Driving down to Virginia tomorrow, so it’s a special #ScholarSunday on a Saturday! Here’s my 288th thread of great public scholarly writing & work, podcast episodes, new & forthcoming books. Add more below, share widely please, & enjoy, all!
Articles:
Starting with a beautiful recent essay that I missed, Dalyah Jones for Texas Observer with a love letter to the Black woodswomen of deep East Texas.
Continuing with great African American Studies content, two excellent posts for AAIHS Perspectives this week (both from Baylor PhD candidates): Russell Crosthwait on the Black intellectual traditions that shaped Frederick Douglass; & Kayla Becknuss on rhythms of resistance in Afro-Latino identity, music, & culture.
& thanks to Kidada Williams for sharing this re-post of Victoria W. Wolcott’s piece for The Conversation on the history of segregated swimming pools & amusement parks.
I also enjoyed & agree with Anthony Conwright’s New York Times guest essay (that’s a gift link) on why we should call the Civil War the Slaveholders’ Rebellion.
Turning to other great articles from the week, for his Pittsburgh City Paper column David S. Rotenstein highlighted a new speakeasy that pays tribute to a legendary 1930 day.
Over at The History Workshop, Julian Ehsan shared lessons about activism & identity from London’s Bengali Photo Archive.
For AHA Perspectives, here’s Madalyn K. Shaw on the long, strange history of unphotogenic unidentified flying objects.
Speaking of objects in space, thanks to MIT Press for sharing this wonderful essay from Malka Older for a new edition of Jules Verne’s From the Earth to the Moon on his empty dream of spaceflight.
& two pieces this week around the anniversary of the Hiroshima bombing: Alex Wellerstein for the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists on the political implications of the city’s scarred “maidens”; & David Corn in Mother Jones on how he came to edit Kiyoshi Tanimoto’s lost memoir of the bombing & its aftermaths.
Three excellent pieces for NiCHE Canada to share this week: Ella Molnar-Piché on Pigeon Spire, an excerpt from Mountain Voices: The Mountain Legacy Project & a Century of Change in Western Canada; Sabrina Schettino on decolonizing environment through relational ontologies, launching the new series The Land is Never Silenced: Ecocritical Perspectives on Indigenous Literature in Canada; & the latest in their collaboration with Active History’s Indian Act 150 series, John W. Bessai on the Indian Act & the Canadian aporetic condition.
& three of LitHub’s many compelling pieces that I’ll highlight this week: the site’s editors on the anniversary of the (likely) first performance of Macbeth; Margrét Ann Thors on writing for her grandmother & daughter & honoring her Icelandic heritage in her debut novel; & Ed Simon on the fascinating history of book cover trends.
Four open-access academic publications to share this week, including Joe Moran for Transactions of the Royal Historical Society on detail in historical writing.
For a special Victorian Studies issue of PMLA, Emily Steinlight analyzed the interconnected histories of Victorian Studies & the American state.
& two open-access article for Gender & History: Yee-Ting Leong on the Singapore Women’s Federation, Singapore Chinese left-wing feminism, & anti-colonial nationalism in the 1960s; & Ali Hashemian on rethinking hegemonic masculinity in modern Iran.
Two columns from Saturday Evening Post colleagues to share this week (ahead of my next one, a birthday week special this coming Tuesday): Paul Hetzler for his Our Better Nature series on what we can learn from pigeons; & a fascinating essay from Emma Cieslik on the longstanding & evolving role of gay rodeo in American culture.
Current Events:
Starting with the first four pieces in History of the Present & Critical Noise’s vital, critical, ongoing symposium on the “Vanderbilt Report” on the state of the Humanities: an introduction to the symposium from its editors; Zachary Levenson on the politics of disavowing politics; John Lardas Modern with how the concept of “true religion” can help explain the report’s misguided goals; & Noëlle McAfee on how the report exemplifies the pot calling the kettle black.
For a terrifying example of what such attacks on higher ed can produce, here’s Andrew Joseph Pegoda in Texas Observer on the University of Houston gutting its gender & sexuality courses.
Thanks to Roopika Risam for sharing an inspiring alternative story (from NPR’s All Things Considered) of educational activism, how a gathering of high schoolers did what Congress hasn’t done & drafted thoughtful AI policies.
For the effects of increased AI use & so many other catastrophic choices, here’s Rebecca Solnit in The Guardian on our deepening climate warzone.
Jessica Valenti wrote for her Abortion, Every Day newsletter on a number of stories contributing to another current crisis, our national reckoning on motherhood.
Julia Métraux wrote for Mother Jones on how the wellness world’s panic over inflammation is harming folks with actual inflammatory disorders.
All of those stories are part of what Robert Reich is tracing in his ongoing series on “the enshittification of everything,” with this latest post also considering how we can disempower the oligarchy.
& for their New York Times opinion column (that’s a gift link), M. Gessen shared lessons from a childhood in the Soviet Union on how Trump is trying to force Americans to unlearn what we know about our past.
