Asst Prof, Berkeley, Political Science: 1/ Agenda Seeding http://j.mp/agenda-seeding 2/ Race as a Bundle of Sticks http://j.mp/bundle-of 3/ Text as Behavior https://cup.org/4cUmoXi 4/ Plutopopulism http://cup.org/4cfm0Azhttps://blacksky.community/profile/owasow.bsky.socialhttps://blacksky.community/profile/owasow.bsky.social/post/3mlyi4umues2nA old debate in the poli-sci literature: majority-minority districts can be a Faustian bargain. More Black and Latino faces in office, fewer Democratic majorities to pass the policies their voters want. ~40% influence districts can deliver descriptive wins with fewer substantive trade-offs. [contains quote post or other embedded content]16 May 2026 18:30 +0000at://did:plc:b2yh7pcbcq6nh4lhpueffwp2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mlyi4umues2nhttps://blacksky.community/profile/owasow.bsky.social/post/3mly5nty4222c“In order for Democrats to gain an advantage, they will have to break up some districts that are majority Black or Latino and spread those voters into more Republican-leaning districts. However, that may jeopardize the ability of Black and Latino candidates to continue to hold those seats.” Gift https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/15/opinion/supreme-court-redistricting.html?unlocked_article_code=1.i1A.hkgZ.lOGjRNLTVJfZ&smid=nytcore-ios-share16 May 2026 15:23 +0000at://did:plc:b2yh7pcbcq6nh4lhpueffwp2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mly5nty4222chttps://blacksky.community/profile/owasow.bsky.social/post/3mlwezlmr5c2lRace lift? [contains quote post or other embedded content]15 May 2026 22:29 +0000at://did:plc:b2yh7pcbcq6nh4lhpueffwp2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mlwezlmr5c2lhttps://blacksky.community/profile/owasow.bsky.social/post/3mlryhsfvjc2w“New Yorkers have the remarkable ability of being unable to interest themselves in places that are not New York. I was going to a lot of parties then and a mention of Chicago, much less China – it was like when they put you under for a colonoscopy. One-two-three lights out.” https://lrntex.substack.com/p/the-truth-about-sf-vs-nyc-revealed?r=uj6&utm_medium=ios&triedRedirect=true14 May 2026 04:34 +0000at://did:plc:b2yh7pcbcq6nh4lhpueffwp2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mlryhsfvjc2whttps://blacksky.community/profile/owasow.bsky.social/post/3mlotmggrss22“In the 1960s, a good first novel might receive 90 individual newspaper reviews in America and England, the novelist Reynolds Price wrote in his memoir ‘Ardent Spirits.’ By 2009, the year ‘Ardent Spirits’ was issued, he reckoned the number was 20 at best. What would it be now? Two? Three?” Gift link https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/27/books/review/ai-book-reviews.html?unlocked_article_code=1.h1A.efTS.ogd9sVavHLPG&smid=url-share12 May 2026 22:29 +0000at://did:plc:b2yh7pcbcq6nh4lhpueffwp2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mlotmggrss22https://blacksky.community/profile/owasow.bsky.social/post/3mlmzd353bs2qRace as a Bundle of Sticks got rejected from a handful of journals and I still recall one reviewer who took issue with our claim that age was associated with race. This plot would’ve helped: [contains quote post or other embedded content]12 May 2026 05:06 +0000at://did:plc:b2yh7pcbcq6nh4lhpueffwp2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mlmzd353bs2qhttps://blacksky.community/profile/owasow.bsky.social/post/3mlhzfyyw6c2nRandom but true story: I have a credit on this film. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0113243/fullcredits/?ref_=tt_cst_sm [contains quote post or other embedded content]10 May 2026 05:24 +0000at://did:plc:b2yh7pcbcq6nh4lhpueffwp2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mlhzfyyw6c2nhttps://blacksky.community/profile/owasow.bsky.social/post/3mldqikyae22rPutting the gas in gaslighting08 May 2026 12:34 +0000at://did:plc:b2yh7pcbcq6nh4lhpueffwp2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mldqikyae22rhttps://blacksky.community/profile/owasow.bsky.social/post/3ml7cozlkuc2b“Writing is hard.” Thrilled to share that this simple idea led to a new paper in Political Analysis! Where most text methods focus on content, I test if expression is also effortful action. I find simple measures like character counts reveal attitudes and predict voting. cup.org/4cUmoXi 1/06 May 2026 18:16 +0000at://did:plc:b2yh7pcbcq6nh4lhpueffwp2/app.bsky.feed.post/3ml7cozlkuc2bhttps://blacksky.community/profile/owasow.bsky.social/post/3ml3erzfznc2uIt should be political malpractice to enact a “jungle primary” without also including a consensus-forcing mechanism like approval voting or ranked choice. All this drama in California over a nonpartisan primary would be a non-issue if the rules actually captured which candidates have widest appeal.05 May 2026 04:43 +0000at://did:plc:b2yh7pcbcq6nh4lhpueffwp2/app.bsky.feed.post/3ml3erzfznc2uhttps://blacksky.community/profile/owasow.bsky.social/post/3mkzvrsyl5s2kThe land that elevators forgot [contains quote post or other embedded content]04 May 2026 14:42 +0000at://did:plc:b2yh7pcbcq6nh4lhpueffwp2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkzvrsyl5s2khttps://blacksky.community/profile/owasow.bsky.social/post/3mkxs7u7xv22m“It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his [ideology] depends upon his not understanding it.” [contains quote post or other embedded content]03 May 2026 18:33 +0000at://did:plc:b2yh7pcbcq6nh4lhpueffwp2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkxs7u7xv22mhttps://blacksky.community/profile/owasow.bsky.social/post/3mkw7wg6qxs27Has anyone done an analysis of what a not-worst-case scenario might look like for Black voting power post-VRA? Not trying to put a silver lining on terrible decisions but genuinely wonder what intermediate scenarios might look like. For example, a ~30% Black district could build biracial coalitions.03 May 2026 03:33 +0000at://did:plc:b2yh7pcbcq6nh4lhpueffwp2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkw7wg6qxs27https://blacksky.community/profile/owasow.bsky.social/post/3mkuurjatak2x“…the historical figures being honored portrays a sanitized version of American history. The description of Martin Luther King Jr., for instance, praises the civil rights leader for having a ‘can-do’ spirit, but makes no direct mention of the racism that he fought.” https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/02/us/politics/trump-garden-of-heroes-statues.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share02 May 2026 14:40 +0000at://did:plc:b2yh7pcbcq6nh4lhpueffwp2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkuurjatak2x