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Sadie Witkowski, PhD

@sadiewit.bsky.social

Constantly ranting about fandom (mostly Supernatural) & science (mostly 🧠) Scientist, storyteller, scuba diver, podcaster

778 Followers  |  976 Following  |  496 Posts  |  Joined: 05.07.2023
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Posts by Sadie Witkowski, PhD (@sadiewit.bsky.social)

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Ruben Ray Martinez: Footage shows US citizen shot by ICE agent in Texas traffic stop The Department of Homeland Security did not disclose Martinez was shot by one of its agents until almost a year later.

Newly released footage shows an ICE agent killing Rubin Ray Martinez, 23, in his car in Texas.

"He was shot at point-blank range through his side window by an ICE agent who was in no danger."
www.bbc.com/news/article...

07.03.2026 14:18 β€” πŸ‘ 3289    πŸ” 2115    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 149

I've driven up and down Cermak road in Chicago so many times and I knew that it was named after a former mayor but I didn't know that that mayor, Anton Cermak was SHOT by an ASSASSIN who was trying to KILL FDR, but a woman standing next to the gunman grabbed his arm and he shot Cermak instead.

05.03.2026 17:54 β€” πŸ‘ 151    πŸ” 27    πŸ’¬ 9    πŸ“Œ 9
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The right sounds may turn sleep into a problem-solving tool Lucid dreamers who heard puzzle-linked soundtracks while sleeping were more likely to solve those unsolved problems the next day.

youuuuu are getting sleeeepppyyy
sleeeeeeppyyyy
Your eyes are getting heavyyyyyy

And now you're going to think about that one problem you're dealing with....

www.sciencenews.org/article/slee...

03.03.2026 18:27 β€” πŸ‘ 10    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 1

Go Karen! She’s my old lab mate from grad school days!

03.03.2026 20:28 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Usually in the car or at the bus stop, depending

27.02.2026 14:23 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Personally, I agree that adding the link didn’t give any extra context/use so I wouldn’t have done it but it still could have been an addition by their editor.

Also I believe the link has now been removed.

24.02.2026 21:14 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

But also, the intro is too into the cultural moment of β€œwhy women be horny” and I do find that annoying. He could’ve started with a stronger thesis of: this sh*t ain’t new, yall just not paying attention and frankly it’s weird you don’t think about women having desire/agency.

24.02.2026 21:07 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

I think the intro plays too much into the cultural zeitgeist of β€œwhy women do this?” But the actual content was a serious treatment of BL/MM history for those who aren’t in fan spaces. Like, I have lots of non fandom friends & this actually helps show how normal and established this history is.

24.02.2026 21:06 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

I didn’t get the framing as it being gross, and I think he did a good job of citing both researchers & fans in the space.

Also, it’s not standard journalistic practice to ask for permission to share something that’s already publicly available. It also might have been his editor who added it.

24.02.2026 21:04 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

Wait, but have you actually read the article? It’s the first big popular press story I’ve seen that actually pulls from fandom studies.

24.02.2026 14:25 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

Don’t forget the bigger cycles, I’m looking at you- seasonal affective disorder. Horrors + bad brain

23.02.2026 18:47 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Operation Midway Blitz fallout still being felt in Chicago's Latino neighborhoods While federal immigration enforcement shrank when many agents left Chicago in November, the aftermath is affecting what people do every day in Little Village, Pilsen and the Southeast Side.

Chicago has the largest Mexican-American population outside of the southern border states. Which is probably why this happened.

chicago.suntimes.com/immigration/...

23.02.2026 16:27 β€” πŸ‘ 105    πŸ” 17    πŸ’¬ 3    πŸ“Œ 0
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The boys’ club: How Epstein’s influence shaped the exclusion of women in STEM In one email, an AI researcher suggested it’s β€œhard to be brilliant if you are worrying if you look fat or why another woman hates you.”

The boys’ club: How Epstein’s influence shaped the exclusion of women in STEM 19thnews.org/2026/02/epst... via @19thnews.org

23.02.2026 16:52 β€” πŸ‘ 9    πŸ” 6    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 1
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Deputy Research Editor Remote, United States

Our award-winning research team at @propublica.org is growing! Ideally you'll have years of experience in investigative journalism, but we're open to candidates with deep government or academic research and management skills:
job-boards.greenhouse.io/propublica/j...

20.02.2026 16:53 β€” πŸ‘ 71    πŸ” 35    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Lab manager position in the Cognitive Development Lab
Please forward to motivated students!
Apply here: https://apply.interfolio.com/182022 
Deadline: March 2, 2026
Questions? Email andrei.cimpian@nyu.edu

Lab manager position in the Cognitive Development Lab Please forward to motivated students! Apply here: https://apply.interfolio.com/182022 Deadline: March 2, 2026 Questions? Email andrei.cimpian@nyu.edu

Looking for a lab manager! Join us! 😊
apply.interfolio.com/182022

20.02.2026 15:39 β€” πŸ‘ 21    πŸ” 9    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 1

this is a subtle but IMO wildly underappreciated problem

18.02.2026 15:44 β€” πŸ‘ 798    πŸ” 162    πŸ’¬ 30    πŸ“Œ 5

douglas adams was our most accurate futurist

15.02.2026 22:10 β€” πŸ‘ 10966    πŸ” 2783    πŸ’¬ 110    πŸ“Œ 33
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Government Loses Hard Drives It Was Supposed to Put ICE Detention Center Footage On A Kafkaesque saga in which the government has failed to produce critical video footage has reached new levels of absurdity.

