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Patrick McCray

@patrickmccray.bsky.social
5K followers 503 following 5.6K posts

History Professor @ UC-Santa Barbara => science + tech + environment Cairn kicker 🚵 🎣 🧗‍♂️⛷️🏄🏼‍♂️🏔 in Cali-Rado. New book = mitpress.mit.edu/9780262553483/read… More = www.patrickmccray.com

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Patrick McCray @patrickmccray.bsky.social · 21h
Exhausted by the seeming inexhaustible supply of these articles
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Patrick McCray @patrickmccray.bsky.social · 21h
"Genius" is a dumb category.
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Patrick McCray @patrickmccray.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
As a historian of science, I have to say it's weird to see an email from "Robert Chambers" in my in-box...
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Patrick McCray @patrickmccray.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Kash Patel should burn for this...but his name isn't even in this article. www.nytimes.com/2026/09/28/u...
nytimes.com
Embarrassing Breach at F.B.I. Fuels Fears of Harm to Its Employees
In an internal memo, the F.B.I. said it believed the hackers may have stolen sensitive information on all of its employees.
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Patrick McCray @patrickmccray.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
The ruins of Washington, DC...
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Patrick McCray @patrickmccray.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
The hist of tech series I co-edit for @hopkinspress.bsky.social has three new volumes coming out soon!!!
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Patrick McCray @patrickmccray.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Pleased to see this displayed at the Kluge Center
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Patrick McCray @patrickmccray.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Sausage party at the WH... www.nytimes.com/live/2026/09...
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Patrick McCray @patrickmccray.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Rest in Punk... www.nytimes.com/2026/09/23/a...
nytimes.com
Cheetah Chrome, Guitarist for Pioneering Punk Bands, Dies at 71
He played with Rocket From the Tombs and the Dead Boys, whose snarling nihilism opened the door to an entire music genre in the 1970s.
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Patrick McCray @patrickmccray.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
The AI that I can get behind….
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Patrick McCray @patrickmccray.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
I really don’t know what this place was aiming for.
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Patrick McCray @patrickmccray.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Somebody earned their M.O. degree (Master of the Obvious) with this study showing that class and networks matter in life... www.nytimes.com/2026/09/18/b...
nytimes.com
The Working Class Face a ‘Class Ceiling’ in Elite Occupations
Being female or a person of color has long been seen as a disadvantage in hiring and promotion. A new study of college professors shows that class may loom as large.
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Patrick McCray @patrickmccray.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
19th century Edgelord…
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Patrick McCray @patrickmccray.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Breaking news from the archive...in 1940, the Fly-Fishers' Club in London was bombed by the Germans. Damage to the Club? Yes. AND THE PRESIDENT'S GLASS OF WINE WAS OVERTURNED.
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Patrick McCray @patrickmccray.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
OPening soon at LACMA...Home of the Future, 1925–1985: Designing Domestic Utopias explores 60 years of ideas about how Americans might live, who those futures were designed for, and who was left out.
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David C. Brock @dcbrock.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
There is an open curator position here at the Computer History Museum! computerhistory.org/jobs/curator/
computerhistory.org
Curator
Details Classification: Exempt, Regular, Fulltime Location: Mountain View, CA The Computer History Museum (CHM) is the world’s leading institution exploring the history and ongoing impact of computing...
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Patrick McCray @patrickmccray.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Campus fox...
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Patrick McCray @patrickmccray.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Today in "Piqued and Petty" www.nytimes.com/2026/09/16/a...
nytimes.com
Trump Administration Outlines Plan for Signs Outside Smithsonian Museum
In a letter, the Interior Department detailed what it hoped to convey on 12 signs to be installed outside the National Museum of American History.
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Lee Vinsel @leev.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Our first episode on our present AI moment features conversations with Adam Wynne, Founder and Principal Engineer of Wynne Technologies, and @zephoria.bsky.social, Geri Gay Professor of Communication at Cornell University. www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3kB...
youtube.com
H2TAT 01: Our AI Moment
YouTube video by How to Think About Technology
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Patrick McCray @patrickmccray.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Ah, this one really stings. Dillard's books about Pittsburgh (my hometown) and nature resonated with me in a big way. www.nytimes.com/2026/09/16/b...
nytimes.com
Annie Dillard, Meditative Author of ‘Pilgrim at Tinker Creek,’ Dies at 81
Her Thoreau-like account of journeys in the woods, published when she was 28, was the first of many ruminations on life and nature, good and evil.
