Steve Downs
@stephenjdowns.bsky.social
Co-founder of @buildingh.bsky.social, working to build health into everyday life. Teaching at @itp-ima-nyu.bsky.social and Stanford d.school. Former chief technology and strategy officer at @rwjf.bsky.social.
Reposted by Steve Downs
In this week’s Optimizer, I buy an experimental “GLP-3” drug off the gray market after five minutes on TikTok.
The Wellness Wild West is unregulated and people are turning themselves into guinea pigs with unapproved weight loss drugs.
www.theverge.com/column/84640...
The Wellness Wild West is unregulated and people are turning themselves into guinea pigs with unapproved weight loss drugs.
www.theverge.com/column/84640...
The wellness wild west is back on its bullshit with unapproved weight loss drugs
I bought an unapproved, experimental drug in five minutes on TikTok.
www.theverge.com
December 19, 2025 at 3:05 PM
In this week’s Optimizer, I buy an experimental “GLP-3” drug off the gray market after five minutes on TikTok.
The Wellness Wild West is unregulated and people are turning themselves into guinea pigs with unapproved weight loss drugs.
www.theverge.com/column/84640...
The Wellness Wild West is unregulated and people are turning themselves into guinea pigs with unapproved weight loss drugs.
www.theverge.com/column/84640...
Reposted by Steve Downs
Reposted by Steve Downs
I got a sneak peek at this series and it is … so good!
Did you know that Xanax is name-dropped in rap songs as much as Hennessy, Rolex, or Air Jordans?
My new project: DRUG STORY, a podcast about the disease business, one drug at a time.
The first episode drops on Tuesday, January 6.
check out the trailer here: www.drugstory.co/p/drug-story...
My new project: DRUG STORY, a podcast about the disease business, one drug at a time.
The first episode drops on Tuesday, January 6.
check out the trailer here: www.drugstory.co/p/drug-story...
Drug Story Trailer
Introducing a new podcast about the disease business, told one drug at a time. First episode: January 6, 2026.
www.drugstory.co
December 3, 2025 at 10:33 PM
I got a sneak peek at this series and it is … so good!
Reposted by Steve Downs
Here we go: www.theverge.com/transportati...
Anyone want to buy a car that drives itself?
No longer vaporware, but not ready for personal ownership.
www.theverge.com
December 3, 2025 at 5:18 PM
Here we go: www.theverge.com/transportati...
Reposted by Steve Downs
Tx for flagging, @thgoetz.bsky.social -what a well-done visual feature, kudos @alicecallahan.bsky.social & team. The impact of a changing food environment is also key theme of important book by nutrition scientist @kevinh-phd.bsky.social & @juliabelluz.bsky.social timmermanreport.com/2025/10/food...
November 21, 2025 at 5:32 PM
Tx for flagging, @thgoetz.bsky.social -what a well-done visual feature, kudos @alicecallahan.bsky.social & team. The impact of a changing food environment is also key theme of important book by nutrition scientist @kevinh-phd.bsky.social & @juliabelluz.bsky.social timmermanreport.com/2025/10/food...
Reposted by Steve Downs
With the news on ultraprocessed foods this week, it's worth going back to this excellent explainer, from @alicecallahan.bsky.social, on how we got to where we are today: www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
How America Got Hooked on Ultraprocessed Foods (Gift Article)
They promised convenience and cheap nutrition. But they became one of the greatest health threats of our time.
www.nytimes.com
November 21, 2025 at 4:52 PM
With the news on ultraprocessed foods this week, it's worth going back to this excellent explainer, from @alicecallahan.bsky.social, on how we got to where we are today: www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
Reposted by Steve Downs
NEW: A risk assessment found that leading general-use chatbots — ChatGPT, Gemini, Meta AI, and Claude — are "fundamentally unsafe" for teen mental health support, failing to catch important red flags and responding inappropriately to users exhibiting signs of crisis.
futurism.com/artificial-i...
futurism.com/artificial-i...
Report Finds That Leading Chatbots Are a Disaster for Teens Facing Mental Health Struggles
A report found that leading chatbots are "fundamentally unsafe" for teens looking for mental health support, and failed to catch red flags.
futurism.com
November 20, 2025 at 3:36 PM
NEW: A risk assessment found that leading general-use chatbots — ChatGPT, Gemini, Meta AI, and Claude — are "fundamentally unsafe" for teen mental health support, failing to catch important red flags and responding inappropriately to users exhibiting signs of crisis.
futurism.com/artificial-i...
futurism.com/artificial-i...
Kudos to funders @neenap.bsky.social and @bloombergdotorg.bsky.social and all of the contributors for the moral clarity of this work.
