August is here, & with it my 287th #ScholarSunday thread of great public scholarly writing & work, podcast episodes, new & forthcoming books from the past week. Add more below, please share as widely as possible, & enjoy, all!
Articles:
Starting with a handful of pieces & projects for the ongoing 250th anniversary, including Anna Kodé’s fascinating New York Times interactive walking tour of six Lower Manhattan sites that capture stages of the city’s history (h/t Julia Rose Kraut for sharing it!).
The American Prospect kicked off a new series on genuine patriots from across our history with Thor Benson’s tribute to Thomas Paine, the consistent revolutionary.
I really appreciate legendary Revolution historian Robert A. Gross’s response in The American Scholar to J.D. Vance’s white nationalist view of the founding.
Two excellent essays for the Journal of the Early Republic Panorama this week, including: D.B.H. Lehman on Lenape futures from 1778 onward; & Laura F. Edwards on the longstanding, frustrating practice of historians advancing misleading claims about coverture & women’s rights.
& check out Jason Heppler’s wonderful new Westward digital project, which tells the story of the American West across the centuries through images.
Turning to other great articles from the week, AAIHS Perspectives shared a handful of pieces in their latest online roundtable, this one focused on Christopher Tounsel’s book Bounds of Blackness: Nemata Blyden wrote about the complex relationship between African Americans & Sudan; Kimberly D. Hill traced the meanings & significance of Black internationalism; Michell Chresfield argued that Sudan challenges the study of race through histories of race-making across borders; Brenda Gayle Plummer wrote about exceeding the bounds of the Black international; & finally Tounsel himself responded with a piece on African Americans, Sudan, & the politics of solidarity.
Over at the New York Almanack site, Noel Sherry traced the story of a Utica church’s 50 years of early 20th century Adirondack pilgrimages.
Jenni Makahnouk contributed a stunning piece on the Indian Act as Wendigo for the joint NiCHE Canada/Active History series on the Act’s 150th.
For The History Workshop, Alina Schartner shared the complexities & opportunities of studying POW letters & “doing family.”
Two thoughtful pieces for the AHA’s Perspectives this week, including: Justine Truc offering a French historian’s perspective on teaching in the US; & Becca Aponte writing about Africa, women, & the global history of capitalism.
Really moving Pittsburgh Review of Books essay from Chad S. Denton on the long history of how despair became seen as a sin.
Beautiful essay from Zhang Er for the China Books Review on the banned books that sustained her during her childhood in Beijing at the height of the Cultural Revolution.
Saeed Jones is always a must-read, this time with his creative nonfiction essay “Mister Anthony” in the new issue of the Oxford American.
& speaking of creative nonfiction, thanks to Longreads for sharing a transcript of Pamela Colloff’s Creative Nonfiction Podcast conversation with host Brendan O’Meara about her groundbreaking work in long-form investigative journalism & much more.
Four open-access academic publications to share this week, including Matthew Daniel Eddy in The American Historical Review on the early medical career in Scotland of groundbreaking Black doctor James McCune Smith.
Also open-access is Joel Mead for Gender & History on dried eggs, gender, & domesticity in WWII Britain.
Likewise open-access is Natalie Thomlinson in the Journal of British Studies on feminism & the problem of unemployment in Thatcher’s Britain.
& check out Jerry Edwards’ open-access article in SSRN on the birth of the minority rights First Amendment.
Three columns from Saturday Evening Post colleagues to share this week, including Barbara Noe Kennedy on the mysteries of Sarah Winchester’s historic San Jose house.
Maggie Downs wrote for the Post on the underrated music histories & scene of her hometown of Macon, Georgia.
While Post editor Troy Brownfield made a compelling case that the Wu-Tang Clan & many other artists & genres fully belong in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
& I’m really proud of my own latest Considering History column for the Post, in which I respond to the Trump administration’s nonsensical claim that the Chinese Exclusion Act wasn’t racist by tracing the decades of racist narratives, white supremacist hate, & exclusionary laws that led up to it.
