Anne Pisor

March 2025? Chaos stopped us in our tracks. March 2026? Heck yes, we're doing the science anyway! 🥂

And how are we doing this work now, without those federal dollars? By being scrappy. We're bringing together private funding and university dollars. We're keeping the period of data collection short. Some of us are even working without salary.

We're studying how changing movement impacts people's bodies - even in the very short term - and in so doing, we're stress-testing a scalable system for measuring this around the globe.

What are we doing? We're measuring how heat and humidity affect heart health and mental health in real time, with pastoralist communities. 🐪 People move their animals differently when things get hot.

A whole year - that's how long losing federal funding delayed a key scientific project of mine. Now I'm en route to Kenya, to finally make it happen ✈️. 1/5

Thrilled to share our latest paper, out now in Science Advances! We explored the development of cooperative behaviors — fairness, trustworthiness, forgiveness, & honesty —  across five societies, culturally contextualizing them & seeing how they correlate. (1/5) www.science.org/doi/full/10....

And if you have 35 minutes, I recommend Wirecutter's Part 1 podcast on lessons learned from the LA fires -- it really puts things in perspective.

Read and listen:
www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/r...

www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/r...

3. Check your insurance exclusions. Log into your homeowners or renters policy and check whether it excludes extreme events that can happen locally, like fires, earthquakes, or hail. If it does, set a reminder on your calendar to explore supplemental insurance, to decide if it makes sense for you.

2. Spend 15 minutes documenting what you own. Walk through each room recording video as you open drawers and closets. Photograph important documents like birth certificates. If you can't access your home after an event, you'll need these things when talking to insurance companies or filing claims.

1. Get your neighbors' phone numbers. If you already have a group chat, that's a critical asset. If you don't have one, consider starting one. Neighbors help neighbors in many extreme events - especially important if emergency services can't get to everyone.

Two people holding a package, each wearing yellow safety vests. The photo is focused on their hands as they pass the package. In the background we see other people in vests gathered at a white tent. Adobe Stock image created by AI

Climate preparedness is on a lot of minds this year. Loved new pieces from @nytwirecutter.bsky.social on this & they have lots of recommendations, but it can be hard to decide where to start. Based on my past work, here are three smaller lifts from Wirecutter's list that can make a big difference:

STAT is backing up and monitoring CDC data in real time: See what's changing STAT is backing up and monitoring CDC data in real time: See what's changing.

3/3 👉 Can also compare content to what's on the restored cdc webpage (i.e. archive.org). If different, treat with caution unless there's clear scientific evidence explained on the webpage backing up the changes (not pseudoscience hand waving about 'abundant evidence' and 'restoring transparency')

What's in there:
-NOAA funding the same, NSF similar decrease as last year (not big)
-NSF, NASA, and DOE can't change their indirects (would help sustain necessary scientific infrastructure at unis)
-SBIR & STTR will stay alive at NASA & DOE (keeps supporting small businesses in science & tech)

🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻

We don't just do science together because we have to, we do science together because we *want* to.

Science is about community, and we're serious when we say we're sticking together.

We'll be seeing you in 2026, world! 🥂🧪

#AcademicSky #Science #HigherEd

/end

US-based scientists are stubborn: we're stubbornly staying in community.

We're still showing up. We're turning up in droves at college and institute and department holiday parties, society and org gatherings, and end-of-semester celebrations.

1/

A hard year for federal workers offers a real-time lesson in resilience During a year of extraordinary uncertainty, workers built resilient networks within and across boundaries and distance. An anthropologist explains how these clusters and long-distance ties help people...

Recent piece in The Conversation by @annepisor.bsky.social !! theconversation.com/a-hard-year-...

