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I’m off to Jacksonville today to teach for the Navy & Marine Corps JAGs, but I leave you with a truly excellent list: Longreads’ Best of for 2019. It is surprising how many of these are relevant to the work we do, but I especially want to point out:

I Was Pregnant and in Crisis. All the Doctors and Nurses Saw Was an Incompetent Black Woman

What I Wish I’d Known About Sexual Assault in the Military

A Test With No Answer

Honestly, it’s just a great list of articles to work your way through…

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Have you checked out the FHO store lately? You can find the newest research brief, Applying The Strangulation Research To Expert Testimony In Cases With Adult Victims. Or purchase the complete set of three (Strangulation, Aging Bruises, and Consensual Sex Injury) for a special price.

I try and publish a gift guide because our team members deserve to be celebrated. There’s not a lot that’s celebratory in the work we do, but one thing we learned in the National SANE Sustainability project was that recognition and validation help with the retention of staff. And what better reason to recognize the contribution of your team than the holidays. Even if you have no budget for gifts, my hope is that this gift guide serves as encouragement to do *something*–a potluck dinner, a secret Santa gift exchange, or some handwritten notes letting your colleagues know how much their work is valued. And if you do have money for gifts, well, maybe some of the items here will provide ideas (or solutions).

A safe and happy Thanksgiving to all who are celebrating this week. See you back here next week.

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Have you checked out the FHO store lately? You can find the newest research brief, Applying The Strangulation Research To Expert Testimony In Cases With Adult Victims. Or purchase the complete set of three (Strangulation, Aging Bruises, and Consensual Sex Injury) for a special price.

It’s Thanksgiving Week here in the US, and I will be taking most of it off to spend quality time with my people. A continued case next week means no travel on the backend, so I am coming off the holiday to a week in the office, which is a luxury (I was supposed to be heading back across the ocean, so yay). Only one work gig left for the year–I made a concerted effort to take most of December off the road, in stark contrast with last year, where I was gone the entire month of December. We’ll be celebrating a milestone birthday for Sasha, our wedding anniversary, and of course, Christmas and Hannukah. Basically, just trying to regroup after one of the busiest years yet. But we’re not there yet.

I won’t be posting much this week. Come back tomorrow for our 2019 gift guide. Until then, here’s what caught my eye since last we spoke:

He said, they said (a 6-part feature if you’re so inclined)

I love Connie Schultz, and her work on grief is particularly on point

Today is the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women and kicks off 16 Days of Activism to End Gender-Based Violence

The future of reproductive healthcare may be at home

Not really what I was hoping to see from an alternate VAWA proposal

During this busy travel season, tips for the trans- and nonbinary traveler

And in the spirit of Thanksgiving, this excellent feature from The Kitchn

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Have you checked out the FHO store lately? You can find the newest research brief, Applying The Strangulation Research To Expert Testimony In Cases With Adult Victims. Or purchase the complete set of three (Strangulation, Aging Bruises, and Consensual Sex Injury) for a special price.

Happy Monday to you all. I am off to teach in San Diego for the Army, at one of my favorite legal courses of the year. I’ll be there just a few days, but it’ll be hectic enough that posts will be light. That’s okay, because things inevitably get lighter as we approach the holidays, and there are fewer educational offerings and publications for me to post. Plus, here’s a bit of a secret–FHO will be undergoing an overhaul at the end of December, so there will be a brand new site to unveil just in time for our 11th (!) birthday. With the new site will be some significant changes, which I promise I will highlight as we get nearer to launch.

Sasha had reserve duty this weekend, so I was solo for 3 days. While it’s true I binge-watched a good portion of the new season of The Crown last night, I spent most of the time working. But there were still a few things that caught my eye since last we spoke:

There are some compelling reasons to do away with the statute of limitations in my home state of Ohio–this article covers one of them

Minneapolis, you’ve got an untested kit problem

Police in PR are undercounting murdered women

Male bias in women’s health trials

Very interested in watching this case

In the national sustainability project, we saw retention impacted by people feeling unappreciated in their jobs. Here are some straight forward suggestions to make sure your team members aren’t feeling that way.

