Steve Senior
@stevensenior.bsky.social
Consultant in Public Health. Recovering civil servant. Lapsed neuroscientist. Ex-paper boy and former donut stand operator. Ultracrepidarian. Denizen of West Yorkshire. Opinions my own, re-posts are not endorsements.
There's a funny joke on Hawkeye about some bad guy 'not having to go see Imagine Dragons.
The 12 year old "what? I liked Imagine Dragons, when I was like 9."
He's on form this evening.
The 12 year old "what? I liked Imagine Dragons, when I was like 9."
He's on form this evening.
January 31, 2026 at 8:10 PM
There's a funny joke on Hawkeye about some bad guy 'not having to go see Imagine Dragons.
The 12 year old "what? I liked Imagine Dragons, when I was like 9."
He's on form this evening.
The 12 year old "what? I liked Imagine Dragons, when I was like 9."
He's on form this evening.
The twelve year old, on considering why animals were brought in twos to Noah's Ark: "That makes Noah's Ark much less of a children's story. That's a boat full of sex. That's weird.".
January 31, 2026 at 7:41 PM
The twelve year old, on considering why animals were brought in twos to Noah's Ark: "That makes Noah's Ark much less of a children's story. That's a boat full of sex. That's weird.".
Reposted by Steve Senior
Currently reading a great book on the evidence for cholesterol's harms, what convinced the skeptics, and how the scientific consensus formed.
January 31, 2026 at 2:05 PM
Currently reading a great book on the evidence for cholesterol's harms, what convinced the skeptics, and how the scientific consensus formed.
All the columns have already been written.
A List of Complaints from 1926
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🧵
January 31, 2026 at 3:05 PM
All the columns have already been written.
Reposted by Steve Senior
January 30, 2026 at 6:09 PM
Reposted by Steve Senior
Reposted by Steve Senior
Out now - our Jan newsletter - includes:
🔸Research: continuous midwifery care reduces pre-term birth risk
🔸Blog: discussing proposals to change how NICE evaluates medicines
🔸Our new knowledge mobilisation webpage
🔸Events, blogs, resources + more
us16.campaign-archive.com?u=5618423362...
🔸Research: continuous midwifery care reduces pre-term birth risk
🔸Blog: discussing proposals to change how NICE evaluates medicines
🔸Our new knowledge mobilisation webpage
🔸Events, blogs, resources + more
us16.campaign-archive.com?u=5618423362...
January 30, 2026 at 11:11 AM
Out now - our Jan newsletter - includes:
🔸Research: continuous midwifery care reduces pre-term birth risk
🔸Blog: discussing proposals to change how NICE evaluates medicines
🔸Our new knowledge mobilisation webpage
🔸Events, blogs, resources + more
us16.campaign-archive.com?u=5618423362...
🔸Research: continuous midwifery care reduces pre-term birth risk
🔸Blog: discussing proposals to change how NICE evaluates medicines
🔸Our new knowledge mobilisation webpage
🔸Events, blogs, resources + more
us16.campaign-archive.com?u=5618423362...
Reposted by Steve Senior
AI is becoming a new front door to the news - 40% of 18-24 year olds use AI for information weekly and Google AI overviews reach 2 billion a month.
But we find AI isn't reliably surfacing news content - with implications for public access to information and media plurality.
Full report @ippr.org
But we find AI isn't reliably surfacing news content - with implications for public access to information and media plurality.
Full report @ippr.org
January 30, 2026 at 11:12 AM
AI is becoming a new front door to the news - 40% of 18-24 year olds use AI for information weekly and Google AI overviews reach 2 billion a month.
But we find AI isn't reliably surfacing news content - with implications for public access to information and media plurality.
Full report @ippr.org
But we find AI isn't reliably surfacing news content - with implications for public access to information and media plurality.
Full report @ippr.org
Crotchety public health opinion: I don't care how much linked data you've got, what programming tools you use, or what fancy machine learning algorithms you use if you ignore obvious biases underlying data and don't have an effective intervention.
January 30, 2026 at 10:48 AM
Crotchety public health opinion: I don't care how much linked data you've got, what programming tools you use, or what fancy machine learning algorithms you use if you ignore obvious biases underlying data and don't have an effective intervention.
🚨Emergency: the coffee machine is broken. I REPEAT: THE COFFEE MACHINE IS BROKEN🚨
January 30, 2026 at 9:22 AM
🚨Emergency: the coffee machine is broken. I REPEAT: THE COFFEE MACHINE IS BROKEN🚨
The good, the bad, and the sausage.
Big sausage in little china.
The Shawshank Sausage.
Fear and Sausage in Las Vegas.
Big sausage in little china.
The Shawshank Sausage.
