Maureen (Mo) Johnson León
@unpredict.bsky.social
Current research focus is the history and future of measurement science, risk models, and unpredictability, within the context of climate and health disasters.
Values: collaboration, connection, imagination and observation.
Values: collaboration, connection, imagination and observation.
Reposted by Maureen (Mo) Johnson León
brass solidarity band performing “stand by me” in the streets of whittier next to alex pretti’s memorial. the crowd started chanting “the people united will never be defeated” so they incorporated it into the song. i love minneapolis
January 27, 2026 at 12:22 AM
brass solidarity band performing “stand by me” in the streets of whittier next to alex pretti’s memorial. the crowd started chanting “the people united will never be defeated” so they incorporated it into the song. i love minneapolis
Reposted by Maureen (Mo) Johnson León
Some tools for thinking about AI in a time when the companies making them are trying to destroy teaching and learning itself...
1/n 🧵
1/n 🧵
First off we pluralise L to accentuate there's no 1 approach. And we position ourselves in this interdisciplinary field of critically examining AI & reflecting on harms.
We give 5 non-exhaustive angles: conceptual clarity, critical thinking, decoloniality, respecting expertise, slow science.
2/
We give 5 non-exhaustive angles: conceptual clarity, critical thinking, decoloniality, respecting expertise, slow science.
2/
January 27, 2026 at 6:03 AM
Some tools for thinking about AI in a time when the companies making them are trying to destroy teaching and learning itself...
1/n 🧵
1/n 🧵
Reposted by Maureen (Mo) Johnson León
A record heatwave across south-east Australia will peak during the coming days, leading to extreme fire danger and temperatures close to 50 degrees Celsius in multiple states.
Worst heatwave in decades as south-east states to hit close to 50C
A record heatwave across south-east Australia will peak during the coming days, leading to extreme fire danger and temperatures close to 50 degrees Celsius in multiple states.
www.abc.net.au
January 26, 2026 at 7:08 AM
A record heatwave across south-east Australia will peak during the coming days, leading to extreme fire danger and temperatures close to 50 degrees Celsius in multiple states.
Reposted by Maureen (Mo) Johnson León
I've talked to people on the ground about the strike here tomorrow, and the single thing everyone brings up is just how shockingly wide the support for the strike is. Businesses that no one would have expected to support it are doing so.
National media should really be covering the fact thay every major school, museum, and arts institution in the Twin Cities, and hundreds of local businesses are closed tomorrow to protest federal occupation.
Nothing like this at this scale has happened anywhere in America anytime in living memory.
Nothing like this at this scale has happened anywhere in America anytime in living memory.
January 23, 2026 at 12:15 AM
I've talked to people on the ground about the strike here tomorrow, and the single thing everyone brings up is just how shockingly wide the support for the strike is. Businesses that no one would have expected to support it are doing so.
Reposted by Maureen (Mo) Johnson León
What lingers in ‘The Pitt’ is heartache. What’s missing is outrage www.statnews.com/2026/01/18/t... via @statnews.com
What lingers in ‘The Pitt’ is heartache. What’s missing is outrage
“I am hungry, so hungry, for some depiction of Covid that tells the truth. That what was done to us was not just unbearable, but wrong,” an emergency physician writes of “The Pitt.”
www.statnews.com
January 20, 2026 at 7:24 PM
What lingers in ‘The Pitt’ is heartache. What’s missing is outrage www.statnews.com/2026/01/18/t... via @statnews.com
Reposted by Maureen (Mo) Johnson León
MEANWHILE, the story of why Cubans were treated differently from other immigrants for so long (complex, in a nutshell cold war anti-communism + racism) and the effect of that on the Cuban-USian community and the way that's elided in coverage of latinx -all much more interesting, completely ignored
January 20, 2026 at 9:40 PM
MEANWHILE, the story of why Cubans were treated differently from other immigrants for so long (complex, in a nutshell cold war anti-communism + racism) and the effect of that on the Cuban-USian community and the way that's elided in coverage of latinx -all much more interesting, completely ignored
Reposted by Maureen (Mo) Johnson León
This is the most astonishing graph of what the Trump regime has done to US science. They have destroyed the federal science workforce across the board. The negative impacts on Americans will be felt for generations, and the US might never be the same again.
www.nature.com/immersive/d4...
www.nature.com/immersive/d4...
January 20, 2026 at 10:53 PM
This is the most astonishing graph of what the Trump regime has done to US science. They have destroyed the federal science workforce across the board. The negative impacts on Americans will be felt for generations, and the US might never be the same again.
www.nature.com/immersive/d4...
www.nature.com/immersive/d4...
Reposted by Maureen (Mo) Johnson León
And people are busy, aren't experts on every issue under the sun, so they don't have time to delve into all of this. They put their trust in these people to lead.
January 17, 2026 at 8:52 PM
And people are busy, aren't experts on every issue under the sun, so they don't have time to delve into all of this. They put their trust in these people to lead.
Reposted by Maureen (Mo) Johnson León
Trying to protect everything from everyone all the time is a good way to drive yourself crazy. This is why we threat model. Here is EFF's Surveillance Self Defense guide to putting together your security plan, also known as threat modeling: ssd.eff.org/module/your-...