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Have you checked out the FHO store lately? You can find the newest research brief, Applying The Strangulation Research To Expert Testimony In Cases With Adult Victims. Or purchase the complete set of three (Strangulation, Aging Bruises, and Consensual Sex Injury) for a special price.

A very happy Forensic Nurses Week to all of us! We are so very fortunate to be able to do this good work. And to all of the FHO readers who are veterans, including my own spouse, a happy Veterans Day, as well. Much gratitude for your service. I think Sasha put it beautifully when she stated in a Facebook post:

 All Veterans appreciate being thanked for this choice we made. But if you really want to thank a Vet, ask them how their healthcare is, how their access to the VA is. How their aches, pains, and scars are being treated. The visible and the invisible alike. And listen to them. Ask if they are being treated and healed or simply medicated. And if the answer makes you as mad, sad, and frustrated as it makes me, call your elected officials and tell them our Veterans deserve better. Still less than half of 1% of the US population serve in the Armed Forces. 100% of them will get out at some point. After fighting in wars, they shouldn’t have to fight for access to healthcare. But we do.

We had a fantastic testimony training last week in Arizona–it was great meeting so many of you. And the icing on the cake was the trip to Korea vanished at the last minute, as these things do, so I now have a mostly unscheduled week at home for writing and whatnot. That’s afforded me some catch-up time to read and generally be curious about what I missed while I’ve been running around. Here’s what caught my eye since last we spoke:

What the…?

In honor of Veterans Day, a long read but a good one about survivors guilt and its aftermath

Related.

How does the soul survive atrocities?

This was a great article about just how pervasive common myths about rape still are–among the people deciding the fates of those on trial

We already knew this, but it’s nice to see it reported in the mainstream media

More on child abusers use of tech–fascinating and infuriating (and heartbreaking)

Speaking of using tech for evil…

Ok, this was just a g*d damn delight

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Have you checked out the FHO store lately? You can find the newest research brief, Applying The Strangulation Research To Expert Testimony In Cases With Adult Victims. Or purchase the complete set of three (Strangulation, Aging Bruises, and Consensual Sex Injury) for a special price.

Good morning from Michigan State University, where I am working for most of the week. Happily, I am home the remainder of the month after this trip, so a bit of a travel reprieve, although not a work one (not a complaint). Thanks to those of you who participated in Journal Club, but it was not enough to sustain the amount of effort it requires for me to prep, monitor and sustain the process, so I have discontinued it and removed the posts (leaving them lingering half-finished felt–well, unfinished). I tried, people–it’s up to you in your own jurisdictions to make it happen, because clearly doing it online is not working. We tried.

It’s a heavy writing week month for me, so I am surfing less and researching more. But there were a few things that caught my eye since last we spoke:

The physical impact of racism

Traumatic stress linked to stroke

The financial cost of domestic violence

An excellent conversation between Morgan Jerkins and MeToo Founder Tarana Burke

What a loss to our country–I hope to be able to pay my respects on Thursday

We don’t pay teachers enough

Your feel-good story to start your week off right

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Have you checked out the FHO store lately? You can find the newest research brief, Applying The Strangulation Research To Expert Testimony In Cases With Adult Victims. Or purchase the complete set of three (Strangulation, Aging Bruises, and Consensual Sex Injury) for a special price.

[There’s still time to join us for our first Journal Club–get all the details here.]

I am happily at home and looking forward to what should be a great week here at FHO headquarters. We will kick off Journal Club tomorrow (and keep it going each Tuesday for 6ish weeks depending on how things go). Plus, tomorrow night is Kol Nidre, my favorite service of the year, leading off Yom Kippur, a day of fasting and reflection for my people. In our household it will be concluded by breaking the fast with friends–please note there will be no post on Wednesday in honor of the holiday.

I tried very hard to do almost no work whatsoever this weekend, and focused on being unplugged for much of it. Still, there were a few things that caught my eye since last we spoke:

Reproductive coercion continues to be a lesser discussed form of intimate partner violence; glad it’s getting some mainstream attention here

Related.

What if your abusive husband is a cop?

