Author | Lightnews

Mike Spaeder, MD @despitethetimes.bsky.social · 3d

But seriously, I bought tickets for me and my boys for next week's game against Chicago - all three are lifelong Ravens fans but this will be their first NFL game in person - so I'm hoping that this bye week is what they need to get everything back in order.

1 1

Mike Spaeder, MD @despitethetimes.bsky.social · 3d

Preach

1 1

Mike Spaeder, MD @despitethetimes.bsky.social · 4d

2 3

Mike Spaeder, MD @despitethetimes.bsky.social · 4d

Huge crowd at #NoKings Charlottesville

7 110 640

Reposted by Mike Spaeder, MD

Steven L. Johnson @stevenljohnson.org · 5d

UVA says no to the compact

To the University of Virginia community:

On Monday of last week, Rector Rachel Sheridan and I shared a message with the community regarding the proposed Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education. We were asked to provide comments on the proposal no later than October 20.

Today, I sent the letter below to the Secretary of Education and to White House officials. The letter confirms our core values and commitments while expressing our view that federal research funding should be based on merit.

I want to thank personally the Faculty Senate, Staff Senate, Student Council, and many other members of our community who expressed their opinions on the proposed Compact, through the online form we provided and other means. Your thoughtful feedback shows a profound care for the University and a strong commitment to its future.

We will continue to work to strengthen free expression and free inquiry, protect academic freedom, ensure affordability , promote intellectual pluralism, and maintain institutional neutrality in an increasingly polarized world. I am grateful for your continued dedication to the University and I look forward to working with you on these vital projects.

Paul Mahoney
Interim President
University of Virginia

October 17, 2025

The United States Department of Education
Washington, DC 20202

Dear Secretary McMahon, Ms. Mailman, and Mr. Haley,

Thank you for your letter inviting comment on the proposed Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education. We wholeheartedly agree that “American higher education is the envy of the world.” We also agree with many of the principles outlined in the Compact, including a fair and unbiased admissions process, an affordable and academically rigorous education, a thriving marketplace of ideas, institutional neutrality, and equal treatment of students, faculty, and staff in all aspects of university operations. Indeed, the University of Virginia leads in several of these areas and is committed to continuous improvement in all of them.

We seek no special treatment in exchange for our pursuit of those foundational goals. The integrity of science and other academic work requires merit-based assessment of research and scholarship. A contractual arrangement predicating assessment on anything other than merit will undermine the integrity of vital, sometimes lifesaving, research and further erode confidence in American higher education.

Higher education faces significant challenges and has not always lived up to its highest ideals. We believe that the best path toward real and durable progress lies in an open and collaborative conversation. We look forward to working together to develop alternative, lasting approaches to improving higher education.

Sincerely yours,

Paul Mahoney
Interim President
University of Virginia

7 260 1.4K

Mike Spaeder, MD @despitethetimes.bsky.social · 5d

UVA Reject the Compact Rally marches on

1 6

Mike Spaeder, MD @despitethetimes.bsky.social · 5d

UVA Reject The Compact Rally

1 2 10

Mike Spaeder, MD @despitethetimes.bsky.social · 7d

UVA and Charlottesville peeps 👇

1 1

Mike Spaeder, MD @despitethetimes.bsky.social · 8d

pitchfork.com/news/sugar-r...

Sugar Reunite for New York and London Concerts, Share First Song in 30 Years

Bob Mould’s post–Hüsker Dü band returns, three decades later, with “House of Dead Memories”

pitchfork.com

Reposted by Mike Spaeder, MD

ACOG @acog.org · Sep 22

ACOG reaffirms that acetaminophen is safe for managing pain and fever during pregnancy. No reputable studies support suggestions like those in HHS’s recent announcement linking acetaminophen use in pregnancy to autism; in fact, high-quality studies show no such risk. https://bit.ly/47Wxc59

22 1.2K 2K

Reposted by Mike Spaeder, MD

Patton Oswalt @pattonoswalt.bsky.social · Sep 8

So glad ICE is in Chicago. The city is a lawless hell-scape. Blues musicians wrecking hundreds of police cars. High schoolers doing weird scientific sex experiments. Kids home alone during the holidays. Women killing their husbands and lovers and then SINGING about it sassily. This has to stop.

