Compost #6

A meaty mix of links and recommendations intended to inspire and distract

The title for this monthly compendium of links and recommendations comes from "Conscious Uncoupling”:

We strive to take all that is ugly and rotting, and turn it into compost to grow beautiful lives. —KWT

Resources

Come on over to Bluesky, the weather is fine! Bluesky is one of many alternatives to Twitter that have popped up recently. No DMs, and things are still building up, but it’s a nice place and there are lots of good academic (#academicsky) and science-y (just add the test tube emoji 🧪) and plant biology (#plantscience) feeds. A helpful article on creating custom feeds is here.

Reading & Listening

Terry McGlynn on where we should be holding conferences. Please don’t forget that there are scientists in red states who need extra support and networking opportunities now.

I’m so disappointed in the Washington University Transgender Center. On Sept. 20th they announced that they will no longer provide any medical care for minors, full stop. The decision seems to be based on a very broad interpretation of the law in question, SB49, which is currently being challenged, and came so abruptly as to constitute abandonment of care. A letter signed by individuals across the campus was sent to leadership; I doubt anything will change. It read, in part:

As has happened in reproductive healthcare, politicians and lawyers are now interfering in the doctor-patient relationship by mandating medical decisions that are not based on medical science or best practice guidelines.

An excellent article on higher education’s resistance to change.

Neko Case on “The Oldster”:

This is 52: Neko Case Responds to The Oldster Magazine Questionnaire

Some podcasts worth a listen:

Transcript of MG interview above.

How the Indigo Girls Brought Barbie ‘Closer to Fine’

LOLs

Open letter to kids on a train from a Gen-X lady who knows more about the Pixies than you.

You belittle the Pixies? You diss Black Francis? On the way to Massachusetts? On my gal, the bassist Kim Deal, you didn’t have a crush at Smith College in 1992? Were you not even born?