Maryn McKenna

@marynmck

Journalist. Contributing Ed, Scientific American. Senior Fellow, Emory Univ Center for the Study of Human Health. Books: BIG CHICKEN, SUPERBUG, BEATING BACK THE DEVIL. Stories: Location: points on the 44th parallel.

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Maryn McKenna@marynmck· Jul 1

The British Museum opened ticketing today for the visiting Bayeux Tapestry and is currently experiencing a Ticketmaster situation.

A screen grab from a ticketing website pre-entry pane warns the viewer that the wait to access the site exceeds 6 hours, and that 57,981 people are ahead of them.

Maryn McKenna@marynmck· Jun 12

I'd say unbelievable, but: Texas.

The image is a block of yellow text against a purple background that reads:
"Armadillo Racing and photos, Camel Rides, Dog Performances, Elephant Rides, Horse and Pony Rides, Real Monkeys for Parties, Sloths, Exotic Petting Zoos, Reptiles like big snakes and lizards, Exotic Insect Educational Programs, Live Reindeer for Holiday Parties, Live Longhorns for Photo Opportunities, and more!"

Maryn McKenna@marynmck· May 25

I am late to this, but: Wishing a Glorious 25th to everyone. How they do rise up.

A close-up of a panicle of lilac-colored lilac flowers, fully open, pointing to upper left.

Maryn McKenna@marynmck· May 20

If you sat down and worked it out with pencil and eraser and some excellent paper, you could not come up with a headline more likely to incite rage and panic among a certain stratum of parents and their achieving children.

In black text against a grey background (because that's what you get when you refuse to buy a subscription to the Boston Globe and it tries to limit your access as a result), a newspaper headline says: "Harvard faculty vote to cap number of A's in effort to reduce grade inflation."

Maryn McKenna@marynmck· May 4

A really excellent decision by the Pulitzer Prizes board to award a special citation to Julie K. Brown for her reporting in 2018-19 that accomplished the first exposure both of Jeffrey Epstein's crimes and of the powerful people who protected him. The citation text is copied from Poynter.org.

A screen grab from a website reads: "A special citation is awarded to Miami Herald reporter Julie K. Brown for her groundbreaking reporting in 2017 and 2018 that exposed Jeffrey Epstein’s systematic abuse of young women, the justice system that protected him, and, over time, his powerful network of associates and enablers. Her Perversion of Justice series, published nearly a decade ago, revealed how prosecutors shielded Epstein from federal sex trafficking charges when he was first accused of abusing young women. She went on to document and give voice to the scores of victims who had been groomed and abused by him and others in his circle. Her work, and the release of the government’s Epstein files, continue to reverberate around the world."

Maryn McKenna@marynmck· Apr 23

The White House Correspondents Dinner, where Beltway media compete to invite better-dressed and better-known celebrities and politicos, used to be known as Nerd Prom. With the WCHD's embracing "honoree" Trump and courting anti-media Cabinet members, it's now being called MAGA Prom. @puck.news :

Maryn McKenna@marynmck· Apr 20

Here I am again nagging you about this event in two days, which will be excellent even though it includes me! Weds 22 April at 6pm US ET, a livestreamed conversation with @jasongale.bsky.social of @bloomberg.com about his new book AFTER COVID. Sign up here: humanhealth.emory.edu/events/livin...

A horizontal white bar with pale teal borders top and bottom carries the legend Health Storytelling Live Author Q&A and bears these images:
A book cover with an image of a discarded surgical mask against a blurred landscape and the words AFTER COVID: THE HEALTH IMPACTS THAT WILL LAST GENERATIONS; a dark-haired man in an open-collared blue shirt, author and journalist Jason Gale of Bloomberg News; and a woman with dark auburn hair and a black jacket, journalist and host Maryn McKenna. The rest of the information is in the post text.

Maryn McKenna@marynmck· Mar 31

Voyez mdrrrrr

Maryn McKenna@marynmck· Mar 13

Put this on your calendar for next week! On Thursday 19 March at 6pm US ET, I'll talk to @drtomfrieden.bsky.social of Resolve to Save Lives (and formerly the CDC) about his new book THE FORMULA FOR BETTER HEALTH. RSVP here for livestream links: humanhealth.emory.edu/events/livin...

A horizontal white bar with pale teal borders top and bottom carries the legend Health Storytelling Live Author Q&A and bears these images:
A cream and turquoise book cover with the words THE FORMULA FOR BETTER HEALTH: HOW TO SAVE MILLIONS OF LIVES — INCLUDING YOUR OWN; a dark-haired man in a blue jacket and red tie, the author Tom Frieden, MD MPH; and a woman with dark auburn hair and a black jacket, the host Maryn McKenna. The rest of the information is in the post text.

Maryn McKenna@marynmck· Mar 9

Submitting, for consideration:

Maryn McKenna@marynmck· Mar 3

Congratulations to the WHCA for fully ascending to the position of palace media. Via @status.news :

Maryn McKenna@marynmck· Feb 17

Did you forget to sign up for my author livestream Weds at 6 ET with Mallary Tenore Tarpley and her book SLIP? Not too late! Skip the RSVP and just come watch us at these links: LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/events/74271... YouTube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=2p9A... FB: www.facebook.com/emorycshh/po...

A horizontal white bar with pale teal borders top and bottom carries the legend Health Storytelling Live Author Q&A and bears these images:
A red book cover with the words SLIP: LIFE IN THE MIDDLE OF EATING DISORDER RECOVERY; a smiling blonde woman, the author Mallary Tenore Tarpley; the host Maryn McKenna, with dark auburn hair and a black jacket. The rest of the information is in the post text.

