"They have brilliantly associated themselves with ... good times, happiness, and fun." @murray-journo.bsky.social and @thepulse.whyy.org discuss how Coca-Cola has influenced consumer habits & perceptions:

If he can sell a watery cup of joe for $1,000, I wish this guy was on my book publicity team. @afp.com #coffee #caffeine youtu.be/QEtTmIJ3pwg?...

Very pleased to be in good company at @mitpress.bsky.social #scicomm #health #commercialdeterminants #upf mitpress.mit.edu/reading-for-...

Perks of the early dark evenings on Penobscot Bay.

Polling place here in Belfast, Maine seemed surprisingly busy for an off-year election.

The morning after a storm slammed into western Alaska last month, Jimmy Jones was collecting driftwood on the beach near Quinhagak, a fishing village. When he reached to pick up a log, a face stared up at him from the sand beneath. By @sachimulkey.bsky.social: www.nytimes.com/2025/11/04/c...

At Popham Beach State Park in midcoast #Maine Sunday, an ambitious project to use sand to replenish a storm-damaged leach field on Wood Island.

A surprising aspect of the housing crisis: If Mainers returned to the number of people per housing unit that was typical in 1970, the state could house an additional 500,000 residents without erecting a single new building. My story for @themainemonitor.org themainemonitor.org/maine-buildi...

The archives at @ucsf-industrydocs.bsky.social were invaluable for finding Coca-Cola documents while researching my book Sweet and Deadly. Journalists are continually using the collections for reporting on PFAS and fossil fuels, as well as tobacco and opioids. www.library.ucsf.edu/news/small-b...

Coca-Cola rolled out a cane sugar version of its soda after Trump urged the corporation to do so — but debates around the sweetener in Coke are decades old. On this podcast extra, we talk about this with journalist @murray-journo.bsky.social, author of Sweet and Deadly. 🔗 bit.ly/4ofqexy

In the Boston area Thursday ? Please join us at this ideas festival in Newton, where I’ll be discussing Sweet and Deadly on a panel at 8:30 a.m. @mitpress.bsky.social www.authorsinnovators.org

Often-overlooked numbers show how fewer people are living together, inadvertently contributing to the #housingcrisis in #Maine. Read more from @murray-journo.bsky.social for free at the link below. themainemonitor.org/maine-buildi...

Late monarch on asters, in midcoast Maine.

Amid a tumultuous time for climate change research, Paul Mayewski has resigned as director of the Climate Change Institute at the University of #Maine in Orono after 24 years in the role. themainemonitor.org/climate-chan...

Calm day on Belfast Bay, midcoast Maine.

Now comes the American version of Mexican Coke. "The company did not replace high-fructose corn syrup as the sweetener in its flagship line, however." By @marywhnews.bsky.social for @usatoday.com www.usatoday.com/story/money/...

Waldo County, #Maine today.

This reporting from @theguardian.com shows how disinformation continues to gush from Coke and its allies: www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

Proud to have earned one of the dozens of awards the @themainemonitor.org hauled in this weekend, taking second place in environmental reporting for this one: themainemonitor.org/community-so...

“Coca-cola was introduced in 1886.” Interesting overview by @alicecallahan.bsky.social, shows the long, incremental road to ultraprocessed foods. How America Got Hooked on Ultraprocessed Foods www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

Ludwig brings some needed clarity to the debate, while not letting the worst culprits, SSBs like Coke, off the hook: "For instance, health risks tend to increase with sugary beverages, decrease with savory snacks and flavored yogurts, and remain unchanged for some other foods." @washingtonpost.com

Good article by Molly Young, about Celsius, which downplays its caffeine, and tiptoes close to the weight-loss claims that got Coke into trouble over the drink Enviga. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/10/m...

It's always lovely to unexpectedly bump into collaborative projects. My only task was creating the tinted shaded relief. Tanner Arrington with #CommunityGeographics pulled it all together with the details. #Katahdin #cartography #BaxterStatePark #shadedrelief

So great to see @jennieerinsmith.bsky.social on the neuroscience beat at @science.org! www.science.org/content/arti...

