Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Alexander Tsai, MD @drdrtsai.bsky.social · 4h

“Are we cowardly Lions who cower in front of a false prophet or in the face of a blustering, empty wizard in Washington who is trying to destroy our autonomous universities?”
www.columbiaspectator.com/opinion/2025...

Columbia must now show courage and empathy

Dear Columbia leaders,

www.columbiaspectator.com

Alexander Tsai, MD @drdrtsai.bsky.social · 4h

💪💪💪
www.thedp.com/article/2025...

Penn rejects White House proposal for special funding treatment

With the decision, Penn becomes the third university to decline the offer.

www.thedp.com

Alexander Tsai, MD @drdrtsai.bsky.social · 7h

From @davidfrenchjag.bsky.social: "Evangelicals might be growing in political power, but there is not much evidence that they are growing in devotion." www.nytimes.com/2025/10/16/o...

Opinion | Something Is Stirring in Christian America, and It’s Making Me Nervous

www.nytimes.com

1

Alexander Tsai, MD @drdrtsai.bsky.social · 10h

👀

Victoria Baranov @vicbar.bsky.social · 10h

🚨 We are hiring! ‼️‼️

tenured track assistant or associate prof in economics at university of Melbourne @unimelb.bsky.social

welcome applications from all fields (but especially from econometrics)

econjobmarket.org/positions?sh...

EJM - Econ Job Market

econjobmarket.org

Alexander Tsai, MD @drdrtsai.bsky.social · 1d

💪💪💪

Alexander Tsai, MD @drdrtsai.bsky.social · 2d

You got Kirkus you don’t need a review in NEJM or wherever

Alexander Tsai, MD @drdrtsai.bsky.social · 2d

Mission Accomplished

karl rove knausgård @uhactually.bsky.social · 3d

Lmao WaPo has fewer than 100K circulation now. It turns out “alienate your liberal subscriber base” is not a good strategy when the Republicans also hate you. www.forbes.com/sites/andyme...

The Washington Post Is Running Out Of Readers Willing To Pay

Once a titan of American journalism, The Washington Post now struggles to reach even 100,000 print subscribers most days.

www.forbes.com

2

Alexander Tsai, MD @drdrtsai.bsky.social · 2d

dayyyyyyyumm 😱🥳😍

Khameer Kidia 🏳️‍🌈 @globalhealing.bsky.social · 2d

First book review of Empire of Madness is in from Kirkus:

“An ambitious take on the diagnosis and treatment of mental health issues viewed through a cross-cultural lens.”

www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews...

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Alexander Tsai, MD @drdrtsai.bsky.social · 2d

Grant with a fundable score but primed at Harvard

1

Alexander Tsai, MD @drdrtsai.bsky.social · 2d

For a minute I thought Tatum was talking about @marcellaalsan.bsky.social... AER, QJE, AER, JPE, NEJM, QJE-- oh whoops there's a REStat my bad
www.vogue.com/article/roof...

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Alexander Tsai, MD @drdrtsai.bsky.social · 2d

"If you ask me, the limited space helps streamline our daily routine. When we get up in the morning to get the kids out the door, there is nowhere for these suckers to hide."
slate.com/life/2025/10...

I’m Part of an Endangered Species in New York City. But We’re Doing Great.

Ask me again when we have three teens in bunk beds.

slate.com

1

Alexander Tsai, MD @drdrtsai.bsky.social · 2d

Advantage compounds—such an important message

Peter Tennant @pwgtennant.bsky.social · 2d

Most academics who survive are the ones who had good luck early in their career. Like winning funding or publishing in a 'top journal'. This makes it easier to attract funding later & makes more room for failure.

Those early rolls of the dice will probably decide whether you survive or not.

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Alexander Tsai, MD @drdrtsai.bsky.social · 2d

Guess this means New College and UT Austin will be cleaning up with all the R01's and P30's

Robert Kelchen @robertkelchen.com · 3d

After getting zero firm commitments to this point from the first nine invitees, the Trump administration is extending its proposed compact to all colleges. Expect some red-state publics to say yes.

