In light of today's NYTimes article about self-censorship in academia (www.nytimes.com/2026/03/16/u...), sharing my (now ancient) effort to measure the "chilling effect'" of a single effort to suppress science way back in the W administration. Stay safe out there. dx.plos.org/10.1371/jour...

The Chilling Effect: How Do Researchers React to Controversy?

Drawing on interview and survey data, Joanna Kempner's study finds that political controversies shape what many scientists choose not to study.

dx.plos.org

Can’t wait to read this! Congrats!

Laura Mauldin@lauramauldin.bsky.social · 9mo ago

Hi everyone -- there is a general strike in Minnesota tomorrow to protest what the Trump administration and DHS are doing to our community. In solidarity with the action, I am going to donate my revenue from tmrw's newsletter to People over Papers, the Midway-Hamline Diaper Bank, & Every Meal. (1/2)

Thank you to everyone who is risking their safety and contributing their time and money to protect our neighbors. If you are so inclined, please check out Stand With Minnesota (standwithminnesota.com) to find a way to help. And no one start any beefs with Will Stancil. (2/2)

Stand With Minnesota Donation Directory

Stand With Minnesota is a hub for supporting, learning, and taking action to support Minnesotans impacted by ICE and federal enforcement.

standwithminnesota.com

A depressing article that will be helpful teaching undergrads about healthcare in the US: www.nytimes.com/2026/01/22/o...

Opinion | We Asked 300 People About Health Care Costs. The Numbers Are Shocking.

nytimes.com

Nothing to see here. Everything is fine.

Forbes@forbes.com · 10mo ago

The index was boosted earlier following a lighter-than-expected inflation report.

Ya, I mean, from an oil/real estate perspective, there’s a lot to like about Cuba and Venezuela. Oligarchs gonna oligarch

Jenny Cohn@jennycohn.bsky.social · 10mo ago

“Trump suggested that Cuba could become a new focus of his administration’s foreign policy, calling the country a ‘failing nation’ as Secretary of State Marco Rubio signalled a tougher stance toward Havana.” 1/3/26 … 1/ www.euronews.com/video/2026/0...

And there ya have it… Officials from top Wall Street firms will be traveling to Venezuela to investigate “investment prospects” of the country. “The trip will feature about 20 officials from the finance, energy and defense sectors.”

Finance Industry Eyes Investment Opportunities in Venezuela

Some on Wall Street are already considering possible investment opportunities in Venezuela following the capture of Nicolás Maduro, according to Charles Myers, chairman of consulting firm Signum Globa...

wsj.com

Not today, buddy. just a few more episodes of the Pitt, and I’ll be able to intubate anyone, pretty much anywhere. 🥼👩‍⚕️🩺

You know what cheers me up when the news is this miserable? Snuggling up with a classic rom-com. Rob Reiner always seemed like such a joyful mensch. My heart goes out to his and his wife’s loved ones.

How is it possible to have *such* bad taste in men?

Shocked! 😵

The Harvard Crimson@theharvardcrimson.bsky.social · 12mo ago

When former Harvard President Lawrence H. Summers was pursuing a romantic relationship with a woman he described as a mentee, he turned to a longtime associate for guidance: Jeffrey E. Epstein. Dhruv T. Patel and Cam N. Srivastava report.

I grew up in Bucks County and … I left as soon as I could. 😥 So much great news all around but DAMN! This is the best!!!!

JD Vance claims that diversity weakens unions, as people end up distrusting each other and not organizing. Let me tell you two menswear stories related to this claim. 🧵

I love Bari Weiss’s moral clarity in this comment.

What is “antifascist and transgender writing” that could fit on a bullet?

How I wish I hadn’t spent my career studying this.

Carl T. Bergstrom@carlbergstrom.com · last yr.

1. "'Trusting the experts is not a feature of either a science or democracy," Kennedy said." It's literally a vital feature of both science and of representative democracy. I've written a fair bit about trust in expertise as a vital mechanism in the collective epistemology of science.

I shared the shite news from HHS w my kid today. Its ok. Virology seemed cool but he’ll be great as a psychedelic retreat vibe enhancer.

Joanna Kempner@joannakempner.bsky.social · last yr.

Dr. Weissman took the time to talk to 9th graders (including mine) who spent a year studying some of what they’re doing. My kid (who barely cared about science in sept) came home from that talk BUZZING! Defunding science undermines our futures in big and small ways.

I am excited to share that vol 51 of the Annual Review of Sociology is now open access. It includes my article on the politics of healthcare and so many great reviews. www.annualreviews.org/content/jour...

Thank you, Rabbis. But please, the food must come is urgent.

Rima I Anabtawi@rimaanabtawi.bsky.social · last yr.

HAPPENING NOW: a group of New York rabbis are being arrested at a protest outside the Israeli consulate calling for bringing food into Gaza, an end to the war, and return of all hostages @newjewishnarrative.bsky.social

HAPPENING NOW: a group of New York rabbis are being arrested at a protest outside the Israeli consulate calling for bringing food into Gaza, an end to the war, and return of all hostages @newjewishnarrative.bsky.social

BBC News: Do you think you were a witness to war crimes? American veteran who worked at Gaza Humanitarian Foundation aid distribution center: Without question I witnessed war crimes.

You don’t say? www.rutgers.edu/news/america...

Americans Largely Disapprove of Attacks on Science and Medicine, Survey Finds

rutgers.edu

I became a professor bc I didn’t want to work for a corporation. Yea.

Erik Hane@erikhane.bsky.social · last yr.

hello fellow millennials. how are our Careers That Provide Us With Meaning and Worth going. how's that one playing out, broadly

Reminding myself tonight to focus on what we can do rather than anger at what others won't. @standhighered.bsky.social has created a toolkit that can help faculty + staff organize on every kind of campus in every part of the country. Join us, spread the word, and let's build our own strength.

Kathy Roberts Forde@krforde.bsky.social · last yr.

OK, #academicsky. If we don't stand up now to support Harvard and UVA, we are LOST. Join our faculty-led movement to stand together against this authoritarian takeover of higher ed in the US: www.standtogetherhighered.org. Sign up on homepage.

LLMs are exceptional at finding patterns and replicating them. Cognitive work requires an ability to recognize patterns. Understand how to harness an LLM as a tool, rather than a crutch, and you might find it useful.

Katie Mack@astrokatie.com · last yr.

Chatbots — LLMs — do not know facts and are not designed to be able to accurately answer factual questions. They are designed to find and mimic patterns of words, probabilistically. When they’re “right” it’s because correct things are often written down, so those patterns are frequent. That’s all.

This warms my heart. Really.

Hari Kunzru@harikunzru.bsky.social · last yr.

Yes they did! And they did the most low effort marching bsky.app/profile/bubb...

I was 1 of em!

Indivisible ❌👑@indivisible.org · last yr.

There are nearly 100,000 people at the rally in Philadelphia. #NoKings

Melissa Hortman, who was assassinated last night, was the Speaker of the Minnesota House in the 2023-2024 session, when Democrats ran the state government. That means she had a leading role in shepherding the many landmark reforms that Dems adopted in that period—an important legacy. Brief 🧵.

My team and I at the Crowd Counting Consortium (@djpressman@bsky.social, Soha Hammam, & Chris Shay) have a new piece out: wagingnonviolence.org/2025/06/amer.... In it, we show that through May 2025, the size and scale of anti-Trump protests have dwarfed those in 2017. 🧵