Deb Chachra
@debcha.bsky.social
Engineering professor. Author of HOW INFRASTRUCTURE WORKS (on Riverhead in the US+, on Torva in the UK+). Interested in embodiment, materiality, metacognition, and systems. All enthusiasm is 100% genuine.
Reposted by Deb Chachra
just learned we won an award for our blog post about Tom Holland and stormwater management.
remember, when you see an article about stormwater management, you repost it. i don’t make the rules.
remember, when you see an article about stormwater management, you repost it. i don’t make the rules.
What Tom Holland’s historic lip-sync showcase taught us about stormwater management
Grab your umbrella and your tights.
neorsd.medium.com
November 19, 2025 at 12:22 AM
just learned we won an award for our blog post about Tom Holland and stormwater management.
remember, when you see an article about stormwater management, you repost it. i don’t make the rules.
remember, when you see an article about stormwater management, you repost it. i don’t make the rules.
Holiday gifting season is upon us! Because folks have asked (thanks!): I don't really have a way to get signed copies of HOW INFRASTRUCTURE WORKS to readers. However, I'd be happy to put a customized, signed bookplate in the mail for you if you get in touch. [1/3]
November 18, 2025 at 6:03 PM
Holiday gifting season is upon us! Because folks have asked (thanks!): I don't really have a way to get signed copies of HOW INFRASTRUCTURE WORKS to readers. However, I'd be happy to put a customized, signed bookplate in the mail for you if you get in touch. [1/3]
Reposted by Deb Chachra
One girl said “it doesn’t matter if you ban a book because everyone can find that information online” and then I blew their minds by talking about how your search history can be monitored and sold to the government without your permission, but your library borrowing history requires a warrant.
November 18, 2025 at 1:26 AM
One girl said “it doesn’t matter if you ban a book because everyone can find that information online” and then I blew their minds by talking about how your search history can be monitored and sold to the government without your permission, but your library borrowing history requires a warrant.
Reposted by Deb Chachra
THIS IS BIG
For non-academics who might not understand why:
1. Sen. Warren is still a Harvard professor so this is a call coming from inside the house
2. As a tenured law prof, Warren knows it is a VERY big deal from a labor standpoint to call on Harvard to ignore tenure. The bar for this is HIGH.
For non-academics who might not understand why:
1. Sen. Warren is still a Harvard professor so this is a call coming from inside the house
2. As a tenured law prof, Warren knows it is a VERY big deal from a labor standpoint to call on Harvard to ignore tenure. The bar for this is HIGH.
Per CNN, Elizabeth Warren is calling on Harvard to cut ties with Larry Summers after Jeffrey Epstein's emails released last week by House Dems featured Summers making sexist comments + asking for Epstein’s romantic advice.
November 18, 2025 at 12:43 AM
THIS IS BIG
For non-academics who might not understand why:
1. Sen. Warren is still a Harvard professor so this is a call coming from inside the house
2. As a tenured law prof, Warren knows it is a VERY big deal from a labor standpoint to call on Harvard to ignore tenure. The bar for this is HIGH.
For non-academics who might not understand why:
1. Sen. Warren is still a Harvard professor so this is a call coming from inside the house
2. As a tenured law prof, Warren knows it is a VERY big deal from a labor standpoint to call on Harvard to ignore tenure. The bar for this is HIGH.
Reposted by Deb Chachra
One of the strangest aspects of aging that they don't warn you about is watching as history gets rewritten right in front of your face and people 20 years younger than you confidently tell you about something you lived through and get it completely wrong.
November 17, 2025 at 10:11 PM
One of the strangest aspects of aging that they don't warn you about is watching as history gets rewritten right in front of your face and people 20 years younger than you confidently tell you about something you lived through and get it completely wrong.
Reposted by Deb Chachra
Proud to share that @coyotemedia.org is launching First Aid Kit, our ✨paywall-free✨ series that helps you navigate the many challenges of living in the Bay Area and beyond.
These stories are a part of our pledge to share critical information during this time of upheaval. ❤️🩹
These stories are a part of our pledge to share critical information during this time of upheaval. ❤️🩹
Mainstream media loves doom, despair, and a sensational headline. But hopelessness is their tool, not ours. Meet COYOTE's First Aid Kit, our service journalism series where we'll pursue intersectional, evidence-based, and sometimes light-hearted solutions to the challenges of living in the Bay Area.
