Bertis Downs
@bertisdowns.bsky.social
Good schools for all kids, public education Warrior, Davidson Wildcat and GSW fan. Democracy isn’t a spectator sport. bertisdowns.com
Pinned
Emma Green in the New Yorker on the landscape of higher education.
The example of the University of Maine system, and its practical effects on the state’s people and economy, is telling and enlightening.
Highly recommended— worth reading or listening all the way to the end:
tinyurl.com/3k9tceet
The example of the University of Maine system, and its practical effects on the state’s people and economy, is telling and enlightening.
Highly recommended— worth reading or listening all the way to the end:
tinyurl.com/3k9tceet
Inside the Trump Administration’s Assault on Higher Education
How conservatives learned to stop worrying and love federal power.
tinyurl.com
November 30, 2025 at 4:01 PM
Emma Green in the New Yorker on the landscape of higher education.
The example of the University of Maine system, and its practical effects on the state’s people and economy, is telling and enlightening.
Highly recommended— worth reading or listening all the way to the end:
tinyurl.com/3k9tceet
The example of the University of Maine system, and its practical effects on the state’s people and economy, is telling and enlightening.
Highly recommended— worth reading or listening all the way to the end:
tinyurl.com/3k9tceet
I’ve always been kind of a crypto skeptic, but figured it was probably just my liberal arts brain with limited technical capacity.
But when Judge Jed Rakoff weighs in, I pay attention:
"It’s a Racket!" (NYRB)
tinyurl.com/ohtherackets...
But when Judge Jed Rakoff weighs in, I pay attention:
"It’s a Racket!" (NYRB)
tinyurl.com/ohtherackets...
It’s a Racket! | Jed S. Rakoff
Cryptocurrency has largely managed to remain free of government regulation, and as a result has often become a vehicle for fraud and criminality.
tinyurl.com
November 28, 2025 at 12:44 PM
I’ve always been kind of a crypto skeptic, but figured it was probably just my liberal arts brain with limited technical capacity.
But when Judge Jed Rakoff weighs in, I pay attention:
"It’s a Racket!" (NYRB)
tinyurl.com/ohtherackets...
But when Judge Jed Rakoff weighs in, I pay attention:
"It’s a Racket!" (NYRB)
tinyurl.com/ohtherackets...
Gratitude this Thanksgiving dawn— for family, friends, music, work, hoops, morning skies, evening walks, decent health (so far), people all over who are resisting authoritarians keeping people down in favor of their own wealth… inspiration from so many people speaking up and speaking out 🙏
November 27, 2025 at 12:00 PM
Gratitude this Thanksgiving dawn— for family, friends, music, work, hoops, morning skies, evening walks, decent health (so far), people all over who are resisting authoritarians keeping people down in favor of their own wealth… inspiration from so many people speaking up and speaking out 🙏
Planes, Trains and Automobiles (1987) - A F***ing Car Scene | Movieclips
YouTube video by Movieclips
youtu.be
November 27, 2025 at 11:55 AM
Flagged on Diane Ravitch’s blog, the latest on the state of the war in Europe (and yes sickening is the right word):
olgalautman.substack.com/p/ukraine-wi...
olgalautman.substack.com/p/ukraine-wi...
Ukraine Will Never Surrender
From Russia’s Nov. 19 Terror Campaign to Trump and Witkoff's Moscow Surrender Plan
olgalautman.substack.com
November 20, 2025 at 4:09 PM
Flagged on Diane Ravitch’s blog, the latest on the state of the war in Europe (and yes sickening is the right word):
olgalautman.substack.com/p/ukraine-wi...
olgalautman.substack.com/p/ukraine-wi...
Some good November happenings on the REMHQ page and band socials. See also this very cool podcast with original producers Mitch Easter and Don Dixon talking all things technical and musical in those early days NC sessions that became Chronic Town and Murmur 
tinyurl.com/mitchanddont...
tinyurl.com/mitchanddont...
YouTube
Share your videos with friends, family, and the world
tinyurl.com
November 20, 2025 at 10:23 AM
Some good November happenings on the REMHQ page and band socials. See also this very cool podcast with original producers Mitch Easter and Don Dixon talking all things technical and musical in those early days NC sessions that became Chronic Town and Murmur 
tinyurl.com/mitchanddont...
tinyurl.com/mitchanddont...
