Prasad Jallepalli, MD, PhD

Imagine a group of 5-year-olds playing a board game. The rules are clear, the goal is fair, and one child edges ahead — until, suddenly, another child starts losing. That’s when the trouble begins. “He cheated!” the losing child yells. “I’m the winner anyway!” he declares. And then, like clockwork, he flips the board. In the world of kindergarten conflict resolution, we expect this kind of behavior. We chalk it up to development. We teach better sportsmanship. What do we do when the president of the United States behaves this way? On Friday, President Trump fired the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics — the nation’s workaday scorekeeper of employment, wages and productivity. Why? Because the data didn’t make Mr. Trump look good. The statistics were inconvenient. So the president didn’t just challenge the findings; he fired the statistician. That’s not governing. That’s board flipping.

Janet Yellen's husband & Econ Nobel Laureate George Akerlof:

"...when presidents flip the board, it’s not just a game that ends. It’s the pieces of democracy that get scattered to the floor."
www.nytimes.com/2025/08/03/o...

It is time for everyone in America with a position of influence to speak clearly and directly.

which is by design

About 800 NIH, NSF research grants suspended following UCLA federal funding cuts - Daily Bruin About 800 research grants have been suspended at UCLA, according to a Friday email from Vice Chancellor for Research and Creative Activities Roger Wakimoto. Wakimoto said in the email, which was sent ...

Daily Bruin article about the ~800 frozen grants at UCLA including some from my lab dailybruin.com/2025/08/02/a...

Mark Zandi @Markzandi · 8h The economy is on the precipice of recession. That’s the clear takeaway from last week’s economic data dump. Consumer spending has flatlined, construction and manufacturing are contracting, and employment is set to fall. And with inflation on the rise, it is tough for the Fed to come to the rescue. Unemployment remains low, but that’s only because labor force growth has gone sideways. The foreign-born workforce is shrinking, and labor force participation is declining. Telling is the economy-wide hiring freeze, particularly for recent graduates, and the decline in hours worked. Mark Zandi @Markzandi · 8h It’s no mystery why the economy is struggling; blame increasing U.S. tariffs and highly restrictive immigration policy. The tariffs are cutting increasingly deeply into the profits of American companies and the purchasing power of American households. Fewer immigrant workers means a smaller economy.

Moody's chief economist Mark Zandi says:
- We are headed for a recession
-The BLS data is totally reliable- for now
-The revisions are due to delayed reporting of DOGE govt layoffs
-Higher tariffs are dragging down the economy
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“Garber, in a conversation with one faculty member, said that the suggestion that Harvard was open to paying $500 million is ‘false’ and claimed that the figure was apparently leaked to the press by White House officials...”

www.thecrimson.com/article/2025...

Texas researcher faces deportation after being held for week at San Francisco airport A legal permanent resident with a green card who flew back to the U.S. after visiting family in South Korea was detained by immigration authorities and held for more than a week at the San Francisco I...

apnews.com/article/texa... researcher faces deportation after being held for week at San Francisco airport

Key point from Andreas Georgiou, who was criminally prosecuted for insisting on reporting accurate deficit figures when he was head of Greece's statistical agency: Reliable data is essential for democracy.

Economist Amartya Sen won a Nobel in part for asking: Why did India avoid the mass famines that killed tens of millions in China? His answer: a free press. Journalists could expose suffering and shame governments into action. Silence and avoidance, by contrast, can be deadly.

Trump Fired America’s Economic Data Collector. History Shows the Perils.

President Trump didn't like the jobs numbers, so he fired the person responsible for producing them.
It's a move that has been tried before, by leaders of countries from Argentina to Greece to the Soviet Union. It rarely ends well.
www.nytimes.com/2025/08/03/b... #EconSky

No, Harvard is not considering paying $500 million in regime blackmail attempt, its president says
www.thecrimson.com/article/2025...

world-class universities are by definition open to the world

international scholars are a key part of the soft power we’ve wielded for more than 50 years

we know more about the world because of them, and vice versa

they also account for our dominance in STEM including major companies & standards

Niemöller was asked by his concentration camp cellmate why he had ever supported Hitler and the Nazis. Reportedly, this is what he had to say for himself:

🧪

Just reading transcript of 7/24 hearing before Judge Boasberg in JGG—AEA case where govt sent Venezuelans to CECOT despite his orders. Even if DC Cir blocks criminal contempt proceedings, Boasberg says he’ll refer DOJ attys to bar authorities & court’s own disciplinary committee ...
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Ah yes, firing the data expert after bad news on jobs, just the kind of commitment to research excellence we like to see in governments that are asserting control over…academic research.

Potatoes Evolved From … Tomatoes? Dipping fries into ketchup just got a little more mind-bending.

Scientists have spent decades puzzling over potatoes’ origin story. The answer was juicier than anyone expected, @katherinejwu.com reports.

Now you know how WE feel, Senator.

Trump’s Efforts to Control Information Echo an Authoritarian Playbook

“Firing the top statistical official sends a clear signal to others across the government that you are expected to compromise scientific integrity to appease the president… This puts us in dangerous territory far from an accountable and reality-based government.” @peterbakernyt.bsky.social

Open Call for Expressions of Interest in Max Planck Directorships: Expressions of interest can be submitted until 31 October 2025.

Director at Max Planck - a unique position! The Open Call for Expressions of Interest in Max Planck Directorships is open now and can be submitted by the 31st of October 2025. ➡️ mpg.de/directors - Please share the Open Call among potential candidates.

and/or noise canceling headphones as a fundamental right

journals.aps.org/prl/abstract...

Of course it helps us the most if you can afford a regular subscription.

I understand not everyone can. We often have sales and we have certain discounts for like students and academics, etc. Feel free to DM me, I’m happy to help figure out if any discounts might apply.

Terence Tao has written a thread about the damage being caused by the grant freezes at UCLA.

mathstodon.xyz/@tao/1149568...

Judges Keep Restrictions on Los Angeles Immigration Arrests An appellate panel upheld a finding that federal agents appeared to rely exclusively on race and other factors, such as speaking Spanish, in making arrests.

Breaking News: A federal appeals court upheld a decision that temporarily halted agents from arresting and detaining L.A. immigrants without probable cause.

His ability probably is not subject to debate, but I’ve personally been present for him bragging that he does not like to read, for any reason whatsoever.

the special pleading here isn't new -- it's the same absurd lie that could be counted on to persuade a Klansman

The BLS, in other words, really forms the "ground truth" of shared facts around which economic policy debates are supposed to unfold in a rational policy system. Corrupting the BLS data so that Dear Leader can dictate the "facts" will represent a dramatic acceleration of the epistemic implosion.

“A fire broke out backstage in a theatre. A clown came out to warn the public; they thought it a joke & applauded. He repeated it; their acclaim was greater. I think that's how the world will come to an end: to general applause from wits who believe it's a joke.”

We are in Kierkegaard's nightmare