Michael Brownstein
@michaelbrownstein.bsky.social
professor of philosophy and department chair, John Jay College
professor of philosophy, CUNY Grad Center
alum, Deep Springs College
author, Somebody Should Do Something: How Anyone Can Help Create Social Change
professor of philosophy, CUNY Grad Center
alum, Deep Springs College
author, Somebody Should Do Something: How Anyone Can Help Create Social Change
Pinned
My new book--with Alex Madva and @dryan149.bsky.social--has a cover!
In print 9.16.25, but why not preorder a copy now? mitpress.mit.edu/978026204978...
@mitpress.bsky.social #CoverReveal #Bookstagram
Thanks to Frank Augugliaro for the cover design
In print 9.16.25, but why not preorder a copy now? mitpress.mit.edu/978026204978...
@mitpress.bsky.social #CoverReveal #Bookstagram
Thanks to Frank Augugliaro for the cover design
Reposted by Michael Brownstein
Even more true today: Democrats are ripe for a base revolt like the GOP in 2015 when Trump went down the escalator.
November 10, 2025 at 2:43 AM
Even more true today: Democrats are ripe for a base revolt like the GOP in 2015 when Trump went down the escalator.
Reposted by Michael Brownstein
Book excerpt published by the Association of MBAs today! Most case studies in our book were drawn from the US but here we assembled insights from Latin American feminism and the success of the "Green Tide"
@mitpress.bsky.social @michaelbrownstein.bsky.social #booksky #feminism #GreenTide
@mitpress.bsky.social @michaelbrownstein.bsky.social #booksky #feminism #GreenTide
Discover how greater gender parity and the growth of female leadership across Latin America created the conditions for a successful social movement, in this illuminating case study from Somebody Should Do Something
www.amba-bga.com/insights/voi...
www.amba-bga.com/insights/voi...
Voices of change: Leadership’s role in the rise of social movements
Many sparks fail to start fires where conditions seem right, while others flare up into fires where nobody would have expected. Few movements in recent history provide as good an example of this as t…
www.amba-bga.com
November 6, 2025 at 6:17 PM
Book excerpt published by the Association of MBAs today! Most case studies in our book were drawn from the US but here we assembled insights from Latin American feminism and the success of the "Green Tide"
@mitpress.bsky.social @michaelbrownstein.bsky.social #booksky #feminism #GreenTide
@mitpress.bsky.social @michaelbrownstein.bsky.social #booksky #feminism #GreenTide
Fox gets it exactly backwards! One bit leading to Dems' nationwide victory this week: the willingness to lose in the short term to win in the long term (aka winning by losing loudly). The Texas Dems' walkout showed commitment, as @madva.bsky.social and I argued, and now it's paying dividends.
November 6, 2025 at 3:24 PM
Fox gets it exactly backwards! One bit leading to Dems' nationwide victory this week: the willingness to lose in the short term to win in the long term (aka winning by losing loudly). The Texas Dems' walkout showed commitment, as @madva.bsky.social and I argued, and now it's paying dividends.
The history of social psychology really make you wonder about researchers' thoughts, feelings, and behavior when in the actual, imagined, or implied presence of others
Debunking “When Prophecy Fails”
In 1954, Dorothy Martin predicted an apocalyptic flood and promised her followers rescue by flying saucers. When neither arrived, she recanted, her group dissolved, and efforts to proselytize ceased....
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
November 6, 2025 at 3:11 PM
The history of social psychology really make you wonder about researchers' thoughts, feelings, and behavior when in the actual, imagined, or implied presence of others
Reposted by Michael Brownstein
Last night’s election results, in a nutshell.
(watching this legitimately made me laugh out loud)
(watching this legitimately made me laugh out loud)
November 6, 2025 at 6:19 AM
Last night’s election results, in a nutshell.
