Julie Rehmeyer
@julierehmeyer.bsky.social
Author of Through the Shadowlands: A Science Writer's Odyssey into an Illness Science Doesn't Understand. I mostly write about complex chronic illness and math. Bylines in NYT, WashPost, Discover, Wired, Slate, Stat News, Science News, lots more. She/her.
New essay: The environmental story that shaped so many of us — small is beautiful — now collides with the scale the climate crisis actually demands.
I wrote about why we need to update our instincts for the world we’re living in now, not the world of 1973. jrehmeyer.substack.com/p/small-is-b...
I wrote about why we need to update our instincts for the world we’re living in now, not the world of 1973. jrehmeyer.substack.com/p/small-is-b...
Small Is Beautiful — But It’s Not Enough
Why our environmental intuitions must evolve for the climate crisis
jrehmeyer.substack.com
November 21, 2025 at 5:24 PM
New essay: The environmental story that shaped so many of us — small is beautiful — now collides with the scale the climate crisis actually demands.
I wrote about why we need to update our instincts for the world we’re living in now, not the world of 1973. jrehmeyer.substack.com/p/small-is-b...
I wrote about why we need to update our instincts for the world we’re living in now, not the world of 1973. jrehmeyer.substack.com/p/small-is-b...
Reposted by Julie Rehmeyer
Alice Wong taught us that disabled people don’t just leave memories behind—they leave infrastructure. Lineages of care. Methods of collectivity, survival. She named the connective tissue that holds our communities together, even across death, even across the losses that come too fast and too often.
November 16, 2025 at 12:08 AM
Alice Wong taught us that disabled people don’t just leave memories behind—they leave infrastructure. Lineages of care. Methods of collectivity, survival. She named the connective tissue that holds our communities together, even across death, even across the losses that come too fast and too often.
Rachel Riggs has a gorgeous, delicious new cookbook out — and I got to have a really interesting conversation with her about it. It'll help you make wonderful food even when one friend is gluten free and one is dairy free and one doesn't eat nightshades... jrehmeyer.substack.com/p/deliciousn...
Deliciousness, Born from the Fire of Chronic Illness
Rachel Riggs's beautiful new cookbook
jrehmeyer.substack.com
November 13, 2025 at 4:29 PM
Rachel Riggs has a gorgeous, delicious new cookbook out — and I got to have a really interesting conversation with her about it. It'll help you make wonderful food even when one friend is gluten free and one is dairy free and one doesn't eat nightshades... jrehmeyer.substack.com/p/deliciousn...
A moving tribute to Walker, who died of ME way way too young.
A moving tribute to another young life lost to severe #MEcfs. Things have to change. #SevereMEcfs #IACC #LongCovid. www.instagram.com/p/DQwyde5ADX...
November 8, 2025 at 2:53 PM
A moving tribute to Walker, who died of ME way way too young.
It's election day! I voted by mail a week ago, so I'm celebrating by making calls with @environmentalvoter.bsky.social, the Environmental Voter Project, reaching out to folks who care about the environment but often don't vote. I'm amazed by the impact I can see from it. 1/
November 4, 2025 at 4:01 PM
It's election day! I voted by mail a week ago, so I'm celebrating by making calls with @environmentalvoter.bsky.social, the Environmental Voter Project, reaching out to folks who care about the environment but often don't vote. I'm amazed by the impact I can see from it. 1/
Reposted by Julie Rehmeyer
November 4, 2025 at 8:27 AM
ME friends: If you want a way of resisting our terrible national situation, phone banking with the Environmental Project is a great way to go! You can do it in small increments. It's easy, they train you, and it's effective. See details below on how it works.
I just spent an hour volunteering with the Environmental Voter Project (EVP). It’s one of the most effective, nonpartisan ways I know to pitch in during these dire days.
www.environmentalvoter.org
www.environmentalvoter.org
November 3, 2025 at 9:03 PM
ME friends: If you want a way of resisting our terrible national situation, phone banking with the Environmental Project is a great way to go! You can do it in small increments. It's easy, they train you, and it's effective. See details below on how it works.