Your Security Plan
Trying to protect all your data from everything all the time is impractical and exhausting. But, have no fear! Security is a process, and through thoughtful planning, you can put together a plan that’...
ssd.eff.org
January 16, 2026 at 6:47 PM
Trying to protect everything from everyone all the time is a good way to drive yourself crazy. This is why we threat model. Here is EFF's Surveillance Self Defense guide to putting together your security plan, also known as threat modeling: ssd.eff.org/module/your-...
Reposted by Maureen (Mo) Johnson León
Bay Area! Next Thursday I'll be reading at Stir, at Cafe Suspiro in San Francisco! 6pm! With fabulous writers! Join us for a great night of community and books. cafesuspiro.com/pages/stir-a...
January 17, 2026 at 6:48 AM
Bay Area! Next Thursday I'll be reading at Stir, at Cafe Suspiro in San Francisco! 6pm! With fabulous writers! Join us for a great night of community and books. cafesuspiro.com/pages/stir-a...
Reposted by Maureen (Mo) Johnson León
Tear gas — currently being deployed in Minneapolis — can cause long-term health consequences by making people more susceptible to contracting respiratory illnesses.
The chemical agent can also hurt people inside their homes if it seeps into residential neighborhoods.
From our 2020 investigation:
The chemical agent can also hurt people inside their homes if it seeps into residential neighborhoods.
From our 2020 investigation:
Tear Gas Is Way More Dangerous Than Police Let On — Especially During the Coronavirus Pandemic
In the middle of a respiratory pandemic, law enforcement agencies have used tear gas in especially dangerous ways. The chemical agent also seeps into homes, contaminates food, furniture, skin and surf...
www.propublica.org
January 16, 2026 at 2:00 PM
Tear gas — currently being deployed in Minneapolis — can cause long-term health consequences by making people more susceptible to contracting respiratory illnesses.
The chemical agent can also hurt people inside their homes if it seeps into residential neighborhoods.
From our 2020 investigation:
The chemical agent can also hurt people inside their homes if it seeps into residential neighborhoods.
From our 2020 investigation:
Reposted by Maureen (Mo) Johnson León
More Venezuela coverage BY VENEZUELANS: Relatives, especially women, are leading non-violent efforts for the release of political prisoners in Venezuela
globalvoices.org/2026/01/16/t...
globalvoices.org/2026/01/16/t...
The peacemakers: Meet Venezuelans who are fighting to free political detainees
In Venezuela, relatives and human-rights NGOs have stepped up calls for the immediate release of more than 800 victims of politically-motivated persecution of the government formerly led by Nicolás Ma...
globalvoices.org
January 16, 2026 at 3:27 PM
More Venezuela coverage BY VENEZUELANS: Relatives, especially women, are leading non-violent efforts for the release of political prisoners in Venezuela
globalvoices.org/2026/01/16/t...
globalvoices.org/2026/01/16/t...
Reposted by Maureen (Mo) Johnson León
The agency will no longer consider health costs and deaths prevented when reducing two major pollutants, but will account for costs to industry. planetdetroit.org/2026/01/epa-...
EPA drops health cost calculations for air pollution: How it could harm Detroiters
The EPA will no longer factor health benefits into air pollution rules, potentially raising health risks in Detroit, advocates say.
planetdetroit.org
January 15, 2026 at 9:53 PM
The agency will no longer consider health costs and deaths prevented when reducing two major pollutants, but will account for costs to industry. planetdetroit.org/2026/01/epa-...
Reposted by Maureen (Mo) Johnson León
“The new peer-reviewed research published in Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safetychecked for microplastics in the follicular fluid of 18 women undergoing assisted reproductive treatment at a fertility clinic in Salerno, Italy, and detected them in 14.“
April 22, 2025 at 3:42 PM
“The new peer-reviewed research published in Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safetychecked for microplastics in the follicular fluid of 18 women undergoing assisted reproductive treatment at a fertility clinic in Salerno, Italy, and detected them in 14.“
Reposted by Maureen (Mo) Johnson León
It will surprise few to hear me say that I very much agree!
As I said in December, pushback to ICE/DHS has triggered “one of the largest surges of faith-based organizing in recent history.” www.npr.org/2025/12/24/n...
As I said in December, pushback to ICE/DHS has triggered “one of the largest surges of faith-based organizing in recent history.” www.npr.org/2025/12/24/n...
January 11, 2026 at 1:58 AM
It will surprise few to hear me say that I very much agree!
As I said in December, pushback to ICE/DHS has triggered “one of the largest surges of faith-based organizing in recent history.” www.npr.org/2025/12/24/n...
As I said in December, pushback to ICE/DHS has triggered “one of the largest surges of faith-based organizing in recent history.” www.npr.org/2025/12/24/n...
Reposted by Maureen (Mo) Johnson León
I honestly don't get it. Kids with any of those infections can get so miserable. Yeah, you can treat dehydration from rotavirus... but you can also just... prevent it? Why allow kids to go through that misery?
