Maddie Bender
@MaddieOBender
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science pixie dream girl @wearehpr | co-founder @sequencermag | work in @nytimes @thedailybeast @sciam @motherboard @smithsonianmag et al. | semper scrutans
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Joined October 2016
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Today we're launching Sequencer, a writer-owned science publication. The three best science journalists I know (
@laxmevy
@d_samorodnitsky
@goes_by_kim
) and I are putting our experiment out into the world, and we hope you'll follow along:
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Darrion (
@lab_shenanigans
) is one of my favorite science meme creators out there, and it turns out he is also a delight to talk to! His smile is beautiful and he looks like Linda Evangelista. I profiled him for
@inversedotcom
:
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✨Some professional news✨
Over the moon to share that I've been selected as a
@AAASMassMedia
Fellow at
@sciam
! Send tips, tea, memes, etc. — I can't wait to get to work.
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Professional news: I’m joining
@thedailybeast
as an innovation reporter! Looking forward to covering science, tech, health, and whatever else I can get
@n_vpatel
and
@TonyHoWasHere
to green-light.
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My first byline in
@Sequencermag
on a topic I care deeply about. Did you know that this past Sunday was World TB Day? If not, I urge you to read this:
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Wearable wristwatch-like health monitors correctly predicted cold and flu infections in one of the most rigorous tests of the tech yet. The potential use for Covid-19 is clear, but there's a long way to go. Me, for
@statnews
:
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What’s colder than cold? Vaccine cold chains, and coincidentally,
@DippinDots
’ too. I wrote about them for
@PopSci
🥶
What the Dippin’ Dots “cold chain” can teach us about COVID-19 vaccines
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I’m thrilled that I’ve been chosen as the winner of
@NickKristof
’s annual student win-a-trip contest! We’ll be traveling somewhere in the states or abroad later this year (scroll for the announcement)
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Surreal to have a piece out in
@nytimes
, taking over
@NickKristof
's column for the day. I wrote about some of the young people I had the pleasure of meeting on our trip—evidence, perhaps, of a changing climate toward queer folks in parts of West Africa.
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I take issue with this article about how the actress who plays Beth in The Queen’s Gambit is too hot because I am a former childhood chess champion and I am Very Hot
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Okay, here goes: Last Thursday was my final day at
@thedailybeast
. I learned a ton from my editors and colleagues, and am immensely proud of the >160 articles I wrote since last year. A few of the highlights... (1/11)
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Obsessed with everything about this story I wrote for
@sciam
, from a surprisingly straightforward and elegant genetics study to somehow being allowed to include the subhead "A Frosty Model Organism." Thanks
@RobinLloyd99
and
@deanmvisser
!
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Jonathan McDowell (
@planet4589
) started making lists of rocket launches as a child. “Many kids did at that time, but I just took it a little further and tagged on with it for 40 years. Now I have the best list.”
I wrote about that list for
@VICE
:
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Think of a random number. You fool. You absolute idiot. That number wasn’t random!!
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I spoke to
@kairyssdal
on today's
@Marketplace
about my Dippin' Dots story — give it a listen!
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Took the day off to donate convalescent plasma so that someone else fighting Covid-19 might be able to get good use out of my antibodies.
Some early studies suggest it’s a promising treatment, and large-scale trials to test its efficacy are in progress ()
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I submitted my undergraduate thesis for
@yale_eeb
at 2am today! So thankful for
@asanchez_lab
and the whole lab, but especially
@metaboli3am
, who put as much work into this project as I did and who hopped on some very lengthy Zoom calls these past few weeks. Next up:
@YaleSPH
!
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I blogged about
#ArtGenetics
for
@massivesci
, which gives me an excuse to make a thread on my favorite thing ever, Roman wheat:
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My first
@statnews
byline, about a new study highlighting the benefits of inclusivity and thoughtful language. Hope you check it out!
Mental health counselors had kinder and less authoritative reactions to statements that used the phrase “person with schizophrenia” instead of “schizophrenic,” a new study finds.
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Ever since
@MRAKdesign
brought up the mysterious affliction killing US songbirds, I’ve kept my eye on the story. A great tip from
@laurahelmuth
led to this
@sciam
Q&A about what we do and don’t know a few months out, with thoughts from
@bsevans_unc
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When
@neuwaves
asked me to write about the lab leak debate for
@motherboard
, I wasn't sure what I could say that hadn't been said by reporters I admire, like
@d_samorodnitsky
,
@MoNscience
, and
@amymaxmen
.
