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As insightful as I found this piece, it was genuinely jarring to see no mention of climate change anywhere in it, even though EV policy is *climate* policy. Passenger vehicles account for ~16% of US energy consumption (see pg 51 here): tedb.ornl.gov/wp-content/u... www.nytimes.com/2026/07/15/m...

The American E.V. Has Been Crushed. Will It Take the U.S. Auto Industry With It?The largest U.S. automakers have backed away from electric vehicles, even as global sales are booming. The decision may make them obsolete.www.nytimes.com

This is a really stark, and smart, framing of how much Americans now bet on sports. And as the article elaborates on, this headline actually *undersells* it. Movies, art, museums, and music now combine for $70 billion/yr—which is *less than half* of US sports bets (>$166 billion in 2025).

This is an absolutely devastating story, told expertly by Reaction Watch's Brendan Borrell. Proud of my @science.org colleagues for their work collaborating with Reaction Watch to bring this story to the world.

I have heard from former colleagues, and the layoffs have cut deep once again, after several brutal layoffs over the past 4 years.

Entertainment industry outlets are reporting big layoffs at Disney today, with National Geographic apparently being hit especially hard. I am bracing for what this will mean for National Geographic's editorial team. deadline.com/2026/07/disn...

Disney Cutting Several Hundred Jobs; Pixar And National Geographic Among Most Affected DivisionsDisney is cutting several hundred positions, with Pixar and National Geographic among the divisions most affected by the move.deadline.com

This is some nifty new research on the Voynich Manuscript. I hope to have research out later this year that attempts to replicate and build on these results.

Absolutely, and they do fabulous work.

Grateful every day to be doing my work in a country with bedrock protections for freedom of speech and freedom of the press, going back more than two centuries. Happy 250th, Declaration of Independence. And Happy Fourth of July. 🇺🇸

Having been through a version of this myself: Part of the tragedy of the layoffs and sale at Scientific American is that the remaining staff is going to try its absolute hardest to do right by the place—but will be forced to deal with more constraints, fewer staff, and a rightfully angry audience.

When I was laid off from National Geographic back in 2023, one of the first places I started writing for again was Scientific American. Editors like @leebillings.bsky.social and Dan Ferber helped me get back on my feet. I am forever grateful. Journalism is brutal.

Without exaggeration, @katewong.bsky.social is the reason I am a science journalist. She is incredibly talented!

Journalism is in crisis—including science and environmental journalism. The industry is in really rough shape, and this blow makes matters worse.

This is a serious problem and something that, as it happens, magic tricks have been used to study. The issue stems from a visual illusion—the "illusion of absence"—that's especially strong within a moving vehicle. link.springer.com/article/10.1...

The illusion of absence: how a common feature of magic shows can explain a class of road accidents - Cognitive Research: Principles and ImplicationsThe purpose of the present note is to draw attention to the potential role of a recently discovered visual illusion in creating traffic accidents. The illusion consists in a compelling and immediate e...link.springer.com