At the launch of the @thelancet.com series on ultraprocessed foods, the speakers are making it crystal clear: the economic engine we use to produce the food system is hopelessly -- and dangerously -- at odds with societal goals for people’s health and the environment.
November 19, 2025 at 9:01 PM
Kudos to funders @neenap.bsky.social and @bloombergdotorg.bsky.social and all of the contributors for the moral clarity of this work.
At the launch of the @thelancet.com series on ultraprocessed foods, the speakers are making it crystal clear: the economic engine we use to produce the food system is hopelessly -- and dangerously -- at odds with societal goals for people’s health and the environment.
November 19, 2025 at 7:39 PM
At the launch of the @thelancet.com series on ultraprocessed foods, the speakers are making it crystal clear: the economic engine we use to produce the food system is hopelessly -- and dangerously -- at odds with societal goals for people’s health and the environment.
Reposted by Steve Downs
Smells like car bloat:
"More than 3,800 people were killed almost immediately when they were struck in 2023, an indication that high speeds and larger vehicles are making impacts more violent. The rate at which pedestrians are declared dead at the scene of the crash has more than doubled."
"More than 3,800 people were killed almost immediately when they were struck in 2023, an indication that high speeds and larger vehicles are making impacts more violent. The rate at which pedestrians are declared dead at the scene of the crash has more than doubled."
The deadliest roads in America
The number of pedestrians killed by vehicles has increased in the U.S., with road infrastructure and inadequate safety measures among key contributing factors.
www.washingtonpost.com
November 19, 2025 at 2:52 PM
Smells like car bloat:
"More than 3,800 people were killed almost immediately when they were struck in 2023, an indication that high speeds and larger vehicles are making impacts more violent. The rate at which pedestrians are declared dead at the scene of the crash has more than doubled."
"More than 3,800 people were killed almost immediately when they were struck in 2023, an indication that high speeds and larger vehicles are making impacts more violent. The rate at which pedestrians are declared dead at the scene of the crash has more than doubled."
Reposted by Steve Downs
Reposted by Steve Downs
The Applied Exercise Science at the Univ Michigan has launched two searches for tenure-line (open-rank) and clinical (asst/assoc prof) faculty colleagues with expertise in the Social and Behavioral Sciences of Physical Activity.
November 12, 2025 at 3:04 PM
The Applied Exercise Science at the Univ Michigan has launched two searches for tenure-line (open-rank) and clinical (asst/assoc prof) faculty colleagues with expertise in the Social and Behavioral Sciences of Physical Activity.
Reposted by Steve Downs
Incredible- Meta projected 10% of its 2024 revenue would come from ads for scams and banned goods, documents seen by Reuters show. And the social media giant internally estimates that its platforms show users 15 billion scam ads a day."
Meta earns $3.5 billion every six months from showing Faceboon and Instagram users 15 billion “higher legal risk” scam ad impressions a day, internal documents state.
That haul vastly exceeds how much the company expects regulators
To fine it for running scam ads.
www.reuters.com/investigatio...
That haul vastly exceeds how much the company expects regulators
To fine it for running scam ads.
www.reuters.com/investigatio...
www.reuters.com
November 6, 2025 at 1:02 PM
Incredible- Meta projected 10% of its 2024 revenue would come from ads for scams and banned goods, documents seen by Reuters show. And the social media giant internally estimates that its platforms show users 15 billion scam ads a day."
Reposted by Steve Downs
Business has long depended on emotional attachment as strategy to create switching costs. (E.g., Cadillac). Seems utterly obvious that despite their ethical commitments, the intentional engineering of AIs to generate human emotional attachment will soon be mainstream.
October 6, 2025 at 7:49 PM
Business has long depended on emotional attachment as strategy to create switching costs. (E.g., Cadillac). Seems utterly obvious that despite their ethical commitments, the intentional engineering of AIs to generate human emotional attachment will soon be mainstream.
Reposted by Steve Downs
For our latest newsletter, we look at the current challenges facing public transit, how it matters for health, and ways to think about the future, ft perspectives from @humantransit.bsky.social, @davidzipper.bsky.social & @henriettalmoore.bsky.social -- and more mailchi.mp/bd7c1161a908...
Building H: Get on the Bus
mailchi.mp
September 28, 2025 at 3:26 PM
For our latest newsletter, we look at the current challenges facing public transit, how it matters for health, and ways to think about the future, ft perspectives from @humantransit.bsky.social, @davidzipper.bsky.social & @henriettalmoore.bsky.social -- and more mailchi.mp/bd7c1161a908...
Reposted by Steve Downs
also popular in our newsletter last week was this piece in the @nytimes.com on former FDA commissioner @davidakesslermd.bsky.social's effort to rein in ultraprocessed foods: www.nytimes.com/2025/08/07/u...
