when masked federal agents arrived and detained one of their members, according to witnesses. About 15 to 20 church members were doing yard work on the property off Albemarle Road while their children played games and their spouses cooked meals. Agents parked just outside a closed gate leading to the church parking lot and ran into the yard, said the pastor, who did not want to identify himself or his church. The agents asked no questions and showed no identification before taking one man away, whose wife and child were inside at the time, the pastor said. They attempted to grab others, too. "Right now, everybody is scared. Everybody," he said. "One of these guys with immigration, he say he was going to arrest one of the other guys in the church. He pushed him." Inside the church, women and children sobbed as they wondered whether their loved ones had been taken. Some yard workers fled into the surrounding woods when officials arrived, including 15-year-old Miguel Vazquez.

Reposted by Joanna Bryson, Andrew Curry, Erol Akçay

coolbikeart1.bsky.social
Cool Bike Art @coolbikeart1.bsky.social · 11d
It says it all
Advertising poster promoting cycling for transport featuring four people in a row on bikes. At the top the text says, "You'd be better on a bicycle", and then in a bubble it says "Still [emphasized with big, red, italicized letters] the cheapest, handiest, healthiest way of getting about."

Reposted by Erol Akçay, Timothy D. McBride

drwambsgans.bsky.social
🦃Tom Wambsgans’ Second Wife, PhD @drwambsgans.bsky.social · 11d
This is important context from Julie K. Brown.

With alt text.
julie k. brown @jkbjournalist Dershowitz, who helped Jeffrey Epstein get this sweetheart deal, knows full well that there were almost three dozen dozen girls, ages 13 to 17, who were named in a list that accompanied this plea deal. The final plea PAPERWORK was manipulated to pick just one victim -- and his lawyers made sure they chose the oldest one so that it didn't look so bad. But the girl who came forward first to police was 14 -- and the list of other victims attached to that deal included many young girls.

Reposted by Carl T. Bergstrom, Rosemary A. Joyce, Erol Akçay , and 2 more

cbo.bsky.social
C. Brandon Ogbunu @cbo.bsky.social · 12d
"What James Watson got wrong about DNA"

By the great Sohini Ramachandran (@sramach.bsky.social) and your boy for The Boston Globe (@bostonglobe.com).

www.bostonglobe.com/2025/11/14/o...
What James Watson got wrong about DNA - The Boston Globe
The science he helped pioneer consistently undermines his view that genes determine everything about us.
www.bostonglobe.com

Reposted by Erol Akçay, Nicole Guenther Discenza

marcelias.bsky.social
Marc Elias @marcelias.bsky.social · 14d
I don't think legacy media is reading the room correctly on the Epstein Files. Many of us are asking why they have ignored this story for the last decade? Why did they dismiss all of us who were concerned that Trump might be compromised? And where is their fucking contrition and apology now?

Reposted by Anna O. Law, Erol Akçay, Carol J. Adams , and 1 more

mford.bsky.social
Matt Ford @mford.bsky.social · 14d
This isn’t even the stuff they’re trying to actually stop from getting out.

Reposted by Richard S.J. Tol, Will Jennings, Scott L. Greer , and 12 more

kyledcheney.bsky.social
Kyle Cheney @kyledcheney.bsky.social · 14d
NEW: Jeffrey Epstein said in emails that he had been advising the Russian government on how to deal with Donald Trump, one of several cases in which he wielded his connections to try to influence the course of foreign affairs. w @nahaltoosi

www.politico.com/news/2025/11...

Reposted by Erol Akçay, Alan McNally

lhmoncla.bsky.social
Louise H. Moncla @lhmoncla.bsky.social · 14d
Our lab's paper describing the North American H5N1 epizootic is out now in Nature! So thrilled to have this out, and congratulations to @lambod50.bsky.social for all the fantastic work on this: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Ecology and spread of the North American H5N1 epizootic - Nature
The panzootic of highly pathogenic H5N1 since 2021 was driven by around nine introductions into the Atlantic and Pacific flyways, followed by rapid dissemination through wild migratory birds, primaril...
www.nature.com

Reposted by Rosemary A. Joyce, Erol Akçay

joshtpm.bsky.social
Josh Marshall @joshtpm.bsky.social · 14d
You see Trump working the phones and realize White Housers are looking at this morning's emails and thinking, who cares abuot those nothingburgers we need to flip boebert so the bad stuff doesn't come out.

