Seattle's light rail & streetcar lines carried 4.8 million riders in April—a 44% increase above March, after Link Line 2 was extended to connect Seattle & Bellevue across Lake Washington. Seattle's light rail & streetcar lines are now the most-ridden in the nation, above LA, Boston, or San Diego.

Congrats @davidnemer.com! We're looking forward to your visit to Seattle this fall!

This is absolutely nuts: hackers are hijacking high-profile Instagram accounts by simply asking Meta's AI chatbot to change the email on the account. Meta's AI does it, hacker gets password reset code, they're in. A staggering security issue www.404media.co/hackers-simp...

danah boyd recently argued that social media (as we knew it) is mostly dead; what we have now is parasocial media: journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/... I agree. Networked social media is disappearing, replaced by a new logic/structure of content creator, creator-centered community, & algorithm.

The White House today announced it plans to make major changes in how the U.S. government manages research funding. https://scim.ag/43HgW4s

“What OMB is proposing is not a reform of grants management. It is a complete political control apparatus layered over every stage of the federal science funding lifecycle” Non-public competitions & limits on publication costs, conferences, etc all point to “we want to funnel money to corporations”

This @kuow.org segment does a really great job capturing the magic of an intergenerational learning event our team at UW co-hosted with local partners in Skagit County.

A big volcano doesn't always mean risk of a bigger eruption. In this video, we want to help you understand how volcanoes are monitored and how you can get alerted. Visit mil.wa.gov/alerts to sign up for Volcano alerts.

Woah: Feds arrested a Google employee today, who they say made $1M+ betting on Google-related Polymarket events. Here are a few of the markets the account allegedly belonging to the employee wagered on. abcnews.com/US/google-em...

PLEASE SHARE: STAT is hiring for a "Trust-in-science" reporter! The reporter will cover where trust is breaking down, the consequences, and how to rebuild it. If you or someone you know would be great for the position, please apply! #journojobs #journalismjobs #journalism #science 📰🧪

One glimmer of hope in the Ebola response: Within hours of the outbreak in DRC being declared, researchers convened to prepare drug trials. A lot has changed on that front since the Ebola outbreak in West Africa a decade ago. But huge challenges remain 🧪 My story in @science.org (🧵 to come)

On AI legal slop: www.nytimes.com/2026/05/25/u...

My team has been studying visual propaganda within online images and videos. This post by WA state GOP leader, Jim Walsh, illustrates a few of the tactics that we've been documenting: strategic ambiguity, implicit framing, and controversy baiting: open.substack.com/pub/katestar...

Last year, I traveled to Gig Harbor via transit to speak at an event. Here I am again on Pierce Transit's Route 100 bus headed across Tacoma Narrows. It's not the fastest way to Gig Harbor, but it sure beats driving and dealing with Gig Harbor's surprisingly awful traffic. #Tacoma

The machinery of bullshit has indeed become part of the political infrastructure of this country. Great article explaining how this works and what this means for the Department of "Justice" in the second Trump administration: www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...

IT’S HERE! The first new Amtrak Cascades train set arrived in Seattle today!

A @cip.uw.edu study says collapsing trust in courts, rising threats to judges, and online misinformation are exposing a judiciary built on “institutional silence.” Courts need modern communication, public engagement, and clearer narratives to rebuild legitimacy. www.cip.uw.edu/2026/05/14/j...

For many in Pierce County, bus service ends before their workday does. This measure would change that, running buses earlier & later for a County where most don’t work a 9-5.

Coming up on Thursday, 5-6 p.m.: Our team at @cip.uw.edu and UW Impact are co-hosting a webinar, "Trusting the Courts," featuring a conversation with WA State Supreme Court Chief Justice Debra Stephens and U.S. District Court Judge Robert Lasnik. Register: www.washington.edu/alumni/event...

State of federal transit funding in 2026: —2nd Trump admin has not approved a single new project for funding —It has slowed advancement of other projects in the engineering process —It is pushing funds for projects back into future years so as to avoid ever spending —Congress appears to be asleep

Our @cip.uw.edu team is incredibly grateful for @geekwire.com honoring us with a 2026 Geeks Who Give Back Award. Learn more about the award recognition: www.geekwire.com/2026/geeks-g...

Seattle may have its Belltown Hellcat, but did you know that in Tacoma, there's the Prius Hellkitty?

Not surprising, but most of the PNW is expected to have above normal risk of significant wildfires by July-August.

I'm grateful for @geekwire.com honoring our @cip.uw.edu team with a Geeks Who Give Back Award for our community impact across WA and beyond: www.geekwire.com/2026/geeks-g...

