Y’all, I did a TED talk! Thirteen minutes of me talking about infrastructure: matter, energy, networks, people, and how and why we can these systems resilient, equitable, and sustainable. I’m so pleased I got the opportunity to talk about the ideas in HOW INFRASTRUCTURE WORKS in this format—thanks so much to the @ted and @tedcountdown crew for their care and expertise in helping me do so like a boss.
I am very honored and also _quite startled_ to find HOW INFRASTRUCTURE WORKS on the Publisher’s Weekly list of Best Books of 2023. More than anything, I’m grateful for this signal that the topic and ideas are resonating with readers and to PW for choosing to spotlight them. Thanks to my brilliant editor Courtney Young and the rest of the team at Riverhead (look at that great cover!) and to all of my people whose time, care, and expertise were shared with me and the book.
Friends, I am so delighted to share this with you. My book, HOW INFRASTRUCTURE WORKS: INSIDE THE SYSTEMS THAT SHAPE OUR WORLD, will be published in the US on October 17th of this year and in the UK on November 2nd. (It’s available for preorder.) There will be much more about this to come, but for now, I love Tim Carmody’s description: “It’s a call to arms that is also a call to attention, and a call to care.” Link, as they say, in bio.
Happy adoptiversary, Leroy! Fourteen years, three countries, every day is still a mix of affectionate purring and cuddles and outraged yowls and swipes. Never change, #emergencyleroy.
Another month, another Tools For Change cohort completing their residency! 🥳 Join us Wednesday Feb 25th / 7-9 Pm / for January cohort’s showcase at @makerlabs 🛠️✨
Becky, Ciele, Deb and Mar will be displaying pieces (finished, in-progress, tests) they’ve worked on throughout the 2-month program where they learnt about woodworking, the laser cutter, and the CNC router.
It will be chill hangs, and some snacks!
Plus MakerLabs will also be running tours of the space if any one is interested in seeing what goes on here, or are curious about participating in a future residency!
We look forward to seeing you there ✨
Mar Cortez @marawrs
Deb Chachra @debcha
Ciele Beau @cielebeau
Becky Crowe @thatssobeckyboo
A year or so ago, Veda Hille asked for help understanding the cosmological concept of ‘end of greatness’ for a piece she was collaborating on with Maiko Yamamoto, for Theatre Replacement, and since then I’ve been their consulting nerd (“Theatre Scientist!”) for the wonderfully wide-ranging project. This week, I got to see them perform an excerpt of END OF GREATNESS for an audience. It was an incredible privilege to hear my words adapted for the stage, and my analogy — ‘imagine if our universe was a chocolate marble swirl poundcake, with cherries’ — was very, very tasty. The full piece, at The Cultch’s Historic Theatre in Vancouver, BC, premieres in April, and you can (and should!) get tickets now. (Swipe through for more info.)
It’s been a busy few months. In the spring, I decided to go on leave from Olin College for the academic year, and I’m now based in Vancouver, Canada. I’m using this time to continue sharing and working with the ideas on HOW INFRASTRUCTURE WORKS, and to get traction on some new projects. I’m also excited about connecting with my newly local community, including through a Visiting Professor appointment at the University of British Columbia and some very fun collaborations with artists here in East Vancouver — stay tuned for details!
Photos: Cascadia golden hour; local community hub; outdoor living; waiting for the freight train; my new academic home has a proud history of solidarity in the teeth of authoritarianism
Friends, I am leaving Cambridge, MA after many years of residence, as I am taking a leave of absence from the college where I work. I love my place and my neighborhood, and I’m happy to have hosted so many of you over the years. I hope to do so again once I’m settled in my new home.
[LOCALS: There will be a housechilling and farewell party on Sunday, July 27th. Ping me for details. If you are wondering if you are invited, you are invited (friends, colleagues, students, alums, boxers, glass artists, climbers, and more).]
