Rachel Feltman (she/they)
@feltman.bsky.social
Writer (science, history, sad gay ghost stories) // editor // Host of The Weirdest Thing I Learned This Week + Science Quickly // Author of Been There Done That: A Rousing History of Sex // Past: WaPo, PopSci // Now: Working on my bog body
when a show is incredibly good except the plot hinges on someone in a BSL-4 lab removing a layer of PPE while examining a specimen
a man in a white shirt and tie is smiling while talking to two women .
ALT: a man in a white shirt and tie is smiling while talking to two women .
media.tenor.com
November 8, 2025 at 8:37 AM
when a show is incredibly good except the plot hinges on someone in a BSL-4 lab removing a layer of PPE while examining a specimen
genuinely very excited for this film about how shakers were metal as hell, actually www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zK_...
THE TESTAMENT OF ANN LEE | Official Teaser | Searchlight Pictures
YouTube video by SearchlightPictures
www.youtube.com
November 7, 2025 at 5:58 PM
genuinely very excited for this film about how shakers were metal as hell, actually www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zK_...
Reposted by Rachel Feltman (she/they)
“I came to apologies bc I find apologies quite interesting & bizarre. They’re something that is called cheap talk bc anyone can apologize, whether or not they mean it—it costs them nothing—so you think they’d be meaningless, but they’re really meaningful.”🧪
@feltman.bsky.social
@feltman.bsky.social
The words we choose when apologizing—especially longer, effortful ones—can signal sincerity and make our apologies feel more authentic.
What Makes an Apology Sound Real? Psychology Has Answers
The words we choose when apologizing—especially longer, effortful ones—can signal sincerity and make our apologies feel more authentic.
www.scientificamerican.com
October 22, 2025 at 2:29 PM
“I came to apologies bc I find apologies quite interesting & bizarre. They’re something that is called cheap talk bc anyone can apologize, whether or not they mean it—it costs them nothing—so you think they’d be meaningless, but they’re really meaningful.”🧪
@feltman.bsky.social
@feltman.bsky.social
Reposted by Rachel Feltman (she/they)
Here's a fun version of this: end-to-end development of a vaccine costs about $3-4B (assuming no incremental benefits in platform tech!). OpenAI's last cap raise came out to $40B. So, for the cost of non-consenually seeing Jason Momoa plow Marilyn Monroe, you could instead fully cure ten diseases.
i feel like i could make 20 aubrey-maturin adaptations with that disney 360 degree set and a handful of live actors for the cost of what openAI spends each day generating videos of MLK appearing on joe rogan
Despite early, and familiar, copyright growing pains, Sora may be the prelude to AI-generated on-demand TV and movies
October 14, 2025 at 4:13 PM
Here's a fun version of this: end-to-end development of a vaccine costs about $3-4B (assuming no incremental benefits in platform tech!). OpenAI's last cap raise came out to $40B. So, for the cost of non-consenually seeing Jason Momoa plow Marilyn Monroe, you could instead fully cure ten diseases.
Reposted by Rachel Feltman (she/they)
On today's Science Quickly, I interviewed a former White House doctor about the president's care, aging and more: "It is a fact of science, it's not a political attack, that humans past the age of 60... start to have cognitive decline."
"We have a gerontocracy."
Listen on @sciam.bsky.social 🎧
"We have a gerontocracy."
Listen on @sciam.bsky.social 🎧
Transforming Presidential Health Care: Insights from a Former White House Doctor
A former White House physician reveals the medical realities of caring for the president of the U.S.
www.scientificamerican.com
October 10, 2025 at 3:28 PM
On today's Science Quickly, I interviewed a former White House doctor about the president's care, aging and more: "It is a fact of science, it's not a political attack, that humans past the age of 60... start to have cognitive decline."
"We have a gerontocracy."
Listen on @sciam.bsky.social 🎧
"We have a gerontocracy."
Listen on @sciam.bsky.social 🎧
Jared Kushner and a bunch of Saudi investors owning The Sims obviously isn't the worst thing that's happening right now but I just really didn't have that one on my enshittification bingo card
October 7, 2025 at 6:02 PM
Jared Kushner and a bunch of Saudi investors owning The Sims obviously isn't the worst thing that's happening right now but I just really didn't have that one on my enshittification bingo card
Reposted by Rachel Feltman (she/they)
Reposted by Rachel Feltman (she/they)
"You see CDC being torn apart, 2,000 people who are no longer there, years of experience, centers that are being demolished." @drdemetre.bsky.social discusses the dire state of US public health w/ @feltman.bsky.social on @sciam.bsky.social Science Quickly: www.scientificamerican.com/podcast/epis...
Demetre Daskalakis Saw the CDC Change from the Inside—And He’s Sounding the Alarm
The former director of a CDC center reveals how political ideology is undermining science, threatening vaccine policy and endangering public health across the U.S.
www.scientificamerican.com
October 1, 2025 at 6:31 PM
"You see CDC being torn apart, 2,000 people who are no longer there, years of experience, centers that are being demolished." @drdemetre.bsky.social discusses the dire state of US public health w/ @feltman.bsky.social on @sciam.bsky.social Science Quickly: www.scientificamerican.com/podcast/epis...
