Lots of commentary about plagiarism in scholarship of late, including a recent horrible one from a cancer research institute. Got me thinking about a few things.
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References:
https://usingsources.fas.harvard.edu/what-constitutes-plagiarism-0
https://www.wbur.org/news/2024/01/23/cancer-institute-data-fabrication-manipulation
Professor Stuart Reges, with the help of FIRE, wins his lawsuit to protect his academic freedom.
References:
https://www.thecollegefix.com/u-washington-professor-wins-600k-settlement-in-parody-land-acknowledgement-case/
https://www.fire.org/news/washington-professor-who-parodied-university-land-acknowledgment-wins-600k-settlement
https://nypost.com/2026/09/03/opinion/how-i-fought-land-acknowledgements-on-campus-and-won/
https://x.com/eesavka/status/2095554216517357937
The AAUP continues down the same trail as others, and makes the same dumb mistake.
References:
https://www.aaup.org/news/aaup-announces-first-ever-national-political-endorsement
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/government/politics-elections/2026/07/30/aaup-embraces-political-role-candidate-endorsements
https://jonathanturley.org/2026/07/31/abdul-el-sayed-and-the-demise-of-the-aaup-academic-association-abandons-neutrality-with-first-political-endorsement/
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-00799-3
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41562-023-01537-5
Peer review most definitely has issues, but how do we address them? Let's talk through that courtesy of a recent piece in Free the Inquiry!
References:
https://www.freetheinquiry.com/p/peer-review-has-real-problems-abolishing
A study in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health examines the fraction of children with asthma that is attributable to gas stoves in the home. Interesting take, but there are a few things worth pointing out.
The YouTube version of the episode will be up tomorrow morning!
Article reviewed in this episode:
Population Attributable Fraction of Gas Stoves and Childhood Asthma in the United States
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/20/1/75
Music from Uppbeat (free for Creators!):
https://uppbeat.io/t/mojo/rebel
License code: D5OVVTNIN7FRRQIR
Been awhile, but I'm finally back at it more regularly again! New content to drop tonight (tomorrow on YouTube).
The new one on the actions of “Affinity Groups” is quite interesting, but you can only get it as a paying subscriber! Go check it out! https://open.spotify.com/episode/0f9q192oAAwAiKCjCC6Edv?si=0b_flngGQliFxK7I_d5N6Q
