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Stephanie Zerwas

@stephzerwas.bsky.social
430 followers 1.2K following 25 posts

Psychologist. Therapist. Lapsed academic. Former eating disorder researcher. Current staunch character. Chapel Hill, NC

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Reposted by Stephanie Zerwas
Joshua Weitz @joshuasweitz.bsky.social · 31/05/2025
How bad will it be? Catastrophic. Proposed cuts to #NSF, #NIH, and #NASA will set the US R&D landscape back 25 yrs+, cause economic and job loss now, and undermine innovations to come. But, this is the WH's *proposed* budget. Speak up now before it is too late. (inflation adjusted $-s below)
NSF, NASA and NIH budgets per year, inflation adjusted from 2000-2025 along with the proposed cuts. NSF includes research component only. Massive cuts across all sectors, well below support spanning 25 years.
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Stephanie Zerwas @stephzerwas.bsky.social · 12/05/2025
Wait. This could work. Also! Top Gun branded ones. It’s like super hero underoos but for CPAPs.
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Stephanie Zerwas @stephzerwas.bsky.social · 12/05/2025
New business idea: CPAP machines that double as Dune cosplay. It’s the only way to make these nasal tubes cool. @mcuban.bsky.social I think I’m ready for Shark Tank. 😂
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The Contrarian @contrariannews.org · 01/05/2025
“DOJ – from 1866 until this week – prosecuted officers accused of violating the civil rights of citizens, DOJ now will defend those officers.” Ellen Blain on the history and deterioration of civil rights in the DOJ.
contrarian.substack.com
The Department of Justice has abandoned civil rights
Two events this week do no less than turn upside down the enforcement of laws that protect the civil rights of all Americans.
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Gregg Gonsalves @gregggonsalves.bsky.social · 18/04/2025
To my own institution, Yale, and all the other universities across the US. They will come for you no matter what you do—you can stand up for what’s right or grovel in the dirt. Your fate will be the same. It’s your legacy, which is at stake in the choice.
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the Mountain Goats @themountaingoats.bsky.social · 19/04/2025
human lives have dignity as they are, they do not need to be whipped into shape by smooth-skinned patrician hands before deserving not just our love and respect but our joyous affirmation. if you see how somebody's getting by and feel horror the problem is with your gaze not the person. Matthew 7:5
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Mark Cuban @mcuban.bsky.social · 15/03/2025
If you live in NC, call every Republican politician you know. Call every farmer you know and ask them to do the same When money walks , voters talk. Make sure they know this effects everyone in their town and state www.wunc.org/news/2025-03...
wunc.org
USDA cancels $11 million in federal funding for North Carolina food banks
The USDA has notified the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services that it would terminate the agreement for the Local Food Purchase Assistance Program, which is one of the progr...
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Stephanie Zerwas @stephzerwas.bsky.social · 10/03/2025
He’s a Maine Coon too and 20 lbs! But loves small spaces and boxes so was thrilled with his new spot.
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Stephanie Zerwas @stephzerwas.bsky.social · 10/03/2025
He truly is! 20 lbs of smush.
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Stephanie Zerwas @stephzerwas.bsky.social · 10/03/2025
You’re an influencer. Nico loves his new spot. Thanks for the inspiration.
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BWJones @bwjones.bsky.social · 27/02/2025
By @katherinejwu.com "The NIH... supported 99 percent of the drugs approved in the U.S. from 2010 to 2019. The agency has had a hand in “nearly all of our major medical breakthroughs over the past several decades,” The NIH is in a struggle for its (and our) lives. This is existential to America:
theatlantic.com
Inside the Collapse at NIH
Administration officials pressured NIH to avoid clear advice from the agency’s own lawyers to restart grant funding now.
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Stephanie Zerwas @stephzerwas.bsky.social · 27/02/2025
Together we are mighty!
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Aidan Wright @aidangcw.bsky.social · 25/02/2025
NIH cuts are getting the press, but VA research is getting slashed too. What do we lose when VA research goes away? Here's some greatest hits: The nicotine patch, invention of the cardiac pacemaker, first successful liver transplant, development of the CAT/CT scan prospect.org/health/2025-...
prospect.org
VA Research Funding Slashed
Though not as prominent as the NIH, VA researchers play a major role in advancing basic health science. Hundreds of projects have been cut.
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Stephanie Zerwas @stephzerwas.bsky.social · 25/02/2025
Such a great piece on such an unsettling phenomenon.
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Stephanie Zerwas @stephzerwas.bsky.social · 23/02/2025
Minnesota man. What are they putting in that lutefisk?
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Timothy Snyder @timothysnyder.bsky.social · 22/02/2025
Something is shifting. They are still breaking things and stealing things. And they will keep trying to break and to steal. But the propaganda magic around the oligarchical coup is fading. (1/2)
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Jeremy Berg @jeremymberg.bsky.social · 21/02/2025
New York Times article now up on Federal Register stuff. www.nytimes.com/2025/02/21/s... 1/n
nytimes.com
Trump Administration Stalls Scientific Research Despite Court Ruling (Gift Article)
Using an arcane law, officials have effectively delayed funding from the National Institutes of Health, leaving medical studies in jeopardy.
