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hencarnell.bsky.social
Henry Carnell
@hencarnell.bsky.social
11K followers 1.7K following 640 posts
climate, science, health, gender journalist @motherjones.com & @climatedesk.org
MLIS student @ischool.uw.edu

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hencarnell.bsky.social
China's role in COP30 was nuanced. They did not join the call for a fossil fuel phaseout, but didn't advocate against it:
China, currently the largest emitter of carbon emissions, although still very much invested in fossil fuels, has also invested record-breaking amounts in renewable energy, particularly wind and solar, and has committed to reducing carbon emissions by at least 7 percent by 2035. “China is an economic realist,” McDonald says, operating with the long-term understanding that “renewables are going to be where it’s at, rather than fossil fuels.” Still, he notes, China did little to advocate for a fossil-free agreement at COP30, largely avoiding the debate.
November 25, 2025 at 11:55 PM
hencarnell.bsky.social
Here is some of my reporting on the Society for Evidence Based Medicine: www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
The group’s X account has an article pinned about “doubts” in gender medicine that references Guyatt 19 times, without comment from him, and suggests he is lead author on the reviews. (He is not.) Its work is frequently cited by states banning transgender health care for minors: SEGM co-founder William Malone provided expert testimony for Idaho’s gender-affirming care ban in which he compared the treatment to lobotomies and accused national physicians’ associations of being “captured” by “gender ideology.” Malone has repeatedly asserted that “no child is actually born in the wrong body.” On X, he has endorsed Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and his “MAHA” movement and retweeted other right-wing content; another SEGM member was found to be the operator of a transphobic Twitter account that posted speculation about trans people’s genitalia. When asked member’s rhetoric, SEGM said, “we are not monitoring or censoring social media accounts of individuals volunteering their time to SEGM.” The group also said its members “categorically reject any insinuation that SEGM seeks to harm members of the LGBTQ community,” and that “many of the professionals collaborating with SEGM are themselves” LGBT.
November 19, 2025 at 5:57 PM
hencarnell.bsky.social
Here is a bit of @msjpauly.bsky.social 's reporting on Michael Laidlaw from: www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
Another doctor in the working group, California endocrinologist Michael Laidlaw, had gained attention for his writing against gender-affirming care after parents at a charter school in his region raised complaints that they hadn’t been notified before kindergarteners were read a children’s book, I Am Jazz, about trans teenager Jazz Jennings. Last fall, when the state of Florida called on Laidlaw as an expert witness in a lawsuit over its anti-trans Medicaid policy, a federal judge concluded that he was “far off from the accepted view” on how to treat gender dysphoria, in part because Laidlaw had said he would refuse to use patients’ preferred pronouns. In his South Dakota testimony, Laidlaw compared gender-affirming care to Nazi experimentation and the Tuskegee Syphilis Study. In emails to Deutsch and the group, he railed against doctors who prescribe puberty blockers—which are used to delay unwanted physical changes in gender-diverse kids and give them more time to explore whether or how to transition—accusing them of “willfully harming” children, even if kids and their parents consent to treatment. “The physician is the criminal in these scenarios and must be prosecuted by the law,” he argued.
November 19, 2025 at 5:57 PM
hencarnell.bsky.social
The HHS released the names of the authors of it's report on transgender healthcare, plus their post-publication peer review.

