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Asif Siddiqi

@historyasif.bsky.social
3K followers 478 following 579 posts

New Yorker. Historian of Science and Technology. Space. Music. Soviet History. Comics

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Asif Siddiqi @historyasif.bsky.social · 41m
RIP Margaret Hamilton, the brilliant computer scientist whose contributions to software for the Apollo Guidance Computer were absolutely crucial to the Apollo Moon landings. She also helped shape the discipline of computer engineering while at MIT's Instrumentation Lab: news.mit.edu/2026/margare...
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Asif Siddiqi @historyasif.bsky.social · 8h
It is almost impossible to do the most reasonable thing to do at American college campuses because the system is so utterly broken. Everyone has to register as a vendor for the most minor thing. And filing for a reimbursement for ANYTHING is specifically designed to break your will to live.
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Asif Siddiqi @historyasif.bsky.social · 8h
Got this book in Dhaka recently, Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain's important feminist science fiction novella 'Sultana's Dream.' It has facsimiles of the English & Bangla versions, from 1908 & 1922, respectively. As a kid, my mother encouraged me to read her works, including অবরোধ বাসিনী (The Secluded Women).
Cover of book by Begun Rokeya 'Sultana's Dream'Cover page of novella titled 'Sultana's Dream'First page of Bengali language version of 'Sultana's Dream'
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Asif Siddiqi @historyasif.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
It's October 4th -- the Sputnik satellite was flung into orbit 69 years ago today, beginning the age of space exploration. I dug into the Russian archives and got some documents on its creation. Check it out if you're interested.....
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Stephen Schwartz @atomicanalyst.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
For more on the creation of Sputnik, see this collection of declassified and translated Russian documents:
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Anne Helen Petersen @annehelen.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
This is *the* piece. Kate Manne, professor of philosophy at Cornell, speaks truth to the totality of failures at the university — and why students protesting the war in Gaza have faced far harsher consequences than any of the Cornell 7: www.thecut.com/article/what...
thecut.com
What It Feels Like at Cornell Right Now
As a professor at the Ivy League school, Kate Manne has known many, many victims. There’s a palpable feeling on campus, she writes, that this is big.
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the Mountain Goats @themountaingoats.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
bluesky does not seem to really be talking about this but today Stevie Wonder unleased 4 songs that didn't make "Songs in the Key of Life." music.youtube.com/playlist?lis...
music.youtube.com
Songs In The Key Of Life - The EP
EP • Stevie Wonder
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Brian Jacobson @bleudeciel.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
We are once again searching for a 2-year postdoctoral fellowship in Visual Culture, focus on visual culture and the environment - deadline November 15 - details and application here: applications.caltech.edu/jobs/vcpd
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History of science & technology @EPFL @lhst-epfl.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
📢 Call for Papers History of Art x History of Science: Disciplinary Encounters, Tensions, and Transformations Lausanne, 27-28 May 2027 How have the histories of art & science observed, shaped, and challenged one another from the 18th c. to today? #histSTM #arthistory www.unil.ch/news/1789481...
unil.ch
Appel à contributions: Histoire de l’art x Histoire des sciences: interactions, tensions, transformations / History of Art x History of Science: Disciplinary Encounters, Tensions, and Transformations
Colloque international Unil/EPFL/FNS, 27-28 mai 2027
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Asif Siddiqi @historyasif.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
25 years ago I was ready to move to New York City! Packed up the U-Haul and was about to leave my life in Philly behind. I had rented an apartment on Houston St. Was about to leave at 8 am when I my sister called me back into her house and said 'come check out what's on TV.' I did not move that day.
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Fiona Cunningham @fiona-cunningham.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
I’m thrilled to share that my @princetonupress.bsky.social book “Under the Nuclear Shadow” has won the @mershoncenter.bsky.social ‘s Edgar S. Furniss award! Thank you to the selection committee for this honor! mershoncenter.osu.edu/news/fiona-c...
mershoncenter.osu.edu
Fiona Cunningham receives 2025 Edgar S. Furniss Book Award
The Mershon Center for International Security Studies is pleased to announce that Fiona S. Cunningham has been selected to receive the 2025 Edgar S. Furniss Book Award for Under the Nuclear Shadow: Ch...
