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Sam Packard

@sambear.bsky.social

Dog dad, epidemiologist, wannabe social scientist. Voted most likely to run away and join the circus.

94 Followers  |  271 Following  |  99 Posts  |  Joined: 07.12.2023  |  2.2616

Latest posts by sambear.bsky.social on Bluesky

Ezra Klein: There's a Rick & Morty quote I really like.

Ezra Klein: There's a Rick & Morty quote I really like.

Ezra Klein: It goes like this, "Why would a pop-tart want to live inside a toaster? That would be like the scariest place for them to live."

Ezra Klein: It goes like this, "Why would a pop-tart want to live inside a toaster? That would be like the scariest place for them to live."

Ta-Nehisi Coates not saying anything

Ta-Nehisi Coates not saying anything

Ezra Klein: Because in the episode they go to a neighborhood where everyone is a pop-tart and they live in toaster-houses.

Ezra Klein: Because in the episode they go to a neighborhood where everyone is a pop-tart and they live in toaster-houses.

30.09.2025 14:51 β€” πŸ‘ 6157    πŸ” 993    πŸ’¬ 94    πŸ“Œ 125
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ICE attempted
and failed to disappear a food delivery guy.
It needed to be scored.

29.09.2025 03:10 β€” πŸ‘ 27408    πŸ” 6982    πŸ’¬ 2385    πŸ“Œ 1914

I know antifa isn't a real organization because I don't get 40 texts a week from them asking for donations.

22.09.2025 23:21 β€” πŸ‘ 32682    πŸ” 6508    πŸ’¬ 394    πŸ“Œ 246

I about spit out my coffee when she said that.

18.09.2025 21:18 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

I guess this is the only health issue in the world that RFK thinks it's worth giving up completely on prevention and going all in on any pharmaceutical intervention suggested by the person who happens to be sitting directly on his left at any given moment.

18.09.2025 20:04 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

RFK's opening tirade is one of the least coherent things I've ever heard.

We don't academic research, but we need... "some way" to assess the efficacy of treatments and find biomarkers. In other words... Academic research.

18.09.2025 18:15 β€” πŸ‘ 7    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

It's kinda wild that they didn't consider long COVID at all, but that just means that NPIs are way *more* cost effective than they estimated.

17.09.2025 22:55 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

Big yikes.

17.09.2025 22:42 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
The Onion:

Report: You To Be Fired For Reading This Headline About Charlie Kirk

The Onion: Report: You To Be Fired For Reading This Headline About Charlie Kirk

theonion.com/report-you-t...

16.09.2025 16:02 β€” πŸ‘ 3617    πŸ” 705    πŸ’¬ 64    πŸ“Œ 19
VACCINES FOR ALL: Gov. Kathy Hochul is set to sign an executive order allowing pharmacists to prescribe and administer Covid-19 vaccines to New Yorkers who request them, according to plans shared exclusively with Playbook. The Democrat’s executive order will mirror actions taken by other blue state governors this week to protect access to the latest Covid vaccine.

The Food and Drug Administration has only granted limited approval of the jab for older adults and individuals considered to be high-risk. That’s prompted Democratic leaders to create their own vaccine guidance and explore ways they can legally protect access to the shot for everyone.

β€œBy signing this EO, Governor Hochul is making it clear that when Washington Republicans play politics with public health, New Yorkers will still be able to make their own health care decisions and get the care they need from trusted providers in their community,” Hochul spokesperson Kara Cumoletti said in a statement to POLITICO.

This morning, POLITICO Pro reported that the Hochul administration is reviewing potential solutions to the Trump administration’s efforts to restrict vaccine access. However, a long-term fix may require legislative changes by lawmakers either through a special session, or when they return to the state Capitol in January.

