Samaya Nissanke (she/her)

Epstein and the moral rot of US public intellectuals The disgraced sex offender was able to gather a group of scientists and thinkers around him who shared his anti-woke, anti-women and Silicon Valley techno-fascist views. But it doesn’t end with Epstei...

There hasn't been much media coverage outside the science media of the Epstein scientists. So I wrote about them here for @thenewworldmag.bsky.social. As many in science know, John Brockman was central in linking Epstein to scientific "public intellectuals".
www.thenewworld.co.uk/philip-ball-...

Jose Mourinho sounded like he was victim blaming - but Vinicius Junior needs empathy over alleged racist abuse Vinicius Junior had every right to want to leave the pitch - and for the game to be abandoned.

Jose Mourinho sounded like he was victim blaming - but Vinicius Junior needs empathy over alleged racist abuse

“I am somebody” shaped how millions of us saw ourselves as kids, including me. That message mattered. It still does.

Rest in power, Jesse Jackson
🙏🏽

Jesse Jackson

YouTube video by Nightloop Jesse Jackson’s - Wattstax Music Festival Opening Speech (1972)

I. AM. SOMEBODY. ✊🏽

Rest in Power, Reverend Jesse Jackson.

youtu.be/NTVwT3j_zqY?...

I don’t know who needs to hear Jesse Jackson leading the kids on Sesame Street in this beautiful call-and-response reminding them that every child is somebody, but here it is

Epstein files reveal deeper ties to scientists than previously known Latest batch of documents show researchers consulting the financier and sex offender on publications, visas and more.

The fact that Epstein had ties to the scientific community is not news, but the enormous cache of documents released by the DOJ last week was still startling. It showed just how deeply Epstein was involved—how many were in his orbit, and how deeply involved he was with some research.

My reporting:

Expert Comment: Cuts to fundamental research will hurt the UK’s Chris Lintott, Professor of Astrophysics at Oxford’s Department of Physics, responds to the news that University funding for astronomy and physics research will be cut by almost a third.

Me, on astronomy funding crisis, on the @ox.ac.uk website: www.ox.ac.uk/news/2026-02... 🔭🧪

BBC Radio 4 - BBC Inside Science A weekly programme looking at the science that's changing our world.

Listeners to Radio 4’s Inside Science today get an essay from me in defence of astronomy as pure research. Please listen in and let me know what you think.

Show starts 4.30pm GMT here: www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b...

The STFC Funding Crisis – Guest Post by George Efstathiou

The following guest post by George Efstathiou is a response to the current STFC funding crisis I blogged about here, and specifically to a letter by the Executive Chair of STFC, Professor Michele Dougherty. I include the letter here for…

Jeff Bezos’s wealth has increased an average of $70 million every day of 2026, meaning that he could have offset The Post’s losses with what he’s made since Monday.

I think one thing people outside Minnesota don't understand is that after Good and Pretti were killed by feds while observing, the most normal people you could imagine have made peace with the fact that they could be next, and they are still out there because they say it's the right thing to do.

From: Larry Summers < To: jeffrey E. <jeevacation@gmail.com> Subject: Re: Date: Mon, 28 Dec 2015 14:54:40 +0000 Jamaica very good Kids great though tired of some of their admiration for Bernie sanders. How ru? Sent from my iPad

Larry Summers complaining to Epstein that his kids admire Bernie Sanders too much

I studied the latest Epstein files. As a woman, this is what I felt They show a hidden world oiled by porn-saturated misogyny. I spent two days reading them

meant to post it earlier, but this is so good and disturbing by @helenrumbelow.bsky.social on the collective mindset the Epstein files reveal www.thetimes.com/life-style/c...

This is what oligarchy looks like:

Elon Musk, the wealthiest man alive, spent $290 million to elect Trump.

