Taylor Nichols, MD FACEP
@tnicholsmd.com
I am driven by two main philosophies: know more today about the world than I knew yesterday and lessen the suffering of others
Humanist | Emergency+Addiction Medicine | Health policy and advocacy | Health technology and innovation | Views my own (he/him)
Humanist | Emergency+Addiction Medicine | Health policy and advocacy | Health technology and innovation | Views my own (he/him)
Pinned
Taylor Nichols, MD FACEP
@tnicholsmd.com
· Oct 17
Hi new friends, welcome!
I’m an emergency medicine and addiction medicine physician interested in health policy and advocacy. I post about harm reduction and the intersection between politics and health and healthcare, and my otherwise meandering thoughts of political despair.
I’m an emergency medicine and addiction medicine physician interested in health policy and advocacy. I post about harm reduction and the intersection between politics and health and healthcare, and my otherwise meandering thoughts of political despair.
Reposted by Taylor Nichols, MD FACEP
🤔 In 2021, Kip Mock of Moscow ID accidentally set his pal, Elijah Froh, on fire by pouring diesel on a fire. Mock & Froh were later were hired by Valar Atomics—founded by their pal, Isaiah Taylor, a high school dropout from Moscow, ID who somehow landed a DOE contract to build a nuclear reactor. 1/
January 17, 2026 at 1:39 AM
🤔 In 2021, Kip Mock of Moscow ID accidentally set his pal, Elijah Froh, on fire by pouring diesel on a fire. Mock & Froh were later were hired by Valar Atomics—founded by their pal, Isaiah Taylor, a high school dropout from Moscow, ID who somehow landed a DOE contract to build a nuclear reactor. 1/
Reposted by Taylor Nichols, MD FACEP
This is nuts.
What the fuck is going on?
Dude, this is insane.
What the fuck is going on?
Dude, this is insane.
January 17, 2026 at 12:03 AM
This is nuts.
What the fuck is going on?
Dude, this is insane.
What the fuck is going on?
Dude, this is insane.
Reposted by Taylor Nichols, MD FACEP
“ICE appears to be reveling in the hypocrisy and double standards that the Trump administration’s unqualified defense of their sickeningly violent and occasionally murderous behavior, against Renee Good and innumerable others, has given them license to indulge in.”
ICE is NOT “law enforcement.”
ICE is NOT “law enforcement.”
ICE Is on a Violent, Illegal, Immoral Rampage
ICE appears to be reveling in the hypocrisy and double standards that the Trump administration’s unqualified defense of their sickeningly violent and occasionally murderous behavior, against Renee Goo...
jacobin.com
January 16, 2026 at 12:25 PM
“ICE appears to be reveling in the hypocrisy and double standards that the Trump administration’s unqualified defense of their sickeningly violent and occasionally murderous behavior, against Renee Good and innumerable others, has given them license to indulge in.”
ICE is NOT “law enforcement.”
ICE is NOT “law enforcement.”
Reposted by Taylor Nichols, MD FACEP
JUST IN: Virginia's legislature just adopted a constitutional amendment that would end Virginia's rules that ban people from voting for life.
Virginia currently is the only state that strips people of voting rights for life for any felony. Youngkin rolled back reforms.
Now going to a referendum.
Virginia currently is the only state that strips people of voting rights for life for any felony. Youngkin rolled back reforms.
Now going to a referendum.
Virginia Lawmakers Ask Voters to Repeal a Jim Crow-Era Lifetime Ban on Voting - Bolts
Voters will decide this year whether to end Virginia’s uniquely harsh felony disenfranchisement rules. They'll also vote on abortion, gay marriage, and redistricting.
boltsmag.org
January 16, 2026 at 6:21 PM
JUST IN: Virginia's legislature just adopted a constitutional amendment that would end Virginia's rules that ban people from voting for life.
Virginia currently is the only state that strips people of voting rights for life for any felony. Youngkin rolled back reforms.
