Karen Olsson
@olssonic
Followers
508
Following
884
Media
44
Statuses
531
Author, most recently of The Weil Conjectures (FSG 2019)
Austin, TX
Joined April 2012
"A gentle precious funny giant"
#GeorgeFloyd had a special bond with DJ Screw, who didn’t confide in a lot of people. “Floyd was a great listener,” says a friend. “A consoler.” “The Houston Years of George Floyd” in @texasmonthly @Questlove @solangeknowles @theestallion
0
0
2
"Molly Ivins advocated the banging of pots and pans, the raising of hell. Never let anyone tell you which stories have value, or that those that discomfit most should not be heard. They should be heard the loudest." -- @rtraister Thanks @TexasObserver for this incredible honor!
Congrats to @pamelacolloff, winner of the 2020 Hillman Prize for Magazine Journalism and the MOLLY National Journalism Prize! She was honored for her reporting on the pervasive use of jailhouse informants to secure convictions:
7
30
144
Sign of the times: you try to buy a basketball and are reminded that you better get yourself a hoop, too.
0
0
0
“I sort of feel like I’m not going to be able to sleep until we get out and get through this,” she said. “I’m just very compelled to do everything we can to get to the other side of this thing.” UT's great Lauren Meyers profiled by @statesman :
1
3
15
Ever since the virus hit I've been newly lamenting that we no longer have a well-oiled local daily, but then I'd think "at least they still have @joegross" who has expertly covered film and books and music, lately all but singlehandedly, in a city of 2m people. This sucks.
Good afternoon, friends. May 1 will be my final day at the Austin-American Statesman, where I have worked full-time for 18+ years and had a byline for nearly 20. I was informed this morning that my position was eliminated. Thank you for reading my stuff there.
1
2
5
If you're ready for a break from dire news and recipes you can make with pantry staples, then maybe it's time to watch this video of Junglepussy eating a giant muffin:
0
0
0
I once railed against "chuckle" in a workshop I was teaching, prompting a student to sneak a pack of Chuckles (the candy) onto our shared table before the next class. Which made me chuckle.
0
0
2
Tonight: virtual happy hour with science writers!
Time for a virtual HH w/"The Weil Conjectures" auth. Karen Olsson (@olssonic) on Wed, 4. 15 @ 6 p.m. No hmwk, just bring your interest in storytelling, science, comms, etc.! We'll discuss the inspo for this remarkable book + #writinglife. Email for invite: atxsciwri@gmail.com
0
1
3
"Mr. Pence said the administration would work 'tirelessly' to ensure the workers’ safety." ...hmm that'd be a first for any administration, w/r/t the safety of meatpacking workers.
0
0
0
I miss randomly running into people I don't know all that well.
1
0
6
"Remoteness is the point." I love this @KSHartnett story about the Olberwolfach Research Institute for Mathematics. (I also think someone should film or write a whodunit set at the Olberwolfach Research Institute for for Mathematics.) https://t.co/IBiDzfB6Ab
quantamagazine.org
When 50 mathematicians spend a week in the woods, there’s no telling what will happen. And that’s the point.
0
1
5
If you're looking for something great to watch, how about "Dirty Money" season 2 episode 6, directed by @margaretlbrown: a small-town activists in coastal Texas v. mega-corporation story, so well told and with riveting characters.
0
1
4
Must read math story today in @QuantaMagazine about major recent extensions made to the Langlands "bridge," written by the ever amazing @EricaKlarreich:
quantamagazine.org
Mathematicians have figured out how to expand the reach of a mysterious bridge connecting two distant continents in the mathematical world.
2
27
75