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Brian Leech

@brianleechphd.bsky.social
4.8K followers 3.9K following 340 posts

Historian of American West, Midwest, environmental history, mining, energy, food, animals. Currently working on a book about the history of U.S. speed limits & another book about mining in popular culture. brianleechphd.net

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Brian Leech @brianleechphd.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Glad to see a judge overturn the decision to close the Iowa City branch of the State Historical Society of Iowa’s archives, which seems to have come before the Iowa Department of Administrative Services could enact a plan to completely dispose of 60% of the archive’s holdings.
qconline.com
Iowa City Historical Society closure overturned after yearlong battle
A Johnson County judge recently ordered the State Historical Society of Iowa to reopen its Iowa City branch after a yearlong legal battle.
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Monica H Green @monicamedhist.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Very cool! The Medieval Academy of America & @uchicagopress.bsky.social have kindly agreed to temporarily lift the paywall on a short essay I published a few months ago: www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/.... Dating, dating, dating. Vital for the historian; essential for interdisc. dialogue.
journals.uchicago.edu
The Future of Time: Methodological Dialogues between Philology, Archaeology, and Genomics | Speculum: Vol 101, No 1
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SCMS Fan and Audience Studies SIG @scmsfaas.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Join us for our first event of the year, a talk with Henry Jenkins and Robert Kozinets about their book series, Frames of Fandom, on Tues, Oct. 16 at 9am/12pm/5pm. Register here: tinyurl.com/faasframesev.... A Zoom link will be emailed to you prior to the event.
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Monica H Green @monicamedhist.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
Another hoard of Viking coins is found, this time in Finland: www.livescience.com/archaeology/... #MedievalSky
livescience.com
Finland's largest Viking Age silver hoard discovered by metal detectorist — and it has thousands of coins and pieces of jewelry
The largest Viking Age silver hoard ever found in Finland was unearthed by a metal detectorist north of Helsinki.
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Asheesh Kapur Siddique @asheeshks.org · 11/09/2026
According to a meeting I was in, UMass estimates that if the capacity of these tools were maxed out by student, faculty, staff users, the total cost to the university would be $130,000/day, or about $47 million / year.
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Jane Coaston @janecoaston.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
This piece was fascinating, getting at a point I'd never considered: bin-Laden's entire concept about what 9/11 would do to America was just... wrong. www.theatlantic.com/magazine/202...
Bin Laden was equally clear about how he thought terrorism would yield his desired result. In a March 1997 CNN interview with Peter Bergen, he spoke of transferring “the battle into the United States.” In a May 2000 speech, he told supporters that the war would henceforth be waged “against the United States, in the United States.” Americans, he observed to ABC’s John Miller in 1998, cannot tolerate pain, and will react to attacks not by fighting back and blaming al‑Qaeda, but instead by asking “what their government has done that forced us to defend ourselves.” In a November 2001 interview, he hinted at a theory of political change in America: Its citizens should “take the same stand that they did previously,” when they protested the Vietnam War and the presidents who waged it.
Nelly Lahoud, a professor at the Army War College and the author of the definitive book on the Abbottabad documents, told me this political pipe dream was bin Laden’s whole plan: “to replicate the anti–Vietnam War movement of the United States, to get the American public to put pressure on the U.S. government to withdraw its forces from the Middle East.” The documents reveal a man and an organization blindsided by the American reaction to the September 11 attacks. Bin Laden and his associates “didn’t think that the United States would respond by waging war,” Lahoud said. He did not contemplate or plan for the long-term occupation of Afghanistan, nor did he expect the methodical killing of his operatives in a campaign that lasted years.
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Brian Leech @brianleechphd.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
My community is awash in car washes. Here in the Midwest they use a lot of salt on the roads during snowy periods, so there is a reason to wash your car during the winter/spring, but I honestly can’t figure out if there’s another reason to wash a car on a regular basis…doesn’t rain work?
