𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚕𝚎𝚜 𝙲. 𝙼𝚊𝚗𝚗
@charlescmann.bsky.social
Author of "1491, "1493," and, most recently, "The Wizard and the Prophet." Working, inefficiently, on another book.
The background image is pretty old by now, but I like the pig. The avatar photo is only a couple years old, though, so that's something.
The background image is pretty old by now, but I like the pig. The avatar photo is only a couple years old, though, so that's something.
Pinned
How the System Works
A series on the hidden mechanisms that support modern life — and what happens if we don’t maintain them
www.thenewatlantis.com
My thanks to the New Atlantis, letting me do this series on "How the System Works," and for removing the paywall today. It's maddening how little attention our society--and our political leaders, who take cues from us--pay to the systems that have made things better for so many billions.
Reposted by 𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚕𝚎𝚜 𝙲. 𝙼𝚊𝚗𝚗
This piece is important. It is also a great (annoyingly great) example of what a properly resourced team of journalists can do. There are five bylines and almost 20 additional reporting credits on this piece. I've wanted to write this story for months but... do not have that many colleagues
The cost of Trump's immigration surge: Stalled investigations into child sexual abuse, Iranian oil smuggling and human trafficking, among others. My latest piece is a big team effort on how DHS has been transformed into the Department of Deportation.
Gift link: www.nytimes.com/2025/11/16/u...
Gift link: www.nytimes.com/2025/11/16/u...
Homeland Security Missions Falter Amid Focus on Deportations
www.nytimes.com
November 17, 2025 at 12:28 PM
This piece is important. It is also a great (annoyingly great) example of what a properly resourced team of journalists can do. There are five bylines and almost 20 additional reporting credits on this piece. I've wanted to write this story for months but... do not have that many colleagues
Violent anti-mask protests, 1918 (by me). From www.thenewatlantis.com/publications...
November 17, 2025 at 4:59 PM
Violent anti-mask protests, 1918 (by me). From www.thenewatlantis.com/publications...
Even if David Lodge made a mistake in inviting the wrong person to speak, it is quite something to be calling for the dismissal of a guy who was the president of the Ecological Society of America, an original developer of eDNA, and the founding chair of the US Invasive Species Advisory Committee.
I am embarrassed that Cornell invited Pielke for the seminar series on Climate Impact run by the Atkinson Center. Time for a change in leadership at the Center! Current director David Lodge is just way out of his league when it comes to climate science.
November 15, 2025 at 11:00 PM
Even if David Lodge made a mistake in inviting the wrong person to speak, it is quite something to be calling for the dismissal of a guy who was the president of the Ecological Society of America, an original developer of eDNA, and the founding chair of the US Invasive Species Advisory Committee.
Reposted by 𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚕𝚎𝚜 𝙲. 𝙼𝚊𝚗𝚗
CDC flu data is back! I’m so happy I could cry. H3N2 is predominating, especially the new subclade K. This supports the emerging hypothesis that we will have a big flu season. More to come.
November 14, 2025 at 4:24 PM
CDC flu data is back! I’m so happy I could cry. H3N2 is predominating, especially the new subclade K. This supports the emerging hypothesis that we will have a big flu season. More to come.
Public health has drawn controversy since it began ~150 years ago, but the disputes have only grown more heated since Covid. Even though we unquestionably live longer and healthier lives than our ancestors, there’s so much discontent that we now have RFKJr.— 1/11
November 13, 2025 at 4:41 PM
Public health has drawn controversy since it began ~150 years ago, but the disputes have only grown more heated since Covid. Even though we unquestionably live longer and healthier lives than our ancestors, there’s so much discontent that we now have RFKJr.— 1/11
Reposted by 𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚕𝚎𝚜 𝙲. 𝙼𝚊𝚗𝚗
It is absolutely high time somebody told the rest of us that the reason we're not still in early modern Europe is this quiet field of public health.
