Pepper Culpepper
@pculpepper.bsky.social
1.3K followers 310 following 230 posts

Professor of Government and Public Policy, Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford

Pepper Dagenhart Culpepper is an American political scientist.

Source: Wikipedia
Political science 43%
Economics 30%
Posts Media Videos Starter Packs

pculpepper.bsky.social
Monopoly capitalists, even those with black turtlenecks and slick marketing, are still corrosive of democracy (typed on an iPhone).
mariafarrell.bsky.social
Even before Apple was using its app store duopoly to nuke the tools of human rights defenders, it was very much the bad guy

However pained the expression of the oligarch as they protect their power (or join Trump's global bro-entourage), they will always protect their power above all.
robin.berjon.com
It's a great speech but pet peeve: people always forget Apple in these lists. Apple News, the app store tax, and the collusion between Apple and Google to share the proceeds from defunding the web have massively damaged journalism.
mariafarrell.bsky.social
Even before Apple was using its app store duopoly to nuke the tools of human rights defenders, it was very much the bad guy

However pained the expression of the oligarch as they protect their power (or join Trump's global bro-entourage), they will always protect their power above all.
robin.berjon.com
It's a great speech but pet peeve: people always forget Apple in these lists. Apple News, the app store tax, and the collusion between Apple and Google to share the proceeds from defunding the web have massively damaged journalism.
davekarpf.bsky.social
Everyone agrees that we're currently in a dotcom era-like AI bubble. People disagree what sort of bubble it is.

There are 3 stories one can tell about the dotcom crash: a startup story, a telecom story, and an accounting fraud story.

My take: it's giving Enron
open.substack.com/pub/davekarp...
It's Giving Enron
On the AI bubble, and the various echoes of the dotcom crash
open.substack.com

pculpepper.bsky.social
Tl;dr Big incumbents are a black hole into whose gaping maw innovative startups disappear and their innovations with them.
florianederer.bsky.social
Do incumbents buy startups to scale innovation or to stifle it?

New research covering 60 countries finds that acquired startups were highly innovative before their acquisition, but their patenting drops sharply afterward, while acquirers' innovation doesn't rise.

www.oecd.org/en/publicati...
florianederer.bsky.social
Do incumbents buy startups to scale innovation or to stifle it?

New research covering 60 countries finds that acquired startups were highly innovative before their acquisition, but their patenting drops sharply afterward, while acquirers' innovation doesn't rise.

www.oecd.org/en/publicati...
ciaranm.bsky.social
Who’d have thunk that DOGE wouldn’t save any money?

(From the Wall Street Journal)

pculpepper.bsky.social
🤔
karlbode.com
twice a year the entire U.S. press becomes a marketing extension of a single billionaire-owned retailer, and nobody in any position of editorial power thinks it's weird or gross
photo of Google News search results for Amazon Prime Day (the second this year)
karlbode.com
twice a year the entire U.S. press becomes a marketing extension of a single billionaire-owned retailer, and nobody in any position of editorial power thinks it's weird or gross
photo of Google News search results for Amazon Prime Day (the second this year)

pculpepper.bsky.social
Daring reportage from the hellscape
nickkristof.bsky.social
Portland is a “war-ravaged” city that is “on fire,” President Trump warns. But I braved the artillery fire and militia checkpoints to bring you this video report from the front lines.
nickkristof.bsky.social
Portland is a “war-ravaged” city that is “on fire,” President Trump warns. But I braved the artillery fire and militia checkpoints to bring you this video report from the front lines.

pculpepper.bsky.social
Excellent thread by @abenewman.bsky.social . This particular point shows the dark side of Keck and Sikkink’s boomerang theory: transnational networks of democratic subversion. Coming soon to a polarized democracy near you!
abenewman.bsky.social
6/It is not just US government and the Valley that has shifted. Third parties -- the Bolsonaros/Farages of the world. They see that they can plead their case in DC and get pressure on their home governments. US coercion deployed to remake home information spaces.
legrandcontinent.eu/fr/2025/09/2...
«Enshittification» : la nouvelle doctrine de l'Empire américain | Le Grand Continent
Le plan de l’administration Trump pour faire du reste du monde un vassal d’extrême droite — et les moyens pour le déjouer. Une pièce de doctrine signée Henry Farrell et Abraham Newman.
legrandcontinent.eu
abenewman.bsky.social
6/It is not just US government and the Valley that has shifted. Third parties -- the Bolsonaros/Farages of the world. They see that they can plead their case in DC and get pressure on their home governments. US coercion deployed to remake home information spaces.
legrandcontinent.eu/fr/2025/09/2...
«Enshittification» : la nouvelle doctrine de l'Empire américain | Le Grand Continent
Le plan de l’administration Trump pour faire du reste du monde un vassal d’extrême droite — et les moyens pour le déjouer. Une pièce de doctrine signée Henry Farrell et Abraham Newman.
legrandcontinent.eu
himself.bsky.social
Scholars of American Political Economy should be writing up the whole dark economy that is emerging around coercion and corruption.
truthout.org
State-run extrajudicial immigration black sites like Alligator Alcatraz allows politically connected individuals to make hundreds of millions of dollars off Florida’s taxpayers at the expense of jailed migrants, while those held are stripped of their access to legal counsel and due process.
DHS Plans More State-Run Extrajudicial Black Sites Like “Alligator Alcatraz”
Homeland Security’s Kristi Noem mentioned plans to build similar immigration jails in Arizona, Nebraska, and Louisiana.
truthout.org

