Natalia Mehlman Petrzela
@nataliapetrzela
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Prof @thenewschool Books CLASSROOM WARS(2015), FIT NATION (2023). Columnist @msnbc . Pods WELCOME TO YOUR FANTASY, @pastpresentpod
NYC
Joined August 2010
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Last Seen Profiles
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Wow. What an honor to be profiled by
@nytimes
(Styles!) today, talking about my work writing, podcasting, teaching, and… more!
I’ve been following the work of
@katierosman
for years, and it’s truly a thrill she chose to feature me 🙏🏽
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Some of the most awkward convos I’ve had w colleagues have been honest ones abt our salaries.
They’ve also been crucial in clarifying disparities among us, and in giving us hard numbers to point to in asking for - AND getting - more.
Which, btw, works, I can anecdotally report.
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It is not the duty of girls and women to stop violent men by making themselves romantically available
This is an absolutely disgusting angle,
@nypost
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@shannonrwatts
I both hate this video and am glad it exists, bc who could believe we live in a society where this is real?
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This reads like incel propaganda
This is exactly how fringe ideas get mainstreamed
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Fascinating on how working in the food industry shaped
@Ocasio2018
- I didn’t know
@bonappetit
did political reporting like this (I‘m into it):
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Threats of sexual assault, misogyny so common online they’re not even considered red flags of IRL violence, by authorities OR recipients
When ppl said shooter had “no apparent ideology” my 1st thought was prob just ambient misogyny we all take for granted
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Wow. Reebok's brand partnership with Crossfit is over - and affiliates are outraged re CEO Greg Glassman's insensitive comments re
#GeorgeFloyd
Given CF in general + Glassman in particular are not known for political correctness, this feels significant
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Nice news in the inbox: not only is my 3rd grader about to learn cursive, a topic I lament is disappearing from many curricula, but the teacher's rationale is, wait for it, that kids of course need it to be able to read historical primary source documents 🤓
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So I am def the victim of a scam - my CAR is gone - but I can't figure out if it is theft or insurance fraud
I rarely tweet re consumer drama, but this involves a big asset+is so weird+protracted that I seek the aid of the crowd!
(or
@volvo
, but you've refused to help so far)/1
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In case you had any doubt, my 6 and 9 yo kids found these peculiar objects at my parents’ house and had absolutely no idea what they were
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Can’t stop thinking about how
#AhmaudArbery
case highlights the emptiness of universal claims of “jogging’s for everyone!”
The pastime + “the jogger” has been constructed as WHITE since the fad was born in 1960s/70s
A few reflections from my
#fitnesshistory
research /1
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Proud to stand with 300+ historians calling for the impeachment of President Trump
#twitterstorians
you can add your name - link to letter in this NYT piece
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WTF is going on?! I never knew if was possible to have your car slowly stolen (by the dealer?! of a highly reputable brand!) but if any others have experienced anything like this, or have tips as to how to get some accountability from
@volvo
@AndersGVolvo
, pls share!/fin
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I anticipate some good memes of that Hickenlooper/Sanders “throw your hands up” exchange
#DemDebates
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I continue to think
@KamalaHarris
is so formidable, in her own right but ESPECIALLY as anti-Trump
This ad really captures that
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Stephen Miller was born in 1985, a reminder that Trump’s politics are not just bc of an “old-timer” worldview.
I share bc I see a lot of “the kids will save us!” - I hope it’s true, but it can obscure fact that issues today aren’t primarily generational
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I have spent the last days getting - and reporting - death threats, insults, and other ugliness bc I supposedly believe "exercise is racist"
If you know me or my work, you know that's ludicrous. I am about the most enthusiastic fitness booster out there.
Some thoughts/1
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@KGeee
This zero sum game of mom v baby was one of the least expected + cruelest parts of childbirth for me
So much so that when the pediatrician joked in reply to a q I had about my recovery, “with all due respect, you’re now just a milk machine for my patient”, I started bawling
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YES
@KamalaHarris
both calling out Trump’s fragile masculinity AND gendering commander-in-chief as “she”
This kind of thing - and the all-women moderator panel - is important in changing ideas of what leadership looks like
#DemocraticDebate
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I thought my kids seemed exceptionally engaged with their online projects today, but it turns out they were actually secretly collaborating on this fully animated 42-slide deck that tbh put to shame my lecture PowerPoint today 🐶
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Growing up in nyc isn’t perfect, but sometimes you end up in a pickup game w
@AdamSandler
(and have the confidence to ask for a selfie!)
