iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Susan Wise Bauer @sjwbauer.bsky.social · 10/02/2026

Just back from a much-needed break from the cold, snow, and ice: a week in San Antonio and Corpus Christi, where it was warm and sunny EVERY SINGLE DAY. And also I lost at miniature golf (twice).

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Susan Wise Bauer @sjwbauer.bsky.social · 27/01/2026

Happy Tuesday, all, and it is PUBLICATION DAY for THE GREAT SHADOW: A History of How Sickness Shapes What We Do, Think, Believe, and Buy! Raise a glass, join my virtual publication party and post cheers! www.barnesandnoble.com/blog/susan-w... podcast.show/historically...

barnesandnoble.com

The Great Shadow: A Guest Post by Susan Wise Bauer - B&N Reads

History and storytelling illuminate the surprising ways that illness influenced human views and behaviors throughout time and continues to today. Read on for an exclusive essay from author Susan Wise ...

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Susan Wise Bauer @sjwbauer.bsky.social · 23/01/2026

Two big events over the coming week--the pending icepocalypse and the publication date on Tuesday January 27, of my new book THE GREAT SHADOW: A History of How Sickness Shapes What We Do, Think, Believe, and Buy. I am distracting myself from the upcoming loss of power with the two newest reviews.

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Susan Wise Bauer @sjwbauer.bsky.social · 20/01/2026

I took a bit of a break from Substack over the holidays, but I'm back to work now. Come visit me there for my most recent post. open.substack.com/pub/susanwis...

open.substack.com

The Elephant in the Room

We're still blaming illness on immigrants

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Susan Wise Bauer @sjwbauer.bsky.social · 14/01/2026

I'll be keynoting in Charleston, WV at the end of the month. On 2/20, I'm presenting at William and Mary. And the audiobook of THE GREAT SHADOW is an Audible "Most Anticipated in 2026" selection! events.wm.edu/event/view/l... www.audible.com/pd/The-Great... wvhsn.betterworld.org/events/west-...

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Susan Wise Bauer @sjwbauer.bsky.social · 13/01/2026

January friend trip IN the books. Charleston was beautiful and I love these crazy women.

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Susan Wise Bauer @sjwbauer.bsky.social · 11/01/2026

Finally made it to Chicago for tomorrow's American Historical Association panel. Headed out to find a burger before bed...and every joint in the city has the Packers-Bears wild card game on the screen and is stuffed with fans. I love Chicago. It's so purely its own particular thing.

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Susan Wise Bauer @sjwbauer.bsky.social · 02/01/2026

Quick January speaking update! On 1/11, I’ll be chairing a panel discussion about classical education at the annual American Historical Society conference in Chicago. Guests welcome! And on 1/31, I’m keynoting the WVHC annual meeting in Charleston, West Virginia, as well as doing a workshop.

historians.org

Annual Meeting - AHA

Join Us at the Annual Meeting Connect with Your Community Since 1884, the American Historical Association annual meeting has been the premier gathering for historians to come together to share researc...

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Susan Wise Bauer @sjwbauer.bsky.social · 30/12/2025

Less than a month to go before publication date for my new book—it’s a slightly nerve-wracking time as we wait for final reviews and pre-order numbers.

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Susan Wise Bauer @sjwbauer.bsky.social · 30/12/2025

Christmas. A completely relaxed holiday with presents and burgers (they were delicious!) and homemade Yule log and cookies. We all needed that.

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Susan Wise Bauer @sjwbauer.bsky.social · 18/12/2025

Dear followers, the news has been dreadful over the past week; although I have observations I want to make about our world, and about classical education, and about history, and about all of the things I study and write about, I have simply felt that at the moment, silence is the wisest strategy.

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Susan Wise Bauer @sjwbauer.bsky.social · 12/12/2025

I’m on board with all of the objections in this article. But none of this is NEW. It’s been going on for decades. This default to smaller, simpler, more digestible sections of literature has been part of American education since at least the 1970s. www.nytimes.com/2025/12/12/u...

nytimes.com

Kids Rarely Read Whole Books Anymore. Even in English Class.

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Susan Wise Bauer @sjwbauer.bsky.social · 11/12/2025

Time for a Great Shadow update! I'm thrilled that the book just got a starred review in Library Journal, which said in part: "Bauer’s storytelling style allows readers to practically experience firsthand how humans have adapted to and dealt with disease throughout history."