So I looked inward and wrote this. (1/2)
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I'm also thinking about this heartbreaking essay written by the father of Hale Ross about his son, who would have graduated with the class of 2018. All of it, but especially the ending about treating oneself gently, kindly, and forgivingly. (5/end)
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In case you’re wondering what I’ve been up to!
On my annual win-a-trip journey with
@MaddieOBender
, getting a selfie with the prime minister of beautiful São Tomé in West Africa.
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@laxmevy
@d_samorodnitsky
@goes_by_kim
Witnessing the state of journalism as a whole, and of science journalism recently, has been unbearably sad. I personally feel like starting a worker-owned publication isn't just a way to take agency and power back, but also a moral imperative.
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Today's the day! Call me, beep me if you wanna reach me at maddie.bender
@sciam
.com
(disclaimer do not call me, pls email or DM)
✨Some professional news✨
Over the moon to share that I've been selected as a
@AAASMassMedia
Fellow at
@sciam
! Send tips, tea, memes, etc. — I can't wait to get to work.
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So excited to share my first article for
@motherboard
! I wrote about a technology that can make medicine on Mars, or at least make pharma a little greener:
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listen to the spider music, cowards
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My wildest story yet for
@VICE
: a scientist at a government lab warns that poor oversight puts her facility at risk to release live pathogens into the environment.
A year later, it happens, and now, her lawyers say she’s being fired for speaking up.
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"Ridiculous"
"Retro"
"Not encouraging at all"
That's just a few of the choice words public health experts had for the COVID-19 mitigation efforts in place at the Tokyo Olympics, set to begin in 10 days.
Me for
@sciam
, with
@tanyalewis314
's edits:
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Omg omg — I would have never guessed that my first story for
@Slate
would be about figure skating, a sport that defined a good chunk of my childhood. But here we are!
My hot take: Quints are overrated, change my mind.
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I just got results back from Covid-19 PCR and serology tests — turns out I tested positive for IgG antibodies.
Now that I know this, here’s what I’ll be doing differently in terms of social + physical distancing: LITERALLY NOTHING. (a thread)
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ICYMI, a wise representative asked if humans could reverse climate change by....changing the orbit of the Earth.
While many dismissed this idea as absolute baloney, I asked physicists for
@sciam
about how we'd make it happen. It seems reasonable, right?
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y’all my name is on this one 🥺 I am a published author
In our newest paper, we study how Directed Evolution may be used to engineer microbial communities. We suggest changes to previous protocols of artificial selection, and find that communities found by directed evolution are generally robust to invasions.
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In my first story for
@massivesci
, I dive into the murky waters of ocean color modeling and examine how color can help us track and predict climate change:
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moving with my laptop from the bed to the couch and calling it a "writer's retreat"
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Counting down the days until I start reporting for
@sciam
, all thanks to
@AAASMassMedia
and
@BWFUND
!
2021
#MassMediaFellow
@MaddieOBender
recently earned her Masters of Public Health from
@YaleSPH
. Since high school, science journalism has been on her radar, and she's been able to intern at
@wowintheworld
and has written for
@CNN
Health and
@VICE
. She even edits for
@massivesci
!
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This is my magnum opus: a 2700-word treatise on AI's inability to make inroads into the world of crochet
"I think that right now, AI is kind of frightening, and does things in ways that are a little bit incorrect. But also we find it fascinating and kind of endearing, even in its mistakes," textile artist Alex Woolner tells the Daily Beast.
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I wrote about using AI to diagnose infection in Italy's olive trees for
@sciam
's August print issue. The team behind the study hopes the approach can lead to a more nuanced strategy that spares centuries-old trees in the fight against the Xylella outbreak:
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not exaggerating when I say this piece by
@goes_by_kim
is the best thing I’ve read about the eclipse. Waxing poetic for a purpose! Up now over at
@Sequencermag
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(many cw's)
It's been an unspeakably sad day today. It has been brutal to wake up to the news of the death of a first year by suicide, and then to have to process it over text and social media as class and the rest of the world go on as usual. (1/5)
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they messed up a perfectly good muffin for this
Ticks can be the size of a poppy seed. Can you spot all 5 ticks in this photo? Learn how to prevent tick bites.
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Breaking late from me on
@sciam
, the psychological impacts of a spectator-less Olympics.
@gstix1
helped me stick the landing (
@AAASMassMedia
@BWFUND
):
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Hundreds of teens have developed tic-like behaviors over the course of the pandemic, an unprecedented surge that neurologists are calling an “epidemic within a pandemic.” The key to it all? Videos on TikTok and YouTube.
Me, for
@VICE
:
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To keep sane as a science journalist covering a global pandemic, I've decided to start a short and sweet newsletter that features preprint research from
@biorxivpreprint
that makes me giggle. It will be completely free of anything COVID-19. Subscribe!
