J. Offir, PhD
@joffirphd.bsky.social
Ph.D. in social psychology. Former researcher in pandemic behavioral risk reduction (non-pharma intervention). Only here to keep up. @joffir@med-mastodon.com
Pinned
J. Offir, PhD
@joffirphd.bsky.social
· Aug 23
In The Bad Place, I have a pinned thread of my covid essays & threads, w/ short descriptions of ea. Here's one for This Place, though w/o descriptions, b/c I'm tired. As is true there, I've put them in reverse chrono order, but anything new will post at the end. I flagged ones people liked best:
Updated 📌 list of my essays on the psychology of public health (inc. topics like covid, HIV & reproductive health). As of 8/22/25, there are *31* long-form pieces in this 🧵.
The list starts in reverse chrono. order, but in Oct. 2024 starts rolling forward, so oldest posts are in the middle. Doh.
The list starts in reverse chrono. order, but in Oct. 2024 starts rolling forward, so oldest posts are in the middle. Doh.
One of my very favorite things to eat in the UK is sticky toffee pudding. The NYT recently posted a recipe that looked good, so I was going to make it for Xmas, but I I didn't have the energy. Tonight, I finally got around to it - very sweet & very good, though maybe not as sticky as I expected.
January 4, 2026 at 7:25 AM
One of my very favorite things to eat in the UK is sticky toffee pudding. The NYT recently posted a recipe that looked good, so I was going to make it for Xmas, but I I didn't have the energy. Tonight, I finally got around to it - very sweet & very good, though maybe not as sticky as I expected.
We need to reclaim Congress this year. Don't tell me about how less-than-perfect insults your sensibilities; we need to do it & need every person of good will to help.
I'd hoped to have a "ways to get involved" thread ready for Jan. 1; I'll have it soon. Please commit to participating in democracy.
I'd hoped to have a "ways to get involved" thread ready for Jan. 1; I'll have it soon. Please commit to participating in democracy.
Watch this. Watch again.
"This incredible thing last night... We have to do it again [in other countries]. We can do it again, too. Nobody can stop us."
"This incredible thing last night... We have to do it again [in other countries]. We can do it again, too. Nobody can stop us."
January 4, 2026 at 6:59 AM
We need to reclaim Congress this year. Don't tell me about how less-than-perfect insults your sensibilities; we need to do it & need every person of good will to help.
I'd hoped to have a "ways to get involved" thread ready for Jan. 1; I'll have it soon. Please commit to participating in democracy.
I'd hoped to have a "ways to get involved" thread ready for Jan. 1; I'll have it soon. Please commit to participating in democracy.
It was rather obvious even before Weiss showed up; now, I can't imagine why anyone with sense would even click over during the commercials on their regular evening news show. (Does anyone else flip to more news, during the commercials? Just me?)
A CBS News staffer told me this after Tony Dokoupil kicked off his CBS Evening News tenure tonight with a lengthy Pete Hegseth interview:
"If this is what Bari and Tony’s CBS Evening News is going to look like, then the we may as well just call ourselves Trump Administration State TV. Pathetic."
"If this is what Bari and Tony’s CBS Evening News is going to look like, then the we may as well just call ourselves Trump Administration State TV. Pathetic."
January 4, 2026 at 3:10 AM
It was rather obvious even before Weiss showed up; now, I can't imagine why anyone with sense would even click over during the commercials on their regular evening news show. (Does anyone else flip to more news, during the commercials? Just me?)
What does Eric Topol eat? A Mediterranean diet. Yogurt & berries. Nuts. Salad & salmon.
But also "There are these really thin Trader Joe’s lemon cookies...I might have a few of those, too."
I know them; love them; have them in my pantry. & Topol says I can!
www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/202...
But also "There are these really thin Trader Joe’s lemon cookies...I might have a few of those, too."
I know them; love them; have them in my pantry. & Topol says I can!
www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/202...
