Michael Brownstein
@michaelbrownstein.bsky.social
professor of philosophy and department chair, John Jay College
professor of philosophy, CUNY Grad Center
alum, Deep Springs College
author, Somebody Should Do Something: How Anyone Can Help Create Social Change
professor of philosophy, CUNY Grad Center
alum, Deep Springs College
author, Somebody Should Do Something: How Anyone Can Help Create Social Change
Pinned
My new book--with Alex Madva and @dryan149.bsky.social--has a cover!
In print 9.16.25, but why not preorder a copy now? mitpress.mit.edu/978026204978...
@mitpress.bsky.social #CoverReveal #Bookstagram
Thanks to Frank Augugliaro for the cover design
In print 9.16.25, but why not preorder a copy now? mitpress.mit.edu/978026204978...
@mitpress.bsky.social #CoverReveal #Bookstagram
Thanks to Frank Augugliaro for the cover design
Reposted by Michael Brownstein
Greenhouse gas emissions from poultry are only about a tenth of the emissions from cattle, a problem that can be rectified by simply feeding your turkeys beef
Trump: "Despite their size, Secretary Kennedy has formally certified that these are the first ever MAHA turkeys. They could be fat, but they're still MAHA. They've been fattened on a steady diet of grass, beef, to allow the smoothies and all the other things they have been eating for this occasion."
November 26, 2025 at 5:45 PM
Greenhouse gas emissions from poultry are only about a tenth of the emissions from cattle, a problem that can be rectified by simply feeding your turkeys beef
Great essay from @charlescmann.bsky.social making it clear that rules and procedures are good, actually.
Shameless plug:
For a year, I've been working on a series about the vast systems that underlie our lives. Built up over decades, these systems are the cathedrals of our time--but all too few of us know about them, and they're all at risk. Here's the latest:
For a year, I've been working on a series about the vast systems that underlie our lives. Built up over decades, these systems are the cathedrals of our time--but all too few of us know about them, and they're all at risk. Here's the latest:
Two Hundred Years to Flatten the Curve
How generations of meddlesome public health campaigns changed everyday life — and made life twice as long as it used to be
www.thenewatlantis.com
November 25, 2025 at 3:32 AM
Great essay from @charlescmann.bsky.social making it clear that rules and procedures are good, actually.
Good piece from @brendannyhan.bsky.social, definitely consistent with my anecdotal impressions from various No Kings events. On a slightly longer view, though, I'm a bit more bullish about protest momentum, as @madva.bsky.social and I argue here.
November 24, 2025 at 3:22 PM
Good piece from @brendannyhan.bsky.social, definitely consistent with my anecdotal impressions from various No Kings events. On a slightly longer view, though, I'm a bit more bullish about protest momentum, as @madva.bsky.social and I argue here.
Reposted by Michael Brownstein
This is nuts. 10 million people being displaced due to climate change.
'Iran’s capital must be moved because the country “no longer has a choice,” President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Thursday in remarks carried by state media, warning that severe ecological strain has made Tehran impossible to sustain'
#Iran 🇮🇷
#Iran 🇮🇷
Iran president says capital move now a necessity as water crisis deepens
Iran’s capital must be moved because the country “no longer has a choice,” President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Thursday in remarks carried by state media, warning that severe ecological strain has mad...
www.iranintl.com
November 22, 2025 at 10:37 AM
This is nuts. 10 million people being displaced due to climate change.
Reposted by Michael Brownstein
Oh MIT really does do *beautiful* books! Please order some
Our flash sale ends in a few hours! Last chance to grab a beautiful book for yourself or a friend at 40% off from a site that isn't Amazon. mitpressbookstore.mit.edu/flash_sale
November 22, 2025 at 12:47 AM
Oh MIT really does do *beautiful* books! Please order some
Reposted by Michael Brownstein
Again - the Nazification of the GOP is a real thing. No longer fringe. Totally Mainstream
Exclusive: The U.S. Coast Guard will no longer classify the swastika, nooses and the Confederate flag as hate symbols.
The military service drafted a new policy that classifies them as “potentially divisive.”
