Many editors and writers at the Wall Street Journal's Health and Science desk have just been laid off. I've worked closely with many of them; they've done amazing work through difficult circumstances. It's devastating to hear about these cuts at a time when we need science journalism more than ever.

Today, I taught on health insurance reforms over the decades. Discussing Harry Truman’s pursuit of national health insurance and LBJ’s successful delivery of Medicare and Medicaid, feeling wistful of a time when presidents were seeking to make lives better rather than committing institutional arson.

And a good number of Californians who moved to TX over the last 6-7 years, especially 2020+, realized that not paying taxes has big consequences and headed back to CA.

Menswear guy has spies everywhere. Doesn’t matter if you’re showing collar gap in the Twin Cities, being rude to service workers in Charlotte, or wearing a raggedy white t-shirt to eat at an expensive place in Malibu, he *will* know about it and burn you if you force his hand.

California returning to requiring phonics in schools instead of cueing or whole word method is phenomenal tbh, the others are one of those educational fads that fucked up a few decades of kids.

it's a little ironic the two teams playing the World Series are 1) the only remaining Canadian team and 2) the Los Angeles team with a superstar, once-in-a-lifetime Japanese player during 3) an ongoing trade war and 3) an actively hostile national campaign against immigrants and people of color

And then there was one?

go, student newspaper of Notre Dame and Saint Mary

"employ in-class essays, oral exams+ rigorous discussions — that are far more difficult to use AI tools to complete. a close reading of the text should constitute the bulk in any introductory humanities class."
www.ndsmcobserver.com/article/2025...

My money is on UT saying yes at this point. The new president’s investiture and State of the U is Wed. Given he’s said almost nothing about his plans, I expect we will learn some things.

“But she doesn’t tell us what to DO about it 😭😭😭!”

Do something.
Do something with other people.
Do it again.

TRO Against new national guard deployment (CA) to Portland. Judge seemed, as the say on the west coast, hella pissed.

NEW: Here's the memo from Pete Hegseth purporting to federalize up to 400 members of the Texas National Guard for deployment in Portland, Chicago, and elsewhere, under Title 10, section 12406. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

Trivia on 'trivia'

In ancient Rome, a trivium was an intersection of three roads (tri, "three" + vium, road).

According to the Romans, when people met at a trivium, they would discuss trivialis ("inconsequential things") - which eventually helped give trivia its modern meaning.

being a cat person is so crazy bc you live with someone who is undeniably annoying and you're always thinking "maybe i should get another cat"

reader i cackled

If you are working within the field of early Christianity, be sure you read this book. Like immediately. Uro's application of cognitive science of religion (CSR) to early Christian ritual practice is outstanding.

BREAKING: Multiple people have been shot at a Mormon church in Michigan and the shooter is down, police say.

Ezra Klein has played a fascinating role in entrenching “polarization” as the – deeply flawed – master narrative of our time: His 2020 book “Why We’re Polarized” did a lot to propagate the idea.

But if you read the book carefully, Klein inadvertently provides a good case *against* this diagnosis.

this is precisely like other issues, for example teachers and education.

people mostly LOVE their teacher and their school but they think "education" generally is crap and teachers generally are lazy good-for-nothings

This was revealing. Worth reading. The basic demand is that Coates spend less time thinking/writing his true feelings and more time playing political strategist. Klein asks him over and over him to do Dem strategy; he says no, over and over. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/28/o...

No words. I believed in Ryan. We moved to Oklahoma because he promised that my awful sons Enigmus Rex and Pance would be given handguns in kindergarten and then not be given any instruction on how to use them safely. I bought a shitty gray house in Tulsa because he promised they wouldn't be woke.