Inside the anti-climate campaign against researchers - POLITICO

It’s the latest strategy in a decades-long campaign by right-leaning groups to discredit scholars whose work could persuade judges and juries in the high-stakes climate cases. Now it’s gathering steam amid a growing push by the Trump administration to block dozens of lawsuits levied at energy companies by communities that were affected by extreme weather…

 https://www.politico.com/news/2026/09/28/climate-science-conservative-documents-universities-01065669

 

RFK Jr. Wants to “Investigate” Wi-Fi. Scientists Already Have

 https://www.youtube.com/shorts/54ny_gyrBJY

 

Trump funding cuts may force Alzheimer’s disease study to shut down, affecting 600 aging adults

The Trump administration canceled a grant studying two low-income, majority Black neighborhoods in Pittsburgh…

 https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/sep/17/trump-cuts-alzheimers-disease-study 

 

Long COVID Profiteers (Conspirituality podcast #325)

Conspiracy theorists have decided Novak Djokovic has long COVID — despite no evidence — because he's become an anti-vax icon courted by RFK Jr. and Dr. Oz. So we thought it was high time for a long COVID update.

Derek looks at a new Boston Children's Hospital research on viral reactivation, as well as the findings of a 2026 meta-analysis pooling 200,000+ participants.

Matthew surveys the Canadian LC landscape, where insurance-industry money is quietly funding McGill's Institute for Transforming Healthcare and McMaster's FALCON trial, testing the pseudoscientific "Lightning Process" on Long COVID patients, led by researcher Dr. Jason Busse, who has deep insurance-disability ties.

Finally, Julian unpacks Phil Parker's Lightning Process — Ericksonian NLP dressed as neuroscience, with roots in hypnotherapy, cult techniques, and pure "neuro-bollocks."
Interview: 

https://www.conspirituality.net/episodes/326-long-covid-update

Researcher Christopher McCurdy Did Not Disclose Kratom Conflicts of Interest — ProPublica

University of Florida professor Christopher McCurdy has accepted travel reimbursements, donations to his university’s foundation and funding for symposiums from the American Kratom Association. None of this is mentioned in the papers he publishes...

 https://www.propublica.org/article/kratom-legalization-christopher-mccurdy-research-conflict-of-interest-aka

USDA reportedly shelves cyclospora research amid relocations and fund cuts

Trump officials shuttering three projects on foodborne parasite, two defunded by Congress, Politico reports…

 https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/aug/30/usda-cyclospora-research-projects-shelved

 

Scientists map the interactions of key proteins linked with profound autism : NPR

After more than a decade, UCSF scientists have mapped around 100 varied genes associated with profound autism to a smaller set of biological pathways, offering a promising path for developing drugs...

 https://www.npr.org/2026/08/27/nx-s1-5944507/scientists-map-the-interactions-of-key-proteins-linked-with-profound-autism

A drug just approved for pancreatic cancer opens a new chapter in treatment : NPR

The FDA just approved a breakthrough drug for metastatic pancreatic cancer, which is notoriously hard to treat. In clinical trials, the new pill roughly doubled how long patients survived.

https://www.npr.org/2026/08/27/nx-s1-5945724/a-drug-just-approved-for-pancreatic-cancer-opens-a-new-chapter-in-treatment 

 

Alzheimer’s research is latest casualty in Trump administration war against ‘DEI’

Grant cancellations at leading research institutions appear to target study of impacts of racism on brain health…

 https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/aug/17/alzheimers-research-grants-trump-administration 

 

Fauci Fiasco Addendum (Gigi Gronvall and Gain of Function Research)

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kl7FLKZCxBQ

 

With their assault on science, Trumpists aren’t just harming America – they’re harming themselves

The administration is subjugating science to political imperatives, a major blow to US soft power and technological progress…

 https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/aug/07/trump-scientific-research-universities

RFK Jr is not a scientist. #research #doctor #autism

 https://www.youtube.com/shorts/B6K7HEuxZFQ

 

Trump administration cancels research grants tied to states that voted for Harris in 2024

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0clYBq4lcI

 

How the administration has mired the US in multiple crises

Between widespread cuts to vital government agencies, various disease and illness outbreaks, and new environmental disaster vulnerabilities, the United States is facing a convergence of crises with widespread repercussions. 

Yet the Trump administration has hamstrung the federal government from addressing these crises – and in some cases is actively fanning them. Over the past year, the administration has moved to shrink the federal workforce, roll back environmental protections and policies intended to fight the climate crisis, reduced funding for scientific research and is seeking to advance legislation that would impose new voting restrictions...

 https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jul/19/how-trump-and-his-administration-have-mired-the-us-in-multiple-crises  

The Only Research Center For Disabled Parents Is Losing Federal Funding – Mother Jones

In May, the White House Office of Management and Budget, led by Project 2025 architect Russell Vought, released a proposal that, if finalized, would have the federal government arbitrarily terminate grants and involve political appointees more deeply in the grantmaking process…

 https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/07/brandeis-hhs-omb-research-grant-parents-disabilities-funding/

 

Sale of multimillion-dollar T rex skeleton is big headache for scientists

Brusatte said: “When we publish research, we need to make sure that research is repeatable, meaning that other scientists can check our data and results and verify our conclusions, or not. The only way for our research to be repeatable is if the dinosaur fossils we study are in a museum, where other scientists are guaranteed access to them.”…

 https://www.theguardian.com/science/2026/jul/14/t-rex-skeleton-sothebys-auction-new-york-scientists

 

What Happens When Conservatives Watch Real News #psychology #politics

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/TqCU7no3Pm8 

Carbon Captured — ProPublica

An investigation by ProPublica and Drilled has found that fossil fuel companies have been funding climate research at prestigious U.S. universities for more than 30 years. Their support has helped amplify the work of scientists who promote the idea that we can stop the climate crisis without breaking our dependence on oil, gas and coal. 

The research produced by those schools in turn shaped global climate models, as well as the policy and technology solutions adopted by governments around the world. 

Ultimately, it fostered a misperception that climate change could be solved without dramatically curtailing fossil fuels — a notion that has delayed emissions cuts by decades...

https://projects.propublica.org/carbon-captured/ 

 

China is overtaking U.S. university research : NPR

The United States was once the research engine of the world. Now China may be taking the dominant role, thanks to massive investment and a disruptive year for American universities under the Trump administration. Just this year, Harvard lost its top spot in a global ranking measuring academic output to a university in China. In fact, 7 out of the top 10 schools on the list, curated by Leiden University in the Netherlands, are in China. This story — of geopolitical prowess, an American administration's changing priorities and the resulting scientific defunding — is playing out across dozens of fields of study...

 https://www.npr.org/2026/03/02/nx-s1-5696465/nadworny-china-research

 

The EPA Relied on an Influential Glyphosate Study Even After Learning Monsanto Was a “Ghost Writer” – Mother Jones

The US Environmental Protection Agency has known for nearly a decade that an influential 2013 scientific paper that concluded glyphosate is safe was actually ghostwritten by developer Monsanto. But the agency never informed the public and continued to rely on it, according to an EPA memo obtained by Mother Jones and revealed here for the first time...

 https://www.motherjones.com/environment/2026/06/epa-roundup-glyphosate-monsanto-ghostwritten-herbicide-cancer-bayer/