Current Events:
Turning to current events writing, a pair of gifts links to essays for The Atlantic this week: Adam Serwer on The Odyssey and why white people don’t own the accomplishments of Ancient Greece; & John Garrison Marks on how the Trump administration is trying to make George Washington an abolitionist through changes to his Philly historic site.
Also a pair of gift links to important New York Times columns from the week: Elizabeth Williamson on how tour guides like Sandy Weiswasser are still introducing visitors to the Kennedy Center despite Trump’s attacks; & Jamelle Bouie’s latest must-read column, rightly wondering why we tolerate Elon Musk’s racist commentary.
For an importantly critical take on a different, more frustrating recent Times column, check out Dave Karpf’s piece responding to Adam Mastroianni & arguing that the backlash to data centers is working.
Speaking of data centers, vital essay from Alondra Nelson in Limn magazine on the hidden substrates of machine learning.
In a similar vein, wonderful op-ed from three student journalists at the Harvard Crimson—Rivka Brod Hyland, Spencer A. Strub, & Nicole West Bassoff—in defense of the Harvard Writing Center.
For another ongoing challenge to education in contemporary America, check out Matt Barnum for Chalkbeat on how post-Covid teacher turnover has reshaped our classrooms.
Speaking of Covid, Julia Azari argued at her Good Politics/Bad Politics site that the GOP & all of us are stuck in 2020.
Thanks to SAGE GRAY (Walter D. Greason) for sharing Sam Levin’s Guardian article on Erik Davis, the Minnesota professor facing prison for his anti-ICE protests.
For an inspiring response to ICE, check out this post from the folks at Fishers Resists on why immigrants are welcome in Fishers, Indiana.
Over at Jonathan M. Katz’s The Racket, Spencer Ackerman shared a guest post arguing the end of TPS for Haitians is a moment of truth for Zohran Mamdani.
For a fascinating response to a different Mamdani moment, check out Jeff Asher’s analyses of what’s causing higher reported rape totals in NYC.
Lisa Needham wrote for Public Notice on why the Trump administration’s proposed changes to science funding look suspiciously like all his other grifts.
Over at The Scholarly Kitchen, Alexandra F. Levy, Brendan Gillis, & Sarah Weicksel argued that those proposed changes also pose a threat to international education programs.
While for PEN America’s ongoing “Snapshots of Censorship” project, Iván Chaar López highlighted the attacks on tenure in Texas.
& I appreciate Publishing Perspectives sharing Amanda Jones’ Libraries Connected keynote address on censorship & the role of librarians in the fight for democracy.
Finally, three important Liberal Currents articles to share this week: Justin Briley on how sports betting is destroying an important part of the American social fabric; Silvaria Lysandra Zemaitis on the American transgender refugee crisis; & Adam Gurri’s latest Editor’s Note, making a compelling case that women can win federal elections & Democrats should continue to nominate them.
Podcasts:
Starting as usual with the latest episode of Kelly Therese Pollock’s Unsung History, featuring Maureen Footer on her new biography of legendary jazz choreographer Buddy Bradley.
At his History of Literature podcast, Jacke Wilson interviewed the author of another new bio, Glenda Norquay on Robert Louis Stevenson: A Critical Life.
Continuing with the cultural conversations, for her latest Silver Screen Sleuths episode Emily J. Edwards was joined by Ellen Byron to discuss the film Charade.
The new episode of Pop Culture Basement’s Sleaze Bag Cinema series focuses on National Lampoon’s Vacation.
For the latest episode of their Podcast Like It’s …, Phil Iscove & Emily St. James were joined by Carson Olshansky to discuss Pay It Forward.
While over at their TV is Good podcast, Alan Sepinwall & Kathryn VanArendonk discussed Stuart Fails to Save the Universe & when spinoffs get too weird.
