Josh Braun
@joshbraun.bsky.social
Associate Professor at UMass Amherst studying the civic impacts of media distribution. I work in our Journalism Department and also co-edit the Distribution Matters series for The MIT Press. Opinions mine.
Mastodon: @josh@sciences.social
Mastodon: @josh@sciences.social
Ever since Google and OpenAI announced the introduction of ads to their AI products, I can't stop thinking about an argument from @andrew-mcstay.bsky.social's 2018 book, "Emotional AI." 1/9
Emotional AI
The Rise of Empathic Media
us.sagepub.com
January 28, 2026 at 3:17 PM
Ever since Google and OpenAI announced the introduction of ads to their AI products, I can't stop thinking about an argument from @andrew-mcstay.bsky.social's 2018 book, "Emotional AI." 1/9
Updating my media criticism class for a new academic year and it's astonishing to me the night-and-day contrast between the number of accessible explainers on the finances and workings of US public media available before and after the US defunded it all. 1/2
January 25, 2026 at 6:49 PM
Updating my media criticism class for a new academic year and it's astonishing to me the night-and-day contrast between the number of accessible explainers on the finances and workings of US public media available before and after the US defunded it all. 1/2
Reposted by Josh Braun
There is a long list of things the administration has taken down or replaced. Some are like this, in public places. Others are displays within agency office buildings. I would really like someone to write something for us that tallies up as many of these examples as is possible to get info on
January 23, 2026 at 1:06 PM
There is a long list of things the administration has taken down or replaced. Some are like this, in public places. Others are displays within agency office buildings. I would really like someone to write something for us that tallies up as many of these examples as is possible to get info on
The newest book from @ajescoffery.blacksky.app, Reparative Media: Cultivating Stories and Platforms to Heal Our Culture, is out! It reimagines how movies, TV, and a broader array of media can be made and distributed in inclusive and non-extractive ways. #openAccess
mitpress.mit.edu/978026255326...
mitpress.mit.edu/978026255326...
December 19, 2025 at 5:32 PM
The newest book from @ajescoffery.blacksky.app, Reparative Media: Cultivating Stories and Platforms to Heal Our Culture, is out! It reimagines how movies, TV, and a broader array of media can be made and distributed in inclusive and non-extractive ways. #openAccess
mitpress.mit.edu/978026255326...
mitpress.mit.edu/978026255326...
Reposted by Josh Braun
What's the over/under on failed AI ventures becoming crypto-mining operations?
www.reuters.com/commentary/b...
www.reuters.com/commentary/b...
Breakingviews - Shaky data centre tenants could choke off AI boom
Much of the $3 trln splurge on server farms for artificial intelligence is coming from Big Tech firms. But developers are also building facilities for less financially robust middlemen like CoreWeave....
www.reuters.com
December 11, 2025 at 3:29 PM
What's the over/under on failed AI ventures becoming crypto-mining operations?
www.reuters.com/commentary/b...
www.reuters.com/commentary/b...
What's the over/under on failed AI ventures becoming crypto-mining operations?
www.reuters.com/commentary/b...
www.reuters.com/commentary/b...
Breakingviews - Shaky data centre tenants could choke off AI boom
Much of the $3 trln splurge on server farms for artificial intelligence is coming from Big Tech firms. But developers are also building facilities for less financially robust middlemen like CoreWeave....
www.reuters.com
December 11, 2025 at 3:29 PM
What's the over/under on failed AI ventures becoming crypto-mining operations?
www.reuters.com/commentary/b...
www.reuters.com/commentary/b...
Reading Marshall Rosenberg, then logging into any social media app will give you whiplash. 😅
October 19, 2025 at 9:08 PM
Reading Marshall Rosenberg, then logging into any social media app will give you whiplash. 😅
@dianabutlerbass.bsky.social Stumbled across your 2018 podcast interview with Dan Harris yesterday and it was what I needed to hear in that moment. Thank you.
October 4, 2025 at 9:23 PM
@dianabutlerbass.bsky.social Stumbled across your 2018 podcast interview with Dan Harris yesterday and it was what I needed to hear in that moment. Thank you.
@chrislhayes.bsky.social I deeply love the argument in "The Siren's Call," but something's been nagging me about how you've deployed it. In the book itself, you make this thoughtful, well-sourced case for why and how we need to restructure our politics to avoid the logic of the siren's call…1/2
October 1, 2025 at 4:00 PM
@chrislhayes.bsky.social I deeply love the argument in "The Siren's Call," but something's been nagging me about how you've deployed it. In the book itself, you make this thoughtful, well-sourced case for why and how we need to restructure our politics to avoid the logic of the siren's call…1/2
Speaking of which, the latest entry in MIT's Distribution Matters series (which I co-edit with Ramon Lobato) is "Reparative Media" by the ever-amazing @ajescoffery.bsky.social. It now has a gorgeous cover and a pre-order page (hint). So proud to have had the opportunity to work with Aymar. #commsky
Reparative Media
Can producing stories and developing platforms to support people who have been harmed by multiple, intersecting systems heal those systems? In Reparative Med...
mitpress.mit.edu
August 26, 2025 at 3:59 PM
Speaking of which, the latest entry in MIT's Distribution Matters series (which I co-edit with Ramon Lobato) is "Reparative Media" by the ever-amazing @ajescoffery.bsky.social. It now has a gorgeous cover and a pre-order page (hint). So proud to have had the opportunity to work with Aymar. #commsky
Annually, I prepare a list of books undergrads in my Media, Technology & Culture course can select for their final projects. Always fun to assemble and I get kick out of sharing it, too, so here it is! #commsky
Pic of Seth Long's book, my favorite new cover.
umass-my.sharepoint.com/:b:/g/person...
