Russell Epstein
@russellepstein.bsky.social
Cognitive neuroscientist at UPenn. Interested in scenes, memory, space. Occasionally thinks about other things.
Some nice publicity on our recent "Neural compass" paper, from @sfnjournals.bsky.social.
#JNeurosci: Lu et al. show that two brain regions—retrosplenial complex and superior parietal lobe—represent facing direction when people perform a naturalistic navigation task in a virtual-reality city. @russellepstein.bsky.social @gkaguirre.com @zhenganglu.bsky.social
vist.ly/4chuk
vist.ly/4chuk
November 3, 2025 at 3:56 PM
Some nice publicity on our recent "Neural compass" paper, from @sfnjournals.bsky.social.
This is a great Postdoc opportunity at UPenn, for recent Ph.D.s who want to collaborate with CogSci (psych, neuro, ling, philo, cs, etc.) faculty and have their own research direction.
Seeking applications from recent PhDs in neuro, psych, ling, philo, comp sci, or other cog sci discipline, for our MindCORE Fellowship.
MindCORE is an interdisciplinary effort at Penn to understand human intelligence and behavior.
Apply by Dec 1: mindcore.sas.upenn.edu/post-doctora...
MindCORE is an interdisciplinary effort at Penn to understand human intelligence and behavior.
Apply by Dec 1: mindcore.sas.upenn.edu/post-doctora...
October 28, 2025 at 4:10 PM
This is a great Postdoc opportunity at UPenn, for recent Ph.D.s who want to collaborate with CogSci (psych, neuro, ling, philo, cs, etc.) faculty and have their own research direction.
Penn faculty senate passes resolution urging the Penn admin to reject the compact, as MIT and Brown have already done.
October 16, 2025 at 11:42 AM
Penn faculty senate passes resolution urging the Penn admin to reject the compact, as MIT and Brown have already done.
It's really not clear to me how U.S. democracy gets out of this one alive. Dems would need +6 on the popular vote to have a 50/50 chance of controlling the House. That's a recipe for a one-party state.
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/15/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/15/u...
The Supreme Court Case That Could Hand the House to Republicans
www.nytimes.com
October 15, 2025 at 7:09 PM
It's really not clear to me how U.S. democracy gets out of this one alive. Dems would need +6 on the popular vote to have a 50/50 chance of controlling the House. That's a recipe for a one-party state.
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/15/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/15/u...
The administrations "invitation" to 9 universities is in fact just their latest attempt at extortion. I urge my @upenn.edu colleagues to sign the petition below.
actionnetwork.org/petitions/ju...
actionnetwork.org/petitions/ju...
Just Say No to Trump's Compact for Academic Extortion
Yesterday, the University of Pennsylvania was one of nine targets of the Trump Administration's "Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education." Through it, Trump asks once again for universitie...
actionnetwork.org
October 3, 2025 at 1:21 PM
The administrations "invitation" to 9 universities is in fact just their latest attempt at extortion. I urge my @upenn.edu colleagues to sign the petition below.
actionnetwork.org/petitions/ju...
actionnetwork.org/petitions/ju...
Interested in navigation, VR, fMRI, aging? Here's a great postdoc opportunity in @stevenmweisberg.bsky.social's new lab at U Texas Arlington.
🚨The SCANN Lab @ UTA is hiring a postdoctoral researcher!🚨
Topics: 🧭 spatial navigation, 🧠 fMRI, 🎮 VR, 👵 cognitive aging.
Start date: Nov 2025 (flexible).
Salary: NIH levels.
Details 👇
Topics: 🧭 spatial navigation, 🧠 fMRI, 🎮 VR, 👵 cognitive aging.
Start date: Nov 2025 (flexible).
Salary: NIH levels.
Details 👇
September 23, 2025 at 2:52 PM
Interested in navigation, VR, fMRI, aging? Here's a great postdoc opportunity in @stevenmweisberg.bsky.social's new lab at U Texas Arlington.
Our new paper Cognitive maps for hierarchical spaces in the human brain is out in Cerebral Cortex! Work by first-author Michael Peer.
academic-oup-com.proxy.library.upenn.edu/cercor/artic...
academic-oup-com.proxy.library.upenn.edu/cercor/artic...
