Then is finally now—it’s Mel Brooks’ 100th birthday! I think the maestro of mensches would agree that there’s no better way to celebrate this momentous occasion than with a thread of phenomenal public scholarship, so excuse me while I whip this out:
My 282nd #ScholarSunday thread of public scholarly writing & work, podcast episodes, new & forthcoming books from the past week. Add more below, share as widely as possible, & enjoy, all!
As a special birthday present to the legend himself, there’s a Brooksian Easter Egg somewhere in the thread. Check out my Bluesky timeline for more & earn yourself a shout-out at the top of next week’s special July 4th thread!
Articles:
Speaking of 4th, starting this week with a number of great articles ahead of that commemoration, including an NPR Fresh Air interview with Eddie Glaude Jr. about his new book America, U.S.A.: How Race Shadow’s the Nation’s Anniversaries.
As part of the New York Times Magazine’s Visions of America project (all of which is well worth checking out), Martha S. Jones contributed an excellent piece (that’s a gift link) on the one & only Elizabeth Freeman.
For the next installment of the Journal of the Early Republic Panorama’s “250 in the West” series, Frances Kolb Turnbell wrote about Spain & the Revolution in the West.
While for an online introduction to the American Historical Review’s new special issue, editor Sarah Jones Weicksel highlighted their project tracing the Revolution through 76 objects.
That was one of three new pieces for the AHA’s Perspectives this week, also including Steven P. Remy on another fascinating material culture object, a map of occupied Tokyo in 1947.
& I’m honored to share my first post for Perspectives, following up my podcast’s second season with reflections on baseball as exemplary resistance at Japanese American incarceration camps.
That’s one of a pair of complementary pieces of mine this week, alongside my latest for Made By History (& my first since its move to the Philadelphia Inquirer; that’s a gift link, but it’s well worth subscribing for all the MBH content & more), contextualizing the Savannah Bananas with the long history of barnstorming baseball as an inclusive alternative to segregated sports.
In a similar vein, check out Gabe Ortiz for America’s Voice on how the current U.S. Men’s National Team is part of the foundational & enduring story of immigrants & American sports successes (keep an eye out for my next Saturday Evening Post column for more on these histories!).
There was also a very different anniversary this week, the 150th of Little Big Horn/the Battle of Greasy Grass, so make sure to check out Elyse Wild’s Native News Online interview with activist Valeriah Big Eagle on that battle’s last impact & indigenous perseverance & advocacy.
Inspired by that anniversary, I dedicated my weeklong blog series to AmericanStudying the fraught & telling histories of “Indian Wars,” leading up to a weekend post on cultural & collective memories of Little Big Horn.
& for vital contexts for all these specific commemorations, check out Cira Pallí-Asperó for Clio & the Contemporary on the fraught & crucial public history work of historical commissions.
Lots of other great articles this week as well, including the Pudding’s fascinating deep-dive into the New York Public Library’s Buttolph Collection of historic restaurant menus from 1880-1920.
Lauren Coodley wrote for the Napa County Historical Society on what we can learn from oral history memories of Napa’s small pharmacies.
For the latest installment in the Urban History Association Metropole’s Cities at Play series, Sameer Chandavarkar wrote about Ganesh Utsav celebrations & the politics of urban public space.
Over at Contingent magazine, Lorna Wallace shared reflections on the Shakespeare authorship “debates” & how academics handle conspiracy theorists.
& four new pieces this week for NiCHE Canada’s Pride series on Queering the Environment/Queer Joy: Mars Plater on queer national parks in New York City; Erin O’Brien’s multi-genre work to redefine the erotic through ace-ecologies; Chetana Gavini on E.M. Forster’s wooded happy ending in his groundbreaking novel Maurice; & Asmae Ourkiya on queer environmental identity, closed spaces, & heteronormative infiltration.
Three open-access academic articles to share this week, including Helyeh Doutaghi & Bikrum Gill for Middle East Critique on the ongoing Ramadan War & the changing world order.
For the Historical Journal of Film, Radio, & Television, P.T. Klein reviewed Jeffrey Richards’ important recent book John Ford’s America.
