Brian Goldstone
@brian-goldstone.bsky.social
Author of There Is No Place for Us: Working and Homeless in America • essays and reporting in The New York Times, Harper's, The New Republic & elsewhere briangoldstone.net
Pinned
After many years of reporting and writing, the day is finally here: THERE IS NO PLACE FOR US is out today.
I poured everything into this book, and I hope it ignites outrage at the fact that so many people in the richest nation on earth have been deprived of one of the most basic human necessities.
I poured everything into this book, and I hope it ignites outrage at the fact that so many people in the richest nation on earth have been deprived of one of the most basic human necessities.
Reposted by Brian Goldstone
Unless you own a whole portfolio of real estate, or multiple millions of dollars in stock, you should not concern yourself with "the economy".
Instead, you should be concerned about the cost of living, and what happens to people who cannot afford the cost of living.
Instead, you should be concerned about the cost of living, and what happens to people who cannot afford the cost of living.
It seems crucial (and long overdue) that our national political discourse has finally shifted from an obsession with "the economy" to what actually matters: whether people can afford the basic things they need to live.
November 11, 2025 at 12:10 AM
Unless you own a whole portfolio of real estate, or multiple millions of dollars in stock, you should not concern yourself with "the economy".
Instead, you should be concerned about the cost of living, and what happens to people who cannot afford the cost of living.
Instead, you should be concerned about the cost of living, and what happens to people who cannot afford the cost of living.
Reposted by Brian Goldstone
I have a full time job in a HCOL city - rent eats almost half my monthly income, never mind my student loans. I cannot imagine how people making less than I do manage to support a family in my city. It’s a crisis.
It seems crucial (and long overdue) that our national political discourse has finally shifted from an obsession with "the economy" to what actually matters: whether people can afford the basic things they need to live.
November 10, 2025 at 11:00 PM
I have a full time job in a HCOL city - rent eats almost half my monthly income, never mind my student loans. I cannot imagine how people making less than I do manage to support a family in my city. It’s a crisis.
It seems crucial (and long overdue) that our national political discourse has finally shifted from an obsession with "the economy" to what actually matters: whether people can afford the basic things they need to live.
November 10, 2025 at 10:13 PM
It seems crucial (and long overdue) that our national political discourse has finally shifted from an obsession with "the economy" to what actually matters: whether people can afford the basic things they need to live.
Heading to Virginia next week for an event with Fairfax County Public Library and Shelter House, a nonprofit working to end homelessness and domestic violence.
I'll be in conversation with Annemarie Cuccia, editor-in-chief of Street Sense Media.
Monday, Nov 17
1st Stage Theater, Tysons, VA
7-9pm
I'll be in conversation with Annemarie Cuccia, editor-in-chief of Street Sense Media.
Monday, Nov 17
1st Stage Theater, Tysons, VA
7-9pm
Conversation with Brian Goldstone, Author of “There is No Place for Us: Working and Homeless in America"
Join us for a conversation with journalist and anthropologist Brian Goldstone about his nonfiction debut, There Is No Place for Us: Working and Homeless in America. In his book,...
librarycalendar.fairfaxcounty.gov
November 10, 2025 at 9:40 PM
Heading to Virginia next week for an event with Fairfax County Public Library and Shelter House, a nonprofit working to end homelessness and domestic violence.
I'll be in conversation with Annemarie Cuccia, editor-in-chief of Street Sense Media.
Monday, Nov 17
1st Stage Theater, Tysons, VA
7-9pm
I'll be in conversation with Annemarie Cuccia, editor-in-chief of Street Sense Media.
Monday, Nov 17
1st Stage Theater, Tysons, VA
7-9pm
Reposted by Brian Goldstone
The government shutdown has deprived Americans of food stamps, LIHEAP and 25 Head Start programs. A lot of people rely on many of these programs at once. This is the suffering they've endured: www.thenation.com/article/soci...
For Families on the Brink, Losing SNAP Benefits Has Led to Devastating Choices
With the government shutdown now the longest in history, the neediest Americans are forgoing food, medical care, and other essentials to survive.
www.thenation.com
November 10, 2025 at 6:19 PM
The government shutdown has deprived Americans of food stamps, LIHEAP and 25 Head Start programs. A lot of people rely on many of these programs at once. This is the suffering they've endured: www.thenation.com/article/soci...
