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Feb 05, 2026
acx
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Links For February 2026

48 min • 7,419 words • 660 comments • 255 likes • podcast (49 min)
A monthly collection of diverse links covering AI developments and regulation, COVID origins debates, healthcare policy, cultural phenomena, scientific research, and internet curiosities, maintaining Scott's characteristic blend of serious analysis and entertaining observations. Longer summary
Scott Alexander's February 2026 links collection covers a wide range of topics including AI developments, politics, science, culture, and internet phenomena. Major themes include updates on AI capabilities and regulation (with discussions of OpenAI, Anthropic, and various political machinations around AI policy), the ongoing COVID lab leak debate and related prediction markets, healthcare and drug development issues, cultural observations from around the world, and various scientific and academic findings. The post maintains Scott's characteristic style of jumping between serious policy discussions, academic research, internet curiosities, and cultural commentary, with particular attention to AI safety concerns, rationalist community topics, and interesting historical or linguistic oddities. Shorter summary
Feb 14, 2025
acx
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Only About 40% Of The Cruz "Woke Science" Database Is Woke Science

19 min • 2,794 words • 1,001 comments • 593 likes • podcast (19 min)
Scott analyzes Ted Cruz's database of 'woke' NSF grants and finds that only 40% were actually woke, with many regular science grants included simply for having a mandatory diversity statement. Longer summary
Scott Alexander analyzes Ted Cruz's database of supposedly 'woke' NSF grants, sampling 100 grants at random. He finds that only 40% were actually woke, with another 20% borderline cases, and 40% completely unrelated to wokeness. Most non-woke grants appeared in the database because they included a seemingly mandatory sentence about helping minorities or women, likely added to satisfy grant requirements. Of the genuinely woke grants, only 10-20% were egregiously bad, while others were mostly benign STEM outreach programs. Scott argues that sorting genuine woke grants from regular science would be easy, taking only a week of work, and criticizes both the Biden administration for requiring diversity statements and Republicans for targeting legitimate research. Shorter summary
Aug 09, 2023
acx
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Links For August 2023

26 min • 3,927 words • 754 comments • 137 likes • podcast (25 min)
Scott Alexander presents a diverse collection of 38 links and news items, covering topics from book reviews and religious history to AI developments and political trends, with brief summaries and comments on each. Longer summary
This post is a collection of 38 diverse links and news items covering topics such as book reviews, religious history, economic forecasts, libertarianism, crime statistics, scientific studies, AI developments, educational policies, and political trends. Scott Alexander provides brief summaries or comments on each item, often with a mix of factual information and his own perspective. The links range from academic studies to social media posts, covering current events, historical anecdotes, and ongoing debates in various fields. Shorter summary
Jul 06, 2023
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Links For July 2023

24 min • 3,581 words • 495 comments • 117 likes • podcast (19 min)
A diverse collection of links and news items from July 2023, covering topics from historical curiosities to current technological and social developments. Longer summary
This post is a collection of interesting links and news items from July 2023. It covers a wide range of topics including historical curiosities, scientific studies, social issues, technological advancements, and current events. The post touches on subjects such as town naming, polyamory research, AI developments, and political decisions. It also includes some humorous and unusual facts, as well as commentary on social and cultural trends. Shorter summary
Mar 29, 2023
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The Government Is Making Telemedicine Hard And Inconvenient Again

12 min • 1,817 words • 398 comments • 255 likes • podcast (11 min)
Scott Alexander criticizes new DEA regulations that restrict telemedicine prescriptions for controlled substances, arguing they will harm patients and legitimate practices while failing to prevent abuse. Longer summary
Scott Alexander criticizes new DEA regulations that make it harder for telemedicine doctors to prescribe controlled substances. As a telepsychiatrist, he explains how these rules will negatively impact his practice and patients, especially those who rely on controlled substances for conditions like ADHD or anxiety. He argues that the new regulations, while intended to prevent overprescribing, will mainly create inconvenience for legitimate practitioners and patients while doing little to stop actual abusers. Scott outlines the loopholes in the law and how they highlight its absurdity, predicting that these rules will make telemedicine less accessible and effective in the long run. Shorter summary
Sep 22, 2022
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Highlights From The Comments On Billionaire Replaceability

41 min • 6,220 words • 566 comments • 68 likes • podcast (42 min)
Scott Alexander summarizes and responds to reader comments on his article about billionaire wealth, addressing various economic and ethical perspectives. Longer summary
This post summarizes and responds to reader comments on Scott Alexander's previous article about billionaire wealth and replaceability. It covers topics like natural monopolies, the role of luck vs. talent in business success, risk-taking by entrepreneurs, the political power of billionaires, and ways to test the replaceability of inventors and innovations. Scott engages with various perspectives while adding his own thoughts and clarifications on these complex economic and ethical issues. Shorter summary
Apr 13, 2022
acx
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Biography of Jason Shea, 44th US President

10 min • 1,428 words • 88 comments • 77 likes
Scott explores cultural translation by reimagining Xi Jinping's life as that of a fictional American president, Jason Shea, and reflects on the challenges of this creative exercise. Longer summary
Scott Alexander presents a creative writing exercise where he attempts to 'translate' the biography of Chinese leader Xi Jinping into an American context, creating the fictional character of Jason Shea as the 44th US President. He explores the challenges of cultural translation, drawing parallels between Chinese and American political systems and historical events. The post is divided into two parts: the fictional biography and a reflection on the writing process and its limitations. Shorter summary
Sep 16, 2019
ssc
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Against Against Pseudoaddiction

37 min • 5,604 words • 231 comments • podcast (40 min)
Scott Alexander argues that pseudoaddiction is a real and important concept, despite being widely denounced as pharma propaganda in the context of the opioid crisis. Longer summary
Scott Alexander argues that pseudoaddiction - the concept that some drug-seeking behaviors are due to undertreated pain rather than addiction - is real and important, despite being widely denounced as pharma propaganda. He presents several case studies from his own practice where patients exhibited 'drug-seeking behavior' for legitimate medical reasons. Scott criticizes a key paper arguing against pseudoaddiction, suggesting its arguments are muddled and flawed. He theorizes that while the concept started well-intentioned, it was co-opted by pharma companies, leading to media exaggeration and expert silence. Scott concludes that the denial of pseudoaddiction represents a failure of epistemics amid moral panic about the opioid crisis. Shorter summary
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