Now going to a referendum.
Virginia currently is the only state that strips people of voting rights for life for any felony. Youngkin rolled back reforms.
Now going to a referendum.
Reposted by Taylor Nichols, MD FACEP
OMG Bill Ackman's company was ready to front the money for the Stabell-Benn & Aaby study of HepB in Guinea Bissau???
WHY?
Why do the same damn people show up in every horror story?
www.rollingstone.com/politics/pol...
WHY?
Why do the same damn people show up in every horror story?
www.rollingstone.com/politics/pol...
HHS Gave a $1.6 Million Grant to a Controversial Vaccine Study. These Emails Show How That Happened
Two Danish researchers faced accusations of “questionable research practices” as RFK Jr.’s top appointees made their study a “funding priority.”
www.rollingstone.com
January 16, 2026 at 11:32 PM
OMG Bill Ackman's company was ready to front the money for the Stabell-Benn & Aaby study of HepB in Guinea Bissau???
WHY?
Why do the same damn people show up in every horror story?
www.rollingstone.com/politics/pol...
WHY?
Why do the same damn people show up in every horror story?
www.rollingstone.com/politics/pol...
Reposted by Taylor Nichols, MD FACEP
Lawyer for 21-year-old activist blinded by ICE while protesting:
"You would never fire a weapon like this at someone's face unless you're intending to kill them. So it's lethal force."
"You would never fire a weapon like this at someone's face unless you're intending to kill them. So it's lethal force."
January 16, 2026 at 5:15 PM
Lawyer for 21-year-old activist blinded by ICE while protesting:
"You would never fire a weapon like this at someone's face unless you're intending to kill them. So it's lethal force."
"You would never fire a weapon like this at someone's face unless you're intending to kill them. So it's lethal force."
It's about information ecosystems, and information warfare through propaganda.
I hate to burst everyone's bubble but if you think that CBS News losing ratings or prestige matters to David Ellison, you're mistaken. Murdoch ran the NY Post for 45 years without turning a profit. They want these media companies to pump propaganda, not to get ratings or make money.
January 16, 2026 at 11:05 PM
It's about information ecosystems, and information warfare through propaganda.
Reposted by Taylor Nichols, MD FACEP
I'm invited to give an online global health lecture at a class in a US school
I am no longer sure how candid and honest I can be
I am no longer sure how safe I will be
I am no longer sure if my talk will elicit a backlash against my hosts
It is crazy that I am even thinking like this in 2026! 😔
I am no longer sure how candid and honest I can be
I am no longer sure how safe I will be
I am no longer sure if my talk will elicit a backlash against my hosts
It is crazy that I am even thinking like this in 2026! 😔
January 16, 2026 at 10:35 PM
I'm invited to give an online global health lecture at a class in a US school
I am no longer sure how candid and honest I can be
I am no longer sure how safe I will be
I am no longer sure if my talk will elicit a backlash against my hosts
It is crazy that I am even thinking like this in 2026! 😔
I am no longer sure how candid and honest I can be
I am no longer sure how safe I will be
I am no longer sure if my talk will elicit a backlash against my hosts
It is crazy that I am even thinking like this in 2026! 😔
Reposted by Taylor Nichols, MD FACEP
Roundup of the insane rhetoric coming from the right at the moment. It's remarkable how *little* violence we've seen from protesters, given the feds' aggression. Maybe I've missed something, but the worst I've seen is people throwing snowballs. The MN weather has injured more cops than protesters.
Right-wing media are describing pro-immigrant Minnesota activists using the language of war
Right-wing media figures and outlets are using the language of war to characterize protests against the presence of violent Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Minnesota.The fatal shooting o...
www.mediamatters.org
January 16, 2026 at 9:38 PM
Roundup of the insane rhetoric coming from the right at the moment. It's remarkable how *little* violence we've seen from protesters, given the feds' aggression. Maybe I've missed something, but the worst I've seen is people throwing snowballs. The MN weather has injured more cops than protesters.
