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Stephanie M. Lee
@stephaniemlee.bsky.social
15K followers 1.2K following 260 posts
Senior writer at @chronicle.com, writing about scholarship, scholars, and society. stephanie.lee@chronicle.com / Signal: stephaniemlee.07 / stephaniemlee.com / San Francisco
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stephaniemlee.bsky.social
Stephanie M. Lee @stephaniemlee.bsky.social · Nov 12
Hi! I'm at The Chronicle of Higher Education, where I write about debates and interesting people in the world of academic research. I used to be an investigative science reporter at BuzzFeed News.

My latest story: www.chronicle.com/article/jona...

I'm always looking for ideas — DM/email me!
Jonathan Haidt Started a Social-Media War. Did He Win?
When a study challenged his bestselling book’s thesis — that social media harms kids — the New York University psychologist fired back. That was just the beginning.
www.chronicle.com
stephaniemlee.bsky.social
I've had so much respect and admiration for the Post's health/science team over the years. The losses there (and throughout the whole newsroom) are heartbreaking
fenitn.bsky.social Fenit Nirappil @fenitn.bsky.social · 4d
The Washington Post gutted the health team which I helped to lead despite our stories being among the most widely read, impactful and adept at reaching new audiences.
I couldn't string sentences together yesterday, Maybe that's a sign that I shouldn't have been spared when all my fantastic colleagues who unfairly lost their jobs pushed through their grief to write beautiful notes about their careers and the situation at The Washington Post. The health team lost 8 out of 13 reporters yesterday despite health listed as part of The Post's new pared down focus. Just six months after becoming an editor and having the honor to lead an all-star team covering federal health agencies and public health, I have to go back to reporting because there are barely any health reporters left to edit. I'll say more about the reporters we lost later today, but as a team, we did everything we were supposed to do under the vision for The Post to be a digital innovator that breaks news, offers hard-hitting accountability and directly address reader concerns. We landed exclusives on the CDC director's firing, plans to overhaul the childhood vaccine schedule, projections for steep ACA marketplace rate increases and more. We avoided dutiful iterative stories and covered storylines such as the expiration of enhanced ACA premiums with smart targeted angles that were widely read. We broke the mold of a traditional newspaper with clever formats including a pop-up newsletter and live chats to help readers navigate new restrictions on coronavirus vaccines, a quiz to understand new dietary guidelines and vertical videos to showcase reporter expertise. The Metro section where I started my career (and offers a clear reason for millions of potential subscribers to pay for us instead of or in addition to other national outlets!) is hollowed out. Reporters around the world wiped out after the owner set a vision for international relevance. A sports department home to journalistic legends shuttered. And so much more bleeding across the entire newsroom.
February 6, 2026 at 8:53 PM
Reposted by Stephanie M. Lee
stephaniemlee.bsky.social
NEW: A year ago, the NIH said it would cap research-overhead costs, a change that would cost colleges billions. A ragtag group rallied behind a compromise plan—and it seems to have traction.

Here's how higher ed staved off a research-funding bloodbath (for now): www.chronicle.com/article/how-...
How Higher Ed Staved Off a Research-Funding Bloodbath — For Now
Faced with potentially losing billions, colleges rallied behind a compromise plan. It now has a thumbs-up from Congress.
www.chronicle.com
February 6, 2026 at 12:05 AM
stephaniemlee.bsky.social
NEW: A year ago, the NIH said it would cap research-overhead costs, a change that would cost colleges billions. A ragtag group rallied behind a compromise plan—and it seems to have traction.

Here's how higher ed staved off a research-funding bloodbath (for now): www.chronicle.com/article/how-...
How Higher Ed Staved Off a Research-Funding Bloodbath — For Now
Faced with potentially losing billions, colleges rallied behind a compromise plan. It now has a thumbs-up from Congress.
www.chronicle.com
February 6, 2026 at 12:05 AM
Reposted by Stephanie M. Lee
danvergano.bsky.social
Epstein files show a complicated relationship with science and journalism

Jeffrey Epstein aggressively sought access to publishers, mentions of Scientific American and other media in Department of Justice files show

www.scientificamerican.com/article/epst...
Epstein files show a complicated relationship with science and journalism
Jeffrey Epstein aggressively sought access to publishers, mentions of Scientific American and other media in Department of Justice files show
www.scientificamerican.com
February 5, 2026 at 7:11 PM
Reposted by Stephanie M. Lee
mzahneis.bsky.social
Breaking, from me: An executive order from Oklahoma's governor directs most of the state's public colleges to "phase out tenure." #AcademicSky #HigherEd @chronicle.com
www.chronicle.com/article/tenu...
Tenure Will Be Eliminated at Most of Oklahoma’s Public Colleges, Governor Says
Gov. Kevin Stitt, a Republican, directed the state’s two-dozen regional universities and community colleges to phase out the practice. Existing faculty members will be grandfathered in.
www.chronicle.com
February 5, 2026 at 9:59 PM
Reposted by Stephanie M. Lee
emmajanepettit.bsky.social
At Ohio State U, faculty hiring committees sometimes explicitly considered candidates’ race and sex, in pursuit of diversity.

