superbugs, H1B visas, and bingeing on nostalgia
#5SmartReads - January 7, 2025
#5SmartReads is a Webby-honored weekly news digest that amplifies underreported news and underrepresented perspectives. My goal is to help you stay informed without being overwhelmed, and to embrace nuance and reflection over picking a side.
Antibiotic emergency ‘could claim 40 million lives in next 25 years’ (The Guardian)
I’ve been a part of 3 antibiotic development programs over the past 15 years, focused on developing improved versions of existing injectable ones (one which is the most used drugs in hospitals - ever).
That we’ve done all we can in this space keeps me up at night, as there’s little to no investment in the research and development of new antibiotics. And given the rise of antimicrobial resistance, it’s a looming health crisis that few are talking about.
And it’s not just asking your physician for a Z-pack when you’re unsure if your dealing with a virus or a bacterial infection, or stopping your antibiotics when you feel better. The widespread use of antibiotic use in livestock is a serious issue, and urban development and weather patterns can boost the spread of resistant bacteria that feels like the beginning of a dystopian thriller.
There needs to be significant action taken at a macro level. At the individual level, I recommend limiting your antibiotic use to confirmed bacterial infections (and taking the full course, especially when you’re feeling better!), reducing your meat intake and opting for pasture raised and grass finished wherever possible, and to just take care of yourself.
No apps, no hacks. A guide to optimizing productivity (CNN)
‘New year, same me’ is my modus operandi for 2025.
I worked really hard last year to find a rhythm and develop rituals that helped me stay present and engaged in my work and my home life. And I feel slightly smug that many of mine mirror that of my friend Upasna - and I also learned a few things from here in this smart, succinct piece.
There is no notebook, app, or specific pen that will change your life (though the right notebook and pen have certainly sparked joy in mine). Mindful productivity requires you to be ruthlessly honest with yourself and how you’ve been working, and to face where you have room for improvement.
That, in my opinion, is the hardest part. We are addicted to the dopamine surge that comes with that app, or that notebook that our parasocial besties claim as their secret weapons, versus admitting that we’re losing hours of our day to scrolling.
I’ve been there. Hell, I still slip into that space (especially over the holidays).
You are great. Being honest about your screen time usage and how you fall down Reddit rabbit holes (guilty) won’t change that, but it will help you unlock a level within you that’s even better.
#5SmartReads is all about helping you feel smarter this week.
If you want to feel better but feel overwhelmed on what to do, check out this month’s plan (mindfulness practices, workouts, meals, and more):
Bad News for Trump’s Legislative Agenda (The Atlantic)
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A glimmer I stay focused on when I think about the incoming administration is that these leaders continue to serve in Congress:
Speaker Johnson’s narrow election to keeping the gavel is proof of that, and any congressional action is likely going to require Democrats to be on board (unlike the first two years of the first Trump term).
Is it the outcome I hoped for last November? No. Is it hopeful and something to direct my focus towards over the next two years? Absolutely.
The Future That Never Came (Slate)
If recounting the history of the past 20 years wasn’t an attack enough, the bubble busting of millennials’ youthful optimism just hurt.
Pain and cringe aside, this is one of the smartest reads I’ve come across - uncomfortably so. It’s a sharp analysis of the future that politics, technology, and culture promised in the mid 90s, only to crumble under the pendulum swinging back.
As it always does.
“Try as I might to shape my life in a particular way, it has never been mine to shape. Much of adulthood has felt to me like an accumulation of disappointment and despair. It’s historical, it’s personal, and I’m not quite sure where the one ends and the other begins. And it hurts because, as Smash Mouth says, “the years start coming and they don’t stop coming.””
I may take a page from Colette’s book and indulge in some Y2K nostalgia of my own - creating a playlist of my favorite early millennium songs, twisting my hair into space buns, re-learning the “Oops I Did It Again” choreography…
I’m certainly starting her book (aptly named Y2K) this week.
H1B debate: The problem is not racism or an elaborate scam – it’s arithmetic (Scroll.In)
This might be the single best article that unpacks the H1B debate (recently re-ignited by differing sides of MAGA world) with the necessary nuance and reporting it requires.
And if anyone sells you on a simple narrative that presents the issue as an obvious one, you can direct them to Gaurav Sabnis’ analysis that educates without insulting or pandering to a specific group.
While we tend to view H1B visas as a separate issue from border security, they are two sides of the ‘punting the immigration football down the field’ coin. Comprehensive immigration reform hasn’t been acted upon in decades, despite the desire and plans from every president since the Reagan.
It’s high time that changes. When that change happens…well, that’s anyone’s guess.
That’s one of the most nuanced takes on the H-1B visa issue I’ve read. As an immigration lawyer who represents mostly businesses in the hard sciences international talent is critical. Where I get frustrated is that my Masters and PhD level engineers and scientists in physics, chemistry, etc. with truly specialized knowledge are competing in the same H-1B lottery as entry level IT folks. The O-1 extraordinary ability visa is hard to get and adjudications are incredibly uneven.