Joseph Osmundson
@reluctantlyjoe.bsky.social
scientist, writer, activist. VIROLOGY (Norton, 2022) "dazzling... love essays" -NYTimes Book Review, NBCC & Lambda Literary Finalist in Nonfiction
Pinned
Reckoning With a Pandemic, as a Doctor and a Human (Published 2022)
In his essay collection “Virology,” Joseph Osmundson examines the myriad ways we coexist with viruses.
www.nytimes.com
Hello Bluesky! I am a scientist, focusing on infectious diseases, and a writer.
My most recent book, VIROLOGY, is an investigation of those invisible things scientifically, yes, but also metaphorically, culturally, what it means to live on a viral planet.
www.nytimes.com/2022/06/08/b...
My most recent book, VIROLOGY, is an investigation of those invisible things scientifically, yes, but also metaphorically, culturally, what it means to live on a viral planet.
www.nytimes.com/2022/06/08/b...
Reposted by Joseph Osmundson
I’ll omit the depressing-for-a-writer comments that others have made on this excellent article. Instead, I’ll say that it’s disastrous for readers.
I spent the summer reporting this essay on why it seems harder than ever to sell a book right now—especially if it isn't a debut and comes with the dreaded "sales track." I'm grateful to the writers, agents, editors, publishers & experts who spoke to me for this piece: thewalrus.ca/the-publishi...
The Publishing Industry Has a Gambling Problem | The Walrus
Companies keep betting on the next bestseller. Literature is poorer for it
thewalrus.ca
September 27, 2025 at 10:39 AM
I’ll omit the depressing-for-a-writer comments that others have made on this excellent article. Instead, I’ll say that it’s disastrous for readers.
Reposted by Joseph Osmundson
I spent the summer reporting this essay on why it seems harder than ever to sell a book right now—especially if it isn't a debut and comes with the dreaded "sales track." I'm grateful to the writers, agents, editors, publishers & experts who spoke to me for this piece: thewalrus.ca/the-publishi...
The Publishing Industry Has a Gambling Problem | The Walrus
Companies keep betting on the next bestseller. Literature is poorer for it
thewalrus.ca
September 26, 2025 at 5:30 PM
I spent the summer reporting this essay on why it seems harder than ever to sell a book right now—especially if it isn't a debut and comes with the dreaded "sales track." I'm grateful to the writers, agents, editors, publishers & experts who spoke to me for this piece: thewalrus.ca/the-publishi...
Reposted by Joseph Osmundson
I also think it’s very relevant that myself and @reluctantlyjoe.bsky.social — the two writers who went on the record here — are very openly queer, writing very openly queer work.
So… there is that.
So… there is that.
I spent the summer reporting this essay on why it seems harder than ever to sell a book right now—especially if it isn't a debut and comes with the dreaded "sales track." I'm grateful to the writers, agents, editors, publishers & experts who spoke to me for this piece: thewalrus.ca/the-publishi...
The Publishing Industry Has a Gambling Problem | The Walrus
Companies keep betting on the next bestseller. Literature is poorer for it
thewalrus.ca
September 27, 2025 at 12:37 AM
I also think it’s very relevant that myself and @reluctantlyjoe.bsky.social — the two writers who went on the record here — are very openly queer, writing very openly queer work.
So… there is that.
So… there is that.
Reposted by Joseph Osmundson
Tune in next week to hear about amazing HIV work that has saved countless lives but continues to be threatened. Help us #SaveAIDSResearch .
I’ll be presenting with @reluctantlyjoe.bsky.social on mpox which affects many of the same communities as HIV and whose global funding is also under attack
I’ll be presenting with @reluctantlyjoe.bsky.social on mpox which affects many of the same communities as HIV and whose global funding is also under attack
Come join us next week. Come celebrate the miracles HIV research has given the world. And help us #SaveAIDSResearch. saveaidsresearch.org @saveaidsresearch.bsky.social
September 12, 2025 at 5:13 AM
Tune in next week to hear about amazing HIV work that has saved countless lives but continues to be threatened. Help us #SaveAIDSResearch .
