Jake Withee
@witheelabs.bsky.social
Former bee biologist. Former-er plant geneticist. Intermittent videographer. Occasional musician. All-the-time dorky science educator, plus spooky podcaster at https://superduperstitious.com
I also write the YouTube show Bizarre Beasts!
I also write the YouTube show Bizarre Beasts!
This was a fun one to research, AND they still let me include some of the dumbest jokes I've ever written!
This month's beast is, of course, the Greenland shark!
We blamed Greenland sharks for the gruesome deaths of over 5,000 seals from 1993-2001 near Sable Island. The only thing it's actually guilty of is outlasting every other vertebrate on the planet.
youtu.be/ldAGbtpD9uI?...
We blamed Greenland sharks for the gruesome deaths of over 5,000 seals from 1993-2001 near Sable Island. The only thing it's actually guilty of is outlasting every other vertebrate on the planet.
youtu.be/ldAGbtpD9uI?...
October 9, 2026 at 2:02 PM
This was a fun one to research, AND they still let me include some of the dumbest jokes I've ever written!
Reposted by Jake Withee
I’m grateful for this research and also it feels profoundly dark to think about how the acute occupation of Metro Surge poisoned the actual earth of this already-occupied Dakota land.
What did a winter of tear gas leave in Minneapolis soil? U of M researchers are trying to find out.
The study aims to determine whether chemical munitions used by federal agents left contaminants in neighborhood gardens and soil.
www.startribune.com
August 22, 2026 at 5:54 AM
I’m grateful for this research and also it feels profoundly dark to think about how the acute occupation of Metro Surge poisoned the actual earth of this already-occupied Dakota land.
Reposted by Jake Withee
Museum folks! What are the most common questions you get asked about exhibits/objects? #museumsky #scicomm
August 19, 2026 at 12:02 AM
Museum folks! What are the most common questions you get asked about exhibits/objects? #museumsky #scicomm
Wanna learn about a salamander species that lives its whole life in treetops? Good, because that's what I got.
Check out my latest for Bizarre Beasts! I research and write all of these and I'm real proud of how they turn out and of the whole team who makes it happen!!!
Check out my latest for Bizarre Beasts! I research and write all of these and I'm real proud of how they turn out and of the whole team who makes it happen!!!
The Skydiving Salamander of The Redwood Forest
YouTube video by Bizarre Beasts
youtu.be
August 3, 2026 at 6:14 PM
Wanna learn about a salamander species that lives its whole life in treetops? Good, because that's what I got.
Check out my latest for Bizarre Beasts! I research and write all of these and I'm real proud of how they turn out and of the whole team who makes it happen!!!
Check out my latest for Bizarre Beasts! I research and write all of these and I'm real proud of how they turn out and of the whole team who makes it happen!!!
Reposted by Jake Withee
California is debating legislation right now that would ban all ICE employees from ever being hired by a public agency for life. This is good and next year's Democratic House needs to provide a full roster of ICE employees to help facilitate state efforts like this one.
July 14, 2026 at 4:37 AM
California is debating legislation right now that would ban all ICE employees from ever being hired by a public agency for life. This is good and next year's Democratic House needs to provide a full roster of ICE employees to help facilitate state efforts like this one.
I wrote about some cute li'l snakes, and I can assure you that they are both cute and li'l.
Oh and they're also exclusively female, clones, and slowly taking over the world!
Oh and they're also exclusively female, clones, and slowly taking over the world!
These Snake Clones Are Everywhere (And It’s Our Fault)
YouTube video by Bizarre Beasts
youtu.be
June 4, 2026 at 7:29 PM
I wrote about some cute li'l snakes, and I can assure you that they are both cute and li'l.
Oh and they're also exclusively female, clones, and slowly taking over the world!
Oh and they're also exclusively female, clones, and slowly taking over the world!
Reposted by Jake Withee
Having failed to secure the Snickers or M&Ms that were my original objectives, sources tell the Washington Post I will now be refocusing all energy on extracating my hand from where it is stuck inside the vending machine and restoring said machine to the working order it was in prior to my arrival.
