Dr. Ashok Karra
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akarra.bsky.social
Dr. Ashok Karra
@akarra.bsky.social
5K followers 4.4K following 5.6K posts
Political philosophy and ethics. Currently working on Nietzsche, Heidegger, and problems of freedom & authenticity. I teach community college & you'll hear plenty about it.

Let me know how you are and how I can help.

https://www.ashokkarra.blog/
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akarra.bsky.social
"if i could be who you wanted, if i could beeeeeeeeeee who you wanted, / all the time"
Pope Leo with a microphone, looking like he is singing... I dunno, Radiohead's Fake Plastic Trees
November 23, 2025 at 2:32 AM
akarra.bsky.social
Oh this chart by stokes is wild. The relationship between inequality and democratic erosion looks exponential
Steep curve going up as inequality rises, meaning democratic erosion is becoming more likely
November 6, 2025 at 5:41 PM
akarra.bsky.social
Stokes has a diagram which I will add alt text to soon. Getting her remarks down at the moment
November 6, 2025 at 5:35 PM
akarra.bsky.social
I don’t do the picture thing, but I really liked this one from recently
Indian guy in front of poster with the same Indian guy
October 1, 2025 at 12:24 AM
akarra.bsky.social
Extremely colorful and flavorful lamb biryani
September 13, 2025 at 1:08 AM
akarra.bsky.social
Trying to explain to mom what living in west Texas is like and my local paper just blurts it out. This is from their Facebook page but it found its way onto my timeline:
Odessa American, our local newspaper, advertising one of their op-eds on Facebook: “the Bible is true”
August 31, 2025 at 6:42 PM
akarra.bsky.social
My local Starbucks likes me:
Picture of Starbucks cup saying “to one of the coolest guys around”
August 3, 2025 at 2:07 AM
akarra.bsky.social
Reading this at the airport. Gombrowicz’s “a guide to philosophy in six hours and fifteen minutes” — it doesn’t have aphorisms, strictly, but he’s got paragraphs which stick with you
Cover of Witold Gombrowicz’s “a guide to philosophy in six hours and fifteen minutes” — cover features a tree he drew showing how various philosophers branch from a trunk where Kierkegaard and Pascal have roots in socrates
June 28, 2025 at 7:33 PM
akarra.bsky.social
From luiselli’s “tell me how it ends:”
“If the child answers the questionnaire ‘correctly,’ he or she is more likely to have a case strong enough to increase its chances of being placed with a pro bono attorney. An answer is ‘correct’ if it strengthens the child’s case and provides a potential avenue of relief. So, in the warped world of immigration, a correct answer is when, for example, a girl reveals her father is an alcoholic who physically or sexually abused her, or when a boy reports that he received death threats or that he was beaten repeatedly by several gang members after refusing to acquiesce to recruitment at school and has the injuries to prove it. Such answers—more common than exceptional—may open doors to potential immigration relief and, eventually, legal status in the United States. When children don’t have enough battle wounds to show, they may not have any way to successfully defend their cases and will most likely be ‘removed’ back to their home country, often without a trial.”
May 14, 2025 at 6:02 PM
akarra.bsky.social
Cover of the birding dictionary: a tongue in cheek guide for people who find themselves obsessed, against all logic and reason, with birds
May 11, 2025 at 9:28 PM
akarra.bsky.social
one fun thing about academia is how much self-doubt it creates. i just taught a tough semester and thought the ratings were going to be dreadful. i had such a fight with all my students. here's the evals they left:
Course evals: "10/10" "If i were to rate your teaching, it will be 10/10 because i've been able to understand and explain what I've been learning. I do need some more help but overall, my gears are turning!" "This course has not only helped me further understand government but it has also helped me question what is going on in the American government but also my local government. I have learned why it is important to find trusted news sources and articles to understand what is going on. To question my own thoughts and beliefs and that it is ok to have a change of opinion upon further research regarding laws and policies. I would have really enjoyed to have attended this course in a in person setting when it comes to discussions." "Best course I have taken at OC!" "I do not think Professor Karra did a terrible job but I think he could have graded on a more timely manner, so his students would know if they were failing or needed to redo something before the deadlines of any assignment." "None" "Great teacher" "A very interactive teacher who helps me learn about what is happening today!" "He is not only good at the subject but also very good at being a teacher and interacting with us students." "He's actually pretty down-to-earth for a professor. Really kind and tries to get everyone to interact." "Good at teaching and explains really well." "You're good at explaining the material we are learning and make us think about the importance of our world."
March 17, 2025 at 1:54 AM
akarra.bsky.social
so this is my way of killing 3 birds with one stone: it's about what i learned at a conference, it introduces my work, it boosts the conference i'm trying to get people to submit papers to. Here's the paragraph I'd like everyone to see:
