1. Three years ago, I set out to write a book to understand what happened to the world, America, and myself as the undertow of history pulled us into the currents of nationalism and authoritarianism – and what we should do about it. I hope you’ll read it:

2. I travelled the world to learn the stories of individuals – dissidents, opposition figures, and young people making sense of it all. I found that the same things were happening everywhere in ways that let me understand better what’s happening in America.

3. I talked to Russians like Alexei Navalny, who told me his story and what motivates him to risk his life for a Russia that isn’t corrupt, that speaks to the grievances that Russians feel in their bones without enriching a cabal that has hijacked Russian identity.

4. I met with Hungarians who described how Viktor Orban transformed himself from an anti-Communist liberal to a far right autocrat, who pursued a playbook that is eerily similar to what the Republican Party has done in the US over the last decade. And what they’re doing about it.

5. I met with Hong Kong protesters and young people whose movement should be heard as a courageous and innovative warning about the future of technology-fueled totalitarianism encroaching on their city, identity, and the wider world. And learned how people are wrestling with that

Looking for reading material to help you stay comfy & warm on this frigid January day? Well, it’s easy as another #ScholarSunday morning thread of public scholarly work from the last week! #twitterstorians

Great @benbarber96 interview of @AngieMaxwell1 for @facingsouth on countering the “Long Southern

& an equally vital @FAIRmediawatch interview w/@KeriLeighMerrit on the Lost

& one more excellent interview, @nhannahjones w/@VelshiMSNBC on Mike Pompeo’s departing attacks on multicultural

wrote a couple wonderful pieces this week. This one for @madebyhistory on Warnock’s victory & Black

28 Recommended Books That Will Improve Your Writing And Freelance Business Right Now:

📖 On Writing by Stephen King

Stephen King’s classic will appeal even to those who avoid King’s renowned horror-packed tales. In this book, King discusses how he came to be the writer we know today.

📖 The Writing Life by Annie Dillard

Annie writes about how hard it is to write and how sometimes it is necessary to destroy paragraphs, phrases and words to re-form them as something even better.

📖 Word Work: Surviving and Thriving as a Writer by Bruce Holland Rogers

Word Work is packed with practical advice for overcoming procrastination, finding happiness in writing and even conquering writer’s block. It also covers how to handle rejection and success.

📖 Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott

Bird by Bird is an essential part of any writer’s toolbox. In this work, Lamott shares herself and her craft with readers, including anecdotes that tie the pieces together into all-around great writing.

OK. I'm about to read the #1776Report. I'll see you in Hell.

When a student's essay starts with a word jumble that says absolutely nothing, I know I'm about to have a bad time.

Our purpose is to provide easily regurgitated propaganda that prevents any need for critical thinking.

Hit 'em right off the bat with the positivist bullshit! Any competent historian will smell it on the first page.

Just read the words! You don't need to know the context. In fact, we'd strongly prefer if you never placed any historical facts into context.

1/ Merry Christmas everyone! I'm a very odd and eccentric person, so after some Yuletide joy and wine drinking, my thoughts turn to what archaeologists of the future might make of my remains if I were to die in a sudden disaster, like the Vesuvius eruption.
(Quick disclaimer...

2/ I'm not an archaeologist - just someone who takes a keen amateur interest in these things)
After, let's say, a thousand years, and without very particular conditions of preservation that are unlikely in this climate, it's likely that all skin, gristle and textiles would have

3/ rotted into nothingness.
So, what's left?
My bones.
Presuming they're in a decent state of preservation, archaeologists would be able to tell from my brow ridges and gracile bones that I was probably a natal woman.
The eruption of my wisdom teeth and the condition of my

4/ pelvis would indicate I was 30-50 years old at time of death and had had at least one child.
Analysis of bones would indicate I had a land based diet, lived in N. Europe and was well-nourished. Lack of joint wear and tear shows I had undertaken no strenuous physical labour.

5/ What else would be left of me... most likely the sparkly beads on my clothes - both on the collar of my dress and my cardigan. They're made of gum/plastic - made to imitate gems, but very cheap. In the far future, finds like this would be plentiful. Archaeologists would likely