I spent some time exploring how OSU, and all of higher ed, seemingly ignored both the legal and reputational risk staring it in the face.
www.chronicle.com/article/dive...
How Colleges’ Pursuit of a Diverse Professoriate Came Back to Bite Them
What was once an urgent imperative has become a legal and political liability. One university’s experience shows how.
www.chronicle.com
February 5, 2026 at 7:10 PM
Reposted by Stephanie M. Lee
jenna-m-norton.bsky.social
Final schedule F rule "will allow agencies to quickly remove employees from critical positions who engage in misconduct, perform poorly, or *obstruct the democratic process by intentionally
subverting Presidential directives.*"

(emphasis mine)

public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2026-02375.pdf
February 5, 2026 at 4:36 PM
Reposted by Stephanie M. Lee
crampell.bsky.social
He Was Laid Off at The Washington Post After Working There 60 Years www.nytimes.com/2026/02/05/b...
He Was Laid Off at The Washington Post After Working There 60 Years
www.nytimes.com
February 5, 2026 at 4:00 PM
Reposted by Stephanie M. Lee
nitasha.bsky.social
My story on Elon Musk cutting safeguards at xAI is on the front page of today's @washingtonpost.com. I’m also among 100’s of reporters laid off. I absolutely loved my job my brilliant coworkers & the thrill of reporting @ the center of forces upending the world: AI & Silicon Valley’s political power
cover of The Washington Post on Wednesday Feb 4, 2026. Headline on bottom, right: Musk wanted to hook users; his chatbot got more sexual
February 4, 2026 at 7:40 PM
Reposted by Stephanie M. Lee
benmullin.bsky.social
A staggering statement from former Washington Post editor Marty Baron: "This ranks among the darkest days in the history of one of the world's greatest news organizations."
February 4, 2026 at 2:34 PM
Reposted by Stephanie M. Lee
elizabethjacobs.bsky.social
Virologist Nathan Wolfe sought funding from Jeffrey Epstein to study whether sexually transmitted infections increased women’s sex drive.

He planned to conduct this study among female undergraduate students.
Former Stanford professor Nathan Wolfe ’92 planned sexual behavior research, described interns with Epstein
The Daily investigated correspondence between virologist Nathan Wolfe ’92 and Epstein in which the two men discussed interns’ attractiveness, “female viagra” and sexual research projects.
stanforddaily.com
February 4, 2026 at 2:58 AM
stephaniemlee.bsky.social
Here’s What the Latest Epstein Files Say About His Ties to Higher Ed: Collectively, the files underscore how deeply Epstein remained embedded in academic and intellectual circles even after his criminal history became public. www.chronicle.com/article/here...
Here’s What the Latest Epstein Files Say About His Ties to Higher Ed
New documents released by the Department of Justice on Friday reinforce that long after his criminal convictions, many prominent professors continued to communicate with him.
www.chronicle.com
February 3, 2026 at 5:58 PM
Reposted by Stephanie M. Lee
johnholbein1.bsky.social
"[Epstein] was arrested in 2006 & pleaded guilty in 2008"

"Ariely & Epstein met at least 7 times from 2010-2016"

"Ariely is named 636 times in the more than 3 million additional files released"

"Neither Ariely nor Duke responded to ... requests for comment"

www.dukechronicle.com/article/duke...
Duke professor Dan Ariely had longstanding friendship with Jeffrey Epstein, newly released files show
Ariely is named in 636 of the some 3 million newly released files. He was a prominent professor at Duke over the course of his correspondence with Epstein.
www.dukechronicle.com
January 31, 2026 at 6:34 PM
Reposted by Stephanie M. Lee
maxkozlov.bsky.social
I'm at the Willard Hotel where I've been denied entry and kicked out of the Reclaiming Science event with NIH director Bhattacharya & other top agency leaders.

@jocelynkaiser.bsky.social and I registered for the event months ago yet were told capacity was full, even as they let in dozens of others.
January 30, 2026 at 6:07 PM
Reposted by Stephanie M. Lee
nitasha.bsky.social
more details and sharp analysis from @willoremus.com and @aaronschaffer.com here is a gift link wapo.st/4rjXAMQ
Inside a tech company’s secretive plan to destroy millions of books
Court filings reveal how AI companies raced to obtain more books to feed chatbots, including by buying, scanning and disposing of millions of titles.
www.washingtonpost.com
January 27, 2026 at 6:48 PM
Reposted by Stephanie M. Lee
tktk.bsky.social
NEW: How do college students try to avoid being falsely accused of using AI to cheat?