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So cool to see my Dippin’ Dots story alongside the work of writers and pubs I truly admire. Thanks
@SciShortform
, I’m honored!
First up: Pandemic, Part 2 (1600 words & under)
TOP PICKS
@MaddieOBender
for
@PopSci
@StephanieFeuer
for
@SmithsonianMag
@apoorva_nyc
for
@nytimes
@amymaxmen
for
@NatureNews
@jodienoelvinson
for
@nytimes
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In time for the weekend: my
@statnews
read on what national rapid testing efforts should learn from a pilot program with mixed results
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A two story kind of day!
First, I covered a White House press conference (my first!) where officials announced $1 billion directed toward ramping up infrastructure for at-home Covid testing. Big help from
@eemershon
on the turnaround
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@MelissaBreyer
@_WTCOfficial
@4WTC
@3wtcnewyork
@NYCAudubon
@wildbirdfund
Hi Melissa, I’m looking into this for a
@VICE
article. Would you mind DM’ing me when you get a chance?
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@laxmevy
@d_samorodnitsky
@goes_by_kim
If you feel similarly, I hope you'll subscribe and support our mission. But also it doesn't have to be that deep! We're good writers who like blogging about interesting things (e.g., ) We want to build a community, like we did at
@massivesci
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Today, on the day of my birth, I asked the professor of the class I'm TA'ing what 23 was like for him.
"It was the worst year of my life," he said.
Hoping to maintain this energy throughout the next year!
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And now for something a bit different from memes and journalism — I’m a co-author on this paper! It’s my first-ever publication, and I’m so grateful to
@changyu_chang
@Oxfordvila
and
@asanchez_lab
for their dedication and inclusion.
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happy bi visibility day peep my copy of the power broker
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My first for
@inversedotcom
is a Q&A with the inventors of
@Syrinx78785761
, a hands-free electrolarynx that doesn't sound like a robot. We discuss inspiration, life advice, and favorite Pokemon (spoiler alert it's Charmander):
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Just finished reading this gorgeous feature in
@growbyginkgo
by
@rowanjacobsen
, for a reprint of Grow's 1st issue. An exemplary piece of science writing—please read it (or better yet, get the full issue at !)
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Today I pitched stories on figure skating physics, squirrels, and boobs. Whatever the intersection of those are, that’s my beat.
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my
@motherboard
zine came today so i had no choice but to stage a photoshoot of it with my cat
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good morning this is your daily reminder that relative risk is definitely not absolute risk and I wrote about
@justsaysrisks
to prove it: ty
@massivesci
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what’s the thing journalists post when they have an important story coming out tomorrow? idk but enjoy this pic of me taken minutes ago making final edits on it
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I mourn alongside the rest of the Yale community for Rachael. And I'm so angry, too: about how truly disastrous MH&C is; about administrative decisions that put students under immense pressure; about navigating college from behind screens and without support systems. (2/5)
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Pretty cool to be spotlighted in the
@aaas
annual report! I'm where I am today in part because of my
@AAASMassMedia
Fellowship last summer at
@sciam
.
The 2021
@aaas
Annual Report is out! AAAS Members like yourselves made a big impact. Be sure to check out features about
@MaddieOBender
, Kathleen Hall Jamieson,
@DrBobBullard
& Lekelia Jenkins:
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*stefon voice* this story has everything: scandals, pseudoscience, retractions, and at least one beheaded bird
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As soon as I started doing pole, I knew I'd write about it someday. So I obv couldn't pass up the opportunity to talk to
@R00TSCLUB
about pole dancing in the metaverse. For
@thedailybeast
:
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Two stories out today! For
@VICE
, I take a critical look at recent allegations that Russia may be trying to hack vaccine research data and ask: should a country be able to "own" a vaccine? Many thanks to sources
@carsonaust
,
@AKayumAhmed1
, and
@fadenethx
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if you are the 72-year-old in the Moderna trial who was struck by lightning, my DMs are open
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V cool to see this shoutout of
@Sequencermag
and
@d_samorodnitsky
in yesterday's
@TodayinTabs
! (and alongside the inimitable
@aznfusion
)
Signing up for our free newsletter at could very well be the move 👀
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It is wild to me that I am at the point in my (still very early) career where folks reach out to me for advice and mentorship—I truly admire their chutzpah to cold email/DM, but I added this snippet to my website for those who might not otherwise think to reach out.
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My first article for
@earthmagazine
is out! Read about climate change that wasn’t manmade, for once 😅
Neanderthals disappeared from Europe roughly 40,000 years ago, and scientists are still trying to figure out why. In a recent study, researchers offer new evidence from Eastern Europe that...
