Great actor.

The Project 2025 architect who promised to put federal employees “in trauma” is spending $15 million of former USAID funding—money that would have gone toward fighting HIV, polio, malaria, and other diseases—to bankroll his security detail. trib.al/TSV3cmb

A new project launched this morning -- on the history of presidents and the presidency. And First Ladies. With a pointed essay on George W(ashington) by George W (Bush) --about presidential humility. Oh, and me about Martha Washington! www.nytimes.com/2026/02/16/a...

Interesting that the NYT story linked to my @smithsonianmag.bsky.social essay on Washington and the twinned legalities of genealogy -- land and wealth for GW and enslavement for people he "inherited." Shows the complexity of the project-- of this history. www.smithsonianmag.com/history/what...

In the East Village, Hiding in Plain Sight: A Secret Passage to the Underground Railroad www.nytimes.com/2026/02/15/n...

There’s a Reason American Kids Are Such Picky Eaters www.nytimes.com/2026/02/15/o...

Thoughtful review of The Radical Fund in @dissentmag.bsky.social by @cdunning.bsky.social. (Will hand-wringing keep the left from doing what’s required to build power while in exile?) dissentmagazine.org/online_artic...

Nice

Waiting for my favorite piano concerto: Beethoven’s 4th in G Major.

It’s very strange. Why is it Mellon’s fault that it is the leading funder of the humanities? Other entities that have a competing/different vision could step in if they wanted to.

Henry Adams’s 1880 testimony is a reminder that Black resistance in the post–Civil War South was real, organized, and persistent, even under brutal conditions. 🗃️ open.substack.com/pub/kevinmle...

TODAY! The true story here is that I'm not a coffee drinker. Can't stand the stuff. Tea forever. But I live with coffee-holics, I still ask people if we can meet "for coffee," and I'm a historian of the 18th century. And I can't wait to hear Michelle talk about her great new book. Join us!

Fascinating

An important book. Solid review. How Vietnam Inflamed the Civil Rights Movement www.nytimes.com/2026/02/09/b...

This is not ready for prime time, and yet here we are.

1) Eons ago, when I was in college, I lived with a French family during a language study program in Bourges. I had 6 “siblings”, 4 who were still at home.

Bad Bunny has a consulting historian. news.wisc.edu/pop-star-bad...

With Igor Levit, “the classical music industry” hopes “to recapture the authority of genius without reviving its authoritarian past.” —Nathan Shields

That is the first time I’ve ever seen Bad Bunny perform. He’s very good.

This could happen to me in a meeting.🤣

Dear God, please let the snow melt in New York City, so that my dog’s undercarriage will not get dirty every day. Thank you for your attention to this matter.

A bracing and essential piece.

I’ll be at the Savannah Book Festival next Saturday, February 7, talking about #Murderland and the history of violence in America. Come if you can.

One year ago, the idea that RMB would be positioned to replace the USD as a lead global reserve currency was all but unthinkable. But one year of Trump monetary policy has trashed the greenback and assured the rise of RMB. There is no more astonishing story of monetary mismanagement in modern times

Big flip in Texas. That’s right, Texas.

You’re welcome. Will do!

Thanks for being with us, helping kick off #America250 efforts and talk Northwest Ordinance, and special thanks for spending extra time with teachers and public historians as well - a wonderful visit, a fantastic talk + q&a ... come back again soon! Also, yes, brrr 🥶 🗃️

Great time in Columbus, Ohio tonight talking about the Northwest Ordinance of 1787. It is cold, cold, cold in Columbus!

😞 Catherine O’Hara, ‘Home Alone’ and ‘Schitt’s Creek’ Actress, Dies at 71 www.nytimes.com/2026/01/30/a...

Nota bene, teacher friends! 🗃️ 🍎

🤨 youtu.be/xPzmuYxMRO0

It’s just unfathomable to me that people think it makes sense for any law enforcement to be masked and anonymous. Police officers operate under risks and don’t wear masks. Judges & prosecutors, the same.

Some years ago I did a full forensic on @agordonreed.bsky.social's NYRB review of @rparkinson.bsky.social's _Common Cause_, that's how much I love reviews and reviewing. 2/ scholarlykitchen.sspnet.org/2017/01/09/t...

So looking forward to welcoming @agordonreed.bsky.social to Ohio State University for her keynote address to culminate our conference on New Perspectives on the Northwest Ordinance, for scholars, teachers, public historians, and the wider public, we'll also be publishing at least one book out! 🗃️

One of my kids sent this. www.instagram.com/reel/DT_TL7P...

‘We are the Good Samaritans’: Minneapolis hits back at ICE ft.trib.al/bUa0oFl

Some levity.

I’ve always thought that one of the naïve things about Jefferson was his abiding faith in “the people”. Too many examples of where “the people” are problematic. But in a moment like this I can see what he was talking about.

Alex Pretti - who he really was.

A video of Alex Pretti reading out the final salute of an unnamed veteran he cared for until the end of his life in the ICU, posted to Facebook by his son.

A resplendent Yuja Wang!

There will be percussion!

And to stay in… but I’m going to go to the gym and then get a manicure before tomorrow arrives.