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Kathryn Olesko

@kathrynolesko

Historian of science interested in 19th c. German sci & tech., atomic cultures, science pedagogy, and developments in physics. Retired from Georgetown Univ. Now Affiliate Faculty at the Univ. of Puget Sound. Avid reader. Archival junkie. I block bots.

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06.11.2023
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Latest posts by Kathryn Olesko @kathrynolesko

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Opinion | How 6,000 Bad Coding Lessons Turned a Chatbot Evil

You have to commend Anthropic for having a philosopher responsible for training Claude in ethics.
www.nytimes.com/2026/03/10/o...

10.03.2026 12:56 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
Country Joe & the Fish - VietNam Song - Live Woodstock 1969 - Full HD Video
Country Joe & the Fish - VietNam Song - Live Woodstock 1969 - Full HD Video YouTube video by Dima T

Country Joe and the Fish, Woodstock
youtu.be/ft0vkKCadgk?...

01.03.2026 00:12 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Yes, why have you started this war? NYT Editorial Board:
β€œ . . .
he has offered no credible explanation for why he is risking the lives of our service members and inviting a major reprisal from Iran. Nor has he involved Congress, which the Constitution grants the sole power to declare war.”

28.02.2026 10:06 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Kathryn Olesko (@kathrynolesko) A thoughtful and well-documented essay on the persistence of Republican support for science, despite the current admin’s actions to the contrary. https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/02/republicans...

substack.com/@kathrynoles...

17.02.2026 17:42 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Trump Administration Erases the Government’s Power to Fight Climate Change

Just where "Gold Standard Science" was written and engineered to lead: the elimination of EPA's 2009 (Obama-era) guideline for controlling greenhouse gases: the endangerment finding.
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/12/c...

12.02.2026 18:57 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

The Defense Department cuts ties to Harvard. All educational programs suspended due to supposed "globalist and radical ideologies'" at the university.
www.war.gov/News/News-St...

10.02.2026 15:18 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

The Defense Department cuts ties to Harvard. All educational programs suspended due to supposed "globalist and radical ideologies'" at the university.
www.war.gov/News/News-St...

10.02.2026 15:16 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Trump Allies Near β€˜Total Victory’ in Wiping Out U.S. Climate Regulation

If you want to know where so-called "gold standard science" leads, it leads here. It is expected that this week, the endangerment finding--a 2009 finding that guides the regulation of greenhouse gases to prevent harm to humans-- will be repealed.

www.nytimes.com/2026/02/09/c...

10.02.2026 15:08 πŸ‘ 5 πŸ” 3 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
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The Murder of The Washington Post Today’s layoffs are the latest attempt to kill what makes the paper special.

RIP WaPo 😒
www.theatlantic.com/politics/202...

05.02.2026 07:07 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Opinion | Time to Say Goodbye

I am by no means a conservative, but David Brooks’s departure from the New York Times is disappointing news. He is thoughtful, and asksβ€”and comments onβ€”some of life’s deepest questions. I wish him well.

www.nytimes.com/2026/01/30/o...

30.01.2026 19:00 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 2 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
Bruce Springsteen - Streets Of Minneapolis (Official Audio)
Bruce Springsteen - Streets Of Minneapolis (Official Audio) YouTube video by Bruce Springsteen

I wrote this song on Saturday, recorded it yesterday and released it to you today in response to the state terror being visited on the city of Minneapolis. It’s dedicated to the people of Minneapolis, our innocent immigrant neighbors and in memory of Alex Pretti and Renee Good.

Stay free

28.01.2026 17:02 πŸ‘ 97501 πŸ” 40888 πŸ’¬ 4302 πŸ“Œ 5362
It’s Not His House
It’s Not His House YouTube video by Songs Of Reckoning

Another good one: "It's Not His House". Listen carefully. Keep the protest music coming!
youtu.be/B12cDJIcxpM?...

29.01.2026 23:06 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Executive Order 12333: The Most Important Guardrail You Never Heard Of The Steady State | Steven A. Cash

On Executive Order 12333, which sets limits on spy agencies. National Security Memorandum 7, signed Sept. 25, 2025, could unravel EO 12333 by redefining domestic terrorism as anything against the current admin’s policies. NSPM-7 deserves more attention.

open.substack.com/pub/steadyst...

29.01.2026 15:52 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
"Minnesota" - Marsh Family adaptation of "San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Some Flowers in Your Hair)"
"Minnesota" - Marsh Family adaptation of "San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Some Flowers in Your Hair)" YouTube video by Marsh Family

Protest songs continue. Here's the Marsh Family's "Minnesota", sung to the tune of Scott McKenzie's "San Francisco"

youtu.be/BRHxXHZmVAM?...