Facing history for the future of nursing

More voices coming forward

I loved this piece on soulmates

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Have you checked out the FHO store lately? You can find the newest research brief, Applying The Strangulation Research To Expert Testimony In Cases With Adult Victims. Or purchase the complete set of three (Strangulation, Aging Bruises, and Consensual Sex Injury) for a special price.

I am at Ft Benning this week in Georgia, and is often the case, my time is not my own, so posting here likely will be light. I know I said we were going to start Journal Club this week, but I think it would be more fruitful to wait until I am back in the office next week to kick things off–that way I can get posts approved quickly and engage in real(ish) time. So all of you wanting to participate, you have one more week to obtain and read the article (get all of the details here, and please contact me if you can’t get a hold of the article since we now have a source for you). The first Journal Club will be held here, October 8th. Look for the first set of questions about the article then.

May I also add: shana tovah to all who are celebrating, however you are observing the holiday this year. May it be a sweet and gentle new year for us all.

And now, here’s what caught my eye since last we spoke:

This article on images of child abuse was startling, even doing the work that I do

Silencing women is bad for our health

Wow–Was It Worth It?

Making meaning out of a massacre

Sadly, this is not an isolated story

Finding and losing your brother on the streets

Canada’s domestic violence crisis

This was an incredibly compelling series in the Cleveland Plain Dealer: Case Closed

Finally, in case you need to remember our patients are not a crime scene, they are not that one terrible thing that has happened to them:

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Have you checked out the FHO store lately? You can find the newest research brief, Applying The Strangulation Research To Expert Testimony In Cases With Adult Victims. Or purchase the complete set of three (Strangulation, Aging Bruises, and Consensual Sex Injury) for a special price.

Here’s something for our death investigator colleagues–an article from Kaiser Health News I found incredibly fascinating: Want To Reduce Suicides? Follow The Data — To Medical Offices, Motels And Even Animal Shelters. Among other interesting nuggets in it is the introduction (to me at least) of the suicide fatality review. Not surprising that systems-level examination of a problem like suicide would be beneficial.

Even if you’re not actively working in the field of death investigation, this piece is pretty thought-provoking. Especially if you’re a data nerd. Read the whole thing here.

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Have you checked out the FHO store lately? You can find the newest research brief, Applying The Strangulation Research To Expert Testimony In Cases With Adult Victims. Or purchase the complete set of three (Strangulation, Aging Bruises, and Consensual Sex Injury) for a special price.

I got home a little earlier than expected last week, so I had a more relaxing weekend than planned. The girlchild came home from college, which was divine, and while Sasha worked all weekend, it was from home, also not planned. So all in all, an improvement on what I thought the weekend would initially be. Plus I was very pleased at your feedback about virtual journal club, so we are going to give it a go–Option #1 (a weekly series of facilitated questions on the site with a wrap-up digest available at the end). Come back tomorrow for the announcement of the article and a few details on how we will proceed.

I am off to New Hampshire to talk about my favorite topic (testimony, of course) with what I have been told is a fantastic crew of nurses (looking forward to meeting everyone!). But before I leave, here’s what caught my eye since last we spoke:

I do believe I spy one of our own in this article on exonerations

Rape is not a punishment for getting drunk.

Is domestic violence in the military getting the attention it deserves?

Women describe how Jeffrey Epstein controlled them

An argument for nursing presence in the twittosphere

Somewhat related: nurses not “staying in our lane” (spoiler: it is our lane)

Keeping it professional when the wine is flowing

This lovely, but difficult essay about stillbirth

If you haven’t read this amazing profile on Queer Eye’s Jonathan Van Ness, please do

I do love a good booklist

And finally, standup that rings pretty true:

This by @JenaFriedman is so good…

“Women we don’t watch true crime, we study it to make sure we don’t end up on it.”

“True crime is also feminist, it’s the only time the industry will take a chance on an unknown female lead.” pic.twitter.com/6z2PpvvJub

— Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yashar) September 20, 2019

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Have you checked out the FHO store lately? You can find the newest research brief, Applying The Strangulation Research To Expert Testimony In Cases With Adult Victims. Or purchase the complete set of three (Strangulation, Aging Bruises, and Consensual Sex Injury) for a special price.

