𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚕𝚎𝚜 𝙲. 𝙼𝚊𝚗𝚗
@charlescmann.bsky.social
Author of "1491, "1493," and, most recently, "The Wizard and the Prophet." New book coming out in Spring 2027 from Knopf.
The background image is real old by now, but I like the pig. The avatar photo is only a few years old, though, so that's something.
The background image is real old by now, but I like the pig. The avatar photo is only a few years old, though, so that's something.
Pinned
How the System Works
A series on the hidden mechanisms that support modern life — and what happens if we don’t maintain them
www.thenewatlantis.com
My thanks to the New Atlantis, letting me do this series on "How the System Works," and for removing the paywall today. It's maddening how little attention our society--and our political leaders, who take cues from us--pay to the systems that have made things better for so many billions.
Reposted by 𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚕𝚎𝚜 𝙲. 𝙼𝚊𝚗𝚗
1. There's a new FluView report from #CDC. Let's dive in.
CDC was informed of 7 more kids who've died from #flu, bringing the season's toll to 17. Sadly, this number is going to rise.
Vaccine uptake among kids has been declining. As of this week, flu vaccine is no longer rec'd for all kids.
CDC was informed of 7 more kids who've died from #flu, bringing the season's toll to 17. Sadly, this number is going to rise.
Vaccine uptake among kids has been declining. As of this week, flu vaccine is no longer rec'd for all kids.
January 9, 2026 at 5:54 PM
Reposted by 𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚕𝚎𝚜 𝙲. 𝙼𝚊𝚗𝚗
The key to being really good at competitive clientelism as a political model is to do while in office the things you would rage at when in the opposition. www.ft.com/content/8d20...
Donald Trump to announce direct-to-consumer US drug sales programme
So-called TrumpRx will allow people to buy prescriptions at discounted price negotiated by government
www.ft.com
September 30, 2025 at 4:42 PM
The key to being really good at competitive clientelism as a political model is to do while in office the things you would rage at when in the opposition. www.ft.com/content/8d20...
Reposted by 𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚕𝚎𝚜 𝙲. 𝙼𝚊𝚗𝚗
Yes, JD. Let’s ask them if they think a stay at home mom, avowed Christian, and widow of a veteran deserved to be shot in the face and left to bleed out in her own car after dropping her 6-year-old off at school, for the crime of looking out for her neighbors. Let’s ask everyone running for office.
January 8, 2026 at 8:27 PM
Yes, JD. Let’s ask them if they think a stay at home mom, avowed Christian, and widow of a veteran deserved to be shot in the face and left to bleed out in her own car after dropping her 6-year-old off at school, for the crime of looking out for her neighbors. Let’s ask everyone running for office.
Fascinating paleoDNA analysis of the consequences of the 17th-c. Russian conquest of the Yakuts, the biggest Indigenous group in Siberia. www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Client Challenge
www.nature.com
January 8, 2026 at 7:59 PM
Fascinating paleoDNA analysis of the consequences of the 17th-c. Russian conquest of the Yakuts, the biggest Indigenous group in Siberia. www.nature.com/articles/s41...
As a pal notes, the long US policy of not recognizing the Chavista president and denouncing the regime has just ended with Trump's recognition of Delcy and his dumping Machado to the curb hard. How is that not a giant retreat?
January 8, 2026 at 3:05 PM
As a pal notes, the long US policy of not recognizing the Chavista president and denouncing the regime has just ended with Trump's recognition of Delcy and his dumping Machado to the curb hard. How is that not a giant retreat?
Santa Elena Canyon, Big Bend National Park, SW Texas.
January 6, 2026 at 11:45 PM
Santa Elena Canyon, Big Bend National Park, SW Texas.
@joshtpm.bsky.social: "The stock story about Iraq was that the U.S. successfully decapitated the Iraqi state but made few plans for how to govern Iraq once it had overthrown the existing regime. We have a parallel situation in Venezuela, **only the U.S. hasn’t even overthrown the current regime."**
Venezuela Regime Change and the Theater of the Absurd
On Saturday, a friend and I were comparing notes on the events...
talkingpointsmemo.com
January 5, 2026 at 11:05 PM
@joshtpm.bsky.social: "The stock story about Iraq was that the U.S. successfully decapitated the Iraqi state but made few plans for how to govern Iraq once it had overthrown the existing regime. We have a parallel situation in Venezuela, **only the U.S. hasn’t even overthrown the current regime."**
"What," I asked as we approached Marfa, "attracted a minimalist like Donald Judd to this place, anyway?"
