Joanne Kenen
@joannekenen.bsky.social
830 followers 640 following 130 posts
Journalist in residence at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Contributor @politico magazine. KFF “What the Health” podcast. Forthcoming book on media, misinformation, public health. I write about birth, death and everything in between.
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Joanne Kenen @joannekenen.bsky.social · 16d
Haven't been on social media much today so perhaps this has been said 100 times over but -wouldn't it be interesting to see @jimmykimmel.com have Ted Cruz on .. As I tell my students, there's a reason it's the FIRST Amendment.
Reposted by Joanne Kenen
julierovner.bsky.social
Julie Rovner @julierovner.bsky.social · 20d
on this week's #WTHealth podcast: @sangerkatz.bsky.social, @alicemiranda.bsky.social, and @joannekenen.bsky.social on the CDC hearing, shutdown countdown, and more. Plus an interview with Troyen Brennan on his new book on primary care: kffhealthnews.org/news/podcast...
Ousted CDC Officials Clap Back at RFK Jr. - KFF Health News
The recently fired head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention told senators that health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. ordered her to fire top officials and agree to approve changes to na...
kffhealthnews.org
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Reposted by Joanne Kenen
nhelp.bsky.social
National Health Law Program @nhelp.bsky.social · 21d
"A full year before anyone casts their vote in November 2026 — meaning now, in the fall of 2025 — the American health care system will begin transitioning from an era of unprecedented expansion of coverage to an era of unprecedented cutbacks." Via @politico.com @joannekenen.bsky.social
Joanne Kenen @joannekenen.bsky.social · 21d
Wrote this.
www.politico.com/news/magazin...
Why Voters Will Feel the Impact of GOP Health Cuts Before the Midterms
The fallout from Trump’s megabill is likely to hit the public sooner than he thinks.
www.politico.com
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Joanne Kenen @joannekenen.bsky.social · 21d
Wrote this.
www.politico.com/news/magazin...
Why Voters Will Feel the Impact of GOP Health Cuts Before the Midterms
The fallout from Trump’s megabill is likely to hit the public sooner than he thinks.
www.politico.com
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Joanne Kenen @joannekenen.bsky.social · 21d
Tobacco stocks? Really? (yes she's promising to divest and yes she says her husband bought them but.. Wellness?)
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/16/h...
Surgeon General Nominee Pledges to Divest From Wellness Interests
www.nytimes.com
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Joanne Kenen @joannekenen.bsky.social · 21d
"With her steady demeanor, Monarez served as the poised yin to Kennedy’s agitated yang at a similar hearing before the Senate Finance Committee earlier this month — the one where he called her a liar, among other things."
www.politico.com/newsletters/...
How the vaccine policy debate went off the rails
www.politico.com
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Reposted by Joanne Kenen
matthewfacciani.bsky.social
Matthew Facciani @matthewfacciani.bsky.social · Sep 2
"Paul Offit, longtime member of the FDA’s vaccine advisory committee and an outspoken critic of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., was recently informed by the Department of Health and Human Services that his services are no longer required."
www.biospace.com/fda/offit-ou...
Offit Out at FDA Vaccine Advisory Committee After HHS Rebuff
Paul Offit, longtime member of the FDA’s vaccine advisory committee and an outspoken critic of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., was recently informed by the Department of Health and Human Servi...
www.biospace.com
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Joanne Kenen @joannekenen.bsky.social · Sep 2
Not sure I'm really smart enough to understand this since I have a Girl Brain.
www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...
Trump’s BLS nominee discussed controversial theory on gender IQ with interns
Trump’s nominee to lead the Bureau of Labor Statistics, E.J. Antoni, discussed a controversial scientific theory on gender IQ differences with Heritage interns.
www.washingtonpost.com
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Joanne Kenen @joannekenen.bsky.social · Sep 2
A friend was rejoicing in new rule by Chicago Manual of Style regarding colons and was hoping for a rally around the Oxford Comma. Told her not to worry, it's probably going to become the Trump Comma.
Joanne Kenen @joannekenen.bsky.social · Aug 20
"Austin American-Statesman seeks an Elon Musk reporter"
Stumbled across this while looking for something utterlly unrelated. Hope it doesn't mean he's also becoming a pop superstar.
Joanne Kenen @joannekenen.bsky.social · Aug 18
NASA isn't a public health agency - but as I wrote for @undark.org it sort of is! It collects and shares huge amounts of data onclimate and environment. Cholera, Asthma, Lyme, even dementia and Preterm Birth-- Naturally it's all in jeopardy now because of Trump's budget. undark.org/2025/08/18/n...
Proposed NASA Cuts Could Affect Public Health Research
From space, NASA collects data that’s crucial for public health. Potential cuts could threaten that work.
undark.org
Joanne Kenen @joannekenen.bsky.social · Aug 12
Day 3 !
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Joanne Kenen @joannekenen.bsky.social · Aug 11
Vacation. And this is before family member # 14 had arrived. No one has needed stitches yet!
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Reposted by Joanne Kenen
helenbranswell.bsky.social
Helen Branswell 🇨🇦 @helenbranswell.bsky.social · Aug 5
Pandemic preparedness in the US has been leveled a crippling blow with the cancellation of multiple #BARDA contracts to help develop mRNA vaccines. No other vaccine platform produces vaccine so quickly; without mRNA, Americans will have a long wait for pandemic vax. www.statnews.com/2025/08/05/m...
Health secretary RFK Jr. shuts door on U.S. investment in mRNA vaccine research
Vaccine experts and people steeped in pandemic preparedness expressed horror at the news that RFK Jr. has shut the door in U.S. investment in mRNA vaccine research.
www.statnews.com
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Joanne Kenen @joannekenen.bsky.social · Aug 6
www.nytimes.com/live/2025/08...
Trump Administration Live Updates: R.F.K. Jr. Cancels mRNA Vaccine Contracts
www.nytimes.com
Reposted by Joanne Kenen
bermaninstitute.bsky.social
Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics @bermaninstitute.bsky.social · Aug 1
Deep Staff Cuts at a Little-Known Federal Agency Pose Trouble for Droves of Local Health Programs - KFF Health News | CBS News kffhealthnews.org/news/article...
Deep Staff Cuts at a Little-Known Federal Agency Pose Trouble for Droves of Local Health Programs - KFF Health News
The workforce of a federal agency that oversees billions in grants for primary health care, HIV/AIDS, maternal and child health services, and workforce training has been slashed, sparking fears of wha...
kffhealthnews.org
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Joanne Kenen @joannekenen.bsky.social · Aug 1
Latest "What the Health" podcast, we talked preventive care, vaccines, homelessness -- and will dental floss someday replace needes for vaccination? (that's still a Big Fat Maybe) @julierovner.bsky.social @annaedney.bsky.social @shefali.bsky.social and me. kffhealthnews.org/news/podcast...
Next on Kennedy’s List? Preventive Care and Vaccine Harm - KFF Health News
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the secretary of Health and Human Services, is eyeing an overhaul of two more key entities as part of his ongoing effort to reshape health policy. And President Donald Trump sig...
kffhealthnews.org
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Joanne Kenen @joannekenen.bsky.social · Jul 29
Monkeys are stealing valuables (including phones) from tourists in Bali and swapping them for mangoes. Story, alas, is behind paywall but you get the drift. www.wsj.com/lifestyle/mo...
The Criminal Enterprise Run by Monkeys
A cabal of furry thieves snatch iPhones and other valuables from visitors to a temple in Bali–and trade them for mangos
www.wsj.com
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Joanne Kenen @joannekenen.bsky.social · Jul 28
Found myself referring unintentionally today to the "Magabill" instead of the "Megabill" and realized maybe we all should...
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Joanne Kenen @joannekenen.bsky.social · Jul 18
It is of course good to see bipartisan support for science funding. Unfortunately OMB has said the administration will continue with rescissions and funding cuts despite what Congress does...
kvasquez.bsky.social
Krystal Vasquez @kvasquez.bsky.social · Jul 17
Bill passes 19-10 and is off to the full Senate for consideration. The bill currently keeps NSF's budget flat at $9 billion.
kvasquez.bsky.social
Krystal Vasquez @kvasquez.bsky.social · Jul 17
Senate Appropriations Committee is resuming consideration of the bill that contains the FY 2026 budgets for agencies like NASA, NOAA and NSF. Watch the markup here: www.appropriations.senate.gov/hearings/ful...