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Kevin M. Kruse @kevinmkruse.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
Wouldn't it be weird if the racist billionaire who bankrolled and took credit for the neo-Nazi victory in Germany was somehow involved in American politics too? Can you even imagine? I bet the media would have a field day asking politicians who aligned with him and took his money for statements!
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Asif Siddiqi @historyasif.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
New edited book, 'Soviet Workers in the World,' with essays by Lewis Siegelbaum, Donald Filtzer, Ronald Grigor Suny, and Wendy Goldman among many others....
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Asif Siddiqi @historyasif.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
Simon was kind enough to send me a copy of the book (only still out in the UK) and I am devouring it. It vividly revisits the absolute epicenter of my musical/cultural formation, mid-‘80s to mid-‘90s, and taps into the velocity of sound & image that accompanied a mini-revolution in in guitar music.
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tombreihan.bsky.social @tombreihan.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
One for Gloria Steinem
youtube.com
Patti Smith 'Gloria' 1976, Belgium
YouTube video by Gazely Gaze
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Mississippi Free Press @mississippifreepress.org · 03/09/2026
Jackson-born jazz and folk singer Cassandra Wilson died in her Hinds County home Tuesday, Sept. 1. The Mississippi artist had a long career filled with honors and accolades, including two Grammy Award wins. buff.ly/Oxg1F95
mississippifreepress.org
Person of the Day | Cassandra Wilson: Jackson-Born Jazz Artist and Grammy Winner Dies at 70
Jackson-born jazz and folk singer Cassandra Wilson, whose long career included two Grammy Award wins, died in her Hinds County home Tuesday, Sept. 1.
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Asif Siddiqi @historyasif.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
Lovely (and quite trenchant) review of the brilliant new book by Simon Reynolds @simonreynolds.bsky.social, "Still in A Dream: Showgaze, Slackers and the Reinvention of Rock, 1984-94," in the latest issue of the London Review of Books @lrb.co.uk: www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
lrb.co.uk
Chal Ravens · All Kinds of Not Much: Slacker Daydreams
Like the hippies and punks before them, slackers were characterised as figures of generational discontent. But theirs...
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Asif Siddiqi @historyasif.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
Was walking in the neighborhood and just noticed that Hannah Arendt lived on Riverside Drive (on the Upper West Side) in NYC from 1959 to 1975.
Sign on wall summarizing life of Hannah ArendtPicture of front door of building
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Thomas Spiteri @tespiteri.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
I enjoyed speaking to Dr Jahnavi Phalkey about India’s place in the history of modern science, the ways in which that history has been constructed, & how the pursuit of nuclear physics became intertwined with a newly independent nation’s efforts to define its own identity. linktr.ee/thehpspodcast
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Asif Siddiqi @historyasif.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
Am pretty much done with the AHA. At a time when the discipline of history (&humanities broadly) is under attack by the right (not to mention university administrators), our professional association spent *our* valuable dues hiring a lobbying firm to attack its own members. Unfuckingbelievable.
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Asif Siddiqi @historyasif.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
Faculty should absolutely maintain a robust & frequent presence on campus. But this demand, by admins at Texas A&M-Victoria, for faculty to be present 5 days/week for 40 hours, is excessive & fundamentally misunderstands how academic/instructor work functions. www.insidehighered.com/news/faculty...
insidehighered.com
Faculty Quit as Texas University Orders Them Back to Campus
The new policy, announced in June, is a response to a Texas law restricting remote work for public university faculty. The Texas AAUP says it has prompted chaos and tears.
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Fankoosh @fankoosh.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
Obligatory
every european election:
The People's Democrats (center-right) -
31%
Soviet Worker's Party (center/center-left) - 22% 
Citizen's Forum (fascist) - 19%
Wow! (center) - 11%
Friendship Is Magic (left) - 9%
Green Party - 8%
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Kevin M. Kruse @kevinmkruse.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
Instead of spending money on the tech that steals our work, makes our students dumber and serves no purpose at all, they could instead use it to hire more actual instructors.
