Theo Baker @tab-delete.bsky.social · 30/04/2026My debut HOW TO RULE THE WORLD (out 5/19) is on the @nytimes.com books to read this month list! "His book is a scorching portrait of a university infiltrated by venture capital and tech firms and a dweebocracy that 'sets the agenda for the planet.'" www.nytimes.com/2026/04/29/b...nytimes.com26 Books Coming in May 7267
Theo Baker @tab-delete.bsky.social · 24/04/2026Thank you @anneapplebaum.bsky.social! So excited to share this excerpt of HOW TO RULE THE WORLD (out 5/19) with everyone. 0179
Theo Baker @tab-delete.bsky.social · 24/04/2026The teens identified as future trillion-dollar startup founders live in a hush-hush world. VCs pay for exclusive clubs like "No Filter" and perks including "pre-idea funding." There's even a secret class: "How to Rule the World." My book (out 5/19) excerpted in @theatlantic.com. (Link below) 22912
Theo Baker @tab-delete.bsky.social · 11/12/2025The news is out! HOW TO RULE THE WORLD will be published by Penguin Press on 5/19—about 3 weeks before my graduation. From slush funds to yacht parties to fraud, the book captures Silicon Valley’s training ground as never seen before. Meet the kids learning to rule the world. 4134
Theo Baker @tab-delete.bsky.social · 08/09/2025“Admired and envied, lionized and attacked, Dr. Baltimore spent most of his life in the scientific limelight, a towering figure of modern biology.” www.nytimes.com/2025/09/07/s...nytimes.comDavid Baltimore, Nobel-Winning Molecular Biologist, Dies at 87 2142
Theo Baker @tab-delete.bsky.social · 18/08/2025Hard to think of a Stanford figure considered more beloved… Andrew Luck “learned there were no shortcuts in turning around a program that was 1-11 when he committed and 11-2 when he left.” Now he has to do it again. www.nytimes.com/athletic/654...nytimes.comPain took football away from Andrew Luck; what brought him back to Stanford?Luck walked out on one locker room that needed him. He wasn't ready to walk away from another. 0132
Theo Baker @tab-delete.bsky.social · 06/08/2025The Stanford Daily and @thefireorg.bsky.social have filed a lawsuit alleging the Trump administration's actions have unconstitutionally chilled free speech. www.thefire.org/research-lea...thefire.orgComplaint - Stanford Daily Publishing Corporation et al. v. Rubio et al.FIRE sues to challenge unconstitutional provisions Secretary of State Marco Rubio uses to deport legal immigrants over their speech 2176
Theo Baker @tab-delete.bsky.social · 28/07/2025The Trump administration opened four investigations into George Mason University, targeting its president over diversity programs. The faculty senate put out a statement in his defense, reaffirming, "Diversity is our strength." Now the DOJ is investigating them, too. 194
Theo Baker @tab-delete.bsky.social · 10/06/2025Stanford has joined an amicus brief in support of Harvard, emphasizing the importance of university research. 0152
Theo Baker @tab-delete.bsky.social · 21/05/2025Essential and utterly damning reporting from Anna Yang in The Stanford Daily today. "A student reported her rapist to the University. Two years later, the perpetrator was suspended." This case is harrowing and the process at Stanford remains incredibly broken. stanforddaily.com/2025/05/20/s...stanforddaily.comStanford's Title IX office took two years to suspend rapistAmid a 20-month Title IX process, the reporting student navigated trauma, reviewed hundreds of pages of documents and lost access to educational opportunities. 0169
Theo Baker @tab-delete.bsky.social · 08/05/2025Everyone is Cheating Their Way Through College. This article is 1000% accurate to my experience of Stanford. Since Gen Z is already the least media literate generation by several metrics, I do think the fear of reduced critical thinking is quite real. nymag.com/intelligence...nymag.comEveryone Is Cheating Their Way Through CollegeChatGPT has unraveled the entire academic project. 2197
Theo Baker @tab-delete.bsky.social · 01/05/2025The Internet, far from the utopian ideal technologists envisioned, is really, truly the ultimate cesspool. Yay humanity! Example 80000000: www.nytimes.com/2025/05/01/n...nytimes.com‘I Have Cancer,’ the TikTok Star Said. Then Came the Torrent of Hate.Sydney Towle’s videos have drawn an enormous audience on TikTok, where her followers praise and support her. On Reddit, an army of skeptics was determined to paint her as a fraud. 081
Theo Baker @tab-delete.bsky.social · 22/04/2025Stanford is a notable holdout from this statement condemning Trump’s “political interference” and “overreach.” The letter was signed by the presidents of more than 185 universities, including peers like Princeton, Yale, MIT, UPenn, etc. www.aacu.org/newsroom/a-c...aacu.org 0113
Theo Baker @tab-delete.bsky.social · 21/04/2025In the rush to publish, something may have been overlooked... 0120
