B. R. Mitchell | Lightnews

Audra Mitchell

@audralmitchell.bsky.social

7.3K followers 1.7K following 360 posts

Professor, writer & Canada Research Chair, Global Political Ecology. "Tremendous Horror Show"/ Tylenol side effect. Working towards anti-oppressive futures. Most recent book: 'Revenant Ecologies'. www.audramitchell.org Kitten photos b/c we all need them. .. more

Videos

Environmental science 35%

Economics 15%

Posts Replies Media Videos

Pinned

Audra Mitchell @audralmitchell.bsky.social · Jan 21

#introduction I'm a settler writer and professor living on Haudenosaunee and Anishinaabe lands. I research, write and agitate around global structural violence, ecological harms, disability justice, anti-oppressive futures, queer, anti-colonial and anti-racist politics. Also a cat parent!

Audra Mitchell @audralmitchell.bsky.social · 7d

Prof. Farhana Sultana is a path-breaking scholar of political ecology who has been placed on leave by Syracuse University for a post made on her personal SMs in a context of cascading political repression. Pls sign this letter calling for her immediate reinstatement
docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

Letter of Support for Professor Farhana Sultana

As scholars within and beyond academia, we write in solidarity with academic freedom of expression with our colleague, Dr. Farhana Sultana, an internationally recognized scholar and tenured Full Profe...

docs.google.com

Reposted by B. R. Mitchell

Interrupting Criminalization @interruptcrim.bsky.social · Oct 10

Looking to do some reading this weekend? Check out our Beyond Do No Harm reading guide, which shares articles, books + more for anyone wanting to dive deeper into topics around criminalization of care or providing care for criminalized populations: www.interruptingcriminalization.com/resources-al...

Graphic featuring a small thumbnail of a one-page resource, and text on a background composed of a tan and a dark blue column. The text reads: "Beyond Do No Harm Abolitionist Health Care "Back to School" Reading Guide. for anyone who wants to learn more & dive into topics around criminalization of care or providing care for criminalized populations." At the bottom, the URL "bit.ly/BDNHBackToSchool." A light drawing of a stethoscope is to the left of the resource.

Audra Mitchell @audralmitchell.bsky.social · Oct 10

He's wonderful! Thank you for sharing this vid

Audra Mitchell @audralmitchell.bsky.social · Oct 1

Also, guys, I feel like we had this discussion back in 2013 (and the decades preceding it). A wee bit of homework may be in order

Audra Mitchell @audralmitchell.bsky.social · Oct 1

[alt text: a white child with blond hair in a pink singlet is wearing an identifying bracelet bearing a symbol promoted by a well-known anti-Autistic organization and holding the hand of an adult against a green background]

Audra Mitchell @audralmitchell.bsky.social · Oct 1

Holy shit, it's almost like they're saying Autistic people are diverse! Glad to see journos are still calling on Uta Frith and that ilk to provide highly technical terms like 'ragbag' to describe the diversity of our communities.

www.theguardian.com/society/2025...

Autism should not be seen as single condition with one cause, say scientists

Those diagnosed as small children typically have distinct genetic profile from those diagnosed later, study finds

www.theguardian.com

Reposted by Richard S.J. Tol, David Rothschild, Peter Campbell , and 7 more Richard S.J. Tol, David Rothschild, Peter Campbell, B. R. Mitchell, Alan Richardson, Stacy D. VanDeveer, Aurélien Mondon, James Connelly, Nathan P. Kalmoe, David R. Shumway

Danielle Froom 🏳️‍🌈 @danifroom.bsky.social · Sep 30

I don't think we'll ever get another sentence which sums up everything the New York Times embodies quite like "Some legal experts have called it a crime to summarily kill civilians".

Matt Cameron @mattcameron.bsky.social · Sep 30

hey @nytimes.com: there is no counterpoint here. There are no credible legal experts who would EVER say that the US military has any right or authority to blow civilian craft out of the Caribbean and kill their crews from afar without any provocation. There is no other side to this question.

"Some legal experts have called it a crime to summarily kill civilians not directly taking part in hostilities, even if they are believed to be smuggling drugs."

Audra Mitchell @audralmitchell.bsky.social · Sep 23

100% this. Autistic people (and Autistic communities and cultures) exist in ways that scramble all lines of class, race, gender and disability. Very threatening to a lot of forms of power.

Tressie McMillan Cottom @tressiemcphd.bsky.social · Sep 23

I think…people’s obsession with “a cause”…is precisely because autism’s genetic randomness is hard to stratify by social class……………..

