Oohhh yes, October! You know it's here from the telltale signs of fall colors, pumpkin spice, and dubious stories on laced Halloween candy. fox17.com/news/nation-...

I thought there would be a correlation (or causation even!) between two things but the data doesn't show it, so I have dropped the hypothesis even though I will admit I kinda wanted it to be true. Going to buy myself an ice cream. Hypothesis fail ice cream should be a thing.

I am thrilled to be a recipient of the Outrider Nuclear Reporting fellowship. As an MSE student I enjoyed my education in nuclear physics and energy, and I am excited to learn more. But also, I get to tour a decommissioned nuclear silo. Nerd achievement unlocked! outrider.org/conference/2...

Working on deadline with two teens home from school means I write a sentence, help to graph an equation, write a sentence, answer a question about physics, repeat. (Husband is making dinner. Kids prefer to ask me questions because I'm better at demonstrating what I do.)

Unpopular (?) opinion: I don't like it when artists leave their work untitled. Comon, throw us a bone. Tell us SOMETHING about what you were thinking about or hoping for or a starting point. Leaving work untitled feels lazy, or timid. There is so much work titled "untitled," it's cliche.

This man had this thought, wrote it down, and hit publish. Ew.

"Johnson said he was left tied up outside the building for nearly three hours. 'I asked [agents] why they were holding me if I was an American citizen, and they said I had to wait until they looked me up. I asked if they had a warrant and I asked for a lawyer. They never brought one.'"

The rare feel-good gov't shutdown story: I talked to some Bronx 8th-graders on a field trip to DC whose tour of the Capitol was canceled bc of the shutdown - and who ended up getting a personal tour from @aoc.bsky.social instead: www.chalkbeat.org/newyork/2025...

The fact that an agent literally said "fuck them kids" is just icing on the unconstitutional cake. They enjoy being able to play badass while they terrorize neighborhoods.

That heady moment when your request for data from a government source comes through.

Turns out, on whaling ships, having only one or two foreign crew increased conflict, but when there were more, conflict decreased and they caught more whales. Now, I'm not into hunting whales but that seems like a parable. freakonomics.com/podcast-tag/...

Oh this is fascinating "Though liberal criticism of American Eagle’s “great jeans” ads did increase over time, it didn’t rise until prominent conservative figures attacked liberals for their supposed outrage."

A vital & hopeful new OpEd in Devex by the government of Uruguay’s Martin Clavijo on a major step forward for international cooperation made at the UN General Assembly week. ➡️https://www.devex.com/news/global-public-investment-shows-international-cooperation-can-succeed-110982

“I don’t think anyone really cares about the fact he’s illegal,” said Gabriel Doyle Scar, 17, who helped organize the protest. “We’re just sad about the fact that an extremely nice man that supported us heavily and really strongly is now taken away from us.”

The last magazine cover I saw in the wild is this 1976 TIME with articles flatly stating that Israel has nukes, slaughters civilians, and other topics that are now censored or controversial. I bought it Prairie Archives for two dollars.

A few years ago all I wanted to do was talk about the science of whale butts. Now I am being talked out of trying to save the world. It's been a ride, huh?

I would have made such a great Avenger.

I think we need more stories about how networks of small acts created change because apparently not all of us can be one of the Avengers.

I now understand why it worked so well for the US govt to focus on public works during the Depression. When things are not great some of us NEED TO FIX THINGS.

Apparently a large impact is created by small impacts added, which is not at all sexy and entirely opposite the messages I have received from books and movies.

I regret to inform you that every therapist, friend, and career consultant I talk to remains convinced that I cannot fix what is happening.

Lost track after they gave unanimous consent hundreds of times in the first few months. The fascist cabinet was one of the fastest confirmed in modern history. It let all these awful people come in at the top and immediately implement the most destructive agenda in the history of the United States.

Hell of a life.

So cool to see @rudymolinek.bsky.social's @smithsonianmag.bsky.social piece on the long, strange history of Teflon on the notable list for The Best American Science and Nature Writing. Thanks @jaimealyse.bsky.social jaimealyse.beehiiv.com/p/basnw25

How come the uber wealthy can profit off of doing objectively stupid things while the rest of us are left reading posts about how snack preference is a parable for corporate success on LinkedIn?

