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James Gaines

@jmgaines.bsky.social
255 followers 171 following 44 posts

Once a science journalist; still a science journalist. Aspiring moss-man; inspiring mothman. www.jmgaines.com

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James Gaines @jmgaines.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
I'm so sorry!
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James Gaines @jmgaines.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
Damn, I've been using Otter (though only after to transcribe recordings, not during interviews) but somehow missed this. Bluh, does anyone have an alternative they like?
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James Gaines @jmgaines.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
My latest long-form piece for SciShow! youtu.be/VT2zNo5MQVQ?...
youtu.be
The First Trip To Earth’s Stratosphere Was A Disaster
YouTube video by SciShow
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Reposted by James Gaines
Dan Vergano @danvergano.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
Scientific American is being sold to LabX Media, publisher of Discover: group.springernature.com/gp/group/med... They've fired me and other union staff, ahead of June 26 vote ratification. My rates are suddenly more reasonable, if you need editing or reporting - Argonaut2026@gmail.com
group.springernature.com
Springer Nature to divest its consumer media businesses | Springer Nature Group | Springer Nature
Strategic divestment of consumer media portfolio enables Springer Nature to focus on its core business Transaction supports the long-term development
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James Gaines @jmgaines.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
:(
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James Gaines @jmgaines.bsky.social · 04/06/2026
It seems insane in an industry where libel lawsuits are on the rise that anyone would offload their work to the "Randomly Lies All the Time" machine.
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James Gaines @jmgaines.bsky.social · 04/06/2026
I can imagine giant blue dragons, doesn't mean they exist.
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James Gaines @jmgaines.bsky.social · 03/06/2026
My preference: Personalized response (best) >> Generic "no" >> no response >> personalized mocking >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> AI (worst)
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James Gaines @jmgaines.bsky.social · 12/05/2026
This is why I've transitioned to a cousin tier-list instead. Nina, you're S-tier this patch.
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James Gaines @jmgaines.bsky.social · 11/05/2026
Do you know if there's data out there about ownership by income bracket? My understanding was that the problem is that housing *is* built but only the relatively wealthy can afford it (hence why relatively low vacancy rates might be misleading).
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James Gaines @jmgaines.bsky.social · 06/05/2026
The anime "Mushishi" fits this (admittedly it's from like 2005). If you like a mix of House, M.D. + Poker Face + Princess Mononoke + The Twilight Zone, it's worth a watch.
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James Gaines @jmgaines.bsky.social · 05/05/2026
And, like, what if we just said "OK, this is the future, what should we do about it?" I found this paper about the idea of purposeful hybridization as a conservation tool really neat, for example, if you haven't seen it before. conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
Hybridization as a conservation management tool
The recent extensive loss of biodiversity raises the question of whether organisms will adapt in time to survive the current era of rapid environmental change, and whether today's conservation practi...
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James Gaines @jmgaines.bsky.social · 04/05/2026
I gotcha, it's all good
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James Gaines @jmgaines.bsky.social · 04/05/2026
Like I know conservation is really so much more than that, but I also know there's some human instinct that keeps telling us that it's both possible and good to just keep trying to return to The Garden of Eden
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James Gaines @jmgaines.bsky.social · 04/05/2026
I also want to one day write/see a piece asking how much of conservation is motivated by guilt/nostalgia for a past we can never return to. Why we're so keen on preserving a species exactly as it was in the year 1900 (or whenever).
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James Gaines @jmgaines.bsky.social · 04/05/2026
What I heard was that red wolves *would* eat smaller prey, but they'd also go after deer (and thus keep down/change the deer's behaviors), which the coyotes weren't doing, if I remember correctly.
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James Gaines @jmgaines.bsky.social · 04/05/2026
Also check out Scottish wildcats vs. housecats
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James Gaines @jmgaines.bsky.social · 04/05/2026
Oh man, a few years back I was working on a (sadly killed) story about red wolf-coyote hybridization and I still think about this so much. One of the points I heard was that red wolves hunt different prey than coyotes, so the niche might be distinct enough???
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James Gaines @jmgaines.bsky.social · 20/04/2026
I've done long assignments before, but my latest for SciShow definitely feels like a watershed moment: a nearly 50-minute long documentary about the real-life Balto, the 1925 diphtheria epidemic in Nome, and the science of sled dogs. youtu.be/-zOWRc3c1u8?...
youtu.be
It's Amazing Anyone Survived the 1925 Nome Serum Run
YouTube video by SciShow
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James Gaines @jmgaines.bsky.social · 10/10/2025
When a smuggler stuffed a monkey into a duffel bag and threw it out their car window, law enforcement called Mandy Fischer with a question: Now that we’ve saved this animal, what do we *do* with it? My latest, for Smithsonian:
smithsonianmag.com
