Alex Helberg
@dystopamine.bsky.social
Lecturer at Trinity College, researcher of digital rhetoric and food justice, co-Exec Producer of re:verb podcast
Reposted by Alex Helberg
🚨New re:verb episode🚨
In the first installment of a multi-part series, Alex & Calvin outline the "intellectual" genealogy that presaged the notorious "Grievance Studies" affair back in 2018, as well as detail the biographies of the 3 perpetrators, Peter Boghossian, James Lindsay, & Helen Pluckrose
In the first installment of a multi-part series, Alex & Calvin outline the "intellectual" genealogy that presaged the notorious "Grievance Studies" affair back in 2018, as well as detail the biographies of the 3 perpetrators, Peter Boghossian, James Lindsay, & Helen Pluckrose
E110: The Grievance Studies Affair: A Rhetorical and Political History (Part 1) — re:verb
In the first installment of this multi-part series, Alex and Calvin trace the intellectual genealogy behind one of the most consequential academic hoaxes of the past decade. In Part 1, we outli...
www.reverbcast.com
August 21, 2026 at 6:09 PM
🚨New re:verb episode🚨
In the first installment of a multi-part series, Alex & Calvin outline the "intellectual" genealogy that presaged the notorious "Grievance Studies" affair back in 2018, as well as detail the biographies of the 3 perpetrators, Peter Boghossian, James Lindsay, & Helen Pluckrose
In the first installment of a multi-part series, Alex & Calvin outline the "intellectual" genealogy that presaged the notorious "Grievance Studies" affair back in 2018, as well as detail the biographies of the 3 perpetrators, Peter Boghossian, James Lindsay, & Helen Pluckrose
Reposted by Alex Helberg
In which @calvinpollak.bsky.social & I trace the evolution of the anti-woke Intellectual Dork Web out of the fever swamp of the New Atheist blogosphere and set the stage for a full breakdown of the annoyingly influential "Sokal Squared" hoax
🚨New re:verb episode🚨
In the first installment of a multi-part series, Alex & Calvin outline the "intellectual" genealogy that presaged the notorious "Grievance Studies" affair back in 2018, as well as detail the biographies of the 3 perpetrators, Peter Boghossian, James Lindsay, & Helen Pluckrose
In the first installment of a multi-part series, Alex & Calvin outline the "intellectual" genealogy that presaged the notorious "Grievance Studies" affair back in 2018, as well as detail the biographies of the 3 perpetrators, Peter Boghossian, James Lindsay, & Helen Pluckrose
E110: The Grievance Studies Affair: A Rhetorical and Political History (Part 1) — re:verb
In the first installment of this multi-part series, Alex and Calvin trace the intellectual genealogy behind one of the most consequential academic hoaxes of the past decade. In Part 1, we outli...
www.reverbcast.com
August 21, 2026 at 6:32 PM
In which @calvinpollak.bsky.social & I trace the evolution of the anti-woke Intellectual Dork Web out of the fever swamp of the New Atheist blogosphere and set the stage for a full breakdown of the annoyingly influential "Sokal Squared" hoax
Reposted by Alex Helberg
After a brief summer hiatus, The Important Work will be back in September. If you teach writing to high school or college students, work in writing centers, take writing classes, assign writing in any context, I would love to hear from you and publish your reflections. Guidelines are here. /1
Write for The Important Work
Submission Guidelines
theimportantwork.substack.com
August 22, 2026 at 12:34 AM
After a brief summer hiatus, The Important Work will be back in September. If you teach writing to high school or college students, work in writing centers, take writing classes, assign writing in any context, I would love to hear from you and publish your reflections. Guidelines are here. /1
In which @calvinpollak.bsky.social & I trace the evolution of the anti-woke Intellectual Dork Web out of the fever swamp of the New Atheist blogosphere and set the stage for a full breakdown of the annoyingly influential "Sokal Squared" hoax
🚨New re:verb episode🚨
In the first installment of a multi-part series, Alex & Calvin outline the "intellectual" genealogy that presaged the notorious "Grievance Studies" affair back in 2018, as well as detail the biographies of the 3 perpetrators, Peter Boghossian, James Lindsay, & Helen Pluckrose
In the first installment of a multi-part series, Alex & Calvin outline the "intellectual" genealogy that presaged the notorious "Grievance Studies" affair back in 2018, as well as detail the biographies of the 3 perpetrators, Peter Boghossian, James Lindsay, & Helen Pluckrose
E110: The Grievance Studies Affair: A Rhetorical and Political History (Part 1) — re:verb
In the first installment of this multi-part series, Alex and Calvin trace the intellectual genealogy behind one of the most consequential academic hoaxes of the past decade. In Part 1, we outli...
