Kate Petersen

@k8petersen

Writer. Science and climate communicator. Former Stegner fellow at Stanford. Daughter of Gallahop. Opinions are my own.

1.976 Folgt2.843 Follower563 Posts

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Kate Petersen@k8petersen· Jul 17

Agree. I don't know if you know anyone there, and I love Democracy Docket's mission but this lede doesn't explain what it means to people-----at all. Most of these nouns and verbs are jargony and shop talkish, including "stems." Is there a plain language version of this story you've seen?

Text: A federal appeals court Friday temporarily revived the U.S. Postal Service’s ability to move forward with a Trump-backed rule that could severely restrict mail voting ahead of the 2026 midterms.

The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals granted USPS’ request to pause an order from U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan that blocked the agency from implementing standards and procedures in its proposed mail ballot rule while the case continues.

The rule stems from President Donald Trump’s March executive order attacking mail-in voting.

Kate Petersen@k8petersen· Jun 5

deleted and reposting my previous post: I 100 percent endorse the incredible @peculiarityshop.bsky.social for all gems lovely, shiny and bright! sharing critter ring seen on shopgoodwill (no endorsement) in case its match is somewhere in the Peculiarity universe...

silver and marcasite snake ring on a ring stand. snake is fancy and somehow very friendly-looking.

Kate Petersen@k8petersen· May 18

If you're in or around Phoenix today, Jake Skeets is giving a reading from his new book HORSES at Changing Hands bookstore @changinghands.bsky.social at 6:30 PM. Jake's poems are astonishing and beautiful; not to be missed. www.changinghands.com/event/may202... #booksky

screen cap of image of the book "HORSES" poems by Jake Skeets, black and white phoot of the author before treeshadows, and event announcement at Changing Hands - Phoenix Location Monday, May 18, 2026 6:30-7:30 PM, Free with RSVP

Kate Petersen@k8petersen· May 12

What if some leader of a G7 nation posted a branded screen cap about the 2nd most hated type of real estate on the planet as propaganda. That would be...very precedented.

Screen cap of PM Mark Carney's ad that "it's time to build": From "Betakit," headline reads 'Steel, concrete, and code': Feds and Telus announce three AI data centres in BC.

Kate Petersen@k8petersen· Mar 29

It was possible, in times of yore, for @npr.org to be quantitative through its own reporting. Now, it seems, it can offer a number only with these qualifying clauses and attributions

Screen cap of post from @NPR.org at 14:28 AZ that reads: "Update:
Organizers behind No Kings, a network of progressive groups, say millions have turned out for demonstrations across the country and abroad to speak out against the T*ump adminstration's actions."

Kate Petersen@k8petersen· Mar 26

First Watch Duty notification and already-smoky skies from Rx burns nearby. Going to be a long fire season here in the west. #AZWx

Screen cap of Watch Duty app showing "Diamond Fire: Lake Mary Rd. near Diamond Rd, S of Flagstaff, Coconino County, AZ. 2 Acres. Active." March 26, 2026

Kate Petersen@k8petersen· Mar 18

"indelible in the hippocampus"
a teal laser-cut pendant on a chain rests on a wood-grain desk.

time is a flat circle.

Kate Petersen@k8petersen· Dec 9

Great lede by @lizszabo.bsky.social and social frame that centers children’s health, science, and a coalition of experts practicing do-no-harm care work.

Many health care providers—including doctors, medical societies, city and state health departments, and regional health alliances—are rejecting unscientific vaccine recommendations from an influential federal advisory panel, and instead will continue following guidance from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).

The panel, which advises the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), voted Friday to overturn a 34-year-old recommendation to vaccinate all babies against hepatitis B at birth, a practice that has helped reduce the number of hepatitis B infections in children and young people by 99%. Instead, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) voted to recommend the birth dose only for the infants of women who test positive for hepatitis B or whose infection status is unknown.

screen cap of CIDRAP social post reads: Pediatricians reject CDC advisers' guidance, plan to continue vaccinating all newborns against hepatitis B
Hospitals and health departments across the country say they're not planning to change their vaccination policy.

