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Laura Morris

@lhmorris

usually posting about global development, current events, evidence in policy, health economics, and misc nerd stuff. (she/her) https://scholar.harvard.edu/lauramorris

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12.07.2023
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Latest posts by Laura Morris @lhmorris

No Black graduate students means no Black professors and the cycle continues.

04.03.2026 04:46 πŸ‘ 163 πŸ” 27 πŸ’¬ 4 πŸ“Œ 0

If we're not in academia to create safe spaces, Black graduate students get pushed out. If they, by some miracle, finish their PhDs despite the hurdles, it's accompanied by trauma and health issues.

04.03.2026 04:46 πŸ‘ 256 πŸ” 56 πŸ’¬ 3 πŸ“Œ 5

The problem with adopting the terminology "late stage capitalism" is that it becomes progressively more and more funny to cite your work as time goes by, like "as has been shown, late stage capitalism is hurtling us towards rapid collapse (Smith, 1974)".

27.02.2026 08:58 πŸ‘ 345 πŸ” 37 πŸ’¬ 34 πŸ“Œ 3

nice argument, but i have already depicted myself as a friendly and helpful neighbor and you as a deranged online racist

27.02.2026 12:25 πŸ‘ 1063 πŸ” 87 πŸ’¬ 7 πŸ“Œ 2

The current argument of the British right is that Muslims turned out in "blocs" with "family voting" to cast their ballots for a party led by a gay Jewish man, and this shows that multiculturalism has failed, voting is "sectarian" and we are in a crisis.

Hmmmmmm.

27.02.2026 12:55 πŸ‘ 2065 πŸ” 514 πŸ’¬ 77 πŸ“Œ 34
22.01.2026 07:55 πŸ‘ 3611 πŸ” 1249 πŸ’¬ 23 πŸ“Œ 27

I met an absolutely lovely academic who asked whether my department back home is affected by ICE -- a question dramatizing how little info is getting out.

For the record, the small example I chose:

My dept has a carpool to pick up grad students of color who can't safely commute to campus alone.

22.01.2026 19:52 πŸ‘ 2229 πŸ” 774 πŸ’¬ 16 πŸ“Œ 13
Dr Kareem Carr
man: i wish to publish
@kareem_carr
Jan 21
reviewer 2: your paper is no good
man: i'll do anything to improve
reviewer 2: it's simple. you must read the work of the great scientist Pagliarini
man: *bursts into tears* but i am Pagliarini
Andre Pagliarini
@apagliar
Jan 21
a first: in rejecting an article I submitted to a journal, reviewer 2 noted I failed to engage the work of one Andre Pagliarini
Jan 21, 2026 β€’ 3:47 PM UTC

Dr Kareem Carr man: i wish to publish @kareem_carr Jan 21 reviewer 2: your paper is no good man: i'll do anything to improve reviewer 2: it's simple. you must read the work of the great scientist Pagliarini man: *bursts into tears* but i am Pagliarini Andre Pagliarini @apagliar Jan 21 a first: in rejecting an article I submitted to a journal, reviewer 2 noted I failed to engage the work of one Andre Pagliarini Jan 21, 2026 β€’ 3:47 PM UTC

I just thought everyone should see this

22.01.2026 23:02 πŸ‘ 25522 πŸ” 6051 πŸ’¬ 43 πŸ“Œ 236
Preview
Measuring welfare A comprehensive measure of well-being shows that the gap between Black and White Americans is larger than traditional metrics suggest.

A new, comprehensive measure of well-being shows that standard indicators, like wealth and consumption, may substantially understate the extent of racial inequality in the US, say researchers at @hec.ca and Stanford. #econsky www.aeaweb.org/research/cha...

08.01.2026 14:19 πŸ‘ 17 πŸ” 7 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
UK think tanks - research edition Join the conversation

A reminder for anyone new to Bluesky (or who just wants to follow more policy wonks here) that I've made a starter pack of all the think tanks I've spotted on the platform and the researchers working at them (if you're missing and want adding in let me know!) - go.bsky.app/Geu9Jd8

06.01.2026 13:03 πŸ‘ 111 πŸ” 45 πŸ’¬ 13 πŸ“Œ 3

There is a threat to Minneapolis so extreme that *every child in the city* has been forced to stay home from school.

That threat does not come from immigrants.

There has only been one murder in Minneapolis in 2026. It was federal agents' killing of a 37 year-old US citizen/mother in her minivan.

08.01.2026 12:12 πŸ‘ 372 πŸ” 162 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 1
Preview
How to Spot AI Hallucinations Like a Reference Librarian The verification tricks that would make fact-checkers weep with joy.

β€œThe tell isn’t that fake citations look wrong. It’s that they look too right. Too convenient. Too perfectly aligned with whatever point the AI is makingβ€œ
open.substack.com/pub/cardcata...

30.12.2025 18:08 πŸ‘ 25 πŸ” 12 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 1

holiday academic Bluesky (US version): here is a list of everything I accomplished this year plus I had some Thoughts about the humanities

holiday academic Bluesky (UK version): I’m 80% brandy butter, 12% brussels sprouts, 8% brisk walk, what’s a university again, also I’ve forgotten how to write

29.12.2025 20:59 πŸ‘ 88 πŸ” 13 πŸ’¬ 3 πŸ“Œ 1
Preview
Fear and confusion in Nigerian village hit in US strike, as locals say no history of ISIS in area | CNN A day after part of a missile fired by the United States hit their village, landing just meters from its only medical facility, the villagers of Jabo in northwest Nigeria are in a state of shock and c...

www.cnn.com/2025/12/26/a...

