Dan Vergano
@danvergano.bsky.social
Senior Editor at Scientific American.
- Views expressed in anything I post are my own. They have not been reviewed or approved by Springer Nature.
- RT's not endorsements.
- Signal: Delta.357
https://www.linkedin.com/in/dan-vergano-93908b4/
- Views expressed in anything I post are my own. They have not been reviewed or approved by Springer Nature.
- RT's not endorsements.
- Signal: Delta.357
https://www.linkedin.com/in/dan-vergano-93908b4/
Pinned
Dan Vergano
@danvergano.bsky.social
· Dec 4
"The crisis facing American journalism is the predictable outcome of decades of corporate libertarian media policy that prioritized commercial logics over democracy."
Reposted by Dan Vergano
Today's newsletter is my take on Bezos' gutting of the Washington Post and what I think his goal is with all of this: www.readtpa.com/p/jeff-bezos...
Jeff Bezos Gutted the Newsroom. He Kept the Megaphone.
Bezos didn’t abandon the Washington Post. He just decided which part of it he wanted.
www.readtpa.com
February 6, 2026 at 7:04 PM
Today's newsletter is my take on Bezos' gutting of the Washington Post and what I think his goal is with all of this: www.readtpa.com/p/jeff-bezos...
Reposted by Dan Vergano
The Guardian has a rough outline of what the Tulsi whistleblower complaint is about: NSA found someone close to Trump in contact with foreign intelligence, and rather than doing something about that, Tulsi brought the report to Susie Wiles.
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
NSA detected phone call between foreign intelligence and a person close to Trump
Whistleblower says that Tulsi Gabbard blocked agency from sharing report and delivered it to White House chief of staff
www.theguardian.com
February 7, 2026 at 6:05 PM
The Guardian has a rough outline of what the Tulsi whistleblower complaint is about: NSA found someone close to Trump in contact with foreign intelligence, and rather than doing something about that, Tulsi brought the report to Susie Wiles.
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
Reposted by Dan Vergano
The New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty—the last arms control agreement between the United States and Russia, which limits strategic nuclear weapons—expires this Thursday.
To understand the implications of a world without New START, the Bulletin invited leading experts to share their views.
To understand the implications of a world without New START, the Bulletin invited leading experts to share their views.
The experts comment: New START expires, bringing both risks and opportunities
Experts share their concern about the no-rules, no-inspections period that opens when New START expires on Thursday. They also see an opportunity to adapt arms control to a multipolar world.
thebulletin.org
February 4, 2026 at 7:38 PM
The New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty—the last arms control agreement between the United States and Russia, which limits strategic nuclear weapons—expires this Thursday.
To understand the implications of a world without New START, the Bulletin invited leading experts to share their views.
To understand the implications of a world without New START, the Bulletin invited leading experts to share their views.
NEJM: A Pediatrician’s Dilemma — Pushing Back against CDC Guidance in the Exam Room
www.nejm.org/doi/full/10....
"CDC is most blatantly sowing fear, distrust, and confusion, parents in my practice and those across the country are increasingly turning down all vaccines with newly empowered vigor."
www.nejm.org/doi/full/10....
"CDC is most blatantly sowing fear, distrust, and confusion, parents in my practice and those across the country are increasingly turning down all vaccines with newly empowered vigor."
A Pediatrician’s Dilemma — Pushing Back against CDC Guidance in the Exam Room | NEJM
When a mother cites the CDC as her source of dangerous misinformation about vaccines,
her child’s pediatrician struggles: how hard can a doctor push back without destroying
the trust built over a l...
www.nejm.org
February 7, 2026 at 6:28 PM
NEJM: A Pediatrician’s Dilemma — Pushing Back against CDC Guidance in the Exam Room
www.nejm.org/doi/full/10....
"CDC is most blatantly sowing fear, distrust, and confusion, parents in my practice and those across the country are increasingly turning down all vaccines with newly empowered vigor."
www.nejm.org/doi/full/10....