Ashok Karra: You might ask what a bunch of people talking about papers could achieve. But the first panel I attended was about whether women could be recognized as equals when they deliver as leaders. It's hard to accept that the politics of backlash are so strong they almost erase the memory of those who led a nation to safety and security. The empirical literature, though, tells that story. I heard papers on transportation policy addressing the needs of different people, ancient philosophy and the initial development of concepts like science and politics, students learning how to trust their own reporting on the election, social scientists using a misleading definition of power, and the White House employing explicitly aristocratic imagery in the portraiture of First Ladies. Political science really does allow for a full, thoughtful consideration of the human experience. It is just so obvious that while all of us can't make every conference, it is a loss to not hear people pose and develop their questions.
March 15, 2025 at 2:55 PM
akarra.bsky.social
I had a little something to say on LinkedIn. I've provided alt text.
Ashok Karra on LinkedIn: "One thing I've noticed is that when the news is especially horrible, people start making excuses. For example: if you want Medicaid in Texas, and you have 2 kids, you need to make less than 285 dollars a month to be eligible. Say that to someone and they'll immediately make up a reason out of thin air. "That's because of fraud!" they'll exclaim, knowing full well this country has an uneven social safety net. We all know people who have died because of a lack of access to healthcare or have struggled mightily with enormous bills. With this, you can expect the same excuses: Trump appointed Musk, so he can do whatever he wants, including make up his own department and use it to take over government agencies. Never mind civics that we should all know from 3rd grade. There are supposed to be checks and balances, and the reason why the advice and consent of the Senate is given re: Cabinet officials should now make a lot of sense."
February 1, 2025 at 10:32 PM
akarra.bsky.social
In the er, getting fluids and anti-nausea meds
A clumsy picture of an old Indian guy who needs to take better care. There’s a hospital gown, blanket and bed
January 7, 2025 at 6:06 AM
akarra.bsky.social
Went to the bookstore, asked myself what I need. And here’s Jane Hirshfield, bringing the fire:
“Let them say, as they must say something: A kerosene beauty. It burned. Let them say we warmed ourselves by it, read by its light, praised, and it burned.”
November 23, 2024 at 8:18 PM
akarra.bsky.social
Alright everyone, getting ready to do some reading
October 4, 2024 at 9:33 PM
akarra.bsky.social
Oh hey—thank you all for making this a place I can learn and share
September 17, 2024 at 12:10 AM
akarra.bsky.social
one of the amazing things about teaching the Constitution is seeing that Americans around 1787 wanted to make sure the federal gov't could not torture people: constitutioncenter.org/the-constitu...
"For example, Abraham Holmes argued that Congress might repeat the abuses of “that diabolical institution, the Inquisition,” and start imposing torture on those convicted of federal crimes: “They are nowhere restrained from inventing the most cruel and unheard-of punishments, and annexing them to crimes; and there is no constitutional check on them, but that racks and gibbets may be amongst the most mild instruments of their discipline.” Patrick Henry asserted, even more pointedly than Holmes, that the lack of a prohibition of cruel and unusual punishments meant that Congress could use punishment as a tool of oppression: “Congress . . . . may introduce the practice of France, Spain, and Germany of torturing, to extort a confession of the crime. They . . . will tell you that there is such a necessity of strengthening the arm of government, that they must . . . extort confession by torture, in order to punish with still more relentless severity. We are then lost and undone.”
August 24, 2024 at 5:37 PM
akarra.bsky.social
there was this, not the MSM, but making the rounds here:
AOC: "Just so we’re clear, Netanyahu has lost so many people that he is addressing just a fraction of Congress. When this happens, they fill the seats with non-members, like what they do at award ceremonies, in order to project the appearance of full attendance and support."
July 25, 2024 at 3:42 AM
akarra.bsky.social
reskeet with a favorite photo of yourself :)

(from 2019)
Photo of an Indian-American guy staring at the camera.
March 3, 2024 at 11:11 PM
akarra.bsky.social
i feel like inspobot was giving me an idea for a supervillain
the two things you need in order to exterminate fresh vegetables is magic and a will
January 1, 2024 at 3:22 AM
akarra.bsky.social
Click the Alt Text for a review of me left on Rate My Professor. My month is made, if not my year.
Screenshot of Rate my Professors, review for Ashok Karra: "Very kind and caring professor. Lecture and discussion based classes, good at asking students questions about their thoughts to really make them think about how they've drawn their conclusions. Incredibly friendly and approachable outside of class, easy to go with questions about the course content. Probably my favorite professor on campus."
September 9, 2023 at 11:19 PM