Brian PJ Cronin
@brianpjcronin.bsky.social
Environmental Reporter for The Highlands Current: An award-winning, non-profit, independent newspaper in New York's Hudson Valley. (https://highlandscurrent.org/author/bcronin/) Also teaching journalism at Marist University. He/Him.
It’s wild that for the foreseeable future my section on journalistic ethics in my Intro to Journalism class is just going to be me talking about the past week.
November 27, 2025 at 12:15 AM
It’s wild that for the foreseeable future my section on journalistic ethics in my Intro to Journalism class is just going to be me talking about the past week.
*logs back in, lays flat, puts ear to the timeline*
There was a battle here
There was a battle here
November 26, 2025 at 10:15 PM
*logs back in, lays flat, puts ear to the timeline*
There was a battle here
There was a battle here
Ok so my hot take is that for gods sake can we come up with alternate terms for NIMBY and YIMBY because it is impossible to discuss housing policy and urban planning without sounding like widdle children who need a nap
November 26, 2025 at 8:52 PM
Ok so my hot take is that for gods sake can we come up with alternate terms for NIMBY and YIMBY because it is impossible to discuss housing policy and urban planning without sounding like widdle children who need a nap
“ Women helped make Trump. Trump never intended to repay the favor. Some women will figure that out sooner than others.”
Gift link:
Gift link:
Opinion | Has Marjorie Taylor Greene Really Seen the Light?
www.nytimes.com
November 26, 2025 at 8:48 PM
“ Women helped make Trump. Trump never intended to repay the favor. Some women will figure that out sooner than others.”
Gift link:
Gift link:
I wish Nintendo liked money because Ocarina of Time with Breath of the Wild graphics would grind human productivity to a halt and the dolphins would take over while we were trying to remember how the Water Temple worked.
November 26, 2025 at 6:23 PM
I wish Nintendo liked money because Ocarina of Time with Breath of the Wild graphics would grind human productivity to a halt and the dolphins would take over while we were trying to remember how the Water Temple worked.
Reposted by Brian PJ Cronin
wild that this happened within 24 hours of bolsanaro going to prison. will be a timeless textbook example of what works to save a democracy and what doesn’t
Breaking News: The last pending criminal prosecution against President Trump was dismissed by a judge in Georgia, effectively ending efforts to hold Trump criminally responsible for attempts to overturn the 2020 election. trib.al/EnJu57H
November 26, 2025 at 4:51 PM
wild that this happened within 24 hours of bolsanaro going to prison. will be a timeless textbook example of what works to save a democracy and what doesn’t
Me when I turn in the 800 word piece that "might go a little long" at 2850 words with a page of charts and graphs that I made BUT it is also not my problem anymore
November 26, 2025 at 5:29 PM
Me when I turn in the 800 word piece that "might go a little long" at 2850 words with a page of charts and graphs that I made BUT it is also not my problem anymore
I mean when you consider the fact that he was always demanding that Biden take a drug test before the debates because he believed that Biden was being hopped up with something to appear less senile AND the fact that so far literally every accusation Trump has lobbed has turned out to be a confession
My theory is that Trump has always used stimulants and they no longer work well enough to mask his cognitive decline and age related problems which were always there www.nytimes.com/2025/11/25/u...
Shorter Days, Signs of Fatigue: Trump Faces Realities of Aging in Office
www.nytimes.com
November 26, 2025 at 2:11 PM
I mean when you consider the fact that he was always demanding that Biden take a drug test before the debates because he believed that Biden was being hopped up with something to appear less senile AND the fact that so far literally every accusation Trump has lobbed has turned out to be a confession
Reposted by Brian PJ Cronin
One of the big tidal forces of the coming years is that the baseline reliability of things you see on a screen is going to decline.
I think this has not been adequately metabolized.
This is one version, but there are a bunch of them.
I think this has not been adequately metabolized.
This is one version, but there are a bunch of them.
NEW: AI “recipe slop” is overrunning search and social. Food creators say Google’s AI Overviews and glossy fake food pics are drowning out real, tested recipes — collapsing traffic and setting home cooks up for disaster, especially this Thanksgiving.
