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Carl Zimmer @carlzimmer.com · 9h

Today my @nytimes.com colleagues and I are launching a new series called Lost Science. We interview US scientists who can no longer discover something new about our world, thanks to this year‘s cuts. Here is my first interview with a scientist who studied bees and fires. Gift link: nyti.ms/3IWXbiE

nyti.ms

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Bitsy Perlman @bitsyperlman.bsky.social · 1d

I have a lot of things to say about privacy at the census bureau, and one of them is:
nothing in privacy protection changed state counts

This was explicitly designed into the system as it was believed to be a constitutional requirement

Michael McDonald @electproject.bsky.social · 1d

I served on the National Academy of Sciences advisory committee to the Census Bureau on the privacy formula and the biggest concern was it resulted in undercounting communities of color — and it was the Biden administration that implemented it for the 2021 data release

Renee DiResta @noupside.bsky.social · 1d

“Who was president in 2020?” is the question of our time

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Michael McDonald @electproject.bsky.social · 1d

I served on the National Academy of Sciences advisory committee to the Census Bureau on the privacy formula and the biggest concern was it resulted in undercounting communities of color — and it was the Biden administration that implemented it for the 2021 data release

Renee DiResta @noupside.bsky.social · 1d

“Who was president in 2020?” is the question of our time

Senator Jim Banks V
@SenatorBanks
Follow g..
The 2020 Census was a fraud. The Biden admin used a shady "privacy" formula that scrambled the data and miscounted 14 states.
It included illegal immigrants and handed
Democrats extra seats. Americans deserve a fair count and l'm fighting to fix it.
Zinited Statcs SScnate
MASHNORON DEYNN
October 6, 2025
an. Thow arewutn
Socretary
U.S. Department of Commerce Washington, DXC 20230
Dear Secretary Lutaick:
I urge you to investigate and correct erroes from the 2020 Census that handed disproportionntd political power to Democrats and illogal alicns. The Census Burcau adoptod a now and opaque
voting districts. As preparod by the Biden administration, the 2020 Censas roports miscountod the population of fourteen states, ' wrongly allocating six congressional scats aod Electoral
xx conwuu tmora uy, toc taroro tu mot đoo tnn Cunu lc pung t imber of votine districts. And the reoorts de aniovety inchaded ilecnl nhens widhout track those aliens' citiz enship status, If left uncorrected, these erroes will coetinue diluting the political power of American citizens.
Consus data plays a crucial role in allocating political roprescntation and goverment funding
Under the Constitution, cach state gets Congressional represcotutives and Electoeal College votes- based on "the whole number of persons" within the state." The number of persoes is in
tum clabaabod by a consttubocalty-mandalcd dcccacaal ccavas. Pcual agcco nely on census data to allocate billions of dollars in federal funding, much of which hinges ee opulation. And states use consus data to deaw congrossicnal and voting districts, »hich the
The it eiy of tie soaren alie n tor dur at ce hor inc ae oam toy ee n
nght wilbout statsica ly signilicant ciroo.
Diffcrcntial privacy is opaque and liable to mistakcn count totals. Sure cnough, the 2020 Ccnsus ovarocunted the noculation in cicht states and undercounted it in six." Tihe most extrcmi andercount was Arkansas, at 5.04%, and the larg…

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Rafe Meager (they/them) @economeager.bsky.social · 1d

(1) banger
(2) i wish non-economists would realise just how much time each economics paper takes to write (because of our norms about how thorough each paper has to be)

Seema Jayachandran @seema.bsky.social · 1d

We just spent 6 months to add 1 figure to this paper. Some people said, "Couples aren't prioritizing men's careers. Men just have better earnings opportunities when moving."

Earnings effects of moves for couples on the left, singles on the right. Negligible gap between single men and women.

Event study coefficients that show that men's earnings rise more than women's among couples following a cross-commuting zone move (left panels). The pattern is muted or reverses among single men and single women (right panels).