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NiCHE Canada @nichecanada.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
"Pitching, Pitfalls, Soundbites and Historians: Lessons from the Lake Ontario Naming Dispute" is a conversation between our two editors @maryeb.bsky.social and @danielmacfarlane.bsky.social about Macfarlane's recent Lake Ontario media attention. niche-canada.org/2026/09/05/p... #envhist #cdnhist
niche-canada.org
Pitching, Pitfalls, Soundbites and Historians: Lessons from the Lake Ontario Naming Dispute
After a controversial presidential proposal regarding Lake Ontario, historian Dan Macfarlane gained sudden media attention, sharing advice on handling press.
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Daniella M. @farsouthhistory.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Awesome looking position at WPI #envhist #histsci #exploration wpi.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/WPI_Ex...
wpi.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com
Assistant Teaching Professor in Histories of the Environment, Science, and Technology
JOB TITLE Assistant Teaching Professor in Histories of the Environment, Science, and Technology LOCATION Worcester DEPARTMENT NAME Humanities & Arts DIVISION NAME Worcester Polytechnic Institute -...
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Dael Norwood @dael.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
I am not a member of the AHA, but I agree it’s worth reading this statement, in dialogue w/ the original Chronicle piece. This section of the AHA statement seems to corroborate, not refute, one of the core criticisms. They agree the lobbying firm advised them on how to handle members’ activism.
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Rob Taber @robtaber.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
If you read or shared that Chronicle piece on the AHA's hiring of lobbyists, I recommend reading the AHA's response.
historians.org
The AHA’s Government Relations Work: An Update for Members - AHA
For many years, the AHA has believed that its advocacy works best when it is informed by experts in governmental affairs work. We have always been open about these partnerships, but as misinformation ...
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James Nalton @jdnalton.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Laying off your soccer reporter when Lionel Messi is playing in your city is a sorry state of affairs.
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Bill Grueskin @bgrueskin.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Good lord www.poynter.org/business-wor...
executive ncer micnael
Applegate. The Miami Herald, which had 20 layoffs and eliminated 10 vacant positions, lost its city of Miami and city of Miami Beach beats, said deputy investigations editor Carol Marbin Miller.
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David Cantwell @cantkill.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Before her death gets too far in the rearview, I wanted to share some thoughts on Dolly Parton. She was a great star but also one of country's key musical innovators. "Beyond being merely idolized, Dolly Parton was cherished." At No Fences Review
nofencesreview.substack.com
Dolly Parton, 1946 - 2026
David considers Parton’s musical influence and what was, maybe, more important
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Professa Murray @kalimurray.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
As I keep explaining to my students: federal judges have law clerks who pull the motion and immediately begin pulling the cites to read them. So, you will find an AI cite pretty quickly. The same thing is happening in law review land as well.
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Julie DiCaro @juliedicaro.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
It’s absolutely unbelievable to me that, in 2026, with so many women working in sports media, we keep getting show shows that are entirely made up of men.
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Citizen.Coping @propcazhpm.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
The U.S. FDA announced 46 recalls in August alone. That includes food products and drugs— a notable increase from August 2025 when it was 26 products. That's why it's more important than ever to share links to sources, and to click through and read the article. The headline alone won't suffice.
newrepublic.com
You’re Not Hallucinating: The Amount of Recalled Food Is Skyrocketing
Here’s a list of every food item that faced a recall in August.
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Ben Gross @bhgross144.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
Happy 250th birthday, America! To celebrate the occasion, we're closing your oldest natural history museum. www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/a... #scicomm #Philadelphia
nbcphiladelphia.com
Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University to close museum on Sept. 30
The Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University will close its museum in Philadelphia on Sept. 30, 2026, NBC10 confirmed.
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Ocean Hoptimism @oceanhoptimism.org · 01/09/2026
Tragic: After nearly 200 years, Philadelphia’s Academy of Natural Sciences will close its museum Sept. 30. Its 19 million specimens & research remain—but the public loses a rare portal into Earth’s history, & generations of children (🤚hand raised as one) lose a place where scientific wonder begins.
inquirer.com
The Academy of Natural Sciences is closing its museum after nearly two centuries
The closure does not affect the rest of the institution, which builds and maintains the collections and conducts research through departments such as the Patrick Center for Environmental Research.