Pic of Seth Long's book, my favorite new cover.
umass-my.sharepoint.com/:b:/g/person...
August 26, 2025 at 3:54 PM
Annually, I prepare a list of books undergrads in my Media, Technology & Culture course can select for their final projects. Always fun to assemble and I get kick out of sharing it, too, so here it is! #commsky
Pic of Seth Long's book, my favorite new cover.
umass-my.sharepoint.com/:b:/g/person...
Pic of Seth Long's book, my favorite new cover.
umass-my.sharepoint.com/:b:/g/person...
Now, as MSNBC spins off into its own company, distinct from NBC News, it seems like a good time to mention that I wrote a book on MSNBC. 1/2
www.nytimes.com/2025/08/18/b...
www.nytimes.com/2025/08/18/b...
Goodbye, MSNBC. Hello, MS NOW.
www.nytimes.com
August 18, 2025 at 1:37 PM
Now, as MSNBC spins off into its own company, distinct from NBC News, it seems like a good time to mention that I wrote a book on MSNBC. 1/2
www.nytimes.com/2025/08/18/b...
www.nytimes.com/2025/08/18/b...
Reposted by Josh Braun
So say we all.
August 1, 2025 at 10:39 PM
So say we all.
Reposted by Josh Braun
non-affiliated friends and colleagues this is good news!
Heads up, you do NOT need to be affiliated with a college or university to get access to JSTOR! Here's how to sign up as an independent researcher! You can read up to 100 articles per month. You cannot download or print PDFs. All of this is FREE.
support.jstor.org/hc/en-us/art...
support.jstor.org/hc/en-us/art...
How to Register & Get Free Access to Content
What's in this article:
What is a personal account?
Who uses a personal account?
How do I register for a personal account?
What can I do with a personal account?
What is a personal account?
A re...
support.jstor.org
July 4, 2025 at 2:55 PM
non-affiliated friends and colleagues this is good news!
July 19, 2025 at 7:29 PM
Reposted by Josh Braun
I taught myself to type on an Olivetti portable manual typewriter in the 70's. People who didn't practice evenly hitting the keys so the z would come out just as dark as the f don't get to tell me how many spaces to put after a period, and need to get off my lawn.
July 11, 2025 at 8:36 PM
I taught myself to type on an Olivetti portable manual typewriter in the 70's. People who didn't practice evenly hitting the keys so the z would come out just as dark as the f don't get to tell me how many spaces to put after a period, and need to get off my lawn.
@chrislhayes.bsky.social Just finished "The Siren's Call" and it's fantastic. In addition to being excellent on its own merits, it hit at the perfect moment for me, as I'm thinking more about attention in my teaching and research, as well as in my own life. Thank you.
July 11, 2025 at 2:33 PM
@chrislhayes.bsky.social Just finished "The Siren's Call" and it's fantastic. In addition to being excellent on its own merits, it hit at the perfect moment for me, as I'm thinking more about attention in my teaching and research, as well as in my own life. Thank you.
Reposted by Josh Braun
I’ve been inundated w/ Q’s about the boundaries of our constitutional rights. Q’s about whether & how people can protest, considerations & calculus for whether they should exercise their speech rights. Freedom in the age of revenge is a fragile premise. We are all feeling the fear. That’s the point.
April 10, 2025 at 12:42 AM
I’ve been inundated w/ Q’s about the boundaries of our constitutional rights. Q’s about whether & how people can protest, considerations & calculus for whether they should exercise their speech rights. Freedom in the age of revenge is a fragile premise. We are all feeling the fear. That’s the point.
Reposted by Josh Braun
Great news: NIH postbac program is recruiting again! If your grad school plans were affected by program cutbacks or admissions freezes this year I highly encourage you to apply, this could be a perfect opportunity. Please repost.
www.training.nih.gov/research-tra...
www.training.nih.gov/research-tra...
www.training.nih.gov
April 10, 2025 at 1:22 AM
Great news: NIH postbac program is recruiting again! If your grad school plans were affected by program cutbacks or admissions freezes this year I highly encourage you to apply, this could be a perfect opportunity. Please repost.
www.training.nih.gov/research-tra...
www.training.nih.gov/research-tra...
I greatly appreciate everything that Christopher Eisgruber says in this interview, but, more than that, it's increasingly a relief to hear someone in a position of authority willing to be sane in public. #academicSky #eduSky
www.nytimes.com/2025/04/09/p...
www.nytimes.com/2025/04/09/p...
The University President Willing to Fight Trump
Christopher L. Eisgruber of Princeton University talks about the administration’s move to freeze billions of dollars in funding to higher education institutions.
www.nytimes.com
April 9, 2025 at 2:34 PM
I greatly appreciate everything that Christopher Eisgruber says in this interview, but, more than that, it's increasingly a relief to hear someone in a position of authority willing to be sane in public. #academicSky #eduSky
www.nytimes.com/2025/04/09/p...
www.nytimes.com/2025/04/09/p...
Reposted by Josh Braun
The world premiere of the new wind band arrangement of my score for Buster Keaton's COPS received a standing ovation. Concert was held last night in Luxembourg.
April 3, 2025 at 2:38 PM
The world premiere of the new wind band arrangement of my score for Buster Keaton's COPS received a standing ovation. Concert was held last night in Luxembourg.
April 2, 2025 at 2:59 PM
Reposted by Josh Braun
Movies that take place at roughly the same time
March 11, 2025 at 9:12 PM
Movies that take place at roughly the same time
March 18, 2025 at 2:26 PM