What a longevity expert eats in a day
Cardiologist Eric Topol has studied “super agers” for years. This is exactly what he eats — and avoids.
www.washingtonpost.com
January 4, 2026 at 2:37 AM
What does Eric Topol eat? A Mediterranean diet. Yogurt & berries. Nuts. Salad & salmon.
But also "There are these really thin Trader Joe’s lemon cookies...I might have a few of those, too."
I know them; love them; have them in my pantry. & Topol says I can!
www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/202...
But also "There are these really thin Trader Joe’s lemon cookies...I might have a few of those, too."
I know them; love them; have them in my pantry. & Topol says I can!
www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/202...
Being bitten by the hand they fed:
More than a quarter of farmers get health coverage through the ACA; now, a great many can't afford it due to the GOP elimination of subsidies. That's a problem, because farming is physical, dangerous work:
1/4
www.npr.org/sections/sho...
More than a quarter of farmers get health coverage through the ACA; now, a great many can't afford it due to the GOP elimination of subsidies. That's a problem, because farming is physical, dangerous work:
1/4
www.npr.org/sections/sho...
Farmers are about to pay a lot more for health insurance
Tariffs, inflation, and other federal policies have battered U.S. farmers' bottom lines. Now many farmers say the expiration of federal health care subsidies will make their coverage unaffordable.
www.npr.org
January 4, 2026 at 2:28 AM
Being bitten by the hand they fed:
More than a quarter of farmers get health coverage through the ACA; now, a great many can't afford it due to the GOP elimination of subsidies. That's a problem, because farming is physical, dangerous work:
1/4
www.npr.org/sections/sho...
More than a quarter of farmers get health coverage through the ACA; now, a great many can't afford it due to the GOP elimination of subsidies. That's a problem, because farming is physical, dangerous work:
1/4
www.npr.org/sections/sho...
🚨Here comes the body count.
An important essay describing how Trump & RFK's healthcare policies are poised to kill huge #s of Americans. Summary below:
🔹️"One study projects that 51,000 Americans will die annually as a result of [healthcare] cuts." (Link at end)
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/03/o...
An important essay describing how Trump & RFK's healthcare policies are poised to kill huge #s of Americans. Summary below:
🔹️"One study projects that 51,000 Americans will die annually as a result of [healthcare] cuts." (Link at end)
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/03/o...
Opinion | Trump’s Cuts Are About to Make Health Care Even Worse
www.nytimes.com
January 4, 2026 at 2:06 AM
🚨Here comes the body count.
An important essay describing how Trump & RFK's healthcare policies are poised to kill huge #s of Americans. Summary below:
🔹️"One study projects that 51,000 Americans will die annually as a result of [healthcare] cuts." (Link at end)
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/03/o...
An important essay describing how Trump & RFK's healthcare policies are poised to kill huge #s of Americans. Summary below:
🔹️"One study projects that 51,000 Americans will die annually as a result of [healthcare] cuts." (Link at end)
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/03/o...
Have questions? She's got answers. (I was able to read the whole thing w/o a paywall kicking in; YMMV.)
You can read my take on Trump's illegal invasion of Venezuela here: www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a...
The Brazen Illegality of Trump’s Venezuela Operation
A scholar of international law on the implications of the U.S. arrest of President Nicolás Maduro.
www.newyorker.com
January 4, 2026 at 12:13 AM
Have questions? She's got answers. (I was able to read the whole thing w/o a paywall kicking in; YMMV.)
Reposted by J. Offir, PhD
ProPublica has found multiple cases of women with underlying health conditions who died when they couldn’t access abortions.
Tierra Walker, a 37-year-old mother, was told by doctors there was no emergency before preeclampsia killed her.
(Published November)
Tierra Walker, a 37-year-old mother, was told by doctors there was no emergency before preeclampsia killed her.
(Published November)
“Ticking Time Bomb”: A Pregnant Mother Kept Getting Sicker. She Died After She Couldn’t Get an Abortion in Texas.
Walker is one of several women ProPublica found with underlying health conditions who died when they couldn’t access abortions.
www.propublica.org
January 3, 2026 at 2:00 AM
ProPublica has found multiple cases of women with underlying health conditions who died when they couldn’t access abortions.
