J. Brian Houston

@jbrianhouston.bsky.social

46 followers 190 following 82 posts

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

Videos

Psychology 34%

Communication & Media Studies 19%

Posts Replies Media Videos

J. Brian Houston @jbrianhouston.bsky.social · 1d

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

J. Brian Houston @jbrianhouston.bsky.social · 5d

“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

J. Brian Houston @jbrianhouston.bsky.social · 5d

“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

J. Brian Houston @jbrianhouston.bsky.social · 12d

Eighth grade soundtrack 🤘

WHAT A FUCKING RECORD @whatafuckingrecord.bsky.social · 12d

Reposted by J. Brian Houston

WHAT A FUCKING RECORD @whatafuckingrecord.bsky.social · 12d

Reposted by J. Brian Houston

Barry Ritholtz @ritholtz.bsky.social · 15d

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

-Jean Baudrillard

Reposted by J. Brian Houston

WHAT A FUCKING RECORD @whatafuckingrecord.bsky.social · 15d

42 (UK)

J. Brian Houston @jbrianhouston.bsky.social · 19d

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

WHAT A FUCKING RECORD @whatafuckingrecord.bsky.social · 19d

Reposted by J. Brian Houston

WHAT A FUCKING RECORD @whatafuckingrecord.bsky.social · 19d

J. Brian Houston @jbrianhouston.bsky.social · 27d

“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

J. Brian Houston @jbrianhouston.bsky.social · Oct 24

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

J. Brian Houston @jbrianhouston.bsky.social · Oct 23

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.

J. Brian Houston @jbrianhouston.bsky.social · Oct 23

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

Reposted by Peter Thorne, Kevin J. Anchukaitis, J. Brian Houston

The New York Times @nytimes.com · Oct 15

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

J. Brian Houston @jbrianhouston.bsky.social · Oct 5

“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

Reposted by J. Brian Houston

WHAT A FUCKING RECORD @whatafuckingrecord.bsky.social · Sep 12

J. Brian Houston @jbrianhouston.bsky.social · Aug 27

Beautiful essay on consciousness, existence, and attention. bigthink.com/business/bra...

What brain surgery taught me about the fragile gift of consciousness

After the trauma of brain surgery, Big Think writer Eric Markowitz discovered a kind of consciousness that lives in presence.

bigthink.com

J. Brian Houston @jbrianhouston.bsky.social · Aug 27

"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

Reposted by J. Brian Houston, Goldie Blumenstyk

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

J. Brian Houston @jbrianhouston.bsky.social · Aug 14

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

J. Brian Houston @jbrianhouston.bsky.social · Aug 13

‘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

J. Brian Houston @jbrianhouston.bsky.social · Aug 11

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

J. Brian Houston @jbrianhouston.bsky.social · Aug 11

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

J. Brian Houston @jbrianhouston.bsky.social · Aug 5

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

J. Brian Houston @jbrianhouston.bsky.social · Aug 4

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

Reposted by J. Brian Houston

Financial Times @financialtimes.com · Aug 3

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