MinnPost Picks: on Houston, the Red Cross, and why we tip the way we do

"Boomtown, Floodtown," the Texas Tribune and ProPublicaThis very good piece of explanatory reporting, published after Houston saw massive floods after a storm last April, gets at why homes that aren't even in that city's supposed floodplains keep getting waterlogged. The short answer: urban planning hubris and more frequent, more powerful storms: — Greta Kaul, data reporter“The Red Cross Won’t Save Houston,” SlateIn recent years, the American Red Cross became somewhat infamous for its bungled response to the earthquake in Haiti and to Superstorm Sandy, incompetence revealed due to the efforts of the investigative nonprofit ProPublica. But as this Slate story by Jonathan M. Katz points out, those responses weren’t outliers. And yet, Katz's piece is more than just an indictment of the Red Cross (though it’s certainly that). It’s also a critique on how Americans tend to think about disaster recovery. As Katz writes: “What you learn when you really dive into these situations is that momentary intentions, no matter how kind, are not enough — not on this scale. Those past, ineffective, and opaque disaster responses, from Haiti to New Jersey to the Gulf Coast, have created a legacy of mistrust, not only of the Red Cross but of the entire humanitarian aid apparatus its iconic brand represents. We can’t afford to do that again.” (And, by the way, if you do want to help, here's a list of organizations put together by the Texas Tribune.) — Andy Putz, editor“New Yorker Cartoon Editor Emma Allen on How to Be Funny in the Age of Instagram, VR, and Donald Tump,” ArtnetA long, delicious chat with 29-year-old Emma Allen, who’s been cartoon editor at the New Yorker since May, when Bob Mankoff stepped down after 20 years. — Pamela Espeland, Artscape reporter"Why you tip as much as you do," The Washington PostKatherine Milkman in the Washington Post reports on social science research to explain the behavior of tipping, like if the server writes "thank you" on the tab tips go up 2 percent and if the server touches a patron's hand tips go up 5 percent. I think I'd prefer a service charge. — Peter Callaghan, local government reporter

Nonprofit, independent journalism. Supported by readers.

MinnPost Picks: on Houston, the Red Cross, and why we tip the way we do

This content is for MinnPost members only

Become a member today

This content is for MinnPost members only

Become a member today

Already a member? Log in to MinnPost

MinnPost Picks: on Houston, the Red Cross, and why we tip the way we do