pculpepper.bsky.social
And I thought I was losing my mind…
murshedz.bsky.social
"Google appears to have blocked AI search results for the query “does trump show signs of dementia” as well as other questions about his mental acuity, even though it will show AI results for similar searches about other presidents."
Google is blocking AI searches for Trump and dementia
With Biden, AI Mode will provide a summarized answer.
www.theverge.com

pculpepper.bsky.social
Interesting that other peaks of usage of the word are at times of great division in the US: pre-civil war, gilded age, and red scare. But how many of these are down to @mcopelov.bsky.social 😉.
ryanmarino.bsky.social
This is why we fund scientists to study things like oyster slobber even if you don’t think it sounds important
leahmcelrath.bsky.social
⚠️ Chinese researchers have invented bone glue that mimics how oysters stick to surfaces underwater.

The adhesive can reportedly repair orthopedic fractures in 2-3 minutes, even in blood-rich environments, and is bioabsorbable.

interestingengineering.com/science/chin...
China's oyster-inspired 'bone glue' bonds fractures in minutes
A new oyster-inspired Bone-02 adhesive can revolutionize bone repair without metal fasteners.
interestingengineering.com

pculpepper.bsky.social
Think I’ll read this after I finish my wine.
murshedz.bsky.social
"Google appears to have blocked AI search results for the query “does trump show signs of dementia” as well as other questions about his mental acuity, even though it will show AI results for similar searches about other presidents."
Google is blocking AI searches for Trump and dementia
With Biden, AI Mode will provide a summarized answer.
www.theverge.com
benansell.bsky.social
On the morning of Keir Starmer's conference speech here's a new post on an odd psychopathology in British politics - our main parties don't like the people who vote for them - the dreaded Professional Managerial Class. And so they are acting out like a divorced dad seeking cooler voters. 1/n
British Politics' Midlife Crisis
Why British Parties Can't Make Peace with Their Actual Voters
benansell.substack.com

pculpepper.bsky.social
There’s a nice article on this by @erikbleich.bsky.social @amauritsvdv.bsky.social et al in Political Studies.

pculpepper.bsky.social
Great to see the Blavatnik School’s new neighbour, the Schwarzmann Centre for the Humanities, just about ready for the new academic year. Welcome!

pculpepper.bsky.social
What could possibly go wrong?
robertscotthorton.bsky.social
Larry Ellison envisions a surveillance state in which techbros rule. '“Citizens will be on their best behavior, because we’re constantly recording and reporting everything that is going on,” Ellison said in an hour-long Q&A during Oracle’s Financial Analyst Meeting last week.'
Larry Ellison predicts rise of the modern surveillance state where ‘citizens will be on their best behavior’ | Fortune
Oracle's Larry Ellison believes citizens and police alike will be under constant surveillance of each other.
fortune.com
robertscotthorton.bsky.social
Larry Ellison envisions a surveillance state in which techbros rule. '“Citizens will be on their best behavior, because we’re constantly recording and reporting everything that is going on,” Ellison said in an hour-long Q&A during Oracle’s Financial Analyst Meeting last week.'
Larry Ellison predicts rise of the modern surveillance state where ‘citizens will be on their best behavior’ | Fortune
Oracle's Larry Ellison believes citizens and police alike will be under constant surveillance of each other.
fortune.com

pculpepper.bsky.social
I think you have not got to the test sections dealing with Boudicca, heroine of the resistance against the Romans. Possibly a bit dated, I will grant you that.

