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.
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...
A reminder that Bobby Kennedy was always a bad guy, & only in the Upside Down that we're all living in could he have come to power.
"It’s difficult to understate the deleterious impact that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has had on America’s public health policy."
🧵1/6
newrepublic.com/article/2044...
"It’s difficult to understate the deleterious impact that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has had on America’s public health policy."
🧵1/6
newrepublic.com/article/2044...
RFK Jr. Will Let Us All Die Just to Make a Buck
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is forcing his MAHA agenda on all of us—and it’s already getting ugly.
newrepublic.com
January 1, 2026 at 4:13 AM
A reminder that Bobby Kennedy was always a bad guy, & only in the Upside Down that we're all living in could he have come to power.
"It’s difficult to understate the deleterious impact that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has had on America’s public health policy."
🧵1/6
newrepublic.com/article/2044...
"It’s difficult to understate the deleterious impact that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has had on America’s public health policy."
🧵1/6
newrepublic.com/article/2044...
Since 2009, PolitiFact has marked the end of each year by naming a "Lie of the Year."
This year, there were so many to pick from that they instead named 2025 "The Year of the Lies."
This really isn't sustainable....
This year, there were so many to pick from that they instead named 2025 "The Year of the Lies."
This really isn't sustainable....
January 1, 2026 at 12:42 AM
Since 2009, PolitiFact has marked the end of each year by naming a "Lie of the Year."
This year, there were so many to pick from that they instead named 2025 "The Year of the Lies."
This really isn't sustainable....
This year, there were so many to pick from that they instead named 2025 "The Year of the Lies."
This really isn't sustainable....
Yes, this s** still happens.
Many of the 510 plaintiffs, "most of whom are Black...were in their childbearing years when [former gyn] Perwaiz removed their reproductive organs under duress or without their knowledge, and performed other unnecessary procedures."
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/29/h...
Many of the 510 plaintiffs, "most of whom are Black...were in their childbearing years when [former gyn] Perwaiz removed their reproductive organs under duress or without their knowledge, and performed other unnecessary procedures."
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/29/h...
Hundreds Sue Virginia Hospital and Executives Over Unneeded Surgeries
www.nytimes.com
December 31, 2025 at 11:33 PM
Yes, this s** still happens.
Many of the 510 plaintiffs, "most of whom are Black...were in their childbearing years when [former gyn] Perwaiz removed their reproductive organs under duress or without their knowledge, and performed other unnecessary procedures."
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/29/h...
Many of the 510 plaintiffs, "most of whom are Black...were in their childbearing years when [former gyn] Perwaiz removed their reproductive organs under duress or without their knowledge, and performed other unnecessary procedures."
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/29/h...
🚨🧵/mini-essay: Great year-end summary of the childhood vaccination crisis, which discusses multiple issues at play. Highlights, with my commentary & a suggestion or two:
www.washingtonpost.com/health/inter...
🔺️Where we are:
🔹️The US has had school vaccination mandates since 1855 (starring in...
www.washingtonpost.com/health/inter...
🔺️Where we are:
🔹️The US has had school vaccination mandates since 1855 (starring in...
U.S. vaccination rates are plunging. Look up where your school stands.
Take a look to see what the kindergarten measles vaccination rates are in your area.
www.washingtonpost.com
December 31, 2025 at 11:18 PM
🚨🧵/mini-essay: Great year-end summary of the childhood vaccination crisis, which discusses multiple issues at play. Highlights, with my commentary & a suggestion or two:
www.washingtonpost.com/health/inter...
🔺️Where we are:
🔹️The US has had school vaccination mandates since 1855 (starring in...
www.washingtonpost.com/health/inter...
🔺️Where we are:
🔹️The US has had school vaccination mandates since 1855 (starring in...
Great news: Chicago, Los Angeles, & Portland, Oregon will be free of national guard deployments. (DC, New Orleans, & Memphis aren't so lucky.)
Thanks to the governors, legislators, & attorneys who fought against these hostile incursions & judges who sided with them.
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/31/u...
Thanks to the governors, legislators, & attorneys who fought against these hostile incursions & judges who sided with them.
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/31/u...
Trump Abandons Efforts to Deploy National Guard to 3 Major Cities
www.nytimes.com
December 31, 2025 at 10:19 PM
Great news: Chicago, Los Angeles, & Portland, Oregon will be free of national guard deployments. (DC, New Orleans, & Memphis aren't so lucky.)
Thanks to the governors, legislators, & attorneys who fought against these hostile incursions & judges who sided with them.
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/31/u...
Thanks to the governors, legislators, & attorneys who fought against these hostile incursions & judges who sided with them.
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/31/u...
"Smoking is probably safe as long as I just do it at parties" is exactly the sort of rationalization I used to deal with when I worked in HIV intervention (except about barebacking, vs cigarettes).
The decade changes; the cognitive distortions always stay the same.
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/30/w...
The decade changes; the cognitive distortions always stay the same.
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/30/w...
Is an Occasional Cigarette Really That Bad?
www.nytimes.com
December 31, 2025 at 6:22 AM
"Smoking is probably safe as long as I just do it at parties" is exactly the sort of rationalization I used to deal with when I worked in HIV intervention (except about barebacking, vs cigarettes).
The decade changes; the cognitive distortions always stay the same.
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/30/w...
The decade changes; the cognitive distortions always stay the same.
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/30/w...
You know, it really ticks me off that RFK Jr. is selling "just world thinking" to the American public - "you avoid disease when you take care of yourself" - when his own 35 year old, extremely fit cousin was diagnosed with terminal cancer while swimming a mile a day at 9 months pregnant. Heartless.
December 31, 2025 at 5:55 AM
You know, it really ticks me off that RFK Jr. is selling "just world thinking" to the American public - "you avoid disease when you take care of yourself" - when his own 35 year old, extremely fit cousin was diagnosed with terminal cancer while swimming a mile a day at 9 months pregnant. Heartless.