Philip Nel

@philnel.bsky.social

770 followers 580 following 690 posts

👨🏼‍🏫 Prof. he/him.
📚 Books on children's books & comics: https://philnel.com/writing/books/
📷 IG: thephilnel
🐘 Mastodon: @[email protected]
🎵 Spotify: thephilnel
🐦 Twitter (deleted acct in 2022): @philnel

Videos

Philip W. Nel is an American scholar of children's literature and University Distinguished Professor of English at Kansas State University. He is best known for his work on Dr. Seuss and Harry Potter, which has led to him being a guest on such media programs as CBS Sunday Morning, NPR's Morning Edition, Talk of the Nation, and CNN's Don Lemon Tonight. .. more

Art 33%

Communication & Media Studies 22%

Posts Replies Media Videos

Pinned

Philip Nel @philnel.bsky.social · Jul 26

1/2 ⬇️ This is an excellent idea & I am co-signing & invite my fellow academics to join me. Academia depends on a lot of unpaid labor. Withhold your labor from Columbia. ⬇️

James Grimmelmann @jtlg.bsky.social · Jul 25

In light of Columbia's capitulation to the Trump regime's illegal and extortionate demands, I have resolved not to write for Columbia publications, speak at Columbia events, or perform other free labor for a university that has repudated its values.

3d.laboratorium.net/2025-07-25-c...

Columbia’s Capitulation

Universities exist to promote the discovery, preservation, and transmission of knowledge. While they can help make to make a society virtuous, prosperous, and free, they do so by pursing their mission...

3d.laboratorium.net

Reposted by Philip Nel, Rebecca Tushnet, Jacob T. Levy , and 2 more Philip Nel, Rebecca Tushnet, Jacob T. Levy, Aviel Roshwald, Nick Fisher

Rachel Hands @rachelhands.com · 12h

this is quite the detail

screencap from the quoted WIRED article reads: “The study did not include any examples of the jailbreaking poetry, and the researchers tell WIRED that the verse is too dangerous to share with the public.”

Reposted by Philip Nel

Mark Jacob @markjacob.bsky.social · 22h

When you give political criminals the power to wage war, expect war crimes.

Reposted by Philip Nel, Meredith Farkas

Walker Bragman @walkerbragman.bsky.social · 1d

Headline should read: Antivax-led FDA attributes 10 child deaths to COVID shots, offers no proof

Acyn @acyn.bsky.social · 1d

Dimon on why JPMorgan Chase is not funding WH Ballroom:
We have an issue, which is anything we do, since we do a lot of contracts with governments here and around the world, we have to be very careful how anything is perceived, and also how the next DOJ is going to deal with it.

Reposted by Kimberly A. Prather, Philip Nel

BK. Titanji @boghuma.bsky.social · 2d

Today I and everyday I am:
Grateful for Vaccines
Grateful for Science
Grateful for Public Health Workers
Grateful for Doctors
Grateful for Nurses
Grateful for Scientists
Grateful for everyone whose job has been a little harder to do especially this year, yet who keep showing up.
#Thanksgiving

Reposted by Philip Nel

The Media and Democracy Project @mediaanddemocracy.bsky.social · 2d

Has anyone systematized the many ways Musk’s propaganda machine is harmful?

www.theguardian.com/technology/2...

Small changes to ‘for you’ feed on X can rapidly increase political polarisation

Study finds that a week of political content can bring about a shift in views that previously would have taken three years

www.theguardian.com

Reposted by Philip Nel

Dr. Divya 🇵🇸🧿 (offline) @divyampersaud.com · 3d

This is not a useless task so long as there’s a chance just one person can see this and help.

So here’s hoping.

Six families, etc.:

Keep Hope Alive: a Gaza Giving Circle

We are a team of volunteers in the US and UK, led by two sisters passionate about helping our friends on the ground keep their families and neighbors alive with food, water, & shelter. We saw that their...

chuffed.org

Reposted by Philip Nel

Alex Plante 🐀👑 @aplante.com · 4d

won't have em for this weekend, but i've been getting a few more people at my table than I'd like lately asking *very pointedly* if i drew everything myself, so i designed a new sticker this afternoon that will hopefully quell some of those concerns.

#art

an illustrated sticker design in bright colours

a "no parking anytime" sign, but half the letters have faded away to read "NO AI ANYTIME" and the no parking symbol has been spray painted to with a dripping red circle crossing out black dripping AI letters

Reposted by Timothy Snyder, Erica Chenoweth, Philip Nel , and 1 more Timothy Snyder, Erica Chenoweth, Philip Nel, Kristina McElheran

Ian Bassin @ianbassin.bsky.social · 4d

We have spent more than 1,000 years trying to separate the awesome prosecutorial powers of the state from the personal whims and vendettas of the head of state.