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Susan Wise Bauer @sjwbauer.bsky.social · 05/12/2025

Snow day album! It's still coming down and I'm feeling all festive and holiday-ish!

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Susan Wise Bauer @sjwbauer.bsky.social · 03/12/2025

If you’ve been wandering around on any social media channelsou’ve probably seen the polemical posts about Samantha Fulnecky, the University of Oklahama student who got a 0 on her response essay because she turned in an opinion piece instead of an academic response with proper citation.

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Susan Wise Bauer @sjwbauer.bsky.social · 02/12/2025

This is a first for me. I analyzed a TikTok trend! Have a read and tell me what you think. open.substack.com/pub/susanwis...

open.substack.com

Potatoes in Your Socks

The MAHA agenda and its unexpected connection to ancient Greek philosophy

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Susan Wise Bauer @sjwbauer.bsky.social · 29/11/2025

Successful Thanksgiving weekend--the trees are trimmed, all the traditional Christmas decorations are out, and we're thoroughly into the holiday season!

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Susan Wise Bauer @sjwbauer.bsky.social · 29/11/2025

Reporting back in! Thanksgiving Day was relaxed and joyful. We had cinnamon rolls at 11 and then basically ate small plates the rest of the day, mostly one or two things at a time. Everyone opened their Advent calendars. There were games. We kept the fire going all day.

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Susan Wise Bauer @sjwbauer.bsky.social · 25/11/2025

Last year’s Thanksgiving was NOT a good one for me. Looking back, that was inevitable. My mother had died less than three weeks before, my father six months before that, and Thanksgiving was always their holiday.

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Susan Wise Bauer @sjwbauer.bsky.social · 21/11/2025

Long walk down Duke of Gloucester Street in Williamsburg on a blue-sky November day. Just appreciating my local beauty. (It's easy to forget it when you see it often.)

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Susan Wise Bauer @sjwbauer.bsky.social · 04/11/2025

I am mostly an X-refugee these days, but this gave me a good election-day chuckle.

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Susan Wise Bauer @sjwbauer.bsky.social · 29/10/2025

Here I am saying hello to the donkeys this morning. Athena and Thelonius, currently on guard duty in the duck pen, are always very glad to see me, in the hopes that breakfast will follow shortly...be sure to put on the sound!

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Susan Wise Bauer @sjwbauer.bsky.social · 28/10/2025

Charles McNamara at Commonweal, about classical ideals and how they differ from the Turning Point model: Please read. www.commonwealmagazine.org/gladiator-ga...

commonwealmagazine.org

The Gladiator & the Gadfly

Heated political debates make for good content, but a good education requires patient deliberation and reflective free-thinking.

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Susan Wise Bauer @sjwbauer.bsky.social · 26/10/2025

Great advice from the newsletter written by Sunday Times children's book reviewer, Nicollette Jones. "Remember that the goal is reading for pleasure. Never criticise what children choose to read. Accept comics, graphic novels, non-fiction and audiobooks....

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Susan Wise Bauer @sjwbauer.bsky.social · 22/10/2025

Public service announcement--the Orionid meteor showers peak tonight and tomorrow night! Go outside, if you can, and lie in some grass. abcnews.go.com/GMA/Living/o...

abcnews.go.com

Orionid meteor shower: What to know and how to watch

Everything to know about the Orionid meteor shower before it peaks this week.

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Susan Wise Bauer @sjwbauer.bsky.social · 21/10/2025

Well, still haven't quite made it to the shower, but the animals are fed, the horses have been schooled, the urgent emails polished off, some writing completed, the pea soup and cheese bread underway for dinner, AND I VOTED. If you've got local elections coming up, don't forget to vote.

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Susan Wise Bauer @sjwbauer.bsky.social · 19/10/2025

If you plan to vote Democrat in Virginia's elections this fall, please consider writing in Shannon Taylor rather than Jay Jones for Attorney General. Jones narrowly defeated Taylor; she is fully qualified and also has not, so far as I know, advocated shooting political opponents.

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Susan Wise Bauer @sjwbauer.bsky.social · 18/10/2025

Probably my favorite Frog and Toad quote ever.

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Susan Wise Bauer @sjwbauer.bsky.social · 15/10/2025

Just reading through this list and seeing all those wonderful, familiar book covers made me feel all warm and wistful inside. But I also particularly enjoyed the recommendations from 2010 on, when my own children were past the picture book stage. www.theatlantic.com/books/2025/1...

theatlantic.com

65 Essential Children’s Books

Illustrated titles that teach kids to love literature

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Susan Wise Bauer @sjwbauer.bsky.social · 13/10/2025

October flowers, October morning mist, and hosting October Sunday Lunch on the farm.