Reposted by Brian Goldstone
Devoured this book in 3 days. Excellent narrative storytelling following several families, with data and stats interwoven. Extremely timely with current SNAP events and talk of affordability.
November 9, 2025 at 8:09 PM
Devoured this book in 3 days. Excellent narrative storytelling following several families, with data and stats interwoven. Extremely timely with current SNAP events and talk of affordability.
Reposted by Brian Goldstone
I received this email about Democrats caving to end the shutdown from one of the SNAP recipients I spoke to:
November 10, 2025 at 2:17 PM
I received this email about Democrats caving to end the shutdown from one of the SNAP recipients I spoke to:
A new study shows rents for low-wage Atlanta tenants are rising *9 times* faster than for wealthy renters.
The affordability crisis is everywhere: housing, healthcare, food, electricity, survival itself.
And the party that won big on "affordability" last week just turned around and surrendered it.
The affordability crisis is everywhere: housing, healthcare, food, electricity, survival itself.
And the party that won big on "affordability" last week just turned around and surrendered it.
Study: Rents for low-wage Atlantans rose 9 times faster than for high earners
Rents for suburban workforce housing in the metro Atlanta region increased by almost 20%, while rents for luxury units increased by 2%, a study said.
www.ajc.com
November 10, 2025 at 2:13 PM
A new study shows rents for low-wage Atlanta tenants are rising *9 times* faster than for wealthy renters.
The affordability crisis is everywhere: housing, healthcare, food, electricity, survival itself.
And the party that won big on "affordability" last week just turned around and surrendered it.
The affordability crisis is everywhere: housing, healthcare, food, electricity, survival itself.
And the party that won big on "affordability" last week just turned around and surrendered it.
Reposted by Brian Goldstone
Spent some time in DC this weekend with federal worker friends and their colleagues. They’re all missing paychecks and feeling it. And: every single one of them wanted to see Dems hold the line.
"We don't want people to go hungry or miss another paycheck. But we *are* okay with them dying a little more slowly, without healthcare."
This is so bleak.
This is so bleak.
November 10, 2025 at 3:55 AM
Spent some time in DC this weekend with federal worker friends and their colleagues. They’re all missing paychecks and feeling it. And: every single one of them wanted to see Dems hold the line.
Reposted by Brian Goldstone
Lots going on but from outside it seems that at least part of the calculus was that flight disruption for middle class and up travelers matters more than life disruption for untold numbers who’ll be deprived of health care.
November 10, 2025 at 9:34 AM
Lots going on but from outside it seems that at least part of the calculus was that flight disruption for middle class and up travelers matters more than life disruption for untold numbers who’ll be deprived of health care.
"We don't want people to go hungry or miss another paycheck. But we *are* okay with them dying a little more slowly, without healthcare."
This is so bleak.
This is so bleak.
November 10, 2025 at 3:15 AM
"We don't want people to go hungry or miss another paycheck. But we *are* okay with them dying a little more slowly, without healthcare."
This is so bleak.
This is so bleak.
Reposted by Brian Goldstone
At least 26 unhoused Chicagoans have been kidnapped by federal agents since September, including a man I'm calling Theo, a quiet day laborer who lived near Gompers Park. Two other people were also recently taken from this community. chicagoreader.com/news/ice-bor...
Many unhoused Chicagoans uncounted among the disappeared - Chicago Reader
The Latino Union of Chicago, via its Adopt a Corner initiative, organizes patrols to watch for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and other federal agents at intersections and landmarks wh...
chicagoreader.com
November 6, 2025 at 8:15 PM
At least 26 unhoused Chicagoans have been kidnapped by federal agents since September, including a man I'm calling Theo, a quiet day laborer who lived near Gompers Park. Two other people were also recently taken from this community. chicagoreader.com/news/ice-bor...
Reposted by Brian Goldstone
This account also feels in line with some of what other people that have been in Broadview have shared.
Lawsuit Alleges Inhumane Conditions at Broadview ICE Facility
Federal authorities moved two plaintiffs in the suit out of state; a judge has ordered they be returned Monday.
southsideweekly.com
November 7, 2025 at 3:40 AM
This account also feels in line with some of what other people that have been in Broadview have shared.
Reposted by Brian Goldstone
He said that the agents would throw food at them to eat. The agents threatened to withhold food for a week and to beat him up if he didn't sign deportation papers. He said he saw others refuse and get beaten/receive no food. He signed because he was afraid.
