Benjamin McKean
@blmckean.bsky.social
associate professor of political science at Ohio State University // global justice, supply chains, populism, climate change, critical theory, etc // all tweets (skeets?) produced accidentally by having my phone in a pants pocket while I walk the dog
Pinned
Benjamin McKean
@blmckean.bsky.social
· Nov 20
OK, with many new followers this week, it's a good time for a thread introducing myself - I'm a political theorist who works on questions of global justice, focusing on supply chains, populism, and (increasingly) climate change. Below I'll link some of my work that's free to read benjaminlmckean.com
Reposted by Benjamin McKean
Come on @harvard.edu Do what’s right by the Janitors and for the students. We work extremely hard for you. Do what’s right for us.
Harvard custodians launched a strike at 10 a.m. on Monday after union negotiations broke down on the eve of their contract’s expiration, their first strike in at least 50 years.
Hugo C. Chiasson and Amann S. Mahajan report.
Hugo C. Chiasson and Amann S. Mahajan report.
Harvard Custodians Begin Two-Day Strike for New Contract | News | The Harvard Crimson
Harvard custodians launched a strike shortly after 10 a.m. on Monday after union negotiations broke down on the eve of their contract’s expiration, their first strike in at least 50 years.
www.thecrimson.com
November 18, 2025 at 2:39 AM
Come on @harvard.edu Do what’s right by the Janitors and for the students. We work extremely hard for you. Do what’s right for us.
“Summers holds Harvard’s highest faculty distinction as a University Professor. He also serves as the director of the Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government at the Harvard Kennedy School. Summers will continue to direct the center”
lol what a joke. Strip him of these titles, at minimum
lol what a joke. Strip him of these titles, at minimum
Former Harvard President Lawrence H. Summers will step back from all public commitments in an effort “to rebuild trust and repair relationships with the people closest to me,” he wrote in a statement.
Crimson News Staff report.
www.thecrimson.com/article/2025...
Crimson News Staff report.
www.thecrimson.com/article/2025...
Summers To Step Back from Public Commitments Amid Epstein Scandal | News | The Harvard Crimson
Former Harvard President Lawerence H. Summers will step back from all public commitments in an effort “to rebuild trust and repair relationships with the people closest to me,” he wrote in a…
www.thecrimson.com
November 18, 2025 at 1:57 AM
“Summers holds Harvard’s highest faculty distinction as a University Professor. He also serves as the director of the Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government at the Harvard Kennedy School. Summers will continue to direct the center”
lol what a joke. Strip him of these titles, at minimum
lol what a joke. Strip him of these titles, at minimum
Highly recommend this - I met Isaac 20+ years ago when he helped me organize a student-labor conference in Atlanta and even then, I was impressed by the depth of his knowledge of movement history. He’s done a great job making radical history accessible with work like this.
Come to this! Buttons are important pieces of media that tell labor history. Online event with a free option, facilitated by Isaac Silver. learning.umn.edu/search/publi...
November 18, 2025 at 12:00 AM
Highly recommend this - I met Isaac 20+ years ago when he helped me organize a student-labor conference in Atlanta and even then, I was impressed by the depth of his knowledge of movement history. He’s done a great job making radical history accessible with work like this.
This is a Mad Magazine Fold-In and you can’t convince me otherwise
Real tweets from the White House are indistinguishable from anti-Trump AI slop.
Or, in this case, 1990s Adbusters parodies.
Or, in this case, 1990s Adbusters parodies.
November 17, 2025 at 11:15 PM
This is a Mad Magazine Fold-In and you can’t convince me otherwise
Reposted by Benjamin McKean
Save 30% on "Sweatshop Capital" by @bethdrobinson.bsky.social, which examines the labor practices that produced American consumer products from the late nineteenth through early twenty-first centuries, as well as the labor and social movements that contested them. #Labor buff.ly/slifuV3
November 17, 2025 at 7:22 PM
Save 30% on "Sweatshop Capital" by @bethdrobinson.bsky.social, which examines the labor practices that produced American consumer products from the late nineteenth through early twenty-first centuries, as well as the labor and social movements that contested them. #Labor buff.ly/slifuV3
Reposted by Benjamin McKean
Things like this will become increasingly common as billionaires increasingly treat low earth orbit like their personal playground and garbage dump
The only craft docked at Tiangong space station has been damaged and “does not meet the release conditions for a safe manned return.”
