Jon Shaffer
@jonshaffer.bsky.social
Assistant Professor of Sociology @UVM | STS | Med Soc | Social Movements | Previously Post-doc @BermanInstitute, Partners In Health
Personal Website: https://www.jonathanshaffer.net
Personal Website: https://www.jonathanshaffer.net
Pinned
Jon Shaffer
@jonshaffer.bsky.social
· Sep 23
From Evidence to Power: Organizing for Public Health with Jon Shaffer, PhD
Sociologist–organizer Jon Shaffer, PhD, joins Infectious Dose to explain why organizing—not just evidence—wins public-health protections, how DPH is building state teams, and what you can do next.
www.infectiousdose.com
Public health people have to get themselves organized to fight back, otherwise we're toast.
If we don't, the eugenic madness coming from Trump, RFK Jr., Oz, etc is going to kill lots of people.
Here I share some thoughts about how we can start to organize: www.infectiousdose.com/post/from-ev...
If we don't, the eugenic madness coming from Trump, RFK Jr., Oz, etc is going to kill lots of people.
Here I share some thoughts about how we can start to organize: www.infectiousdose.com/post/from-ev...
Reposted by Jon Shaffer
‘The International Energy Agency reckons that if the current global expansion of data centres continues, the CO2 emissions for which they are responsible, currently around 200 million tonnes per year, will be about 60 per cent higher by 2030.’
Donald MacKenzie on AI.
www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
Donald MacKenzie on AI.
www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
Donald MacKenzie · AI’s Scale
AI’s scale doesn’t matter just to specialists. The rest of us are being taken on a ride along the logarithmic curve...
www.lrb.co.uk
February 7, 2026 at 7:25 PM
‘The International Energy Agency reckons that if the current global expansion of data centres continues, the CO2 emissions for which they are responsible, currently around 200 million tonnes per year, will be about 60 per cent higher by 2030.’
Donald MacKenzie on AI.
www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
Donald MacKenzie on AI.
www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
Reposted by Jon Shaffer
This week at Group Threat, I spoke with @grundrza.bsky.social about Florida's censorship regime, teaching under authoritarianism, and how folks are coping (or not).
What's the Matter with Florida? An Interview with Zachary Levenson
A discussion about Florida's censorship of sociology and teaching under authoritarianism
groupthreat.com
February 6, 2026 at 3:00 PM
This week at Group Threat, I spoke with @grundrza.bsky.social about Florida's censorship regime, teaching under authoritarianism, and how folks are coping (or not).
Reposted by Jon Shaffer
Millions of Americans lose health insurance as COVID-19 era subsidies end www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...
Millions of Americans lose health insurance as COVID-19 era subsidies end
With the spike in Affordable Care Act health insurance costs, around 4·8 million people
could lose coverage. Susan Jaffe reports from Washington, DC.
www.thelancet.com
February 5, 2026 at 11:51 PM
Millions of Americans lose health insurance as COVID-19 era subsidies end www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...
The crown of Empress Eugénie was one of nine invaluable royal ornaments snatched by burglars during the Louvre heist in October, but the thieves dropped it on the sidewalk before making their escape. The Louvre announced it will soon invite restorers to submit proposals for the crown’s repair.
The Louvre Thieves Dropped This Priceless Crown. Now It Looks Like This.
Empress Eugénie’s crown was left lying on the sidewalk after the Louvre Museum heist in October. The museum has now released pictures of the damage.
nyti.ms
February 6, 2026 at 12:06 AM
Reposted by Jon Shaffer
Among its many other problems, crypto feels like a needlessly painful way to learn why New Deal financial regulations are important.
February 5, 2026 at 11:28 PM
Among its many other problems, crypto feels like a needlessly painful way to learn why New Deal financial regulations are important.
goddamn
Iowa closing the African American studies major during Black history month is diabolical.
This article is from 4 days ago, but it is now official. The minor will continue.
This article is from 4 days ago, but it is now official. The minor will continue.
Iowa universities reviewing low-enrollment majors, could close or merge programs
The University of Iowa is reviewing undergraduate majors with low enrollment – like African American studies and gender, women's, and sexuality studies – after the Board of Regents last year mandated ...
www.thegazette.com
February 5, 2026 at 11:37 PM
goddamn
Reposted by Jon Shaffer
Iowa closing the African American studies major during Black history month is diabolical.
This article is from 4 days ago, but it is now official. The minor will continue.
This article is from 4 days ago, but it is now official. The minor will continue.
Iowa universities reviewing low-enrollment majors, could close or merge programs
The University of Iowa is reviewing undergraduate majors with low enrollment – like African American studies and gender, women's, and sexuality studies – after the Board of Regents last year mandated ...
www.thegazette.com
February 5, 2026 at 9:07 PM
Iowa closing the African American studies major during Black history month is diabolical.
This article is from 4 days ago, but it is now official. The minor will continue.