September 22, 2025 at 6:17 PM
Our new paper Cognitive maps for hierarchical spaces in the human brain is out in Cerebral Cortex! Work by first-author Michael Peer.
academic-oup-com.proxy.library.upenn.edu/cercor/artic...
academic-oup-com.proxy.library.upenn.edu/cercor/artic...
Our new paper, “A neural compass in the human brain during naturalistic human navigation” is out in @sfnjournals.bsky.social! First-author @zhenganglu.bsky.social led the charge, with Josh Julian and collaborator @gkaguirre.com.
www.jneurosci.org/content/earl...
www.jneurosci.org/content/earl...
August 19, 2025 at 8:29 PM
Our new paper, “A neural compass in the human brain during naturalistic human navigation” is out in @sfnjournals.bsky.social! First-author @zhenganglu.bsky.social led the charge, with Josh Julian and collaborator @gkaguirre.com.
www.jneurosci.org/content/earl...
www.jneurosci.org/content/earl...
This is some very cool work that @ainsleybonin.bsky.social did at Colby College, working with Derek Huffman. If you are fortunate enough to be at CogSci, give it a look.
If you’re heading to SF for #CogSci2025 this week and are interested in mobile EEG or spatial memory, come check out my talk on Thursday! (Talks 11: EEG, 2:15pm, Salon 5).
July 28, 2025 at 5:00 PM
This is some very cool work that @ainsleybonin.bsky.social did at Colby College, working with Derek Huffman. If you are fortunate enough to be at CogSci, give it a look.
Reposted by Russell Epstein
The mass starvation & killing of Palestinians in Gaza at the hands of the Israeli gov’t is a chillul hashem, a desecration of God.
Jewish leaders who criticized Zohran Mamdani for three words he doesn’t use should raise their voices loudly here as well.
forward.com/opinion/7575...
Jewish leaders who criticized Zohran Mamdani for three words he doesn’t use should raise their voices loudly here as well.
forward.com/opinion/7575...
Gaza is starving. Where are the American Jewish leaders?
A fear of being labelled antisemitic still deters American Jews and Jewish institutions from taking a position that is morally correct.
forward.com
July 24, 2025 at 10:04 PM
The mass starvation & killing of Palestinians in Gaza at the hands of the Israeli gov’t is a chillul hashem, a desecration of God.
Jewish leaders who criticized Zohran Mamdani for three words he doesn’t use should raise their voices loudly here as well.
forward.com/opinion/7575...
Jewish leaders who criticized Zohran Mamdani for three words he doesn’t use should raise their voices loudly here as well.
forward.com/opinion/7575...
Supposedly AI is going to take over the world, but I just spent 30 minutes unsuccessfully trying to get ChatGPT to change the axis labels of a chart. Which it kept failing to do, each time saying "now I've done what you asked!" without changing a thing. So I am skeptical.
July 18, 2025 at 2:54 PM
Supposedly AI is going to take over the world, but I just spent 30 minutes unsuccessfully trying to get ChatGPT to change the axis labels of a chart. Which it kept failing to do, each time saying "now I've done what you asked!" without changing a thing. So I am skeptical.
This little document is immensely helpful.
Just sent this as an email to my department but figured I'd share more broadly in case it is useful. This describes the procedure happening now for science funding in Congress (@davidimiller.bsky.social can correct me if I got this wrong). Importantly, there are still actions that can be taken.
Science Funding Process
=====Written July 11 2025====== Hi all, Just wanted to share some information that is likely relevant to a lot of us, but not always easy to understand, about federal science budget procedure (feel f...
docs.google.com
July 11, 2025 at 5:57 PM
This little document is immensely helpful.
Reposted by Russell Epstein
Democracies do not use their military to try and intimidate their own citizens with “shows of presence”.
This is fascism.
This is fascism.
Military documents confirm that the LA operation today was a “show of presence” intended to send a message to LA residents about the power of the federal government.
After staging with armed soldiers and Border Patrol agents on horse, they packed up and left after a short walk.
After staging with armed soldiers and Border Patrol agents on horse, they packed up and left after a short walk.
July 7, 2025 at 11:44 PM
Democracies do not use their military to try and intimidate their own citizens with “shows of presence”.
This is fascism.
This is fascism.
