Being reminded tonight why, 3 years ago, I entitled one of the biggest talks I've ever given "Why History (Still) Needs Historians."

PS. Not too late to tell the government what you think about their proposed changes to Indefinite Leave to Remain - the public consultation is open until 12th Feb. www.gov.uk/government/c...

The cat distribution system is undefeated If you watch closely you can see the exact moment he realizes that he will live with this cat from now on

Last week in Minnesota, I watched ordinary people risk their lives to protect their neighbors. In the process, they not only won a significant—though not final—victory against authoritarianism, they proved virtually every MAGA social theory wrong. (gift link) www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...

Just deleted my TikTok account. Please note that if you open TikTok on a web browser, it will ask you to accept a new TOS. DO NOT ACCEPT THE TOS! You can click through to settings and delete your account WITHOUT accepting the new TOS.

Good writing by Adam Serwer on what courage and care looks like in Minnesota, where people have created a space for fiercely peaceful kindness

Does this mean a change in street tactics or just a change in leadership?

The Minnesota v. Noem hearing is beginning before Judge Katherine Menendez. Minnesota, Minneapolis, and St. Paul are seeking a TRO today to stop Operation Metro Surge.

While this is for new organizers from @prisonculture.bsky.social it’s an excellent reminder to veteran organizers. In these times (see why I did there?) we must all be grounded in the hope of what’s possible so we can continue to work for it and build it.

Pleased to announce my ‘Perhaps I’m A Chosen Instrument,’ an archival (re) emergence, with Morrisseau, will open in Paris this April as part of ‘Freeing The Voices’ exhibition, curated by Zdenka Badovinac, and featuring works by Noor Abed, Marina Abramović, Lawrence Abu Hamdan, Babi Badalov,

just to make that clear for the rest of the world, that's -9 degrees *fahrenheit.* -23 degrees *celsius*.

are they not monsters?

Cover Reveal for The Sword Garden! Available for preorder soon at wizardstowerpress.com/books-2/book... A million thanks to the brilliant artist, Ben Baldwin, and of course to my editor, @cherylmorgan.bsky.social

… or how to persuade people that they really should not care about each other

One to watch: Toronto hospital to double housing program that reduces ER visits www.cp24.com/local/toront... @uhn.ca ⤷ canadahealthwatch.ca/insights 🍁

Little midnight snack for @erinbiba.bsky.social

This is now going to stay in my head all day. Possibly with ruby slippers on for extra clicking

I'm sorry what now? abcnews.go.com/US/live-upda...

This crew of comrades offer some of the best training and they are generously offering another on Monday. It is a virtual session and they have asked this to be shared in particular with MN folks if you want to join. Open to others too.

It's quite chilling to search the Associated Press wire for photos of the Iran protests and find basically nothing. For those who don't know, for the AP to be unable to find someone to take a photo and get it out of the country means the blackout is about as dark as it can be.

"the researchers found that withdrawing support for rapidly advancing mRNA vaccine technology could result in over 49,000 preventable deaths annually among patients diagnosed with four major cancers"

the good that you do persists in this world

Really clear messaging from the NYC Department of Health & Mental Hygiene. At this point, it's not going to convince a ton of people to start masking, but it may encourage folks who already mask to keep it up - & it may remind others that masking is an expert-recommended NPI, not a weird obsession.

GOP states are restricting youth voting by -requiring strict in-person ID for registering + voting, explicitly excluding college-issued IDs -locating poll sites far from campuses + targeting on-campus locations -limiting + sanctioning third-party voter reg orgs talkingpointsmemo.com/cafe/inside-...

Good on Australia for doing this! It’s such a deceptive practice to tell customers their price is increasing because of AI, when the old price is still available without genAI but only if you try to cancel.

Yay. Priceless. The right column at the right time. And a gleefully English two fingers to the haters.

I wanted to get a video of this ghost crab but every time I got close to their hole they scuttled back in, so I tried getting clever with it. I made a little sandcastle and shoved my phone into it, hit record, and walked away. Crab was VERY suspicious of this addition to their environment.

To those wondering, this is what now appears if you use Bluesky in Mississippi without a VPN. So yes, a VPN does grant access to the site. For now.

Quick takes: California plague case, US measles rise, UK ups avian flu risk The patient likely contracted plague from a flea bite while camping near South Lake Tahoe.

MIT’s NANDA initiative found that 95% of generative AI deployments fail after interviewing 150 execs, surveying 350 workers, and analyzing 300 projects. The real “productivity gains” seem to come from layoffs and squeezing more work from fewer people not AI.

Turn social media into an oasis: follow botanists, orchardists, and heritage gardeners. Follow bird watchers, paleontologists, and people who dedicate their careers to fungariums. There are scientists who spend their whole lives thinking about turtles. 🐢

oh wow! Beronda Montgomery has a new book! bookshop.org/p/books/when... "a cultural and personal reclamation of Black history and Black botanical mastery, told through the stories of long-lived trees." how "seven trees—as well as the cotton shrub—are intertwined with Black history and culture."

The suggestion that AI can “replace” a historian fundamentally misunderstands the nature of academic historical inquiry. Even if being a chronicler or antiquarian were things an AI could successfully emulate, this is really not the same thing as critically interrogating historical arguments.

Just a reminder this list is drawn from a piece written by four researchers for MICROSOFT (data scientists, CS people, economists) who have never stepped foot in an archive/never taken an oral history/studied material culture, by their CVs. Unlike them, I do my research, and don't talk out my ass.

For every $1 spent on childhood immunizations in the United States, our healthcare system saves $10.90 in direct costs and societal benefits. Routine childhood vaccinations from 1994 to 2023 will save $540 billion in direct costs. www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes...

I really appreciated this episode of @npr.org's Consider This, about the Texas floods, how to talk to people on the worst day of their lives, and the care good storytelling requires. I'll be sharing it with my qualitative methods students this year. one.npr.org/i/1269546823...

Is that a piano bench situation? EB, we have questions.

if the father of the xbox told me my video game understanding was lacking i would probably just walk into the sea tbh and live with ecco the dolphin

I Joined Art Fight! @artfight.net

It’s Friday! So, time for some seriously chonky otters.

There's less than a week until the Library’s scholarship programme submission deadline! If you are interested in applying to any of our scholarships, you still have until11:45pm BST on Thursday 31st July 2025! 🗓️ 1/4

Hey e-bikers. I'm in the market for an ebike. Preference is as much 🇨🇦 content as possible, esp parts & support, so I'm leaning towards Biktrix. I have some friends who are very happy with them. Any others I should look at? I'm ~6' and looking mostly for a city bike. I'm not sure about ❄️ rides yet.

Our new absolutely adorable but sincere food services supervisor at the Rescue.

Curious about a historic building in Manitoba? There’s now an app for that.

This has been such an amazing thread in a garbage week. I’m still super light on Asian languages & have almost nothing from Africa, so still hit me up if you can help there!

Catching up w/ news from this past week. At @imc-leeds.bsky.social on 7 July, I'll be participating in a roundtable about how historians of medicine dialogue w/ their medical & scientific peers. I will certainly be referencing this editorial, & the challenges of good faith critiques. #histmed