Joseph Feldblum
@josephfeldblum.bsky.social
Duke Evolutionary Anthropology
Social and reproductive behavior of chimpanzees and others
josephfeldblum.weebly.com
Social and reproductive behavior of chimpanzees and others
josephfeldblum.weebly.com
Pinned
Socially integrated female chimpanzees have lower offspring mortality
In humans and other social mammals, more socially connected females often have higher fitness. Yet evidence linking female sociality to offspring surv…
www.sciencedirect.com
We have a new paper out in @cp-iscience.bsky.social reporting that more socially integrated female chimpanzees have lower offspring mortality 🧪 #evosky #primates #primatology #anthropology www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
This reads exactly like an ODB lyric
RFK Jr: I'm not scared of a germ. I used to snort cocaine off of toilet seats.
February 13, 2026 at 12:22 AM
This reads exactly like an ODB lyric
Reposted by Joseph Feldblum
Esther before Ahasuerus, by Paolo Veronese, 1585-88, 📸 by Nell Redmond
February 10, 2026 at 4:17 PM
Esther before Ahasuerus, by Paolo Veronese, 1585-88, 📸 by Nell Redmond
I had fun chatting with @alexaroblesgil.bsky.social about this cool new paper by my @chriskrupenye.bsky.social 👇
Having an imaginary friend, playing house or daydreaming about the future were long considered uniquely human abilities. Now, scientists have conducted the first study indicating that apes have the ability to play pretend as well.
At a Bonobo’s ‘Tea Party,’ Scientists Find Hints of Imagination
In a playtime experiment, researchers found that our closest living relatives have the capacity for make-believe, too.
nyti.ms
February 6, 2026 at 1:43 AM
I had fun chatting with @alexaroblesgil.bsky.social about this cool new paper by my @chriskrupenye.bsky.social 👇
Reposted by Joseph Feldblum
Reposted by Joseph Feldblum
me and the peer reviewer i suggested
January 31, 2026 at 5:02 AM
me and the peer reviewer i suggested
Good primer here. No doubt Foushee is a dedicated public servant, but when I call her office and ask, amidst an escalating crisis of democracy, what Foushee is doing *differently* now from what she did during Biden, they offer nothing, and in fact get extremely defensive.
Incumbent Valerie Foushee and challenger Nida Allam present starkly different approaches to politics. Could it be a bellwether for Democrats?
A House District Divided
Incumbent Valerie Foushee and challenger Nida Allam present starkly different approaches to politics. Could NC-4 be a bellwether for Democrats?
indyweek.com
January 28, 2026 at 3:37 PM
Good primer here. No doubt Foushee is a dedicated public servant, but when I call her office and ask, amidst an escalating crisis of democracy, what Foushee is doing *differently* now from what she did during Biden, they offer nothing, and in fact get extremely defensive.
Reposted by Joseph Feldblum
This incredibly cool new research shows that the first really big large organism on land was not a giant fungus, as many gave hypothesized. It was so chemically different from fungi that the authors propose "this enigmatic organism is best assigned to an entirely extinct eukaryotic lineage."
Our paper on the mysterious Devonian organism Prototaxites has now finally been published! See the paper here (www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...) and our explainer thread below!
Prototaxites reconstruction by Matt Humpage
Prototaxites reconstruction by Matt Humpage
January 21, 2026 at 9:19 PM
This incredibly cool new research shows that the first really big large organism on land was not a giant fungus, as many gave hypothesized. It was so chemically different from fungi that the authors propose "this enigmatic organism is best assigned to an entirely extinct eukaryotic lineage."
You just never know these days
January 20, 2026 at 8:54 PM
You just never know these days
Reposted by Joseph Feldblum
We are hiring! We have an open position for a new lab coordinator in #primate #cognition and #behavior in the Cognitive Evolution Group at University of Michigan - Ann Arbor. Find out more at: sites.lsa.umich.edu/cognitive-ev...
January 20, 2026 at 3:36 PM
We are hiring! We have an open position for a new lab coordinator in #primate #cognition and #behavior in the Cognitive Evolution Group at University of Michigan - Ann Arbor. Find out more at: sites.lsa.umich.edu/cognitive-ev...
Am I the only guy whose quail proposal *wasn‘t* funded??? 😩😩
The total NSF budget was 9 billion. I doubt they spend 89% of it on quail.
January 15, 2026 at 11:38 PM
Am I the only guy whose quail proposal *wasn‘t* funded??? 😩😩
Reposted by Joseph Feldblum
I wrote about Renee Good, Venezuela, Greenland, and what it means to be a human being. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
January 14, 2026 at 3:26 PM
I wrote about Renee Good, Venezuela, Greenland, and what it means to be a human being. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Reposted by Joseph Feldblum
It's primary season, y'all.
When our politicians fail us, it's time to fire them and find new ones. That's why Carolina Forward is very proud to announce our endorsements in the 2026 primary election for the North Carolina General Assembly.
When our politicians fail us, it's time to fire them and find new ones. That's why Carolina Forward is very proud to announce our endorsements in the 2026 primary election for the North Carolina General Assembly.
January 12, 2026 at 11:46 AM
It's primary season, y'all.
When our politicians fail us, it's time to fire them and find new ones. That's why Carolina Forward is very proud to announce our endorsements in the 2026 primary election for the North Carolina General Assembly.
When our politicians fail us, it's time to fire them and find new ones. That's why Carolina Forward is very proud to announce our endorsements in the 2026 primary election for the North Carolina General Assembly.