Tierra Walker, a 37-year-old mother, was told by doctors there was no emergency before preeclampsia killed her.
(Published November)
Tierra Walker, a 37-year-old mother, was told by doctors there was no emergency before preeclampsia killed her.
(Published November)
Uh, are we at war? I'd just read an hour ago that Maduro wanted to negotiate.
"Explosions were heard and smoke could be seen rising in multiple locations across Caracas in the early morning Saturday, as aircraft were seen flying over the Venezuelan capital."
www.washingtonpost.com/world/2026/0...
"Explosions were heard and smoke could be seen rising in multiple locations across Caracas in the early morning Saturday, as aircraft were seen flying over the Venezuelan capital."
www.washingtonpost.com/world/2026/0...
Live updates: Explosions and aircraft heard over Venezuelan capital
Explosions were heard and smoke could be seen rising in multiple locations across Caracas in the early morning Saturday. Aircraft were also seen flying over the Venezuelan capital.
www.washingtonpost.com
January 3, 2026 at 7:14 AM
Uh, are we at war? I'd just read an hour ago that Maduro wanted to negotiate.
"Explosions were heard and smoke could be seen rising in multiple locations across Caracas in the early morning Saturday, as aircraft were seen flying over the Venezuelan capital."
www.washingtonpost.com/world/2026/0...
"Explosions were heard and smoke could be seen rising in multiple locations across Caracas in the early morning Saturday, as aircraft were seen flying over the Venezuelan capital."
www.washingtonpost.com/world/2026/0...
If you aren't at the table, you're on the menu:
The ban isn't "about cost or care - it is about driving transgender people and people with [trans] spouses, children, and dependents out of the federal workforce," said the pres. of the Human Rights Campaign Fndn.
www.medpagetoday.com/washington-w...
The ban isn't "about cost or care - it is about driving transgender people and people with [trans] spouses, children, and dependents out of the federal workforce," said the pres. of the Human Rights Campaign Fndn.
www.medpagetoday.com/washington-w...
Federal Employees File Complaint Against Ban on Gender-Affirming Care
Complaint argues that denying coverage of gender-affirming care is sex-based discrimination
www.medpagetoday.com
January 3, 2026 at 6:30 AM
If you aren't at the table, you're on the menu:
The ban isn't "about cost or care - it is about driving transgender people and people with [trans] spouses, children, and dependents out of the federal workforce," said the pres. of the Human Rights Campaign Fndn.
www.medpagetoday.com/washington-w...
The ban isn't "about cost or care - it is about driving transgender people and people with [trans] spouses, children, and dependents out of the federal workforce," said the pres. of the Human Rights Campaign Fndn.
www.medpagetoday.com/washington-w...
That's one mad toddler.
(This reminds me of the gun show scene in Veep where Selina suggests giving a gun to her daughter when she was little would have been a bad idea because "she was a toddler with a temper."
Seriously, though - secure your damn guns. This isn't funny; it's awful and gross.
(This reminds me of the gun show scene in Veep where Selina suggests giving a gun to her daughter when she was little would have been a bad idea because "she was a toddler with a temper."
Seriously, though - secure your damn guns. This isn't funny; it's awful and gross.
January 3, 2026 at 5:26 AM
That's one mad toddler.
(This reminds me of the gun show scene in Veep where Selina suggests giving a gun to her daughter when she was little would have been a bad idea because "she was a toddler with a temper."
Seriously, though - secure your damn guns. This isn't funny; it's awful and gross.
(This reminds me of the gun show scene in Veep where Selina suggests giving a gun to her daughter when she was little would have been a bad idea because "she was a toddler with a temper."
Seriously, though - secure your damn guns. This isn't funny; it's awful and gross.
A new spin on the important public health narrative that we're all in the same boat.
The museum said they notified the 775 families that visited the same day the sick kid did & had provided emails, but they didn't say how many folks were there in total.
There were at least 50 US outbreaks in 2025.