The military service drafted a new policy that classifies them as “potentially divisive.”
U.S. Coast Guard will no longer classify swastikas, nooses as hate symbols
The military service, which falls under the Department of Homeland Security, has drafted a new policy that classifies such items “potentially divisive.”
www.washingtonpost.com
November 21, 2025 at 2:01 AM
Again - the Nazification of the GOP is a real thing. No longer fringe. Totally Mainstream
Mark Thompson Show visit with @madva.bsky.social, first comment: "I am almost 89 years old. I am so worried about what kind of world my great grandchildren are going to grow up in. There has to be a solution to change all this." Feeling this, some ideas. @mitpress.bsky.social @dryan149.bsky.social
Trump Melts Down Over Reagan Ad & Kneecaps His Own Trade Deal with Canada 10/24/25
YouTube video by The Mark Thompson Show
www.youtube.com
November 19, 2025 at 3:54 PM
Mark Thompson Show visit with @madva.bsky.social, first comment: "I am almost 89 years old. I am so worried about what kind of world my great grandchildren are going to grow up in. There has to be a solution to change all this." Feeling this, some ideas. @mitpress.bsky.social @dryan149.bsky.social
Tired of wacky socks and artisanal pickles for holiday gifts? Know anyone desperate to make social change but feeling like they don't know how? Welllll . . . you could consider buying them Somebody Should Do Something. 40% off if you order Nov 19-21. @madva.bsky.social @dryan149.bsky.social
2025 Holiday Gift Guide
To help you uncover your next big idea, we've crafted a guide for reading and gifting that's bursting with titles that exemplify the MIT Press: intellectually daring content, rigorous scholarly standa...
mitpress.mit.edu
November 18, 2025 at 6:27 PM
Tired of wacky socks and artisanal pickles for holiday gifts? Know anyone desperate to make social change but feeling like they don't know how? Welllll . . . you could consider buying them Somebody Should Do Something. 40% off if you order Nov 19-21. @madva.bsky.social @dryan149.bsky.social
Somebody Should Do Something on Publishers Weekly "Higher Learning 2025" @madva.bsky.social @dryan149.bsky.social @mitpress.bsky.social
PW Studio: Higher Learning 2025
Influential university press titles of the season.
www.publishersweekly.com
November 17, 2025 at 7:16 PM
Somebody Should Do Something on Publishers Weekly "Higher Learning 2025" @madva.bsky.social @dryan149.bsky.social @mitpress.bsky.social
Nematodes fly on electric currents to attach to bumblebees, sometimes in groups of 100, called “multiworm transfer.” Amazing. Nematodes apparate.
Caenorhabditis elegans transfers across a gap under an electric field as dispersal behavior
Interactions between different animal species are a critical determinant of each species’ evolution and range expansion. Chemical, visual, and mechani…
www.sciencedirect.com
November 16, 2025 at 8:33 PM
Nematodes fly on electric currents to attach to bumblebees, sometimes in groups of 100, called “multiworm transfer.” Amazing. Nematodes apparate.
Reposted by Michael Brownstein
“In Somebody Should Do Something three philosophers show how anyone can help create social change. The key, they argue, is to realize that when we join forces with others, our actions can lead to butterfly effects”
link.vox.com/view/608adc6...
link.vox.com/view/608adc6...
I'm back with another edition of Your Mileage May Vary, my advice column offering you a different framework for thinking through your ethical dilemmas. If you have a question you'd like me to answer, hit reply to this email!
link.vox.com
November 16, 2025 at 7:06 PM
“In Somebody Should Do Something three philosophers show how anyone can help create social change. The key, they argue, is to realize that when we join forces with others, our actions can lead to butterfly effects”
link.vox.com/view/608adc6...
link.vox.com/view/608adc6...
"We all know the boiling point of water, but we don’t know the tipping point for changes in the social world."
@vox.com's Future Perfect newsletter is one of the best. Thanks for the shout out in it, @sigalsamuel.bsky.social!