(TY for being so nice to my kid, who doesn’t remember if he told you how much he loves your movies!)
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TFW your kid was excited to unmask at school for the first time in 2 years
But you get an email that because he may have been a close contact, the whole grade must now actually mask indoors AND outdoors (!) for 10 days
These kids are all required to be vaxxed
Frustrating
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Tucker Carlson: “We got to this sad, chaotic day for a reason. It is not your fault. It is their fault."
Right-wing narrative re yesterday’s domestic terror is classic victim-blaming, abuser’s rationale for domestic violence: “look what you made me do”
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Another woman attacked on my (former) early morning running route
This is terrifying and sad, and I really wish this city would start taking community safety seriously
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If you devoured this
@TheAtlantic
piece as voraciously as I did a few weeks ago, you REALLY need to read the correction - one of the wildest I’ve seen
Thx
@pastpunditry
for the 👀
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Same office that instructed me that expecting promptness in class perpetuates “harm” now minimizing an actual murderous terror attack is really quite something
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Worth noting that in life + now death, articles re Mary Kay Letourneau never mention her dad was CA congressman John Schmitz from Orange County, a Republican w views so conservative the John Birch Society threw him out... quite an accomplishment
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Exactly,
@ShaunKing
- thanks for taking the time to unpack a tweet even more viscerally disturbing than the usual fare.
@realDonaldTrump
- delete your account
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This should be disqualifying
NYC Mayoral Frontrunner Eric Adams: “With new technology you don’t need school children to be in a school building with a number of teachers. It’s just the opposite. You could have one teacher teach 300-400 students.”
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You pay the body shop $13,222 in storage costs
STORAGE COSTS!
FOR AN UNREPAIRED CAR WE HAVE BEEN TRYING TO GET BACK FOR MONTHS! /8
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Sorry but making it to the print edition is very exciting to me!
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@davidmweissman
I probably know 50 people who had COVID, including my whole family. Truly shocked anyone is still a COVID denialist at this point.
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Taught my dad to use Spotify so he could listen to my male stripper murder podcast and now he’s writing me emails analyzing its narrative through the lens of Lacan and Poe - napkin deal/purloined letter - so yes I’d say we have unlocked a new level of intergenerational connection
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@lindsaycrouse
@MaraWilson
Great piece. I appreciate calling out the Not Like The Other Girls impulse, an equally cruel cousin of the Cool Girl imho
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I also cannot stand Bernie’s style of expression, but I feel like he’s getting jabbed a little too hard on body language, eg “you don’t have to yell” from Ryan and the “you can throw your hands up” from Delaney, both mocking
#DemDebate2
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“In the U.S., people have not wanted to talk about it, for unclear reasons…”
The lack of space for nuance on basically anything COVID/kid related is in my opinion one of the most frustrating parts of living in this country rn
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“Petrzela takes us on a whirlwind journey…”
FIT NATION is reviewed in today’s
@nytimes
, and I’m practically quivering that this book is almost out in the world and that it is receiving this kind of attention 🙏🏽
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The 2nd is that in light of
#CasterSemenya
exclusion from competition for being too masculine, Montaño being discriminated against, essentially, for being too feminine - wanting a baby! and to recover! - shows how maddeningly narrow is range of acceptable female athleticism /2
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@realDonaldTrump
Most 2 year olds understand that if they cover their eyes, the thing in front of their face doesn’t disappear.... they’re just choosing not to see it.
Trump’s failure to grasp this theory of “object permanence” is leading to PANDEMIC PERMANENCE + deaths/disruption that come w it
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Michelle Obama is a “fitfluencer” I can get behind!
It's about that time when New Year's resolutions get a bit harder to stick to. To offer a little inspiration, I want to share my go-to
#WorkoutPlaylist
with you. These songs always seem to give me that extra boost to get through my toughest workouts. What's on your playlist?
