Henry Watson
henry-watson.bsky.social
Henry Watson
@henry-watson.bsky.social
Housing analyst, PhD.
Posts do not reflect the opinion of my employer.
A solid crop of books this year! I definitely recommend the Fable app to anyone who loves reading (transferring your data from Goodreads is easy!)
December 12, 2025 at 11:06 PM
Reposted by Henry Watson
The trend is real, but this NYT analysis at the Congressional district level has big ecological bias

Poor *areas* vote Republican, but it's often the richer *individuals* within those poorer areas that are most Republican

And many poor *individuals* rich blue urban *areas* vote Dem
October 24, 2025 at 2:17 PM
Reposted by Henry Watson
Policymakers do listen to strong evidence & rate it more highly, regardless of ideological alignment with policy
goodauthority.org/news/do-poli...
Do policymakers listen to evidence or their own biases?
A new experiment with local officials across the U.S. shows that yes, strong evidence can shift attitudes.
goodauthority.org
September 11, 2025 at 6:58 PM
Note that terminating the emergency control of DC’s police before 30 days requires the “enactment into law of a joint resolution,” or “the end of such emergency” as determined by the President. A one-house resolution isn’t sufficient as of a 1984 amendment. code.dccouncil.gov/us/dc/counci...
§ 1–207.40. Emergency control of police. | D.C. Law Library
code.dccouncil.gov
August 11, 2025 at 4:41 PM
Amusing, but also a useful example. If you squint, this *looks* like the diagram as requested. But it doesn’t provide reliable or useful information; it is just an imitation of similar content. Worth keeping in mind whenever you use AI to generate “information” on a topic.
I've seen this on Bluesky and had to try it myself. The image below was the response to the prompt: "Show me a diagram of the US presidents since Herbert Hoover, with their names and years in office under their photos" Bravo, OpenAI, bravo.
August 8, 2025 at 8:11 PM
Reposted by Henry Watson
This article is now open access: www.annualreviews.org/content/jour...
June 24, 2025 at 7:03 PM
Any list of “Best Movies” is fraught, but these are ones that have stuck with me.
June 23, 2025 at 4:56 PM
Reposted by Henry Watson
Two separate plans hatched in 1960 by Congress—to build a third Library of Congress building & to dedicate a national monument to James Madison—eventually converged. Nine years after excavation began, the Library's James Madison Building opened to the public on this day in 1980.
May 28, 2025 at 6:38 PM
Mission Impossible very subjective Tier List:

Tier 1: Fallout, Ghost Protocol

Tier 2: Rogue Nation, Dead Reckoning, Final Reckoning

Tier 3: The OG, Mission 3

Tier 4 (Much worse): Mission 2
May 26, 2025 at 10:37 PM
Reposted by Henry Watson
You asked to see how the custom boxes that house the Library’s miniature globe collection are made. Today, we are happy to show you the steps, materials and skills that go into protecting these (and many other) Library treasures. Let us know what else you’d like to see!
May 22, 2025 at 4:28 PM
Reposted by Henry Watson
What better day to launch a Bluesky account than our birthday? We turn 225 today! 🎂 🥳 Here's a brief summary of the Library's history, courtesy of Dr. Carla Hayden, the 14th Librarian of Congress.
www.loc.gov/about/histor...
April 24, 2025 at 5:15 PM
Reposted by Henry Watson
2) Persuasion: Lobbyists do better when they have an informational advantage over legislators, and we talk about the different types of information that matters (e.g. business is advantaged) and who it works on (usually ideological allies)
April 14, 2025 at 8:33 PM
Every year, I like to do a rundown of the Best Picture nominees once I’ve had a chance to see them all:
February 11, 2025 at 7:28 PM
God bless the Metro Rewind metrorewind.com
Metro Rewind
metrorewind.com
January 15, 2025 at 5:35 PM
Reposted by Henry Watson
I don't remember what I knew/thought before graduate school. But now I think the most important thing to know is this:

You need to be very, very good. Among those who achieve that, some will get lucky. Being an outstanding graduate student and early career scholar gets you a ticket to the lottery.
Academic friends: What is the #1 thing that you misunderstood about academia before going into academia? (And if you knew it back then, would you have chosen a different path?)
January 4, 2025 at 9:32 PM
I usually align pretty well with popular opinion, so I’m surprised by just how much Anora underwhelmed me (I also really disliked Tangerine so maybe Sean Baker just isn’t for me). Between that and Emilia Pérez, I’m not really vibing with 2024’s crop of awards contenders!
January 1, 2025 at 9:55 PM
This article gives interesting context about rent data, and how to reconcile reports of falling rents in Austin with reports that more renters than ever are cost burdened.
December 20, 2024 at 3:49 PM
As a political scientist, Kingdon’s “Agendas, Alternatives, and Public Policies.”

As a houser, Goetz’s “New Deal Ruins.”

Countless honorable mentions, but that’s not the point!
Fellow academics: if you could recommend a single book to understand your field of study, what would it be?

Yes, I know this is a hard question but that makes it fun!
November 20, 2024 at 1:11 AM
Reposted by Henry Watson
New Research Thread🧵:
We examine the spatial patterns and eviction rates of single-family landlords in the Twin Cities. We find Private Equity firms and REITs each have their own distinct geographies and evict tenants at higher rates than smaller landlords. 1/
November 19, 2024 at 5:42 PM