I’ll be presenting with @reluctantlyjoe.bsky.social on mpox which affects many of the same communities as HIV and whose global funding is also under attack
I’ll be presenting with @reluctantlyjoe.bsky.social on mpox which affects many of the same communities as HIV and whose global funding is also under attack
Reposted by Joseph Osmundson
hey dude, I noticed you attempting to carve a small space for joy in the face of overwhelming sadness. kind of problematic considering all the horrors
October 14, 2024 at 8:52 PM
hey dude, I noticed you attempting to carve a small space for joy in the face of overwhelming sadness. kind of problematic considering all the horrors
I won a journalism award with @xtramagazine.com and all I can think about are these fucking Teflon pans.
reluctantlyjoe.substack.com/p/i-won-a-jo...
(Thank you @tmziniuk.bsky.social for being the best gay editor there is!)
reluctantlyjoe.substack.com/p/i-won-a-jo...
(Thank you @tmziniuk.bsky.social for being the best gay editor there is!)
July 28, 2025 at 2:28 AM
I won a journalism award with @xtramagazine.com and all I can think about are these fucking Teflon pans.
reluctantlyjoe.substack.com/p/i-won-a-jo...
(Thank you @tmziniuk.bsky.social for being the best gay editor there is!)
reluctantlyjoe.substack.com/p/i-won-a-jo...
(Thank you @tmziniuk.bsky.social for being the best gay editor there is!)
Reposted by Joseph Osmundson
Good news: I no longer have to keep a secret!! Because, good news: @reluctantlyjoe.bsky.social and Nico Lang have won awards for their work @xtramagazine.com!!
xtramagazine.com/inside-xtra/...
xtramagazine.com/inside-xtra/...
Xtra contributors win awards in international coverage and blogging from NLGJA | Xtra Magazine
Contributors Nico Lang and Joseph Osmundson are being recognized by the Association of LGBTQ+ Journalists
xtramagazine.com
July 23, 2025 at 10:14 PM
Good news: I no longer have to keep a secret!! Because, good news: @reluctantlyjoe.bsky.social and Nico Lang have won awards for their work @xtramagazine.com!!
xtramagazine.com/inside-xtra/...
xtramagazine.com/inside-xtra/...
Made it to Friday, aka Fri-yay, but at what cost?
July 19, 2025 at 1:28 AM
Made it to Friday, aka Fri-yay, but at what cost?
Cuomo: New York *does* have an affordability problem! My nephew’s first cousin by marriage can’t even afford Uber Black anymore!
July 15, 2025 at 1:09 AM
Cuomo: New York *does* have an affordability problem! My nephew’s first cousin by marriage can’t even afford Uber Black anymore!
If you're seeing this, post an old photo of yourself that you still love.
July 10, 2025 at 3:56 PM
If you're seeing this, post an old photo of yourself that you still love.
So grateful to see this book still in the world!
#currentlyreading Virology by @reluctantlyjoe.bsky.social
July 10, 2025 at 3:04 PM
So grateful to see this book still in the world!
New Substack writing on the box of former selves I go through every time I move, and what my next home may bring.
reluctantlyjoe.substack.com/p/pennies-an...
reluctantlyjoe.substack.com/p/pennies-an...
Pennies and the Tour Eiffel
Looking through artifacts and being surprised, and not surprised, by who I once was
reluctantlyjoe.substack.com
July 9, 2025 at 7:10 PM
New Substack writing on the box of former selves I go through every time I move, and what my next home may bring.
reluctantlyjoe.substack.com/p/pennies-an...
reluctantlyjoe.substack.com/p/pennies-an...
Reposted by Joseph Osmundson
lmao someone on twitter has spotted an interesting discrepancy in eric adams' 'get ready with me' social media content
July 8, 2025 at 5:55 PM
lmao someone on twitter has spotted an interesting discrepancy in eric adams' 'get ready with me' social media content
Reposted by Joseph Osmundson
internalizing american notions of race and ethnic division as timeless truths about the world is a shortcut to smoothing out your brain
July 6, 2025 at 5:20 PM
internalizing american notions of race and ethnic division as timeless truths about the world is a shortcut to smoothing out your brain
Reposted by Joseph Osmundson
if anyone at the NYT wants to talk about this rufo/mamdani/columbia leak clusterfuck, i’m marisakabas.04 on signal
July 7, 2025 at 1:50 PM
if anyone at the NYT wants to talk about this rufo/mamdani/columbia leak clusterfuck, i’m marisakabas.04 on signal
Reposted by Joseph Osmundson
it actually seems like a newsworthy scandal that a white nationalist hacker stole decades of private student data from Columbia University and handed that data over to a trustee for a competitor institution. But on the other hand, the New York Times is worried about being "scooped" by neo-Nazis.
