Thomas Paine's Common Sense was published in 1776 and helped change the course of American history. Join In Pursuit for a live Substack conversation marking its 250th anniversary with @jimambuske.bsky.social and @lmchervinsky.bsky.social 🗓 Monday, January 5 at 7:30 PM ET inpursuit.substack.com

Since it’s official. Thanks 🙏 @newyorker.com. This feels pretty surreal.

Every so often, AI boosters will say their products are or soon will be capable of “Ph.D-level work” and then it becomes clear that they at a very basic level do not know what Ph.D level work is

The page proofs have arrived. THE CENTRAL FIRE OF THE IROQUOIS:A 500-YEAR HISTORY OF THE ONONDAGA NATION will be a very big (600 page) book out in Fall 2026. It’s been a long journey.

This episode helped me appreciate how the siege would have seemed to participants at the time, and not just the opening act to what would become a protracted war. I also love that you snuck in a LotR meme allusion.

Spending the day with three great early Americanists @kawulf.bsky.social, Jack Rakove, and Catherine Allgor for @inpursuitusa.bsky.social. Can't wait for you to hear from them in 2026. #history #earlyamerican #podcasts #books

ICYMI: That's our British Correspondent @gracemallon.bsky.social voicing the Austen family's memorial to Jane in Episode One: "First Impressions."

I'm seeing a lot of Jane Austen posting for her birthday! If you're feeling like celebrating you should check Anne's podcast! Episode one is UP: www.revolutionaryhistories.com/finding-jane...

I'm proud to say that this episode was co-written by my former graduate research assistant Annabelle Spencer! Featuring Rick Atkinson, @lmchervinsky.bsky.social, Brad Jones, and Rosemarie Zagarri.

Now Playing! "The Siege" Hours after the Battles of Lexington & Concord, rebel British Americans begin laying siege to Boston, trapping thousands of civilians and soldiers in town for months with dwindling supplies, compelling the British to make a costly assault on Breed's and Bunker's Hills.

A break from Christmas content to enjoy this capybara eating a banana. From François Froger's 'A relation of a voyage ...' (London, 1698).

Finding Jane Austen is NOW Playing on your favorite podcast app! Join us on Episode One: "First Impressions" as we dive into the life and legacy of Jane Austen. www.revolutionaryhistories.com/finding-jane...

Happy 250th Birthday to Jane Austen! Celebrate by listening to "First Impressions," the first chapter in the new podcast series Finding Jane Austen, now playing everywhere.

Tomorrow. The Search Begins. Follow "Finding Jane Austen" on your favorite podcast app to have the first episode waiting for you in the morning! #janeausten #history #books #literature

Totally surreal that after 12 years of working on this thing, it’s out of my hands. Coming to you in the Hodding Carter III imprint at @uncpress.bsky.social next fall! Huge thanks to @simpsonvos.bsky.social & the many, many people who helped along the way.

New Episode! "Recovering Black Mariners in the Atlantic World with Mary Hicks" Check out my conversation with Dr. Hicks about the stories she tells in Captive Cosmopolitans Black Mariners and the World of South Atlantic Slavery @uncpress.bsky.social podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/r...

I really loved this two years ago, but last year I didn't get enough messages to make it happen. Don't be shy! Tell me about the best history book you read this year for the year-end episode.

First, a reminder that we’re still accepting nominations of great work from throughout the year for our best-of-2025 thread later this month. Check out the call & please submit work, including (especially) your own! blackwhiteandread.com/announcements/

This week we also published its latest article in the Society's journal 'Transactions'. 'The Historian in the Age of AI' by @chriscampbell1.bsky.social explores what it means to be a historian, and why historical skills and craft need to defended and understood bit.ly/4atErTB #Skystorians 1/2

The last time a tartan army went to Boston things didn't work out too well for them or the locals.

Many missed opportunities for the Semiquincentennial Coin Program to highlight Americans and American history beyond the founders, but if this is the direction the US Mint has been ordered to go, maybe a less angry George Washington on one of the new quarters? www.usmint.gov/news/media-k...

Thanks Jim, for the wonderful convo on your great pod Revolutions in Retrospect!

David Lester, Paul Buhle, and I have created 4 graphic novels, all histories from below, published in the US by @beaconpress.bsky.social. They've been translated into Basque, Catalán, Japanese, Korean, Italian, Spanish, and Thai. We are looking for new translations. Any editors/presses to suggest?

Never forget that while I was working at a history institution @jimambuske.bsky.social hired literary @annefertig.bsky.social to keep me company (JK he hired her because she’s amazing) right before I gave my notice that the history job 😂 Very excited to see Anne’s Jane Austen podcast launch!

Next Tuesday, on the 250th anniversary of her birth, the search for Jane Austen begins. Join @annefertig.bsky.social on a journey to find the Jane you only thought you knew. Follow "Finding Jane Austen" on YouTube, Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your favorite podcasts.

