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Jennifer Leman

@jlorileman.bsky.social

Features editor at National Geographic. Science journalist and proud WGAE member.

326 Followers  |  1,166 Following  |  10 Posts  |  Joined: 25.08.2023
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Posts by Jennifer Leman (@jlorileman.bsky.social)

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โ€œI Have Been Here Too Longโ€: Read Letters from the Children Detained at ICEโ€™s Dilley Facility Hundreds of children are currently being held with their parents at an immigration detention center in Dilley, Texas. In letters and drawings, eight kids convey the pain of feeling trapped with no end...

ProPublica received eight handwritten letters from children who have been held at the detention center that 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos was recently released from.

We'll let their words speak for themselves.

16.02.2026 02:00 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 3386    ๐Ÿ” 2034    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 98    ๐Ÿ“Œ 123

the Washington Post effectively blew up its arts section today, dismissing its books, TV, music, and theater critics, features writers, and several editors. (I'm also guessing the vacant film critic position will stay that way.) Just an insane loss of talent and a huge self-inflicted wound.

04.02.2026 21:46 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 542    ๐Ÿ” 124    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 17    ๐Ÿ“Œ 19
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Spotlighting The World Factbook as We Bid a Fond Farewell Somewhat devastating news today from the CIA: One of CIAโ€™s oldest and most recognizable intelligence publications, The World Factbook, has sunset. There's not even a hint as to why they โ€ฆ

The CIA just stopped publishing their World Factbook and took every page, including the archived copies of previous versions!

This sucks. It was public domain, so I recovered the 2020 edition (the last one published as a zip file) and shared it to GitHub simonwillison.net/2026/Feb/5/t...

05.02.2026 00:25 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 6055    ๐Ÿ” 2183    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 177    ๐Ÿ“Œ 196
Screen shot of two tweets from Emmanuel Felton, who was fired from the Washington post. 

First tweet reads: Iโ€™m among the hundreds of people laid off by The Post. This comes six months after hearing in a national meeting that race coverage drives subscriptions. This wasnโ€™t a financial decision it was an ideological one. 

Felton quote tweets it with this: 
The other reporter on my team covering race was also laid off as well as the editor in charge of race coverage across national. The team covering America beyond DC is now 90% white.

Screen shot of two tweets from Emmanuel Felton, who was fired from the Washington post. First tweet reads: Iโ€™m among the hundreds of people laid off by The Post. This comes six months after hearing in a national meeting that race coverage drives subscriptions. This wasnโ€™t a financial decision it was an ideological one. Felton quote tweets it with this: The other reporter on my team covering race was also laid off as well as the editor in charge of race coverage across national. The team covering America beyond DC is now 90% white.

05.02.2026 01:50 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 140    ๐Ÿ” 60    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 3

BREAKING: a trusted source tells me that The Washington Post also laid off the entire team that manages live video, video-on-demand, and *video creators*.

What is going on!

04.02.2026 22:55 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 220    ๐Ÿ” 76    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 15    ๐Ÿ“Œ 24
A tweet from Lizzie Johnson that reads, I was just laid off by The Washington Post in the middle of a warzone. I have no words. I'm devastated."

A tweet from Lizzie Johnson that reads, I was just laid off by The Washington Post in the middle of a warzone. I have no words. I'm devastated."

This is painful to read.

05.02.2026 01:53 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 106    ๐Ÿ” 24    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1    ๐Ÿ“Œ 2
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Medical examiner believes death of man in ICE custody was homicide, recording says A fellow detainee says he witnessed Geraldo Lunas Campos being choked to death by guards at the ICE detention center in Texas on Jan. 3.

Guards may have choked a man to death inside an ICE tent encampment on the Mexican border. Had three children, been in the U.S. for 30 years. www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/... @douglasmac.bsky.social

16.01.2026 02:07 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 462    ๐Ÿ” 257    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 12    ๐Ÿ“Œ 17

2026: the year I start playing video games

09.01.2026 18:03 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 0    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
Board the Mothership.
YouTube video by Mothership Media LLC Board the Mothership.