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Patrick McCray @patrickmccray.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Imagine finding 300+ unpublished articles on your laptop... pitchfork.com/story/bob-dy...
pitchfork.com
Bob Dylan Somehow Finds 371 Unreleased Songs for Another Rolling Thunder Box Set
The 39-disc Rolling Thunder Revue: The 1976 Live Recordings documents the fabled tour’s second leg
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Patrick McCray @patrickmccray.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
When these people lived in Santa Barbara, there were stories and complaints about how the local school had to absorb the cost of extra security.
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Patrick McCray @patrickmccray.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
A new book in the history of tech series that I co-edit with @historyasif.bsky.social and Kate McDonald is coming soon...via @hopkinspress.bsky.social Yuting Dong's *Infrastructure of Empire: Vernacular Knowledge and Colonial Expertise in Northeast Asia* www.press.jhu.edu/books/author...
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Patrick McCray @patrickmccray.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Kuzichkin was the first spy in history,” Macintyre writes, “to demand, as the price of defection, the removal of his foreskin.” That insistence, Macintyre argues, altered the history of the Middle East. www.nytimes.com/2026/09/13/b...
nytimes.com
The Sexual Secret That Foiled a Communist Plot
In “Redwood,” Ben Macintyre tells the story of a Russian spy in Iran who betrayed his country in exchange for an unusual request.
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Will Thomas @williamthomas.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
The American Institute of Physics history program now has a reorganized website. Whether you know nothing, a little, or a lot about our work, take a look around and see if you find anything new to you! www.aip.org/history
Screenshot of the top portion of the AIP history website, showing a feature of a history guide on Bell Labs, introductory text, and the most recent weekly/monthly email newsletters.
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Modern American History @modamhist.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
Teasel Muir-Harmony contextualizes the 1976 bicentennial logo—the “fat star”—amid Cold War public diplomacy, corporate branding, and federal arts policy. While the logo was designed to mend the nation fractured by the Vietnam War, it in fact further exposed those very fractures. Link Below.
The United States bicentennial logo designed by Bruce Blackburn, Chermayeff & Geismar Associates Inc.
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Patrick McCray @patrickmccray.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Nathan Ensmenger on "dirty bits" thebulletin.org/premium/2026...
thebulletin.org
The dirty parts of the computing world, revisited
Ten years ago in these pages, I argued that the environmental costs of computing were the dirty little secret of the digital economy. That secret is now out: Data centers have become the subject of co...
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Patrick McCray @patrickmccray.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
Recalling that scene in Terminator 2 when the tech executive learns what his product will do in the future and dies so he can help destroy it....
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Patrick McCray @patrickmccray.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
From bad Grimes to war crimes... A take on Weinberger's new book on the 21st century tech biz and the DoD via @lareviewofbooks.bsky.social lareviewofbooks.org/article/vall...
lareviewofbooks.org
War Bros | Los Angeles Review of Books
Sharon Weinberger’s new book exposes the extent to which the US government has bound itself to the ‘arsenal of the broligarchy.’
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Alix Hui @alixhui.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Trying so hard to not shout BUT OUR BOOK COVER IS UP SO I CAN FINALLY POINT YOU ALL TO THE MOST GRATIFYING COLLABORATIVE PROJECT EVER. @emilypawley.bsky.social Head over on Nov 17th for the OA version &/or NOW to preorder it: mitpress.mit.edu/978026205625... #envhist #envhum #hisSTM #skystorians
mitpress.mit.edu
A Historian's Handbook for Saving the World
The work of historians is vital to this moment. As climate debates shift from “believing the science” to fighting for the massive changes needed ...
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Emily Pawley @emilypawley.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
We have a book cover!
Cover for book "A Historian's Handbook for Saving the World: Responding to the Global Climate Emergency" edited by Alexandra Hui and Emily Pawley.
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Patrick McCray @patrickmccray.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
L et's A all W onder S ilently
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Patrick McCray @patrickmccray.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
9/11 initiated a sea change in the relation between tech companies and the DoD. (Palantir emerged out of that day's wreckage) Sharon Weinberger's new book examines this realignment. Here's my review, via @lareviewofbooks.bsky.social lareviewofbooks.org/article/vall...
lareviewofbooks.org
War Bros | Los Angeles Review of Books
Sharon Weinberger’s new book exposes the extent to which the US government has bound itself to the ‘arsenal of the broligarchy.’
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Patrick McCray @patrickmccray.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
On 9/11, I was in the midst of a week-long bike trip in the Utah backcountry and had little idea of what was going on. I returned to Washington, DC to find a changed world.