Reposted by Erol Akçay

elizabethhobson.bsky.social
Elizabeth Hobson @elizabethhobson.bsky.social · 14d
In an increasingly divided world, how do strangers become friends? Parakeets might have something to teach us! New paper on formation of affiliative relationships, led by Dr. Claire O’Connell doi.org/10.1098/rsbl...
Graphic showing the paper title “Monk parakeets ‘test the waters’ when forming new relationships” in the journal Biology Letters. Also features photos of the co-authors (Claire, Annemarie, Gerry, and Liz) as well as the issue cover photo of two marked monk parakeets from Claire’s work grooming each other. Also shown are some of the main plots of the paper showing how the parakeets escalate their behaviors from low risk/low investment (like proximity) to higher risk/higher investment interactions (like preening/grooming)

Reposted by Will Jennings, Erol Akçay, David Darmofal

zacheverson.com
Zach Everson @zacheverson.com · 14d
Whoa
Epstein Alleged in Emails That Trump Knew of His Conduct
www.nytimes.com

Reposted by Lisa W. Fazio, Peter Thorne, Gavin A. Schmidt , and 14 more

drandrewthaler.bsky.social
Andrew D Thaler @drandrewthaler.bsky.social · 15d
In the century leading up to 1975, nearly 6000 freighters went down in the Great Lakes.

The Edmund Fitzgerald was the last.

The last. In 50 years, not a single commercial freighter has been lost in the Great Lakes.

Why?

It's NOAA. Of course it's NOAA.

Reposted by Philip Nel, David R. Miller, Erol Akçay

crampell.bsky.social
Catherine Rampell @crampell.bsky.social · 17d
Astonishing how hard this administration is working to keep people hungry.
It's clear they are trying maximize public suffering, in hopes of getting people to blame Dems for that suffering. But it's transparently the White House working overtime to keep the suffering going!
bsky.app/profile/cram...
crampell.bsky.social Catherine Rampell @crampell.bsky.social · 17d
Yikes. USDA sent threatening letter to states telling them that if they sent out EBT money —which many states did during the window when a lower court said SNAP funds had to be released—they have to take it back (?)
Trying to sort out what this means and if states even can claw back the funds

Reposted by Erol Akçay

angierasmussen.bsky.social
Angie Rasmussen @angierasmussen.bsky.social · 17d
We don’t talk enough about how Operation Warp Speed saved many lives in spite of Trump, nor how many people died because of his failure of leadership. Great piece from my great colleague @maciekboni.bsky.social

open.substack.com/pub/maciekbo...
COVID’s leadership failures
Two moments that were too big for us, and the unfixable chain of mistakes that was set off after November 2020
open.substack.com

Reposted by Erol Akçay

maciekboni.bsky.social
Maciej F Boni @maciekboni.bsky.social · 17d
What were you doing 5 years ago today ? I think a lot of us forgot the news that was delivered and the failures that followed. Important reminder here:

maciekboni.substack.com/p/covids-lea...

Please click subscribe. It's free.

Reposted by Will Jennings, Brendan Nyhan, Scott L. Greer , and 4 more

riegerreport.bsky.social
JM Rieger @riegerreport.bsky.social · 18d
During an event on Thursday, Donald Trump seemed to repeatedly struggle to keep his eyes open.

A Washington Post analysis of multiple video feeds found that Trump spent roughly 20 minutes battling to keep his eyes open.