"CDC is most blatantly sowing fear, distrust, and confusion, parents in my practice and those across the country are increasingly turning down all vaccines with newly empowered vigor."
Reposted by Dan Vergano
Before The Washington Post layoffs came down, a group of wealthy D.C. locals approached CEO Will Lewis with a proposal.
@passantino.bsky.social has the details in his Saturday @status.news column: www.status.news/p/washington...
@passantino.bsky.social has the details in his Saturday @status.news column: www.status.news/p/washington...
February 7, 2026 at 4:37 PM
Before The Washington Post layoffs came down, a group of wealthy D.C. locals approached CEO Will Lewis with a proposal.
@passantino.bsky.social has the details in his Saturday @status.news column: www.status.news/p/washington...
@passantino.bsky.social has the details in his Saturday @status.news column: www.status.news/p/washington...
Reposted by Dan Vergano
We are deciding right now whether we want to be a country with ethnic cleansing and concentration camps.
The banality of evil is shocking. An ex-Big Lots warehouse for cheap consumer junk is bought by ICE to ship as many as 7,500 handcuffed human beings, as the Trump regime builds a U.S. gulag archipelago
The unthinkable comes to Pa. coal country. My special report www.inquirer.com/opinion/ice-...
The unthinkable comes to Pa. coal country. My special report www.inquirer.com/opinion/ice-...
From Big Lots to warehousing humans: ICE plan sparks fear in Schuylkill County | Will Bunch
A massive warehouse in Tremont. Pa. that once moved cheap goods will now detain migrants in an $119 million ICE deal.
www.inquirer.com
February 7, 2026 at 5:26 PM
We are deciding right now whether we want to be a country with ethnic cleansing and concentration camps.
Reposted by Dan Vergano
I filed an open records request with the US State Department for these records in 2023. We were still waiting for them last year, and @rcfp.org sued on our behalf. Thank you to the Reporters Committee for helping us shine a light
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
Newly revealed emails undermine RFK Jr testimony about 2019 Samoa trip ahead of measles outbreak
Kennedy later said the purpose of his trip had nothing to do with vaccines. US embassy and UN staff at the time said otherwise, emails show
www.theguardian.com
February 6, 2026 at 1:49 PM
I filed an open records request with the US State Department for these records in 2023. We were still waiting for them last year, and @rcfp.org sued on our behalf. Thank you to the Reporters Committee for helping us shine a light
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
Quantum computers will finally be useful: what’s behind the revolution www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Quantum computers will finally be useful: what’s behind the revolution
A string of surprising advances suggests usable quantum computers could be here in a decade.
www.nature.com
February 7, 2026 at 12:50 AM
Quantum computers will finally be useful: what’s behind the revolution www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Reposted by Dan Vergano
Important, well-informed post on DOJ Epstein redaction delays, despite huge staff & resources, compared to much larger @ucsf-industrydocs.bsky.social files and tiny staff:
profglantz.com/2026/02/06/b...
Good advice at end: talk to archivists and others who regularly do redactions.
profglantz.com/2026/02/06/b...
Good advice at end: talk to archivists and others who regularly do redactions.
DOJ should have been able to easily release properly redacted Epstein files by December 19, 2025 based on our experience managing the UCSF Industry Documents Library
The issue of redactions – both redacting names of victims and not redacting participants in Jeffery Epstein’s “social circle” — documents has been in the news. There have also been question…
profglantz.com
February 6, 2026 at 8:49 PM
Important, well-informed post on DOJ Epstein redaction delays, despite huge staff & resources, compared to much larger @ucsf-industrydocs.bsky.social files and tiny staff:
profglantz.com/2026/02/06/b...
Good advice at end: talk to archivists and others who regularly do redactions.
profglantz.com/2026/02/06/b...
Good advice at end: talk to archivists and others who regularly do redactions.
Reposted by Dan Vergano
Students applying for NSF funding are having their applications “returned without review” for being “ineligible,” despite their proposed research falling squarely within the application guidelines. eos.org/research-and...