Former F.D.A. Chief Backs Kennedy’s War on Processed Food
www.nytimes.com
August 20, 2025 at 4:30 PM
also popular in our newsletter last week was this piece in the @nytimes.com on former FDA commissioner @davidakesslermd.bsky.social's effort to rein in ultraprocessed foods: www.nytimes.com/2025/08/07/u...
Reposted by Steve Downs
Another popular story from our newsletter last week was this piece, from @meeri.bsky.social on the curious case of low allergies among the Amish: www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...
Allergies seem nearly impossible to avoid — unless you’re Amish
One Amish community living in northern Indiana is considered one of the least allergic populations ever measured in the developed world.
www.washingtonpost.com
August 19, 2025 at 4:03 PM
Another popular story from our newsletter last week was this piece, from @meeri.bsky.social on the curious case of low allergies among the Amish: www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...
Reposted by Steve Downs
The most popular story in our newsletter last week was this piece, by Jordan Shlain, on how the key to longevity might actually be the friends in your life:
medium.com/tincture/soc...
medium.com/tincture/soc...
Social Architecture
Inspired by a conversation with three amazing scientists: Dr. Elissa Epel, Dr. Britney Blair and Dr. George Slavich.
medium.com
August 18, 2025 at 2:42 PM
The most popular story in our newsletter last week was this piece, by Jordan Shlain, on how the key to longevity might actually be the friends in your life:
medium.com/tincture/soc...
medium.com/tincture/soc...
Reposted by Steve Downs
For our most recent newsletter, we were inspired by @tadfriend.bsky.social's @newyorker.com profile of the longevity movement & by John Kay’s writings on “obiquity.” We ask what it would take to achieve health by not focusing on it so much. mailchi.mp/cc9491e30ea8...
Building H: Overthinking Health
mailchi.mp
August 14, 2025 at 2:53 PM
For our most recent newsletter, we were inspired by @tadfriend.bsky.social's @newyorker.com profile of the longevity movement & by John Kay’s writings on “obiquity.” We ask what it would take to achieve health by not focusing on it so much. mailchi.mp/cc9491e30ea8...
Reposted by Steve Downs
Good overview of the many factors — personal, environmental and structural — that can affect sleep: www.vox.com/even-better/...
Can’t sleep? It’s not totally your fault.
Why a good night’s rest is so hard to come by.
www.vox.com
August 12, 2025 at 4:02 PM
Good overview of the many factors — personal, environmental and structural — that can affect sleep: www.vox.com/even-better/...
Reposted by Steve Downs
Good piece on the complexities of what’s changing in childhood. And data from actual kids. www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...
What Kids Told Us About How to Get Them Off Their Phones
Children who were raised on screens need more freedom out in the real world.
www.theatlantic.com
August 4, 2025 at 3:26 PM
Good piece on the complexities of what’s changing in childhood. And data from actual kids. www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...
Reposted by Steve Downs
Also very popular in our newsletter this weekend was this oldie but goodie, also from the Berkeley Media Studies Group, on how to make the case for addressing environmental drivers of health: www.bmsg.org/resources/pu...
What surrounds us shapes us: Making the case for environmental change - Berkeley Media Studies Group
Creating healthy environments starts with knowing what you want to change. Then you have to find the right language to talk about it effectively. Language is important because how an issue is describe...
www.bmsg.org
July 31, 2025 at 3:07 PM
Also very popular in our newsletter this weekend was this oldie but goodie, also from the Berkeley Media Studies Group, on how to make the case for addressing environmental drivers of health: www.bmsg.org/resources/pu...
Reposted by Steve Downs
The most popular story from our newsletter this weekend was this piece, from the Berkeley Media Studies Group, on the tension between American ideals of individualism and the essential roles of public health: medium.com/narrative-st...
Individualism threatens public health
1.Individualism is a wonderful thing. And individualism is a terrible thing.
medium.com
July 30, 2025 at 1:59 PM
The most popular story from our newsletter this weekend was this piece, from the Berkeley Media Studies Group, on the tension between American ideals of individualism and the essential roles of public health: medium.com/narrative-st...
Reposted by Steve Downs
Be sure to check out this essay, from co-founder @thgoetz.bsky.social, on individualism, the illusion of freedom of choice and how attaining health individually relies on working on our collective health, in our latest newsletter:
mailchi.mp/d36856ac483d...
mailchi.mp/d36856ac483d...
July 29, 2025 at 3:00 PM
Be sure to check out this essay, from co-founder @thgoetz.bsky.social, on individualism, the illusion of freedom of choice and how attaining health individually relies on working on our collective health, in our latest newsletter:
mailchi.mp/d36856ac483d...
mailchi.mp/d36856ac483d...