Richard Coker
@richardcoker.bsky.social
Professor emeritus of public health, LSHTM.
Currently writing a book about fear, dying and death. Timor Mortis. And it’s killing me.
Currently writing a book about fear, dying and death. Timor Mortis. And it’s killing me.
Reposted by Richard Coker
I am grateful for @adamjkucharski.bsky.social. He takes such care to deconstruct a claim made by the director of National Institutes of Health on excess mortality during the pandemic. We need sober analyses more than ever right now, even amidst the madness.
kucharski.substack.com/p/excess-mor...
kucharski.substack.com/p/excess-mor...
Excess mortality or excessive assumptions?
How to make a popular metric tell any story you like
kucharski.substack.com
November 22, 2025 at 10:29 PM
I am grateful for @adamjkucharski.bsky.social. He takes such care to deconstruct a claim made by the director of National Institutes of Health on excess mortality during the pandemic. We need sober analyses more than ever right now, even amidst the madness.
kucharski.substack.com/p/excess-mor...
kucharski.substack.com/p/excess-mor...
Reposted by Richard Coker
If there was any doubt at all that the CDC is fully destroyed, this page on autism and vaccines on its website confirms it. It's now just another vessel of dangerous health misinformation. I have no words. This is beyond sad.
November 20, 2025 at 11:06 AM
If there was any doubt at all that the CDC is fully destroyed, this page on autism and vaccines on its website confirms it. It's now just another vessel of dangerous health misinformation. I have no words. This is beyond sad.
Reposted by Richard Coker
Tried to get this published but no luck, so might as well ‘publish’ it here so it’s not a complete waste!
➡️ Stripping rights from refugees today endangers us all tomorrow
#asylum #Mahmood #history #humanrights
➡️ Stripping rights from refugees today endangers us all tomorrow
#asylum #Mahmood #history #humanrights
November 18, 2025 at 8:03 PM
Tried to get this published but no luck, so might as well ‘publish’ it here so it’s not a complete waste!
➡️ Stripping rights from refugees today endangers us all tomorrow
#asylum #Mahmood #history #humanrights
➡️ Stripping rights from refugees today endangers us all tomorrow
#asylum #Mahmood #history #humanrights
Reposted by Richard Coker
Thought provoking from Martha Lane Fox on whether public life has got so brutal that no one you’d want to get involved will do it anymore
martha6j5h2.substack.com/p/this-is-pu...
martha6j5h2.substack.com/p/this-is-pu...
This is public life in 2025, who would volunteer?
Why the BBC crisis is not just a reflection of some bad editorial decisions and why it matters
martha6j5h2.substack.com
November 18, 2025 at 10:20 PM
Thought provoking from Martha Lane Fox on whether public life has got so brutal that no one you’d want to get involved will do it anymore
martha6j5h2.substack.com/p/this-is-pu...
martha6j5h2.substack.com/p/this-is-pu...
Reposted by Richard Coker
The question everyone is asking right now is this: NYT had deep access into all of this in real time and reported none of it. Why? In consequence, no NYT reporting on this subject is trustworthy.
After Trump Split, Epstein Said He Could ‘Take Him Down’
www.nytimes.com
November 13, 2025 at 2:27 AM
The question everyone is asking right now is this: NYT had deep access into all of this in real time and reported none of it. Why? In consequence, no NYT reporting on this subject is trustworthy.
Reposted by Richard Coker
A Sharon Begley byline, almost 5 years after her death.
Upon hearing the news James Watson had died, a STAT reporter said in our Slack, "I wish I could read what Sharon would have written."
Incredible news: Sharon in fact did pre-write a Watson obit. And it is masterful and excoriating.
🧪🧬🧫
Upon hearing the news James Watson had died, a STAT reporter said in our Slack, "I wish I could read what Sharon would have written."
Incredible news: Sharon in fact did pre-write a Watson obit. And it is masterful and excoriating.
🧪🧬🧫
James Watson, dead at 97, was a scientific legend and a pariah among his peers
James Watson, the co-discoverer of the structure of DNA who died Thursday at 97, was a scientific legend and a pariah among his peers.
www.statnews.com
November 8, 2025 at 1:39 PM
A Sharon Begley byline, almost 5 years after her death.
