Baki Topal
@bakitopal.bsky.social
Academic surgeon. Writer.
On silence, systems, and moral context.
Author of Cutting into the Silence.
On silence, systems, and moral context.
Author of Cutting into the Silence.
When institutions abandon human consequence as a decision variable, they don’t gain strength — they lose legitimacy.
Power without moral accounting always backfires.
Power without moral accounting always backfires.
Vital read from @jeremykonyndyk.bsky.social in @nytimes.com
The closure of USAID & disregard for the human toll was the 1st step in a dark shift in US aspirations toward naked power and extractive self-interest. It's leaving the US friendless, isolated, and weaker. www.nytimes.com/2026/02/08/o...
The closure of USAID & disregard for the human toll was the 1st step in a dark shift in US aspirations toward naked power and extractive self-interest. It's leaving the US friendless, isolated, and weaker. www.nytimes.com/2026/02/08/o...
Opinion | The Aftermath of Feeding America’s Credibility Into the Woodchipper
www.nytimes.com
February 8, 2026 at 5:01 PM
When institutions abandon human consequence as a decision variable, they don’t gain strength — they lose legitimacy.
Power without moral accounting always backfires.
Power without moral accounting always backfires.
February 4, 2026 at 7:47 PM
Oversimplifying people
is how policy loses contact with reality.
When systems mistake abstraction for understanding, decisions remain defensible on paper — but detached from lived experience. That gap is where trust erodes.
is how policy loses contact with reality.
When systems mistake abstraction for understanding, decisions remain defensible on paper — but detached from lived experience. That gap is where trust erodes.
February 2, 2026 at 9:30 AM
Oversimplifying people
is how policy loses contact with reality.
When systems mistake abstraction for understanding, decisions remain defensible on paper — but detached from lived experience. That gap is where trust erodes.
is how policy loses contact with reality.
When systems mistake abstraction for understanding, decisions remain defensible on paper — but detached from lived experience. That gap is where trust erodes.
I learned early that rules can be followed perfectly and still fail the person standing in front of you.
January 25, 2026 at 10:43 AM
I learned early that rules can be followed perfectly and still fail the person standing in front of you.
Systems are built to guide and optimize.
Lives are shaped by what resists being followed blindly.
Lives are shaped by what resists being followed blindly.
January 21, 2026 at 9:49 AM
Systems are built to guide and optimize.
Lives are shaped by what resists being followed blindly.
Lives are shaped by what resists being followed blindly.
Power is often framed as dominance, isolation, or leverage.
Strength emerges through mutual dependence.
Strength emerges through mutual dependence.
January 20, 2026 at 7:53 AM
Power is often framed as dominance, isolation, or leverage.
Strength emerges through mutual dependence.
Strength emerges through mutual dependence.
Silence is often mistaken for absence.
In practice, it is densely contextual.
In practice, it is densely contextual.
January 18, 2026 at 8:03 PM
Silence is often mistaken for absence.
In practice, it is densely contextual.
In practice, it is densely contextual.