Reopening the Strait of Hormuz — a critical conduit for global energy supplies — has emerged as perhaps the paramount objective of the Iran war.
Trump threats, U.S. troop build-up raise specter of battle for Hormuz
Israelis said securing the strait for energy shipments could become the war’s main goal now that regime change and ending Iran’s ability to obtain a nuclear weapon seem out of reach.
www.washingtonpost.com
March 23, 2026 at 12:33 AM
Having failed to secure the Snickers or M&Ms that were my original objectives, sources tell the Washington Post I will now be refocusing all energy on extracating my hand from where it is stuck inside the vending machine and restoring said machine to the working order it was in prior to my arrival.
Reposted by Jake Withee
The elected officials who rep a majority of the city have to beg Jacob Frey to not veto an extension in eviction notices. @Jacob_Frey who rode the wave of our collective suffering on his national PR tour, the most vulnerable in our city have to beg Jacob Frey to not impede help.
March 9, 2026 at 5:45 PM
The elected officials who rep a majority of the city have to beg Jacob Frey to not veto an extension in eviction notices. @Jacob_Frey who rode the wave of our collective suffering on his national PR tour, the most vulnerable in our city have to beg Jacob Frey to not impede help.
Reposted by Jake Withee
It’s not just Medicaid funding they’re withholding to MN. It’s food assistance, child care assistance, social services, job training, safety testing, public health, disaster relief. SNAP. Free lunch for kids in school.
They hate us for loving our neighbors, and are collectively punishing us for it.
They hate us for loving our neighbors, and are collectively punishing us for it.
BREAKING: Vice President JD Vance says the Trump administration is pausing some Medicaid funding to Minnesota because of fraud concerns.
Vance says administration is pausing some Medicaid funding to Minnesota because of fraud concerns
Vice President JD Vance says the Trump administration will “temporarily halt” some Medicaid funding to the state of Minnesota over fraud concerns.
bit.ly
February 25, 2026 at 10:37 PM
It’s not just Medicaid funding they’re withholding to MN. It’s food assistance, child care assistance, social services, job training, safety testing, public health, disaster relief. SNAP. Free lunch for kids in school.
They hate us for loving our neighbors, and are collectively punishing us for it.
They hate us for loving our neighbors, and are collectively punishing us for it.
Reposted by Jake Withee
NEW: Guards have taken away crayons, colored pencils & paper during recent room searches at Dilley, according to detainees and others. After one inspection, the children just “cried and cried and cried,” a mother said. The facility denies the claims.
By @mckenziefunk.com @micarosenberg.bsky.social
By @mckenziefunk.com @micarosenberg.bsky.social
Seized Art, Eavesdropping Guards: Parents Describe a Clampdown at Dilley Detention Center as Kids Shared Their Stories
Detainees told ProPublica that art supplies have been removed in room searches, immigrants have lost access to Gmail and staff hover within earshot during video calls.
www.propublica.org
February 26, 2026 at 1:10 PM
NEW: Guards have taken away crayons, colored pencils & paper during recent room searches at Dilley, according to detainees and others. After one inspection, the children just “cried and cried and cried,” a mother said. The facility denies the claims.
By @mckenziefunk.com @micarosenberg.bsky.social
By @mckenziefunk.com @micarosenberg.bsky.social
Reposted by Jake Withee
Pardoning drug lords but deporting sick little kids straight from the hospital really sums the whole thing up doesn’t it
So after Trump pardoned Honduras's narco-president, the admin didn't just let him out--they canceled an immigration hold and sent a specialized team to **chauffeur him to the $1k/night Waldorf Astoria.**
“It's "absolutely fucking nuts,” said one official
www.propublica.org/article/trum...
“It's "absolutely fucking nuts,” said one official
www.propublica.org/article/trum...