Finally, four Liberal Currents essays to share this week: Luke Baumgartner on the familiar language of our evolving, third Red Scare; Matthew McManus on how the new “Blueprint” reflects Democratic Socialism getting serious; Alan Elrod with part two of his series on the parasocial style in American politics, this time thinking about social media witch hunts; & editor Adam Gurri considered the audience’s role in the evolution of media spaces like Liberal Currents.
Podcasts:
Starting with the latest for Emily J. Edwards’ Silver Screen Sleuths podcast, featuring Jamie Lynn Hendricks on Gone Girl (both novel and film).
While for the new episode of their TV is Good podcast, Alan Sepinwall & Kathryn VanArendonk discussed Elizabeth Meriwether’s show, both classic (New Girl) & new (the crime drama Furious).
For episode 448 of Liz Covart’s Ben Frankin’s World podcast, Joseph Adelman interviewed Mary Beth Norton about American Scripture, her colleague Pauline Maier’s groundbreaking book on the Declaration of Independence.
Two new episodes of Alycia Asai’s Civics & Coffee podcast this week: a conversation with Amy Littlefield about her book Killers of Roe: My Investigation into the Mysterious Death of Abortion Rights; & Alycia’s regular Saturday episode, which focuses on surprise Gilded Age President Chester Arthur.
For his Shipwrecks & Sea Dogs podcast, Rich Napolitano was joined by Great Lakes historian Rob Alway to discuss Lake Michigan’s deadly 1910 car ferry tragedy.
Over at Axelbank Reports History & Today, Evan interviewed Caroline Hallemann about her book The Kennedys & the Windsors: The Story of Two Dynasties, One Born, One Made.
While for the latest episode of her Drafting the Past podcast, Kate Carpenter was joined by Christopher Hodson & Brett Rushforth to discuss their co-authored book Beyond the Ocean: France & the Atlantic World from the Crusades to the Age of Revolutions.
Continuing with global conversations, the Norton Library Podcast kicked off a series on The Odyssey with a conversation with the translator & scholar who’s been everywhere in recent weeks, Emily Wilson.
Speaking of The Odyssey, for his Based on a True Story podcast Dan LeFebvre talked with documentary filmmaker Neil Laird about how the film fares as a representation of history.
For the new episode of his American Medieval podcast, Matt Gabriele was joined by Elise Wang to talk about medieval conspiracy theories, then & now.
Episode two of the Witches: Truths, Trials, & Terrors podcast is now out, with Jon & Robin Briggs & Jan Machielsen discussing the real histories behind the mythos of Europe’s witch trials.
Over at the Instant Genius podcast, host Jason Goodyer talked with Ross Brooks about his new book, Darwin & the Queer Origins of Life.
For their Oh! What a Lovely Podcast on WWI in pop culture, Jessica Meyer, Chris Kempshall, & Angus Wallace discussed “Branded,” a famous episode of the TV series Dad’s Army that focuses on conscientious objectors.
For his The History of Literature podcast, Jacke Wilson interviewed Katie Barclay about her new book on the history of the kiss, & then talked with independent bookstore owners Amy Joyce & Gayle Weiswasser of Bethesda’s Wonderland Books.
Two new episodes of the Black Studies Podcast this week: John Drabinski’s interview with Courtney Patterson-Faye; & Ashey Newby’s with Cisco Bradley.
Over at Holley Snaith’s Say It With History podcast, Ben Robinson joined to discuss documents, archives, & the work of family history.
Turning to current events conversations, two new episodes of the Edible Empire podcast this week: episode 4 on the links between salmon & tomatoes, featuring Simen Sætre, Hazel Healy, Brigitte Wear, Aliou Ba, & María Alonso Martínez; & episode 5 on the realities behind New Zealand’s dairy industry, featuring Mike Joy, Milena Bojovic, & Crystal Bennes.
For the latest episode of their The Oath & the Office podcast, John Fugelsang & Corey Brettschneider talked Todd Blanche & the potential return of Trump’s “anti-weaponization” fund.
While over at the Money on the Left podcast, Victor Pickard returned to discuss why democracy needs public media.
Three new installments of Heather Cox Richardson’s American Conversations this week: this one with Maine Representative Chellie Pingree; this one with Massachusetts Representative Jim McGovern; & this one with investigative journalist & host Scott MacFarlane.
Heather’s 250 to 250 project also dropped new short videos this week, including Kevin Kruse on the Voting Rights Act, Rebecca Nagle on the Cherokee Phoenix, Maggie Bohara on Coxey’s Army, & more.
Finally, check out this recording of the Yale Public History Institute 2026’s Keynote Conversation, moderated by David W. Blight & featuring Lonnie Bunch, Colleen Shogan, & others.
Books:
Four new books published this week, including Jonathan Earle’s He Has the People: Abraham Lincoln & the Election of 1860 from Oxford University Press. & check out Earle’s website for the book here.
Likewise newly published is Dave Zirin’s The People’s Historian: The Outsized Life of Howard Zinn, reviewed there for The Guardian by Martin Pengelly.
Also out this week is Mark Anthony Neal’s Save a Seat for Me: Notes on American Fatherhood from Simon & Schuster.
& finally, published this week by Springer Nature is George William Cullen Gross’ Crown & People: British Coronations & the Shaping of National Identity, 973-2023.
