In Detroit for #USIH. @jmadelman.bsky.social and I decided to check out the Motown Museum. It was a great tour and worth the stop.

It’s that time of year where Clio needs to wear a sweater but she’s rather shiver than put on a piece of dog clothing. It drives me crazy because my dog should not be cold. So we just compromised.

We know the Continental Army’s march across New York State in 1779 as the Sullivan Expedition, but when I just looked it up most of the articles call it the Clinton-Sullivan Expedition. I wonder how and why we dropped Clinton’s name…

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@wheatleyjt.bsky.social has a new book coming out. Check out *American Fanatics: Religion, Rebellion, and Empire in the Nineteenth Century* (NYU Press). If you pre-order from his local independent bookstore, you can get a discount and a signed copy! #AmRel

NEW on Commonplace: Halloween may be over but the time is always right to talk about historic memory! In a new essay, historian Carla Pestana searches for the witches in witch city and considers what is lost when history and Halloween tourism collide: commonplace.online/article/sale...

250 years ago this week, Lord Dunmore shook the colonies: “All indented servants, Negroes, or others (appertaining to rebels)… free, that are able and willing to bear arms.” Dunmore’s Proclamation changed the Revolution. 🎧 Hear the story #AmericanRevolution #Revolution250 #Virginia #History

It’s Election Day! I decided to vote early.

I think Justice Barrett needs to read @rachelshelden.bsky.social’s forthcoming book.

A move you’ve seen more than 7 times with a gif.

Who’s going to #USIH this week? Anyone want to grab a meal and catch up on Thursday or Friday?

In my effort to limit my real news consumption, I’m following these 5 sports stories with great interest: 1. WNBA contract negotiations 2. Who Penn State will hire to replace James Franklin 3. Jason Tatum’s recovery and return to my Celtics 1/2

Is it too late to say that I’m sorry the Blue Jays lost the World Series? Yamamoto was amazing, but I really wanted the Jays to win.

Working on another new @bfworld.bsky.social episode for November this week. There are several bonus episodes in November and December because @kawulf.bsky.social, @jmadelman.bsky.social, and I had opportunities for great interviews.

Fun evening on the town with my other half.

Happy Halloween to those who celebrate!

I’m prepping to be interviewed for an English-hosted podcast. They want me to discuss and relay the story of the entire American Revolution in one hour. Please wish me luck!

Friends! Today is National Chocolate Day!! 🍫🍫🍫🍫

On this day, October 26, 1925, 200 years ago, the Erie Canal opened to traffic. The canal linked the Great Lakes Region with the Atlantic Ocean and served as an example of how the west of North America might link with its East Coast.

Darn. I suppose all good things must come to an end. #GoJays

I’m enjoying the Blue Jays 6th inning.

My inbox was full of questions and requests for more information about the history and architecture of the White House. Naturally, I focused this week’s History Behind the Headlines newsletter on answering these questions. You can read the full issue and subscribe here:

This week I learned I missed an elective in my Nonprofit Masters Program. I will be short 4 credits, which may mean taking 2 more 3-credit classes to graduate this year. On the plus side, I will be getting more education in fundraising, which seems really useful.

There is still goodness in the world.

Museums show us the art that survives. But what about the art—and artists—we’ve lost? In @bfworld.bsky.social, @drzara.bsky.social reveals the lives of forgotten artists like Prince Demah. Listen: benfranklinsworld.com/423 💬 Which stories deserve to be remembered? #AmericanRevolution #History

Why do all the cries for making the United States “great” again come from people who also advocate and support an undemocratic president and seem very much okay with the idea of an authoritarian “king?” The single most UNAMERICAN thing you can do is be pro-authoritarian and pro-monarch.

I have no idea how October ended up being such a crazy busy month.

Boston Common is filling up. #NoKings

On my way to a rally. I now have a two-sided sign.

I just finished writing tomorrow’s History Behind the Headlines newsletter. Topic: AI-generated images and a history of image creation. Subject line: Can You Trust What You Can See? History Says...Maybe Not. 👇Subscribe so you don’t miss it.

