Heather Randell
@heatherrandell.bsky.social
Assistant professor in the Humphrey School of Public Affairs, University of Minnesota. Sociologist/demographer studying the health impacts of climate change and dams, with a focus on Brazil and East Africa.
https://sites.google.com/umn.edu/heatherrandell
https://sites.google.com/umn.edu/heatherrandell
Reposted by Heather Randell
Gaza: Study Reveals Unprecedented Losses of Life & Life Expectancy
Researchers from MPIDR & the Centre for Demographic Studies (CED) investigated the impact of the conflict in Gaza on mortality. Life expectancy 2024 fell to nearly half the level expected without the war. www.demogr.mpg.de/go/GazaLE
Researchers from MPIDR & the Centre for Demographic Studies (CED) investigated the impact of the conflict in Gaza on mortality. Life expectancy 2024 fell to nearly half the level expected without the war. www.demogr.mpg.de/go/GazaLE
November 25, 2025 at 10:11 AM
Gaza: Study Reveals Unprecedented Losses of Life & Life Expectancy
Researchers from MPIDR & the Centre for Demographic Studies (CED) investigated the impact of the conflict in Gaza on mortality. Life expectancy 2024 fell to nearly half the level expected without the war. www.demogr.mpg.de/go/GazaLE
Researchers from MPIDR & the Centre for Demographic Studies (CED) investigated the impact of the conflict in Gaza on mortality. Life expectancy 2024 fell to nearly half the level expected without the war. www.demogr.mpg.de/go/GazaLE
Kids are great and all, but they sure do make it hard to have hobbies.
November 19, 2025 at 10:50 PM
Kids are great and all, but they sure do make it hard to have hobbies.
This man could single-handedly solve a good chunk of the world’s problems with his riches and still have enough money left over to live a life of luxury, and yet…
Elon Musk’s foundation gave away a record $474 million in 2024, with the vast majority again going to entities he controls
Elon Musk Gave Away $474 Million in 2024, Mostly to Entities He Controls
Elon Musk’s foundation gave away a record $474 million in 2024, with the vast majority again going to entities he controls.
bloom.bg
November 19, 2025 at 3:15 AM
This man could single-handedly solve a good chunk of the world’s problems with his riches and still have enough money left over to live a life of luxury, and yet…
I just love this. The University of Minnesota Library has launched book club kits! Students can take out six copies of the same book to read with friends. College kids need this sort of stuff now more than ever. 📚📖💙
libguides.umn.edu/bookclubkits...
libguides.umn.edu/bookclubkits...
November 19, 2025 at 2:43 AM
I just love this. The University of Minnesota Library has launched book club kits! Students can take out six copies of the same book to read with friends. College kids need this sort of stuff now more than ever. 📚📖💙
libguides.umn.edu/bookclubkits...
libguides.umn.edu/bookclubkits...
If you have little kids and want tolerable kid music to listen to, here is a playlist I made. Think Raffi and Pete Seeger meet Laura Veirs.
open.spotify.com/playlist/6lm...
open.spotify.com/playlist/6lm...
Kids music
open.spotify.com
November 18, 2025 at 1:16 AM
If you have little kids and want tolerable kid music to listen to, here is a playlist I made. Think Raffi and Pete Seeger meet Laura Veirs.
open.spotify.com/playlist/6lm...
open.spotify.com/playlist/6lm...
Reposted by Heather Randell
Owámniyomni Okhódayapi just announced the Dakota-led design for the restoration of five acres at Owámniyomni (St. Anthony Falls), adjacent to the Upper Lock on the Mississippi River in Minneapolis. Project construction is targeted to begin in spring 2026. Very exciting!
owamniyomni.org/design/
owamniyomni.org/design/
November 17, 2025 at 8:49 PM
Owámniyomni Okhódayapi just announced the Dakota-led design for the restoration of five acres at Owámniyomni (St. Anthony Falls), adjacent to the Upper Lock on the Mississippi River in Minneapolis. Project construction is targeted to begin in spring 2026. Very exciting!
owamniyomni.org/design/
owamniyomni.org/design/
“More than a billion Indians face heat waves every year. Hundreds of millions of them work in the informal sector, toiling outdoors or doing piecework in a stifling factory, & are especially at risk as intense bouts of scorching weather become more frequent.”
🎁 link:
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/16/w...
🎁 link:
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/16/w...
What’s More Dangerous Than India’s Frequent Heat Waves? Heat Stress.
www.nytimes.com
November 16, 2025 at 3:50 PM
“More than a billion Indians face heat waves every year. Hundreds of millions of them work in the informal sector, toiling outdoors or doing piecework in a stifling factory, & are especially at risk as intense bouts of scorching weather become more frequent.”
🎁 link:
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/16/w...
🎁 link:
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/16/w...
Oh Penn State 🤦🏻♀️
This fancy new building just opened last semester and is now closed indefinitely after “crews found a crack in a wall of the building that stretched from the second floor to the fifth floor…[and] the floor had dropped about 2 inches.”
www.centredaily.com/news/local/e...