I have had many requests for a virtual journal club. I am happy to host one. We tried to do one via Twitter several years ago with *very* limited participation, so I am hesitant to jump back in again. That being said, if folks want to try it out, I would be game to give it a go. Only this time using a different medium.

FHO readers have historically been very shy about public engagement. You all are far more likely to contact me offline than comment On Here. So we can do this one of two ways, I think–either use the site to host a series of ongoing questions about a particular article (that I can then digest for everyone at the end of the series so it’s all in one place) OR if people are feeling more reserved about putting themselves out there, have folks submit written responses about a chosen article and compile the responses for readers afterward. I would prefer the 1st option since it feels more akin to actual journal club, but I am open to the 2nd (or another) option.

So what say you, dear FHO readers? Shall we try journal club again? And if so, how should we make it happen? Because I have the perfect article to start us off if we do…

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Have you checked out the FHO store lately? You can find the newest research brief, Applying The Strangulation Research To Expert Testimony In Cases With Adult Victims. Or purchase the complete set of three (Strangulation, Aging Bruises, and Consensual Sex Injury) for a special price.

Welcome to all of you (wow!) that have subscribed to FHO following the IAFN conference. Just a reminder that you need to verify your email via the Feedburner link that went to the email you used in order to activate the subscription. If you don’t see it, please check your spam filter–it often ends up there. I cannot activate your subscription manually.

Thanks for reading FHO!

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Have you checked out the FHO store lately? You can find the newest research brief, Applying The Strangulation Research To Expert Testimony In Cases With Adult Victims. Or purchase the complete set of three (Strangulation, Aging Bruises, and Consensual Sex Injury) for a special price.

It was so good to see so many of you in New Orleans last week. We had lively, packed sessions, which makes my heart happy. Lots of great discussions. I look forward to keeping that going here.

If you’re playing along at home, I’m at Ft. Bliss this week in El Paso, and as usual, my time is not my own. I will try to get a few posts up this week, but it may be pretty quiet. I had a very short turn around between trips, so I didn’t even get much chance to catch up on my feeds, but a few things caught my eye since last we spoke:

Rape as a woman’s first sexual experience

This beautiful piece about fear

After 9/11…

Why don’t doctors trust women?

Related: reading this right now (it’s good)

Native women say police ignored rapes

Love this quote

Six men tell their stories of sexual assault in the military

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Have you checked out the FHO store lately? You can find the newest research brief, Applying The Strangulation Research To Expert Testimony In Cases With Adult Victims. Or purchase the complete set of three (Strangulation, Aging Bruises, and Consensual Sex Injury) for a special price.

I’m off to New Orleans for what is one of my favorite weeks of the year, the IAFN annual conference. I hope to see many FHO readers in person (please stop me and say hi!), plus I am looking forward to two sold-out sessions, and another 2 that should be pretty lively, even if we don’t reach bodies-on-every-surface type numbers for those (c’mon guys. 3-hours of ethics isn’t your jam?). With everything going on in my world right now, I am grateful for this week, which always recharges my batteries. Particularly because it gives me facetime with so many like-minded folks. Can’t wait to see y’all there.

After a really terrific course at Ft. Hood last week, I spent much of the weekend playing catch up. Still, there was time for some surfing–here’s what caught my eye since last we spoke:

Good news! Shaving/waxing your pubic hair doesn’t increase your risk of STIs. We can all breathe a bit easier (thanks, Kim Day for the link)

New ACOG Committee Opinion on Human Trafficking

Words. Mean. Things.

“When death shuts down justice, it also shuts down the voices of victims.“

The role of nurses when patients decide to end their lives

Don’t want to provide abortions? Don’t go into healthcare.

Related, from NEJM: The Dangerous Threat to Roe v. Wade

Great interview questions, in case that’s a thing you have to do soon

And because this week is the 9/11 anniversary, one of my favorite StoryCorps animations:

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Have you checked out the FHO store lately? You can find the newest research brief, Applying The Strangulation Research To Expert Testimony In Cases With Adult Victims. Or purchase the complete set of three (Strangulation, Aging Bruises, and Consensual Sex Injury) for a special price.

