July 28: Ali Nouri *06 on Scientists in Public Policy; Colinford Mattis ’10

Ali Nouri *06, president of the Federation of American Scientists, and Jennifer Pearl said the U.S. needs more scientists in public policy roles, but the academe doesn’t encourage STEM graduates to take their careers in that direction. — Inside Higher Ed

Now that his case is in federal court and not state court, New York lawyer Colinford Mattis ’10 faces a minimum of 45 years in prison if convicted on charges that during a protest he participated in the throwing of a Molotov cocktail into an unoccupied police car. New Yorker writer Jeffrey Toobin called the case an “egregious example” of federal excess and said it “demonstrates the perversity of mandatory-minimum sentences, which remain common in federal court.”— The New Yorker
 
Lewis A. Lukens '86 *03 reportedly advised Woody Johnson, the American ambassador to Britain, not to suggest the British Open golf tournament be held at the Trump Turnberry resort in Scotland. At the time, Lukens was the ambassador’s deputy.— The New York Times

Rep. Mike Gallagher ’06 was correct when he said the average American family pays more to their local hospital than to the IRS. — Politifact

Former Princeton professor and former State Department official Anne-Marie Slaughter ’80 described as “hollow” President Trump’s signing of a law allowing him to sanction Chinese officials for the mass incarceration of more Uighurs and other largely Muslim minorities in Xinjiang. — The Korea Times
 
Samantha Harris ’99, an attorney at the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, decried the “stifling of dissent” on college campuses and described an effort at Princeton to rally alumni support for Classics Professor Joshua Katz. Katz had penned a letter in response to a faculty group’s demands for Princeton to address racism. — National Review
 
President Eisgruber ’83 continued the campus conversation about Katz’s letter, saying, “We need to build a public space where disagreement does not automatically paint someone as an enemy.” — The Daily Princetonian

Journalist Maria Ressa ’86 pleaded not guilty on Wednesday to tax evasion charges, saying the case was politically motivated. Ressa, who runs a news site in the Philippines news known for scrutinizing President Rodrigo Duterte, is already facing up to six years in prison on libel charges. — The New York Times

“These works are not about prediction, but prevention. The stories warn of just how far things can go if action isn’t taken, wrapped in a package that is far more impactful than a white paper or PowerPoint.”

— P.W. Singer ’97 and August Cole on why dystopian fiction is needed now more than ever. — Slate

Princeton economist Janet Currie *88 worked on research showing that while unemployment and opioid abuse are correlated, they are not causally linked. Over-prescription is more to blame. — Brookings 

American Ninja Warrior host Matt Iseman ’93 has been posting videos of himself singing, dancing, and cooking, called “Morning with Matt.” — American Ninja Warrior Nation
 
After a partial knee replacement, actress Brooke Shields ’87 said she has new appreciation for exercise and shared parts of her workout in a series of Instagram videos. — Prevention
 
In her new e-book, The New Corner Office, Laura Vanderkam ’01 says even before the pandemic, some of the most successful people worked from home. — WAMC