Shameless plug:
For a year, I've been working on a series about the vast systems that underlie life in most of the world. Built up over generations, these systems are the cathedrals of our time--but all too few of us know anything about them, and they're all at risk of failing. Here's the latest:
For a year, I've been working on a series about the vast systems that underlie life in most of the world. Built up over generations, these systems are the cathedrals of our time--but all too few of us know anything about them, and they're all at risk of failing. Here's the latest:
Two Hundred Years to Flatten the Curve
How generations of meddlesome public health campaigns changed everyday life — and made life twice as long as it used to be
www.thenewatlantis.com
November 12, 2025 at 4:56 PM
It is absolutely high time somebody told the rest of us that the reason we're not still in early modern Europe is this quiet field of public health.
Reposted by 𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚕𝚎𝚜 𝙲. 𝙼𝚊𝚗𝚗
Shameless plug:
For a year, I've been working on a series about the vast systems that underlie life in most of the world. Built up over generations, these systems are the cathedrals of our time--but all too few of us know anything about them, and they're all at risk of failing. Here's the latest:
For a year, I've been working on a series about the vast systems that underlie life in most of the world. Built up over generations, these systems are the cathedrals of our time--but all too few of us know anything about them, and they're all at risk of failing. Here's the latest:
Two Hundred Years to Flatten the Curve
How generations of meddlesome public health campaigns changed everyday life — and made life twice as long as it used to be
www.thenewatlantis.com
November 12, 2025 at 2:58 PM
Shameless plug:
For a year, I've been working on a series about the vast systems that underlie life in most of the world. Built up over generations, these systems are the cathedrals of our time--but all too few of us know anything about them, and they're all at risk of failing. Here's the latest:
For a year, I've been working on a series about the vast systems that underlie life in most of the world. Built up over generations, these systems are the cathedrals of our time--but all too few of us know anything about them, and they're all at risk of failing. Here's the latest:
Shameless plug:
For a year, I've been working on a series about the vast systems that underlie life in most of the world. Built up over generations, these systems are the cathedrals of our time--but all too few of us know anything about them, and they're all at risk of failing. Here's the latest:
For a year, I've been working on a series about the vast systems that underlie life in most of the world. Built up over generations, these systems are the cathedrals of our time--but all too few of us know anything about them, and they're all at risk of failing. Here's the latest:
Two Hundred Years to Flatten the Curve
How generations of meddlesome public health campaigns changed everyday life — and made life twice as long as it used to be
www.thenewatlantis.com
November 12, 2025 at 2:58 PM
Shameless plug:
For a year, I've been working on a series about the vast systems that underlie life in most of the world. Built up over generations, these systems are the cathedrals of our time--but all too few of us know anything about them, and they're all at risk of failing. Here's the latest:
For a year, I've been working on a series about the vast systems that underlie life in most of the world. Built up over generations, these systems are the cathedrals of our time--but all too few of us know anything about them, and they're all at risk of failing. Here's the latest:
Reposted by 𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚕𝚎𝚜 𝙲. 𝙼𝚊𝚗𝚗
Apologies, I realized I was posting like a scientist rather than a social-media influencer. What I meant to say was:
Cosmologists in SHAMBLES as statistical significance of their cherished idea tumbles from 4.2σ to a measly 3.2σ! When will science face this CRISIS? Or is it all just GROUPTHINK???
Cosmologists in SHAMBLES as statistical significance of their cherished idea tumbles from 4.2σ to a measly 3.2σ! When will science face this CRISIS? Or is it all just GROUPTHINK???
Hmm. The best evidence that dark energy is evolving rather than constant just got a little weaker.
The statistical significance of observational results don’t really have “momentum,” but we’ll have to continue to wait and see about this one.
The statistical significance of observational results don’t really have “momentum,” but we’ll have to continue to wait and see about this one.
