*stares directly into the camera*

In which the gut microbiome shows us once again why oligopolies are bad

omg I just remembered I can mute the word “nuzzi”

NEW — I put together a list of independent journalism subscriptions that would make great holiday gifts. From music to politics, astronomy to alcohol, tech to social justice, there’s something for [almost] everyone. Support indie media *and* surprise and delight your loved ones! My guide:

there is no more shared reality. www.cnn.com/2025/12/04/p...

Louder for the people in the back!

if you are a news professional - msm, trade or indie- you have the power to fix this. and don’t let the fact that they paint all of us with a broad brushstroke stop you from rising above…

Unfortunately, in US journalism it is considered neutral to spread a lie, but it is considered "biased" to call out a lie. So, there is a structural asymmetry that rewards colorful lies with virality.

Scare your family members! www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/717097...

“When we perceive a chain of events, he sees one single catastrophe which keeps piling wreckage upon wreckage and hurls it in front of his feet. The angel would like to stay, awaken the dead, and make whole what has been smashed.” —Walter Benjamin, somehow writing about this painting

the AI tries its hand at French post-structuralism

This newspaper will do anything in its power to avoid the construction “[Asymmetrically powerful instigator] [inflicts unimaginable horrors upon] [victim].”

Okay I did NOT have Willa Cather on my Epstein files bingo card

All of North America looking skyward and losing their minds. Seattle:

i cannot believe that “material reality is important to the potency of political narratives” is a controversial take

This is 🤯 All publicly available. Looks like an amazing new histology-based human probabilistic atlas and parcellation tool. #neuroskyence #mri #brainmapping A probabilistic histological atlas of the human brain for MRI segmentation | Nature share.google/5AD0iW7pxgb4...

“Comparable gaps are evident in humans, where cognitive models of psychiatric disorders have only recently begun to incorporate bodily contributions.” #neuroskyence

Hear, hear. Almost felt a spot of pride reading Paxson’s email today!

“We conclude that, through our common ancestry, humans have co-opted the abilities that macaques use for foraging to support reasoning and decision-making.”

I write because I love writing. I love writing even when I'm struggling with a writing problem that is killing me. Finding a way through that problem is both intensely rewarding and also helps me become a better writer. There is no reason for me to ever outsource that.

Krasznahorkai wins the Nobel! Somewhat serendipitously, I am in the middle of Satantango right now and just found myself thinking yesterday: Surely this guy has won a Nobel. Off by a day! apnews.com/article/nobe...

🚨NEW PAPER🚨 We all know the 2022 energy price shock fueled the cost of living crisis. It also caused a profit bonanza for the very rich. We show the US reaped the largest profits ($377bn) of any country. 50% went to the richest 1%, only 1% to the bottom 50%. A🧵 www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Many more important things happening in the world right now, but one question about the state of affairs I have is: How in the year of our lord 2025 is there not an ‘insert link’ option for Gmail on iOS?

Yes my first thought when I saw this subhed was “we should promptly promote the founder of this serious website to editor-in-chief of CBS News”—so it looks like Tyler Cowen and I both get to see our digital media dreams come true today, the future is now

This is a great read by @zteirstein.bsky.social. Living in Arizona, Valley Fever is scary! This piece breaks down the threat perfectly, how climate is turbocharging it, and the challenges to protect the public under an administration attacking public health. grist.org/health/valle...

We're getting a wave of articles that are like, "gee willikers it sure seems like the people who complained about 'cancel culture' for years really like canceling people." Yes! This was extremely obvious at the time and a lot of us pointed it out!

Since 2023, the city has drawn between $70 million and $90 million of an approximately $325 million federal loan for lead service line replacements that expires next year via @keertigopal.bsky.social and @juanpab.bsky.social grist.org/economics/ch...

The climate crisis is causing an invisible health crisis: brain health. On this ep, neuroscientist and environmental reporter @compatibilism.bsky.social reveals how the climate crisis intersects with our psychological, mental and brain health. Listen now: www.planetcritical.com/p/how-the-ec...

I think Musk's comments to a rally of 100k people are the highest profile advocacy of political violence in the UK since the end of the Northern Ireland conflict. Does anybody have a counter-example? "Whether you choose violence or not, violence is coming to you. You either fight back or you die."

One reason Gregg Colburn and I wrote HOMELESSNESS IS A HOUSING PROBLEM was to push back against the dehumanization of people without housing. Kilmeade’s rhetoric is a direct consequence of a society that defines disposable underclasses

Trans rights and security, now and always

‼️ Join my team ‼️ @cplusc.bsky.social is hiring a Housing Policy Manager to help advance progressive housing and climate solutions alongside some of the best tenant unions, labor unions, policymakers, and researchers in the field. Apply here by Oct 5! climateandcommunity.org/careers/

"...any premature or insufficiently contextualized declaration of uninhabitability from afar risks discouraging necessary investments in adaptation by governments and donors, thereby undermining the right of people to stay and adapt in place." Great read from an all-star cast.

Out today—a new interactive I worked on with @compatibilism.bsky.social mapping lead pipes in Chicago. You can use this tool to check any water service line in the city for lead, and explore how lead exposure overlaps with race and class. Check out the full piece: grist.org/accountabili...

Chicago has most the lead pipes in the country. A team of excellent reporters and I mapped them all on a searchable tool. Huge s/o to @juanpab.bsky.social @keertigopal.bsky.social @peteraldhous.com and @compatibilism.bsky.social for this monumental effort. Relevant links threaded below!

Chicago has the most lead service lines of any city in the county. We mapped out which neighborhoods are hit hardest. Mega collab out today from me, @peteraldhous.com @juanpab.bsky.social @compatibilism.bsky.social + @amyqin.bsky.social insideclimatenews.org/news/2808202...

Hello friends, especially Chicago friends. Today for @grist.org, @wbez.org, and @insideclimatenews.org, we've published an investigation into Chicago's lead pipe crisis and an accompanying interactive map. You can read the story here: grist.org/accountabili... A quick 🧵 follows.

ICYMI: the hidden neurological toll of wildfire smoke

I have an op-ed in @statnews.com today (with the incomparable Dr. Burcin Ikiz!) on the longterm neurological toll of wildfires: www.statnews.com/2025/08/19/w... (short 🧵 follows; not a story of 'climate anxiety')

❤️ data (and amazing work by @zteirstein.bsky.social ‪ @compatibilism.bsky.social and Jesse Nichols) grist.org/business/a-l...

I think the fact that the president can make up a bullshit pretext about crime, activate various states' national guard units and invade a major city with basically minimal pushback of any kind reflects very poorly on Americans generally

LLM smarminess is a disease

These charts are amazing! Great way to show the scope of the plastics crisis.

ICYMI: @jbwinters.bsky.social is reporting from Geneva as the U.N. approaches a global plastics treaty. Here’s our chart-heavy look from last week on the state of the plastics crisis: grist.org/internationa...

With @zteirstein.bsky.social and Jesse Nichols for @grist.org, here’s a chart-heavy look at some of the dynamics underlying the business of disaster: grist.org/business/a-l...

I’m old enough to remember when reporters like @yessfun.com were mocked for arguing that environmental conditions in the camps presented extraordinary risks to detainees

BBC International Editor Jeremy Bowen has confirmed that the entire Al Jazeera team in Gaza City has been killed.

Zohran’s citibike numbers make me feel like we need to start demanding bike share stats from our politicians in the same way we demand tax returns

lol, lmao even