Today on Science Quickly for @sciam.bsky.social: @drdemetre.bsky.social on how the CDC has decayed from a trusted source of health information to "an ideology propaganda machine that’s Orwellian"—and what we can do about it
www.scientificamerican.com/podcast/epis...
www.scientificamerican.com/podcast/epis...
Demetre Daskalakis Saw the CDC Change from the Inside—And He’s Sounding the Alarm
The former director of a CDC center reveals how political ideology is undermining science, threatening vaccine policy and endangering public health across the U.S.
www.scientificamerican.com
October 1, 2025 at 1:48 PM
Today on Science Quickly for @sciam.bsky.social: @drdemetre.bsky.social on how the CDC has decayed from a trusted source of health information to "an ideology propaganda machine that’s Orwellian"—and what we can do about it
www.scientificamerican.com/podcast/epis...
www.scientificamerican.com/podcast/epis...
Reposted by Rachel Feltman (she/they)
Every new thing I learn about Alvin Lucier is cooler than the last. He used his brainwaves to make music in the '60s--and he found a way to keep it up, even after his death. "If anyone was gonna pull off immortality, it was him," his daughter, Amanda Lucier, told me.
Enjoy the episode!🧪
Enjoy the episode!🧪
Today on @sciam.bsky.social's Science Quickly, our unofficial music correspondent @parshallison.bsky.social tells us how one experimental composer is continuing to make music from beyond the grave www.scientificamerican.com/podcast/epis...
Experimental Music Meets Neuroscience in a Haunting New Installation
A museum exhibit in Australia lets visitors hear music generated by brain cells derived from the blood of a dead composer.
www.scientificamerican.com
September 26, 2025 at 5:43 PM
Every new thing I learn about Alvin Lucier is cooler than the last. He used his brainwaves to make music in the '60s--and he found a way to keep it up, even after his death. "If anyone was gonna pull off immortality, it was him," his daughter, Amanda Lucier, told me.
Enjoy the episode!🧪
Enjoy the episode!🧪
Today on @sciam.bsky.social's Science Quickly, our unofficial music correspondent @parshallison.bsky.social tells us how one experimental composer is continuing to make music from beyond the grave www.scientificamerican.com/podcast/epis...
Experimental Music Meets Neuroscience in a Haunting New Installation
A museum exhibit in Australia lets visitors hear music generated by brain cells derived from the blood of a dead composer.
www.scientificamerican.com
September 26, 2025 at 5:37 PM
Today on @sciam.bsky.social's Science Quickly, our unofficial music correspondent @parshallison.bsky.social tells us how one experimental composer is continuing to make music from beyond the grave www.scientificamerican.com/podcast/epis...
Reposted by Rachel Feltman (she/they)
maybe the dire wolves were skating bowls too much
Got to talk about ~hot historical gossip~ with @annaleen.bsky.social on this week's Weirdest Thing! Also: skate park archaeology www.popsci.com/science/arch...
Why archaeologists are studying a skate park
Plus dire wolves' bad knees and other weird things we learned this week.
www.popsci.com
September 24, 2025 at 5:43 PM
maybe the dire wolves were skating bowls too much
Reposted by Rachel Feltman (she/they)
Karolina spent years idolizing raw vegan influencers on Instagram. She went to Bali to meet them — and never came home.
My deep dive on fruitarianism — a group of wellness influencers who exclusively eat raw fruit — is up on @nymag.com @thecut.com today. www.thecut.com/article/karo...
My deep dive on fruitarianism — a group of wellness influencers who exclusively eat raw fruit — is up on @nymag.com @thecut.com today. www.thecut.com/article/karo...
The Woman Who Ate Only Fruit
Karolina Krzyzak went to Bali to meet the raw-vegan influencers she’d followed for years. She never made it back home.
www.thecut.com
September 25, 2025 at 3:15 PM
Karolina spent years idolizing raw vegan influencers on Instagram. She went to Bali to meet them — and never came home.
My deep dive on fruitarianism — a group of wellness influencers who exclusively eat raw fruit — is up on @nymag.com @thecut.com today. www.thecut.com/article/karo...
My deep dive on fruitarianism — a group of wellness influencers who exclusively eat raw fruit — is up on @nymag.com @thecut.com today. www.thecut.com/article/karo...
Got to talk about ~hot historical gossip~ with @annaleen.bsky.social on this week's Weirdest Thing! Also: skate park archaeology www.popsci.com/science/arch...
Why archaeologists are studying a skate park
Plus dire wolves' bad knees and other weird things we learned this week.
www.popsci.com
September 24, 2025 at 1:53 PM
Got to talk about ~hot historical gossip~ with @annaleen.bsky.social on this week's Weirdest Thing! Also: skate park archaeology www.popsci.com/science/arch...
we are a heartbeat away from someone in a position of medical authority saying that fresh liver smoothies are superior to prenatal vitamins and the best treatment for a maternal fever is a cold plunge
September 24, 2025 at 1:47 PM
we are a heartbeat away from someone in a position of medical authority saying that fresh liver smoothies are superior to prenatal vitamins and the best treatment for a maternal fever is a cold plunge
meanwhile, unmanaged fevers during pregnancy are such a concern that they put the fear of god into you about taking HOT BATHS
Kimmel's show put together a montage of Trump insisting dozens of times yesterday to "DON'T TAKE TYLENOL." Complete insanity.