(watching this legitimately made me laugh out loud)
(watching this legitimately made me laugh out loud)
Reposted by Michael Brownstein
Universal swing in action: "What we saw last night was a directional shift toward Democrats in 99.8% of counties that held partisan elections." www.gelliottmorris.com/p/seven-data...
November 5, 2025 at 1:20 PM
Universal swing in action: "What we saw last night was a directional shift toward Democrats in 99.8% of counties that held partisan elections." www.gelliottmorris.com/p/seven-data...
Reposted by Michael Brownstein
Huge deal!
Democrats—with strong climate credentials—edge toward control of Georgia’s giant energy system
Democrats—with strong climate credentials—edge toward control of Georgia’s giant energy system
OH MY GOD, DDHQ CALLS IT AND DEMS FLIP BOTH STATEWIDE ELECTIONS IN GEORGIA
November 5, 2025 at 12:50 AM
Huge deal!
Democrats—with strong climate credentials—edge toward control of Georgia’s giant energy system
Democrats—with strong climate credentials—edge toward control of Georgia’s giant energy system
Marathon day is the best day in Brooklyn. And as if the runners weren't inspiring enough, I ran into @bradlander.bsky.social handing out paper towels for them to wipe their noses!
@madva.bsky.social @dryan149.bsky.social
@madva.bsky.social @dryan149.bsky.social
November 2, 2025 at 6:23 PM
Marathon day is the best day in Brooklyn. And as if the runners weren't inspiring enough, I ran into @bradlander.bsky.social handing out paper towels for them to wipe their noses!
@madva.bsky.social @dryan149.bsky.social
@madva.bsky.social @dryan149.bsky.social
Bay area friends: go talk to @madva.bsky.social about making change!
Bay Area peeps! See you at 2pm today (11/2), Book Passage in the Ferry Bldg!
If you can't make it today, come find me at Stanford's "Philosophers for a Brighter World" working group tomorrow at 4!
@mitpress.bsky.social @michaelbrownstein.bsky.social @dryan149.bsky.social #booksky #socialchange
If you can't make it today, come find me at Stanford's "Philosophers for a Brighter World" working group tomorrow at 4!
@mitpress.bsky.social @michaelbrownstein.bsky.social @dryan149.bsky.social #booksky #socialchange
Sun. Nov. 2nd, Alex @madva.bsky.social presents "Somebody Should Do Something" at Book Passage — the Bay Area's liveliest bookstore! Join him to learn how anyone can help create social change: www.bookpassage.com/event/alex-m... #IndieBookstore
November 2, 2025 at 6:16 PM
Bay area friends: go talk to @madva.bsky.social about making change!
Reposted by Michael Brownstein
This right here, this exact sentence, is THE problem in American political journalism.
The IRA *was* cheap energy and good jobs! That was the whole bill! Democrats did precisely what political pundits are telling them to do and the pundits just ignore it.
The IRA *was* cheap energy and good jobs! That was the whole bill! Democrats did precisely what political pundits are telling them to do and the pundits just ignore it.
November 1, 2025 at 12:13 PM
This right here, this exact sentence, is THE problem in American political journalism.
The IRA *was* cheap energy and good jobs! That was the whole bill! Democrats did precisely what political pundits are telling them to do and the pundits just ignore it.
The IRA *was* cheap energy and good jobs! That was the whole bill! Democrats did precisely what political pundits are telling them to do and the pundits just ignore it.
Reposted by Michael Brownstein
Utterly bizarre to describe climate change policy as some kind of radical-left albatross.
The IRA contained precisely the kind of 'kitchen table' programs everyone says Democrats should focus on — and they're popular!
The problem was that Americans *didn't know* what the IRA was or who passed it.
The IRA contained precisely the kind of 'kitchen table' programs everyone says Democrats should focus on — and they're popular!
The problem was that Americans *didn't know* what the IRA was or who passed it.
November 1, 2025 at 12:09 PM
Utterly bizarre to describe climate change policy as some kind of radical-left albatross.
The IRA contained precisely the kind of 'kitchen table' programs everyone says Democrats should focus on — and they're popular!
