Kat McGowan
@mcgowankat.bsky.social
Journalist reporting on caregiving. Also, pictures of owls, crows and Mr. Peanut. www.katmcgowan.com.
Reposted by Kat McGowan
there are so many gutting stories, but this one is hitting me extra hard. just imagining wael tarabishi slowly dying without his dad there to care for him because he was jailed by ICE makes me…i don’t have words. this country is disgusting.
Disabled son of ICE detainee dies after 30 days of hospitalization
It had been months since Wael Tarabishi seen his father. The family is calling on ICE to release Maher Tarabishi so he may attend his son's funeral.
www.wfaa.com
January 24, 2026 at 4:01 AM
there are so many gutting stories, but this one is hitting me extra hard. just imagining wael tarabishi slowly dying without his dad there to care for him because he was jailed by ICE makes me…i don’t have words. this country is disgusting.
Reposted by Kat McGowan
Pretty galling what the first urologist tried to do here. www.statnews.com/2026/01/21/w...
January 21, 2026 at 5:23 PM
Pretty galling what the first urologist tried to do here. www.statnews.com/2026/01/21/w...
Reposted by Kat McGowan
Holy hell, what an obituary
Renfrew Christie Dies at 76; Sabotaged Racist Regime’s Nuclear Program
www.nytimes.com
January 15, 2026 at 4:57 PM
Holy hell, what an obituary
Reposted by Kat McGowan
"Last April, HHS had informed staff of plans to terminate around 90% of NIOSH's roughly 1,000 employees, eviscerating the agency." Nine months later, the decision is reversed and layoff notices to workplace safety workers have been revoked. www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
US Reverses Deep Cuts to Safety Agency Niosh, Reinstating Hundreds
The Trump Administration is reversing its deep staffing cuts to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, reinstating hundreds of employees.
www.bloomberg.com
January 14, 2026 at 7:01 PM
"Last April, HHS had informed staff of plans to terminate around 90% of NIOSH's roughly 1,000 employees, eviscerating the agency." Nine months later, the decision is reversed and layoff notices to workplace safety workers have been revoked. www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Reposted by Kat McGowan
The Trump administration reinstated on Tuesday hundreds of CDC employees who had been placed on administrative leave in April.
Gift link
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/14/h...
Gift link
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/14/h...
C.D.C. Brings Back Hundreds of Suspended Workplace Safety Employees
www.nytimes.com
January 14, 2026 at 6:27 PM
The Trump administration reinstated on Tuesday hundreds of CDC employees who had been placed on administrative leave in April.
Gift link
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/14/h...
Gift link
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/14/h...
Reposted by Kat McGowan
hi! do you want to be my editor? i know you do - come work with me
Senior Editor, Science
WIRED is where a better future is imagined. For three decades, we have been the indispensable guide to a world in constant transformation. We cover humanity’s biggest challenges, from climate change t...
condenast.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com
January 14, 2026 at 4:25 PM
hi! do you want to be my editor? i know you do - come work with me
Reposted by Kat McGowan
🚨 NEW: DRAMA! House to vote on 3-yr extension of enhanced #ACA tax credits this week...while Senate GOP tries to cobble together SOMETHING acceptable:
acasignups.net/26/01/07/dra...
acasignups.net/26/01/07/dra...
DRAMA! House to vote on clean subsidy extension this week, while Senate GOP scrambles to slap together something acceptable...
When last we checked in on the U.S. House of Representatives before Christmas, there was much High Drama after four supposedly "moderate" (aka "extremely vulnerable") Republicans gave up on trying to ...
acasignups.net
January 7, 2026 at 7:31 PM
🚨 NEW: DRAMA! House to vote on 3-yr extension of enhanced #ACA tax credits this week...while Senate GOP tries to cobble together SOMETHING acceptable:
acasignups.net/26/01/07/dra...
acasignups.net/26/01/07/dra...
Reposted by Kat McGowan
Homicides have dropped in L.A. by roughly 43% since 2021, according to a Los Angeles Times review of crime stats. The LAT's @liborjany.bsky.social & Richard Winton have details:
www.latimes.com/california/s...
www.latimes.com/california/s...