More reporting to be done, but here are the hits from our previous work:
Evgenia Abbruzzese, Society for Evidence-Based Gender Medicine Alex Byrne, PhD, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Farr Curlin, MD, Duke University Moti Gorin, PhD, MBE, Colorado State University Kristopher Kaliebe, MD, DFAACAP, University of South Florida Michael K. Laidlaw, MD, Michael K. Laidlaw MD, Inc. Kathleen McDeavitt, MD, Baylor College of Medicine Leor Sapir, PhD, Manhattan Institute for Policy Research Yuan Zhang, PhD, Evidence Bridge
November 19, 2025 at 5:57 PM
hencarnell.bsky.social
Very good rundown of the Chiles v Salazar oral arguments today from @mjsdc.bsky.social
Midway through Tuesday’s arguments in Chiles v. Salazar, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson asked a question that stripped away the veneer of constitutional principle from the Supreme Court’s latest blatant culture war. Last term, she noted, the court upheld Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming care for minors. Now, in Chiles, the same court seemed poised to strike down Colorado’s ban on “conversion therapy” for minors. Both regulations “work in basically the same way,” she noted, prohibiting treatments designed to change a child’s gender expression. The difference is that Tennessee aims to erase transgender identity, while Colorado seeks to affirm it. “I’m just, from a very broad perspective, concerned,” Jackson said, “about making sure that we have equivalence with respect to these things.” Does the Constitution really take sides in this battle, blessing states that discriminate against transgender youth while condemning those that protect them? As interpreted by this Supreme Court, the short answer is yes: The Constitution does little to protect LGBTQ+ rights and much to subvert them. There is little doubt that the Republican-appointed justices will use Chiles to weaken or destroy protections against conversion therapy for minors. In the process, they may insist that they are simply following neutral principles wherever they lead and will safeguard pro-LGBTQ+ speech in the future too. Don’t believe it. As this case lays bare, the court’s feints at evenhanded justice merely obscure its weaponization of constitutional liberties in service of the religious right’s agenda.
October 7, 2025 at 9:11 PM
hencarnell.bsky.social
Anyways, here is an excerpt of the essay Reed quoted.
You can let me know if it damages my credibility as a journalist. I think it just shows that I have become a better writer since then 🤷‍♂️
I am a man. I am a (transgender) man. I have hesitated to say these words. I have opted for the terms that – I believe – are perceived as softer and more reputable. Boy. Enby. Masc. Trans. Twink. Fluid. Queer. Them. I am these things. Vibrantly. Obnoxiously. They give me a light, an energy, a twinkle. I bloom every day in new floral prints. Right now, I am looking at myself in a mirror wearing a boy’s large tee-shirt hoodie and a brightly colored cap. Here, I can make true unflinching eye contact with myself and feel a wholeness. I have the courage to look myself in the eyes. But I am a man. I keep catching the man that is me between my fingers. I look down. I don’t know where to put him. So, I place him in a cup under my heart. He is a flame that I leave oxygen-less.
September 25, 2025 at 9:25 PM
hencarnell.bsky.social
Generally, I don’t respond to criticism of my journalism or character, nor do I like speaking much about my transition. This is an exception. Reed is quoting (and mocking) a personal essay I wrote when I was 20 years old, early on in my transition, from before I was a journalist.
Jamie Reed Whistleblower @JamieWhistle The author of this piece wrote previously that she is, “Boy. Enby. Masc. Trans. Twink. Fluid. Queer.” So basically she has no idea who she is yet we are suppose to accept her as a journalist? Quote Mother Jones @MotherJones · Sep 23 “There are people who have real benefits [from this care]. To deny it to people, to make people suffer unnecessarily, that’s another type of harm." Trans health care “skeptics” lost a key ally—now they’re having a meltdown. https://motherjones.com/politics/2025/09/guyatt-transgender-care-youth-medicine-evidence-segm/
September 25, 2025 at 9:25 PM
hencarnell.bsky.social
Happy back 2 school 📖
A photo of a laptop with a reading titled “information as a thing” on it. A glass of water, air pods, and a notebook are next to it.
September 25, 2025 at 12:23 AM
hencarnell.bsky.social
When all else fails, make a timeline.