Athens friends, Chapel Hill friends, and so many other people who knew and loved Eve Carson
Today would gave been Eve’s 40th birthday. I learned recently of this special way her memory is being honored by some of her fellow UNC alumni:
tinyurl.com/EveCarsonUNC
Today would gave been Eve’s 40th birthday. I learned recently of this special way her memory is being honored by some of her fellow UNC alumni:
tinyurl.com/EveCarsonUNC
A Day of Service in Honor of Eve’s 40th Birthday - Carolina Alumni
tinyurl.com
November 19, 2025 at 11:10 AM
Athens friends, Chapel Hill friends, and so many other people who knew and loved Eve Carson
Today would gave been Eve’s 40th birthday. I learned recently of this special way her memory is being honored by some of her fellow UNC alumni:
tinyurl.com/EveCarsonUNC
Today would gave been Eve’s 40th birthday. I learned recently of this special way her memory is being honored by some of her fellow UNC alumni:
tinyurl.com/EveCarsonUNC
Reposted by Bertis Downs
From the venerable UNCUT way back in 2003, a selective critical listing of the band’s mid and later-period “singles” (1988-2001). Particularly fun to see the guys’ realtime reactions to some of these songs.
www.uncut.co.uk/features/lis...
www.uncut.co.uk/features/lis...
REM's 20 greatest singles of their major-label era
As chosen by Peter Buck, Mike Mills and Michael Stipe themselves
www.uncut.co.uk
November 8, 2025 at 1:37 PM
From the venerable UNCUT way back in 2003, a selective critical listing of the band’s mid and later-period “singles” (1988-2001). Particularly fun to see the guys’ realtime reactions to some of these songs.
www.uncut.co.uk/features/lis...
www.uncut.co.uk/features/lis...
From The Signal newsletter:
Since January, when U.S. President Donald Trump reassumed office, his administration has removed more than 8,000 web pages and approximately 3,000 datasets from federal agencies. Climate data, public-health research, educational statistics...
tinyurl.com/pagingmrstalin
Since January, when U.S. President Donald Trump reassumed office, his administration has removed more than 8,000 web pages and approximately 3,000 datasets from federal agencies. Climate data, public-health research, educational statistics...
tinyurl.com/pagingmrstalin
Information ministry
The weekend despatch: Why is U.S. federal data disappearing while citizen surveillance expands? How is Russia luring workers from Africa and Asia into combat? + What were the V-Discs?
tinyurl.com
November 8, 2025 at 3:14 PM
From The Signal newsletter:
Since January, when U.S. President Donald Trump reassumed office, his administration has removed more than 8,000 web pages and approximately 3,000 datasets from federal agencies. Climate data, public-health research, educational statistics...
tinyurl.com/pagingmrstalin
Since January, when U.S. President Donald Trump reassumed office, his administration has removed more than 8,000 web pages and approximately 3,000 datasets from federal agencies. Climate data, public-health research, educational statistics...
tinyurl.com/pagingmrstalin
Just had to share, Neil Young‘s latest, the music and the film clips say it all, no need for lyrics
youtube.com/watch?v=bK0e...
youtube.com/watch?v=bK0e...
as time explodes
YouTube video by neilyoungchannel
youtube.com
November 6, 2025 at 9:07 PM
Just had to share, Neil Young‘s latest, the music and the film clips say it all, no need for lyrics
youtube.com/watch?v=bK0e...
youtube.com/watch?v=bK0e...
Peter Wehner’s powerful essay in this morning’s Atlantic with some necessary perspective in fraught and fragile times. And the Vaclev Havel quote is worth reading to the end for….
tinyurl.com/55mn33kv
tinyurl.com/55mn33kv
Trump’s Plan Is Now Out in the Open
It’s getting ever harder to avoid connecting the authoritarian dots.
tinyurl.com
October 31, 2025 at 3:29 PM
Peter Wehner’s powerful essay in this morning’s Atlantic with some necessary perspective in fraught and fragile times. And the Vaclev Havel quote is worth reading to the end for….
tinyurl.com/55mn33kv
tinyurl.com/55mn33kv
Needed: more stories like this please, real people in real places (my hometown) doing real things:
tinyurl.com/inspiringCla...
tinyurl.com/inspiringCla...
