I can’t recommend this enough. UNBREAKING, a new project from @lizneeley.bsky.social & co, documents & explains our many concurrent institutional collapses. It’s beautifully executed work, full of intellectual & moral clarity. 3 pages are live, more will come. It’s SO GOOD, & I learned so much.

This piece by my fellow space nerd and ex-Postie launches as a breakdown of why NASA's planned return to the Moon looks like such a mess right now and then ascends on a trajectory to a grand unified theory of why space exploration matters to all of us on the good Earth.

Officially, America is supposed to land on the moon again in 2027. Ask anyone inside NASA under President Convicted Felon, and you will hear a different story: “It’s like we’re tossing the crown jewels in the Thames.” slate.com/technology/2... via @joelachenbach.bsky.social

If you're looking for a great read on the state of our space programs -- Moon, Mars, asteroids, robot probes, and don't forget the Oort Cloud -- check out this gem from @joelachenbach.bsky.social: slate.com/technology/2...

We're going back to the moon! But...Space is hard. Here's my new essay for Slate on NASA and Artemis and Starship and The Conquest of Space and human destiny and that kinda thing. YMMV. Warning, it's long. slate.com/technology/2...

I retired from WaPo but kept typing and here's my first piece, on NASA's IMAP mission, the nature of the heliosphere, and our solar system's journey through the galaxy. paw.princeton.edu/article/imap...

COVID revisionists see the public-health response to the pandemic as a failure. But they fail to get the full picture—and that might leave us even less prepared for the next pandemic, Rogé Karma argues.

'the “White House,” needs work! .. William Henry Harrison took one look at it and decided death was preferable. James Madison presided over some free demolition work that was paid for entirely by Britain." From the great @petridishes.bsky.social www.theatlantic.com/newsletters/...

This is a masterpiece from someone who has written a lot of them. I'll miss seeing DVD columns in the WaPo www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...

One of these days I want to see the Andromeda Galaxy with my own eyes. In the meantime this will do: An extraordinary mosaic produced by the Hubble telescope. My colleagues at WaPo crafted this splendid visual story. Take the tour, zoom in, explore: www.washingtonpost.com/science/inte...

The world is grim right now, but the universe is still full of wonder. I'm always grateful to @joelachenbach.bsky.social for reminding me of that fact. www.washingtonpost.com/science/inte...

New & scoopy: Documents obtained by WaPo show political appointee overruled NIH career experts after Trump-mandated biosafety review @carolynyjohnson.bsky.social @hannahnatanson.bsky.social www.washingtonpost.com/science/2025...

For another take on this problem beyond my @theatlantic.com piece, here is a great article in the @washingtonpost.com by @joelachenbach.bsky.social nbach.bsky.social www.washingtonpost.com/science/2025...

Our latest story on Trump's cuts to NASA science, as former NASA officials sound the alarm. Plus an ode to the aging hardware that can still get the job done but could soon go silent. www.washingtonpost.com/science/2025...

Behold the universe, courtesy of the Rubin telescope...and our nifty template for pretty pictures. www.washingtonpost.com/science/inte...

🟡 SCOOP: The White House is likely to pull the nomination of Jared Isaacman to be the next NASA administrator, just days before he was set to receive a confirmation vote in the Senate.

Amid DOGE-induced turmoil, National Science Foundation in crisis: $9 billion agency, which funds researchers, projects and facilities, is hitting reverse on its mission, by @carolynyjohnson.bsky.social @joelachenbach.bsky.social www.washingtonpost.com/science/2025... via @washingtonpost.com

SCOOP: ICE, DOGE are asking to use sensitive Medicare claims data to find the addresses of immigrants the government says are here illegally, as the Trump administration's immigration crackdown intensifies, w/ @rachelroubein.bsky.social @ddiamond.bsky.social www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/...

More from NASA statement sent to WaPo: "The planet K2-18 b could potentially be a habitable Hycean planet based on current data from Webb and other observatories. However, the concept of a Hycean planet is very new, and alternative explanations are still being explored."

From NASA, to me: "..detection of a single potential biosignature would not constitute discovery of life. We would likely need multiple converging lines of evidence to confirm true biosignatures and rule out false positives, possibly including independent data from multiple mission"

SCOOP: Internal budget doc reveals extent of Trump’s proposed health cuts. About 1/3 of HHS discretionary budget. Our story w @carolynyjohnson.bsky.social @rachelroubein.bsky.social @joelachenbach.bsky.social @laurenweberhp.bsky.social www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...

Life on planet K2-18b? Worth a closer look, but this is still in the could-be, might-be category. Our story: www.washingtonpost.com/science/2025...

Confirming reports from @sciguyspace.bsky.social and @joelachenbach.bsky.social about proposed cuts to NASA's science budget. It doesn't look good, folks www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

NEW: This is Black Friday for NASA Science, with Trump OMB seeking to cut Science Mission Directorate budget by nearly half. Developing story... www.washingtonpost.com/science/2025...