July 7, 2025 at 1:40 PM
it actually seems like a newsworthy scandal that a white nationalist hacker stole decades of private student data from Columbia University and handed that data over to a trustee for a competitor institution. But on the other hand, the New York Times is worried about being "scooped" by neo-Nazis.
Reposted by Joseph Osmundson
“As I have argued with colleagues in The Lancet, access to primary health care is the cornerstone for preventing disease outbreaks and responding to health crises.”
thebulletin.org/2025/07/fewe...
thebulletin.org/2025/07/fewe...
Fewer clinics, unhealthier people, less warning: The ‘big, beautiful bill’ will make the US less prepared for pandemics
The so-called "big, beautiful bill" will lead to millions of fewer people having health coverage in the United States. It will make the country less prepared to detect and respond to a future pandemic...
thebulletin.org
July 7, 2025 at 1:50 PM
“As I have argued with colleagues in The Lancet, access to primary health care is the cornerstone for preventing disease outbreaks and responding to health crises.”
thebulletin.org/2025/07/fewe...
thebulletin.org/2025/07/fewe...
Reposted by Joseph Osmundson
apropos of something I read recently: just because the words are good and the craft is good doesn't mean the thoughts are good. you have to sit with the thoughts even more than with the words and the craft. that's "the work."
June 27, 2025 at 2:22 PM
apropos of something I read recently: just because the words are good and the craft is good doesn't mean the thoughts are good. you have to sit with the thoughts even more than with the words and the craft. that's "the work."
Reposted by Joseph Osmundson
This is hateful and ugly and you don’t know what tf you’re talking about. First, nearly 5 mil Texans voted for Harris, way more than the 450k who voted for her in Maine. Second, it’s harder to vote in Texas than it is in any other state bc it isn’t a red state but a voter suppression state.
July 5, 2025 at 3:06 PM
This is hateful and ugly and you don’t know what tf you’re talking about. First, nearly 5 mil Texans voted for Harris, way more than the 450k who voted for her in Maine. Second, it’s harder to vote in Texas than it is in any other state bc it isn’t a red state but a voter suppression state.
Reposted by Joseph Osmundson
@benryanwriter.bsky.social Didn't waste much time getting this up on your personal website! Perhaps you could throw a cite out to the Guardian reporter who has named your very secret source in a March 2025 article?
July 3, 2025 at 10:33 PM
@benryanwriter.bsky.social Didn't waste much time getting this up on your personal website! Perhaps you could throw a cite out to the Guardian reporter who has named your very secret source in a March 2025 article?
Reposted by Joseph Osmundson
Wait WTF hahaha Benjamin Ryan subscribes to Cremieux!?
So much makes sense now.
So much makes sense now.
man i wonder how eugenicist and white supremacist Jordan Lasker (aka Cremieux) managed to get his story into the New York Times. i'm sure it has nothing to do with the fact that Benjamin Ryan, who is bylined on that story, is a reader of his work? such an interesting coincidence!
July 4, 2025 at 3:35 AM
Wait WTF hahaha Benjamin Ryan subscribes to Cremieux!?
So much makes sense now.
So much makes sense now.
Reposted by Joseph Osmundson
NYT updated the story, bang-up job all around
July 4, 2025 at 12:20 AM
NYT updated the story, bang-up job all around
Reposted by Joseph Osmundson
so let me get this straight—the NYT accepted hacked information given to them by a substack white supremacist to be used against a mayoral candidate?
July 4, 2025 at 1:36 AM
so let me get this straight—the NYT accepted hacked information given to them by a substack white supremacist to be used against a mayoral candidate?
Reposted by Joseph Osmundson
Not to do TOO much Mamdani discourse this morning, but one of the reasons American racial categories are what they are is the idea that "African" is a single, coherent, and consistent racial identity. That belief is downstream of slavery ideology, and has no real salience for actual reality.
July 4, 2025 at 1:40 PM
Not to do TOO much Mamdani discourse this morning, but one of the reasons American racial categories are what they are is the idea that "African" is a single, coherent, and consistent racial identity. That belief is downstream of slavery ideology, and has no real salience for actual reality.
Reposted by Joseph Osmundson
NYT responds to criticism of its Mamdani story, likening the concerns about their source to “Wikileaks or Edward Snowden” (lol)
July 4, 2025 at 10:39 PM
NYT responds to criticism of its Mamdani story, likening the concerns about their source to “Wikileaks or Edward Snowden” (lol)