pculpepper.bsky.social
Ezra Klein-haters, hold your fire. This great interview with Corey Robin on the red scare and today is worth your time. Ht to @jacobedenhofer.bsky.social for spotting it.
Trump Is Building the Blue Scare
Podcast-Folge · The Ezra Klein Show · 24.09.2025 · 1 Std. 27 Min.
podcasts.apple.com
adambonica.bsky.social
I’m starting to notice a trend in the polling data…

—Top Public Worry: Corruption

—Biggest problem in Fed Gov: Corruption

—Top fear: Corruption

—What one word would you use to describe American government?: “Corrupt”

It’s almost like voters are trying to tell us something.
Top 10 American Fears of 2024 (Chapman Survey)
Horizontal bar chart ranking the top fears of Americans (percentage “afraid” or “very afraid”):
	1.	Corrupt government officials (65.2%, top fear for years).
	2.	Loved ones becoming seriously ill (58.4%).
	3.	Cyberterrorism (58.3%).
	4.	Loved ones dying (57.8%).
	5.	Russia using nuclear weapons (55.8%).
	6.	Not having enough money for the future (55.7%).
	7.	U.S. becoming involved in another world war (55.0%).
	8.	North Korea using nuclear weapons (55.0%).
	9.	Terrorist attack (52.7%).
	10.	Biological warfare (52.5%).
Red bars display percentages; small arrows indicate change from 2023 rankings. Top Public Worries in the U.S. (Yale & GMU poll, May 2025)
Stacked bar chart of worries among U.S. adults. Categories ranked by share “very worried”:
	•	Government corruption (54% very worried, top issue).
	•	Other leading concerns: cost of living (48%), the economy (47%), state of democracy (44%), disruption of federal services (44%), cultural/social divisions (36%), treatment of immigrants (35%), global warming (29%), crime (26%).
	•	Lower worries include job security (17%), health (16%), and being targeted because of identity/beliefs (15%).
Green shades show “very/somewhat worried,” yellow/orange shades show “not very/not at all worried. Perceptions of Federal Government Problems (AP-NORC poll)
Bar chart showing the percentage of U.S. adults who consider various issues in the federal government to be a major problem, minor problem, or not a problem.
	•	Corruption: Overall 70% major, 22% minor, 7% not a problem. Higher among Republicans (78%) than Democrats (63%).
	•	Inefficiency: 65% major overall, with Republicans (81%) much higher than Democrats (55%).
	•	Red tape (bureaucracy): 59% major overall, with Republicans (73%) higher than Democrats (47%).
	•	Civil servants unwilling to implement president’s agenda: More partisan split—Republicans 56% major problem, Democrats 20% major problem; overall 34% major, 36% minor, 28% not a problem.
Title: “Majority of the public believe corruption, inefficiency, and red tape are major problems in the federal government. Word Cloud of How People Describe American Government (Berkeley Democracy Policy Lab)
Large central word: “Corrupt.” Other prominent words: Broken, Chaotic, Dysfunctional, Shit, Clueless, Divided, Inefficient, Crooked, Hijacked, Justice, Woke, Bloated, Untrustworthy, Hopeless, Frustrated, Disastrous, Messy, Sneaky, Turmoil, Delusional. Smaller scattered words include both negative and neutral terms such as Crap, Important, Poder, Resilient, Unfocused, Needs Help. Visual emphasizes “Corrupt” as the dominant public perception.

pculpepper.bsky.social
A big challenge for all of us who rely on web surveys.
mdigiuseppe.bsky.social
Yesterday I posted about how I used comet browser to take a Qualtrics survey almost undetected. Last night, I ran a pilot (N=400) on @joinprolific.bsky.social . I found that almost 10% of "respondents" identified as AI when directly asked.
mdigiuseppe.bsky.social
I added a question in the survey to identify itself as an AI if instructed to be a human. That seemed to work. Though, I imagine I could jailbreak it eventually.
mdigiuseppe.bsky.social
Yesterday I posted about how I used comet browser to take a Qualtrics survey almost undetected. Last night, I ran a pilot (N=400) on @joinprolific.bsky.social . I found that almost 10% of "respondents" identified as AI when directly asked.
mdigiuseppe.bsky.social
I added a question in the survey to identify itself as an AI if instructed to be a human. That seemed to work. Though, I imagine I could jailbreak it eventually.

pculpepper.bsky.social
This post reminds us that big corporations like Disney will stand up for at least one principle: more money better.
marisakabas.bsky.social
SCOOP — Part of the reason Disney/ABC may have rushed to sort things out with Kimmel is because tomorrow they have a planned price increase for Disney+ streaming, a Disney source tells me. With subscriptions hemorrhaging since last week, they couldn’t risk losing more users with this announcement.