Ed Yong
@edyong209.bsky.social
Writer, journalist. Science, health. Pandemics, animals. Birder, photographer. Many words, some awards. AN IMMENSE WORLD, I CONTAIN MULTITUDES. Married to Liz Neeley, parent to Typo. he/him
📷 Canon R6mkii + RF 800mm
Edyong.me
📷 Canon R6mkii + RF 800mm
Edyong.me
I urge everyone to read Unbreaking’s new page on everything the govt is doing to destroy & diminish medical research funding.
It’s the best thing I’ve read on this topic: @lizneeley.bsky.social & co have such done an incredible job.
unbreaking.org/issues/medic...
It’s the best thing I’ve read on this topic: @lizneeley.bsky.social & co have such done an incredible job.
unbreaking.org/issues/medic...
Medical Research Funding — Unbreaking
How the administration is breaking the government, and what that means for all of us.
unbreaking.org
May 30, 2025 at 9:38 PM
I urge everyone to read Unbreaking’s new page on everything the govt is doing to destroy & diminish medical research funding.
It’s the best thing I’ve read on this topic: @lizneeley.bsky.social & co have such done an incredible job.
unbreaking.org/issues/medic...
It’s the best thing I’ve read on this topic: @lizneeley.bsky.social & co have such done an incredible job.
unbreaking.org/issues/medic...
Reposted by Ed Yong
Hi! We just released three new pages. First up, we break down the devastating defunding of medical research in the US, including grant terminations and delays representing nearly $5B in funding losses, cuts to future funding, and attacks on training programs: unbreaking.org/issues/medic...
Medical Research Funding — Unbreaking
How the administration is breaking the government, and what that means for all of us.
unbreaking.org
May 30, 2025 at 7:41 PM
Hi! We just released three new pages. First up, we break down the devastating defunding of medical research in the US, including grant terminations and delays representing nearly $5B in funding losses, cuts to future funding, and attacks on training programs: unbreaking.org/issues/medic...
Reposted by Ed Yong
👋 Hi, we’re Unbreaking, a volunteer-run collective working to document our current moment of institutional collapse and its human costs—as well as the pushback and resilience work already underway. We believe this is critical work for building and retaining political agency.
May 19, 2025 at 5:29 PM
👋 Hi, we’re Unbreaking, a volunteer-run collective working to document our current moment of institutional collapse and its human costs—as well as the pushback and resilience work already underway. We believe this is critical work for building and retaining political agency.
I can’t recommend this enough.
UNBREAKING, a new project from @lizneeley.bsky.social & co, documents & explains our many concurrent institutional collapses.
It’s beautifully executed work, full of intellectual & moral clarity. 3 pages are live, more will come. It’s SO GOOD, & I learned so much.
UNBREAKING, a new project from @lizneeley.bsky.social & co, documents & explains our many concurrent institutional collapses.
It’s beautifully executed work, full of intellectual & moral clarity. 3 pages are live, more will come. It’s SO GOOD, & I learned so much.
👋 Hi, we’re Unbreaking, a volunteer-run collective working to document our current moment of institutional collapse and its human costs—as well as the pushback and resilience work already underway. We believe this is critical work for building and retaining political agency.
May 19, 2025 at 10:42 PM
I can’t recommend this enough.
UNBREAKING, a new project from @lizneeley.bsky.social & co, documents & explains our many concurrent institutional collapses.
It’s beautifully executed work, full of intellectual & moral clarity. 3 pages are live, more will come. It’s SO GOOD, & I learned so much.
UNBREAKING, a new project from @lizneeley.bsky.social & co, documents & explains our many concurrent institutional collapses.
It’s beautifully executed work, full of intellectual & moral clarity. 3 pages are live, more will come. It’s SO GOOD, & I learned so much.
Reposted by Ed Yong
Genuinely delighted that @unbreaking.org is now doing our work in public. I cannot tell you what it means to be a part of it, or how much its already helped me. If my Meeting the Moment newsletter has helped you, Unbreaking is going to bowl you over. So much more ambitious and helpful. Join us!
👋 Hi, we’re Unbreaking, a volunteer-run collective working to document our current moment of institutional collapse and its human costs—as well as the pushback and resilience work already underway. We believe this is critical work for building and retaining political agency.