L.A. sees lowest homicide rate in decades — but why killings are down is up for debate
Theories about why killings were near historic lows last year include greater investment in community programs, a push by the LAPD to target repeat violent criminals and fallout from the Trump adminis...
www.latimes.com
January 7, 2026 at 1:15 AM
Homicides have dropped in L.A. by roughly 43% since 2021, according to a Los Angeles Times review of crime stats. The LAT's @liborjany.bsky.social & Richard Winton have details:
www.latimes.com/california/s...
www.latimes.com/california/s...
Reposted by Kat McGowan
@mcgowankat.bsky.social writes of the double stigma of being a #caregiver supporting a person living with severe #mentalillness. There are not meal trains or get well soon cards, rather suffering and silence
When it comes to serious mental illness, family caregivers are crucial partners. But often, they must fend for themselves. A new solution offers them support. n.pr/48Ysnsc
His brother's mental illness isolated his family. Now he's helping other caregivers
When it comes to serious mental illness, family caregivers are crucial partners. But often, they must fend for themselves. A new solution offers them support.
n.pr
January 6, 2026 at 3:12 PM
@mcgowankat.bsky.social writes of the double stigma of being a #caregiver supporting a person living with severe #mentalillness. There are not meal trains or get well soon cards, rather suffering and silence
I grew up glued to the Iran-contra bearings—so shocking at the time!—so I see a lot of wisdom in this framing of the Venezuela coup as an 80s reboot
I always understand the big picture on US politics and national security much better after reading @vermontgmg.bsky.social.
Trump's weekend invasion of Venezuela is no different. Very glad to have this story on WIRED:
Trump's weekend invasion of Venezuela is no different. Very glad to have this story on WIRED:
The 3 Keys to Understanding Trump’s Retro Coup in Venezuela
This weekend’s invasion was both a throwback to the last century and a new, uniquely Trumpian nightmare—one that’s just beginning.
www.wired.com
January 6, 2026 at 4:08 PM
I grew up glued to the Iran-contra bearings—so shocking at the time!—so I see a lot of wisdom in this framing of the Venezuela coup as an 80s reboot
Reposted by Kat McGowan
🦉
I can't get over the fine details of the feathers on this Northern Saw-whet Owl's eyelids!
#birds #wildlifephotography #Nikon #PhotographersUnited
#birds #wildlifephotography #Nikon #PhotographersUnited
December 31, 2025 at 3:46 PM
🦉
Reposted by Kat McGowan
I'm so proud of ProPublica's journalism from 2025. In case you missed it, here's our most-read stories, as well as some you may have missed: www.propublica.org/article/prop...
The Most-Read ProPublica Stories of 2025
Our reporters published investigations this year on the Trump administration, health care, education and more. These are the stories readers spent the most time with in 2025.
www.propublica.org
December 31, 2025 at 4:51 PM
I'm so proud of ProPublica's journalism from 2025. In case you missed it, here's our most-read stories, as well as some you may have missed: www.propublica.org/article/prop...
I've heard about this before, but the details are fascinating.
A Saudi-owned alfalfa farm in the middle of the Arizona desert, pumping groundwater to irrigate crops that feed dairy cows in Saudi Arabia--because growing water-intensive crops is banned there. www.latimes.com/environment/...
A Saudi-owned alfalfa farm in the middle of the Arizona desert, pumping groundwater to irrigate crops that feed dairy cows in Saudi Arabia--because growing water-intensive crops is banned there. www.latimes.com/environment/...
December 29, 2025 at 5:37 PM
I've heard about this before, but the details are fascinating.
A Saudi-owned alfalfa farm in the middle of the Arizona desert, pumping groundwater to irrigate crops that feed dairy cows in Saudi Arabia--because growing water-intensive crops is banned there. www.latimes.com/environment/...
A Saudi-owned alfalfa farm in the middle of the Arizona desert, pumping groundwater to irrigate crops that feed dairy cows in Saudi Arabia--because growing water-intensive crops is banned there. www.latimes.com/environment/...
The book of Job really brings it:
December 27, 2025 at 5:17 PM
The book of Job really brings it:
Reposted by Kat McGowan
I count 10 cities in 2025 that are on track to have the fewest murders since at least 1970. Newark is on pace to have the fewest murders since 1956 (though only have data through Oct this year) and San Francisco is on pace to have the fewest murders since 1942.
December 23, 2025 at 7:06 PM
I count 10 cities in 2025 that are on track to have the fewest murders since at least 1970. Newark is on pace to have the fewest murders since 1956 (though only have data through Oct this year) and San Francisco is on pace to have the fewest murders since 1942.
