Richard Coker
@richardcoker.bsky.social
Professor emeritus of public health, LSHTM.
Currently writing a book about fear, dying and death. Timor Mortis. And it’s killing me.
Currently writing a book about fear, dying and death. Timor Mortis. And it’s killing me.
Reposted by Richard Coker
Today's column is on the relentless march of blithering idiocy, which includes denying climate science while your house is - literally in this case - burning down.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
A conversation between Joe Rogan and Mel Gibson summed up 2025 for me – and not in a good way | George Monbiot
From merrily dismissing climate science, to promoting irresponsible health claims, the podcast was an unintentional warning for our times, says Guardian columnist George Monbiot
www.theguardian.com
December 27, 2025 at 9:29 AM
Today's column is on the relentless march of blithering idiocy, which includes denying climate science while your house is - literally in this case - burning down.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Reposted by Richard Coker
The reason this Harvard history professor decided he was done with one of the best and most privileged jobs in the world was, in his own words, because he was forced to lecture in a mask during peak Covid.
I’m not making this up.
I’m not making this up.
December 31, 2025 at 12:22 AM
The reason this Harvard history professor decided he was done with one of the best and most privileged jobs in the world was, in his own words, because he was forced to lecture in a mask during peak Covid.
I’m not making this up.
I’m not making this up.
Reposted by Richard Coker
A quick collaboration with the wonderful Rachel Bender Ignacio, Jade Pagkas-Bather and Sara Gianella. "Why Americans are Dying Younger? NIH Is Not the Problem. Our Broken Healthcare Delivery Is." academic.oup.com/jid/article/...
Why Americans are Dying Younger? NIH Is Not the Problem. Our Broken Healthcare Delivery Is
Despite leading the world in biomedical innovation, the United States faces declining health outcomes due to fragmented care, inequities, and political att
academic.oup.com
December 20, 2025 at 4:41 PM
A quick collaboration with the wonderful Rachel Bender Ignacio, Jade Pagkas-Bather and Sara Gianella. "Why Americans are Dying Younger? NIH Is Not the Problem. Our Broken Healthcare Delivery Is." academic.oup.com/jid/article/...
After lambasting Gove for knowing very little, not being an ‘expert’ on ME, spat out my tea listening to @rory-stewart.bsky.social advocating PSA screening. Has he not heard of all the unnecessary impotence, incontinence? The false negatives? The economics? The uncertainty of treatment? Experts-pff
December 28, 2025 at 8:37 AM
After lambasting Gove for knowing very little, not being an ‘expert’ on ME, spat out my tea listening to @rory-stewart.bsky.social advocating PSA screening. Has he not heard of all the unnecessary impotence, incontinence? The false negatives? The economics? The uncertainty of treatment? Experts-pff
Reposted by Richard Coker
Let’s go back to 2010!
We didn’t need cancer pathways as urgent referrals were seen in 2-3 weeks, routine in 2-3 months
Recruitment was rising, jobs were good. It wasn’t perfect but in 4 decades of NHS work it was the best it had been
THEN SOMETHING HAPPENED ….
We didn’t need cancer pathways as urgent referrals were seen in 2-3 weeks, routine in 2-3 months
Recruitment was rising, jobs were good. It wasn’t perfect but in 4 decades of NHS work it was the best it had been
THEN SOMETHING HAPPENED ….
December 20, 2025 at 10:58 AM
Let’s go back to 2010!
We didn’t need cancer pathways as urgent referrals were seen in 2-3 weeks, routine in 2-3 months
Recruitment was rising, jobs were good. It wasn’t perfect but in 4 decades of NHS work it was the best it had been
THEN SOMETHING HAPPENED ….
We didn’t need cancer pathways as urgent referrals were seen in 2-3 weeks, routine in 2-3 months
Recruitment was rising, jobs were good. It wasn’t perfect but in 4 decades of NHS work it was the best it had been
THEN SOMETHING HAPPENED ….
Reminds me of Michael Crighton’s Gell-Mann Amnesia Effect.
What the media get wrong on the ECHR and ‘the right to family life’ | Letter
Letter: Retired immigration judge Jane Coker points out that it’s the right to respect for family life that the European convention on human rights protects
www.theguardian.com
December 17, 2025 at 6:43 AM
Reminds me of Michael Crighton’s Gell-Mann Amnesia Effect.
