Smart policy, no reading required 🎧 If your ears are aching to hear how we turn policy ideas into real world impact, these recent podcast features deserve a spot on your weekend rotation (and no, we won't tell anyone if you listen at 2x speed) ⤵️

For #BatAppreciationDay, we had Federal Data Policy Director Denice Ross tell us about her favorite federal database: NABat! Links to watch in the replies ⤵️

Everyone: tax returns should be easier to file in America 2021 U.S. Digital Service: bet🫡 Here's the story of the rise and fall of IRS Direct File fas.org/publication/...

TLDR: When I ask AI for an anatomically correct image of a whale skeleton, I should get a real image and not a hallucination Maybe these companies that are trying to profit off of AI for science, which they call their most exciting work, should also act as responsible stewards of data sources?

We’re looking to send a technologist to Congress. Is it you? If you care about science and technology, AI, government capacity, “natural capital” (i.e., energy and the environment), and making science policy accessible to the public, we want you. Learn more 👉 fas.org/career/congr...

The problem with sacred cows isn't that they existed – it's that they have taken on new life as facts, even as the world changes around them. @merici.bsky.social takes on the sacred cows of digital government delivery, and what we can win if we put them out to pasture. fas.org/publication/...

After the President's Budget Request dropped earlier this month, @alexsrdanovic.bsky.social took some time to analyze it for its implications for U.S. international engagement and collaboration on critical science and technology priorities. Here's what you need to know. fas.org/publication/...

Today on Instagram, we dare to ask: what if Tax Day didn't have to suck. RIP Direct File, we could've had something beautiful. 🧵

Our clean energy dream team broke down the good, the bad, and the ugly in the president's budget request-DOE budget justification double album drop ⤵️ fas.org/publication/...

your alarm bells should *always* go up when you read about ginormous effect sizes like this. in this case, the study looks at a pretty small number of album release days (10) and finds an increase of 18.2 fatalities nationwide on those days. I don't find that particularly convincing!

Some highlights from the episode: - Our first user was a single mom who’d been paying $400+ a year just to file - Direct File had a higher NPS than Apple and Starbucks - We talked to DOGE several times and thought we had a chance And, of course, lots of tax memes. open.spotify.com/episode/2CTn...

It’s tax season and Direct File is dead. I went on the Killswitch podcast with @dexdigi.bsky.social to talk about what we built, who killed it, and why I’m certain it’ll make a comeback.

The goal of regulatory democracy should be to surface and channel productive disagreement, not chase consensus. This is so good @jamesgoodwin.bsky.social !! fas.org/publication/...

Even back in 1980, @scientistsorg.bsky.social was hitting folks up with hot Hormuz takes This afternoon suggests the energy crisis isn’t over yet.

My state capacity stakes on the Trump Administration's FY27 budget: what's worth watching and what is...not cool. www.linkedin.com/pulse/future...

Check out my latest: Grateful to @scientistsorg.bsky.social for giving me the chance to outline a vision for what people-centered, power-conscious approach regulatory democracy might look like. fas.org/publication/...

From the archives: vintage "nuclear war is national suicide" sticker ~1970s-80s

The president of the United States is the only person in the country who can order the use of nuclear weapons, commonly known as “sole authority.” Despite its place in U.S. nuclear policy, sole authority has come under heavy scrutiny – for good reason. fas.org/publication/...

Universities think they're too nerdy for city hall. City hall thinks they're not nerdy enough for universities. Meanwhile, communities wait for solutions. The new Civic Research Agenda report digs into what's stalling the research-to-impact pipeline — and how to fix it. fas.org/initiative/c...

Giving folks a sense of what the cuts to NSF funding in the 2027 President's Budget Request actually looks like. Note the significant cuts across domains--even to research security! STEM and NCSES aren't captured for prior years, so they appear to be cuts, even though they are not.

Rather than get caught up in the buzzword flavor of the month, the American policymaking ecosystem should study what’s *actually* working. fas.org/publication/...

Rather than get caught up in the buzzword flavor of the month, the American policymaking ecosystem should study what’s *actually* working. fas.org/publication/...

Fully funding ARPA-I, strengthening DOT’s innovation capacity, and investing in regional research networks would create the coordinated pipeline necessary for transportation innovation. Congress can make this possible. fas.org/publication/...

Electeds across the U.S. are staring down interlocking crises: rising utility bills, grid strain from new demand, and lack of trust in government. Introducing: our playbook for actions that state and local leaders can take to make near-term progress and pilot new solutions. fas.org/publication/...

We're looking for a Strategy Associate to join our (amazing, if we do say so ourselves) Strategy and Engagement team. You game? Learn more and apply here ➡️ fas.org/career/assoc...