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Susan Wise Bauer @sjwbauer.bsky.social · 06/10/2025

I love the ads I get on FB after I post about horses. Fifteen minutes on a horse in this, and you'd have lost most of the skin from inner thigh down to your upper calf. Just providing a reality check. (Also, sweetie, let go of the horn. That's not what it's for.) www.shopdoen.com/products/ann...

shopdoen.com

Anneliese Dress - Salt | DÔEN

A favorite of our co-founder, Katherine, the Anneliese Dress is an intricate treasure crafted from soft, lightweight organic cotton voile.

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Susan Wise Bauer @sjwbauer.bsky.social · 05/10/2025

In a change from my usual work routines, I'm scribing at the Region 1 Dressage Finals in Lexington, Virgina. Heading home tomorrow, feeling as if I've had a vacation.

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Susan Wise Bauer @sjwbauer.bsky.social · 03/10/2025

Just a reminder that my Thursday Substacks are all about history. susanwisebauer.substack.com/p/the-truth-...

susanwisebauer.substack.com

The Truth About Vengeance

It doesn't turn out the way you hope it will

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Susan Wise Bauer @sjwbauer.bsky.social · 01/10/2025

The new edition of a book that I have always been proud of...but I think the revisiion is even better. welltrainedmind.com/story-of-the...

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Susan Wise Bauer @sjwbauer.bsky.social · 26/09/2025

A little while ago, a reader posted a comment over on FB requiring me to explain how my “personal convictions” affect my approach to writing history. Let me refer you to Chapter Seven of The Well-Educated Mind, which tells you everything you need to know about my approach to history.

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Susan Wise Bauer @sjwbauer.bsky.social · 24/09/2025

Texas has appointed David Barton as Expert Content Advisor for the 2025 revision of Texas's history standards. But Barton is no historian. His sole academic credit is a BA in religious education from ORU. His books are peppered with errors, mis-citations, and historical fallacies. Texas, do better.

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Susan Wise Bauer @sjwbauer.bsky.social · 20/09/2025

Today was a much needed farm and family day. Cleaned the barn, rode my horses, had dinner with my husband next to the river, and kept an eye on the new ducklings, which are being carefully supervised by our guardian donkey Thelonius. Hope that you all have some time this weekend to touch grass.

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Susan Wise Bauer @sjwbauer.bsky.social · 16/09/2025

Always happy to see that the History of the World series is still alive and well in the wild! Shoutout to my local Barnes & Noble (in New Town, Williamsburg, Virginia) for keeping the books on the shelves long after their initial pub date.

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Susan Wise Bauer @sjwbauer.bsky.social · 15/09/2025

St. Martins is doing a giveaway on Goodreads...sign up if you're interested! www.goodreads.com/giveaway/sho...

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Susan Wise Bauer @sjwbauer.bsky.social · 10/09/2025

It is VITALLY important that those of us who disagreed with Charlie Kirk on every point of politics and culture say LOUDLY that this shooting was an act of evil that should be condemned by every person with a single shred of decency. May light eternal shine upon him. apnews.com/live/utah-va...

apnews.com

Live updates: Charlie Kirk has died after being shot at an event in Utah, Pres. Trump says

Charlie Kirk, the CEO and co-founder of the conservative youth organization Turning Point USA, has died after being shot at an event at Utah Valley University, President Trump said.

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Susan Wise Bauer @sjwbauer.bsky.social · 09/09/2025

Not sure what this says about me (maybe just "She doesn't watch a lot of TV), but I had no idea who Erin Napier was before people started sending me links to her comments about The Well-Trained Mind. So here's my informal poll: do you follow the Napiers on HGTV?? www.tvinsider.com/1213701/hgtv...

tvinsider.com

HGTV’s Erin Napier Reveals Exciting Family News – Fans React

'Home Town' star and husband Ben make big family decision.

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Susan Wise Bauer @sjwbauer.bsky.social · 07/09/2025

Check out my new Substack post on the reasons why germs are bad for business, autonomy, and vaccine mandates. susanwisebauer.substack.com/p/resisting-...

susanwisebauer.substack.com

Resisting Germs

A complicated mix of anti-vaccine, anti-quarantine, and anti-germ sentiment

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