Upon hearing the news James Watson had died, a STAT reporter said in our Slack, "I wish I could read what Sharon would have written."
Incredible news: Sharon in fact did pre-write a Watson obit. And it is masterful and excoriating.
🧪🧬🧫
Upon hearing the news James Watson had died, a STAT reporter said in our Slack, "I wish I could read what Sharon would have written."
Incredible news: Sharon in fact did pre-write a Watson obit. And it is masterful and excoriating.
🧪🧬🧫
Reposted by Richard Coker
🔴We Need to Talk About Michael Gove and Crony Covid Contracts
Gove claims he had no “active role” in the procurement of Covid PPE during the pandemic, yet evidence suggests he was involved in multiple VIP deals worth over £1billion, reports Russell Scott
www.bylinesupplement.com/p/we-need-to...
Gove claims he had no “active role” in the procurement of Covid PPE during the pandemic, yet evidence suggests he was involved in multiple VIP deals worth over £1billion, reports Russell Scott
www.bylinesupplement.com/p/we-need-to...
We Need to Talk About Michael Gove and Crony Covid Contracts
Gove claims he had no “active role” in the procurement of Covid PPE during the pandemic, yet evidence suggests he was involved in multiple VIP deals worth over £1billion, reports Russell Scott
www.bylinesupplement.com
November 7, 2025 at 4:49 PM
🔴We Need to Talk About Michael Gove and Crony Covid Contracts
Gove claims he had no “active role” in the procurement of Covid PPE during the pandemic, yet evidence suggests he was involved in multiple VIP deals worth over £1billion, reports Russell Scott
www.bylinesupplement.com/p/we-need-to...
Gove claims he had no “active role” in the procurement of Covid PPE during the pandemic, yet evidence suggests he was involved in multiple VIP deals worth over £1billion, reports Russell Scott
www.bylinesupplement.com/p/we-need-to...
I’m reminded by how misguided Gates was in his review of Why Nations Fail. The authors’ rebuttal was a thing of beauty. www.scribd.com/document/936...
October 31, 2025 at 8:20 PM
I’m reminded by how misguided Gates was in his review of Why Nations Fail. The authors’ rebuttal was a thing of beauty. www.scribd.com/document/936...
Reposted by Richard Coker
Food insecurity is a self-inflicted, manufactured problem in the richest nation in the world
Ahead of the 1st shutdown of US food aid to hungry Americans in 60 years, some of the 200,000 Little Free Library locations are converting into food pantries. Thanks @littlefreelibrary.bsky.social
October 30, 2025 at 11:11 PM
Food insecurity is a self-inflicted, manufactured problem in the richest nation in the world
The most grotesque indictment of domestic US policy in my lifetime.
Food insecurity is a self-inflicted, manufactured problem in the richest nation in the world
Ahead of the 1st shutdown of US food aid to hungry Americans in 60 years, some of the 200,000 Little Free Library locations are converting into food pantries. Thanks @littlefreelibrary.bsky.social
October 31, 2025 at 12:51 PM
The most grotesque indictment of domestic US policy in my lifetime.
Reposted by Richard Coker
“Politically motivated attacks on the legal profession are irresponsible and dangerous,” lawyers' representatives said this week.
For a unique perspective on the challenges facing judges, I spoke to Professor Sir Ross Cranston, about his new book, Judging.
rozenberg.substack.com/p/traducing-...
For a unique perspective on the challenges facing judges, I spoke to Professor Sir Ross Cranston, about his new book, Judging.
rozenberg.substack.com/p/traducing-...
Traducing the judges
Might a new criminal offence help protect judicial independence?
rozenberg.substack.com
October 17, 2025 at 5:05 AM
“Politically motivated attacks on the legal profession are irresponsible and dangerous,” lawyers' representatives said this week.
For a unique perspective on the challenges facing judges, I spoke to Professor Sir Ross Cranston, about his new book, Judging.
rozenberg.substack.com/p/traducing-...
