Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Fabrizio Ferraro

Mike Flannigan @mikeflannigan.bsky.social · 28d

New study in Nature on the Long-range PM2.5 pollution and health impacts from the 2023 Canadian wildfires

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

'We find that 354 million (277–421 million) people in North America and Europe were exposed to daily PM2.5 air pollution caused by Canadian wildfires in 2023'

figure 3 from https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-09482-1
–c, Daily PM2.5 exposure in Canada (a), from fire sources in different source regions, anthropogenic sources and other sources (for example, biogenic, dust and sea salt). d–f, Cumulative fire-related PM2.5 exposures in Canada (d), from different source regions.

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Fabrizio Ferraro @fferraro.bsky.social · 29d

“The (climate) transition is deeply political – a struggle of competing interests over its pace, direction, and even possibility.” — @laurencetubiana.bsky.social
Her words echo our research with Dror Etzion and @joelgehman.bsky.social on robust action.
www.linkedin.com/posts/fferra...

“The transition is deeply political – a struggle of competing interests over its pace, its direction, and whether it happens at all.” Laurence Tubiana Laurence Tubiana’s recent message is a powerful…...

“The transition is deeply political – a struggle of competing interests over its pace, its direction, and whether it happens at all.” Laurence Tubiana Laurence Tubiana’s recent message is a powerful ...

www.linkedin.com

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Fabrizio Ferraro @fferraro.bsky.social · Sep 1

Very interesting model, which I hope will grow more across Europe.

A ‘Third Way’ Between Buying or Renting? Swiss Co-ops Say They’ve Found It.

A ‘Third Way’ Between Buying or Renting? Swiss Co-ops Say They’ve Found It.

Nonprofits are offering cut-price apartments as a way of combating the housing affordability crisis.

www.nytimes.com

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Fabrizio Ferraro @fferraro.bsky.social · Aug 20

Thank you! 🙏🙏🙏

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Reposted by Fabrizio Ferraro

Dan Hirschman @asociologist.bsky.social · Aug 20

I am a huge fan of "what is this kind of argument and how can you do it right?" papers. I collect them and I've tried to write a couple, and think they can be tremendously useful especially for teaching. A new, useful addition to this set just arrived from @sociologicalsci.bsky.social:

How to Make a Functionalist Argument

Article: How to Make a Functionalist Argument | Sociological Science | Posted August 14, 2025

sociologicalscience.com

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Fabrizio Ferraro @fferraro.bsky.social · Aug 20

Thanks! Can you share the rest of the collection?

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Fabrizio Ferraro @fferraro.bsky.social · Aug 17

Looks like a good list to organize boycotts
www.axios.com/2025/08/15/w...

Scoop: White House hands down loyalty ratings for hundreds of companies

The unusual scorecard fits this administration's habit of micromanaging companies and administering loyalty tests.

www.axios.com

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Fabrizio Ferraro @fferraro.bsky.social · Aug 15

Scientists’ role in defending democracy | Science www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Scientists’ role in defending democracy

The United States’ democratic leadership, commitment to freedom of expression, and investment in the pursuit of knowledge have long enabled its preeminence in science and technology. Yet today we are ...

www.science.org

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Fabrizio Ferraro @fferraro.bsky.social · Aug 13

The @economist.com must live in an alternative universe where the Partido Popular is “moderate” 😂 and the confrontation was caused by Pedro Sanchez (and not the PP who has mounted a lawfare campaign)! 🤬

Spain’s scandal-plagued prime minister should step down
economist.com/leaders/2025...

Spain’s scandal-plagued prime minister should step down

Pedro Sánchez needs to let his country’s democracy renew itself

economist.com

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Fabrizio Ferraro @fferraro.bsky.social · Aug 6

Important findings for those with ME/CFS. Let's hope that more research might help find a cure as well 🙏https://on.ft.com/3J1vFjX

Chronic fatigue patients have different genes, study finds

‘Groundbreaking’ research finds ‘genetic signals’ for debilitating illness

on.ft.com

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Fabrizio Ferraro @fferraro.bsky.social · Jul 17

Honored to see our research with Matteo Prato cited in @economist.com AI talent war article. We found hiring “stars” can actually hurt team performance—especially for non-stars—as stars often absorb more resources than they share.
www.economist.com/business/202...

doi.org/10.1287/orsc...

Are superstars as good when they move jobs?

The AI-talent scramble raises an old question

www.economist.com

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Fabrizio Ferraro @fferraro.bsky.social · Jul 8

Michael Bloomberg: "Not every life can be spared from climate change, unfortunately, but many more could be saved if elected officials stopped pretending that they’re powerless to do anything about it."
www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...

