This newsletter is my part of an ongoing conversation among colleagues who’ve had a rough week. I share two or three pieces of the puzzle that feel are most important, hazard a guess about what to expect next, and offer at least one useful thing to do.
Hello friends,
I’m on a plane again, heading home from Philadelphia after an intensive workshop with Penn researchers and clinicians. There’s so much I wish I could tell you about those two days, but instead, I’m going to focus on one small moment. Day 2 was a golden sunlight morning, the kind that just lifts your heart. When my driver picked me up, his music was perfect. We didn’t talk much. The vibes were immaculate. And as we pulled around the corner to our destination, he craned his head up to stare at the tower. “Yoooooooo, you get to work in this BEAUTIFUL building? That must feel so good.”
And it DID. It does.
That morning, the Cira Centre was a sparkling marvel soaring over our heads. It’s a twisting, curtain wall skyscraper of glass and metal, an artistic vision made possible by state-of-the-art technology and engineering. I looked at it and thought, “We can do anything.” It made me feel the same way I feel about science.
I’m not a fool. I know the toll that any building like that takes on the planet and the people who built it. I know there is a long and complicated story behind the shining spire. I am aware of the shadow it casts just as much as I enjoy the dazzling light it reflects. And I hope you feel that duality in these weekly newsletters. I can’t do my job if I can’t hold both truths in my mind simultaneously: talking about science and higher ed in America means holding all the light and all the dark. For me, it means confronting the devastating losses while celebrating the brilliance all around us. It’s remembering the heroic stories that got us here, as well as all of the monstrous histories that are just as much part of the story of science.
It reminds me of the Maggie Smith poem, Good Bones. It ends with, “This place could be beautiful, right? You could make this place beautiful.”
It could be. It can be. This was week 16. Let’s do it.
As always, there is more that’s happened than I can digest. My goal here is not comprehensive so much as comprehensible. These are high-level updates for you, light and dark.
I’ll be keeping an eye on where the FOIA issue is going. On May 1, some FDA employees received notice that - surprise! - they are, in fact, essential staff who were un-fired and needed to return to their FOIA work immediately. Yesterday, the Senate Committee on Finance sent a letter demanding answers from RFK Jr. by May 22. That’s the same day as the preliminary injunction hearing on the large-scale RIFs.
Remember to look for the light. I’ve written previously about how important morale is, and introduced the concept of “critical ignoring” as a way to maintain focus. I encourage you to check in on whether you’ve consumed too much bad news or been exposed to too much propaganda. I’m not saying things are better than you think - so much is so wrong right now - but I am wondering if you still recognize the good things when you see them. Metacognition is a habit and a skill to cultivate. It’s worth thinking about what memories you’re forming in these wild months.
We need it because when the future is so uncertain, we tend to systematically overestimate the likelihood of bad outcomes and underestimate good ones. If we aren’t actively working against this pessimism bias, it can lead us astray and stunt our ability to act. Worse, it will convince us that doing nothing is the savvy choice.
If you’re not struggling with that, I’m glad! I bet you have people in your life who are. I know I do. One thing we can do for them and for ourselves is take mental health seriously. Given how limited resources are, I think taking a psychological first aid course is a very good idea. Our friends at Dragonfly Mental Health recommend this five-hour course from Johns Hopkins. The Association of Internet Researchers points toward https://www.mentalhealthfirstaid.org. If you’re at a university, it’s entirely possible that you have custom-built resources on campus.
Once you have your own oxygen mask on, then you can help others. We’re hosting another Scientists in Solidarity session this coming Monday. Our focus this time will be on the effort to Save NSF.
Register below. I’d love to see you there. Let’s build something beautiful together.
Liz