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@sarahcpr
You are the silver lining to this garbage administration and anything but lazy.
“Trump is a pox on humanity, but he gave us Sarah Cooper...”
Keep it up- we need you!!!
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It’s a weird time to be purely + totally excited about something, but it is really sinking in that I have a final book title and pub date!
FIT NATION: THE GAINS AND PAINS OF AMERICA’S EXERCISE OBSESSION will be out Fall 22 w
@UChicagoPress
Thrilled/terrified to share it w you!
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Um, what? After many more calls, Volvo tells us, oh yeah, meant to fill you in, we sent it to a body shop, they can't repair it, Geico owns the car now, deal with them
Reader, Geico doesn't own the car! We have the title!/6
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“FIELD TRIPS RETURN FOR PUBLIC SCHOOLS”
Today’s headline! November 2022!
Can we please agree to in the future make kids’ education and experiences something other than absolutely last priority? 🤯🤯🤯
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HEADLINES: Few realize writers - or subjects - don't write them!
They're meant as a hook, not to recap a story or nuanced argument
This REALLY matters when ppl screencap not link, which is what happened w the piece that sparked this onslaught: /4
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Not even a soul-sucking webinar can get me down because I JUST PRESSED SEND ON MY BOOK MANUSCRIPT!
Surely lots of revision to come, but it is positively surreal and delightful to have this project even temporarily off my desk for the first time in a very long time 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
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So if you barely read past the headline or this "reporting" but took time to send me antisemitic memes+violent misogynist fantasies-or if you're a big follower account who encouraged this-I wish you a more fulfilling 2023...
Try the gym, it's great for mood + mental health!😘/6
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OMG they were just about to read names
@CUNYSPS
grad + suddenly switched order bc one student CURRENTLY IN LABOR, so they bumped her to front of line, and she just walked across the stage to get diploma while clutching her bump to roaring cheers+applause
WHAT A BIRTH STORY! 🤰🏽
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Wow
@KamalaHarris
is nailing the perfect balance between patient and patronizing as
@VP
rudely interrupts her while she makes a smarter point than him...
This is a dynamic many women will recognize + empathize with
#VPDebate
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@MelindaTaub
@llassabe
This hits home bc I must sheepishly admit that my go-to upper body workout is somehow still instinctively a “prom arms” routine I read about in YM circa 1996
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GP winning a court case based on her effectively summoning scientific evidence would make quite an end to her goop chapter
The claim that Gwyneth Paltrow slammed into a retired optician on a ski slope in Utah is not consistent with the laws of physics, a court has been told.
An expert in biomechanics testified that Paltrow’s version of events made scientific sense
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“They are fundamentally different people living in a fundamentally different time, who understood themselves + their world in ways that would be alien to most of us.”
TY
@jbouie
for articulating limits of ahistorical “they’re just like us!” takes
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@JessicaCalarco
I also think it is under-discussed that while WFH can create welcome flexibility for moms, it’s mothers least likely to be able to carve out our own time/space at home… domestic creep is real and much harder to avoid when you’re trying to work remotely from home
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My latest
@washingtonpost
- it MATTERS that gun violence has penetrated a yoga studio, because yoga has long been portrayed on the far right as a threat to Christianity and patriarchy: in
#Tallahassee
that antipathy turned lethal.
#yoga
#EndGunViolence
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So many wonderful messages from friends around the world congratulating me on “getting America back” with such intensity, warmth, and joy that it almost feels like we are being reunited with a family member who’d been held hostage for 4 years... which is kind of how I feel!
