Wiswell

epic re-frame here

Health secretary RFK Jr. shuts door on U.S. investment in mRNA vaccine research Vaccine experts and people steeped in pandemic preparedness expressed horror at the news that RFK Jr. has shut the door in U.S. investment in mRNA vaccine research.

Pandemic preparedness in the US has been leveled a crippling blow with the cancellation of multiple #BARDA contracts to help develop mRNA vaccines. No other vaccine platform produces vaccine so quickly; without mRNA, Americans will have a long wait for pandemic vax. www.statnews.com/2025/08/05/m...

Why don’t more scientists support Republicans? We may never know

HHS scraps further work on life-saving mRNA vaccine platform

My comments with @cidrap.bsky.social today

www.cidrap.umn.edu/covid-19/hhs...

This is amongst the most impactful two minutes of broadcasting I’ve ever seen.

By Emma Murphy, International Editor, ITV News. #Gaza

When an Old Weak Theory Leads a Field Astray Here's yet another example of influential theory that led a field down the wrong path: "Running Records were pivotal in shaping a view of reading which mistook the behaviours of poor readers for the behaviours of all readers, which in turn led to well-intentioned teachers actively teaching children poor reading behaviours." That was posted by Annie Unger on Bluesky. She's the lead author of a…

When an Old Weak Theory Leads a Field Astray

Here's yet another example of influential theory that led a field down the wrong path: "Running Records were pivotal in shaping a view of reading which mistook the behaviours of poor readers for the behaviours of all readers, which in turn led to…

share of americans who prefer congressional districts to be drawn to

advantage the dems: 9%
advantage the gop: 11%
not give an advantage to either: 67% (thank you, fellow americans)
not sure: 13%

-yougov

@kairyssdal.bsky.social has been setting an example for broadcasters (public and private) and mainstream reporters in his strict "let's the cut the BS" insistence on truth.

All other broadcasters and (especially) headline writers: Follow his lead.

What is happening would be as clear as day if you saw it in another country. No one abroad is confused; no one reading (accurate) history in the future will have any trouble understanding what is happening.

Nonprofit news sites are built to generate impact — but these are also generating audiences In markets large and small, these nonprofit news organizations are achieving traffic numbers that many commercial outlets would envy. Here's our first monthly ranking of the top 25 nonprofit news site...

New by me —>

These are the 25 largest nonprofit news sites in the U.S. by web traffic.

Some you’d expect (like @propublica.org), others you might not (@ncronline.bsky.social, @sciencenews.bsky.social, @lapublicpress.bsky.social, @notusreports.bsky.social)

www.niemanlab.org/2025/07/nonp...

Trump is trying to kill solar power—here's how to fight back Rooftop solar is a clean power miracle. Why are we killing it with red tape?

🚨 New @motherjones.com underscores a brutal truth about rooftop solar in America. Let’s cut the red tape and make solar affordable for all. Thanks, @billmckibben.bsky.social!

Read the full article: motherjones.com/environment/...

#SolarPower #CleanEnergy #PermittingReform #PermitPower

“Our primary goal must be fewer & smaller cars that are driven less
... electrifying the global fleet, while welcome, isn’t a panacea.
... a better energy source for ... cars, won’t get us where we need to be, & can induce more driving & higher emissions because we think those cars are ‘green.’”

Headline says "Trump: Global baseline tariff will likely be 15% to 20%"

News should remind us that this disruption in econ flow *of entire world* is SOLELY and ENTIRELY at the whim on one single person. Not Congress, not any international agreement, just one person. Who also happens to be ignorant, petulant, grievance-driven, etc

Caligula /Pol Pot /Kim Jong Il time

Amen. @delong.social describes current US trade policy precisely and succinctly:

Revealed: Harvard publisher cancels entire journal issue on Palestine shortly before publication As Harvard’s feud with Trump escalated, so did tensions over an ‘education and Palestine’ issue of a prestigious journal. Scholars blame the ‘Palestine exception’ to academic freedom

Harvard tarnishes its reputation -- including its reputation for standing up to President Trump's assaults -- by canceling a journal issue on Palestine and education, over the objections of both the journal editors and the authors. www.theguardian.com/education/20...

Five generations of my family have gone to Columbia. Three have taught there including me. Until recently I’ve always been proud of the association. Now I am ashamed. The capitulation to Trump is an assault on the values for which I thought or at least hoped the university stood.

No.

Do You Need to Drink Electrolytes?

There is SO MUCH hydration hype! Massive industry.

NO, you don't need special electrolyte drinks.

Drink water (tap likely fine) when thirsty. Thanks evolution.

Do You Need to Drink Electrolytes? www.nytimes.com/2025/07/21/w...

Are You Laughing Yet? Everyone can say exactly what they want, free of the fear of censorship, except by the government.

"We’re in a golden age of comedy now where everyone can say exactly what they want, free of the fear of censorship, except by the government," @petridishes.bsky.social writes:

They are coming for your academic sovereignty under the guise of protection

They are coming for your academic sovereignty under the guise of protection - TU Delft Library collections https://library-collections.tudl.tudelft.nl/2025/06/they-are-coming-for-your-academic-sovereignty-under-the-guise-of-protection/

The inexcusable GOP refusal to act on the irrefutable science of #climatechange has two core roots:
1. The direct financial bribes they get from fossil-fuel companies, and
2. The fact that any effective response requires strong governments and international cooperation, two things they abhor.

Guest Post: Gatekeepers of Meaning — Peer Review, AI, and the Fight for Human Attention - The Scholarly Kitchen Guest blogger, Ashutosh Ghildiyal, asks: Is AI for us, or are we for AI? In the all-important context of peer review, can we leverage AI to amplify human thought rather than replace us?

My new guest post is now live on @scholarlykitchen.bsky.social. I'd love to hear your thoughts: scholarlykitchen.sspnet.org/2025/07/17/g...

#AcademicSky #ScientificPublishing #PeerReview #AI #ScholarlyPublishing

Opinion | We Warned About the First China Shock. The Next One Will Be Worse.

Not to distract anyone from the Epstein business, but the Trump administration’s ignorant assault on higher education and scientific research is the greatest act of unilateral disarmament in US history. At the worst possible time. www.nytimes.com/2025/07/14/o...

Tired: Rolling back the New Deal.
Wired: Rolling back Reconstruction.
Inspired: Rolling back parliamentary/legislative government.

It's happening here.

In any vaguely normal universe, a president threatening to revoke someone’s citizenship just because he doesn’t like them would be impeached and convicted with at least 90 Senate votes

JD Vance’s Dangerous View of American Nationhood The power of the American ideal comes not from Americans being a “particular people” with a common heritage—an ethnically-rooted nation like others—but from its being different.

Powerful and poignant from Ambassador Fried: “Vance’s argument would overthrow the meaning of the Gettysburg Address, the speech that restored America to its original principles from the Declaration of Independence after its bloodiest war.” nationalinterest.org/feature/jd-v...

Democrats should run ads just of Miller ranting.

The screeching voice, the sneering face, even the awkward jerking of his body — it’s like a car alarm took human form.

A Tesla alarm, I guess, given the Nazi stuff

US court strikes down ‘click-to-cancel’ rule designed to make unsubscribing easier Rule would have kept businesses from forcing customers through lengthy chats or other barriers to cancellation

I guess you're keeping your NY Times subscription after all.

Mad king watch