We’re closing in on the major milestone of 300 #ScholarSunday threads–& this weekend it’s my 298th thread of great public scholarly writing & work, podcast episodes, new & forthcoming books from the past week. Add more below, please share as widely as you’re able, & enjoy, all!
Articles:
Starting with some favorite articles from the week as usual, including Janet Bernosky for WHRO Public Media on a vital new documentary in which Virginia indigenous leaders tell their own histories.
Moving piece from Elizabeth Gonzalez for AAIHS Black Perspectives on Mary Church Terrell, reproductive loss, & the meaning of motherhood.
As I get ready to teach Sylvia Plath’s Collected Poems in my grad class, I really enjoyed Kristin Grogan’s Boston Review essay on a couple new Plath books & the difficult, crucial work of reading Plath deeply.
For Observer, Noah Berlatsky interviewed Jonathan David Katz about how the story of American art is a queer one.
& the folks at LitHub shared Amy Olberding’s excellent essay on our desperate need to move past the endless stereotyping of the “rural American.”
Excellent new post for the New York Almanack site on the under-remembered, compelling story of the Continental Congress’s Canadian regiments.
Over at The History Workshop, Inhae Yap told the fascinating story of South Korea’s 1977 contract to send martial arts masters to work with the Upper Volta (now Burkina Faso) Ministries of National Defense and Youth & Sports.
A trio of great pieces for Public Books to share this week: Lily Balloffet for Hispanic Heritage Month on why “Hispanic Heritage” is hemispheric sovereignty; Morgan E. Barry’s interview with Matthew Guariglia & Brian Hochman on their new 50th anniversary edition of the Church Committee Report; & Natalia Bondareva on the engineered paradox of digital activism as resistance or complicity.
Likewise a trio of excellent essays for the Pittsburgh Review of Books in this section: GioFio on the historical & enduring story of the British worship of the queue; Gabi Kirilloff on how Mark Twain was (almost) right about AI; & Christopher Conner on lessons from the pre-WWII story of psychoanalysis in a time of authoritarianism.
& five phenomenal articles for NiCHE Canada to share this week: Nancy Cushing & Kevin Markwell helping introduce the series on uncharismatic animals with a post on charismatic halos & negative perceptions; Kate Stevens continuing that series with thoughts on wormholes & finding charisma in an animal’s absence; Eike-Christian Heine & Agathe Four-Moret for the Gender & Atlantic Ocean Environments series on reframing petromasculinity & extractivism in Norwegian North Sea narratives; Chloe Lundrigan on the Atlantic puffin & cultural seascapes of Newfoundland ecotourism; & Nicholas Miller kicking off the new Dwelling in Place series with a delightful piece on cats & the making of home.
Three open-access academic publications to pass along this week, including Paige Donaghy in Gender & History on gender & obstetric violence in Britain, 1750-1830.
Also open-access is Francis Taylor in Renaissance Studies on weeds & weeding knowledge in the Early Royal Society & its “Georgicall Committee.”
& check out the latest ASA Research Brief, featuring Ana Ramirez Calderon on multigenerational caregiving & deportation fears, Frank Meng on noncitizen voting, Charlotte Scott on the carbon costs of political polarization, & more.
Finally, five articles from Saturday Evening Post colleagues in this week’s thread: Einav Rabinovitch-Fox’s latest Common Threads essay, on Gloria Steinem’s purposeful fashion; Alissa Bica Raines on Jerome, Arizona, the ghost town that refused to die; Selina Alipour Tabrizi on the rise of the candy bar, from ceremonial drink to wartime ration; Mary Margaret Moffett on changing how we think about the leaves on our lawns; & the latest Guide to the Archive, an introduction to the Post’s recurring fictional character Alexander Botts.
Current Events:
Turning to current events articles, Lucy Schiller wrote for the Columbia Journalism Review (featuring the expertise of Josh Shepperd & my FSU colleague Kate Jewell) on college radio’s resistance to Trump’s attacks on public media.
