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Seth Mnookin

@sethmnookin.bsky.social

2K followers 184 following 4 posts

Journalist, science writer, director of sciwrite.mit.edu, cochlear implant user. Formerly: brain tumor patient

Posts Replies Media

Reposted by Seth Mnookin

Maria Bustillos @mariabustillos.com · 29/01/2026

So grateful to Misha Angrist for this interview with @sethmnookin.bsky.social, author of the 2011 book THE PANIC VIRUS. The present makes far better sense through the lens of the past. New from @flaminghydra.com flaminghydra.com/issue-490/

flaminghydra.com

Recurring infection

Misha Angrist in conversation with Seth Mnookin, author of 'The Panic Virus'

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Reposted by Seth Mnookin

Maria Bustillos @mariabustillos.com · 29/01/2026

This interview with author @sethmnookin.bsky.social ('The Panic Virus', 2011) is so good. A reminder that the fash work very hard to make us forget what happened even recently, forcing people to reason like goldfish by Misha Angrist at @flaminghydra.com flaminghydra.com/issue-490/

MA: You have a chapter on RFK Jr. titled “Conspiracy of Dunces.”

SM: At the time I thought, “This is so ridiculous that maybe I shouldn’t even include it.” I wanted to avoid making the people who were concerned about vaccines look ridiculous. And one of the conclusions that I reached was that the reason you saw this vaccine hesitancy arising in a population affected by autism was that this was a population that had not been treated well by the medical establishment. I was trying to bring some empathy to that. And so I was concerned that bringing in characters like RFK Jr. and showing his absolute disregard for reality... I thought, “This is a little bit too over the top. Maybe I should leave this out?”

I was completely wrong, obviously. If you had said to me then that in a decade and a half, RFK Jr. was going to be in charge of medical, scientific, and health policy in the U.S. I would have said, “You are out of your effing mind. That’s the equivalent of saying that in 15 years, RFK Sr. is going to come back from the dead and be president.” It shows my own lack of imagination and my lack of understanding about some of the underlying forces at work here.

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Seth Mnookin @sethmnookin.bsky.social · 24/02/2026

Happy #TwinPeaksDay to everyone who celebrates.

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Reposted by Seth Mnookin

Philip Bump @pbump.com · 09/11/2023

It is the 30th anniversary of "Midnight Marauders" being released. Please celebrate appropriately.

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Reposted by Seth Mnookin

STAT @statnews.com · 09/11/2023

“You have a lot more direct flights to Cancun than to any other city in Mexico." Cancun abortion clinic aims to serve Americans from restrictive states www.statnews.com/2023/11/09/a...

statnews.com

Cancun abortion clinic aims to serve Americans from restrictive states

Soon there's likely to be a new reason to visit Cancun other than its beaches: An abortion clinic is opening, partly designed to cater to Americans.

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Reposted by Seth Mnookin

dell cameron @dell.bsky.social · 09/11/2023

This guy has to be one of the worst things that ever happened to digital media. Just walked in and absolutely shit all over it. He’s destroyed several highly trafficked sites, which were profitable when he got his hands on them. Insane he wasn’t fired after killing Deadspin.

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Seth Mnookin @sethmnookin.bsky.social · 09/11/2023

I know they've enjoyed a healthy after-life, but this still blows my mind: The Grateful Dead are now tied with Elvis and Frank Sinatra as having the most Billboard Top 40 albums in history: www.forbes.com/sites/hughmc...

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Seth Mnookin @sethmnookin.bsky.social · 26/07/2023

I've said it many times before: The Southern Reach trilogy is one of the most exciting pieces of literature I've read in the past several decades. It's one of a small handful of things I've literally forced into people's hands.

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Seth Mnookin @sethmnookin.bsky.social · 26/07/2023

I talked to @huffpost.bsky.social’s @mattshuham.bsky.social about RFK Jr's loony conspiracies, the last decade of anti-vaccine rhetoric, and the difficulty American media has with responsibly covering dangerous, discredited views:

huffpost.com

Man Who Debunked RFK Jr. Long Ago Describes His 'Whack-A-Mole' Candidacy

"Describing his views as ‘controversial,’ I think, is dishonest," author Seth Mnookin said of the long-shot Democratic presidential hopeful.

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