Reposted by Julie Rehmeyer
Julie's essay is worth your time. Promise.
How do you love something you can’t fix?
That question runs through Emily Johnston’s “Loving a Vanishing World”—and through my new essay about illness, climate grief, and the discipline of continuing.
jrehmeyer.substack.com/p/two-system...
That question runs through Emily Johnston’s “Loving a Vanishing World”—and through my new essay about illness, climate grief, and the discipline of continuing.
jrehmeyer.substack.com/p/two-system...
Two Systems in Collapse
What illness can teach us about responding to climate change
jrehmeyer.substack.com
November 3, 2025 at 6:17 PM
Julie's essay is worth your time. Promise.
I just spent an hour volunteering with the Environmental Voter Project (EVP). It’s one of the most effective, nonpartisan ways I know to pitch in during these dire days.
www.environmentalvoter.org
www.environmentalvoter.org
November 2, 2025 at 11:13 PM
I just spent an hour volunteering with the Environmental Voter Project (EVP). It’s one of the most effective, nonpartisan ways I know to pitch in during these dire days.
www.environmentalvoter.org
www.environmentalvoter.org
How do you love something you can’t fix?
That question runs through Emily Johnston’s “Loving a Vanishing World”—and through my new essay about illness, climate grief, and the discipline of continuing.
jrehmeyer.substack.com/p/two-system...
That question runs through Emily Johnston’s “Loving a Vanishing World”—and through my new essay about illness, climate grief, and the discipline of continuing.
jrehmeyer.substack.com/p/two-system...
Two Systems in Collapse
What illness can teach us about responding to climate change
jrehmeyer.substack.com
October 31, 2025 at 5:34 PM
How do you love something you can’t fix?
That question runs through Emily Johnston’s “Loving a Vanishing World”—and through my new essay about illness, climate grief, and the discipline of continuing.
jrehmeyer.substack.com/p/two-system...
That question runs through Emily Johnston’s “Loving a Vanishing World”—and through my new essay about illness, climate grief, and the discipline of continuing.
jrehmeyer.substack.com/p/two-system...
Reposted by Julie Rehmeyer
Beautiful essay. “‘We cannot expect to feel hopeful, at least not very often, and having any particular hope is likely to end in heartbreak.’… Instead, we practice a kind of hopeless action—we keep trying because trying itself is a form of faith, a muscular type of prayer.“
October 31, 2025 at 12:58 AM
Beautiful essay. “‘We cannot expect to feel hopeful, at least not very often, and having any particular hope is likely to end in heartbreak.’… Instead, we practice a kind of hopeless action—we keep trying because trying itself is a form of faith, a muscular type of prayer.“
I’m so glad.
Thank you 🙏 This spoke to me as an ME patient, as an environmental researcher and as a Buddhist. This is the practice, indeed.
October 30, 2025 at 10:08 PM
I’m so glad.
How do we love what we can't save — a planet, or a body?
I wrote about the connections between severe ME and the climate crisis, and the discipline of continuing. jrehmeyer.substack.com/p/two-system...
#MyalgicE #mecfs #ClimateAction #climatecrisis
I wrote about the connections between severe ME and the climate crisis, and the discipline of continuing. jrehmeyer.substack.com/p/two-system...
#MyalgicE #mecfs #ClimateAction #climatecrisis
Two Systems in Collapse
What illness can teach us about responding to climate change
jrehmeyer.substack.com
October 30, 2025 at 3:47 PM
How do we love what we can't save — a planet, or a body?
I wrote about the connections between severe ME and the climate crisis, and the discipline of continuing. jrehmeyer.substack.com/p/two-system...
#MyalgicE #mecfs #ClimateAction #climatecrisis
I wrote about the connections between severe ME and the climate crisis, and the discipline of continuing. jrehmeyer.substack.com/p/two-system...
#MyalgicE #mecfs #ClimateAction #climatecrisis
Reposted by Julie Rehmeyer
Poignant sequel to Rilke’s poem The Panther by Veronica Ashenhurst who has severe ME/CFS: www.westtrestlereview.com/wtr_septembe...
