Part the First: The Slow Death of Biomedical Research Continues in the United States. We have covered this before, but the entire unfolding situation gets more surreal by the week. STAT News has been a go-to source, as in NIH will spend its full budget this year, agency director promises House appropriators. The first shot […]
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Friday, March 20, 2026
Coffee Break: Breaking American Science, COVID Undercount, Food Politics, St. Patrick, and a Brief Diversion
Topics: Coffee Break, Garrulous insolence, Health care, Science and the scientific method, Social policy, Social values
Posted by KLG at 2:00 pm | 1 Comment »
Manure-to-Energy Project Touted as Climate Fix Emits Thousands of Tons of Methane
Manure digesters for cattle are yet another rentier-enriching climate con.
Topics: Energy markets, Environment, Global warming, Guest Post, Regulations and regulators, Ridiculously obvious scams
Posted by Yves Smith at 9:55 am | 5 Comments »
Links 3/20/2026
Topics: Links
Posted by Conor Gallagher at 6:55 am | 53 Comments »
Iran War: Even as Breakdowns and Lasting Damage Mount, Denial, Normalcy Bias, and Arrogance of the Belligerents Will Produce a Long and Highly Destructive War
Today’s Iran War report: denial will kills us all. Refusal to see where this war is probably going increases the odds of worst-case outcomes.
Topics: Doomsday scenarios, Economic fundamentals, Media watch, Middle East, Politics, Russia
Posted by Yves Smith at 6:54 am | 196 Comments »
Will World’s “Most Zionist President”, Javier Milei, Deploy Argentina’s Navy for Trump’s Kamikaze Strait of Hormuz Mission?
We thought no head of state was mad enough to volunteer for such a mission. Maybe we were wrong.
Topics: Guest Post
Posted by Nick Corbishley at 6:45 am | 9 Comments »
The Epistemic Break of the Iran War
The Iran War is shattering the U.S. illusion of power, breaking truths that are being replaced by AI models and creating an epistemic collapse
Topics: Coffee Break, Doomsday scenarios, Middle East, Moral hazard, Social policy
Posted by Curro Jimenez at 2:00 pm | 70 Comments »
Tall Buildings Lead to More Compact and Productive Cities
On the benefits of urban density and the role of tall buildings in achieving that result.
Topics: Free markets and their discontents, Guest Post, Politics, Real estate, Regulations and regulators
Posted by Yves Smith at 9:56 am | 51 Comments »
Links 3/19/2026
Topics: Links
Posted by Conor Gallagher at 6:55 am | 84 Comments »
Iran War: Leap Up Escalation Ladder with Israel//US Attack on Iran Gas Field, Nuclear Plant, Iran Retaliation on Qatar Gas Facilities, Other Energy Infrastructure Across Region; MSM Initial Under-Reporting Not Blunting Surge in UK, EU Gas Prices;
Iran war news: The Middle East burns thanks to epically stupid Israeli attacks on Iran’s energy assets, which produced a fierce response
Topics: Doomsday scenarios, Economic fundamentals, Energy markets, Environment, Global warming, Media watch, Middle East, Politics
Posted by Yves Smith at 6:54 am | 322 Comments »
Trump FBI and IRS Team Up to Probe US Nonprofit Groups for ‘Domestic Terrorism’ Links
Trump had threatened independent voices via revoking IRS non-for-profit status. He is upping the ante with FBI and terrorism probes
Topics: Guest Post, Legal, Media watch, Politics, Surveillance state
Posted by Yves Smith at 3:05 am | 6 Comments »
Rifling Through the Evidence: Uncertainty in Firearms Analysis
Recently published studies raise basic methodology questions about the tests used to vet firearms ballistic analysts.
Topics: Guest Post, Legal, Politics, Science and the scientific method, Social policy
Posted by Yves Smith at 2:26 am | 5 Comments »
Coffee Break: Silicon Valley Accelerationists Take On the World and Everyone in It
Multiple Silicon Valley accelerationists like Marc Andreessen, Peter Thiel, Alex Karp, and Mark Zuckerberg are getting attention for what some consider their challenges to values that many consider central to humanity: introspection, civil society, education, and privacy.
Topics: Guest Post
Posted by Nat Wilson Turner at 2:00 pm | 29 Comments »
AI-Powered Robot Dogs Guarding Reviled Data Centers Is Where We Have Arrived
Robot dogs, known as “quadrupeds,” patrol sprawling energy-sucking complexes, which are increasingly met with protest around the country.
Topics: Energy markets, Environment, Guest Post, Politics, Surveillance state, Technology and innovation, The destruction of the middle class
Posted by Yves Smith at 9:55 am | 40 Comments »
Links 3/18/2026
Topics: Links
Posted by Yves Smith at 6:55 am | 53 Comments »
Iran War: Joe Kent Resignation Bombshell; US Deploys Bunker-Busters Near Strait of Hormuz; Iran Makes Retaliatory Strikes on Israel, Across Gulf for Ali Larijani Assassination; Real World Oil Prices Diverge from Paper Oil
Today’s Iran war update: attritional slugging continues as Joe Kent’s resignation shows MAGA doubts and the economic tsunami starts rolls in.
Topics: Doomsday scenarios, Economic fundamentals, Environment, Globalization, Investment outlook, Media watch, Middle East, Politics
Posted by Yves Smith at 6:54 am | 335 Comments »



