Bethany Brookshire

Science journalist, podcaster, author. Book, Pests: How Humans Create Animal Villains. Here for the trash pandas.

Last Notes

2025-11-09 17:08:37 UTC

This obit, pre-written by Sharon Begley before she passed...made me miss her amazing work. This is how you do it. https://www.statnews.com/2025/11/07/james-watson-remembrance-from-dna-pioneer-to-pariah/

2025-03-02 20:34:40 UTC

A perfect comparison from @drshepherd2013.bsky.social about the importance of meteorologists at NOAA.
Saying you don't need them..."is like saying, “Why do we need potato farmers when I can just get fries at my fast food place?”" https://www.forbes.com/sites/marshallshepherd/2025/03/01/5-essential-things-to-know-about-your-weather-forecasts/

2025-02-26 16:44:10 UTC

Anti vaxxers have been trying to talk down measles for years. It's just a rash. It's just like chicken pox.
And now a child is dead.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/feb/26/texas-measles-outbreak-cases

2024-03-26 14:22:29 UTC

Surprising literally no one who knows about birds of prey in cities, Flaco the owl had a TON of rat poison in his system. People are focusing on pigeon herpes (because well ok it's funny), but Flaco is an example of what our extermination efforts DO to wildlife.... https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/25/nyregion/flaco-owl-central-park-zoo-death-cause.html?smtyp=cur&smid=bsky-nytimes

2023-09-05 14:55:08 UTC

I love how we're all like ACK RADIOACTIVE PIGS!
I mean, yeah. You test nuclear stuff, you're gonna get it into the environment, where it will end up in the soil.
You know who loves truffles in soil? PIGS DO. 🧪
Result: radioactive bacon. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-66665646

2023-08-28 15:28:20 UTC

Love talking with the hosts of Outside/In about mice, and the many ways we think about them, both as pests, and in RESEARCH. https://outsideinradio.org/shows/of-lab-mice-and-men 🧪

2023-08-09 16:20:25 UTC

🧪 The world's fastest evolving moss isn't going to out adapt climate change. https://www.sciencenews.org/article/fastest-evolving-moss-adapt-climate-change
Reporting this, I fell in love with this tough lil' bryophyte. Poor Takakia, 390 million years old and may not make it the next century.