Christie Aschwanden
@cragcrest.bsky.social
Best-selling author, journalist, podcaster, outdoor adventurer. My parties have dancing. Western Colorado. www.scientificamerican.com/uncertain
My BFF and I watched a film called Mr. Nobody Against Putin. We had opposite reactions to it, which we discussed at Last Word On Nothing. lastwordonnothing.com/2026/01/26/l...
Lessons From Mr. Nobody Against Putin - The Last Word On Nothing
In May of 2025, I went to Mountainfilm in Telluride with my BFF Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer. We watched numerous amazing films, but there’s one that continues to haunt me, eight months later. Mr. Nobod...
lastwordonnothing.com
January 27, 2026 at 5:05 PM
My BFF and I watched a film called Mr. Nobody Against Putin. We had opposite reactions to it, which we discussed at Last Word On Nothing. lastwordonnothing.com/2026/01/26/l...
CASW prizes entries are now open. Taylor/Blakeslee graduate fellowships, Sharon Begley Science Reporting Award,Victor Cohn Prize for Excellence in Medical Science Reporting and
Evert Clark/Seth Payne Award for a young science journalist.
Details and application links here: casw.org/news/entry-w...
Evert Clark/Seth Payne Award for a young science journalist.
Details and application links here: casw.org/news/entry-w...
Entry window open for 2026 CASW prizes, fellowships - CASW
casw.org
January 27, 2026 at 4:43 PM
CASW prizes entries are now open. Taylor/Blakeslee graduate fellowships, Sharon Begley Science Reporting Award,Victor Cohn Prize for Excellence in Medical Science Reporting and
Evert Clark/Seth Payne Award for a young science journalist.
Details and application links here: casw.org/news/entry-w...
Evert Clark/Seth Payne Award for a young science journalist.
Details and application links here: casw.org/news/entry-w...
There is no such thing as certainty when it comes to health. But there's a great big market for people willing to peddle it anyway.
Man got $2,500 whole-body MRI that found no problems—then had massive stroke arstechnica.com/health/2026/...
Man got $2,500 whole-body MRI that found no problems—then had massive stroke
The MRI showed a problem in a brain artery that should have been flagged, man claims.
arstechnica.com
January 14, 2026 at 7:07 PM
There is no such thing as certainty when it comes to health. But there's a great big market for people willing to peddle it anyway.
Reposted by Christie Aschwanden
Viewing the video from one angle, it looks like an ICE agent murdered Renee Nicole Good in cold blood. But viewing the video from a different angle, it looks like an ICE agent murdered Renee Nicole Good in cold blood. So who's to say what really happened?
January 8, 2026 at 4:21 AM
Viewing the video from one angle, it looks like an ICE agent murdered Renee Nicole Good in cold blood. But viewing the video from a different angle, it looks like an ICE agent murdered Renee Nicole Good in cold blood. So who's to say what really happened?
Calling all early career science, health and environment reporters. Deadline for the National Science-Health-Environment Reporting Fellowships has been extended until Dec. 31. Click below for more info.
casw.org/news/applica...
casw.org/news/applica...
Applications open for SHERF: A development program for U.S.-based, early-career journalists - CASW
casw.org
December 18, 2025 at 12:50 AM
Calling all early career science, health and environment reporters. Deadline for the National Science-Health-Environment Reporting Fellowships has been extended until Dec. 31. Click below for more info.
casw.org/news/applica...
casw.org/news/applica...
The cruelty is the point. Absolutely heart-wrenching accounting of the deaths and destruction caused by USAID cuts. Top notch reporting by @annamaria.bsky.social @propublica.org www.propublica.org/article/usai...
Trump Officials Celebrated With Cake After Slashing Aid. Then People Died of Cholera.
Behind closed doors in Washington, top advisers made a series of decisions that had devastating repercussions for the poorest country on earth. We went to South Sudan and found people who died as a re...
www.propublica.org
December 15, 2025 at 5:01 PM
The cruelty is the point. Absolutely heart-wrenching accounting of the deaths and destruction caused by USAID cuts. Top notch reporting by @annamaria.bsky.social @propublica.org www.propublica.org/article/usai...
I loved Train Dreams the novella and was disappointed by the film adaptation. This review by @robrubsam.bsky.social is the best explanation I've seen of why the film falls short.
defector.com/train-dreams...