Maryn McKenna@marynmck· Feb 16

Maryn McKenna@marynmck· Feb 14

We could be a real country.

Maryn McKenna@marynmck· Feb 7

Won’t someone think of the people enjoying inherited wealth, forced into spending some of their capital as those unearned possessions age? Who will speak for them?

Maryn McKenna@marynmck· Feb 2

France: We are very sophisticated. France: We are the home of nonjudgmental sexual variety and refinement. Also France:

The screenshot from a French news site describes an ER patient who arrived at a hospital having jammed a World War I shell up his butt. The bomb squad was called.

Maryn McKenna@marynmck· Feb 2

It's Nerd Book Club time again! The Health Storytelling series of livestreamed chats with authors of new books (and me) returns this spring with Mallary Tenore Tarpley, Dr. Tom Frieden, and Jason Gale. First up: Tenore Tarpley on 18 Feb with "SLIP," on eating disorders: bit.ly/mallary-teno...

A horizontal white bar with pale teal borders top and bottom carries the legend Health Storytelling Live Author Q&A and bears the images of four authors: Mallary Tenore Tarpley, a smiling blonde woman; Dr. Tom Frieden, a dark-haired man wearing a suit and tie; Jason Gale, who has close-cropped hair; and host Maryn McKenna, with dark auburn hair and a black jacket. The image content announces the start of a series of livestreams interviewing these authors about their new books. The rest of the information is in the post text.

Maryn McKenna@marynmck· Jan 15

Guys the NYTimes found a new rural diner.

A screenshot of a portion of a New York Times story published 15 Jan 2026 says:
"The regulars file into Ye Olde Pickle Factory in Nisswa, Minn., before 10 a.m. most days, taking their seats at the bar. Chili pepper lights hang from the ceiling, and neon beer signs glow against wood-paneled walls. A television flickers on. “The Price Is Right” is about to start.

They have been doing this since the mid-1980s, gathering in this small, dim room, waiting for someone on the game show to spin exactly $1 on the big wheel. When that happens, everyone receives a token for a free drink. Lately, they had been in a lull. No one had hit the dollar in weeks — until Wednesday.

Nisswa is a town of about 2,000 people in the Brainerd Lakes Area..."

Maryn McKenna@marynmck· Dec 19

In a single panel from the comic posted at <https://qwantz.com/index.php?comic=3326>, an offscreen voice exclaims "Oh, the year was 1778!" and a green T-rex replies "How I wish I was in Sherbrooke now!"
These are the opening lines of the Stan Rogers song about unsuccessful pirates, "Barrett's Privateers."

Maryn McKenna@marynmck· Dec 12

I have died and am crumbling into dust.

Maryn McKenna@marynmck· Dec 9

What was medical care like before the ACA? One tiny glimpse, from a box of old notes: multiple ERs “saturated,” “on diversion,” “trauma case by case only.” The first page of a thick stack of alert reports from one overnight and morning in one metro area. It was bad, y’all.

Maryn McKenna@marynmck· Nov 21

Absolutely agree. Absent *strong* cultural/religious pressure to the contrary, as people garner more income, they buy and eat more meat. It's a reliable economic signal of an emerging economy. Look at the predicted demand curve the USDA drew for China in 2013. www.ers.usda.gov/amber-waves/...

Maryn McKenna@marynmck· Nov 18

(@palmerandpenn on Insta)

Maryn McKenna@marynmck· Nov 17

Currently posted in the ATL airport, a 2-story high poster about ASF!

Maryn McKenna@marynmck· Nov 17

This is an extraordinary slur on the USDA. Infected cattle are just… walking across the border? Unnoticed? Uninspected? 2,000-lb animals don’t exactly fit in a backpack. Copied from the bad place, sorry.

Maryn McKenna@marynmck· Nov 17

In two more days! Catch the last episode in this fall's Health Storytelling on Weds night at 6pm US ET as I talk to @eramalam.bsky.social about her brand-new book THE CARE OF FOREIGNERS. RSVP at this page to get the livestream links: humanhealth.emory.edu/events/livin...

A horizontal white card with tan borders top and bottom shows on the left a book cover with the title THE CARE OF FOREIGNERS: HOW IMMIGRANT PHYSICIANS CHANGED US HEALTHCARE, and on the right, two faces: a woman with long dark hair, and another woman with auburn hair who is smiling. The rest of the card’s information is repeated in the post text.

Maryn McKenna@marynmck· Nov 9

Maryn McKenna@marynmck· Nov 8

Random personal testimony from shutdown air-travel chaos: 4-hour delays in Boston, lines for rebooking desks go halfway down concourses. Complicated by severe weather in major hub ATL, flights diverted and just now coming back. The system can usually absorb weather, but not with shutdown ATC cuts.

Maryn McKenna@marynmck· Oct 20

It's not too late! To sign up and receive the livestream links for my conversation with @starrevartan.bsky.social at 6pm ET on Wednesday about her excellent book THE STRONGER SEX. RSVP at humanhealth.emory.edu/events/livin...

A horizontal white card with tan borders top and bottom shows a red book cover with white lettering and an image of a woman leaping over the letters, and the headshots of two white women, a red-haired woman in a black and white top and an auburn-haired woman in a black jacket. The rest of the information on the card is duplicated in the post text.

Maryn McKenna@marynmck· Oct 18

Boston, ilu