J. Brian Houston
jbrianhouston.bsky.social
J. Brian Houston
@jbrianhouston.bsky.social

Higher ed, disasters, communication, public health. Recovering Okie.

Psychology 34%
Communication & Media Studies 19%

I know short term rentals is only one of the reasons listed here, but it is such a bummer that Airbnbs can be so great for travelers and are so bad for residents www.apolloacademy.com/declining-po...
Declining Population in Paris - Apollo Academy
The number of people living in Paris continues to decline. This trend is driven by several factors, including affordability, limited...
www.apolloacademy.com

“If you don’t have your ear glued to the left of the dial, you’re probably missing out.”
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/20/s...
College Radio Keeps Its Cool
www.nytimes.com

“With creators no longer required to pursue artistic excellence, culture became a lowest-common-denominator battle for attention.”
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/21/b...
Pop Culture Got Stale. Counterculture Went Right-Wing.
www.nytimes.com

Eighth grade soundtrack 🤘

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"We live in a world where there is more and more information and less and less meaning."

-Jean Baudrillard

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42 (UK)

REM is forever my thanksgiving band, cuz this record came out around that time in 1988.

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“Vagueness has long been seen as a clear divide between democracies run by laws and autocracies run by strongmen” www.nytimes.com/2025/10/30/m...
In the Trump Presidency, the Rules Are Vague. That Might Be the Point.
www.nytimes.com

Go to a show! It will make you feel better! onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10....

This is the one of the most frustrating aspects of disasters. Rarely is anything “new” learned in an event. The lessons learned “this time”were almost certainly there from the last disaster. Most likely the learnings from the last time were not implemented and forgotten in calm between storms.

Motorolla’s emergency radio network provided spotty coverage and was overwhelmed following the Kerr County floods. (Also it was more expensive than another public utility option that offered better coverage.) www.nytimes.com/2025/10/23/u...
A Costly Radio System Faltered When Texas Needed It Most
www.nytimes.com
Months before catastrophic floods swept through an Alaska Native village on Sunday, the Trump administration canceled a $20 million grant meant to protect the community from extreme flooding. At the time, the EPA administrator said he was eliminating "wasteful DEI and Environmental Justice grants."
E.P.A. Canceled $20 Million Flood Protection Grant to Alaska, Parts of Which Just Flooded
The remote village of Kipnuk planned to use the money to protect against flooding. On Sunday, it was inundated.
nyti.ms

“if democracies learn to articulate a more ambivalent narrative — one that acknowledges loss, confronts vulnerability, redefines progress and pursues resilience — they may paradoxically renew themselves.” www.nytimes.com/2025/10/05/o...
Opinion | The West Is Lost
www.nytimes.com

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"Contrary to much popular opinion, college is not in the information transfer business; we are in the identity formation business." www.nytimes.com/2025/08/26/o...
Opinion | Students Hate Them. Universities Need Them. The Only Real Solution to the A.I. Cheating Crisis.
www.nytimes.com
NPR @npr.org · Aug 22
For 60 years, TRIO has helped millions of people along the path to a degree, but the administration says it is no longer needed. n.pr/4mWcQgK
These programs help poor students with college. Trump wants to pull the funding
For 60 years, TRIO has helped millions of people along the path to a degree, but the administration says it is no longer needed.
n.pr

China is well on its way to becoming the world’s first electrostate. www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
How China Went From Clean Energy Copycat to Global Innovator (Gift Article)
A surge in high quality research and patent applications has cemented China’s dominance in the industry.
www.nytimes.com

‘Complete nightmare’: Student veterans, advisers say VA cuts are derailing their educations hechingerreport.org/complete-nig...
Student veterans, advisers say VA cuts are derailing their educations
Already slow, the process of getting GI Bill benefits has gotten even slower since cuts to government staffing, veterans and their advocates say. Some student veterans are dropping out.
hechingerreport.org

How short-term thinking is destroying America www.nytimes.com/2025/08/11/o...
Opinion | How Short-Term Thinking Is Destroying America
www.nytimes.com

This is an excellent article on the state of the US economy (and culture) kyla.substack.com/p/how-ai-hea...?
How AI, Healthcare, and Labubu Became the US Economy
The Three Americas and aspirational displacement
kyla.substack.com

As I get older I think about all the physicality we miss these days a lot. Not just ciagarettes but casettes, newspapers, videotapes, etc. Many things are gained in our digital world but certainly some sort of rooting in the moment and environment is lost. www.nytimes.com/2025/08/05/o...
Opinion | Cigarettes and Our Quest for Embodied Pleasures
www.nytimes.com

College isn’t in the plans for many rural students despite stepped-up recruiting efforts apnews.com/article/rura...
College isn't in the plans for many rural students despite stepped-up recruiting efforts
America’s rural high school students are less likely to go to college than their urban and suburban peers.
apnews.com

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A divide is widening in the US economy as the biggest banks and technology groups shrug off Donald Trump’s tariffs to post huge earnings gains while consumer-facing companies struggle with rising costs: https://on.ft.com/3U8jswb

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No one is ever truly ready for a disaster, but the stories here — told in the survivors’ own words — show that any preparation is better than none.
Extreme Weather Survivors Share the Tools That Helped Them Get Through Disaster
There’s no formula for recovering from a natural disaster, but some items help more than others. Nine disaster survivors share what got them through the storm.
nyti.ms

The Secret to Reindustrializing America Is Not Tax Cuts and Tariffs. It’s Regulated Competition. washingtonmonthly.com/2025/06/01/t...
The Secret to Reindustrializing America Is Not Tax Cuts and Tariffs. It’s Regulated Competition. | Washington Monthly
From airlines to energy, America became a capitalist superpower in the 20th century based on careful market rules. It can do so again.
washingtonmonthly.com

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Left my mojo in my favorite suit.