2026 is already the deadliest year for measles in the United States since the virus was declared eliminated in 2000. Four people died over the last month in Pennsylvania amid an ongoing outbreak in the state, which had not seen a measles-related death in at least 35 years. All four victims, including two infants, were unvaccinated (children do not receive their first dose of the measles vaccine…
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What happens when machines become easier to relate to than other people? In this episode of Movement Memos, host Kelly Hayes talks with author Sherry Turkle about artificial intimacy, the erosion of empathy and social skills, and the political dangers of replacing human connection with frictionless simulations of care. Music: Son Monarcas and Sarah the Illstrumentalist Note: This a…
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As climate disasters intensify and authoritarian threats escalate, most of us are underprepared for moments when systems fail or are weaponized against us. In this episode of Movement Memos, Kelly talks with Chris Begley and Amy Edelman, authors of The Emergency Playbook: A Bunker-Free Guide to Disaster Preparation, about how preparedness can move us away from fear, isolation and bunker fantasies…
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Dr. Jennifer Shuford, head of Texas’ public health agency, has been tapped to serve as chief medical officer at Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. President Donald Trump included Shuford among a slate of proposed leaders for the federal agency, Trump said in a Truth Social post on Thursday. Trump’s other executive appointments include: Dr. Erica Schwartz as CDC director…
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An unfathomable number of disabled people died in 2025. In the U.S. these deaths have come as political will has swayed toward limiting oversight in cases of abuse, locking away the unhoused — many of whom are disabled — instead of providing resources, and making the road to education even more difficult for disabled people. Five years ago, in 2020, we saw a disabling pandemic wreak havoc on our…
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Last week, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced the appointment of Harvey Risch, an epidemiologist and professor emeritus at Yale University, to the President’s Cancer Panel. Risch has a long history of researching cancer prevention methods. But during the coronavirus pandemic, he peddled disinformation to the public, baselessly sowing doubt in the use of mRNA-based…
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