Once Smuggled Animals Are Rescued, Law Enforcement Officers Call Her
As coordinator of the Wildlife Confiscations Network, Mandy Fischer helps match trafficked animals—from alligators to jaguars to baby monkeys—with sanctuaries and care facilities
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James Gaines @jmgaines.bsky.social · 28/08/2025
@EatingWithRobert on TikTok reminds me of Anthony Bourdain. www.youtube.com/shorts/rSB0a...
youtube.com
Long Island’s favorite butcher since 1983
YouTube video by Rob Martinez
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James Gaines @jmgaines.bsky.social · 31/07/2025
Maybe it's me being cynical, but I think the drivel and advertisements are not dead, only sleeping.
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James Gaines @jmgaines.bsky.social · 30/07/2025
Would love to know what percent of ChatGPT prompts are "this should be a simple Google search but Google sucks now".
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James Gaines @jmgaines.bsky.social · 12/06/2025
2025 Restaurant Options: * New high-concept restaurant (will go out of business in 3 months) * A mom-and-pop teriyaki joint that's been around since the 80's (will go out of business in a year) * A fast-food chain whose interior design seems increasingly hostile to human comfort * Boba
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James Gaines @jmgaines.bsky.social · 07/05/2025
Laid off from my job at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory yesterday. www.denverpost.com/2025/05/05/n...
denverpost.com
National Renewable Energy Laboratory lays off 114 employees in Golden
114 employees across the laboratory, including staff from both research and operations, who were involuntarily separated.
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James Gaines @jmgaines.bsky.social · 03/12/2024
I've been waiting a while to share this one! My latest thing for PBS Eons.
youtu.be
When the Amazon Flowed Backwards
YouTube video by PBS Eons
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James Gaines @jmgaines.bsky.social · 02/12/2024
I don't want to become a member, I don't want to get someone to unlock a case, I don't want to have to guess which Amazon products are real and which are scams. I just want to exchange money for goods and services.
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James Gaines @jmgaines.bsky.social · 02/12/2024
I really feel like part of the reason people think the economy is bad is that the basic experience of just buying stuff sucks.
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James Gaines @jmgaines.bsky.social · 23/10/2024
I was the fact-checker on this project and really happy to see it published. Thankful to the folks who gave us the time and hope we did everyone justice. Can't wait to grab a physical copy. www.smithsonianmag.com/history/how-...
smithsonianmag.com
How Recovering the History of a Little-Known Lakota Massacre Could Heal Generational Pain
When the U.S. Army massacred a Lakota village at Blue Water, dozens of plundered artifacts ended up in the Smithsonian. The unraveling of this long-buried atrocity is forging a path toward reconciliat...
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James Gaines @jmgaines.bsky.social · 04/04/2024
I'm low-key fascinated/terrified of chronic wasting disease (AKA zombie deer disease), but for all the hubbub it seemed like nobody was really talking about what (if anything) could actually control the disease. Really excited to see my Q&A go out: knowablemagazine.org/content/arti...
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James Gaines @jmgaines.bsky.social · 07/11/2023
Seattle has a few dedicated tool libraries as well, if folks are in the area.
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James Gaines @jmgaines.bsky.social · 26/10/2023
Ooo, can there be fact-checking competitions?
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James Gaines @jmgaines.bsky.social · 26/10/2023
If the piece I fact-check wins an award, can I say I'm an award-winning fact-checker? Probably not, right?
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James Gaines @jmgaines.bsky.social · 26/10/2023
Found out a series I helped fact-check won a James Beard award.
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James Gaines @jmgaines.bsky.social · 15/08/2023
I relate to Jonah personally because I too just really, really hate the ancient Assyrians
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James Gaines @jmgaines.bsky.social · 20/07/2023
Welcome!
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James Gaines @jmgaines.bsky.social · 03/07/2023
Skeet: Skop, skoobily-doop
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James Gaines @jmgaines.bsky.social · 03/07/2023
Are science journalists welcome?
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James Gaines @jmgaines.bsky.social · 28/06/2023
How it impacts me personally: 7 How it impacts the field: 2 I think AI-generated content is only going to make fact-checking and fact-based reporting more important, but that's because it'll become incredibly easy for anyone with an agenda to flood the field with BS and obfuscate real sources.
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James Gaines @jmgaines.bsky.social · 23/06/2023
I am the pedant, if this wasn't clear.
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James Gaines @jmgaines.bsky.social · 23/06/2023
There's being a pedant. And then there's being a "there should be a period after the 'al' in 'et al.'" pedant.
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James Gaines @jmgaines.bsky.social · 22/06/2023
What, if any, shark conservation success stories are out there?
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James Gaines @jmgaines.bsky.social · 20/06/2023
Adorable. The wandering glider dragonfly can naturally be found on every continent except Antarctica.
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James Gaines @jmgaines.bsky.social · 20/06/2023
Amazing! Binturongs smell like popcorn.
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James Gaines @jmgaines.bsky.social · 20/06/2023
Send me a weird animal fact and I'll send one back
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