The museum said they notified the 775 families that visited the same day the sick kid did & had provided emails, but they didn't say how many folks were there in total.
There were at least 50 US outbreaks in 2025.
Measles may have been spread at a Noah’s Ark-themed creationist museum in Kentucky earlier this week, the state’s health authority said.
Health Authorities Issue Measles Alert at Creationist Museum
In 2025, the U.S. had the most infections of the vaccine-preventable disease since 1992.
trib.al
January 3, 2026 at 5:16 AM
A new spin on the important public health narrative that we're all in the same boat.
The museum said they notified the 775 families that visited the same day the sick kid did & had provided emails, but they didn't say how many folks were there in total.
There were at least 50 US outbreaks in 2025.
The museum said they notified the 775 families that visited the same day the sick kid did & had provided emails, but they didn't say how many folks were there in total.
There were at least 50 US outbreaks in 2025.
The NIH's National Inst. of Neurological Disorders & Stroke (NINDS) director Walter Koroshetz is getting pushed out, after a decade at the helm. That means 14 of the NIH’s 27 units now lack permanent leaders.
Koroshetz is an expert in Huntingtons & stroke treatments. Almost 800k Americans...
1/2
Koroshetz is an expert in Huntingtons & stroke treatments. Almost 800k Americans...
1/2
January 3, 2026 at 4:17 AM
The NIH's National Inst. of Neurological Disorders & Stroke (NINDS) director Walter Koroshetz is getting pushed out, after a decade at the helm. That means 14 of the NIH’s 27 units now lack permanent leaders.
Koroshetz is an expert in Huntingtons & stroke treatments. Almost 800k Americans...
1/2
Koroshetz is an expert in Huntingtons & stroke treatments. Almost 800k Americans...
1/2
🚨Interesting PBS NewsHour segment on the flu tonight w/ Andrew Pekosz of JHU's SPH, in terms of what was said/not said. (Video below)
🔺️They're now saying the disease is more severe than usual for both older folks & kids < 11. Yesterday, the WaPo just said it's...
🧵1/5
www.pbs.org/newshour/sho...
🔺️They're now saying the disease is more severe than usual for both older folks & kids < 11. Yesterday, the WaPo just said it's...
🧵1/5
www.pbs.org/newshour/sho...
Why the flu season is so bad and how you can protect yourself
We are entering peak flu season, and a new variant known as subclade k is spreading quickly across the country, driving a sharp rise in illness and hospitalizations. Public health officials say this c...
www.pbs.org
January 3, 2026 at 1:27 AM
🚨Interesting PBS NewsHour segment on the flu tonight w/ Andrew Pekosz of JHU's SPH, in terms of what was said/not said. (Video below)
🔺️They're now saying the disease is more severe than usual for both older folks & kids < 11. Yesterday, the WaPo just said it's...
🧵1/5
www.pbs.org/newshour/sho...
🔺️They're now saying the disease is more severe than usual for both older folks & kids < 11. Yesterday, the WaPo just said it's...
🧵1/5
www.pbs.org/newshour/sho...
Poli-Psych🧵: The real story isn't that Stephen Schwartz backed out of hosting a Kennedy Center gala, saying “There’s no way I would set foot in it now.” (Though 💓.)
It's that this regime turns on a dime, all day/every day, in the most childish ways, to hide every loss, & no one calls it out:
1/9
It's that this regime turns on a dime, all day/every day, in the most childish ways, to hide every loss, & no one calls it out:
1/9
January 3, 2026 at 12:58 AM
Poli-Psych🧵: The real story isn't that Stephen Schwartz backed out of hosting a Kennedy Center gala, saying “There’s no way I would set foot in it now.” (Though 💓.)
It's that this regime turns on a dime, all day/every day, in the most childish ways, to hide every loss, & no one calls it out:
1/9
It's that this regime turns on a dime, all day/every day, in the most childish ways, to hide every loss, & no one calls it out:
1/9
So, so glad I stopped watching CBS news after they stomped on Colbert.