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Patrick McCray @patrickmccray.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
From bad Grimes to some war crimes... via @lareviewofbooks.bsky.social lareviewofbooks.org/article/vall...
lareviewofbooks.org
War Bros | Los Angeles Review of Books
Sharon Weinberger’s new book exposes the extent to which the US government has bound itself to the ‘arsenal of the broligarchy.’
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Patrick McCray @patrickmccray.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
From bad Grimes to war crimes...the ‘arsenal of the broligarchy.’ lareviewofbooks.org/article/vall...
lareviewofbooks.org
War Bros | Los Angeles Review of Books
Sharon Weinberger’s new book exposes the extent to which the US government has bound itself to the ‘arsenal of the broligarchy.’
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Patrick McCray @patrickmccray.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Mood...
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Patrick McCray @patrickmccray.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Spotted…d’accord.
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Patrick McCray @patrickmccray.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
In 2017, when Palantir was lobbying for business with French government, Alex Karp commissioned a comic book with a risible version of the company’s history...Karp then leaned into mystique of promoting lethal tech. Deets = lareviewofbooks.org/article/vall... via @lareviewofbooks.bsky.social
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Ann Finkbeiner @annfinkbeiner.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Thoughtful, fascinating review of a scary book written by, full disclosure, my smart, connected, authoritative friend, Sharon.
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Michael Childers @michaelchilders.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
washingtonpost.com
Yosemite embodies the long war over U.S. national park privatization
Debate over turning public national park land into private profit dates back more than a century.
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Patrick McCray @patrickmccray.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
From bad Grimes to war crimes... lareviewofbooks.org/article/vall...
lareviewofbooks.org
War Bros | Los Angeles Review of Books
Sharon Weinberger’s new book exposes the extent to which the US government has bound itself to the ‘arsenal of the broligarchy.’
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Patrick McCray @patrickmccray.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Attn. @davekarpf.bsky.social @adambecker.bsky.social Perhaps of interest, either the book or the review... lareviewofbooks.org/article/vall...
lareviewofbooks.org
War Bros | Los Angeles Review of Books
Sharon Weinberger’s new book exposes the extent to which the US government has bound itself to the ‘arsenal of the broligarchy.’
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Reposted by Patrick McCray
Los Angeles Review of Books @lareviewofbooks.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
"As Weinberger makes plain, the tech entrepreneurs—all male—who populate her narrative have vanishingly little sense of accountability." W. Patrick McCray reviews Sharon Weinberger's "Valley of Death": lareviewofbooks.org/article/valley-…
the cover of The Valley of Death
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Patrick McCray @patrickmccray.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
My take on Sharon Weinberger's new book Valley of Death... Starts with Grimes...ends with crimes. Via @lareviewofbooks.bsky.social lareviewofbooks.org/article/vall...
lareviewofbooks.org
War Bros | Los Angeles Review of Books
Sharon Weinberger’s new book exposes the extent to which the US government has bound itself to the ‘arsenal of the broligarchy.’
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Patrick McCray @patrickmccray.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
I have a review coming out tomorrow via @lareviewofbooks.bsky.social of Sharon Weinberger's new book "Valley of Death" which looks at the deeply problematic relationship between Silicon Valley and the Pentagon. Come for the autonomous drones; stay for the vaporware microwave weapons!
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Patrick McCray @patrickmccray.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
Stoked to see this review of my friend Kullu's new book. It's a wonderful work, especially for those interested in wildlife conservation www.nytimes.com/2026/09/04/b...
nytimes.com
The Secrets of the World’s Most Elusive Cat
In “The Ghost of the Mountains,” Kulbhushansingh Suryawanshi proves there is no substitute for old-fashioned field study.
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Reposted by Patrick McCray
High Country News @highcountrynews.org · 02/09/2026
Trump’s war on clean energy falters. buff.ly/DEY2S0N
hcn.org
Solar and wind continue to push coal off the West’s grid - High Country News
Trump’s war on clean energy falters.
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The Baffler @thebaffler.com · 02/09/2026
The poet Matsuo Bashō spent much of his life on the road. @robrubsam.bsky.social writes on his travelogue, “The Narrow Road of Oku,” the power of which remains undimmed even more than three hundred years after its original composition.
thebaffler.com
Long Life’s Journey | Robert Rubsam
Matsuo Bashō’s “The Narrow Road of Oku” is a work of poetic and philosophical power undimmed by the more than three centuries since its composition.
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Patrick McCray @patrickmccray.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
Imagining a future US economy that is based solely on poor health care and sh*tty AI, both of them so complex that the best-paying jobs go to people who can explain them to us. Or maybe the AI explains the poor health insurance...I dunno
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