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Chanda Prescod-Weinstein 🌌 @chanda.blacksky.app · 21/02/2025
Ok, I'm doing a version of this thread for 🧪 who are new to political conditions where info security is a safety issue: 1. Don't make public lists of people who are engaging in acts of resistance 2. Be weary of calls to advertise acts of subversion 3. Don't live post resistance meetings
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The Onion @theonion.com · 21/02/2025
DOGE By The Numbers theonion.com/doge-by...
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Stephanie Zerwas @stephzerwas.bsky.social · 21/02/2025
Ugh. I meant *dark
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Stephanie Zerwas @stephzerwas.bsky.social · 21/02/2025
I get that. I really do. PIs are pivot experts. And weighing short term vs long term strategic costs/forecasting must feel impossible right now.
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Stephanie Zerwas @stephzerwas.bsky.social · 21/02/2025
I can’t see this without thinking about what Tressie McMillan Cottom has been talking about in her Instagram Lives. This is just attention/spectacle economy. The noise to distract us from the real darn and dangerous signal happening simultaneously.
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Stephanie Zerwas @stephzerwas.bsky.social · 21/02/2025
1-3 make the assumption that these cuts are a done deal. That research can live on without federal funds. It’s complying in advance. We need a federal and corporate push. What corporations/industries benefit from federal research cuts and will be harmed (in addition to the human harms of course)
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Mitch Prinstein @mitchprinstein.bsky.social · 21/02/2025
Troubling: Congresspeople say they are NOT hearing from academics, or university administrators. PLEASE SPEAK UP! Oppose these budget cuts to research, health, student loans! www.votervoice.net/APAAdvocacy/... Tell others to do the same!
votervoice.net
Tell Congress Today: Reject Budget Resolution that Will Harm the Nation’s Health
Please take 2 minutes today to ask your officials to oppose the proposed $3 trillion in federal budget cuts. If Congress moves forward with its current proposed budget resolution, these cuts will...
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Stephanie Zerwas @stephzerwas.bsky.social · 21/02/2025
Town of Chapel Hill! Thank you for looking out for our community. @triangleblogblog.bsky.social
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Stephanie Zerwas @stephzerwas.bsky.social · 20/02/2025
I love you, scientists but you are in a messaging war & you are losing. This administration understands how to tell a story better than you do. You spent your career proving why your work matters. Now, prove why losing it hurts *everyone*. #sciencecommunication #ScienceUnderSiege #ScienceBlueSky
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Stephanie Zerwas @stephzerwas.bsky.social · 20/02/2025
NOT THIS: “I need your support.” THIS: “If this makes you angry, don’t just feel bad. Call your reps. Use 5 calls. Show them we’re watching.” Give them an action step.
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Stephanie Zerwas @stephzerwas.bsky.social · 20/02/2025
NOT THIS: “This is an attack on scientific integrity.” THIS: “This is an attack on your air, your water, your healthcare, your kids’ education.” “Science” is abstract, but air quality, water safety, medical access, your kids' education? Not so much.
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Stephanie Zerwas @stephzerwas.bsky.social · 20/02/2025
NOT THIS: “I left a secure career with major grants and leadership roles to take this job.” THIS: “The government recruited me to protect our kids and then pushed me out. What happens when no one is left?” People don’t respond to credentials but threats to their health, safety, and future.
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Stephanie Zerwas @stephzerwas.bsky.social · 20/02/2025
NOT THIS: “I lost my position despite high performance and national recognition.” THIS: “A government scientist working to expand mental health services in public schools was just fired. Fewer kids will get the care they need because of it.”
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Stephanie Zerwas @stephzerwas.bsky.social · 20/02/2025
Experts are being purged, science is being sidelined, & research is being gutted. It's a national scandal. But instead? People tune out. We’re framing it wrong. You know how to write a fabulous impact statement. You know how to explain to Aunt Sally why your work matters. Use that skill here!
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Stephanie Zerwas @stephzerwas.bsky.social · 20/02/2025
Scientists, I love you. I love your passion. I am one of you. But we have to talk about *how* we communicate what’s happening. People won’t fight for “science” in the abstract. They’ll fight when they understand what they are losing. A quick guide: Not this, but this. 🧵
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Governor JB Pritzker @govpritzker.illinois.gov · 20/02/2025
Tyranny requires your fear, your silence, and your compliance. Democracy requires your courage.
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Anne M. Carpenter @catholickungfu.bsky.social · 20/02/2025
between NIH and “stop all DEI [which is anything] or get no funding,” I think they just don’t want universities to exist.