Speaking of such attacks, Katie Rainwater wrote for Academic Freedom on the Line on how sociology is being used as a wedge to destroy the research university.
While for his latest blog Liner Note, Christopher Newfield shared the text of a recent talk on neutrality & the problems & challenges of the public university.
For a distinct threat to education, check out David M. Perry’s latest Minnesota Star Tribune column (that’s a gift link) on whether the AI backlash will leave low-income students behind.
Over at Public Notice, Lisa Needham argued that Minnesotans won’t take the bait of Trump’s desire for a race war against Somali Americans.
While for her Handbasket newsletter, Marisa Kabas made the case for Democrats to keep calling out bullshit right-wing narratives on sight.
A pair of Liberal Currents essays to share this week (among many others also worth checking out): Janet Bufton on Quinn Slobodian’s recent book as the starting point for taking a hard look at Libertarianism; & Anna O. Law’s chapter from The Reconstruction Papers, on key elements of liberal immigration reforms.
Finally, I’m really happy to see & share a vital new resource, the January 6 Memory Project, which preserves DOJ releases & court filings that have been removed from justice.gov.
Podcasts:
Starting with cultural studies conversations as usual, including the latest episode of Ross Lennon’s History on Film podcast, featuring David Morton on the history of filmmaking in Miami.
Over at Mike Jamison’s Pop Culture Basement podcast, he kicked off the new What About Bill? series with a conversation with Jarrad Butz about Ghostbusters.
For a special episode of the You’re Missing Out podcast, Tom Lorenzo recapped his time at the 2026 Fantastic Fest in Austin.
While for the latest TV is Good podcast, Kathryn VanArendonk was joined by The Hollywood Reporter’s Daniel Fienberg to talk about Cupertino & Century City.
Turning to American historical subjects, the new episode of Jerry Landry’s Presidencies of the United States podcast focuses on James Monroe, Andrew Jackson, & the First Seminole War.
For episode 117 of her Drafting the Past podcast, Kate Carpenter interviewed Katherine Grandjean about her new book on a fascinating Early Republic story & more.
Two conversations this week with Tim Galsworthy about his book The Republican House Divided: Civil War Memory, Civil Rights, & the Transformation of the GOP: for the Research Rabbit Holes podcast here; & for the History with Jackson podcast here.
Likewise two episodes of Alycia Asai’s Civics & Coffee podcast to share this week: a conversation with Jackson van Uden about the history of authoritarianism in American politics & history; & the usual Saturday episode, this week on the controversial Gilded Age death of Black entrepreneur Benjamin J. Burton.
& for the latest episode of Axelbank Reports History & Today, Evan talked with Keri Leigh Merritt about her new book An Inconvenient Woman: The Extraordinary Life of Lillian Smith, the Southerner Who Defied Jim Crow America.
Turning to global historical subjects, the latest episode of Matt Gabriele’s American Medieval podcast is a conversation with Sara McDougall about her new book & medieval true crime.
For his Shipwrecks & Sea Dogs podcast, Rich Napolitano was joined by Dustin Hyland to talk about his new book on Charles Lightoller, the Titanic’s highest-ranking survivor.
While the latest episode of the Cold War Conversations podcast features Peter Lamas on his childhood Cuban encounters with Hemingway, Fidel, Che, & more.
For episode 28 of Strange Horizons’ Critical Friends podcast, Dan Hartland interviewed Ryan Elliott & Roseanna Pendlebury about literary sci fi & fantasy.
While for the Pittsburgh Review of Books’ Third Person Limited podcast, Nathan Pensky & Mason Stockstill talked with Luke Goebel about L.A. Noir.
Three conversations for the Black Studies Podcast to share this week: Ashley Newby’s interview of Bobby Smith from the University of Illinois’ Department of African American Studies; John Drabinksi talking with Nicole Fleetwood from NYU’s Media, Culture, & Communication Department; & Ashley with Aja Marie Lans of Johns Hopkins’ Department of Anthropology.