Reposted by Taylor Nichols, MD FACEP
Read for the point about how lesbians are being targeted, and stay for this (quote truncated for bsky):
“In retrospect, I would have done it again,” Alice told me. “Like, it was the most miserable day of my whole life. But I would do it again.”
“In retrospect, I would have done it again,” Alice told me. “Like, it was the most miserable day of my whole life. But I would do it again.”
Queer trans ICE protester in small Minn. city recounts agents' violence and humiliation
Alice Valentine of St. Cloud was pepper sprayed and jailed by ICE for trying to protect immigrant neighbors.
www.thehandbasket.co
January 16, 2026 at 6:59 PM
Read for the point about how lesbians are being targeted, and stay for this (quote truncated for bsky):
“In retrospect, I would have done it again,” Alice told me. “Like, it was the most miserable day of my whole life. But I would do it again.”
“In retrospect, I would have done it again,” Alice told me. “Like, it was the most miserable day of my whole life. But I would do it again.”
Reposted by Taylor Nichols, MD FACEP
(sigh) OK, it made my teeth itch but I was able to put together my take on Trump's "healthcare pla."
charlesgaba.substack.com/p/sigh-ok-a-...
charlesgaba.substack.com/p/sigh-ok-a-...
(sigh) OK, a decade later, let's take a look at Trump's "healthcare pla."
"Lowering prices by 500%" and other big brain concepts.
charlesgaba.substack.com
January 16, 2026 at 7:18 PM
(sigh) OK, it made my teeth itch but I was able to put together my take on Trump's "healthcare pla."
charlesgaba.substack.com/p/sigh-ok-a-...
charlesgaba.substack.com/p/sigh-ok-a-...
Reposted by Taylor Nichols, MD FACEP
Today in "The reason all of the awful & illegal things keep happening in 🇺🇸 politics, dating at least to GWB but really to Iran-Contra but really to Nixon but really all the way to 1865, is because there are never any actual consequences for all of the awful & illegal things happening in 🇺🇸 politics"
This is fitting, since Trump is basically turning the United States into New Orleans after Katrina.
Pollster: 58% of Americans say Trump's second term has been a failure. A year into term number two, Trump's numbers look worse than any other president. Trump is even worse than George W. Bush after Katrina and a long period in the Iraq War. This is really, really bad.
January 16, 2026 at 6:28 PM
Today in "The reason all of the awful & illegal things keep happening in 🇺🇸 politics, dating at least to GWB but really to Iran-Contra but really to Nixon but really all the way to 1865, is because there are never any actual consequences for all of the awful & illegal things happening in 🇺🇸 politics"
Reposted by Taylor Nichols, MD FACEP
It's striking that the federal line is now simply that there is no justifiable or legal means of resistance, defense, or protest, against ICE period. That seems to me like a change/escalation (though I know it's not unprecedented). Either assist ICE or comply with them, or be attacked and slandered.
The actual story is that a family of American citizens trying to evacuate from a neighborhood that ICE had made unsafe, and then ICE tossed munitions into the car, causing three kids to be hospitalized and a six month old to stop breathing. DHS called the family “radical agitators”
January 16, 2026 at 5:49 PM
It's striking that the federal line is now simply that there is no justifiable or legal means of resistance, defense, or protest, against ICE period. That seems to me like a change/escalation (though I know it's not unprecedented). Either assist ICE or comply with them, or be attacked and slandered.
Reposted by Taylor Nichols, MD FACEP
It might not be cancelled, just delayed and protocol revised. www.scientificamerican.com/article/a-co...
A Controversial U.S. Study of Hepatitis B Vaccines Will Continue in Africa, HHS says
This clinical trial in Guinea-Bissau would withhold vaccination from some babies, sparking ethical concerns
www.scientificamerican.com
January 16, 2026 at 2:14 PM
It might not be cancelled, just delayed and protocol revised. www.scientificamerican.com/article/a-co...
