Paige Vega

screenshotted text: "....unsettled because pain is a subjective feeling that science cannot prove definitively. And so, even as experimental evidence that fish experience pain has accumulated over the last quarter-century, some prominent skeptics continue to doubt it. The great fish pain debate shows us how scientific knowledge is shaped not just by linear progress, but also by historical contingency, cultural biases, philosophical roadblocks, and internal ethical paradoxes. And it reflects back a story about us humans — our endeavor to find sentience in our fellow creatures, and our countervailing impulse to deny morally important qualities in them."

until quite recently, I had never thought much about fish, but now they're all I think about

Please read my piece about FISH MINDS! the great fish pain debate, and what it tells us about science and ourselves. gift link in reply!

The surprisingly profound debate over whether fish feel pain We can never prove that other animals are conscious. What do we do with that?

Broadly, humans flatten the dimension, the complexity of fish.

But @mbolotnikova.bsky.social's latest story traces the contested question of whether fish feel pain and shows how the limits of our imagination shape the limits of their world.

Smart piece from @vox.com www.vox.com/future-perfe...

The meat industry’s climate accountability moment is here Two lawsuits called out Big Meat’s bluff. And it worked.

The meat industry is finally being pushed to answer for years of misleading climate claims.

New settlements against Tyson and JBS show that real accountability is possible.

@kennytorrella.bsky.social for @vox.com: www.vox.com/future-perfe...

The 2025 Future Perfect 25 Meet the heroes keeping global progress alive.

Meet the 2025 Future Perfect 25.

As we began thinking of how to organize the 2025 list, we realized the most urgent story in our wheelhouse is the squeeze on foreign aid and on global health and development, which threatens to reverse some of the most important progress humanity has ever made.

thanks kylie 💛

Excited for this next chapter! And especially to work more closely with @izzieramirez.bsky.social and our excellent cohort of fellows!

A wee bit of industry news: Happy to share that I recently moved into a new role @vox.com

I'll still be editing climate + biodiversity sections and will also steer our coverage of science, health, and edit stories at Future Perfect, where we explore the best frameworks to do more good in the world.

The 6 big thinkers reshaping foreign aid, masculinity, and development Meet the Future Perfect 25: The Thinkers

From Esther Wanjiru Kimani’s solar-powered AI fighting crop failure, to Yibo Li’s breakthrough gene work protecting rice from extreme heat, to Ken Opalo’s analysis of how African democracies build power — I loved spotlighting grounded solutions shaping our future.

www.vox.com/future-perfe...

Future Perfect 25: Meet the 7 trailblazers transforming global health The scientists, technologists, and entrepreneurs revolutionizing the future of global health.

I had the honor of profiling some of our honorees this year:

www.vox.com/future-perfe...

With funding gaps widening and essential health gains at risk, this year, we focused on leaders who are proving that innovation, evidence, and community-rooted solutions can still push progress forward.

This year’s list gets back to the core question that launched @vox.com Future Perfect: What’s the most important work in the world that isn’t getting enough attention?

The 2025 Future Perfect 25 Meet the heroes keeping global progress alive.

Today, @izzieramirez.bsky.social and @vox.com's Future Perfect team launched our annual list of extraordinary changemakers keeping global progress alive at a moment when foreign aid and development are under immense pressure.

There's so much to be inspired by here: www.vox.com/future-perfe...

Most animals on this island nation are found nowhere else on Earth. And now they’re vanishing. The only way to save them is to put people first.

Read the full project — also available in Malagasy, Madagascar's national language — here: www.vox.com/climate/4649...

Scientists are racing to save these iconic animals in Madagascar Fires are coming. Can scientists act fast enough?

Our last feature in our @vox.com series on biodiversity collapse in Madagascar is out.

In this story, @benjij.bsky.social follows scientists racing to protect iconic chameleons as wildfires close in on their last refuges.

www.vox.com/climate/4686...

Meet the newly uninsured Millions of Americans will soon go without insurance. We spoke with some of them.

Our team spoke with a group of people from a variety of backgrounds—a young gig worker, a father and husband, an early retiree, and a middle-aged entrepreneur—who are facing impossible choices as their health care costs climb.

@dylanlscott.bsky.social for @vox.com: www.vox.com/health/46855...

Most animals on this island nation are found nowhere else on Earth. And now they’re vanishing. The only way to save them is to put people first.

This feature is the second in our series on biodiversity collapse — and the complex solutions to address it. You can read all of our stories here: www.vox.com/climate/4649...

The world’s lemurs are going extinct. This is the only way to save them. To protect Madagascar’s iconic animals, wildlife groups need to think beyond wildlife.

In Madagascar, the fight to save wildlife has never been just about wildlife. It’s about addressing the entrenched challenges that impact the humans who depend on the same forests.

