Latest for the 2nd Plague Pandemic bibliography: my own "The Future of Time: Methodological Dialogues between Philology, Archaeology, & Genomics." Part of @medievalacademy.bsky.social's centennial special issue: www.journals.uchicago.edu/toc/spc/2026.... My argument? Let's synchronize our watches!

Read this absolute banger of an article by Michelle Wang in the new issue of Speculum! www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/...

why would you watch the yule log loop video when you could watch this

I just got online to post about the very same thing: doi.org/10.1086/737977. #AI #MedievalSky

For more volvelles, medieval science, and a shout-out to @sebfalk.com's book, see also today's Linda Hall Library post on John Westwyk, whose 14th-century manuscript on an astronomical instrument was originally attributed to Geoffrey Chaucer: www.lindahall.org/about/news/s... #HistSci #MedievalSky

Opened the latest issue of Speculum and wasn't expecting this downright Borgian alt-history about the end of the Medieval Academy in 2083: #medievalsky

I understand that allocating grant money is complicated. Equity, access, prioritization, practical questions and fundamental research. I get that it's a hard, collective problem. But holy cow, we are NOT crushing it.

Notice of upcoming lecture on 13 Jan. Sponsored by @csmbr-pisa.bsky.social. Of interest to #MedievalSky #EarlyModern #VastEarlyAmerica #EpiSky #histmed

Year 1 data on congestion pricing in Manhattan… * Vehicle traffic: -11% * Foot traffic: +3.4% * Storefront vacancy: -0.9% * Pollution: -22% * Revenue for mass transit: $548M So YES this has been a huge success.

This is paywalled, but those who can get access thru their libraries should have a look. This is the heart of the LLM problem. In History, we have a concept of "common knowledge." I don't have to cite a source for Lincoln's death date b/c "everybody knows." Where will that new standard be drawn?

Latest addition to the 2nd Plague Pandemic bibliography: Modolo & Tomasin, "I testi ultimi: quindici cedole femminili veneziane dell’anno della peste nera (1348)," revistas.ucm.es/index.php/CF.... Last wills of 15 ♀️, from the year the Black Death struck Venice. A literary analysis of sentiments.

Registration is now open for my 13 Jan 2026 public lecture, "The Transformation of Infectious Disease Histories: Three Decades of Paleogenetics and Historians’ Responses," csmbr.fondazionecomel.org/events/onlin.... Sponsored by @csmbr-pisa.bsky.social. #histmed #aDNA #PandemicThinking

Seems like it's worth posting this one again.

Another new addition to the 2nd Plague Pandemic bibliography: Ramasindrazana, et al. 2025, journals.plos.org/plosntds/art.... Another case where the plague science coming from Madagascar has huge potential to inform historical studies of plague, here showing low-level persistence in rodent pops.

Latest addition to the 2nd Plague Pandemic bibliography: Caballero Navas & García Campos, "Health and Segregation: Iberian Jewish Responses to the Crisis of the Late Fifteenth Century," oajournals.fupress.net/index.php/cr.... Not specifically about plague, but important for #PublicHealthHistory.

Just hit "Follow All." 2 seconds to improving the whole world.

I knew history graduate students who were doing research for Lumbee recognition in the early 90s. And that was a century in.

Just hit "Follow All." 2 seconds to improving the whole world.

Behold: the first-ever list of news outlets that have banned generative AI in their reporting. As of today, this is literally information that you cannot find on Google. My goal is to fill the starter pack, so please send over suggestions with supporting evidence! go.bsky.app/8cn1XfT

It was such a joy to celebrate Hanukkah with Mandy, Kathryn and their son, Gideon. As Jewish New Yorkers across our city prepare to light candles and mark the seventh night today, I wish you and your families a Hanukkah full of light and love. youtu.be/KIxAKyioXng

...and the same page under UV light, upside down, so we can see the 5th-c. Gothic in the left column and Latin in Uncials at right. The text is Romans 13:1-4. This entry explains what texts are where diglib.hab.de?db=mss&list=... The digitized MS is best viewed here: diglib.hab.de/wdb.php?poin...

Very important

i've seen this first-hand hand now. so much effort to put together a competitive grant and 99% of applicants will have nothing to show for it

@science.org www.science.org/content/arti...

What American institutions are standing up and "meeting the moment"? Sleeping giants awake: US foundations. Podcast with head of MacArthur Foundation, John Palfrey. fallows.substack.com/p/this-is-th...

