My Easter books cartoon for @theguardian.com

2026's hot cross buns are out of the oven. I still haven't mastered a standard size, but they look good!

One of the hills I routinely die on is that “business” is not an academic discipline and shouldn’t be a school within universities. But it’s not going anywhere because these programs produce people who make a lot of money.

Looking forward to seeing this in London next month. www.theguardian.com/artanddesign...

What if we just went back to reading a bunch of books and thinking about them together, and that was the class? With syllabi no longer than three pages.

A fantastic, perceptive piece of analysis on the power of historical literacy. "What has changed is not that culture once prevented blindness and no longer does. It is that culture has increasingly ceded authority to systems that mistake information for understanding and speed for judgment."

Roman Mosaic Unearthed - Southwark, London, UK <3 What Time Reveals (9 Photos): streetartutopia.com/2026/03/28/f... Two archaeologists gently uncover a large Roman mosaic beneath a construction site near The Shard in central London. The vibrant geometric patterns, preserved underground for nearly...

PennPress is having a sale on ALL BOOKS today and tomorrow.

Amazing!

"Based on this study, as more of the global population begins to rely on artificial intelligence to complete complex tasks, our cognitive abilities and creative capacities appear poised to take a nosedive into oblivion." publichealthpolicyjournal.com/mit-study-fi...

Explore this week's job opportunities focused on the Medieval and Early Modern periods (thread 🧵): New York University Arts and Science - Early Modern Iberian Atlantic Faculty Fellow: memorients.com/news/new-yor...

Hear ye, hear ye! My book is in production! www.routledge.com/Unconventual...

In person early modern metals event in London next month with me, @laurenworking.bsky.social, and Lubaaba Al-Azami. Please repost and share widely! And register here -- forms.office.com/Pages/Respon...

Hello Bluesky! My new book, THE FIREARM REVOLUTION, is out on 14 April. It’s about how a new technology changed society, and how hard it was to control. Here’s a little thread of what’s inside:

Russian embassy, Washington DC. To mark the fourth anniversary of the full scale invasion

Ian McKwan's latest novel What We Can Know (about historians/historically minded scholars in the 22nd century) describes this scenario occurring in our near future. It's a great read in any case!

I met Jesse Jackson once, at Philadelphia airport. We were on the same flight to Boston. I went over and introduced myself and thanked him.

We're hiring at Birkbeck! Lecturer in Ancient History and Classics, full-time and open-ended. Closing date March 18th. Details here: cis7.bbk.ac.uk/vacancy/lect...

Behold: an article! Lauren MacDonald, "Conquest’s Mouth: Bartolomé de Olmedo, the Mercedarian Order, and the Spanish Invasion of Mexico," The Sixteenth Century Journal 57:1 (2026): 99-119. www.journals.uchicago.edu/eprint/EYUZQ...

I love the deep blue cover for the US paperback of my book House of Lilies: The Dynasty that Made Medieval France. It's now available for pre-order. ⚜️Shipping 13 October 2026 💙 📚#booksky www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/justi...

Dogs are the best.

Post (another) banger not in English. youtu.be/Fpu5a0Bl8eY?...

Small teaching wins: Had a student uncertain about the use of canonical/canon when discussing art and literature. But they understood its uses when talking about Star Wars, so it was short step to join the dots!

Hahaha

Auschwitz was at the end of a process. We must remember that it did not start from gas chambers. This hatred gradually developed: from ideas, words, stereotypes & prejudice through legal exclusion, dehumanization & escalating violence... to systematic and industrial murder. Auschwitz took time.

Very exciting job announcement! Permanent early medieval (Britain and/or Europe) teaching post at KCL. I know first-hand that this is a great opportunity to work with amazing colleagues and students. www.kcl.ac.uk/jobs/136727-...

Are you a creative and intellectually curious editor ready to grow lists in environmental history, history of medicine, urban history, and labor history? We’re hiring an Acquisitions Editor to help shape our history lists 🙌 Interested? You can learn more here👇 
uncpress.org/now-hiring-a...

So, he outsourced a large part of his job to a machine and only worried about accountability when it deleted the work it did (at his request). Or am I missing something? When two years of academic work vanished with a single click www.nature.com/articles/d41...

This is the problem with a lot of vocational training: you are preparing yourself for what the job market wanted at the time you started not when you finish. Study Philosophy to avoid this problem.

Birkbeck is hiring a Lecturer in Medieval Studies (c.1300-1500), full-time and open-ended. They will be formally based in English but expected to be able to contribute about 0.5FTE to History, including teaching and supervision. Closing date Feb 23rd: cis7.bbk.ac.uk/vacancy/lect...

My latest article came out today in Issue 4 of the New American Antiquarian. naajournal.org/issues/

My mum used to buy books to give me as birthday or Xmas presents and read them first. I know this because she took delight in telling me -- very proud of her ability to read a book without leaving a trace!

Thread: after all the infantile trash talk yesterday, read this considered and articulate take on the state of Renaissance studies and how it contextualizes this particular retirement.

Ah yes, Sauron, whose defenses proved quite permeable and who was fooled by his own blind spots. Someone didn't do the reading…

If I'm honest, I became a historian of Italy because of the food. "In short: Italian cuisine did not migrate. It was invented abroad by people who had finally found something to eat – a truth that fits awkwardly with Unesco’s love of millennium-old continuity." www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

What does Gen AI mean for the work of the historian and the value of historical experience, skills and craft? 'The Historian in the Age of AI' by @chriscampbell1.bsky.social. New Comment article now available in 'Transactions of the Royal Historical Society' bit.ly/4atErTB #Skystorians 1/2

Who built the seven gates of Thebes? The books are filled with names of kings. Was it the kings who hauled the craggy blocks of stone? And Babylon, so many times destroyed. Who built the city up each time? Oh so it actually was the kings? Cool, question answered, thanks.

Movie you've watched more than six times with a gif. Hard mode: no Stars (either War or Trek), LOTR, or Marvel…

Time again for my favorite christmas post ever, one that still makes me laugh every time i read it

Our longest yearly book list ever! Thirty six books by contingent historians for you to read, gift, and request for purchase at your library!

We are delighted to announce that the preliminary program for our 2026 Annual Meeting is available to view and registration is open. We hope you will join us February 19–21, 2026, at our 72nd Annual Meeting in San Francisco, California. www.rsa.org/news/715597/... #RenTwitter #earlymodern #RenSA26

Small victories. Today saw students briefing the class on their final research un-essay projects. One student observed: "every challenge I had could be solved by research." Now that's a satisfying teaching moment.

Hell yeah!

You’ve been kidnapped. The characters from the last TV show you watched are trying to rescue you. Who’s coming to save you? Hmm, either of them could probably get it done to be honest, but it wouldn't be pretty.

To “my students and to anyone who might listen, I say: Don’t surrender to AI your ability to read, write and think when others once risked their lives and died for the freedom to do so.” www.huffpost.com/entry/histor...

There are only three Star Wars films

Did you miss our beginners' webinar last week? The complete recording of our step-by-step introduction to Transkribus is now available on YouTube 👇

I'm very pleased to have all three versions of my book now out. #reformationinthelowcountries