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Ben Gross @bhgross144.bsky.social · 30/08/2026
In other news, the University of Manchester, where Rutherford conducted some of his most important experiments, has just joined the Consortium for History of Science, Technology & Medicine: www.chstm.org/news/univers... #histSTM #histsci 🗃️📜
chstm.org
University of Manchester Joins Consortium | Consortium for History of Science, Technology and Medicine
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David M. Perry @lollardfish.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
this report on gambling addiction among college students is brought to you by Draft Kings! www.espn.com/sports-betti...
espn.com
'We are broken': One family's fight against gambling addiction
For Amit, it all started with a college poker game. Now he's in recovery from a gambling addiction that consumed him and his parents.
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Dolly Jørgensen @dollyjorgensen.bsky.social · 23/08/2026
A shocking #envhist of live lizards as fashion accessories: “a live chameleon [actually green anole] fastened to a gold pin by a slender gold chain,” a kind of “animate breast pen” that was “to be worn in the bosom of a lady’s dress.” 😱 markvbarrowjr.substack.com/p/when-women...
markvbarrowjr.substack.com
When Women Wore Live Lizards
How a turn-of-the-century Florida tourist novelty became one of America's strangest fashion crazes and inspired an unlikely alligator sequel.
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Jacquelyn Gill @jacquelyngill.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
Hey folks, this hasn’t gotten much attention, but remember those proposed OMB rule changes we all commented on recently? There’s a new attempt to sneak them just for NSF. We have three days to comment. Please don’t sleep on this!
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National Council on Public History @ncph.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
Preregistration for our joint conference with @aaslh.org next month will be closed after this Friday, August 21! Lock in the best available rate by registering today: ncph.org/conference/2.... After August 21, you’ll only be able to register onsite in Providence at an increased rate.
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Merle Eisenberg @merleeisenberg.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
Article on UT changing its Gen Ed focuses on culture war: www.chronicle.com/article/repu.... But a news article in the key Higher Ed venue never mentions why Gen Ed has expanded massively is students don't take electives. They take required courses & for a class to "make" it must have a Gen Ed.
chronicle.com
Republicans Want Colleges to Emphasize Western Civ. UT-Austin Plans to Do Just That.
A controversial state law prompted a faculty-led review of the university’s core curriculum, which came up with new emphases like “Western Civilization” and “Great Questions of Human Life.”
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Brian Leech @brianleechphd.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
Maybe I’ll ask my advisees to write essays solely in emojis to see if I can understand any of it? www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
nytimes.com
😭 or 😂: Do Your Emojis Make You Look Old?
When it comes to emoji usage, we’re all just following teen girls.
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David M. Perry @lollardfish.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
I am beginning to book Public Scholar workshops for spring. I am bad at self-promotion but good at teaching people to bring their ideas to new and larger audiences. It's mid-August. Surely you will soon be planning your faculty workshops in January through May. www.davidmperry.com/go-public/
davidmperry.com
The Public Scholar Workshop
There’s no such thing as the Ivory Tower. Colleges and universities are not isolated enclaves, and they probably never were. Public engagement is an essential part of the core mission of higher educat...
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Anna Merlan @annamerlan.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
I talked to this person years ago about a job writing about the ultra wealthy and he told me I was a bad fit because I was obviously going to make jokes about them. I remember this, to be honest, because the hat was present then too www.nytimes.com/2026/08/12/b...
nytimes.com
Forbes Fired Top Editor After Discovering He Received Secret $6 Million Payment (Gift Article)
Randall Lane, the magazine’s chief content officer, received the money from the founder of Shook Research, which has worked with Forbes on content about wealth advisers.
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KEW @kidadaewilliams.com · 13/08/2026
If you're prepping your syllabi and other class materials on African American history and culture, don't forget about the NMAAHC's amazing 'Searchable Museum,' which uses artifacts from Smithsonian collections. It even includes resources for teaching this history. www.searchablemuseum.com #edusky
searchablemuseum.com
Homepage
A museum that seeks to understand American history through the lens of the African American experience.
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Matt Pearce @mattdpearce.com · 11/08/2026
I’m learning that the people who gamified paragraphs are having trouble reading books. www.axios.com/2026/08/11/r...