A Collision with Space Debris Leaves 3 Chinese Astronauts Stranded in Orbit
The only craft docked at Tiangong space station has been damaged and “does not meet the release conditions for a safe manned return.”
wrd.cm
November 17, 2025 at 4:05 PM
Things like this will become increasingly common as billionaires increasingly treat low earth orbit like their personal playground and garbage dump
Still wrapping my brain around “Ohio State women’s basketball, presented by Anduril”
so are the players, by the looks of it
so are the players, by the looks of it
November 17, 2025 at 7:43 PM
Still wrapping my brain around “Ohio State women’s basketball, presented by Anduril”
so are the players, by the looks of it
so are the players, by the looks of it
I remember when invoking the appeal to heaven was an obscure fringe thing - a decade ago, Sarah Palin's embrace of it was a mark of how out of the mainstream she'd become.
November 17, 2025 at 7:24 PM
I remember when invoking the appeal to heaven was an obscure fringe thing - a decade ago, Sarah Palin's embrace of it was a mark of how out of the mainstream she'd become.
Reposted by Benjamin McKean
In case you ever wondered why California is such a laggard despite its grand progressive vision of itself, you should spend some time with its political class.
November 17, 2025 at 4:08 PM
In case you ever wondered why California is such a laggard despite its grand progressive vision of itself, you should spend some time with its political class.
My department tried to designate a small space for quiet reflection but somewhere along the lines the message was garbled, so I tried my best to correct the typo and make the sign work
November 17, 2025 at 4:25 PM
My department tried to designate a small space for quiet reflection but somewhere along the lines the message was garbled, so I tried my best to correct the typo and make the sign work
Reposted by Benjamin McKean
79-year-old Paul Bojerski was born to Polish parents in a WWII German refugee camp. His family legally emigrated to the U.S. when he was 5.
He’s been taken by ICE in Florida.
www.orlandosentinel.com/2025/11/16/s...
He’s been taken by ICE in Florida.
www.orlandosentinel.com/2025/11/16/s...
Sanford grandfather, born in refugee camp, nabbed by ICE after 70 years in U.S.
Paul Bojerski never gained official residency, but he checked in regularly with ICE for years. Then in July, at age 79, he was detained and sent to Alligator Alcatraz.
www.orlandosentinel.com
November 17, 2025 at 2:18 PM
79-year-old Paul Bojerski was born to Polish parents in a WWII German refugee camp. His family legally emigrated to the U.S. when he was 5.
He’s been taken by ICE in Florida.
www.orlandosentinel.com/2025/11/16/s...
He’s been taken by ICE in Florida.
www.orlandosentinel.com/2025/11/16/s...
"impeachment" is the floor - this guy's actions are no different than a mob lieutenant okaying a hit
if dems win congress next year they need to introduce an impeachment resolution against emil bove
Justice Department official told prosecutors that U.S. should 'just sink' drug boats
NPR interviews with current and former officials reveal more of the backstory around the military's strikes in the Caribbean.
www.npr.org
November 17, 2025 at 3:07 PM
"impeachment" is the floor - this guy's actions are no different than a mob lieutenant okaying a hit
Reposted by Benjamin McKean
Hey the Nazis did this to my grandparents so this sounds cool @teamlabouruk.bsky.social
The Sun has been told Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood will on Monday propose confiscating jewellery, watches, necklaces from asylum seekers to meet asylum costs
This reflects the most controversial aspect of the Danish scheme - the Jewellery Law. The toughest Labour MPs thought this was OTT
This reflects the most controversial aspect of the Danish scheme - the Jewellery Law. The toughest Labour MPs thought this was OTT
November 17, 2025 at 8:28 AM
Hey the Nazis did this to my grandparents so this sounds cool @teamlabouruk.bsky.social
The biggest recent inflation eye-opener for me was seeing that a pack of toilet paper at Costco now costs practically twice what it did during the pandemic
Thanksgiving is less than two weeks away, and many central Ohio families are feeling the pinch of higher food prices. https://nbc4i.co/4oEkJsl?utm_medium=social&utm_source=bluesky_
November 17, 2025 at 12:40 PM
The biggest recent inflation eye-opener for me was seeing that a pack of toilet paper at Costco now costs practically twice what it did during the pandemic
I have loathed Larry Summers for 25 years and yet this is still more awful and grotesque than I expected.
