What does it mean to be human - and how can we keep that in the face of ever-more-powerful technology? My latest, inspired by the late great Kurt Vonnegut: open.substack.com/pub/mariakon...

Playing chess like a poker player An excerpt from "Thinking Sideways," by Jennifer Shahade

Happy book birthday,
@jenshahade.bsky.social! Read an excerpt in the link below--and also find out why, to this day, I find chess traumatic: mariakonnikova.substack.com/p/playing-ch...

He Had a Full Ride at Duke—Until America Cut Him Off Student visas for Africa’s best and brightest were canceled by the Trump administration, leaving behind empty seats and broken dreams.

Zero Americans benefit from this.

All of us, every Conservative and every Liberal American, are watching our future hobbled.

Shattering a treasured national asset: our former status as the top destination for global talent, hard-wrought by generations of visionary Republicans and Democrats.

🙏🙏

It took me a while to put my thoughts together, but I had to write about that Atlantic piece--even though I've never placed a single sports bet in my life: open.substack.com/pub/mariakon...

Welcome to poker, Kylie. My latest: open.substack.com/pub/mariakon...

When I was in Paris, I had a meal that came with some fairly strict rules. My latest, on the current crisis of attention: open.substack.com/pub/mariakon...

(I am amused :))

Ha

"To kill a man is not to defend a doctrine: it is to kill a man." My latest: open.substack.com/pub/mariakon...

Minnesota Proved MAGA Wrong The pushback against ICE exposed a series of mistaken assumptions.

"It takes far more courage to stare down the barrel of a gun while you’re armed with only a whistle and a phone than it does to point a gun at an unarmed protester." www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...

This is so, so good

🙏🙏🙏

My latest, on the importance of sometimes putting aside your keyboard for an actual pen: open.substack.com/pub/mariakon...

Than you for listening!! We will keep you posted on any future plans!

Ensures that all the diseases covered by the previous immunization schedule will still be available to anyone who wants them through Affordable Care Act insurance plans and federal insurance programs, including Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program, and the Vaccines for Children program. Families will not have to purchase them out of pocket. Among peer nations, the U.S. will continue to offer the most childhood vaccines for free to those who want them.

Copy Editing Matters, from HHS's release on the new childhood vaccine schedule: All the diseases will still be available to anyone who wants them

Hence the exhortation to improve the world at large, as well.

Wishing you all a wonderful 2026, inspired by one of my favorite poets, Seamus Heaney. New piece: open.substack.com/pub/mariakon...

(Of course, making up nonexistent abilities or pushing your patients toward your own image is far worse. That’s why I think some of what he did is akin to malpractice. That said I still call him brilliant and great, as you read)

Also, take something like the made-up wall in the Tourette’s case. It does zero to obscure the character. It’s just one of these chef’s kiss details that elevates the prose to a new level. He made it up just to have a better story, with zero medical rationale. That is journalistic sin.

This speaks for me too. I felt sure there was an element of elaboration in what Oliver wrote, but it went far further than I imagined. I still consider him a friend, but sometimes friends can deeply disappoint you (and doubtless vice versa). What a complicated man.

And let’s also remember that the fabrications we know are only the ones he admitted to in his journals. And it’s very clear his journals are quite self-serving. This makes me distrust far more that he’s written.

She does indeed. Also: Saks goes way beyond obscuring characters. He makes up key abilities. He changes what people did or said in ways that show their illness in a different light. He puts others on incorrect paths to confirm phenomena that don’t actually exist.

The man who mistook his imagination for the truth The disappointing reality of one of my (ex-)heroes, Oliver Sacks

Oliver Sacks was a hero of mine. I couldn't let @rachelaviv.bsky.social’s brilliant piece pass without comment. My latest, on why Sacks's fictions are so much worse than those of your garden-variety journalist fabulist.
. open.substack.com/pub/mariakon...

Is it ever ok to use AI in a creative setting? A poker-world fiasco with real-world creative implications

When (and how) should AI be used in creative settings — and when is it a betrayal of your audience? My latest: open.substack.com/pub/mariakon...

In defense of the em-dash I don't use AI in my writing. Ever. But the em-dash? Always.

Save the em-dash! open.substack.com/pub/mariakon...

You, too, can live your best life. And maybe win a Nobel?? My latest: open.substack.com/pub/mariakon...

OPINION TODAY featured podcast —
Will Eric Adams’s Exit Change the NYC Mayoral Election?
(Risky Business with Nate Silver and @mkonnikova.bsky.social)
opiniontoday.substack.com/i/175001460/...

Low Rollers, Episode 38: Maria Konnikova on poker, podcasting, and making better decisions (like not gambling) | Podcast Episode on RSS.com It's a new episode of CasinoReports.com's weekly gaming-biz podcast, Low Rollers! Host Eric Raskin analyzes the implications for FanDuel, DraftKings, and other regulated operators of prediction market...

The first episode of the solo-host era of LOW ROLLERS is here, featuring a conversation w/ @mkonnikova.bsky.social
about her friendship with Nate Silver, her passion for tournament poker & much more. Also, my analysis of Kalshi offering SGPs, and a tale of player prop pain: rss.com/podcasts/low...

I love @asherperlman.bsky.social’s work. So I decided to ruin the magic by figuring out why. My latest: open.substack.com/pub/mariakon...