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michaelerard.bsky.social
Writer, linguist. New book: BYE BYE I LOVE YOU, about first and last words. @Economist.com: "strangely comforting." @waywordradio.org: "As fascinating as it is original." To buy: https://bit.ly/4kN0PKa Explore www.michaelerard.com
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Popping in here quickly to say that the courts do not have first or final say. Ever. Trans people [of all ages] deserve every single thing that everyone else does. The illegitimate court is illegitimate.

I was honored to edit this new essay by @whysharksmatter.bsky.social. Out of ignorance or malice, many people ridicule the funding of basic research. David Shiffman discusses how to explain its value--and why the looming cuts will be so devastating. 🧪 www.americanscientist.org/article/%E2%...

This is horrifying and will shorten trans lives. At the same time, we know that trans people have survived attack and erasure many times over, providing each other with love, care, and basic needs. We won't stop or be stopped. www.theguardian.com/society/2025...

Reducing death anxiety as political activism

If you've read that Atlantic story by Annie Lowrey about why ranked choice voting sucks, I'm telling you she's wrong. And I know this because I did something in 2017 Annie did not for this story - I talked to a mathemtician.

Joyce's death mask? A surprising number of these are in circulation, and there's an essay on this complicated situation in my 'Multiple Joyce' (2022) www.theguardian.com/travel/2025/...

read the book. then you can summarize it an infinite number of ways. fortunately, this doesn't lead to an AI summary but to the Penguin Random House page

I am watching Sen. Alex Padilla talk on the Senate floor about being assaulted last week, as I watch New York City controller Brad Lander get assaulted at immigration court. In between reports on the two MN Democrats shot, one murdered, last weekend. But both sides, people, both sides.

I still can't get past the idea that people in America are now supposed to accept that this is a valid form of law enforcement and just assume it's fine when random dudes in groups with face-coverings, no ID, no warrant, & no uniform grab people off the street and force them into unmarked vehicles

I'm giving Acoustical Society of America webinar tomorrow! Ever wondered what we can learn about language from whales… or babies? Join us for the next ASA Webinar on 🗓️ June 18, 2025 | 🕐 1:00–2:30 p.m. EDT

This is an absolute betrayal of promises made by Congress to protect the people who protected American soldiers. A betrayal by people who think American greatness is based on half-assed military parades rather than being a credible ally to those that risked their lives for America.

Very pleased to be announcing this! A huge amount of work and real team effort. Excited to see what is next! 😊🥳 #EndofLifeDoula

Eating hamburgers in Europe: A memoir

What a great paper. I miss Twitter (or what it once was), and @jmhenner.bsky.social in it. Thanks to @deafkilljoy.bsky.social and Rachael Gabriel for writing this. Make sure to check the other papers in the special issue in honour of Jon Henner. academic.oup.com/jdsde/articl...

more about the @risingvoices.bsky.social fellows' projects on supporting their Indigenous languages in a digital world ->

From today, every paper submitted to Nature -if published - will be accompanied by peer reviewers comments & authors rebuttal. We started the trial in 2020; we now want to open up the review process & showcase its role in shaping & improving papers 🧪 #AcademicSky www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Looks as if the review fuckerino is going to be resolved. More soon! One lesson: don't attack a book based on an excerpt or an interview; read the whole thing first. People hated on Babel No More without having read the book!

I love it

❝Over four months, LLM users consistently underperformed at neural, linguistic, and behavioral levels. These results raise concerns about the long-term educational implications of LLM reliance and underscore the need for deeper inquiry into AI's role in learning.❞ arxiv.org/abs/2506.08872

The Tea Party protests in April 2009 had about a third of a million people involved, and the political media treated it like a game changer for the Obama presidency. The No Kings rallies were AT LEAST ten times bigger than the Tea Party protests. Will the press keep pretending Trump is popular?

I'm not an opera guy and don't consider myself a Glass fan but I would love to see Akhnaten live someday. Very sorry to have missed this -- operawire.com/komische-ope...

A Democratic Mayor arrested. A Democratic Congresswoman indicted. A Democratic Senator tackled and detained. A Democratic State Representative killed. A Democratic State Representative in critical condition. We can all see where this is going.

Elevate the voices of people who have been talking about the violence of the Rightwing for decades. Those are the folks who know what they are talking about.

No one is in danger from undocumented immigrants. EVERYONE is endangered by the fascist Right in this country and that means the GOP.

your approved list of monarchs for today:

A couple photos from the #NoKings protest in Paris this afternoon. Seems to be mostly expats, and the crowd continues to grow. Nice work organizing by @indivisibleparis.bsky.social.

June 14. A few months after coming to power, the regime orders a massive military parade in the nation’s capital, on the regime leader’s birthday - symbolizing the regime’s claim that the leader embodies the nation. This should be anathema in a democratic republic. It’s insulting and dangerous.

it is really weird that publishing decided that instead of having a marketing budget, writers should just become cult leaders