28.01.2026 23:49 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Bruce Springsteen releases anti-ICE song dedicated to Minneapolis Singer says song is in response to β€˜state terror’ visiting city, painting image of unrest due to β€˜King Trump’s private army’

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

28.01.2026 23:10 πŸ‘ 4 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
Post image

Silence is compliance

28.01.2026 19:57 πŸ‘ 87 πŸ” 40 πŸ’¬ 3 πŸ“Œ 1
Bruce Springsteen - Streets Of Minneapolis (Official Audio)
Bruce Springsteen - Streets Of Minneapolis (Official Audio) YouTube video by Bruce Springsteen

THE BOSS DOES IT!! Protest songs awakening!
youtu.be/wWKSoxG1K7w?...

28.01.2026 19:50 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

A reminder to the news media: β€œconflicting accounts” is what you say BEFORE the incontrovertible video evidence appears. After that, your job is to ask why one side is lying, not to repeat the lie and pretend no one knows the truth.

25.01.2026 12:28 πŸ‘ 47523 πŸ” 14312 πŸ’¬ 521 πŸ“Œ 600
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The World We Have Lost : History as Art | Isis: Vol 98, No 4 ABSTRACT Among the recently published historical novels and β€œlittle books” on topics in the history of science, Daniel Kehlmann’s Measuring the World (trans. 2006) offers an opportunity to reflect cri...

Fiction all the way, but not without insights and lessons for historians
www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/...

26.01.2026 10:58 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
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Visiting Assistant Professor - History of Science, Technology, and/or Medicine in Tacoma, WA for University of Puget Sound Exciting opportunity in Tacoma, WA for University of Puget Sound as a Visiting Assistant Professo...

Visiting Assistant Professor, History of Science, University of Puget Sound, 2026-27
careers.historians.org/jobs/2198007...

25.01.2026 04:28 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Opinion | State Terror Has Arrived

The (il)logic of state terror in the US. Gift article.
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/24/o...

25.01.2026 04:12 πŸ‘ 15 πŸ” 15 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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In Testimony, Jack Smith Defends Decision to Prosecute Trump

(3/3) In the meantime, buried in Smith’s testimony is the admission that the charges of election interference and wrongful holding of classified papers were dropped β€œwithout prejudice,” meaning once Trump leaves office, he could be charged again.
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/22/u...

23.01.2026 05:00 πŸ‘ 7 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

(2/3) At the moment TikTok is more important to the Times, and the admin’s threat of removing funding to sanctuary cities is more important to the Post.

23.01.2026 05:00 πŸ‘ 5 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

(1/3) There was a time when a testimony like Jack Smith’s would have been the front page banner headline. Remember the Pentagon Papers? Remember Watergate? No more.

23.01.2026 05:00 πŸ‘ 8 πŸ” 2 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
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Trump threatens to invoke Insurrection Act over protests in Minneapolis – US politics live Homeland security secretary Kristi Noem says she spoke to Trump about invoking Insurrection Act, saying β€˜that certainly is within the president’s constitutional authority’

This is what it's all about. Kiss the midterm elections goodbye if this happens.
www.theguardian.com/us-news/live...

15.01.2026 16:30 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Congress Is Rejecting Trump’s Steep Budget Cuts to Science

Congress is waking up:
"After the White House called for billions of dollars in funding reductions, senators and representatives said they wanted to safeguard and even boost funds for basic research."
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/10/s...

13.01.2026 02:27 πŸ‘ 1065 πŸ” 276 πŸ’¬ 38 πŸ“Œ 14
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The NIH has lost its scientific integrity. So we left β€œWe can no longer lend our credibility to an organization that has lost its integrity,” write four scientists and administrators who recently resigned from the NIH.

The culture of fear, forced ideological conformity, and government interference with science has intensified at NIH.

www.statnews.com/2026/01/10/n...

12.01.2026 09:21 πŸ‘ 3 πŸ” 2 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Smithsonian removes Trump impeachment text as it swaps his portrait A Trump official previously complained about a caption beside his National Portrait Gallery photo mentioning his impeachments and the U.S. Capitol insurrection.

wapo.st/3Z6251j

11.01.2026 11:01 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
Making Sense of This Moment | Explainer
Making Sense of This Moment | Explainer YouTube video by Heather Cox Richardson

Please listen. It's Heather Cox Richardson's analysis of fascism in the United States, with pointers on how we got here. Watch what the administration does very carefully. Don't take the bait.
youtu.be/qQAhv7j-NLM

10.01.2026 16:32 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Trump might want to know about the toxic nuclear waste buried in Greenland Editor’s note: With Donald Trump’s renewed call in January 2025 for Greenland to become part of the United States, Jeff […]

Maybe the way to turn Trump off Greenland is to remind him that there's toxic nuclear waste buried in its melting ice? Not such a great real estate deal after all?

Jeff Colgan had this great piece in 2019 on what's buried in Greenland. @goodauth.bsky.social

goodauthority.org/news/trump-w...

06.01.2026 13:17 πŸ‘ 27 πŸ” 7 πŸ’¬ 6 πŸ“Œ 1