Julie Novkov
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jnovkov.bsky.social
Julie Novkov
@jnovkov.bsky.social
9.7K followers 1.1K following 4.6K posts
Academic (poli sci, law, and US political development), administrator, gymnastics fan, resident of upstate New York. Go Great Danes! Views expressed here are solely my personal opinions. Born at 321 PPM CO2. #polisky #skystorians
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jnovkov.bsky.social
I've been in transit and offline today. Anything interesting happening?
November 12, 2025 at 6:48 PM
Reposted by Julie Novkov
bachynski.bsky.social
“They are focused most intensely on Covid-19 shots, but are also looking at vaccines more broadly. Prasad wants to make it more difficult for vaccine makers to tell doctors they can offer their shots together, something providers have done for decades to more efficiently protect people from disease”
How two top FDA officials are quietly upending vaccine regulations
Vinay Prasad and Tracy Beth Høeg mix skepticism with new ways to define risk in pursuing sweeping changes to vaccine policy at the FDA.
www.statnews.com
November 12, 2025 at 1:24 PM
jnovkov.bsky.social
We social science folks need to be paying attention here too.
hansonmark.bsky.social Mark A. Hanson @hansonmark.bsky.social · 2d
We wrote the Strain on scientific publishing to highlight the problems of time & trust. With a fantastic group of co-authors, we present The Drain of Scientific Publishing:

a 🧵 1/n

Drain: arxiv.org/abs/2511.04820
Strain: direct.mit.edu/qss/article/...
Oligopoly: direct.mit.edu/qss/article/...
A table showing profit margins of major publishers. A snippet of text related to this table is below. 1. The four-fold drain 1.1 Money Currently, academic publishing is dominated by profit-oriented, multinational companies for whom scientific knowledge is a commodity to be sold back to the academic community who created it. The dominant four are Elsevier, Springer Nature, Wiley and Taylor & Francis, which collectively generated over US$7.1 billion in revenue from journal publishing in 2024 alone, and over US$12 billion in profits between 2019 and 2024 (Table 1A). Their profit margins have always been over 30% in the last five years, and for the largest publisher (Elsevier) always over 37%. Against many comparators, across many sectors, scientific publishing is one of the most consistently profitable industries (Table S1). These financial arrangements make a substantial difference to science budgets. In 2024, 46% of Elsevier revenues and 53% of Taylor & Francis revenues were generated in North America, meaning that North American researchers were charged over US$2.27 billion by just two for-profit publishers. The Canadian research councils and the US National Science Foundation were allocated US$9.3 billion in that year. A figure detailing the drain on researcher time. 1. The four-fold drain 1.2 Time The number of papers published each year is growing faster than the scientific workforce, with the number of papers per researcher almost doubling between 1996 and 2022 (Figure 1A). This reflects the fact that publishers’ commercial desire to publish (sell) more material has aligned well with the competitive prestige culture in which publications help secure jobs, grants, promotions, and awards. To the extent that this growth is driven by a pressure for profit, rather than scholarly imperatives, it distorts the way researchers spend their time. The publishing system depends on unpaid reviewer labour, estimated to be over 130 million unpaid hours annually in 2020 alone (9). Researchers have complained about the demands of peer-review for decades, but the scale of the problem is now worse, with editors reporting widespread difficulties recruiting reviewers. The growth in publications involves not only the authors’ time, but that of academic editors and reviewers who are dealing with so many review demands. Even more seriously, the imperative to produce ever more articles reshapes the nature of scientific inquiry. Evidence across multiple fields shows that more papers result in ‘ossification’, not new ideas (10). It may seem paradoxical that more papers can slow progress until one considers how it affects researchers’ time. While rewards remain tied to volume, prestige, and impact of publications, researchers will be nudged away from riskier, local, interdisciplinary, and long-term work. The result is a treadmill of constant activity with limited progress whereas core scholarly practices – such as reading, reflecting and engaging with others’ contributions – is de-prioritized. What looks like productivity often masks intellectual exhaustion built on a demoralizing, narrowing scientific vision. A table of profit margins across industries. The section of text related to this table is below: 1. The four-fold drain 1.1 Money Currently, academic publishing is dominated by profit-oriented, multinational companies for whom scientific knowledge is a commodity to be sold back to the academic community who created it. The dominant four are Elsevier, Springer Nature, Wiley and Taylor & Francis, which collectively generated over US$7.1 billion in revenue from journal publishing in 2024 alone, and over US$12 billion in profits between 2019 and 2024 (Table 1A). Their profit margins have always been over 30% in the last five years, and for the largest publisher (Elsevier) always over 37%. Against many comparators, across many sectors, scientific publishing is one of the most consistently profitable industries (Table S1). These financial arrangements make a substantial difference to science budgets. In 2024, 46% of Elsevier revenues and 53% of Taylor & Francis revenues were generated in North America, meaning that North American researchers were charged over US$2.27 billion by just two for-profit publishers. The Canadian research councils and the US National Science Foundation were allocated US$9.3 billion in that year. The costs of inaction are plain: wasted public funds, lost researcher time, compromised scientific integrity and eroded public trust. Today, the system rewards commercial publishers first, and science second. Without bold action from the funders we risk continuing to pour resources into a system that prioritizes profit over the advancement of scientific knowledge.
November 12, 2025 at 12:50 PM
Reposted by Julie Novkov
jnovkov.bsky.social
Happy Veterans' Day! One story I tell in my book manuscript is about the Brownsville Affray, an incident that sparked Black political mobilization in the early 20th century and for a brief moment, had top Republicans worried about Black political realignment. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brownsv...
Brownsville affair - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
November 11, 2025 at 11:54 AM
jnovkov.bsky.social
Happy Veterans' Day! One story I tell in my book manuscript is about the Brownsville Affray, an incident that sparked Black political mobilization in the early 20th century and for a brief moment, had top Republicans worried about Black political realignment. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brownsv...
Brownsville affair - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
November 11, 2025 at 11:54 AM
Reposted by Julie Novkov
drandrewthaler.bsky.social
In the century leading up to 1975, nearly 6000 freighters went down in the Great Lakes.

