Jessie Seiler
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jessieish.bsky.social
Jessie Seiler
@jessieish.bsky.social
2.5K followers 2.3K following 660 posts
MPH, PhD in epidemiology | she/her | science writer focused on health misinformation at Center for Science in the Public Interest | affiliate faculty, University of Washington Public Health | opinions my own but I'm sure we all agree that my cat is cute
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jessieish.bsky.social
I voted by mail a few days ago but today I'm gonna guest lecture on the social determinants of health and why misinformation thrives when we ignore them because dick cheney would've really hated that
A screenshot of a purple slide with UW School of Public Health and Department of Epidemiology branding reading The social determinants of health: a brief intro Jessie Seiler, PhD, MPH Affiliate Assistant Professor Department of Epidemiology and School of Public Health, UW jseiler@uw.edu
November 4, 2025 at 3:36 PM
jessieish.bsky.social
Again, no matter how awful things get out there, we can always come together to point and laugh at Trevor Bauer, an awful human and awful pitcher, as he continues to fail in his chosen pursuits. Just great stuff!

(Reposting image with alt text because we all deserve to share this moment)
A post from Gaijin Baseball that reads: "Update: Trevor Bauer is no longer on Yokohama's playoff roster. Daisuke Miura no longer trusts him out of the bullpen." It's quote posting something from the same account that reads: "Trevor Bauer just gaev up 5 runs to Nippon Express' corporate ball team in a scrimmage..."
October 10, 2025 at 2:35 PM
jessieish.bsky.social
Not only have the Mariners been doing this all season, but they've also been selling blue corndogs -- dipped in nacho cheese and covered in blue Takis -- all year.
A corndog being held up in a baseball stadium. It's covered in crushed up blue Takis.
October 4, 2025 at 5:27 PM
jessieish.bsky.social
mason.gmu.edu/~rmatz/giama...
A screenshot of black text on a white background that reads: "That is why it breaks my heart, that game--not because in New York they could win because Boston lost; in that, there is a rough justice, and a reminder to the Yankees of how slight and fragile are the circumstances that exalt one group of human beings over another. It breaks my heart because it was meant to, because it was meant to foster in me again the illusion that there was something abiding, some pattern and some impulse that could come together to make a reality that would resist the corrosion; and because, after it had fostered again that most hungered-for illusion, the game was meant to stop, and betray precisely what it promised. Of course, there are those who learn after the first few times. They grow out of sports. And there are others who were born with the wisdom to know that nothing lasts. These are the truly tough among us, the ones who can live without illusion, or without even the hope of illusion. I am not that grown-up or up-to-date. I am a simpler creature, tied to more primitive patterns and cycles. I need to think something lasts forever, and it might as well be that state of being that is a game; it might as well be that, in a green field, in the sun."
September 28, 2025 at 5:23 PM
jessieish.bsky.social
Happy closing day.
Screenshot of black text on a white background that reads: "From A Great and Glorious Game: Baseball Writings of A. Bartlett Giamatti, by A. Bartlett Giamatti, et al 'The Green Fields of the Mind' It breaks your heart. It is designed to break your heart. The game begins in the spring, when everything else begins again, and it blossoms in the summer, filling the afternoons and evenings, and then as soon as the chill rains come, it stops and leaves you to face the fall alone. You count on it, rely on it to buffer the passage of time, to keep the memory of sunshine and high skies alive, and then just when the days are all twilight, when you need it most, it stops. Today, October 2, a Sunday of rain and broken branches and leaf-clogged drains and slick streets, it stopped, and summer was gone."
September 28, 2025 at 5:18 PM
jessieish.bsky.social
It's wild that any joy or pleasure we can get these days feels wrenched away from the ever-increasing fascism. Anyway, I picked up a violin for the first time and started taking lessons, hope you can find your joy too.
A violin in a blue case. We're looking down from the scroll and pegs to the top part of the beck and fingerboard.
September 27, 2025 at 10:23 PM
jessieish.bsky.social
As we get ready for the quarter to start up next week, I'm really grateful for this passage on the social meaning of the college campus as it intersects with Kirk's politics of hate.

