Timeline cleanse: You're watching Mei & Kira, two sea otters (Enhydra lutris) at the Toba Aquarium in Japan, help clean the pool area after playtime. The reward is an ice treat. Enrichment activities like this promote mental wellness. Let's talk about the SUCCESS of sea otter conservation.

we have some fun 4 July news over at The National Archives! a new copy of the US Declaration of Independence, with an amazing story behind it (privateers! printers! prisoners!) - but also, a find that shows the power and importance of our volunteering and cataloguing projects.

My current research project features a number of the Dalton’s crew!! This is awesome!!

Could not agree more. There are, ahem, much better books on that topic. www.press.jhu.edu/books/title/...

I was recently reminded that I wrote something a few years ago that I think is my greatest contribution to the historical discipline: an essay on how to write a good conference paper. So I share it again here with you all. abbymullen.substack.com/p/the-ideal-...

The tributes to Bobby Cox before the game are hitting me right in the feels. He was such an important part of my childhood and I’m sad he’s gone. #ForTheATL

With books by @mpbrown.bsky.social @abbymullen.bsky.social @dannagal.bsky.social @jkosseff.bsky.social and many others not on this app. Also TWO books about cats.

I’ve always followed along with @quinnanya.me et al’s #DHmakes but never did it until now. Here’s my slightly wonky data visualization of all the books I read in 2025. White tweed is fiction; gray is non-fiction; December is along the side because the blanket was just getting too long.

Hey that’s my book on the far left!

Heartsick for my friends at Brown.

Beat army. (We did.)

Did you know that the North American Society for Oceanic History has book awards for maritime & naval history & archaeology? If your book on a topic in those categories has a 2025 original copyright, you’re probably eligible for consideration for this year. Give me a shout if you want to know more!

Co-sign!

I’m not saying the First Barbary War is relevant right now but I’m not NOT saying that, so maybe you should buy my book right now with this excellent sale just to be sure.

I missed the official sign off for Brett Bobley, but it would not be illegitimate to say that his work at the NEH got me to the job I’m in today. His faith in a young grad student launched me down a path toward being a real naval historian who does digital stuff. #ThanksBrett

*sigh* It's too soon, but on the day of his retirement from public service, I think that it's important to recognize the contributions of Brett Bobley to the work of the National Endowment for the Humanities and the field. #ThanksBrett for your leadership, your good cheer & your home-baked goods.

Now seems like a pretty unfortunate time to be living in a district whose seat is vacant.

#OTD in 1942, Doris Miller was presented with the Navy Cross by ADM Chester Nimitz for his heroic actions during the attack on Pearl Harbor. Miller was later killed during the Battle of Makin in 1943. The fourth Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carrier will be named in his honor.

Superintendent ≠ faculty.

If you’ve ever sat on an NEH review panel (as many of us have), you know how difficult it is to win a grant. It’s an incredibly exacting process, with way too many excellent projects competing for funding. Awardees are scrutinized from every direction, with more rigor than DOGE can even imagine.

Lots of people are hurting today, but I think it’s important to say that the closure of NEH and IMLS is an existential event for #DigitalHumanities #DH

It bears repeating that every one of these "defundings"—each & every one!—is an illegal & unconstitutional usurpation of Congress' exclusive power to determine how the people's money is spent & requires, as a basic matter of constitutional fidelity, the impeachment & removal of everyone involved

🌊🌊🌊 New on H-Oceans 🌊🌊🌊 Check out @abbymullen.bsky.social (USNA)’s rvw of Richard J. King (@sea1971.bsky.social Williams College–Mystic Seaport)’s bk _Ocean Bestiary: Meeting Marine Life from Abalone to Orca to Zooplankton_ pub 2023 @uchicagopress.bsky.social Review avail @hnetreviews.bsky.social

I’m honored to have an essay in this great new volume edited by Paul Kennedy and @evanwilson.bsky.social . Nice to get this in the mail today after a very bad week all around.

A new book, from me and Paul Kennedy: evanmwilson.substack.com/p/best-laid-... #navalhistory

Registration for the 2025 McMullen Naval History Symposium is now live! It’s a great conference, it will be a great place to think seriously about the value of history for our armed forces, and it’s free! www.usna.edu/History/Symp...

