Jamie Setzler

Ethiopia and Eritrea are on edge again: what’s behind the growing risk of war Despite the peace agreement in 2018 between the countries, critical fault lines persist.

Good explainer here from @africa.theconversation.com theconversation.com/ethiopia-and...

Journalists Arrested in Cameroon While Reporting on Trump’s Secretive Deportation Program

Journalists Arrested in Cameroon While Reporting on Trump’s Secretive Deportation Program www.nytimes.com/2026/02/18/w...

A large male Steller sea lion sits on the edge of dark, calm water. His face is upturned but he seems to be looking at the camera. Behind him, we can see rock formations.

The Trump administration is aggressively pushing to open more than 100 million ocean acres off the coast of #Alaska to seabed mining.

Stop Trump's irresponsible rush to do untold damage to the ocean's food web and other complex natural systems for short-term gain ➡️ bit.ly/3OQcITX

It is interesting how Mexico’s 1.2M housing policy mirrors Soviet shoe production incentives:

-Standardized 645 sqft homes 2BR/1BA
-Massive estates built wherever to meet quotas
-No construction in high-demand cities
-USD35k price cap, so long queues for desirable locations or better-quality homes

‘The goal has been to demystify’: how a colonial Nairobi library was restored and given back to the people Once a whites-only enclave, the grand McMillan Memorial library is one of three in the Kenyan capital that have been transformed for the community

‘The building’s historical value is crucial… There’s so much about that building that feels like a time capsule, like you’re back in the 1930s – the décor, the feeling when you walk in.

“I’d love that feeling to be more inclusive… and to see a bigger nod to contemporary Kenya, and Nairobi...”’

NATO stronger than ever? I find this an extremely dubious claim - and yet it is one I have heard several times in Munich last weekend.

We discuss in the latest Collimateur episode lerubicon.org/collimateur-...

It is really baffling that the Mexico City government actually went with their 40 million USD elevated walkway.

Why curling rocks come from just two spots on Earth The rocks used in the Olympic sport of curling come from one island in Scotland and one quarry in Wales. What makes them so special?

Yes, we talked to a geologist who curls about the very special geology of curling's stones, please enjoy

The Hayward Gallery, Southbank Centre, Lambeth – London County Council (LCC) and Greater London Council (GLC) Architect’s Department, 1963-68 Image © Morley von Sternberg

BREAKING NEWS: We’re absolutely thrilled to announce that the Southbank Centre - the Hayward Gallery, Purcell Room, Queen Elizabeth Hall and skaters undercroft - has finally been Grade II listed by DCMS after a 35 year long campaign.

➡️ c20society.org.uk/news/southba...

When Bad Bunny mentioned all the nations in the Americas, I thought of this essay by Cuban Revolutionary José Martí, titled "Nuestra América" (Our America). It was published in Mexico City in 1891. Three years before the war against Spain that liberated Cuba.

www.motherjones.com/environment/...

‘Agrivoltaics is not just a land-sharing concept, but a systems-level solution to some of the world’s most pressing challenges’ Scientists have conducted a six-sphere literature analysis of agrivoltaics, considering sustainability, soil–crop productivity, socioeconomic resilience, solar power generation, spatial efficiency, an...

Agrivoltaics: "not just a land-sharing concept, but a systems-level solution to some of the world’s most pressing challenges.”

Sir Ian McKellen performing a monologue from Shakespeare’s Sir Thomas More on the Stephen Colbert show. Never have I heard this monologue performed with such a keen sense of prescience. Nor have I ever been in this exact historical moment.TY Sir Ian, for reaching us once again.
#Pinks #ProudBlue

America: where the alignments of $100B transportation projects are chosen based on whether a chain store would have to be relocated.

🚨 Requesting help:

I am looking for an agent who can facilitate more speaking gigs, podcast appearances, and interviews with journalists

I want to more widely share my story and expertise as a trans geneticist who understands the reality and complexity of "biological sex" 🏳️‍⚧️🧬

Please signal boost?

