Laura Helmuth
@laurahelmuth.bsky.social
Freelance writer, editor, columnist & consultant. Formerly at Scientific American, Washington Post, National Geographic, Slate, Smithsonian & Science. Past president of National Association of Science Writers. Birder.
If you're afraid to ask someone for a recommendation, please don't be. It's part of the job of being a mentor, editor, teacher, advisor, former boss, etc. to write recommendations or politely decline.
(I wish I could go back in time and tell my former self this.)
(I wish I could go back in time and tell my former self this.)
February 5, 2026 at 2:44 PM
If you're afraid to ask someone for a recommendation, please don't be. It's part of the job of being a mentor, editor, teacher, advisor, former boss, etc. to write recommendations or politely decline.
(I wish I could go back in time and tell my former self this.)
(I wish I could go back in time and tell my former self this.)
The transition from peer to manager can be awkward, especially when former peers (and work-friends) are "confused" about the promotion and not doing their jobs. Here's what a newly promoted manager needs to know: slate.com/advice/2026/... on @slate.com
My Boyfriend Is No Stranger to Tech Layoffs. But This Time, Something Is Making It Very Different.
I can tell something has changed for him, too.
slate.com
February 5, 2026 at 1:33 PM
The transition from peer to manager can be awkward, especially when former peers (and work-friends) are "confused" about the promotion and not doing their jobs. Here's what a newly promoted manager needs to know: slate.com/advice/2026/... on @slate.com
Reposted by Laura Helmuth
Jeff Bezos, one of the richest people on Earth, just eliminated hundreds of union jobs at the Washington Post.
Solidarity with @postguild.bsky.social. Join them tomorrow, February 5 at 12:00 p.m. for a rally to #SaveThePost.
Solidarity with @postguild.bsky.social. Join them tomorrow, February 5 at 12:00 p.m. for a rally to #SaveThePost.
February 4, 2026 at 7:41 PM
Jeff Bezos, one of the richest people on Earth, just eliminated hundreds of union jobs at the Washington Post.
Solidarity with @postguild.bsky.social. Join them tomorrow, February 5 at 12:00 p.m. for a rally to #SaveThePost.
Solidarity with @postguild.bsky.social. Join them tomorrow, February 5 at 12:00 p.m. for a rally to #SaveThePost.
Reposted by Laura Helmuth
The evil is not that he bought it specifically to shut it down. The evil is that he bought it to do *whatever he wanted* with a necessary institution for American journalism. It is malice, the malice of robber barons. They didn’t build mines specifically to kill people either, but guess what.
I don't buy the idea that Bezos is intentionally killing the Post. If he wanted to do that he could have just bought it and shut it down. Plenty of rich people have done that. The problem is he hired a Murdoch tabloid team to manage it and it's not a Murdoch tabloid and you can't run it like one.
February 4, 2026 at 6:55 PM
The evil is not that he bought it specifically to shut it down. The evil is that he bought it to do *whatever he wanted* with a necessary institution for American journalism. It is malice, the malice of robber barons. They didn’t build mines specifically to kill people either, but guess what.
Reposted by Laura Helmuth
Bezos isn't destroying the Washington Post because it isn't profitable. He's destroying the Washington Post because he's calculated that a robust free press threatens the ability of his class to warp society around their interests
February 4, 2026 at 2:24 PM
Bezos isn't destroying the Washington Post because it isn't profitable. He's destroying the Washington Post because he's calculated that a robust free press threatens the ability of his class to warp society around their interests
Reposted by Laura Helmuth
Jeffrey Bezos is destroying the Washington Post for the same reason Musk destroyed Twitter and Ellison is destroying CBS—oligarchs oppose the free press when if it threatens their wealth and power.
They don’t want normal people to see what is happening in America.
They don’t want normal people to see what is happening in America.
February 4, 2026 at 2:47 PM
Jeffrey Bezos is destroying the Washington Post for the same reason Musk destroyed Twitter and Ellison is destroying CBS—oligarchs oppose the free press when if it threatens their wealth and power.
They don’t want normal people to see what is happening in America.
They don’t want normal people to see what is happening in America.
Journalism has a lot of challenges right now, but this? This is Jeff Bezos’ fault. He bought The Washington Post and he broke it. For shame. www.theguardian.com/media/2026/f...
‘It’s an absolute bloodbath’: Washington Post lays off hundreds of workers
Former Post executive editor blasts owner Jeff Bezos’s ‘sickening efforts to curry favor’ with Trump
www.theguardian.com
February 4, 2026 at 5:21 PM
Journalism has a lot of challenges right now, but this? This is Jeff Bezos’ fault. He bought The Washington Post and he broke it. For shame. www.theguardian.com/media/2026/f...