Introducing COYOTE's First Aid Kit
A how-to guide to surviving in the Bay Area.
www.coyotemedia.org
November 17, 2025 at 7:39 PM
Proud to share that @coyotemedia.org is launching First Aid Kit, our ✨paywall-free✨ series that helps you navigate the many challenges of living in the Bay Area and beyond.
These stories are a part of our pledge to share critical information during this time of upheaval. ❤️🩹
These stories are a part of our pledge to share critical information during this time of upheaval. ❤️🩹
Reposted by Deb Chachra
"Over the past two years, China earned more from exporting clean energy tech than the US has through fossil fuel exports. The benefit for buyers is becoming more and more obvious. Buy solar and it generates for decades, usually cheaper than fossil fuels. Buy LNG and it’s gone the moment you use it."
The scale of the renewables revolution in China is almost too vast for the human mind to grasp, says The Economist. “By the end of last year the country had installed 887 gigawatts of solar-power capacity—close to double Europe’s & America’s combined total.” www.nationalobserver.com/2025/11/17/o...
The rise of the electric dragon
For so many years, “China” has been brandished in the West as the ultimate whataboutism. China’s carbon pollution is so big, its coal plants so numerous, so why even bother cutting the carbon spew any...
www.nationalobserver.com
November 17, 2025 at 8:03 PM
"Over the past two years, China earned more from exporting clean energy tech than the US has through fossil fuel exports. The benefit for buyers is becoming more and more obvious. Buy solar and it generates for decades, usually cheaper than fossil fuels. Buy LNG and it’s gone the moment you use it."
Reposted by Deb Chachra
applications for winter classes for @sfpc.study - a pretty great organization focused on art, code, and critical engagement with technologies - are due tomorrow, nov 17. classes start in january, and scholarships are available… sfpc.study
School for Poetic Computation
The School for Poetic Computation is an experimental school in New York City supporting interdisciplinary study in art, code, hardware and critical theory. It's a place for learning and unlearning.
sfpc.study
November 17, 2025 at 1:38 AM
applications for winter classes for @sfpc.study - a pretty great organization focused on art, code, and critical engagement with technologies - are due tomorrow, nov 17. classes start in january, and scholarships are available… sfpc.study
Seems relevant that Larry Summers resigned as President of Harvard in 2006, in the wake of a no-confidence vote by the faculty, and one of the precipitating events was him saying in a speech that women didn’t have the aptitude to succeed at the really high end of STEM.
November 16, 2025 at 11:39 PM
Seems relevant that Larry Summers resigned as President of Harvard in 2006, in the wake of a no-confidence vote by the faculty, and one of the precipitating events was him saying in a speech that women didn’t have the aptitude to succeed at the really high end of STEM.
Reposted by Deb Chachra
Some days I have a sweet bop stuck in my head; other days I have Einsturzende Neubauten chanting "sicher nicht sein, sicher nicht sein, sicher nicht sein" ...
November 16, 2025 at 11:18 PM
Some days I have a sweet bop stuck in my head; other days I have Einsturzende Neubauten chanting "sicher nicht sein, sicher nicht sein, sicher nicht sein" ...
Reposted by Deb Chachra
In Mexico, the share of income captured by the 1% has declined noticeably in recent years. This shift toward lower income concentration—alongside poverty reduction—helps explain not only the popularity of AMLO and Sheinbaum, but also some of the ongoing political battles and sources of polarization.
November 16, 2025 at 6:50 PM
In Mexico, the share of income captured by the 1% has declined noticeably in recent years. This shift toward lower income concentration—alongside poverty reduction—helps explain not only the popularity of AMLO and Sheinbaum, but also some of the ongoing political battles and sources of polarization.
Reposted by Deb Chachra
Bird friends! Data friends! Design friends!
I made a tool that turns lists of bird species into generative collages of feathers, colored by wikipedia descriptions.
It'll work with your eBird lifelist! Or local birds.
Download images, or buy art (5% goes to bird rescue)
ofafeather.binstobins.com
I made a tool that turns lists of bird species into generative collages of feathers, colored by wikipedia descriptions.
