Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Mike Boylan-Kolchin

@mbkplus.bsky.social

22K followers 940 following 18K posts

Dad, husband, astrophysicist, dog herder. Samuel T. and Fern Yanagisawa Regents Professor in Astronomy at UT Austin. This is a personal account and the views expressed in my posts here are mine. https://mrbk.github.io

mrbk.github.io

Posts Media Videos Starter Packs

Pinned

Mike Boylan-Kolchin @mbkplus.bsky.social · Sep 13

New (academic) year, new me — well, new title, anyway. I promise to uphold the standards you’ve come to expect from the Samuel T. and Fern Yanagisawa Regents Professor in Astronomy.

Mike Boylan-Kolchin

mrbk.github.io

19 7 170

Mike Boylan-Kolchin @mbkplus.bsky.social · 1h

Reading AI playboy for the articles

Mike Boylan-Kolchin @mbkplus.bsky.social · 1h

Interesting contrast here to the pushback on admissions policies based on, e.g., zip code or socioeconomic factors, which opponents claim could be used to give undeserved preferences to racial minorities

ElieNYC @elienyc.bsky.social · 3h

Remember, according to the Republican Justices, it's okay to gerrymander for party advantage, not racial advantage. It's an unknowable distinction, but one that allows the Republicans to okay racist gerrymandering under the guise of political gerrymandering.

2 8

Mike Boylan-Kolchin @mbkplus.bsky.social · 1h

We need a way to give separate ratings to ride share drivers for music versus everything else, I really need to let this woman know she’s strayed from the light without dinging her overall rating.

2 8

Mike Boylan-Kolchin @mbkplus.bsky.social · 2h

These free speech warriors are just built different (derogatory)

Prem Thakker ツ @premthakker.bsky.social · 16h

NEW: Pentagon officials are forcing staff to watch Pete Hegseth's "Warrior" speech he forced generals to listen to.

Officials are even "testing" staff to see if they watched — and are threatening consequences if they lie about watching it or if they mock it, sources tell @swin24.bsky.social and I.

The Pentagon Is Ordering Staff to Watch Hegseth’s ‘MAGA Garbage’ Speech… Or Else

Defense Department sources tell Zeteo that staff have been warned that if they don’t watch or read the speech, or if they speak negatively of it, they could face severe consequences.

zeteo.com

2 3 12

Mike Boylan-Kolchin @mbkplus.bsky.social · 5h

@kevinmkruse.bsky.social: heads up that you have another impersonator (reported)

2 7

Mike Boylan-Kolchin @mbkplus.bsky.social · 5h

A defining feature of this admin is attacking as antisemitic everything they don’t like while constantly engaging in rank antisemitism.

Matt Novak @paleofuture.bsky.social · 10h

I just checked and this is real. It's on Border Patrol's official Instagram (I don't see it on Facebook) and is being celebrated by Nazis on Twitter, as you can see in the screenshot.

The clip is just 13 seconds long too, so it's a very intentional thing. We've got a Nazi government.

Twitter account: Uncensored @HmanQuotes1945: Official border patrol Facebook page is posting with the banned lyrics of Michael Jackson's song.
"Jew me sue me... Kick me k*ke me."
Epic

14 210 880

Reposted by Mike Boylan-Kolchin

Miranda Yaver @mirandayaver.bsky.social · 5h

You can now pre-order on Amazon my forthcoming book Coverage Denied: How Health Insurers Drive Inequality in the United States! This book was a labor of love, combining a survey, administrative data, and interviews to illuminate the American exceptionalism of health insurance barriers a.co/d/iBTKSLG

Coverage Denied: How Health Insurers Drive Inequality in the United States

Amazon.com: Coverage Denied: How Health Insurers Drive Inequality in the United States: 9781009649810: Yaver, Miranda: Books

a.co

2 13 21

Mike Boylan-Kolchin @mbkplus.bsky.social · 5h

It’s always 85+ and suffocating or <50 degrees

Mike Boylan-Kolchin @mbkplus.bsky.social · 5h

Airlines make the temperature on a plane vaguely normal challenge: impossible.

1 11

Mike Boylan-Kolchin @mbkplus.bsky.social · 5h

Context:

NPR @npr.org · 5h

The Supreme Court on Wednesday hears a case that could strike down the last major part of the 1965 Voting Rights Act that remains standing. n.pr/4n3yejC

Supreme Court hears case that questions major plank of voting rights

The Supreme Court on Wednesday hears a case that could strike down the last major part of the 1965 Voting Rights Act that remains standing.

n.pr

1 3

Reposted by Mike Boylan-Kolchin

Mike Boylan-Kolchin @mbkplus.bsky.social · 1d

Would be bleakly fitting if the Roberts court ends up deciding the true meaning of the Voting Rights Act is that white people have constitutionally -enshrined special voting rights

4 8 42

Reposted by Mike Boylan-Kolchin

Prof Anna Watts @profannawatts.bsky.social · 6h

Final lecture of my 2nd year Astrophysics course this morning and once again I've learned as much if not more than my students 😅

2 21

Reposted by Mike Boylan-Kolchin

Daniel Drezner @dandrezner.bsky.social · 6h

Meh. The Trump administration has continued to leak stories claiming serious negotiations are occurring when there’s no other evidence that this is occurring.