Trump’s actions and ideology seek to reverse those gains.

Here’s the history he’d like to reverse www.ifyoucankeepit.org/p/the-oldest...

The oldest abuse in human government

Donald Trump and the ‘king’s justice’

www.ifyoucankeepit.org

Reposted by Norbert Schwarz, Brendan Nyhan, Philip Nel , and 3 more Norbert Schwarz, Brendan Nyhan, Philip Nel, Ann Bartow, Olúfẹ́mi Táíwò, Nathan P. Kalmoe

Gady Epstein @gadyepstein.bsky.social · 5d

“We’ve tried to not have to do it, but we've got direct orders,” the masked ICE agents told them www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/i...

"I asked for their names. They didn't give me their full names," Hestmark recalled of the agents. "They didn't show me their badge numbers. They didn't remove their masks. They simply said, 'We have a warrant for his arrest, and they handed me a QR code, and they put my husband in handcuffs. And they took him and said I couldn't follow."
"She was just stunned," Paul said. "She kept asking what was wrong, what did we do? We'd done everything right."
"We kept asking them if there was something we could do, if there was any way we could keep her from being separated from the family," he continued.
We’re just trying to figure out what's happening, and they're just telling us, I'm sorry. We’ve tried to not have to do it, but we've got direct orders."|
•
"I had to take my baby, our baby, from his crying mother's arms," Paul said.
"We were completely shocked, and I feel like we were tricked," Hestmark said. "We went through every possible legal and appropriate channel. We followed the advice of our lawyer. We were told that
our case was straight forward."
"He just wanted to be part of this country and for us to start our future together. And he wanted to do it…

"Tom isn't in the system. I can't find him," Hestmark said. "I can't call him. I can't put money into his account. The lawyer doesn't know how to proceed because he hasn't been charged with anything."
Both said their spouses were able to call them Thursday night, and they believed they were still being held in the basement of the federal building as of Friday afternoon.
"She said that she was scared. She was anxious, missed her baby. She just wants to come home," Paul said. "She said the agents themselves were in the detention down in the basement of the federal building, saying, What are we doing here? These aren't the sort of people were supposed to be arresting.”
"They hadn't given him anything to eat or any information," Hestmark said. "They gave him a mat and a foil blanket to sleep on."
As she was detailing his arrest Friday afternoon, Bilger called Hestmark again from detention. She said he told her they had moved him to the Otay Mesa Detention Center and back but he hadn't slept and still hadn't been processed.
"My wife's alone and terrified," Paul said. "My baby doesn't have his mom to hold him. I can't work right…

Reposted by Philip Nel

paulpro @mariopro.bsky.social · 5d

@anntelnaes.bsky.social

Reposted by Mary Feeney, Philip Nel, Melanie C. Green , and 4 more Mary Feeney, Philip Nel, Melanie C. Green, David Rosnick, Ann Bartow, Kevin Coe, Michael Larkin

Dare Obasanjo @carnage4life.bsky.social · 5d

All DOGE accomplished was purging critical government staff, handing private data to outsiders, and sentencing thousands in developing countries to death by gutting USAID.

I don’t say this lightly: if there were any justice in this world, the people responsible for this devastation would be in jail

DOGE 'doesn't exist' with eight months left on its charter

U.S. President Donald Trump's Department of Government Efficiency has disbanded with eight months left to its mandate.

www.cnbc.com

Reposted by Philip Nel

WTF Just Happened Today? @whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com · 5d

Today's edition is 1,608 words, a 8-minute read.

Day 1770

“Defective.”

whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com

Reposted by Philip Nel

Elizabeth Cronise McLaughlin @ecmclaughlin.bsky.social · 8d

Here’s what the judge said in ordering Bolsonaro’s arrest.

A study in contrasts.

Screengrab from AP: "Brazil's democracy has reached sufficient maturity to steer away and prosecute pathetic illegal initiatives to defend the criminal organization that is responsible for a coup d'etat attempt in Brazil," he added.

Reposted by Philip Nel

Elizabeth Cronise McLaughlin @ecmclaughlin.bsky.social · 8d

Bolsonaro was preemptively arrested to begins serving his jail sentence for the Brazilian coup attempt a la January 6th this morning, because on of his sons made a video calling for his supporters to basically riot.

apnews.com/article/braz...

Brazil's Supreme Court orders Bolsonaro's arrest ahead of prison sentence

Brazil’s Supreme Court has ordered the preemptive arrest of former President Jair Bolsonaro. This decision comes days before he was set to begin a 27-year prison sentence for leading a coup attempt.

apnews.com

Anne Applebaum @anneapplebaum.bsky.social · 8d

This is not a peace plan. It is a proposal that weakens Ukraine and divides America from Europe, preparing the way for a larger war in the future. In the meantime, it benefits unnamed Russian and American investors, at the expense of everyone else.
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/1...