Reposted by Russell Epstein
We’ve bombed Iran. And dismantled our joint terrorism task force. And sent a third of the FBI to help ICE. And gutted the National Security Council. And a drunk guy is in charge at the pentagon. And our intelligence allies probably won’t share intel with us. Because people couldn’t vote for a woman.
June 22, 2025 at 12:24 AM
We’ve bombed Iran. And dismantled our joint terrorism task force. And sent a third of the FBI to help ICE. And gutted the National Security Council. And a drunk guy is in charge at the pentagon. And our intelligence allies probably won’t share intel with us. Because people couldn’t vote for a woman.
Best footnote ever.
Justice Jackson taking on Gorsuch's "pure textualism" and arguing for a more holistic reading of Congress' handiwork—worth reading in full. www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/24p...
![The majority’s contention that I reject “ ‘pure textualism’ [a]s insufficiently pliable to secure the result [I] seek,” ante, at 10, stems from an
unfortunate misunderstanding of the judicial role. Our interpretative
task is not to seek our own desired results (whatever they may be). And,
indeed, it is precisely because of this solemn duty that, in my view, it is
imperative that we interpret statutes consistent with all relevant indicia
of what Congress wanted, as best we can ascertain its intent. A methodology that includes consideration of Congress’s aims does exactly that—
and no more. By contrast, pure textualism’s refusal to try to understand
the text of a statute in the larger context of what Congress sought to
achieve turns the interpretive task into a potent weapon for advancing
judicial policy preferences. By “finding” answers in ambiguous text, and
not bothering to consider whether those answers align with other sources
of statutory meaning, pure textualists can easily disguise their own preferences as “textual” inevitabilities. So, really, far from being “insufficiently pliable,” I think pure textualism is incessantly malleable—that’s
its primary problem—and, indeed, it is certainly somehow always flexible enough to secure the majority’s desired outcome.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:6h7b2i6ttw3l4t7pvbvxdith/bafkreih3qdtlloz3yhggypbtwiveqdgzzfgapsnetvq7qsni7wfmyuovoi@jpeg)
June 20, 2025 at 3:15 PM
Best footnote ever.
Democracy...use it or lose it. There are hundreds of events planned all across the country on June 14. Find one near you. Trump can't send the Marines to all of them. app.sosha.ai/s/lmwrRNh3
Join me on June 14
app.sosha.ai
June 9, 2025 at 10:33 PM
Democracy...use it or lose it. There are hundreds of events planned all across the country on June 14. Find one near you. Trump can't send the Marines to all of them. app.sosha.ai/s/lmwrRNh3
I signed this letter and I urge all my colleagues to do the same. I am very impressed by the bravery of the NIH staff who put their names to this. We should stand behind them. It's the least we can do.
(5/5)
🚨 It’s time to flood the zone.
NIH scientists just took a huge risk speaking out. Now it’s our turn.
📜 Read the Bethesda Declaration
✍️ Sign the Public Letter of Support
👯♀️Follow NIHers doing the work: @nihvigils.bsky.social
Read and sign here 👉 www.standupforscience.net/bethesda-dec...
🚨 It’s time to flood the zone.
NIH scientists just took a huge risk speaking out. Now it’s our turn.
📜 Read the Bethesda Declaration
✍️ Sign the Public Letter of Support
👯♀️Follow NIHers doing the work: @nihvigils.bsky.social
Read and sign here 👉 www.standupforscience.net/bethesda-dec...
www.standupforscience.net
June 9, 2025 at 10:24 PM
I signed this letter and I urge all my colleagues to do the same. I am very impressed by the bravery of the NIH staff who put their names to this. We should stand behind them. It's the least we can do.
Reposted by Russell Epstein
The political theory behind IRA was roughly as follows: We have lost control of the information landscape and can no longer win rhetorical or purely political battles; however, if we make substantive policy progress that directly touches voters' lives, they will notice and reward us.
May 23, 2025 at 5:43 PM
The political theory behind IRA was roughly as follows: We have lost control of the information landscape and can no longer win rhetorical or purely political battles; however, if we make substantive policy progress that directly touches voters' lives, they will notice and reward us.
