iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by Kelly Weinersmith

Daniel and Kelly's Extraordinary Universe @dandkuniverse.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

On today's episode Daniel and Kelly interview the amazing @goastromo.bsky.social (Dr. Moiya McTier) about how we define and measure creativity, and the impacts of the modern world on creative pursuits. Check out her new book, Mothers of Invention! www.iheart.com/podcast/105-...

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Kelly Weinersmith @weinersmith.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

My father loved the Three Stooges as well! I don't believe my mother enjoyed it nearly as much. Two more data points to support your theory. :)

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Daniel and Kelly's Extraordinary Universe @dandkuniverse.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

An Extraordinary asked if animals ever make mistakes, and @weinersmith.bsky.social knew just who to ask! On today's show we chat with Kelly's PhD advisor, Dr. Andy Sih, about what animals know, how that use that information, and whether or not they make "mistakes". www.iheart.com/podcast/105-...

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Kelly Weinersmith @weinersmith.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Ha! Glad you enjoyed it. It made me cringe! :)

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Kelly Weinersmith @weinersmith.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

Hi Andrew! We did consider writing about AI, but we felt like lots of other folks were already writing about it. We felt like it was covered well enough elsewhere.

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Daniel and Kelly's Extraordinary Universe @dandkuniverse.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

Daniel, Kelly, and Katrine take on the origins of life. They discuss competing definitions for "life", whether it's even helpful to have a definition, the oldest evidence we have for life, and how we think life got started. www.iheart.com/podcast/105-...

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Kelly Weinersmith @weinersmith.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

Wish you could be there too! It would be fun to meet in person!

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Kelly Weinersmith @weinersmith.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

Next Sunday I'm going to be at @caveatnyc.bsky.social w/@joshgondelman.bsky.social the Comedians Interview Experts series! We're going to be talking about scientists who have purposefully infected themselves with parasites, and why the heck they would do that! caveat.nyc/events/comed...

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Kelly Weinersmith @weinersmith.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

The program director is the amazing @scottsolomon.bsky.social ! If you're a young person interested in science and science communication, you should check out their classes and certification program. :)

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Kelly Weinersmith @weinersmith.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

Rice launched their Center for Science Communication and Public Engagement (SCOPE), and I'm excited to be a fellow! I'll be giving the Keynote at the Symposium on Science Communication and Public Engagement on Sept 10th naturalsciences.rice.edu/scope-events

naturalsciences.rice.edu

SCOPE Events

Alumni Awards for the Wiess School of Natural Sciences

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Kelly Weinersmith @weinersmith.bsky.social · 10/08/2026

I really did love it! I’m looking forward to our chat next month as well!

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Kelly Weinersmith @weinersmith.bsky.social · 09/08/2026

I got an early copy of this book. It is SO GOOD. I learned a bunch about the history of forensic science. Once I started reading it, I had to figure out how to strike stuff from my schedule so I could keep reading! I'm not a fast reader, but I read it in 2 days because I couldn't put it down. <3

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Katie Mack @astrokatie.com · 07/08/2026

Story time! Six years ago, my first book, The End of Everything (Astrophysically Speaking), came out. It was fun to write! I got to share all my cosmology fun facts and dig deep into all the ways the universe might end. I had SO much fun with it, I thought, "maybe I should write another book?" 1/?

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Kelly Weinersmith @weinersmith.bsky.social · 04/08/2026

I'm super excited to share that I co-hosted a BBC Earth documentary called Cosmic Vistas, which airs on Friday night! I don't appear in every episode, and I'm one of a group of scientists recruited for the show. But still, this was a super fun dream come true! bbcearth.ca/shows/cosmic...

bbcearth.ca

Cosmic Vistas: A New View - BBC Earth

Cosmic Vistas, Season 1, is an 8-episode documentary series that examines contemporary advancements in the realm of space exploration. Each episode looks at three different stories, using groundbreaki...

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Kelly Weinersmith @weinersmith.bsky.social · 25/07/2026

Cool! and I see the introduction to our SICB symposium many moons ago keeps getting citation. :)

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Kelly Weinersmith @weinersmith.bsky.social · 22/07/2026

Medical parasitology question: Multiple parasites cause diarrhea (e.g., species of cryptosporidium, cyclospora, giardia, entamoeba), but as far as I can tell - only Giardia intestinalis is described as producing greasy and foul-smelling diarrhea. What is giardia doing differently?

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Daniel and Kelly's Extraordinary Universe @dandkuniverse.bsky.social · 21/07/2026

Daniel and Kelly chat with Dr. Chelsea Wood about rat lungworm - a particularly unpleasant nematode parasite that is spreading way outside of its native range. www.iheart.com/podcast/105-... Chelsea's book, Netherworld, is available for pre-order now: www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/chels...

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Kelly Weinersmith @weinersmith.bsky.social · 17/07/2026

So glad you enjoyed the book! Thanks for sharing. :)

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Arnaud 🎮 @grumpyarno.bsky.social · 17/07/2026

That's one of the many topics explored by @zachweinersmith.bsky.social and @weinersmith.bsky.social in their excellent book "A City on Mars" 💙

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Dr Lindsey Fitzharris @drlindseyfitz.bsky.social · 17/07/2026

If you're in the UK, you can now get SIGNED DEDICATED copies of SLEUTH-HOUND - about Joseph Bell, the "real Sherlock Holmes" - from @foxlanebooks.bsky.social! This is the only place offering personalized dedications, and it's a great way to support an indie bookshop: shorturl.at/IU6yN

A screenshot of Lindsey's book, with a bold black and red cover featuring fingerprints and a poison bottle.

