News and commentary for understanding and coping with the years ahead...
Turning universities into right-wing propaganda factories
The authoritarian parallels
This is a compendium of the reporting and commentary that best explains the America's political, economic, and social conditions – and, most important, how we can find a way back from the dark days ahead. You will rarely find anything here from the New York Times or Washington Post or any of the other Big Journalism companies that failed us so completely during the 2024 elections and are now sucking up – even more than usual – to Donald Trump, his cult, and corporate oligarchs. My focus will be on smaller, more honorable outlets (and individuals). I hope you'll support them with your attention and your money.
When we think in terms of analogies, we get stuck on the differences, and those sticking points then becomes an excuse not to think historically at all. Of course what comes next in the 2020s won't be exactly like the 1790s or the 1860s or the 1930s or the 1990s — the reference points I am choosing here. But in recalling these epochs (or others) we can start to see certain resemblances, certain patterns, and get ourselves thinking again. In this spirit, I offer these four scenarios for Trumpomuskovia, the musko-trumpified America that is already upon us.
This piece provides context and imagination. Historians bring perspective, which the author combines with clarity to explain where we may be heading based, in a vital way, on where we've been. The way forward for America may be a variation on one of the scenarios he poses, or something more prosaic (e.g. pro-democracy Americans, who are the majority, take back the nation from fascists). Or it may be something no one has even considered. But the essay is worth noting: to broaden our perspectives, boost our imaginations, and learn from our past.
Note: I recommend Snyder's newsletter posts, and those from several other writers, with a reluctance that has nothing to do with the quality of what they write. The platform on which they've chosen to publish, Substack, is convenient. It can be lucrative for a few big winners. But it also welcomes far-right extremists, got key funding from one of Silicon Valley's more contemptible venture firms, and in general strikes me as the last place I'd put anything I create. I would gladly pay, meanwhile, to subscribe to a number of newsletters there – and more promiscuously link to them – if the authors moved to a platform that wasn't, in my view, so reprehensible. (This newsletter is published on the open-source Ghost platform; I happily pay a hosting fee.)
Science needs to defend itself, and the rest of us
One thing is clear. We cannot afford to “stay in our lane.” As scientists and clinicians, we must strive to overcome our epistemic and disciplinary differences and demonstrate solidarity and collaboration in defence of evidence-informed policy. And we must move beyond merely producing evidence; we must become its advocates, fighting for truth and integrity in public discourse. Our collective voice and courage are more critical than ever.
This British medical journal commentary is a call to arms from three scientists who are, not surprisingly, appalled by the U.S. election result and what it portends not just in our country but also theirs and the rest of the world. It succinct sums up how dangerous the Trump government is going to be for public health and science everywhere. And it implores professionals around the globe to both support their U.S. colleagues and reinforce their own national commitments to honest science. We will all need to help each other in coming years.
The anti-vaxxers have won. Their alternative facts have out-shouted real ones. The defenders of vaccines — Tony Fauci, Paul Offit, Peter Hotez, Greg Poland, whoever — are routinely dismissed as tools of Big Pharma. Pro-vaccine journalists like me are seen as their court jesters. The Disinformation Dozen, the ivermectin quacks and the vitamin pushers are on the verge of assuming public office. So I say let’s just wait. When children begin dying, moms will figure out who was lying. It’ll be ugly.
Scathing and sad, this newsletter post by a superb science journalist is a dose of dismal realism. Humanity regularly does mass science experiments, on the environment, other species, and ourselves. It often does so in ignorance or lack of concern about consequences. This new mass experiment will take place in the light of knowledge that the too-persuasive deniers – for ideology or profit or whatever their motives – have submerged beneath their deadly propaganda. I hope your child or grandchild won't be a victim of this vile crew.
Also too late to stop a worse-than-covid pandemic?
We do have one thing. Biden is president for another seven weeks or so. It’s not too late for him to give the nation a parting gift. He could start taking these risks as seriously as he should have when the cattle infections were discovered. We could get serious about mandatory testing of cows, milk and farmworkers and about isolating infected cattle herds — as we already do for birds and pigs. We could speed up development of the vaccine that’s already in the works for cows and expedite all precautions for humans, too. It’s true that one doesn’t get proper, timely credit for disasters averted. But history will, eventually, deliver its verdict.
Trump was catastrophically bad in dealing with covid (with the sole exception of pushing for a vaccine he later repudiated; see above). Biden's record, sad to say, has been little better on one of public health's most vital tasks: preventing and dealing with pandemics. His administration gave up on covid prevention early on, and it has been criminally negligent in facing up to the rising bird flu, which could make covid look tame. This New York Times commentary by one of the most knowledgeable journalists in the field scares the hell out of me. I'm hoping someone close to Biden is scared enough to persuade the president pay serious attention while he still has power, and hopefully before it's too late.
Timothy Snyder
Pagel C, Buse K, McKee M.
Donald G. McNeil Jr.