From Khartoum to Clarkston: How a Sudanese nurse is filling a gap in health care
Maha Mousnad, an immigrant from Sudan, overcomes challenges to become a registered nurse in the US, providing care to Arabic-speaking patients.
tinyurl.com
October 29, 2025 at 12:23 PM
Needed: more stories like this please, real people in real places (my hometown) doing real things:
tinyurl.com/inspiringCla...
tinyurl.com/inspiringCla...
Not much of a reason to stay subscribed to the Washington Post but along with David Ignatius and Karen Tumulty (Dana Milbank is now a nature writer) I guess I’ll stay for The Optimist and stories like this (you won’t read a sweeter shaggy dog story than this one anytime soon)
tinyurl.com/pnnfz8fs
tinyurl.com/pnnfz8fs
Man, 93, reunites with lost dog after rescuers lure her with his socks
“She wanted to get back to him; she just didn’t know how,” rescue volunteer Jennifer Justice said.
wapo.st
October 27, 2025 at 12:16 AM
Not much of a reason to stay subscribed to the Washington Post but along with David Ignatius and Karen Tumulty (Dana Milbank is now a nature writer) I guess I’ll stay for The Optimist and stories like this (you won’t read a sweeter shaggy dog story than this one anytime soon)
tinyurl.com/pnnfz8fs
tinyurl.com/pnnfz8fs
Interested in children, education, warfare, psychology, reesilience, Ukraine…?
A worthwhile article in The Atlantic:
tinyurl.com/3b8tzfrw
A worthwhile article in The Atlantic:
tinyurl.com/3b8tzfrw
Ukraine’s Underground Generation
Addressing the isolation of young people has become an urgent priority in eastern Ukraine.
tinyurl.com
October 20, 2025 at 11:02 PM
Interested in children, education, warfare, psychology, reesilience, Ukraine…?
A worthwhile article in The Atlantic:
tinyurl.com/3b8tzfrw
A worthwhile article in The Atlantic:
tinyurl.com/3b8tzfrw
says it all, or close
Mike Johnson: "We congratulate them on an apparently violent-free speech exercise ... but if President Trump was a king, the government would be open right now ... by the way, the Mall was open because President Trump hasn't closed it."
October 20, 2025 at 12:42 PM
says it all, or close
We are hope despite the times!
Awesome🌟🌟🌟
This is what democracy looks like. #NoKings
October 19, 2025 at 2:45 PM
We are hope despite the times!
Reposted by Bertis Downs
With the Radio Free Europe 2025 EP arriving in record stores this Friday (and @RFE.RL's mission still as vital as ever), we’re revisiting our We Are Hope Despite the Times playlist — a collection of songs that offer a little light through the static.
📡 Listen: found.ee/rem-wahdtt
📡 Listen: found.ee/rem-wahdtt
October 15, 2025 at 11:30 AM
With the Radio Free Europe 2025 EP arriving in record stores this Friday (and @RFE.RL's mission still as vital as ever), we’re revisiting our We Are Hope Despite the Times playlist — a collection of songs that offer a little light through the static.
📡 Listen: found.ee/rem-wahdtt
📡 Listen: found.ee/rem-wahdtt
Reposted by Bertis Downs
Portland has fallen!
October 16, 2025 at 1:57 AM
Portland has fallen!
Dinner’s on Tom! Czar Homan The Daily treatment on today’s podcast:
“Crypto isn’t an easy thing to explain. You know what is easy to explain? A Cava bag full of cash, that’s pretty simple.”
-Reporter Devlin Barrett of the New York Times, who first broke the story tinyurl.com/CAVAmanincha...
“Crypto isn’t an easy thing to explain. You know what is easy to explain? A Cava bag full of cash, that’s pretty simple.”
-Reporter Devlin Barrett of the New York Times, who first broke the story tinyurl.com/CAVAmanincha...
The Border Czar and a Bag of $50,000
Podcast Episode · The Daily · 10/15/2025 · 24m
tinyurl.com
October 15, 2025 at 1:19 PM
Dinner’s on Tom! Czar Homan The Daily treatment on today’s podcast:
“Crypto isn’t an easy thing to explain. You know what is easy to explain? A Cava bag full of cash, that’s pretty simple.”
