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J. Brian Houston

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Psychology 34%
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Reposted by J. Brian Houston, Peter Thorne, Kevin J. Anchukaitis

nytimes.com
Months before catastrophic floods swept through an Alaska Native village on Sunday, the Trump administration canceled a $20 million grant meant to protect the community from extreme flooding. At the time, the EPA administrator said he was eliminating "wasteful DEI and Environmental Justice grants."
E.P.A. Canceled $20 Million Flood Protection Grant to Alaska, Parts of Which Just Flooded
The remote village of Kipnuk planned to use the money to protect against flooding. On Sunday, it was inundated.
nyti.ms
57 660 1.1K

by J. Brian Houston

jbrianhouston.bsky.social
“if democracies learn to articulate a more ambivalent narrative — one that acknowledges loss, confronts vulnerability, redefines progress and pursues resilience — they may paradoxically renew themselves.” www.nytimes.com/2025/10/05/o...
Opinion | The West Is Lost
www.nytimes.com

by J. Brian Houston

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Reposted by J. Brian Houston

whatafuckingrecord.bsky.social
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3 29

by J. Brian Houston

jbrianhouston.bsky.social
Beautiful essay on consciousness, existence, and attention. bigthink.com/business/bra...
What brain surgery taught me about the fragile gift of consciousness
After the trauma of brain surgery, Big Think writer Eric Markowitz discovered a kind of consciousness that lives in presence.
bigthink.com
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by J. Brian Houston

jbrianhouston.bsky.social
"Contrary to much popular opinion, college is not in the information transfer business; we are in the identity formation business." www.nytimes.com/2025/08/26/o...
Opinion | Students Hate Them. Universities Need Them. The Only Real Solution to the A.I. Cheating Crisis.
www.nytimes.com
1

Reposted by J. Brian Houston, Goldie Blumenstyk

npr.org
For 60 years, TRIO has helped millions of people along the path to a degree, but the administration says it is no longer needed. n.pr/4mWcQgK
These programs help poor students with college. Trump wants to pull the funding
For 60 years, TRIO has helped millions of people along the path to a degree, but the administration says it is no longer needed.
n.pr
15 100 200

by J. Brian Houston

jbrianhouston.bsky.social
China is well on its way to becoming the world’s first electrostate. www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
How China Went From Clean Energy Copycat to Global Innovator (Gift Article)
A surge in high quality research and patent applications has cemented China’s dominance in the industry.
www.nytimes.com
1

by J. Brian Houston

jbrianhouston.bsky.social
‘Complete nightmare’: Student veterans, advisers say VA cuts are derailing their educations hechingerreport.org/complete-nig...
Student veterans, advisers say VA cuts are derailing their educations
Already slow, the process of getting GI Bill benefits has gotten even slower since cuts to government staffing, veterans and their advocates say. Some student veterans are dropping out.
hechingerreport.org

by J. Brian Houston

jbrianhouston.bsky.social
How short-term thinking is destroying America www.nytimes.com/2025/08/11/o...
Opinion | How Short-Term Thinking Is Destroying America
www.nytimes.com

by J. Brian Houston

jbrianhouston.bsky.social
This is an excellent article on the state of the US economy (and culture) kyla.substack.com/p/how-ai-hea...?
How AI, Healthcare, and Labubu Became the US Economy
The Three Americas and aspirational displacement
kyla.substack.com

by J. Brian Houston

jbrianhouston.bsky.social
As I get older I think about all the physicality we miss these days a lot. Not just ciagarettes but casettes, newspapers, videotapes, etc. Many things are gained in our digital world but certainly some sort of rooting in the moment and environment is lost. www.nytimes.com/2025/08/05/o...
Opinion | Cigarettes and Our Quest for Embodied Pleasures
www.nytimes.com
3

by J. Brian Houston

jbrianhouston.bsky.social
College isn’t in the plans for many rural students despite stepped-up recruiting efforts apnews.com/article/rura...
College isn't in the plans for many rural students despite stepped-up recruiting efforts
America’s rural high school students are less likely to go to college than their urban and suburban peers.
apnews.com

Reposted by J. Brian Houston

financialtimes.com
A divide is widening in the US economy as the biggest banks and technology groups shrug off Donald Trump’s tariffs to post huge earnings gains while consumer-facing companies struggle with rising costs: https://on.ft.com/3U8jswb
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Reposted by J. Brian Houston

nytimes.com
No one is ever truly ready for a disaster, but the stories here — told in the survivors’ own words — show that any preparation is better than none.
Extreme Weather Survivors Share the Tools That Helped Them Get Through Disaster
There’s no formula for recovering from a natural disaster, but some items help more than others. Nine disaster survivors share what got them through the storm.
nyti.ms
1 10 52

by J. Brian Houston

jbrianhouston.bsky.social
The Secret to Reindustrializing America Is Not Tax Cuts and Tariffs. It’s Regulated Competition. washingtonmonthly.com/2025/06/01/t...
The Secret to Reindustrializing America Is Not Tax Cuts and Tariffs. It’s Regulated Competition. | Washington Monthly
From airlines to energy, America became a capitalist superpower in the 20th century based on careful market rules. It can do so again.
washingtonmonthly.com