Carl Quintanilla @carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 6h

Page One in Boston:

“.. Schwarzman is now engaging in negotiations on Harvard’s behalf ..”

@bostonglobe.com $BX

1 12 57

Mike Boylan-Kolchin @mbkplus.bsky.social · 6h

Ken Griffey Jr. appreciation post:

The Griffey 50 | Junior Robs Jesse Barfield

YouTube video by Seattle Mariners

youtube.com

Reposted by Mike Boylan-Kolchin

Mike Boylan-Kolchin @mbkplus.bsky.social · 1d

The Maine senate situation is more subtle than a lot of the takes on here. Yes, a primary can be good and untested candidates can often flame out in a general. But it’s also true that the D party greases the wheels significantly for their favored candidate, which distorts the dynamics [1/2]

3 3 19

Reposted by Mike Boylan-Kolchin

olive consumer's ambulatory skeleton @machete.gay · 6h

My take is Buc-ee's isn't that good but if H-E-B expanded eastward it would be a total cultural victory of Good Texas

Chron.com @chron.com · 6h

Construction is expected to start in 2026.

H-E-B to start building on North Texas land it's owned since 2015

Construction is expected to start in 2026.

bit.ly

2 7 48

Mike Boylan-Kolchin @mbkplus.bsky.social · 7h

Today is the deadline for proposing for observations with JWST. Across the globe, scientists are furiously putting the finishing touches on ideas spanning the nearest planets and stars to the most distant galaxies. Only ~10% of proposals will be accepted, and the science will be amazing. 🧪☄️

3 6 40

Reposted by Mike Boylan-Kolchin

Mike Boylan-Kolchin @mbkplus.bsky.social · 14h

Of all the books I will never, ever, under any circumstances read, this might be the one that I won’t read the most.

Oliver Darcy @oliverdarcy.bsky.social · 15h

Scoop: Olivia Nuzzi has written a book during her year in exile, in which she is set to in part address her relationship with RFK Jr. Details in @status.news: www.status.news/p/olivia-nuz...

Have I Got Nuzzi For You

Olivia Nuzzi is set to address her relationship with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in a forthcoming book, galleys of which are circulating among a select group of readers, Status has learned.

www.status.news

10 12 100

Mike Boylan-Kolchin @mbkplus.bsky.social · 14h

I assume RFK Jr will be voicing it, which will really give it the extra pathos I crave

1 10

Mike Boylan-Kolchin @mbkplus.bsky.social · 14h

Cancel culture, clearly.

Mike Boylan-Kolchin @mbkplus.bsky.social · 14h

It’s going to be a book that gets a first run of > 100K copies and that is covered in every media outlet all about how she was canceled for falling in love with a whale-dismembering failson who wishes most of us would die.

2 1 16

Mike Boylan-Kolchin @mbkplus.bsky.social · 14h

Of all the books I will never, ever, under any circumstances read, this might be the one that I won’t read the most.

Oliver Darcy @oliverdarcy.bsky.social · 15h

Scoop: Olivia Nuzzi has written a book during her year in exile, in which she is set to in part address her relationship with RFK Jr. Details in @status.news: www.status.news/p/olivia-nuz...

Have I Got Nuzzi For You

Olivia Nuzzi is set to address her relationship with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in a forthcoming book, galleys of which are circulating among a select group of readers, Status has learned.

www.status.news

10 12 100

Mike Boylan-Kolchin @mbkplus.bsky.social · 15h

why have you been holding out on me?!?

two men are sitting on a couch talking to each other . one of the men is wearing a sweater .

Alt: two men are sitting on a couch talking to each other. one of the men is wearing a sweater. He says "that's gold, jerry. Gold!"

media.tenor.com

Mike Boylan-Kolchin @mbkplus.bsky.social · 15h

The volume of band-aids we, a household with 2 kids under 10, go through on a regular basis is simply staggering.

4 24

Reposted by Mike Boylan-Kolchin

Mike Boylan-Kolchin @mbkplus.bsky.social · 22h

Some ideas need to just be returned, no exchange or refund or store credit

Sally Jenkins V @sallyjenx.bsky.social

+ Follow

Oooooeeee there are a lot of people with gags in their hands on this site. Used to be a nice open space for idea exchange. October 12, 2025 at 11:48 AM @ Everybody can reply 88 quotes 7 likes 9 354

3 1 22