While for Past & Present, Teresa Göltl wrote about medical practitioners in French colonial courtrooms from 1828-1848. (That article is part of the journal’s Supplement Medicine, Race, & Slavery in the Transatlantic World, 1600-1850, all of which is available open-access!)
Four columns from Saturday Evening Post colleagues to share this week, including Andy Hollandbeck for his In a Word series with a timely piece on “semiquincentennial.”
For her latest Common Threads Post column, Einav Rabinovitch-Fox traced the origins of the white wedding dress.
Also for the Post, Christina Stanton highlighted the launch of an important new public art project, the New York City AIDS Memorial’s Eternal Flame for Scott Burton.
& finally for the Post, Jeff Nilsson shared takeaways from Thomas Edison’s notoriously difficult job application test.
Current Events:
I was in Washington, DC this past week for the Scholars Strategy Network’s national conference, so I especially appreciate Neil Flanagan assembling this excellent scholarly bibliography for understanding Trump’s DC.
Turning to other current events writing & continuing with that theme, John Pitney wrote for The Bulwark on Trump’s ongoing affronts to the Declaration & the Founding.
& for another Revolutionary Bulwark read, check out Joshua Zeitz on what we can learn from the late Gordon Wood’s chronicling of our radical & rambunctious democratic culture.
For Lawfare, Thomas Kent used Martin Moore & Thomas Colley’s recent book Dictating Reality: The Global Battle to Control the News to trace how authoritarians control news & information.
For The Guardian, Saida Grundy argued that the white working class know the American project isn’t working but that access to perceived racial power remains a powerful lure.
Important reporting from Maddie Stone, Amy Westervelt, & Katie Worth of Drilled & ProPublica on how oil execs shaped a landmark early 21st century climate study.
Speaking of the climate crisis, here’s the latest installment of NiCHE Canada & Active History’s Great Acceleration series, Stéphane Castonguay & Colin Coates on the Laurentian dairy transition.
Thanks to SAGE GRAY (Walter D. Greason) for sharing this Julian Chambliss AfroFantastic column on attempts to regulate AI.
A number of thoughtful pieces this week arguing for responses to our current crises, including Michael Kazin for Dissent magazine on why the Left needs ideas.
Vital essay from Jefferson Cowie in Democracy Journal on why a post-MAGA renewal of democracy starts but doesn’t end with a federal right to vote.
For her newsletter, Marianne Dhenin highlighted an inspiring & exemplary new organization supporting Oregon’s trans community.
While for her Handbasket newsletter, Marisa Kabas argued that Brad Lander’s primary victory embodies a new narrative for progressive Jewish New Yorkers.
Speaking of the Handbasket, also check out Kim Kelly’s guest post on the dark histories behind the Prairieland sentencing & how we can change the end of the current story.
& I’ll end this section with four bracing & excellent pieces for Liberal Currents: editor Samantha Hancox-Li on how saving heterosexuality requires us to save it from itself; Nathan Kalmoe on how current trends echo the worst periods of American political violence; Jake Pitre on Larry Ellison’s growing influence as another indicator of Gilded Age 2.0; & Justin Briley on why the Reflecting Pool scandal has broken through to our collective consciousness.
Podcasts:
I’m proud to get to start & end this section this week with podcasts on which I was honored to appear! Starting with the season 2 finale of Ross Lennon’s History on Film podcast, featuring Ross & me on Independence Day.
For the latest episode of their Cold War Cinema podcast, Jason Christian, Anthony Ballas, & Paul T. Klein discussed Sidney Lumet’s Fail Safe (& for a review of another great Lumet film, see Vaughn Joy’s take on Dog Day Afternoon below!).
For the latest episode of her Silven Screen Sleuths podcast, Emily J. Edwards was joined by David Avallone to talk about the Coen Brothers’ early hit Miller’s Crossing.
While for episode 6 of their TV is Good podcast, Alan Sepinwall & Kathryn VanArendonk paired House of the Dragon with the series finale of Dinosaurs.
Turning to more historical conversations, episode 444 of Liz Covart’s Ben Franklin’s World is part two of the “How Independence Happened” series, with Sara Georgini & Eliga Gould dicussing the 1776 Model Treaty.
In a similar vein, America: The Story of the USA host Liam Heffernan guested on the PastMaster podcast to discuss the 1774 First Continental Congress.
