Flux

Lula and his supporters embraced social media and it was the key to his comeback presidential victory. They reached people who were indifferent and helped them see the dangers of a Bolsonaro presidency.

New from me at @flux.community: It’s time for Dems to attack authoritarian maneuvers like the targeting of Rep. Ilhan Omar both as dangers to the republic AND as exposing the deep vulnerabilities of MAGA’s bleakly racist vision for America. 1/x plus.flux.community/p/in-despera...

A desperate Donald Trump is using Rep. Ilhan Omar as a test case to see how much Democrats will let him criminalize the opposition, @jtccarroll.flux.community writes:

Within 5 minutes of James Talarico unofficially capturing the Democratic nomination for the Texas U.S. Senate seat, right-wing operatives launched a massive anti-trans media campaign against him. Hope Pisoni has traced the timeline as an example of the right's speed and message discipline:

Despite Trump's failures and extremism, Democrats have not focused on deligitimizing the entire Republican brand within the public eye, @jtccarroll.flux.community writes. Next month's election must be more than just a repudiation of Trump's specific failures.

As Republicans' electoral fortunes fade significantly, many of its politicians are trying to distance themselves from Trump, but it's only verbal misdirection. He owns the Republican party, and Democrats must remind voters of that, @jtccarroll.flux.community argues:

As Trump ramps up his attacks on America's founding principles and seeks to destroy our most treasured institutions, the conservative Democrat group Third Way thinks that not-even socialists are the bigger threat. This is a dangerous error, @jtccarroll.flux.community writes:

I have a new episode of my podcast Theory of Change out today with two former NIH scientists to discuss what scientists are doing to fight back against Trump's attempts to dismantle American science. Patreon: www.patreon.com/discoverflux... Substack: plus.flux.community/p/how-scient...

Trump’s Reflecting Pool vendetta became too ridiculous for Jeanine Pirro Despite the dismissal of the charges, this was still an outrageous abuse of power, @jtccarroll.flux.community writes:

Corporations have overrun the federal judiciary. In the latest Theory of Change, @profciara.bsky.social joined @matthew.flux.community to talk about political extremism in business communities and how "corporatocracy" works:

More ICE killings are the inevitable result of mass deportations rooted in incendiary claims of immigrant invasion @jtccarroll.flux.community on why Democrats mustn't shy away from letting the public know about Trump's dehumanization of immigrants

Trump’s insane elections speech was really about excusing future authoritarianism Bizarre primetime address presented nothing new, but did lay groundwork for censorship and infringing on states’ rights to administer elections

Do bees have inner lives? New study suggests it’s a possibility Research shows that bees seem to manifest internal states of pleasure and disgust

My latest at @flux.community: The president's plan to spruce up a tourist attraction has mutated into self-serving claims of anti-American vandalism in the heart of D.C. and over-the-top charges against a sacrificial citizen. 1/x plus.flux.community/p/trumps-ine...

On the latest Theory of Change, @adamgurri.liberalcurrents.com joined @matthew.flux.community for a discussion about the need for a positive liberal vision for America--and how to reform our broken institutions:

Trump's plan to spruce up a tourist attraction has mutated into self-serving claims of anti-American vandalism in the heart of D.C. and over-the-top charges against a sacrificial citizen. Via @jtccarroll.flux.community:

Beliefs in mind uploading and mechanical immortality are very common within the American tech bro scene. But these are absurd delusions that are not at all supported by biology. We just published a comprehensive rebuttal of this fantasy by biologist and philosopher Johannes Jaeger:

This Independence Day, let's remember that separation of church and state is an all-American idea Freedom of conscience works for everyone—religious as well as non-religious

Welcome swag for white South African ‘refugees’ reveals blatant racism of Trump’s asylum policy Via @jtccarroll.flux.community:

A politics of powerful love is the only one that can defeat fascism w/o violence. The real divide now is between those who will fight for democracy, and those who will twiddle their thumbs. Voters do not choose based on obscure policy debates, so we must shelve them until the fascists are crushed.

My latest: Thousands of people think their favorite chatbot has a soul, but why does no one ever say the same about Midjourney? Finally finished my essay debunking false beliefs in chatbot consciousness. Please share if you could: plus.flux.community/p/large-lang...

Large language models and the textual nude Thousands of people think their favorite chatbot has a soul, but why does no one ever say the same about Midjourney? New via @matthew.flux.community:

Juneteenth and the failure of Reconstruction are stories we must never forget. Learning about past American injustice is an inspiration to do better. Students everywhere deserve to know the stories of people like Joshua Houston and Samuel Walker Houston.

“'Pluralism is the idea that mutual worldviews and life systems can exists side by side,' Simmons writes, calling it 'the root of an unrighteous society.'” The title flags the project. Again, Americans aren't so much divided as they are *being* divided. plus.flux.community/p/the-radica...