Reposted by Richard Coker
Isabel Bolton published her last novel, The Whirligig of Time, in 1971 at the age of 88. From a wealthy New England family, she was outwardly a figure of quiet gentility. But read this last line in the book and tell me she didn't have a very real sense of how close we are to chaos and the void.
December 14, 2025 at 9:00 PM
Isabel Bolton published her last novel, The Whirligig of Time, in 1971 at the age of 88. From a wealthy New England family, she was outwardly a figure of quiet gentility. But read this last line in the book and tell me she didn't have a very real sense of how close we are to chaos and the void.
Reposted by Richard Coker
But we see these sorts of headlines every year - it’s the sheer predictability of these headlines and the lack of any real plan to stabilise the NHS over winter that should be the front page story!
Not some - in my opinion - highly misleading use of statistics!
END OF RANT 10/10
Not some - in my opinion - highly misleading use of statistics!
END OF RANT 10/10
December 11, 2025 at 6:30 PM
But we see these sorts of headlines every year - it’s the sheer predictability of these headlines and the lack of any real plan to stabilise the NHS over winter that should be the front page story!
Not some - in my opinion - highly misleading use of statistics!
END OF RANT 10/10
Not some - in my opinion - highly misleading use of statistics!
END OF RANT 10/10
Reposted by Richard Coker
King Charles argued on Friday that, thanks to early diagnosis, his treatment will be reduced in the New Year.
He urged people to take up cancer screening saying: “Early diagnosis quite simply saves lives.”
www.bbc.co.uk/news/a...
1/10
He urged people to take up cancer screening saying: “Early diagnosis quite simply saves lives.”
www.bbc.co.uk/news/a...
1/10
King Charles 'deeply touched' by reaction to cancer TV message, says Buckingham Palace
In a TV broadcast on Friday night, the King said an early diagnosis was key to the "good news" that his treatment is being scaled back.
www.bbc.co.uk
December 14, 2025 at 8:02 AM
King Charles argued on Friday that, thanks to early diagnosis, his treatment will be reduced in the New Year.
He urged people to take up cancer screening saying: “Early diagnosis quite simply saves lives.”
www.bbc.co.uk/news/a...
1/10
He urged people to take up cancer screening saying: “Early diagnosis quite simply saves lives.”
www.bbc.co.uk/news/a...
1/10
Reposted by Richard Coker
I had the opportunity to ask NIH Dir. Jay Bhattacharya about his comments re: mRNA vaccines, that they had "failed to earn the public's trust" so the NIH should not invest. His answer demonstrates that science and pandemic preparedness are taking a backseat to ideology.
youtu.be/S0rsz3Ph7XE?...
youtu.be/S0rsz3Ph7XE?...
Cfr mtg NIH director
YouTube video by Gigi Gronvall
youtu.be
December 12, 2025 at 9:02 PM
I had the opportunity to ask NIH Dir. Jay Bhattacharya about his comments re: mRNA vaccines, that they had "failed to earn the public's trust" so the NIH should not invest. His answer demonstrates that science and pandemic preparedness are taking a backseat to ideology.
youtu.be/S0rsz3Ph7XE?...
youtu.be/S0rsz3Ph7XE?...
Reposted by Richard Coker
I was crawling out of my skin after just this five minute clip. His whole “argument” depends not just on unspecified baselines but also a nonsensical appeal to public opinion and trust as if he and his boss have had no impact on that.
I had the opportunity to ask NIH Dir. Jay Bhattacharya about his comments re: mRNA vaccines, that they had "failed to earn the public's trust" so the NIH should not invest. His answer demonstrates that science and pandemic preparedness are taking a backseat to ideology.
youtu.be/S0rsz3Ph7XE?...
youtu.be/S0rsz3Ph7XE?...
Cfr mtg NIH director
YouTube video by Gigi Gronvall
youtu.be
December 12, 2025 at 11:54 PM
I was crawling out of my skin after just this five minute clip. His whole “argument” depends not just on unspecified baselines but also a nonsensical appeal to public opinion and trust as if he and his boss have had no impact on that.