Graduate Students’ NSF Fellowship Applications Are Being “Returned Without Review” - Eos
Graduate students applying for NSF funding have had their applications returned without review—even though their proposed research appears to fall squarely within the fields of study outlined in the p...
eos.org
February 6, 2026 at 8:58 PM
Students applying for NSF funding are having their applications “returned without review” for being “ineligible,” despite their proposed research falling squarely within the application guidelines. eos.org/research-and...
Reposted by Dan Vergano
The thing I hate the absolute most about the proliferation of GenAI in "writing" is that I'm now being trained to become suspicious when I read a student paper that is Actually Good, instead of just celebrating its quality and congratulating the student on a Job Well Done.
February 6, 2026 at 8:58 AM
The thing I hate the absolute most about the proliferation of GenAI in "writing" is that I'm now being trained to become suspicious when I read a student paper that is Actually Good, instead of just celebrating its quality and congratulating the student on a Job Well Done.
Reposted by Dan Vergano
The rate of sepsis in Houston surged 63% after Texas banned abortion.
In the Dallas-Fort Worth area, where hospital leaders empowered doctors to intervene before patients’ conditions worsened, it rose 29%.
(Published May 2025)
In the Dallas-Fort Worth area, where hospital leaders empowered doctors to intervene before patients’ conditions worsened, it rose 29%.
(Published May 2025)
Why Hospital Policies Matter in States That Ban Abortion
Our first-of-its-kind data analysis found that a seismic split emerged in how medical institutions in Texas' two largest metro areas, Houston and Dallas, treated miscarrying patients — and in their ou...
www.propublica.org
February 6, 2026 at 4:00 AM
The rate of sepsis in Houston surged 63% after Texas banned abortion.
In the Dallas-Fort Worth area, where hospital leaders empowered doctors to intervene before patients’ conditions worsened, it rose 29%.
(Published May 2025)
In the Dallas-Fort Worth area, where hospital leaders empowered doctors to intervene before patients’ conditions worsened, it rose 29%.
(Published May 2025)
Reposted by Dan Vergano
Here's a problem with TrumpRx I'm looking at now. Some of these drugs have generic equivalents which means getting the generic w/ insurance or via cash pay w/ something like cost plus drugs should be cheaper even with a brand discount. So far I've found 6 drugs but am still going through the list.
Here's @publiccitizen.bsky.social's statement on TrumpRx:
www.citizen.org/news/trumprx...
#healthpolicy
www.citizen.org/news/trumprx...
#healthpolicy
TrumpRx Lets Big Pharma Off the Hook - Public Citizen
WASHINGTON, D.C. — This evening, President Trump is expected to announce the launch of TrumpRx – a direct-to-consumer website that…
www.citizen.org
February 6, 2026 at 2:48 PM
Here's a problem with TrumpRx I'm looking at now. Some of these drugs have generic equivalents which means getting the generic w/ insurance or via cash pay w/ something like cost plus drugs should be cheaper even with a brand discount. So far I've found 6 drugs but am still going through the list.
Reposted by Dan Vergano
Science has just published a news story about this, which includes an interview with one of the editors in chief of Vaccine, @angierasmussen.bsky.social
It's so, so shady, ugh
www.science.org/content/arti...
It's so, so shady, ugh
www.science.org/content/arti...
February 6, 2026 at 2:18 AM
Science has just published a news story about this, which includes an interview with one of the editors in chief of Vaccine, @angierasmussen.bsky.social
It's so, so shady, ugh
www.science.org/content/arti...
It's so, so shady, ugh
www.science.org/content/arti...
Reposted by Dan Vergano
We had devastating cuts to @washingtonpost. Our health team of 14 lost 9 reporters yesterday despite it being listed as part of the Post’s new focus.
But I still have my job. Along w/a core team, we are still dedicated to covering public health, holding the powerful to account.
But I still have my job. Along w/a core team, we are still dedicated to covering public health, holding the powerful to account.