Fear and Sausage in Las Vegas.
January 30, 2026 at 8:02 AM
The good, the bad, and the sausage.
Big sausage in little china.
The Shawshank Sausage.
Fear and Sausage in Las Vegas.
Big sausage in little china.
The Shawshank Sausage.
Fear and Sausage in Las Vegas.
Life is the ends not the means.
I read this, and I am freshly reminded that one of the most important insights in humanism is that this our one and only life.
Grindcore is the new hustle culture
In Silicon Valley, long hours have fused with a monastic male wellness aesthetic
www.ft.com
January 30, 2026 at 7:31 AM
Life is the ends not the means.
Reposted by Steve Senior
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH
January 30, 2026 at 1:42 AM
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH
Reposted by Steve Senior
If you missed my talk on Tuesday, you can now watch the video!👇🏼
View the presentation recording on YouTube:
youtu.be/Q8A5NEmRxyM?...
youtu.be/Q8A5NEmRxyM?...
2026 Methods Series with Ellie Murray
YouTube video by CAUSALab at Harvard T.H. Chan
youtu.be
January 29, 2026 at 8:17 PM
If you missed my talk on Tuesday, you can now watch the video!👇🏼
Reposted by Steve Senior
Done well, Fair Pay Agreements could create a virtuous cycle of better pay, lower turnover, higher productivity and greater continuity of care.
Hiba Sameen highlights three critical incentive risks policymakers need to address to ensure the FPA works in practice ⬇️
https://bit.ly/3Oamf83
Hiba Sameen highlights three critical incentive risks policymakers need to address to ensure the FPA works in practice ⬇️
https://bit.ly/3Oamf83
January 29, 2026 at 9:00 AM
Done well, Fair Pay Agreements could create a virtuous cycle of better pay, lower turnover, higher productivity and greater continuity of care.
Hiba Sameen highlights three critical incentive risks policymakers need to address to ensure the FPA works in practice ⬇️
https://bit.ly/3Oamf83
Hiba Sameen highlights three critical incentive risks policymakers need to address to ensure the FPA works in practice ⬇️
https://bit.ly/3Oamf83
Reposted by Steve Senior
Improving health in deprived communities is essential for economic growth. Poor health limits participation in the labour market and drives inequalities.
Our new briefing shows how local teams can embed health into strategies on skills, good work and investment ⬇️
https://bit.ly/4agYFPE
Our new briefing shows how local teams can embed health into strategies on skills, good work and investment ⬇️
https://bit.ly/4agYFPE
January 28, 2026 at 4:45 PM
Improving health in deprived communities is essential for economic growth. Poor health limits participation in the labour market and drives inequalities.
Our new briefing shows how local teams can embed health into strategies on skills, good work and investment ⬇️
https://bit.ly/4agYFPE
Our new briefing shows how local teams can embed health into strategies on skills, good work and investment ⬇️
https://bit.ly/4agYFPE
Reposted by Steve Senior
I think it’s very plausible that all the gains from AI end up in old industries getting more efficient and are not captured by the AI companies themselves. The classic fate of a technology that complements but does not replace human labour.
January 29, 2026 at 9:11 AM
I think it’s very plausible that all the gains from AI end up in old industries getting more efficient and are not captured by the AI companies themselves. The classic fate of a technology that complements but does not replace human labour.
Reposted by Steve Senior
My mental model of this is the railways boom. One of the defining technology booms but all the gains went to people using the railways and not the railway companies. AI has all the hall marks of being a commodity with low pricing power,
January 29, 2026 at 9:09 AM
My mental model of this is the railways boom. One of the defining technology booms but all the gains went to people using the railways and not the railway companies. AI has all the hall marks of being a commodity with low pricing power,
Reposting what may be a fair critique of my skepticism of LLMs.
I've found them useful for things where (a) I can tell them exactly what I want; and (b) I know straight away if they're producing junk; and (c) it's an appropriate task for a word-guessing engine. Eg. writing small bits of code.
I've found them useful for things where (a) I can tell them exactly what I want; and (b) I know straight away if they're producing junk; and (c) it's an appropriate task for a word-guessing engine. Eg. writing small bits of code.
AI tools are immensely powerful. The use of AI as a general purpose chat bot that is used like an encyclopaedia is the worst possible use of AI. AI is now, given good instructions from a knowledgeable user, capable of doing absolutely vast amounts of work extremely fast.
lots of people, especially on here, are fastened onto the idea that it's just AI bro marketing or whatever to consider it a fixture of the information landscape. it's easy to think that when everyone in your circles is an ethical AI refuser. but I'm afraid it really has been mass adopted.
January 29, 2026 at 10:52 AM
Reposting what may be a fair critique of my skepticism of LLMs.