How false “gender ideology” claims spread after Charlie Kirk shooting, with @msjpauly.bsky.social and @schuylermitchell.bsky.social
September 10, 12:23 p.m.: Charlie Kirk is shot during an event at Utah Valley University after taking a question about transgender people and mass shootings. Right-wing accounts on X immediately begin speculating, without evidence, that the shooter is transgender. An online witch-hunt ensues. September 10, 4:40 p.m.: President Donald Trump announces on Truth Social that Kirk has died from his injuries. September 11, 8:35 a.m.: Right-wing commentator Steven Crowder posts a screenshot on X of a supposed “internal message ” leaked from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives alleging that law enforcement officials found gun cartridges at the scene engraved with unspecified “wording…expressing transgender and anti-fascist ideology. ” Crowder ’ s post is viewed more than 25 million times. September 11, 10:23 a.m.: The Wall Street Journal posts a link on X to a news story captioned: “Breaking: Ammunition engraved with transgender and antifascist ideology was found inside the rifle authorities believe was used in Kirk’s shooting, sources say. ” The article cites “an internal law enforcement bulletin and a person familiar with the investigation. ” The post receives more than 11 million impressions. At 10:51 a.m., the Daily Beast publishes a story repeating the claims. At 11:20 a.m., the New York Post publishes a similar story. September 11, 11:29 a.m.: Right-wing news outlet the Daily Caller posts a video of GOP Rep. Nancy Mace, an outspoken opponent of transgender rights. “It sounds like the shooter was a tranny, or pro-tranny, ” she tells the reporter. “And just because I want to protect women, that I’ m worried about getting murdered? Are you fucking kidding me? It’s out of control, and enough is enough, and I’ m going to double down on this. ” September 11, 1:18 p.m.: The New York Times reports that the internal bulletin has not been verified by ATF analysts and does not match other summaries of the evidence. According to a “senior law enforcement official with direct knowledge of the investigation, ” such reports are usually not made public due to potentially inaccurate information. September 11, 1:34 p.m.: The Trans Journalists’ Association “urges caution ” in a statement urging outlets to reporting about the investigation, pushing outlets to “prioritize direct quotes and, to the greatest degree possible, identify the source and evidence ” and emphasizing that “transgender ideology ” is “a term coined for and used in anti-trans political messaging. ” September 11, 3:28 p.m.: Citing “reporting in multiple outlets,” conservative talk show host Megyn Kelly uses Kirk’s death as an opportunity to attack trans people. “Charlie Kirk’s killer engraved the ammunition used to murder him with pro-transgender ideology, according to reporting in multiple outlets—to the surprise of literally no one, ” she said. “There ’ s one particular group that’s been running around killing Americans in the name of transgender ideology lately and it’s transgender activists or individuals or those who proclaim that they are. ” In an interview on Kelly ’s show, Donald Trump Jr. says, “I can ’t name, including probably, like, Al-Qaeda and the Taliban, a group that is more violent per capita than the radical trans moment.” September 11, 4:43 p.m.: The UK-based Telegraph asserts that the killer ’ s ammunition was “engraved with pro-trans messages. ” September 11, 5:00 p.m., CNN reports that, according to two law enforcement sources, at least one cartridge was marked with arrows, which could have been misinterpreted by ATF analysts to be connected to the transgender community. By the following morning, the Wall Street Journal alters its story to include the New York Times and CNN reporting, adding “Some Sources Urge Caution ” to its headline. September 12, 10:10 a.m.: At a press conference, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox identifies the suspect in custody as 22-year-old Utah resident Tyler Robinson, whom neither Cox nor law enforcement claim is transgender. Cox reads the inscriptions from the recovered bullet casings, none of which reference transgender people in any way. September 12, 10:36 a.m.: Rep. Mace calls for prayers for Robinson. “We know Charlie Kirk would want us to pray for such an evil, and lost individual, ” she writes.
September 13, 2025 at 12:38 AM
hencarnell.bsky.social
“Hanging flags has been a tradition that climbers have done on El Cap for decades, and that’s both individuals who are visiting the park, but also employees that are on their off time,” Joslin said. “There’s never been any kind of ramifications to any of those flag hanging activities. I’m the only one who’s been fired for it.”