Rilke's Panther Befriends Me by Veronica Ashenhurst
Now, the cat soars through rooms
of sky, roars at stars, and recalls old years
of midnight hunts. He springs his unbound will,
and comes to condole with me. I can see
his paws, claws withdrawn like sw...
www.westtrestlereview.com
October 17, 2025 at 1:39 PM
Poignant sequel to Rilke’s poem The Panther by Veronica Ashenhurst who has severe ME/CFS: www.westtrestlereview.com/wtr_septembe...
Reposted by Julie Rehmeyer
Thanks to @cenmag.bsky.social, @hothousemag.bsky.social, @ksjatmit.bsky.social and @undark.org, @statnews.com, @7homaslin.com and @transjournalists.org, every dollar you give will be matched 1:1 up to $5,5000. Your gift will have twice the impact.
💌 $25 → $50
💌 $50 → $100
💌 $100 → $200
💌 $25 → $50
💌 $50 → $100
💌 $100 → $200
October 24, 2025 at 1:57 PM
Thanks to @cenmag.bsky.social, @hothousemag.bsky.social, @ksjatmit.bsky.social and @undark.org, @statnews.com, @7homaslin.com and @transjournalists.org, every dollar you give will be matched 1:1 up to $5,5000. Your gift will have twice the impact.
💌 $25 → $50
💌 $50 → $100
💌 $100 → $200
💌 $25 → $50
💌 $50 → $100
💌 $100 → $200
Woohoooooo! TON’s 15th birthday celebration has begun! Please pitch in to support this incredible organization.
15 years ago today, TON began as a simple idea: to improve the craft of science journalism by connecting people and providing freely accessible resources to anyone who wanted them. And for our birthday, we’re asking for your help achieving a big goal: to raise $10,000 by midnight. 🧪 #TON15
The Open Notebook's 15th Anniversary - The Open Notebook
For 15 years, The Open Notebook has been the trusted home for journalists worldwide who cover science. What started as an experiment to demystify the craft of science writing has grown into a vital, g...
www.theopennotebook.com
October 24, 2025 at 2:19 PM
Woohoooooo! TON’s 15th birthday celebration has begun! Please pitch in to support this incredible organization.
It's been a long time since I've been on a podcast. I think this one, Ask the Patient Advocate with Dr. Elena Borrelli, has some interesting tidbits in it, particularly toward the end when I was asked about sources of hope. shows.acast.com/660d7e37088d...
Living with the ME/CFS, Long COVID, and the Power of Advocacy with Julie Rehmeyer | Ask The Patient Advocate
shows.acast.com
September 30, 2025 at 7:20 PM
It's been a long time since I've been on a podcast. I think this one, Ask the Patient Advocate with Dr. Elena Borrelli, has some interesting tidbits in it, particularly toward the end when I was asked about sources of hope. shows.acast.com/660d7e37088d...
So glad to be on the emeritus board!
We have some exciting (and some bittersweet) news at @theopennotebook.bsky.social today! 🧵 🧪
September 26, 2025 at 2:54 PM
So glad to be on the emeritus board!
Pretty darn cool to get a shoutout from @billmckibben, one of my heroes! billmckibben.substack.com/p/the-stupid.... This is for my piece on how a dying coal plant sparked New Mexico's ambitious climate law — and created a blueprint other states can follow. jrehmeyer.substack.com/p/how-a-dyin...
The Stupidest Speech in UN History
Everyone's saying so!
billmckibben.substack.com
September 24, 2025 at 6:46 PM
Pretty darn cool to get a shoutout from @billmckibben, one of my heroes! billmckibben.substack.com/p/the-stupid.... This is for my piece on how a dying coal plant sparked New Mexico's ambitious climate law — and created a blueprint other states can follow. jrehmeyer.substack.com/p/how-a-dyin...