www.reverbcast.com
August 21, 2026 at 6:32 PM
In which @calvinpollak.bsky.social & I trace the evolution of the anti-woke Intellectual Dork Web out of the fever swamp of the New Atheist blogosphere and set the stage for a full breakdown of the annoyingly influential "Sokal Squared" hoax
Reposted by Alex Helberg
Andrew Baker was also a “token black professor” at Bates College. But his perspective on the events Tyler Austin Harper recounts in his Atlantic cover story is very different. Read Baker’s side of the story online today.
newsletter.thedriftmag.com/p/racism-and...
newsletter.thedriftmag.com/p/racism-and...
Racism and labor at Bates: the other side of the story
Andrew Baker responds to Tyler Austin Harper
newsletter.thedriftmag.com
August 19, 2026 at 7:06 PM
Andrew Baker was also a “token black professor” at Bates College. But his perspective on the events Tyler Austin Harper recounts in his Atlantic cover story is very different. Read Baker’s side of the story online today.
newsletter.thedriftmag.com/p/racism-and...
newsletter.thedriftmag.com/p/racism-and...
A humble suggestion in case the Trump HHS & FDA are looking for a theme song
www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Re6...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Re6...
All The Food is Poison | Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! | Adult Swim
YouTube video by Adult Swim
www.youtube.com
August 19, 2026 at 6:25 PM
A humble suggestion in case the Trump HHS & FDA are looking for a theme song
www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Re6...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Re6...
Reposted by Alex Helberg
Sharing this fundraiser for legal support after CCCC--the flagship academic professional organization for the field of rhetoric and composition--was abruptly and unceremoniously "de-chartered" by NCTE gofund.me/05363e2ce
Donate to Help the Undefeated CCCC Chairs and Members Unite, organized by Vay Young
The undefeated CCCC group is a coalition of CCCC chairs and members who ha… Vay Young needs your support for Help the Undefeated CCCC Chairs and Members Unite
gofund.me
August 14, 2026 at 3:14 AM
Sharing this fundraiser for legal support after CCCC--the flagship academic professional organization for the field of rhetoric and composition--was abruptly and unceremoniously "de-chartered" by NCTE gofund.me/05363e2ce
Reposted by Alex Helberg
It’s really pretty simple: The Atlantic is a major source of misinformation about higher ed. Full stop.
August 11, 2026 at 10:18 PM
It’s really pretty simple: The Atlantic is a major source of misinformation about higher ed. Full stop.
Reposted by Alex Helberg
The thing about TAH’s latest article in The Atlantic is that throughout many of his recent articles he consistently makes arguments about “DEI” that match hyper-partisan pretexts for widespread government censorship of universities on a scale that surpasses that of 1950s McCarthyism. 1/2
August 11, 2026 at 1:05 AM
The thing about TAH’s latest article in The Atlantic is that throughout many of his recent articles he consistently makes arguments about “DEI” that match hyper-partisan pretexts for widespread government censorship of universities on a scale that surpasses that of 1950s McCarthyism. 1/2
Reposted by Alex Helberg
donorbox.org/marxopoly-ag...
Ends on Wednesday. All donations go to the Immigrant Defenders Law Center, and maybe you get Marx monopoly out of it.
Ends on Wednesday. All donations go to the Immigrant Defenders Law Center, and maybe you get Marx monopoly out of it.