Forthcoming next Saturday (my birthday!) from Cornell University Press is Catherine S. Chan’s Savage: The Making of Modern Dogs in British Hong Kong.
While forthcoming on Tuesday 8/18 from Harvard University Press is Emile Chabal’s The Age of Hobsbawm: The Life of a Revolutionary Historian. & check out this HUP interview with Chabal about the project as well.
Forthcoming in September & available for pre-order from Duke University Press is Emily Lim Rogers’ Sick Work: Exhaustion, Labor, & Invisible Illness.
For the Pittsburgh Review of Books’ final essay before its August hiatus, Scott Cairns reflected on his own new book, his 14th poetry collection.
For Public Books, Emma Herman interviewed Joyce Chaplin about her acclaimed book The Franklin Stove: An Unintended American Revolution.
While for her The Academic Life newsletter, Christina Gessler interviewed Tracie Canada about her book Tackling the Everyday: Race & Nation in Big-Time College Football.
For the latest USIH book review, Michael J. Kramer wrote about Marc Stein’s Bicentennial: A Revolutionary History of the 1970s.
& for her 116th Maris Review, Maris Kreizman wrote about Missouri Williams’ The Vivisectors, & also shared a righteous rant on how AI is making us all more stupid.
Made By History:
Just one post for the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Made By History this week but it’s a very fun one, Andrea Adleman on 19C Philly cookbook author Eliza Leslie & her introduction of the cupcake.
Newsletters and Blog Posts:
Gonna end with a bunch of excellent newsletters & blog posts as usual, including Anne Lutz Fernandez for her Nobody Wants This newsletter on the deepening crisis of our very real teacher shortage.
For his The Reliable Narrator newsletter, Paul Thomas responded to John Warner & others on the limits of “learning science” advocates.
While over at his The American Vandal newsletter, Matt Seybold argued for how we can read our way out of autocracy.
Elsewhere in current events newsletters, Charlotte Clymer on lightning-rod WNBA player Sophie Cunningham is a must-read.
For his Civil War Memory newsletter, Kevin M. Levin wrote about Trump’s proposed arch & the last views of DC.
While for her America & the Lost Cause newsletter, Karen L. Cox highlighted an inspiring story of creative resistance to those propagandistic narratives. & Cox also shared moving reflections for James Baldwin’s birthday here.
& over at his Platypus Economics newsletter, Justin Wolfers traced what Victorian bootmakers can teach us about the future of work in the age of AI.
Continuing with more historical subjects, two new posts for Ashley Best’s Well, Actually… newsletter this week: this one on the truths of the Founding Fathers & Deism; & this one on the myth that President Taft got stuck in a bathtub.
Over at her Imperfect Union newsletter, Lindsay M. Chervinsky continued her series on civilian control of the military, discussing the Whiskey Rebellion, Ulysses S. Grant, & more.
For his Campaign Trails newsletter’s ongoing Work in Progress series, Kevin M. Kruse shared what he’s learned about the rollout of the Voting Rights Act.
While for her monthly Civics & Coffee newsletter, Alycia Asai wrote about the 30 year anniversary of the end of the Aid to Families with Dependent Children program (a historic anniversary she learned about through this list that Vaughn Joy has compiled on our website!).
& I’ve missed a bunch of recent posts for the In Pursuit project, including none other than Bill Clinton on Teddy Roosevelt (& Edward F. O’Keefe on his wife Edith Kermit Roosevelt).
Over at her History in the Margins blog, Pamela D. Toler traced the fascinating story of women’s health entrepreneur Lydia Pinkham.
Gonna end with a bunch more cultural studies pieces as ever, including Howard Burton for his Exploring Art History newsletter on Fra Angelico’s divine light & the art of looking closely.
For Disgruntled Haradrim, Phenderson Djèlí Clark engaged recent developments & conversations around Africa, fantasy, & worldbuilding.
For Bright Wall/Dark Room’s ongoing Summer Blockbusters issue, Lindsey Romain reviewed the speculative empathy & radical hope of Disclosure Day.
I really enjoyed Jeff Yang’s essay for RogerEbert.com on how Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey is really all about America.
I had been waiting for Outlaw Vern’s review of The Odyssey, & it doesn’t disappoint.
As always, I can’t share Odyssey reviews without highlighting Vaughn Joy’s bravura Review Roulette piece on it. & this week on Review Roulette, Vaughn celebrated her birthday with a delightfully unhinged piece on toxic masculinity in Beauty & the Beast.
Finally, I’ll end this week’s thread with one sad & one uplifting piece. For New York Amsterdam News, Karen Juanita Carrillo shared a moving obituary for Young Lords historian & prison abolitionist Johanna Fernández.
While over at his blog, Brandon Walsh & his partner Katina Rogers shared excerpts from their ongoing, beautiful new project, a dialogue through exchanged journal entries.
PS. I’m sure I missed plenty as ever, especially with this shortened week, so please share more writing, podcasts, new & forthcoming books below. Thanks, happy reading, listening, & learning, & I’ll see you next weekend for a special birthday weekend thread!
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