May 19, 2025 at 6:56 PM
Genuinely delighted that @unbreaking.org is now doing our work in public. I cannot tell you what it means to be a part of it, or how much its already helped me. If my Meeting the Moment newsletter has helped you, Unbreaking is going to bowl you over. So much more ambitious and helpful. Join us!
AN IMMENSE WORLD: YOUNG READERS EDITION is out today! 🥳
I’m really grateful to AnnMarie Anderson for adapting it, Rebecca Mills for illustrating, Tom Russell for shepherding, and Rose Eveleth for reading the audiobook.
(And it’s dedicated to Typo.)
bookshop.org/p/books/an-i...
I’m really grateful to AnnMarie Anderson for adapting it, Rebecca Mills for illustrating, Tom Russell for shepherding, and Rose Eveleth for reading the audiobook.
(And it’s dedicated to Typo.)
bookshop.org/p/books/an-i...
An Immense World (Young Readers Edition): How Animals Sense Earth's Amazing Secrets
How Animals Sense Earth's Amazing Secrets
bookshop.org
May 13, 2025 at 5:21 PM
AN IMMENSE WORLD: YOUNG READERS EDITION is out today! 🥳
I’m really grateful to AnnMarie Anderson for adapting it, Rebecca Mills for illustrating, Tom Russell for shepherding, and Rose Eveleth for reading the audiobook.
(And it’s dedicated to Typo.)
bookshop.org/p/books/an-i...
I’m really grateful to AnnMarie Anderson for adapting it, Rebecca Mills for illustrating, Tom Russell for shepherding, and Rose Eveleth for reading the audiobook.
(And it’s dedicated to Typo.)
bookshop.org/p/books/an-i...
👇🏼👇🏼👇🏼
Every week @lizneeley.bsky.social’s newsletter manages to pull coherence & moral clarity out of the wreckage of the news around science and higher ed. This week it feels particularly impressive (and more critical than ever!) to have pulled off.
buttondown.com/liminalcreat...
buttondown.com/liminalcreat...
Week 16
Figuring out what to focus on now & next in science and higher ed
buttondown.com
May 10, 2025 at 7:56 PM
👇🏼👇🏼👇🏼
Reposted by Ed Yong
Encouraging news I would've missed if it weren't for Liz's weekly update: "The Rutgers University Senate passed a resolution proposing a Mutual Defense Compact in which members of the Big Ten conference will pool funding and legal, policy, and communications capacity and expertise."
More of this!
More of this!
I flew home from #SciTalk25 last night, so this week’s Meeting the Moment debrief was written at altitude, while I watched lightning pulse in thunderclouds.
What’s happening in science & higher ed: buttondown.com/liminalcreat...
Thread to come after some much needed coffee and hiking.
What’s happening in science & higher ed: buttondown.com/liminalcreat...
Thread to come after some much needed coffee and hiking.
April 7, 2025 at 12:21 AM
Encouraging news I would've missed if it weren't for Liz's weekly update: "The Rutgers University Senate passed a resolution proposing a Mutual Defense Compact in which members of the Big Ten conference will pool funding and legal, policy, and communications capacity and expertise."
More of this!
More of this!
Reposted by Ed Yong
I flew home from #SciTalk25 last night, so this week’s Meeting the Moment debrief was written at altitude, while I watched lightning pulse in thunderclouds.
What’s happening in science & higher ed: buttondown.com/liminalcreat...
Thread to come after some much needed coffee and hiking.
What’s happening in science & higher ed: buttondown.com/liminalcreat...
Thread to come after some much needed coffee and hiking.
April 5, 2025 at 3:02 PM
I flew home from #SciTalk25 last night, so this week’s Meeting the Moment debrief was written at altitude, while I watched lightning pulse in thunderclouds.
What’s happening in science & higher ed: buttondown.com/liminalcreat...
Thread to come after some much needed coffee and hiking.
What’s happening in science & higher ed: buttondown.com/liminalcreat...
Thread to come after some much needed coffee and hiking.