Bogotá: How complicated is TransMilenio public transport network? Finally, there's a picture! humantransit.org/2026/04/bogo...

Conspiracy theories after an assassination attempt? In America? The most predictable thing imaginable. I gave an interview about this for @theguardian1.bsky.social @cip.uw.edu www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

It's a packed house at UW Tacoma for a Transit Town Hall, hosted by Transportation Choices Coalition. Sound Transit board members Ryan Mello and Kristina Walker will be chatting with Tacoma on the Go's Laura Svancarek tonight about ST3.

Today, I urge everyone to find and financially support an independent news outlet — one that will not be attending a spectacle dinner tonight to schmooze with the Trump administration while they berate the press.

There’s a new rumor spreading about discarded mail-in ballots found in WA w/ insinuations that mail-in voting is insecure & allegations of fraud. It sounds alarming at first glance. But a deeper look reveals the rumor to be misleading in old, familiar ways. katestarbird.substack.com/p/here-we-go...

My team is working on a communication design project. We're looking to connect to someone with news, sportscasting, and/or comedy skills to help us with content production within a social media-first strategy, either as a one-time gig w/ a longer role. All pointers/recommendations welcome!

I am at #CHI2026 presenting my paper on conducting mixed methods visual research with care in distressing contexts. This methods paper has been my heart and soul during my PhD! A version was rejected last year and this year I am honored it won a Best Paper award! doi.org/10.1145/3772... (1/n)

The nonprofit that runs the successful, Pulitzer-winning Baltimore Banner is going to take over the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Of all the possible outcomes here, this is likely the best we could have hoped for. apnews.com/article/pitt...

Okay CTA. This is a good sign.

Experts are saying it: SUVs damage our roads more than ordinary passenger cars. I’ve asked TfL to look into the effect of supersized SUVs in London as more of these vehicles take up space on London’s roads.

I've been helping to plan a great @cip.uw.edu discussion on Tuesday, 6-7:30 p.m., at the Seattle Central Library. Join my UW colleagues and partners at @kuow.org for this free event. (Register to attend.) ⤵️⤵️⤵️

🚨NEW DISINFO PAPER🚨 TLDR; disinformation circulates as narratives, not false facts. This paper took five years (!!!) and a rotating cast of collaborators and GRAs. Our case studies include the pee tape, and we have an entire appendix justifying that. www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

A recent study from Prolific found that generally AI respondents don’t infiltrate surveys very much without researcher knowledge. I can’t really evaluate their math, but that does suggest that polls using synthetic data are doing so maliciously and consciously. Link below.

Sound Transit CEO Dow Constantine just announced that 205,000 riders boarded trains on the opening day of the Crosslake Connection, a number that's second only to the Super Bowl Parade.

You really have to appreciate Renee’s dedication to fighting back against the lies, conspiracy theories, and hypocrisies that prop up the right’s “censorship” narrative.

As technologies and platforms rapidly evolve, teachers and librarians in Washington need more opportunities to create stronger peer and community connections. Learn more about @cip.uw.edu efforts to support educators in our state and beyond teach vital media and information literacy topics. ⤵️

While I do have some atypical mnemonic transit navigation skills, that doesn't explain why people regularly come up to me on buses and trains asking for reassurances that they're headed in the correct direction. Maybe I exude vibes that I know where I'm going?

We need to keep making the connections between transportation infrastructure and public health. sph.washington.edu/news-events/...

“.. a looming energy shock for an economy that is a key player in global tech supply chains.” @bloomberg.com www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

I dressed up for an especially transitful day in Seattle.

🧵 ... On 2 Line heading into Seattle from Redmond, there was an energetic gentleman offering unsolicited station commentary along the way ...

“We’re lucky to have so many dedicated and passionate teachers and librarians who want to find more effective and engaging ways to incorporate these vital skills, not only in their classrooms and libraries but also in their communities,” Jason C. Young told @cip.uw.edu www.cip.uw.edu/2026/03/16/s...

Last week, the Center for an Informed Public brought 100+ teachers and librarians together with our UW researchers to connect and share insights about how to navigate our increasingly challenging information environment.

On Sundays, I am simply a pedestal for birdwatching.

Well, if yesterday's map was ridiculous, I'm running out of superlatives to characterize today's. Countless locations from Pacific Coast to Great Plains are currently experiencing all-time record March warmth, w/ some locations approaching/exceeding April (or even May) records.

It's a busy week for our team at the @cip.uw.edu!