Will credit this for being a very good bit

The moment when you look outside and notice it’s gone from snowing to *snowing.* 🥰

The Pope is visiting Turkey for Thanksgiving—which I choose to believe is because he has a good sense of humor but is said to commemorate the 1,700th anniversary of the First Council of Nicaea. In celebration, a recently discovered third century fresco of Jesus as the Good Shepherd was unveiled.

How could Jefferson see himself as antislavery while owning and exploiting hundreds of human beings? The distinguished historian @agordonreed.bsky.social on the riddle of the American sphinx. www.nybooks.com/articles/202...

i’m so happy for him

It's not hip, and it's not going to become a buzzy destination for D.C.'s scenesters. But the drinks serve a higher purpose: to help train MPD cadets and officers on spotting drunk drivers, and get them off the road. My dispatch from MPD's wet lab for @51st.news: 51st.news/wet-lab-dc-p...

True story! 😂

This is so so good

Machiavelli: It is better to be feared than loved, but you must absolutely avoid being *hated.* So many forget that last part.

A Michigan appeals court ruled that the city of Detroit failed to follow *its own laws* about public oversight of surveillance tech. These laws are crucial bc "Automated license plate readers, facial recognition, body-worn cameras, drones, and the Real Time Crime Center are all active in the city."

I am quoted in this Globe article as Director of American Studies at BU, and I like my quote very much: “It's a value to society to have people highly educated in disciplines, whether they teach at universities or not.”

Teachers call this “backwards design” and military logistics planners use it, too. The last time I managed Thanksgiving dinner, I had a whiteboard with times everything went in and out of the oven. Definitely recommend!

Also, can confirm: watching Wicked: For Good with your childhood bestie will make you cry buckets. No regrets.

Movie theater popcorn and Diet Coke is the lunch of champions.

the entirety of human history has actually been manipulation by cats to get them to every corner of earth.

Up next in our live (mostly classical) music tour: Danish String Quartet. Looking forward to this interesting program.

The #ConstellationPrize celebrates engineers whose work embodies environmental protection, social justice, human rights, and peace. Nominations open through January 7 for US-based engineers and their collaborators who are reimagining what engineering is for: www.constellationprize.org/nominations

Really delighted to welcome @meaghanbrown.bsky.social to the JCB - only 3 weeks and she’s already making things happen! 😃

Many years ago, I helped set up The Returning Soldier Network, but circumstances meant that I had to step away for a few years as I tried to find secure work. Yesterday, I returned back into the fold as one of the project leads! So watch this space, plans are brewing... @milwelfhist.bsky.social

Since the issues are back in the news again, it seems a good time to reiterate that service people have both rights and responsibilities. Refusing to carry out illegal and especially unconstitutional orders is both. www.npr.org/2025/11/20/n...

A third-year PhD advisee of mine is interested in remote summer research associate/fellowship opportunities. She already knows about RAND's summer associate program . . . are there others?

squirrel: *points gun* me: what do you want me to do? squirrel: *gestures at sign* me: alright, i get it *opens book drop* squirrel: *makes hurry-up motion* me: NOT A SQUIRREL! squirrel: *disappears into book drop* me: *whispers* forgive me, keith

As we grow old, we can grow frail. But did you know we can also grow frail SOCIALLY? And that this can put us at a greater risk for dementia? Social frailty is much, much more than loneliness. www.nationalgeographic.com/health/artic...

The San Diego State University Department of History seeks to fill the USS Midway Chair in Modern US Military History, an open-rank and endowed position with expertise in modern U.S. military history. Deadline to apply: January 5, 2026. careers.sdsu.edu/en-us/job/55...

JOB POSTING! Andrew W. Mellon Curator of Rare Books and Prints at the @folger.edu amherst.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/FSL_Em...

Save the date! This year’s #GivingTuesday is December 2. 💛💙 This year, 100% of the funds raised by Rackham on Giving Tuesday support University of Michigan's Summer Research Opportunity Program (SROP). Learn more and support SROP this #GivingTuesday: donate.umich.edu/Bw38Y #UMich #GivingTuesday

UMass-Amherst is hiring “a specialist in the visual arts, architecture, and/or material culture of the Islamic world” ! careers.umass.edu/amherst/en-u...

In Germany, historians are wrapping up a 20-year project to investigate the Nazi involvement of postwar West Germany government officials. Samuel Miner writes about what the project did and what future work could include in #AHAPerspectives. 🗃️

5. Chicago's rat hole was actually made by a squirrel. Which TBH I did call at the time, and so did a bunch of rodent experts. The toe lengths gave it away. www.science.org/content/arti...

Imagine escaping the literal Nazis, making it to America, living three quarters of a century there making your life, and then this:

My experience has been with adults and young people alike, is that Americans want a history that tells the bad along with the good. They are smart enough to know that that is the nature of life.

This week the House is set to vote on two bills targeting D.C.'s criminal justice laws. One would repeal a 2020 city law that imposed new training, discipline, and disclosure standards on police. The other would bring cash bail back to D.C. 30 years after it was eliminated.

_The American Revolution_ offers a look at how complex and violent — and also inspiring— the American founding was. Getting huge coverage, it may give folks time to digest that complexity as 2026 commences. Premieres tonight + PBS has preview clips of all episodes. www.pbs.org/show/the-ame...

Dense and internecine, like so many insider disputes. But what a gobsmacking level of thuggery outlined here.

"But stubborn and principled often look the same, especially to those who are unprincipled." - Jim Ryan

Whoever this Dominique Baker is, she's got some concerns about the recent developments at UVA www.notus.org/education/ju...

Im not in the right area and I don’t have the space but you may be luckier!

Note also the stamp cancellation: “Karlsbad 1 / I’m befreiten Sudetenland” (Karlovy Vary / in liberated Sudetenland)

Wow

So much to be shocked about in this world, and I try to stay here on things I know something abt. Must read Jim Ryan letter (worth going back to summer coverage of the board reconfiguration) recounting actions of the Governor's office and UVA board truly shocking. www.chronicle.com/article/stun...

Reposting news of a generous billionaire wanting to do good.

For information about accessibility at the #AHA26 annual meeting, the hotels, and transportation around Chicago, check out our Accessibility Guide. 🗃️

For folks (and journalists) who want to search the Oversight Committee email texts, I made a database for searching the 20k text files: splendorous-chaja-f79791.netlify.app

I’ve been writing about the politics and impact of Donald Trump on the US and world, with special attention to Europe and the University of Michigan, and most of it is free to read. This thread, in order, brings it all together. I hope it’s useful as a resource on the different issues.

All are invited to attend this webinar, Publishing with a University Press, on Thurs 11/13. This is the 2nd in a 4-part publishing series organized by our Faculty Outreach Committee with the Rutgers Ctr for Minority Serving Institutions. Register here: https://buff.ly/38DpVOR

Fun fact: every year, they ring the bell at the Mariners’ Church in Detroit. 29 times for each life lost on the Fitzgerald, once for all sailors lost at sea, and, since his 2023 death, once for Gordon Lightfoot for 31 peals in all.

From #AHAPerspectives in 2015: Nancy F. Cott explains how the Supreme Court's landmark decision on same-sex marriage featured differences in historical interpretation of the institution of marriage in the majority and dissenting opinions. 🗃️