Reposted by Laura Helmuth
February 3, 2026 at 1:21 PM
I'm enjoying posts from all the people who are finding their arch-nemeses in the #EpsteinFiles
February 3, 2026 at 2:09 PM
I'm enjoying posts from all the people who are finding their arch-nemeses in the #EpsteinFiles
I just stumbled upon this delightful video of George Harrison's "My Sweet Lord" with a million cameos and tributes awwww www.youtube.com/watch?v=04v-...
George Harrison - My Sweet Lord
YouTube video by GeorgeHarrisonVEVO
www.youtube.com
February 2, 2026 at 3:50 PM
I just stumbled upon this delightful video of George Harrison's "My Sweet Lord" with a million cameos and tributes awwww www.youtube.com/watch?v=04v-...
Reposted by Laura Helmuth
'measles outbreak at the child prison' seems entirely avoidable, it's really the kind of thing that only happens if you do several unthinkably evil things on purpose all at once
Horrifying. ICE confirms measles outbreak at Dilley family detention center. www.cbsnews.com/news/ice-dil...
ICE halts "all movement" at Texas detention facility due to measles infections
The measles cases at the Dilley Immigration Processing Center were detected Friday, Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement to CBS News.
www.cbsnews.com
February 2, 2026 at 4:31 AM
'measles outbreak at the child prison' seems entirely avoidable, it's really the kind of thing that only happens if you do several unthinkably evil things on purpose all at once
Reposted by Laura Helmuth
You never ever ever violate guestright. Mythology and literature is *filled* with “ohhhh boy, now you’re properly fucked” cautionary tales.
Thinking about whoever said that by accepting a meal from people and then arresting them ICE agents broke a cultural taboo that was invented by, like, the first humans to set up a tent
February 1, 2026 at 6:33 PM
You never ever ever violate guestright. Mythology and literature is *filled* with “ohhhh boy, now you’re properly fucked” cautionary tales.
Reposted by Laura Helmuth
Because I'm talking about measles. It is also A VERY VERY VERY CONTAGIOUS VIRUS. If someone is in a room and has measles and then leaves that room and you enter that room within TWO HOURS (depending on humidity) you can get measles.
And people are contagious for four days before the rash appears.
And people are contagious for four days before the rash appears.
::taps mic::
beyond being an absolutely miserable illness, measles can cause immune amnesia. It wipes out your immune systems memory of how to fight every infection, every vaccine you've ever had.
beyond being an absolutely miserable illness, measles can cause immune amnesia. It wipes out your immune systems memory of how to fight every infection, every vaccine you've ever had.
February 1, 2026 at 1:59 AM
Because I'm talking about measles. It is also A VERY VERY VERY CONTAGIOUS VIRUS. If someone is in a room and has measles and then leaves that room and you enter that room within TWO HOURS (depending on humidity) you can get measles.
And people are contagious for four days before the rash appears.
And people are contagious for four days before the rash appears.
Reposted by Laura Helmuth
And it’s important for us to talk about the reasons why our asymmetrical media environment turned against biomedical science.
Who could be opposed to cancer research, right?
But it was politically useful for the right to sow division about science.
Who could be opposed to cancer research, right?
But it was politically useful for the right to sow division about science.
"Despite loud voices on the right claiming that scientists have politicized science, the opposite is true. ... As with climate change and asbestos, powerful and wealthy interests found biomedical science, during COVID, opposed to their partisan agenda" (1/3) donmoynihan.substack.com/p/american-b...
American biomedical science in 2026
Where we are, how we got here, and what to do next
donmoynihan.substack.com
January 31, 2026 at 3:26 PM
And it’s important for us to talk about the reasons why our asymmetrical media environment turned against biomedical science.
Who could be opposed to cancer research, right?
But it was politically useful for the right to sow division about science.
Who could be opposed to cancer research, right?
But it was politically useful for the right to sow division about science.
Reposted by Laura Helmuth
It always feels like all the wrong people die, but I think it’s because there are far more beloved people than there are bastards.
January 31, 2026 at 12:28 AM
It always feels like all the wrong people die, but I think it’s because there are far more beloved people than there are bastards.
"Despite loud voices on the right claiming that scientists have politicized science, the opposite is true. ... As with climate change and asbestos, powerful and wealthy interests found biomedical science, during COVID, opposed to their partisan agenda" (1/3) donmoynihan.substack.com/p/american-b...