I'm obsessed with this topic--the lions of a Certain Type of literary journalism, the ones seated on thrones and pedestals (Joseph Mitchell! Truman Capote! Tom Wolfe!) so clearly made up their dialog and probably more. (I have libelous suspicions about John McPhee, too.)
I thought, based on the social media-fication of the @rachelaviv.bsky.social Oliver Sacks piece, that Sacks had invented patients wholesale. But instead it’s what was once seemingly secretly acceptable among highbrow writers: making up quotes and details about people to make them more interesting.
December 24, 2025 at 6:34 PM
I'm obsessed with this topic--the lions of a Certain Type of literary journalism, the ones seated on thrones and pedestals (Joseph Mitchell! Truman Capote! Tom Wolfe!) so clearly made up their dialog and probably more. (I have libelous suspicions about John McPhee, too.)
Reposted by Kat McGowan
I thought, based on the social media-fication of the @rachelaviv.bsky.social Oliver Sacks piece, that Sacks had invented patients wholesale. But instead it’s what was once seemingly secretly acceptable among highbrow writers: making up quotes and details about people to make them more interesting.
December 24, 2025 at 4:08 PM
I thought, based on the social media-fication of the @rachelaviv.bsky.social Oliver Sacks piece, that Sacks had invented patients wholesale. But instead it’s what was once seemingly secretly acceptable among highbrow writers: making up quotes and details about people to make them more interesting.
Reposted by Kat McGowan
A wet desert lily flowering with a grand view while storm clouds are moving in from the west this morning (Photo: Sicco Rood).
December 24, 2025 at 5:54 PM
A wet desert lily flowering with a grand view while storm clouds are moving in from the west this morning (Photo: Sicco Rood).
Reposted by Kat McGowan
In 2023 I became obsessed with videos of dads in cargo shortswaiting in parking lots during Taylor Swift's Eras Tour. So when she came to town, I grabbed a camera and headed down to talk to them. I thought it'd be funny. It turned out to be something else entirely.
December 23, 2025 at 9:18 PM
In 2023 I became obsessed with videos of dads in cargo shortswaiting in parking lots during Taylor Swift's Eras Tour. So when she came to town, I grabbed a camera and headed down to talk to them. I thought it'd be funny. It turned out to be something else entirely.
If you would like to be shocked and appalled this afternoon--and who wouldn't, really?--please to read this dismaying roundup of the worst healthcare frauds, abuses and moral bankruptcies. The Shkreli awards!
lowninstitute.org/projects/shk...
lowninstitute.org/projects/shk...
December 22, 2025 at 9:02 PM
If you would like to be shocked and appalled this afternoon--and who wouldn't, really?--please to read this dismaying roundup of the worst healthcare frauds, abuses and moral bankruptcies. The Shkreli awards!
lowninstitute.org/projects/shk...
lowninstitute.org/projects/shk...
Reposted by Kat McGowan
Latest articles from the WJO: Differences in the diets of red and gray Eastern Screech-Owls (Megascops asio). #ornithology doi.org/10.1080/1559...
December 22, 2025 at 6:03 PM
Latest articles from the WJO: Differences in the diets of red and gray Eastern Screech-Owls (Megascops asio). #ornithology doi.org/10.1080/1559...
Reposted by Kat McGowan
Reposted by Kat McGowan
a solid 25% of generative ai responses are "how would tom waits answer this question"
Google Gemini Pro: please generate a map of the western united states showing cities of over 250K population
December 22, 2025 at 6:04 PM
a solid 25% of generative ai responses are "how would tom waits answer this question"
Reposted by Kat McGowan
Google Gemini Pro: please generate a map of the western united states showing cities of over 250K population
December 22, 2025 at 4:46 PM
Google Gemini Pro: please generate a map of the western united states showing cities of over 250K population
Reposted by Kat McGowan
This is 404 Media's @jasonkoebler.bsky.social waving at himself through a Flock camera; one of 60 we learned was left exposed to the open internet. Not only could anyone with a link livestream it, but some admin portals were open with no login credentials required.
www.404media.co/flock-expose...
www.404media.co/flock-expose...
December 22, 2025 at 4:37 PM
This is 404 Media's @jasonkoebler.bsky.social waving at himself through a Flock camera; one of 60 we learned was left exposed to the open internet. Not only could anyone with a link livestream it, but some admin portals were open with no login credentials required.
www.404media.co/flock-expose...
www.404media.co/flock-expose...