Really glad I caught this gripping film before it left the fine Colonial Theater in Belfast, Maine. Edge-of-seat pacing for nearly three hours. Similar momentum as No Country for Old Men.

Among the wild reporting in this article is this formal reply from DHS: In response to a list of questions about Noem, DHS said, “This NYMag hit piece reads like a preteen rage-scrolling, then prompting ChatGPT for a screed on misogyny — complete with zero substance and maximum bullshit.”

It often seems librarians are playing key roles in the climate movement. @carabuckley.bsky.social profiles one in Brunswick, Maine. "Curtis Memorial’s Library of Things was started by one of its librarians, Hazel Onsrud..." #climate #maine www.nytimes.com/2025/08/20/c...

Great blue heron among rockweed in midcoast #Maine estuary. #birds

Passagassawakeag estuary, midcoast Maine, on a calm October afternoon.

So great to hear @rachelroubein.bsky.social and Anahad O’Connor break down the MAHA health science on Post Reports. “High-fructose corn syrup is almost chemically identical” to cane sugar, O’Connor says. Good on seed oils too. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/p...

What an inspiring legend she has been. I will never forget her work and ethos. apnews.com/article/jane...

Turkey vulture migrating through midcoast #Maine. #birds

I've loved this anthology for as long as I can remember, and this year I'm stoked to have edited four -- count 'em, four! -- of the notable selections. I'll link to the stories and their authors below.

In the Narraguagus River: "On July 17, 2023, a legendary salmon pool in the Cherryfield section topped 83 degrees." Ambitious reporting by @penelopeoverton.bsky.social for @pressherald.com www.pressherald.com/2025/09/28/m...

"In his order, McKeon addressed six statements Kennedy accused Vickrey of saying about him and which Kennedy said were defamatory, all of which McKeon concluded Vickrey never wrote or said." By @rachelohm.bsky.social for @pressherald.com: www.pressherald.com/2025/09/29/j...

Penobscot Bay, midcoast #Maine.

Very cool to see these migrating tree swallows gorging on bayberries along the Rhode Island coast. #birds

Fun to catch some of the swells from Hurricane Gabrielle in Rhode Island, with @margot-carto.bsky.social! #surfing

As @antoniafarzan.bsky.social’s recent story shows, Pawtucket has a lot of heart. @mapcenter.com is a great example.

For $138 million, The Nature Conservancy will purchase the last four #dams blocking #salmon from reaching their spawning grounds in the Sandy River. To read more for free on how this affects #Maine salmon, click the link below. themainemonitor.org/dams-sale-sa...

Insightful reporting about the evolution of a Rhode Island mill town, by @antoniafarzan.bsky.social for Providence Journal: www.providencejournal.com/story/news/p...

September sunrise.

“This is kind of a case study on how not to handle situations like this,” Kenney said. “They kind of screwed it up from beginning to end.”

Some of the best radio reporting advice I’ve received came third hand, from my doppelgänger. I enjoyed writing this column about the other Murray Carpenter for @bangordailynews.bsky.social www.bangordailynews.com/2025/09/12/o...

Looking forward to moderating this forum Sunday with four Democrats aspiring to be the next governor of Maine: Shenna Bellows, Troy Jackson, Angus King III, and Hannah Pingree. Please join us and bring your questions for the candidates. www.midcoastvillager.com/news/politic...

"Our research shows that kids who drink beverages with non-sugar sweeteners consume just as many calories as those who drink sugary ones." By Allison Sylvetsky and Priya Fielding-Singh for @statnews.com: www.statnews.com/2025/09/11/m... via

It was great discussing my @mitpress.bsky.social book Sweet and Deadly, about Coke, health and disinformation, with Peter Biello of Georgia Public Broadcasting for the Narrative Edge podcast: www.gpb.org/podcasts/nar...

Trump Claims the Power to Summarily Kill Suspected Drug Smugglers The move to treat criminals as if they were wartime combatants escalated an administration pattern of using military force for law enforcement tasks at home and abroad. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/04/u...