January 5, 2026 at 4:39 PM
"What," I asked as we approached Marfa, "attracted a minimalist like Donald Judd to this place, anyway?"
Old windmill, new windmill. Whiteside, NM.
January 5, 2026 at 2:39 AM
Old windmill, new windmill. Whiteside, NM.
Reposted by 𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚕𝚎𝚜 𝙲. 𝙼𝚊𝚗𝚗
I exaggerate but is this like invading Nauru for the Guano, but after the Haber-Bosch process was discovered?
January 3, 2026 at 4:36 PM
I exaggerate but is this like invading Nauru for the Guano, but after the Haber-Bosch process was discovered?
New Year's Day walk, Palo Duro, TX. May everyone have as promising a beginning to the New Year.
January 2, 2026 at 3:07 PM
New Year's Day walk, Palo Duro, TX. May everyone have as promising a beginning to the New Year.
Success! So much hard work paying off!
A hearty congrats to RFK Jr., as the U.S. is poised to lose its measles elimination status after 25 years, with the most cases since the early 1990s.
Congrats to RFK Jr., As the U.S. Is Poised to Lose Its Measles Elimination Status After 25 Years
After a quarter century where measles was considered eliminated in the U.S., 2025's continuous outbreaks have us back at ground zero.
www.jezebel.com
January 2, 2026 at 2:32 PM
Success! So much hard work paying off!
The utter lack of self-doubt by these guys is exasperating. It's OK to be the confidently wrong guy in a barstool bull session, but not so OK when millions think you're a source of information. Joe Rogan was born in '67, AFTER a massive global vaccination program cut measles deaths dramatically...
December 31, 2025 at 3:44 PM
The utter lack of self-doubt by these guys is exasperating. It's OK to be the confidently wrong guy in a barstool bull session, but not so OK when millions think you're a source of information. Joe Rogan was born in '67, AFTER a massive global vaccination program cut measles deaths dramatically...
Possibly important Harvard study finds infections can lead to tau tangle aggregates in brain, usually regarded as symptoms/causes of Alzheimer's. Same lab found a few years back that infections can also lead to amyloid plaques, another classic symptom if Alzheimer's. The (possible!) implication...
Phosphorylated tau exhibits antimicrobial activity capable of neutralizing herpes simplex virus 1 infectivity in human neurons - Nature Neuroscience
The authors found that the Alzheimer’s disease-associated protein tau, widely considered pathogenic when hyperphosphorylated, has a natural function as part of the innate immune system in the brain an...
www.nature.com
December 29, 2025 at 7:52 PM
Possibly important Harvard study finds infections can lead to tau tangle aggregates in brain, usually regarded as symptoms/causes of Alzheimer's. Same lab found a few years back that infections can also lead to amyloid plaques, another classic symptom if Alzheimer's. The (possible!) implication...
Reposted by 𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚕𝚎𝚜 𝙲. 𝙼𝚊𝚗𝚗
It has happened before. It will happen again. (The interesting debate might be over exactly what mode of capitalism different places are practicing right now).
December 29, 2025 at 2:46 PM
It has happened before. It will happen again. (The interesting debate might be over exactly what mode of capitalism different places are practicing right now).
Lost Dutchman Park, Apache Junction, AZ
December 28, 2025 at 4:51 PM
Lost Dutchman Park, Apache Junction, AZ
I don't know what it is about airports.
George Bush Int'l (Houston). Step into elevator, guy inside looks up, big grin breaks out at the sight of me: "Stephen King!"
Me: No.
Him: Face falls. Silence. I have ruined his day.
Me: I get that a lot.
Him: Silent glower.
Me: Merry Christmas?
George Bush Int'l (Houston). Step into elevator, guy inside looks up, big grin breaks out at the sight of me: "Stephen King!"
Me: No.
Him: Face falls. Silence. I have ruined his day.
Me: I get that a lot.
Him: Silent glower.
Me: Merry Christmas?
December 24, 2025 at 7:48 PM
I don't know what it is about airports.
George Bush Int'l (Houston). Step into elevator, guy inside looks up, big grin breaks out at the sight of me: "Stephen King!"
Me: No.
Him: Face falls. Silence. I have ruined his day.
Me: I get that a lot.
