Today might be one of the very few days when I'm grateful to be at an institution that uses blackboard.

!!!!!!

For anyone randomly interested: my latest newsletter is out, with links to all my recent videos, essays, and news. It's been an active few weeks at my YouTube channel, where I covered the new Mormon fundamentalist documentary, among other topics. benjaminpark.kit.com/posts/5-3-26

It’s bullshit that I didn’t win a Pulitzer this year on the measly account that I didn’t publish a book in 2025.

Look what's here! Just in time to order for your fall classes! It's the affordable paperback version of *Plantation Goods* from @uchicagopress.bsky.social

The court has simply recreated the pre-Brown world in allowing racial discrimination across a broad number fields as long as it is “facially neutral,” gutting the Reconstruction Amendments in the process.

Powerful words from Kagan in #SCOTUS voting rights case: The VRA "ushered in awe-inspiring change, bringing this Nation closer to fulfilling the ideals of democracy and racial equality. And it has been repeatedly, and overwhelmingly, reauthorized by the people’s representatives in Congress."

Unelected jurists over time have destroyed a tremendous act of popular sovereignty and engine of pluralistic democracy, turning it into little more than a historic relic.

Join me, @lizcovart.bsky.social, @noraslonimsky.bsky.social on our walking tour of Lewes, England with Leanne O'Boyle as we explore the town where Thomas Paine launched his writing career. #CommonSense250 #America250 #WalkingTour @bfworld.bsky.social @theitps.bsky.social youtu.be/r0JU9xlrn3Q?...

I felt really bad walking in on this when I opened my front door this morning. But in my defense, they didn’t leave a sock on my doorknob.

Last night I dreamt that I was giving a lecture at @mhs1791.bsky.social, a life goal. While being introduced, I realized I hadn’t printed out my text, so I opened my laptop and searched for it, with no luck. It only then dawned on me that I had never written the paper. Worst nightmare.

My English degree is one of the best decisions of my life.

It was SUCH fun to talk with fellow historian & writing group friend @benjaminepark.bsky.social about THE WESTERNERS and one of its protagonists, Ovando Hollister: a Shaker turned gold miner, CIvil War soldier, newspaper editor, & anti-Mormon agitator. Check it out! www.youtube.com/watch?v=8nSu...

Remember when Trump said he would endorse one of the Texas senate candidates so they could save money and avoid the bruising runoff campaign? That was six weeks ago, we’re now only four weeks from the runoff day, and my media is still flooded with competing campaign ads.

There was a “Thank You” bag with goodies from my university hung on my office doorknob this morning, and I have no idea what it’s for. I’m really hoping it’s not a farewell gift.

If you haven’t checked out @mkn.bsky.social’s new book on “The Westerners,” you really should. It features compelling characters, riveting stories, and sobering lessons. youtu.be/8nSuZXWTVGA

In case you've watched Netflix's new and popular documentary on Mormon fundamentalists, or are just interested in the topic, I did a deep dive on the history, context, and ethics of the story. It includes an interview with Cristina Gagliano, one of the best FLDS experts. youtu.be/0_IupTSRTKM?...

"losing the decades-old tax breaks could hinder its ability to maintain its headquarters in Richmond and carry out its operations." ah well, isn't that kind of the tradition? www.nytimes.com/2026/04/14/u...

Okay but what if instead of seeing the doctor so often this last year Trump has actually been having visions of Jesus and didn’t realize it?

Cristina M. Gagliano & @jstuart.bsky.social introduce Mormon Studies Review Vol. 13 as new editors after co-editing Vol. 12 with Quincy D. Newell & @benjaminepark.bsky.social. Vol. 13 Intro: scholarlypublishingcollective.org/uip/msr/arti... New editors blog www.press.uillinois.edu/wordpress/ne...

The more I think about it, the more I’m convinced that claiming the Pope is “WEAK on crime” is simultaneously the funniest but also most revealing statement for assessing religion in the MAGA movement. It’s modern Christian nationalism in one sentence.

I received one of my favorite compliments from a student today. When complaining about the reading load in the course, he said, “if it were any other professor, I would have dropped this class by now!”