Great reporting and write-up by the student reporters of @theharvardcrimson.bsky.social
Great reporting and write-up by the student reporters of @theharvardcrimson.bsky.social
November 17, 2025 at 3:06 AM
I have loathed Larry Summers for 25 years and yet this is still more awful and grotesque than I expected.
Great reporting and write-up by the student reporters of @theharvardcrimson.bsky.social
Great reporting and write-up by the student reporters of @theharvardcrimson.bsky.social
Went to a dog show for the first time this afternoon and I have questions
November 16, 2025 at 9:16 PM
Went to a dog show for the first time this afternoon and I have questions
Discovered a fresh circle of Hell by attending a kid’s birthday party at a Dave and Buster’s at 10am on a Sunday
November 16, 2025 at 4:17 PM
Discovered a fresh circle of Hell by attending a kid’s birthday party at a Dave and Buster’s at 10am on a Sunday
Reposted by Benjamin McKean
Well, this is timely.
📣 New NBER Working Paper out today 📣
"The Consequences of Faculty Sexual Misconduct"
Sarah Cohodes & Katherine Leu
"The Consequences of Faculty Sexual Misconduct"
Sarah Cohodes & Katherine Leu
November 16, 2025 at 12:25 AM
Well, this is timely.
Reposted by Benjamin McKean
I’m gonna go ahead and assume Terrence Malick’s invitation was lost in the mail.
Scanning the crowd at that Pope Leo film thing at the Vatican. Spike Lee and Cate Blanchett sure, but front row seat for Dario Argento 💥...
November 16, 2025 at 1:19 AM
I’m gonna go ahead and assume Terrence Malick’s invitation was lost in the mail.
Reposted by Benjamin McKean
Big kudos to this economist for calling out sexism in his discipline.
Obviously, political science has its own well-known prominent sexists and institutional sexism. So much work still to be done — and, importantly, this work should be done (also) by men!
Obviously, political science has its own well-known prominent sexists and institutional sexism. So much work still to be done — and, importantly, this work should be done (also) by men!
1/ Egalitarianism should begin at home. I link to this article by @bencasselman.bsky.social in light of the communications between Larry Summers and Jeffrey Epstein that have just been released. The released emails and the fact of friendship are vile.
www.nytimes.com/2021/02/23/b...
www.nytimes.com/2021/02/23/b...
For Women in Economics, the Hostility Is Out in the Open (Published 2021)
www.nytimes.com
November 15, 2025 at 7:22 PM
Big kudos to this economist for calling out sexism in his discipline.
Obviously, political science has its own well-known prominent sexists and institutional sexism. So much work still to be done — and, importantly, this work should be done (also) by men!
Obviously, political science has its own well-known prominent sexists and institutional sexism. So much work still to be done — and, importantly, this work should be done (also) by men!
Reposted by Benjamin McKean
It feels like there will be many stories like this over the next little while: guys too incompetent to hold real power who got a taste of it thanks to a cynical authoritarian regime, destroyed what was left of their soul in the process of carrying it out, and their final victim was themselves
So… A BP agent filmed in LA in June kidnapping someone from a Walmart got arrested by Long Beach cops after drunkenly flashing his service pistol in a women’s restroom. He demanded they call BP Commander Bovino. After making bail he died of a drug OD at his parents house. lbpost.com/news/isaiah-...
A viral arrest, a drunken brawl and an overdose: the last days of a notorious Border Patrol agent
We obtained hours of body-camera video that give the fullest — and perhaps last — glimpse of Agent Isaiah Hodgson’s mindset when he became a flashpoint in the fight over immigration raids.
lbpost.com
November 15, 2025 at 7:23 PM
It feels like there will be many stories like this over the next little while: guys too incompetent to hold real power who got a taste of it thanks to a cynical authoritarian regime, destroyed what was left of their soul in the process of carrying it out, and their final victim was themselves
Reposted by Benjamin McKean
It is important to note that OSU let all this antisemitism happen on campus while punishing students who peacefully demonstrated last year against the genocide in Gaza. It was never about antisemitism and now the bad-faith right-wing capture of the university is complete.