Reposted by J. Brian Houston

jbrianhouston.bsky.social
Left my mojo in my favorite suit.
whatafuckingrecord.bsky.social
WHAT A FUCKING RECORD @whatafuckingrecord.bsky.social · Feb 14
25

by J. Brian Houston

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Reposted by J. Brian Houston

propublica.org
NEW: Over the years, Texas legislators have declined to pass at least three bills that would create siren or alert systems, a tool that Kerr County officials tried to secure for years before the July 4 flooding.

By Lexi Churchill & @lomikriel.bsky.social, w/ @texastribune.org
Texas Lawmakers Largely Ignored Recommendations Aimed at Helping Rural Areas Like Kerr County Prepare for Flooding
Texas lawmakers’ inaction on flood prevention often hits rural and economically disadvantaged communities the hardest, experts said.
www.propublica.org
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by J. Brian Houston

jbrianhouston.bsky.social
“One reason the U.S. economy had such a good Cold War was that the American university had an ever better one” www.nytimes.com/2025/07/17/o...
Opinion | Trump Is Winning the Race to the Bottom
www.nytimes.com

Reposted by J. Brian Houston

propublica.org
The National Weather Service sent urgent alerts about potentially life-threatening danger hours in advance of the flash floods, leaving time to try to evacuate those in harm’s way.

In Texas, some local officials did just that. But others did not.

Read @jenniferberryhawes.bsky.social's story:
Some Texas Officials Didn’t Respond to Flood Alerts, Echoing the Tragedies of Hurricane Helene
Weather warnings predicted devastation from both the Texas floods and Hurricane Helene. But in both disasters, people were left in harm’s way.
www.propublica.org
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by J. Brian Houston

jbrianhouston.bsky.social
We rewatched “The West Wing” recently and it was basically nonsensical what constituted a political crisis/scandal in the early 2000s.
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Reposted by J. Brian Houston

apnews.com
Over the last decade, an array of Texas state and local agencies missed opportunities to fund a flood warning system intended to avert a disaster like the one that killed dozens of young campers and scores of others in Kerr County on the Fourth of July.
A decade of missed opportunities: Texas couldn't find $1M for flood warning system near camps
Over the last decade, an array of local and state agencies have missed opportunities to fund a flood warning system intended to avert the type of disaster that swept away dozens of youth campers and others in Kerr County, Texas.
bit.ly
47 83 270

by J. Brian Houston

jbrianhouston.bsky.social
Yes. Was there too.

Reposted by J. Brian Houston

jeremymberg.bsky.social
Powerful story from Kate Zernike from the NYT

Covers the diversity of young scientists targeted by the anti-DEI BS. Definitely worth a read and a share.

[Gift link]
www.nytimes.com/2025/07/10/u...
The Surprising Scientists Hit by Trump’s D.E.I. Cuts
www.nytimes.com
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Reposted by J. Brian Houston, Katharine Hayhoe

npr.org
An Oklahoma City TV station says it's weather radar was damaged by an individual and that an anti-government militia took responsibility, claiming that radar is used to control the weather. (via @kosuradio.bsky.social)
News 9 radar damaged in apparent attack by anti-government militia group
Oklahoma City television station News 9 is reporting an anti-government militia group targeted its weather radar system.
n.pr
200 610 1.8K

by J. Brian Houston

jbrianhouston.bsky.social
As Texas Flood Raged, Camp Mystic Was Left to Fend for Itself www.nytimes.com/2025/07/10/u...

by J. Brian Houston

jbrianhouston.bsky.social
Camp Mystic Cabins Stood in an ‘Extremely Hazardous’ Floodway www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
Camp Mystic Cabins Stood in an ‘Extremely Hazardous’ Floodway (Gift Article)
An analysis of flood maps shows that several buildings, including those where children were sleeping, were in known hazard zones. A $5 million expansion in 2019 did nothing to alleviate the problem.
www.nytimes.com
1

by J. Brian Houston

jbrianhouston.bsky.social
At NWS “the long-serving meteorologist in charge of ‘warning coordination’ — had recently taken an unplanned early retirement amid cuts pushed by (DOGE). He was not replaced.” www.nytimes.com/2025/07/09/o...
Opinion | As the Texas Floodwaters Rose, One Indispensable Voice Was Silent
www.nytimes.com
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by J. Brian Houston

jbrianhouston.bsky.social
In Flooded Texas, Questions About FEMA’s Role and Fate www.nytimes.com/2025/07/08/c...
In Flooded Texas, Questions About FEMA’s Role and Fate
www.nytimes.com
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