Dispatches from the Future of Museums has migrated to the web. Readers of the discontinued weekly e-newsletter from the Center for the Future of Museums can now find news summaries, links, commentary and resources on this page of the AAM website www.aam-us.org/programs/dis...

My thoughts on 5 trends museum directors identify as "business disruptions" in 2026: inflation, the market, travel and tourism, philanthropy, travel & tourism, and two red flags of my own: potential chaos around the midterm elections, and collapse of the AI bubble. www.aam-us.org/2026/01/05/p...

Adding this to my mental dictionary: "Haphazardism is authoritarianism without vision, a governing style defined by a series of individual attacks on democracy without any kind of overarching logic, strategic structure, or clear end state in mind." From @vox.com www.vox.com/politics/472...

An inventory of the weapons authoritarian regimes deploy against cultural institutions, with some advice on how museums can prepare a defense. Guest post by the co-founders of Stroika on the CFM blog www.aam-us.org/2025/12/02/w...

Great leadership from @montereybayaquarium.org

"Vast Majority of Americans Oppose National Park Cuts" www.npca.org/articles/112...

Something I didn't know: "Nearly 10 percent of companies on the S&P 500 pay no federal taxes and actually received rebates in 2023." In an interesting article on how the new tax bill may impact corporate philanthropy. www.philanthropy.com/opinion/the-...

Highly recommend Vu Le's new book "Reimagining Nonprofits and Philanthropy." Here's a nice review nonprofitquarterly.org/reinvigorati...

“I don’t want the asshole tech-bros' sad dystopian visions to be the dominant ones. I want the visions I’ve read about on countless nonprofits’ websites.”

The redoubtable W. Richard West, founding director of the National Museum of the American Indian, interviewed on @theradicalcentrist.bsky.social podcast "The Smithsonian's Independence Matters: Why We Must Resist" centristchange.blogspot.com/2025/09/w-ri...

Best commentary I've read on the economic train wreck resulting from the business model of AI giants.

Had a lovely conversation with Cody Liska and Sandro Debono on the Anchorage Museum's Chatter Marks podcast on how museums can help people think about the past, the future, and what they want to world to be like. www.podbean.com/ew/pb-xgfe5-...

“When looked through the lens of harm to nonprofits and the community, “when you’ve seen one foundation, you’ve seen one foundation” stops being a charming joke and starts being enraging.”

"A recent survey of U.S. college faculty by the journal Nature found that 75% were looking for work outside the country. Some are doing so to protect their research, while others are trying to safeguard their individual freedoms." www.csmonitor.com/USA/Educatio...

It feels kinda weird to share a piece that I’m also quoted in, but this from Beth English is great: “What we’re really seeing in those exhibits is a museum system growing in honesty and complexity, as historians explore new sources and approaches that expand and enrich our understanding of history”

Signal boost: advice on how to respond to public comment periods in the wake of the GSA disabling the API that supported e-submission of comments. www.mrss.com/lab/the-trum...

Signal boost for the new "Nonprofits Get it Done" campaign from the National Council of Nonprofits, shining a spotlight on the essential role our sector plays in American society. nonprofitsgetitdone.org

It's paperback launch day for HISTORY FOR TOMORROW! 'Enlightening and thrilling' - @georgemonbiot.bsky.social 'Brimming with ideas' - @peterfrankopan.bsky.social Find out more: www.romankrznaric.com/history-for-...

Pre-Order NAVIGATING THE AGE OF CHAOS today. Barnes & Noble is offering 25% off (35% for premium members) on all preorders from July 8th - July 11th. Use the code PREORDER25 at checkout. You have to be a (free) B&N member. www.barnesandnoble.com/w/navigating... #BNPreorder #AgeofChaos

Sharing the sad news that @bandoblue.bsky.social passed away last week. I've reprinted a prescient essay he wrote in 2011, as a tribute and remembrance. www.aam-us.org/2025/07/08/m...

Join me tomorrow at the fabulous @chalkefestival.bsky.social‬, where I'll be discussing HISTORY FOR TOMORROW (out now in paperback!) with Ali Ansari, Professor of Iranian History (rather topical right now...) We'll be on the Moot Stage at 5.30pm. www.chalkefestival.com

Do the policies of the current administration pose an "existential threat" to the nonprofit sector? My take on a scenario that seems increasingly likely. www.aam-us.org/2025/06/26/e...

My recommended futurist watch for the day: a Ken Burns-like tour of Louis-Sébastien Mercier's vision of the The Year 2440, published in 1771 youtu.be/pKdGJELk3wY?...

As more and more states pass bills to limit the discussion of history and race in classrooms, we spoke to Black educators about what they are seeing, feeling, and fearing in schools and colleges when it comes to teaching Black history. Read more: pen.org/fear-uncerta... #Juneteenth #Juneteenth2025

Yet another flavor of AI evil: data-scraping bot swarms knocking collections databases offline. From @nyuengelberg.org www.glamelab.org/files/Are_AI...