Trump Has a Recipe for War and Corruption, Not Peace

Who would benefit from the White House’s 28-point proposal for Ukraine?

www.theatlantic.com

Reposted by John McLaren, Rosemary A. Joyce, Philip Nel , and 4 more John McLaren, Rosemary A. Joyce, Philip Nel, Gerald Friedman, Mark Rice, Manisha Sinha, Olúfẹ́mi Táíwò

jamelle @jamellebouie.net · 8d

speaking as a virginia beach native if these kind of dudes are plotting against ICE then there is wide runway in public opinion for straight up abolishing the agency under a dem presidency

Kempsville High School assistant principal charged for threats against police, ICE

Virginia Beach assistant principal John Bennett and Mark Bennett charged for conspiring threats against police and ICE agents. Both are held without bond.

www.13newsnow.com

Reposted by Philip Nel

Democracy Forward @democracyforward.org · 9d

UPDATE: Today a federal court blocked the unprecedented efforts by the IRS to share data on millions of taxpayers with ICE.

This is an important win for millions of people, and represents the first injunction against this unlawful data sharing.

Reposted by Peter Thorne, Philip Nel, Alan Richardson

E. Rosalie @erosalie.infoepi.com · 9d

Imagine, if you will, that NASA updated its website to suggest gravity might not exist, prompting CalTech and CERN to release statements saying, "With great sadness, we can no longer recommend listening to NASA."

This is what's happening in epidemiology.

Reposted by Philip Nel, Lisa Diedrich

An Unofficial Hugo Book Club Blog @hugobookclub.bsky.social · 9d

Canada is releasing a set of stamps celebrating the nation's graphic novelists.

These stamps feature Kate Beaton, Jimmy Beaulieu, Guy Delisle, Julie Doucet, Bryan Lee O’Malley and Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas, alongside some of their famous works.

Stamps featuring Kate Beaton, Jimmy Beaulieu, Guy Delisle, Julie Doucet, Bryan Lee O’Malley and Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas

Reposted by Philip Nel

Steven Beschloss @stevenbeschloss.bsky.social · 9d

“But now voters who believed his BS are rejecting him. His overall approvals are down 16% and, according to an analysis by The Economist, every state in the country has ‘moved against Mr. Trump’ except for Idaho.”
www.americaamerica.news/p/refusing-t...

Refusing to Buy Trump's Economic Lies

His increasingly transparent BS isn’t working as Americans struggle to make ends meet

www.americaamerica.news

Reposted by Philip Nel

Jared Yates Sexton @jysexton.bsky.social · 9d

Trump and his supporters are in a poisonous feedback loop where his power is based on encouraging their worst behaviors and thoughts.

Calling for the execution of political enemies is an escalation and it makes unchecked fascist violence a reality.

jaredyatessexton.substack.com/p/what-the-d...

What the Dictator Wants: The Normalization of Violence and Oppression

Trump is openly calling for the execution of his political enemies. We've stepped into a new chapter of this crisis

jaredyatessexton.substack.com

Reposted by Philip Nel, Göran Bolin, Michael D. McDonald

Euan MacDonald @euanmacdonald.bsky.social · 9d

Even the text of the alleged "peace agreement" between Russia and Ukraine being touted by the Trump administration betrays its Kremlin origins. They were in such a such a rush they didn't even have it properly translated.

Reposted by Philip Nel

Alt CDC (they/them) @altcdc.altgov.info · 10d

CDC Website has been hacked!
Just kidding (sadly 😩)

Call Senator Bill Cassidy (202- 224-5824) and tell him to DO something! As the man (and MD!) who was the deciding vote in confirming the 🧠 🪱 that is destroying public health, he is also culpable!

C.D.C. Changes Website to Reflect Kennedy’s Vaccine Skepticism

www.nytimes.com

Reposted by Philip Nel

Zohran Kwame Mamdani @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social · 11d

“Two weeks after the election the incoming administration is making no attempt to downplay expectations, if anything they are doubling down on them.”

Reposted by Philip Nel

Joe Brusuelas @joebrusuelas.bsky.social · 11d

BLS has cancelled the October Jobs Report. It will be rolled into the November Report that will be published in December. No word on if that’s going to be Friday December 5 or not.

Reposted by David H. Kaye, David Rothschild, Philip Nel , and 1 more David H. Kaye, David Rothschild, Philip Nel, Aaron Gerow

Congressman Eugene Vindman @repvindman.bsky.social · 11d

Yesterday, Trump defended the Saudi Crown Prince in the Oval Office.

He said he had “nothing” to do with the murder of Jamal Khashoggi.

But I reviewed a call while serving on Trump’s NSC that I believe would be of interest to the Khashoggi family and the American people.

Release the transcript.