Reposted by Taylor Nichols, MD FACEP
I’m seeing posts from people (outside of MN) about how US citizens should carry their passports.
And let me say that *inside* MN, we are calmly responding to requests with: “No, I don’t have to show you any documentation.”
Because that’s how you protect everyone, regardless of immigration status.
And let me say that *inside* MN, we are calmly responding to requests with: “No, I don’t have to show you any documentation.”
Because that’s how you protect everyone, regardless of immigration status.
January 16, 2026 at 12:17 AM
I’m seeing posts from people (outside of MN) about how US citizens should carry their passports.
And let me say that *inside* MN, we are calmly responding to requests with: “No, I don’t have to show you any documentation.”
Because that’s how you protect everyone, regardless of immigration status.
And let me say that *inside* MN, we are calmly responding to requests with: “No, I don’t have to show you any documentation.”
Because that’s how you protect everyone, regardless of immigration status.
Be like Renfrew Christie. Fight for abolition.
Holy hell, what an obituary
Renfrew Christie Dies at 76; Sabotaged Racist Regime’s Nuclear Program
www.nytimes.com
January 16, 2026 at 2:30 PM
Be like Renfrew Christie. Fight for abolition.
Reposted by Taylor Nichols, MD FACEP
January 16, 2026 at 1:46 PM
Reposted by Taylor Nichols, MD FACEP
Guards may have choked a man to death inside an ICE tent encampment on the Mexican border. Had three children, been in the U.S. for 30 years. www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/... @douglasmac.bsky.social
Medical examiner believes death of man in ICE custody was homicide, recording says
A fellow detainee says he witnessed Geraldo Lunas Campos being choked to death by guards at the ICE detention center in Texas on Jan. 3.
www.washingtonpost.com
January 16, 2026 at 2:07 AM
Guards may have choked a man to death inside an ICE tent encampment on the Mexican border. Had three children, been in the U.S. for 30 years. www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/... @douglasmac.bsky.social
Reposted by Taylor Nichols, MD FACEP
Speedrunning toward the absolute worst of Jim Crow.
This video shows ICE holding children hostage to bait parents out of their homes.
Just unspeakable levels of cruelty and inhumanity.
Just unspeakable levels of cruelty and inhumanity.
January 16, 2026 at 1:17 PM
Speedrunning toward the absolute worst of Jim Crow.
Reposted by Taylor Nichols, MD FACEP
Pierce County, are you guys okay? This is absolutely insane. Video from @hannahkrieg.bsky.social.
Neo Nazi Sheriff Swank basically threatened elected officials with violent retribution. Also, he sounds exactly like Steven Miller.
Neo Nazi Sheriff Swank basically threatened elected officials with violent retribution. Also, he sounds exactly like Steven Miller.
January 16, 2026 at 2:41 AM
Pierce County, are you guys okay? This is absolutely insane. Video from @hannahkrieg.bsky.social.
Neo Nazi Sheriff Swank basically threatened elected officials with violent retribution. Also, he sounds exactly like Steven Miller.
Neo Nazi Sheriff Swank basically threatened elected officials with violent retribution. Also, he sounds exactly like Steven Miller.
Reposted by Taylor Nichols, MD FACEP
Eliot asks a fair question. Elon was in the 7th grade in Waterkloof House Preparatory School, in Pretoria, South Africa. Afrikaners enthusiastically supported the Nazis during World War II, fighting with the Nazi forces in the Ossewabrandwag (OB) and other Wehrmacht auxiliary units.
January 16, 2026 at 1:53 PM
Eliot asks a fair question. Elon was in the 7th grade in Waterkloof House Preparatory School, in Pretoria, South Africa. Afrikaners enthusiastically supported the Nazis during World War II, fighting with the Nazi forces in the Ossewabrandwag (OB) and other Wehrmacht auxiliary units.