The problem was that Americans *didn't know* what the IRA was or who passed it.
The IRA contained precisely the kind of 'kitchen table' programs everyone says Democrats should focus on — and they're popular!
The problem was that Americans *didn't know* what the IRA was or who passed it.
100% he was wearing a beret and striped jumper
A French cyclist survived for three days after a horrendous 130-foot fall into a ravine, kept alive by the bottles of red wine he had in his shopping bag, police said.
Cyclist falls down 130-foot ravine in France, survives 3 days by drinking wine he had in shopping bag
A helicopter airlifted him to hospital, with a rescue doctor calling his survival "a miracle."
cbsn.ws
October 31, 2025 at 3:51 PM
100% he was wearing a beret and striped jumper
Score one for consumer activism with @zackbeauchamp.bsky.social
Americans have a secret weapon against Trump
A new strategy to stop business elites from bending the knee.
www.vox.com
October 30, 2025 at 9:15 PM
Score one for consumer activism with @zackbeauchamp.bsky.social
Reposted by Michael Brownstein
Wow.
"D66 promised to build 10 new cities to try to solve the country’s persistent housing shortage, which had been foremost on voters’ minds. "
"D66 promised to build 10 new cities to try to solve the country’s persistent housing shortage, which had been foremost on voters’ minds. "
‘Not So Bulletproof’: A Far-Right Party Faces Rebuke in the Netherlands
www.nytimes.com
October 30, 2025 at 5:08 PM
Wow.
"D66 promised to build 10 new cities to try to solve the country’s persistent housing shortage, which had been foremost on voters’ minds. "
"D66 promised to build 10 new cities to try to solve the country’s persistent housing shortage, which had been foremost on voters’ minds. "
Reposted by Michael Brownstein
even the democratic consultants are evaluating the democratic party according to the caricatures put out by republican-aligned media
Incredible to claim that “abolish the police” is in any way a Democratic policy
October 27, 2025 at 7:49 PM
even the democratic consultants are evaluating the democratic party according to the caricatures put out by republican-aligned media
I know we've all moved on from the Coates/Klein debate, but this piece from @adambonica.bsky.social makes a helpful distinction between righteous anger and hateful anger, and I think Dems would do well to keep the importance of righteous anger in mind.
You Can't Expand the Tent by Shrinking It
We should heed Ta-Nehisi Coates' warning: "I'm all for bridging gaps, but not at the expense of my neighbor's humanity."
data4democracy.substack.com
October 26, 2025 at 7:28 PM
I know we've all moved on from the Coates/Klein debate, but this piece from @adambonica.bsky.social makes a helpful distinction between righteous anger and hateful anger, and I think Dems would do well to keep the importance of righteous anger in mind.
Reposted by Michael Brownstein
Part 2 of our interview for Dr. Anotida Chikumbu's BOOK SERIES is out! www.youtube.com/watch?v=d13M...
@dryan149.bsky.social @michaelbrownstein.bsky.social @mitpress.bsky.social #booksky
@dryan149.bsky.social @michaelbrownstein.bsky.social @mitpress.bsky.social #booksky
Somebody Should Do Something (Part 2) Book by Michael Brownstein, Alex Madva and Daniel Kelly
YouTube video by The Dr. Anotida Chikumbu - BOOK SERIES
www.youtube.com
October 25, 2025 at 4:24 PM
Part 2 of our interview for Dr. Anotida Chikumbu's BOOK SERIES is out! www.youtube.com/watch?v=d13M...
@dryan149.bsky.social @michaelbrownstein.bsky.social @mitpress.bsky.social #booksky
@dryan149.bsky.social @michaelbrownstein.bsky.social @mitpress.bsky.social #booksky
Reposted by Michael Brownstein
Autocrats, at times, use the military to shut down their parliaments and rule by executive orders. That Johnson chooses to shut down Congress so willingly is just a breathtaking abdication of responsibility to represent the body politic.