November 7, 2025 at 3:08 AM
He said that the agents would throw food at them to eat. The agents threatened to withhold food for a week and to beat him up if he didn't sign deportation papers. He said he saw others refuse and get beaten/receive no food. He signed because he was afraid.
Reposted by Brian Goldstone
A family friend was telling us about what her husband shared about his experience in Broadview before he was deported back to Mexico. She's been sharing to friends and family because she's just in disbelief & horror what her husband told her. She wasn't able to talk to him until he was in Mexico.
November 7, 2025 at 3:08 AM
A family friend was telling us about what her husband shared about his experience in Broadview before he was deported back to Mexico. She's been sharing to friends and family because she's just in disbelief & horror what her husband told her. She wasn't able to talk to him until he was in Mexico.
Reposted by Brian Goldstone
The regime despises poor people, yes. And importantly it does not fear poor people as a political force. It's important to take both of these together to understand what they are doing with SNAP. They do not believe that they will incur lasting political costs for their current actions.
November 9, 2025 at 3:52 PM
The regime despises poor people, yes. And importantly it does not fear poor people as a political force. It's important to take both of these together to understand what they are doing with SNAP. They do not believe that they will incur lasting political costs for their current actions.
Our grotesque split-screen:
starving the poor / gorging the ultrarich
"With little public scrutiny, the Trump administration is handing out hundreds of billions of dollars to giant private-equity firms, crypto companies, foreign real-estate investors, and a variety of multinational corporations."
starving the poor / gorging the ultrarich
"With little public scrutiny, the Trump administration is handing out hundreds of billions of dollars to giant private-equity firms, crypto companies, foreign real-estate investors, and a variety of multinational corporations."
November 8, 2025 at 3:37 PM
Our grotesque split-screen:
starving the poor / gorging the ultrarich
"With little public scrutiny, the Trump administration is handing out hundreds of billions of dollars to giant private-equity firms, crypto companies, foreign real-estate investors, and a variety of multinational corporations."
starving the poor / gorging the ultrarich
"With little public scrutiny, the Trump administration is handing out hundreds of billions of dollars to giant private-equity firms, crypto companies, foreign real-estate investors, and a variety of multinational corporations."
Reposted by Brian Goldstone
I wrote for @slate.com about a legendary (and violent) Tennessee sheriff who more likely than not murdered his wife and the people who want to keep him on a pedestal.
slate.com/news-and-pol...
slate.com/news-and-pol...
Her Husband Claimed She Was Murdered by the Mob. Hollywood Made a Hit Film About It. The Truth Was Far Darker.
A mythical sheriff, a murder—and a Tennessee town that wants none of it.
slate.com
November 6, 2025 at 1:57 PM
I wrote for @slate.com about a legendary (and violent) Tennessee sheriff who more likely than not murdered his wife and the people who want to keep him on a pedestal.
slate.com/news-and-pol...
slate.com/news-and-pol...
Reposted by Brian Goldstone
1.This is not the only known example we know of ChatGPT cheering on a vulnerable young person to die by suicide, this time it is a recent Texas A&M grad
2. Every single university that has invited OpenAI into our midst should be asked to account for their choices.
www.cnn.com/2025/11/06/u...
2. Every single university that has invited OpenAI into our midst should be asked to account for their choices.
www.cnn.com/2025/11/06/u...
November 7, 2025 at 1:50 AM
1.This is not the only known example we know of ChatGPT cheering on a vulnerable young person to die by suicide, this time it is a recent Texas A&M grad
2. Every single university that has invited OpenAI into our midst should be asked to account for their choices.
www.cnn.com/2025/11/06/u...
2. Every single university that has invited OpenAI into our midst should be asked to account for their choices.
www.cnn.com/2025/11/06/u...
Reposted by Brian Goldstone
“You have made progress.”
“You are not a danger to yourself or others.”
The denial letter from Geneva Moore’s insurer directly contradicted her therapist’s words. Cut off from her treatment program, Moore slid into a monthslong downward spiral.
(Published Dec. 2024)
“You are not a danger to yourself or others.”
The denial letter from Geneva Moore’s insurer directly contradicted her therapist’s words. Cut off from her treatment program, Moore slid into a monthslong downward spiral.
(Published Dec. 2024)
Her Mental Health Treatment Was Helping. That’s Why Insurance Cut Off Her Coverage.