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Also: people who respond to learning you’re a historian with, “I’m quite the history buff myself”
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Masculinity seems to be doing great
Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg agree to hold cage fight
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@inLaurasWords
See also, woman historian discloses her career, man shares he’s “also quite a history buff”
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Don’t confuse being a smart, analytical, critical thinker w being a naysaying jerk who tears down every idea experience just because
There’s a grad school type who thinks the latter makes them intellectually superior, really it just makes them (+ those in their orbit) miserable
I'm starting a PhD in Sept. What is the one piece of advice you wish you had gotten before you started? (and don't say 'run away'... pls)
#phdchat
#AcademicTwitter
#AcademicChatter
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@tanzinavega
Don’t even get me started on the kids who have been deprived of all sorts of opportunities for socialization and developing independence
The refrain “kids are resilient!” is nice, until it starts to obscure the very real social-emotional harms this year has wrought
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And if you're interested in a deep, nuanced look at the wild and fascinating history of exercise in the U.S. over the last 100+ years, try my new book Fit Nation... pre-order anywhere books are sold! /fin
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Call me a prig but I find the general shrug about the social effects of making gambling a bigger part of our culture, from advertising sports betting on college campuses to these nyc casino ideas pretty depressing
There's something interesting about the lack of imagination from Democratic elected officials in New York, where the only economic development model they can imagine in 2023 is the proliferation of casinos in New York City
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I am thrilled to share my latest for
@Slate
- on “adult-onset athleticism” and why so many kids have to wait until they’re grownups to find fun in movement (and why history - and a new crop of innovators - prove it doesn’t have to be this way!)
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@mattyglesias
Okun’s “white supremacy culture” slide has been a part of so many presentations I’ve sat thru
IDK what kills me more, that people sit (or nod!) and don’t point out how nonsensical it is (I try!) or how it undermines the hugely important work of fighting institutional racism
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“Taniya had a math quiz on the day I spent with her. Solving equations was easy, but she spent most of her time zooming in + out on the page.”
An extreme case of a familiar remote learning dynamic: navigating the tech is harder than doing the work itself
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This protest by
@AlysiaMontano
against the discrimination she faced as a pregnant athlete brought me to tears for (at least) 3 reasons...
The first is that it's just really freaking moving, so watch it and read her piece
@nytimes
/1
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This is a big deal:
NEW: Tony Robbins is accused of sexually assaulting a high schooler while teaching at a summer camp in 1985.
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A happy twist: Geico now paid us for the repair... but Volvo won't do the repair OR give us the car back
After three months, we just want our unrepaired car back... Volvo says not our problem, deal w Geico, but actually oh wait we can give it back IF... /7
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The victims of
#PittsburghShooting
are all of the age to have had very personal connections to the Holocaust, through their parents’ or even their own generation. That they’d be gunned down for being Jews in the US in 2018 is unthinkable... and yet our reality.
These are the names of the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting victims:
Joyce Fienberg, 75
Richard Gottfried, 65
Rose Mallinger, 97
Jerry Rabinowitz, 66
Cecil Rosenthal, 59
David Rosenthal, 54
Bernice Simon, 84
Sylvan Simon, 86
Daniel Stein, 71
Melvin Wax, 88
Irving Younger, 69
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Big news!
I have a cover - and a preorder link! - for FIT NATION: THE GAINS AND PAINS OF AMERICA'S EXERCISE OBSESSION
I am so proud of this book, and excited (and nervous) for the world to see it
Huge thanks
@UChicagoPress
@TimothyMennel
@rhaliterary
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Our campus isn't offering flu shots this year due to "safety reasons"
It is really disappointing how we seem to be losing perspective on the broader health picture
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Son accidentally threw out his retainer on a lunch tray
How long do I need to be Stern Mom before I congratulate him on having one the most quintessentially timeless teen experiences
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This treatment of
@Ocasio2018
is reprehensible but unsurprising - it just makes abundantly clear the unfairly fine line professional women must walk just to have their physical presentation NOT distract from the job they're there to do.
If I walked into Congress wearing a sack, they would laugh & take a picture of my backside.
If I walk in with my best sale-rack clothes, they laugh & take a picture of my backside.
Dark hates light - that’s why you tune it out.
Shine bright & keep it pushing.✨
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3rd is YES Nike's role is esp enraging bc co's image SO MUCH abt iconoclasm + much of that marketing specifically targets women/girls, be it playing sports in hijabs, alongside men, etc.