A little less than a year ago, a large team of cosmologists reported evidence that dark energy (which drives the acceleration of the expansion of the Universe) evolves over time. This made a huge splash but has also been viewed with healthy skepticism. Today they report that evidence has weakened. 🧪
November 12, 2025 at 1:44 PM
Apologies, I realized I was posting like a scientist rather than a social-media influencer. What I meant to say was:
Cosmologists in SHAMBLES as statistical significance of their cherished idea tumbles from 4.2σ to a measly 3.2σ! When will science face this CRISIS? Or is it all just GROUPTHINK???
Cosmologists in SHAMBLES as statistical significance of their cherished idea tumbles from 4.2σ to a measly 3.2σ! When will science face this CRISIS? Or is it all just GROUPTHINK???
Just picked this up and 100 pages in all I can think is, "Good Lord, this woman can *write.*" To have a thoroughly contemporary novel in theme, pacing, characterization and ironic tone but to execute it in prose that captures 19th century language without being a pastiche--just wow.
Washington Black by Esi Edugyan: 9780525563242 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books
COMING SOON AS A HULU ORIGINAL SERIES • MAN BOOKER PRIZE FINALIST • ONE OF THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW'S TEN BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR • “A gripping historical narrative exploring...
www.penguinrandomhouse.com
November 12, 2025 at 2:21 PM
Just picked this up and 100 pages in all I can think is, "Good Lord, this woman can *write.*" To have a thoroughly contemporary novel in theme, pacing, characterization and ironic tone but to execute it in prose that captures 19th century language without being a pastiche--just wow.
US-Japan research team finds suggestive similarities between pre-Clovis stone-tool styles in North America and 20K-yr-old tools in north Japan--hinting that the ppl in Hokkaido may have been the origins of the ppl who were all over North America by ~16K yrs ago.
Characterizing the American Upper Paleolithic
Tool similarities link Late Pleistocene American and Northeast Asian lithic traditions.
www.science.org
November 11, 2025 at 3:17 PM
US-Japan research team finds suggestive similarities between pre-Clovis stone-tool styles in North America and 20K-yr-old tools in north Japan--hinting that the ppl in Hokkaido may have been the origins of the ppl who were all over North America by ~16K yrs ago.
Reposted by 𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚕𝚎𝚜 𝙲. 𝙼𝚊𝚗𝚗
"Commas should be used only and always to indicate where a breath occurs" is the assertion of people who are dreadful at punctuation.
November 10, 2025 at 2:17 PM
"Commas should be used only and always to indicate where a breath occurs" is the assertion of people who are dreadful at punctuation.
Via a pal in tech, w/ the comment:
www.cartoonshateher.com/p/dont-prove...
"She's correct. Stereotypically 'male' toxic workplaces are more likely to involve obvious physical stuff, and hence are easier for HR to swoop down on than the toxic stuff in stereotypically 'female' workplaces...."
www.cartoonshateher.com/p/dont-prove...
"She's correct. Stereotypically 'male' toxic workplaces are more likely to involve obvious physical stuff, and hence are easier for HR to swoop down on than the toxic stuff in stereotypically 'female' workplaces...."
November 10, 2025 at 2:11 PM
Via a pal in tech, w/ the comment:
www.cartoonshateher.com/p/dont-prove...
"She's correct. Stereotypically 'male' toxic workplaces are more likely to involve obvious physical stuff, and hence are easier for HR to swoop down on than the toxic stuff in stereotypically 'female' workplaces...."
www.cartoonshateher.com/p/dont-prove...
"She's correct. Stereotypically 'male' toxic workplaces are more likely to involve obvious physical stuff, and hence are easier for HR to swoop down on than the toxic stuff in stereotypically 'female' workplaces...."
Reposted by 𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚕𝚎𝚜 𝙲. 𝙼𝚊𝚗𝚗
What happened when I dug into some of the key studies and ideas quoted in The Tipping Point and its sequel… kucharski.substack.com/p/the-real-r...
November 9, 2025 at 1:44 PM
What happened when I dug into some of the key studies and ideas quoted in The Tipping Point and its sequel… kucharski.substack.com/p/the-real-r...