Marxopoly Against ICE | All Grim Prints (Powered by Donorbox)
I’m Adam Ahlgrim of www.allgrimprints.shop. I decided to raffle off this hand-made Marx Monopoly board to help raise a bit of money to support the Immigrant Defenders Law Center. Fascism is sickening ...
donorbox.org
August 10, 2026 at 11:47 AM
donorbox.org/marxopoly-ag...
Ends on Wednesday. All donations go to the Immigrant Defenders Law Center, and maybe you get Marx monopoly out of it.
Ends on Wednesday. All donations go to the Immigrant Defenders Law Center, and maybe you get Marx monopoly out of it.
re:verb is back after a brief hiatus!
Tune in to hear @calvinpollak.bsky.social & me talk about Trump and Seb Gorka's counterterrorism rhetoric, as well as the new baby that I was still awaiting back in May when this was recorded! 😅
Tune in to hear @calvinpollak.bsky.social & me talk about Trump and Seb Gorka's counterterrorism rhetoric, as well as the new baby that I was still awaiting back in May when this was recorded! 😅
🚨New re:verb episode out today!🚨
On today's* show, Calvin and Alex perform a deep-dive rhetorical analysis of the Trump administration's recently released Counterterrorism Strategy document
👇 Check it out below! 👇
www.reverbcast.com/podcasts/202...
On today's* show, Calvin and Alex perform a deep-dive rhetorical analysis of the Trump administration's recently released Counterterrorism Strategy document
👇 Check it out below! 👇
www.reverbcast.com/podcasts/202...
E109: The Rhetoric of Counterterrorism in the Age of Trump — re:verb
On today’s show (recorded in mid-May), Calvin and Alex explore the Trump administration's recently released national counterterrorism strategy. As a rhetorical artifact, this document offers a reveali...
www.reverbcast.com
August 7, 2026 at 1:41 PM
re:verb is back after a brief hiatus!
Tune in to hear @calvinpollak.bsky.social & me talk about Trump and Seb Gorka's counterterrorism rhetoric, as well as the new baby that I was still awaiting back in May when this was recorded! 😅
Tune in to hear @calvinpollak.bsky.social & me talk about Trump and Seb Gorka's counterterrorism rhetoric, as well as the new baby that I was still awaiting back in May when this was recorded! 😅
Reposted by Alex Helberg
🚨New re:verb episode out today!🚨
On today's* show, Calvin and Alex perform a deep-dive rhetorical analysis of the Trump administration's recently released Counterterrorism Strategy document
👇 Check it out below! 👇
www.reverbcast.com/podcasts/202...
On today's* show, Calvin and Alex perform a deep-dive rhetorical analysis of the Trump administration's recently released Counterterrorism Strategy document
👇 Check it out below! 👇
www.reverbcast.com/podcasts/202...
E109: The Rhetoric of Counterterrorism in the Age of Trump — re:verb
On today’s show (recorded in mid-May), Calvin and Alex explore the Trump administration's recently released national counterterrorism strategy. As a rhetorical artifact, this document offers a reveali...
www.reverbcast.com
August 7, 2026 at 1:38 PM
🚨New re:verb episode out today!🚨
On today's* show, Calvin and Alex perform a deep-dive rhetorical analysis of the Trump administration's recently released Counterterrorism Strategy document
👇 Check it out below! 👇
www.reverbcast.com/podcasts/202...
On today's* show, Calvin and Alex perform a deep-dive rhetorical analysis of the Trump administration's recently released Counterterrorism Strategy document
👇 Check it out below! 👇
www.reverbcast.com/podcasts/202...
Reposted by Alex Helberg
Update on CCCC 2027
I just got off a call with Antero Garcia and Emily Kirkpatrick. 1/21
I just got off a call with Antero Garcia and Emily Kirkpatrick. 1/21
July 31, 2026 at 9:31 PM
Update on CCCC 2027
I just got off a call with Antero Garcia and Emily Kirkpatrick. 1/21
I just got off a call with Antero Garcia and Emily Kirkpatrick. 1/21
Reposted by Alex Helberg
The value of Writing Centers for encouraging research and cultivating scholarship cannot be overstated! It's part of my college WC's tutor training to conduct an original research project (many of these students go on to present at undergrad conferences), and...
