Brian Kahn
@blkahn.bsky.social
Your friendly local Wired science editor
If you read one thing today, make it @mollytaft.com writing in @wired.com on data centers, the Unabomber, and how the backlash is rewiring American politics www.wired.com/story/how-da...
How Data Centers Broke American Politics
What the Unabomber, Steve Bannon’s tech guy, and Bernie Sanders taught me about the great data center backlash of 2026.
wired.com
🚨 Journalism Jobs Alert 🚨 @sfgate.com, the largest media site in Calif., is once again HIRING! Looking for: - ✍️ Deputy Managing Editor, News Division - 🌲 North Coast Contributing Editor (part-time) - 📹 Social Video Producer (part-time) Quick 🧵 on what we're looking for 👇
A group of Democratic senators urged the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to rein in prediction market trading on wildfires, expressing concern that individuals could be tempted to commit arson to make their bets pay off New story @bloomberg.com: www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Prediction Market Bets on Wildfires Draw Scrutiny From Senators
A group of Democratic senators urged the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to rein in prediction market trading on wildfires, expressing concern that individuals could be tempted to commit arson to...
bloomberg.com
You might find this pod I did interesting, because we grapple with that question www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Super El Niño Will Give Us a Glimpse of Life in 2035
Over the next year, the naturally occurring El Niño weather pattern will add to growing damage from climate change.
bloomberg.com
is it bad when a weather historian refers to a global heat wave as ”absolute insanity?”
Extreme Temperatures Around the World@extremetemps.bsky.social · last wk.HISTORIC RECORD HEAT EVERYWHERE We are gonna live historic days which will be remembered for generations: Thousands of records will be pulverized at the same time in North,South (40C in winter again !) Americas,Asia and Europe. Stay tuned. It will be an absolute insanity.
Really interesting story here. You know how the hyperscaler cowboys are powering their data centers with gas turbines? It turns out the demands of AI are not very friendly to those turbines. They're supposed to last 5+ years & instead they're wearing out in under 12 months!
Harriet Weber@harri.bsky.social · 7d agoHere's the deal with the pre-review study Tesla funded on turbine carnage. This is my first piece on the Data Centers Breaking Things beat. TLDR; AI training is wearing out, even breaking, a critical source of energy for AI training www.investors.com/news/turbine...
I’m looking for a freelancer based in Spain or France to cover the wildfires and heat wave. If that’s you, my DMs are open and I’d love to talk through story ideas!
"wildfires in Spain overran one of three observatories the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration uses to connect with spacecraft, including Voyager 1, the James Webb Space Telescope, and the recently completed Artemis mission around the Moon."
Brian Kahn@blkahn.bsky.social · 2w agoClimate change has now become a problem for the whole solar system
Climate change has now become a problem for the whole solar system
One of NASA’s Most Important Deep Space Observatories Hit by Spanish Wildfires
Flames burned through the Deep Space Communications Complex near Madrid, but NASA has been unable to assess the damage as a wildfire emergency grips the region.
wired.com
MSG owner James Dolan insists that the facial recognition system deployed at his venues is an essential security measure. So why was it disabled during one of the year's most high-profile events: the pre-wedding celebration of Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce? www.wired.com/story/for-ta...
For Taylor Swift, Madison Square Garden’s Controversial Cameras Briefly Went Dark
MSG’s sprawling surveillance system can monitor guests down to the second. Its owners made an exception for the pop star’s rehearsal dinner.
wired.com
NEW: the trump administration is quietly pushing to change rules that could give the public much less advance notice when a polluting facility comes to their neighborhoods the move comes as communities across the country mobilize against data centers and the gas turbines and diesel engines some use
The Trump Administration Wants to Change Public Engagement Rules for Polluters
The EPA has proposed a rule change that would let states decide how much input the public has on air pollution permits. It would be a huge boon for data centers increasingly reliant on fossil fuels.
wired.com
Michigan has been at the epicenter of the wildfire smoke and explosive diarrhea outbreaks. The progressive Democrat talks to WIRED about how he would tackle the forces behind them if he’s elected. www.wired.com/story/abdul-...
Abdul El-Sayed Is an Epidemiologist Running for Senate. His State Is a Public Health Disaster
Michigan has been at the epicenter of the wildfire smoke and explosive diarrhea outbreaks. The progressive Democrat talks to WIRED about how he would tackle the forces behind them if he’s elected.
wired.com
NEW: Taylor Farms is a big player in conservative politics. The company donated $2 million to conservative political groups in 2025 and its CEO has personally donated more than $900,000 to Republican PACs and candidates. It's also spent $810,000 on anti-regulatory lobbying since 2025
Taylor Farms Spent Big on MAGA and Anti-Regulatory Lobbying Before Diarrhea Outbreak
The company donated more than $3.6 million to conservative groups between 2020 and 2025, including $1 million to the MAGA Inc. super PAC.
wired.com
Yesterday, WIRED learned that Madison Square Garden was suing us for our accurate reporting. We stand by our work. That’s why we’re removing the paywall from two of the MSG stories they don’t want you to read, making them free for everyone.
