iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by Ben Railton

The Gray Sage @walterdgreason.bsky.social · 2h

#comics Taking graphic art seriously. @kurtbusiek.bsky.social

Reposted by Ben Railton

Marianne Dhenin @mariannedhe.bsky.social · 6h

I edit over at the Urban History Association's blog, The Metropole, and we're looking for book reviewers! Here are some titles we're interested in. If you'd like to review one (and get the book free), lmk! 🧵 CC @urbanhistorya.bsky.social

376

Ben Railton @americanstudier.bsky.social · 7h

The excellent folks at SABR have just released a new publication, free in e-book, entitled How We Played the Game: Baseball at Manzanar, 1942-1945 (also the subject of my podcast's season 2!). It's edited by Ross Speiller & James Forr, & y'all should definitely check it out! 🗃️ +

sabr.org

Baseball at Manzanar: How We Played the Game, 1942-1945 – Society for American Baseball Research

262

Ben Railton @americanstudier.bsky.social · 9h

Share something simply & profoundly human every day.

061

Ben Railton @americanstudier.bsky.social · 10h

Teenage Ben is very happy he is now taking a commuter train a couple days a week on which he gets to hear the conductor announce “Shirley!”

static.klipy.com

Don't Call Me Shirley - Leslie Nielsen

Alt: Don't Call Me Shirley - Leslie Nielsen

0100

Ben Railton @americanstudier.bsky.social · 22h

Have you checked out Vaughn’s phenomenal, evolving Pitchables page, full of places where you can submit your public scholarship? That & much more in today’s blog post for our website’s 1-year anniversary! 🗃️ @hcrichardson.bsky.social

04019

Ben Railton @americanstudier.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Not gonna lie though, all the non-Phillies fans on her rooting for the Phillies does make Younger Ben come out a bit again & feel (& root) some kinda way.

010

Ben Railton @americanstudier.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

I'm still damn interested in baseball & America--see next week's new @satevepost.bsky.social Considering History column for proof, or both seasons of my podcast--but: Younger Ben would have been living & dying with the Bravos in the playoffs. Older Ben's blood pressure prefers it this way.

saturdayeveningpost.com

Considering History: The Atlanta Braves and the Worst and Best of Baseball in America | The Saturday Evening Post

American studies professor Ben Railton looks how the history of the Braves reflect the highs and lows of baseball.

120

Ben Railton @americanstudier.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Teaching Susan Glaspell's absolute banger of a one-act play Trifles (1916) in my 20C American Women Writers course this week. If you haven't read it, you should. Carry on. www.one-act-plays.com/dramas/trifl...

one-act-plays.com

Trifles - a one-act play by Susan Glaspell

Complete text of the one-act play by Susan Glaspell.

120

Ben Railton @americanstudier.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Even Sylvia Plath would say that this metaphor is too aggressive.

072

Reposted by Ben Railton

Presidencies Podcast @presidencies.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Thanks so much to @americanstudier.bsky.social for including the latest Monroe presidency episode in this week's #ScholarSunday thread. If you're looking for some great scholarship to engage with this week, check it out for articles, books, podcasts, and more!

031

Ben Railton @americanstudier.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Chair of the program in cognitive science, no less. Really makes you think.

030

Ben Railton @americanstudier.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Review Roulette features many delightful subgenres of writing, & y'all should be reading them all. But there can be no doubt that "Vaughn describes Hollywood Legends who have to communicate Filthy Desires through witty Cinematic Choices" sits atop the list. See for ya self!

063

Reposted by Ben Railton

Dr. Vaughn Joy @gvaughnjoy.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

My favorite genre is "Code-era smut" because they put the dirtiest things in these movies (like Gary Cooper insinuating he's too down bad to be gentle with Barbara Stanwyck) but they make it sweet by pretending the film is just a cute lil Damon Runyon meets Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs fairy tale

blackwhiteandread.com

The Horniest Nerds You Ever Did See – Black and White and Read All Over

A Formalist Approach to Ball of Fire (1941)

4357

Ben Railton @americanstudier.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

One year ago this past weekend, @gvaughnjoy.bsky.social & I launched Black & White & Read All Over, our public scholarly website. One year ago today, Biscuits came home with us. Obviously one of those things is most important, so I'll start this week's blog thread with the site's page for her. +

blackwhiteandread.com

Biscuits – Black and White and Read All Over

3266

Reposted by Ben Railton

Dr. Vaughn Joy @gvaughnjoy.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

A student just said "I wish all my professors were like Dr. Joy" and I said you're god damn right. I can submit that as an evaluation on job applications, right?

1291

Reposted by Ben Railton

The Gray Sage @walterdgreason.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Building community is at the top of this list. bsky.app/profile/amer...

021

Ben Railton @americanstudier.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Happy Ed Sullivan Day & John Sayles Day! Great day to think about the complementary connections of pop & indie culture! memorydaycalendar.blogspot.com/p/september-...

memorydaycalendar.blogspot.com

September Nominees

September 1: James Gordon Bennett, Sr ., the Scottish immigrant, journalist, and editor whose New York Herald pioneered virtually every s...

160

Reposted by Ben Railton

Dr. Vaughn Joy @gvaughnjoy.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

AND it's Open Access! Free for all with a web connection from the publisher's site, B&N, Kindle, wherever you get e-books!