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L.D. Burnett @ldburnett.bsky.social · 09/02/2025
for pity’s sake, I am BEGGING university leaders to stop framing this issue in terms of what this will cost the university. people dont care! EXPLAIN WHAT THIS WILL COST THE PUBLIC: closed hospitals and clinics, skipped treatments, loss of access to experimental drugs, unemployment, recession
sreenshot from the new york times reporting that Stanford University’s provost is talking about how the loss of funding from national institutes of health funding will cost the university $160 million. that’s not the way to get this changed — the people think “stanford is rich; no big deal.” leaders need to talk about what this will cost the public
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Jacquelyn Gill @jacquelyngill.bsky.social · 18/02/2025
Firings are happening right now at the National Science Foundation. Essential staff are being cut. This isn’t about the budget. If it was, they’d be going after the military (17%) or state appropriations (38%). NSF is 0.7% of the federal budget. All federal employees make up only 4% of the budget.
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Stephanie Zerwas @stephzerwas.bsky.social · 18/02/2025
One of the most enjoyable ways I regulate my nervous system during stressful times is listening to romance. The combo of @lindaholmes.bsky.social and Julia Whelan in Evvie Drake? Pure delight and magic.
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Brian Nosek @briannosek.bsky.social · 12/02/2025
Stand Up for Science rallies will be held in DC and state capitals on March 7th. Share with friends. Sign-up here to get email updates with details: www.eventbrite.com/e/stand-up-f...
eventbrite.com
STAND UP FOR SCIENCE 2025 - DC and NATIONWIDE
Stand up for science with us on March 7th, 2025, because science is for everyone! More info at www.standupforscience2025.org
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Martha Crawford @whatashrinkthinks.com · 10/02/2025
Just read a post that suggests to me that there are still people in the media that believe that cost-reduction is actually Musk and Trumps goal. Omg. People. We are operating on a whole different premise. It’s a whole different world than that.
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Stephanie Zerwas @stephzerwas.bsky.social · 10/02/2025
My kid about the Pringles ad: they should have taken Chalamet’s mustache too. It would have just tried to fly without getting off the ground.
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Melody Joy Kramer @mkramer.bsky.social · 02/02/2025
hello! just putting this here. please share in your signal groups and slacks. www.propublica.org/tips/#signal
propublica.org
How to Contact ProPublica Securely — ProPublica
ProPublica is an independent, non-profit newsroom that produces investigative journalism in the public interest.
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Stephanie Zerwas @stephzerwas.bsky.social · 09/02/2025
Doesn’t this all fall within the Dark Enlightenment, Yarvin/Thiel playbook? Gut the universities and federally funded research. Bring it under private control. The damage is the point. They think they can buy their way out and create a new system?
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Darby Saxbe @darbysaxbe.bsky.social · 09/02/2025
If you are on a study section that will not be reviewing diversity fellowships but will be reviewing "regular" fellowships, your next move is clear. Do not participate in the review unless all submissions can be reviewed together. Reclassify diversity grants as "regular" grants & review them all
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Joe Allen @joeallenjoe.bsky.social · 08/02/2025
This framing is their framing, and NYT took the bait. The correct and accurate framing is: “Deep cuts to medical research threatens progress on cancer and heart disease research, costs the economy $80B, and threatens 300,000 jobs across red and blue states”
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Rejji Kuruvilla @rkuruvi1.bsky.social · 08/02/2025
At these bleak times when the intent seems to be to cripple NIH-funded research, a reminder that NIH funding sustains the economy and creates jobs “In fiscal year 2023, NIH funding generated an estimated $92.89 billion in economic activity.” www.nih.gov/about-nih/wh...
nih.gov
Direct Economic Contributions
NIH directly supports the economy through investments in research institutions and job formation.
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Gregg Gonsalves @gregggonsalves.bsky.social · 08/02/2025
AND IT’S ILLEGAL FOLKS: “None of the funds appropriated in this title may be used to modify or implement any change to the indirect cost rates applied to grants & contracts funded by the NIH w/o the prior approval of the Committees on Appropriations of the House of Representatives & the Senate.” 1/
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Aidan Milliff @aidanmilliff.com · 08/02/2025
Cuts to the NIH are a strategy to strangle research universities not “reduce waste”
Graphic from United for Medical Research showing that NIH funding produces $2.46 in economic activity for every $1.00 awardedGraphic from United for Research showing that NIH funding produced over $92B in economic activity in FY 2023Graphic from United for Research showing that $914M in NIH grants to Florida institutions supported 14,688 jobs and produced $2.78B in economic activity
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Kara Swisher @karaswisher.bsky.social · 07/02/2025
And there it is — next shoe dropping. Steal the bank, control the military and then silence the media
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ali @zoonpolitikon.bsky.social · 07/02/2025
Watching powerless from Europe how democracy is crumbling in the US, reminds me of those movies where someone is mind-controlled by an alien or ghost. I want to yell: "America, we know you are still in there. If you can hear us, you must fight. YOU CAN DO IT. FIGHT THIS!"
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