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Professor John R. Hutchinson @johnrhutchinson.bsky.social · 14/07/2026

Come for the questions, stay for the cheese-- and my lame jokes.

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Kelly Weinersmith @weinersmith.bsky.social · 11/07/2026

On Tuesday at 1PM eastern I'm going to be on a panel w/some truly amazing experts & executives to talk about whether we're ready to settle Mars. This panel arose from the "2025-2026 Beyond Earth Report: On To Mars Readiness Assessment". Sign up to watch here: www.tickettailor.com/events/beyon...

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Kelly Weinersmith @weinersmith.bsky.social · 11/07/2026

Thanks, Jessica! Glad you're enjoying the book! Thanks for posting about it!

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Jessica Luther @jessicawluther.com · 11/07/2026

Hello! I‘m listening to the audiobook of A CITY ON MARS and it’s both chock full of reasons that settling anywhere in space is not, in any way, a straightforward or simple thing and very funny. We aren’t living on the Moon or Mars, folks. Not any time soon.

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Kelly Weinersmith @weinersmith.bsky.social · 10/07/2026

Thank you for letting me know! I made a note to myself in case I need a paper in the future. I appreciate the offer!

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Kelly Weinersmith @weinersmith.bsky.social · 09/07/2026

Thank you! I just downloaded it. Much obliged. :)

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Kelly Weinersmith @weinersmith.bsky.social · 09/07/2026

Anyone have access to this PDF, & care to send it to me? :) Syphilization: Human Experimentation in the Search for a Syphilis Vaccine in the Nineteenth Century By JOAN SHERWOOD Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences, V 54, Issue 3, July 1999, Pages 364–386, doi.org/10.1093/jhma...

academic.oup.com

Syphilization: Human Experimentation in the Search for a Syphilis Vaccine in the Nineteenth Century

JOAN SHERWOOD; Syphilization: Human Experimentation in the Search for a Syphilis Vaccine in the Nineteenth Century, Journal of the History of Medicine and

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Daniel and Kelly's Extraordinary Universe @dandkuniverse.bsky.social · 09/07/2026

Of lice and men Daniel and Kelly explore what lice can teach us about human evolution, and the role lice have played in some of humanity's most devastating wars. www.iheart.com/podcast/105-... (Link contains audio and transcript)

"This 2006 photograph depicted a dorsal view of a male body louse, Pediculus humanus var. corporis. Some of the external morphologic features displayed by members of the genus Pediculus include an elongated abdominal region without any processes, and three pairs of legs, all equal in length and width. The distal tip of the male’s abdomen is rounded, whereas, the female’s (PHIL# 9202) is concave. Body lice are parasitic insects that live on the body, and in the clothing or bedding of infested humans. Infestation is common, found worldwide, and affects people of all races. Body lice infestations spread rapidly under crowded conditions where hygiene is poor, and there is frequent contact among people. Note the sensorial setae, or hairs that cover the louse’s body, which pick up, and transmit information to the insect about changes in its environment such as temperature, and chemical cues. The dark mass inside the abdomen is a previously ingested blood meal. Janice Harney Carr" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Body_louse#/media/File:Body_lice.jpg

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Kelly Weinersmith @weinersmith.bsky.social · 23/06/2026

Ref: Adler, M.W. (1980). The terrible peril: a historical perspective on the venereal diseases. Br Med J 281, 206–211. doi.org/10.1136/bmj..... 3/3

doi.org

The terrible peril: a historical perspective on the venereal diseases.

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Kelly Weinersmith @weinersmith.bsky.social · 23/06/2026

It cracks me up that better leisure facilities worked. "You've got pingpong? I was going to go out and have sex tonight, but if pingpong is an option - I'm staying in!" ⅔

doi.org

The terrible peril: a historical perspective on the venereal diseases.

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Kelly Weinersmith @weinersmith.bsky.social · 23/06/2026

Neat! 500 per 1,000 men during the Boer War were admitted for STIs. The solution? Not shame, but "health education, increased temperance, better leisure facilities within barracks, and improved treatment methods "for both sexes under conditions to which no penal stigma (was) attached.""

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Kelly Weinersmith @weinersmith.bsky.social · 23/06/2026

Thanks! I'm so glad you enjoyed it!

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Kevin Kretsch (DrKev) @kevinkretsch.com · 23/06/2026

Ok, so that's a really truly a viral tweet (quite a way to wake up!) so I will take this opportunity to say buy @weinersmith.bsky.social and @zachweinersmith.bsky.social 's excellent book "A City on Mars" to understand the MANY MANY reasons why *nobody* right now will succeed at living on Mars.

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Kelly Weinersmith @weinersmith.bsky.social · 23/06/2026

Wow! Thanks so much for posting about our book!

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Kelly Weinersmith @weinersmith.bsky.social · 21/06/2026

Thank you for sharing this! It looks really interesting!

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BobbyGvegas™ … Heretic ☑️ @bobbygvegas.bsky.social · 21/06/2026

FYI: A total ass-whup of a book by @weinersmith.bsky.social & @zachweinersmith.bsky.social … a dispositive Bezos & Musk slapdown. You will probably break a rib laughing in places. @karaswisher.bsky.social @jlswishmd.bsky.social @neildegrassetyson.com @brianklaas.bsky.social z

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Roy Edroso @edroso.bsky.social · 19/06/2026

👍🏻

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