In the nonprofit sector, hit by downstream effects of federal funding reductions, layoffs are up "a shattering 504% year-over-year." qz.com/layoffs-us-j...

A new era calls for new #blueprints philanthropy2173.ghost.io/a-new-era-ne... #philanthropy #blueprints #civilsociety #nonprofits #digitalcivilsociety

🚀 New podcast alert! Introducing Future Knowledge—a podcast from the Internet Archive & Authors Alliance exploring how knowledge is created, shared & preserved in the digital age. 🎧 Listen and subscribe: futureknowledge.transistor.fm #FutureKnowledge @archive.org @authorsalliance.bsky.social

How will Executive Orders and actions impact museums' earned income? Part two in my series examining disruptions to museum business models. One disturbing signal of change: proposals to tax nonprofit earnings. www.aam-us.org/2025/06/04/e...

Looking forward to exploring how climate risk is disrupting museum insurance. June 26: a Future Chat with Dana Whitelaw, Executive Director of the High Desert Museum. Free, preregistration required www.aam-us.org/event/future...

Forecasting the impact of executive actions and orders on the nonprofit museum business model. Part 1: government funding. If EOs and budget manipulation become a norm for each new admin, will nonprofits ever be able to trust federal grant funding again? www.aam-us.org/2025/05/21/e...

Might this trend lead to more low income students entering museum careers, while their wealthier classmates go into tech? That could be good for diversity of museum staff, while perpetuating/exacerbating the national wealth gap

A new philanthropic philosophy even more bankrupt than effective altruism: "my contributions to technology are so awesome that they are more valuable than giving my money away." www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...

Thanks to @clurelise.bsky.social for taking the time to listen & share my story, clearly putting into words the uncertainty and anxiety many of us have about our professional futures.

US Copyright Office found AI companies sometimes breach copyright. Next day its boss was fired

Several articles recently highlight tech bros opining that AI will soon be able to displace most human labor, which they laud as a good and (profitable) thing. Not one has addressed how the masses will be able to afford to buy anything AI produces or sells. Thoughts? @ahines.bsky.social

Call your reps. Tell them it is unforgiveable to allow the Nonprofit Killer Bill to be slipped through. We know what it is.

A call for nonprofits shuttered by current disruptions to ensure the continued safety and availability of their data through an "Edit to Open" plan. By the CEO and the Project Manager of @techmatters.bsky.social ssir.org/articles/ent...

Recommend this Museum Archipelago episode from Ian Elsner revisiting the Enola Gay exhibit controversy from the 1980s. A timely reminder about the danger of censoring museums and scholars. www.museumarchipelago.com/110

A scenario I wrote in 2018 in which museums lose nonprofit status is looking a lot less like a wild card & more like a credible threat. What do do? communicate the value of museums, advocate with your government reps, explore alt income streams & business models. www.aam-us.org/2025/04/23/r...

Oped from the American Alliance of Museums, EveryLibrary, and the League of Women Voters. "This is about control—an attempt to control our history, and with it, the future of American democracy." www.newsweek.com/trump-admini...?

This Isn’t What I Signed Up For, But… Ed's announcment of the launch of his new newsletter, "This Isn't What I Signed Up For, But…" Since you've shown enough interest to subscribe to this blog, I think you might enjoy signing up for it!

This #NationalLibraryWeek, we're celebrating the power of libraries to endure—even in the face of unprecedented challenges. In our latest Vanishing Culture essay, @brewster.kahle.org shares why preserving the library system matters now more than ever: blog.archive.org/2025/04/07/v...

My most recent forecasting report, "TrendsWatch: mapping complexity," is now available as a free PDF download. Main topics include DEI backlash, digital vulnerabilities, and shifts in volunteerism. Please signal boost to share this resource as widely as possible. www.aam-us.org/2025/04/02/t...

If you, like me, are looking for firm details on what’s happened so far at NEH, here’s a list of programs that are marked as discontinued or cancelled on the website. This is a snapshot - I’m sure this the impacts will grow as more cuts unfold throughout the day. #NEH #DigitalHumanities

If you are planning to attend AAM2025 in Los Angeles, I hope you join me on Thursday, May 8 for a special screening of the documentary Dahomey, about repatriation of Benin Bronzes, followed by dinner discussion groups. www.aam-us.org/2025/03/24/s...

Project documenting DEI resources, events, pages and initiatives removed/deleted or at risk due to recent EOs, via @jbrodefrank.bsky.social

Signal boost for project collecting info on impact of EOs on research.

UbuWeb, a pirate library of avant-garde artifacts, closed in 2024. But last month, they started the site back up again. “Archiving reemerges as a strong form of resistance, a way of preserving crucial, subversive, and marginalized forms of expression.” [ubu.com]