Two timely new episodes of Lauren Lassabe Shepherd’s American Campus podcast this week: a conversation with Merle Eisenberg about the university budget; & one with Omar Zahzah about repressing Palestine on campus before October 7th.
Likewise two new episodes of Liam Heffernan’s America: The Story of the USA podcast this week: part two of the series on democracy, featuring Caleb Lines on religion & American democracy; & a conversation with Emma Long about the Supreme Court’s power.
Two installments of Liberal Currents podcasts to pass along: Benjamin Wittes joining Samantha Hancox-Li’s Neon Liberalism to discuss how we squandered the late 20C triumphs; & Nicole Bedera joining Caitlin M. Green & Trent R. Nelson’s Half the Answer to talk sexual violence on campus.
For their The Oath & the Office podcast, John Fugelsang & Corey Brettschneider were joined by Rep. Al Green to make the case for impeaching Trump.
Episode 687 of the 99% Invisible podcast is a deep-dive into the problem with football helmets, featuring Kathleen Bachysnki’s book among other experts.
For her latest American Conversations podcast, Heather Cox Richardson was joined by Ohio Congressional candidate Brian Poindexter. & for Heather’s 250 to 250 video project, Mariska Hargitay discussed the Violence Against Women Act.
& I’ll end this section with a timely installment of the Scholars Strategy Network’s No Jargon podcast, Kerri J. Malloy on Columbus, indigenous peoples, & the stories nations tell.
Books:
I have to start with two recent publications that I missed in prior threads: ArCasia D. James-Gallaway’s Ordinary Sites: Student Resistance & the 1970s Texas School Desegregation Struggle from UNC Press; & David Kennerley’s Shout for Freedom: A Sonic History of Chartism & the Origins of British Democracy from Manchester University Press.
Two important books from Rutgers University Press out this week: Helene Meyers’ English Majors at Work: Career & Life Pathways; & Dara Walker, Alexander D. Hyres, & Jon N. Hale’s edited collection Youth in the Movements: High School Student Activism in Twentieth-Century America.
Likewise two new publications from the University of Georgia Press to share: Matthew J. Larson’s From Blood to Ink: How the Press Covered the Gettysburg Campaign; & Ben Beard’s The South Never Plays Itself: A Film Buff’s Journey Through the South on Screen.
& also published this week was Rachel E. Moss, Helen Roche, & Ricarda Meisl’s edited collection Political Nostalgias—Ancient & Medieval Worlds from ARC Humanities Press.
Forthcoming on November 2nd from De Gruyter Brill is Rebecca Brückmann, Silke Hackenesch, & Charlotte A. Lerg’s edited collection Radical in the Ordinary: Women’s Activism in Everyday American Life.
While forthcoming in December from Cambridge University Press is Kelly L. Marino’s Daughters of Democracy: The Post-Suffrage Women’s Movement, Youth Activism, & American Campuses Between the Wars.
For her History in the Margins blog, Pamela D. Toler interviewed Caroline Ivanoff about her new book Cornelia Hancock’s Civil War: A Heart Touched By Fire From Gettysburg to the Grand Review.
For the latest USIH book review, Ajay K. Mehrotra wrote about Vanessa Williamson’s The Price of Democracy: The Revolutionary Power of Taxation in American History.
Two new reviews for the Pittsburgh Review of Books to share this week: Michael Simms on Edward Salem’s Intifadas; & Vikram Zutshi on Peter Richardson’s Brand New Beat: How Rolling Stone Reinvented American Journalism.
Kate Carpenter & Megan Kate Nelson’s relaunched Drafting the Past now features book reviews, with the first two this week: David M. Perry on James T. Palmer’s Charlemagne’s Dream: The Rise & Fall of the Carolingian Empire; & Paul Harvey on Kristin Kobes Du Mez’s Live Laugh Love: The Secret History of White Christian Women & the World They Made & Katie Gaddini’s Esther’s Army: The Christian Women Who Power the American Right. & Carpenter also featured a new interview with Marcia Chatelain about her new book on the women behind the March on Washington & much more.