This article is from 4 days ago, but it is now official. The minor will continue.
interesting
A special corps of health care workers have been called in to work with detained immigrants and many feel deeply conflicted about the assignment, saying they're not able to provide good care.
Some Public Health Service officers quit rather than serve in ICE detention centers
A special corps of health care workers have been called in to work with detained immigrants and many feel deeply conflicted about the assignment, saying they're not able to provide good care.
n.pr
February 5, 2026 at 10:32 PM
interesting
Got tix for the Broken Social Scene concert in Chicago in July and my elder-millennial soul could not be more excited.
February 5, 2026 at 3:05 PM
Got tix for the Broken Social Scene concert in Chicago in July and my elder-millennial soul could not be more excited.
Reposted by Jon Shaffer
The manifold ways in which these fascists are destroying public health is incalculable. But we need to calculate it anyway.
Elizabeth, a 10-year-old Minnesota girl, spent a month detained at the ICE facility in Dilley, TX before her release last night w/ her mom.
Dilley now has a measles outbreak and hundreds of other kids remain detained. Elizabeth has flu-like symptoms and her mom has hives, a school official told me
Dilley now has a measles outbreak and hundreds of other kids remain detained. Elizabeth has flu-like symptoms and her mom has hives, a school official told me
Minnesota girl, 10, released from ICE custody after a month in detention
Elizabeth Zuna Caisaguano and her mother released from Texas facility to head back to Minnesota to reunite with her father
www.theguardian.com
February 5, 2026 at 12:33 AM
The manifold ways in which these fascists are destroying public health is incalculable. But we need to calculate it anyway.
Reposted by Jon Shaffer
NEW: NEW: HHS is working on an AI tool to analyze VAERS—a database of vaccine injury claims to which anyone can make submissions—and "generate hypotheses." This is from @emilymullin.bsky.social:
HHS Is Making an AI Tool to Create Hypotheses About Vaccine Injury Claims
Experts worry Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Health Department will use an internal AI tool to analyze vaccine injury claims in a way that furthers his anti-vaccine agenda.
www.wired.com
February 4, 2026 at 1:49 PM
NEW: NEW: HHS is working on an AI tool to analyze VAERS—a database of vaccine injury claims to which anyone can make submissions—and "generate hypotheses." This is from @emilymullin.bsky.social:
Reposted by Jon Shaffer
Call for submissions!
🔔 2026 Theory Section Junior Theorist Award!
⏱️ Submit by March 2, 2026
🔗 Full call and other awards: asatheory.com/theory-award...
🔔 2026 Theory Section Junior Theorist Award!
⏱️ Submit by March 2, 2026
🔗 Full call and other awards: asatheory.com/theory-award...
February 4, 2026 at 2:44 PM
Call for submissions!
🔔 2026 Theory Section Junior Theorist Award!
⏱️ Submit by March 2, 2026
🔗 Full call and other awards: asatheory.com/theory-award...
🔔 2026 Theory Section Junior Theorist Award!
⏱️ Submit by March 2, 2026
🔗 Full call and other awards: asatheory.com/theory-award...
Reposted by Jon Shaffer
"Under severe defunding, about 22.6 million more deaths were forecast by 2030, including 5.4 million among under-fives. Mild defunding would mean 9.4 million excess deaths, of which 2.5 million would be young children."
These deaths are avoidable!
www.theguardian.com/global-devel...
These deaths are avoidable!
www.theguardian.com/global-devel...
Aid cuts could cause 22m avoidable deaths by 2030, study finds
Modelling suggests 5.4m children under five among those who could die if budgets of donor countries such as UK and US continue to be slashed
www.theguardian.com
February 3, 2026 at 1:24 PM
"Under severe defunding, about 22.6 million more deaths were forecast by 2030, including 5.4 million among under-fives. Mild defunding would mean 9.4 million excess deaths, of which 2.5 million would be young children."
These deaths are avoidable!
www.theguardian.com/global-devel...
These deaths are avoidable!
www.theguardian.com/global-devel...
"The ‘do more with less’ heuristic mindset is always mobilised to undermine proposals of expanded social care for the impoverished. Slouching towards hallucinations of efficiency, the neoliberal ethos perpetually moves" towards hollowing out care for the poor.
gh.bmj.com/content/8/11...
gh.bmj.com/content/8/11...
February 2, 2026 at 7:16 PM
"The ‘do more with less’ heuristic mindset is always mobilised to undermine proposals of expanded social care for the impoverished. Slouching towards hallucinations of efficiency, the neoliberal ethos perpetually moves" towards hollowing out care for the poor.
gh.bmj.com/content/8/11...
gh.bmj.com/content/8/11...
Reposted by Jon Shaffer
This also goes for scientific conferences in the USA: just, no.
Professional athletes are being advised not to leave the hotel or go anywhere without their passports while visiting Minnesota.
This is not a country that can safely host international events like the World Cup.
Boycotting is not even a political question anymore. It is a basic issue of safety.
This is not a country that can safely host international events like the World Cup.
Boycotting is not even a political question anymore. It is a basic issue of safety.
