Joshua Weitz

Asymptomatic now available for pre-order via @JHUPress in advance of 10/22 release. The book explains how silent transmission enabled COVID-19's tragic global impact and the interventions needed to prevent future pandemics. bit.ly/asymptomatic-j…

@DouthatNYT "Did not hold together well". Much like prior columns. nytimes.com/2020/10/10/opi…

Since it's a matter of public controversy: Last month we recorded an interview with Seth Harp but decided not to publish it as an episode of Interesting Times. As one of my producers told him in a message that he has published, the main reason for the decision was our own overcrowded schedule and our sense that we had missed the ideal spot in the news cycle for a conversation pegged to the Delta Force raid in Venezuela. But another reason was my own judgment that the episode did not hold together well. I was primarily interested in discussing Mr. Harp's reporting on drug dealing and corruption in the Special Forces and linking that to a discussion of how a reliance on special operations has shaped U.S. foreign policy and military preparedness. But I felt that the latter half of our discussion became unmoored from Mr. Harp's specific reporting in a way that undermined the first half of our conversation. "Interesting Times" is a show where I try to give a lot of space to the guest's perspective while posing challenging questions, creating episodes where the audience gets the best version of an idea or worldview that they might not have understood before. I don't think I succeeded in that goal in my conversation with Mr. Harp. If he believes I'm covering up the fact that he beat me in some sort of debate, I think I didn't make my intentions and the goal of the show clear to him -- which may help explain why it was an unsuccessful episode. Ultimately that responsibility is mine and I'm sorry for taking his time without steering us to a fruitful destination.

Thank you to the professional writers, editors, and staff at @washingtonpost and to all those in @PostGuild: thank you for your commitment to reporting, no matter where it leads.

So many reasons for a competitor to step in where the @washingtonpost and @murraymatt and @JeffBezos failed. Those of us who read the paper for decades and are cancelling subscriptions will miss something, including yes, the All-Met selections, championing local achievement.

I was just laid off by The Washington Post in the middle of a warzone. I have no words. I'm devastated.

Marine viruses play a key role in storing carbon in the deep oceans, according to a new @NatureComms study. Read about the findings in this @ConversationUS piece co-authored by Biology's Joshua Weitz (@joshuasweitz) ⤵️ theconversation.com/viruses-arent-…

Hours before 60 Minutes was set to air a story on deportees who were sent by the Trump administration to prison in El Salvador, describing “brutal and torturous conditions,” 60 Minutes announced that it has pulled the segment and will air it in the future.

Unbelievable. This would be a terrible blow to American science, writ large. It would decimate not only climate research, but also the kind of weather, wildfire, & disaster research underpinning half a century of progress in prediction, early warning, & increased resilience.

This would be an extremely short-sighted move. NCAR is a world-class organization, and a leader in atmospheric science. And it's not as simple as "splitting up" the weather and climate portfolio. Seasonal/decadal (ENSO) and subseasonal (MJO) things that fall under the climate spectrum are hugely important to weather prediction and economic activity. usatoday.com/story/news/pol…

"Confronting Covid's Wake, In Practice - A template for open conversations within professional societies and conferences amidst ongoing attacks on science" | Thanks @joshuasweitz for the #ScienceUnderSiege mention! joshuasweitz.substack.com/p/confronting-…

The annual global health lecture in my sister Mona’s name @MedStarGUH was delivered last month by the great vaccine scientist @PeterHotez on “Global Vaccines and Immunizations in a Time of Climate Change, Megacities, and Anti-Science". Video now posted at: vimeo.com/1144358830

Did not know he is also a constitutional law scholar. And apparently, basing his votes on factors unrelated to the matter at hand - effective control of vaccine-preventable diseases.

Awful self-inflicted wound for the nation. Today our federal govt gleefully condemned thousands of kids each year to chronic hepatitis and liver cancer, by denying them a vaccine invented in America, using microbial fermentation, our least expensive and safest technology

When you say "they double down" are you referring to @SenBillCassidy? He called the ACIP committee “totally discredited”: thehill.com/policy/healthc…

Today is a dark day for American science and biomedicine. My comments in ⁦@nytimes⁩ nytimes.com/2025/12/05/hea…

Voted yes when he had the chance to vote no. And continues to hedge when he could act.

Federal support of science research has catalyzed economic growth and advanced life-saving cures, diagnostics and therapies. At Science on Tap next Tuesday (11/18), Biology's Joshua Weitz will discuss his efforts to confront federal cuts to science. RSVP: go.umd.edu/sot1125

JUST IN: The Trump administration asks the Supreme Court to stop — by 9:30 tonight — the court orders requiring payment of full November SNAP benefits.

BREAKING: DOJ goes to SCOTUS trying to stop a district court order that USDA pay out full SNAP benefits this month. The First Circuit denied an administrative stay, but has not yet ruled on the stay request. And, CNN reported that USDA is already processing payments. DOJ went to SCOTUS anyway.

JUST IN: Trump administration appeals order to pay states full SNAP benefits for November.

Well, here's a first for me: a former masters student of mine at Harvard wants to get her PhD, but b/c of funding cuts and resulting cuts in PhD slots in the U.S., she's applying to...Tsinghua University for her PhD. Wow