& Emily Friedman joined Brennan Lee Mulligan’s Adventuring Academy podcast to talk about the history of play & the best gaming system.
Turning to more historical conversations, the History As It Happens series for the 250th continued with Joseph Ellis on his new book The Great Contradiction: The Tragic Side of the American Founding.
Over at Holley Snaith’s Say It With History podcast, Kathryn Smith joined to discuss her new book on Missy LeHand & FDR, as well as Martha Washington & other women behind the presidency.
The latest episode of Jerry Landry’s Presidencies of the United States podcast traces the hidden history of American expansionism in the Early Republic period.
At their War of the Rebellion podcast, Neils Eichhorn & Andrew Houck interviewed Erika Pani about her book Torn Asunder: Republican Crises & Civil Wars in the United States & Mexico, 1848-1867.
For the latest episode of her Civics & Coffee podcast, Alycia Asai discussed the Workingmen’s Party of California & the Chinese Exclusion era (a subject I likewise included in my latest Saturday Evening Post column above).
Two new episodes of Rich Napolitano’s Shipwrecks & Sea Dogs podcast (on which I’ll be appearing soon to talk Stephen Crane’s “The Open Boat”!) this week: this one on the SS Eastland disaster in 1915 Chicago; & this one on the 1956 Andrea Doria shipwreck near Nantucket.
Speaking of the 1950s, the AHA’s History in Focus podcast shared a bonus episode for their “Authoritarianism 101” project, featuring Darren Dochuk on the rise of Joseph McCarthy.
For his America: The Story of the USA podcast, Liam Heffernan talked with Brian Ward about the British Invasion & how the Beatles conquered America.
While the latest episode of Axelbank Reports History & Today features Julian Zeliger on his new edited collection The Presidency of Joseph R. Biden: A First Historical Assessment.
For the new episode of his American Medieval podcast, Matt Gabriele interviewed Stephen Hopkins about his work on the history of Hell.
While for The History Workshop podcast, Bob Mills interviewed Melanie Holcomb & Nancy Thebaut about their recent museum exhibition Spectrum of Desire: Love, Sex, & Gender in the Middle Ages.
& for the New Books Network’s South Asian Studies podcast, Saumya Dadoo interviewed Mitra Sharafi about her Fear of the False: Forensic Science & the Law of Crime in Colonial South Asia.
Turning to more current events conversations, for their Pod Only Knows podcast Kelly J. Baker & John Brooks interviewed Michael Blanding about his book The Gospel According to Hobby Lobby.
The latest episode of the Scholars Strategy Network’s No Jargon podcast features Mary Churchill on the worst & best possible outcomes when colleges close. (For an example of the worst, check out Lina-Maria Murillo for Ms. magazine on the closure of her women’s studies department.)
Two new episodes of Samantha Hancox-Li’s Neon Liberalism podcast this week: a conversation with Katherine Alejandra Cross about how much of our current politics is driven by gender anxieties; & one with Jessica Pishko on the epidemic of lawless sheriffs.
Combining both of those topics, Emily Amick joined Leah Litman’s Due Process podcast to talk about how dude process, not due process, is the order of the day.
For their The Oath & the Office podcast, John Fugelsang & Corey Brettschneider were joined by David French to discuss what Trump & the New Right really believe.
Over at The Center for Ballot Freedom’s This Old Democracy podcast, host Micah Sifry interviewed Sam Bagenstos about litigating our way to a multi-party system in Michigan.
Two new installments of Heather Cox Richardson’s American Conversations podcast this week: this one with political organizer Ben Wikler; & this one with Leadership Conference on Civil & Human Rights President Maya Wiley. Heather also joined Rebecca Nagle on Stacey Abrams’ Assembly Required podcast to talk about the real(ish) history of America.
All 16 episodes of Tim Fielder/Dieselfunk’s Afrofuturism web series are now free to play & download.
