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Ben Peters
Ben Peters

152 Followers

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Sep 12, 2022

Why I Grieve Queen Elizabeth’s Passing for Other Reasons

Many of my friends and loved ones are currently reflecting on their personal connections at the moment of the passing of Queen Elizabeth. Indeed, my daughter and father happened to visit London on the Jubilee a few months ago, and Canadian colleagues reflect on the sovereign on distant shores they…

6 min read

6 min read


Feb 26, 2022

7 Hard Thoughts on the Russian Invasion of Ukraine:

7 Hard Thoughts on the Russian Invasion of Ukraine: Warning: some of these thoughts are dark and possibly hurtful to those who loved ones may be in danger. Those I hear from in the region report being safe, so far, but the stories from the citizens, colleagues, and the corp…

10 min read

7 Hard Thoughts on the Russian Invasion of Ukraine:
7 Hard Thoughts on the Russian Invasion of Ukraine:

10 min read


Feb 22, 2022

How to Write a Book Review: The Gordin Method

by Benjamin Peters Written October 25, 2013 Republished February 22, 2022 Michael Gordin, an omnivorous historian of science at Princeton University, is known for many intellectual feats, among them the “Gordin method” of book reviewing. In its mythic telling, it goes something like this. 1. Morning: read the book. 2. Afternoon…

Books

10 min read

How to Write a Book Review: The Gordin Method
How to Write a Book Review: The Gordin Method
Books

10 min read


Feb 22, 2022

How Putin Gets Both Ukraine and Russia Tragically Wrong

February 21,2022 Today Russia sent more troops and tanks into the separatist regions of Ukraine, an escalation of tactics in play since 2014 when Russia annexed Crimea and sped a decade of separatist violence in eastern Ukraine. In hopes of reframing the mounting tragedy, this late-night essay hurriedly rereads Putin’s…

Ukraine

12 min read

How Putin Gets Both Ukraine and Russia Tragically Wrong
How Putin Gets Both Ukraine and Russia Tragically Wrong
Ukraine

12 min read


Jan 11, 2021

Big Tech is Weaponized Media: Or Why Social Media, Even After Deplatforming, Still Backs the Trump…

Big Tech is Weaponized Media: Or Why Social Media, Even After Deplatforming, Still Backs the Trump Insurrection Conspiracists Social Media Companies are Not the Good Guys. They are Not Even “Tech.” (They are, However, Mostly Guys.) …

Social Media

12 min read

Big Tech is Weaponized Media: Or Why Social Media, Even After Deplatforming, Still Backs the Trump…
Big Tech is Weaponized Media: Or Why Social Media, Even After Deplatforming, Still Backs the Trump…
Social Media

12 min read


Nov 14, 2020

Drafted in October 2020 Posted after electoral recounts confirm a clear Biden win  —

46 Reasons to Elect Biden the 46th President Drafted in October 2020 Posted after electoral recounts confirm a clear Biden win — Intro: our bipartisan electoral system demands that we vote against the worse candidate by electing the less bad candidate. The choice is that simple if also emotionally costly…

Biden

39 min read

Drafted in October 2020
Posted after electoral recounts confirm a clear Biden win
 —
Drafted in October 2020
Posted after electoral recounts confirm a clear Biden win
 —
Biden

39 min read


Oct 27, 2020

Two Cheers for Negative Partisanship, or Why Most Americans Should Vote for Biden

Tl;dr: Things are stressful. Think negatively on purpose. Find peace in working the voting system against Trump. Introduction: I drafted this post almost a season ago in the Summer of 2020, before we knew that Biden would select Harris as VP candidate, before a new Supreme Court Justice would be…

Negative Partisanship

13 min read

Two Cheers for Negative Partisanship, or Why Most Americans Should Vote for Biden
Two Cheers for Negative Partisanship, or Why Most Americans Should Vote for Biden
Negative Partisanship

13 min read


Oct 26, 2020

Open Letter to My Friends Not Against Trump

Introduction: I wrote the open letter to my conservative friends quickly back in the Spring, when Trump was threatening to shoot protestors (feels like decades ago). This post kicked off for me a series of public-facing posts during the election season. Since then I’ve learned that, were I to rewrite…

Politics

14 min read

Politics

14 min read


Oct 20, 2020

Why “Socialism” is Not the Argument You Are Looking For: American Capitalism and Socialism is a…

Why “Socialism” is Not the Argument You Are Looking For: American Capitalism and Socialism is a Both/And, not an Either/Or. Accusations of “socialism” are particularly popular right now. Here’s why everyone needs to calm down and think: bank accounts, bond market, public works, corporate law, and much else. Starting with…

Capitalism

7 min read

Capitalism

7 min read


Aug 13, 2020

30 Tips on Using Media from a Media Scholar:

30 Tips on Using Media from a Media Scholar: August 13, 2020 Ad Fontes chart on media bias from 2017 (deliberately out of date*) Here are a few best practices and tips on how to consume the news. Tl;dr: Pay for your local newspaper before you pay (in money or…

Media Bias

11 min read

30 Tips on Using Media from a Media Scholar:
30 Tips on Using Media from a Media Scholar:
Media Bias

11 min read

Ben Peters

Ben Peters

152 Followers

Media prof (TU), author, editor, theorist, historian, ultimate frisbeeist

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