Maaisha Osman
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maaisha.bsky.social
Maaisha Osman
@maaisha.bsky.social
Health policy journalist • cinema on the side

Signal: maaisha.07
NEW: Linsey Criswell, director of the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, will not have her term renewed, creating another leadership vacancy as the NIH faces a growing number of open institute and center director positions.
Gift Link 👇
February 12, 2026 at 9:21 PM
Reposted by Maaisha Osman
The great François Truffaut (born on this day in 1932) on the set of THE LAST METRO! 🧡 On the Criterion Channel, celebrate the master's undying love for cinema and life with our collection of his films — including THE 400 BLOWS, JULES AND JIM, STOLEN KISSES, THE SOFT SKIN, THE LAST METRO, and more!
February 6, 2026 at 8:30 PM
“If this violence goes unchecked, it could indeed be a turning point, because it will create a template for other security forces more closely aligned with Trump to use force against any manifestation of opposition.” www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/m...
Bloody Minnesota
Daron Acemoglu thinks the recent killings of innocent civilians by federal agents mark a political turning point for the US.
www.project-syndicate.org
January 27, 2026 at 1:32 PM
Reposted by Maaisha Osman
On this Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, enjoy images from The Glen Pearcy Collection at the Library of Congress. A rare, unguarded public moment of Dr. King smiling at a March 1965 Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee meeting—a snapshot of joy amid a historic civil rights struggle—is a highlight.
January 19, 2026 at 11:00 AM
Last month, @deepfocusreview.bsky.social published my essay on Ettore Scola's Una Giornata Particolare (A Special Day, 1977).
Read here: www.deepfocusreview.com/una-giornata...
Una Giornata Particolare (A Special Day): A Meeting of Solitudes | Deep Focus Review
Few filmmakers have delved into the complexities of human dignity and its stark absence with as much fervor as Ettore Scola. Una Giornata Particolare (A Special Day, 1977) stands as one of his most po...
www.deepfocusreview.com
January 18, 2026 at 7:53 PM
NEW: Several NIH employees plan to resign in the coming months, with additional staff opting for early retirement, sources tell us, after employees reported last year they are having to censor and alter their research to avoid running afoul of the Trump admin. 👇
January 9, 2026 at 1:31 AM
NEW: A CDC-backed study of the hepatitis B vaccine birth dose in West African nation Guinea-Bissau, funded in part by billionaire Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square Foundation and Bluebell Foundation, is drawing ethical concerns from scientists in Denmark and US.

insidehealthpolicy.com/daily-news/e...
Ethics Questions Raised On West Africa Hep B Study Funded By CDC, Ackman Foundation | InsideHealthPolicy.com
A CDC-backed study of the hepatitis B vaccine birth dose in West African nation Guinea-Bissau, funded in part by billionaire Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square Foundation and the little-known Bluebell Foun...
insidehealthpolicy.com
December 20, 2025 at 1:23 AM
My latest essay
December 10, 2025 at 6:43 PM
Reposted by Maaisha Osman
Robin Feldman on Pfizer obligations to SEC to disclose details of price deal with Trump.

insidehealthpolicy.com/share/151134
| InsideHealthPolicy.com
insidehealthpolicy.com
October 2, 2025 at 7:37 PM
Reposted by Maaisha Osman
It seems like a good time to release my essay about CABARET (1972) from behind the paywall.

Enjoy: www.deepfocusreview.com/definitives/...

#MovieSky #FilmSky
Cabaret (1972) | The Definitives | Deep Focus Review
Cabaret changed everything audiences knew to be true about musicals in 1972.
www.deepfocusreview.com
September 20, 2025 at 7:56 PM
In the wake of a mass shooting in Minnesota that left two children dead and 17 others injured, RFK Jr. again suggested a link between psychiatric medications -- particularly antidepressants -- and violent behavior.

But what do scientists say about such claims? 👇
August 30, 2025 at 1:50 PM
Reposted by Maaisha Osman
Another EO about grants, this one directing the attorney general to investigate "lobbying" in the form of "taxpayer funds ... being spent on grants with highly political overtones."