Inspired by the recent #JERWinter2024 conversation on the Revolution at 250, Dillon Streifeneder considers how historians in recent years have worked to bring military history back into the history of the American Revolution: thepanorama.shear.org/2025/01/21/a...

And I see a corner of @abbymullen.bsky.social 's excellent "To Fix a National Character" at the lower right. Nice array of good books from a great press.

As I was getting my oil changed yesterday, I walked over to the local bookshop and saw @theotherrbg.bsky.social in the window!

I try to remember to say this at the end of every year. If you buy my books, thank you. If you buy them as ebooks or audiobooks, thank you. If you buy them used, thank you. If you borrow them from a library, thank you. If you borrow them from a friend or steal them from an enemy, thank you. ❤️

Christmas is done, you’re getting ready for the @historians.org annual conference, putting finishing touches on your conference paper… but what are you trying to do in that paper? I wrote up a few thoughts about what good conference papers do. open.substack.com/pub/abbymull...

I’ve seen my own book a few times today in photos of the books people got for Christmas. I didn’t anticipate how special it would feel that people want OTHER people to read my book! If you bought my book for someone else, thank you from the bottom of my heart. And if you received it, happy reading!

Go Navy, beat (past tense) Army!! #fearthegoat

I’m really honored that my book is on the @warontherocks.bsky.social Holiday Reading List! warontherocks.com/2024/12/the-...

USS Kitty Hawk (CV-63) and USS Constellation (CV-64) team up at sea for "GO NAVY," "BEAT ARMY" spellouts on their respective flight decks in 1995. #WarshipWednesday #GoNavyBeatArmy

I wrote up some thoughts about what makes an effective (history) conference paper. I’d love to hear your thoughts! abbymullen.substack.com/p/the-ideal-...

Usually I write a newsletter about teaching history writing, but this week I went a little out of my lane to write about conference papers. I’d love to hear what you think. open.substack.com/pub/abbymull...

Soft launch on a Friday afternoon, but I’m too excited to wait—we finally have a new database providing search & download access to the Viral Texts Project’s "speculative bibliographies" of C19 newspaper reprinting Huge thanks to iSchool PhD student Daniel Evans for making the impossible possible!

What do we do when our students say, “I’m just not a good writer”? I don’t have answers, but I have thoughts! open.substack.com/pub/abbymull...

We're still kicking as a small magazine that found an audience on Twitter. But we're not there anymore, and it's much harder for pubs like Contingent to find and grow an audience, so if you like our stuff--tell someone about it! Read a random article here! contingentmagazine.org?redirect_to=...

Because I always jump on the new thing well after it has become an old thing, I’ve started a Substack, where I intend to start conversations about teaching history, and particularly teaching writing in history classes. You can join me if you like! open.substack.com/pub/abbymullen

Shoutout to @abbymullen.bsky.social as I just finished "To Fix a National Character"; I very much enjoyed this admirable book. Good to learn how the Consuls interacted with the Navy during 1st Barbary War. Thanks for your work, Dr. Mullen!

What's unfolding in Western NC and E Tennessee is a disaster of monumental proportions--please keep the people there in your thoughts and help as you can. BUT ALSO: Project 2025 wants to dismantle NOAA (weather tracking/warnings), FEMA, and effective governance in general. Remember that as you vote

I don't have a lot of interest in the original author's stale arguments, but I will say: if there are history podcasts you love, TELL EVERYONE. They don't have big marketing budgets (or any marketing budgets), and it's really hard to grow an audience.

The Connecting Threads team is launching their project website October 11 at the Victoria and Albert Museum! This event will explore the history and culture of Madras textiles in India and the Caribbean with a line up of speakers. Register to join in person or online: www.vam.ac.uk/event/YGVBDZ...

I completely forgot to post here, but my book was officially released yesterday! Thank you very much to those who have already bought it. I look forward to hearing what you think!

Attending #DH2024? These history podcasts will keep you company on the ride home. Check out: Your Most Obedient & Humble Servant Worlds Turned Upside Down Antisemitism, USA The Green Tunnel Consolation Prize Listen here: www.r2studios.org Tell your parents

And I’ve heard from my spies that my book, my very own book, is at SHEAR! (Thanks for the photo, Nora!)