The Edmund Fitzgerald was the last.

The last. In 50 years, not a single commercial freighter has been lost in the Great Lakes.

Why?

It's NOAA. Of course it's NOAA.
November 11, 2025 at 1:50 AM
Reposted by Julie Novkov
amandalitman.bsky.social
Last week @runforsomething.net helped elect a socialist in Atlanta, a former Republican in rural PA & at least 122 others, (including 35 red to blue flips). We’ve been building the big tent - tight on values, flexible on policy, and most importantly, centered on community.
November 9, 2025 at 3:22 PM
Reposted by Julie Novkov
normeisen.bsky.social
A leading federal judge quits in protest of Trump's corruption-- & to fight it

Wow

www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/1...
Why I Am Leaving the Federal Bench
A judge explains his reasons for resigning.
www.theatlantic.com
November 9, 2025 at 1:51 PM
Reposted by Julie Novkov
phillewis.bsky.social
OutKast is inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame:

“We started in a little room. Great things start in little rooms”
November 9, 2025 at 1:05 PM
Reposted by Julie Novkov
mbkplus.bsky.social
The Heritage Foundation is making it clear exactly whose heritage matters, in their eyes.
chriso-wiki.bsky.social ChrisO_wiki @chriso-wiki.bsky.social · 4d
1/ The US Government has quietly removed a memorial to Black soldiers who died in World War II from the Netherlands American Cemetery in Margraten, South Limburg. The move follows a complaint from the right-wing Heritage Foundation to the American Battle Monuments Commission. ⬇️
November 9, 2025 at 12:50 PM
jnovkov.bsky.social
This is really good.
katelynburns.com Katelyn Burns @katelynburns.com · 4d
For @teenvogue.com I wrote about the death of trans athlete Lia Smith and how trans youth kind themselves with central pillars of their lives being constantly ripped away from them because of politics. www.teenvogue.com/story/politi...
Politicizing Transgender Athletes Is Dangerous. Lia Smith Deserved Better.
"Let her passing be an inflection point for how you think about trans rights and trans people more generally."
www.teenvogue.com
November 9, 2025 at 12:18 PM
jnovkov.bsky.social
earlymodjustice.bsky.social Holly Brewer @earlymodjustice.bsky.social · 4d
Like others last night, I initially jumped to the conclusion that SCOTUS was once again merely siding with the Trump administration and allowing them to stop food AID.
But this interevenyion is more complicated.
Justice Jackson took the lead, in order to prevent worse outcomes.
November 8, 2025 at 12:53 PM
jnovkov.bsky.social
Pour one out for everyone, including me, who will spend the weekend compulsively checking news, FlightAware, and their airline apps to see if they'll be able to make it to DC for the American Society of Criminology meeting next week.
November 7, 2025 at 8:16 PM
Reposted by Julie Novkov
dankaszeta.bsky.social
OK, as promised, here's my thread about the links between tear gas/pepper spray and the arms trade and gun industry.
Tear gas in use during a strike in the 1930s
November 5, 2025 at 10:39 AM
Reposted by Julie Novkov
ilyasomin.bsky.social
My new article "Immigration is Not Invasion" is now up on SSRN. It comprehensively explains why illegal migration and drug smuggling do not qualify as "invasion" under the Constitution and the Alien Enemies Act of 1798: papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
Immigration is Not Invasion
<div> In recent years, state governments and the second Trump Administration have increasingly advanced the argument that illegal migration and cross-border dr
papers.ssrn.com
November 6, 2025 at 4:42 PM
jnovkov.bsky.social
Every time you are doing one of those mandatory HR trainings and thinking to yourself "OMG, why am I wasting my time? No one is this clueless," remember that yes, yes, they are.
jacobbogage.bsky.social Jacob Bogage @jacobbogage.bsky.social · 6d
Reporting this story, I heard near universal concern from Heritage staff of discrimination against unmarried women.

