Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

David Quammen @quammen.bsky.social · 14d

So, I heard about the world leader who got stuck on a sabotaged escalator at the UN. He was trapped for two hours, waiting for rescuers. Then his wife pointed out that a stuck escalator is still a stairway, and she walked away.

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David Quammen @quammen.bsky.social · 19d

Chainsaw babe sighted at Tre Cime. @betsygainesquammen.bsky.social

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David Quammen @quammen.bsky.social · 20d

Chainsaw Babe, sighted in Cortina d'Ampezzo

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Reposted by David Quammen

BK. Titanji @boghuma.bsky.social · 23d

We do not talk enough about how much vaccines have transformed Ebola outbreaks. The country stock pile of 2000 vaccines was immediately deployed to respond to the outbreak in the DRC and 45,000 additional doses have been approved for shipment to the DRC.
www.afro.who.int/countries/de...

Ebola vaccination begins in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Vaccination of frontline health workers and contacts of people infected with Ebola virus disease has begun in Bulape health zone in the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s Kasai Province where an outbr...

www.afro.who.int

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David Quammen @quammen.bsky.social · 21d

These two hombres lay claim to Dave's chair when he's on the road. Partners in crime. @betsygainesquammen.bsky.social

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Reposted by David Quammen

Jack Hopkins-The Original @therealjackhopkins.bsky.social · Aug 31

Everyone parrots the line, “They’ll just replace Trump with another figurehead.”

Bullsh*t.

Later today in my latest JHN Newsletter I’ll break down why Trump is the one irreplaceable piece of this machine.
When he’s gone...the whole thing starts to crack.

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David Quammen @quammen.bsky.social · Aug 31

One of the things that amazes me about the English Civil War (roughly 1642-1651), as I'm reading of it in David Hume's great history, vol. 5, is that this was essentially a ferocious, murderous, ruthless religious war—fought between Episcopalians and Presbyterians.

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David Quammen @quammen.bsky.social · Aug 12

OH, DEAR!!
open.substack.com/pub/ejeancar...

Go, E. Jean!

OH, DEAR!!

.

open.substack.com

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David Quammen @quammen.bsky.social · Aug 6

I had a fine time talking with Jacob Watson-Howland for his podcast. We went deep into the weeds of zoonotics and much else.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0wW...

Disease Expert: I Predicted COVID in 2010! Contagious Cancer & The Next Global Pandemic

YouTube video by Jacob J. Watson-Howland

www.youtube.com

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David Quammen @quammen.bsky.social · Aug 1

Good job, Jaju. Let's all not serve pierogi to Dershowitz.

Gravel Influencer @gravelinfluencer.bsky.social · Jul 31

Pierogi makers united against fascism

A post from Jaju Pierogi that says "In solidarity we will also not be serving pierogi to Dershowitz."

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Reposted by David Quammen

Marc Elias @marcelias.bsky.social · Jul 31

Please pay attention.👇

We cannot afford to leave our democracy in the hands of a process that requires this DOJ to act in good faith. We must act now to harden our election systems. www.democracydocket.com/opinion/what...

What the DOJ Is Doing Behind the Scenes

Read more here.

www.democracydocket.com

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David Quammen @quammen.bsky.social · Aug 1

I love this. Who doesn't love walking-stick insects.
I've seen a huge one in New Guinea scare the bejeezus out of a local lady, on whose shoulder it alit. But, god bless and comfort her, it was harmless.

Chris Nagano @charliesaito22.bsky.social · Aug 1

Scientists discover new species of stick insect

May be the heaviest insect living Down Under

www.reuters.com/business/env...

New giant stick insect species is Australia's heaviest, scientists say

In a remote rainforest in Australia, home to deadly snakes, spiders and creepy-crawlies, scientists have discovered a new species of stick insect they believe is the heaviest ever found in the country.

www.reuters.com

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Reposted by David Quammen

Kristian G. Andersen @kgandersen.bsky.social · Jul 30

Our research has been engulfed by an endless torrent of lab leak conspiracy theories about the origin of the pandemic - even as the evidence for zoonosis has only grown stronger.