Theo Baker @tab-delete.bsky.social · 12/04/2025Trump—in exploiting his power to force opponents to bend to his will or be effectively barred from practicing law in federal court—claims the firms “have affirmed their strong commitment to ending the Weaponization of the Justice System and the Legal Profession.” 1102
Theo Baker @tab-delete.bsky.social · 12/04/2025More top law firms, including #1 Kirkland Ellis ($7.2bn in revenue last year) and #2 Latham Watkins ($5.6bn in revenue), have caved to Trump demands. Trump has now extracted nearly $1bn from law firms, blackmailing some for effectively no reason apart from the fact that he can. 362
Theo Baker @tab-delete.bsky.social · 02/04/2025On his first day as NIH Director, Stanford prof Jay Bhattacharya oversees an immense bloodletting. This comes as last month alone the NIH canceled 700+ grants, began eliminating thousands of staff, scrapped its scientific integrity policy, etc. www.nature.com/articles/d41...nature.com‘One of the darkest days’: NIH purges agency leadership amid mass layoffsIn shock move, four institute directors at the US biomedical agency are removed from their posts. 283
Theo Baker @tab-delete.bsky.social · 31/03/2025Reich, a veteran of the sport, became the first NFL head coach since 1970 to be fired in *two* back-to-back seasons—first from the Colts in 2022, and then from the Panthers in 2023 after a 1-10 start to the season. 000
Theo Baker @tab-delete.bsky.social · 31/03/2025Stanford has hired Andrew Luck’s former coach, Frank Reich, as interim head football coach in the wake of Troy Taylor’s firing. With the team already underwater (3-9 the last two years), and several players entering the draft portal this week, Reich’s year may not be fun. 130
Theo Baker @tab-delete.bsky.social · 31/03/2025Post-WWII, the US public-private-university partnership has been one of our great strengths. Now it's under threat. "Research has found that every $1 invested in r&d returns about $5 in economic gains, a figure that likely understates the true return." www.nytimes.com/2025/03/31/b...nytimes.comTrump Science Funding Cuts May Hurt Economy, Experts SaySince World War II, U.S. research funding has led to discoveries that fueled economic gains. Now cutbacks are seen as putting that legacy in jeopardy. 062
Theo Baker @tab-delete.bsky.social · 19/03/2025Stanford’s head football coach was found to have engaged in “inappropriate, discriminatory” ways in TWO separate investigations into his “hostile and aggressive behavior.” He remains on the job. www.espn.com/college-foot...espn.comReports: Stanford coach bullied athletics staffTroy Taylor remains on the job. In a statement released by Stanford, he said he had received counseling on "how I interact with others." 130
Theo Baker @tab-delete.bsky.social · 18/03/2025So I was on a flight into DCA tonight when we had to abruptly abort our landing because, the captain said, another smaller, slower craft had been routed directly in our path. Flight logs show we were just 200 feet above the ground. 1224064
Reposted by Theo BakerRyan Mac 🙃 @rmac.bsky.social · 04/03/2025Earlier today the LA Times had AI-generated counterpoints to a column from @gustavoarellano.bsky.social. His piece argued that Anaheim, the city he grew up in, should not forget its KKK past. The AI "well, actually"-ed the KKK. It has since been taken off the piece. www.latimes.com/california/s... 451612543
Theo Baker @tab-delete.bsky.social · 26/02/2025Notable: Stanford follows MIT in adopting a hiring freeze for nonfaculty employees, further emphasizing the uncertainty major universities are facing at the moment. 271
Theo Baker @tab-delete.bsky.social · 26/02/2025Under Muir, Stanford won dozens of national championships...BUT he also oversaw - a disastrous attempt to cut 11 sports - the Varsity Blues scandal (he was implicated but denies participation) - failure on NIL - AND catastrophe with Stanford cut out of conference realignment 111
Theo Baker @tab-delete.bsky.social · 17/02/2025Larry Diamond is arguably the world’s foremost expert on democracy and one of the most well-respected members of the Stanford faculty. Larry is not prone to hysterics; here he brings a sober (and damning) analysis of the state of American democracy. www.persuasion.community/p/the-crisis...persuasion.communityThe Crisis of Democracy Is HereAnd it’s going to get a lot worse. 316676
Theo Baker @tab-delete.bsky.social · 17/02/2025In 2023, I wrote an @nytimes.com essay about how journals, institutions, scientists, and journalists have been slow to confront research integrity. With everything now, I want to reshare it. Honest investigation can’t fall by the wayside even as bad-faith actors attack. It has to be the opposite. 163