It's time to board the Mothership.
www.youtube.com/shorts/iEw90...

09.01.2026 16:59 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 428    ๐Ÿ” 138    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 23    ๐Ÿ“Œ 60
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Tyrant Lizard Queen: The Love, Life, and Terror of Earthโ€™s Greatest Carnivore The Love, Life, and Terror of Earthโ€™s Greatest Carnivore

I know, it's not out until October, but pre-orders help books hit big on that first week and get attention.

Help Snaggletooth make a big entrance - I promise you're going to want to sink your teeth into this one. ๐Ÿฆ–

09.01.2026 15:06 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 108    ๐Ÿ” 50    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 2    ๐Ÿ“Œ 8
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mRNA covid vaccines spark immune response that may aid cancer survival An analysis of patient records suggests that mRNA covid-19 vaccines boost the immune response to cancerous tumours when given soon after people start a type of immunotherapy, extending their lives

mRNA ๐Ÿงฌ vaccines - but not other kinds - trigger an innate response that can allow the immune system to 'see' and attack tumours, animal studies suggest ๐Ÿงช

If true, the covid vaccines should do this - and now we have the first evidence this is so

www.newscientist.com/article/2500...

19.10.2025 13:53 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 332    ๐Ÿ” 122    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 14    ๐Ÿ“Œ 9
White words on a black background read:

50+ 
Immigration agents have the authority to detain whom they reasonably suspect are in the country illegally. We found more than 50 Americans who were held after agents questioned their citizenship. They were almost all Latino.

~130
Agents also can arrest citizens who allegedly interfered with or assaulted officers. We compiled cases of about 130 Americans, including a dozen elected officials, accused of assaulting or impeding officers. 

~20
Among the citizens detained are nearly 20 children, including two with cancer.

White words on a black background read: 50+ Immigration agents have the authority to detain whom they reasonably suspect are in the country illegally. We found more than 50 Americans who were held after agents questioned their citizenship. They were almost all Latino. ~130 Agents also can arrest citizens who allegedly interfered with or assaulted officers. We compiled cases of about 130 Americans, including a dozen elected officials, accused of assaulting or impeding officers. ~20 Among the citizens detained are nearly 20 children, including two with cancer.

Hi, I'm the ProPublica reporter who's been tracking an unusual stat: U.S. citizens grabbed by immigration agents.

I did it because the government isnโ€™t.

This is what I found.

18.10.2025 14:11 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 17272    ๐Ÿ” 8049    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 302    ๐Ÿ“Œ 242

๐ŸšจReporters๐Ÿšจ

I'm looking for a reporter who's can zoom into my graduate professional development class and talk about interviewing scientists (e.g., what makes a good interview, how can scientists help reporters, ...).

16.10.2025 01:38 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 47    ๐Ÿ” 37    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 5    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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Before Alaska Flooding, E.P.A. Canceled $20 Million Flood Protection Grant

Before catastrophic floods swept through the Alaska Native village of Kipnuk on Sunday, the EPA canceled a $20 million grant intended to protect the community from extreme flooding. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/14/c...

14.10.2025 22:42 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 2900    ๐Ÿ” 1569    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 113    ๐Ÿ“Œ 83
Linocut portrait of Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin in a lace collar in front of the sun in oranges and black against the blackness of space. At the bottom of the print is the solar absorption spectrum (a rainbow style gradient of indigo at left through to red and black at the right with specific discrete thin black vertical lines at various places).

Linocut portrait of Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin in a lace collar in front of the sun in oranges and black against the blackness of space. At the bottom of the print is the solar absorption spectrum (a rainbow style gradient of indigo at left through to red and black at the right with specific discrete thin black vertical lines at various places).

