The fact that Epstein had ties to the scientific community is not news, but the enormous cache of documents released by the DOJ last week was still startling. It showed just how deeply Epstein was involved—how many were in his orbit, and how deeply involved he was with some research. My reporting:

Me, on astronomy funding crisis, on the @ox.ac.uk website: www.ox.ac.uk/news/2026-02... 🔭🧪

Listeners to Radio 4’s Inside Science today get an essay from me in defence of astronomy as pure research. Please listen in and let me know what you think. Show starts 4.30pm GMT here: www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b...

The STFC Funding Crisis – Guest Post by George Efstathiou The following guest post by George Efstathiou is a response to the current STFC funding crisis I blogged about here, and specifically to a letter by the Executive Chair of STFC, Professor Michele Dougherty. I include the letter here for…

Jeff Bezos’s wealth has increased an average of $70 million every day of 2026, meaning that he could have offset The Post’s losses with what he’s made since Monday.

I think one thing people outside Minnesota don't understand is that after Good and Pretti were killed by feds while observing, the most normal people you could imagine have made peace with the fact that they could be next, and they are still out there because they say it's the right thing to do.

Larry Summers complaining to Epstein that his kids admire Bernie Sanders too much

meant to post it earlier, but this is so good and disturbing by @helenrumbelow.bsky.social on the collective mindset the Epstein files reveal www.thetimes.com/life-style/c...

This is what oligarchy looks like: Elon Musk, the wealthiest man alive, spent $290 million to elect Trump. Since Election Day, Musk became $548 billion richer while his companies (SpaceX & Tesla) paid $0 in federal income taxes last year after making $13.7 billion in profits.

My story on Elon Musk cutting safeguards at xAI is on the front page of today's @washingtonpost.com. I’m also among 100’s of reporters laid off. I absolutely loved my job my brilliant coworkers & the thrill of reporting @ the center of forces upending the world: AI & Silicon Valley’s political power

When we talk about authoritarianism, it’s not just Donald Trump. Musk owns X Bezos owns Twitch Zuckerberg owns Instagram and Facebook Larry Ellison controls TikTok Billionaires increasingly control what we see, hear and read.

They show a hidden world oiled by porn-saturated misogyny. I spent two days reading them | ✍️ Helen Rumbelow

It’s the Epstein files deja vu: how many more powerful men knew about his crimes, and helped him out anyway? | Marina Hyde

New for @sciam.bsky.social: Behind astronomers' recent victory protecting Chile's skies, and why other battles—including those against satellite megaconstellations—may not be so easily won www.scientificamerican.com/article/astr...

There are always women like that. Always. Compare “I don’t even understand why we need an equal opportunity vice president”, from the (woman STEM professor) Equal Opportunities Vice President.

You have also hurt your students and other people who put their trust in you. And in the process you have damaged public faith in science and scientists, and that hurts all of us. Take seriously that you have engaged in harm and figure out how you’re going to address it.

Academics vying for a spot in Epstein‘s world. There are so many. I feel the need to make a thread, so I don’t keep confusing them. 1/

Latest batch of the Epstein files has plenty more physicists. Going through them slowly, in no particular order.

I’m trying not to be impulsive in my commentary so I’m just posting this story without offering any of the comments that I could readily make about it But 2014 is after 2007

The Royal Astronomical Society is gravely concerned at the drastic cuts to support for UK astronomy outlined by the Science and Technology Facilities Council. Read our statement 👉 ras.ac.uk/news-and-pre...

Denmark and Greenland’s envoys to Washington have begun a vigorous effort to urge U.S. lawmakers as well as key Trump administration officials to step back from President Donald Trump’s call for a “takeover” of the strategic Arctic island.

A New York Times video analysis of an ICE agent’s fatal shooting of a woman in Minneapolis contradicts the Trump administration’s account. Watch our investigation here. nyti.ms/4sEdp2r

What will multi-messenger & time domain astronomy look like in the 2040s? We wrote a white paper for the European Southern Observatories expanding horizon call examining the science and identifying at least one observational bottle we face in the optical & near infrared! arxiv.org/abs/2512.14546

Doubly offensive because the architects are never the ones sitting out on the beam

Heartbreaking and horrifying to go to bed reading about the mass shooting at Brown University and wake up to read about the mass shooting at a Hanukkah celebration at Bondi Beach. Thinking of the victims, their loved ones, and those affected by the hate that drove these attacks.