A hard year for federal workers offers a real-time lesson in resilience | Social Science Research Institute By Anne Pisor, SSRI cofunded faculty member and assistant professor of anthropology and demography, for "The Conversation"

Check out this article SSRI cofund @annepisor.bsky.social wrote for the @us.theconversation.com about federal workers & how they've been building support networks online.
➡️

Great piece about federal workers coming together. At #AltGov we know a thing or two about that. 🧡

A transdisciplinary approach to growing an applied science of cultural evolution for a sustainable future Abstract. Addressing sustainability challenges requires an integrative approach that bridges scientific research with practical application. The field of c

Academics talk a lot about sustainability, but not always in ways practitioners can use. We spent 3 days with NGOs, businesses & community organizers to understand what actually works. New paper in Phil Trans B: royalsocietypublishing.org/rstb/article...

#AcademicSky #ScienceCommunication 🧪

A hard year for federal workers offers a real-time lesson in resilience During a year of extraordinary uncertainty, workers built resilient networks within and across boundaries and distance. An anthropologist explains how these clusters and long-distance ties help…

Thousands of federal workers lost their jobs in 2025, but something unexpected emerged: they organized online to share information about unemployment benefits and emotional support – often with colleagues they'd never interacted with outside of work. @annepisor.bsky.social explains:

A hard year for federal workers offers a real-time lesson in resilience During a year of extraordinary uncertainty, workers built resilient networks within and across boundaries and distance. An anthropologist explains how these clusters and long-distance ties help people...

It's been a rough year for #federalworkers.

But here's what most people don't see: workers are building remarkably resilient networks of mutual support 🤝

In @us.theconversation.com, federal workers share their stories with me... 👇🏻

tap. tap. is this thing on? evanthsociety is live on Bluesky! Watch this space for exciting and important updates about all things evolutionary anthropology. And, of course, for news about the upcoming EAS activities HBA in #Denver under #EASHBA2026 (pronounced eesh-buh). Re-post!

🚨Job Alert plz RT!

Johns Hopkins Psych & Brain Sciences is looking for a new colleague using behavioral or computational approaches to study cognition!

We are excited about many areas of (esp higher) cognition in human adults, children, or nonhuman animals

Open-rank

apply.interfolio.com/178146

From information free-riding to information sharing: how have humans solved the cooperative dilemma at the heart of cumulative cultural evolution? Abstract. Cumulative cultural evolution, where populations accumulate ever-improving knowledge, technologies and social customs, is arguably a unique featu

New paper out in Phil Trans with Angel Jimenez, Keith Jensen and Lei Chang

From information free-riding to information sharing: how have humans solved the cooperative dilemma at the heart of cumulative cultural evolution?

royalsocietypublishing.org/rstb/article...

...revealing what makes these networks work and practical lessons for anyone navigating uncertain times.

#FedWorkers #FederalEmployees #MutualAid #SocialScience #SciComm #AcademicSky 🧪

@altcdc.altgov.info @altusaid.altgov.info @altnps.bsky.social @alt-va-comrades.altgov.info @altfda.altgov.info

A hard year for federal workers offers a real-time lesson in resilience During a year of extraordinary uncertainty, workers built resilient networks within and across boundaries and distance. An anthropologist explains how these clusters and long-distance ties help people...

It's been a rough year for #federalworkers.

But here's what most people don't see: workers are building remarkably resilient networks of mutual support 🤝

In @us.theconversation.com, federal workers share their stories with me... 👇🏻

We are hiring a postdoc in the evolveD lab (evolvedlab.net) at Rutgers University. The remit is broad. We are looking for innovation, passion, and ethical collaboration. Please share the ad and email/ DM w/ Qs. We will start reviewing applications January 5.

🚨 AWARD DEADLINE 🚨

If you are, or know someone, doing really cool research as an early-career researcher…EHBEA is calling for SELF-nominations on their New Investigator Award.

Deadline? December 19th, 2025

More information below 👇

Highlighting these postdoc opportunities in the Pontzer Lab at Duke University for #WplusEBSWednesday!

One position is for "Human Ecology, Energetics, and Climate", and the other is for "Population Ecology Aging, and Health Network (PECAHN)".

Start date is between Jan 15th 2026 and July 1st 2026.

📢 Reupping this: current & recent federal workers, would love to talk to you about how you're connecting & cooperating across agencies and regions! DM me if you'd like to share and we can switch to Signal. I'll need your name as a source for my records but am keeping folks anonymous in the article 💯