Ariel Waldman
@arielwaldman.com
Antarctic Explorer + Filmmaker.
📺 Creator + host of LIFE UNEARTHED on PBS (2026)
🚀 NatGeo Explorer + NASA advisor
🔬 Often filming tardigrades
🔗 https://arielwaldman.com
📺 Creator + host of LIFE UNEARTHED on PBS (2026)
🚀 NatGeo Explorer + NASA advisor
🔬 Often filming tardigrades
🔗 https://arielwaldman.com
Pinned
Ariel Waldman
@arielwaldman.com
· Sep 26
Hello! I’m Ariel.
I’m an Antarctic explorer + filmmaker who specializes in filming microscopic animals.
Previously, I advised NASA on advanced tech + human spaceflight. I live in San Francisco. 🧪
I’m an Antarctic explorer + filmmaker who specializes in filming microscopic animals.
Previously, I advised NASA on advanced tech + human spaceflight. I live in San Francisco. 🧪
Reposted by Ariel Waldman
Whether it’s Hank Green, Khan Academy, PBS, or NPR, I think our media and educational content should be a non-profit, public good.
Going to clicks, ad revenue, and investor returns always gets in the way of the mission. And we all lose out.
Going to clicks, ad revenue, and investor returns always gets in the way of the mission. And we all lose out.
February 4, 2026 at 6:18 PM
Whether it’s Hank Green, Khan Academy, PBS, or NPR, I think our media and educational content should be a non-profit, public good.
Going to clicks, ad revenue, and investor returns always gets in the way of the mission. And we all lose out.
Going to clicks, ad revenue, and investor returns always gets in the way of the mission. And we all lose out.
😱
creepy awesome sea slime strikes again 🦐
creepy awesome sea slime strikes again 🦐
We did a scuba dive today to swap out an instrument on one of our offshore moorings. While clearing off the biofouling, we got biofouled, hood to flipper, by caprellid amphipods (aka headbangers). Here’s my leg after moderate scraping… 🦑🧪🌊
February 2, 2026 at 6:35 PM
😱
creepy awesome sea slime strikes again 🦐
creepy awesome sea slime strikes again 🦐
This is true because most of us on Bluesky lived through an era of just posting about what we were having for lunch that day or blogging about a conference we attended.
It does not just change how you understand reality, it changes how you engage with that reality. When we know that our speech will be silenced if it does not capture and hold attention, we alter our behavior to say only the most attention-grabbing things.
January 28, 2026 at 5:58 PM
This is true because most of us on Bluesky lived through an era of just posting about what we were having for lunch that day or blogging about a conference we attended.
Reposted by Ariel Waldman
Thank Judges and Lawyers for Standing Up for Democracy
These brave professionals need to know that the public is behind them
A federal judge told us that the postcards were a much appreciated reminder that they are not alone.
Learn the details at our blog: buff.ly/tLdMURD
These brave professionals need to know that the public is behind them
A federal judge told us that the postcards were a much appreciated reminder that they are not alone.
Learn the details at our blog: buff.ly/tLdMURD
January 26, 2026 at 4:47 PM
Thank Judges and Lawyers for Standing Up for Democracy
These brave professionals need to know that the public is behind them
A federal judge told us that the postcards were a much appreciated reminder that they are not alone.
Learn the details at our blog: buff.ly/tLdMURD
These brave professionals need to know that the public is behind them
A federal judge told us that the postcards were a much appreciated reminder that they are not alone.
Learn the details at our blog: buff.ly/tLdMURD
Reposted by Ariel Waldman
I have been actively involved in protest movements for 24 years. I have never seen anything approaching this scale. Minneapolis is not accepting what's happening here. ICE fucking murdered a woman for participating in this, and all that did is bring out more people, from more walks of life.
January 22, 2026 at 3:58 AM
I have been actively involved in protest movements for 24 years. I have never seen anything approaching this scale. Minneapolis is not accepting what's happening here. ICE fucking murdered a woman for participating in this, and all that did is bring out more people, from more walks of life.
Reposted by Ariel Waldman
As of tomorrow, the US will be out of #WHO. It's leaving the organization with a large unpaid bill — 2 years of unpaid membership dues, including from the last year of the Biden administration. www.statnews.com/2026/01/21/t...
As U.S. prepares to exit WHO, it is stiffing the agency on a large bill
When the U.S. withdrawal from the WHO goes into effect Thursday, the world’s largest economy will be leaving the global health agency with a hefty unpaid bill.
www.statnews.com
January 21, 2026 at 3:31 PM
As of tomorrow, the US will be out of #WHO. It's leaving the organization with a large unpaid bill — 2 years of unpaid membership dues, including from the last year of the Biden administration. www.statnews.com/2026/01/21/t...
Reposted by Ariel Waldman
It's that time of year again: we're looking for our next Antarctic team!
If you can imagine a job that’s needed to keep a small, remote community safe and running, we have it.
Escape the ordinary and apply for the job of a lifetime in Antarctica ⬇️
If you can imagine a job that’s needed to keep a small, remote community safe and running, we have it.