@benjij.bsky.social for @vox.com: www.vox.com/climate/4676...

Scientists are testing a surprising approach to fighting hunger in one of the poorest places on Earth Madagascar is reeling from political unrest. But there’s another problem that no one’s talking about.

"It’s a complicated situation: The health and well-being of people along the coast depends on fishing, yet too much fishing is a key reason why the reef, and the fishery it supports, is in decline."

@benjij.bsky.social for @vox.com: www.vox.com/climate/4650...

Clean energy could become a huge political winner Rising power bills quietly shaped this year’s races — and gave Democrats a new attack line on climate.

By grounding climate action in the everyday math of household energy bills, Democrats may have finally found a way to make climate policy feel less abstract — and more like a winning issue.

@umairfan.bsky.social for @vox.com: www.vox.com/climate/4677...

Trump’s anti-climate agenda is making it more expensive to own a car The president hates EVs. But his policies are making gas cars more expensive too.

Trump thinks cutting regulations will save you money. Nope.

@umairfan.bsky.social for @vox.com: www.vox.com/climate/4672...

Most animals on this island nation are found nowhere else on Earth. And now they’re vanishing. The only way to save them is to put people first.

🚨Just launched: @vox.com's most ambitious biodviersity reporting project of the year.

@benjij.bsky.social went to Madagascar to find out what it takes to save one of the world’s most unique ecosystems — and learned that the answer begins with putting people first.

www.vox.com/climate/4649...

Miankina amin’ny ranomasina izy ireo mba hivelomany. Saingy ankehitriny, miharava ny aina velona ao an-dranomasina. Ny fiarovana ny tontolo iainana dia matetika nampifandona ny natiora sy ny olona mahantra. Mitady làlana vaovao i Madagasikara.

In very very likely a first for @vox.com, this story is also available in Malagasy, Madagascar's national language.

Ny krizy ara-politika sy ara-tontolo iainana ao Madagasikara. Mety hanampy ny famerenana amin’ny laoniny ny haran-dranomasina ve?

www.vox.com/climate/4654...

Miankina amin’ny ranomasina izy ireo mba hivelomany. Saingy ankehitriny, miharava ny aina velona ao an-dranomasina. Ny fiarovana ny tontolo iainana dia matetika nampifandona ny natiora sy ny olona mahantra. Mitady làlana vaovao i Madagasikara.

In very very likely a first for @vox.com, this story is also available in Malagasy, Madagascar's national language.

Ny krizy ara-politika sy ara-tontolo iainana ao Madagasikara. Mety hanampy ny famerenana amin’ny laoniny ny haran-dranomasina ve?

www.vox.com/climate/4654...

A data center that doesn’t even exist can raise your electricity bill Consumers are finally pushing back on AI-driven data expansion. Will it matter?

The consumer backlash to data centers is here.

Right now, you’re paying more for your electricity because of AI data centers you’ve never seen — and that may never be built. Advocates for ratepayers in Maryland are pushing back.

@umairfan.bsky.social for @vox.com: www.vox.com/climate/4650...

If the AI boom turns out to be a bubble, millions of Americans will have already paid the price.

A data center that doesn’t even exist can raise your electricity bill Consumers are finally pushing back on AI-driven data expansion. Will it matter?

The consumer backlash to data centers is here.

Right now, you’re paying more for your electricity because of AI data centers you’ve never seen — and that may never be built. Advocates for ratepayers in Maryland are pushing back.

@umairfan.bsky.social for @vox.com: www.vox.com/climate/4650...

A data center that doesn’t even exist can raise your electricity bill Consumers are finally pushing back on AI-driven data expansion. Will it matter?

Your electricity bill is rising. Naturally, you’re mad about it and looking around at who to blame. But it’s not a who, it’s a what — and the recent AI-driven data center construction spree is at least partly the reason why.

Madagascar has some of the world’s most unique animals, like lemurs, chameleons, and tenrecs. Yet many of them are now struggling to survive, amid years of climate extremes and political unrest.

Reporter @benjij.bsky.social explores what’s driving an environmental crisis — and what might fix it.

Scientists are testing a surprising approach to fighting hunger in one of the poorest places on Earth Madagascar is reeling from political unrest. But there’s another problem that no one’s talking about.

Coming out of silence to share a story that's very meaningful to me — a look at what's going on in southwest Madagascar. Coral reefs that sustain entire communities are failing, despite decades of conservation. It highlights the need to rethink how conservation works.

www.vox.com/climate/4650...

Scientists are testing a surprising approach to fighting hunger in one of the poorest places on Earth Madagascar is reeling from political unrest. But there’s another problem that no one’s talking about.

I'm super proud of this work. The first of three features is available today, and we'll also be making this reporting accessible in Malagasy, the national language in Madagascar.

www.vox.com/climate/4650...