Cleaning out my office and found this calendar page from the last month of my first sabbatical year, when I went to Berlin on vacation, submitted a last-minute proposal for an NSF CAREER award (only realised I was still eligible *after* I’d booked my Europe trip), and drove home from Seattle to Cambridge via the north coast of Lake Superior.
I got the research grant, btw.
Made it under the wire! Finally read THE POWER BROKER, thanks to the @99percentinvisible 50th anniversary read-along. Verdict: Needs more hydroelectricity plants. The book is called THE POWER BROKER, come on! [I kid. But also. The Niagara power station collapsed! Moses was brought in to crash-build the new one! He went to the Supreme Court to break a treaty obligation so he could use Tuscarora land for the storage reservoir — you can see it on Google Maps!] Second photo: the author (me, in this case, not Caro) at the NYPA power plant in Niagara Falls. [photo credit: @feralresearch ]
![Friends, I am leaving Cambridge, MA after many years of residence, as I am taking a leave of absence from the college where I work. I love my place and my neighborhood, and I’m happy to have hosted so many of you over the years. I hope to do so again once I’m settled in my new home.[LOCALS: There will be a housechilling and farewell party on Sunday, July 27th. Ping me for details. If you are wondering if you are invited, you are invited (friends, colleagues, students, alums, boxers, glass artists, climbers, and more).]](https://sp1.picnob.com/p/pt_6752206869694748534527_0_c84f442741d67c9fe49428f3b67969da.jpg?o=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&h=a46326382d1d87201d7b5b7242f96fa1)
![Made it under the wire! Finally read THE POWER BROKER, thanks to the @99percentinvisible 50th anniversary read-along. Verdict: Needs more hydroelectricity plants. The book is called THE POWER BROKER, come on! [I kid. But also. The Niagara power station collapsed! Moses was brought in to crash-build the new one! He went to the Supreme Court to break a treaty obligation so he could use Tuscarora land for the storage reservoir — you can see it on Google Maps!] Second photo: the author (me, in this case, not Caro) at the NYPA power plant in Niagara Falls. [photo credit: @feralresearch]](https://sp1.picnob.com/p/pt_6716145972303548365949_0_e142b8a9d8479e02219b42be248181c5.jpg?o=aHR0cHM6Ly9zY29udGVudC1hdGwzLTEuY2RuaW5zdGFncmFtLmNvbS92L3Q1MS44Mjc4Ny0xNS82NTYzNTY5NDVfMTgwOTY0MDk5OTA5OTcwOTNfNDg1MzA0NDY3ODYxNDAwNzEyNl9uLmpwZz9zdHA9YzAuMTgwLjE0NDAuMTQ0MGFfZHN0LWpwZ19lMzVfczY0MHg2NDBfc2gyLjA4X3R0NiZfbmNfaHQ9c2NvbnRlbnQtYXRsMy0xLmNkbmluc3RhZ3JhbS5jb20mX25jX2NhdD0xMDUmX25jX29jPVE2Y1oyZ0hkZ2J5ZjNKYUJhX1ROUnRna3oxLVFMUFNhM3dTN0d0ejduMFNUejVMWFhFVjM1TDRoaTVMcEE1cXBfWHhxaUc5bTJ3NmZpQ1JtLS1XZnZPUDI4MEdDJl9uY19vaGM9S3FwRll5RDI4VWNRN2tOdndFVm85QncmX25jX2dpZD1mbUUwRFlpZ3UyNEhBOEhrSlZQdURBJmVkbT1BUFU4OUZBQkFBQUEmY2NiPTctNSZvaD0wMF9BZjZUUGZQSDNBc0hmbVh6alNUQXRDXzFfdjFPMFNObEI1aV9tWFd5MkRPeTlRJm9lPTZBMEVGMTJBJl9uY19zaWQ9YmMwYzJj&h=a2089f14b57e0c824fdd094fdde5a51f)