AXIOS

Al has become my reading buddy as I've plowed through my summer book list, helping me keep track of plots and characters, unpack themes, and make sense of wordy, old prose.
• Why it matters: The way many of us actually read books - a few pages before bed, a chapter at the beach, another on a plane - makes it easy to lose the thread. Al can help you pick it back up without starting over.
Ш I really got into using Al while reading James Fenimore Cooper's "The Last of the Mohicans." The text was far too dense for casual vacation reading. My first prompt asked:
• "T'd like a guide as I read The Last of the Mohicans who can help me understand what I've read and where the story is, without giving spoilers or getting ahead of my progress. Can you do this, chapter by chapter?"
• The robot agreed: "Cooper's sentences are long and his diction is archaic."
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Brian Leech @brianleechphd.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
Online #highered isn't viable anymore, right? First, universities re-used online content from dead professors. Next, students completed their coursework for degrees in mere weeks because AI completed all assignments for them. Now AI bots are taking courses. www.chronicle.com/article/my-s...
chronicle.com
Opinion | My Students Weren’t Human. They Were Bots.
How can professors be sure their online students are real?
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Elizabeth Drummond @eadhistory.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
I’m debuting Experiments in Reading this fall, a 1-unit pass/fail course designed to help students develop a habit (and love) of reading. I’m looking forward to it and hope to do it every semester, or at least most. Inspired by an @aktange.bsky.social post on here!
Photos of people reading in the corners: by flashlight under covers; lying on the grass; in a hammock, cross-legged. Text reads: Remember when you tried to win the summer reading contest at the local library? Or reading by flashlight after bedtime? Want to rediscovery our love of reading? Or develop one? Need time to read uninterrupted? Want to strengthen your reading skills? Just need a 1-unit course to round out your schedule? Experiments in Reading is an opportunity to “drop everything and read,” to experiment with different reading scenarios and habits, and to cultivate a love of reading. BCLA 1998-01 | CRN 43156 SS: Experiments in Reading, 1 unit, CR/NC, Mondays 1:45 - 3:15pm, Marymount Institute, UNH 3002
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Jeremiah McCall (he/him) @gamingthepast.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
Anyone read any of my book yet and have something kind to say for all that work (let's save the unkind for after maelstrom of school start -- or maybe just nothing unkind?) ??????? Haven't even gotten my copy yet. www.routledge.com/Designing-Hi...
routledge.com
Designing Historical Games for Classrooms: A Practical Guide for Educators
Designing Historical Games for Classrooms: A Practical Guide for Educators is a complete introductory guide for designing analog games and interactive choice‑based historical texts for history classes...
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Alex Wild @alexwild.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
The University of Texas’s fish and herpetology building is mold-condemned and staff haven’t been able to work in the building for two years, and the UT herbarium is getting kicked out of their space in 2 years with no solid plan. This is absolutely true; the situation for American museums is dire.
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Alex Wellerstein @wellerstein.bsky.social · 09/08/2026
81 years ago today, on August 9, 1945, an atomic bomb was dropped upon the city of Nagasaki, Japan, by the United States. This was 3 days after the first atomic attack on Hiroshima.
Nagasaki, bomber's eye view: Close-up view of the head of the mushroom cloud at the Nagasaki explosion, as seen from either the bomber or the observation plane.Nagasaki, distant ground view: Photo of the Nagasaki cloud taken ~15 minutes after the atomic bomb detonation, by Hiromichi Matsuda, stationed at Koyagi-jima Island, some 5 miles / 8 km away.Nagasaki, before and after, aerial views. Nagasaki, ground view, some weeks after the attack.
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Dolly Jørgensen @dollyjorgensen.bsky.social · 09/08/2026
Thanks to @katecarp.bsky.social for the great Drafting the Past @draftingthepast.bsky.social merch! You can listen to the podcast convo in which I talk about juggling projects, exploring museums & working in Scandinavia here: draftingthepast.com/podcast-epis...