Reposted by Taylor Nichols, MD FACEP
What could go wrong? The government paid Palantir to create a program called ELITE to give people deportation scores.
This is the Palantir’s CEO Alex Karp talking about when it’s “necessary to scare enemies & on occasion kill them.”
This program is currently being used in Minneapolis.
This is the Palantir’s CEO Alex Karp talking about when it’s “necessary to scare enemies & on occasion kill them.”
This program is currently being used in Minneapolis.
January 16, 2026 at 1:54 PM
What could go wrong? The government paid Palantir to create a program called ELITE to give people deportation scores.
This is the Palantir’s CEO Alex Karp talking about when it’s “necessary to scare enemies & on occasion kill them.”
This program is currently being used in Minneapolis.
This is the Palantir’s CEO Alex Karp talking about when it’s “necessary to scare enemies & on occasion kill them.”
This program is currently being used in Minneapolis.
Reposted by Taylor Nichols, MD FACEP
Important reminder: The $50 billion rural health transformation fund is a mere drop in the bucket compared to the $1 trillion in Medicaid cuts that will dramatically erode rural communities' (and many others') health care access.
Trump — who wants the GOP to campaign on health care — rolled out his “Great Healthcare Plan” to shrugs and jeers yesterday.
He’ll try again today by focusing on the administration’s $50 billion rural health fund, which has more substance and support.
He’ll try again today by focusing on the administration’s $50 billion rural health fund, which has more substance and support.
Trump bets on rural health as a winning midterm message
The president is promoting a $50 billion fund, designed to help communities where hospitals are struggling, amid criticism of his deep Medicaid cuts.
www.washingtonpost.com
January 16, 2026 at 1:54 PM
Important reminder: The $50 billion rural health transformation fund is a mere drop in the bucket compared to the $1 trillion in Medicaid cuts that will dramatically erode rural communities' (and many others') health care access.
Reposted by Taylor Nichols, MD FACEP
I don't think most Americans know this:
"[Denmark] lost more soldiers per capita than the U.S. did in Afghanistan". (in fact, the most of any).
Why? Because, Denmark as a loyal ally, came to the aid of the U.S.
Now, the U.S. wants to invade Danish territory.
www.theatlantic.com/national-sec...
"[Denmark] lost more soldiers per capita than the U.S. did in Afghanistan". (in fact, the most of any).
Why? Because, Denmark as a loyal ally, came to the aid of the U.S.
Now, the U.S. wants to invade Danish territory.
www.theatlantic.com/national-sec...
The Sacrifice of the Danes
After September 11, Denmark fought alongside its ally. The families of fallen soldiers have a message for Trump.
www.theatlantic.com
January 16, 2026 at 1:02 AM
I don't think most Americans know this:
"[Denmark] lost more soldiers per capita than the U.S. did in Afghanistan". (in fact, the most of any).
Why? Because, Denmark as a loyal ally, came to the aid of the U.S.
Now, the U.S. wants to invade Danish territory.
www.theatlantic.com/national-sec...
"[Denmark] lost more soldiers per capita than the U.S. did in Afghanistan". (in fact, the most of any).
Why? Because, Denmark as a loyal ally, came to the aid of the U.S.
Now, the U.S. wants to invade Danish territory.
www.theatlantic.com/national-sec...
Reposted by Taylor Nichols, MD FACEP
One of the stories that makes me the saddest out of this ICE invasion is one out of the Minnesota Star Tribune today about ICE agents eating at a little Mexican restaurant in the small town of Willmar, Minn, —and then, when they were done, arresting some of the workers.
January 16, 2026 at 12:56 AM
One of the stories that makes me the saddest out of this ICE invasion is one out of the Minnesota Star Tribune today about ICE agents eating at a little Mexican restaurant in the small town of Willmar, Minn, —and then, when they were done, arresting some of the workers.