Gift link: www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Gift link: www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
AI Slop Recipes Are Taking Over the Internet -- And Thanksgiving Dinner
Food bloggers see traffic dip as home cooks turn to AI, inspired by impossible pictures
www.bloomberg.com
November 25, 2025 at 9:39 PM
One of the big tidal forces of the coming years is that the baseline reliability of things you see on a screen is going to decline.
I think this has not been adequately metabolized.
This is one version, but there are a bunch of them.
I think this has not been adequately metabolized.
This is one version, but there are a bunch of them.
Serious question: is there any aspect of American society that is not in crisis mode right now?
November 25, 2025 at 5:59 PM
Serious question: is there any aspect of American society that is not in crisis mode right now?
Reposted by Brian PJ Cronin
"My mentor always tells me, 'Kim, dogs don’t bark at parked cars." They’re coming after critical race theory, 1619, intersectionality because these ideas mobilized people. They gave them the language to actually articulate what they were seeing with their own eyes," says Kimberlé Crenshaw.
November 25, 2025 at 1:26 PM
"My mentor always tells me, 'Kim, dogs don’t bark at parked cars." They’re coming after critical race theory, 1619, intersectionality because these ideas mobilized people. They gave them the language to actually articulate what they were seeing with their own eyes," says Kimberlé Crenshaw.
Look if you hate Americans you should keep calling it an Americano because the thing about Americanos is that they absolutely suck
November 25, 2025 at 2:22 PM
Look if you hate Americans you should keep calling it an Americano because the thing about Americanos is that they absolutely suck
I often think about when Ta-Nehisi Coates filled in for someone on book leave in the NYT Opinion section, wrote nothing but bangers for two months, and when they offered him the gig full time he turned it down because he was starting to see how writing op-eds 2x/week eventually leads to self-parody.
At this point, the Washpost edit page is just trolling its readers.
This is today's actual house editorial.
This is today's actual house editorial.
November 25, 2025 at 2:18 PM
I often think about when Ta-Nehisi Coates filled in for someone on book leave in the NYT Opinion section, wrote nothing but bangers for two months, and when they offered him the gig full time he turned it down because he was starting to see how writing op-eds 2x/week eventually leads to self-parody.
GEOLOGIST: *cracks knuckles*
November 25, 2025 at 2:52 AM
GEOLOGIST: *cracks knuckles*
Someone posted earlier today that there's Civil War dads and WWII dads, but this is the kind of dad I am, the one who let out an audible "yesssssss" upon learning this.
By the way, Ken Burns’ next documentary series is apparently in the can — LBJ & The Great Society
kenburns.com/films/lbj-th...
kenburns.com/films/lbj-th...
LBJ & the Great Society - Ken Burns
This three-part, six-hour series will chronicle the life and times of Lyndon B. Johnson, one of the most capable, colorful, and controversial men ever to occupy the White House. A figure of extraordin...
kenburns.com
November 25, 2025 at 1:16 AM
Someone posted earlier today that there's Civil War dads and WWII dads, but this is the kind of dad I am, the one who let out an audible "yesssssss" upon learning this.
What if instead of bailing out the AI companies we all got free fries forever
November 24, 2025 at 11:35 PM
What if instead of bailing out the AI companies we all got free fries forever
Lotta people currently fucking around (posting/sharing a piece without reading the whole thing) and finding out (reading the whole piece later and finding out they just low-key advocated for some total bullshit.)
November 24, 2025 at 8:24 PM
Lotta people currently fucking around (posting/sharing a piece without reading the whole thing) and finding out (reading the whole piece later and finding out they just low-key advocated for some total bullshit.)
Reposted by Brian PJ Cronin
This should have been an instructive moment in people’s understanding of just how much people are willing to pay economically for racism and xenophobia.
Still reeling from the Stanford report on Brexit. Reduced GDP by up to 8% and investment by as much as 18%. The UK Treasury would have £40 billion more each year if Britain had remained in the EU. Devastating self-immolation.
