David Hsu
dhsu.bsky.social
David Hsu
@dhsu.bsky.social
Professor studying cities, infrastructure, climate, energy, long bike rides, the Boston Celtics, & the drop serve. Personal account representing only me. Likes, reposts ≠ endorsements.
A classic essay by Toni Morrison. You know some of these lines even if you perhaps didn't know where they came from. www.newyorker.com/magazine/201...
The Work You Do, the Person You Are
The pleasure of being necessary to my parents was profound. I was not like the children in folktales: burdensome mouths to feed.
www.newyorker.com
November 12, 2025 at 7:20 PM
Just when you thought that your new interest in baseball might linger in the glow of an all-time great World Series: www.nytimes.com/2025/11/09/n...
2 Major League Baseball Pitchers Are Charged in Gambling Investigation
www.nytimes.com
November 11, 2025 at 5:02 PM
Reposted by David Hsu
We’re hiring!

Our new resume portal is live, and we’re looking for top talent in NYC to help build this administration and deliver on our affordability agenda.

Could that be you? Apply using the link below.
transition2025.com/apply
November 6, 2025 at 1:36 PM
Here are the books that ChatGPT recommends that you read about itself: fivebooks.com/best-books/t...
The Best AI Books in 2025
It's January and time for our annual interview with an AI chatbot. We asked ChatGPT for its latest recommendations for books on artificial intelligence.
fivebooks.com
November 6, 2025 at 12:49 PM
WHATEVER your goals for the energy system are, rising energy bills are going to stoke more anger towards incumbents. Every incumbent needs a plan to deal with this issue. www.nytimes.com/2025/11/04/u...
In an Upset, Democrats Oust Two Republicans on Georgia’s Utility Board
www.nytimes.com
November 5, 2025 at 12:53 PM
Corruption is a small investment for these corporate donors:

“Fourteen of the two dozen publicly named corporate donors face federal enforcement actions or have had such actions suspended by Trump administration officials since the start of his second term, the report states.”

wapo.st/4hD7dm0
Report: Donors to Trump’s White House ballroom have $279B in federal contracts
The White House ballroom’s donor list contains heavyweights in the tech, financial and defense sectors, including Google, Comcast and Lockheed Martin.
wapo.st
November 4, 2025 at 10:01 AM
Reposted by David Hsu
“Don’t boo. Vote.”
November 2, 2025 at 9:25 PM
I don't live in Lexington (I'm in the next town over), but I found these op-eds fascinating. Lexington is where the American Revolution started 250 years ago and has since remained a low-density suburb BY DESIGN. What kind of town does it want to be in the future? www.bostonglobe.com/2025/10/31/o...
The problem with Lexington’s proposed new high school - The Boston Globe
The school would cost $1,293 per square foot. That is 25 percent more than Belmont’s new high school and 14 percent more than Arlington’s.
www.bostonglobe.com
November 3, 2025 at 2:49 PM
Knickers
Change one letter, ruin a candy

100 Gland
Change one letter, ruin a candy:

Milky Wax
October 29, 2025 at 10:33 PM
Reposted by David Hsu
I’ve been thinking a lot about a new kind of polling I’d like to see. We have polling that measures public opinion, which is obviously important, but I’d love to see a little more empirical work on public knowledge: what do voters know about politics and policy?
October 29, 2025 at 5:45 PM
I thought this was a very good essay. Title and subtitle: "The Great Reckoning: What the West Should Learn from China".

Last week my class read Mazzucato's "The Entrepreneurial State" and next week is McGee's "Apple in China", so it is particularly well-timed. www.theideasletter.org/essay/the-gr...
The Great Reckoning - The Ideas Letter
The world feels unsettled, as if history itself were changing tempo. The familiar landmarks of the modern age are blurring, slipping away, and the stories we once told ourselves about…
www.theideasletter.org
October 29, 2025 at 7:26 PM
I asked my grad students to summarize chapters 6, 7 ... no response.
October 29, 2025 at 7:06 PM
Reposted by David Hsu
lol look what they hid under the insole
October 28, 2025 at 2:49 PM
Reposted by David Hsu
Thanks to @bmcnoldy.bsky.social & @drkimwood.bsky.social for help with this story. We were all struggling to find sufficient words.

