Katherine Catmull

I heard the same, it ASTONISHED me, and you're right. From the same paper that sanewashes Trump's weird ramblings all the time!

well that’s fair! but a) probably not that many below average readers into the atlantic but i don’t know, ofc and 2) i KNOW the OP is an excellent reader

it’s just an engaging way to present the scientific facts (not fiction ) she’s trying to convey. i guess it would have helped people if the implied “imagine this” were printed in boldface up top

i should add i think this is nothing like making up shit in a factual narrative and passing it off as being as fact—that’s bad! in this piece we are never led to believe ANY of the “story” is true any more than a how-to piece expects you to believe you have already fixed your toilet. +

but yeah i agree people here are confused by it, and i still don’t understand why. I am an enormous fan of michael hobbes so i can’t just say “y’all dumb or what?”, he’s the opposite of dumb. i just don’t get why it’s confusing!

there’s nothing with quotes around it in that piece (except the initial “siblings welcome” in the invite)—no quotes around the dialogue, IOW—which is another pretty clear clue that this is a “example of how it works when x happens” rather than a piece about a specific incident+

it’s not fiction! it’s a factual essay using the second person to explain how X happens, it’s not an uncommon technique, it’s used in essays and casual conversation! “how do i fix my toilet?” “well you do x y z” you wouldn’t respond “i haven’t done those things! this is fiction!”

sure! and it also makes it clear the piece is not describing a specific event that happened to some specific person—that would be written in 3rd person

thank you, I am also confused

I guess maybe not the "hardened" ones but the ones on the fence or uncertain about their choices might

not sure what "discern all these" means here (word missing?) but about a third of antivaxxers are not MAGA at all and some are likely Atlantic readers. Also very few antivaxxers (or people in general!) are cartoon idiots; the ones who are will believe anything their fave source tells them anyway

also it’s in second person, i don’t see how anyone could think it was reporting a real case when it’s in second person

i thought the fact that it was in second person made that pretty clear! i knew none of these things were happening to me!

this a lovely peaceful thread full of the goofy sweetness and variety of human beings

has it got SPECIAL LIGHTS my god!

I did! Afterwards we went to a dive bar we both liked and had iced tea (me) and coffee (him). Then we stood in the parking lot and hugged for a long time and decided to go see a movie the next day. After that he basically moved in. Forty+ years ago!

First date: He had directed me in couple of plays, and he quite rightly waited till that second show closed--well, about 5 minutes after it closed--to ask me to see him perform in a children's theater show at like 10am the next morning. /

"Moderna's CEO announced the company will no longer invest in new Phase 3 vaccine trials for infectious diseases: 'You cannot make a return on investment if you don't have access to the U.S. market. Vaccines for Epstein-Barr virus, herpes, and shingles have been shelved.” 9:12 AM Feb 12, 2026 604.8K Views

In terms of what cures are being lost:

- Epstein-Barr virus is perhaps the major trigger for multiple sclerosis
- herpes simplex virus causes cold sores, genital herpes, infections in babies, deadly meningitis
- shingles virus causes an intensely painful disease

similar for AC (more of an issue where I live) and as soon as I realized that you KNOW that AC went down to 72.

(I myself would like to see strict regulations enforcing self-identification of any AI product as such, with real penalties for those who don't, which is probably a bucket of water on a house fire for all the good it will do . . . what else?)

but how WOULD we prepare if it's true? what would that look like?

Just going to note again, because somehow we've all completely retconned this and I feel like I'm taking crazy pills, that pound-for-pound Biden had one of the most draconian border security regimes of any U.S. president ever, second only to Trump, *many of whose policies he inherited and kept*

my HS’s most famous alum is lyle lovett, who was actually a year ahead of me. Vaguely recall him in the halls in his blue corduroy future farmers of america jacket (i was a drama nerd , so separate spheres). #2 would be former Houston mayor & congressman sylvester turner

i’ve had only 2 hours sleep so i misread the name as Pete Hegseth and when i got to the end and there was no punchline i worried you were having a stroke

yes! and i’m glad we still have those but man i do not understand the reasoning of “if you care you should work for free,” how are people supposed to live? do they think doctors should work without pay?

from same generation -- we didn't pay for TV news though; but then neither do people these days--even if you don't have cable or over-air, the network news websites are not paywalled

I read it as --not a sneer, but a bit of an eyeroll at people who have not previously valued a liberal arts education or given it a lot of thought

absolutely horrifying and the goddamn Democrats are voting to give more money to DHS/CPB? to build more of these?

post a banger that is not in english ( this one is an all time favorite song of mine) youtu.be/J43T8rEOg-I?...

“church bombings, boycott, who can say which is worse” is so classic pitchbot