Joan Esposito is joined by Ned Resnikoff, urban policy analyst who writes the newsletter “Public Comment.” Last month he wrote the piece "It Is Past Time for You to Quit Elon Musk's X."

Resnikoff is also author of the forthcoming book, “Build or Die: How America Is Suffocating Its Cities and What to Do About It,” which will be published by Princeton University Press on December 8 and is currently available for preorder from bookshop.org.  

In the interview, Esposito and Resnikoff talked about housing policy, the effects of social media, and the challenges of AI-generated content.

Here is a brief summary of the conversation:
- Resnikoff argued that cities need both housing rehabilitation and substantial new construction, especially where population growth outpaces housing supply.
- Broadly reducing rents requires allowing more housing development at greater densities; subsidies can provide below-market housing but are not sufficient alone.
- He said X is particularly harmful because its algorithm amplifies far-right propaganda and can distort perceptions of public sentiment.
- He acknowledged limited professional or advocacy reasons to remain on X, but concluded that the long-term harms generally outweigh those benefits.
- Social media may redirect attention from sustained reading and contextual thinking toward short, emotionally charged content. "It's about attention fracking, right?" Resnikoff said. "It's about channeling whatever sort of intellectual energy we might have to write or think about things or read about current events into this kind of hot house where information comes in much shorter, decontextualized bursts. And I think it is corrosive."
- Resnikoff warned that low-cost AI-generated text and images could reduce trust in online information, requiring users to verify claims across independent sources.

Catch "Joan Esposito: Live, Local and Progressive" weekdays from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. Central on WCPT (heartlandsignal.com/programs/live-local-progressive).

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