DOGE axed the CDC team that tracks cyclospora. Now 1000s are sick, restaurants & hospitals scrambling. What's next? “Cyclospora is just one piece. It's making the news right now, but there are other, more dangerous pathogens.” By @emilymullin.bsky.social www.wired.com/story/cdc-cy...
The CDC Has a Cyclospora Lab. DOGE Downsized It Last Year
“Based on simple math, these outbreak responses—which require rapid, timely responses—are going to be greatly diminished,” the former CDC lab director tells WIRED.
wired.com
There were 11 people working at the CDC lab that responds to outbreaks of the parasite cyclospora. Now there are 3 thanks to DOGE
The CDC Has a Cyclospora Lab. DOGE Downsized It Last Year
“Based on simple math, these outbreak responses—which require rapid, timely responses—are going to be greatly diminished,” the former CDC lab director tells WIRED.
wired.com
When journalists asked me "where we will see the effects of DOGE on outcomes?" one of my responses was "during crises...as long as media connect the dots." Well, dots connected: www.wired.com/story/cdc-cy...
The CDC Has a Cyclospora Lab. DOGE Downsized It Last Year
“Based on simple math, these outbreak responses—which require rapid, timely responses—are going to be greatly diminished,” the former CDC lab director tells WIRED.
wired.com
🫡 @wired.com's science section is here to serve
Steve Held@peoplesfabric.bsky.social · 3w agoPutting this page in a time capsule
Climate change will manifest as a series of disasters viewed through phones with footage that gets closer and closer to where you live until you're the one filming your colleagues filming it
Meade Krosby@meadekrosby.bsky.social · 3w agoA clip from a freight train stopped in a wildfire near Armstrong, Ontario. Thankfully, the crew escaped safely. Wildfire is nothing new but the burning of fossil fuels is making them larger, more frequent and severe.
I regret to inform you that the explosive diarrhea will get worse before it gets better www.wired.com/story/explos...
The Explosive Diarrhea Outbreak Is About to Get Much Bigger
Official case counts likely capture only a fraction of US cyclosporiasis infections, and the outbreak is likely to get worse before it gets better.
wired.com
Hi! WIRED health reporter here. Looking to speak with people who got sick with cyclosporiasis and are willing to share the gruesome details. emily_mullin@wired.com
the screenwriters are just phoning it in at this point
Grantham Research Institute at LSE@granthamlse.bsky.social · last mo.We regret that our event on Extreme Heat: Improving governance and strengthening action around the world has been cancelled due to the red extreme heat warning issued by the UK Met Office. Our apologies to everyone who was planning to attend the event.
When reality surpasses fiction! Top: fictional forecast for August 2050, broadcast by French TV in 2014 to warn about the consequences of global warming. Bottom: Real French forecast for yesterday, June 22, 2026.
"But you don’t need Swimming Pool Steve to tell you that when you see what appears to be the interior surface peeling up and floating in chunks, that’s an 'oh, crap' moment." Instantly iconic @mollytaft.com interview with the internet's favorite pool guy, Swimming Pool Steve
Even the Internet’s Favorite Pool Guy Doesn’t Know How to Fix the Reflecting Pool
Algae blooms, peeling paint, and a host of fixes from hydrogen peroxide to nanobubblers have made it hard to diagnose what's wrong with the Reflecting Pool, let alone how to clean up the mess.
wired.com
IEA said Iran War created the worst fossil-fuel disruption in history. Price of oil stayed below $150. Why? Biggest reason: China cut its demand by 5 million barrels a day. Some say it's a mystery. But @davidfickling.bsky.social says public data explains it. 🎁🔗 www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...
The Mystery of China’s Oil Demand Drop Is No Mystery
It’s the biggest conundrum in the world economy right now: How has China managed to go on an oil detox?
bloomberg.com
Turns out dismantling the ocean sensor network right as what's shaping up to be the strongest El Niño on record wasn't such a good idea after all
Maxine Joselow@maxinejoselow.bsky.social · 2mo agoScoop: The Trump administration is backing off its plan to dismantle a $368 million ocean monitoring system crucial to understanding climate change, after a bipartisan backlash in Congress. www.nytimes.com/2026/06/18/c...