& check out the trailer here for Hester Blum & Rob Delaney’s upcoming Exploring the Greats podcast on Moby-Dick.
Books:
Out this week from Penguin Random House is Cal Flyn’s The Savage Landscape: How We Made the Wilderness.
While out this coming Tuesday is A.R. Moxon’s essay collection Fighting in the Dark.
Two books of note are both forthcoming on October 20th: Lauren F. Klein’s Data by Design: Visualization & Power from Abolition to the Dawn of Data Science, from MIT Press; & Miriam Posner’s Seeing Like a Supply Chain: The Hidden Life of Logistics, from Yale University Press.
Forthcoming in December from Macmillan & now available for pre-order is Lauren Arrington’s Bohemians on the Breadline: The Radical Women Artists of Roosevelt’s New Deal.
& thanks to Grace Ebert of This is Colossal for writing about another important forthcoming book, Richard J. Powell’s Colorstruck! Painting, Pigment, Affect.
Over at Contending Modernities, Candace Lukasik interviewed Tisa Wenger about her new book Spirits of Empire: How Settler Colonialism Made American Religion.
While Steven Kurutz of The New York Times interviewed (that’s a gift link) Dylan Gottlieb about his book Yuppies: The Bankers, Lawyers, Joggers, & Gourmands Who Conquered New York.
For Public Books, John Plotz interviewed David Peña-Guzman about his book When Animals Dream: The Hidden World of Animal Consciousness. & speaking of Public Books, check out their latest On Our Nightstands, featuring Laura B. McGrath’s Middlemen & much more.
The Pittsburgh Review of Books featured a number of excerpts from new books this week: from John Hawthorne’s Killing & Other Dastardly Deeds: Hard Problems for Moral Theory; from Alan Mikhail’s Newcomers: The Story of Anthony & Grietje & the Founding of New York; Annette Gordon-Reed’s contribution to America Unfinished: 250 Years of Law & Governance; from James Bailey’s Like a Cat Loves a Bird: The Nine Lives of Muriel Spark (on that last book, see also Kazuo Robinson’s review for PRoB.); & from Francesca Wade’s Gertrude Stein: An Afterlife.
For the latest USIH book review, Naida García-Crespo wrote about Cotton Seiler’s White Care: The Impact of Race on American Infrastructure.
For H-Net, Sean C. McCollum reviewed Emily Reisman’s The Almond Paradox: Cracking Open the Politics of What Plants Need.
While for her History in the Margins blog, Pamela D. Toler reviewed Nancy MacDonnell’s Empresses of Seventh Avenue: World War II, New York City, & the Birth of American Fashion.
& I really enjoyed Katja Hoyer’s Times Literary Supplement piece on Natalie Livingstone’s new book The Nuremberg Women.
For more on recent book histories, check out the latest Post45 Data Collective dataset, Sera-Ann Hargrove & Micah Bateman on small press distribution bestsellers between 2006 & 2023.
Made By History:
Four new pieces for the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Made By History this week: Leila Morsy & David Barton Smith on why Medicare was one the most successful civil rights laws in history; Pamela Maddock on how Pete Hegseth is resurrecting a brand of military masculinity that dominated debates a century ago; Daniel Macfarlane tracing the history of US-Canada cooperation to reduce air pollution across the border; & Stephen F. Knott on how Trump’s rumor mongering & demonizing of opponents links him to our worst political traditions.
Speaking of the Inquirer, here’s a gift link to Will Bunch’s latest must-read column, on the quaint borough that is used speed traps to nab victims for ICE.
Newsletters and Blog Posts:
Gonna end with a bunch of great newsletters & blog posts as usual, including Aaron Rupar & Thor Benson’s Public Note interview with Seth Cotlar on the historical roots on the new Red Scare. On a similar note, check out Judith Levine in The Guardian on this new iteration of McCarthyism.