-Reporter Devlin Barrett of the New York Times, who first broke the story tinyurl.com/CAVAmanincha...
“Crypto isn’t an easy thing to explain. You know what is easy to explain? A Cava bag full of cash, that’s pretty simple.”
-Reporter Devlin Barrett of the New York Times, who first broke the story tinyurl.com/CAVAmanincha...
Funny last night about the 6 minute mark when Stephen Colbert talks about airports and dentists’ offices
www.youtube.com/watch?v=F13K...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=F13K...
October 15, 2025 at 1:15 PM
Funny last night about the 6 minute mark when Stephen Colbert talks about airports and dentists’ offices
www.youtube.com/watch?v=F13K...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=F13K...
David Brooks, not usually my “favorite” columnist with a compelling piece in The Atlantic:
tinyurl.com/BrooksRevolu...
tinyurl.com/BrooksRevolu...
America Needs a Mass Movement—Now
Without one, America may sink into autocracy for decades.
tinyurl.com
October 14, 2025 at 1:09 PM
David Brooks, not usually my “favorite” columnist with a compelling piece in The Atlantic:
tinyurl.com/BrooksRevolu...
tinyurl.com/BrooksRevolu...
Today’s Dahlia Lithwick AMICUS podcast covers some essential ground. Listen to the first minute or two and see if you don’t want to finish it out.
“Just Venezuela, just Chicago, just Portland…”
uh, not so fast
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a...
“Just Venezuela, just Chicago, just Portland…”
uh, not so fast
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a...
Trump’s Insurrection Claims Could Lead American Democracy Off a Cliff
Podcast Episode · Amicus With Dahlia Lithwick | Law, justice, and the courts · 10/11/2025 · 52m
podcasts.apple.com
October 11, 2025 at 5:57 PM
Today’s Dahlia Lithwick AMICUS podcast covers some essential ground. Listen to the first minute or two and see if you don’t want to finish it out.
“Just Venezuela, just Chicago, just Portland…”
uh, not so fast
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a...
“Just Venezuela, just Chicago, just Portland…”
uh, not so fast
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a...
Kind of a unique take on a“lyric video”
🎸🎙️📡
Footage from the earliest days of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, with sounds from 1981 and 2025!
youtu.be/f_rshoUeixk?...
🎸🎙️📡
Footage from the earliest days of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, with sounds from 1981 and 2025!
youtu.be/f_rshoUeixk?...
R.E.M. - Radio Free Europe 2025 (Jacknife Lee Remix) RFE/RL Dispatch
YouTube video by remhq
youtu.be
October 7, 2025 at 7:25 PM
Kind of a unique take on a“lyric video”
🎸🎙️📡
Footage from the earliest days of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, with sounds from 1981 and 2025!
youtu.be/f_rshoUeixk?...
🎸🎙️📡
Footage from the earliest days of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, with sounds from 1981 and 2025!
youtu.be/f_rshoUeixk?...
Didja miss this today? DON’T!
Stephen Colbert at his very best!
youtu.be/XBXleKD9K4Y?...
Pegging the camera with the old F.A.F.O:
“Oh no… I know. I’ve been there. When you think it’s going to land, that quiet crowd really hurts”
Stephen Colbert at his very best!
youtu.be/XBXleKD9K4Y?...
Pegging the camera with the old F.A.F.O:
“Oh no… I know. I’ve been there. When you think it’s going to land, that quiet crowd really hurts”
Shutdown Eve | Hegseth To America’s Enemies: FAFO | Trump To Military Brass: Fight The Enemy Within
YouTube video by The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
youtu.be
October 1, 2025 at 10:44 PM
Didja miss this today? DON’T!
Stephen Colbert at his very best!
youtu.be/XBXleKD9K4Y?...
Pegging the camera with the old F.A.F.O:
“Oh no… I know. I’ve been there. When you think it’s going to land, that quiet crowd really hurts”
Stephen Colbert at his very best!
youtu.be/XBXleKD9K4Y?...
Pegging the camera with the old F.A.F.O:
“Oh no… I know. I’ve been there. When you think it’s going to land, that quiet crowd really hurts”