Henry Farrell
LightNews LightNews
banner
himself.bsky.social
Henry Farrell
@himself.bsky.social
35K followers 600 following 5.6K posts

Professor of democracy and international affairs. http://www.henryfarrell.net and newsletter at http://www.programmablemutter.com. Underground Empire: How America Weaponized the World Economy (Holt, Penguin). https://www.publishersweekly.com/9781250840554. .. more

Videos

Henry Farrell is an Irish-born political scientist at Johns Hopkins University. He previously taught at the University of Toronto and earned his PhD from Georgetown University. His research interests include trust and co-operation; e-commerce; the European Union; and institutional theory. He is an elected member of the Council on Foreign Relations. .. more

Political science 57%
Economics 15%
Posts Replies Media Videos

himself.bsky.social
Henry Farrell @himself.bsky.social · 7h
Bits of Peter Washington's Madame Blavatsky's Baboon have not aged well but it is a very funny and well written book.

himself.bsky.social
Henry Farrell @himself.bsky.social · 7h
This I did not know. Tired: AI spats are the descendants of forgotten beefs in Scientology and California Satanism. Wired: it all goes back to feuds in theosophy.
theophite.bsky.social rev. howard arson @theophite.bsky.social · Aug 29
i could not disagree with you more. weizenbaum was an insane crank whose entire philosophy came out of rudolf steiner! he wrote the foreword to a bunch of his books on anthroposophy.

himself.bsky.social
Henry Farrell @himself.bsky.social · 8h
I'm not a real payments geek who can say if this is even possible (Patrick McKenzie would know). What strikes me are the priorities. We will pressgang payments platforms into policing immigrants' payments. But we'll pre-stamp a get-out-of-jail-free card for platforms facilitating terrorism/crime.
DOJ Memo Significantly Narrows Digital Asset Prosecution Priorities
Three Things for Digital Assets Firms and Financial Institutions to Know On April 7, Deputy Attorney ...
www.cov.com

Reposted by Joanna Bryson

himself.bsky.social
Henry Farrell @himself.bsky.social · 1d
Not simply promoting crypto but eschewing prosecution of platforms that enable terrorists and criminals: DAG Blanche memo says that DOJ "will not pursue actions against the platforms that these enterprises utilize to conduct their illegal activities" www.cov.com/en/news-and-...

Reposted by Brendan Nyhan, Henry Farrell

filipecampante.bsky.social
Filipe Campante @filipecampante.bsky.social · 1d
Or even better: look at Turkey’s stock market, under the crazy policies that delivered inflation north of 70% (still above 30%). Markets can go very high under crazy policies, because lots of money can still be made, even in economies that are being immiserated.

himself.bsky.social
Henry Farrell @himself.bsky.social · 1d
This reads to me less as "siding with" than "sidling against." Is there some context I'm missing?

himself.bsky.social
Henry Farrell @himself.bsky.social · 1d
Donald Trump has made America poorer, weaker and meaner.

Reposted by Anne Applebaum, Stephen M. Walt, Kori Schake , and 88 more

federalreserve.gov
Federal Reserve @federalreserve.gov · 1d
Video message from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome H. Powell:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=KckG...
www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/s...
Statement by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome H. Powell
YouTube video by Federal Reserve
www.youtube.com

himself.bsky.social
Henry Farrell @himself.bsky.social · 2d
In other news, centrist tirades against the menace of "Heather Cox Richardsonism" ain't looking so great either.
qjurecic.bsky.social Quinta Jurecic @qjurecic.bsky.social · 2d
Separate from the obvious misogyny of the last few days, it’s been striking to watch the right wing media apparatus really confront the role of normie middle-aged women as a leading and increasingly radical force of opposition to trump
kateross.bsky.social Kate Ross @kateross.bsky.social · 2d
Ladies you “Zumba-ed” too hard!

Reposted by Daniel W. Drezner, Henry Farrell

qjurecic.bsky.social
Quinta Jurecic @qjurecic.bsky.social · 2d
Separate from the obvious misogyny of the last few days, it’s been striking to watch the right wing media apparatus really confront the role of normie middle-aged women as a leading and increasingly radical force of opposition to trump
kateross.bsky.social Kate Ross @kateross.bsky.social · 2d
Ladies you “Zumba-ed” too hard!
Screenshot from Zuckerberg data mining website Image of lady in pink hat faces armed fed agents Text overlay: OPINION DELUDED WINE MOMS ARE COMMITTING DEADLY CRIMES, NOT SIMPLY 'PROTESTING' NEWS Fox News * • Follow 27m• STOP THE MADNESS: "What we are seeing across the country as organized gangs of wine moms use Antifa tactics to harass and impede ICE agents is not civil disobedience. It isn't even protest. It's just crime," writes David Marcus. SR7 FOX NEWS channel You and 10.9K others 3.7K comments 1.1K shares Haha Comment Share

Reposted by Henry Farrell

schnorkles.bsky.social
Schnorkles O'Bork @schnorkles.bsky.social · 2d
This is not a novel observation, but I really don't think the admin quite understands the level of radicalization that is happening to opposition elements that were not previously radicalized in the slightest.

