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Reposted by Maia Szalavitz

Ryan Marino, MD @ryanmarino.bsky.social · 10h

NHANES runs mobile clinics that travel the country measuring height, weight, & blood pressure while collecting blood and urine samples. These samples are our only national source for tracking everything from blood sugar to hormones, heavy metals, and more.

The entire operation has been eliminated.

Kevin C Klatt, PhD, RD @kcklatt.bsky.social · 15h

Everyone across biomedicine should be very loud about this so this team's RIF status gets reversed. Nhanes has been key for tracking obesity & diabetes rates, identifying high blood lead levels in kids in the 70s, tracking progress on cholesterol lowering, guiding nutrient fortification programs etc

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Reposted by Maia Szalavitz

karen ward @kwardvancouver.bsky.social · 6h

no there's no DRUUUUUG that allows the state to do mass murder

the devotion to drug prohibition has made people into moral fools

Chris Hayes @chrislhayes.bsky.social · 11h

Unless and until some kind of compelling legal and moral argument is presented as to why this is a legitimate use of deadly force, this is just…mass murder.

Amarnath Amarasingam @amaramarasingam.bsky.social · 12h

The military has now killed 27 people as if they were enemy soldiers in a war zone and not criminal suspects. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/14/u...

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Reposted by Maia Szalavitz

Vintage Audio Love @vintageaudiolove.bsky.social · 1d

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Reposted by Maia Szalavitz

Kyle Tran Myhre @guante.info · 8h

I generally don't do long threads on here, but if you'll all allow it, a longer thought:

A CALL FOR MORE ANTI-ICE POETRY, MUSIC, VISUAL ART, AND BEYOND

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Maia Szalavitz @maiasz.bsky.social · 11h

definitely also not a fan ;-)

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Maia Szalavitz @maiasz.bsky.social · 11h

(was just trying to get the journalist who did the work reporting the story to get the clicks, not someone who summarized it)

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Maia Szalavitz @maiasz.bsky.social · 11h

original reporting on this is actually from Slate slate.com/business/202...

How Dr. Phil Blew It

When he signed off his talk show in 2023, he pivoted to MAGA politics. It’s not working so well for him.

slate.com

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Reposted by Maia Szalavitz

The New York Times @nytimes.com · 12h

In @nytopinion.nytimes.com

“Studies based on the medical records of millions of people taking GLP-1s," such as Ozempic, "for obesity or diabetes have revealed strong signals of their potential as addiction treatment,” Maia Szalavitz writes.

Opinion | She Struggled With Addiction, Then Tried a Weight Loss Drug

Is a powerful addiction treatment already invented?

nyti.ms

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Reposted by Maia Szalavitz

Saffron & Her Majestic Floof @saffronsfloof.bsky.social · 19h

There’s a stealth mode kitten installed in the blanket fluff. 🕵️‍♀️🐾 Shhh… Hexa’s 90% cozy, 10% visible.

#cats #BlueskyCats #gato #adoptdontshop #fosterkittens #DMV #adoptme

Color photograph. A tiny black and white kitten looks out from her hidden spot between the folds of a fuzzy white blanket.

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Reposted by Maia Szalavitz

Texas Observer @texasobserver.org · 17h

New from @jlbuch.bsky.social: Research suggests a harm reduction approach helps drug users stay healthier and enter recovery. But doing this work on the border has become more dangerous and difficult as troop presence increases.

In Juárez, a Militarized Border Makes Drug Use More Deadly

Growing security deployments pose unique challenges for harm reduction groups.

www.texasobserver.org

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Reposted by Maia Szalavitz

Stephen West @stephenwest.bsky.social · 1d

How W. E. B. Du Bois responded to government policing of "anti-American" sentiment during the 1910s:

"I took great satisfaction in being able to sit back in my chair and answer blandly, 'We are seeking to have the Constitution of the United States thoroughly and completely enforced.' ”

Federal agents invaded even the offices of The Crisis and the National Association for the advancement of colored people and asked searching questions: " just what, after all, were our objects and activities?” I took great satisfaction in being able to sit back in my chair and answer blandly, “We are seeking to have the constitution of the United states thoroughly and completely enforced.” It took some ingenuity, even for Southerners, to make treason out of that.

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Reposted by Maia Szalavitz

Deborah Blum @deborahb.bsky.social · 17h

In which I get to talk about the brave and brilliant Rachel Carson on the terrific podcast, Kindred. If you wonder if a single steadfast person can make a difference, she is a shining example. #environment #courage

Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring | With Deborah Blum, Science Journalist

In this week’s episode, we are speaking with Deborah Blum, environmental journalist, Pulitzer-prize winning science writer and science columnist. Let me explain why…

www.kindredpodcast.co

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Reposted by Maia Szalavitz

Amy Maxmen, PhD @amymaxmen.bsky.social · 3d

I'd love to hear from anyone who has been at agencies protecting public health this year (eg CDC, HHS, HRSA, HUD, NIH, OSHA). Privacy respected. Signal is AmyMaxmen.25

🧵Here's a thread of some of my stories this year on the impact of the Trump administration on America's public health.

