Some fun news. Today was my first day as associate professor of sociology and director of the Center for Population Studies at @olemiss.bsky.social. I loved my time at @rand.org, but there’s good work to be done at the state and local level. Give me a shout if you’re in MS. Hotty toddy.

Really enjoyed the entire discussion but felt particularly encouraged by the remarks at the end about a) doing research the public needs/cares about/can interpret and b) doing research that aligns with your values (assuming your position is clear, and your methods are transparent).

I read another piece recently that said single/never marrieds pay out over 1 million more in their lifetimes compared to married people who often share bills, mortgages, and on health insurance. Our systems are built to support and advantage married people.

Devan Jenkins' home in Memphis' Whitehaven neighborhood—a stone's throw from Southaven—has been disrupted by a persistent drone making it hard for her to think and sleep. The noise is from xAI's data centers and the gas turbines powering them. "You can feel it rattling your eardrums," she said.

This is a great tool for state policy-makers and organizations supporting veterans and their families.

The “New Isle” settlement was built to house Indigenous families displaced by climate change in coastal Louisiana. But residents report leaking doors, broken appliances, and homes that feel like they’re leaning. “We should not have this many complaints."

punxsutawney phil (just had visions of pestilence, blood rain, malignant false idols, stillborn livestock): uuuh 6 more weeks of winter

Mississippi dispatchers are fielding desperate calls for medication or oxygen from people stuck in their homes in a state where 100,000 remained without power amid freezing temperatures, days after last weekend's ice storm. www.mississippifreepress.org/situation-in...

Not great, Bob!

Today’s large language models—ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Grok—can write code and polish prose. But would you trust them to do your taxes? RAND's @carterprice.bsky.social discusses in @wsj.com.

Over the summer, I learned how to sew. In October, I took a beginners quilting class. It’s now December, and I’ve finished quilts for my niblings. This has been such a good reminder that we can always learn new things.

For anybody who has ever obsessively watched the AQI, it’s nice to see the readings over time. #quilting

New research explores the potential security implications of AI-induced psychosis: https://bit.ly/3MotZmc

These were the only three tofurkys I found in the East End of Pittsburgh. The politics around food are really changing.

New data can help shape policies that address veterans' needs, close gaps in support, and foster better understanding of the veteran population and their families. ⬇️

The different race, ethnicity and origin category names in the U.S. census have often changed in a reflection of changing politics and public attitudes. Explore those changes, from the first census in 1790 to the latest count in 2020.

Even if folks think this about religion, the dismissive mocking attitude toward *studying* religion is part of the problem. Love it or hate it, religion matters A LOT and isn’t going away anytime soon.

Here's a quick 11 min chat about low birth rates and population panic. I'll pile on with the note that the United States is one of only eight countries in the world to not offer a paid federal maternity leave (along with Suriname, Papua New Guinea, and five South Pacific island nations).

Heather is such a fantastic choice to lead this new division at RAND! I’m excited for her leadership.

I was laid off from Teen Vogue today along with multiple other staffers, and today is my last day. certainly more to come from me when the dust has settled more, but to my knowledge, after today, there will be no politics staffers at Teen Vogue.

This panel will be such a resource! Veterans connected to the VA are just a subset of veterans and are, in many ways, different from those who aren’t.

With Medicaid cutbacks on the horizon, millions in the U.S. are expected to go uninsured. In the Mississippi Delta region — one of the poorest places in the U.S. — people are stressed and mad.

Insurance now makes up 20% of today's mortgage payment -- up from 8% in the 2000s.

📣 The "U.S. Billion-Dollar Weather and Climate Disasters" data is back today through @climatecentral.org! And more soon! ➡️ Explore our new interactive website at www.climatecentral.org/climate-serv..., which is now updated through the first half of 2025 & totaling over $101 billion from 14 events.

Recent RAND research suggests that about 40% of Americans provide some kind of unpaid care for another adult. These tips are likely going to be important for you at some time in your life.

New research alert: Medicaid covers nearly 40% of treatment for opioid use disorder (OUD), but recent “unwinding” of pandemic-era enrollment protections led many to lose coverage nationwide. How did this affect life-saving buprenorphine treatment?

SCOOP: The Trump administration has installed a new acting director of the Census Bureau, @npr.org has learned. George Cook takes over the federal government’s largest statistical agency after it's been thrust into the middle of a renewed attempt by President Trump to alter the national head count

People were forced to leave their pets behind during Hurricane Katrina, creating an unprecedented animal welfare crisis that has shaped the country's disaster response ever since.

Unfortunately, Bluesky is unavailable in Mississippi right now, due to a new state law that requires age verification for all users. While intended for child safety, we think this law poses broader challenges & creates significant barriers that limit free speech & harm smaller platforms like ours.

Scoop: The U.S. billion-dollar disaster database is set to return this fall over at @climatecentral.org. They've hired the former NOAA scientist who ran the project for 10+ years www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Because so few people purchase flood insurance, costs are extremely high for the people who need it most.

RIP Sophie you will always be famous.

Evergreen reminder that wind turbines are not even remotely a leading cause of human-driven bird mortality. This is classic concern trolling in the interest of fossil fuels - if they really cared about birds they'd focus on domestic cats and building glass. And what's not shown here: climate change.

Here's the ultra-short read on the Mamdani logo design www.gq.com/story/zohran...

@zohrankmamdani.bsky.social is a great example of how far you can go if you genuinely center your campaign in an engaging way around the issue that voters overwhelmingly say in surveys they care the most about www.youtube.com/watch?v=QyL4...

Video captured the moment a road buckled and sent a car flying as a heatwave impacted Missouri on Sunday.

Bisexual flag: Purple-breasted Cotinga 📷 Tomaz Melo, eBird

Super timely report as cuts to FEMA loom.

Hahaha Oneil Cruz is eating an Uncrustable after hitting an enormous home run

There are wide partisan gaps when it comes to whether the federal government has a responsibility to provide health insurance for all Americans. 90% of Democrats say it does, while half as many Republicans (45%) say this. www.pewresearch.org/...

The partisan divide is especially telling. Partisanship is so deeply entrenched that it can shape the perception of our finances.

On Policy Minded, our new podcast, we'll pick the brains of the world's top policy experts, so you can get even smarter about the issues that shape the world. 🎙️ Our first episode drops May 15. Listen to the trailer and subscribe: www.rand.org/pubs/podcast...

The Florida building code has reduced losses by 72% - but population in the area hit by Hurricane Ian has increased over 600%. Building codes help but that math ain't mathing.

I PRed my Dri Tri time by over six minutes! I hope everyone has fun :) #otfsky #orangetheory

A good demonstration of how your life is shaped by your policy environment. I had the pleasure of working with Kristy. Her work helps us understand how changes to the ocean impact marine life (and us!). I’m glad she’s found a new home in Rhode Island, but it’s a shame she had to uproot so much.

Since 2001, more than 6,000 U.S. veterans have died by suicide each year. Our new report explores the current landscape of veteran suicide prevention, the evidence for those activities, and what the next generation of effective programs might look like: www.rand.org/pubs/researc...

In San Antonio today, talking trees!

Worth mentioning that they did not find that housing costs are associated with living at home and that there is a gender gap (young men more likely than young women).

Large gaps between experts and the public on AI’s potential impact on jobs, the economy; few in either group say AI will be good for elections, news

New report: Building apartments in California is more than twice as expensive as it is in Texas—but not for the reasons you might think. Here's an overview of why it costs so much to produce multifamily housing in CA and what policymakers can do about it. 🧵 www.rand.org/pubs/researc...