My latest, on the big risks of a wildly popular dietary supplement. medshadow.org/integrative-...

Hey all—I'm writing an article on red yeast rice supplements as an alternative to statins, and I'm looking for patient stories, good or bad. Have you tried these products? If you'd be willing to be interviewed, please DM me!

Hey, sleep peeps! Tune in to my webinar for Bard College's Lifetime Learning Institute on Jan. 28, 11 AM ET. The title is "Why Do We Sleep? How Can We Sleep Better? The History of Sleep Science—And Why It Matters." Link: llibard.zoom.us/j/85776034412 Meeting ID: 857 7603 4412

This is the most astonishing graph of what the Trump regime has done to US science. They have destroyed the federal science workforce across the board. The negative impacts on Americans will be felt for generations, and the US might never be the same again. www.nature.com/immersive/d4...

Book rec: "Tripping on Utopia," @resobscura.bsky.social s new history of psychedelic science—how a Cold War alliance between idealistic anthropologists and CIA mind-control experts led to the '60s acid revolution. Mind-blowing! www.amazon.com/Tripping-Uto...

#stats 🎃

My latest, for all you restless sleepers. medshadow.org/best-treatme...

This review is wonderful, but it is a reminder that the history of 20th century #sleep research is difficult to fit into a paragraph; it's much more unruly once you dive into it @kenmillerwrites.bsky.social

Book rec! "Winter's End," by Lewis Cohen—essential reading on the end-of-life issues raised by a dementia diagnosis, focusing on one man's choice to exit on his own terms. Whatever you think of its ending, Dan Winter's life makes for a compelling tale.👍

Dear God…DO NOT US AI FOR NUTRITION, HEALTH, OR HEALTHCARE QUESTIONS.

ICYMI: check out this long-form essay on #insomnia by the great (and massively sleep-challenged) @jennifersenior.bsky.social. Chock-full of insights, actionable info, and terrific writing.

Just finished "90 Seconds to Midnight," by Charlotte DeCroes Jacobs—inspiring new bio of Nobel Peace Prize winner Setsuko Thurlow (née Nakamura), who survived the atomic bombing of Hiroshima as a girl and became one of the world's leading advocates for nuclear disarmament. Highly recommended!

Hudson Valley folks—I'm giving a talk on Mapping the Darkness this Wednesday at the Starr Library in Rhinebeck. Hope to see you there! engagedpatrons.org/EventsExtend...

Hundreds of National Science Foundation staffers turned out for a group photograph to celebrate the besieged agency’s 75th anniversary—despite efforts by NSF officials to prevent the picture from being taken. scim.ag/4jcGpIt

Third and final interview on Mapping the Darkness with great host Mark Lynch—probing the links between sleep deprivation and catastrophes (from Chernobyl to the Challenger explosion), plus Mary Carskadon's campaign to liberate teens from early school start times! wicn.org/podcast/kenn...

Just read @patchenbarss.bsky.social 's bio of Roger Penrose, "The Impossible Man"—and wowza! Besides the science stuff (probing the nature of reality at the quantum level), what's riveting is the portrait of Penrose, whose mix of strengths and flaws is worthy of a Greek tragic hero. bit.ly/3S6zENr

As if you needed anything else to keep you up at night... www.theguardian.com/environment/...

🤯🤯🤯https://www.statnews.com/2025/04/30/nih-ends-participation-in-safe-to-sleep-campaign-to-prevent-infant-deaths/

My latest. If you've got a kid who's sleep-challenged, here's the skinny on those somnogenic gummies. medshadow.org/are-melatoni...

"You know, as an example, red lead was used to make cheddar... A can of coffee could be coffee, but it could be ground bone, or charred shells, or dirt." Deborah Blum on our bad food past -- and how to avoid it being our future: buttondown.com/theswordandt...

Report: As one dataset after another falls by the wayside, the nation’s policymakers are losing their ability to make evidence-based decisions, and the public is losing the ability to hold them accountable for their results. www.propublica.org/article/trum...

Because disinformation wants to be free? www.niemanlab.org/2025/04/nati...

Another ultra-fun conversation about Mapping the Darkness—this time, focusing on the discovery of REM sleep and the birth of sleep medicine—with host Mark Lynch. Have a listen! wicn.org/podcast/kenn...

Published an op-ed for @cnn.com: “Nobel laureate: I owe America my success. Today, its scientific future is in danger.” A personal reflection on what’s at stake as science funding gets slashed. I’d be grateful if you could amplify both in and beyond the science world. www.cnn.com/2025/04/09/h...