For the latest episode of her Civics & Coffee podcast, Alycia Asai shared the second & final part of her series on the imperfect but groundbreaking suffrage activist Elizabeth Cady Stanton.
Episode 105 of Kate Carpenter’s Drafting the Past podcast features writing & life partners Charles O’Malley & Scott Stern on their collaborative book on Shakespeare’s warrior queen Margaret.
For the Multicultural Middle Ages podcast, Alexandra R.A. Lee & Hope Doherty-Harrison discussed their edited collection Towards an Accessible Academy & disability & Medieval Studies.
While the History Workship podcast highlighted another collaborative project, Writing Difficult Subjects, by talking with its editors Ruth Beecher & Julie Wheelwright.
I missed last week’s episode of Holley Snaith’s Say It with History podcast, featuring Laura Smith on what we can learn from material culture. & for this week’s episode, Holley interviewed Joan Fernandez about her new historical novel on Jo van Gogh.
For his Public Books Writing Latinos podcast, Geraldo Cadava interviewed Julián Delgado Lopera about his new novel Pretend You’re Dead and I Carry You.
Turning to current events conversations, the latest episode of Dana R. Fisher’s Apocalyptic Optimist podcast features Katharine Wilkinson on why our most overlooked climate solution isn’t technological.
For Liberal Currents’ Half the Answer podcast, hosts Caitlin M. Green & Trent R. Nelson interviewed Danny Funt about the destructive legalization of sports gambling.
For the Past Imperfect podcast, host Dinyar Patel was joined by Sven Beckert to discuss why the neoliberal order is dying & what might come next.
For the Center for Ballot Freedom’s This Old Democracy podcast, host Micah Sifry interviewed law professor Tabatha Abu El-Haj on what democratic accountability might look like in practice.
Katie Phang joined John Fugelsang & Corey Brettschneider’s The Oath & the Office podcast to discuss why she’s suing Trump’s DOJ to release the Epstein Files.
While Thomas Lecaque joined Bradley Onishi’s Axis Daily Brief to trace Ron DeSantis’ plan to rewrite US History for the next generation with his proposed curriculum changes.
For her latest American Conversation, Heather Cox Richardson was joined by Senator Tina Smith. & Heather also shared week four of the 250 to 250 video project, featuring Daniel W. Drezner on the Zimmermann Telegram & much more.
& speaking of the 250th, check out the trailer for Netflix’s five-part documentary series The American Experiment, featuring the expertise of Joanne Freeman, Cassandra Good, Sara Georgini, Benjamin Carp, Lindsay M. Chervinsky, Katheen DuVal, & many more!
I promised to end this section with another podcast featuring me, & I’m excited to share the first of two conversations I had with Jenny Chan for her Pacific Front Untold podcast, this one on how sharing America’s hidden histories can transform our collective identity.
Books:
Three important new books out this week, including Beth R. Wilson’s “I Felt All This”: Enslaved People’s Emotional Lives in the Antebellum US South from Cambridge University Press.
Also out this week is Mason B. Williams’ City of Fortune: Inequality & the Making of Contemporary New York from WW Norton.
& finally out this week is Cláudia Pazos-Alonso & Andrzej Stuart-Thompson’s groundbreaking translation of Natália Correia’s Song of Emerging Homeland & Other Poems from Shantarin Press.
Over at her Feminist Giant newsletter, Mona Eltahawy announced her forthcoming next book, Feminism vs. Fascism: Ten Tactics to Topple Tyrants from Mariner Books.
The University of Essex news page highlighted Lisa Smith’s co-authored, open-access new book The King’s Dinner: Family, Nation, & Identity on the British Table, 1760-1820.
For Jacobin, David Griscom interviewed Jesse Montgomery about his new book It Is Not Enough to Survive: The Young Patriots Story.
While for Public Books, Caitlin Zaloom interviewed Nina Bandelj about her new book Overinvested: The Emotional Economy of Modern Parenting.
For the latest USIH book review, Alex Sayf Cummings wrote about Nic John Ramos’ Health as Property: Racial Capitalism & Sexual Liberalism in Los Angeles.
While for the Urban History Association Metropole, Gracie Anderson reviewed Ryan Patrick Murphy’s Teamsters Metropolis.