Escape the ordinary and apply for the job of a lifetime in Antarctica ⬇️
January 21, 2026 at 3:22 PM
It's that time of year again: we're looking for our next Antarctic team!
If you can imagine a job that’s needed to keep a small, remote community safe and running, we have it.
Escape the ordinary and apply for the job of a lifetime in Antarctica ⬇️
If you can imagine a job that’s needed to keep a small, remote community safe and running, we have it.
Escape the ordinary and apply for the job of a lifetime in Antarctica ⬇️
Reposted by Ariel Waldman
You have to block them immediately. The full nuclear. They are only here to make folks angry, and that can’t happen if we lock them out.
✅ @icegov.bsky.social has been verified by @bsky.app.
January 16, 2026 at 11:59 PM
You have to block them immediately. The full nuclear. They are only here to make folks angry, and that can’t happen if we lock them out.
Reposted by Ariel Waldman
We are at the “Minnesotans are spray painting their broiler pans for body armor” stage of the fight
@statuscoupnews.bsky.social interviewing this woman in Minneapolis right now who said she came out of her home, wearing whatever she could grab to protect herself from ICE agents. You do what you can, with what you got.
January 15, 2026 at 4:18 AM
We are at the “Minnesotans are spray painting their broiler pans for body armor” stage of the fight
Reposted by Ariel Waldman
Not on NASA social: The latest Surface Temperature Analysis
"Earth's global surface temperature in 2025 was slightly warmer than 2023, but within the margin of error. Since record-keeping began in 1880, the hottest year on record remains 2024." data.giss.nasa.gov/gistemp/
"Earth's global surface temperature in 2025 was slightly warmer than 2023, but within the margin of error. Since record-keeping began in 1880, the hottest year on record remains 2024." data.giss.nasa.gov/gistemp/
January 14, 2026 at 6:18 PM
Not on NASA social: The latest Surface Temperature Analysis
"Earth's global surface temperature in 2025 was slightly warmer than 2023, but within the margin of error. Since record-keeping began in 1880, the hottest year on record remains 2024." data.giss.nasa.gov/gistemp/
"Earth's global surface temperature in 2025 was slightly warmer than 2023, but within the margin of error. Since record-keeping began in 1880, the hottest year on record remains 2024." data.giss.nasa.gov/gistemp/
January 14, 2026 at 4:22 PM
Reposted by Ariel Waldman
Daily reminder that all of us in Minneapolis AND Saint Paul AND across Minnesota are having our rights massively infringed upon. Our schools are focusing on children’s safety rather than educational excellence. It is a daily outrage and we won’t be quieted.
Reporter Louis Krauss saw this. An agent apparently dropped a flash grenade that was left with the pin still in it on Park Avenue after driving away in a squad car.
January 14, 2026 at 2:57 PM
Daily reminder that all of us in Minneapolis AND Saint Paul AND across Minnesota are having our rights massively infringed upon. Our schools are focusing on children’s safety rather than educational excellence. It is a daily outrage and we won’t be quieted.
The joys of being a filmmaker: watching multiple video tutorials just to figure out how to split audio channels correctly for broadcast.
January 13, 2026 at 11:55 PM
The joys of being a filmmaker: watching multiple video tutorials just to figure out how to split audio channels correctly for broadcast.
Well this sucks. I gave a couple of lectures at CCA and considered teaching there a couple of times. A big loss for San Francisco and all the students.
BREAKING: California College of the Arts, the last nonprofit art and design school in Northern California, will close by the end of the 2026–2027 academic year. Nashville-based Vanderbilt University will take over the San Francisco campus.
California College of the Arts to Close at End of 2026–2027 School Year
Vanderbilt University will take over the campus of the Bay Area’s last remaining nonprofit art school.
www.kqed.org
January 13, 2026 at 8:34 PM
Well this sucks. I gave a couple of lectures at CCA and considered teaching there a couple of times. A big loss for San Francisco and all the students.
Reposted by Ariel Waldman
Do you care about the future of the US NSF and science in general? The agency is seeking feedback on the draft Strategic Plan. www.nsf.gov/od/updates/n...
NSF seeks public input on its Fiscal Year (FY) 2026–2030 NSF Strategic Plan
www.nsf.gov
January 13, 2026 at 7:38 PM
Do you care about the future of the US NSF and science in general? The agency is seeking feedback on the draft Strategic Plan. www.nsf.gov/od/updates/n...
12 months after the 2024 election:
National Science Foundation lost 29% of its staff.
NOAA lost 20%.
NASA lost 6%.
Source: www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
National Science Foundation lost 29% of its staff.
NOAA lost 20%.
NASA lost 6%.
Source: www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
220,000 Fewer Workers: How Trump’s Cuts Affected Every Federal Agency
New data offers the first clear view of the impact of the buyouts and firings.
www.nytimes.com
January 12, 2026 at 11:05 PM
12 months after the 2024 election:
National Science Foundation lost 29% of its staff.