Him: Silent glower.
Me: Merry Christmas?
George Bush Int'l (Houston). Step into elevator, guy inside looks up, big grin breaks out at the sight of me: "Stephen King!"
Me: No.
Him: Face falls. Silence. I have ruined his day.
Me: I get that a lot.
Him: Silent glower.
Me: Merry Christmas?
Reposted by 𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚕𝚎𝚜 𝙲. 𝙼𝚊𝚗𝚗
Para el especial de regalos de Navidad de “ABC Cultural” elegí “1493”, de @charlescmann.bsky.social, un ensayo que se devora como una novela y que sigue las ondas expansivas de la llegada de Colón a América. Otro acierto más de @capitanswing.bsky.social www.abc.es/cultura/cult...
December 24, 2025 at 9:51 AM
Para el especial de regalos de Navidad de “ABC Cultural” elegí “1493”, de @charlescmann.bsky.social, un ensayo que se devora como una novela y que sigue las ondas expansivas de la llegada de Colón a América. Otro acierto más de @capitanswing.bsky.social www.abc.es/cultura/cult...
Finally. A very happy holiday for me.
December 23, 2025 at 5:23 PM
Finally. A very happy holiday for me.
I think my 1990s self would be startled to discover that my 2025 self is 100% un-ironically thrilled that Barnes & Noble had a banner year and is planning to open 60 new stores next year.
Barnes & Noble CEO on state of the book business: 2025 has been a fantastic year for us
James Daunt, Barnes & Noble CEO, joins 'Squawk Box' to discuss the state of the book business, consumer, booming audiobooks business, the affordability of books, impact of tariffs, competition agains...
www.cnbc.com
December 22, 2025 at 4:19 PM
I think my 1990s self would be startled to discover that my 2025 self is 100% un-ironically thrilled that Barnes & Noble had a banner year and is planning to open 60 new stores next year.
Living in Mass, I'm not qualified to be an expert on barbecue, but I sure know what I'm doing for lunch the next time I'm in Montgomery, AL.
December 21, 2025 at 3:44 PM
Living in Mass, I'm not qualified to be an expert on barbecue, but I sure know what I'm doing for lunch the next time I'm in Montgomery, AL.
I've been having a lot of fun going through this archive of candid photos of NYC in the '70s and '80s from photographer Jade Albert--an incredible trove of old-school cool and cringe. Here's a forgotten figure: Princess Diane de Beauvau-Craon and her pals at Studio 54.
www.jadealbertarchive.com
www.jadealbertarchive.com
December 18, 2025 at 3:55 PM
I've been having a lot of fun going through this archive of candid photos of NYC in the '70s and '80s from photographer Jade Albert--an incredible trove of old-school cool and cringe. Here's a forgotten figure: Princess Diane de Beauvau-Craon and her pals at Studio 54.
www.jadealbertarchive.com
www.jadealbertarchive.com
Awful reading. If even half of this reporting bears out, Rubio and Musk played a big role in killing a lot of very poor people this year--something that should be featured in their obituaries.
Trump Officials Celebrated With Cake After Slashing Aid. Then People Died of Cholera.
Behind closed doors in Washington, top advisers made a series of decisions that had devastating repercussions for the poorest country on earth. We went to South Sudan and found people who died as a re...
www.propublica.org
December 15, 2025 at 7:08 PM
Awful reading. If even half of this reporting bears out, Rubio and Musk played a big role in killing a lot of very poor people this year--something that should be featured in their obituaries.
iRobot, maker of Roomba autovacs, faces cheaper Asian competitors, shifts manufacturing to Vietnam to cut costs. In the name of helping US industry against Asian competitors, Trump imposes tariffs. Tariffs on Vietnam help drive iRobot into bankruptcy, from which it is bought by Asian competitors.
Roomba maker iRobot files for bankruptcy, pursues manufacturer buyout
iRobot , the maker of the Roomba vacuum cleaner, filed for bankruptcy protection on Sunday, saying that it would go private after being bought by Picea Robotics, its primary manufacturer.
www.reuters.com
December 15, 2025 at 5:00 PM
iRobot, maker of Roomba autovacs, faces cheaper Asian competitors, shifts manufacturing to Vietnam to cut costs. In the name of helping US industry against Asian competitors, Trump imposes tariffs. Tariffs on Vietnam help drive iRobot into bankruptcy, from which it is bought by Asian competitors.