When I was in Paris, I had a meal that came with some fairly strict rules. My latest, on the current crisis of attention: open.substack.com/pub/mariakon...
When I was in Paris, I had a meal that came with some fairly strict rules. My latest, on the current crisis of attention: open.substack.com/pub/mariakon...
(I am amused :))
Ha
"To kill a man is not to defend a doctrine: it is to kill a man." My latest: open.substack.com/pub/mariakon...
"It takes far more courage to stare down the barrel of a gun while youβre armed with only a whistle and a phone than it does to point a gun at an unarmed protester." www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...
This is so, so good
πππ
My latest, on the importance of sometimes putting aside your keyboard for an actual pen: open.substack.com/pub/mariakon...
Than you for listening!! We will keep you posted on any future plans!
Ensures that all the diseases covered by the previous immunization schedule will still be available to anyone who wants them through Affordable Care Act insurance plans and federal insurance programs, including Medicaid, the Childrenβs Health Insurance Program, and the Vaccines for Children program. Families will not have to purchase them out of pocket. Among peer nations, the U.S. will continue to offer the most childhood vaccines for free to those who want them.
Copy Editing Matters, from HHS's release on the new childhood vaccine schedule: All the diseases will still be available to anyone who wants them
Hence the exhortation to improve the world at large, as well.
Wishing you all a wonderful 2026, inspired by one of my favorite poets, Seamus Heaney. New piece: open.substack.com/pub/mariakon...
(Of course, making up nonexistent abilities or pushing your patients toward your own image is far worse. Thatβs why I think some of what he did is akin to malpractice. That said I still call him brilliant and great, as you read)
Also, take something like the made-up wall in the Touretteβs case. It does zero to obscure the character. Itβs just one of these chefβs kiss details that elevates the prose to a new level. He made it up just to have a better story, with zero medical rationale. That is journalistic sin.
This speaks for me too. I felt sure there was an element of elaboration in what Oliver wrote, but it went far further than I imagined. I still consider him a friend, but sometimes friends can deeply disappoint you (and doubtless vice versa). What a complicated man.
And letβs also remember that the fabrications we know are only the ones he admitted to in his journals. And itβs very clear his journals are quite self-serving. This makes me distrust far more that heβs written.
She does indeed. Also: Saks goes way beyond obscuring characters. He makes up key abilities. He changes what people did or said in ways that show their illness in a different light. He puts others on incorrect paths to confirm phenomena that donβt actually exist.
Oliver Sacks was a hero of mine. I couldn't let @rachelaviv.bsky.socialβs brilliant piece pass without comment. My latest, on why Sacks's fictions are so much worse than those of your garden-variety journalist fabulist.
. open.substack.com/pub/mariakon...
When (and how) should AI be used in creative settings β and when is it a betrayal of your audience? My latest: open.substack.com/pub/mariakon...
You, too, can live your best life. And maybe win a Nobel?? My latest: open.substack.com/pub/mariakon...
OPINION TODAY featured podcast β
Will Eric Adamsβs Exit Change the NYC Mayoral Election?
(Risky Business with Nate Silver and @mkonnikova.bsky.social)
opiniontoday.substack.com/i/175001460/...
The first episode of the solo-host era of LOW ROLLERS is here, featuring a conversation w/ @mkonnikova.bsky.social
about her friendship with Nate Silver, her passion for tournament poker & much more. Also, my analysis of Kalshi offering SGPs, and a tale of player prop pain: rss.com/podcasts/low...
I love @asherperlman.bsky.socialβs work. So I decided to ruin the magic by figuring out why. My latest: open.substack.com/pub/mariakon...
Risky Business with Nate Silver and Maria Konnikova
Join mkonnikova.bsky.social and Nate Silver on Risky Business, the podcast where journalism meets high-stakes poker. Explore their analytical approach to decisions in politics, poker, and life, blending Maria's psychology insights and Nate's forecasting acumen.
To celebrate the start of the school year, I made you all a fiction reading list (and wrote a bit about it): open.substack.com/pub/mariakon...
Had such a blast talking to the wonderful Boston Rob for the Risky Business pod this week. (He also happened to be my HU opponent for the NBC National HU Championship!) lnk.to/vDRYVk
Damn shouldβve read that pre-taping π
You know, thatβs how I remembered it from school, but then I was corrected for the pod, so I have no idea what to think!
It's time we re-learn how to be bored. It's going to help a lot more than your poker game. New piece on the sub that stacks: open.substack.com/pub/mariakon...