NOAA lost 20%.
NASA lost 6%.
Source: www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
National Science Foundation lost 29% of its staff.
NOAA lost 20%.
NASA lost 6%.
Source: www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
Reposted by Ariel Waldman
Saw this crowd with my own eyes at Bryant Park 💪
New York City turned OUT.
@handsoffnyc.bsky.social ✊❤️
@handsoffnyc.bsky.social ✊❤️
January 11, 2026 at 8:59 PM
Saw this crowd with my own eyes at Bryant Park 💪
January 10, 2026 at 10:11 PM
Had a dream last night where a familiar song came on and I pulled out my phone in the dream to Shazam the song, but it gave no results 😑
January 9, 2026 at 10:44 PM
Had a dream last night where a familiar song came on and I pulled out my phone in the dream to Shazam the song, but it gave no results 😑
Reposted by Ariel Waldman
In this week's newsletter we talk about things that make us feel wonderful. Not because we’re copping out, but because remembering, and holding on to things that make us feel wonderful are fuel. buttondown.com/monteiro/arc...
How to feel wonderful
New art studio taking shape! This week’s question comes to us from Kylie Gusset: What makes you feel wonderful? Ok, yeah. So… the last couple of newsletters...
buttondown.com
January 9, 2026 at 12:48 AM
In this week's newsletter we talk about things that make us feel wonderful. Not because we’re copping out, but because remembering, and holding on to things that make us feel wonderful are fuel. buttondown.com/monteiro/arc...
I’d watch the hell out of this.
January 9, 2026 at 6:07 PM
I’d watch the hell out of this.
Reposted by Ariel Waldman
The proliferation of hummingbird feeders has become a “major evolutionary force” for the Anna’s hummingbird species in the western US. “Over just a few generations, their beaks have dramatically changed in size and shape.” [science.org]
Bird feeders have caused a dramatic evolution of California hummingbirds
Beaks have grown longer and larger, and ranges have expanded to follow the feeders
www.science.org
January 7, 2026 at 2:48 PM
The proliferation of hummingbird feeders has become a “major evolutionary force” for the Anna’s hummingbird species in the western US. “Over just a few generations, their beaks have dramatically changed in size and shape.” [science.org]
Reposted by Ariel Waldman
The destruction doesn't make for a photo-op like tearing down the East Wing of the White House or bulldozing the Rose Garden, but it's every bit as bad. Generations of American children learned to spell and count, learned the Preamble to the Constitution, from watching shows produced by the CPB.
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting has been dissolved, ending its 58 years as the primary funder for PBS, NPR and local TV and radio stations
Corporation For Public Broadcasting Is Dissolved After 58 Years Of Service
www.huffpost.com
January 5, 2026 at 8:04 PM
The destruction doesn't make for a photo-op like tearing down the East Wing of the White House or bulldozing the Rose Garden, but it's every bit as bad. Generations of American children learned to spell and count, learned the Preamble to the Constitution, from watching shows produced by the CPB.
Reposted by Ariel Waldman
The microcosmos is fun.
Ciliate I filmed today working on its juggling act.
Filmed on a Nikon E600 DIC microscope, 20x objective, using a Canon R5C. 🧪🦠
youtube.com/shorts/-uCZG...
Ciliate I filmed today working on its juggling act.
Filmed on a Nikon E600 DIC microscope, 20x objective, using a Canon R5C. 🧪🦠
youtube.com/shorts/-uCZG...
The microcosmos is fun. Ciliate working on its juggling act.
YouTube video by Ariel Waldman
youtube.com
January 2, 2026 at 5:00 AM
The microcosmos is fun.
Ciliate I filmed today working on its juggling act.
Filmed on a Nikon E600 DIC microscope, 20x objective, using a Canon R5C. 🧪🦠
youtube.com/shorts/-uCZG...
Ciliate I filmed today working on its juggling act.
Filmed on a Nikon E600 DIC microscope, 20x objective, using a Canon R5C. 🧪🦠
youtube.com/shorts/-uCZG...
The microcosmos is fun.
Ciliate I filmed today working on its juggling act.
Filmed on a Nikon E600 DIC microscope, 20x objective, using a Canon R5C. 🧪🦠
youtube.com/shorts/-uCZG...
Ciliate I filmed today working on its juggling act.
Filmed on a Nikon E600 DIC microscope, 20x objective, using a Canon R5C. 🧪🦠
youtube.com/shorts/-uCZG...
The microcosmos is fun. Ciliate working on its juggling act.
YouTube video by Ariel Waldman
youtube.com
January 2, 2026 at 5:00 AM
The microcosmos is fun.
Ciliate I filmed today working on its juggling act.
Filmed on a Nikon E600 DIC microscope, 20x objective, using a Canon R5C. 🧪🦠
youtube.com/shorts/-uCZG...
Ciliate I filmed today working on its juggling act.
Filmed on a Nikon E600 DIC microscope, 20x objective, using a Canon R5C. 🧪🦠
youtube.com/shorts/-uCZG...