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Bitsy Perlman @bitsyperlman.bsky.social · 2d

I interrupted* a presentation on the economic benefits of science to remind the room of economists that science is beautiful and inspires awe. And we should remind people that too is important (implied: and in solidarity with artists)

Primordial Black Holes

*In the normal question asking period

Katie Mack @astrokatie.com · 5d

As a theoretical cosmologist, I'm frequently asked "what is the benefit of the work you're doing for people's lives?" Nothing I work on makes money or cures disease.

There are a few different answers one can give, at various levels of "convincing" / "actually relevant to why the work is done."

1/🧵

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Bitsy Perlman @bitsyperlman.bsky.social · 12d

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Dan Garisto @dangaristo.bsky.social · 1d

Interesting bit of sociology: They are really studiously avoiding any mention of quantum computing. First and only mention came in the last few words of the presentation by Johansson.

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Bitsy Perlman @bitsyperlman.bsky.social · 2d

There totally is in January and February, and generally in December and March too 😀

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Nathan Lane @nathanlane.bsky.social · 2d

I spoke with the Visible Hand podcast about South Korean industrial policy www.thevisiblehand.uk/episodes/epi...

Episode 96: Nathan Lane on South Korea’s Industrial Policy — The Visible Hand

www.thevisiblehand.uk

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Bitsy Perlman @bitsyperlman.bsky.social · 2d

aren't going to extend anyone's life spand, but knowing about them does make the world richer

Bitsy Perlman @bitsyperlman.bsky.social · 2d

I interrupted* a presentation on the economic benefits of science to remind the room of economists that science is beautiful and inspires awe. And we should remind people that too is important (implied: and in solidarity with artists)

Primordial Black Holes

*In the normal question asking period

Katie Mack @astrokatie.com · 5d

As a theoretical cosmologist, I'm frequently asked "what is the benefit of the work you're doing for people's lives?" Nothing I work on makes money or cures disease.

There are a few different answers one can give, at various levels of "convincing" / "actually relevant to why the work is done."

1/🧵

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The Sadie Collective @sadiecollective.bsky.social · 5d

🎓 Navigating the economics job market?

Join the Sadie Collective Fall 2025 Job Market Seminar on Oct 21st at 6 PM EST. Hear insights from Morgan Townsend, Hareem Rauf & Monique Davis!

Register here 👉 tinyurl.com/sadiejobpanel

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Gaétan @gderasse.bsky.social · 6d

🔎 Patent citations are everywhere in innovation research. But do they really trace how ideas spill over between inventors—or are we mistaking legal paperwork for knowledge flows? 🧐

New on #ThePatentist: www.thepatentist.com/p/patent-cit...

#patents #innovation #spillovers

Patent citations: Tracing spillovers or chasing shadows?

Measuring how ideas move across firms and regions

www.thepatentist.com

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Steve Vladeck @stevevladeck.bsky.social · 7d

#BREAKING: #SCOTUS punts in the Lisa Cook case, deferring resolution of Trump’s emergency application seeking to remove Cook from the Federal Reserve Board pending argument on the application in January 2026.

Cook stays on the Board for now:

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Jacob Bogage @jacobbogage.bsky.social · 7d

Lightning round of what’s closed and what’s open during this government shutdown.

Got questions?

Drop them in the replies and I’ll work to answer them through the day.

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Max Kozlov @maxkozlov.bsky.social · 8d

Staff members at the NIH seem to have done the impossible: spend the agency's $48 billion budget.

“Everyone has been rallying together to clean up the mess, but it’s a mess that did not need to be made,” an NIH program officer told me.

www.nature.com/articles/d41...

NIH races to spend its 2025 grant money — but fewer projects win funding

Despite political obstacles, officials are on track to disburse all of the research funds allocated to US biomedical behemoth.

www.nature.com

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Dan Garisto @dangaristo.bsky.social · 8d

Similar/identical language for NSF. Here's my transcription of an email shared with me by staff.

