Jon Phillips
@jowiph.bsky.social
Historian of evolutionary biology and scientific racism who has somehow turned into a historian of the physical sciences. Expect lots of cat pictures and general miscellany. Baltimore.
Pinned
Jon Phillips
@jowiph.bsky.social
· Oct 5
I’ve shared these a few times on the other site, but since everything is new again, here’s a thread of extremist profiles on prominent scientific racists I wrote for @SPLC roughly 10 years ago:
The FBI may no longer be relying on SPLC, but their anti-extremist resources are still extremely worthwhile, especially these days. So in that spirit, time to re-up the thread of extremist profiles I wrote for them on scientific racists
Reposted by Jon Phillips
In the century leading up to 1975, nearly 6000 freighters went down in the Great Lakes.
The Edmund Fitzgerald was the last.
The last. In 50 years, not a single commercial freighter has been lost in the Great Lakes.
Why?
It's NOAA. Of course it's NOAA.
The Edmund Fitzgerald was the last.
The last. In 50 years, not a single commercial freighter has been lost in the Great Lakes.
Why?
It's NOAA. Of course it's NOAA.
November 11, 2025 at 1:50 AM
In the century leading up to 1975, nearly 6000 freighters went down in the Great Lakes.
The Edmund Fitzgerald was the last.
The last. In 50 years, not a single commercial freighter has been lost in the Great Lakes.
Why?
It's NOAA. Of course it's NOAA.
The Edmund Fitzgerald was the last.
The last. In 50 years, not a single commercial freighter has been lost in the Great Lakes.
Why?
It's NOAA. Of course it's NOAA.
Fun fact: Gordon Lightfoot wrote the song first, and then sank the Edmund Fitzgerald himself in what has come to be recognized as one of the first viral marketing stunts
November 11, 2025 at 2:32 AM
Fun fact: Gordon Lightfoot wrote the song first, and then sank the Edmund Fitzgerald himself in what has come to be recognized as one of the first viral marketing stunts
Reposted by Jon Phillips
Seattle's Mamdani is winning by an absurdly small margin over our incumbent mayor, who once pulled a gun on a pregnant woman in a parking lot.
Vote in your local elections!
www.thestranger.com/news/2025/11...
Vote in your local elections!
www.thestranger.com/news/2025/11...
November 11, 2025 at 1:35 AM
Seattle's Mamdani is winning by an absurdly small margin over our incumbent mayor, who once pulled a gun on a pregnant woman in a parking lot.
Vote in your local elections!
www.thestranger.com/news/2025/11...
Vote in your local elections!
www.thestranger.com/news/2025/11...
Reposted by Jon Phillips
Look guys I’ve spent the last day playing this over and over again. Don’t read the comments first and stick it through to the second verse. It is in fact one of the funniest things I’ve ever heard.
second verse on this is one of the funniest things i've ever heard
November 11, 2025 at 12:24 AM
Look guys I’ve spent the last day playing this over and over again. Don’t read the comments first and stick it through to the second verse. It is in fact one of the funniest things I’ve ever heard.
Not to doompost, but sometimes I really think we don't fully appreciate how bad things could get, and how quickly
November 11, 2025 at 12:32 AM
Not to doompost, but sometimes I really think we don't fully appreciate how bad things could get, and how quickly
Reposted by Jon Phillips
Oh the Juggalos are feasting tonight.
November 10, 2025 at 9:17 PM
Oh the Juggalos are feasting tonight.
Reposted by Jon Phillips
books have no tech tree, no fog of war
November 10, 2025 at 8:13 PM
books have no tech tree, no fog of war
Reposted by Jon Phillips
you know we used to have to do at least a little work to prove the connection between racism and transphobia
Nothing illustrates the arseholery of the IOC and the British Press more than the use of the image of a not-Trans woman to illustrate a story about trans women being banned (because there are no current trans women competing at this level)
November 10, 2025 at 7:14 PM
you know we used to have to do at least a little work to prove the connection between racism and transphobia
These people are literally enemies of humanity. Causing and celebrating mass death for mass death's sake.
“I’ve come to this anti-vax conference with a message: that we need to be more boldly anti-vax,” said Mark Gorton, the head of the MAHA Institute…(he) called for the elimination of the childhood vaccination schedule & removal of vaccines from the market.
www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...
www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...
‘God is an anti-vaxxer’: Inside the conference celebrating RFK Jr.’s rise
An anti-vaccine conference in Austin celebrated Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s rise to political power, highlighting his influence in Trump’s Washington.
www.washingtonpost.com
November 10, 2025 at 5:44 PM
These people are literally enemies of humanity. Causing and celebrating mass death for mass death's sake.
Why would they design a system that doesn't allow medical providers to update or correct AI patient notes??
a few months ago I said "having generative AI handle absolutely anything with regards to healthcare is a nightmare and should be banned" and a bunch of people made fun of me and called me stupid. anyways,
November 10, 2025 at 4:16 PM
Why would they design a system that doesn't allow medical providers to update or correct AI patient notes??
Reposted by Jon Phillips
Most ICE flights are nowhere near full. Having a 189-seater carry 162 migrants + 16 guards (who usually sit in the back), raises the likelihood that migrants are being put in exit row seats.
