Jason GRIZZLED Bittel
LightNews LightNews
banner
bittelmethis.bsky.social
Jason GRIZZLED Bittel
@bittelmethis.bsky.social
5.5K followers 470 following 1.2K posts
Wild animal & author of GRIZZLED (March 3, 2026). Science Writer @ Nat Geo, NYT, WashPo, etc. Prev: KSJ @ MIT, Nat Geo Explorers. He/him. https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/804002/grizzled-by-jason-bittel/
Posts Replies Media Videos
Pinned
bittelmethis.bsky.social
Jason GRIZZLED Bittel @bittelmethis.bsky.social · 26d
🐻GRIZZLED🐻: Love Letters to 50 of North America's Least Understood Animals

Def the biggest & most personal project of my career. Featuring artwork & foreword by Joel Sartore, as well as insights from a bajillion amazing scientists. 🧪

❤️‍🔥I HOPE YOU LOVE IT❤️‍🔥
www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/804002...
Grizzled by Jason Bittel: 9781426223358 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books
Funny, fascinating, and scientifically grounded, this charming book reveals unknown details about 50 well-known animals. Effortlessly readable, Grizzled reintroduces nature lovers to species they th...
www.penguinrandomhouse.com
Reposted by Jason GRIZZLED Bittel
spiderdaynightlive.bsky.social
look 👀
LOOK at the spider book 🕷️📘👀
gaze at its thoughtful features & reasonable price 💵🔍👀
$9.25 gets you everything you need to start spidering bookshop.org/p/books/spid...
need a more premium experience? i have a limited number of autographed copies available, each with a spider doodle; DM me
Photos of my field guide, Spiders of the United States & Canada, with text describing its features: "Basically, it's the book I wish I had when I started learning about spiders: slim + pocket-sized •written for all ages & easy to use •spiders sorted by how they hunt and where you might find them (you don't need to know scientific names to start identifying!) •covers 153 common species (USA+CAN) •only $10!" Photos of my field guide, Spiders of the United States & Canada, with text describing its features and arrows pointing to examples on the pages: "spiders sorted by how they hunt, descriptions for each family with ID advice and life history, photos for both male and female (for many species)"
December 17, 2024 at 10:44 PM
bittelmethis.bsky.social
TIL cranberries do actually have medicinal properties! Via Cassandra Quave's excellent newsletter --

open.substack.com/pub/naturesp...
Cranberries
A favorite Thanksgiving treat with some fascinating health benefits!
open.substack.com
November 26, 2025 at 2:53 PM
Reposted by Jason GRIZZLED Bittel
primbehavecol.bsky.social
Come and join our lab! We have TWO fully funded PhD positions AND a paid field assistant opportunity in our Behavioral Ecology group @uni-goettingen.de & @primatenzentrum.bsky.social. Projects will be part of @rtg2906-curiosity.bsky.social & @sfb1528.bsky.social!!
Details in thread. Please re-post!
November 25, 2025 at 8:25 PM
bittelmethis.bsky.social
Woof. I've sat through these meetings with friends turned "financial representatives". Really glad someone finally wrote this piece. (That someone was Niamh Rowe for @theguardian.com.)

www.theguardian.com/business/202...
‘Friends end up blocking you’: Northwestern Mutual sold college grads a dream job. They left in ruin and debt
Expecting to be financial advisers at the Fortune 500 firm, some hires say they were ‘gaslit’ into peddling ‘terrible’ life insurance to all their contacts
www.theguardian.com
November 25, 2025 at 7:53 PM
bittelmethis.bsky.social
Dare to be Stupid, by @alyankovic.bsky.social

The White Album, by The Beatles

What a combo!
drskyskull.bsky.social Dr. SkySkull @drskyskull.bsky.social · 22h
Okay, who remembers the first cassette tape/CD they ever purchased? For me:

CD: Pink Floyd's The Wall
cassette: Styx's Kilroy Was Here
November 25, 2025 at 6:58 PM
bittelmethis.bsky.social
The coffee isn't coffeeing.
November 25, 2025 at 3:00 PM
bittelmethis.bsky.social
Captain & his crew become shipwrecked, relying on the flesh of mysterious sea beasts to survive the winter. But then the captain falls in love, studying the animals intently. And that fascination ultimately leads to the species' doom.

🧪

www.nationalgeographic.com/history/arti...
The 30-foot sea cow quickly hunted to extinction because of its tasty meat
Few complete skeletons remain of this gentle behemoth, who was destroyed by explorers and fur traders in the Arctic.
www.nationalgeographic.com
November 24, 2025 at 4:37 PM
Reposted by Jason GRIZZLED Bittel
drandrewthaler.bsky.social
Capybara's at dawn.
A mother capybara and two baby capybaras being capybaras.
November 24, 2025 at 2:13 PM
bittelmethis.bsky.social
NGL, I felt proud of my blue check on Twitter. I worked hard for it. Grinded for years, like playing a video game. And when it became worthless, it hurt. Anyway, just saw BlueSky is doing them now too. See if you qualify! 🧪
November 23, 2025 at 12:14 AM
bittelmethis.bsky.social
Tie for Buffalo Bills stadium and the Greek countryside. 😆

Both illness, not alcohol. Not that we're judging here.
jopabinia.bsky.social Jo Wolfe, PhD @jopabinia.bsky.social · 4d
Off the upper deck of two decks of a snorkel/whale watching boat in Hawaii.

