¡Do Not Panic!

¡Do Not Panic! explores societal, health, and environmental issues through critical analysis. It addresses how misinformation, public policy, and individual behavior impact collective health and the environment. The substack critically examines the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, systemic denial, and the consequences of prioritizing economy over public health, encouraging a reevaluation of societal norms and policies.

Public Health COVID-19 Pandemic Climate Change Societal Behavior Misinformation and Denial Environmental Policy Individual vs. Collective Responsibility Impact of Capitalism Global Health Policy Social and Political Critique

The hottest Substack posts of ¡Do Not Panic!

And their main takeaways

The Billionaire Who Wants To Live Forever Has Long Covid

2103 implied HN points • 10 Feb 24
🏥 Health & Wellness Long Covid Immortality Pandemic Health Risks
  1. The billionaire who wants to live forever has long covid and a 15% reduction in lung capacity due to a mild infection in November 2022.
  2. No one thought to ask the anti-aging tech bro about his covid history despite his extreme health regimen.
  3. Even a billionaire investing heavily in anti-aging techniques couldn't avoid the impact of a virus on his health. Health is a collective property, not just individual.

The Forgotten Lessons Of Infectious Disease Control

1572 implied HN points • 31 Jan 24
🏥 Health & Wellness Infectious Diseases Public Health Vaccines Preventive measures Epidemiology
  1. Public health gains against infectious diseases have always been fought for and achieved in a social context, not just through medicine.
  2. Clean air and water have been crucial in reducing disease outbreaks throughout history.
  3. Vaccines and treatments should be the last line of defense in public health, not the first.

Mass Disabling Event Denial

1316 implied HN points • 09 Feb 24
🏥 Health Politics Public Health Disability Pandemic Medical Professionals Eugenics
  1. Scientists predicted Covid could be a mass disabling event due to its nature of attacking every organ in the body and causing long-term health issues.
  2. The number of long-term sick individuals in the UK and USA has significantly increased, with the blame shifting to factors like lockdowns rather than the virus itself.
  3. Media and politicians are not acknowledging the correlation between increased disability rates and Covid, showing a trend of denial and blame shifting instead of addressing the real issues.
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The Illusion Of Collective Agreement

1081 implied HN points • 06 Jan 24
🎭️ Culture Social Psychology Society
  1. The Abilene paradox describes what happens when a group collectively follows a course of action despite individual disagreements.
  2. Majority of people may not explicitly agree with societal policies but societal structures and social-psychological dynamics play a significant role.
  3. Group conformity and fear of exclusion often drive individual behavior more than political affiliations or common sense.

This Is How Your Immune System Works

1808 implied HN points • 26 Nov 23
🏥 Health & Wellness Immune System
  1. Your immune system works like a sack of snakes, always alert for danger and responding to threats.
  2. Viruses act as snake charmers, stealing snakes from your immune system and leaving it weaker.
  3. Vaccines and early interventions can help protect your immune system from virus attacks.

Bombs Not Bread

825 implied HN points • 23 Jan 24
🌍 World Politics Yemen Military Humanitarian Crisis Genocide
  1. The US and UK have been bombing Yemen with expensive missiles, while millions are suffering from severe hunger.
  2. The UN's World Food Programme in Yemen lacks funding, despite the high military spending on bombs.
  3. Western countries, including the US and UK, have been complicit in the crisis in Yemen, leading to mass deaths and a man-made famine.

It's All-Out War On the Vulnerable

1159 implied HN points • 20 Dec 23
🏥 Health Politics Public Health Government Policies COVID-19 Response Social Welfare
  1. The British government eliminated the position of minister for disabled people, impacting the representation of disabled individuals.
  2. The US government aims to change the definition of disability to reduce the number of people classified as disabled.
  3. Governments are implementing policies that underreport disabilities, showing a lack of responsibility towards vulnerable populations.

Staring At The Tsunami

1788 implied HN points • 21 Aug 23
🔬 Science Psychology Optimism Risk Assessment
  1. Unrealistic optimism can lead to underestimating personal risk and overestimating favorable outcomes.
  2. Our brains may fail to update perceptions when faced with immediate, observable realities, leading to a freeze response.
  3. Depression and neurodiversity may result in a more accurate assessment of risk, providing survival advantages.

Climate Policy 2023: Walls, Guns And Prisons

628 implied HN points • 30 Nov 23
🌍 World Politics Climate Policy National Security Geopolitics Global Cooperation Inequality
  1. A lot is being done about climate change, but it's not branded as climate policy.
  2. Climate policy is more about prioritizing industry profits, nationalism, and order maintenance than cutting fossil fuel emissions.
  3. Under capitalist climate policy, there's an incentive to weaken collective structures and increase private provisions for safety.

This is not the best we can do

707 implied HN points • 25 Oct 23
📖 Philosophy Enlightenment Critique Change Belief History
  1. The need for big transformative ideas and focus on useful knowledge to propel humanity forward
  2. Call to rekindle the spirit of the Enlightenment and focus on meaningful change rather than trivial research
  3. Belief in the possibility of a better future, challenging the current systems and structures for a more equitable world

The Year Poverty Began To End

864 implied HN points • 29 Sep 23
🌍 World Politics Poverty Covid response Economic Inequality Climate Denial
  1. Poverty rates in the richest countries significantly declined from 2020 to 2021, with millions lifted out of poverty.
  2. Government interventions during the pandemic reduced food insecurity and homelessness in countries like the US, UK, and Canada.
  3. The pandemic highlighted how economic structures favor the rich, and how emergency situations can lead to transformative policy responses.

A frenzy of forgetting

1061 implied HN points • 09 Aug 23
🌍 World Politics Memory Pandemic History Public Health
  1. Over 25 million people have died from COVID in the last 3.5 years
  2. There is a trend towards forgetting the impact of the pandemic amidst the massive death toll
  3. Cultural amnesia can allow societies to gloss over traumatic events, hindering true healing and understanding

The Malady Of Reasonable Expectations

1061 implied HN points • 04 Aug 23
  1. Suffering from reasonable expectations can have a detrimental impact on individuals.
  2. The existing culture and economy may rely on ongoing crises like pandemics and climate issues.
  3. To combat reasonable expectations, society needs to aim for higher expectations and consider revolutionary change.

Following the science to the grave

1022 implied HN points • 23 Jul 23
🌞 Climate & Environment Climate change Extreme Weather Environmental Impact Public Health Activism
  1. Extreme heat events are becoming more frequent around the world, a glimpse into the future of climate change.
  2. Countries heavily reliant on tourism and agriculture are facing economic turmoil due to extreme heat and climate change.
  3. The scientific community can be influenced by capitalist interests, leading to dangerous consequences like downplaying climate change risks.

Freedoom

1434 implied HN points • 28 Mar 23
🎭️ Culture Society Media Environment Beliefs Freedom
  1. People socially construct their reality, which can clash with natural brute facts.
  2. Post-truthism has become mainstream, with various political groups denying natural realities like the ongoing pandemic.
  3. Society's focus on individuality and consumerism creates a culture in denial, ignoring the collision course with natural realities like climate change.

Climate migration, but backwards

628 implied HN points • 05 Jul 23
🌞 Climate & Environment Climate change Migration Climate Impacts
  1. Parts of the US with the biggest population growth are also the most at risk from climate change.
  2. Climate change is already impacting areas like Texas, Florida, and South Carolina with projections of increasing dangers in the future.
  3. Factors like denial, optimism bias, and group risk-taking contribute to people moving to high-risk climate areas despite the warnings.