Expect we'll see more targeting of universities by the DOJ.
Use of Appropriated Funds for Illegal Lobbying and Partisan Political Activity by Federal Grantees
MEMORANDUM FOR THE ATTORNEY GENERAL SUBJECT:       Use of Appropriated Funds for Illegal Lobbying and Partisan Political Activity by   Federal Grantees By
www.whitehouse.gov
August 29, 2025 at 12:08 AM
RFK Jr. said NIH will launch studies into whether antidepressant drugs and other psychiatric medications contribute to violent behavior, including mass shootings. He claimed NIH has authority to access the medical histories of shooters through IRB approval.

insidehealthpolicy.com/daily-news/r...
RFK Jr.: NIH Will Study Psychiatric Drugs’ Potential Role In Mass Shootings | InsideHealthPolicy.com
HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced Thursday (Aug. 28) the National Institutes of Health will launch studies into whether antidepressant drugs and other psychiatric medications contribute to...
insidehealthpolicy.com
August 28, 2025 at 11:25 PM
1. NEW: The U.S. Commerce Department has launched an aggressive review of Harvard University’s management of patents tied to federally funded research, accusing the Ivy League institution of violating disclosure laws under the Bayh-Dole Act. 👇
August 12, 2025 at 9:56 PM
NEW: European pharmaceutical imports will be hit with a 15% tariff under the U.S.-EU agreement when the Section 232 duties are implemented, a White House official said today, clarifying that the rate is the maximum that will apply to EU pharma products.
July 28, 2025 at 10:16 PM
NEW: NIH Director met privately with current and former agency employees on Monday where he affirmed support for dissent, academic freedom, and LGBTQ+ health research “as long as it’s not ideological.”
They spoke about grant terminations, forward funding model and more.
| InsideHealthPolicy.com
insidehealthpolicy.com
July 24, 2025 at 12:00 PM
FDA Commissioner Marty Makary has tapped George Tidmarsh -- former CEO of several biopharma companies -- to lead CDER, a pick that contradicts Makary’s repeated vows to purge industry influence from the health agency.

insidehealthpolicy.com/share/149608
| InsideHealthPolicy.com
insidehealthpolicy.com
July 22, 2025 at 12:57 AM
Can’t wait :)
Exclusive look at the new trailer for Stanley Kubrick’s Barry Lyndon, ahead of its new 4K restoration to celebrate the film’s 50th anniversary 🌹 

The film will be back in cinemas from July 18 across the UK and internationally via Park Circus Films
July 2, 2025 at 4:48 PM
Rather than pursuing an outright ban that could spark legal battles, HHS is weighing targeted measures to make DTC drug ads harder and costlier to produce. An industry insider says the pullback is unlikely without regulation & warned an outright ban could leave a vacuum for unregulated misinfo.
| InsideHealthPolicy.com
insidehealthpolicy.com
June 27, 2025 at 8:29 PM
Reposted by Maaisha Osman
EXCLU: Sen. Bernie Sanders wants an investigation of Health Secretary RFK Jr.’s recent decision to fire all 17 members of the nation’s top vaccine advisory committee.

via @margaretmanto.bsky.social
www.notus.org/health-scien...
Sen. Bernie Sanders Wants an Investigation of RFK Jr.’s Vaccine Firings
Sanders, the ranking member of the Senate Health Committee, made the request of Sen. Bill Cassidy, the committee chair, in a letter obtained by NOTUS.
www.notus.org
June 16, 2025 at 4:34 PM
Reposted by Maaisha Osman
To be clear, Judge Young is ruling that the NIH terminations were neither "reasoned" nor "reasonable" based on the legal standard previously set forth by the Supreme Court for reviewing agency actions (e.g., terminations) under the APA.

This is very good for plaintiffs.
June 16, 2025 at 6:14 PM
1. NEW: HHS Secretary RFK Jr. promised unbiased experts free of conflicts of interest would replace the members of ACIP he dismissed, but two of the newly tapped vaccine advisers have served as paid expert witnesses in lawsuits targeting major vaccine makers.
June 12, 2025 at 11:34 PM