I don’t usually follow celebrity news, but Taylor Swift & Travis Kelce are doing things right. This week (leading up to their wedding) they have donated $26 million to food banks & community centers across the US, hospitals for children, animal rescues & shelters & educational programs.

A koala ball 🐨

9yo just made a new friend at the science museum in Brisbane. Because we’re from the U.S., his friend is convinced we surely know Taylor Swift & Donald Trump personally. 😆

While our neighbors are camping, we are watching their parakeet, Greenie, and now these two are in love. #birds

My retro mug is modern again.

🤔

Support independent bookshops 📚

* munch * munch * munch *

“You have to know the past to understand the present.” - Carl Sagan A researcher who cannot locate the present moment within the longer human story is working with incomplete data. open.substack.com/pub/sheril/p...

A key lesson of the last decade is that effective leadership & strong governance are a lot harder than they look from the outside. Long-term planning, informed strategies, ongoing relationships across parties & with allies & earned trust matter. In their absence, things fall apart.

“This study shows that…. nostalgia evoked by Studio Ghibli films significantly foster a sense of exploration & calm in life, as well as a feeling of mastery & skill & purpose & meaning, hence ultimately contributing positively to one’s overall happiness in life.” games.jmir.org/2025/1/e76522 #art

Hey ocean friends! 🌊 Apply to be a 2027 Knauss fellow! Spend a year working in Congress to advance science, research & evidence-based policy. You are needed! I was in the class of 2006 serving in the U.S. Senate & it fundamentally changed my life. seagrant.noaa.gov/communities/... #science

A delightful OpEd by @neildegrassetyson.com “Give Us the Aliens” www.nytimes.com/2026/05/06/o...

Can you name a living scientist? 76% of Americans cannot.

“I've always tried to present a positive view of the world in my work. It's so much easier to be negative & cynical & predict doom for the world than it is to try & figure out how to make things better. We have an obligation to do the latter." - Jim Henson

The Trump administration has terminated more than 100 advisory committees to #science agencies and reduced the transparency and independence of those that remain. www.nature.com/articles/d41...

“We think we’re looking at organic matter that’s been preserved on Mars for 3.5 billion years... if we want to search for evidence of life in the form of preserved organic carbon, this demonstrates it’s possible.” #science #space nautil.us/mars-curiosi...

Earth Day should be every day. 🌏

Happy World Curlew Day! I adore these birds! Curlews face severe population declines globally due to habitat loss, #climatechange & predation by non-native species like pets. I took this photo in Lamington National Park in the Gold Coast Hinterland, Queensland. #birds

“Penn was quick to tell me he does not know much about many things. But he is an expert in misleading people. “[My] position of expertise is that I have lied to ppl onstage & gotten them to believe it. I think I could do what that police officer did.’” www.nytimes.com/2026/04/16/u...

This is grim. www.aps.org/apsnews/2026...

Watch the sky for Northern Lights this weekend! www.livescience.com/space/the-su... #science

In a first last month, renewables supplied more power to the U.S. than natural gas, a milestone in the shift to clean energy. e360.yale.edu/digest/us-re... via @yalee360.bsky.social

How Shifting Perceptions of What's Normal Imperil Ecosystems - and Democracy revkin.substack.com/p/how-shifti...

How Shifting Perceptions of What's Normal Imperil Ecosystems - and Democracy - @sheril.bsky.social and Randy Olson. If you haven’t seen Randy’s hilariously sad videos of "shifting baselines” of fisheries decline, you’re missing something great. 🧪🐟🎣🌊

A beautiful visitor at Kiyomizu-dera Temple. #cats

This map shows the cost of charging an EV at home across the U.S. Home-charging is significantly cheaper in all 50 states than fueling a car with gasoline. Source: @karinkirk.bsky.social @climateconnections.bsky.social yaleclimateconnections.org/2026/04/what... #energy #uspol

Maybe we should be a bit less reliant on fossil fuels… 🤔

My new op-ed at The Hill describes a shift in how staffers & citizens perceive American democracy through the ecological concept of “shifting baselines.” thehill.com/opinion/cong... "America’s shifting baselines are a threat to democracy and governance"

Spring in Kyoto

See which jobs are most threatened by #AI and who may be able to adapt 🤔 wapo.st/4uvCpcY

“This is the systematic elimination of scientific stewardship at the world’s largest biomedical research funder.” open.substack.com/pub/elizabet...

I cannot agree more! “Why we should look beyond grades to spot potential in STEM” www.science.org/content/arti...

"Do you think it's inappropriate someone w/ no experience w/ grants was making personal judgments about what grants to cancel?" "Um no. I don't think it's inappropriate," Cavanaugh said, arguing he did not need formal education or experience to make informed judgments. abcnews.com/Politics/2-d... 🤔

Scientists often assume the main challenge in policymaking is ensuring that legislators have access to high-quality evidence. But Capitol Hill is fast-paced, resource-constrained & shaped by competing considerations.

Before 1993, women weren’t allowed to wear pants on the Senate floor. Then Sen. Moseley Braun (D-IL), & Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) wore trousers - shocking everyone. This eventually led to the dress code being changed. Credit: Liberal Jane Illustration liberaljane.com #history #uspol

A pair of wood storks preening. Wakodahatchee Wetlands never disappoints. #birds

Happy Vawentines to all who celebrate!

🙄

#SuperbOwl you say? Well okay then!

ChatGPT assumed I am male. The reason demonstrates we have work to do. #AI #tech

Just finished #Pluribus & found it a thoughtful exploration of humanity, loneliness, love & individualism vs a collective hive mind. At a time when so many programs feel like more of the same, this series asks us questions in ways I rarely experience. I am interested to hear what others think.

Humans are easily manipulated & AI knows that.

“Don't worry, I've got you” ‘For Alex’ Alex Jeffrey Pretti 1988 - 2026 RIP by illustrator MJ.Hiblen Source: www.instagram.com/mjhiblenart?...

“Fear not the those without papers, but those without conscience.” - @amandagorman.bsky.social, For Alex Jeffrey Pretti, Murdered by I.C.E January 24, 2026

Most ppl know me for work in science & policy, but my other major was classical history. I view the present through this lens, understanding the world map is always changing. Only by studying the humanities - that so many dismiss today - can we learn from our past & chart a more hopeful future.

This is the worst review for my book on Amazon. All things considered, it's not too terrible. I do hope the reader eventually found my book. #books

Today’s top NYT story highlights how U.S. universities are slipping as Chinese universities surge in global rankings. This is expected and intentional. open.substack.com/pub/sheril/p...

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting has voted to dissolve after Republicans rescinded $1.1B at President Trump’s behest. This ends the 58-year-old agency that distributed federal funds to NPR, PBS and more than 1,500 local public radio & television stations. apple.news/AXdo2-zPuRCi...