@nature.com has a good summary of what's happened so far: www.nature.com/articles/d41...
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Joanne Kenen @joannekenen.bsky.social · Jul 18
It's "Froot Loops" folks, not "Fruit Loops." We really have to get our food and science medical terminology right.
Reposted by Joanne Kenen
nbcnews.com
NBC News @nbcnews.com · Jul 16
Days after a Grok antisemitism scandal rocked X, tech billionaire Elon Musk’s AI chatbot has introduced two animated characters that try to pressure users into sexually explicit or violent conversations.
Musk's Grok 'companions' include a flirty anime character and an anti-religion panda
NBC News tested Grok’s new AI “companions,” which seem designed to shock and entertain users.
nbcnews.to
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Reposted by Joanne Kenen
megtirrell.bsky.social
Meg Tirrell @megtirrell.bsky.social · Jul 16
Big shakeup at HHS, our new colleague @adamcancryn.bsky.social reports -

RFK Jr fires chief of staff Heather Flick Melanson and deputy chief of staff for policy Hannah Anderson. Melanson had worked in first Trump admin

Kennedy "lost confidence in them," sources say

www.cnn.com/2025/07/16/h...
RFK Jr. fires top aides in HHS shakeup | CNN
US Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has fired two of his top aides in an abrupt shakeup of the leadership at the nation’s sprawling health department, two people familiar with...
www.cnn.com
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Reposted by Joanne Kenen
fenitn.bsky.social
Fenit Nirappil @fenitn.bsky.social · Jul 16
A senior NIH leader hired by the Trump admin was fired Monday amid an investigation into a sole-source contract on autism and other topics that could have benefited his spouse.

An exclusive led by @carolynyjohnson.bsky.social wapo.st/4nMhcs5
NIH official fired amid probe of contract used to potentially hire spouse, officials say
NIH chief operating officer Eric Schnabel was fired as officials were looking into whether a $3.3 million contract could have benefited his spouse.
wapo.st
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Reposted by Joanne Kenen
drianweissman.bsky.social
Ian Weissman, DO @drianweissman.bsky.social · Jul 14
"Just a week had remained before scientists in South Africa were to begin clinical trials of an HIV vaccine, toward limiting one of history’s deadliest pandemics. Then the email arrived. Stop all work, the U.S. was withdrawing all funding."
apnews.com/article/sout...
US aid cuts halt HIV vaccine research in South Africa, with global impact
South Africa has played a historic, global role in scientific research, from COVID-19 vaccines to HIV.
apnews.com
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