Comments on this article show how evidence of biology’s role in a behavior doesn’t *erase* moral beliefs about that behavior, but rather interacts w/ moral beliefs in complicated ways See eg Interesting paper by Sydney Scott: ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jobhdp...

These articles revlea people's uniquely twisted/nasty views about weight & health. Have been reading an early copy @kph3k.bsky.social book on the "genetics of sin" (order it!), & I am convinved we need to confront people's gut instincts about health, it matters and is weaponised (see vaccines).

advance copies of my new book are now out in the world! pub day is on 3.3.26 & preorders are a love language ❤️

SF folks! I'm going to be talking to @pauleastwick.bsky.social about his EXCELLENT new book on Feb 13 at the Commonwealth Club. Come to hear the *real* science of relationships (not the manosphere pseudoscience), stay for a Valentine's Day dance party www.commonwealthclub.org/events/2026-...

SF folks! I'm going to be talking to @pauleastwick.bsky.social about his EXCELLENT new book on Feb 13 at the Commonwealth Club. Come to hear the *real* science of relationships (not the manosphere pseudoscience), stay for a Valentine's Day dance party www.commonwealthclub.org/events/2026-...

reposting for the Monday crowd— This week in my newsletter I discussed the “Have your best baby” campaign by Nucleus Genomics as an example of what @gaiaghirardi.bsky.social and @arnovanhootegem.bsky.social have called “commodification on steroids” open.substack.com/pub/kathrynp...

I wonder about these questions a lot! I can also see a very logical extension to GLP-1s - as a fat person who is not interested in those medications, I’m starting to see subtle shifts from pity to confusion about my size (if she has money and health care, why ISN’T she on a GLP-1?).

I wrote about Nucleus Genomics' "Have your best baby" ad campaign and Kris Jenner's "best version of myself" facelift, the parallels between embryo selection and cosmetic surgery, and competing definitions of "eugenics" kathrynpaigeharden.substack.com/p/have-your-...

Is one of your goals for 2026 to write more? One question I get all the time is, "How do you make time to write?" So, here is my unsolicited writing advice for the new year:

2025 was a tough year: It brought me health challenges, several grant rejections, and a grinding anxiety about the future of science. Even so, work was still a frequent source of joy and satisfaction this year, and I am grateful to reflect on the highlights:

I wrote about what disorder *isn't* in the new cross-disorder genetics paper, and why we should find that gap curious: kathrynpaigeharden.substack.com/p/whats-miss... (Not because the authors deliberately omitted it, but because data on it doesn't really exist)

For more context, see also the @nature.com News & Views article about this work, where I unpack what it means when genetic risk for psychiatric disorders overlaps with normal-range traits, including some positive associations with education-related outcomes: rdcu.be/eT4U7

1/4 Thrilled to be sharing new work published today in Nature describing the third wave of results from the PGC Cross-Disorder Group. This reflects a massive group effort to examine shared and unique genetic signal across >1 million cases for 14 psychiatric disorders. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

The pivot by @cdelawalla.bsky.social from PhD student to organizer, fundraiser, and activist has been inspiring to watch. NYT explicitly crediting her organization @standupforscience.bsky.social for pushing for the articles of impeachment against worm brain guy! www.nytimes.com/2025/12/10/u...

I wrote about missing heritability, "missing environmentality," and why I still think twin studies are interesting and valuable: kathrynpaigeharden.substack.com/p/twins-are-...

And almost nobody has "cancer money” of the type you need when it’s really serious which is why I’m increasingly skeptical thinking about how the idea that wealth is protective (which it is…until it’s not) causes us to overlook how ind. wealth, not Bezos wealth but like median white wealth,

The American medical system only makes a twisted sort of sense when you realize it both reflects and enforces Calvinist / prosperity gospel thinking— if you were *really* good, you wouldn’t have gotten sick

“This is sociologically rich and intellectually precise political theory of and for the moment.“

I wrote about my knee injury and recent surgery, Oliver Sacks's "A Leg to Stand On", and how a zombie Calvinism continues to distort the American health care system: open.substack.com/pub/kathrynp...

On top of everything else, this is immediately recognizable to scientists as basically every crackpot email we’ve ever received.

I spoke to @lkatfield.bsky.social about her new book, Furious Minds: The Making of the MAGA New Right www.unpopularfront.news/p/talking-to...

This paper clearly articulates what is, in my opinion, one of the major ethical problems with polygenic embryo testing companies--that they are *companies* that sell health as a private commodity. from @gaiaghirardi.bsky.social & @arnovanhootegem.bsky.social www.fertstert.org/news-do/embr...

Eric Turkheimer (@ent3c.bsky.social) and I consider the paradoxical life of James Watson for @theatlantic.com www.theatlantic.com/science/2025... (nonpaywalled link to come)

My kid’s middle school has started doing “student-led” conferences, where the student is tasked with pulling together comments & grades from their teachers, reflecting on their challenges & growth, and then giving a presentation to their parents & teachers about their goals & needs

I am scheduled for knee surgery in a few weeks. The contrast between the prehab / rehab that you get for knee surgery & what you get for a c-section (which is nothing) is WILD.

How can science build fairer, more resilient societies? Join us in Turku for the 3rd INVEST Conference 6–8 May 2026. Keynotes by Kathryn Paige Harden @kph3k.bsky.social (first time in Finland!) and Philip N. Cohen @philipncohen.com Save the date now! invest.utu.fi/conference/ #INVESTconference

FURIOUS MINDS by @lkatfield.bsky.social reviewed in NYRB as "the most up-to-date introduction we have to the MAGA intellectual right reshaping America with astonishing speed today."

We are late to this party, but if you are looking for an opportunity to have a conversation with your tween daughter about perfectionism, negative emotions, critical self-talk, watching KPop Demon Hunters together is the *perfect* opening

New from @ent3c.bsky.social in The Atlantic -- 7 years (!) after Charles Murray made a bet with us that we'd "understand IQ genetically" by 2025, Eric describes how far we still are--and might always be--from that goal www.theatlantic.com/science/2025...

Virginia Senate leaders say UVa should cease considering the “compact”: “The conditions outlined … are fundamentally incompatible with the mission and values of a premier public research university.” www.cavalierdaily.com/article/2025...

"Fundamentally, the premise of the document is inconsistent with our core belief that scientific funding should be based on scientific merit alone." www.nytimes.com/2025/10/10/u...

My friend @lkatfield.bsky.social has a book coming out that I think is essential reading for everyone. A starred review in Publisher's Weekly called it a "formidable debut ... a meticulous and unsettling revelation of a right-wing plan for a 'new old-fashioned world.'"

Non-paywalled link to my commentary on @vw1234.bsky.social and colleagues new paper in @nature.com rdcu.be/eI2NG

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025... A global academic freedom group has warned that the Trump administration’s assault on universities is turning the US into a “model for how to dismantle” academic freedom. ...