August 18, 2025 at 11:52 PM
hencarnell.bsky.social
My partner is now not just a published poet & fiction writer, but a published visual artist as well!!! @talkinghyphae.bsky.social
www.feministspacesjournal.org/issues
Magazine cover of feet and black smears with black text "Feminist Spaces" "Volume 5" "Issue 1" "The Censorship Issue"
July 4, 2025 at 9:53 PM
hencarnell.bsky.social
Truly staggering numbers, per www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
Here are some ways to process the scale of $100 billion in ICE funding: 343 times what Elon Musk spent to swing the 2024 elections 140 times the cost to make New York City buses free 1,451 times private prison company CoreCivic’s net 2024 income 568 times the cost to pay all US students’ public school lunch debt 1,923 times the amount saved by the bill’s defunding of Planned Parenthood 62.5 times what the US paid in reparations to over 82,000 interned Japanese Americans 2,000 Jeff Bezos-Lauren Sánchez weddings 388 of the HIV vaccine program the Trump administration eliminated, effectively ending chances for a shot to prevent infections 8 times what the US spent to develop and purchase Covid vaccines in 2020 185 years of operating the Guantánamo Bay prison 2.1 times what it would cost to hire enough teachers and nurses to end both national shortages 7.6 Rupert Murdochs 385 Rick Scotts, the richest US senator 170 times the amount Trump’s bill cuts from the national parks 2.63 times what the US Agency for International Development spent in 2023 12 times the 2023 Federal Bureau of Prisons budget 2 times Harvard University’s endowment, the largest of any university in the world 7 times the 2021 federal child care funding 4.4 times what the US has spent on Israel’s military since the October 7, 2023, Hamas attacks
July 3, 2025 at 6:09 PM
hencarnell.bsky.social
The SCOTUS opinion cites a Pamela Paul story I fact-checked last year. Take a look:
Paul appears to follow a similar tactic. In her February piece, Paul claims that some professionals who question the gender-affirming care model feel silenced, afraid that airing public concerns over procedures would get them labeled as transphobic. Paul references Stephanie Winn, a therapist in Oregon who primarily works with parents of gender non-conforming youth “worried that [their] child’s new ‘identity’ may be influenced by peers, media, underlying mental health issues, or trauma.” But Paul failed to mention that Winn is not a neutral professional: She has promoted invasive techniques for parents to encourage their children not to be transgender; and supported theories like “RODG” and hormone imbalance caused dysphoria, both of which have not been supported by science; and testified against Oregon’s ban on conversion therapy. Paul also appears to follow ADF’s pattern of misrepresenting data. When her piece claims that “30 percent of people on hormone therapy discontinue its use within four years,” Paul declines to include key context to that statistic: The study focused specifically on military families who stopped refilling their hormone replacement therapy prescriptions through Tricare, a health program for active duty service members. In the study, the researchers state “our findings are likely to underestimate continuation rates among transgender patients” because patients may have switched to an alternative insurance plan or private pay. Erin Reed, an independent trans journalist, also pointed out that the last two years of the study data coincided with Trump’s ban on transgender service members, another reason why people may have opted to switch providers. Paul presented the statistic as fact, without scientific or historical contextualization. Paul did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but after publication, a Times spokesperson said in an email that “this column was thoroughly reported and fact-checked, and we stand behind its publication.”
June 18, 2025 at 7:42 PM
hencarnell.bsky.social
Very good, very fitting read for the times
A book: “Where the ax is buried Ray Nayler Author of the mountain and the sea” Illustration: A purple city sits in between trees
June 15, 2025 at 7:55 PM
hencarnell.bsky.social
Don’t have as much time to read books these days, but this was a very good one and feels timely.
A book with the title “the mountain in the sea” with a pink octopus on it
May 25, 2025 at 6:16 PM
hencarnell.bsky.social
Oh huh! I’m no scientist but maybe don’t make recommendations based on article written a college undergraduate, a pamphlet funded by an anti-trans group, and a YouTube channel run by right-wing commentators if you don’t want other scientists do question your work.
Results Using the ROBIS tool, we identified a high risk of bias in each of the systematic reviews driven by unexplained protocol deviations, ambiguous eligibility criteria, inadequate study identification, and the failure to integrate consideration of these limitations into the conclusions derived from the evidence syntheses. We also identified methodological flaws and unsubstantiated claims in the primary research that suggest a double standard in the quality of evidence produced for the Cass report compared to quality appraisal in the systematic reviews. The Cass Report shows signs of bias Cass does a fair amount of work at the outset of the report to make clear that she's not attempting to undermine "the validity of trans identities" or rollback "people's rights to healthcare." But Cass goes too far in her attempts to remain neutral. The review cites sources that lack credibility or are from anti-trans actors, including an article written a college undergraduate, a pamphlet funded by an anti-trans group, and a YouTube channel run by right-wing commentators. More than once she cites notable exploratory therapists like Ken Zucker.