It'll work with your eBird lifelist! Or local birds.
Download images, or buy art (5% goes to bird rescue)
ofafeather.binstobins.com
November 15, 2025 at 6:45 PM
Bird friends! Data friends! Design friends!
I made a tool that turns lists of bird species into generative collages of feathers, colored by wikipedia descriptions.
It'll work with your eBird lifelist! Or local birds.
Download images, or buy art (5% goes to bird rescue)
ofafeather.binstobins.com
I made a tool that turns lists of bird species into generative collages of feathers, colored by wikipedia descriptions.
It'll work with your eBird lifelist! Or local birds.
Download images, or buy art (5% goes to bird rescue)
ofafeather.binstobins.com
Lucid thread on Medicaid expansion (and ACA waivers) — how they work, and why it matters, and who’s affected. If you, like me, are lucky enough never to have wondered how the hell you’d pay for health care even though you have insurance, it’s worth understanding.
The waiver program lets states give people Medicaid even when they otherwise wouldn’t qualify. This includes people with primary insurance who also have disabilities or medical conditions that will run right through their deductible/OOP.
November 16, 2025 at 2:16 PM
Lucid thread on Medicaid expansion (and ACA waivers) — how they work, and why it matters, and who’s affected. If you, like me, are lucky enough never to have wondered how the hell you’d pay for health care even though you have insurance, it’s worth understanding.
Reposted by Deb Chachra
Also created this meme to share with my colleagues 😁
November 10, 2025 at 1:31 AM
Also created this meme to share with my colleagues 😁
My most *boring* woke opinion is that “peace*, order, and good government” [🍁] is a necessary prerequisite for “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” [🇺🇸].
*defined as ‘not the absence of war, but the presence of justice.’
*defined as ‘not the absence of war, but the presence of justice.’
"my least woke opinion is---"
That's enough. We've had enough people indulging in the "thrill of a little conservatism", as a treat. Of considering reactionary thought to be a salacious and taboo in a world descending into reactionary mania.
Give me your MOST woke opinions. We're bringing it back.
That's enough. We've had enough people indulging in the "thrill of a little conservatism", as a treat. Of considering reactionary thought to be a salacious and taboo in a world descending into reactionary mania.
Give me your MOST woke opinions. We're bringing it back.
November 15, 2025 at 6:34 PM
My most *boring* woke opinion is that “peace*, order, and good government” [🍁] is a necessary prerequisite for “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” [🇺🇸].
*defined as ‘not the absence of war, but the presence of justice.’
*defined as ‘not the absence of war, but the presence of justice.’
Reposted by Deb Chachra
🌱 Spain’s community energy revolution is spreading!
From Taradell to Galicia, cooperatives are providing cheap, clean electricity to homes, including low-income families, while promoting local ownership and fighting fuel poverty.
We love to see a community-led energy transition 🤩
From Taradell to Galicia, cooperatives are providing cheap, clean electricity to homes, including low-income families, while promoting local ownership and fighting fuel poverty.
We love to see a community-led energy transition 🤩
‘We’re proud to be pioneers’: inside Spain’s community energy revolution
From Taradell to Galicia, cooperatives are supplying cheap, clean electricity to homes and helping tackle fuel poverty
www.theguardian.com
November 14, 2025 at 9:53 AM
🌱 Spain’s community energy revolution is spreading!
From Taradell to Galicia, cooperatives are providing cheap, clean electricity to homes, including low-income families, while promoting local ownership and fighting fuel poverty.
We love to see a community-led energy transition 🤩
From Taradell to Galicia, cooperatives are providing cheap, clean electricity to homes, including low-income families, while promoting local ownership and fighting fuel poverty.
We love to see a community-led energy transition 🤩
Reposted by Deb Chachra
This seems to be a common misconception. *There is nowhere to go* for most faculty & staff. The academic labor market is incredibly inflexible even in good times, we haven't been in good times for decades, and we're now in a *contracting* phase, not expanding. For most people, there's nowhere to go.
November 14, 2025 at 1:57 PM
This seems to be a common misconception. *There is nowhere to go* for most faculty & staff. The academic labor market is incredibly inflexible even in good times, we haven't been in good times for decades, and we're now in a *contracting* phase, not expanding. For most people, there's nowhere to go.