This fancy new building just opened last semester and is now closed indefinitely after “crews found a crack in a wall of the building that stretched from the second floor to the fifth floor…[and] the floor had dropped about 2 inches.”
www.centredaily.com/news/local/e...
What happened at Penn State’s new liberal arts building? University gives update
Penn State said no foul play is suspected in the damage at the liberal arts building.
www.centredaily.com
November 16, 2025 at 2:50 PM
Oh Penn State 🤦🏻♀️
This fancy new building just opened last semester and is now closed indefinitely after “crews found a crack in a wall of the building that stretched from the second floor to the fifth floor…[and] the floor had dropped about 2 inches.”
www.centredaily.com/news/local/e...
This fancy new building just opened last semester and is now closed indefinitely after “crews found a crack in a wall of the building that stretched from the second floor to the fifth floor…[and] the floor had dropped about 2 inches.”
www.centredaily.com/news/local/e...
I love animals and am generally skeptical of unfettered tech, but I worry that this is misguided. Human drivers, giant SUVs, and poorly designed roads are a MUCH greater risk to people and animals than self-driving taxis.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/15/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/15/u...
Waymo Was on a Roll in San Francisco. Then One of Its Driverless Cars Killed a Cat.
www.nytimes.com
November 15, 2025 at 1:18 PM
I love animals and am generally skeptical of unfettered tech, but I worry that this is misguided. Human drivers, giant SUVs, and poorly designed roads are a MUCH greater risk to people and animals than self-driving taxis.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/15/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/15/u...
I moved to Minnesota in June 2023 during a day when the air smelled like a campfire. When I’ve asked longtime Minnesotans about the increasingly severe smoke during our summers, they all say it was never a problem until a few years ago. And wow, this graph has got the receipts.
November 14, 2025 at 9:17 PM
I moved to Minnesota in June 2023 during a day when the air smelled like a campfire. When I’ve asked longtime Minnesotans about the increasingly severe smoke during our summers, they all say it was never a problem until a few years ago. And wow, this graph has got the receipts.
Reposted by Heather Randell
The problem with the climate regime in one article: With fewer people attending COP30 "one in every 25 participants at this year’s UN climate summit is a fossil fuel lobbyist." It is "the largest concentration of fossil fuel lobbyists at COP" and up 12% from COP29 www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Fossil fuel lobbyists outnumber all Cop30 delegations except Brazil, report says
One in every 25 participants at 2025 UN climate summit is a fossil fuel lobbyist, according to Kick Big Polluters Out
www.theguardian.com
November 14, 2025 at 11:20 AM
The problem with the climate regime in one article: With fewer people attending COP30 "one in every 25 participants at this year’s UN climate summit is a fossil fuel lobbyist." It is "the largest concentration of fossil fuel lobbyists at COP" and up 12% from COP29 www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Just a quick reminder that half the country is decidedly NOT inundated with news of the Epstein emails about Trump. I just checked the Fox News website and did not see one article about it on their homepage. Among these gems below there is one Epstein article, but it is about Prince Andrew.
November 13, 2025 at 6:29 PM
Just a quick reminder that half the country is decidedly NOT inundated with news of the Epstein emails about Trump. I just checked the Fox News website and did not see one article about it on their homepage. Among these gems below there is one Epstein article, but it is about Prince Andrew.
I’m constantly amazed at how many families in my Minneapolis neighborhood have 3 or 4 kids. I think it is because they can afford a house that fits said kids, send them to our zoned public schools through high school, and lean on local family and friends.
🎁:
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/12/o...
🎁:
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/12/o...
Opinion | If We Want More Kids, We Need Affordable Cities
www.nytimes.com
November 12, 2025 at 4:15 PM
I’m constantly amazed at how many families in my Minneapolis neighborhood have 3 or 4 kids. I think it is because they can afford a house that fits said kids, send them to our zoned public schools through high school, and lean on local family and friends.
🎁:
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/12/o...
🎁:
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/12/o...
The Pantanal 💔
“When a fire is really big, all the animals find this small spot where it’s not burning. Then it burns and they all die together. You have a cemetery – howler monkeys, capuchins, coatis, birds and iguanas. Everyone in the area, dead together.”
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
“When a fire is really big, all the animals find this small spot where it’s not burning. Then it burns and they all die together. You have a cemetery – howler monkeys, capuchins, coatis, birds and iguanas. Everyone in the area, dead together.”
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
‘There’s fire all around us, this is it’ – This is climate breakdown
Working with jaguars in Brazil’s Pantanal was a huge source of joy. But the wildfires are getting worse. This is Abbie’s story
www.theguardian.com
November 12, 2025 at 12:44 PM
The Pantanal 💔
“When a fire is really big, all the animals find this small spot where it’s not burning. Then it burns and they all die together. You have a cemetery – howler monkeys, capuchins, coatis, birds and iguanas. Everyone in the area, dead together.”