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Asif Siddiqi @historyasif.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
Just published, me discussing the life of first cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin on the @historyextra.bsky.social podcast. podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/y...
podcasts.apple.com
Yuri Gagarin: life of the week
Podcast Episode · HistoryExtra podcast · 10 August · 43min
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Asif Siddiqi @historyasif.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
'Chachu' is a fabulous 1st issue (of a 5 issue arc) by the young actor Iman Vellani. This is a noir thriller filtered through 'Taxi Driver' as seen through a Pakistani-Canadian immigrant experience: variety.com/2026/film/ma...
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Jess Calarco @jessicacalarco.com · 14/08/2026
Two married professors and their son are being held in ICE detention, despite being legal permanent residents and having no criminal records. All, apparently, because their mom/MIL was a translator for the Iranian hostage takers in 1979, before they were even born. www.thenation.com/article/soci...
thenation.com
One Woman’s Message From the Hell of ICE Detention
My husband, son, and I have been locked up for months—despite being permanent residents with no criminal record. It is an unendurable, unending nightmare.
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Alex Segura @alexsegura.com · 12/08/2026
www.nytimes.com/2026/08/12/u...
nytimes.com
Johanna Fernández, Historian of the Young Lords, Dies at 55
She wrote an award-winning book about the leftist collective, a Latino counterpart to the Black Panthers.
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Asif Siddiqi @historyasif.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
I live a boring life, but I was once the guitarist for Lana Del Rey many years ago. Yeah, that's me on the right trying to figure out an A minor. And that's her on the left. #lanadelrey
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Gillian Brockell @gillianbrockell.com · 30/07/2026
It depends on the country. More here: gillianbrockell.com/tracking-all...
gillianbrockell.com
Tracking All of Trump’s Known Third-Country Removals
Trump's ICE has expelled an estimated 19,000 people to countries where they have no ties. This tracks who they're expelling, how they get there, where they're going, and what happens to them.
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Asif Siddiqi @historyasif.bsky.social · 30/07/2026
U.S. academia: "..widespread censorship of course content at...many public universities where MAGA politicians—not faculty and department heads—now determine what can and can’t be taught.. The campus free speech wars of a decade ago are now over. The right has won." newrepublic.com/article/2135...
newrepublic.com
The Campus Free Speech Wars Are Over. MAGA Won.
The right spent years trying to convince us that campus lefties were authoritarians in waiting. But then an actual authoritarian became president.
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Asif Siddiqi @historyasif.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
Every conscientious journalist covering the space program should use descriptors 'white supremacist' or 'fascist' every time when referring to E__ M__. Really puzzled at the free pass given by space enthusiasts/journalists. See @jamellebouie.net in NYTimes today: www.nytimes.com/2026/07/29/o...
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Asif Siddiqi @historyasif.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
Every conscientious journalist covering the space program should use descriptors 'white supremacist' or 'fascist' every time when referring to E__ M__. Really puzzled at the free pass given by space enthusiasts/journalists. See @jamellebouie.net in NYTimes today: www.nytimes.com/2026/07/29/o...
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EMILY WILSON @emilyrcwilson.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
I wrote about the Nolan Odyssey for the LRB. I'll summarize some of my main points below, in case you don't feel like reading all that. www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
lrb.co.uk
Emily Wilson · An Uncomplicated Man
As they say at the awards shows, I was humbled to learn that Christopher Nolan has read at least the first line of my...
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Asif Siddiqi @historyasif.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
For comics fans, the brilliant @denizcamp.bsky.social was just honored w/ Eisner Awards for best new series (Assorted Crisis Events) and best limited series (Absolute Martian Manhunter). His stories are beautiful acts of resistance against fascism, corporate greed, genocide, and ecocide.
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UIS Observatory @uisobservatory.bsky.social · 24/07/2026
I’d like to make it clear for all the people following me what the sheer gravity of the news is. Without this facility we can’t ensure constant communication with spacecraft beyond Earth orbit. If this facility is off-line, the Artemis program cannot send a crew to the Moon.
