J. Brian Houston
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jbrianhouston.bsky.social
J. Brian Houston
@jbrianhouston.bsky.social
45 followers 190 following 78 posts

Higher ed, disasters, communication, public health. Recovering Okie.

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Psychology 34%
Communication & Media Studies 19%
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jbrianhouston.bsky.social
J. Brian Houston @jbrianhouston.bsky.social · 3d
REM is forever my thanksgiving band, cuz this record came out around that time in 1988.

Reposted by J. Brian Houston

whatafuckingrecord.bsky.social
WHAT A FUCKING RECORD @whatafuckingrecord.bsky.social · 4d
37
REM GREEN

jbrianhouston.bsky.social
J. Brian Houston @jbrianhouston.bsky.social · 11d
“Vagueness has long been seen as a clear divide between democracies run by laws and autocracies run by strongmen” www.nytimes.com/2025/10/30/m...
In the Trump Presidency, the Rules Are Vague. That Might Be the Point.
www.nytimes.com

jbrianhouston.bsky.social
J. Brian Houston @jbrianhouston.bsky.social · 17d
Go to a show! It will make you feel better! onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10....

jbrianhouston.bsky.social
J. Brian Houston @jbrianhouston.bsky.social · 18d
This is the one of the most frustrating aspects of disasters. Rarely is anything “new” learned in an event. The lessons learned “this time”were almost certainly there from the last disaster. Most likely the learnings from the last time were not implemented and forgotten in calm between storms.

jbrianhouston.bsky.social
J. Brian Houston @jbrianhouston.bsky.social · 18d
Motorolla’s emergency radio network provided spotty coverage and was overwhelmed following the Kerr County floods. (Also it was more expensive than another public utility option that offered better coverage.) www.nytimes.com/2025/10/23/u...
A Costly Radio System Faltered When Texas Needed It Most
www.nytimes.com

Reposted by Peter Thorne, Kevin J. Anchukaitis, J. Brian Houston

nytimes.com
The New York Times @nytimes.com · 27d
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

jbrianhouston.bsky.social
J. Brian Houston @jbrianhouston.bsky.social · Oct 5
“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

Reposted by J. Brian Houston

whatafuckingrecord.bsky.social
WHAT A FUCKING RECORD @whatafuckingrecord.bsky.social · Sep 12
50

jbrianhouston.bsky.social
J. Brian Houston @jbrianhouston.bsky.social · Aug 27
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

jbrianhouston.bsky.social
J. Brian Houston @jbrianhouston.bsky.social · Aug 27
"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

Reposted by J. Brian Houston, Goldie Blumenstyk

npr.org
NPR @npr.org · Aug 22
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

jbrianhouston.bsky.social
J. Brian Houston @jbrianhouston.bsky.social · Aug 14
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

jbrianhouston.bsky.social
J. Brian Houston @jbrianhouston.bsky.social · Aug 13
‘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

jbrianhouston.bsky.social
J. Brian Houston @jbrianhouston.bsky.social · Aug 11
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

jbrianhouston.bsky.social
J. Brian Houston @jbrianhouston.bsky.social · Aug 11
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

jbrianhouston.bsky.social
J. Brian Houston @jbrianhouston.bsky.social · Aug 5
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

jbrianhouston.bsky.social
J. Brian Houston @jbrianhouston.bsky.social · Aug 4
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
Financial Times @financialtimes.com · Aug 3
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

Reposted by J. Brian Houston

nytimes.com
The New York Times @nytimes.com · Jul 30
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

jbrianhouston.bsky.social
J. Brian Houston @jbrianhouston.bsky.social · Jul 28
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
J. Brian Houston @jbrianhouston.bsky.social · Feb 14
Left my mojo in my favorite suit.

Reposted by J. Brian Houston

propublica.org
ProPublica @propublica.org · Jul 21
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

jbrianhouston.bsky.social
J. Brian Houston @jbrianhouston.bsky.social · Jul 19
“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
ProPublica @propublica.org · Jul 17
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

jbrianhouston.bsky.social
J. Brian Houston @jbrianhouston.bsky.social · Jul 14
We rewatched “The West Wing” recently and it was basically nonsensical what constituted a political crisis/scandal in the early 2000s.

Reposted by J. Brian Houston

apnews.com
The Associated Press @apnews.com · Jul 13
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

jbrianhouston.bsky.social
J. Brian Houston @jbrianhouston.bsky.social · Jul 12
Yes. Was there too.