Week 2
Figuring out what to focus on now & what to focus on next in science and higher ed
MEETING THE MOMENT: 2025-01-31
Right now, the scientific community needs to figure out what is happening, how to think about it, and what to do about it. The challenge is to stay informed without feeling flooded or paralyzed. This newsletter is my best attempt - not at a comprehensive report, but a conversation among friends who’ve had a rough week.
Each Friday evening, as if we were having a drink together, I’ll share two or three things that have felt most important, hazard a guess about what to expect next, and offer an idea for one small thing you can do. This is week 2.
What’s happening now:
FUNDING FREEZE: Research funding has been in chaos. Here’s my best synopsis: it’s not as bad as it could be, but it’s grim. Consequences are already worrying within science and beyond, and some impacts are already dire, e.g. foreign aid. If you want a run down:
On Monday, a memo went out from the Office of Management & Budget, ordering agencies to halt federal grants and financial assistance. It was broad and vague, making it hard to understand exactly which programs were affected and how.
Fortunately, a DC federal judge issued a temporary stay on Tuesday. The White House released a rescission memo on Wednesday rescinding the original memo, (but then said it didn’t change anything).
Today (Friday afternoon) another federal judge has issued a decision that forbids them to hinder flow of funds that have already been allocated. Good news: no set expiration date. Less great: it only covers the 22 states whose attorney generals joined the suit.
I have repeatedly heard from PIs about deadlines of research solicitations suddenly changing this week, and programs closing submissions or disappearing entirely. I’m looking for a centralized list and will share it if I have one. We are keeping tabs on university responses and direction to their faculty.
FIRINGS: If we limit our focus to science, I hate seeing that more than 1,000 EPA employees are facing termination. From a regulatory perspective, it’s scary that more than a dozen Inspectors General were fired (Phyllis Fong of the USDA was physically removed from her office). My heart is with all the DEI staffers placed on leave and waiting to hear.
SILENCINGS: The final major issue for me is all the federal datasets and program pages going dark. I know of substantial changes at CDC and NIH, at USDA, and at NASA. Datasets, GitHub repos, and entire program websites are gone, largely around topics relating to gender and sexual health, but also climate and open science. It’s not all entirely evil, but it’s not good. I’m glad there are folks working to figure out what has happened to those data.
What’s next:
Escalating attacks on immigrants and trans people are weighing heavily on me. I’m also worried about tariffs expected this weekend, especially for the misery they’ll create by making essentials like food and medicine much more expensive.
What to do:
Figure out who around you is most vulnerable and what they need. I built this to help us when the adrenaline spikes:
If you want some ideas of where to start, various faculty friends of mine are stocking food pantries for their campuses, and printing and sharing Know Your Rights cards. We’re all imperfect people doing imperfect work; just thoughtfully choose one local thing and do it.
Liminal is a sensemaking collective, so it felt obvious to make it our job to start collating and curating all the news stories, institutional announcements, and resources. Massive thanks to everyone who is doing that work with me. Thank you Andrea, Gabe, and Liz, especially, and to Neil, Mónica, Julie, and Ed. One step at a time.