@madva.bsky.social @dryan149.bsky.social @mitpress.bsky.social
@vox.com's Future Perfect newsletter is one of the best. Thanks for the shout out in it, @sigalsamuel.bsky.social!
@madva.bsky.social @dryan149.bsky.social @mitpress.bsky.social
I'm back with another edition of Your Mileage May Vary, my advice column offering you a different framework for thinking through your ethical dilemmas. If you have a question you'd like me to answer, hit reply to this email!
link.vox.com
November 16, 2025 at 5:31 PM
"We all know the boiling point of water, but we don’t know the tipping point for changes in the social world."
@vox.com's Future Perfect newsletter is one of the best. Thanks for the shout out in it, @sigalsamuel.bsky.social!
@madva.bsky.social @dryan149.bsky.social @mitpress.bsky.social
@vox.com's Future Perfect newsletter is one of the best. Thanks for the shout out in it, @sigalsamuel.bsky.social!
@madva.bsky.social @dryan149.bsky.social @mitpress.bsky.social
The great @saraprotasi.bsky.social giving excellent comments--with feeling!--on Somebody Should Do Something at the Philosophy, Politics, and Economics annual conference. @madva.bsky.social @dryan149.bsky.social @mitpress.bsky.social
November 16, 2025 at 5:25 PM
The great @saraprotasi.bsky.social giving excellent comments--with feeling!--on Somebody Should Do Something at the Philosophy, Politics, and Economics annual conference. @madva.bsky.social @dryan149.bsky.social @mitpress.bsky.social
Reposted by Michael Brownstein
To her great credit. We need everyone to condemn extremism, hate, and violence, even people who once promoted them.
BASH: We have seen these attacks from the president at other people. It's not new. And I haven't heard you speak out about it until it was directed at you.
MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE: I think that's fair criticism. And I would like to say, humbly, I'm sorry for taking part in the toxic politics.
MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE: I think that's fair criticism. And I would like to say, humbly, I'm sorry for taking part in the toxic politics.
November 16, 2025 at 3:40 PM
To her great credit. We need everyone to condemn extremism, hate, and violence, even people who once promoted them.
I feel seen
November 15, 2025 at 9:55 PM
I feel seen
Me too!
I'm looking forward to discussing "Somebody Should Do Something" by @dryan149.bsky.social @madva.bsky.social and @michaelbrownstein.bsky.social today at PPE Society. (It's so accessible and well-written I plan to gift it to socially engaged friends for Christmas!)
#philsky #philosophy
#philsky #philosophy
November 15, 2025 at 3:24 PM
Me too!
Love this statue in Nola
November 14, 2025 at 11:23 PM
Love this statue in Nola
@samuel-bagg.bsky.social is right that teaching skills like media literacy and critical thinking alone is not going to fix democracy’s epistemic problems. But this essay makes a common either/or mistake that derails discussion of solutions for the political crisis it seeks to help solve. 🧵
This is the smartest thing I've read in ages. By the end I was practically cheering. Every word.
Misinformation *is* central to democratic problems today, but the solution is *not* to correct such epistemic failures directly. Instead, we must address them at their roots, in social identity.
Or so I argue in a new post for @apaphilosophy.bsky.social.
blog.apaonline.org/2025/11/12/t...
Or so I argue in a new post for @apaphilosophy.bsky.social.
blog.apaonline.org/2025/11/12/t...
November 14, 2025 at 10:04 PM
@samuel-bagg.bsky.social is right that teaching skills like media literacy and critical thinking alone is not going to fix democracy’s epistemic problems. But this essay makes a common either/or mistake that derails discussion of solutions for the political crisis it seeks to help solve. 🧵
Reposted by Michael Brownstein
Solar is once again seeing RECORD growth, generating more in the first three quarters of 2025 than in all of 2024.
☀️ has become the biggest driver of change in the global power sector, with growth three times larger than any other source of electricity.
#COP30 https://loom.ly/AK3Fn3I
☀️ has become the biggest driver of change in the global power sector, with growth three times larger than any other source of electricity.
#COP30 https://loom.ly/AK3Fn3I
November 14, 2025 at 4:00 AM
Solar is once again seeing RECORD growth, generating more in the first three quarters of 2025 than in all of 2024.