Which was not only bad for purging experts in writing studies out of a key student-facing administrative role and consolidating power for... *ahem*, less-than-expert administrators, but also for destroying a key hub for actual innovation and even research on campus. (2/2)
July 29, 2026 at 2:49 AM
The value of Writing Centers for encouraging research and cultivating scholarship cannot be overstated! It's part of my college WC's tutor training to conduct an original research project (many of these students go on to present at undergrad conferences), and...
This is such a loss for the Harvard community. Jane has been a leader and a steady voice in the conversation about university writing and AI nationwide but especially in New England.
Carnegie Mellon did the exact same thing with our Writing Center while I was a grad student there... (1/2)
Carnegie Mellon did the exact same thing with our Writing Center while I was a grad student there... (1/2)
Sending vibes to @janerosenzweig.bsky.social. What an appalling decision.
Harvard College Lays Off Writing Center Director, Consolidates Center | News | The Harvard Crimson
The Harvard College Writing Center will no longer operate as a standalone unit after its director was laid off and its functions were consolidated as part of a restructuring in the Faculty of Arts and...
www.thecrimson.com
July 29, 2026 at 2:43 AM
This is such a loss for the Harvard community. Jane has been a leader and a steady voice in the conversation about university writing and AI nationwide but especially in New England.
Carnegie Mellon did the exact same thing with our Writing Center while I was a grad student there... (1/2)
Carnegie Mellon did the exact same thing with our Writing Center while I was a grad student there... (1/2)
Reposted by Alex Helberg
So, I’ve created a form where current and former CCCC Caucus/SIG/SG-affiliated leaders/folks can sign up if they want to be part of an ongoing conversation about how to respond (and how we might preserve and/or continue the work of our Caucus/SIG/SG after the loss of Cs).
CCCC Cross-Caucus/SIG/SG Conversation about the Future
forms.gle
July 28, 2026 at 10:12 PM
So, I’ve created a form where current and former CCCC Caucus/SIG/SG-affiliated leaders/folks can sign up if they want to be part of an ongoing conversation about how to respond (and how we might preserve and/or continue the work of our Caucus/SIG/SG after the loss of Cs).
Reposted by Alex Helberg
Important petition re CCCC
"If you are currently a CCCC member, we ask that you commit to cancelling your NCTE membership should these changes be made."
Petition: "Join us in calling on the NCTE to halt any actions leading to the dissolution of the CCCC member group."
www.change.org/p/halt-disso...
"If you are currently a CCCC member, we ask that you commit to cancelling your NCTE membership should these changes be made."
Petition: "Join us in calling on the NCTE to halt any actions leading to the dissolution of the CCCC member group."
www.change.org/p/halt-disso...
Sign the Petition
Halt Dissolution of CCCC and Call for Transparency from NCTE #SaveCCCC
www.change.org
July 25, 2026 at 9:29 PM
Important petition re CCCC
"If you are currently a CCCC member, we ask that you commit to cancelling your NCTE membership should these changes be made."
Petition: "Join us in calling on the NCTE to halt any actions leading to the dissolution of the CCCC member group."
www.change.org/p/halt-disso...
"If you are currently a CCCC member, we ask that you commit to cancelling your NCTE membership should these changes be made."
Petition: "Join us in calling on the NCTE to halt any actions leading to the dissolution of the CCCC member group."
www.change.org/p/halt-disso...
Reposted by Alex Helberg
NCTE has just summarily killed a 77-year-old organization that has shaped how writing is understood, taught, and learned, in higher education in particular. No member involvement. No transparency. No process to speak of.
With friends and fellow educators like these, I guess who needs enemies.
With friends and fellow educators like these, I guess who needs enemies.
Here it is, folks. @ncte.org Executive Committee votes to "de-charter its special topics conference CCCC," i.e., to shitcan the Cs.
mailchi.mp/ncte/ncte-up...
mailchi.mp/ncte/ncte-up...