β€œThis temporary order will ensure seamless access while the Governor works with the Legislature on a long-term solution to safeguard preventive care and vaccines,” Cumoletti added. β€” Katelyn Cordero

VACCINES FOR ALL: Gov. Kathy Hochul is set to sign an executive order allowing pharmacists to prescribe and administer Covid-19 vaccines to New Yorkers who request them, according to plans shared exclusively with Playbook. The Democrat’s executive order will mirror actions taken by other blue state governors this week to protect access to the latest Covid vaccine. The Food and Drug Administration has only granted limited approval of the jab for older adults and individuals considered to be high-risk. That’s prompted Democratic leaders to create their own vaccine guidance and explore ways they can legally protect access to the shot for everyone. β€œBy signing this EO, Governor Hochul is making it clear that when Washington Republicans play politics with public health, New Yorkers will still be able to make their own health care decisions and get the care they need from trusted providers in their community,” Hochul spokesperson Kara Cumoletti said in a statement to POLITICO. This morning, POLITICO Pro reported that the Hochul administration is reviewing potential solutions to the Trump administration’s efforts to restrict vaccine access. However, a long-term fix may require legislative changes by lawmakers either through a special session, or when they return to the state Capitol in January. β€œThis temporary order will ensure seamless access while the Governor works with the Legislature on a long-term solution to safeguard preventive care and vaccines,” Cumoletti added. β€” Katelyn Cordero

BREAKING: New York Governor Kathy Hochul is set to sign an executive order allowing pharmacists to prescribe and administer Covid-19 vaccines to anyone who requests them, regardless of age or underlying conditions.

04.09.2025 22:36 β€” πŸ‘ 3406    πŸ” 974    πŸ’¬ 51    πŸ“Œ 137

I had what may have been my first ever COVID infection in August, and it lasted 15 days.

03.09.2025 15:57 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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bear mountain bb

02.09.2025 21:14 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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la peste et la bb

03.08.2025 22:01 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

It's more than a minor oversight - if you're studying antisemitism you can't just be needlessly sloppy in your definitions/inclusion criteria for Jewish identity. Seems almost by design to solicit the opinions of religiously active Jews and represent those as the views of the whole.

31.07.2025 20:05 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

It's hard to say when the question wording explicitly asks about religious affiliation. Pew data show roughly a third of Jews choose no religion on similar questions. I took the Columbia survey and don't actually remember if I checked the Jewish box or not.

31.07.2025 20:05 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

Feel similarly about supervising interns who are getting their masters in public health

31.07.2025 18:28 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

I haven't seen anyone write about this, but this survey defined Jewish by religious affiliation only - not as a cultural or ethnic group. It does not include secular and non practicing Jews (which is a significant % of young Jewish people)

31.07.2025 18:23 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

There are other journals - but these publications filled a needed space for disseminating descriptive public health data, regardless of whether the subject matter or methodology is "novel" or "high impact".

31.07.2025 15:58 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

HHS Journals - MMWR, Preventing Chronic Disease, Public Health Reports, Emerging Infectious Diseases - play a vital role in the public health publishing ecosystem, but they're out of bounds for equity-literate researchers as long as these clowns are in power. #episky

31.07.2025 14:48 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

More prominent journals haven't expressed interest because it's not methodologically sexy - despite using a large and well designed population-based survey, it's just descriptive epidemiology.

31.07.2025 14:48 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

I'm sitting on a report that I'd love to publish but the target journals for it are all published by US Federal Government agencies and would not publish because we include transgender people in our results.

31.07.2025 14:48 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
What’s a technology that you think is overhyped?

I’m going to give a sideways answer to this, which is that the venture capital business model needs to be understood as requiring hype. You can go back to the Netscape IPO, and that was the proof point that made venture capital the financial lifeblood of the tech industry.

Venture capital looks at valuations and growth, not necessarily at profit or revenue. So you don’t actually have to invest in technology that works, or that even makes a profit, you simply have to have a narrative that is compelling enough to float those valuations. So you see this repetitive and exhausting hype cycle as a feature in this industry. A couple of years ago, you would have been asking me about the metaverse, then last year, you would have asked me about Web3 and crypto, and for each of these inflection points there’s an Andreessen Horowitz manifesto.

It’s not simply that one piece of technology is overhyped, it’s that hype is a necessary ingredient of the current business ecosystem of the tech industry. We should examine how often the financial incentive for hype is rewarded without any real social returns, without any meaningful progress in technology, without these tools and services and worlds ever actually manifesting. That’s key to understanding the growing chasm between the narrative of techno-optimists and the reality of our tech-encumbered world.