Happy birthday to #astrophysicist Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin (1900-1979), a trailblazer for women in #astronomy who discovered that hydrogen and helium are the most common elements in the universe.โ 
โ 
1/n
โ 
#linocut #physics #sciart #printmaking #womenInSTEM #mathyear #astrophysics #astronomer

10.05.2023 12:23 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 8    ๐Ÿ” 5    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1    ๐Ÿ“Œ 2
My linocut portrait of pharmaceutical chemist Alice Ball, a young Black woman in a lab coat, printed in indigo. Below her is the chemical reaction for Ballโ€™s Process in violet. Above and around her is a branch of chalmoogra with green leaves and yellow fruit.

My linocut portrait of pharmaceutical chemist Alice Ball, a young Black woman in a lab coat, printed in indigo. Below her is the chemical reaction for Ballโ€™s Process in violet. Above and around her is a branch of chalmoogra with green leaves and yellow fruit.

For #BlackHistoryMonth pharmaceutical chemist Alice Ball (1892-1916) developed 1st effective treatment for leprosy. ๐Ÿ‘ฉ๐Ÿพโ€๐Ÿ”ฌ๐Ÿงช๐Ÿก #histsci Though her life was cut tragically short, her research saved 1000s from exile & painful, ineffective lifelong treatment for leprosy, & she was a trailblazer for ๐Ÿงต1/

29.02.2024 13:05 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 56    ๐Ÿ” 29    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1    ๐Ÿ“Œ 6
Linocut portrait of Mary Golda Ross looking over her shoulder in a gradient of green (at bottom) to gold (at top) surrounded by vehicles important to her career including P-38 Lighting fighter plane, and Agena rocket, important to Apollo missions in grey.

Linocut portrait of Mary Golda Ross looking over her shoulder in a gradient of green (at bottom) to gold (at top) surrounded by vehicles important to her career including P-38 Lighting fighter plane, and Agena rocket, important to Apollo missions in grey.

For #spacetober_challenge day 8 prompt propulsion, my portrait of #mathematician, aeronautical #engineer, philanthropist & Cherokee โ€˜hidden figureโ€™ of the space race: Mary Golda Ross (1908-2008).โ  ๐Ÿงช๐Ÿก๐Ÿงฎ๐Ÿ”ญ๐Ÿ‘ฉ๐Ÿปโ€๐Ÿ”ฌ #histsci
โ 
Great-great-granddaughter of Chief John Ross, who was forced to lead his people on the

08.10.2025 11:52 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 104    ๐Ÿ” 46    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 2    ๐Ÿ“Œ 6
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NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory to lay off about 550 workers NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory said on Monday it will cut nearly 550 jobs as part of a restructuring, not related to the current U.S. government shutdown.

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory to lay off about 550 workers reut.rs/4302N2L

13.10.2025 19:50 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 477    ๐Ÿ” 300    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 44    ๐Ÿ“Œ 180
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She Studied How Logging Affects Pollinators

"It was an exciting opportunity to do applied pollinator research, which is what I want to do for my career.... I feel lucky to have my new job, but Iโ€™m definitely still in mourning."

This is something I've seen from a lot of former Feds. They LOVED their jobs....

www.nytimes.com/2025/10/08/s...

10.10.2025 14:42 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 42    ๐Ÿ” 8    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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ICE Stranded a 17-Year-Old on I-20 After Arresting His Father. The Mississippi Dad Now Faces Deportation. A 17-year-old watched as ICE arrested his immigrant father, Hector, on I-20 in June. The family faces mounting legal fees and the risk of deportation.

ICE left David, a 17-year-old boy, stranded on the side of Interstate 20 after pulling over his immigrant father, Hector, in Mississippi.

David began running in the scorching sun after the car and watched as it disappeared from sightโ€”soon headed to a Louisiana ICE prison.

Here's their story.

