Christopher Brown
@christopherbrown.bsky.social
Writer & lawyer. Author of A NATURAL HISTORY OF EMPTY LOTS • Novels TROPIC OF KANSAS et al • urban nature newsletter FIELD NOTES • christopherbrown.com
Pinned
My new book A Natural History of Empty Lots is released today. I hope you like it—it distills 20 years of exploring the edgelands, working on rewilding projects, and trying to understand what such places teach us about our lives, history and future: www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/chris...
Reposted by Christopher Brown
Great piece, esp the bit about revisiting Tropic of Kansas. And,there’s a Bewick’s wren in my back yard who I swear is going hoarse trying to communicate something to me.
Field Notes from a long holiday break, with winter birds, roadside wanderers, and border crossings to and from the Tropic of Kansas: fieldnotes.christopherbrown.com/p/winter-con...
Winter contrails
No. 189
fieldnotes.christopherbrown.com
January 18, 2026 at 6:41 PM
Great piece, esp the bit about revisiting Tropic of Kansas. And,there’s a Bewick’s wren in my back yard who I swear is going hoarse trying to communicate something to me.
Field Notes from a long holiday break, with winter birds, roadside wanderers, and border crossings to and from the Tropic of Kansas: fieldnotes.christopherbrown.com/p/winter-con...
Winter contrails
No. 189
fieldnotes.christopherbrown.com
January 18, 2026 at 2:30 PM
Field Notes from a long holiday break, with winter birds, roadside wanderers, and border crossings to and from the Tropic of Kansas: fieldnotes.christopherbrown.com/p/winter-con...
They did a nice job with it, thanks to the ethical integrity of the director, Doug Pray, who worked to make it a community story. Enjoy! And thanks for spreading the word about the book—that’s the main way people find it 🙏
January 17, 2026 at 7:34 PM
They did a nice job with it, thanks to the ethical integrity of the director, Doug Pray, who worked to make it a community story. Enjoy! And thanks for spreading the word about the book—that’s the main way people find it 🙏
And there’s also this 4K craziness that makes the place look better than real life: tv.apple.com/us/episode/a...
Watch Austin: Edgeland House - Home (Season 1, Episode 7) - Apple TV
A science-fiction author creates utopia from dystopia when he builds a modern, earth-bermed home on a former industrial wasteland.
tv.apple.com
January 17, 2026 at 7:21 PM
And there’s also this 4K craziness that makes the place look better than real life: tv.apple.com/us/episode/a...
Tons, if you search for “Edgeland House,” including in this @texasmonthly.bsky.social piece about the place: www.texasmonthly.com/style/christ...
Dystopian Author Christopher Brown Truly Lives on the Edge
The writer’s home, which is partly buried deep in the earth, integrates with nature just a few miles from downtown Austin.
www.texasmonthly.com
January 17, 2026 at 7:19 PM
Tons, if you search for “Edgeland House,” including in this @texasmonthly.bsky.social piece about the place: www.texasmonthly.com/style/christ...
Thanks so much! I appreciate you checking out the book, and am delighted to hear you enjoyed it. Your essay sounds right up my alley and I will track it down. I have long been fascinated with urban nature around Chicago, especially the urbanized coyotes but also the waterways and roadways.
January 17, 2026 at 6:02 PM
Thanks so much! I appreciate you checking out the book, and am delighted to hear you enjoyed it. Your essay sounds right up my alley and I will track it down. I have long been fascinated with urban nature around Chicago, especially the urbanized coyotes but also the waterways and roadways.
Reposted by Christopher Brown
Adam Curtis in 2030 looking at footage of the battle of Minneapolis that he has a banger Cocteau Twins song in mind for
a man in a yellow jacket has a label on the sleeve that says ' brooks brothers ' on it
ALT: a man in a yellow jacket has a label on the sleeve that says ' brooks brothers ' on it
media.tenor.com
January 16, 2026 at 1:11 AM
Adam Curtis in 2030 looking at footage of the battle of Minneapolis that he has a banger Cocteau Twins song in mind for
And to you, Blake! Hoping we get to go for some walks in 2026
January 5, 2026 at 12:50 PM
And to you, Blake! Hoping we get to go for some walks in 2026
But at least I was able to sneak these books picked up in Argentina into the USA. Another title by Piglia that I had on my phone, his amazing critical re-appraisal of Borges (*Borges por Piglia*), is what got me through my sardine-sized overnight middle seat with our 6-yr-old sprawled across my lap:
January 5, 2026 at 12:22 PM
But at least I was able to sneak these books picked up in Argentina into the USA. Another title by Piglia that I had on my phone, his amazing critical re-appraisal of Borges (*Borges por Piglia*), is what got me through my sardine-sized overnight middle seat with our 6-yr-old sprawled across my lap:
Here’s another of the welcome signs yesterday at DFW, which helped provide context for the captain’s note that we were taking a slightly altered route.
January 5, 2026 at 12:19 PM
Here’s another of the welcome signs yesterday at DFW, which helped provide context for the captain’s note that we were taking a slightly altered route.
Arrived back in the Tropic of Kansas yesterday after a week away in the Andes. Strange how getting back into one’s own country is (and has been since 9/11) the most fear-inducing part of the trip.