Stock image of provider delivering immunization to infant

Kate Petersen@k8petersen· Nov 19

in a moment when too much of the remaining opinion column space in the states seems to have been set aside for farcical, garbled thinking, so grateful for @elienyc.bsky.social, for his moral clarity, and for the way he wields the form.

‘To put that in simple terms so that Larry Summers is able, genetically, to understand it: Summers is a tax this society places on women. He is their extra cost of doing business. And most men are willing to let them pay it. After all, most men know the tax means that they too can benefit as long as they retain some professional power.’

Kate Petersen@k8petersen· Nov 18

Omg my dog has similar jacket but I think it’s ’I hate the jacket’ :)

black and tan terrier in freeze pose wearing yellow rain jacket on pavement.

Kate Petersen@k8petersen· Sep 30

Those eyes! And the heart patch on her chest! Who do we know in Atlanta who can broadcast for this sweet senior? via @adoptapet.bsky.social

A senior black-coated dog named Bamboo melts the camera in her shelter photo shoot with those eyes while wearing a colorful floral bandana. On her chest, an heart-shaped patch of white fur. She’s available to adopt in Atlanta, Georgia, info via petfinder.

Kate Petersen@k8petersen· Sep 28

So grateful for your work amidst all this and sending you wishes for rest and care. here’s a pet pic (Rosalind 🐾)

Picture of a sweet black and tan terrier on a sofa

Kate Petersen@k8petersen· Sep 26

thinking of Layli Long Soldier and this passage: ‘I think about being a woman in this world, in this country to be specific, and the lengths to which I have been stretched… And I have learned that along the way—en route, when there is time—a dress can be ripped up to bandage.’

Text from essay: ‘I might note that I am especially drawn to women’s stories and accounts, perhaps because I am a woman and I make natural connections. For example, the following day after surviving the Wounded Knee Massacre, Mrs. Mosseau wore three dresses—this image has hooked me, years after reading her account. I think about being a woman in this world, in this country to be specific, and the lengths to which I have been stretched. Yet, our grandmothers, they endured more. I know this so I keep going, sometimes, only, because I can. And I have learned that along the way—en route, when there is time—a dress can be ripped up to bandage.’

Kate Petersen@k8petersen· Jul 14

Beginnings. This day last year, near Beinn Eighe in the Highlands

Photo of footpath flanked by green and purple heather and grasses with mountain massif in background; blue sky day in July.

Kate Petersen@k8petersen· Jul 7

A little 💡 in the darkness: today, when asked for a name, I confessed that her full name was Rosalind, and the kind person said to her, ‘you do look very Shakespearean.’

Very good black and tan terrier on picnic bench with wrought-iron railing and high top stools in background.

Kate Petersen@k8petersen· May 13

In an age of smaller word counts, budgets, attentions, all my gratitude to @newenglandreview.bsky.social for its steadfast support of longer and complex works despite the ever-chaotic literature economy and now <gestures at all this>

A photo of the first page of a short story in New England Review entitled ‘The Iowa Tooth Fairy’ by Kate Petersen.

Kate Petersen@k8petersen· May 10

My mom sent me this of a hummingbird that made its nest on a torn-out speaker cable. Which is cool..and then I went looking for how many babies she might have and found an *entire Reddit* of hummingbirds being really metal about their nest builds. So happy Mother’s Day tmrw to all hummingbird moms 🤘

picture of a hummingbird sitting in nest built in the curve of a torn-out speaker cable on a patio.

Kate Petersen@k8petersen· May 1

Awful. and while a small point, when do the paywalls catch up with the times? ‘Not enjoying the senseless destruction of science infrastructure? Not one of the 592 people okay with this? Subscribe via your imperiled institution to get existentially terrible news delivered directly to your inbox.’

‘The project’s latest round of funding was approved, but Carlson worries about subsequent rounds, and the fate of other researchers. Unless it is lifted, the freeze “is going to destroy people's labs,” Carlson says.’