Made By History:
Three excellent new posts for the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Made By History this week: Jim Cullen on the Springsteen Center’s celebration of Chuck Berry’s centennial; Gregory Smithers on how Virginia development plans threaten indigenous sites that are spiritual as well as historical; & Chris Yogerst on how Trump’s rage at Hollywood might be rooted in the power of films to tell uncomfortable truths.
Newsletters and Blog Posts:
I’m excited to start this section with a new newsletter from one of our best basketball & sports writers, Zach Lowe’s The Lowe Post.
I missed a recent installment of one of our best current events newsletters, Sherrilyn Ifill’s, this one on the Supreme Court’s support for Trump’s illegal & inhuman “deportation” flights.
Over at his Democracy Americana newsletter, Thomas Zimmer argued that the Right’s attacks on “socialism” or “communism” are really attempts to demonize democracy.
For his Unpopular Front newsletter, John Ganz made the case that Trump’s attack on Ilhan Omar is an attack on America itself.
While for her Feminist Giant newsletter, Mona Eltahawy traced the latest horrors of 21C zealot Pete Hegseth.
Turning to more historical subjects, for her Well, Actually… newsletter Ashley Best highlighted some of the many myths we’ve been taught about Columbus.
Over at his Civil War Memory newsletter, Kevin M. Levin shared more details about his next project, which is turning into a book about slavery rather than the Battle of Gettysburg.
I continue to have mixed feelings about the In Pursuit newsletter, but at its best it offers compelling reexaminations of Presidents & First Ladies from public scholars, this week including Alexis Coe on John F. Kennedy & Michael Beschloss on Lyndon B. Johnson.
For his latest Liberating Narratives blog post, Bram Hubbell wrote about Japanese silver & the First Global Economy.
Over at his Historical Ephemera blog, Matthew Eaton traced the WWII music & legacy of Ralph Vaughan Williams.
While for his Looking Through the Past newsletter, George Dillard wrote about the neutron bomb & the ethics of modern warfare.
& for the Pantry Theory newsletter, Claire Bunschoten traced the queer afterlife of the 1977 pieing of Anita Bryant.
For Assay: A Journal of Nonfiction Studies’ newsletter, John Proctor continued his series on the Best American Essays series with a piece on Sarah Resnick & Christopher Notarnicola.
While over at his The Tenure Track newsletter, Etienne Toussaint wrote about power, self-disqualification, & Ida B. Wells.
For his blog, Will Pooley told the evolving story of his work on 19C French commercial fortune-telling cards.
& for her Strange & Wondrous newsletter, Surekha Davies wrote about her own evolving project on Renaissance odysseys, monster-adjacent movies, & more.
Gonna end with excellent cultural studies pieces as ever, including Howard Burton for his Exploring Art History newsletter on Giotto & how art can save the world.
The latest Verbum Libere newsletter traces how critics & readers responded to Steinbeck’s East of Eden on its initial publication.
For Bright Wall/Dark Room’s ongoing Midlife Crisis issue, Lindsey Romaine reviewed two early 21C Diane Lane films, Unfaithful & Under the Tuscan Sun.
While for his Adventures in the Archive newsletter, Chris Yogerst told the story of the first time Warner Bros. left the family.
Finally, Vaughn Joy did some excellent cultural studying this week for the West Hartford Public Library’s series on Yesteryear, as she highlighted for her Review Roulette newsletter. & I featured that lecture & other work of Vaughn’s in a special weekend follow-up to my weeklong blog series on American cultural housewives!
PS. I’m sure I missed plenty as ever, so please add more writing, podcasts, new & forthcoming books below. Thanks, happy reading, listening, & learning, & see y’all next week for #ScholarSunday thread 299!
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