This fuels anti-science agendas and erodes public trust.

Now, we respond 👇

theconversation.com/how-conspira...

How conspiracy theories about COVID’s origins are hampering our ability to prevent the next pandemic

The COVID pandemic likely began when the virus jumped from animals to humans, and didn’t start in a lab. But false narratives continue to circulate.

theconversation.com

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Reposted by David Quammen

Kate from Kharkiv @kateinkharkiv.bsky.social · Jul 29

Her name was Diana. She was 23 years old and 7 months pregnant.

Russia murdered her today in an attack on the maternity hospital in Kamyanske.

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Reposted by David Quammen

Adam Kinzinger @adamkinzinger.substack.com · Jul 29

Some generations were asked to storm beaches. Ours is being asked to stay engaged. That’s not too much to ask.

I wrote this piece not just as a veteran or former congressman but as a dad. We are not the generation that lets this flame die. Not on my watch

adamkinzinger.substack.com/p/we-are-not...

We Are Not the Generation That Lets This Die

After 250 years of sacrifice, we won’t let apathy be our legacy.

adamkinzinger.substack.com

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Reposted by David Quammen

The New Yorker @newyorker.com · Jul 28

When ICE agents questioned a group of 11- to 14-year-olds who’d just finished batting practice, their coach, Youman Wilder, stepped in. “I’m willing to die to make sure these kids can get home,” he recounted afterward.

ICE Agents Invade a Manhattan Little League Field

Youman Wilder has coached local kids for twenty-one years—including four who have gone pro. When masked agents tried to interrogate his players, he told them, “You don’t have more rights than they do....

www.newyorker.com

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Reposted by David Quammen

The Washington Post @washingtonpost.com · Jul 29

A Korean-born researcher and longtime U.S. legal permanent resident has spent the past week detained by immigration officials at the San Francisco International Airport without explanation and has been denied access to an attorney, according to his lawyer.

Scientist on green card detained for a week without explanation, lawyer says

A Korean citizen studying in Texas on a green card was detained in San Francisco after a trip overseas. His lawyer says authorities won’t give a reason.

www.washingtonpost.com

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David Quammen @quammen.bsky.social · Jul 27

As things get weirder, I keep expecting Trump's body to split open suddenly, like a character in "Men in Black," to reveal that there's nothing inside the skin but a tower of nibbling maggots. I say this with all due respect.

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David Quammen @quammen.bsky.social · Jul 26

3/2 He gets some well-deserved outside time after the cleaning of his tank, Bootsville.

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David Quammen @quammen.bsky.social · Jul 26

2/2

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David Quammen @quammen.bsky.social · Jul 26

One guess what summer reading Boots has embraced.
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David Quammen @quammen.bsky.social · Jul 26

I wrote this story as a young man in Montana, forty years ago, struggling to understand, struggling to survive, and I am very glad and grateful to see that it has legs.
We all have fathers. Mine was a wondrous man. This story is not about him. It's fiction.
Your father?

Narrative @narrativemag.bsky.social · Jul 23

“He wanted to beg him to reconsider. The boy had never before seen his father hopeless. He was afraid. But he was no longer afraid of his father.” —excerpt from “Walking Out” by David Quammen @quammen.bsky.social

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David Quammen @quammen.bsky.social · Jul 23

Who knew? This is edifying and good to see.

www.netflix.com/title/82048609

Watch Sunday Best: The Untold Story of Ed Sullivan | Netflix Official Site

Ed Sullivan broke barriers by booking Black artists on his Sunday night variety show. This documentary spotlights the TV pioneer's legacy of equality.

www.netflix.com

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David Quammen @quammen.bsky.social · Jul 15

2/2 David Hume: I always pictured him as a sort of wiry, wry Barry Fitzgerald-type character, but Dennis Rasmussen ("The Infidel and the Professor") suggests he more closely resembled a Scottish Sydney Greenstreet.

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David Quammen @quammen.bsky.social · Jul 15

It's very pleasant, if you have a week of down time in midsummer, to sit in the backyard in an Adirondack chair reading abt (and reading) the great David Hume. 1/2

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