NEW EPISODE OF THE SPHERE PODCAST:

Pascal-Emmanuel Gobry, Publisher of Sphere Media, interviews Clare Morell, a Fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center and author of "The Tech Exit: A Practical Guide to Freeing Kids and Teens from Smartphones." They talk about the evidence for why smartphones are bad for kids, why things like parental controls and screen time limits aren't enough and you need to just rid your kids of screens (Pascal is skeptical, but Clare makes a convincing argument), how you can start with a 30-day digital detox, what substitutes you can find for your kids, and finally they do discuss some public policy options for protecting our kids from interactive screens.

Learn more about Clare's book here, subscribe to her Substack here, and peruse Clare's scholarship here.

Listen to this episode on Spotify, YouTube, or Apple Podcasts.

And, of course, SUBSCRIBE to the Sphere Podcast on Spotify, YouTube, or Apple Podcasts.

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→ Guest article by Fred De Fossard of the Prosperity Institute: "Explained: The Afghan Migrant Scandal And Coverup Shaking Up Britain"

→ Analysis: How The Trump Administration Can Take Over The Ivy League

Now that we've got your attention with that conspiratorial-sounding headline…

No, really: are they harvesting our organs?

Because, apparently, they are. The New York Times published a bombshell exposé stating that in many cases, the pressure to produce organs for transplant has led healthcare providers to try "rushed or premature" attempts to remove organs from organ donors. "Some were gasping, crying or showing other signs of life."

This is, obviously, nightmare fuel stuff.

And now HHS has officially confirmed it.

The Times investigation revealed that medical workers across 19 states witnessed disturbing incidents where organ donation procedures continued despite patients showing signs of consciousness, breathing, or other indicators of life. In one particularly egregious case in Alabama, 42-year-old Misty Hawkins was declared dead after being taken off life support, but when surgeons began the organ removal procedure, they discovered her heart was beating and she appeared to be breathing.

The most terrifying case is that of 33-year-old TJ Hoover, who was hospitalized after a drug overdose in 2021 and woke up in the operating room to find people preparing to harvest his organs, despite having been declared brain-dead.

According to the Times, 55 medical workers in 19 states reported witnessing "at least one disturbing case of donation after circulatory death," with some workers alleging that coordinators persuaded hospital clinicians to administer morphine, propofol and other drugs to hasten the death of potential donors.

The practices appear to be linked to the rapid growth of "donation after circulatory death" (DCD), which accounted for about 20,000 organs last year, triple the number from five years earlier. Unlike traditional brain-death donations, DCD involves patients who are still alive with some brain activity but are considered near death and unlikely to recover. Did you know about this new "DCD" standard? We certainly did not.

A Federal investigation revealed very troubling facts: Of 351 cases where organ donation was authorized but ultimately not completed, 103 cases (29.3%) showed "concerning features," including 73 patients with neurological signs incompatible with organ donation. At least 28 patients may not have been deceased at the time organ procurement was initiated, raising "serious ethical and legal questions" (understatement of the year?). Evidence pointed to poor neurologic assessments, lack of coordination with medical teams, questionable consent practices, and misclassification of causes of death, particularly in overdose cases.

The whole thing is just absolutely ghastly.

HHS Secretary Kennedy announced a comprehensive reform initiative, stating: "Our findings show that hospitals allowed the organ procurement process to begin when patients showed signs of life, and this is horrifying. The organ procurement organizations that coordinate access to transplants will be held accountable. The entire system must be fixed to ensure that every potential donor's life is treated with the sanctity it deserves."

Apparently, the issue is that Federal pressure on procurement organizations (did you know that there were "procurement organizations"?) to increase transplants has driven much of the growth in circulatory death donations. In 2020, HHS said it would begin grading procurement organizations on how many transplants they arranged, threatening to end contracts with groups performing below average starting this year.

Many organizations have raised their numbers by pursuing more circulatory death donors, with employees saying some have "blown past safeguards, potentially rushing the process." Workers reported that coordinators often approached patients' relatives before the family had decided to withdraw life support, violating established rules.

We hope the package of reforms announced by HHS is pursued vigorously.

Policy News You Need To Know

#AIActionPlan — As expected, the White House has released its AI Action Plan. Expect much more from us on this in the future. For now, check out this post by Dean Ball of the OSTP.

#DC #EndHomeRule — Well, it probably won't surprise you, but according to Consumer Affairs, the DC area now has the worst traffic in the nation, beating out LA. Last year, DC was second.

#Unemployment — A new report from the group Employ America says that the rise in recent graduate unemployment isn't driven by AI.

#TheScience — A bunch of luminaries have published what they call The Buckingham Manifesto for a Post-Progressive Social Science, including anti-Trump liberals like Stephen Pinker and right-wingers like Chris Rufo.

#Media — The US Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit just published an important ruling on media ownership, striking down what's known as "the Top-Four Prohibition," a rule that prevents station owners from owning more than one of the top four stations in any given market.

#Drones #AmericanManufacturing — Senator Tom Cotton just introduced legislation to rewrite drone export rules, called the Leading Exports of Aerial Drones Act. His law would treat drones the same as commercial aircraft for the purpose of export, notably opening the door to more co-production with allies.

#Welfare — There was yet another large RFT testing a universal basic income. And, yet again, the study found no positive results. (PDF) UBI is just a bad idea, and a bad solution to the problems of technological change, or anything else for that matter.

#OBBA #Budget — CBO has published its final score of the OBBA. The headline is that it includes the biggest Medicaid cuts ever, estimating them at $894 to $990 billion with 10 million losing coverage (though there is reason to be skeptical: CBO often overestimates the depth of cuts to social programs, and enforcement will be up to the states), and an increase to the deficit of $3.4 trillion.

#Crypto — In yet another sign of the mainstreaming of crypto, in large part thanks to the Trump Administration's new deregulatory approach, the FT reports that JP Morgan is now considering offering loans backed by Bitcoin or Ethereum.

#Merica — Ok, this is very funny: apparently, the Interior Department funding bill includes an amendment stating that the Kennedy Center Opera House must be renamed "the First Lady Melania Trump Opera House."