February 5, 2026 at 7:16 PM
We had devastating cuts to @washingtonpost. Our health team of 14 lost 9 reporters yesterday despite it being listed as part of the Post’s new focus.
But I still have my job. Along w/a core team, we are still dedicated to covering public health, holding the powerful to account.
But I still have my job. Along w/a core team, we are still dedicated to covering public health, holding the powerful to account.
Reposted by Dan Vergano
1/3) To add to @danvergano.bsky.social's reporting: In 2014-15, Epstein ($250K) & Leon Black ($2M) were funding L. Krauss' Origins Project as a strategy to gain influence [via @peteraldhous.com)
buzzfeednews.com/article/pete.... SciAm EIC @mdichristina.bsky.social was Origins board member at time.
buzzfeednews.com/article/pete.... SciAm EIC @mdichristina.bsky.social was Origins board member at time.
February 5, 2026 at 9:42 PM
1/3) To add to @danvergano.bsky.social's reporting: In 2014-15, Epstein ($250K) & Leon Black ($2M) were funding L. Krauss' Origins Project as a strategy to gain influence [via @peteraldhous.com)
buzzfeednews.com/article/pete.... SciAm EIC @mdichristina.bsky.social was Origins board member at time.
buzzfeednews.com/article/pete.... SciAm EIC @mdichristina.bsky.social was Origins board member at time.
A Look Back at Project 2025’s Plans for Science www.aip.org/fyi/a-look-b...
A Look Back at Project 2025’s Plans for Science
Where the Trump administration has and has not stuck to the conservative policy blueprint.
www.aip.org
February 5, 2026 at 9:01 PM
A Look Back at Project 2025’s Plans for Science www.aip.org/fyi/a-look-b...
Epstein files show a complicated relationship with science and journalism
Jeffrey Epstein aggressively sought access to publishers, mentions of Scientific American and other media in Department of Justice files show
www.scientificamerican.com/article/epst...
Jeffrey Epstein aggressively sought access to publishers, mentions of Scientific American and other media in Department of Justice files show
www.scientificamerican.com/article/epst...
Epstein files show a complicated relationship with science and journalism
Jeffrey Epstein aggressively sought access to publishers, mentions of Scientific American and other media in Department of Justice files show
www.scientificamerican.com
February 5, 2026 at 7:11 PM
Epstein files show a complicated relationship with science and journalism
Jeffrey Epstein aggressively sought access to publishers, mentions of Scientific American and other media in Department of Justice files show
www.scientificamerican.com/article/epst...
Jeffrey Epstein aggressively sought access to publishers, mentions of Scientific American and other media in Department of Justice files show
www.scientificamerican.com/article/epst...
PNAS: A framework for assessing the trustworthiness of scientific research findings
by Brian A. Nosek, David B. Allison, Kathleen Hall Jamieson, et al
www.pnas.org/doi/full/10....
by Brian A. Nosek, David B. Allison, Kathleen Hall Jamieson, et al
www.pnas.org/doi/full/10....
PNAS
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), a peer reviewed journal of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) - an authoritative source of high-impact, original research that broadly spans...
www.pnas.org
February 5, 2026 at 6:47 PM
PNAS: A framework for assessing the trustworthiness of scientific research findings
by Brian A. Nosek, David B. Allison, Kathleen Hall Jamieson, et al
www.pnas.org/doi/full/10....
by Brian A. Nosek, David B. Allison, Kathleen Hall Jamieson, et al
www.pnas.org/doi/full/10....
Reposted by Dan Vergano
WaPo laid off one of the guys who broke Watergate. WATERGATE. They laid off a woman reporting in Ukraine while bombs fell around her.
It's not just shameless and greedy. It's cruel.
It's not just shameless and greedy. It's cruel.
Martin Weil, one of hundreds of journalists being let go at The Washington Post, has worked on local news there since 1965.
