kate fishman

the usual useful list:

go.bsky.app/2Fq4P6e

There Was a Plan to Save These New Deal Masterpieces. Then Trump Won. A feasibility study was underway about restoring the ailing federal building that houses important Ben Shahn frescoes, Philip Guston murals, and other FDR-era artwork. But the Trump administration put...

I have been thinking A LOT lately about the flowering of art and culture under the New Deal, when the government decided it actively wanted to invest in job creation and creativity, so it's both sad and typical of the Trump admin to destroy that legacy.

Today marks the first day in public media’s history without federal funding. And we’re not going anywhere.

Listeners like you keep our mission alive. Protect one of the last places where America comes together to hear itself.

Stand with us today. Donate at this link: n.pr/46wamAj

so glad the navigator’s in the world—thanks for the chance to be a part of it!

And now for some backstory -- Bringing the Science Reporting Navigator into the world (out TODAY at @theopennotebook.bsky.social) was a true journey.

www.theopennotebook.com/science-repo...

it’s Science Reporting Navigator day! 🎉

this incredible toolkit from @theopennotebook.bsky.social & @rjionline.bsky.social will help journalists fold science into all kinds of reporting.

as a former local reporter, it was a joy to play a small part in bringing this resource to life. check it out!

The BS asymmetry principle: The amount of energy needed to refute BS is an order of magnitude bigger than that needed to produce it.

Thank you to every science communicator who is doing the almost impossible work of countering misinformation every day. Every single one of you is saving lives!

all this to say—jaws has been everywhere this summer, and this theatergoing experience reminded me why.

i’m thinking about the Beloved and Complicated Shark Movie with extra nerdy gratitude today! ❤️

but writing this piece let me dive into the bizarre, complicated afterlives that art can have, through the lens of a story that’s bled into so many parts of our lives and culture. (puns in this thread intended, with regrets and apologies).

Jaws Just Turned 50. It Created a Monster—And a Golden Era of Shark Science. | Atmos The myth of a killer shark was a debut novel’s legacy. Since then, a whole lot of curiosity has changed the story.

last year i wrote this piece for atmos about jaws’ legacy in shark science and the power of art, and through this whole anniversary summer it’s been so obvious that i should resurface it, and i’m so shit at social media that i haven’t done it!

atmos.earth/jaws-just-tu...

a half century on, the jump scares, sobering town politics, and wacky characters still hit. it was such an unexpected pleasure to sit in a theater and feel that energy with a bunch of strangers.

though i’ve watched this movie more than a dozen times easily, i realized in talking with my friend that i don’t think i’ve ever watched it by myself!

at its core, it’s a movie about people that always makes me feel connected to whoever’s watching it with me.

yesterday i watched jaws in a theater with my partner, his mom (who was seeing it for the first time since it came out 50 years ago!), and my dear friend who’d never seen it at all 🦈

Meet LA’s detective for dead marine mammals - High Country News A day in the life of a scientist studying the aftermath of the city’s deadly algal blooms.

out this week with high country news: a feature on the importance of studying "dead things" on LA's beaches.

www.hcn.org/articles/mee...

Urgent! Every Dollar Counts! We grow science with words, and are the only Asian American-run science newsroom: independent, nonprofit, led by Gen-Z! The Xylom needs to raise $7,500 by the end of the month to stay afloat. Please…

Time for some real talk: @thexylom.com, the only Asian American-run news outlet covering science, climate, and the environment, will run out of funding in July if we don't secure $7,500 by the end of the month. I might lose my job at a time while waiting for a visa extension -- a nightmare scenario.

5% of Undocumented Migrants Are Black. They're 20% of Potential Deportations. Research exposes how racial disparities in policing have created a pathway from routine life to permanent family separation for Black migrants.

One of the most underreported aspects of life for Black undocumented migrants can be summed up in one statistic: They’re deported at a rate four times more often than their numbers would suggest.

capitalbnews.org/black-migran...

The appointment of Tama as station master of Kishi Station in 2007 saved the station and added an estimated ¥1.1 billion to the local economy.

The act of writing can serve many purposes. It can be used to inform. It can be used to resist. It can be used to heal. Jasmin Graham & I wrote an essay about our terminated NSF grant, and hopefully, it accomplishes some of those goals.

www.advancejournal.org/post/3147-gr...