Audra Mitchell @audralmitchell.bsky.social · Sep 23

THERE. ARE. NO. 'CAUSES'. OF. AUTISM.

(other than being born as a member of Homo sapiens, which is a huge risk factor for turning out to be Autistic).

Audra Mitchell @audralmitchell.bsky.social · Sep 23

All human traits have genetic sources. I'm saying that the traits associated with Autism do not need to be ferreted out for the purpose of eradicating them.

Audra Mitchell @audralmitchell.bsky.social · Sep 23

Good for you

Reposted by Mark D. White, B. R. Mitchell

Tressie McMillan Cottom @tressiemcphd.bsky.social · Sep 23

I think…people’s obsession with “a cause”…is precisely because autism’s genetic randomness is hard to stratify by social class……………..

Audra Mitchell @audralmitchell.bsky.social · Sep 23

THERE. ARE. NO. 'CAUSES'. OF. AUTISM.

(other than being born as a member of Homo sapiens, which is a huge risk factor for turning out to be Autistic).

Audra Mitchell @audralmitchell.bsky.social · Sep 23

But genetics is not a 'cause'. What is called Autism is not 'caused', genetically or otherwise, any more than eye colour is 'caused'. It occurs.

Reposted by Mark D. White

Audra Mitchell @audralmitchell.bsky.social · Sep 23

THERE. ARE. NO. 'CAUSES'. OF. AUTISM.

(other than being born as a member of Homo sapiens, which is a huge risk factor for turning out to be Autistic).

Reposted by B. R. Mitchell, Katherine Brickell

Rosaleen Duffy @rosaleenduffy.bsky.social · Sep 20

Dreadful to see this - Farhana Sultana is a stellar academic, with a commitment to social justice. She repeatedly said she was being targeted on this platform & on others. I note her account is deleted. Shame on Syracuse for not standing up for colleagues ⬇️ solidarity to her & Jenn Jackson

Dr. Genevieve Guenther (she/they) @doctorvive.bsky.social · Sep 20

Hey, people who work on climate especially, you should know this is happening.

Congresswoman Claudia Tenney Calls on Syracuse University to Fire Professors Who Celebrated Charlie Kirk's
Murder or Face Loss of Federal Funding
September 17, 2025 | Press Release
Washington, DC - Congresswoman Claudia Tenney (NY-24)
today issued the following statement after reports surfaced o that two professors at Syracuse University mocked the brutal murder of conservative leader Charlie Kirk:
"While Americans across the country are mourning the tragic murder of Charle Kirk, two Syracuse University professors, Jenn Jackson and Farhana Sultana, used their platforms to celebrate and mock his death," said Congresswoman Tenney.
Their appalling remarks included comments such as 'rest in piss, 'give him what he valued: no empathy, referring to him as 'trash, and even thanking a so-called 'witch' for cursing his life."
=
tenney.house.gov

Reposted by W Grant, Haley A. Branch

Audra Mitchell @audralmitchell.bsky.social · Sep 3

If you're interested in the crossing points between crip theory, anti-eugenics, environment, global health and global ethics, check out @octoqueenphd.bsky.social 's new podcast #UnwellToBeginWith. It was a blast to be the first guest, & a fantastic episode with @stressedbranch.bsky.social is now up

Mollie Holmberg @octoqueenphd.bsky.social · Sep 2

For our 1st episode, I spoke with @audralmitchell.bsky.social about why crip knowledge systems belong in fields like IR & environmental studies; how policing gets normalized in classrooms; & why crip politics is about a lot more than just disability

unwell-to-begin-with.podbean.com/e/episode-1-...

Episode 1: Autistic Knowledge Ecologies with Audra Mitchell | Unwell to Begin With

"These shared resonances which are often infantilized and dismissed as 'special interests' or 'infodumping' are actually intensities of knowledge and knowledge creation that we can sort of... refract ...

unwell-to-begin-with.podbean.com

Reposted by B. R. Mitchell

Mollie Holmberg @octoqueenphd.bsky.social · Sep 2

Episode 1: Autistic Knowledge Ecologies with Audra Mitchell | Unwell to Begin With

unwell-to-begin-with.podbean.com

Audra Mitchell @audralmitchell.bsky.social · Aug 27

[Alt text: a group of people facing away from the camera hold up a lime green banner with the symbol of extinction rebellion and the words 'rebel for life' in black text. They stand facing an ornate white building]

Audra Mitchell @audralmitchell.bsky.social · Aug 27

If you're in the UK, come check out the Planetary Futures conference at the University of Manchester next month! There's a fantastic line-up of speakers and a limited number of bursaries available for early career researchers #extinction #climate #ecology

blogs.manchester.ac.uk/chstm/2025/0...