The latest issue of @lizneeley.bsky.social’s essential weekly newsletter on the continuing attacks on science & higher-ed, and living through these times: buttondown.com/liminalcreat...
Week 10
Figuring out what to focus on now & what next in science and higher ed
buttondown.com
March 29, 2025 at 2:30 PM
The latest issue of @lizneeley.bsky.social’s essential weekly newsletter on the continuing attacks on science & higher-ed, and living through these times: buttondown.com/liminalcreat...
I’ve had a several dozen requests to write or be interviewed about the 5th anniversary of Covid and said no to all of them… except this one with @alexis-madrigal.bsky.social. Here’s our chat on the things we’ve memory-holed, and where we go from here.
www.kqed.org/forum/201010...
www.kqed.org/forum/201010...
Ed Yong on the Pandemic’s Legacy on Science Research and Reporting | KQED
As part of our series looking at the legacy of the pandemic five years on, we talk to Ed Yong about how COVID changed our relationship with health news, reporting and research.
www.kqed.org
March 24, 2025 at 8:12 PM
I’ve had a several dozen requests to write or be interviewed about the 5th anniversary of Covid and said no to all of them… except this one with @alexis-madrigal.bsky.social. Here’s our chat on the things we’ve memory-holed, and where we go from here.
www.kqed.org/forum/201010...
www.kqed.org/forum/201010...
Reposted by Ed Yong
Modern science is international. Travel is essential for training & collaboration, but the US is not reliably safe for many of us. We all have ways to confront the threat, even if leadership is failing us.
More on that + Dept of Ed in this week's debrief buttondown.com/liminalcreat...
(1/5)
More on that + Dept of Ed in this week's debrief buttondown.com/liminalcreat...
(1/5)
Week 9
Figuring out what to focus on now & what to focus on next in science and higher ed
buttondown.com
March 22, 2025 at 5:47 PM
Modern science is international. Travel is essential for training & collaboration, but the US is not reliably safe for many of us. We all have ways to confront the threat, even if leadership is failing us.
More on that + Dept of Ed in this week's debrief buttondown.com/liminalcreat...
(1/5)
More on that + Dept of Ed in this week's debrief buttondown.com/liminalcreat...
(1/5)
Reposted by Ed Yong
The World Health Organization calculates that measles vaccinations saved 60 million lives, 2000-2023. On Thursday, CDC scientists were forbidden to co-author papers with WHO colleagues.
Other attacks on science + what to do about them in this week's debrief buttondown.com/liminalcreat...
(1 of 11)
Other attacks on science + what to do about them in this week's debrief buttondown.com/liminalcreat...
(1 of 11)
Week 6
Figuring out what to focus on now & what to focus on next in science and higher ed
buttondown.com
March 1, 2025 at 4:59 PM
The World Health Organization calculates that measles vaccinations saved 60 million lives, 2000-2023. On Thursday, CDC scientists were forbidden to co-author papers with WHO colleagues.
Other attacks on science + what to do about them in this week's debrief buttondown.com/liminalcreat...
(1 of 11)
Other attacks on science + what to do about them in this week's debrief buttondown.com/liminalcreat...
(1 of 11)
Vermilion flycatcher🪶
📷 Alameda Creek
This bird, which is rare for the Bay Area, was spotted in last year's Christmas Bird Count. No one has seen it for 7 weeks, and a lot of folks have looked. And then it just showed up in the same spot 2 days ago.
📷 Alameda Creek
This bird, which is rare for the Bay Area, was spotted in last year's Christmas Bird Count. No one has seen it for 7 weeks, and a lot of folks have looked. And then it just showed up in the same spot 2 days ago.
February 24, 2025 at 3:47 PM
Vermilion flycatcher🪶
📷 Alameda Creek
This bird, which is rare for the Bay Area, was spotted in last year's Christmas Bird Count. No one has seen it for 7 weeks, and a lot of folks have looked. And then it just showed up in the same spot 2 days ago.
📷 Alameda Creek
This bird, which is rare for the Bay Area, was spotted in last year's Christmas Bird Count. No one has seen it for 7 weeks, and a lot of folks have looked. And then it just showed up in the same spot 2 days ago.