James Watson was such a big, divisive figure that no single obituary I've read yet really captures him. The Cold Springs Harbor obit does a fine job on his very real, very important scientific accomplishments but seriously slights the weird, awful turn his life took in his last ~20 yrs...
In remembrance of Dr. James D. Watson | Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Jim Watson made many contributions to science, education, public service, and especially Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL). As a scientist, his and Francis Crick’s determination of the structure of...
cshl.edu
November 9, 2025 at 2:55 PM
James Watson was such a big, divisive figure that no single obituary I've read yet really captures him. The Cold Springs Harbor obit does a fine job on his very real, very important scientific accomplishments but seriously slights the weird, awful turn his life took in his last ~20 yrs...
Just remembering that Dick Cheney secretly intervened in a dispute over the Klamath River in 2001--and caused the biggest fish die-off in US history, with ~77,000 fully grown adult salmon piled on the banks of the river.
November 8, 2025 at 5:05 PM
Just remembering that Dick Cheney secretly intervened in a dispute over the Klamath River in 2001--and caused the biggest fish die-off in US history, with ~77,000 fully grown adult salmon piled on the banks of the river.
Anyone who doesn't believe diversity is strength has never put sriracha, Kewpie mayonnaise and green tomato chutney on porchetta. Ask me how I know.
November 8, 2025 at 2:16 PM
Anyone who doesn't believe diversity is strength has never put sriracha, Kewpie mayonnaise and green tomato chutney on porchetta. Ask me how I know.
Reposted by 𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚕𝚎𝚜 𝙲. 𝙼𝚊𝚗𝚗
Interesting to see @meganwachspress.bsky.social observe that the Sierra Club’s staff were clear-eyed about the need for clean energy development while the *members/small-dollar donor base* were more resistant to it.
I was at the Sierra Club during the period described in this article and although I have my criticisms, it gets the issues in the Club fundamentally wrong. A 🧵
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/07/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/07/u...
The Sierra Club Embraced Social Justice. Then It Tore Itself Apart.
www.nytimes.com
November 7, 2025 at 7:20 PM
Interesting to see @meganwachspress.bsky.social observe that the Sierra Club’s staff were clear-eyed about the need for clean energy development while the *members/small-dollar donor base* were more resistant to it.
There's a little business near us that roasts and sells fancy coffee for coffee snobs like me. Just visited them. "The tariffs are killing us... We held out as long as possible but now we're raising them by $2/lb and we're still losing... Even the big guys are getting slaughtered."
November 7, 2025 at 5:28 PM
There's a little business near us that roasts and sells fancy coffee for coffee snobs like me. Just visited them. "The tariffs are killing us... We held out as long as possible but now we're raising them by $2/lb and we're still losing... Even the big guys are getting slaughtered."
This charming if hagiographic article about Cormac McCarthy's insanely huge personal library and the overwhelmed scholars trying to go through it is full of unexpectedly funny evidence of the man's omnivorous curiosity. /v @meganabbott.bsky.social www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture...
November 7, 2025 at 5:05 PM
This charming if hagiographic article about Cormac McCarthy's insanely huge personal library and the overwhelmed scholars trying to go through it is full of unexpectedly funny evidence of the man's omnivorous curiosity. /v @meganabbott.bsky.social www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture...
I'm not the only writer, it seems, who's had companies use AI to produce crappy comic versions of his stuff. This stuff is intensely irritating. I'm not sure it's plagiarism, though, because it's so inaccurate. I'd be willing to bet the author didn't have people saying "you'll fly France!"
AI has scraped my second book and produced this shitty comic. Firstly, the winds are in all the wrong places. Secondly, what the hell is happening in that second panel? Thirdly, this is plagiarism and totally unlicensed. Have any other authors had this done 'for free' to their books?
November 7, 2025 at 3:43 PM
I'm not the only writer, it seems, who's had companies use AI to produce crappy comic versions of his stuff. This stuff is intensely irritating. I'm not sure it's plagiarism, though, because it's so inaccurate. I'd be willing to bet the author didn't have people saying "you'll fly France!"