One of the themes of HOW INFRASTRUCTURE WORKS is that infrastructural systems physically manifest a relationship between people and with the place they live that extends into the future. In nations it’s often by fiat, but in cities it’s because of network effects and because water runs downhill.
Banal observation, sorry, but conversations in Prague really brought home to me that while countries come and go, cities have a historical existence and character that typically is far more resilient.
November 14, 2025 at 11:35 AM
One of the themes of HOW INFRASTRUCTURE WORKS is that infrastructural systems physically manifest a relationship between people and with the place they live that extends into the future. In nations it’s often by fiat, but in cities it’s because of network effects and because water runs downhill.
Reposted by Deb Chachra
realized i didn't know the origins of "in the ballpark" meaning "approximately correct" and once again had it reaffirmed that you will never regret looking up the etymology of a word
November 14, 2025 at 3:58 AM
realized i didn't know the origins of "in the ballpark" meaning "approximately correct" and once again had it reaffirmed that you will never regret looking up the etymology of a word
Reposted by Deb Chachra
boston sent vital assistance following the 1917 halifax harbor explosion (so awful it killed 1700 people), and as thanks, nova scotia has sent us a christmas tree every year. it’s a nice little tradition. this is the first time the boston mayor visited to retrieve it in person
In Canada, Wu helps chop down Boston's Christmas tree
Mayor Michelle Wu spent three days in Nova Scotia, saying she wanted to affirm Boston's relationship with Canada amid antagonism from the Trump administration.
www.boston.com
November 14, 2025 at 3:59 AM
boston sent vital assistance following the 1917 halifax harbor explosion (so awful it killed 1700 people), and as thanks, nova scotia has sent us a christmas tree every year. it’s a nice little tradition. this is the first time the boston mayor visited to retrieve it in person
Timeline cleanse: Yesterday I was introduced to the teporingo (volcano rabbit) — it’s like a rabbit crossed with a pika and is only found on Popocatépetl and three of the other volcanoes near Mexico City: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volcano...
November 14, 2025 at 4:07 AM
Timeline cleanse: Yesterday I was introduced to the teporingo (volcano rabbit) — it’s like a rabbit crossed with a pika and is only found on Popocatépetl and three of the other volcanoes near Mexico City: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volcano...
Reposted by Deb Chachra
The value of reading history is you know that in 1860 there were abolitionists who were so demoralized that they thought chattel slavery would be permanent. 5 years later those still alive had lived to see its end.
November 12, 2025 at 8:05 PM
The value of reading history is you know that in 1860 there were abolitionists who were so demoralized that they thought chattel slavery would be permanent. 5 years later those still alive had lived to see its end.
Reposted by Deb Chachra
Hey so “underage girls” are…children. The word you’re looking for is children. They’re not like, women-in-waiting or women-lite or whatever. They’re children. I think some of you are very uncomfortable with what that means for you but it is still true.
November 12, 2025 at 11:05 PM
Hey so “underage girls” are…children. The word you’re looking for is children. They’re not like, women-in-waiting or women-lite or whatever. They’re children. I think some of you are very uncomfortable with what that means for you but it is still true.
Reposted by Deb Chachra
if you can’t see the aurora borealis tonight, here is a sewer tunnel which is a wonder in itself.
November 12, 2025 at 3:58 AM
if you can’t see the aurora borealis tonight, here is a sewer tunnel which is a wonder in itself.
Reposted by Deb Chachra
Seeing some beautiful photos of aurorae tonight, so here's a reminder that other planets get them, too!
This is Saturn, with aurorae visible at both poles in this UV image from Hubble's Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph, taken in October 1997 when the planet was 1.3 billion km away.
This is Saturn, with aurorae visible at both poles in this UV image from Hubble's Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph, taken in October 1997 when the planet was 1.3 billion km away.
November 12, 2025 at 3:34 AM
Seeing some beautiful photos of aurorae tonight, so here's a reminder that other planets get them, too!
This is Saturn, with aurorae visible at both poles in this UV image from Hubble's Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph, taken in October 1997 when the planet was 1.3 billion km away.
This is Saturn, with aurorae visible at both poles in this UV image from Hubble's Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph, taken in October 1997 when the planet was 1.3 billion km away.