At Ohio State University today, your campus event is allowed to have a Nazi salute but not a land acknowledgment
Uncensored America comes to Ohio State, spreads anti-semitic, sexist rhetoric
Anti-semitism, controversial statements about women and debates on the Israel-Gaza conflict filled the Browning Amphitheater during an Uncensored America event on Wednesday. Over 200 people, mostly m...
www.thelantern.com
November 15, 2025 at 6:51 PM
It is important to note that OSU let all this antisemitism happen on campus while punishing students who peacefully demonstrated last year against the genocide in Gaza. It was never about antisemitism and now the bad-faith right-wing capture of the university is complete.
Reposted by Benjamin McKean
Have thoughts about our local elections? Concerns regarding districts in Columbus? Want to make change in local politics? Join us & residents across the city for a conversation about current & future elections in Columbus!
RSVP: dsacb.us/DebriefConvo
COED Columbus
1890 E Main St
Sat, Nov 22 4pm
RSVP: dsacb.us/DebriefConvo
COED Columbus
1890 E Main St
Sat, Nov 22 4pm
November 15, 2025 at 5:18 PM
Have thoughts about our local elections? Concerns regarding districts in Columbus? Want to make change in local politics? Join us & residents across the city for a conversation about current & future elections in Columbus!
RSVP: dsacb.us/DebriefConvo
COED Columbus
1890 E Main St
Sat, Nov 22 4pm
RSVP: dsacb.us/DebriefConvo
COED Columbus
1890 E Main St
Sat, Nov 22 4pm
this is what's so ironic about the current struggle around land acknowledgements at Ohio State - those of us trying to roll back the university's new restrictions on land acknowledgements are mostly pretty ambivalent about them! But saying you *can't* do them? That's a big, obvious problem!
my wokest opinion is that land acknowledgements are fine. people knowing a little bit about the land you're on, even if one isn't invested in a land back project, is not particularly worse than the status quo, even if one comes by this info in a way that is somewhat cringe and forced
"my least woke opinion is---"
That's enough. We've had enough people indulging in the "thrill of a little conservatism", as a treat. Of considering reactionary thought to be a salacious and taboo in a world descending into reactionary mania.
Give me your MOST woke opinions. We're bringing it back.
That's enough. We've had enough people indulging in the "thrill of a little conservatism", as a treat. Of considering reactionary thought to be a salacious and taboo in a world descending into reactionary mania.
Give me your MOST woke opinions. We're bringing it back.
November 15, 2025 at 5:44 PM
this is what's so ironic about the current struggle around land acknowledgements at Ohio State - those of us trying to roll back the university's new restrictions on land acknowledgements are mostly pretty ambivalent about them! But saying you *can't* do them? That's a big, obvious problem!
Reposted by Benjamin McKean
I generally treat land acknowledgements like I do corporate DEI trainings: I may inwardly roll my eyes on occasion, but I'm instantly suspicious of people who become outwardly aggrieved by them. For that reason alone I think they actually provide some value.
my wokest opinion is that land acknowledgements are fine. people knowing a little bit about the land you're on, even if one isn't invested in a land back project, is not particularly worse than the status quo, even if one comes by this info in a way that is somewhat cringe and forced
"my least woke opinion is---"
That's enough. We've had enough people indulging in the "thrill of a little conservatism", as a treat. Of considering reactionary thought to be a salacious and taboo in a world descending into reactionary mania.
Give me your MOST woke opinions. We're bringing it back.
That's enough. We've had enough people indulging in the "thrill of a little conservatism", as a treat. Of considering reactionary thought to be a salacious and taboo in a world descending into reactionary mania.
Give me your MOST woke opinions. We're bringing it back.
November 15, 2025 at 5:34 PM
I generally treat land acknowledgements like I do corporate DEI trainings: I may inwardly roll my eyes on occasion, but I'm instantly suspicious of people who become outwardly aggrieved by them. For that reason alone I think they actually provide some value.