Dr. Smurphy

Broken Again. On how well I treat my body.

In this week's newsletter, I talk broken toes and broken relationships to food.

open.substack.com/pub/saramurp...

My Search for Scares: Stephen King's 'Salem's Lot On finding the master of horror charmingly quaint.

In this week's newsletter, I find Stephen King's 'Salem's Lot....adorable.

saramurphyphd.substack.com/p/my-search-...

Every accusation is a confession

CRAFT TALK | Jami Attenberg | Substack CRAFT TALK is a weekly newsletter about writing, creativity and productivity from author Jami Attenberg. This is also the home of #1000wordsofsummer, where, once a year, we write 1000 words a day toge...

A haiku about the nonfiction book proposal I'm working on for @jamiattenberg.bsky.social's #1000wordsofsummer challenge:

Hurricane Helene:
Neighbors helping neighbors, come
Hell and high water.

Join the challenge at 1000wordsofsummer.substack.com

this is a treasure

These Colleges Are Shuttering Their Women’s and LGBTQ+ Centers Here’s what to know.

At least 31 gender and sexuality based resource centers have shuttered across 23 college campuses.

Read the full story here ⤵️

nothing good has ever come from presenting disabled and sick people as a literal threat to the nation

A broken institution

man, there is some serious egg on my face right now

In the 1980s, the US experienced one billion-plus dollar extreme weather disaster on average every 4 months.

Today? There’s one every 2 weeks, and 9 in 10 Americans say they’ve felt the impacts.

Clearly, this is the record to cut—if you don’t want to show how climate change is hitting home.

we will never let you edit posts. you must wear each typo as an albatross. you will bear the weight of your hubris

I have a Titanic-induced fear of being buried under miles of water, so this video gave me major creeps.

Who did you reach out to? Griffin?

I am! I live outside Asheville.

I’ll be there!

Where I Get My Story Ideas On deciding what to write about.

This week's newsletter is for all the freelancers.
saramurphyphd.substack.com/p/where-i-ge...

This feels like blackmail

Democracy | Little Makes Me Angrier Than Lies About History Donna Ladd reflects on the times she discovered the hidden racist pasts of institutions and towns that did all they could to downplay that history.

OPINION: "The “false lessons” were actually the exact uncomfortable truth; down was up as we’re seeing now," Donna Ladd writes.

Stuck. On realizing what felt like burnout might actually be trauma.

My latest newsletter post about vicarious trauma and Hurricane Helene:

open.substack.com/pub/saramurp...

Headline for an article written by the communications director for the North Carolina Coalition for Charter Schools saying, "Months after Helene, charter leaders grapple with strained budgets, long-term effects"

The author lamenting charter schools' strained budgets fails to note how her organization failed to endorse the Leandro Plan, which would have increased charter budgets by about 45%. It's not too late. Charter students deserve constitutionally funded schools, too!

#ncpol

Question:

Western North Carolina?

or

western North Carolina?

Truth. I worry about farmers a lot.

These slides are a great introductory resource for scientists (and others) wanting to know more about what is currently happening to science during MAGA-2025.

The text/prose on the last slide hit me like a ton of bricks.

there are simply too many stories and not enough paid journalists to write them all. this is by design.

Here’s the original version of the OpEd that reflects my actual arguments.
drive.google.com/file/d/1mNFm...

There are 2 OpEds on Kennedy in the LA Times today. One (by Lee Fang) is a glowing endorsement. This one had any Kennedy criticism stripped by the editors.
Manufacturing Consent.

Do you mind sharing your rates?

Bummed I have to miss the 2 p.m. livestream on Helene recovery.

Page One in Boston:

@bostonglobe.com