Intriguing back-and-forth just now between Senator Markey and Jared Isaacman, in which Isaacman would neither confirm nor deny that Elon Musk was in the room when Trump offered him the job of NASA administrator.

The moon or Mars? NASA is poised to make a big decision on human spaceflight. Jared Isaacman appears tomorrow at Ted Cruz-chaired Senate nomination hearing. Our story: www.washingtonpost.com/science/2025...

Oh, by the way, the universe might collapse someday. Big Crunch. But stay calm: "The DESI observations may be cosmically consequential but do not rise to the level of an action item for us mortals" www.washingtonpost.com/science/2025...

It was just Oswald. -30- www.washingtonpost.com/national/spe...

So proud of @washingtonpost.com Health & Science reporters, who continue to kick ass every damn day amid trying times. SCOOP by @carolynyjohnson.bsky.social & @joelachenbach.bsky.social What a time to be canceling research into vaccine hesitancy, w/more than 200 cases of measles in 12 states.

NIH to terminate or limit grants related to vaccine hesitancy and uptake: Does anyone still want to claim Mr. Kennedy is not anti-vaccine? www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/... via @joelachenbach.bsky.social @carolynyjohnson.bsky.social @washingtonpost.com

A deep look inside the last 6 weeks at NIH under Trump - an agency paralyzed by fear and uncertainty, with the future of US science at stake. with @joelachenbach.bsky.social Gift link: wapo.st/4h8aiZx

Cosmic inflation! This'll take your mind off the other stuff. www.washingtonpost.com/science/2025...

As a hard-news journalist at The Washington Post, there's no shortage of important news to cover. I will keep digging in. As I've stated before: Nothing changes. We ask hard questions and hold those in power to account. That's the job, whether those in power like it or not.

The future of American science is on hold right now. Federal funding occurs through a rigorous, months-long peer review process. A meeting cancellation today may seem minor, but the effect is long-term, endangering the pipeline of future projects. with @joelachenbach.bsky.social wapo.st/4hOuZed

That scary Asteroid 2024 YR4 ain't actually scary at all. Probability of it hitting Earth dropped again today, on its way surely to zero www.washingtonpost.com/science/2025...

NEW: Uncertainties abound at NASA. DOGE is in the house. www.washingtonpost.com/science/2025...

Government is not business. I've been in gov't and I've been in business—they are not the same. Trying to run government like a business sounds good but in fact is not. Moving fast and breaking things may be good in business; it's not in gov't. It just hurts all kinds of people who depend on gov't.

Great reporting by @joelachenbach.bsky.social and Carolyn Johnson on the unraveling of scientific inquiry and general chaos caused by the administration’s policies. Gift link to @washingtonpost.com wapo.st/3WL5FNJ

I agree. The dearth of action on bird flu—such as monitoring and sampling at poultry farms, and at American dairies—is ridiculous.

So many dangerous words in 2025. @carolynyjohnson.bsky.social www.washingtonpost.com/science/2025...

Some counterprogramming from the world of science. They've looked closely at the Bennu samples. Lots of organic molecules. Evidence of brine. Early solar system had gobs of molecular precursors to life. www.washingtonpost.com/science/2025...

More great WaPo reporting with context: Trump orders health agencies like HHS and CDC to pause all communication with the public, including overdose stats and weekly morbidity and mortality reports. @lenasun.bsky.social @dandiamond.bsky.social rachel roubein www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...

"Soon, they wouldn’t be painters, welders or builders. They would be firefighters...surrounded by one of the most destructive blazes in American history" @reisthebault @MrErinO @juliawall_ @tuckabelle www.washingtonpost.com/nation/inter...

Altadena wasn't supposed to be at high risk from wildfire. But decades of development in fire-prone landscapes and rapid planetary warming have sparked a new era of urban conflagration -- one that will threaten more and more communities the more climate pollution we emit. wapo.st/40wmLkB

Genius photographer Michael Williamson and I gowned up, booted up, masked and gloved up, and got a close-up look at the Nancy Grace Roman Telescope being built. Super cool! I swear I didn't touch anything in the Clean Room. www.washingtonpost.com/science/2025...

NASA mulls Mars Sample Return options and decides to....keep its options open. Decision by 2026? Space is hard, and sometimes kinda murky. My story, just posted. www.washingtonpost.com/science/2025...

Arguably one of Jimmy Carter's greatest achievement is bringing the world to the brink of eradicating the Guinea Worm. From 3.5m cases a year in the 80s to less than 15 the last few years. It's an astounding public health achievement.

Can still remember watching this moment — in a mix of utter disbelief and admiration — just 5 years after the Yom Kippur War. RIP JEC Jr.

Your solar panels on the White House roof and your cardigan in the White House (modeling turn-your-thermostat-down behavior). Though I don't remember his presidency, and I think he got better and better as he got older and more boldly unconstrained by the larger systems.

How Jimmy Carter’s global health efforts elevated ‘the art of the possible’ www.statnews.com/2024/12/29/h... via @statnews.com @helenbranswell.bsky.social