Also, subscribe to @defector.com! great writers like @evaholland.bsky.social
defector.com/train-dreams...
Also, subscribe to @defector.com! great writers like @evaholland.bsky.social
‘Train Dreams’ Is Afraid Of Its Own Shadow | Defector
By now, you have probably heard about Train Dreams. Since premiering this past January at Sundance, Clint Bentley’s adaptation of the Denis Johnson novella has been lauded by critics, screened at vari...
defector.com
December 9, 2025 at 4:14 AM
I loved Train Dreams the novella and was disappointed by the film adaptation. This review by @robrubsam.bsky.social is the best explanation I've seen of why the film falls short.
defector.com/train-dreams...
Also, subscribe to @defector.com! great writers like @evaholland.bsky.social
defector.com/train-dreams...
Also, subscribe to @defector.com! great writers like @evaholland.bsky.social
The kind of "gold standard science" they're touting doesn't exist. fivethirtyeight.com/features/the...
December 2, 2025 at 9:22 PM
The kind of "gold standard science" they're touting doesn't exist. fivethirtyeight.com/features/the...
If you are one of those special freaks, come to my workshop! christieaschwanden.com/the-book-pro...
December 1, 2025 at 8:54 PM
If you are one of those special freaks, come to my workshop! christieaschwanden.com/the-book-pro...
What a thrill when a reader really gets my message. Better yet when she’s a reporter writing on the tooic observer.co.uk/news/sport/a...
November 26, 2025 at 12:35 AM
What a thrill when a reader really gets my message. Better yet when she’s a reporter writing on the tooic observer.co.uk/news/sport/a...
Reposted by Christie Aschwanden
Scientists: have you been the target of an online harassment campaign, doxxing, or weaponized FOIA requests? I'd like to talk to you about steps you had to take to protect your digital security for an upcoming Nature story. (You can be anonymous if necessary.)
RTs appreciated.
RTs appreciated.
November 26, 2025 at 12:18 AM
Scientists: have you been the target of an online harassment campaign, doxxing, or weaponized FOIA requests? I'd like to talk to you about steps you had to take to protect your digital security for an upcoming Nature story. (You can be anonymous if necessary.)
RTs appreciated.
RTs appreciated.
Reposted by Christie Aschwanden
I can't say enough good things about @cragcrest.bsky.social's Book Proposal Boot Camp! I've been trying to get a proposal done for years, and this helped me get up to speed and actually writing. christieaschwanden.com/the-book-pro...
The Book Proposal Boot Camp, Winter 2026
A workshop to help you do the work. This eight-week workshop takes place virtually, via Zoom. The workshop is aimed at people who either have a book idea that needs more development or who have a d…
christieaschwanden.com
November 17, 2025 at 3:48 PM
I can't say enough good things about @cragcrest.bsky.social's Book Proposal Boot Camp! I've been trying to get a proposal done for years, and this helped me get up to speed and actually writing. christieaschwanden.com/the-book-pro...
This thing about Nate Silver remains my favorite chatGPT answer of all time. www.lastwordonnothing.com/2025/11/10/a...
November 11, 2025 at 7:59 PM
This thing about Nate Silver remains my favorite chatGPT answer of all time. www.lastwordonnothing.com/2025/11/10/a...
I just finished reading Willa Cather's O Pioneers!, a true masterpiece. My first Cather novel was My Ántonia (also a masterpiece!) Which should I read next?
November 11, 2025 at 7:58 PM
I just finished reading Willa Cather's O Pioneers!, a true masterpiece. My first Cather novel was My Ántonia (also a masterpiece!) Which should I read next?
Reposted by Christie Aschwanden
"Chat GPT is not hallucinating, it’s bullshitting,"
ChatGPT is that guy in law school, dangerously wrong, deeply uninformed, and totally sure Debate Team is real life.
Except now, in 2025? Everyone trusts him. www.lastwordonnothing.com/2025/11/10/a...
By @cragcrest.bsky.social
ChatGPT is that guy in law school, dangerously wrong, deeply uninformed, and totally sure Debate Team is real life.
Except now, in 2025? Everyone trusts him. www.lastwordonnothing.com/2025/11/10/a...