Come hang out with me, @siricarpenter.bsky.social & @kaatefishman.bsky.social + the RJI team next week! We’re sharing a sneak peak of our interactive toolkit for local journalists, the Science Reporting Navigator 🧭

'How come I can't breathe?: Musk's data company draws a backlash in Memphis The company's turbines-enough to power 280,000 homes- run without emission controls in an area that leads Tennessee in asthma hospitalizations. A An aerial view of the xAI, data center. | Steve Jones/Flight by Southwings for SELC By ARIEL WITTENBERG 05 /06/2025 10:32 AM EDT

States chase OpenAl's $100 billion AI American Dream Local and state officials are vying nost , parts of a massive artificial inteligence project called Stargate, backed by OpenAI, even as some communities turn against data center development. Today at 8:05 a.m. EDT 10 min

Going insane reading this Politico story about Musk's AI servers poisoning the air of a 90% Black community in Memphis followed immediately by this Washington Post story about states lining up their own communities to host the next ones

A graphic titled: “Long COVID Mode, Real-world Long COVID symptoms translated into in-game effects.” Below the text, a video game character is shown hunched over, as though struggling to manage a symptom. Energy bars above his head indicate that he is facing reduced vitality, cognitive dysfunction, and reduced stamina. At the bottom of the image, the graphic shows that this mode was created for Elden Ring, The Witcher, and Minecraft, through collaboration with Long COVID Europe. The text reads, “The Sick Times. “Long COVID Mode”: Seeing the crisis through games. By Kate Fishman.” T

THE SICK TIMES: "If a bad outcome will only happen if you roll a one, that doesn’t mean it’s not gonna happen." - Zoyander Street, Artist and designer based in the United Kingdom

Games can be sense-making tools, allowing players to vicariously experience the risks of contracting COVID-19, recognize #LongCOVID’s most challenging symptoms, and connect with others amid an ongoing public health crisis.

Read more from @kaatefishman.bsky.social: bit.ly/4iQhmuE

NOAA ends extreme weather database that tracked cost of disasters since 1980 | CNN Its discontinuation is another Trump-administration blow to the public’s view into how fossil fuel pollution is changing the world around them and making extreme weather more costly.

NEW: NOAA retires its widely cited billion-dollar weather and climate database amid staff cuts. Unique database had been tallying disaster costs for 45 years. www.cnn.com/2025/05/08/c...

thank you @betsyladyzhets.bsky.social and @mileswgriffis.bsky.social for editing (and for stewarding such a vital publication! an honor to take part).

“Long COVID Mode”: Seeing the crisis through games - The Sick Times Games uniquely incorporate emotional and social factors that influence how we take in information — making them surprisingly useful communication tools in a world in denial about the ongoing threats o...

delved into the world of games and Long COVID for one of my favorite pieces i've gotten to report!

for @thesicktimes.bsky.social: some truly thoughtful perspectives and very cool games from @stevewilcox.bsky.social, @zoyander.cc, and @chantalbritt.bsky.social.

thesicktimes.org/2025/05/06/l...

“Long COVID Mode”: Seeing the crisis through games - The Sick Times Games uniquely incorporate emotional and social factors that influence how we take in information — making them surprisingly useful communication tools in a world in denial about the ongoing threats o...

This @thesicktimes.bsky.social features some clever and creative ways video games are being used to help others understand more about COVID and masking (via a short game), as well as the impacts Long Covid can have on you (via mods for Witcher 3, Dark Souls, Minecraft). Definitely worth the read.

This is such a brilliant, creative approach and such a delightful intersection of so many of my personal and professional interests that I am overwhelmed with… what is this feeling?

Am I immediately in love with every person who was involved in any capacity??

“Long COVID Mode”: Seeing the crisis through games - The Sick Times Games uniquely incorporate emotional and social factors that influence how we take in information — making them surprisingly useful communication tools in a world in denial about the ongoing threats o...

👾 Millions of us have been experiencing the hell of "Long COVID Mode" for years. Now, video games & other games are illustrating how the disease can affect your abilities & what your risk of of developing it are.

New feature by @kaatefishman.bsky.social !

thesicktimes.org/2025/05/06/l...

The Flytrap Bringing Back the Feminist Blog

Well, @theflytrapmedia.com has been bringing 🔥 feminist cultural criticism to the internet for six months now!

We are celebrating with 15% off all subscriptions for a limited time only. If you've been thinking about taking the plunge, today is the day; help us get 1,000 new subscribers this month!

so loved working on this piece about games as a communication tool around Long COVID with @thesicktimes.bsky.social !

my hope is that AI can empower the Dumbest, Least talented slobs i know to replace everything i ever loved with One Million Years of Content