The incredible team at @inquirer.com continues to be all over this story. The revised approach the administration proposes here is very typical in recent years, qualifying statements about Washington’s enslaving by pointing to his statements in opposition to it. (Gift link) share.inquirer.com/tkvteN

Best. Unboxing. Ever. “Hey, a book,” he says. #ThePublicScholar from @hopkinspress.bsky.social coming this month. Order yours today! www.press.jhu.edu/books/title/...

Impossible to disagree with a single word that Ben Rhodes (Obama era NSC official) is saying here:

I think about this column once a week, and lately once every few hours.

As the world continues to crumble, historians keep churning out first rate scholarship. Today I finished @csschmitt.bsky.social’s The Predatoy Sea, which will make you rethink entirely slavery and captivity in the 17th century Caribbean. A masterclass of scholarship.

*revising lecture notes*

I’m happy to share that at 114,016 words, 355 pages, and 578 footnotes, I have a full manuscript on Theodore Parker & the religious war on slavery. I aim to show how Parker’s popular, unorthodox, & controversial ministry reveals the populist groundswell that brought the Civil War.

New Podcast from former YSAR member Melissa Borja, produced by Brad Onishi! One Million Neighbors looks at “how American faith communities mobilized to do the impossible: resettling more than a million Southeast Asian refugees, in the face of widespread hostility” redcircle.com/shows/1525dd...

Oh hey, in case any of you like to geek out about Mormon history, I’m doing a live chat tonight at 7pm MT over at my YouTube channel about the climactic decades of the 1970s and 1980s. It should be fun. www.youtube.com/live/XaPjm15...

AI and a newish radiologist said the growth in my breast was benign. It was v small, circumscribed. A 2nd radiologist with decades of experience said, “it looks fine but I still don’t like it. Get a biopsy.” It was triple neg breast cancer. We need more experts. radiologybusiness.com/topics/artif...

New Quinnipiac Poll shows that the AI ascension is far from assured. People have (rightly) come to see that it poses far more negatives than previously assumed. Keep pushing back on the AI takeover. The techbros arguing that it's inevitable are in the minority.

For those interested in such things, here's a link to my latest newsletter. It includes links to a lot of my recent videos and activities, as well as some announcements and updates. Subscribe if you're interested in such nerdiness. benjaminpark.kit.com/posts/3-29-26

MARCH MADNESS GOOD BEATING DUKE EVEN BETTER

Cam Boozer is such a great college player. Very few flaws. …and yet I still don’t see how he’s anywhere near the NBA prospect as Dybantsa.

CBS turned their news operation into propaganda, kicked Colbert off the air for making too much trouble, and all that just to have Charles Barkley go on the air on one of their most-watched telecasts of the year and say this lmao

Just over a week until publication day and the book tour in support of THY WILL BE DONE is up over 15 dates! Come see me this spring/summer or invite me to come speak near you!

Please read my essay in the new Journal of American History about how abolitionists used runaway slave ads to ridicule slavery. #slaveryarchive

I'd vote for a College Sports commissioner who pledges to move up the start times for every game.

It's out in the world! The first journal article actually based on my dissertation research and not just some wild hare I decided to chase into print. Thanks especially to @jstuart.bsky.social and Cristina Gagliano for making it happen.

ICYMI: my short thread from yesterday on the awkwardness of YouTube.

This week's the 1-year anniversary of my YouTube channel. I was reluctant in starting it--the channel's producer, Anthony Ambriz, pestered for a while before I gave in--but I'm (mostly) pleased with the progress. We have nearly 14k subscribers and over 1.3 million views. Here are a few thoughts. /1

My teenage daughter is flying with her high school orchestra to Disneyworld this Thursday, and every time I check my inbox there's a new email from their director moving up their departure time another thirty minutes.

I'm writing the final section of my book while watching this Duke/TCU game. I'm really hoping that, in the future, when seeing these paragraphs I'll be able to pause, smile, and think, "this was when the talented Duke team was upset in the second round." *fingers crossed*

UPDATE: the seer stone did not see BYU flaming out in the first round.

I always suck at March madness brackets, but this year I have an advantage making picks with the Mormon History Association’s presidential seer stone.

I've used @evernote.bsky.social for over a decade and for four book projects, but they've now quadrupled their annual subscription rate over the last few years. I just can't justify the cost anymore. Anyone recommend a good replacement?