Their new approach? Don't get your news from experts; get it from ignorant people just like you! You won't learn anything, but you'll love how it feels to have your own uninformed opinions served up to you like chocolate cake.
Their new approach? Don't get your news from experts; get it from ignorant people just like you! You won't learn anything, but you'll love how it feels to have your own uninformed opinions served up to you like chocolate cake.
This is nuts. Too much emphasis on experts on climate change, right?
January 2, 2026 at 10:46 AM
So, so glad I stopped watching CBS news after they stomped on Colbert.
Their new approach? Don't get your news from experts; get it from ignorant people just like you! You won't learn anything, but you'll love how it feels to have your own uninformed opinions served up to you like chocolate cake.
Their new approach? Don't get your news from experts; get it from ignorant people just like you! You won't learn anything, but you'll love how it feels to have your own uninformed opinions served up to you like chocolate cake.
Here's the issue: if media coverage conveys urgency about the flu season in a way that actually changes behavior &, so, mitigates overall severity of outcomes, anti-science pundits then say the media over-reacted. My impression is that many outlets would rather avoid potential disengagement...
1/2
1/2
Yeah, I don't think so, either, and though there's been a fair amount of press, none of it has conveyed any urgency, which I find problematic.
January 2, 2026 at 3:54 AM
Here's the issue: if media coverage conveys urgency about the flu season in a way that actually changes behavior &, so, mitigates overall severity of outcomes, anti-science pundits then say the media over-reacted. My impression is that many outlets would rather avoid potential disengagement...
1/2
1/2
This is the most anti-intellectual, anti-science administration the US has ever seen; if it were a novel, it would be satire. Or horror.
Tomorrow, Trump is closing NASA’s largest research library, "a facility that houses tens of thousands of books, documents...
1/2
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/31/c...
Tomorrow, Trump is closing NASA’s largest research library, "a facility that houses tens of thousands of books, documents...
1/2
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/31/c...
NASA’s Largest Library Is Closing Amid Staff and Lab Cuts
www.nytimes.com
January 2, 2026 at 2:54 AM
This is the most anti-intellectual, anti-science administration the US has ever seen; if it were a novel, it would be satire. Or horror.
Tomorrow, Trump is closing NASA’s largest research library, "a facility that houses tens of thousands of books, documents...
1/2
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/31/c...
Tomorrow, Trump is closing NASA’s largest research library, "a facility that houses tens of thousands of books, documents...
1/2
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/31/c...
Shirley took footage outside 9 MN daycare centers, claiming they weren't caring for kids. (He went when they weren't open, or to the wrong door, or providers didn't answer b/c of the 8 or 9 guys - some masked - outside.)
Harms his dogwhistle caused:
🧵1/4
www.washingtonpost.com/health/2026/...
Harms his dogwhistle caused:
🧵1/4
www.washingtonpost.com/health/2026/...
Day cares say they are unfairly punished over misleading Minnesota video
The Trump administration announced federal child care funding restrictions after a viral video by a conservative activist suggested Minneapolis day cares operated fraudulently.
www.washingtonpost.com
January 2, 2026 at 2:39 AM
Shirley took footage outside 9 MN daycare centers, claiming they weren't caring for kids. (He went when they weren't open, or to the wrong door, or providers didn't answer b/c of the 8 or 9 guys - some masked - outside.)
Harms his dogwhistle caused:
🧵1/4
www.washingtonpost.com/health/2026/...
Harms his dogwhistle caused:
🧵1/4
www.washingtonpost.com/health/2026/...
In 2016, I saw Guthrie's diary, with all its great little drawings, at London's V&A exhibit, "You Say You Want a Revolution? Records & Rebels 1966-1970." The diary was enchanting; the exhibit, the best museum experience I ever had (& that includes King Tut in 1978, in L.A.). I wish it had come here.