Planetary Futures: Rethinking Extinction and Conservation in the Anthropocene

Conference, 18-19 September 2025, at the University of Manchester. Call for Papers

blogs.manchester.ac.uk

Audra Mitchell @audralmitchell.bsky.social · Aug 26

We Will Not Stop Talking About Palestine: consider signing this pledge by educators and others to keep up calls to #endthegenocide #endthefamine
docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
[alt text: a text with black font and hyper-linked font sits against a lavender background)

WE WILL NOT STOP TALKING ABOUT PALESTINE.

We refuse the so-called Palestine Exception, a term referring to how public discourse and the law are manipulated to deny Palestinian human rights, and to silence anyone who advocates for them. As in...

docs.google.com

Audra Mitchell @audralmitchell.bsky.social · Aug 22

Oh, there you are!

Audra Mitchell @audralmitchell.bsky.social · Aug 22

[Alt text: a dark green book cover with a stylized image of conifer trees mirroring each other sits on a tan background. White text over the trees says 'Revenant Ecologies'. Smaller light green text below says 'Defying the violence of extinctino- and conservation. The name Audra Mitchell is below]

Audra Mitchell @audralmitchell.bsky.social · Aug 22

Excited to give this talk at the Oslo Center for #EnvironmentalHumanities next month! I'll be bridging themes from #RevenantEcologies with new work on unconditional ecological ethics #politicalecology #extinctionstudies
www.hf.uio.no/ikos/english...

Audra Mitchell: Revenant ecologies - Department of Culture, Religion, Asian and Middle Eastern Studies

How can we develop unconditional relationships with earth?

www.hf.uio.no

Audra Mitchell @audralmitchell.bsky.social · Aug 22

Alt text: a white man wearing glasses, a grey t-shirt and white shoes is seated in a wheelchair in a forest. On the lefthand photo he is facing the camera, and on the right he is reaching his hand toward a stump.

Audra Mitchell @audralmitchell.bsky.social · Aug 22

My amazing colleague (and all-round amazing human) Corin is finally getting a long-awaited surgery. If you can spare a few dollars or share this post, it will go a long way to supporting his recovery. Thanks!
www.gofundme.com/f/corins-sur...

Donate to Corin's Surgery Recovery, organized by Mara Ervin

Our beloved Corin Parsons is having bilateral above-knee amputation surgery due to complications f… Mara Ervin needs your support for Corin's Surgery Recovery

www.gofundme.com

Audra Mitchell @audralmitchell.bsky.social · Aug 21

Ah it was in the spam - thanks for the prompt! :)

Audra Mitchell @audralmitchell.bsky.social · Aug 14

If you have, then I'm worse - I spent 30 minutes on the site and I still couldn't figure out how to draw more than a dot!

Audra Mitchell @audralmitchell.bsky.social · Aug 14

Also, the void looks suspiciously like #Quebec

Audra Mitchell @audralmitchell.bsky.social · Aug 14

Oh dear. What I thought was a simple question - 'what is this WPlace?' has hurtled me back into my lifelong battle with existential dread (That said, I do have quite a few politicians to grief). #WPlace #thevoid #existentialdread

A large dark-purple irregularly-shaped blotch in roughly the shape of the Canadian province of Quebec is superimposed over map with in light green. Text above it reads 'Message regarding the Void' with a blue 'click' button beneath. Under the button is a green check next to the sentence "Griefing political party flags or portraits of politicians is allowed"

Audra Mitchell @audralmitchell.bsky.social · Aug 13

Francesca Albanese's point is crucial: state recognition is important, but is not a substitute for concrete actions to #endthegenocide www.theguardian.com/world/2025/a...
[alt text: a range of people, including children and adults, hold empty metal containers at a food distribution site]

Recognising Palestinian state must not distract from ending Gaza mass deaths, UN expert says

Francesca Albanese, UN special rapporteur for the occupied territories, calls for practical actions and warns against distracting ‘attention from where it should be: the genocide’

Light upyour news

Sign in to Lightnews

Sign up to start reading

Connect Bluesky

Connect with Bluesky

Light up
your news