Looking for lots more reading recommendations? Check out two great lists from LitHub: Maris Kreizman on 40 great new books you might have missed; & Vanessa Miller’s reading list of BIPOC-centered historical fiction.
Made By History:
My Made By History piece above was just one of five excellent MBH columns this week (which require a subscription but it’s well worth it):
Frank Argote-Freyre highlighted how history proves that invading Cuba would be a disaster.
Lila Corwin Berman argued that the history of American Jews exposes the fundamental questions of citizenship.
Susan Deily-Swearingen traced how the Reflecting Pool’s algae bloom & peeling paint reflect Trump’s treatment of US history.
& Erica Sterling wrote about how lotteries & other school equity reforms can have mixed results.
Another reason to subscribe to the Inquirer is for Will Bunch’s phenomenal column—here’s a gift link to his latest, on how a Summer of Love has broken out in this dark year (after what we have to call Springtime for Hitler).
Newsletters and Blog Posts:
Gonna end with a bunch of great newsletters & blog posts as usual, including Jenn M. Jackson’s latest Black Feminist Book Club, on Christina Sharpe’s In the Wake.
For her Charlotte’s Web Thoughts newsletter, Charlotte Clymer called out our frustratingly slow legacy media.
For Don Moynihan’s Can We Still Govern? newsletter, guest poster Andrea Scoseria Katz highlighted what the Supreme Court has missed about Taft & a key unitary executive precedent.
Over at his newsletter, Michael Phillips shared part two of his reflections on the battle over Confederate monuments in Dallas.
For her History Teaches… newsletter, Felicia Kornbluh put the “Vanderbilt Report” on the Humanities in vital context.
While for his Ehlers on Everything blog, Mark Ehlers wondered if AI & other technologies are leading us to outsource humanity.
Over at her History in the Margins blog, Pamela D. Toler reviewed two new 250th anniversary projects title In Pursuit: this post on the documentary In Pursuit: Philadelphia & the Making of America; & this post on the In Pursuit newsletter & podcast series.
Speaking of the latter project, Stephen Skowronek wrote for it on Rutherford B. Hayes & the long game of leadership.
For his A Sea of Words newsletter, Lincoln Paine introduced his new book project, a maritime history of indigenous North America.
Speaking of new book projects, for his Civil War Memory newsletter Kevin M. Levin shared takeaways from his research into enslaved laborers during the Army of Northern Virginia’s Gettysburg campaign. & Kevin also asked for our help in his mission to buy the Southern Historical Society Papers for that project.
The latest Verbum Libere newsletter is a tribute to the recently passed Crotian author & dissident Slavenka Drakulić.
Gonna end with a bunch of excellent cultural studies pieces as ever, including part two of Thomas Bevilacqua’s ongoing summer read of Moby-Dick.
For the Don’t Rock the Inbox newsletter, Rachel Cholst shared a guest post on Ashley McBryde’s “What if We Don’t?” & sapphic imagery in mainstream music.
The Bright Wall/Dark Room issue on 1976 continued with Elizabeth Cantwell on John Carpenter’s Assault on Precinct 13.
The great Outlaw Vern shared a typically thoughtful review of Steven Spielberg’s latest aliens-inspired summer blockbuster.
As I teased above, Vaughn Joy’s latest Review Roulette newsletter is a pointed & powerful Marxist analysis of Sidney Lumet’s Dog Day Afternoon.
& for his Academic Bubble newsletter, Dion Georgiou wrote about James Bond & Rambo’s fraught 1980s depictions of Afghanistan’s Mujahideen.
For lots more public scholarly goodness, check out the 59th installment of Dion’s Stop, Look, & Listen newsletter.
& I have to end with another moving post from Max Perry Mueller for his More America newsletter on the life & legacy of his late wife Anna Bromberg.
PS. I’m sure I missed plenty as ever, so please share more writing, podcasts, new & forthcoming books below. Thanks, & happy reading, listening, & learning, all!
PPS. Adding one more podcast episode, the latest from Christina Gessler’s Academic Life podcast, featuring Christian Miller on his book The Honesty Crisis: Preserving Our Most Treasured Virtue in an Increasingly Dishonest World.
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