From @jfallows.bsky.social newsletter today: "we can & must recognize those who are standing up, to defend the values & institutions that the Trump team, during its furious decline, is still in a position to damage or destroy. ... I want to start chronicling who has stood where, when it matters."

If once one sees the Bayeux Tapestry (in Bayeux France) you will never get it out of your mind - It is stretched in a winding walk around and is amazing to know it's history once aware how it came to be embroidered en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bayeux_...

I was able to get this small note placed in @science.org. It may seem an obscure note. It's significance likely won't be apparent until next year. But getting a science journal to accept the work of a medieval historian is itself a big deal. Stay tuned for more! #histmed bsky.app/profile/moni...

brilliant

My pr firm, KRPR, managed this 60 Minutes piece about the youth orchestra Equity Arc. Trump cancelled their trip to DC when he banned ‘dei’. But Equity Arc fought back! These kids rule! equityarc.org/watch-the-fu...

Hey, so. The world is awful, etc. And because of that, I'd like to ask a favor: Please spend a few minutes between now and New Years sharing the work you were most proud of this year. People might have missed it, but also, it's nice to see people feel good about the work they do

This is the core project of Trumpism 2.0

I was interviewed for @theguardian.com by the wonderful @melodyschreiber.com, one of the finest health reporters in the world, about what I called a “neocolonialist” study planned by Danish researchers in Guinea-Bissau, funded by RFK Jr. So many red flags 🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩 www.theguardian.com/society/2025...

<Canada-based scholars suffering from post-SSHRC-application-traumatic-stress-disorder nodding in agreement>

The wife is sitting through the holidays drafting 2 funding applications, one of them a second attempt at an EU Erasmus grant. We've had two successful applications & the overhead with regards to admin is enormous.

I'll add that the ridiculous length of European applications certainly must add not inconsiderable person hours to the drafting and reviewing process.

This 🧵 is absolutely insane documentation of the bibliographic catastrophe that's already started w/ AI. My sympathies to @benpatrickwill.bsky.social, his (real) co-authors, & to the students, librarians, journal editors, & readers who will be tearing their hair out. And this is just one example!

“Slatton immediately submitted her client’s birth certificate along with sworn affidavits from family members present at her birth. She expected ICE to pause, review, and release her. Instead, the agency transferred Diaz Morales from Maryland to Louisiana …” www.nickvalencianews.com/p/ice-detain...

This report in Nature on the costs of competing for & administering scientific grants is shocking: "In other words, European taxpayers will have spent more on the funding process than on the funding itself, and the scientific ecosystem has been drained." www.nature.com/articles/d41... 🧪

It has been a remarkable year of discoveries. From ancient Pompeii, to the medieval Avars, to the American Southwest. Plus some advances in 3D organization of ancient genomes and an ancient disease with unexpected roots. And lots about Denisovans! www.johnhawks.net/p/top-10-dis...

NEW: Colorado Sens Hickenlooper and Bennet announce they're putting a hold on the Senate appropriations package to demand funding for NCAR. Bennet said today that the Trump administration's move to dismantle the climate/weather lab is retaliation for Tina Peters' imprisonment.

Fun fact: the key term used in these discussions is clinical equipoise. Essentially, for a study to be ethical there must be a genuine uncertainty whether the intervention (withholding the vaccine) or the standard approach (giving the vaccine) is better for patients. This study is 100% unethical.

"The razing of the White House's East Wing for the construction of a ballroom is almost too obvious a metaphor for Trump's policy of destruction of leadership in health and science: the tearing down of venerable and respected institutions, to be replaced by a self-serving and vainglorious facade."

The "poverty penalty." Excellent points.

The White House says the Kennedy Center board vote was “unanimous”… BULLSHIT. @repbeatty.bsky.social, a Congressional member of the board, was on the call. They muted her and didn't let her voice opposition. This is beyond absurd, totally illegal, and a disgrace to the memory and legacy of JFK.

The planned hepatitis B birth-dose trial in Guinea-Bissau raises serious ethical concerns. Withholding a proven, life-saving vaccine from newborns to answer speculative questions is an absence of equipoise with real downstream harms for trust in vaccines. bktitanji.substack.com/p/how-unethi...

This about sums it up, folks. www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...

The US has already lost 12% of its current income due to climate change. Most studies project future losses, but new research from the University of Arizona has calculated the costs to date. news.arizona.edu/news/climate... #climatechange #economy #income #impacts #supplychains

The imaging special edition of the Bulletin of the John Rylands Library is now published! Read it for FREE, fully open access via @manchesterup.bsky.social www.manchesterhive.com/view/journal...