Amy Maxmen, PhD @amymaxmen.bsky.social · Nov 10

Hi! I'm a public health reporter moving from THERE to here. Give me a follow if you're interested in my writing & take:

Public health isn't only about outbreaks & vaccines. It's about making society healthier outside of clinics. It requires systemic change, equity, a belief in the common good.

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Maia Szalavitz @maiasz.bsky.social · 18h

arrgh, turns out this is rescheduled for February, will let you know when I have the date :(

Maia Szalavitz @maiasz.bsky.social · 1d

next week! www.swiny.org/2025/07/octo...

October 21: An Evening With Addiction Expert Maia Szalavitz

Science Writers in New York invites you to join us for a conversation with journalist and author Maia Szalavitz, who writes about drugs, addiction and public policy.

www.swiny.org

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Reposted by Maia Szalavitz

Norm Charlatan @normcharlatan.bsky.social · 18h

Please do not put in the paper that I am not an expert in sex robots.

Bill Childs @billchilds.bsky.social · 18h

If you’re not subscribing to @retractionwatch.com, you miss things like this headline

Subscribe here: retractionwatch.us12.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=...

Image of a robot looking…happy? Horrified? With a headline: “A review claimed a research was an expert in deco robots. He’s not.”

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Maia Szalavitz @maiasz.bsky.social · 18h

ooh, i could really have used this a week or two ago ;-) looks useful....

Thomas F. Varley @thosvarley.bsky.social · 19h

It is finally out! Have you ever wanted to get into information theory, complexity, and networks? If so, this is the paper for you: a comprehensive tutorial review on information theory for complexity scientists specifically.

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Information theory for complex systems scientists: What, why, and how

In the 21st century, many of the crucial scientific and technical issues facing humanity can be understood as problems associated with understanding, …

www.sciencedirect.com

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Maia Szalavitz @maiasz.bsky.social · 19h

GLP-1 drugs might make a real difference for people who struggle the most with addiction, we need to get trials going ASAP to find out www.nytimes.com/2025/10/14/o... my latest

Opinion | The Drug That Took Away More Than Her Appetite

www.nytimes.com

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Maia Szalavitz @maiasz.bsky.social · 19h

yep, I finally unsubscribed when they fired Karen Attiah... I will miss Carolyn Hax....

karl rove knausgård @uhactually.bsky.social · 1d

Lmao WaPo has fewer than 100K circulation now. It turns out “alienate your liberal subscriber base” is not a good strategy when the Republicans also hate you. www.forbes.com/sites/andyme...

The Washington Post Is Running Out Of Readers Willing To Pay

Once a titan of American journalism, The Washington Post now struggles to reach even 100,000 print subscribers most days.

www.forbes.com

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Maia Szalavitz @maiasz.bsky.social · 20h

this is a really important point.... when the media only emphasizes one side's position, that position is seen as the majority view, even when it objectively isn't.

@NewsJennifer (Jennifer Schulze) @newsjennifer.bsky.social · 20h

“there are a lot of people in this country …who are disgusted, appalled & frightened”by the Trump admin.
@sulliview.bsky.social is right: where’s the news coverage on these folks & the No Kings march? There are countless stories to be told…
open.substack.com/pub/margaret...

The media is largely ignoring the trauma of millions. Here's why.

Plus: Watch George Stephanopolous pushes JD Vance with follow-up questions, cringe at Bari Weiss's pep talk to CBS journalists; and more

open.substack.com

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Maia Szalavitz @maiasz.bsky.social · 20h

don't you know that dopamine = pleasure ;-)

Sam Gershman @gershbrain.bsky.social · 20h

Really interesting work by Bakhurin and colleagues challenging the reward prediction error hypothesis of dopamine:
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
I love this figure which both echoes and undermines the famous figure from Schultz et al. (1997).

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Maia Szalavitz @maiasz.bsky.social · 1d

next week! www.swiny.org/2025/07/octo...

October 21: An Evening With Addiction Expert Maia Szalavitz

Science Writers in New York invites you to join us for a conversation with journalist and author Maia Szalavitz, who writes about drugs, addiction and public policy.

www.swiny.org

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Reposted by Maia Szalavitz

andy™ @andylevy.net · 4d

happy third bday to this delightful weirdo

nyx (black cat) doing her batman “i’m vengeance” pose

nyx with her front paws draped over a chair

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Maia Szalavitz @maiasz.bsky.social · 1d

You can certainly reduce smoking by making it unfashionable & restricting areas where it is permitted. But stigmatizing addicted people themselves doesn't work, bc pw/adxn use drugs when they feel bad & stigma feels bad. counterproductive.

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Maia Szalavitz @maiasz.bsky.social · 1d

the two are incompatible because stigma increases harm.

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Maia Szalavitz @maiasz.bsky.social · 1d

has there ever been a movie where the people demanding "your papers" are the good guys?

Asawin Suebsaeng @swin24.bsky.social · 1d

The agents who constantly ask you for your papers means you live in a healthy democracy, disagree with this premise and you’ll be classified as doing material support for terrorism and lose all your funding, thx

Gregory Pratt @royalpratt.bsky.social · 1d

NEWS: ICE gave a Rogers Park man a $130 ticket for not having his papers on him. They rounded him up last week and eventually let him go, but not without a fine that some critics say is un-American. Trump admin enforcing little-used law
www.chicagotribune.com/2025/10/13/i...

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