Nobodye good doth evir attack the fundinge of libraryes

Beautiful

📣 Across the U.S., cuts to federal funding for health research are projected to cause losses of $16B and 68,500 jobs. How will YOUR area be impacted? Excited to share SCIMaP, a website that our team has created to communicate the impact of funding cuts. #PsychSciSky #MedicalSky scienceimpacts.org

They didn't even pick a controversial person WITH a medical license, but one who previously got in trouble for practicing medicine without one www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...

Grateful to Dr. Kathryn McGoldrick for this beautiful review. Every author dreams of having their work described as a "tour de force"—and it's doubly delightful to see that description in a journal for anesthesiologists, who map a territory bordering on the one my book explores. bit.ly/3Xx03ab

Meditation on the value, the indispensable might of that myriad-headed, myriad-handed labour by which the social body is fed, clothed, and housed.

We are excited to announce that nominations are open for our “Rising stars in neuroscience” 2025 report. We seek to feature early-career researchers who have made outstanding scientific contributions and demonstrated a commitment to community-building. Submit a nominee here: bit.ly/4bsoBXD

Happy #WorldSleepDay! A perfect day to buy my book, Mapping the Darkness: The Visionary Scientists Who Unlocked the Mysteries of Sleep—and to remember that without the NIH, many of the amazing advances in sleep science of the past 70 years would never have happened. bit.ly/47v5UQx

Had a super-fun conversation about Mapping the Darkness with host Mark Lynch on WICN Public Radio out of Worcester, MA. We mostly talked about Nathaniel Kleitman, the refugee from czarist Russia who founded modern sleep science. Remember: Immigrants get things done! wicn.org/podcast/kenn...

Hey, pediatric sleep peeps! I'm writing an article on the use of melatonin supplements for children, and would love to get your perspective. If you're interested in being interviewed, please DM me.

Life is pretty grim right now. Here's my #starterpack of writers, historians and institutes sharing quirky medical and science content that might serve as a welcome distraction. Make your corner of the world weird and wonderful. Never stop learning. go.bsky.app/3DuVT6Z

Excellent description of why the sudden & complete halt of the NIH is very alarming and if not reversed soon will have huge ripple effects on the health and well-being of Americans for a long time. Great explainer for folks who are unfamiliar with how NIH funding works www.msnbc.com/msnbc/amp/rc...

Publications in the past week built substantially on our knowledge of the brain's waste disposal system—glymphatics—and the implications on sleep and brain aging. Featuring exceptional work by Nedergaard Lab and @jonykipnis.bsky.social erictopol.substack.com/p/our-sleep-... open-access

Cool new study: coordination of two electrical events in the sleeping brain improves our ability to remember new words and complex grammatical rules. www.unisa.edu.au/media-centre...

Just a note to say that my book, Mapping the Darkness, would make a lovely holiday gift for anyone on your list who's interested in sleep, science, history or a combo of the above. 👉A NYT Editor's Choice, and a New Yorker pick for Best Books of 2023. www.amazon.com/Mapping-Dark...

A beautiful, important, clear-eyed story on (among other things) the cultural dynamics of climate-change denial and the primacy of community in a time of mistrust and division—reported from deep in the trenches. harpers.org/archive/2024...

Deeply enjoyed today's post by the always intriguing @resobscura.bsky.social (AKA Benjamin Breen). resobscura.substack.com/p/why-did-cl...

The "start school later movement" is about giving teens a chance to get healthy sleep, and the benefits that come with it. That just isn't possible when the bell tolls at zero dark thirty (which it often does) #startschoollater #sleeppeeps youtu.be/kIYTL5p-vpI?... via @YouTube

Breaking: Rats love driving ultra-compact EVs! www.extremetech.com/science/rats...

My latest: A profile of pioneering slumber scientist Mary Carskadon, who uncovered an epidemic of sleep deprivation among teenagers and launched a global movement to fight it. www.brownalumnimagazine.com/articles/202...

Thrilled to be part of this BBC World Service podcast on the history, science, and literature of #insomnia, MC'd by the sparkling Iszi Lawrence. Learned a lot from my global fellow guests—sleep-challenged novelist A.L. Kennedy and sleep specialist Dr. Manvir Bhatia. www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w...

Listen up! Really enjoyed this interview about Mapping the Darkness, sleep science history, and the craft of group biography with the brilliant Sonja D. Williams on the Biographers International Organization podcast. biographersinternational.org/news/podcast...

Mapping the Darkness UK paperback just dropped—and got a thumbs-up from The Guardian! Thanks to Hephzibah Anderson for the illuminating review. www.theguardian.com/books/2024/s...

Delighted to share that Mapping the Darkness won this year's ASJA Outstanding Book Award in the Biography/History category! Many thanks to the judges, and congrats to all fellow awardees. www.asja.org/what-we-do/a...