27.12.2025 10:10 πŸ‘ 1523 πŸ” 663 πŸ’¬ 106 πŸ“Œ 52
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Nigeria, "Christian Genocide" and the Right Wing Attempt To Create More War Addressing the MAGA claim that Christians are suffering genocide in Nigeria

Trump bombed Nigeria on Christmas Day claiming he’s β€œfighting ISIS and stopping Christian genocide.”

Nigerian Christians attest that the violence seen is real but not based on religious discrimination, & Trump’s framing as such makes Nigerian Christians less safe
www.qasimrashid.com/p/nigeria-ch...

26.12.2025 03:47 πŸ‘ 574 πŸ” 246 πŸ’¬ 23 πŸ“Œ 18
Post image Post image

Worth noting that Nigeria makes a point in its statement to debunk Trump’s comments that this violence is specifically directed at Christians, acknowledging that it impacts everyone.

26.12.2025 04:25 πŸ‘ 2684 πŸ” 775 πŸ’¬ 113 πŸ“Œ 30

This is a guidebook on running the government incompetently. Total chaos, the opposite of efficiency (gift link) www.nytimes.com/2025/12/23/u...

23.12.2025 18:53 πŸ‘ 9 πŸ” 4 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

look at how little effort it takes for someone on the conservative grievance circuit to destroy a life

millions of college kids have half assed an assignment at the last minute, you eat the F and move on

but the effort to push trans people out of public life will use whatever it can get

23.12.2025 17:53 πŸ‘ 6892 πŸ” 1873 πŸ’¬ 30 πŸ“Œ 26

β€œIf a reference cannot be found, this does not mean that the ICRC is withholding information. Various situations may explain this, including incomplete citations, documents preserved in other institutions, orβ€” increasinglyβ€”AI-generated hallucinations.”

10.12.2025 12:45 πŸ‘ 23 πŸ” 10 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

This is actually a good example of why the customer model is wrong.

I wouldn't have chosen poetry writing, but UNC made me take a class. And it absolutely made me become a much better writer, with an eye to concision and an ear now trained to the rhythm of words. I'm a better historian as a result.

09.12.2025 19:17 πŸ‘ 5851 πŸ” 769 πŸ’¬ 374 πŸ“Œ 131
Preview
Unfinished Painting - Wikipedia

Today was World AIDS Day and I didn't post the most gutting piece of AIDS-related art, Keith Haring's Unfinished Painting. You all deserved better from me.

02.12.2025 06:17 πŸ‘ 474 πŸ” 154 πŸ’¬ 6 πŸ“Œ 7

I'm really glad to see someone like Kelly finally saying this. bsky.app/profile/atru...

30.11.2025 16:29 πŸ‘ 10947 πŸ” 1696 πŸ’¬ 110 πŸ“Œ 20

"the essay sucks ass" is no doubt true, couldn't be bothered to read it, but consider that the essay may have been written to receive an F in order to instigate a campaign against the trans TA. in any case it's not a great dunk because this isn't about the essay, it's about purging trans ppl

01.12.2025 00:11 πŸ‘ 2507 πŸ” 321 πŸ’¬ 14 πŸ“Œ 17

the primary thing that TPUSA provides to young conservatives is a blueprint for weaponizing the abject cowardice of university administrators against individual teachers and instructors, and university admins should take a long look in the mirror and think about what that says about them

30.11.2025 20:51 πŸ‘ 4712 πŸ” 1189 πŸ’¬ 70 πŸ“Œ 44
Preview
UK net migration falls sharply with drop in arrivals for work and study Provisional figures for net migration to the UK show levels dropped to 204,000 in the year to June 2025.

Fewer workers. Fewer international students. More people leaving.

A "step in the right direction" according to the PM.

Impossible to take PM/govt seriously on growth if they are deliberately reducing it (and making the fiscal position worse) *as a matter of policy*.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

27.11.2025 20:17 πŸ‘ 588 πŸ” 219 πŸ’¬ 20 πŸ“Œ 12

My dad told an apocryphal story about a PhD defense where someone on the committee went off the rails on questioning and the advisor butted in with β€œNow is neither the time nor the place to get answers to the questions that have been troubling you all your life.”

27.11.2025 19:07 πŸ‘ 310 πŸ” 23 πŸ’¬ 2 πŸ“Œ 1

I heard a story about a female academic giving a paper at the IHR who, after receiving a long and aggressive question from a senior male professor, simply leaned back with her hands behind her head and replied β€œOh, do fuck off.”

27.11.2025 18:16 πŸ‘ 1157 πŸ” 171 πŸ’¬ 28 πŸ“Œ 35

If you are U.K. based and angered by Shabana Mahmood's latest efforts to make migrants lives even more difficult (and I know some of you will be), please do take the time to submit a response to the Home Office consultation.

Dan's advice below is excellent as a guide on how to respond.

22.11.2025 09:03 πŸ‘ 43 πŸ” 25 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

RFK Jr. is one of the most evil men on the planet and anyone who has supported or enabled him should never be able to live it down

22.11.2025 19:38 πŸ‘ 216 πŸ” 52 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 1