People on the right (and not just in the political class) are just plain weird about college students.
An excerpt from the story that reads "The mentions of “debate” and “engagement” are references to Kirk’s campus tours, during which he visited various colleges to take on whoever come may. That this aspect of Kirk’s work would be so attractive to writers and politicians is understandable. There is, after all, a pervasive worry, among the political class, that college students, ensconced in their own bubbles, could use a bit of shock therapy from a man unconcerned with preferred pronouns, trigger warnings, and the humanity of Palestinians. But it also shows how the political class’s obsession with universities blinds it to everything else. And the everything-else of Kirk’s politics amounted to little more than a loathing of those whose mere existence provoked his ire."
September 17, 2025 at 7:31 PM
jessieish.bsky.social
I don't love the conventions around science writing, but knowing for sure within a half second when something wasn't written by a person with literally any relevant training can be helpful
Screen shot of a study titled "Evidence the U.S. autism epidemic initiated by acetaminophen (Tylenol) is aggravated by oral antibiotic amoxicillin/clavulanate (Augmentin) and now exponentially by herbicide glyphosate (Roundup)" The author is listed as Peter Good, whose affiliation is given as "Autism Studies, PO Box 1683, La Pine, OR 97739, USA. Electronic address: autismstudiesnet@gmail.com."
September 12, 2025 at 4:55 PM
jessieish.bsky.social
Big year for etsy witch halloween costumes, calling it now
A post from a Seattle Mariners official team account that says "shoutout to the etsy witch" with an announcement of the team's victory over Atlanta
September 11, 2025 at 2:55 PM
jessieish.bsky.social
Mookie’s probably figured out that we’re moving by now and is especially upset that I rented reusable moving boxes this time, which means no tape for her to chomp. No amount of treats will appease her, I fear.
A tortie cat with yellow eyes sitting on a green plastic tub with the word Stack on it.
August 21, 2025 at 3:16 PM
jessieish.bsky.social
NYT interviewing a contrarian economist with NO relevant training and opening by acknowledging the CDC shooting but saying NOTHING about where all this mistrust and vilification of public health professionals comes from broke me.

The total lack of self-awareness and reflexivity is bonkers.
A screenshot that reads: "Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Impact So Far: ‘The Worst Possible Case’ David Wallace-Wells and Emily Oster argue that the effects of MAHA will be long-lasting."
August 18, 2025 at 7:42 PM
jessieish.bsky.social
Good morning, I’m canceling all my plans for the rest of my life because this is how Mookie looks at me when she figures out I’m leaving the apartment, thanks for understanding!!
A tortie cat with massive yellow eyes wide open in shock stares at the camera from a green couch with red and orange pillows on it.
August 18, 2025 at 2:08 PM
jessieish.bsky.social
It's Mookie's fifth birthday so we're doing lots of laundry for her to nap on and laughing at this photo from her first vet appointment. I couldn't go in with her due to covid restrictions, but based on how puffed up she is, I know the vet tech was lying when he said she was charming and friendly.
An image of a tortie kitten, all puffed up, and text that reads "Happy Brithday! Dear Mookie, Wishing you a very happy birthday! We hope your special day is filled with fun."
July 2, 2025 at 7:17 PM
jessieish.bsky.social
Enough time has passed (and I no longer work in this building) -- I can now share that in an exhausted moment I once accidentally pushed the emergency button instead of the elevator call button a while back. The emergency line rang and rang and nobody ever picked up. So that's cool!
An elevator call button with three elevators' locations on floors 1, 8, and 1 indicated; the down button is illuminated. It's VERY close to an emergency call button with a little speaker.
June 27, 2025 at 5:48 PM
jessieish.bsky.social
Hi #EpiSky! If you're an epidemiologist (including PhD students, postdocs, faculty, and people working outside of academia as epis), please take our brief survey on the political role of epidemiologists! Mookie says thanks in advance.

bit.ly/4nkxFmU
A tortie cat with wide yellow eyes has her tongue curled out and up to her nose. She looks ridiculous.
June 27, 2025 at 12:07 AM
jessieish.bsky.social
Here's our other poster at #SER2025. In this one, we describe our ideal of solidarity-based epi and invite you to take our survey on whether you think that makes sense for our field!