Reposted by 𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚕𝚎𝚜 𝙲. 𝙼𝚊𝚗𝚗
Listeria kills.
Check any pasta meals you bought from Trader Joe's, Albertson's, Kroger, Walmart, Giant Eagle, or Sprouts.
Cooking doesn't kill listeria; it survives to kill us. Do not mess with it.
www.npr.org/2025/11/04/n...
Check any pasta meals you bought from Trader Joe's, Albertson's, Kroger, Walmart, Giant Eagle, or Sprouts.
Cooking doesn't kill listeria; it survives to kill us. Do not mess with it.
www.npr.org/2025/11/04/n...
Worsening listeria outbreak tied to pasta products kills 6, hospitalizes 25
Certain prepared pasta dishes were recalled from retailers like Trader Joe's, Kroger and Walmart between June and October. Health officials urge customers to dispose of them and clean their fridges.
www.npr.org
November 6, 2025 at 6:35 PM
Listeria kills.
Check any pasta meals you bought from Trader Joe's, Albertson's, Kroger, Walmart, Giant Eagle, or Sprouts.
Cooking doesn't kill listeria; it survives to kill us. Do not mess with it.
www.npr.org/2025/11/04/n...
Check any pasta meals you bought from Trader Joe's, Albertson's, Kroger, Walmart, Giant Eagle, or Sprouts.
Cooking doesn't kill listeria; it survives to kill us. Do not mess with it.
www.npr.org/2025/11/04/n...
There's lots in this piece that I'd argue about, but the central point is spot-on: social problems all over the world are rooted in the long-term, state-encouraged dispossession of smallholders by industrial agriculture, wrecking communities as it empties the countryside.
The planet, and human social life, depend on peasant farmers | Aeon Essays
Far from being a relic of the past, peasants are vital to feeding the world. They need to be supported, not marginalised
aeon.co
November 6, 2025 at 3:16 PM
There's lots in this piece that I'd argue about, but the central point is spot-on: social problems all over the world are rooted in the long-term, state-encouraged dispossession of smallholders by industrial agriculture, wrecking communities as it empties the countryside.
Two days before the election, my pal K. said that Nancy Pelosi would retire the instant it was clear that California had passed the gerrymandering bill to ensure that the state's congressional delegation was overwhelmingly Democratic. Looks like he called that one. An amazing politician.
Pelosi Plans to Retire in 2027 After 39 Years in Congress
www.nytimes.com
November 6, 2025 at 2:34 PM
Two days before the election, my pal K. said that Nancy Pelosi would retire the instant it was clear that California had passed the gerrymandering bill to ensure that the state's congressional delegation was overwhelmingly Democratic. Looks like he called that one. An amazing politician.
Speaking of seizing the means of production...
The Export-Import Bank can end up temporarily having equity in some US companies to support them in international trade, but this--partial ownership of US Steel, Intel, MP Materials, Lithium Americas, and Trilogy Metals--seems quite different.
The Export-Import Bank can end up temporarily having equity in some US companies to support them in international trade, but this--partial ownership of US Steel, Intel, MP Materials, Lithium Americas, and Trilogy Metals--seems quite different.
Trump Administration Now Holds Stakes In 5 Public Companies: Here's A List—INTC, MP, LAC And More
In a significant shift in U.S. industrial policy, the Donald Trump administration has acquired direct ownership stakes in five major publicly traded companies. This series of interventions, framed as ...
finance.yahoo.com
November 5, 2025 at 2:27 PM
Speaking of seizing the means of production...
The Export-Import Bank can end up temporarily having equity in some US companies to support them in international trade, but this--partial ownership of US Steel, Intel, MP Materials, Lithium Americas, and Trilogy Metals--seems quite different.
The Export-Import Bank can end up temporarily having equity in some US companies to support them in international trade, but this--partial ownership of US Steel, Intel, MP Materials, Lithium Americas, and Trilogy Metals--seems quite different.