For a unique perspective on the challenges facing judges, I spoke to Professor Sir Ross Cranston, about his new book, Judging.
rozenberg.substack.com/p/traducing-...
Times Letter today. As #Jenrick intimidates judges and attempts to politicise appointments, journalists and the government need to face the threat.
October 28, 2025 at 7:28 AM
Times Letter today. As #Jenrick intimidates judges and attempts to politicise appointments, journalists and the government need to face the threat.
‘The house is on fire, and lawmakers are adjusting the lighting.’
Congress Enjoys Ultraluxe Health Care as It Fights to Gut Yours
Congress has ensured its members receive ultraluxe health care as Republican keep the government closed over stripping it from Americans.
www.rollingstone.com
October 28, 2025 at 2:09 AM
‘The house is on fire, and lawmakers are adjusting the lighting.’
“Freedom of the press is not just important to democracy, it is democracy.” – Walter Cronkite.
October 27, 2025 at 4:44 AM
“Freedom of the press is not just important to democracy, it is democracy.” – Walter Cronkite.
‘He is able to see that Trumpism is destroying our country, but his own intellectual toolbox, stuffed with Steven Pinker books and course catalogs from Yale, is comically unsuited to deal this this moment in history.’ Genius writing.
"[David Brooks] engages in self-reflection the same way that a newscaster on live TV picks his nose: quickly, leaving no evidence that it ever happened." -@hamiltonnolan.bsky.social, from the top rope!
open.substack.com/pub/howthingswork/p/shift-change-at-the-wheel-reinvention
open.substack.com/pub/howthingswork/p/shift-change-at-the-wheel-reinvention
Shift Change at the Wheel Reinvention Factory
Even David Brooks is welcome in our movement.
open.substack.com
October 17, 2025 at 10:07 AM
‘He is able to see that Trumpism is destroying our country, but his own intellectual toolbox, stuffed with Steven Pinker books and course catalogs from Yale, is comically unsuited to deal this this moment in history.’ Genius writing.
Reposted by Richard Coker
Self-investment???🤣🤣🤣 SpaceX has been supported by tens of billions of dollars in U.S. government funds. This funding comes from taxpayer dollars. That’s not Elon dollars, that’s your dollars.
Don’t mix things up. I’m as ‘anti-‘ the ‘Bad Elon’-political Elon- as it’s possible to be. But SpaceX is the shining star of Earth’s spaceflight efforts- for very good reasons. We need more American companies to act like SpaceX (i.e., massive self-investment, innovation, rapid iteration, etc.)
October 14, 2025 at 2:19 AM
Self-investment???🤣🤣🤣 SpaceX has been supported by tens of billions of dollars in U.S. government funds. This funding comes from taxpayer dollars. That’s not Elon dollars, that’s your dollars.
‘Rejection can also fortify your spirit. It knocks you down and defies you to get back on your feet. You learn humility because nothing better instils humility than being utterly humiliated.’
‘Stay true to yourself – and fly closer to the sun’: what I’ve learned from 50 years of rejection
As a writer, I have been rejected thousands of times, and it initially led to shock, denial and anger. Then I accepted it. Here’s what you can gain from doing so too
www.theguardian.com
October 8, 2025 at 4:56 AM
‘Rejection can also fortify your spirit. It knocks you down and defies you to get back on your feet. You learn humility because nothing better instils humility than being utterly humiliated.’
Reposted by Richard Coker
Big Doughnutty News.
Just out in Nature: the all-new 2025 Doughnut. Transformed from a single-year snapshot to an annual global monitor of 21st century social & ecological thriving. Available to all in an open-access paper by @andrewlfanning.bsky.social and me. 🧵 1/
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Just out in Nature: the all-new 2025 Doughnut. Transformed from a single-year snapshot to an annual global monitor of 21st century social & ecological thriving. Available to all in an open-access paper by @andrewlfanning.bsky.social and me. 🧵 1/
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
October 2, 2025 at 6:50 AM
Big Doughnutty News.