It seemed impossible: New Mexico — poor, bluish-purple, oil-and-gas-heavy — passed a clean energy law more ambitious than almost any other state had achieved. Not only that, it did so with broad bipartisan support. The catalyst? A dying coal plant.
jrehmeyer.substack.com/p/how-a-dyin...
jrehmeyer.substack.com/p/how-a-dyin...
How a Dying Coal Plant Sparked New Mexico’s Ambitious Climate Law — and What Other States Can Learn
New Mexico's Energy Transition Act
jrehmeyer.substack.com
September 23, 2025 at 6:01 PM
It seemed impossible: New Mexico — poor, bluish-purple, oil-and-gas-heavy — passed a clean energy law more ambitious than almost any other state had achieved. Not only that, it did so with broad bipartisan support. The catalyst? A dying coal plant.
jrehmeyer.substack.com/p/how-a-dyin...
jrehmeyer.substack.com/p/how-a-dyin...
Generalized joint hypermobility, and especially extreme joint hypermobility, greatly increase the risk of Long Covid: bmjpublichealth.bmj.com/content/3/2/...
Variant connective tissue as a risk factor for long COVID: a case-control study of data from a retrospective online survey of adults in the USA and UK
Introduction This study explored the extent to which two measures of joint hypermobility, a marker of variant connective tissue, predict the development of long COVID after COVID-19 infection, and whe...
bmjpublichealth.bmj.com
September 20, 2025 at 4:12 PM
Generalized joint hypermobility, and especially extreme joint hypermobility, greatly increase the risk of Long Covid: bmjpublichealth.bmj.com/content/3/2/...
We’ve had Evie the EV now for almost a week — and wow we really love her, even more than I expected. What I didn’t anticipate was how significant the smoothness and quiet would be. It feels like you’re just gliding along. John and I enthuse to one another each time we drive her.
September 13, 2025 at 5:18 PM
We’ve had Evie the EV now for almost a week — and wow we really love her, even more than I expected. What I didn’t anticipate was how significant the smoothness and quiet would be. It feels like you’re just gliding along. John and I enthuse to one another each time we drive her.
If you're tempted to take advantage of the exceptional deals available on EVs right now that are weirdly hard to find, here are a couple of resources that will help you track them down: jrehmeyer.substack.com/p/a-hodge-po...
Paid subscriptions, audio, EV resources, oh my!
Accepting paid subscriptions; an audio version of "So What the Heck Are Colleges Supposed to Do in the Age of AI?"; and a couple of EV resources
jrehmeyer.substack.com
September 12, 2025 at 4:18 PM
If you're tempted to take advantage of the exceptional deals available on EVs right now that are weirdly hard to find, here are a couple of resources that will help you track them down: jrehmeyer.substack.com/p/a-hodge-po...
I wrote about the wonderful op-ed by Walter Sterling, president of St. John's College, about what the heck colleges should do in the age of AI — but I forgot to provide an audio version! Bad me. I fixed that here: jrehmeyer.substack.com/p/a-hodge-po...
So What the Heck Are Colleges Supposed to Do in the Age of AI?
In 1989, during my sophomore year at St.
jrehmeyer.substack.com
September 12, 2025 at 4:18 PM
I wrote about the wonderful op-ed by Walter Sterling, president of St. John's College, about what the heck colleges should do in the age of AI — but I forgot to provide an audio version! Bad me. I fixed that here: jrehmeyer.substack.com/p/a-hodge-po...
I started my Substack entirely free, but then people volunteered to pay to support me! It made my heart swell. So now I'm accepting payments — but all the content is still free. jrehmeyer.substack.com/p/a-hodge-po...
Paid subscriptions, audio, EV resources, oh my!
Accepting paid subscriptions; an audio version of "So What the Heck Are Colleges Supposed to Do in the Age of AI?"; and a couple of EV resources
jrehmeyer.substack.com
September 12, 2025 at 4:16 PM
I started my Substack entirely free, but then people volunteered to pay to support me! It made my heart swell. So now I'm accepting payments — but all the content is still free. jrehmeyer.substack.com/p/a-hodge-po...