Sarah Falls gave a great presentation recently at the Digital Archives in the Commonwealth Summit about the challenges the Library of Virginia is facing from hallucinogenic AI patron requests, pointing to the increased labor load required to vet requests and then work with patrons seeking ghosts.

Hi #booksky: My book on Americans’ centuries-long struggle over slavery’s place in George Washington’s legacy comes out next year. It shares the historical roots of today’s arguments about how we tell the story of the founders and slavery. More info and pre-order links: uncpress.org/978146969352...

Historians and Gender scholars: If you were creating a new U.S. women's history survey course, what books would be must-reads for lecture prep? They don't have to be new, and can include material from pre-colonial to the present. Give me a reading list! (I need to spend some PD funds)

Rewatched some Star Trek tonight. Still wild how a show about warp drives and weird nebulae ends up teaching the cleanest lessons about being human. Every episode says the same thing in its own way: ‘Be curious. Be brave. …Try not to fire phasers unless you really have to.”

AI-generated podcasts are on the rise. Will we let the artificial echo triumph over the human voice?

New book klaxon! Nick DiPucchio's _Before Manifest Destiny_ just arrived. Latest in the Revolutionary Age Series from @uvapress.bsky.social! I edit this series with Patrick Griffin, Lige Gould, & Christa Dierksheide with the peerless Nadine Zimmerli and it's one of the best parts of the job.

This a fascinating. Just listened to this and plan to use both book and your podcast in my practicum syllabus project. Thank you!

Team: I have an extra copy of Robert Parkinson's "Heart of American Darkness" and I want to give it to YOU. Enter to win by joining Revolutionary Histories on Patreon for FREE. I'll choose a winner on December 15th and ship it to you in time for the holidays. www.patreon.com/cw/Revolutio...

And YouTube! youtu.be/RdsjBFEIvec?...

New Episode! "Recovering Black Mariners in the Atlantic World with Mary Hicks" Check out my conversation with Dr. Hicks about the stories she tells in Captive Cosmopolitans Black Mariners and the World of South Atlantic Slavery @uncpress.bsky.social podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/r...

It's almost like Parliament ousted James II for nothing.

#OTD 1771, James Somerset, an enslaved person, was brought in front of the Court of King's Bench. Our Public Engagement Assistant @joempbaker.bsky.social explores the ensuing legal case Somerset v Stewart, and its impact on the transatlantic slave trade:

I rarely find satisfaction in my own work, but I think we nailed the ending of Worlds Turned Upside Down: Episode 21: The Vengeance Have a listen.

New publications for 2025-2026! This year we have two (!) volumes, focussed on different islands: Arran (Arran Rentals, 1576-1780: accounts & testaments) and Australia (Life & Adventures of G. R. Nicoll, 1824-1901: travel journal of a Scottish shipwright/blockmaker) www.scottishrecordsociety.org.uk

This is the kind of thing the founding generation saw the downside of and tried to move away from, for multiple good reasons. Want to learn more? Read my book. www.amazon.com/dp/110843229...

ICYMI: @adamxmcneil.bsky.social, @lynnprobbins.bsky.social, and I talk The American Revolution by Ken Burns www.youtube.com/live/WOBEMm8...

Suggestions needed: looking for an app for productivity and task management. Doesn't need to allow collaboration, just for me to manage short and long term projects and keep track of deadlines. Cheap is good but doesn't need to be free. Help?

Wrote 7 pages in 1 day! Now to spend 7 days on 1 footnote 🤣

Join our free Patreon for your chance to win Robert Parkinson's book Heart of American Darkness! www.patreon.com/cw/Revolutio...

Team: I have an extra copy of Robert Parkinson's "Heart of American Darkness" and I want to give it to YOU. Enter to win by joining Revolutionary Histories on Patreon for FREE. I'll choose a winner on December 15th and ship it to you in time for the holidays. www.patreon.com/cw/Revolutio...

Friends, please share? Brown2026 is advertising for its 3rd year of fellowships. Would love to have you consider this opportunity to work with us as we face 2026. Link to position and application info in the thread: And more info about the initiative is here: brown2026democracy.brown.edu 1/

We're live in 25 minutes. Join us! www.youtube.com/watch?v=WOBE...

As a prof, I do not care how quickly a student can write an answer under the stress of a timer. I care about what they actually know, learned, & can analyze. It didn't change my online course grades when I went from timed to untimed.

I really enjoyed the podcast episode about Lafayette's return trip to America too. Relevant to the merchants I'm currently researching who managed to get involved in both revolutions.

Tonight! Join @lynnprobbins.bsky.social, @adamxmcneil.bsky.social , & @jimambuske.bsky.social at 8pmEST. They will be answering your questions about Ken Burns' latest series. Sign up for the link and have your questions ready! #HATM #AmericanHistory #EarlyAmerica #KenBurns #18thCentury