Chris Pepin-Neff (they/them) 🏳️‍🌈
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pepinneff.bsky.social
Chris Pepin-Neff (they/them) 🏳️‍🌈
@pepinneff.bsky.social
Associate Professor of Public Policy: Moral Panic Agenda Setting - including #emotions #LGBTQ+ #politics and human - #shark interactions. Opinions are my own. https://linktr.ee/chris.pepin
Pinned
Since 2019, I have published three academic books, looking at emotions in public policy, inequality, and LGBTQ lobbying.
This is a pitiful move from an insecure White House regarding an issue that we will win. Admiral Rachel Levine's service and her identity are intact, with honour, and not dependent on plaques in a hallway in DC. #LGBTQ #HHS

www.npr.org/sections/sho...
HHS changed the name of transgender health leader on her official portrait
Admiral Rachel Levine was the first transgender person to be confirmed by the Senate to serve in the federal government. Her official portrait at HHS headquarters has been altered.
www.npr.org
December 6, 2025 at 12:27 AM
Go DUKES!

"Billy Napier, whose previous stop was coaching the Florida Gators, agreed to serve the same role for the Dukes, a person familiar with the situation confirmed Thursday evening."

www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2025/...
James Madison continues ascent into the big time by landing Billy Napier
The rapidly ascending Dukes, set to lose Coach Bob Chesney to UCLA, grab a former Sun Belt success story last seen patrolling the SEC sidelines at Florida.
www.washingtonpost.com
December 5, 2025 at 11:31 AM
Reposted by Chris Pepin-Neff (they/them) 🏳️‍🌈
“Transgender persons endeavour to live in their acquired gender to enable how they present to others accord with how they perceive themselves.”

Nice to see the Employment Tribunal in Scotland affirm people using toilets that align with their gender.

assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/69303e...
December 5, 2025 at 8:40 AM
This is the deal I was hoping for.

"Warner Bros. Discovery, has entered exclusive talks with Netflix for a deal to sell its movie and television studios and HBO Max streaming service." #WarnerBros #Netflix

www.nytimes.com/2025/12/05/b...
Warner Bros. Discovery Said to Be in Exclusive Talks With Netflix
www.nytimes.com
December 5, 2025 at 10:29 AM
"U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested a 22-year-old mother in the greater Chicago area, days after she gave birth, and her newborn daughter was in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU)."

www.themirror.com/news/us-news...
ICE arrest Chicago woman days after C-section birth as baby abandoned in NICU
A 22-year-old Mexican migrant living in Chicago was arrested by ICE, just days after she had given birth to her daughter, who was in the NICU.
www.themirror.com
December 5, 2025 at 4:58 AM
Reposted by Chris Pepin-Neff (they/them) 🏳️‍🌈
“Charles Norman Shay, who as a 19-year-old medic on D-Day repeatedly saved soldiers from drowning off Omaha Beach, turning them on their backs, dragging them ashore and binding their wounds, died on Wednesday at his home in Thue et Mue, France, near the site of the Normandy invasion. He was 101.”
Charles Norman Shay, Tribal Elder and World War II Hero, Dies at 101
www.nytimes.com
December 5, 2025 at 4:43 AM
What does this story say about how intelligent and aware the Pentagon and White House believe the American public is?

edition.cnn.com/2025/12/04/p...
Exclusive: Survivors clinging to capsized boat didn’t radio for backup, admiral overseeing double-tap strike tells lawmakers | CNN Politics
The two men killed as they floated holding onto their capsized boat in a secondary strike against a suspected drug vessel in early September did not appear to have radio or other communications device...
edition.cnn.com
December 5, 2025 at 4:20 AM
Reposted by Chris Pepin-Neff (they/them) 🏳️‍🌈
I mentioned in my undergrad class that AI firms stole books and articles. Most of the students had no idea and seemed disgusted.
My employer, Dartmouth College, today boasts it's 1st Ivy "to launch AI at an institutional scale." It is doing this by partnering--"more than a collaboration"--with Anthropic, a company that stole the books of many faculty, me included, which many of us are suing.
December 5, 2025 at 3:14 AM
"A center for LGBTQ+ youth in Denver is closing its doors indefinitely after a burglar broke in on Sunday and stole nearly $10,000." #LGBTQ

www.advocate.com/crime/denver...
Denver LGBTQ+ youth center closed indefinitely after burglar steals nearly $10K
YouthSeen has made the difficult decision to close its office in Colorado after it was broken into and robbed on Sunday.
www.advocate.com
December 5, 2025 at 2:34 AM
There are a lot of extra players on the field for the Cowboys tonight, counting the referees. #NFL #Cowboys #Lions
December 5, 2025 at 2:19 AM
Reposted by Chris Pepin-Neff (they/them) 🏳️‍🌈
I lobbied heavily on PREA c. 2009-16. It’s both true that PREA is largely a failure, and that rollback will likely escalate already-systemic torture of TGI folks. (State laws, unaffected, are also weak.)
This is truly vicious.
And. My PREA work taught me:
The cause of prison rape is prisons.
Trump administration plans to end prison rape protections for trans and intersex people
A Department of Justice memo says certain standards under the Prison Rape Elimination Act do not align with Trump’s executive order
prismreports.org
December 4, 2025 at 11:56 PM
"The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation predicted that 4.8 million children would die this year, up from 4.6 million last year. Declining humanitarian assistance is a major part of the reason why child deaths have fallen 50% since 2000."