Trump Offers All Colleges Preferential Funding Plan Rejected by MIT

The Trump administration is inviting all US colleges to participate in a compact — initially rejected by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology — that would grant preferential federal funding in re...

www.bloomberg.com

4

Alexander Tsai, MD @drdrtsai.bsky.social · 3d

“The coal miners have supplied this country with electricity, and now they’re just cast aside to die.”

THEN F$%AK$%NASDG@#$%ING VOTE YOU IDIOTS
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/13/c...

Coal Miners With Black Lung Say They Are ‘Cast Aside to Die’ Under Trump

www.nytimes.com

Alexander Tsai, MD @drdrtsai.bsky.social · 3d

“To break the cycle of censorship, students should be warned: If you disrupt this event in a manner that censors speech, we will identify you and impose severe consequences.”
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/13/o...

Opinion | I Resigned as Manhattan’s U.S. Attorney. Law Schools Are Missing the Point of My Story.

www.nytimes.com

Alexander Tsai, MD @drdrtsai.bsky.social · 4d

It would be an awesome plot twist if the paper had been written with the assistance of ChatGPT

Jay Van Bavel, PhD @jayvanbavel.bsky.social · 5d

Does AI improve or undercut academic scholarship?

A new study finds that academics who use AI increased both the quantity & quality of their academic scholarship and it appears to reduces inequality (helping junior and non-english speaking scholars the most).
arxiv.org/pdf/2510.02408

Alexander Tsai, MD @drdrtsai.bsky.social · 4d

"Although that conviction [at age 19] carried its own immigration consequences, Subu... was never deported because he was serving a life sentence. Now, after his exoneration [after 43 years of wrongful imprisonment], ICE has revived the decades-old order."
www.miamiherald.com/news/local/i...

He was wrongfully imprisoned for 43 years. Moments after being released, ICE took him

Subramanyam “Subu” Vedam now faces deportation.

www.miamiherald.com

3 2

Alexander Tsai, MD @drdrtsai.bsky.social · 4d

lol the ONE time I get stuck and use the "find reviewer" tool, I get someone who returns a review in 45m complete with a recommendation to focus the review on a totally different area of investigation and a list of 13 papers to cite

GTFOH

Reposted by Alexander Tsai, MD

John Mullahy @johnmullahy.bsky.social · 4d

This administration can't even be incompetent competently.

Apoorva Mandavilli @apoorvanyt.bsky.social · 4d

The Trump administration on Saturday scrambled to rescind layoffs of hundreds of CDC scientists who were mistakenly fired on Friday night in what appeared to be a substantial procedural lapse.

www.nytimes.com/2025/10/11/h...

Trump Administration Is Bringing Back Scores of C.D.C. Experts Fired in Error

www.nytimes.com

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Alexander Tsai, MD @drdrtsai.bsky.social · 5d

Appropriate use of air quotes by @bostonglobe.com to describe “compact” 💪
In the meantime @nytimes.com could have used appropriate air quotes for “offer”, “special”, “benefits”, and “protect”, but failed to do so

1

Alexander Tsai, MD @drdrtsai.bsky.social · 5d

Snap

derek guy @dieworkwear.bsky.social · 5d

in 2011, the president of antifa hired me to give fashion consultancy to the organization. i recommended everyone wear navy suits with tan shoes, dress sneakers, and golf polos with slim chinos. if you arrested everyone today wearing these things, you'd destroy antifa

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Alexander Tsai, MD @drdrtsai.bsky.social · 6d

“No school will be forced to adhere to the compact’s principles of fairness, civility, neutrality and transparency. If schools do not want to be accountable to these requirements, they need not accept federal funding.”

😂
GTFO
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/10/o...

Opinion | Academia Is Broken. Trump’s University ‘Compact’ Can Help Fix It.

www.nytimes.com

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Alexander Tsai, MD @drdrtsai.bsky.social · 6d

MIT Strong 💪

links.mit.edu/nl3/N5Jy2cKq...

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Alexander Tsai, MD @drdrtsai.bsky.social · 6d

🤣

Dave Levitan @davelevitan.bsky.social · 6d

This morning there is one Nobel Peace Prize winner, 8.1 billion or so people who did not win the Nobel Peace Prize, and one Nobel Peace Prize loser.

Alexander Tsai, MD @drdrtsai.bsky.social · 7d

no, public health/medicine/epidemiology/health services