September 24, 2025 at 1:45 PM
meanwhile, unmanaged fevers during pregnancy are such a concern that they put the fear of god into you about taking HOT BATHS
Reposted by Rachel Feltman (she/they)
Really important piece by Roxane Gay: “Civility obsessives love a silver-tongued devil, wearing a nice suit, sporting a tidy haircut, while whispering sweet bigotries.” 🎁 link: @roxanegay.bsky.social www.nytimes.com/2025/09/24/o...
Opinion | Civility Is a Fantasy
www.nytimes.com
September 24, 2025 at 1:01 PM
Really important piece by Roxane Gay: “Civility obsessives love a silver-tongued devil, wearing a nice suit, sporting a tidy haircut, while whispering sweet bigotries.” 🎁 link: @roxanegay.bsky.social www.nytimes.com/2025/09/24/o...
The always excellent @parshallison.bsky.social unpacks the evidence on pregnancy and tylenol www.scientificamerican.com/article/does...
Does Tylenol Use during Pregnancy Cause Autism? What the Research Shows
President Trump and Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., have tied Tylenol use during pregnancy and folate deficiencies to rising autism rates—but the evidence is thin
www.scientificamerican.com
September 24, 2025 at 12:28 PM
The always excellent @parshallison.bsky.social unpacks the evidence on pregnancy and tylenol www.scientificamerican.com/article/does...
Reposted by Rachel Feltman (she/they)
It's all fun and games until a cop handles a Tylenol gelcap with no gloves and within seconds their socks are bothering them.
September 23, 2025 at 12:30 AM
It's all fun and games until a cop handles a Tylenol gelcap with no gloves and within seconds their socks are bothering them.
Reposted by Rachel Feltman (she/they)
i have to say, as a trans journalist who has covered the "trans debate" for about a decade now, there is no daylight between how the trump administration and conservatives lie about tylenol and autism and how they've lied about youth trans care.
September 23, 2025 at 12:32 PM
i have to say, as a trans journalist who has covered the "trans debate" for about a decade now, there is no daylight between how the trump administration and conservatives lie about tylenol and autism and how they've lied about youth trans care.
throughout my childhood I had sunday school teachers tell me the rapture would obviously happen before I made it to adulthood, which is something I remember fondly every time I have to, like, pay my taxes
September 23, 2025 at 12:57 PM
throughout my childhood I had sunday school teachers tell me the rapture would obviously happen before I made it to adulthood, which is something I remember fondly every time I have to, like, pay my taxes
celebrating the high holy days www.youtube.com/watch?v=kPwG...
9/21/16
YouTube video by Demi Adejuyigbe
www.youtube.com
September 22, 2025 at 12:52 AM
celebrating the high holy days www.youtube.com/watch?v=kPwG...
FYI this is the last day of Penzey's "release the files" sale, where all spices that start with "R" or "F" are 33% off with the code "files" www.penzeys.com
HomePage | Penzeys
www.penzeys.com
September 21, 2025 at 12:56 PM
FYI this is the last day of Penzey's "release the files" sale, where all spices that start with "R" or "F" are 33% off with the code "files" www.penzeys.com
Reposted by Rachel Feltman (she/they)
SecUnit: "Just remember you're not alone here. I never know what to say to that. I am actually alone in my head, and that's where 90 plus percent of my problems are". Me: FACTS 😅
Network Effect. Book 5 of #Murderbot books by @marthawells.com 🥰 #booksky #books #crochet #craft
Network Effect. Book 5 of #Murderbot books by @marthawells.com 🥰 #booksky #books #crochet #craft
September 19, 2025 at 12:44 PM
SecUnit: "Just remember you're not alone here. I never know what to say to that. I am actually alone in my head, and that's where 90 plus percent of my problems are". Me: FACTS 😅
Network Effect. Book 5 of #Murderbot books by @marthawells.com 🥰 #booksky #books #crochet #craft
Network Effect. Book 5 of #Murderbot books by @marthawells.com 🥰 #booksky #books #crochet #craft
Reposted by Rachel Feltman (she/they)
Confused by patchwork COVID vaccine guidelines across states? @sciam.bsky.social has a map with the latest info from the National Alliance of State Pharmacy Associations. We'll keep tracking updates. 📊 @unamandita.bsky.social ✏️ @jaimieseaton.bsky.social. www.scientificamerican.com/article/covi...
What State-by-State Rules Mean for Your COVID Shot
With federal vaccine guidance under fire, states are forging their own immunization paths
www.scientificamerican.com
September 17, 2025 at 9:05 PM
Confused by patchwork COVID vaccine guidelines across states? @sciam.bsky.social has a map with the latest info from the National Alliance of State Pharmacy Associations. We'll keep tracking updates. 📊 @unamandita.bsky.social ✏️ @jaimieseaton.bsky.social. www.scientificamerican.com/article/covi...