Reposted by Richard Coker
Read it here: www.bmj.com/content/391/... We hope you will share it broadly and if you find our points compelling enough that you will engage with it and discuss. @patientrevolution.org
Reclaiming human care from surveillance capitalism
We must end the commodification of health data by big tech companies, centre healthcare on care, and put people back in control, argue Victor, J P, and Victor M Montori
Big tech companies are drivin...
www.bmj.com
December 13, 2025 at 12:08 AM
Read it here: www.bmj.com/content/391/... We hope you will share it broadly and if you find our points compelling enough that you will engage with it and discuss. @patientrevolution.org
Reposted by Richard Coker
On an infinite timeline I will eventually post the entire book in screenshots. Meantime us.macmillan.com/books/978125...
Gangsters of Capitalism
A groundbreaking journey tracing America’s forgotten path to global power—and how its legacies shape our world today—told through the extraordinary lif...
us.macmillan.com
December 2, 2025 at 3:20 PM
On an infinite timeline I will eventually post the entire book in screenshots. Meantime us.macmillan.com/books/978125...
I didnt realise invertebrates could speak youtube.com/watch?v=Sh3k...
'Dr. Cassidy, He Lied To You': Jake Tapper Presses Bill Cassidy On RFK Jr's Vaccine Stances
YouTube video by Forbes Breaking News
youtube.com
November 25, 2025 at 8:42 AM
I didnt realise invertebrates could speak youtube.com/watch?v=Sh3k...
Odd how issues gain traction when personal experience is involved (health, assisted dying, prisons etc etc). Odd, too, how politicians reach for simple ‘solutions’ to complex challenges. Screening is not a simple panacea. That’s why we have experts.
More than 100 MPs urge Streeting to approve prostate cancer screening
More than 100 MPs urge Streeting to approve prostate cancer screening
Rishi Sunak hands health secretary open letter calling for testing for men at the highest risk
More than 100 MPs, including Rishi Sunak, have urged Wes Streeting to introduce screening for prostate cancer.
The UK National Screening Committee, a government agency that advises ministers and the NHS about all aspects of screening, will recommend whether men at higher risk of the disease should be offered checks. It is due to write to the health secretary later this week, the Telegraph reported. Continue reading...
www.theguardian.com
November 25, 2025 at 2:42 AM
Odd how issues gain traction when personal experience is involved (health, assisted dying, prisons etc etc). Odd, too, how politicians reach for simple ‘solutions’ to complex challenges. Screening is not a simple panacea. That’s why we have experts.
Reposted by Richard Coker
I am grateful for @adamjkucharski.bsky.social. He takes such care to deconstruct a claim made by the director of National Institutes of Health on excess mortality during the pandemic. We need sober analyses more than ever right now, even amidst the madness.
kucharski.substack.com/p/excess-mor...
kucharski.substack.com/p/excess-mor...
Excess mortality or excessive assumptions?
How to make a popular metric tell any story you like
kucharski.substack.com
November 22, 2025 at 10:29 PM
I am grateful for @adamjkucharski.bsky.social. He takes such care to deconstruct a claim made by the director of National Institutes of Health on excess mortality during the pandemic. We need sober analyses more than ever right now, even amidst the madness.
kucharski.substack.com/p/excess-mor...
kucharski.substack.com/p/excess-mor...
Reposted by Richard Coker
If there was any doubt at all that the CDC is fully destroyed, this page on autism and vaccines on its website confirms it. It's now just another vessel of dangerous health misinformation. I have no words. This is beyond sad.
November 20, 2025 at 11:06 AM
If there was any doubt at all that the CDC is fully destroyed, this page on autism and vaccines on its website confirms it. It's now just another vessel of dangerous health misinformation. I have no words. This is beyond sad.
Reposted by Richard Coker
Thought provoking from Martha Lane Fox on whether public life has got so brutal that no one you’d want to get involved will do it anymore
martha6j5h2.substack.com/p/this-is-pu...
martha6j5h2.substack.com/p/this-is-pu...
This is public life in 2025, who would volunteer?
