"We are too few, studying too many things." Taxonomists are racing to name millions of unnamed species before they vanish, lost before we ever meet them.

My latest — on the burning library of life — for @TheAtlantic
: www.theatlantic.com/science/2025...

Time for a new era in dementia coverage, one where journalists:
— *actually* center people living with dementia
— unpack drug trial science without the hype
— drop the ableist clichés and tragedy tropes

New @theopennotebook.bsky.social guide, out now:
www.theopennotebook.com/2025/06/10/b...

Poignant take by @marionrenault.bsky.social on the excellent "Valley Of Forgetting" by @jennieerinsmith.bsky.social www.theatlantic.com/books/archiv...

Dementia is the disease of our era—not just medical, but existential.

For @theatlantic.com, I reviewed @jennieerinsmith.bsky.social's new book, "Valley of Forgetting," and explored how language betrays our deepest fears about memory and selfhood.

www.theatlantic.com/books/archiv...

I am touched by this review of my book by @marionrenault.bsky.social in @theatlantic. First, it focuses on the affected families more than their physician interlocutors. And it sees their experiences as I hoped they would be seen: as part of a larger literary and spiritual conversation.

Dementia is typically seen as an erosion of memory and the self. A new book suggests different ways to think about it, writes Marion Renault:

"In Starr County, Texas. . . escaping dementia can feel impossible. The condition affects about one in five adults on Medicare—more than double the national rate." @marionrenault.bsky.social, 📸: Cheney Orr for @theatlantic.com www.theatlantic.com/health/archi...

and yes, this does mean I'm back

In Starr County, Texas, Alzheimer’s disease affects about one in five people on Medicare—more than double the national rate.

I unpacked what we know (and what we don't) about one of America's dementia epicenters for @theatlantic.com

www.theatlantic.com/health/archi...