American biomedical science in 2026
Where we are, how we got here, and what to do next
donmoynihan.substack.com
January 30, 2026 at 2:14 PM
"Despite loud voices on the right claiming that scientists have politicized science, the opposite is true. ... As with climate change and asbestos, powerful and wealthy interests found biomedical science, during COVID, opposed to their partisan agenda" (1/3) donmoynihan.substack.com/p/american-b...
Someone applying for a job got a weirdly hostile interview and wonders if a reference dinged her. Here's how to figure out what happened: slate.com/advice/2026/...
I Asked My Former Boss to Be a Reference. It May Have Cost Me the Job.
Yikes!
slate.com
January 29, 2026 at 10:11 PM
Someone applying for a job got a weirdly hostile interview and wonders if a reference dinged her. Here's how to figure out what happened: slate.com/advice/2026/...
“When I start to feel despair, I remind myself we can’t give in to it. The future has not yet happened. We can still make a difference.” By @cragcrest.bsky.social
lastwordonnothing.com/2026/01/26/l...
lastwordonnothing.com/2026/01/26/l...
Lessons From Mr. Nobody Against Putin - The Last Word On Nothing
In May of 2025, I went to Mountainfilm in Telluride with my BFF Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer. We watched numerous amazing films, but there’s one that continues to haunt me, eight months later. Mr. Nobod...
lastwordonnothing.com
January 28, 2026 at 1:21 AM
“When I start to feel despair, I remind myself we can’t give in to it. The future has not yet happened. We can still make a difference.” By @cragcrest.bsky.social
lastwordonnothing.com/2026/01/26/l...
lastwordonnothing.com/2026/01/26/l...
Gonna invent an exercise machine called the Snow Shoveler that works all of those muscles you never use, it'll be bigger than Peloton or that Sisyphean StairMaster
January 26, 2026 at 4:32 PM
Gonna invent an exercise machine called the Snow Shoveler that works all of those muscles you never use, it'll be bigger than Peloton or that Sisyphean StairMaster
Reposted by Laura Helmuth
During the Soviet era, at times of govt instability, the state broadcaster would typically preempt scheduled broadcasts by airing performances of Swan Lake
And, tonight, the network's flagship news program -- 60 Minutes -- ran a clip show of old celeb interviews to "celebrate the movies" rather than put together an episode focused on what's going on in Minnesota.
The person who publishes the Free Press — where the words “Minneapolis” and “Minnesota” never appear tonight — also runs CBS News.
January 26, 2026 at 2:59 AM
During the Soviet era, at times of govt instability, the state broadcaster would typically preempt scheduled broadcasts by airing performances of Swan Lake
Reposted by Laura Helmuth
This March 1965 Herblock cartoon about police violence against civil rights activists has added relevance today.
January 26, 2026 at 1:08 PM
This March 1965 Herblock cartoon about police violence against civil rights activists has added relevance today.
Reposted by Laura Helmuth
When you see this guy’s profession you’re about to become twice as concerned as you are right now.
Did anyone actually vote to have masked Federal agents hold US citizens down and shoot them in the back?
January 26, 2026 at 2:17 AM
When you see this guy’s profession you’re about to become twice as concerned as you are right now.
“Naming the chaos won’t fix it, but it does give us a shared vocabulary, which is sometimes the first form of resistance.”
wordsmith.org/words/despot...
wordsmith.org/words/despot...
despotocracy
noun: Government by a despot.
wordsmith.org
January 26, 2026 at 1:04 PM
“Naming the chaos won’t fix it, but it does give us a shared vocabulary, which is sometimes the first form of resistance.”
wordsmith.org/words/despot...
wordsmith.org/words/despot...
All these fucking fools. The thread names a bunch of candidates, but this particular example is Rauch in The Atlantic saying: “Huh! I guess maybe it *is* fascism. Who knew?”
*Plenty of us knew and said so.
*Plenty of us knew and said so.
hey folks, six figure opinion columnist here and gotta say, made a big ol’ whoopsie on the most consequential and honestly, probably the most obvious opinion of my life. thats my bad. anyway, guess I’ll just keep getting paid to give my opinion, thanks for reading
January 25, 2026 at 9:36 PM
All these fucking fools. The thread names a bunch of candidates, but this particular example is Rauch in The Atlantic saying: “Huh! I guess maybe it *is* fascism. Who knew?”
*Plenty of us knew and said so.
*Plenty of us knew and said so.
Drive safely if you gotta. This is a screenshot of Google Maps traffic view at 7:30 on a Sunday.
January 25, 2026 at 12:53 PM
Drive safely if you gotta. This is a screenshot of Google Maps traffic view at 7:30 on a Sunday.