1112

Ben Railton @americanstudier.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Once more before the weekend ends, here's today's #ScholarSunday thread. I'd really appreciate folks sharing the thread to get all this great public scholarship out there widely, thanks! 🗃️ @hcrichardson.bsky.social

17332

Reposted by Ben Railton

Ben Railton @americanstudier.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

The first weekend of autumn brings not only a nor’easter, but also a great reason to stay hunkered down: my 295th #ScholarSunday thread of public scholarly writing, podcast episodes, new & forthcoming books from the past week. Add more below, share widely, & enjoy the scholarly storm, all! 🗃️ +

blackwhiteandread.com

#ScholarSunday Thread 295 (9/27/26) – Black and White and Read All Over

The first weekend of autumn brings not only a nor’easter, but also a great reason to stay hunkered down: my 295th #ScholarSunday thread of great public scholarly writing, podcast episodes, new & forth...

34026

Reposted by Ben Railton

Einav Rabinovitch-Fox @einavrfox.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Check out Ben’s thread with lots of interesting things and scholars

031

Reposted by Ben Railton

Brandon Walsh @walshbr.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Embedded Pedagogies mentioned here alongside a wealth of other great writing. Thanks for sharing, @americanstudier.bsky.social!

182

Reposted by Ben Railton

The Gray Sage @walterdgreason.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Another collection of great resources! #BookSky @barackobama.bsky.social

051

Ben Railton @americanstudier.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

blackwhiteandread.com

#ScholarSunday Thread 295 (9/27/26) – Black and White and Read All Over

34026

Ben Railton @americanstudier.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Seconding everything but with an important correction: Vaughn did all the design in every sense (check out that penguin!), & continues to be our webmaster extraordinaire. Truly exceptional work & a model of digital public scholarship that I’m honored to be part of! 🗃️

1205

Reposted by Ben Railton

Dr. Vaughn Joy @gvaughnjoy.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

It's our first anniversary!!! 🎉🎉🎉 Not of marriage, but of @americanstudier.bsky.social's and my public scholarly website Black & White & Read All Over! I'm so proud of this website that got us both off Substack and has developed into a home for our work & resources for first-gen & indie scholars 🥹

blackwhiteandread.com

Black and White and Read All Over

Where Scholarship Meets the Public

095

Reposted by Ben Railton

Katherine Yngve ❌👑 @purpletiger.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

A brilliant, inspiring example of critical patriotism. 🙏 Lonnie Bunch! #LetsTellTheTrut [PS. Don't recognize the term critical patriotism or want to know more about the various archetypes of patriotism? Read "Of Thee I Sing" by @americanstudier.bsky.social ] www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

theguardian.com

‘Let’s tell the truth’: Smithsonian head given standing ovation as he hits back at Trump attacks

Outgoing secretary Lonnie Bunch rejects claims the institution is unpatriotic, telling audience ‘You cannot understand all without illuminating the dark corners’

141

Ben Railton @americanstudier.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Hi, I’m the guy who wants job interviews and the job search and jobs to be just a little bit more human. You must be the other guy.

0181

Ben Railton @americanstudier.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

You know what I think about Mike Lee's gross racism toward Xi, Chinese food, etc.? I think we ignore that hateful bigot & focus on the amazing stories of Chinese Americans from the last 200 years--such as the Celestials semi-pro baseball team from 1870s CT on whom my first podcast season focused! 🗃️

blackwhiteandread.com

Baseball, Bigotry, and the Battle for America – Black and White and Read All Over

Season 2: Diamond in the Rough A system of horrific, inhumane camps where more than 120,000 Japanese Americans were incarcerated. Homegrown baseball diamonds at the camps that became sites of communal...

1299

Ben Railton @americanstudier.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

May every organization be as lucky as @northeastmla.bsky.social is, to have an event organizer as thoughtful, flexible, supportive, & dedicated as @gvaughnjoy.bsky.social is to the interdisciplinary roundtable series she started & runs. The 2nd in the series going now, & watch this space for more!

130

Ben Railton @americanstudier.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

& I'd add this quote, from James Madison at the Constitutional Convention on the need for impeachment: "He might lose his capacity after his appointment. He might pervert his administration into a scheme of peculation [financial gain] or oppression. He might betray his trust to foreign powers."

1257

Ben Railton @americanstudier.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Is the Mall still full of excess porta-potties? Hear me out…

050

Ben Railton @americanstudier.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

11 short stories in national magazines by the age of 23. A quarter-century of radio silence after marriage. & a return to publish five children's books about her native Mexico. That & more in today's Hispanic Heritage Month blog post on María Cristina Mena Chambers! 🗃️ @hcrichardson.bsky.social

091

Ben Railton @americanstudier.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

The only thing better than watching a film with Vaughn & Da Biscuits is knowing I'll get to read & share her delightful Review Roulette piece on it as well. Check!

161

Reposted by Ben Railton

Dr. Vaughn Joy @gvaughnjoy.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

This week I watched Mystic Pizza which feels like eating an apple cider donut with a nice coffee in a big chunky sweater and blanket while listening to rustling leaves (apart from a momentary Mar-a-Lago jump scare), and it has such a classic 80s, precious little buried metaphor, ugh what a delight.

blackwhiteandread.com

Big Comfort Watch. Big. HUGE! – Black and White and Read All Over

A Textual & Symbolism Approach to Mystic Pizza (1988)

6314

Ben Railton @americanstudier.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

When Frederick Douglass published his first autobiography, the Narrative of the Life... in 1845, he purposefully included no specifics about his escape in order to protect both those who had aided him & those enslaved people who might escape in a similar way. Which is to say, maybe don't, Atlantic.

14311