My brother wrote a beautiful reflection on my dad‘s life playing, watching, coaching, and living basketball in the Triangle
"Kids these days may hardly know, but people used to speak about having a “basketball jones,” a fever for the game that distorted all of a person’s life to orbit around the rock. My dad, Paul Feldblum, who passed away on October 6, 2025, from ALS, had it."
Requiem for a Hoop Dream
A writer remembers his late father through a shared love of basketball, from Durham YMCAs to the hallowed stands of the Dean Dome.
indyweek.com
January 9, 2026 at 9:18 PM
My brother wrote a beautiful reflection on my dad‘s life playing, watching, coaching, and living basketball in the Triangle
Reposted by Joseph Feldblum
at the cork board stringing red yarn between one pin labeled “TED speakers” and another labeled “everything wrong today”
January 8, 2026 at 5:29 PM
at the cork board stringing red yarn between one pin labeled “TED speakers” and another labeled “everything wrong today”
Endless assumptions of good faith for the powerful, endless skepticism for those who challenge power
This is the current front page of the Times. The Washington Post is even worse. Their headlines are privileging the accounts of the administration with a track record of lying as being as valid as eye witness accounts and videos.
January 8, 2026 at 1:56 PM
Endless assumptions of good faith for the powerful, endless skepticism for those who challenge power
Reposted by Joseph Feldblum
Our paper is published today in Current Biology and is featured on the cover!
We report a neat, and somewhat counter-intuitive, finding: higher-ranking baboons get less and more interrupted night-time rest.
We report a neat, and somewhat counter-intuitive, finding: higher-ranking baboons get less and more interrupted night-time rest.
January 6, 2026 at 9:39 AM
Our paper is published today in Current Biology and is featured on the cover!
We report a neat, and somewhat counter-intuitive, finding: higher-ranking baboons get less and more interrupted night-time rest.
We report a neat, and somewhat counter-intuitive, finding: higher-ranking baboons get less and more interrupted night-time rest.
Reposted by Joseph Feldblum
me every single day
January 3, 2026 at 5:29 PM
me every single day
a great weird song youtu.be/jFzHoWCFAJg
Hiss Golden Messenger - Jesus Shot Me In The Head
YouTube video by HGMVEVO
youtu.be
September 25, 2025 at 2:12 AM
a great weird song youtu.be/jFzHoWCFAJg
Reposted by Joseph Feldblum
🚨 New paper! 🚨
🐒 White-faced capuchins experience high rates of infanticide.
🐒 Infanticide is costly to female reproduction.
🐒 Do females exhibit the Bruce effect (termination of pregnancy) to reduce these costs?
🐒 Spoiler: Nope!
Read more ▶️ www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
🐒 White-faced capuchins experience high rates of infanticide.
🐒 Infanticide is costly to female reproduction.
🐒 Do females exhibit the Bruce effect (termination of pregnancy) to reduce these costs?
🐒 Spoiler: Nope!
Read more ▶️ www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
September 24, 2025 at 5:53 PM
🚨 New paper! 🚨
🐒 White-faced capuchins experience high rates of infanticide.
🐒 Infanticide is costly to female reproduction.
🐒 Do females exhibit the Bruce effect (termination of pregnancy) to reduce these costs?
🐒 Spoiler: Nope!
Read more ▶️ www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
🐒 White-faced capuchins experience high rates of infanticide.
🐒 Infanticide is costly to female reproduction.
🐒 Do females exhibit the Bruce effect (termination of pregnancy) to reduce these costs?
🐒 Spoiler: Nope!
Read more ▶️ www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Reposted by Joseph Feldblum
I do not regret to inform you that we are going to win (h/t @miriamposner.com)
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
September 21, 2025 at 5:44 PM
I do not regret to inform you that we are going to win (h/t @miriamposner.com)
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Reposted by Joseph Feldblum
I wanted to get a video of this ghost crab but every time I got close to their hole they scuttled back in, so I tried getting clever with it. I made a little sandcastle and shoved my phone into it, hit record, and walked away. Crab was VERY suspicious of this addition to their environment.
September 19, 2025 at 12:30 PM
I wanted to get a video of this ghost crab but every time I got close to their hole they scuttled back in, so I tried getting clever with it. I made a little sandcastle and shoved my phone into it, hit record, and walked away. Crab was VERY suspicious of this addition to their environment.
Reposted by Joseph Feldblum
Rather than seeing this as a political project, I would suggest it's better to see this as a reflection of an economy increasingly centered around the extremely niche emotional needs of people with billions of dollars to spare...
September 17, 2025 at 2:27 PM
Rather than seeing this as a political project, I would suggest it's better to see this as a reflection of an economy increasingly centered around the extremely niche emotional needs of people with billions of dollars to spare...
Reposted by Joseph Feldblum
I am beyond excited to announce that ggplot2 4.0.0 has just landed on CRAN.
It's not every day we have a new major #ggplot2 release but it is a fitting 18 year birthday present for the package.
Get an overview of the release in this blog post and be on the lookout for more in-depth posts #rstats
It's not every day we have a new major #ggplot2 release but it is a fitting 18 year birthday present for the package.
Get an overview of the release in this blog post and be on the lookout for more in-depth posts #rstats
ggplot2 4.0.0
A new major version of ggplot2 has been released on CRAN. Find out what is new here.
www.tidyverse.org
September 11, 2025 at 11:20 AM