Survey here:
msu.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...
A green conference poster with the title "Solidarity-based epidemiology: re-distributing power inside and outside of the field"
June 11, 2025 at 1:14 AM
jessieish.bsky.social
Go check out our work in tonight's poster presentation! Posters 1324 and 1325. Be sure to take our survey too -- there's a QR code on 1324. #SER2025
A conference poster with lots of red and orange. It's titled "The socioecological model of epi: post-November 2024"
June 11, 2025 at 12:59 AM
jessieish.bsky.social
Hi #EpiSky! Nadia Abuelezam and I will have a poster at #SER2025 on solidarity-based epidemiology. Let's talk about the role epidemiologists play in politics! Please fill out our survey. Have a picture of Mookie as a thanks in advance!

msu.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...
A tortie cat on a black table. She's rolled on her back with her left front paw raised as if she's waving
June 6, 2025 at 5:23 PM
jessieish.bsky.social
Many things are horrible, but my grad students have taken to sending photos of their pets to include in our slide decks, and now we stop a couple times each lecture so various students can tell the class about their pets, and honestly I’m pretty proud of that. Anyway here’s Mookie.
A tortie cat viewed from above. She’s curled up on a cat seat looking extremely bun-like.
May 12, 2025 at 2:24 AM
jessieish.bsky.social
The president of my university, who makes more than 10x what I do every year and whose choices were part of how we all got here and who's about to oversee massive staff layoffs, was caught on hot mic before a budget town hall meeting saying "I guess I shouldn't tell them we're fucked."
May 8, 2025 at 4:16 PM
jessieish.bsky.social
I know the world is a mess but nothing makes my blood pressure drop and my brain fizz in a quiet happy way like a day game. Baseball is so stupid and I love it so so much 💙
A baseball field on a Sunday day. The game is just getting started so nobody’s on base, but you can see the batter and all the fielders are ready to go. It’s a beautiful sunny afternoon and the sky is blue with some scattered clouds.
April 13, 2025 at 11:05 PM
jessieish.bsky.social
The geese are back, and one lady of questionable judgement has laid four eggs on my office building's patio. Trying to figure out who knows how to re-home these lil babies and their mom safely before they hatch and waddle right off the 8th floor.
A patchy photo, taken through a window covered in rain drops. Three fist-sized eggs together in a nest in the foreground, one rolled away behind them. In the background is a cloudy Seattle skyline.
April 9, 2025 at 1:22 AM
jessieish.bsky.social
May we all find peace this weekend. In whatever way we choose.
A Reddit post with the title: “To My Neighbor Whose Tesla Is Covered in Kraft Singles” The post reads: “I am the one who keeps doing this This is not because you own a Tesla, but because of who you are as a person and the choices you have made. Every time you veer out of your way to splash people while we are waiting for the bus, I will do it again. You are never going to catch me. That is all.”
March 21, 2025 at 1:34 PM
jessieish.bsky.social
I'm doing final oral exams with my public health/politics students and in spite of everything, they all did such an incredible job of engaging with the chaos of these topics at this particular moment in history. So proud of them, so exhausted, so ready to curl up in a ball.
A tortie cat with yellow eyes is curled up on a grey blanlet. One of her back feet is tucked over her head and one of her front feet is stretched in front of her.
March 18, 2025 at 5:22 PM
jessieish.bsky.social
Minor Severance spoiler, major vibe

(Nobody is good, nobody is even close to good, in this shot or anywhere else in either this fictional world or our own)
In the top panel is Harmony Cobel, a character in Severance, a white woman with long silver hair in winter clothes stands outside in a wooded area. She asks someone not in the frame, "How are you?" In the bottom panel, Mark Scout, a white man with brown hair standing opposite her replies, "Oh my God, so good" with just a shit ton of sarcasm
March 14, 2025 at 3:12 AM