January 8, 2026 at 12:47 AM
I honestly don't get it. Kids with any of those infections can get so miserable. Yeah, you can treat dehydration from rotavirus... but you can also just... prevent it? Why allow kids to go through that misery?
Reposted by Maureen (Mo) Johnson León
Reposted by Maureen (Mo) Johnson León
We aren't going to get anywhere with long COVID if we keep embracing unsubstantiated claims and chasing ghosts instead of actually working from what is well-substantiated by the data. Continuing to prop this up has real harms, and it will hurt patients if it hasn't already.
January 7, 2026 at 1:53 AM
We aren't going to get anywhere with long COVID if we keep embracing unsubstantiated claims and chasing ghosts instead of actually working from what is well-substantiated by the data. Continuing to prop this up has real harms, and it will hurt patients if it hasn't already.
Reposted by Maureen (Mo) Johnson León
If you are a resident of California, the state now has a portal where you can demand deletion of your personal data from 500+ registered data brokers with a single request form, for free.
consumer.drop.privacy.ca.gov
consumer.drop.privacy.ca.gov
consumer.drop.privacy.ca.gov
January 2, 2026 at 2:26 AM
If you are a resident of California, the state now has a portal where you can demand deletion of your personal data from 500+ registered data brokers with a single request form, for free.
consumer.drop.privacy.ca.gov
consumer.drop.privacy.ca.gov
Reposted by Maureen (Mo) Johnson León
Absolutely right.
AI might be able to summarize (poorly) what we currently know, but a major goal of historical research is to find the hidden surprises out there.
Let me illustrate …
AI might be able to summarize (poorly) what we currently know, but a major goal of historical research is to find the hidden surprises out there.
Let me illustrate …
Not a historian but like to research. The AI might summarize what I'm looking for, but it doesn't find what I'm *not* looking for. The book on the shelf next to the one I wanted. The insight in chapter 6 based on the quote I needed from chapter 4.
December 21, 2025 at 4:09 PM
Absolutely right.
AI might be able to summarize (poorly) what we currently know, but a major goal of historical research is to find the hidden surprises out there.
Let me illustrate …
AI might be able to summarize (poorly) what we currently know, but a major goal of historical research is to find the hidden surprises out there.
Let me illustrate …
Reposted by Maureen (Mo) Johnson León
presented solely with this statement, I would literally never be able to guess the context that inspired it
Idk who needs to hear this but you’re not divorced because of your ex-wife’s menopause
December 30, 2025 at 11:06 PM
presented solely with this statement, I would literally never be able to guess the context that inspired it
Reposted by Maureen (Mo) Johnson León
I've just been re-reading the best recent genetic study in pandemic history, & it remains this 2024 pre-print from the @pasteur.fr in Paris, led by postdoc @gmasfiol.bsky.social: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1.... As important for the 2nd as for the 3rd pandemic. Here's hoping for a 2026 release! 🧪
December 30, 2025 at 8:55 PM
I've just been re-reading the best recent genetic study in pandemic history, & it remains this 2024 pre-print from the @pasteur.fr in Paris, led by postdoc @gmasfiol.bsky.social: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1.... As important for the 2nd as for the 3rd pandemic. Here's hoping for a 2026 release! 🧪
Reposted by Maureen (Mo) Johnson León
The Māori word for the smallest and cutest of kiwis, the lesser spotted kiwi, is pukupuku.
In Japanese, pukupuku (ぷくぷく) is an onomatopoeic word describing something cute, chubby, pudgy, or puffed up.
The two languages are from divergent language families. So WTF?
(Photo not mine; credit in alt)
In Japanese, pukupuku (ぷくぷく) is an onomatopoeic word describing something cute, chubby, pudgy, or puffed up.
The two languages are from divergent language families. So WTF?
(Photo not mine; credit in alt)
December 27, 2025 at 6:19 AM
The Māori word for the smallest and cutest of kiwis, the lesser spotted kiwi, is pukupuku.
In Japanese, pukupuku (ぷくぷく) is an onomatopoeic word describing something cute, chubby, pudgy, or puffed up.
The two languages are from divergent language families. So WTF?
(Photo not mine; credit in alt)
In Japanese, pukupuku (ぷくぷく) is an onomatopoeic word describing something cute, chubby, pudgy, or puffed up.
The two languages are from divergent language families. So WTF?
(Photo not mine; credit in alt)
Reposted by Maureen (Mo) Johnson León
Imagine that a decade ago someone had told you that in 2025 Americans would be torrenting a handheld video of a Canadian television screen to see a 60 minutes broadcast about Trump‘s torture prisons.
December 23, 2025 at 3:20 PM
Imagine that a decade ago someone had told you that in 2025 Americans would be torrenting a handheld video of a Canadian television screen to see a 60 minutes broadcast about Trump‘s torture prisons.
Reposted by Maureen (Mo) Johnson León
Highly recommend the Mossa & Pleiti books by @older.bsky.social: sapphic scifi Holmes/Watson with snacks & academic snark. 3 books so far.
December 18, 2025 at 12:00 AM
Highly recommend the Mossa & Pleiti books by @older.bsky.social: sapphic scifi Holmes/Watson with snacks & academic snark. 3 books so far.