Why the BBC crisis is not just a reflection of some bad editorial decisions and why it matters
martha6j5h2.substack.com
November 18, 2025 at 10:20 PM
Thought provoking from Martha Lane Fox on whether public life has got so brutal that no one you’d want to get involved will do it anymore
martha6j5h2.substack.com/p/this-is-pu...
martha6j5h2.substack.com/p/this-is-pu...
Reposted by Richard Coker
The question everyone is asking right now is this: NYT had deep access into all of this in real time and reported none of it. Why? In consequence, no NYT reporting on this subject is trustworthy.
After Trump Split, Epstein Said He Could ‘Take Him Down’
www.nytimes.com
November 13, 2025 at 2:27 AM
The question everyone is asking right now is this: NYT had deep access into all of this in real time and reported none of it. Why? In consequence, no NYT reporting on this subject is trustworthy.
Reposted by Richard Coker
A Sharon Begley byline, almost 5 years after her death.
Upon hearing the news James Watson had died, a STAT reporter said in our Slack, "I wish I could read what Sharon would have written."
Incredible news: Sharon in fact did pre-write a Watson obit. And it is masterful and excoriating.
🧪🧬🧫
Upon hearing the news James Watson had died, a STAT reporter said in our Slack, "I wish I could read what Sharon would have written."
Incredible news: Sharon in fact did pre-write a Watson obit. And it is masterful and excoriating.
🧪🧬🧫
James Watson, dead at 97, was a scientific legend and a pariah among his peers
James Watson, the co-discoverer of the structure of DNA who died Thursday at 97, was a scientific legend and a pariah among his peers.
www.statnews.com
November 8, 2025 at 1:39 PM
A Sharon Begley byline, almost 5 years after her death.
Upon hearing the news James Watson had died, a STAT reporter said in our Slack, "I wish I could read what Sharon would have written."
Incredible news: Sharon in fact did pre-write a Watson obit. And it is masterful and excoriating.
🧪🧬🧫
Upon hearing the news James Watson had died, a STAT reporter said in our Slack, "I wish I could read what Sharon would have written."
Incredible news: Sharon in fact did pre-write a Watson obit. And it is masterful and excoriating.
🧪🧬🧫
Reposted by Richard Coker
🔴We Need to Talk About Michael Gove and Crony Covid Contracts
Gove claims he had no “active role” in the procurement of Covid PPE during the pandemic, yet evidence suggests he was involved in multiple VIP deals worth over £1billion, reports Russell Scott
www.bylinesupplement.com/p/we-need-to...
Gove claims he had no “active role” in the procurement of Covid PPE during the pandemic, yet evidence suggests he was involved in multiple VIP deals worth over £1billion, reports Russell Scott
www.bylinesupplement.com/p/we-need-to...
We Need to Talk About Michael Gove and Crony Covid Contracts
Gove claims he had no “active role” in the procurement of Covid PPE during the pandemic, yet evidence suggests he was involved in multiple VIP deals worth over £1billion, reports Russell Scott
www.bylinesupplement.com
November 7, 2025 at 4:49 PM
🔴We Need to Talk About Michael Gove and Crony Covid Contracts
Gove claims he had no “active role” in the procurement of Covid PPE during the pandemic, yet evidence suggests he was involved in multiple VIP deals worth over £1billion, reports Russell Scott
www.bylinesupplement.com/p/we-need-to...
Gove claims he had no “active role” in the procurement of Covid PPE during the pandemic, yet evidence suggests he was involved in multiple VIP deals worth over £1billion, reports Russell Scott
www.bylinesupplement.com/p/we-need-to...
I’m reminded by how misguided Gates was in his review of Why Nations Fail. The authors’ rebuttal was a thing of beauty. www.scribd.com/document/936...
October 31, 2025 at 8:20 PM
I’m reminded by how misguided Gates was in his review of Why Nations Fail. The authors’ rebuttal was a thing of beauty. www.scribd.com/document/936...
Reposted by Richard Coker
Food insecurity is a self-inflicted, manufactured problem in the richest nation in the world
Ahead of the 1st shutdown of US food aid to hungry Americans in 60 years, some of the 200,000 Little Free Library locations are converting into food pantries. Thanks @littlefreelibrary.bsky.social
October 30, 2025 at 11:11 PM
Food insecurity is a self-inflicted, manufactured problem in the richest nation in the world