Just out in Nature: the all-new 2025 Doughnut. Transformed from a single-year snapshot to an annual global monitor of 21st century social & ecological thriving. Available to all in an open-access paper by @andrewlfanning.bsky.social and me. 🧵 1/
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Just out in Nature: the all-new 2025 Doughnut. Transformed from a single-year snapshot to an annual global monitor of 21st century social & ecological thriving. Available to all in an open-access paper by @andrewlfanning.bsky.social and me. 🧵 1/
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Richard Coker
How is this normal??
One in 15 Americans has witnessed a mass shooting
One in 15 Americans has witnessed a mass shooting
September 28, 2025 at 1:23 AM
How is this normal??
One in 15 Americans has witnessed a mass shooting
One in 15 Americans has witnessed a mass shooting
Umm, it’s a memoir. Isn’t looking back the point?
In @nytopinion.nytimes.com
Kamala Harris’s new memoir, “107 Days,” is “almost entirely backward looking and doesn’t really seem to have an idea of where she or the party would go,” Michelle Cottle says in a round table discussion with the Opinion columnists Carlos Lozada and Lydia Polgreen.
Kamala Harris’s new memoir, “107 Days,” is “almost entirely backward looking and doesn’t really seem to have an idea of where she or the party would go,” Michelle Cottle says in a round table discussion with the Opinion columnists Carlos Lozada and Lydia Polgreen.
Opinion | Harris’s Memoir Is Another Example of the Democrats’ Problem
Three Opinion writers break down the former vice president’s book of excuses.
nyti.ms
September 28, 2025 at 4:14 AM
Umm, it’s a memoir. Isn’t looking back the point?
Reposted by Richard Coker
People always ask me : “Cristi, how do you manage parenting a baby while going up for tenure?”
It’s easy. The secret is *flow-based-scheduling*. Here are its three core strategies for new academic parents:
Sleep when the baby sleeps
Cry when the baby cries
Publish when the baby publishes
It’s easy. The secret is *flow-based-scheduling*. Here are its three core strategies for new academic parents:
Sleep when the baby sleeps
Cry when the baby cries
Publish when the baby publishes
July 4, 2025 at 5:04 PM
People always ask me : “Cristi, how do you manage parenting a baby while going up for tenure?”
It’s easy. The secret is *flow-based-scheduling*. Here are its three core strategies for new academic parents:
Sleep when the baby sleeps
Cry when the baby cries
Publish when the baby publishes
It’s easy. The secret is *flow-based-scheduling*. Here are its three core strategies for new academic parents:
Sleep when the baby sleeps
Cry when the baby cries
Publish when the baby publishes
Reposted by Richard Coker
After a college student finally found a treatment that worked for his ulcerative colitis, UnitedHealthcare decided it wouldn’t pay for the costly drugs.
His fight to get coverage exposed the insurer’s hidden procedures for rejecting claims.
(Published Feb. 2023)
His fight to get coverage exposed the insurer’s hidden procedures for rejecting claims.
(Published Feb. 2023)
UnitedHealthcare Tried to Deny Coverage to a Chronically Ill Patient. He Fought Back, Exposing the Insurer’s Inner Workings.
After a college student finally found a treatment that worked, the insurance giant decided it wouldn’t pay for the costly drugs. His fight to get coverage exposed the insurer’s hidden procedures for r...
www.propublica.org
September 27, 2025 at 3:00 AM
After a college student finally found a treatment that worked for his ulcerative colitis, UnitedHealthcare decided it wouldn’t pay for the costly drugs.
His fight to get coverage exposed the insurer’s hidden procedures for rejecting claims.
(Published Feb. 2023)
His fight to get coverage exposed the insurer’s hidden procedures for rejecting claims.
(Published Feb. 2023)
Just another in an incredibly long line of examples highlighting why profit and health care make appalling bedfellows.
UnitedHealthcare Tried to Deny Coverage to a Chronically Ill Patient. He Fought Back, Exposing the Insurer’s Inner Workings.
After a college student finally found a treatment that worked, the insurance giant decided it wouldn’t pay for the costly drugs. His fight to get coverage exposed the insurer’s hidden procedures for r...
www.propublica.org
September 27, 2025 at 3:20 AM
Just another in an incredibly long line of examples highlighting why profit and health care make appalling bedfellows.