☀️ has become the biggest driver of change in the global power sector, with growth three times larger than any other source of electricity.
#COP30 https://loom.ly/AK3Fn3I
☀️ has become the biggest driver of change in the global power sector, with growth three times larger than any other source of electricity.
#COP30 https://loom.ly/AK3Fn3I
Reposted by Michael Brownstein
meanwhile the guy who rounded up the harper’s letter is like “morality is a land of contrasts”
COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) — Texas A&M adopts policy requiring professors to get OK from school president to discuss certain race and gender issues.
November 13, 2025 at 11:57 PM
meanwhile the guy who rounded up the harper’s letter is like “morality is a land of contrasts”
First interview that @madva.bsky.social, @dryan149.bsky.social, and I have done that comes in three parts. Many thanks to Dr. Anotida Chikumbu for having us! Parts 2&3 below. @mitpress.bsky.social
Somebody Should Do Something (Part 1) New book by Michael Brownstein, Alex Madva and Dan Kelly)
YouTube video by The Dr. Anotida Chikumbu - BOOK SERIES
www.youtube.com
November 13, 2025 at 11:05 PM
First interview that @madva.bsky.social, @dryan149.bsky.social, and I have done that comes in three parts. Many thanks to Dr. Anotida Chikumbu for having us! Parts 2&3 below. @mitpress.bsky.social
Reposted by Michael Brownstein
Even more true today: Democrats are ripe for a base revolt like the GOP in 2015 when Trump went down the escalator.
November 10, 2025 at 2:43 AM
Even more true today: Democrats are ripe for a base revolt like the GOP in 2015 when Trump went down the escalator.
Reposted by Michael Brownstein
Book excerpt published by the Association of MBAs today! Most case studies in our book were drawn from the US but here we assembled insights from Latin American feminism and the success of the "Green Tide"
@mitpress.bsky.social @michaelbrownstein.bsky.social #booksky #feminism #GreenTide
@mitpress.bsky.social @michaelbrownstein.bsky.social #booksky #feminism #GreenTide
Discover how greater gender parity and the growth of female leadership across Latin America created the conditions for a successful social movement, in this illuminating case study from Somebody Should Do Something
www.amba-bga.com/insights/voi...
www.amba-bga.com/insights/voi...
Voices of change: Leadership’s role in the rise of social movements
Many sparks fail to start fires where conditions seem right, while others flare up into fires where nobody would have expected. Few movements in recent history provide as good an example of this as t…
www.amba-bga.com
November 6, 2025 at 6:17 PM
Book excerpt published by the Association of MBAs today! Most case studies in our book were drawn from the US but here we assembled insights from Latin American feminism and the success of the "Green Tide"
@mitpress.bsky.social @michaelbrownstein.bsky.social #booksky #feminism #GreenTide
@mitpress.bsky.social @michaelbrownstein.bsky.social #booksky #feminism #GreenTide
Fox gets it exactly backwards! One bit leading to Dems' nationwide victory this week: the willingness to lose in the short term to win in the long term (aka winning by losing loudly). The Texas Dems' walkout showed commitment, as @madva.bsky.social and I argued, and now it's paying dividends.
November 6, 2025 at 3:24 PM
Fox gets it exactly backwards! One bit leading to Dems' nationwide victory this week: the willingness to lose in the short term to win in the long term (aka winning by losing loudly). The Texas Dems' walkout showed commitment, as @madva.bsky.social and I argued, and now it's paying dividends.
The history of social psychology really make you wonder about researchers' thoughts, feelings, and behavior when in the actual, imagined, or implied presence of others
Debunking “When Prophecy Fails”
In 1954, Dorothy Martin predicted an apocalyptic flood and promised her followers rescue by flying saucers. When neither arrived, she recanted, her group dissolved, and efforts to proselytize ceased....
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
November 6, 2025 at 3:11 PM
The history of social psychology really make you wonder about researchers' thoughts, feelings, and behavior when in the actual, imagined, or implied presence of others