Then I obtained a letter to the Heritage board from anonymous staffers that alleged the same thing — and more.

Heritage is aware that alleged behavior could create legal trouble.
November 6, 2025 at 5:08 PM
jnovkov.bsky.social
Winning: when you are so disorganized that you think you're DELIVERING an hour-long lifelong learning session on the Bill of Rights and prep the hell out of it, only to discover that the meeting in your calendar is to DISCUSS delivering an hour-long lifelong learning session on the Bill of Rights.
November 5, 2025 at 4:09 PM
Reposted by Julie Novkov
taniel.bsky.social
I've gotten this question a bunch.

Of the races I was watching on my cheat sheet, here are the GOP wins:

—Nassau County executive & DA
—mayor of Columbia, SC
—mayor of Binghamton, NY
—mayor of Manchester, NH
—prosecutor of Virginia Beach
—a special election for NH state House

note: all holds
nanabev14.bsky.social Bev Stupek @nanabev14.bsky.social · 8d
I’m inspired to ask—did Republicans win ANYWHERE??
November 5, 2025 at 6:43 AM
jnovkov.bsky.social
tell me you are not a regular NY voter without telling me you are not a regular NY voter
egojunk.bsky.social eric gonzalez juenke @egojunk.bsky.social · 8d
Every day is a new day to learn something New York voters have known their whole lives. Actually curious about the audience for this tweet.
BREAKING: Zohran Mamdani listed twice on the ballot for today’s NYC Mayoral Election. 92% chance he wins.
November 4, 2025 at 2:52 PM
jnovkov.bsky.social
This, 1000 times.
 Mark Graber @mgraber1.bsky.social · 8d
Graber also believes law matters, but not that only law matters. We need more sophisticated analysis that detail the place between blind faith and pure cynicism.
November 4, 2025 at 12:59 PM
Reposted by Julie Novkov
On why judicial biographies are almost always bad, unless you collect cliches. washingtonmonthly.com/2025/11/02/a...
Justice Barrett’s Campaign Biography
Amy Coney Barrett’s book, "Listening to the Law," claims the Supreme Court is above politics. Its very existence proves otherwise.
washingtonmonthly.com
November 3, 2025 at 1:12 PM
jnovkov.bsky.social
Waking up too early because of the time change: 😭
Finishing all my grading before class so I don't have to face my students and tell them I'm two weeks behind: 👍
November 3, 2025 at 1:10 PM
jnovkov.bsky.social
I'm really trying to stay out of the NYC mayoral race discourse because I don't live in NYC, but I have to admit that this made me laugh very hard. A+ social media, Mr. Mamdani.
zohrankmamdani.bsky.social Zohran Kwame Mamdani @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social · 10d
Congratulations, Andrew Cuomo!

I know how hard you worked for this.
Red Trump-style graphic with images of Donald Trump and Andrew Cuomo. At the top it says, "I'm going to pick [Cuomo]." - Donald Trump, 60 Minutes Interview, 11-2-25 Then beneath it TRUMP ENDORSES CUOMO
November 3, 2025 at 12:52 PM
Reposted by Julie Novkov
dianecurtis.bsky.social
Also please steer them away from the anxiety-producing, often misinformed reddit forums on law school admissions. Here's the AccessLex link. (Don't confuse with LexFellowship, which has spammed all of your students with their pay-to-play internship program.)
www.accesslex.org/aspiring-law...
www.accesslex.org
November 3, 2025 at 11:44 AM
jnovkov.bsky.social
Hi, fellow faculty teaching undergrads. As we are getting into law school application season, please encourage your students to interact with good data sources. Steer them away from USNWR. They should instead be doing comparisons through lawschooltransparency.com.
LawHub — Law School Transparency
Find the best law school for you using the most comprehensive source of law school data.
lawschooltransparency.com
November 3, 2025 at 11:36 AM