Adam Smyth (@adamwithbooks.bsky.social) asked people to film themselves reading Rousseau’s Confessions: ‘The idea of lots of people repeating the same claim to singularity seemed interesting.’ Read and watch a clip on the blog: www.lrb.co.uk/blog/2025/de...

The “Early Christian Letters” chapter arrived in the mail.

The newest episode of the pod dives into how scientists are learning to decode the calls of the endangered Hawaiian monk seals

www.sfchronicle.com/food/restaur... Too bad. I liked this shop and they had blue bottle coffee when it was roasted in Oakland and not over priced

Possibly the most sublime Roman fresco of a temple. The architectural detail of the spiky-topped wooden barrier, the painted relief in the pediment, & the offerings burning on the altar; it’s a symphony of observations. Archaeological Museum of Capri (no provenance) #FrescoFriday

My NAPS proposal on clothing in Augustine’s Confessions was accepted.

i’m definitely using this one.

Noah and his longship ark BL Cotton MS Claudius B IV; Old English Hexateuch; f.14r

OMG look what was on my doorstep! i haven’t seen the print version yet, but it’s prettier than i expected!!

New issue of Phoenix Vol. 79, No. 1 (2025) muse.jhu.edu/issue/55982 @phoenixjournal.bsky.social @projectmuse.bsky.social @hopkinspress.bsky.social @cacscec.bsky.social

I have survived the atmospheric river thus far.

New Article Dropping Soon I’m happy to report that my article “The Spirit Purifies All Foods: Baptism as Bodily Purification in the Jewish Matrix of Mark 7.1-23” has been accepted for publication with New Testament Studies (NTS) @cambridgeuniversitypress with minor revisions. Abstract below.

The Roman empire built 300,000 kilometres of roads: new study. theconversation.com/the-roman-em...

We are now accepting applications for the 2026-2027 Shohet Scholars Grant for research on the Ancient Mediterranean! Awards range from $2,000-$30,000. Deadline is Feburary 1, 2026. More information: www.catacombsociety.org/shohet-schol...

‘Flaubert had the highest conception of Art and the lowest conception of Business. “I do not see the connection,” he wrote, “between a five-franc piece and an idea.”’ Julian Barnes on Flaubert and his difficult relationship with his publisher. www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...

'The author’s wartime generation was more impressed than we are by the king’s combination of the martial and the pious.' Michael Wood on Alfred’s overambitious grandson

Announcing the launch of the open-access Journal of Christian Apocryphal Literature (JCAL). Sign up if you are interested in being a contributor or reviewer! journals.aperio.press/jcal/submiss...

It is exhausting reading fiction that has only one or two line paragraphs.

38 new #Manuscripts this week from the #Vatican www.wiglaf.org/vatican/2025... Includes an oration by Ubaldi, a part of an Atlantic Bible, some crazy heraldry, Cassian on Monks, Ethiopic, Classics and more #MedievalSky #Skystorians

Come learn Coptic! In partnership with the Religion Department, I developed a two-part introduction to Coptic via close study of the Coptic Gospel of Thomas. Come learn about ancient languages and sayings of Jesus! Part 1: Starts Oct. 27 | Part 2: Jan. 5 www.religiondepartment.com/learning-cop...

Excited to announce that my article “Monks at Lake Mareotis? Philo’s De vita contemplativa and the Displacement of Jewish Identity in Christian Monastic Literature” has been accepted for publication in the Studies in Late antiquity journal!

In the Boston area? Check out Jessica's talk. She is one of the leading experts on Jews and archaeology in Rome. Her new book "A Jewish Archaeology: The Christian Discovery of Jewish Catacombs in Rome" (Brill, 2025) is out now!

Join us if you are in the #Boston area! t.co/4tlXs5o1mH

Totally, completely flabbergasted. #MacFellow hub.jhu.edu/2025/10/08/h...

Job Openings! Columbia Theological Seminary invites applications for *two* full-time tenure-track faculty appointments in Old Testament. More info here: www.ctsnet.edu/careers/

Coptic OT Trainee Position

When #YomKippur comes around on the calendar I am always reminded of a conversation I had with a rabbi friend about Catholic and Jewish fasting. It ended with him telling me, "Yeah, that's not fasting." 🤣 tzom kal to all observing.

Job opening: An academic in Exegesis of Biblical and Extra-Biblical Texts, UCLouvain jobs.uclouvain.be/PersonnelAca...

What are the chances asking for a physical copy of my review book from OUP results in a tariff notice?

Ma figghia, running from window to window watching the guys taking off our old roof: "Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh!"

Conference announcement/call for papers! You’ll note that there’s no theme beyond “new research on apocryphal Christian literature.” We truly just want to hear about whatever interests you most in apocryphal Christian literature right now. More info here: www.nasscal.com/meetings/

"As is the case in neighbouring Sweden, the dominance of English across the internet, social media, film and TV also means it is seen as aspirational for young people to be seen to speak and read in English." Good article on literary translation, boktok, and more www.theguardian.com/books/2025/s...

sister monica claire, superior of an episcopal convent in new jersey, famous as the tiktok nun, has a book out!

I’m delighted that @ftweekend.com has an edited extract of Upon A White Horse. It’s about a few days I spent at the Uffington White Horse, talking with those who care for the prehistoric hill figure. www.ft.com/content/32d5...

The poison ivy is turning red.

Stop offloading cognitive tasks to "generative AI." Stop using systems w/ "AI" features either inextricably woven through them or prominently displayed at the top to nudge you into their use. Stop *Designing* "AI" tools & integrations that way. Stop building or using "AI" like this. Fucking Stop it.

No matter what else AI can do, the thing in the original post is the main thing it cannot do. I promise you professors are not upset bc our students who are using AI are coming to class TOO PREPARED and making us obsolete

I took part in the #SNTS2025 excursion to the memorial site of the former concentration camp Flossenbürg today. Dietrich Bonhoeffer was executed here by the Nazis on April 9th 1945. It was a deeply touching visit for me and I'd like to share two thoughts with you that our wonderful guide shared: 1/3

Spanish discovery suggests Roman era ‘church’ may have been a synagogue www.theguardian.com/world/2025/j...

There is still one week to go before the application deadline for our two job openings in biblical and early Christian studies (15 August). Please spread the word! I would be glad to speak with anyone who has questions about the positions.

Want to know which professors were active at the University of Leuven (Louvain) between 1425-1797? Today our dataset with the names of the scholars was published on RDR, the data repository of @kuleuvenuniversity.bsky.social. #leuven1425

Let us run with confidence and joy to enter into the cloud like Moses and Elijah, or like James and John. Let us be caught up like Peter to behold the divine vision and to be transfigured by that glorious #Transfiguration. ~ Anastasius of Sinai (Office of Readings)

Baby I eat the real prebiotics. Quark-gluon plasma, neutrinos, stardust on special occasions

Today has involved a lot of reading on epistemology, and it is so satisfying.

Tisha B'Av starts on the evening of 2nd August. Here the initial-word of Eicha (Lamentations) is flanked by a figure (Jeremiah?) and the open text of Eicha. #TishaBAv BL Add 9405; Biblical readings from a mahzor; 1309 CE; Germany; f.12r

***Attention Historians*** Tenure-track job postings in History and History-adjacent fields for July 2025. A thread. 1/