Juneteenth and the failure of Reconstruction are stories we must never forget. Learning about past American injustice is an inspiration to do better. Students everywhere deserve to know the stories of people like Joshua Houston and Samuel Walker Houston.

New research suggests how brains help us decide who to trust and why A rare genetic disorder that damages the amygdala is helping neuroscientists rethink the origins of trust and fear

The radical Christian nationalist plan to colonize rural America and establish sharia-style governance through decades of effort Yes, this is a real thing. Via @petemontdc.com

Many men are struggling economically and socially, but too often, it's only reactionaries like Jordan Peterson or Andrew Tate who blame women and democracy who are speaking to men. That needs to change, @etvpod.bsky.social argues:

My latest at @flux.community: The race for a Senate seat in Texas highlights how MAGA's authoritarian governance is deeply intertwined with its celebration of a predatory, backwards maculinity. 1/x plus.flux.community/p/in-texas-s...

Vaccines are one of humanity's greatest inventions ever, but despite 300 years of success, antivax people are still using the same debunked arguments. @tomlevenson.bsky.social joined @matthew.flux.community to discuss the political history of vaccines:

Delighted to join @matthew.flux.community again at Theory of Change to chat about US politics and liberal fantasies of governance!

In Texas senate showdown, Ken Paxton’s rhetoric about masculinity could backfire for Ken Paxton, @jtccarroll.flux.community writes:

Delighted to join @matthew.flux.community again at Theory of Change to chat about US politics and liberal fantasies of governance!

The U.S. is inexperienced as a democracy, and it’s showing @drlisacorrigan.bsky.social joins @matthew.flux.community for a discussion of how America's inexperience with democracy is why it is endangered today

Donald Trump has never been more unpopular than now. And yet the Democratic Party is even more disliked. @rickperlstein.bsky.social joined @matthew.flux.community for a discussion on where former Trump supporters might go now, and Democrats' refusal to listen to their own voters:

New research suggests how brains help us decide who to trust and why A rare genetic disorder that damages the amygdala is helping neuroscientists rethink the origins of trust and fear

I'm running a fundraiser to help me keep doing high-quality news and analysis about politics, technology, philosophy, and religion. We need a lot more original analysis that is more than just "Trump did a bad thing." I cannot do this without your help. Thanks so much!

In an age of shallow and reactive content, the need for in-depth reporting and analysis has never been greater given what's at stake. Please chip in to our fundraiser. We need your help to keep going! Thank you! gofund.me/77c21221e

Pope Leo, Opus Dei, and the battle for the soul of Catholicism @garethgore.bsky.social joins @matthew.flux.community for an hour-long discussion on Opus Dei, reactionary Catholicism, and how American converts are trying to Protestantize the pope Video and transcript included:

Chatbots aren’t conscious, but the specific details as to why are important @virginiaheffernan.bsky.social joined @matthew.flux.community for a wide-ranging discussion about minds, meaning, and artificial intelligence which introduces his new Epistemic Flux Theory:

With Callais decision, the right-wing Supreme Court majority has unveiled the inescapable reality of Republican white supremacism Democrats need to find a way to rally a majority against the dire threat of GOP racism and its threat to modern America Via @jtccarroll.flux.community:

MAGA is not a monolith, and that’s why Trump’s poll numbers have fallen Pollster Stephen Hawkins joined @matthew.flux.community on "Theory of Change" to discuss his 11,000 person survey of Trump voters that reveals many internal divisions, including some younger men being much more extreme.

I spoke with the great @matthew.flux.community about why a classic liberal arts education is actually a safer-than-ever bet in an age of machine-augmented intelligence plus.flux.community/p/in-the-ai-...

Love or hate LLMs, there will be plenty of jobs in the future because of their limitations. People who can think broadly and clearly will have the advantage.

In the AI-powered job market, knowing what truth looks like will matter most @nilsgilman.bsky.social on why a classic liberal arts education is a safer bet in an age of machine-augmented intelligence

In the latest Theory of Change, @ajbauer.bsky.social joins @matthew.flux.community to discuss his new book about how the myth of "liberal media bias" has warped American politics. Even Democrats and the mainstream media have been badly damaged by this manipulation:

To achieve a beautiful future, we must never stop imagining @monikabielskyte.bsky.social joins @matthew.flux.community to discuss how to rescue the future from Big Tech dystopianism

Donald Trump’s belligerent attacks on the Pope are backfiring badly Picking a fight with a peace-mongering pontiff may well pay massive future dividends — for opponents of the president and MAGA. Via @jtccarroll.flux.community:

My latest: Historians are now saying the Trump era is a Second Gilded Age. If that's true, Democrats must realize that fake populism can only be defeated by real populism

New from @matthew.flux.community: Barack Obama reading books to preschoolers with Zohran Mamdani is a very big deal. The former president seems to have realized that Democrats cannot defeat Trumpism unless they include all of the party’s voters.