I got my PhD in engineering last year, but realized academia wasn’t for me. I taught myself to code and built a journal club related startup (it’s just me right now, so about as small as a small business can get)
I’ve been watching from the sidelines as scientists filed antitrust lawsuits against major journal publishers for unpaid peer review, limiting submissions, and restrictions around sharing our own work
Then I got an idea…
I made “Anti Journal Journal Club” shirts. right now it’s just shirts but i’d like for it to become a thing, ideally people can wear them around, start conversations about issues with academic publishing, and maybe eventually even lead to a shift in culture
10% of proceeds will go to an organization that supports researchers. especially under the current administration. If you know of any good ones, please leave a comment
& if you’re fed up too, check it out and wear your support for research
TL;DR: I made Anti Journal Journal Club shirts. you can wear your stance against academic publishers. Also taking donation recs
Comments
Conversation alone won’t fix anything, and awareness by itself isn’t enough. We already have action‑oriented initiatives—a free, open‑access journal run by professionals, the invaluable PubPeer platform, and Retraction Watch. These concrete efforts are exactly what we need.