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
“When a fire is really big, all the animals find this small spot where it’s not burning. Then it burns and they all die together. You have a cemetery – howler monkeys, capuchins, coatis, birds and iguanas. Everyone in the area, dead together.”
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
This is amazing work coming out of the med school at UMN. We used to call this “machine learning” but apparently now everything is “AI”. I wish the terminology remained different to distinguish this sort of life saving work from ChatGPT slop.
twin-cities.umn.edu/news-events/...
twin-cities.umn.edu/news-events/...
Artificial intelligence models help diagnose cancer
University of Minnesota researchers use artificial intelligence to sift through mountains of data in search of better care for each individual facing cancer.
twin-cities.umn.edu
November 12, 2025 at 12:34 PM
This is amazing work coming out of the med school at UMN. We used to call this “machine learning” but apparently now everything is “AI”. I wish the terminology remained different to distinguish this sort of life saving work from ChatGPT slop.
twin-cities.umn.edu/news-events/...
twin-cities.umn.edu/news-events/...
Reposted by Heather Randell
A fun question. In 5 years time, what looks better? The US’s enormous bet & capex on AI? Or China’s equally enormous bet and capex on renewables?
China has made cheap, clean energy available in huge quantities. The world should take the win econ.st/4oqFszB
Photo: Eyevine
Photo: Eyevine
November 7, 2025 at 7:10 AM
A fun question. In 5 years time, what looks better? The US’s enormous bet & capex on AI? Or China’s equally enormous bet and capex on renewables?
Speaking of women in the workplace, one time on a plane, the flight attendant announced that we were on an "unmanned flight" because the pilot, co-pilot, and all flight attendants were women. I'll take more of this, please and thank you. 👩✈️🛩️✊
I should have known better than to click on this 🤦🏻♀️
“The pathology in our institutions known as wokeness is distinctively feminine and feminized. And that, in a very literal sense, our institutions have gone woke because there are more women in them than there used to be.”
“The pathology in our institutions known as wokeness is distinctively feminine and feminized. And that, in a very literal sense, our institutions have gone woke because there are more women in them than there used to be.”
November 6, 2025 at 2:46 PM
Speaking of women in the workplace, one time on a plane, the flight attendant announced that we were on an "unmanned flight" because the pilot, co-pilot, and all flight attendants were women. I'll take more of this, please and thank you. 👩✈️🛩️✊
We have universal free school breakfast and lunch in Minnesota. Parents may imagine the school lunches from when we were kids—sloppy joes, rectangular pizza—but we’ve come a long way. Below are some examples of Minneapolis Public School meals. ALL kids should have access to food like this.
November 6, 2025 at 12:44 PM
We have universal free school breakfast and lunch in Minnesota. Parents may imagine the school lunches from when we were kids—sloppy joes, rectangular pizza—but we’ve come a long way. Below are some examples of Minneapolis Public School meals. ALL kids should have access to food like this.
I should have known better than to click on this 🤦🏻♀️
“The pathology in our institutions known as wokeness is distinctively feminine and feminized. And that, in a very literal sense, our institutions have gone woke because there are more women in them than there used to be.”
“The pathology in our institutions known as wokeness is distinctively feminine and feminized. And that, in a very literal sense, our institutions have gone woke because there are more women in them than there used to be.”
November 6, 2025 at 12:33 PM
I should have known better than to click on this 🤦🏻♀️
“The pathology in our institutions known as wokeness is distinctively feminine and feminized. And that, in a very literal sense, our institutions have gone woke because there are more women in them than there used to be.”
“The pathology in our institutions known as wokeness is distinctively feminine and feminized. And that, in a very literal sense, our institutions have gone woke because there are more women in them than there used to be.”
We voted!
Local elections for the win 💙🩵💙
Local elections for the win 💙🩵💙
November 4, 2025 at 3:28 PM
We voted!
Local elections for the win 💙🩵💙
Local elections for the win 💙🩵💙
Scenes from Clarksdale—where Sinners takes place—and elsewhere along the Mississippi Blues Trail. The Delta is a place that more people ought to see and hear for themselves.
November 3, 2025 at 9:00 PM
Scenes from Clarksdale—where Sinners takes place—and elsewhere along the Mississippi Blues Trail. The Delta is a place that more people ought to see and hear for themselves.
I just finished watching Sinners, and whew, that was the best movie I've seen in a LONG time.
November 3, 2025 at 3:22 AM
I just finished watching Sinners, and whew, that was the best movie I've seen in a LONG time.
Bonsai trees showing off their colors at the Conservatory. I learned there that the art of bonsai was introduced to Japan from China!
November 2, 2025 at 11:07 PM
Bonsai trees showing off their colors at the Conservatory. I learned there that the art of bonsai was introduced to Japan from China!
The very best house on our block
🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃
🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃
November 1, 2025 at 2:02 AM
The very best house on our block
🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃
🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