Check this out: Free COVID and Flu Vaccines. Come to Boston, we have vaccines!

Anyone else working with the Baseball ticker on their screen? Tim is rooting for the Tigers in honor of his Mom who was a HUGE Tigers fan. I’m rooting for the Jays because I want them to beat the Yankees, after which I will root for anyone not the Dodgers or the Yankees.

I’m speaking about my work into the origins of the American union at the Old North Church’s Digital Speaker Series tonight. It’s virtual and free, although I hope you will consider a donation to the Old North Church to help support their history education work. #Boston #History

#Skystorians #HistoryJobs

It was my pleasure to write about Yellowstone and how it became a national park (SPOILER ALERT: it was NOT unanimous) in 1872, for "History Now." And I am delighted to share these pages with fellow environmental historians whose work I so admire ... www.gilderlehrman.org/history-now/...

Oh, this is so exciting! Thank you @lizcovart.bsky.social for the invitation. And while I'm here, pleased to announce that @uchicagopress.bsky.social is bringing out a paperback in Spring 2026!!!

Today is @bfworld.bsky.social’s 11th Podversary. The first 4 episodes debuted 11 years ago. So it’s fitting we have a great new episode to celebrate! How did Northern manufacturers support Southern slavery? Seth Rockman joins us to talk about “plantation goods” and slavery’s hidden supply chain.

"No institution that is committed to the free pursuit of knowledge should submit to the degradation of autonomy and academic freedom contained in it." @acls1919.bsky.social statement on the White House "compact" proposed to universities. www.acls.org/news/acls-st...

ACTUALLY, Blueskis, you don't even have to be in the Boston area! This is a hybrid event, so you can register to listen and post questions on Zoom! Huzzah!

Running our first quarterly workshop in the History Explorers Club today. As members in our first cohort are working on independent research projects, Nadine Zimmerli has joined us and is taking us through the world of History publishing. www.historyexplorers.club

I’m in my last academic class in my master program. It’s Fundamentals of Digital Marketing. I have to research an influencer for my homework. I googled influencers and just feel old…I also haven’t found anyone I want to spend time researching. Who are the influencers you follow and enjoy?

Country over self. George Washington could’ve become king. Instead, he gave up power for the country. 242 years later, that choice still matters. 🧠 I wrote about Washington’s example & how it echoes in today’s headlines. Read + subscribe 👇 📬 ben-franklins-world.kit.com/profile

We are thrilled to welcome Jennifer Lee to the Paul Revere House for the first time to demonstrate bark basket making for visitors between 1:00 and 3:00 PM on Saturday, October 4th. She will also have previously produced goods for sale! www.facebook.com/share/16hHXQ...

✨ An inspiring evening at the NC State Archives with @unchistory.bsky.social profs Fitzhugh Brundage, @kathleenduval.bsky.social, and Joseph Glatthaar to celebrate the publication of Foundations of American Democracy. Now available to all North Carolinians via a free digital edition on NC LIVE! 📚

I also intend to turnout with my fellow Bostonians to peacefully protest when the National Guard makes its way here. Their arrival is very much a “when,” not an “if.” I believe in democracy and the republic—I think/hope most of our troops do too.

I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about the military meeting this week and George Washington. This week’s newsletter (which publishes tomorrow) will be about these topics. You can subscribe here: benfranklinsworld.com/newsletter

Wednesday! Join historian @lizcovart.bsky.social on Zoom for a conversation about the forgotten stories of America's "rough drafts." Before the Articles of Confederation, Americans spent over a century struggling to unite — and mostly failing spectacularly. www.eventbrite.com/e/the-first-...

Me to Myself: Maybe I can pull out my turtlenecks, I think fall is here. ::Looks at Weather App:: Me: Nope, it’s fake Fall.

My reading assistant enjoying @ronajohnson.bsky.social’s new book Entangled Alliances. He was struck by how intertwined events in Saint Domingue were with the American Revolution and vice versa.