Yet that msging has LONG belied deeper sexism I tweeted abt here /3
Having studied Nike's role in shaping US fitness culture, esp around women, I want to add a little context gleaned from studying public sources, visiting their campus in 2017, and interviews with employees and people who have lived in Beaverton in the orbit of the Nike campus. /3
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So much re what parents/ school could have done to prevent this latest shooting, but
@shannonrwatts
gets it absolutely right that the solution starts w policy that limits gun access AND imo a culture that doesn’t glorify weapons + violent men
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Proud to have my latest - on the racially exclusive history of US running culture - published today
@nytopinion
TY
@lindsaycrouse
for the 💯 editing + opportunity to speak about the multifaceted historic significance of
#AhmaudArbery
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Watching the Britney doc led me to watch I CARE A LOT which led me to read this disturbing
@NewYorker
piece re the abuse of the guardianship system to strip the elderly of their rights + money
#FreeBritney
is bigger than Britney
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“Conservatives have every right to criticize The 1619 Project. But if they’re going to call it “lies” and “garbage history” ... then they should ask themselves a question: Are they looking for better scholarship or are they making a demand for orthodoxy?”
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@annehelen
Also, if you write about this, please do the history of how in the 1980s, bottled water - paying for something that’s perfectly free! - was considered a totally ridiculous affectation
“What’s next, paying for cleaner air?!”
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JOB ALERT: You get to be a historian (BA req) AND work at Mattel, researching for American Girl dolls. Pretty cool!
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@rweingarten
...foisted upon women in large measure bc SCHOOLS, that provide crucial caregiving, remained shut or nominally "open" in such unpredictable + insubstantial ways it became untenable for many moms to work outside the home
Childcare crisis = inextricable from school closure crisis
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9 yo, just started Brown v Board: So Mom, I didn’t want to ask the teacher in case it‘s rude , but why is our class STILL mostly white children if separate but equal ended so long ago?
*I’ve never been more OK w kid being late for school as to have this convo... *
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@ZacBissonnette
Because attaching feelings of guilt and anxiety to food definitely doesn’t have negative repercussions, right? And I heard racing through meals is great for digestion 🙄🙄🙄
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Peloton, hands down
Has anyone built a *better* reputation after the pandemic than before it? Between the CDC, the NIH, multiple governors, state legislatures, congress other institutions, so many people got it wrong. The only one who comes to mind is Jerome Powell.
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Props to
@ChelseaClinton
for staying engaged (and poised! And nice!) despite political craziness in general + for her fam. I met her today!
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Trump currently calling standing 6 feet apart being "politically correct"
TFW the "culture wars" metaphor becomes literally a life-or-death
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If you think people show their true colors at weddings, funerals, etc, try planning an academic conference
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Interesting interview w white moms who voted Youngkin, wish I cld hear it all
All say education was their core issue - but outright say CRT/“mandates” (I assume mask/vax) did NOT affect their vote
Issues were closures, learning loss, Dem disdain
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So Law + Order is maybe interested in shooting in our home
Is this a logistical nightmare that I absolutely should not take on OR an amazing opportunity to ascend to new heights of nyc coolness
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“historians who can meet the public where they are and enjoy it are really important,”
@jbf1755
said. “People are eager to engage in ...what’s going on. Having a community to process that means a lot.”
Another great piece on
@HC_Richardson
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I’ve now seen multiple ppl today say schools shld have just closed for the first year of the pandemic, as if that would be some great equalizer
Do you not remember pods? Private tutors?
School closures removed one of the few correctives to even more extreme inequality!
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Beyond the specifically ridiculous fact that some rich ppl “count antibodies like calories” bc the impulse to self-monitor is so ubiquitous among those who can afford to learn of bad health…
I’m reminded how messed up it is “concierge medicine” exists
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@usahockey
Let me fix it for you. Here’s my daughter, happy and proud after a tournament. Lip gloss is fine, but probably the last thing on her mind.
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If you want a gym experience that shows the joy of exercise, I HIGHLY rec hitting a class where women are 50-70
Been in a few lately, and … no selfies, lots of longtime gym friends, many sizes + levels of ability
Challenges cliche of the “bad old days” re body image, fitness
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2+ months (then) to fix a dent and headlight, w no apology, explanation, or end in sight.
A couple weeks ago, an insurance adjuster matter-of-factly calls, asking us to sign over the title of the car
It's in a body shop, has no value, and he'll "take it off our hands"
?!!? /5
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