Theo Baker @tab-delete.bsky.social · 16/02/2025In an editorial this week, Science editor-in-chief @holdenthorp.bsky.social urges transparency in the face of increasing outside pressure. “As difficult and scary as it is to talk to tough reporters and critics, the alternative can be far worse,” writes Thorp. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...science.orgBreaking the silenceResearch on science communication has largely focused on teaching scientists how to describe their studies in ways that interest the public while deepening their understanding of scientific exploratio... 1156
Theo Baker @tab-delete.bsky.social · 16/02/2025A sober and much-needed piece from Ivan Oransky and Adam Marcus. Science is in for a real reckoning and those who have been working tirelessly to improve, correct, and defend the integrity of this field—people like Adam and Ivan—understand the risks best. www.theatlantic.com/science/arch...theatlantic.comThe Scientific Literature Can’t Save You NowYou can cite peer-reviewed research in support of almost any claim, no matter how absurd. 030
Theo Baker @tab-delete.bsky.social · 13/02/2025Susie Wiles taking Jon Batiste’s seat on the Kennedy Center board is so funny to me. He has seven Grammy’s she has hair full of secrets allá Gretchen Weiners — it’s a perfect swap! 182
Theo Baker @tab-delete.bsky.social · 13/02/2025With all the talk about slashing NIH indirects, I’m surprised more people aren’t discussing the last time this was huge scandal—when *Democrat* John Dingell went on a campaign in the ’90s to blast Stanford for exorbitant spending on the government’s dime. 1/3 120
Theo Baker @tab-delete.bsky.social · 13/02/2025With all the talk about slashing NIH indirects, I’m surprised more people aren’t discussing the last time this was huge scandal—when *Democrat* John Dingell went on a campaign in the ’90s to blast Stanford for exorbitant spending on the government’s dime. 1/3 010
Theo Baker @tab-delete.bsky.social · 01/02/2025What a lede: “On Fri. morning, staffers at a half dozen US-funded medical facilities in Sudan who care for severely malnourished children had a choice to make: Defy President Trump’s order to immediately stop their operations or let up to 100 babies and toddlers die. They chose the children.” 2308
Theo Baker @tab-delete.bsky.social · 24/01/2025Charles Piller in @nytopinion.nytimes.com reveals "a malaise within the field" of Alzheimer's research. His book "Doctored," to be published 2/4, details "a litany of ostensible fraud and other misconduct by world-famous researchers and obscure scientists alike." www.nytimes.com/2025/01/24/o...nytimes.comOpinion | The Long Shadow of Fraud in Alzheimer’s Research (Gift Article)Fraud in research needs to end. 4236
Theo Baker @tab-delete.bsky.social · 09/01/2025So excited for @tracyjan.bsky.social, one of the most exceptional editors I’ve had the pleasure of knowing. She is fearless, careful, and endlessly kind. Tracy volunteered to help guide my investigations into Stanford’s president for The Stanford Daily and I was so much better off for it. 4518
Reposted by Theo BakerDan Diamond @ddiamond.bsky.social · 23/11/2024News - JAY BHATTACHARYA is now the presumptive favorite to lead the NIH, per three people familiar. Bhattacharya, who coauthored Great Barrington Declaration, met with RFK Jr this week and impressed him with ideas for nearly $50B agency. Trump still hasn’t signed off + nothing final until then.washingtonpost.comJay Bhattacharya now top candidate to be Trump’s pick for NIH directorThe Stanford-trained physician and economist, who won GOP support after pushing back on covid lockdowns, is said to have impressed RFK Jr., Donald Trump’s pick to lead HHS. 95923
Theo Baker @tab-delete.bsky.social · 22/11/2024Stanford’s Faculty Senate has voted 21-13 to uphold a 2020 censure of Scott Atlas, the influential Trump adviser and COVID firebrand known for telling people to “rise up” against public health measures. A subcommittee had argued Atlas was not afforded due process. news.stanford.edu/stories/2024...news.stanford.eduFaculty Senate upholds 2020 Scott Atlas censure, discusses school initiativesThe Faculty Senate voted against rescission of its 2020 censure of Scott Atlas and heard presentations on the Graduate School of Business, School of Engineering, School of Humanities and Sciences, and... 25411
Theo Baker @tab-delete.bsky.social · 20/11/2024Tidbit: Jay Bhattacharya, likely the next NIH director, organized a conference at Stanford this year described by LAT and others as a platform for COVID misinformation purveyors. He asked the president of Stanford, Jon Levin, to speak. Here’s what Levin told me: 1267
Theo Baker @tab-delete.bsky.social · 20/11/2024I’ve migrated here from the other place… Follow for: - Tech journalism - Science (and especially scientific misconduct) journalism - Silicon Valley and Stanford insights 2447