May 10, 2025 at 2:48 PM
hencarnell.bsky.social
Currently prepping my bracket for the Gay Sports™️
Cutouts of several drag queens: acid Betty, Bosco, Lydia b kollins, mistress, daya Betty, Tina burner, Denali, Alyssa hunter
May 10, 2025 at 1:38 AM
hencarnell.bsky.social
TGIF mood
May 2, 2025 at 10:26 PM
hencarnell.bsky.social
artlist is really dealing with my BS searches this morning
Music search box with the input "spooky appalachian"
April 28, 2025 at 6:00 PM
hencarnell.bsky.social
Never thought I would be reposting a cis man on trans rights but this is an excellent read.

Also reflecting on the highly anti-feminist behavior of creating a fake predator when so much violence is already happening and being ignored.
But I also wonder why this hypothetical predator would bother pretending to be trans. They could just pretend to be me; the sheepish dad minding an unseen child. Or a janitor, a plumber, or a toilet attendant. All such thought experiments are null and void, of course, when one considers that the legal ability for trans women to use female toilets has been in place for a decade without seeing any examples of such behaviour at all.
April 26, 2025 at 6:38 PM
hencarnell.bsky.social
Made it to The Canyon. Home to many creatures, people, and rocks. Precious, beautiful, spectacular!
A white man wearing a Smokey the bear shirt and a baseball cap smiles in front of the Grand Canyon
April 24, 2025 at 7:04 PM
hencarnell.bsky.social
New NSF guidelines really do say: If Americans want to debate it, scientists can't correct it.
13. Are you still funding research on misinformation/disinformation? Per the Presidential Action announced January 20, 2025, NSF will not prioritize research proposals that engage in or facilitate any conduct that would unconstitutionally abridge the free speech of any American citizen. NSF will not support research with the goal of combating "misinformation," "disinformation," and "malinformation" that could be used to infringe on the constitutionally protected speech rights of American citizens across the United States in a manner that advances a preferred narrative about significant matters of public debate.
April 18, 2025 at 8:00 PM
hencarnell.bsky.social
@msjpauly.bsky.social and I spent the last three months speaking to seven parents of trans kids and three trans teens.

one 17-year-old told me that he was leaving the country: “Having to choose my safety over staying with my family at a young age is a really frustrating place to be in.”
Cameron 17-year-old from Connecticut On why he’s moving abroad: People say to me, “Trump says he’s going to do this, but that doesn’t mean he’s going to do it. It doesn’t mean that it’s going to get passed through.” And I know that. Access to medical care is not the leading factor to wanting to move somewhere else that’s safer. The leading factor is being able to travel or leave, really, outside of my town without having to worry about the wrong people finding out that I’m trans. Listen to Cameron tell his story:
April 14, 2025 at 3:56 PM
hencarnell.bsky.social
Spot the duck
A blue building with a duck on the roof
April 13, 2025 at 11:39 PM
hencarnell.bsky.social
Great article, so glad to have Sullivan’s in here.

Also great: The unflinching analysis of the immediate, concrete benefits Turner received for refusing to fence a trans woman (under the guise of biological sex unfairness) after competing against (& beating!!) actual cis men just days before.
Turner further predicted that backing out of the duel with Sullivan "will probably, at least for the moment, destroy my life." It did not. In addition to her accolades from the many journalists, celebrities, and influencers behind today's moral panic over trans inclusion in sports, Turner received a $5,000 prize and was named a "Courage Wins Champion" by XX-XY Athletics, a sportswear brand that also opposes transgender athletes competing in women's sports. The company said it was inducting her into a leadership program as well. However, unlike many sports, it's not uncommon for fencers to train or compete in co-ed settings. In fact, just a week prior to the Maryland tournament, Turner had entered a "mixed" event at the Swarthmore College Phoenix Cup - and defeated four different cisgender male opponents, ultimately placing 8th out of 32 fencers. As for the Cherry Blossom, Sullivan remained in the contest and won two out of six bouts, placing 24th out of 39 fencers.
April 12, 2025 at 11:53 PM