By @cragcrest.bsky.social
The Last Word On Nothing | AI is Full of Bullshit. Now It’s Faking Science
www.lastwordonnothing.com
November 10, 2025 at 8:10 PM
"Chat GPT is not hallucinating, it’s bullshitting,"
ChatGPT is that guy in law school, dangerously wrong, deeply uninformed, and totally sure Debate Team is real life.
Except now, in 2025? Everyone trusts him. www.lastwordonnothing.com/2025/11/10/a...
By @cragcrest.bsky.social
ChatGPT is that guy in law school, dangerously wrong, deeply uninformed, and totally sure Debate Team is real life.
Except now, in 2025? Everyone trusts him. www.lastwordonnothing.com/2025/11/10/a...
By @cragcrest.bsky.social
Reposted by Christie Aschwanden
Tell me you don’t understand risk pools without telling me you don’t understand risk pools
November 10, 2025 at 3:02 PM
Tell me you don’t understand risk pools without telling me you don’t understand risk pools
OMG, please let the baseball time space continuum be the thing that bumps us to a better timeline!
November 2, 2025 at 4:13 AM
OMG, please let the baseball time space continuum be the thing that bumps us to a better timeline!
How much deader can the rule of law be?
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/21/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/21/u...
Trump Said to Demand Justice Dept. Pay Him $230 Million for Past Cases
www.nytimes.com
October 21, 2025 at 7:26 PM
How much deader can the rule of law be?
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/21/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/21/u...
Reposted by Christie Aschwanden
The president of the United States posted a video of him defecating on the American people. Many in my profession normalized it. This is a big reason why we are where we are.
October 20, 2025 at 12:08 PM
The president of the United States posted a video of him defecating on the American people. Many in my profession normalized it. This is a big reason why we are where we are.
Interesting thread about No Kings coverage that starts with a paper here in Western Colorado.
I scrolled through the @1stforall.bsky.social's gallery of print front pages for local coverage of "No Kings" protests. Here are some of the standout papers, starting with the Daily Sentinel of Grand Junction, Colorado:
October 20, 2025 at 3:08 PM
Interesting thread about No Kings coverage that starts with a paper here in Western Colorado.
If you buy your own health insurance, this calculator will show you how much your premiums will rise if Congress does not extend the enhanced tax credits. You'd better be sitting down... I'm surely not the only one who will consider going without if these credits expire. www.kff.org/interactive/...
How Much More Would People Pay in Premiums if the ACA's Enhanced Premium Tax Credits Expire? | KFF
The ACA's enhanced premium tax credits are set to expire at the end of 2025. This calculator estimates how much out-of-pocket premiums would increase for families if Congress does not extend the credi...
www.kff.org
October 17, 2025 at 3:44 PM
If you buy your own health insurance, this calculator will show you how much your premiums will rise if Congress does not extend the enhanced tax credits. You'd better be sitting down... I'm surely not the only one who will consider going without if these credits expire. www.kff.org/interactive/...
Important @undark.org story about the precarious nature of philanthropic funding for science journalism. With insight from @meaghanparker.bsky.social and @siricarpenter.bsky.social undark.org/2025/10/15/s...
Will Science Journalism Funders Step Up or Retreat?
Amid Trump-era funding turmoil, foundations are finding themselves pulled in many directions to fill in the gaps.
undark.org
October 16, 2025 at 5:23 PM
Important @undark.org story about the precarious nature of philanthropic funding for science journalism. With insight from @meaghanparker.bsky.social and @siricarpenter.bsky.social undark.org/2025/10/15/s...
The photos with this story are really something.
We wanted to know what it was like to own a Cybertruck. So @zoeschiffer.bsky.social went to the desert got this absolutely amazing quotes (and Michelle Groskopf took the pictures!) www.wired.com/story/owning...
October 16, 2025 at 4:47 PM
The photos with this story are really something.
I’m just fundamentally incapable of leaving a library without at least one book in my hands. Today’s exciting find: Insectopolis by Peter Kuper.
October 15, 2025 at 9:19 PM
I’m just fundamentally incapable of leaving a library without at least one book in my hands. Today’s exciting find: Insectopolis by Peter Kuper.
Wait, that’s not a bird! I guess I’m going to wait until hibernation has begun to refill the bird feeder.
October 13, 2025 at 4:41 PM
Wait, that’s not a bird! I guess I’m going to wait until hibernation has begun to refill the bird feeder.