President Trump opposes a government shutdown and strongly supports the enactment of H.R. 5371, which is a clean Continuing Resolution to fund the government through November 21, and already passed the U.S. House of Representatives. Unfortunately, Democrats are blocking the Continuing Resolution in the U.S. Senate due to unrelated policy demands. If Congressional Democrats maintain their current posture and refuse to pass a clean Continuing Resolution to keep the government funded before midnight on September 30, 2025, federally appropriated funding will lapse.

A funding lapse will result in certain government activities ceasing due to a lack of appropriated funding. In addition, designated pre-notified employees of this agency would be temporarily furloughed. P.L. 116-1 would apply.

The agency has contingency plans in place for executing an orderly shutdown of activities that would be affected by any lapse in appropriations forced by Congressional Democrats.

Brian Stone
Performing the Duties of the Director

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Ben Casselman @bencasselman.bsky.social · 9d

Update: Commerce has now also posted its shutdown plan. BEA would completely shut down, and Census would shut down apart from some operations related to the 2030 decennial census. So no retail sales, international trade, PCE, GDP...
www.commerce.gov/sites/defaul... #EconSky #NumbersDay

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Justin Lahart @jdlahart.bsky.social · 9d

Wonder what the one exempt BLS employee during a shutdown does

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Hansi Lo Wang (he/him) @hansilowang.bsky.social · 12d

NEW: The Census Bureau says it plans to test using U.S. Postal Service mail carriers to conduct census interviews at two sites of next year's major field test for the #2030Census. It's also reduced its estimate of "2026 Census Test" participants by about 30%
www.federalregister.gov/public-inspe...

• The Census Bureau reevaluated the number of the HUs and GQs in the 2026 Census Test which reduces the estimated number of respondents and thus causes the total burden hours to be lower. The Census Bureau previously submitted a total of 631,850 respondents and 103,502 hours, but the new totals are 444,150 respondents and 72,180 hours.
• The Census Bureau will no longer be conducting a GQE reinterview.
• The Census Bureau adjusted the list of form numbers to only include questionnaires and information collection instruments.
• In GQE, the Census Bureau will no longer collect information using an in-person interview by field staff or GQ administrator or collecting paper listing.
• The Census Bureau is partnering with the United States Postal Service (USPS) to test postal carriers supporting the In-Field Enumeration operation for the 2026 Census Test. The Census Bureau will evaluate and assess the viability of using USPS postal carriers to increase efficiency in various capacities typically performed by temporary Census Bureau field workers. Postal carriers will serve as enumerators in two test site locations.

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Bitsy Perlman @bitsyperlman.bsky.social · 12d

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Bitsy Perlman @bitsyperlman.bsky.social · 13d

*realizes I don't know when or why this started *
hun www.gao.gov/assets/ggd-9...

www.gao.gov

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Richard Sever @richardsever.bsky.social · 14d

HHMI adopts Plan U journals.plos.org/plosbiology/...

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Nik DeCosta-Klipa @nikdecostaklipa.bsky.social · 14d

a Southie bubble tea shop had to cut back its proposed hours to 9:30 p.m. because of opposition from a bar (of the many along that stretch) that stays open until 1 a.m.? www.axios.com/local/boston...

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Daniel P. Gross @danielpgross.bsky.social · 14d

📢 Conference announcement!

Paolo Surico and I are excited to be organizing this @cepr.org conference on Public Policies for Innovation.

If you work in the #Economics of #Innovation and #InnovationPolicy, please submit + spread the word. Non-presenting attendees also invited.

Centre for Economic Policy Research @cepr.org · 15d

#CallForPapers - Conference on Public Policies for Innovation
ESRC, London Business School, @fuqua.duke.edu & CEPR invite submissions for a #conference on Public Policies for Innovation at LBS on 19-20 March 2026.
cepr.org/events/confe...
Organisers: Paolo Surico & @danielpgross.bsky.social
#EconSky

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