January 5, 2026 at 12:16 PM
Arrived back in the Tropic of Kansas yesterday after a week away in the Andes. Strange how getting back into one’s own country is (and has been since 9/11) the most fear-inducing part of the trip.
Reposted by Christopher Brown
“I know you’ve been promised a history of everything before, only to read an account of rice, or salt, or gunpowder, or cod…. But carbon dioxide is the real deal.” —Bill McKibben (@billmckibben.bsky.social) https://go.nybooks.com/3MWDwkO
It’s a Gas | Bill McKibben
I’m writing this in the last days of the northern hemisphere’s autumn in 2025. Over recent weeks we’ve seen a hurricane hit Jamaica with wind speeds a few
go.nybooks.com
January 5, 2026 at 11:58 AM
“I know you’ve been promised a history of everything before, only to read an account of rice, or salt, or gunpowder, or cod…. But carbon dioxide is the real deal.” —Bill McKibben (@billmckibben.bsky.social) https://go.nybooks.com/3MWDwkO
Reposted by Christopher Brown
Read what @christopherbrown.bsky.social has to say and then keep going and read all the recommendations. It's an amazing collections of books and ideas and other things this year.
Christopher Brown writes about his reading and viewing in 2025. " The worst new science fiction story I read this year was the widely-covered Abundance by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson, a neoliberal manifesto of techno-progressive futurism..."
aqueductpress.blogspot.com/2025/12/the-...
aqueductpress.blogspot.com/2025/12/the-...
The Pleasures of Reading, Viewing, and Listening in 2025, pt. 21: Christopher Brown
Viewers Like You by Christopher Brown Late one Saturday night in early December as the bustle of the year wound down, I o...
aqueductpress.blogspot.com
December 31, 2025 at 9:35 PM
Read what @christopherbrown.bsky.social has to say and then keep going and read all the recommendations. It's an amazing collections of books and ideas and other things this year.
Reposted by Christopher Brown
Christopher Brown writes about his reading and viewing in 2025. " The worst new science fiction story I read this year was the widely-covered Abundance by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson, a neoliberal manifesto of techno-progressive futurism..."
aqueductpress.blogspot.com/2025/12/the-...
aqueductpress.blogspot.com/2025/12/the-...
The Pleasures of Reading, Viewing, and Listening in 2025, pt. 21: Christopher Brown
Viewers Like You by Christopher Brown Late one Saturday night in early December as the bustle of the year wound down, I o...
aqueductpress.blogspot.com
December 31, 2025 at 9:27 PM
Christopher Brown writes about his reading and viewing in 2025. " The worst new science fiction story I read this year was the widely-covered Abundance by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson, a neoliberal manifesto of techno-progressive futurism..."
aqueductpress.blogspot.com/2025/12/the-...
aqueductpress.blogspot.com/2025/12/the-...
New birds for the life list in this unlikely place: Gray Catbird, Palm Warbler, Blue Gray Gnatcatcher, Scaly-breasted Munia
December 29, 2025 at 1:42 AM
New birds for the life list in this unlikely place: Gray Catbird, Palm Warbler, Blue Gray Gnatcatcher, Scaly-breasted Munia
Ruins of the future, hiding in plain sight, as the morning songbirds dial it up and begin to almost overpower the non-stop sound of commercial jets
December 29, 2025 at 1:40 AM
Ruins of the future, hiding in plain sight, as the morning songbirds dial it up and begin to almost overpower the non-stop sound of commercial jets
Another portal, to an encampment in the shadows of the corporate offices:
December 29, 2025 at 1:37 AM
Another portal, to an encampment in the shadows of the corporate offices:
In the back corner, by the chain link securing the secret woods, my first free-ranging Red Junglefowl, the ur-chicken—rooster and hens foraging for breakfast
December 29, 2025 at 1:36 AM
In the back corner, by the chain link securing the secret woods, my first free-ranging Red Junglefowl, the ur-chicken—rooster and hens foraging for breakfast
On the other side, a denser canopy over a parking lot that seems to have been abandoned, in the early stages of rewilding:
December 29, 2025 at 1:32 AM
On the other side, a denser canopy over a parking lot that seems to have been abandoned, in the early stages of rewilding:
Followed by a promising portal, devoid of no trespassing sign:
December 29, 2025 at 1:30 AM
Followed by a promising portal, devoid of no trespassing sign:
Then a trio of Muscovy Ducks chilling on the far side of garage:
December 29, 2025 at 1:29 AM
Then a trio of Muscovy Ducks chilling on the far side of garage:
Finally found a songbird—Eastern Phoebe on a hydrant by the parking garage.
December 29, 2025 at 1:28 AM
Finally found a songbird—Eastern Phoebe on a hydrant by the parking garage.
Saw a densely foliated area behind this office building—evidently the hq of Subway sandwiches—and decided to investigate
December 29, 2025 at 1:27 AM
Saw a densely foliated area behind this office building—evidently the hq of Subway sandwiches—and decided to investigate
“Red-Shouldered Hawk Lake,” says the map, but no such bird in sight. Later I did see two white ibis, an osprey and a kestrel on the opposite bank.
December 29, 2025 at 1:25 AM
“Red-Shouldered Hawk Lake,” says the map, but no such bird in sight. Later I did see two white ibis, an osprey and a kestrel on the opposite bank.