New from me: I talked to CDC staffers about the new vaccines and autism page. They said things like: “The best way I can put it is it feels like we’re on a hijacked airplane.” “I think people are starting to see that we can’t fulfill our mission here.”

This week, I withdrew from a speaking engagement at a public university because they sent me a list of prohibited “words & concepts.” I will not humor this censorship. It does a disservice to the stories I’m discussing & the audience, who deserve unfettered access to information & conversation.

Seems like a potentially exciting job at the U of MN: Project Manager for UMN Critical Disability Studies Initiative to manage 3-year project to establish an intersectional & transnational critical disability studies curricular program hr.myu.umn.edu/jobs/ext/371...

Cheers to the person who leaked the initial changes www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...

Scientists have been crying "Lysenkoism!" since RFK Jr. took office, but what does it mean? RFK Jr. is reviving a dark chapter of history where ideology trumped evidence, with deadly consequences for millions. Dissent is patriotic. We're fighting to #impeachrfk

Some strong donations have come in and have put us to near 35% of our $10K goal! Help us get closer to halfway by donating tonight during #GiveToTheMaxDay! Each donation gives us extra chances to win prizes from GiveMN: www.givemn.org/organization...

Lots going on but don’t lose track of the Trump attacks on biomedical research and cancer cures. @jeremymberg.bsky.social posted a leaked #NIH memo today. I want to highlight a few scary parts. They’re about taking power from scientists and experts and giving it to the president’s hacks. 1/ 🧪

the Harvard Crimson called Epstein a “child sex offender” while the Chronicle of Higher Ed called him a “disgraced financier” and that pretty much sums up where we are with higher ed journalism

Today is Give to the Max day, & did u know MPS does not fund the arts, like theater. Camden Drama Club exists due to generous donations from ppl like u, and we have a $7,000 need to cover in order to continue to provide the best award-winning high school theater: www.givemn.org/organization...

Obviously I'm celebrating #TransDayofRemembrance with a rec list. DUH. Five SFF with trans leads! incl ✨witches and their theses with @charliejane.bsky.social! 🎨rebellious artists from @isaac-fellman.bsky.social! 😇Dark Cosy by @johannestevans.bsky.social! everybookadoorway.com/trans-leads-...

Just want to point out that it is a crime to threaten to murder a Congressperson-- and a crime that absolutely falls outside the purview of any presidential immunity granted by the Supreme Court consistent with presidential authority. Full stop, a crime and an impeachable offense.

Program: would you like to turn on AI mode? Me:

Appreciate the heads up on this! I thought I'd taken care of this earlier, but no! It was turned off on my personal gmail but (still? again?) turned on for my work gmail. Grrr.

One of the ways budget cuts have hit @umnchemistry.bsky.social is in the ability to cover transportation for elementary school kids to come see the awesome Energy & U show. There's a $5K match for Give to the Max day if you can chip in to help with that deficit: crowdfund.umn.edu/participants...

I'll be doing an online workshop on character creation and development for Blue Stoop on December 7th! Interested? Register and pay here: www.bluestoop.org/classes/p/nk...

Discworld fans: rejoice! 🐢 In 2026, there's even more coming! The boardgame Discworld: Readers Digested, the card game Kill Sam Vimes and Discworld: Adventures in Lancre and Uberwald are coming to crowdfunding next year. 🥳 @terrypratchett.bsky.social Read more: buff.ly/VWkn1d3 #discworld

This is how you destroy science and research in the country

“I want their morale as low as possible because a team with low morale is ineffective.” Meet the veteran who chases ICE on a scooter

We're getting to the end of 2025, so why not: We made a bracket. VOTE on our best science photos. These scientists ... man, are they doin' some wild stuff! #CENChempics @cenmag.bsky.social cen.acs.org/education/sc...

Solange Knowles’ Saint Heron has launched a free digital archival library of literature by Black and brown authors, poets, and artists. Readers can borrow rare and out-of-print books for up to 45 days

We extended the deadline for this #SciComm survey to this FRIDAY, Nov 21! Please share your experiences of scicomm/outreach in chem grad school (even if grad school was a long time ago). #chemsky

We can & should disagree about all kinds of things in higher ed, but we can only do this <after> we all agree that the lawless authoritarian attacks are both lawless & authoritarian & must be categorically opposed by our leaders. <Nothing> universities did pre-2025 warranted any of this. Full stop.

Great piece as always. "Their obsession with national greatness — with ethnic chauvinism and so-called traditional values — is little more than a cover story for common thieves whose great aspiration is to steal and loot with abandon." With cover story doing plenty of its own damage along the way.

This is the post-shame era solidifying itself in journalism. The hold-outs did their best not to debase themselves and chase clicks and pageviews and "attention," but they're being driven out of the profession by private equity and dwindling revenue as the Alphabet-Meta monopoly hoovers up ad $$.