I’m home with the girlchild this week for her last few days before she starts college. She’ll move in this weekend and I’m off to Hawaii for work (and as of right now, I’m on the road every week until Halloween, although that could change). Certainly a pretty magical time.

Much of this weekend was consumed with reading one thing: the phenomenal 1619 Project published by the New York Times. If you can’t get past the paywall, you can find a pdf of the whole thing over at the Pulitzer Center where they have created a curriculum for teachers. It is worth every minute of your time, especially if you yourself are a medical/nursing educator. Check out also Random House’s 1619 Book List, which features some great titles, old and new.

The other thing I leave you with if you haven’t yet seen it is this video clip from Anderson Cooper’s interview with Stephen Colbert in which they discuss grief. It is one of the most powerful and lovely exchanges on the subject:

“I was personally shattered, and then you kind of re-form yourself in this quiet, grieving world that was created in the house.”

Late-night host Stephen Colbert opens up about grief and the death of his father and brothers in a plane crash when he was 10 years old. pic.twitter.com/tqhWfPQBJB

— CNN (@CNN) August 18, 2019

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Have you checked out the FHO store lately? You can find the newest research brief, Applying The Strangulation Research To Expert Testimony In Cases With Adult Victims. Or purchase the complete set of three (Strangulation, Aging Bruises, and Consensual Sex Injury) for a special price.

I’m up at Michigan State University for a good part of this week, and happily, I am spending much of it writing with my dear friend Kim Day. This should result in some innovative and creative work since Kim is one of my favorite writing partners. It should also mean some long days, but I’ll try and get posts up regularly. In prepping for my time on-site at MSU, I spent most of the weekend working. But Sasha was at Ft. Bragg, so I was left with lots of time surfing the interwebs. Here’s what caught my eye since last we spoke:

I followed her accounts on Twitter and was treated to such a valuable education about the dying process. Truly nursing in action.

Why mental illness is not responsible for the epidemic of mass shootings

Related. Thank you, AMA.

HOWEVER, in a surprise to none of us in this work, the connection between misogyny and mass shooting

“The vulnerability and targeting of our Native women is undeniable, and we must begin looking for new ways to urgently address this plague of violence and disregard…” This is a must read.

Available now (in some places), gender non-binary IDs

Amnesty International has now issued a travel advisory for the US because of gun violence

Toni Morrison’s life and work has been memorialized in some stunning ways in the past week; find some of my favorites here, here and here.

A Utah nurse is facing negligent homicide charges after the death of an inmate from dehydration

This horrific story of an American woman who went to Uganda and administered medical care to children without any training whatsoever is stomach-churning (and also, the arrogance!)

And finally, an excellent video on how to tell someone they sound like a racist (this is truly the most practical advice on the topic):

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Have you checked out the FHO store lately? You can find the newest research brief, Applying The Strangulation Research To Expert Testimony In Cases With Adult Victims. Or purchase the complete set of three (Strangulation, Aging Bruises, and Consensual Sex Injury) for a special price.

I’m up in Newport, RI doing some work for the Navy this week, and it’s frankly a welcome respite from DC right now. In the wake of the mass shootings in El Paso and Dayton, I have to tell you–I’m tapped out. I’ve donated money to gun control efforts, and I’ve tried to stay offline as much as I can. I just don’t have the bandwidth to digest all the media right now, and if you don’t either, that’s okay. To all the FHO readers in both of those cities, and we have many, please know my thoughts are with you as so many of you were undoubtedly working in area hospitals this weekend. My prayers that you and your loved ones are safe and that maybe–maybe–this is the thing that moves this country to finally take action on guns. Because in this climate of white supremacy and toxic masculinity, this is not a problem that is just going to fix itself.

I’ve got nothing else to offer for today. I’ll be back tomorrow with regular posts. Take care of yourselves, people.

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Have you checked out the FHO store lately? You can find the newest research brief, Applying The Strangulation Research To Expert Testimony In Cases With Adult Victims. Or purchase the complete set of three (Strangulation, Aging Bruises, and Consensual Sex Injury) for a special price.