A dark turquoise notebook that says Drafting the Past and three stickers, including Frinds don’t let friends write boring history
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Dan Silverman @dmsilverman.bsky.social · 08/08/2026
New study shows that — contra widely accepted narratives — there is NO EVIDENCE that professors change their students’ politics and make them more liberal through their teaching
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Kevin M. Levin @civilwarmemory.bsky.social · 08/08/2026
What the Historians Proved in Shenandoah County, Virginia #CivilWarMemory 🗃️ kevinmlevin.substack.com/p/what-the-h...
kevinmlevin.substack.com
What the Historians Proved in Shenandoah County, Virginia
Expert testimony from two historians helped overturn a school board's 2024 decision, and showed exactly why the profession still matters.
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Brian Leech @brianleechphd.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
We’ve been without a clothes dryer for almost two months. During that time, I’ve been drying our clothes outside. After four attempts to fix our old one we ordered a new one, which arrived today. After installation of our new gas dryer, it smelled a lot like gas. 1/3
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Matthew L Reznicek @drreznicek.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
Has anyone got any ideas for a reading journal/note-taking journal that asks students to keep not just a record of what they're seeing, but what it's making them think?
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Dana Stevens @thehighsign.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
For Anthony Bourdain fans &/or fans of writer-director Matt Johnson w/ qualms about Johnson's new biopic of teenage Bourdain: rest assured that it's good. Not groundbreaking cinema, but a solid coming-of-age drama w/ great performances from Antonio Banderas & Dominic Sessa. slate.com/culture/2026...
slate.com
The Anthony Bourdain Biopic Is Delicious
To do justice to such a beloved figure may seem impossible, but one young actor—and one filmmaker on a hot streak—just rose to the challenge.
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Brian Alberts @brewedculture.org · 07/08/2026
Bring back library benefit keggers.
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Sasha Kim @s-kim.bsky.social · 03/08/2026
Librarians, Archivists, & Archives that collect/manage popular culture materials-I've started a Discord server to discuss collections, materials, repositories, etc. to share info and build community. Comics, games, movies/tv, etc #popularculture #archives #archivists #librarians discord.gg/xvhWAhhkw
discord.gg
Join the Popular Culture Archives & Archivists Discord Server!
Popular culture archives and archivists to share best practices, build community, and better understand the landscape of popular culture preservation. [Icon Image: Old Dutch advertisement, c.1965, Pos...
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✪ Gray Skies Ahead ✪ @jongraywb.blacksky.app · 05/08/2026
Yup. I only found out about this by terrible, terrible accident and every time I see the words OneDrive I wanna yeet my laptop into geosynchronous orbit.
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Sarah Taber @sarahtaber.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
The craziest fallout of the Cyclospora situation for me personally is I used to work in a microbiology lab as the one (1) parasitologist. That lab didn't even have the right gear for many of the tests they wanted me to do. Couldn't train me to run the tests right, bc nobody in the lab knew how!
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Steven Goff @stevengoff.bsky.social · 03/08/2026
Mauricio Pochettino agrees to new contract to coach USMNT through 2030 World Cup, USSF announces. Poch gets a full WC cycle after 20-month tenure ended with r16 appearance this summer. Outside contract $ from biz execs Kenneth C. Griffin, Scott Goodwin, Adam Freede and commercial partners.
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Dolly Jørgensen @dollyjorgensen.bsky.social · 01/08/2026
Greenhouse #envhum book talk Episode 201: Christos Lynteris @visualplague.bsky.social will discuss his book How Plague Got Rats: Mastering a Zoonotic Pandemic (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2026), Monday, 7 September 2026, at 4pm Central European / 3pm in UK. newnatures.org/greenhouse/e...
#201 Greenhouse Environmental Humanities Book Talks. Cover of book on right: How Plague Got Rats: Mastering A Zoonotic Pandemic by Christos Lynteris
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Dolly Jørgensen @dollyjorgensen.bsky.social · 01/08/2026
The Greenhouse #envhum book talks start up again this month! Episode 199: Sara Pritchard @sarabpritchard.bsky.social on Transforming Night: The History and Science of Light Pollution (@uwapress.uw.edu, 2026), Monday 24 August 2026, 4pm Central European / 10am Eastern. newnatures.org/greenhouse/e...
#199 Greenhouse Environmental Humanities Book Talks. Cover of book on right: Transforming Night: The history and Science of Light Pollution by Sara B. Pritchard.
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