Jon Shaffer

Thinking of this article from 2006: escholarship.org/uc/item/94v3...

The rich must be incentivised; the poor must be disciplined.

The political economy of the super-elite in one headline.

A picture of Wrigley Field during last night’s game.

Few better ways to spend a Monday night.

huge W

Chronically Ill? In Kennedy's View, It Might Be a Patient's Own Fault These attitudes are shaping policies that affect millions of people

Chronically Ill? In Kennedy's View, It Might Be a Patient's Own Fault www.medpagetoday.com/publichealth...

Wellcome-funded 'Between Deception and Dissent' project is recruiting a postdoc working at the interface of medical STS and socio-legal studies, supervised by Martyn Pickersgill @ Edinburgh #STS www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DNY639/r...

Reimagine Aid, Don’t Destroy It - Studies in Comparative International Development Studies in Comparative International Development -

And finally, this new comment in @scidjournal.bsky.social calling us to reimagine aid, rather than to destroy it. link.springer.com/article/10.1... 4/4

The cuts to U.S. #foreignaid have come at a high cost to #globalhealth. What are the costs & consequences? What alternative approaches are possible? Check out this series of papers & discussions @aliciay.bsky.social @jonshaffer.bsky.social @renusingh.bsky.social @scidjournal.bsky.social 1/4

Lieutenant Governor John Rodgers is suing his hometown to take over a public road. It’s a stunning abuse of political power and personal wealth to intimidate a small Vermont town — and locals are pushing back.

Hi there, thanks for sharing your experience and pov. why are they stealing from poor folks? yes, that's really the question.

Also: why are we letting them. and, how do we fight back?

I just got an email informing me that my Annual Review on structural racism with @tyson-brown.bsky.social and @pahoman.bsky.social is open access. So, download away.

Unsheltered homelessness spikes in Vermont as need outstrips safety net  - VTDigger The number of people sleeping in a car or on the street in Vermont rose 63% from last year – and it’s likely an undercount.

I worry things are going to get way worse and many more people are going to be denied safe shelter in the years ahead -- in VT and across the US.

vtdigger.org/2025/07/30/u...

signals some pretty scary stuff ahead for state policing and disciplining academics.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration announced it is launching a new program that will allow Americans to share personal health data and medical records across health systems and apps run by private tech companies, promising that will make it easier to access health records and monitor wellness. More than 60 companies, including major tech companies like Google, Amazon and Apple as well as health care giants like UnitedHealth Group and CVS Health, have agreed to share patient data in the system. The initiative will focus on diabetes and weight management, conversational artificial intelligence that helps patients, and digital tools such as QR codes and apps that register patients for check-ins or track medications. “For decades America’s health care networks have been overdue for a high tech upgrade,” President Donald Trump said during an event with company CEOs at the White House on Wednesday. “The existing systems are often slow, costly and incompatible with one another, but with today’s announcement, we take a major step to bring health care into the digital age.”

Eugenic techno surveillance state, incoming.

apnews.com/article/trum...

The Orbanization of American Universities is proceeding apace.

Law and power in pandemic negotiations: Policymaking via contract in South Africa’s dealings with COVID-19 vaccine companies COVID-19 vaccine distribution was marked by deeply unequal access for Africa, Asia, and Latin America. This article analyzes negotiations between government and pharmaceutical companies, through th...

Can voluntary deals ensure equitable vaccine access in a pandemic? Our new research w @hji-sa.bsky.social
on South Africa’s COVID-19 negotiations shows no. Major policy made via private contract. Implications for global governance... 🧵
doi.org/10.1080/1744...
@abinader.bsky.social

"As social scientists with decades of experience working in the field of global health and development, we deplore the recent decision by the Trump Administration to dismantle key US aid programs. This abrupt withdrawal threatens to exacerbate existing humanitarian crises and undercut the potential of future reforms. And while the international aid system is much larger than the contributions of any single country, the contributions of the US government to international development have been incredibly significant in terms of both monetary value and impact. The US has provided the largest single contribution of any country to foreign aid and investments for decades (Herre and Arrigada 2024; OECD 2025). The recent decisions made by the Trump Administration regarding US foreign assistance are an abdication of responsibility that has taken place without careful deliberation, due process, or transparency — and are already costing lives around the world, undermining in a matter of weeks sensitive development partnerships and trust that have taken years to create."