Court battle over surveillance footage at the Broadview ICE detention center reaches new levels of kafkaesque absurdity: The DOJ claimed it *couldn't afford* hard drives to put video footage on. Plaintiffs bought THE US GOVERNMENT hard drives. ICE "lost" them.

www.404media.co/government-l...

11.02.2026 18:09 β€” πŸ‘ 2806    πŸ” 1274    πŸ’¬ 82    πŸ“Œ 89
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Light pollution could worsen allergy seasons, new study suggests Nighttime light is a well-known hazard for migrating birds and sea turtles. New research suggests it may also pose risks for human health. The study finds that plants exposed to artificial light at…

Artificial light at night may extend pollen season by 1–2 weeks, raising allergy risks.

Researchers say light pollution is a public-health β€œblind spot” urban planners should consider.

08.02.2026 04:45 β€” πŸ‘ 75    πŸ” 39    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 1
Screenshot of the article that includes a quote from the professor's explanation to the dean: β€œI was recommending her for a job I thought she'd like.  When you do that--when you actually care about a rec letter--you keep the potential boss's habits in mind,” Gelernter wrote in the email to his colleagues, seemingly referring to Epstein. β€œThis one was obsessed with girls (like every other unmarried billionaire in Manhattan; in fact, like every other heterosex male), and if I hadn't said what I did in that letter ten-odd years ago, he would certainly have called me & asked for a lot more aesthetic detail.  (This is how men behave.)”

Screenshot of the article that includes a quote from the professor's explanation to the dean: β€œI was recommending her for a job I thought she'd like. When you do that--when you actually care about a rec letter--you keep the potential boss's habits in mind,” Gelernter wrote in the email to his colleagues, seemingly referring to Epstein. β€œThis one was obsessed with girls (like every other unmarried billionaire in Manhattan; in fact, like every other heterosex male), and if I hadn't said what I did in that letter ten-odd years ago, he would certainly have called me & asked for a lot more aesthetic detail. (This is how men behave.)”

This is the Yale professor's explanation for why he described the physical attractiveness of a student in an email to Epstein. He explicitly says he regrets nothing about their association.

Again, I'm so happy Yale hired David Brooks to restore trust.

yaledailynews.com/articles/gel...

05.02.2026 16:14 β€” πŸ‘ 1346    πŸ” 336    πŸ’¬ 47    πŸ“Œ 318

We think we maybe found something that will fit, but it’s still iffy and not cheap.

On the other hand, we need a functional sink!

05.02.2026 01:25 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

And did you know most sinks aren’t a standard size? Exciting stuff…

05.02.2026 01:22 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

Best part over January: that it’s over

Worst (personal) part of February: our kitchen sink’s porcelain bowl cracked from the drain all the way up the side & is unusable 🫠

05.02.2026 00:43 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

'measles outbreak at the child prison' seems entirely avoidable, it's really the kind of thing that only happens if you do several unthinkably evil things on purpose all at once

02.02.2026 04:31 β€” πŸ‘ 14108    πŸ” 4640    πŸ’¬ 137    πŸ“Œ 77

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

31.01.2026 21:02 β€” πŸ‘ 2940    πŸ” 1445    πŸ’¬ 75    πŸ“Œ 222

β€œI spoke it once and have regretted it ever since” πŸ˜‚πŸ’€

30.01.2026 22:08 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

But have you heard his opinions on the IQ of chickens? Truly an iconic interview moment that my husband and I quote regularly.

30.01.2026 22:00 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

But don’t worry, we hired a bunch of thugs with no background checks to tear gas our schools and murder citizens.

I hate it here

30.01.2026 01:35 β€” πŸ‘ 4    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

This kind of thing is a double defeat.

Not only do you settle without getting anything new.

You also concede the reality that they've been acting illegally to the false claim it's all been legal until now.

30.01.2026 01:32 β€” πŸ‘ 177    πŸ” 56    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 1
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ICE’s excuse for wearing masks has never actually manifested There have been incidents of harassment and threats. But there are no apparent incidents in which identified ICE officers have been assaulted off-duty.

Finally got around to a bit of research I'd been meaning to explore, and: There is no documented instance of an ICE officer being identified and assaulted while off duty because he wasn't masked. www.pbump.net/o/ices-excus...

29.01.2026 18:05 β€” πŸ‘ 12073    πŸ” 4509    πŸ’¬ 470    πŸ“Œ 226