Magnificent. I think we all need Tom Holland doing his umbrella routine. We deserve a little treat. www.youtube.com/watch?v=Brq-...

just learned we won an award for our blog post about Tom Holland and stormwater management. remember, when you see an article about stormwater management, you repost it. i don’t make the rules.

Hey. Did anyone here attend the International Star Trek Convention in Washington, DC, January 1-4, 1976, or know one of its organizers? An editor at the excellent @fanlore.org site is looking for info on the con.

I will never forget having to edit Jamal’s final, posthumous piece for the Washington Post, after he was murdered. He was calling for free expression in the Arab world. You can read it here : www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/glo...

Tell me you have no idea what education is about, or what the Department of Education is supposed to be doing, without telling me. In a single, infuriating, likely illegal, policy plan. www.npr.org/2025/11/18/n...

So I say this as a proud academic labor union member who believes deeply in the importance of tenure to the academic mission: FIRE LARRY SUMMERS

Important new analysis identifying the scope of clinical trials disrupted because of NIH shenanigans. > 74 thousand trial participants affected jamanetwork.com/journals/jam... 1/4

For those not on Instagram, here is the statement from Alice Wong’s family:

So sad to hear that Alice Wong has died. Her work has informed my understanding of disability and disability advocacy for as long as I can remember, and we just listened to her on this episode of Radiolab a few weeks ago: www.wnycstudios.org/story/voice/

THEN YOU PURCHASE THEM AND DO NOT USE THE PROPERTY OF OTHERS

Jenna Norton has spoken critically about the Trump administration's funding cuts and mass firings at the National Institutes of Health. At the end of the shutdown, she says she was put on leave. n.pr/4oFYdPL

As the DEI Crackdown Escalates, Faculty Choose Between Silence and Resistance While one professor says faculty are “pre-emptively censoring themselves” in response, others are defiant—while another is asking himself, “What would I be willing to lose my job for?” #HigherEd #EDUSky bit.ly/413XhLP

Get in, losers, we’re going to the Cambrian Explosion.

NSF is open again! A few comments: *Please be patient. During a shutdown NSF employees cannot open computers or respond to emails. *Merit review will continue. However panels won’t resume until after Dec 8th. *POs remain excited and committed to advancing science and the scientific workforce.

ANYWAY! My 2023 book -- about systemic, institutionalized, longstanding patterns of misconduct, abuse, predation, and the enabling and even the celebration of same by the powerful -- was titled Burn It Down 🔥🔥🔥🔥 just sayin' bookshop.org/p/books/burn...

This moment is urgent. The violence hasn’t stopped and the despair runs deep. But fundamental change is possible when we organize and build power – together. The East Coast tour continues, don’t miss your chance to be part of it. Link in BIO. standtog.org/usaevents (3/3)

Since the timeline is awash in terrible things about how men treat women and girls, I want to tell one little story about how it could be. Near the end of my PhD I was at a conference. It was fun, although mostly not my usual crowd. I ended up hanging out with some fun folks.

You probably saw videos of a nighttime raid in Chicago. Agents rappelling from a helicopter, bursting down doors, questioning brown-skinned immigrants. We investigated -- and found little evidence to support the government’s claims about Tren de Aragua. www.propublica.org/article/chic...

New Episode! Socialism, Star Trek, and Space with Dr. Chanda Prescod-Weinstein Link in bio and at end of this thread 👇🏼

Come work here at Illinois! We have two Diversity Residency Visiting positions open. I'm chairing one of the two searches: www.library.illinois.edu/geninfo/resi... #libraryjobs

As of this morning, Starbucks workers across the country are officially ON STRIKE. And we're prepared for this to become the biggest and longest ULP strike in Starbucks history. Say #NoContractNoCoffee with us: DON'T BUY STARBUCKS for the duration of our open-ended ULP strike! $SBUX

You ever heard of Julie Dash? Some of you undoubtedly have,but quite a few I'd imagine not. Julie Dash is the first Black woman (ever) to have a full-length film with a theatrical release in the United States. In 1991. There's a book as well. Julie Dash turns 73 years old today

Etsy is promoting ornaments but they never promote my shop so I’m promoting me. Check out my ornaments! These ones have butterflies! Surly.etsy.com

Did you know CSCCE regularly works with a range of different STEM organizations on their community engagement efforts?

Earnest post: there is increasingly direct evidence that Trump participated in child sex trafficking or at least knew about it. He should resign, be impeached and removed from office, and prosecuted. Even if you don’t think that WILL happen it’s important to say publicly that it SHOULD happen.

You don’t need to be a science reporter to cover science well. The Science Reporting Navigator from The Open Notebook and @rjionline.bsky.social helps any reporter confidently incorporate scientific evidence, perspectives, or context into their reporting— regardless of background or deadline. 🧪