He Was Laid Off at The Washington Post After Working There 60 Years
Martin Weil, one of hundreds being let go at The Post, has worked on local news there since 1965, witnessing the paper’s rise and now retrenchment.
nyti.ms
February 5, 2026 at 2:43 PM
WaPo laid off one of the guys who broke Watergate. WATERGATE. They laid off a woman reporting in Ukraine while bombs fell around her.
It's not just shameless and greedy. It's cruel.
It's not just shameless and greedy. It's cruel.
Reposted by Dan Vergano
The Washington Post gutted the health team which I helped to lead despite our stories being among the most widely read, impactful and adept at reaching new audiences.
February 5, 2026 at 4:17 PM
The Washington Post gutted the health team which I helped to lead despite our stories being among the most widely read, impactful and adept at reaching new audiences.
Reposted by Dan Vergano
All true, but the mainstream media is also failing to directly say “data centers in space are impossible and Elon musk lies all the time about stuff” which allows him to pump his stocks!
The SpaceX/xAI merger situation is actually pretty important and, I think, very bad. "Data centers in space" is a bit of a pipe dream, but SpaceX now dominates low-Earth orbit in a highly concerning way. Starlink is real and could monopolize a lot of things.Not Good!
www.404media.co/this-spacex-...
www.404media.co/this-spacex-...
This SpaceX Situation: Not Good!
Elon Musk's political projects are combining into a highly concerning megacompany.
www.404media.co
February 5, 2026 at 4:53 PM
All true, but the mainstream media is also failing to directly say “data centers in space are impossible and Elon musk lies all the time about stuff” which allows him to pump his stocks!
Reposted by Dan Vergano
@wyden.senate.gov's record of warning that there is deep and constitutionally-serious dirt being done by the intelligence agencies in secret is unblemished. The vaguer he is, the filthier the dirt is. This is the vaguest I've ever seen him
Ron Wyden Only Talks Like This When The Spies Do Something *Real* Bad
No, I don't know what they did. But I have a lot of experience with the senator
www.forever-wars.com
February 5, 2026 at 5:10 PM
@wyden.senate.gov's record of warning that there is deep and constitutionally-serious dirt being done by the intelligence agencies in secret is unblemished. The vaguer he is, the filthier the dirt is. This is the vaguest I've ever seen him
Reposted by Dan Vergano
Epstein had many known connections to Silicon Valley CEOs, but less known was how he made money from those relationships.
We did a deep dive into how he got dealflow in Silicon Valley, giving him shots to invest in Coinbase, Palantir, SpaceX and other companies.
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/05/b...
We did a deep dive into how he got dealflow in Silicon Valley, giving him shots to invest in Coinbase, Palantir, SpaceX and other companies.
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/05/b...
Jeffrey Epstein’s Money Mingled With Silicon Valley Start-Ups
www.nytimes.com
February 5, 2026 at 3:21 PM
Epstein had many known connections to Silicon Valley CEOs, but less known was how he made money from those relationships.
We did a deep dive into how he got dealflow in Silicon Valley, giving him shots to invest in Coinbase, Palantir, SpaceX and other companies.
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/05/b...
We did a deep dive into how he got dealflow in Silicon Valley, giving him shots to invest in Coinbase, Palantir, SpaceX and other companies.
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/05/b...
Reposted by Dan Vergano
Congrats to the 2026 SHERFs: Ethan Bakuli, @sarawernst.bsky.social, @celllyg.bsky.social, Anika Nayak, @adrianaperez.bsky.social & @jilliantaylor.bsky.social! They will receive training and mentoring for reporting at the intersection of science, health & the environment.
casw.org/news/meet-th...
casw.org/news/meet-th...
February 5, 2026 at 4:05 PM
Congrats to the 2026 SHERFs: Ethan Bakuli, @sarawernst.bsky.social, @celllyg.bsky.social, Anika Nayak, @adrianaperez.bsky.social & @jilliantaylor.bsky.social! They will receive training and mentoring for reporting at the intersection of science, health & the environment.
casw.org/news/meet-th...
casw.org/news/meet-th...