NCTE Update, Decision by NCTE Executive Committee
mailchi.mp
July 24, 2026 at 9:35 PM
NCTE has just summarily killed a 77-year-old organization that has shaped how writing is understood, taught, and learned, in higher education in particular. No member involvement. No transparency. No process to speak of.
With friends and fellow educators like these, I guess who needs enemies.
With friends and fellow educators like these, I guess who needs enemies.
Reposted by Alex Helberg
Here it is, folks. @ncte.org Executive Committee votes to "de-charter its special topics conference CCCC," i.e., to shitcan the Cs.
mailchi.mp/ncte/ncte-up...
mailchi.mp/ncte/ncte-up...
NCTE Update, Decision by NCTE Executive Committee
mailchi.mp
July 24, 2026 at 9:18 PM
Here it is, folks. @ncte.org Executive Committee votes to "de-charter its special topics conference CCCC," i.e., to shitcan the Cs.
mailchi.mp/ncte/ncte-up...
mailchi.mp/ncte/ncte-up...
Perusing the Poster's Tacklebox
July 15, 2026 at 5:42 PM
Perusing the Poster's Tacklebox
Reposted by Alex Helberg
I’ve only recently learned that these are distinct discourses — for me they’re one and the same, the displacement of reason is the element that allows for the concentration of power.
the nonsensical "it can't reason!!" resistance to the most powerful, most important technology being developed today, instead of resistance to the concentration of power around it, is driving me insane
what a monumental waste of time and energy that parrotisation of discourse is
what a monumental waste of time and energy that parrotisation of discourse is
Claude wrote unit tests to test the code it wrote for me. It also took screenshots of the app it built and verified it looked as expected.
Again, Skill issue.
Again, Skill issue.
July 5, 2026 at 12:31 PM
I’ve only recently learned that these are distinct discourses — for me they’re one and the same, the displacement of reason is the element that allows for the concentration of power.
Today I'm really psyched to help promote the @reverb-podcast.bsky.social interview that my friend and co-producer @bkwilliams21.bsky.social put together with Iván Chaar López on examining the US-Mexico border through the lens of cybernetics.
Check it out!
www.reverbcast.com/podcasts/202...
Check it out!
www.reverbcast.com/podcasts/202...
E109: The Cybernetic Border (w/ Dr. Iván Chaar López) — re:verb
Episode 109: The Cybernetic Border: Drones, Technology, and Intrusion (w/ Dr. Iván Chaar López) On today’s show, Ben sits down with Dr. Iván Chaar López, Assistant Professor with the Department of A...
www.reverbcast.com
June 4, 2026 at 5:52 PM
Today I'm really psyched to help promote the @reverb-podcast.bsky.social interview that my friend and co-producer @bkwilliams21.bsky.social put together with Iván Chaar López on examining the US-Mexico border through the lens of cybernetics.
Check it out!
www.reverbcast.com/podcasts/202...
Check it out!
www.reverbcast.com/podcasts/202...
Reposted by Alex Helberg
Bad Ideas about AI and Writing, a new anthology from the @wacclearinghouse.bsky.social, transforms bad ideas into "'generative' ideas about GenAI and writing, ideas that spur creative new directions in the education and practice of writing."
wacclearinghouse.org/books/perspe...
wacclearinghouse.org/books/perspe...
May 26, 2026 at 7:19 PM
Bad Ideas about AI and Writing, a new anthology from the @wacclearinghouse.bsky.social, transforms bad ideas into "'generative' ideas about GenAI and writing, ideas that spur creative new directions in the education and practice of writing."
wacclearinghouse.org/books/perspe...
wacclearinghouse.org/books/perspe...
Dawkins proving yet again that the Turing Test is less a measure of machine intelligence than of human credulity
In totally unsurprising news, Richard Dawkins is developing AI psychosis.
Paywall bypass: archive.is/6RdK9
Paywall bypass: archive.is/6RdK9
May 2, 2026 at 1:23 PM
Dawkins proving yet again that the Turing Test is less a measure of machine intelligence than of human credulity