530 1.1K 8.4K

Mike Spaeder, MD @despitethetimes.bsky.social · Sep 5

See you there!

Reposted by Mike Spaeder, MD

Atul Gawande @agawande.bsky.social · Sep 1

9 CDC Directors going back to 1977 speak out. What RFK Jr has done to our nation’s public health system "should alarm every American."

It "is unlike anything we have ever seen at the agency, and unlike anything our country has ever experienced." www.nytimes.com/2025/09/01/o...

Opinion | We Ran the C.D.C.: Kennedy Is Endangering Every American’s Health

www.nytimes.com

330 5.2K 12K

Mike Spaeder, MD @despitethetimes.bsky.social · Aug 28

Americans will live with the consequences of senators who decided to let an anti-vaccine crank become one of the most powerful people in government.

Opinion | RFK Jr. cannot be contained

The ouster of Susan Monarez from the CDC is an ominous sign for American public health.

www.washingtonpost.com

2

Mike Spaeder, MD @despitethetimes.bsky.social · Aug 27

Lovely essay by @caseyepsteingross.bsky.social ‬of @pastemagazine.bsky.social on a top 10 all-timer for me

My friend Jo and I played a show with Charles in Brooklyn in 2013 and after being over-served, I tried to make the case to him that this album is my generation's Revolver.

Time Capsule: The Wrens, The Meadowlands

Paste Magazine is your source for the best music, movies, TV, comedy, videogames, books, comics, craft beer, politics and more. Discover your favorite albums and films.

www.pastemagazine.com

1

Mike Spaeder, MD @despitethetimes.bsky.social · Aug 25

The five albums that have had the biggest influence on my life (in no particular order)

R.E.M. - Life's Rich Pageant
The Replacements - Pleased To Meet Me
Bob Mould - Workbook
Fugazi - Repeater
The Wrens - The Meadowlands

Perennial @perennialtheband.bsky.social · Aug 25

The five albums that have had the biggest influence on my life (in no particular order):

The Beatles - Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
The Blood Brothers - Crimes
The Temptations - Wish It Would Rain
Otis Redding - Dreams To Remember: The Otis Redding Anthology
The Clash - London Calling

Chris Banks @chrisbanks.bsky.social · Aug 25

The five albums that have had the biggest influence on my life (in no particular order):

Not the world's *coolest* list but I think it's p accurate.

NOFX - War on Errorism
Paint it Black - New Lexicon
Menzingers - Impossible Past
The Jam - The Gift
Ergs! - Upstairs/Downstairs

3

Mike Spaeder, MD @despitethetimes.bsky.social · Aug 20

pitchfork.com/news/the-rep...

The Replacements Announce Let It Be Reissue, Share Unreleased Version of “Androgynous”

The revamped 1984 record comes with live album, outtakes, and more alternate versions

pitchfork.com

1

Mike Spaeder, MD @despitethetimes.bsky.social · Aug 18

1 1

Mike Spaeder, MD @despitethetimes.bsky.social · Aug 12

www.reuters.com/business/hea...

Exclusive: Medical journal rejects Kennedy's call for retraction of vaccine study

An influential U.S. medical journal is rejecting a call from Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to retract a large Danish study that found that aluminum ingredients in vaccines do not increase health risks for children, the journal's editor told Reuters.

www.reuters.com

1

Mike Spaeder, MD @despitethetimes.bsky.social · Aug 10

Just finally listened on my long run this morning - great interview and super thought-provoking.

1 1

Mike Spaeder, MD @despitethetimes.bsky.social · Jul 29

daily.bandcamp.com/lists/discho...

Beyond Fugazi: Exploring Dischord’s Hidden Gems

Get hip to all the excellent obscurities the iconic punk label has on offer.

daily.bandcamp.com

Reposted by Mike Spaeder, MD

Stereogum @stereogum.bsky.social · Jul 28

With 'Kreative Kontrol' reaching 1,000 episodes this week, we talked to host @vishkhanna.bsky.social — and his frequent guests Ian MacKaye, U.S. Girls, and @cadenceweapon.bsky.social — about what makes the music and culture podcast so indispensable