This thread is my brain all day all the time www.reddit.com/r/Journalism...

My doctor: how is it going? Me:

We received a receipt for tariff fees on an oil dispenser I ordered from Montreal: value $49.78 It had three tariffs levied: 1. free(?), 2. 35%, 3. 6%. Total: $20.50. Plus: entry prep fee($10), disbursement fee($14), and merchandise processing fee($2.62). $47.12 total That is a 95% tariff!

This is a VERY well crafted lawsuit. 1) Plaintiff is natural born. 2) He was detained 2X in a fast-growing part of Alabama, not in a city that Brett Kavanaugh could be easily duped into believing was all migrants. 3) Unwarranted detentions were on private property. 4) He showed Real ID both times.

Val and I checked repeatedly because we simply couldn't believe no national or local news organizations covered this letter from 18 AGs in support of trans youth care and against FTC overreach. If you find any stories, let us know, but it seems to be our exclusive.

I’m just a journalist, standing in front of a tech bro, asking him to stop destroying discernible reality.

Something I think we don't talk about enough pregnancy trauma and how common it is. To my knowledge close calls and the effect of medical interventions on new mothers are not tracked. Yet were they not administered, say, on a battlefield, many would be classified as acute trauma. A story:

I am super curious to hear what public health experts and environmental toxicology experts think about this new "dry soap" (my words). Great? Gimmick? Ineffective? Destructive? nowataclean.com

Does anybody need a reporter to cover the Seattle/Olympic/PNW area the No Kings protests Oct 18? I enjoy covering protests and have done it before. www.thexylom.com/post/across-...

Anyone else feeling like it might be nice to try on no federal govt, just to see how it feels for a lil while?

when I worked in an independent bookstore, the owner told me the most stolen book was one about getting your first period and if I saw anyone walking out with it, I should just let them go.

A friend just called to vent bc her kid (13) used ChatGPT to write a book report. Remember 1. Kids make dumb choices and always have. 2. It’s a parent’s job to demonstrate that cheating doesn’t profit and robs kids of learning and 3. Don’t forget to check your kids’ browsing history.

Exhibit A at The Hague just dropped

Just a reminder that the shaving thing is because Black men are more likely to have curly facial hair that gets trapped under the skin causing pseudofolliculitis barbae. So they get a shaving waver so their faces don't burn. He got rid of the waiver

Can confirm: steer clear. Saw this just before my call with them….call lasted 2 minutes.

I wrote this (with @starrevartan.bsky.social in 2016, before SCOTUS ruled that Presidents can do whatever they want, and before there was a Project 2025 document saying that they would do exactly what they have done. It’s pretty clear he hates federal scientists. undark.org/2020/10/26/t...

About 25% of women in the military & 6% of men experienced sexual harassment in the past year. 7% of women experienced "unwanted sexual contact" Fewer than a third reported it. Of those who did, 60% say they experienced retaliation.* It's tragic that this situation will almost certainly worsen.

Too many shitty people grew up being told to “be themselves.” That’s not good advice for everyone, folks. Some people should try to be like somebody else.

Please, sir, shove your boot harder into our mouths

ICE brutally detains U.S. citizen just for filming—knocking her unconscious. "Agents took her to a side alley, beat her up, then called an ambulance," witness said. "Then they kidnapped her from the hospital—without a formal discharge—and took her to Downtown LA Detention Center."

In today’s completely unsurprising news, the ICE officer very briefly, taken off duty for shoving a woman to the ground in New York is back on the job not even a week later. www.cbsnews.com/news/ice-off...

I keep telling myself that doing well is the best revenge.

Hello. I am an eldest milennial. Later this fall we will be looking at colleges with elder teen. Someone my age recently asked if I have considered botox (like, nicely). I have but it's $$$. Others are in perimenopause.

From opening grocery stores to launching online delivery services, I traveled to rural Mississippi to highlight the work of two Black women who are reimagining how their communities eat and thrive. This is part of the RNN's "Sowing Resilience" series. capitalbnews.org/black-women-...

All I can think of is the number of animals who died, now to become not even hotdog on a stick, but trash.