The Texas Floods Were Made Worse by Climate Denialism

Elected officials must be held accountable, now and in the future, for the lives lost in disasters brought on by increasingly extreme weather.

www.bloomberg.com

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Fabrizio Ferraro @fferraro.bsky.social · Jul 8

Kickstarter campaign from one of the most creative video game studios in Barcelona - Check out GodsTV - Fight for clout in this fame show arena roguelike by Melbot Studios on @kickstarter.com www.kickstarter.com/projects/mel...

GodsTV - Fight for clout in this fame show arena roguelike

A hilarious action game set in a madcap, 90's-throwback TV world where fame is a weapon.

www.kickstarter.com

Fabrizio Ferraro @fferraro.bsky.social · Jul 2

Great start of EGOS conference in Athens with Max Richter's concert at the Odeon in the Akropolis! @maxrichtermusic.bsky.social

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Fabrizio Ferraro @fferraro.bsky.social · Jun 22

👇

George Conway 👊🇺🇸🔥 @gtconway.bsky.social · Jun 22

Much as I would not dare to predict the consequences of this war, I do think we can summarize it thusly so far:

A smart and evil man manipulated a stupid and evil man into a war against a fanatical and evil regime.

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Fabrizio Ferraro @fferraro.bsky.social · Jun 15

and the most published one of the new batch is a statistician who famously wanted to go for herd immunity instead of vaccines 🤬

Edward Nirenberg @enirenberg.bsky.social · Jun 14

I think this really says it all:

www.science.org/content/arti...

Exiting expertise
The members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) fired this week have published, on average, nearly five times more papers mentioning vaccines or vaccination in the title or abstract than their newly appointed replacements, half of whom have not published on the topic at all.

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Fabrizio Ferraro @fferraro.bsky.social · Jun 11

I am watching Andor - a Star Wars spinoff - and in one of the episode the Empire create a situation where protesters and poorly trained young soldiers are put in the same small square. A powder keg which predictably ends with violence...eerily familiar these days 😡

George Conway 👊🇺🇸🔥 @gtconway.bsky.social · Jun 11

California Governor Gavin Newsom’s office posts a video of Emperor Palpatine reciting Donald Trump’s Truth Social post about L.A.

via @swholocron.bsky.social

Fabrizio Ferraro @fferraro.bsky.social · Jun 8

Good review but the author could have noticed the irony that Trump is the product of this unholy alliance between antielites and ultra-elites! The rich, the ultra-rich and America’s shifting political landscape - on.ft.com/3FKSirx

The rich, the ultra-rich and America’s shifting political landscape

Two wonderfully detailed books explore the widening gap between the super-elites and everyone else

on.ft.com

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Reposted by Fabrizio Ferraro

Henry Farrell @himself.bsky.social · Jun 1

this @adambonica.bsky.social piece deserves to be read beside the yeoman work that @donmoyn.bsky.social and @pamherd.bsky.social have been doing. The dismantling of administrative expertise is one of those stories that is so big that pro journalists with beats find it hard to focus on or explain .

How to Dismantle a Democracy, One Job Posting at a Time

OPM’s new hiring memo imports the authoritarian playbook—quietly, bureaucratically, and by design.

data4democracy.substack.com

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Fabrizio Ferraro @fferraro.bsky.social · May 7

Is there a future for responsible investment beyond ESG?
I’ll be sparring (constructively!) with Tariq Fancy (bio: stanford.io/3RNVd5c) May 12th at @iese.bsky.social
Join us as we explore what went wrong with ESG—and what comes next.
alumni.iese.edu/events/173999
apply.iese.edu/the-rise-and...

Tariq Fancy

www.gsb.stanford.edu

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Fabrizio Ferraro @fferraro.bsky.social · May 3

“The strongest demand for stocks seems to be coming from retail investors in America, who like to “buy the dip”. Some of them could be allowing their investment in Mr Trump at the ballot box to cloud their financial judgment.” If this true it will crash again…
economist.com/leaders/2025...

Investors’ risky bet: they can shrug off the trade war

The relief they are banking on needs to come fast

economist.com

Fabrizio Ferraro @fferraro.bsky.social · May 3

I hope the Catholics who voted for him are happy now.

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Fabrizio Ferraro @fferraro.bsky.social · May 3

Interesting reflection on the need to accompany national competition in green technologies with global cooperation to solve shared environmental risks, and avoid mercantilism (a major challenge today given the protectionist push of the US).

Why the green-technology race might not save the planet

The emerging global competition for green innovation, markets and investments might boost prosperity without improving environmental sustainability.

www.nature.com

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Fabrizio Ferraro @fferraro.bsky.social · May 3

Top Venture Capitalist Says AI Will Replace Pretty Much All Jobs Except His, Which Relies on His Unique Genius

Marc Andreessen recently argued that the AI revolution will take over for all jobs, except for his, coincidentally.

futurism.com