February 18, 2026 at 2:11 PM
Pardoning drug lords but deporting sick little kids straight from the hospital really sums the whole thing up doesn’t it
Reposted by Jake Withee
Someone has sure already made this observation but the fact they can convert all those empty warehouses into prison camps means they could have converted them into housing, community centers, job training centers or, hell, libraries or schools all along. It’s always a matter of will not resources.
February 15, 2026 at 5:30 PM
Someone has sure already made this observation but the fact they can convert all those empty warehouses into prison camps means they could have converted them into housing, community centers, job training centers or, hell, libraries or schools all along. It’s always a matter of will not resources.
Reposted by Jake Withee
He literally says in this clip that ICE will keep in Minnesota “quick reaction forces” — a military term — to go after “agitators.” Remember that those on the ground in MPLS have spent more than a week trying to tell everyone that Trump’s prior “deescalation” was a ruse and ICE is still operational
Homan: "Operation Metro Surge is ending. In the next week, we're going to deploy the officers here on detail back to their home stations or to other areas of the country where they're needed."
February 12, 2026 at 2:44 PM
He literally says in this clip that ICE will keep in Minnesota “quick reaction forces” — a military term — to go after “agitators.” Remember that those on the ground in MPLS have spent more than a week trying to tell everyone that Trump’s prior “deescalation” was a ruse and ICE is still operational
Reposted by Jake Withee
Reposted by Jake Withee
It's not only that they're not going after "the worst of the worst" in any way, but their whole approach of going after whoever is easiest, to get their numbers up, means they are punishing the best of the best, the people who are putting in the most effort to follow the rules and do what's right
I was talking about this to someone who said, "this guy did everything right!" Sure, people doing everything right are the easiest and least resource-intensive to grab.
And following the rules doesn't matter at all to these ghouls waging a campaign of ethnic cleansing.
And following the rules doesn't matter at all to these ghouls waging a campaign of ethnic cleansing.
February 11, 2026 at 9:28 PM
It's not only that they're not going after "the worst of the worst" in any way, but their whole approach of going after whoever is easiest, to get their numbers up, means they are punishing the best of the best, the people who are putting in the most effort to follow the rules and do what's right
Reposted by Jake Withee
Anyone in Minnesota will tell you that this matches the eye test. They are simply grabbing anyone who's not white. Full stop. There is no other strategy to this at all. It's a racist, heinous federal occupation.
Dismantle the agencies.
Prosecute everyone involved.
Redistribute all the funding.
Dismantle the agencies.
Prosecute everyone involved.
Redistribute all the funding.
A stunning detail the ICE chief shared in this hearing that was supposed to be a brag, except it isn't: ICE has arrested 379,000 people between Jan. 2025-Jan. 2026 -- but only 8,700 were suspected gang members or known suspected terrorists.
That's 2%! www.huffpost.com/entry/latest...
That's 2%! www.huffpost.com/entry/latest...
Congresswoman Uses Simple Math To Show How Broken ICE Is
www.huffpost.com
February 10, 2026 at 7:34 PM
Anyone in Minnesota will tell you that this matches the eye test. They are simply grabbing anyone who's not white. Full stop. There is no other strategy to this at all. It's a racist, heinous federal occupation.
Dismantle the agencies.
Prosecute everyone involved.
Redistribute all the funding.
Dismantle the agencies.
Prosecute everyone involved.
Redistribute all the funding.
Reposted by Jake Withee
Swear to god, ICE could just announce they're leaving a city but not leave and the media will just stop covering that city completely even though ICE never left.
It's what ICE and the media did with LA and they're doing it with Minneapolis too
It's what ICE and the media did with LA and they're doing it with Minneapolis too
February 6, 2026 at 12:19 AM
Swear to god, ICE could just announce they're leaving a city but not leave and the media will just stop covering that city completely even though ICE never left.
It's what ICE and the media did with LA and they're doing it with Minneapolis too
It's what ICE and the media did with LA and they're doing it with Minneapolis too
Reposted by Jake Withee
I can’t overstate that nearly every good headline coming out of Minnesota has been followed up by retaliation by the Trump administration—which tends to get a lot less attention.
This is infuriating and devastating.