This would be wildly illegal and unsafe for a variety of reasons.
1/
This would be wildly illegal and unsafe for a variety of reasons.
1/
ICE Flight stop report.
ICE Air - Boeing Field - Avelo N805VL
Sat 08 November 2025 ~10:10 PDT
3 presumed males taken OFF.
0 presumed females taken OFF.
161 presumed males put ON.*
1 presumed females put ON.
TOTAL: 3 OFF, 162 ON.
* Not including 3 who were sent up stairs but then removed.
1/7
ICE Air - Boeing Field - Avelo N805VL
Sat 08 November 2025 ~10:10 PDT
3 presumed males taken OFF.
0 presumed females taken OFF.
161 presumed males put ON.*
1 presumed females put ON.
TOTAL: 3 OFF, 162 ON.
* Not including 3 who were sent up stairs but then removed.
1/7
November 10, 2025 at 3:54 PM
Most ICE flights are nowhere near full. Having a 189-seater carry 162 migrants + 16 guards (who usually sit in the back), raises the likelihood that migrants are being put in exit row seats.
This would be wildly illegal and unsafe for a variety of reasons.
1/
This would be wildly illegal and unsafe for a variety of reasons.
1/
Who else is going to be at HSS this week? If we're moots on here and haven't already made plans, let me know if you want to meet up for coffee or a drink or something in New Orleans!
November 10, 2025 at 3:23 PM
Who else is going to be at HSS this week? If we're moots on here and haven't already made plans, let me know if you want to meet up for coffee or a drink or something in New Orleans!
Love to be constantly refreshing the Delta app to see if I get to fly to HSS on Wednesdsy
November 10, 2025 at 3:16 PM
Love to be constantly refreshing the Delta app to see if I get to fly to HSS on Wednesdsy
Cornyn completing the Cheney/Watson trifecta would be the funniest possible outcome
November 10, 2025 at 3:00 AM
Cornyn completing the Cheney/Watson trifecta would be the funniest possible outcome
Is this going into extra innings?
November 10, 2025 at 2:32 AM
Is this going into extra innings?
When I was a small child (pre-The Lion King), I had only ever seen photos of meerkats standing upright in open plains that provided no context for size comparisons. I thought they were human-sized. So disappointed when the Memphis zoo got some, and they were tiny (but adorable!)
November 9, 2025 at 9:35 PM
When I was a small child (pre-The Lion King), I had only ever seen photos of meerkats standing upright in open plains that provided no context for size comparisons. I thought they were human-sized. So disappointed when the Memphis zoo got some, and they were tiny (but adorable!)
Reposted by Jon Phillips
this is the funniest possible way for the bill to go down
Language in the bill may destroy the $70b Hemp industry and 325k jobs
November 9, 2025 at 9:05 PM
this is the funniest possible way for the bill to go down
Neighbors randomly started yelling. I assume a football just happened?
November 9, 2025 at 8:44 PM
Neighbors randomly started yelling. I assume a football just happened?
This is wild. Flight attendants aren't even allowed to call the pilots while below 10,000 feet. I can't imagine a whole flight that low
November 9, 2025 at 8:39 PM
This is wild. Flight attendants aren't even allowed to call the pilots while below 10,000 feet. I can't imagine a whole flight that low
Reposted by Jon Phillips
Nuremburg trials is the moderate position
He said that the agents would throw food at them to eat. The agents threatened to withhold food for a week and to beat him up if he didn't sign deportation papers. He said he saw others refuse and get beaten/receive no food. He signed because he was afraid.
November 7, 2025 at 12:34 PM
Nuremburg trials is the moderate position
Reposted by Jon Phillips
You cannot separate the current nightmare we now inhabit from the collapse/crisis in how rich, powerful middle-aged men perceive masculinity, especially their own insecurities.
I’m sorry, but a goofy looking guy who grew up a privileged son of a pediatrician and has a phd in social theory from the university of Goethe and started in tech by investing an inheritance left to him by his grandfather talking about being a “dude” is very, very funny to me.
November 9, 2025 at 6:22 PM
You cannot separate the current nightmare we now inhabit from the collapse/crisis in how rich, powerful middle-aged men perceive masculinity, especially their own insecurities.
Reposted by Jon Phillips
Evolutionary psychology makes a big to-do about their finding that sexual selection favors a "feminine body type" that "signals fertility/reproductive potential", including some rather... silly research. Turns out, those traits don't seem to signal reproductive success. Oops! doi.org/10.1017/ehs....
November 9, 2025 at 2:00 PM
Evolutionary psychology makes a big to-do about their finding that sexual selection favors a "feminine body type" that "signals fertility/reproductive potential", including some rather... silly research. Turns out, those traits don't seem to signal reproductive success. Oops! doi.org/10.1017/ehs....
Time to buy a whistle
I have been actively watching contracts and surge funding over the last few days and what I would say to my friends in Baltimore is “be absolutely ready, right now.”
ICE poised to ramp up raids in Baltimore by Thanksgiving
The Trump administration has rush-ordered infrastructure to conduct raids, abduct residents, and detain people for months.
open.substack.com
November 9, 2025 at 4:10 PM
Time to buy a whistle