ᴛʜɪꜱ ʟɪꜱᴛ ᴋɪʟʟꜱ ꜰᴀꜱᴄɪꜱᴍ
Woody Guthrie's List of 33 New Year’s Resolutions: Beat Fascism, Write a Song a Day, and Keep the Hoping Machine Running
Woody Guthrie's List of 33 New Year’s Resolutions: Beat Fascism, Write a Song a Day, and Keep the Hoping Machine Running
January 2, 2026 at 1:24 AM
In 2016, I saw Guthrie's diary, with all its great little drawings, at London's V&A exhibit, "You Say You Want a Revolution? Records & Rebels 1966-1970." The diary was enchanting; the exhibit, the best museum experience I ever had (& that includes King Tut in 1978, in L.A.). I wish it had come here.
Fake it 'til you make it, I guess. Or, in this case, presumably for as long as you draw breath.
thehill.com/homenews/adm...
thehill.com/homenews/adm...
Trump claims his ‘real’ approval rating is 64 percent
President Trump claimed Tuesday that his “real” approval rating is at 64 percent, despite polls showing it is below 50 percent. “The polls are rigged even more than the writers,” Trump said i…
thehill.com
January 2, 2026 at 12:54 AM
Fake it 'til you make it, I guess. Or, in this case, presumably for as long as you draw breath.
thehill.com/homenews/adm...
thehill.com/homenews/adm...
This is the first article I've seen that suggests this season's flu is more virulent; what I'd read before said more transmissible, but insisted folks aren't getting sicker than usual.
It also says that the early spike in cases isn't "unusual" &...
🧵1/2
www.washingtonpost.com/health/2026/...
It also says that the early spike in cases isn't "unusual" &...
🧵1/2
www.washingtonpost.com/health/2026/...
Flu cases are rising with a strain that makes older people sicker
Flu season is ramping up in the U.S., marked by a new strain that could make vaccines less effective. Covid cases remain down.
www.washingtonpost.com
January 2, 2026 at 12:27 AM
This is the first article I've seen that suggests this season's flu is more virulent; what I'd read before said more transmissible, but insisted folks aren't getting sicker than usual.
It also says that the early spike in cases isn't "unusual" &...
🧵1/2
www.washingtonpost.com/health/2026/...
It also says that the early spike in cases isn't "unusual" &...
🧵1/2
www.washingtonpost.com/health/2026/...
A court demanded restoration of >2,000 NIH grants Bhattacharya had terminated for arbitrary, capricious & discriminatory reasons, so he said he just won't renew them this year. If you sub "fair & decent" in for the term "DEI" that he objects to, it's clear he's neither.
share.google/lJauvi0IMZHn...
share.google/lJauvi0IMZHn...
NIH director says DEI-related grants that were restored under a court order won’t be renewed
NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya told a podcaster that DEI-related grants restored under a court order won't be renewed in 2026
share.google
January 1, 2026 at 8:55 PM
A court demanded restoration of >2,000 NIH grants Bhattacharya had terminated for arbitrary, capricious & discriminatory reasons, so he said he just won't renew them this year. If you sub "fair & decent" in for the term "DEI" that he objects to, it's clear he's neither.
share.google/lJauvi0IMZHn...
share.google/lJauvi0IMZHn...
Trump makes decisions based only on resentments & revenge. Now he's vetoed a GOP sponsored bill that passed both chambers of Congress w/ full bipartisan support, & which would have provided 39 Colorado communities with clean water.
☎️ Tell your MoCs: override his veto.
www.cpr.org/2025/12/30/t...
☎️ Tell your MoCs: override his veto.
www.cpr.org/2025/12/30/t...
Trump vetoes bipartisan bill to provide clean water to rural Colorado
The legislation to complete the Arkansas Valley Conduit passed Congress with unanimous support but was branded an ‘expensive and unreliable’ project by the President.
www.cpr.org
January 1, 2026 at 7:22 AM
Trump makes decisions based only on resentments & revenge. Now he's vetoed a GOP sponsored bill that passed both chambers of Congress w/ full bipartisan support, & which would have provided 39 Colorado communities with clean water.
☎️ Tell your MoCs: override his veto.
www.cpr.org/2025/12/30/t...
☎️ Tell your MoCs: override his veto.
www.cpr.org/2025/12/30/t...