The Montreal Canadiens are playing the Minnesota Wild in Minneapolis tonight. The players have been recommended to stay in/eat at the hotel, take the team bus to the arena, and carry passports.
Perhaps we shouldn't be hosting the World Cup and the Olympics...
Perhaps we shouldn't be hosting the World Cup and the Olympics...
February 2, 2026 at 7:04 PM
This also goes for scientific conferences in the USA: just, no.
Reposted by Jon Shaffer
Trump's immigration human-rights nightmare isn't pulling back. It's about to get much worse
A planned op this week in Springfield, Ohio targeting hard-working Haitians who came here the right way is nothing less than an ethnic cleansing on U.S. soil
My new column www.inquirer.com/opinion/trum...
A planned op this week in Springfield, Ohio targeting hard-working Haitians who came here the right way is nothing less than an ethnic cleansing on U.S. soil
My new column www.inquirer.com/opinion/trum...
A not-‘toned down’ Trump regime prepares for ethnic cleansing in Ohio
A plan for immigration raids this week on thousands of Haitians in Springfield, Ohio shows that nothing has changed.
www.inquirer.com
February 2, 2026 at 12:06 PM
Trump's immigration human-rights nightmare isn't pulling back. It's about to get much worse
A planned op this week in Springfield, Ohio targeting hard-working Haitians who came here the right way is nothing less than an ethnic cleansing on U.S. soil
My new column www.inquirer.com/opinion/trum...
A planned op this week in Springfield, Ohio targeting hard-working Haitians who came here the right way is nothing less than an ethnic cleansing on U.S. soil
My new column www.inquirer.com/opinion/trum...
Omg
It appears there is now a measles outbreak at the Dilley family detention facility. www.sacurrent.com/news/san-ant...
Source: Measles outbreak reported at ICE's Dilley family detention facility
DPS troopers stand guard in front of the Dilley detention center during a protest last weekend. After a week of public outcry over the Dilley, Texas South
www.sacurrent.com
February 2, 2026 at 1:05 AM
Omg
This could have been the protest I was at in Burlington, VT yesterday.
It could be the next protest you go to.
It could be the next protest you go to.
This was the kind of treatment the union activists got today from Oregon’s largest unions alongside coalitions like @jwjpdx.bsky.social. They fired projectiles and injured many demonstrators and broke out neighbors windows. Gas for a half dozen miles in each direction. #iceout
February 1, 2026 at 4:07 AM
This could have been the protest I was at in Burlington, VT yesterday.
It could be the next protest you go to.
It could be the next protest you go to.
Reposted by Jon Shaffer
I just got tear gassed along with thousands of union members, many of whom had their families with them. Federal agents at the ICE facility tear gassed children. We must abolish ICE, DHS, and we must have prosecutions. I expect to see enforcement of our city code prohibiting the use of tear gas.
February 1, 2026 at 1:23 AM
I just got tear gassed along with thousands of union members, many of whom had their families with them. Federal agents at the ICE facility tear gassed children. We must abolish ICE, DHS, and we must have prosecutions. I expect to see enforcement of our city code prohibiting the use of tear gas.
Omg
I was there. They were indiscriminately firing multiple canisters into a huge peaceful crowd. Fucking cowards
February 1, 2026 at 2:55 AM
Omg
Reposted by Jon Shaffer
Just got gassed pretty good at the labor union anti-ICE protest in Portland. Massive march, 5-10k strong. Vibes were very much liberal rather than radical. Lots of kids and older folks.
They gassed the whole crowd as soon as it marched on ICE, in broad daylight.
They gassed the whole crowd as soon as it marched on ICE, in broad daylight.
February 1, 2026 at 2:03 AM
Just got gassed pretty good at the labor union anti-ICE protest in Portland. Massive march, 5-10k strong. Vibes were very much liberal rather than radical. Lots of kids and older folks.
They gassed the whole crowd as soon as it marched on ICE, in broad daylight.
They gassed the whole crowd as soon as it marched on ICE, in broad daylight.
Reposted by Jon Shaffer
Just experienced the most intense tear gassing of my life by federal officers outside the ICE facility in Portland where marchers gathered. There was no fast exit as they indiscriminately threw loads of gas and flash bangs. Children were in the crowd screaming. @oregoncapitalchronicle.com
February 1, 2026 at 12:50 AM
Just experienced the most intense tear gassing of my life by federal officers outside the ICE facility in Portland where marchers gathered. There was no fast exit as they indiscriminately threw loads of gas and flash bangs. Children were in the crowd screaming. @oregoncapitalchronicle.com
Reposted by Jon Shaffer
abolish ice is the moderate position
February 1, 2026 at 2:43 AM
abolish ice is the moderate position
Reposted by Jon Shaffer
Tbh I’m kinda weirded out by the research this sex trafficking pedophile was was into/looking to fund
February 1, 2026 at 12:41 AM
Tbh I’m kinda weirded out by the research this sex trafficking pedophile was was into/looking to fund