“It’s this frustrating combination of, scientifically speaking, we know this is possible, but as humans we are flabbergasted at seeing manifest in this way.” -Kim 🧪
The Science of How Hurricane Melissa Became So Extreme
A nearly perfect alignment of factors has enabled Hurricane Melissa to become one of the most intense Atlantic storms ever recorded
www.scientificamerican.com
October 28, 2025 at 5:40 PM
Reposted by David Hsu
Climate change DEFINITELY affects hurricane:

STRENGTH: Warmer water is hurricane food

RAINFALL: Warm air holds more water vapor

SURGE: Warmer water expands, warmer ice melts, sea levels rise

PREDICTION: hotter seas mean faster intensification
October 28, 2025 at 1:48 PM
Reposted by David Hsu
This is not only a climate emergency. It is a cultural one, shares Anchorage Daily News.

buff.ly/zUpOkHe
Truly grasp what Typhoon Halong did to western Alaska - High Country News
This is not only a climate emergency. It is a cultural one.
buff.ly
October 28, 2025 at 1:02 PM
Last week I walked the East River waterfront in Lower Manhattan, a portion of the city I worked on in NYC government 20 years ago. Visited the new seawall, the new Seaport area, and Edison’s Pearl Street Station site on Fulton Street.
October 28, 2025 at 2:12 PM
Reposted by David Hsu
There are still heroes in journalism.
“On Sunday, the newspaper inserted an acknowledgement of the Amazon donation into the editorial – but only once [ @bgrueskin.bsky.social ] noted its absence in a social media post and made inquiries at the paper. It did not flag the alteration for readers.”
'Washington Post' editorials omit a key disclosure: Bezos' financial ties
Three times in the past two weeks, editorials at the 'Washington Post' failed to disclose that they focused on matters in which owner Jeff Bezos had a material interest.
www.npr.org
October 28, 2025 at 1:05 PM
Reposted by David Hsu
One year ago
October 27, 2025 at 12:22 PM
It's almost as if a major portion of the city was built ignoring this: "In all, 99 percent of what’s been built in the Seaport in the last quarter-century is at risk of flooding by 2050, according to a recent analysis from the Metropolitan Area Planning Council." apps.bostonglobe.com/2025/10/metr...
A rising flood zone risk is affecting the Seaport, 10 percent of Boston's tax base
Buildings in the Seaport fund one-tenth of Boston’s property-tax base. Flood waters and sea level rise will soon put that at risk.
apps.bostonglobe.com
October 28, 2025 at 11:52 AM
Oof, this is going to get way worse before it gets better. What a headline! When is the NBA going to realize that this is inevitable? www.nytimes.com/live/2025/10...
October 23, 2025 at 5:04 PM
As I've said before, and will undoubtedly say again, gambling degrades fans, players, and the beauty of the game. I sincerely hope that the NBA decides that the extra money is not worth the headache of this overshadowing an otherwise awesome start to the season. www.usatoday.com/story/sports...
Chauncey Billups, Terry Rozier arrested in NBA gambling scandal
FBI arrests Blazers coach Chauncey Billups, Heat guard Terry Rozier as part of wide-ranging gambling investigation, ESPN and ABC reported.
www.usatoday.com
October 23, 2025 at 2:35 PM
There are many uncertainties in this article except this one: "Worldwide, some 230 million people live less than a meter above sea level, and 1 billion people are within 10 meters of sea level." www.quantamagazine.org/how-soon-wil...
How Soon Will the Seas Rise? | Quanta Magazine
The uniquely vulnerable West Antarctic Ice Sheet holds enough water to raise global sea levels by 5 meters. But when that will happen — and how fast — is anything but settled.
www.quantamagazine.org
October 20, 2025 at 2:55 PM