One last thing I’ll say about this is that judging by people’s messages, the audio version has some stuff not in the edited online transcript, including a discussion of the false tension around empathy in journalism, and a bit about paying attention to sparrows.
On the cutting room floor is the bit where the host introduced their interview series, The Interview, and I asked how long it took to come up with the name. Anyway, here’s me talking about birds and science and burnout and moving through the world. The photo’s nice! www.nytimes.com/2025/02/22/m...
‘The Interview’: Ed Yong Wants to Show You the Hidden Reality of the World
The Pulitzer Prize-winning science writer talks about burnout from covering the pandemic and how bird-watching gave him a new sense of hope.
www.nytimes.com
February 23, 2025 at 12:51 AM
One last thing I’ll say about this is that judging by people’s messages, the audio version has some stuff not in the edited online transcript, including a discussion of the false tension around empathy in journalism, and a bit about paying attention to sparrows.
This is excellent
I emailed university faculty/staff/administrators a roadmap to support DEI through legal challenges, collective resistance, and institutional protections for faculty. The question isn’t whether institutions will comply—it’s who will fight back, and how! greencarelab.ucdavis.edu/how-universi...
This Is Not a Drill: How Universities Can Save DEI
By now, many of us have read the headlines: the U.S. Department of Education has ruled that race-based scholarships, cultural centers, and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs violate...
greencarelab.ucdavis.edu
February 23, 2025 at 12:43 AM
This is excellent
Reposted by Ed Yong
Every Friday, I write a debrief about what’s happening in science & higher ed. It goes out late, and is written for all the friends & colleagues I wish I could sit down and talk it through with over drinks.
buttondown.com/liminalcreat...
buttondown.com/liminalcreat...
Week 5
Figuring out what to focus on now & what to focus on next in science and higher ed
buttondown.com
February 22, 2025 at 5:20 PM
Every Friday, I write a debrief about what’s happening in science & higher ed. It goes out late, and is written for all the friends & colleagues I wish I could sit down and talk it through with over drinks.
buttondown.com/liminalcreat...
buttondown.com/liminalcreat...
On the cutting room floor is the bit where the host introduced their interview series, The Interview, and I asked how long it took to come up with the name. Anyway, here’s me talking about birds and science and burnout and moving through the world. The photo’s nice! www.nytimes.com/2025/02/22/m...
‘The Interview’: Ed Yong Wants to Show You the Hidden Reality of the World
The Pulitzer Prize-winning science writer talks about burnout from covering the pandemic and how bird-watching gave him a new sense of hope.
www.nytimes.com
February 22, 2025 at 5:07 PM
On the cutting room floor is the bit where the host introduced their interview series, The Interview, and I asked how long it took to come up with the name. Anyway, here’s me talking about birds and science and burnout and moving through the world. The photo’s nice! www.nytimes.com/2025/02/22/m...
Reposted by Ed Yong
We do this all to stay focused, not flooded. I share the sense we’ve made in a late Friday night debrief.
There is a lot to feel sad & sick about. I can’t tell you things will be okay, but I can tell you A LOT about efforts to make it better.
This was week 4.
buttondown.com/liminalcreat...
There is a lot to feel sad & sick about. I can’t tell you things will be okay, but I can tell you A LOT about efforts to make it better.
This was week 4.
buttondown.com/liminalcreat...
Week 4
Figuring out what to focus on now & what to focus on next in science and higher ed
buttondown.com
February 15, 2025 at 3:49 PM
We do this all to stay focused, not flooded. I share the sense we’ve made in a late Friday night debrief.
There is a lot to feel sad & sick about. I can’t tell you things will be okay, but I can tell you A LOT about efforts to make it better.
This was week 4.
buttondown.com/liminalcreat...
There is a lot to feel sad & sick about. I can’t tell you things will be okay, but I can tell you A LOT about efforts to make it better.
This was week 4.
buttondown.com/liminalcreat...
Reposted by Ed Yong
If you care about science & higher ed in America right now, your world has changed.
We have been forced into a battle we didn’t choose.
Whatever our titles, our jobs now also includes emergency response, psychological first aid, organizing & many other things we weren’t trained in
We have been forced into a battle we didn’t choose.