New commentary piece in Studies of Comparative International Development with social science colleagues who study global health and international development:

"Reimagine Aid, Don’t Destroy It"

link.springer.com/article/10.1...

@josephharrisbu.bsky.social ‪@aliciay.bsky.social + others

ICE is a fascist jobs program.

YouTube video by KBC Channel 1 Hospital bill for 6 teen mothers detained at Mama Lucy Hospital cleared

Extraordinary video showing the ongoing scandal of new mothers and babies detained in Kenyan hospitals because they can't pay their bills www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-ev...

"As social scientists with decades of experience working in the field of global health and development, we deplore the recent decision by the Trump Administration to dismantle key US aid programs. This abrupt withdrawal threatens to exacerbate existing humanitarian crises and undercut the potential of future reforms. And while the international aid system is much larger than the contributions of any single country, the contributions of the US government to international development have been incredibly significant in terms of both monetary value and impact. The US has provided the largest single contribution of any country to foreign aid and investments for decades (Herre and Arrigada 2024; OECD 2025). The recent decisions made by the Trump Administration regarding US foreign assistance are an abdication of responsibility that has taken place without careful deliberation, due process, or transparency — and are already costing lives around the world, undermining in a matter of weeks sensitive development partnerships and trust that have taken years to create."

New commentary piece in Studies of Comparative International Development with social science colleagues who study global health and international development:

"Reimagine Aid, Don’t Destroy It"

link.springer.com/article/10.1...

@josephharrisbu.bsky.social ‪@aliciay.bsky.social + others

oh cool, they are 'pre-existing conditioning' an empathetic concern for victims of genocide.

truly health insurance-brained editors

The Department of History at Smith College seeks a historian of science, technology, and medicine, and/or environment. The successful candidate will be able to teach comparative, global, and/or transnational histories. We are looking for a colleague with specialization that complements the existing strengths of our Department and the College. Strong candidates will have research focused on East or South Asian histories.

JOB: TT Assistant Professor, History, Smith College
www.higheredjobs.com/faculty/deta...

Assistant Professor - Madison, Wisconsin, United States Current Employees: If you are currently employed at any of the Universities of Wisconsin, log in to Workday to apply through the internal application process.Job Category:FacultyEmployment Type:Regula...

We're hiring! Please share with your networks!

The Department of Sociology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison invites applications for a tenure-track position at the rank of assistant professor in the field of demography of health and aging beginning in August 2026
jobs.wisc.edu/jobs/assista...

"British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the UK will recognize a Palestinian state in September unless Israel agrees to a cease-fire in Gaza and takes steps toward long-term peace."

What a strange thing to threaten as leverage.

DOGE builds AI tool to cut 50 percent of federal regulations The U.S. DOGE Service is using a new AI tool to eliminate federal regulations, aiming to cut 50 percent of rules by the first anniversary of President Donald Trump’s inauguration.

“DOGE builds AI tool to cut 50 percent of federal regulations”

www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...

Pleased to share my review in T&C on the edited volume on Fighting for Health: Medicine in Cold War Southeast Asia. @nuspress.bsky.social

I enjoyed reading the essays in the volume, and learned a lot from them.

muse.jhu.edu/pub/1/articl...

new neofascist crypto finance Weberian protestant ethic re the ghastly spirit of zombie capitalism just dropped

Bhattacharya & Vought are doing their very best to bring federally funded health research to a standstill—& they both spew utter garbage about DEI & spew utter garbage about the NIH causing the COVID pandemic (what a pile of tripe, it was zoonotic)—David’s right about what the consequences will be 😢

These people are monsters.