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  Standing up for trans people isn’t just the right thing to do, it’s smart politics @mattsheffield@mastodon.social on why Democrats don't need to run away as Republicans double down on transphobia, and why left parties endanger themselves by giving in to the radical right https://www.patreon.com/discoverflux/posts/standing-up-for-173809046 #LGBTQ #LGBTQIA #uspol #ukpol #transrights

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  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. https://www.patreon.com/discoverflux/posts/how-lula-turned-173578448 #lula #brazil

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  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: https://www.patreon.com/discoverflux/posts/tracking-how-of-173046678?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link

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  Pope Leo, Opus Dei, and the battle for the soul of Catholicism Author Gareth Gore joins @mattsheffield for an hour-long discussion on Opus Dei, reactionary Catholicism, and how American converts are trying to Protestantize the pope Video and transcript included: https://flux.community/matthew-sheffield/2026/05/pope-leos-investigation-of-opus-dei-is-part-of-his-larger-effort-to-re-imagine-conservative-catholicism/

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  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! https://gofund.me/77c21221e

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  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 https://plus.flux.community/p/new-research-suggests-how-brains

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  Chatbots aren’t conscious, but the specific details as to why are important Writer and philosopher Virginia Heffernan joined @mattsheffield for a wide-ranging "Theory of Change" discussion about minds, meaning, and artificial intelligence which introduces his new Epistemic Flux Theory: https://flux.community/matthew-sheffield/2026/05/chatbots-arent-conscious-but-the-specific-details-as-to-why-are-important/

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  Donald Trump has never been more unpopular than now. And yet the Democratic Party is even more disliked. Historian Rick Perlstein joined @mattsheffield for a discussion on where former Trump supporters might go now, and Democrats' refusal to listen to their own voters. Text, audio, and video here: https://flux.community/matthew-sheffield/2026/05/trump-is-at-record-low-approval-but-democrats-have-not-been-able-to-build-their-own-public-support/

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  Even before his attacks on Venezuela and Iran, Trump had drastically harmed America's reputation globally compared to Joe Biden, according to a Pew Research Center survey in 24 countries: https://plus.flux.community/p/worldwide-trust-in-the-us-has-plummeted

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  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, Aaron Rabinowitz argues. Progressive media must lift up content about these issues: https://plus.flux.community/p/as-men-struggle-progressives-should

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  The radical Christian nationalist plan to colonize rural America and establish sharia-style governance through decades of effort. Yes, this is a real thing. The goal is nothing less than banning all non-Evangelical religions, making capital crimes out of homosexuality, abortion, and adultery, and much more: https://plus.flux.community/p/the-radical-christian-nationalist

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  The U.S. is inexperienced as a democracy, and it’s showing Media and political historian Lisa Corrigan joined @mattsheffield on the latest "Theory of Change" on how Democrats have failed to understand what's necessary to preserve democracy, and how conservative Americans have come to fear it: https://plus.flux.community/p/the-us-is-inexperienced-as-a-democracy

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  #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. https://plus.flux.community/p/juneteenth-and-the-failure-of-reconstruction

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  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 https://www.patreon.com/discoverflux/posts/do-bees-have-new-164021268 #science #bees #cognitivescience #ethology #insects

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  Corporations have overrun the federal judiciary. In the latest Theory of Change, Ciara Torres-Spelliscy joined @mattsheffield@mastodon.social to talk about political extremism in business communities and how "corporatocracy" works: https://plus.flux.community/p/how-corporations-radicalized-via

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  Liberals want Trump gone, but what do they want instead? Adam Gurri, publisher of Liberal Currents joined @mattsheffield@mastodon.social to discuss the necessity of a detailed positive progressive agenda--which also includes system reforms to protect democracy. https://plus.flux.community/p/liberals-want-trump-gone-but-what

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  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 @yoginho@spore.social https://plus.flux.community/p/the-myth-of-mind-uploading #philosophy #ai #biology #microbiology

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  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 @mattsheffield@mastodon.social https://www.patreon.com/discoverflux/posts/large-language-162447437?pr=true #philosophy #aesthetics #art #ai #midjourney #chatgpt #linux

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  Vaccines are one of humanity's greatest inventions ever, but despite 300 years of success, antivax people are still using the same debunked arguments. That's because vaccines are political technologies just as much as they are scientific ones. It's something many proponents lost track of. Much more in the latest "Theory of Change," featuring Thomas Levenson, author of "A Pox on Fools." https://plus.flux.community/p/antivax-arguments-havent-gotten-any

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  Ken Paxton’s Senate bid leans on misogynistic, transphobic attacks and performative MAGA masculinity, but it can't hide his corruption, deceit, and incompetence that every Texas voter can see: https://plus.flux.community/p/in-texas-senate-seat-showdown-depraved

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  In the AI-powered job market, knowing what truth looks like will matter most Intellectual historian Nils Gilman on why a classic liberal arts education is a safer bet in an age of machine-augmented intelligence https://flux.community/matthew-sheffield/2026/05/in-the-ai-powered-job-market-knowing-what-truth-looks-like-will-matter-most/

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  Richard Dawkins and the Claude Delusion Senescence makes people believe silly things, so does bad science https://flux.community/matthew-sheffield/2026/05/richard-dawkins-and-the-claude-delusion/

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  In the latest Theory of Change, scholar of right-wing media A.J. Bauer joins @mattsheffield@mastodon.social 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: https://flux.community/matthew-sheffield/2026/04/how-the-myth-of-liberal-media-bias-warped-american-politics/

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  New from @mattsheffield@mastodon.social: Barack Obama reading books to preschoolers with Zohran Mamdani is a much bigger deal than you might think. By doing a joint event with the New York mayor, Obama has tacitly declared that Democratic elites must accept him as a valued coalition member: https://flux.community/matthew-sheffield/2026/04/barack-obama-reading-books-to-preschoolers-with-zohran-mamdani-is-a-very-big-deal/

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  Young men are being drawn to the beauty industry through toxic ‘looksmaxxing’ trends Ideas that first began among incel communities are spreading far beyond https://plus.flux.community/p/young-men-are-being-drawn-to-the

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  Right-wing extremists are often perceived as mostly men, but QAnon and related conspiracy traditions are filled with numerous women who believe. In the latest Theory of Change episode, author Noelle Cook discusses her book, "The Conspiracists: Women, Extremism, and the Lure of Belonging" https://plus.flux.community/p/the-women-of-qanon

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  Democrats are on an election win streak despite having a badly damaged brand, what’s going on? Americans seem like they're being contradictory, but the numbers show that fighting Donald Trump harder is the main thing voters want right now. Democratic National Committee member David Atkins joined us on Theory of Change https://plus.flux.community/p/democrats-are-on-an-election-win

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  Caving to the radical right's cultural power never works, but the libertarians who call themselves centrists keep suggesting it anyway. In the latest Theory of Change, Parker Molloy joins @mattsheffield to discuss how the right polices language rather than make arguments, and why the issue is never the issue. https://plus.flux.community/p/in-trumps-america-trying-to-build

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  Culture, dating, and politics still haven’t adjusted to women’s economic independence Porn superstar Siri Dahl on how women remade the economy and adult media, why that’s also good for men, and what straight people should learn from #LGBTQ people https://plus.flux.community/p/culture-dating-and-politics-still

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  As Trump's illegal attack on Iran goes sideways, Democrats must fight further war funding The case for Democrats opposing budgetary support for more mayhem in the Middle East (and very possibly beyond) is overwhelming https://plus.flux.community/p/as-trumps-illegal-attack-on-iran