What’s a technology that you think is overhyped? I’m going to give a sideways answer to this, which is that the venture capital business model needs to be understood as requiring hype. You can go back to the Netscape IPO, and that was the proof point that made venture capital the financial lifeblood of the tech industry. Venture capital looks at valuations and growth, not necessarily at profit or revenue. So you don’t actually have to invest in technology that works, or that even makes a profit, you simply have to have a narrative that is compelling enough to float those valuations. So you see this repetitive and exhausting hype cycle as a feature in this industry. A couple of years ago, you would have been asking me about the metaverse, then last year, you would have asked me about Web3 and crypto, and for each of these inflection points there’s an Andreessen Horowitz manifesto. It’s not simply that one piece of technology is overhyped, it’s that hype is a necessary ingredient of the current business ecosystem of the tech industry. We should examine how often the financial incentive for hype is rewarded without any real social returns, without any meaningful progress in technology, without these tools and services and worlds ever actually manifesting. That’s key to understanding the growing chasm between the narrative of techno-optimists and the reality of our tech-encumbered world.

Stand by this: www.politico.com/newsletters/...

19.02.2025 16:42 β€” πŸ‘ 9792    πŸ” 3193    πŸ’¬ 162    πŸ“Œ 358

Just a note to someone who listens to a lot of audiobooks but mostly non-fiction, some of these questions only apply to fiction and aren't skippable

30.07.2025 22:21 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
TIRED OF BEING BRAINWASHED BY THE MAINSTREAM MEDIA??
WHY NOT TRY...
RACIST POSTS ON A FASCIST BILLIONAIRE'S
MESSAGE BOARD
SOURCELESS
INFOGRAPHICS ON
INSTAGRAM CAROUSELS
VERTICAL VIDEOS THAT CATER TO YOUR ALGORITHMIC ECHO
CHAMBER
BUFF GUY CONFIDENTLY
BABBLING ABOUT SUBJECTS HE DOESN'T UNDERSTAND
Tormy SiGGEL

TIRED OF BEING BRAINWASHED BY THE MAINSTREAM MEDIA?? WHY NOT TRY... RACIST POSTS ON A FASCIST BILLIONAIRE'S MESSAGE BOARD SOURCELESS INFOGRAPHICS ON INSTAGRAM CAROUSELS VERTICAL VIDEOS THAT CATER TO YOUR ALGORITHMIC ECHO CHAMBER BUFF GUY CONFIDENTLY BABBLING ABOUT SUBJECTS HE DOESN'T UNDERSTAND Tormy SiGGEL

New libmeme

28.07.2025 19:24 β€” πŸ‘ 311    πŸ” 53    πŸ’¬ 5    πŸ“Œ 1
Preview
Gaza is starving. Where are the American Jewish leaders? A fear of being labelled antisemitic still deters American Jews and Jewish institutions from taking a position that is morally correct.

The mass starvation & killing of Palestinians in Gaza at the hands of the Israeli gov’t is a chillul hashem, a desecration of God.

Jewish leaders who criticized Zohran Mamdani for three words he doesn’t use should raise their voices loudly here as well.
forward.com/opinion/7575...

24.07.2025 22:04 β€” πŸ‘ 9499    πŸ” 3414    πŸ’¬ 180    πŸ“Œ 175
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this was a literal news headline yesterday and i hate this timeline

21.07.2025 19:46 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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private pool bb

18.07.2025 22:23 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

I've tried to work through my own thoughts around this assumption that successful methods in the physical sciences will work equally well in the social sciences, resulting in problematic epistemological hegemony. I haven't been able to clearly articulate those thoughts, hopefully this book will!

16.07.2025 16:43 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 2    πŸ“Œ 0

Thanks for sharing - definitely going to read

16.07.2025 13:25 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

It's baffling that the entire field of medicine/epidemiology isn't getting on board with this in reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic. Recent studies on protective effect of vaccines in middle-age (RSV, shingles) on dementia risk also v instructive

14.07.2025 17:08 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

@sambear is following 20 prominent accounts