This is infuriating and devastating.
BREAKING: The federal government has filed a motion seeking to end asylum claims for the family of Liam Conejo Ramos, according to the lawyer representing the family.
DHS has requested expedited deportation proceedings against family of Liam Conejo Ramos
The federal government has filed a motion seeking to end asylum claims for the family of Liam Conejo Ramos, according to the lawyer representing the family.
www.mprnews.org
February 6, 2026 at 3:13 AM
I can’t overstate that nearly every good headline coming out of Minnesota has been followed up by retaliation by the Trump administration—which tends to get a lot less attention.
This is infuriating and devastating.
This is infuriating and devastating.
Reposted by Jake Withee
This is how Tom Homan reacts to losing a court case to free a medically fragile 5-year-old who was used as bait to lure his dad so they could be imprisoned in a measles factory. Fuck any de-escalation stories that come out.
Columbia Heights (Liam's school district) cancelled school today because of a credible bomb threat at Liam's elementary and multiple ICE vehicles parking in the high school staff parking lot at 6:15am.
February 2, 2026 at 1:11 PM
This is how Tom Homan reacts to losing a court case to free a medically fragile 5-year-old who was used as bait to lure his dad so they could be imprisoned in a measles factory. Fuck any de-escalation stories that come out.
Reposted by Jake Withee
People are getting on board with dissolving ice but we really need to drive home that ice is just a police dept that cares less if you see them be awful.
The police do all this and get away with it because they've done it to black people and white america has long held the belief that it's just.
The police do all this and get away with it because they've done it to black people and white america has long held the belief that it's just.
January 30, 2026 at 6:11 PM
People are getting on board with dissolving ice but we really need to drive home that ice is just a police dept that cares less if you see them be awful.
The police do all this and get away with it because they've done it to black people and white america has long held the belief that it's just.
The police do all this and get away with it because they've done it to black people and white america has long held the belief that it's just.
Reposted by Jake Withee
A compromise with fascism is still fascism
January 30, 2026 at 1:04 AM
A compromise with fascism is still fascism
Reposted by Jake Withee
Pro tip for any Hill journos, the Speaker can approve 24hr protection for Members who are under heightened threat. Omar used to have this, but Mike Johnson took it away. You should ask him about that
January 28, 2026 at 3:48 AM
Pro tip for any Hill journos, the Speaker can approve 24hr protection for Members who are under heightened threat. Omar used to have this, but Mike Johnson took it away. You should ask him about that
Reposted by Jake Withee
I continue to believe that the fastest way to get Stephen Miller fired is to convince Trump that Miller's ICE operations are what cost him the Nobel Peace Prize.
January 27, 2026 at 4:54 AM
I continue to believe that the fastest way to get Stephen Miller fired is to convince Trump that Miller's ICE operations are what cost him the Nobel Peace Prize.
Reposted by Jake Withee
A lot more people should know about the bravery Marimar Martinez displayed in the midst of Chicago’s occupation and the murder of two observers in MSP. They tried to kill her, shooting her 5 times, and it’s a miracle she’s alive to push for transparency like this after being persecuted by the DOJ.
The woman who survived five gunshots from a Border Patrol agent in Chicago, only to be criminally charged and then cleared, now wants a judge’s permission to share records showing how the feds respond when agents use deadly force.
@chicago.suntimes.com story: chicago.suntimes.com/immigration/...
@chicago.suntimes.com story: chicago.suntimes.com/immigration/...
Woman shot by Border Patrol in Chicago asks judge to let her release evidence
Marimar Martinez is blocked from releasing evidence in her case by what's known as a "protective order." Though standard, her attorney says it's “become an albatross” around her neck and “keeps the en...
chicago.suntimes.com
January 26, 2026 at 11:27 PM
A lot more people should know about the bravery Marimar Martinez displayed in the midst of Chicago’s occupation and the murder of two observers in MSP. They tried to kill her, shooting her 5 times, and it’s a miracle she’s alive to push for transparency like this after being persecuted by the DOJ.