Reposted by Fabián Muniesa, Henry Farrell

jwmueller-pu.bsky.social
Jan-Werner Mueller @jwmueller-pu.bsky.social · 2d
"Some might worry that signaling punishment for Trumpists down the line will only increase the lawlessness ...But...by that logic, one might as well give up on accountability altogether and concede that the initiative – and, ultimately, power – now rest permanently with one’s political adversaries."
A congresswoman wants to impeach Kristi Noem. She’s right to do so | Jan-Werner Müller
It may be tempting to dismiss the move as hopeless – but it interrupts the Trump administration’s promise of impunity
www.theguardian.com

Reposted by Richard S.J. Tol, Scott L. Greer, Silvia Secchi , and 5 more

atrupar.com
Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 2d
RFK Jr: "One of the things we're doing is Brooke Rollins is requiring that any facility, and store that accepts food stamps will have to double the amount of whole food that is now available to recipients. So that will change the marketplace around the country."

Reposted by Fabián Muniesa

himself.bsky.social
Henry Farrell @himself.bsky.social · 2d
We had to tear-gas the children in order to save them.
atrupar.com Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 2d
Noem: "Every single thing I've said has been factual about what's been going on in Mpls, in Minnesota...we've surged HSI there to focus on sex trafficking & child trafficking. It's so prevalent in MN. It's horrific...we're gonna keep hundreds of HSI officers there to continue to protect those kids."

Reposted by Nina Jankowicz, Fabián Muniesa, Henry Farrell , and 1 more

atrupar.com
Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 2d
Noem: "Every single thing I've said has been factual about what's been going on in Mpls, in Minnesota...we've surged HSI there to focus on sex trafficking & child trafficking. It's so prevalent in MN. It's horrific...we're gonna keep hundreds of HSI officers there to continue to protect those kids."

Reposted by Gerald Friedman

himself.bsky.social
Henry Farrell @himself.bsky.social · 2d
"In its darkest incarnation, the administration embraces a vision of conservatism somewhere between steampunk and reactionary 19th-century Catholicism." www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
Opinion | Trump Broke the World Order. Now What?
With the president’s actions in Venezuela, we’re entering a new era. Here’s what it could look like.
www.nytimes.com

himself.bsky.social
Henry Farrell @himself.bsky.social · 3d
I'd not seen Naomi Wolf's twitter title line - it's like its own little Ernest Hemingway 6 word tragedy.
hannahgais.bsky.social hannah gais @hannahgais.bsky.social · 3d
That actually kind of sounds like your fantasy, Naomi.
Dr. Naomi Wolf. 8 NYT Bestsellers. DPhil, Poetry. @naomirwolf Okay, I’ll just say it. I’ve seen enough videos of the faces of liberal white women in conflict with @ICE, to know what is up. Liberal men at this point (sorry) are disproportionately estrogenized, physically passive, submissive due to woke gender hectoring, or porn-addicted. White liberal women are disproportionately sexually frustrated. Policing others as in the pandemic was an outlet for them, but it was not nearly enough. The smiles you see on their faces now say it all: white women long for all out combat with ICE - who tend to be strong, physically confident, masculine men - because the conflict is a form of physical release for them. They long for actual kinetic battle and it will get even uglier. 5:54 PM · Jan 9, 2026 · 474.2K Views

Reposted by Rosemary A. Joyce, Henry Farrell, Eric J. Segall

hannahgais.bsky.social
hannah gais @hannahgais.bsky.social · 3d
That actually kind of sounds like your fantasy, Naomi.
Dr. Naomi Wolf. 8 NYT Bestsellers. DPhil, Poetry. @naomirwolf Okay, I’ll just say it. I’ve seen enough videos of the faces of liberal white women in conflict with @ICE, to know what is up. Liberal men at this point (sorry) are disproportionately estrogenized, physically passive, submissive due to woke gender hectoring, or porn-addicted. White liberal women are disproportionately sexually frustrated. Policing others as in the pandemic was an outlet for them, but it was not nearly enough. The smiles you see on their faces now say it all: white women long for all out combat with ICE - who tend to be strong, physically confident, masculine men - because the conflict is a form of physical release for them. They long for actual kinetic battle and it will get even uglier. 5:54 PM · Jan 9, 2026 · 474.2K Views