By turning to AI...

My latest @nbcnews.com story shows how even students who want nothing to do with AI can't seem to escape it - and it fuels a new niche industry of "humanizers"

www.nbcnews.com/tech/interne...
To avoid accusations of AI cheating, college students are turning to AI
Students are taking new measures, such as dumbing down their work, spying on themselves and using AI “humanizer” programs, to beat accusations of cheating with artificial intelligence.
www.nbcnews.com
January 28, 2026 at 4:26 PM
Reposted by Stephanie M. Lee
haleaziz.bsky.social
We profiled refugees who:

Arrived in the country legally.

Applied for green cards.

Were arrested by ICE and detained.

One refugee who was arrested found out they got their green card after being released.

This is an unprecedented operation.

www.nytimes.com/2026/01/26/u...
They ‘Had Done Everything Right.’ ICE Detained Them Anyway.
www.nytimes.com
January 27, 2026 at 2:25 PM
Reposted by Stephanie M. Lee
vanityfair.com
Ta-Nehisi Coates: With the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, "Trump has clarified an inconvenient fact—the culture war is an actual war"
“The Homeland” Is War on America: The Blood-and-Soil Nationalism That Killed Renee Good and Alex Pretti
In the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, Trump has clarified an inconvenient fact: the culture war is an actual war.
www.vanityfair.com
January 26, 2026 at 7:11 PM
stephaniemlee.bsky.social
Congress Is Asking Dozens of Prominent Universities About Students’ "Dismal" Math Skills, @katiemangan.bsky.social reports: www.chronicle.com/article/cong...
Congress Is Asking Dozens of Prominent Universities About Students’ ‘Dismal’ Math Skills
The inquiry comes after a viral faculty report from the U. of California at San Diego found that the number of freshmen falling below high-school standards grew nearly thirtyfold.
www.chronicle.com
January 27, 2026 at 6:44 PM
Reposted by Stephanie M. Lee
pgourevitch.bsky.social
terrific new Ben Taub piece — it cracks a long-cold case of infanticide; it's a bombshell for maternal health, child protection & opiate toxicology protocols; it exposes the Lancet’s scandalous indifference to validity of what it publishes — it should make noise

www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...
Did a Celebrated Researcher Obscure a Baby’s Poisoning?
After a newborn died of opioid poisoning, a new branch of pediatrics came into being. But the evidence doesn’t add up.
www.newyorker.com
January 26, 2026 at 4:40 PM
Reposted by Stephanie M. Lee
sarahkaplan48.bsky.social
My @washingtonpost.com colleagues worked round the clock this weekend to expose the truth of what's happening in Minneapolis and bring urgent weather news to millions facing dangerous cold and snow.

If you value this work, tell Jeff Bezos to #SaveThePost
www.washingtonpost.com/investigatio...
Federal agent secured gun from Minn. man before fatal shooting, videos show
A Washington Post analysis of videos sheds light on the encounter that left 37-year-old Alex Pretti dead.
www.washingtonpost.com
January 26, 2026 at 4:15 PM
Reposted by Stephanie M. Lee
chrisgeidner.bsky.social
Star Tribune: “Republican Chris Madel made a stunning exit from the Minnesota governor’s race on Jan. 26, saying he cannot support the national GOP’s ‘stated retribution on the citizens of our state, nor can I count myself a member of a party that would do so.’”
Chris Madel ends GOP bid for governor, says he can’t support federal ‘retribution’ against Minnesota
His exit comes as some other Republicans have started to distance themselves from the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown in the state.
www.startribune.com
January 26, 2026 at 2:59 PM
Reposted by Stephanie M. Lee
startribune.com
Protesters flooded the intersection of Nicollet Avenue and W. 26th Street in south Minneapolis, near where Alex Pretti was fatally shot by federal agents Saturday morning.

Video by Aaron Lavinsky, Genevieve Ross, Kyeland Jackson and Louis Krauss.
January 24, 2026 at 11:21 PM
Reposted by Stephanie M. Lee
shenandoahkate.bsky.social
For @chronicle.com, I wrote about a secret provost club. Well, formerly. www.chronicle.com/article/high...
Higher Ed’s Secret Provost Club
In 10U, chief academic officers at private research universities gather, share ideas, and commiserate.
www.chronicle.com
January 23, 2026 at 2:18 AM
Reposted by Stephanie M. Lee
sharongoldman.bsky.social
NEW: NeurIPS,one of the world’s top academic AI conferences, accepted research papers with 100+ AI-hallucinated citations, new report claims

fortune.com/2026/01/21/n...
NeurIPS papers contained 100+ AI-hallucinated citations, new report claims | Fortune
An analysis of NeurIPS 2025 papers by startup GPTZero reveals how AI-generated citations are slipping into elite academic research.
fortune.com
January 21, 2026 at 2:11 PM