Jey is a highly trained and accomplished geneticist from who would be a most excellent guest to talk both about their personal journey and more broadly on a variety of scientific concepts.

A Dark Age for the Renaissance Center Architect John Portman’s Renaissance Center is both a Detroit icon and a monument to the city’s response to urban renewal. As the building nears its…

My monthly column in MAS Context returns with "A Dark Age for the Renaissance Center," as GM and Bedrock plan to demolish the podium and two towers of the Detroit landmark. The iconic 1977 design, a remnant of Detroit's response to Urban Renewal, "means Detroit nearly as much as the Old English D."

A Strategy for Ruination An interview with China Miéville

“It is not as if the world has not long been one in which vast numbers live in dystopian depredation. The horizon is more visible now to many who had thought themselves insulated, if they thought about it at all. And dystopia for some is utopia for others. We live in a utopia: it just isn’t ours.”

google street view image

A permit for a new pre-manufactured agriculture building and greenhouse in the Greater Grand Crossing community area was issued. The $400,000 project will add to the site of an existing urban farm.

Learn more: buff.ly/WAylXGc

What are your favorite African classics in translation?

LA Metro is moving ahead with an automated metro subway route linking UCLA and the San Fernando Valley, providing an effective transit option in one of the most trafficked corridors in the nation.

Permafrost (frozen ground) is the backbone of northern ecosystems. Watch this field video for a visual demonstration of what happens when we lose that permafrost to thaw.

When I started building with straw, there were only a handful of people doing it. To put it mildly, universities had very limited interest in it. Now that is changing; #strawbuilding can no longer be ignored. But at the working end, there are still only a handful of people doing it. New papers list🧵

We must consider accurate, rigorous journalism as a public good, like libraries and schools, which are not expected to turn profits. And treat this moment like the crisis it is.

@victorpickard.bsky.social on Right Now With @perrybaconjr.bsky.social newrepublic.com/article/2045...

Crawfish Rock resiste ante Próspera, los colonos modernos

Important, from a publication I like a lot in Honduras, a photo-essay about Crawfish Rock: the people resisting Próspera and the Network State.

Please share. It is important to hear and lift the voices of those directly impacted by the Network State. + Beautiful photos

criterio.hn/crawfish-roc...

WDFW and partners publish poetry anthology focused on climate resilience in Washington’s ecosystems “On Resilience: Stories of Climate Adaptation Across Washington’s Landscapes” is a new poetry anthology bringing together place-based…

I love this idea so much: Washington Dept of Fish & Wildlife just released an anthology of poetry and art exploring how each of the state's ecoregions is being affected by climate change, and how fish & wildlife managers are responding.

I just ordered my copy.

Research Roundup: The Effect of Market-Rate Development on Neighborhood Rents A roundup of recent research that has delved into the neighborhood-level impacts of market-rate housing.

If you’re truly interested in making housing more affordable, and I think you are, I really recommend reading this UCLA research roundup:
www.lewis.ucla.edu/research/mar...
It’s helpful to understand the forces that drive housing prices up or down. This summary taught me a lot about that topic.

Richard Denniss: ‘Housing is not the only area where politicians ignore good evidence’ Economist Richard Denniss, co-CEO at the Australia Institute, calls out the government’s myths around housing, and shares his thoughts on what’s holding us back from radically reshaping our housing cu...

“Economist Richard Denniss, co-CEO at the Australia Institute, calls out the government’s myths around housing, and shares his thoughts on what’s holding us back from radically reshaping our housing culture” (Richard and I spoke at this together; he’s brilliant) architectureau.com/articles/ric...

The factories building your future are still burning fuel like it's 1950.

Steel mills. Cement plants. Chemical refineries. Food processing facilities.

They all need heat. Massive amounts of it.

And for years, the answer has been the same: burn fuel.