Reposted by Anna O. Law, Mark Bray, Norbert Schwarz , and 31 more

mims.bsky.social
Christopher Mims @mims.bsky.social · 3d
WSJ investigation: In the past 6 months ICE agents have fired at vehicles 13 times, leading to:

* 8 people shot
* 5 of which were U.S. citizens
* 2 died
* no victims drew a weapon

The playbook: Agents box in a vehicle, block attempts to flee, then fire

www.wsj.com/us-news/vide...
Videos Show How ICE Vehicle Stops Can Escalate to Shootings
A WSJ visual investigation found that the Minneapolis ICE killing is one of 13 incidents where federal immigration agents have used deadly force against civilians in vehicles since July.
www.wsj.com

himself.bsky.social
Henry Farrell @himself.bsky.social · 3d
This is not the first go-around of this line of argument. I don't have any great animus against Tom, but for him, mere historical facts are evidently insufficient to refute the higher truths of the spirit bsky.app/profile/hims...
himself.bsky.social Henry Farrell @himself.bsky.social · Nov 16
By coincidence, was just reading this bit in Keith Lowe's Naples 1944 yesterday. It would appear that Actual Proper Fascism is a category that excludes Benito Mussolini's regime at the height of its power.

himself.bsky.social
Henry Farrell @himself.bsky.social · 3d
you'll want to be watching the masterclass version of this in a Cavan accent www.youtube.com/watch?v=04vh...
Kevin McAleer - Turn It On (1993)
YouTube video by Cos Drag
www.youtube.com

himself.bsky.social
Henry Farrell @himself.bsky.social · 3d
our lovely neighbour in the south of the county had a stronger accent - I managed about 40% on a good day and my American spouse maybe 10%.

himself.bsky.social
Henry Farrell @himself.bsky.social · 3d
I didn't know this existed till you flagged it - looking forward to digesting at leisure tomorrow, but on a quick initial skip through to get the gist, it is amazing and genuinely startling to me how much work and creativity has gone into this, and I really don't know what to say except to thank him

Reposted by Henry Farrell

alisongopnik.bsky.social
Alison Gopnik @alisongopnik.bsky.social · 3d
An excellent essay at Bloomberg by Walter Frick very clearly explaining our ideas about Large Models as a cultural and social technology
bloomberg.com/news/article...
Is AI More Like a Mind or a Market?
A group of scholars argue we should think of it as a “social technology” akin to a bureaucracy, a democracy or a marketplace.
bloomberg.com

himself.bsky.social
Henry Farrell @himself.bsky.social · 4d
Read Peace. Also my piece from a few weeks back on Gene Wolfe and LLMs www.programmablemutter.com/p/large-lang...

himself.bsky.social
Henry Farrell @himself.bsky.social · 4d
I was thinking while walking this morning that I needed to write up my Jarrell-meets-"Ladybird" piece on the defects of liberalism - how "Pictures from an Institution" maps out the ways in which various forms of liberalism fail to pay attention to individuals and thus fails to love them.

himself.bsky.social
Henry Farrell @himself.bsky.social · 4d
From the first time around share.google/nhA7f8aPlY2g...

himself.bsky.social
Henry Farrell @himself.bsky.social · 4d
www.economist.com/by-invitatio...
Artificial intelligence is a familiar-looking monster, say Henry Farrell and Cosma Shalizi
The academics argue that large language models have much older cousins in markets and bureaucracies
www.economist.com

himself.bsky.social
Henry Farrell @himself.bsky.social · 4d
My read of Bari Weiss - ever since www.vox.com/the-big-idea... - is that she wants to recreate a world of debate that entertains legitimacy of racism while defining anti-Semitism as broadly as possible. This was the organizing logic of the Peretz era New Republic, but it plays quite differently now.

Reposted by Scott L. Greer, Henry Farrell

ryanenos.bsky.social
Ryan Enos @ryanenos.bsky.social · 4d
"The Future of Democracy Depends on the Republican Party"
My latest.
open.substack.com/pub/ryandeno...
The Future of Democracy Depends on the Republican Party
The Battle for a Liberal Society is Happening Within the Political Right
open.substack.com