Since Election Day, Musk became $548 billion richer while his companies (SpaceX & Tesla) paid $0 in federal income taxes last year after making $13.7 billion in profits.

cover of The Washington Post on Wednesday Feb 4, 2026. Headline on bottom, right: Musk wanted to hook users; his chatbot got more sexual

My story on Elon Musk cutting safeguards at xAI is on the front page of today's @washingtonpost.com. I’m also among 100’s of reporters laid off. I absolutely loved my job my brilliant coworkers & the thrill of reporting @ the center of forces upending the world: AI & Silicon Valley’s political power

When we talk about authoritarianism, it’s not just Donald Trump.

Musk owns X
Bezos owns Twitch
Zuckerberg owns Instagram and Facebook
Larry Ellison controls TikTok

Billionaires increasingly control what we see, hear and read.

I studied the latest Epstein files.  As a woman, this is what I felt

They show a hidden world oiled by porn-saturated misogyny. I spent two days reading them | ✍️ Helen Rumbelow

It’s the Epstein files deja vu: how many more powerful men knew about his crimes, and helped him out anyway? | Marina Hyde I’m sorry, but this is not just a political scandal. Time to refocus on the horrific mistreatment of women and girls, and the role of these ghouls, says Guardian columnist Marina Hyde

It’s the Epstein files deja vu: how many more powerful men knew about his crimes, and helped him out anyway? | Marina Hyde

Astronomers have won the latest battle over dark skies, but the global conflict continues After a year of protests from astronomers, authorities have abandoned plans for a giant, light-polluting renewable-energy facility in Chile’s Atacama Desert

New for @sciam.bsky.social: Behind astronomers' recent victory protecting Chile's skies, and why other battles—including those against satellite megaconstellations—may not be so easily won
www.scientificamerican.com/article/astr...

There are always women like that. Always.

Compare “I don’t even understand why we need an equal opportunity vice president”, from the (woman STEM professor) Equal Opportunities Vice President.

You have also hurt your students and other people who put their trust in you. And in the process you have damaged public faith in science and scientists, and that hurts all of us.

Take seriously that you have engaged in harm and figure out how you’re going to address it.

Academics vying for a spot in Epstein‘s world. There are so many. I feel the need to make a thread, so I don’t keep confusing them. 1/

Latest batch of the Epstein files has plenty more physicists. Going through them slowly, in no particular order.

Harvard Professor Lisa Randall Maintained Years of Contact with Epstein, Flew on Jet | News | The Harvard Crimson Harvard professor Lisa J. Randall ’84 maintained years of contact with convicted sex offender Jeffrey E. Epstein — exchanging emails and phone calls and flying on his private jet in 2014 — according t...

I’m trying not to be impulsive in my commentary so I’m just posting this story without offering any of the comments that I could readily make about it

But 2014 is after 2007

Proposed budget cuts a catastrophe for UK astronomy The Royal Astronomical Society (RAS) is gravely concerned at the drastic cuts to support for UK astronomy outlined by the Science and Technology Facilities Council (...

The Royal Astronomical Society is gravely concerned at the drastic cuts to support for UK astronomy outlined by the Science and Technology Facilities Council.

Read our statement 👉 ras.ac.uk/news-and-pre...

Denmark, Greenland envoys met with White House officials over Trump's call for a 'takeover' Denmark and Greenland’s envoys to Washington have begun a vigorous effort to urge U.S. lawmakers as well as key Trump administration officials to step back from President Donald Trump’s call for a “takeover” of the strategic Arctic island.

Denmark and Greenland’s envoys to Washington have begun a vigorous effort to urge U.S. lawmakers as well as key Trump administration officials to step back from President Donald Trump’s call for a “takeover” of the strategic Arctic island.

A New York Times video analysis of an ICE agent’s fatal shooting of a woman in Minneapolis contradicts the Trump administration’s account. Watch our investigation here. nyti.ms/4sEdp2r

Such an honour to co-lead and bring together multiple communities across the multi-messenger spectrums, thank you to Co-leads & co-authors including several PhD students , excited for the future!

What will multi-messenger & time domain astronomy look like in the 2040s? We wrote a white paper for the European Southern Observatories expanding horizon call examining the science and identifying at least one observational bottle we face in the optical & near infrared! arxiv.org/abs/2512.14546