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There must be some German word for when major outlets cover a study that came out today about wolf puppies playing fetch but I wrote about it in September when it was a pre-print
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Now that the dust has settled, I zoomed out for
@massivesci
on what the "millennials growing horns" fiasco can teach us about best practices in science reporting:
What the “millennials are growing horns” story can teach us about scientific literacy
massivesci.com
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i mean someone had to say it
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our neighbors are currently hosting a birthday party for their 17-year-old, complete with DJ and dozens of people........I feel like i’m living in an alternate timeline
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Thrilled that
@Slate
(via the OG
@TonyHoWasHere
) has republished my
@Sequencermag
article about bird flu! I still remain worried!
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thinking about how "principles of infectious diseases" is a class i'm taking with an in-person option this fall. hands-on learning i guess ☺️✨
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ok but hear me out: tiny treadmills for spiders
Researchers held a jumping spider’s head in place and allowed it to walk around on a spherical treadmill in order to track its motion:
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Why yes, I did sneak in both the phrases “the most bang for your beans” and “the most grind for your grounds” into this story, will not be taking questions at this time
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I explained recent spikes in US coronavirus cases to a UK audience for
@newscientist
and realised (lol) that:
-not having nationalized health care
-not listening to public health guidance
-not implementing large-scale contact tracing
is actually very weird and bad of us
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Earth Day this year coincided roughly with the 200th birthday of an overlooked environmentalist: Frederick Law Olmsted, the father of landscape architecture and a champion of public parks. I reflected on his wild career and legacy for
@inversedotcom
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The editors at VICE were the first that took a chance on me—I’m forever proud of the work they helped me produce. This is a tragedy twice over: for the brilliant employees there, and for aspiring journalists who now have one fewer path to launching their careers
Nobody at VICE knows what's happening right now. We've heard from IT that Google Takeout being disabled was not related to any specific event. That being said, this is a decade-long body of work that I am immensely proud of.
Motherboard forever.
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Truly honored to be on this list next to so many science writers whom I admire. Thank you so much,
@SciShortform
!
Honorable Mentions in "Single Study Deep Dives & Profiles" included stories by
@SquigglyVolcano
for
@TheAtlantic
@MaddieOBender
for
@motherboard
Gabriela Quiros for
@KQEDscience
@KatherineJWu
for
@novapbs
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Sorry to be earnest on main, but I realized that I started freelancing for
@motherboard
a year ago this month 🥺
Writing for them has been incredibly fulfilling, and I’ve gotten so many opportunities that I wouldn’t have otherwise (1/7)
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Had a great chat with
@JamesBeeDorey
on the radio about his team’s new bee study. Have a listen here!
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Grateful for the opportunity to contribute to
@inversedotcom
's Earth Day coverage with these pieces envisioning what the world might look like in 100 years. A thread (1/6):
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My friend just texted me that he was assigned one of my articles as class reading! So sad to say that I have peaked 🤩
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So great to see other science journalists and independent publications succeed! We’ve had the same experience at
@Sequencermag
(and I WISH we had the budget to accept pitches and bring addtl folks on). Support
@thesicktimes
!
Since making this announcement, we have received hundreds of pitches and job applications. I think it's a sign that The Sick Times is doing necessary work -- and for me, motivation to work on increasing our funding so we can support a bigger newsroom!
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If you only read one article I've written this summer, read this one. Thank you to the many people who helped along the way; it was truly a labor of love ☺️
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New newsletter dropped
@Sequencermag
with thoughts on the (surreal! stupendous!) response to our launch, courtesy of
@goes_by_kim
. Free to read, all you gotta do is sign up with your email!
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Psyched to share my first byline in
@MensHealthMag
, a series of interviews with younger cis men who take testosterone.
More tk!
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Coming back from beyond the grave of my
@BWFUND
@AAASMassMedia
summer to share a podcast I produced/edited/voiced/etc. for
@sciam
, about hygiene, COVID, and braaaaaaaains!
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I will make a thread shortly! but suffice it to say I already miss the kickass editing team of
@n_vpatel
and
@TonyHoWasHere
. Also read this story, it’s a wild one
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If 👏 you 👏 weren't 👏 using 👏 the 👏 word 👏 "amidst" 👏 before 👏 COVID-19 👏 it's 👏 not 👏 yours 👏 hunny 👏 find 👏 another 👏 lede
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Lol my first article for
@VICE
@motherboard
ran yesterday but I can now transition to saying "check out my latest":
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So excited to share my first byline for
@cnnhealth
! Check it out, and remember to wear a broad-spectrum sunscreen with SPF of at least 15 or 30
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