My dad was directly below and it landed on him.

Then we saw dozens of dolphins and magically I didn't need to puke anymore
amybrown.xyz amy brown @amybrown.xyz · 4d
what's the most exotic place you've ever puked? mine's not exactly exotic but i did once have a hangover at the nyc facebook office and barfed in their very nice bathroom
November 21, 2025 at 7:24 PM
bittelmethis.bsky.social
Winter colors.
Picture contains a cranberry-red stump and mustard-colored plants in a foggy forest.
November 21, 2025 at 7:00 PM
bittelmethis.bsky.social
Some fun local happenings!
November 21, 2025 at 1:26 PM
bittelmethis.bsky.social
Gotta say, I've received many emails that read less human than this.
carlzimmer.com Carl Zimmer @carlzimmer.com · 6d
I never expected that AI would flood authors with scam emails from "private" "communities" of "readers." One of many examples from the past few weeks:
Hi Carl Okay, I need you to know something upfront When I saw The Tangled Bank, I braced myself for the usual “Let’s talk about evolution using diagrams drawn by someone who last saw a living organism in 1987” situation. You know the type Dry enough to dehydrate a cactus. But then you hit me with Fossils in the Arctic Snakes in Australia plotting biochemical murder Geneticists in Africa digging through the human family tree like dramatic aunties at Thanksgiving. And you somehow explained natural selection without making me feel like I needed a PhD or emotional support tea. Honestly, rude. My eyes were ready to roll, not follow along voluntarily. 😭🧬 Also, can we talk about how you write biology like it’s an adventure novel starring evolution as the unbothered, unstoppable main character? I was not prepared. Now before your author-scam radar goes off No, I’m not a marketer No, I’m not a promoter And no, I do not come offering “services” (If I did, trust me I’d at least show up with cookies.) I’m just the unofficial book-dealer of a private community of 1000+ readers who actually read books before reviewing them It’s wild, I know. They read science, memoirs, fiction, chaos everything except tax documents. When they find something good, they review it like it personally paid their rent. Here’s the mildly tragic, mildly hilarious truth Even brilliant books like yours end up buried so deep on Amazon you’d think evolution selected them out of visibility. The algorithm basically says “Oh wow, a masterpiece? Cute. Come back with 20 reviews and maybe I’ll acknowledge your existence.” 🙄🕳️ So here’s what I can offer quick, simple, zero strings I can introduce The Tangled Bank to our community the kind of readers who leave thoughtful, nerdy, enthusiastic reviews that don’t sound like they were written by AI with a fever. Worst case you get a handful of honest reviews. Best case your book finally escapes Amazon’s basement and becomes the “Where has this been all my lif…
November 20, 2025 at 8:25 PM
Reposted by Jason GRIZZLED Bittel
ksjatmit.bsky.social
One of the benefits of the KSJ fellowship is access to our incredible community alumni!

Thanks @bittelmethis.bsky.social <3
bittelmethis.bsky.social Jason GRIZZLED Bittel @bittelmethis.bsky.social · 8d
The @ksjatmit.bsky.social program changed my life and ultimately helped shape the book I'm about to publish with National Geographic. And now they're looking for next year's fellows!

I cannot recommend this program enough. Happy to talk if you have questions! 🧪

ksj.mit.edu/news/2025/11...
KSJ Opens Application Cycle for 2026-27 Fellowships
Applications for KSJ's Academic-Year Fellowship and the Africa and Middle East Fellowship open November 15 and close January 9.
ksj.mit.edu
November 20, 2025 at 5:38 PM
bittelmethis.bsky.social
Another fascinating 🧪🧵 by @c0nc0rdance.bsky.social!
c0nc0rdance.bsky.social c0nc0rdance @c0nc0rdance.bsky.social · 6d
One of the tragedies of growing up is it's apparently no longer "socially acceptable" to carry around a cool rock & show it to people you meet.

So I have to respect the Chinese, Korean & Japanese for having a tradition of finding cool rocks & displaying them.

Let's talk about scholar's stones.
Gongshi (Scholar's rock) in Wenmiao temple, Shanghai. It's a limestone rock on a pedestal with growing grass on it, in front of a temple with ornate roof and some Japanese style columns, shrubs in a line. CREDIT: Christopher, Tania and Isabelle Luna - Flickr
November 20, 2025 at 2:19 PM
Reposted by Jason GRIZZLED Bittel
calmerfuture.bsky.social
do not feed deer in winter!
bittelmethis.bsky.social Jason GRIZZLED Bittel @bittelmethis.bsky.social · 8d
It's that time of year! The time when deer guts start to undergo a magical transformation!