Today @scientistsorg.bsky.social is out with a new playbook to reduce utility bills, deploy clean energy, and make government work for people. I joined @robinsonmeyer.bsky.social on Shift Key to discuss the playbook and what state and local leaders can do to cut bills. heatmap.news/podcast/shif...

We need a new clean energy playbook. One that smashes the barriers impeding financing, construction, and modernization projects. One that targets the root causes of high energy costs. One that reworks the administrative state to work for the people. So we wrote one. fas.org/publication/...

Reverse-acquihires have allowed tech giants to poach talent, sit on intellectual property, and sidestep antitrust laws, threatening innovation and progress across entire technology sectors in the process. fas.org/publication/...

This presidential admin has promised energy dominance, AI leadership, and a secure nation. What do all these things have in common? They cost money! Read the latest from our Director of Government Affairs on how the end of FY26 is shaping up ⤵️ (meme his idea) fas.org/publication/...

Wildfires cost the U.S. up to $424 billion annually — and seasons are getting longer. The science is clear: harden homes, restore forests, bring back controlled burns. One year after LA, Congress still hasn't moved fast enough. fas.org/publication/...

We're urging the U.S. government to release holds on Congressionally-appropriated funding for scientific research, education, and critical activities. The future of American scientific excellence depends on it. fas.org/publication/...

In addition to the arguments made about research security, there are other issues associated with withdrawal from international interactions that inhibit American competitiveness. Some points here about the impact on emtech and spaceflight safety. fas.org/publication/...

What would it look like to build policy with communities, not just for them? The Colorado Future Systems Policy Sprint brings together experts across policy, research, and industry to tackle challenges from workforce transformation to climate resilience. Apply by April 3 👉 fas.org/accelerator/...

You’ll… 🏗️ Build support for cutting-edge research in overlooked areas 🧺 Harness market forces to scale high-impact enviro solutions 🫶 Support research into climate interventions 😎 Promote science-based dialogues around climate interventions w policymakers and the public discourse ➕ … and more!

We're looking for a Senior Manager, Climate Tech and Innovation to guide and grow our emerging program on, well, Climate Tech and Innovation. Learn more about the role and apply here ➡️ fas.org/career/senior-manager-climate-tech/

We took to the Hill to brief Congress on emerging solutions to tackle the wildfire crisis, and share our favorite federal policy strategies for getting these solutions into the field. Here's a taste of what we talked about. fas.org/publication/...

Government-collected data can be used by AI tools to produce "incredibly detailed inferences about people," Dr. Oliver Stephenson tells @thehill.com "We have transitioned from a world in which the limitation used to be on collection, and is now on analysis capabilities." thehill.com/policy/techn...

What exactly does “all lawful use” of AI mean? No one knows. “Lawful” is a legal floor that will look increasingly shaky as AI capabilities advance. It doesn’t answer whether we have adequate civil liberties guardrails or technical safety standards in place. Our statement: fas.org/publication/...

Bootcamp is back, baby. Apply today 👉 fas.org/osint-bootcamp/

Marco reports another Minuteman III ICBM test launch planned for early next month. USAF is trying to replace Minuteman with Sentinel but is over budget and behind schedule. Mil said Minuteman couldn’t be life-extended but now has to operate it for another 15 years. fas.org/publication/...

🚨 Attache ta tuque! @scientistsorg.bsky.social is hosting our 2nd Open Source Nuclear Analysis Bootcamp in partnership with @stanleycenter.org in Montréal on June 21-26! Come hang out and learn: • Geolocation • Missiles • FOIA • Imagery analysis • Poutine 🍟 • Bagels 🥯 C'est le fun! 👇

📣ATTENTION NUKE NERDS: Our one-week, intensive OSINT bootcamp to teach a new generation of open-source nuke investigators IS BACK. And this time, we’re going to Montreal. If you’re an early- to mid-career nuclear weapons analyst, this bootcamp is calling for you.

Today we’re thrilled to launch the Center for Regulatory Ingenuity (CRI): a new hub to reimagine how government can better serve Americans. 🧵

I wrote an explainer that's meant to guide not only what to know now about the new Schedule P/C (Schedule F) rule, but more importantly, what to ask OPM and agencies throughout implementation fas.org/publication/...

“We need not lose faith in the administrative state itself; we would do better to view it as having functioned with its hands tied tighter and tighter. But we are now starting, particularly in the climate and energy space, to hit real limits.” At @scientistsorg.bsky.social fas.org/publication/...

Today we’re thrilled to launch the Center for Regulatory Ingenuity (CRI): a new hub to reimagine how government can better serve Americans. 🧵

The Environmental Protection Agency claims that the endangerment finding led to ‘costly burdens’ on American families and businesses, when in reality it’s the cost of failing to regulate climate pollution that will hit people the hardest.

Revoking the endangerment finding would shove science aside in favor of special interests – at the expense of American health and wellbeing. Read our full statement ➡️ fas.org/publication/...