Two new posts at Ashley Best’s Well, Actually… newsletter to share this week: this one on pregnant Puritan brides & the eternal failure of abstinence education; & this one on how the Founders turned to Montesquieu, not Moses, for inspiration for the Constitution.
A handful of excellent posts for Kevin M. Levin’s Civil War Memory newsletter this week: this one on Trump’s multifaceted attempt to control history; this one on how those Smithsonian warning signs say more about conservative history’s weaknesses; this one on the National Park Service’s role in those efforts; & a pair on the histories of the Lost Cause, including one on the narrative’s wartime roots & one on Kara Walker’s arguments for the emotional roots of Confederate myth-making.
Speaking of the Lost Cause, a trio of new posts for Karen L. Cox’s America & the Lost Cause newsletter this week: a primer on Lost Cause 101; a complementary resource guide on the narrative; & this post on how white women have long been the co-conspirators of white supremacy.
Over at his newsletter, Michael Phillips shared the fifth part of his series on the movement against Confederate monuments in Dallas.
While for his Campaign Trails newsletter, Kevin M. Kruse noted that contemporary politicians making anti-immigrant arguments are continuing the American tradition of pulling up the ladder behind us.
For his blog, William G. Pooley made the case that the ongoing wildfires in France demonstrate the realities of climate change in 2026.
While for her latest Love Notes newsletter, Jenn M. Jackson wrote about the anti-radicalization of the polyamory movement.
Turning to more historical subjects, the latest Verbum Libere newsletter traces the evolution of the Prometheus myth.
Two new posts from Bram Hubbell for his Liberating Narratives blog this week: this one on rethinking how we teach late imperial Russia’s economic changes; & this one on teaching the Russo-Japanese War from a global perspective.
For his latest newsletter, Matthew Eaton told the story of civilian ENSA performers in 1944 Bayeaux.
For his Academic Bubble newsletter, Dion Georgiou shared the third & final part in his series on Ugandan British Conservative leader Ravi Govindia.
Over at his Genius Locus blog, SAGE GRAY (Walter D. Greason) shared his research into educator ROI metrics from the 1970s to the present.
While for her Strange & Wondrous newsletter, Surekha Davies shared some of her summer reading, including Stephen Graham Jones’ Buffalo Hunter Hunter.
I’ll conclude with a number of such excellent cultural studies pieces, including Doug Mack for his Snack Stack newsletter on the long, sticky rise of salted caramel.
Over at the BIAAS blog, Orel Beilinson wrote about what Frank Norris’s short story “The American Duel” teaches us about the Austrian Empire & the modern newspaper.
For Bright Wall/Dark Room’s ongoing Summer Blockbusters issue, Alec Joyner shared 40 notes on Rob Reiner & Stand By Me.
A ton of great writing on The Odyssey this week, including Stephanie Toliver for Fulcrum on how the story might not be real, but American diversity & representation are.
For her Medium newsletter, Anise K. Strong-Morse wrote about the best prior adaptation of The Odyssey, the Coen Brothers’ O Brother, Where Art Thou?
For his Goldwag’s Journal on Civilization, Nathan Goldwag followed up one of the film’s main ideas to explore whether Odysseus caused the Bronze Age collapse.
While for her Boogie-Woogie Rumble of Space-Time newsletter, Chanda Prescod-Weinstein shared some reflections on the controversy over Emily Wilson’s Odyssey review.
I can’t share pieces on the Odyssey without re-sharing Vaughn Joy’s phenomenal Review Roulette take on it as a classicist turned film scholar. & this week Vaughn continued the Hot Classics Summer with a comparative approach to The Trojan Women.
Finally, as we get into my birthday month, I’ve begun my annual Birthday Best blog posts, sharing favorites from across the blog’s nearly 16 years! You can find them all in a Google Doc on my blog page.
PS. I’m sure I missed plenty as ever, so please share more writing & work, podcast episodes, new & forthcoming books below. Thanks, & happy reading, listening, learning, & best month of the year (my fellow Leos know), all!
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