This week, I had the pleasure of talking (virtually) to the BIU vision science seminar about our recent studies on cog maps and navigational strategies. Highlighting work by Michael Peer, @cgahnstrom.bsky.social, and Zhengang Lu.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZAkC...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZAkC...
Prof Russell Epstein on "Cognitive maps, navigational strategies, and the human brain"
YouTube video by BIU Vision Science
www.youtube.com
May 15, 2025 at 4:05 PM
This week, I had the pleasure of talking (virtually) to the BIU vision science seminar about our recent studies on cog maps and navigational strategies. Highlighting work by Michael Peer, @cgahnstrom.bsky.social, and Zhengang Lu.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZAkC...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZAkC...
Will Bunch: "The TV talking heads are clueless, because they are asking the president-who-would-be-king and his minions to do something that would cause the entire regime to unravel like a ball of thread: acknowledge that Abrego Garcia is a human being."
www.inquirer.com/opinion/kilm...
www.inquirer.com/opinion/kilm...
Why Kilmar Abrego Garcia is the Jenga piece that could topple the American Experiment | Will Bunch
The Trump regime lies about a Salvadoran laborer and dad because the truth of his humanity could unravel their dream of autocracy.
www.inquirer.com
April 17, 2025 at 10:19 PM
Will Bunch: "The TV talking heads are clueless, because they are asking the president-who-would-be-king and his minions to do something that would cause the entire regime to unravel like a ball of thread: acknowledge that Abrego Garcia is a human being."
www.inquirer.com/opinion/kilm...
www.inquirer.com/opinion/kilm...
Reposted by Russell Epstein
Whew! Sen Chuck Grassley’s town hall should be a wake-up call for Trump & Republicans.
Voters want Kilmar García brought home — and they’re pissed Trump’s thumbing his nose at a Supreme Court ruling. This isn’t “tough on crime,” it’s lawless, un-American trash — and folks know it.
This is Iowa!
Voters want Kilmar García brought home — and they’re pissed Trump’s thumbing his nose at a Supreme Court ruling. This isn’t “tough on crime,” it’s lawless, un-American trash — and folks know it.
This is Iowa!
April 16, 2025 at 2:34 AM
Whew! Sen Chuck Grassley’s town hall should be a wake-up call for Trump & Republicans.
Voters want Kilmar García brought home — and they’re pissed Trump’s thumbing his nose at a Supreme Court ruling. This isn’t “tough on crime,” it’s lawless, un-American trash — and folks know it.
This is Iowa!
Voters want Kilmar García brought home — and they’re pissed Trump’s thumbing his nose at a Supreme Court ruling. This isn’t “tough on crime,” it’s lawless, un-American trash — and folks know it.
This is Iowa!
Reposted by Russell Epstein
The Massachusetts governor, the city, and the university needs to drop everything to locate and free this girl and make sure this doesn't happen again.
This is DEFCON-1. If they do this to someone who wrote an op-ed in a college newspaper, they will do this to anyone they don't like.
This is DEFCON-1. If they do this to someone who wrote an op-ed in a college newspaper, they will do this to anyone they don't like.
Video of the international student at Tufts being arrested by "federal authorities" in Massachusetts has been released and it's terrifying.
They're not even uniformed officers. Just secret police thugs in hoodies and masks.
From WCVB: youtu.be/PuFIs7OkzYY
They're not even uniformed officers. Just secret police thugs in hoodies and masks.
From WCVB: youtu.be/PuFIs7OkzYY
March 26, 2025 at 6:57 PM
The Massachusetts governor, the city, and the university needs to drop everything to locate and free this girl and make sure this doesn't happen again.
This is DEFCON-1. If they do this to someone who wrote an op-ed in a college newspaper, they will do this to anyone they don't like.
This is DEFCON-1. If they do this to someone who wrote an op-ed in a college newspaper, they will do this to anyone they don't like.
A little bit of good news from Lancaster County PA. In a special election for a state senate seat, Dems flipped a Ruby Red district.
Democrats flip deep-red Pennsylvania district in special election shocker
No Democrat had ever won this ancestrally Republican seat, but it's now the second Democratic pickup of the year.
www.the-downballot.com
March 26, 2025 at 1:09 PM
A little bit of good news from Lancaster County PA. In a special election for a state senate seat, Dems flipped a Ruby Red district.