Whatever our titles, our jobs now also includes emergency response, psychological first aid, organizing & many other things we weren’t trained in
February 15, 2025 at 3:49 PM
If you care about science & higher ed in America right now, your world has changed.
We have been forced into a battle we didn’t choose.
Whatever our titles, our jobs now also includes emergency response, psychological first aid, organizing & many other things we weren’t trained in
We have been forced into a battle we didn’t choose.
Whatever our titles, our jobs now also includes emergency response, psychological first aid, organizing & many other things we weren’t trained in
Reposted by Ed Yong
Well. I have been informed that it is the weekend, again.
When you are ready to sit down together & figure out what just happened and what to do, we’ve got you: buttondown.com/liminalcreat...
It’s also okay if you’re coming in hot! “What the actual fuck??” is a sensible start place at the moment.
When you are ready to sit down together & figure out what just happened and what to do, we’ve got you: buttondown.com/liminalcreat...
It’s also okay if you’re coming in hot! “What the actual fuck??” is a sensible start place at the moment.
Week 3
Figuring out what to focus on now & what to focus on next in science and higher ed
buttondown.com
February 8, 2025 at 11:50 PM
Well. I have been informed that it is the weekend, again.
When you are ready to sit down together & figure out what just happened and what to do, we’ve got you: buttondown.com/liminalcreat...
It’s also okay if you’re coming in hot! “What the actual fuck??” is a sensible start place at the moment.
When you are ready to sit down together & figure out what just happened and what to do, we’ve got you: buttondown.com/liminalcreat...
It’s also okay if you’re coming in hot! “What the actual fuck??” is a sensible start place at the moment.
Here’s @lizneeley.bsky.social’s latest newsletter, documenting the ongoing attacks on science and higher ed, and figuring out what to focus on: buttondown.com/liminalcreat...
Week 3
Figuring out what to focus on now & what to focus on next in science and higher ed
buttondown.com
February 8, 2025 at 10:46 PM
Here’s @lizneeley.bsky.social’s latest newsletter, documenting the ongoing attacks on science and higher ed, and figuring out what to focus on: buttondown.com/liminalcreat...
Reposted by Ed Yong
1/8. This week I had a few different conversations with scholars who, in the face of the attacks on science and institutions of learning in the U.S., are wondering what to do. One suggestion I have is: keep doing your work. It matters in and of itself. Why do I say that? A few reasons.
February 8, 2025 at 8:42 PM
1/8. This week I had a few different conversations with scholars who, in the face of the attacks on science and institutions of learning in the U.S., are wondering what to do. One suggestion I have is: keep doing your work. It matters in and of itself. Why do I say that? A few reasons.
Reposted by Ed Yong
This is the kind of simple and direct message we need right now: long-term damage aside, this attack is going to very quickly make it even harder for people to have the jobs and medical care they need.
Research universities are often the largest employers in their region. They are often the primary health care providers to communities. This funding shift will not only reduce US research leadership, it will put working people out of work and reduce healthcare access.
Excellent 🧵 on this evening's NIH announcement of a dramatic reduction in indirect rates for research institutions, which amounts to a generational restructuring of the US research and development ecosystem. These cuts are effective immediately, not just for new grants but for existing ones.
February 8, 2025 at 2:07 AM
This is the kind of simple and direct message we need right now: long-term damage aside, this attack is going to very quickly make it even harder for people to have the jobs and medical care they need.
Reposted by Ed Yong
"Anyone who has studied science under the Nazis...cannot fail to be dismayed and alarmed at the parallels in the response so far of scientific institutions and academies to the purges and abuses of power following Trump’s executive orders" 🧪 #scicomm
www.chemistryworld.com/opinion/scie...
www.chemistryworld.com/opinion/scie...
Scientific institutions have a long history of anticipatory obedience
Societies should learn from this and speak up to support inclusion
www.chemistryworld.com
February 8, 2025 at 12:00 AM
"Anyone who has studied science under the Nazis...cannot fail to be dismayed and alarmed at the parallels in the response so far of scientific institutions and academies to the purges and abuses of power following Trump’s executive orders" 🧪 #scicomm
www.chemistryworld.com/opinion/scie...
www.chemistryworld.com/opinion/scie...