Then text that reminds the reader that funding ‘is set by the US Congress’
This text is not cut and pasteable, and it’s faded and interrupted by a paywall invitation that reads: ‘enjoying our latest content? login or create an account.’

Kate Petersen@k8petersen· Apr 26

rangy tulip season! #FlowerReport

Pink, orange, and purple tulips in a planter in spring

Kate Petersen@k8petersen· Apr 25

#bloomscrolling

giant white tulips and hyacinth against a dark blue wall with a small piece of green electrical tape visible

Kate Petersen@k8petersen· Mar 24

Beautiful morning here in Boulder for Arctic Science Summit Week! I’ll be posting along the way for @permafrostpathways.bsky.social #ASSW2025

Photo of Flatirons in Boulder, CO with happy Arctic Science Summit Week organizers in mid ground.

Kate Petersen@k8petersen· Mar 24

Solid start to the idea board for week 2 of Arctic Science Summit Week! #ASSW2025

Poster board titled ‘Ideas, Generally’
First entry: ‘don’t roll! Keep doing what we’re doing as best we can’
Below, a napkin, post-its, sharpie, and post-it that reads ‘please add a post-it’

Kate Petersen@k8petersen· Jan 30

New Lego build. 🩵🤍🩷

Table of Lego pieces and at center a pink purple green vehicle on 4 wheels sporting a trans flag made of blue white and pink bricks.

Kate Petersen@k8petersen· Jan 18

unsubscribed before november but still get these delightful email reminders into the super-subtle kingmaking over there

Kate Petersen@k8petersen· Jan 17

‘Love it, mom. No really, thank you. I’ll wear it all the time’

Very unconvinced terrier sporting homemade teal and yellow sweater with novelty dino plates looks at camera with great disdain

Kate Petersen@k8petersen· Jan 15

thought I was pretty numb to bad US media takes by now but nope, heart broke again Sunday w this @npr.org segment. The gutpunch at 6:13. How Detrow doesn’t even acknowledge Huo’s words. Hearing the implications of this in every voice but his. Thank you @jh7.bsky.social for your clear-eyed report. 💔

Snippet of NPR all things considered transcript from 1/12/25 that reads:

‘KATIE HARBATH: I think those folks could be particularly negatively impacted on this and may have to - may make decisions about not being on these platforms.

HUO: Meta already changed its community standards, saying that it is OK to call women property and that gay people are mentally ill.

DETROW: Let's talk about the politics of this. As I mentioned, this comes just weeks before President-elect Trump takes office. He has cheered these changes. He and other conservatives really pressured social media to walk these policies back. What is the broader political context that we need to know?’

Kate Petersen@k8petersen· Dec 31

Here we go. May we have adequate stores of care and gumption to help one another across. ‘Plunging ahead / into the dark and light at the same time’ (with apologies and gratitude to Louise Glück)

in foreground, child in teal rain jacket takes on a long suspension bridge decorated with holiday lights and surrounded by fir trees. Not pictured and tucked in photographer’s arm: small terrier, otherwise a good sport, but no fan of wobbly suspension bridges

Kate Petersen@k8petersen· Dec 25

comfort and joy a phrase I have now overthought considerably given the ascendant brohligarchy: how to convey the wish that we may work harder for those who have not enough comfort, and work less for those who have a surfeit. joy where you can come by it. think I can learn from Rozzie in this way🎄

black and tan terrier basking in block of sunlight on multicolored rug

Kate Petersen@k8petersen· Dec 12

We interrupt these science updates for v. important seasonal Rozzie update #DogsofBluesky

Small dog nose peers out from under dog sweater hoodie that sports brown fabric antlers. Dog viewing the passenger side scenery. Sweater is gray and green harness visible. A rear view mirror is visible and beyond, hIlls

Kate Petersen@k8petersen· Dec 11

Kudos and hats off to all who worked on the #NOAA #Arctic Report Card. 97 co-authors this year, but such an effort takes many more behind the scenes, and grateful to everyone incl. community members, students, cartographers, and communicators who made such collaborative science possible! #AGU24