New video w/ @ddiamond.bsky.social

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

Reposted by Stephen M. Walt, Joanna Bryson, James Q. Wilson , and 13 more

donmoyn.bsky.social
Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 19d
The elimination of USAID was an unforgivable moral atrocity that should haunt Trump, Elon Musk and Marco Rubio for the rest of their days and beyond
newyorker.com The New Yorker @newyorker.com · 20d
One analytical model shows that, as of November 5th, the dismantling of U.S.A.I.D. has already caused the deaths of 600,000 people, two-thirds of them children. https://newyorkermag.visitlink.me/jUzNSc
The Shutdown of U.S.A.I.D. Has Already Killed Hundreds of Thousands
The short documentary “Rovina’s Choice” tells the story of what goes when aid goes.
newyorkermag.visitlink.me

Reposted by Matthew Bunn, Gordon Pennycook, Rosemary A. Joyce , and 15 more

gregsargent.bsky.social
Greg Sargent @gregsargent.bsky.social · 21d
These big wins will embolden Dems to take on Trump's lawbreaking and show there's a price for GOP enabling of him. Folks hate to hear this, but normal patterns are asserting themselves: Liberalism isn't dead, Rs are likely to lose in 2026, and Trump is really unpopular, not a magical exception.

Reposted by Erol Akçay

ferniecommaalex.bsky.social
Alex Fernie @ferniecommaalex.bsky.social · 22d
Several hundred kids just marched past my house because John Marshall High is doing an anti-ICE walk out.

LA's tradition of high schoolers using their voices to push back on racism and inequality is really an inspiring thing.

Reposted by Anna O. Law, Rosemary A. Joyce, Efrén O. Pérez , and 18 more

jamellebouie.net
jamelle @jamellebouie.net · 22d
i want to repeat this: mamdani and spanberger have run similar campaigns tailored to their respective electorates and it is maddening to watch political journalists attempt to create some broad contrast where none exist
jamellebouie.net jamelle @jamellebouie.net · 22d
the other thing about this is that there is no reason to pit these candidates against each other? each are good fits for their respective electorates and each shows the value of vigorous campaigns focused on the stated material problems of voters.

Reposted by James Q. Wilson, Gavin A. Schmidt, Ian Campbell , and 6 more

reichlinmelnick.bsky.social
Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 23d
In Chicago, a woman was driving to get coffee when a DHS vehicle fleeing an angry crowd crashed into her car. Armed agents jumped out of the vehicle, yanked her door open, pulled her by the legs out of her car at gunpoint, held her incommunicado for hours, then released her with no charges.
Dayanne Figueroa was on her way to get coffee before heading to work when she encountered a chaotic scene in West Town: heavily armed, masked federal agents making arrests on a residential street. People yelled as vehicles honked their horn — a sign now used to alert neighbors that immigration federal agents are in the area — and witnesses said federal agents had arrested several landscaper workers presumed to be in the country without authorization. As Figuero tried to drive through the 1600 block of West Hubbard Street on Friday, Oct. 10, an unmarked vehicle driven by federal agents collided with Figueroa’s as it tried to speed away from a hostile crowd, multiple videos reviewed by the Tribune show. Seconds after the crash, agents abruptly stopped their vehicle and exited with weapons in hand pointing at Figueroa, a U.S citizen. Agents then forcibly opened her door and pulled her out of the vehicle by her legs without identifying themselves, presenting a warrant or informing her that she was under arrest. As bystanders yelled, “You hit her! We have it on video!” agents ignored the crowd and forced Figueroa into a red minivan and drove away. Her car was left behind in the middle of the road, her coffee still in the cup holder, and her keys in plain view.

Reposted by Anna O. Law, Kevin F. McCarthy, Nazita Lajevardi , and 4 more

jakemgrumbach.bsky.social
Jake Grumbach @jakemgrumbach.bsky.social · 24d
The welfare state is about dignity, equality, and making people not poor, but as @itsafronomics.bsky.social says/cites here, it’s often also an investment that more than pays for itself
itsafronomics.bsky.social Anna Gifty @itsafronomics.bsky.social · 26d
Why should you 🫵🏿 care about SNAP? SNAP recipients saw:

- Improved life expectancy
- Lower chance of incarceration
- Lowers chance of poverty
- Lived in better neighborhoods
- Higher human capital

SNAP keeps our neighbors fed, communities safer, and kids educated. Also people are HUNGRY. DUH!