I understand that a lot of folks have been misled by fear-mongering and powerful regressive voices but it’s still astonishing to me that so many have fallen for the idea that oppressively policing other people’s gender identity and expression could in any way be part of an enlightened future.

Children across the UK could go without presents this Christmas as poverty continues to soar. Here's how to donate charity Christmas gifts.

Over 250 people quarantined in South Carolina as measles outbreak rages arstechnica.com/health/2025/...

🌞🛰️Sun-watcher SOHO turns 30! 🎂 "SOHO has overcome nail-biting challenges to become one of the longest-operating space missions of all time" – Prof. @cmundell.esa.int , ESA Director of Science 👉 www.esa.int/Science_Expl... 🔭🧪

Happy 10th launch anniversary, LISA Pathfinder! 🥳 For the first time ever, this mission tested in space the technology needed to detect gravitational waves, which paved the way to LISA 🤜 🤛 Planned to launch in 2035, LISA will be first gravitational wave detector in space 👉 esa.int/lisa 🔭

One of my earliest moments of radicalization was in 2005 when Larry Summers said that women biologically have less aptitude for science than men. Following that, scores of equally unimpressive people wrote pieces trying to explain or justify his remarks, when they should have called for his removal.

To be clear (it is the internet, after all) there are plenty of truly wonderful, non-sociopathic people in positions of influence within academia. I just think we are too forgiving of the bad people.

Academia has a problem in elevating terrible people into positions of power. "Sure, this person is a narcissist and sociopath, but they get things done! That's a bargain I'm willing to make." It is indeed hard to get things done in academia, so I understand the temptation. But it often ends badly.

Deadline almost here!

NEW: Tim Davie resignation email to staff. “You will ask why now? why this moment?”

The reaction to the Panorama edit has been nothing short of hysterical. Yes the BBC has some impartiality problems. But its biggest isn't the one you think. New piece from me. open.substack.com/pub/goodalla...

Thank you so much DESY for the wonderful welcome yesterday at DESY day. I learnt so much about the diversity of fantastic science being done at DESY, & many congratulations to all the award winners & nominees! Thanks also to Sara Russell for a great talk on Asteroid Bennu!

Rama Duwaji, an accomplished artist and reluctant campaigner, has stepped onto center stage alongside her husband and New York City's mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani. Here's what to know about her.

Mamdani: "Yes, aunties."

Inbox— next cover of the New Yorker: “Mayor Mamdani,” by Edel Rodriguez

At 92, the Tory grandee Michael Heseltine is making a comeback. He has harsh words for Nigel Farage and Reform, whose policies remind him of Oswald Mosley and Enoch Powell

“Reform is fascist. We must stop Nigel Farage.” Michael Heseltine is on a mission to stop Reform UK. Superb interview by @alicettimes.bsky.social, with ”share token”. www.thetimes.com/article/9048...

The announcement of the ceasefire in #Gaza is a relief but it comes after more than two years and over 67,000 lost lives. The ceasefire must be respected because it's the only way that will allow care to be provided at the scale people desperately need. www.doctorswithoutborders.ca/ceasefire-in...

Yay ... A long favourite of mine Omar Yaghi gets the chemistry #Nobelprize

NEW: Extraordinary scenes in Amsterdam this afternoon (Sunday, Oct 5). An estimated 250,000 bring the city to a standstill; people all wearing red to show solidarity with Palestine 🇵🇸 (🎥 Ahmed Zantac)

if there's a silver lining to the bari weiss stuff it's that being put in charge of cbs news in 2025 is kind of like being named the commander of a french horseback cavalry division in 1917

Opinion | Was Bari Weiss a DEI hire for CBS?

Bari Weiss and JD Vance are very similar figures with very similar skills.

Not to be a pedant but Bari Weiss was a junior editor who occasionally wrote opinion pieces in the opinion section, not a columnist.

the Bari Weiss news is just so depressing