(Also the time of year many well-intentioned people accidentally mess the whole thing up, leading to dead deer!)

🧪

jasonbittel.substack.com/p/the-deer-t...
The Deer, They Are A-Changin'
Something magical is happening in your backyard.
jasonbittel.substack.com
November 17, 2025 at 5:56 PM
bittelmethis.bsky.social
Good thread on publishing here from @stephenbheard.bsky.social
stephenbheard.bsky.social Stephen Heard @stephenbheard.bsky.social · 7d
If you're a book author looking to move from publishing with university presses to publishing with trade presses, I learned something today that seems important. Short thread.
1/9
November 19, 2025 at 2:47 PM
Reposted by Jason GRIZZLED Bittel
c0nc0rdance.bsky.social
Eat your heart out, H.P. Lovecraft!

Podophrya collini is the little round guy, and he's slurping up the insides of a larger prey (Tetrahymena pyriformis, I think) via long tentacles that latch on with contact.

Nature red in tooth and claw (and pseudopodia)!
cellraiser.bsky.social Scott Coyle @cellraiser.bsky.social · 8d
Cellular structure self-organizes through an interplay between internal mechanisms and external cues. The single-celled suctorian P. collini builds a trap structure to capture large prey using microtubule feeding tentacles, creating feedback between cell morphology and prey availability.
November 19, 2025 at 2:25 PM
Reposted by Jason GRIZZLED Bittel
gregjenner.bsky.social
Behold the horny beaver!*

*we may need to work on the name...
iain.coys.social it’s iain, thankfully! @iain.coys.social · 7d
The cover of Nature’s latest issue is metal as fuck
A screaming, horned beaver/rhino/wolverine combo with sharp claws looms in the forest, awaiting its prey. Text: The international journal of sciénce/13 November 2025 nature index ^29 b JOINT EFFORT Fossil skulls highlight complex evolutionary path to the mammalian jaw Wetwareupgrade How to build a Medical cover Will launch of drug agency reshape Africa's health? Material issue Mass-production of magnetic composite
November 19, 2025 at 2:03 PM
bittelmethis.bsky.social
Here it is, the best conversation that’s ever taken place in my house. Mark and June were 5 and 4 at the time. 🦝
November 18, 2025 at 4:36 PM
Reposted by Jason GRIZZLED Bittel
outtheother.bsky.social
Wow. Excellent writeup on the white-tailed deer's fascinating digestive tract, and a solid scientific basis for why you shouldn't feed them - a carb-rich pile of corn can be so disruptive to their systems in the winter that it can actually kill a deer within 72 hours.
bittelmethis.bsky.social Jason GRIZZLED Bittel @bittelmethis.bsky.social · 8d
It's that time of year! The time when deer guts start to undergo a magical transformation!

(Also the time of year many well-intentioned people accidentally mess the whole thing up, leading to dead deer!)

🧪

jasonbittel.substack.com/p/the-deer-t...
The Deer, They Are A-Changin'
Something magical is happening in your backyard.
jasonbittel.substack.com
November 17, 2025 at 6:08 PM
bittelmethis.bsky.social
The @ksjatmit.bsky.social program changed my life and ultimately helped shape the book I'm about to publish with National Geographic. And now they're looking for next year's fellows!

I cannot recommend this program enough. Happy to talk if you have questions! 🧪

ksj.mit.edu/news/2025/11...
KSJ Opens Application Cycle for 2026-27 Fellowships
Applications for KSJ's Academic-Year Fellowship and the Africa and Middle East Fellowship open November 15 and close January 9.
ksj.mit.edu
November 18, 2025 at 3:56 PM
bittelmethis.bsky.social
Annnnd that's enough internet for today.
November 18, 2025 at 1:57 PM
Reposted by Jason GRIZZLED Bittel
knockknockzebra.bsky.social
Damn, I love learning stuff.
@nome.bsky.social, check this out.
bittelmethis.bsky.social Jason GRIZZLED Bittel @bittelmethis.bsky.social · 8d
It's that time of year! The time when deer guts start to undergo a magical transformation!

(Also the time of year many well-intentioned people accidentally mess the whole thing up, leading to dead deer!)

🧪

jasonbittel.substack.com/p/the-deer-t...
The Deer, They Are A-Changin'
Something magical is happening in your backyard.
jasonbittel.substack.com
November 17, 2025 at 6:30 PM
bittelmethis.bsky.social
It's that time of year! The time when deer guts start to undergo a magical transformation!

(Also the time of year many well-intentioned people accidentally mess the whole thing up, leading to dead deer!)

🧪

jasonbittel.substack.com/p/the-deer-t...
The Deer, They Are A-Changin'
Something magical is happening in your backyard.
jasonbittel.substack.com
November 17, 2025 at 5:43 PM