10.10.2025 23:58 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 6436    ๐Ÿ” 3322    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 159    ๐Ÿ“Œ 191

Today my @nytimes.com colleagues and I are launching a new series called Lost Science. We interview US scientists who can no longer discover something new about our world, thanks to this yearโ€˜s cuts. Here is my first interview with a scientist who studied bees and fires. Gift link: nyti.ms/3IWXbiE

08.10.2025 23:29 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 4726    ๐Ÿ” 1825    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 142    ๐Ÿ“Œ 83

Across the country, people keep asking the same question: "What do we do now?"

And my answer is always the same: UNIONIZE.

09.10.2025 01:47 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 119    ๐Ÿ” 35    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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Apple Banned an App That Simply Archived Videos of ICE Abuses Eyes Up's purpose is to "preserve evidence until it can be used in court." But it has been swept up in Apple's crackdown on ICE-spotting apps.

Apple has removed Eyes Up, an app that aggregates videos people have published on social media documenting abuses by ICE, from the App Store,

Appleโ€™s ongoing crackdown on anti-ICE apps continues.

08.10.2025 21:40 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 80    ๐Ÿ” 34    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 5    ๐Ÿ“Œ 7
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This Yearโ€™s Medicine Nobel Goes to Discovery of Why the Body Doesnโ€™t Attack Itself Mary E. Brunkow, Fred Ramsdell and Shimon Sakaguchi shared the Nobel prize for their work on peripheral immune tolerance, a process that is key to organ transplants and treatment of autoimmune disease...

It's Nobel week! Here's @laurenjyoung.bsky.social with a great explainer on the science of today's winners, who developed our understanding of how the immune system avoids attacking the body: ๐Ÿงช www.scientificamerican.com/article/2025...

06.10.2025 20:50 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 16    ๐Ÿ” 5    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

"But months later, the results are in: of more than 160,000 students enrolled, only 43 families chose to opt out of LGBTQ+ education districtwide."

"this crusade is not a mass movement. Itโ€™s the obsession of a vanishingly small minority"

06.10.2025 22:34 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 51    ๐Ÿ” 12    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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Exclusive: ex-CDC director talks about why she was fired โ€œI would never do that, as a scientist,โ€ Susan Monarez says of being asked to approve changes to vaccine recommendations without knowing the details.

EXCLUSIVE: In her first interview all year, Susan Monarez, CDC director for only 29 days, tells me why Trump/RFK fired her and where this is all headed.

The CDC director is an โ€œinherently political position, but that doesnโ€™t mean that it has to be politically compromisedโ€, she tells @nature.com.

02.10.2025 11:15 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 188    ๐Ÿ” 86    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 2    ๐Ÿ“Œ 5

If you know other cases where DHS/ICE and other agencies demanded data about an activist's online accounts, I'm still digging. My Signal is shawnmusgrave.82

21.09.2025 15:00 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 191    ๐Ÿ” 102    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

Wow! Brilliant for writers!

29.09.2025 18:15 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 481    ๐Ÿ” 209    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 7    ๐Ÿ“Œ 3
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ACTION: NewsGuild-CWA joins calls on DHS to withdraw journalist visa proposal | The NewsGuild - TNG-CWA The NewsGuild-CWA calls on DHS to withdraw its proposed rule that would change the I visa program for foreign journalists working in the United States.

๐Ÿšจ ACTION: The U.S. should welcome foreign journalistsโ€”not kick them out.

DHS is trying to gut the journalist I visa program and weaken press freedom at home and abroad.

โ–ถ๏ธ Will you join over 13,000 and submit your own comment?:

newsguild.org/action-newsg...

25.09.2025 17:22 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 130    ๐Ÿ” 77    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 5    ๐Ÿ“Œ 4
Video thumbnail

1/ Iโ€™m Till Eckert, a ProPublica reporter. For the past 2 weeks, Iโ€™ve been going to the same NY immigration courthouse.

Nearly every time, I see ICE agents arresting immigrants. Today, a woman was slammed to the ground after begging officials not to take her husband away.

Thread ๐Ÿ‘‡

26.09.2025 01:06 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 7478    ๐Ÿ” 3877    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 731    ๐Ÿ“Œ 543