Greetings to you all on this busy Monday morning. Back in the office for the week, and then it’s off to Newport, RI next weekend to teach one of my favorite courses of the year for the Navy and Marine Corps. Not every place I travel is particularly delightful, but this one is not a hardship, particularly in August. Plus, I am lucky enough to be teaching with my crew, so, you know…

A very happiest of birthdays to the girlchild who turned 18 this past week. Hard to believe we are less than a month away from launching this kid into college, and honestly, it’s a super exciting time around here. Especially with her being pretty close to home (2 hours by train, not that we have mapped it out).

It was relatively low key around here this weekend, with both Sasha and I having been on the road on opposite sides of the country last week. We managed to play tourist in our own city a bit yesterday, which was lovely. And there was still time to surf–here’s what caught my eye since last we spoke:

This is such a great, uplifting story: car mechanic to MD at 47

These reports will never stop coming

A powerful OpEd by 148 patriots

Neurosexism

AAP’s new statement on the health impact of racism

Sex and strangulation

There is an epidemic of suicides among seniors

She was assaulted by a State Senator–now she’s running for Congress

This 1st person essay about abortion is really timely

Start your week off right with the incredibly joyful Lizzo’s Tiny Desk Concert (NSFW if your workplace has issues with language 🙂 )

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Have you checked out the FHO store lately? You can find the newest research brief, Applying The Strangulation Research To Expert Testimony In Cases With Adult Victims. Or purchase the complete set of three (Strangulation, Aging Bruises, and Consensual Sex Injury) for a special price.

I’m in Pensacola, FL this week and my time will definitely not belong to me, so posts may be sparse. I worked a good portion of the weekend, but travel left me a bit of time to surf (and the heatwave in much of the US, including DC meant retreating indoors anyway)–here’s what caught my eye since last we spoke:

A former medical student who raped an unconscious woman “availed himself of an opportunity” he could not resist due to the stress of “leading an exemplary life,” his lawyer has argued.

My rage read for the weekend

Excellent writing/editing recommendations

Such a lovely and moving essay (and a gift to families)

Padma, on point

I adore the dictionary in the age of social media

This was probably the loveliest thing I read all weekend

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Have you checked out the FHO store lately? You can find the newest research brief, Applying The Strangulation Research To Expert Testimony In Cases With Adult Victims. Or purchase the complete set of three (Strangulation, Aging Bruises, and Consensual Sex Injury) for a special price.

We had a fantastic class at the NAC last week. A diverse and talented group of clinicians and prosecutors spent several days with us, and I am pretty sure the faculty left just as energized as the students. It continues to be one of my very favorite courses to teach and this year did not disappoint. Honestly, we could run that course quarterly and still have a waitlist, so please, if you are interested in attending, but haven’t been able to, keep applying. Just know that we probably won’t accept multiple people from one program, and we will definitely prioritize people who apply with a prosecutor from their jurisdiction. FYI, if you’re going to the IAFN conference in New Orleans, I will be doing 3 sessions related to testimony: 2 with Leslie Hagan (repeats from last year, but extended to 3 hours–one on language, one on ethics), and a brand new one (90 minutes) with Sasha on cross-examination. My sessions are almost always full, so please register if you’re interested. Last year they actually turned folks away, so…

I’m home this week before I hit the road for what basically begins the Fall travel marathon (which, yes, begins in July). I had some quiet time to myself over the weekend, since Sasha took the pup camping (hard pass), so I had a bit of time to read–here’s what caught my eye since last we spoke:

How useful IS that doctorate (I always appreciate a good discussion on degree-seeking, because I am not a fan of racking up degrees for the sake of, well, racking up degrees)

An epidemic of disbelief

Antibiotic resistance continues its problematic and persistent march on

Excuse me, may I raise your child?

This bill includes critical safety protections

Sex abuse wasn’t just a Nassar problem in American gymnastics

This seems accurate

Come on, men–be better. Also, how hard is it to cite?

A feel-good long read about seahorses, because, Monday

I don’t know–this seems…timely.

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Have you checked out the FHO store lately? You can find the newest research brief, Applying The Strangulation Research To Expert Testimony In Cases With Adult Victims. Or purchase the complete set of three (Strangulation, Aging Bruises, and Consensual Sex Injury) for a special price.