“It’s raining outside, by the way.”

Hey, look! A sculpture of me.

I finished a draft of another chapter in the Atlanta book. Four more to go (plus an epilogue). Please clap. 🗃️

In light of Ted Turner’s passing, I thought I’d share these excerpts from my current book manuscript on the Atlanta youth murders. 🗃️

Based.

I WILL PROTECT!

Let’s gooooooooooooooooo!

From the Atari Democrats to the “Coding” Democrats to the AI Democrats.

This story focuses on the individual charged with perpetrating a mass shooting at Florida State University, where I work. There’s really nothing to “wrestl[e]” with here. AI is theft. It is amoral. It is dangerous. Above all, it robs us of what makes us human.

“Inflation has not affected the price of salvation,” reads the sign outside of a Primitive Baptist church here in Tallahassee, Florida.

The boys made a new friend today. This is Vito, an Italian-American dog.

The boys are ACTIVATED.

Portrait of the Kingfish During a Thunderstorm-Induced Power Outage

Final grades have been submitted. Now let's see if I can complete a draft of my book manuscript this summer. Stay tuned! 🗃️

Incorrect. Correct. 🗃️

Pedagogy!

“We do not need to be lectured. We do not need to be rescued. What we need is support. Many of us see staying not as an ethical failure, but as the very fulfillment of our values.” This Florida man says, “Amen.” Thank you so much for writing this, Ben. 🗃️

Up next, including a guest appearance with the author, @renfro.bsky.social

This @60minutes.bsky.social puff piece on Ben Sasse is utterly shameful. Sasse is the Brené Brown of American politics—spinning ahistorical bromides into principled wisdom. The piece also glosses over his time at UF, during which he allegedly embezzled state funds.

I too was radicalized by WHITE FLIGHT: ATLANTA AND THE MAKING OF MODERN CONSERVATISM (Princeton University Press, 2005).

Anybody who genuinely believes in meritocracy has never watched Dana Bash—an uninspiring, expressionless, “both-sides” fetishist—flailing and floundering on national television.

“faith-based ethical approaches to powerful AI”

HAPPENING NOW: Watch my dog Gumbo hump his brother Huey as Huey barks at prescription drug commercials on the television. (This is a daily occurrence in our household.)

This is GUMBO.

"A history professor course could not allocate instructional time to the Stonewall riots or the gay rights movement. If a U.S. history textbook includes a chapter on the AIDS crisis, the professor must skip it." www.erininthemorning.com/p/texas-tech...

Promotion means new business cards that I will never use.

A racist cop? Now I’ve seen everything! www.nbcmiami.com/news/local/m...

Bro student said kind things about my teaching style during our last class meeting today. Made me cry. Fist-bumped me after class. Pedagogy!

I am thrilled to announce that this August I will be moving out of my 103-square-foot campus office with just one window and into a 105-square-foot office with two windows.

Apparently I’ve been elected to serve as a senator in our faculty union, @uff-fsu.bsky.social.

While Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis isn’t exactly a favorite of the left, he has been at the forefront of state AI regulation, while the country’s executive branch takes the opposite stance. President Trump has pushed to deregulate AI and force states to comply with federal policy. trib.al/W0jqVQC

Lectured about Francis Fukuyama today. Clearly I’m in fine end-of-semester form.

Teaching a course on the history of reality TV is so much fun. 🗃️

This is baby.

Apparently the Pope has read Baudrillard.

Always great people-watching at the gym during history conferences. An eminent southern historian on the chest press! A well-regarded borderlands historian doing leg extensions! One of my professional nemeses exhibiting poor form on the treadmill! 🗃️

Had a fabulous day at #OAH2026 Congrats to Brendan Shanahan for winning the book prize! Was great to see him & Jessica Jackson! Thanks to @renfro.bsky.social & @benjaminhjohns1.bsky.social for a great panel! It was so nice to meet @civicspod.bsky.social in the elevator too!

“Dangerous Ideas: Academic Freedom and the Assault on High Education” is underway here at the OAH. 🗃️

A year ago today, my University’s campus dining coordinator, Robert Morales, and a campus dining vendor, Tiru Chabba, were shot and killed on campus by an FSU student. The accused assailant had long espoused far-right, white-power, and antigay views, and he was an avid Donald Trump supporter. 1/

Full house at Wooden Shoe Books for a discussion related to @stschrader1.bsky.social’s new book BLUE POWER.

A truly depraved news media organization.

52% of US men between the ages of 18-49 have an active sports betting account. This is what you get when the sports/media complex goes all-in on gambling. Hard to overstate how troubling a development this is for fans and athletes alike. sri.siena.edu/2026/04/13/m...

BREAKING: A handful of FIU students have been hit with conduct charges after holding an anti-ICE protest on campus. www.miaminewtimes.com/news/fiu-inv...

It’s MSNOW, okay?!

Lectured about the end of the Cold War in my 1980s class this afternoon.

Bleak!

Had a great launch for the @scquarterly.bsky.social country music issue with Rissi Palmer and Frankie Staton. Good reminder that not all in the world is terrible.