www.semafor.com/article/12/0...
Childhood deaths to rise for first time this millennium
The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation predicted that 4.8 million children would die this year, up from 4.6 million last year.
www.semafor.com
December 4, 2025 at 11:46 PM
"The caucus has no real mechanism to jettison Schumer and no appetite to do so, according to interviews with more than a half-dozen Democratic senators, but it’s also torn over whether to even discuss the topic." #schumer

www.semafor.com/article/12/0...
Exclusive: Schumer’s Democrats push back leadership debate
Debate about the future of the caucus will wait for a bit. And there’s no Senate Democratic equivalent of Rick Scott yet.
www.semafor.com
December 4, 2025 at 11:43 PM
"Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) had his security increased this week after a pardoned Jan. 6 defendant who was previously convicted of threatening him and former President Obama allegedly showed up near his house Monday night."

www.axios.com/2025/12/04/j...
Scoop: Security upped for Rep. Jamie Raskin after alleged incident involving Jan. 6 defendent
A man convicted of threatening Raskin and Obama was allegedly recording video near the congressman's home.
www.axios.com
December 4, 2025 at 10:55 PM
"Girlguiding, the British equivalent of the Girl Scouts in the US, said “trans girls and young women will no longer be able to join” the org. The Women’s Institute said Wed that the 110-year-old organization will “restrict formal membership to biological women only.”

www.nytimes.com/2025/12/03/w...
Two U.K. Women’s Groups Ban Transgender Girls and Women
www.nytimes.com
December 3, 2025 at 9:31 PM
Appreciated the chance to comment in The New York Times today about the politics of shark nets and emotional policymaking in Australia. #auspol #nswpol #sharks

www.nytimes.com/2025/12/03/w...
A Question Circling Sydney’s Beaches: Do We Still Need Shark Nets?
www.nytimes.com
December 3, 2025 at 11:04 AM
I have done a 'refresh' on my Linktree - everything is downloaded and free. Research on moral panics, #emotions & public #policy, #shark bites, and #LGBTQ research.

linktr.ee/chris.pepin
December 3, 2025 at 10:41 AM
Statesman.

"Former Democratic Sen. Doug Jones filed paperwork to run for governor of Alabama on Monday, setting up a high-profile race against Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville."

www.politico.com/news/2025/11...
Former Sen. Doug Jones jumps into Alabama governor’s race
The Democrat is set for a rematch against GOP Sen. Tommy Tuberville.
www.politico.com
November 29, 2025 at 1:01 PM
Reposted by Chris Pepin-Neff (they/them) 🏳️‍🌈
Trump’s flying monkey & adviser casually arguing for racism [blaming the group, for the action of an individual].

It’s easy to attack Miller*. But doing so is letting Trump off the hook.

To deal with an authoritarian regime you focus on the Leader, not the underlings fighting for his approval.
November 29, 2025 at 12:03 AM
"Qatar is planning a new overland data-cable corridor to Europe, joining regional efforts to find alternatives to the Red Sea’s vulnerable subsea routes. Ooredoo will invest more than $500 million in fiber running from Oman through Iraq and Türkiye into Europe."

www.semafor.com/article/11/2...
Qatar plans new data cable corridor to EU to reroute internet around Red Sea
The country’s biggest telecom company will invest more than $500 million in fiber running from Oman through Iraq and Türkiye into Europe.
www.semafor.com
November 29, 2025 at 12:11 AM
Yikes - Deloitte in trouble in Canada and Australia:

"A Canadian province has asked Deloitte to review a $1.6 million report it created for the Department of Health and Community Services earlier this year, which contains a handful of inaccurate citations."

www.semafor.com/article/11/2...
Deloitte faces new scrutiny over suspected AI-generated mistakes
A Canadian province asked Deloitte to review a $1.6 million report it created for the Department of Health and Community Services, which contains inaccurate citations.
www.semafor.com
November 29, 2025 at 12:10 AM
Devastating.

"The death toll from Hong Kong’s deadliest fire in decades rose to 128 on Friday, as authorities struggled to identify victims and firefighters extinguished the last embers at the still smoldering high-rise apartment complex." #hongkong

www.nytimes.com/2025/11/28/w...
Death Toll Rises to 128 in Hong Kong High-Rise Fire
www.nytimes.com
November 29, 2025 at 12:03 AM
Reposted by Chris Pepin-Neff (they/them) 🏳️‍🌈
Preparing to fly back to the UK. Heart utterly broken as usual. Family emotions aside, there's nowhere as beautiful as Aotearoa.
November 28, 2025 at 11:38 PM
Reposted by Chris Pepin-Neff (they/them) 🏳️‍🌈
The Trump administration has joined the war on HIV/AIDS, on the side of HIV/AIDS.
SCOOP: The Trump administration has instructed employees and grantees not to use U.S. funds to commemorate World AIDS Day — because the observance was started by the World Health Organization.

www.nytimes.com/2025/11/26/h...
Trump Administration Cancels U.S. Observance of World AIDS Day
www.nytimes.com
November 26, 2025 at 7:40 PM
"Taiwan’s leader pledged $40 billion in additional defense spending in an effort to deter Beijing, ramping up tensions with China as the superpower is locked in a row with regional rival Japan."

www.semafor.com/article/11/2...
Taiwan pledges extra $40B for defense to counter China threat
Tensions have ramped up in the region after Japan’s leader said Tokyo may intervene militarily if Beijing sought to invade Taiwan.
www.semafor.com
November 27, 2025 at 1:49 AM