Providers, patients and even some federal judges say progress-based insurance denials harm patients at key moments of mental health treatment.
www.propublica.org
November 8, 2025 at 4:00 AM
“You have made progress.”
“You are not a danger to yourself or others.”
The denial letter from Geneva Moore’s insurer directly contradicted her therapist’s words. Cut off from her treatment program, Moore slid into a monthslong downward spiral.
(Published Dec. 2024)
“You are not a danger to yourself or others.”
The denial letter from Geneva Moore’s insurer directly contradicted her therapist’s words. Cut off from her treatment program, Moore slid into a monthslong downward spiral.
(Published Dec. 2024)
The Trump administration is now literally *fighting* to deny food to 42 million people, more than a third of them children.
Read that again.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/06/u...
Read that again.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/06/u...
November 7, 2025 at 2:21 AM
The Trump administration is now literally *fighting* to deny food to 42 million people, more than a third of them children.
Read that again.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/06/u...
Read that again.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/06/u...
Reposted by Brian Goldstone
Getting new details on this now:
As the arrest unfolded, teachers pleaded with the agents telling them the teacher had a work permit. The agents went into multiple rooms looking for teachers while children were present. One teacher hid with a child in her care while the agents stormed the facility.
As the arrest unfolded, teachers pleaded with the agents telling them the teacher had a work permit. The agents went into multiple rooms looking for teachers while children were present. One teacher hid with a child in her care while the agents stormed the facility.
Raids inside day cares had been off limits until this year, when, on his first day in office, President Donald Trump removed that protection.
The arrest reportedly took place in front of children.
19thnews.org/2025/11/chil...
The arrest reportedly took place in front of children.
19thnews.org/2025/11/chil...
‘I have papers’: Child care worker detained by ICE officers inside a Chicago day care
Raids inside day cares had been off limits until this year, when, on his first day in office, President Donald Trump removed that protection.
19thnews.org
November 5, 2025 at 8:13 PM
Getting new details on this now:
As the arrest unfolded, teachers pleaded with the agents telling them the teacher had a work permit. The agents went into multiple rooms looking for teachers while children were present. One teacher hid with a child in her care while the agents stormed the facility.
As the arrest unfolded, teachers pleaded with the agents telling them the teacher had a work permit. The agents went into multiple rooms looking for teachers while children were present. One teacher hid with a child in her care while the agents stormed the facility.
Reposted by Brian Goldstone
"'They’re spending more money than I would even tax them,' [Mamdani] said in an interview with MSNBC last week."
This is the message. Make it clear that these billionaires aren't just worried about losing money. They're worried about losing the ability to exchange their money for power.
This is the message. Make it clear that these billionaires aren't just worried about losing money. They're worried about losing the ability to exchange their money for power.
November 5, 2025 at 7:41 PM
"'They’re spending more money than I would even tax them,' [Mamdani] said in an interview with MSNBC last week."
This is the message. Make it clear that these billionaires aren't just worried about losing money. They're worried about losing the ability to exchange their money for power.
This is the message. Make it clear that these billionaires aren't just worried about losing money. They're worried about losing the ability to exchange their money for power.
Reposted by Brian Goldstone
here is my story about how Zohran's focus on community amid the loneliness epidemic helped young people connect their politics to an organizing infrastructure, that interviewed ZM, and does not use the NYT's framing of "they don't know how to make friends" :-) and also ran 4 days before NYT's lol
Zohran Mamdani's Establishment-Fighting Campaign Built Community for Young People
“What Mamdani has done is not only inspire and mobilize young people, but he has exposed the establishment and some of their calcified views of participation and inclusion.”
www.teenvogue.com
November 5, 2025 at 2:14 PM
here is my story about how Zohran's focus on community amid the loneliness epidemic helped young people connect their politics to an organizing infrastructure, that interviewed ZM, and does not use the NYT's framing of "they don't know how to make friends" :-) and also ran 4 days before NYT's lol
I'm fully convinced that the downfall of this regime will come from brazen, not-even-trying-to-hide-it plunder: the relentless enrichment of billionaires and Trump himself while necessities like housing, food, and healthcare become unattainable for everyone else.
November 5, 2025 at 5:02 PM
I'm fully convinced that the downfall of this regime will come from brazen, not-even-trying-to-hide-it plunder: the relentless enrichment of billionaires and Trump himself while necessities like housing, food, and healthcare become unattainable for everyone else.