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Asif Siddiqi @historyasif.bsky.social · 24/07/2026
I love that early modernists are always fighting with medievalists about who invented what. Barbara Newman weighs in on a new book: #medievalsky
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Patrick McCray @patrickmccray.bsky.social · 20/07/2026
Fifty years ago today = the Viking 1 lander touched down on Chryse Planitia, Mars. and added a new modality to "being there"
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Asif Siddiqi @historyasif.bsky.social · 12/07/2026
My son just now: “Bank of the Third Reich vs Refuge of the Third Reich”
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Asif Siddiqi @historyasif.bsky.social · 06/07/2026
Incredible achievement. The Chinese spacecraft Tianwen-2 has arrived in close proximity to the asteroid Kamo'oalewa, a 'quasi-satellite' of Earth. It will collect samples from this asteroid and return with them to Earth next year. Kamo'oalewa was once part of our Moon.
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Nancy Wingfield @nmw1.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
This month is history books my friends & colleagues have written with good covers & you should want to read them. First, Lisa Kirschenbaum, the author of a gazillion really good works on the USSR. Why I'm unforgiving of ppl who occupy a research university position & have only published one book.
Cover of Soviet Adventures in the Land of the Capitalists. Picture of Times Square.
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Nancy Wingfield @nmw1.bsky.social · 02/07/2026
👇👇👇
Predominantly green cover; East Asian art.
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Asif Siddiqi @historyasif.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
NY Times on death of Abdul Ahad Momand, Only Afghan to Fly in Space (I'm briefly quoted in this). (gift link) www.nytimes.com/2026/06/29/w...
nytimes.com
Abdul Ahad Momand, Only Afghan to Fly in Space, Is Dead
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Asif Siddiqi @historyasif.bsky.social · 29/06/2026
From @kyamawebb.bsky.social over on Threads. Now I'm going to read every NY Post headline in a JK Simmons voice
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Gautham Rao (pronounced: Knicks in 5) @gauthamrao.bsky.social · 26/06/2026
Come be my colleague! American University's History Department is searching for a tenure-track assistant professor of science, tech and society. I am chair of the search and pleased to answer any questions either on here or email (grao at american) american.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/AU/job/Main-...
american.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com
Assistant Professor
American University is a student-centered research institution located in Washington, DC, with highly-ranked schools and colleges, internationally-renowned faculty, and a reputation for creating meani...
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Asif Siddiqi @historyasif.bsky.social · 26/06/2026
An economist and a public policy scholar weigh in: "SpaceX is the New East India Company": www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/s...
project-syndicate.org
SpaceX Is the New East India Company
Alessio Terzi & Stefano Marcuzzi consider lessons from the three-century era when corporate monopolies operated beyond the reach of sovereigns.
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Stereogum @stereogum.com · 24/06/2026
Check out @pjharvey.net's new song "Voyager," sung from the perspective of NASA's Voyager 2 probe
stereogum.com
PJ Harvey Shares Song From Perspective Of NASA's Voyager 2
With her new single, Polly Jean Harvey is going all Cosmos on us. It’s been three years since Harvey, one of our all-time great alt-rockers, released her most recent album I Inside The Old Year Dying....
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Asif Siddiqi @historyasif.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
40 years ago, I bought 'Standing on a Beach' at a record store in Columbus, Ohio & was introduced to 'In Between Days,' still the greatest song by the Cure. That frenetic flurry of guitar-strum & drum rolls that introduces the song still--after 40 years--levitates me: www.youtube.com/watch?v=scif...
youtube.com
The Cure - In Between Days
YouTube video by TheCureVEVO
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Asif Siddiqi @historyasif.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
I don't know if 'Eric Hague' is a real person but I hope 'Eric' knows that he has brought me a few minutes of joy reading this. Also, chef's kiss to mention the triangle hand gesture.
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Esther Liberman Cuenca @estherlcuenca.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
I co-edit a book series for Boydell & Brewer on "The Urban World in the Middle Ages." Open to *BOOK* proposals c. 800–1600, covering urban life, societies, or cultures in Europe, Mediterranean, or Islamic world. For more info, email me, CuencaE@tamuv.edu. Happy to hear from 1st-time book authors.
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Asif Siddiqi @historyasif.bsky.social · 14/06/2026
New York City. My city. #theknicks #knicks
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