The Economic Impact of Brexit
Other
siepr.stanford.edu
November 24, 2025 at 3:27 PM
This should have been an instructive moment in people’s understanding of just how much people are willing to pay economically for racism and xenophobia.
Had a chance to go through the whole list and out of the 384 books from this year I’ve read…..1. And am partway through a second one.
Lots to discover here!
Lots to discover here!
Books We Love is back with a brand new batch of hand-picked titles. Mix and match tags like “Book Club Ideas” and “Eye-Opening Reads.” Find 380+ new 2025 reads, and stick around to browse more than 4,000 books from the last 13 years.
Books We Love
Here are 380+ great reads from 2025 handpicked just for you by NPR staffers and trusted critics.
n.pr
November 24, 2025 at 7:48 PM
Had a chance to go through the whole list and out of the 384 books from this year I’ve read…..1. And am partway through a second one.
Lots to discover here!
Lots to discover here!
I know this is specifically about finding out that so many of the MAGA accounts posting ragebait on Twitter were based overseas but if you take a step back it pretty much sums up the majority of social media these days and a big chunk of “regular” media as well.
It produces a performative ecosystem. Actors aren’t communicating; they’re staging provocations for yield. The result is disordered discourse: signals detached from truth, identity shaped by escalation, and a feedback loop where the performance eclipses reality itself.
November 24, 2025 at 6:45 PM
I know this is specifically about finding out that so many of the MAGA accounts posting ragebait on Twitter were based overseas but if you take a step back it pretty much sums up the majority of social media these days and a big chunk of “regular” media as well.
Reposted by Brian PJ Cronin
they are not playing 3D chess. they are fucking idiots.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Judge dismisses cases against James Comey and Letitia James after finding that prosecutor was illegally appointed.
November 24, 2025 at 5:45 PM
they are not playing 3D chess. they are fucking idiots.
Reposted by Brian PJ Cronin
BREAKING: Comey case dismissed without prejudice. Halligan invalidly appointed, judge rules. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
November 24, 2025 at 5:36 PM
BREAKING: Comey case dismissed without prejudice. Halligan invalidly appointed, judge rules. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
Reposted by Brian PJ Cronin
Books We Love is back with a brand new batch of hand-picked titles. Mix and match tags like “Book Club Ideas” and “Eye-Opening Reads.” Find 380+ new 2025 reads, and stick around to browse more than 4,000 books from the last 13 years.
Books We Love
Here are 380+ great reads from 2025 handpicked just for you by NPR staffers and trusted critics.
n.pr
November 24, 2025 at 12:27 PM
Books We Love is back with a brand new batch of hand-picked titles. Mix and match tags like “Book Club Ideas” and “Eye-Opening Reads.” Find 380+ new 2025 reads, and stick around to browse more than 4,000 books from the last 13 years.
I have been laughing for five minutes straight at "It seems like a marvel of financial engineering;” just an incredible way to write “fraud” and get it past the lawyers, will absolutely be stealing this move in the future
"It seems like a marvel of financial engineering: Meta is building a $27 billion data center in Louisiana, financed with debt, and neither the data center nor the debt will be on its own balance sheet."
AI Meets Aggressive Accounting at Meta’s Gigantic New Data Center
Favorable treatment off the balance sheet hinges on some convenient assumptions.
www.wsj.com
November 24, 2025 at 1:31 PM
I have been laughing for five minutes straight at "It seems like a marvel of financial engineering;” just an incredible way to write “fraud” and get it past the lawyers, will absolutely be stealing this move in the future
Just went down a Wikipedia hole and found out that Andrew W.K. is now a motivational speaker and now what I want for Christmas is for Andrew W.K. to follow me around and scream encouraging things at me as I go about my day
November 24, 2025 at 6:28 AM
Just went down a Wikipedia hole and found out that Andrew W.K. is now a motivational speaker and now what I want for Christmas is for Andrew W.K. to follow me around and scream encouraging things at me as I go about my day