I've found them useful for things where (a) I can tell them exactly what I want; and (b) I know straight away if they're producing junk; and (c) it's an appropriate task for a word-guessing engine. Eg. writing small bits of code.
I've found them useful for things where (a) I can tell them exactly what I want; and (b) I know straight away if they're producing junk; and (c) it's an appropriate task for a word-guessing engine. Eg. writing small bits of code.
Reposted by Steve Senior
A few of our FPH events ahead.
📅 [04/02/26] - Poverty, housing, and healthy places
📅 [09/02/26] - Experiences of women living with neurodiversity in Staffordshire
📅 [10/02/26] - Poverty and Health: The Role of Primary Care
Register and see more www.fph.org.uk/events-cours...
📅 [04/02/26] - Poverty, housing, and healthy places
📅 [09/02/26] - Experiences of women living with neurodiversity in Staffordshire
📅 [10/02/26] - Poverty and Health: The Role of Primary Care
Register and see more www.fph.org.uk/events-cours...
January 29, 2026 at 9:47 AM
A few of our FPH events ahead.
📅 [04/02/26] - Poverty, housing, and healthy places
📅 [09/02/26] - Experiences of women living with neurodiversity in Staffordshire
📅 [10/02/26] - Poverty and Health: The Role of Primary Care
Register and see more www.fph.org.uk/events-cours...
📅 [04/02/26] - Poverty, housing, and healthy places
📅 [09/02/26] - Experiences of women living with neurodiversity in Staffordshire
📅 [10/02/26] - Poverty and Health: The Role of Primary Care
Register and see more www.fph.org.uk/events-cours...
Great news! The kids have got into a song by Kurt Cobain!
Bad news: It's Beans.
open.spotify.com/track/47omQ9...
Bad news: It's Beans.
open.spotify.com/track/47omQ9...
open.spotify.com
January 28, 2026 at 8:24 PM
Great news! The kids have got into a song by Kurt Cobain!
Bad news: It's Beans.
open.spotify.com/track/47omQ9...
Bad news: It's Beans.
open.spotify.com/track/47omQ9...
Reposted by Steve Senior
I tried the government's new 'AI Skills Hub'. Let's just say I was underwhelmed.
tommorris.org/posts/2026/t...
tommorris.org/posts/2026/t...
Turn it off and run - upskilling for the AI age
The government have made a website where you can learn how you were prompting it wrong.
tommorris.org
January 28, 2026 at 5:40 PM
I tried the government's new 'AI Skills Hub'. Let's just say I was underwhelmed.
tommorris.org/posts/2026/t...
tommorris.org/posts/2026/t...
Reposted by Steve Senior
I need to travel to London for work next week, and there are no advance tickets left for some services with a week to go.
EMR have been running trains at half the length they used to at peak times (five cars, instead of ten), and it’s a bloody scandal.
Going via Doncaster instead for £116 return.
EMR have been running trains at half the length they used to at peak times (five cars, instead of ten), and it’s a bloody scandal.
Going via Doncaster instead for £116 return.
January 28, 2026 at 6:12 PM
I need to travel to London for work next week, and there are no advance tickets left for some services with a week to go.
EMR have been running trains at half the length they used to at peak times (five cars, instead of ten), and it’s a bloody scandal.
Going via Doncaster instead for £116 return.
EMR have been running trains at half the length they used to at peak times (five cars, instead of ten), and it’s a bloody scandal.
Going via Doncaster instead for £116 return.
Reposted by Steve Senior
📊 Explore updated data on HIV/AIDS—
When HIV was first identified four decades ago, nearly 100% of those infected died, typically within a few years.
Thankfully, global public health efforts and medical advances such as antiretroviral therapy (ART) have improved this situation dramatically.
When HIV was first identified four decades ago, nearly 100% of those infected died, typically within a few years.
Thankfully, global public health efforts and medical advances such as antiretroviral therapy (ART) have improved this situation dramatically.
January 28, 2026 at 2:46 PM
📊 Explore updated data on HIV/AIDS—
When HIV was first identified four decades ago, nearly 100% of those infected died, typically within a few years.
Thankfully, global public health efforts and medical advances such as antiretroviral therapy (ART) have improved this situation dramatically.
When HIV was first identified four decades ago, nearly 100% of those infected died, typically within a few years.
Thankfully, global public health efforts and medical advances such as antiretroviral therapy (ART) have improved this situation dramatically.
Measles laughs at your linear scale y-axis.
There's one thing about measles - it is really good at spreading. That line for 2026 is something else....https://edition.cnn.com/2026/01/27/health/largest-us-measles-outbreak-south-carolina
January 28, 2026 at 2:27 PM
Measles laughs at your linear scale y-axis.