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/25/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/25/u...
Keeping the House Absent, Johnson Marginalizes Congress and Himself
www.nytimes.com
October 25, 2025 at 12:43 PM
Autocrats, at times, use the military to shut down their parliaments and rule by executive orders. That Johnson chooses to shut down Congress so willingly is just a breathtaking abdication of responsibility to represent the body politic.
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/25/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/25/u...
"We have not successfully addressed the climate crisis, income inequality, or myriad other long-standing injustices. Why think we can come together now?
And yet, we are."
@madva.bsky.social @mitpress.bsky.social @dryan149.bsky.social
And yet, we are."
@madva.bsky.social @mitpress.bsky.social @dryan149.bsky.social
The Golden Age of Protest Is Now
Collective action in the U.S. is surging. Recognizing our shared momentum may be key to saving democracy.
thereader.mitpress.mit.edu
October 24, 2025 at 1:17 PM
"We have not successfully addressed the climate crisis, income inequality, or myriad other long-standing injustices. Why think we can come together now?
And yet, we are."
@madva.bsky.social @mitpress.bsky.social @dryan149.bsky.social
And yet, we are."
@madva.bsky.social @mitpress.bsky.social @dryan149.bsky.social
Trump is pulling a Robert Moses. Just start demolition and then when people object say, "you want us to just leave it like this?"
The White House said on Tuesday it will submit plans for President Donald Trump's $250 million White House ballroom project to a body that oversees federal building construction, even though demolition work began earlier this week reut.rs/4ndTcfL
October 22, 2025 at 5:12 PM
Trump is pulling a Robert Moses. Just start demolition and then when people object say, "you want us to just leave it like this?"
Reposted by Michael Brownstein
NEW: Cardinal Blase Cupich, the Archbishop of Chicago, has issued a new statement declaring that Chicago "communities are shaken by immigration raids and detentions. These actions wound the soul of our city. Let me be clear. The Church stands with migrants."
October 21, 2025 at 6:05 PM
NEW: Cardinal Blase Cupich, the Archbishop of Chicago, has issued a new statement declaring that Chicago "communities are shaken by immigration raids and detentions. These actions wound the soul of our city. Let me be clear. The Church stands with migrants."
Reposted by Michael Brownstein
I'm in the midst of a project in which I'm reading basically every paper published on resisting democratic backsliding. The reason that's even possible is because there aren't very many papers on resisting democratic backsliding
a hot take about academia: it is both too activist and not activist enough. the endless focus on problematizing critiquing, etc etc often degenerates into navel gazing, while there is often a lack of high-quality outcome oriented empirical work on "what could make social institution XYZ work better"
October 20, 2025 at 5:58 PM
I'm in the midst of a project in which I'm reading basically every paper published on resisting democratic backsliding. The reason that's even possible is because there aren't very many papers on resisting democratic backsliding
Reposted by Michael Brownstein
October 20, 2025 at 1:17 PM
Recommended reading for the day after the big protest: chapter 13 of Somebody Should Do Something @madva.bsky.social @dryan149.bsky.social @mitpress.bsky.social
October 19, 2025 at 6:23 PM
Recommended reading for the day after the big protest: chapter 13 of Somebody Should Do Something @madva.bsky.social @dryan149.bsky.social @mitpress.bsky.social
The book tour rolls on for Somebody Should Do Something: How Anyone Can Help Create Social Change, this one at Porter Square Books, with the inestimable Mahzarin Banaji. Link in the comments! @madva.bsky.social @dryan149.bsky.social @mitpress.bsky.social @portersqbooks.bsky.social
October 19, 2025 at 6:13 PM
The book tour rolls on for Somebody Should Do Something: How Anyone Can Help Create Social Change, this one at Porter Square Books, with the inestimable Mahzarin Banaji. Link in the comments! @madva.bsky.social @dryan149.bsky.social @mitpress.bsky.social @portersqbooks.bsky.social