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Spencer Beswick @spencerbeswick.bsky.social · 21h

Marx: "The less you eat, drink and read books; the less you go to the theatre, the dance hall, the public house; the less you think, love, theorize, sing, paint, fence, etc., the more you save— 1/2

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Spencer Beswick @spencerbeswick.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

This week in my Sixties class I taught SDS's Port Huron Statement (1962) and the Berkeley Free Speech Movement (1964). What students wrote then about the complicity of university administrators in social evils and the need for reform rings true today. Looking at you, Cornell.

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Rita, antifascist🏴 @oldsquida.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

this quote sometimes helps “Action, not just hope, is the antidote to despair.” ~ Margaret Killjoy

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Spencer Beswick @spencerbeswick.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

It's so hard not to despair reading the news. I used to think we could change the world. Now, it feels like all we can hope for is the Dems winning the midterms to put a check on fascism. Is this me getting more conservative as I get older? Maybe. It feels more like losing hope.

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Rita, antifascist🏴 @oldsquida.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

how did local anarchist groups meet each other & exchange ideas pre-internet? the ‘Revolutionary Anarchist Federation’ that shaped the movement's direction occurred in through a series of 4 continental convergences that took place from 1986 to 1989 in Chicago, Minneapolis, Toronto & San Francisco.

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Spencer Beswick @spencerbeswick.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Went for an admittedly slow run today and had a random woman shout loudly at me from her porch with voice dripping with scorn: "YOU LOOK STUPID! YOU LOOK STUPID! YOU LOOK STUPID! Imagine running home to your wife and maybe you'll run faster!" Thanks, lady.

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Rita, antifascist🏴 @oldsquida.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

“A rising generation of young people encountered anarchism in mosh pits at punk shows and in street fights against fascists and police. A core group of anarchists across the country began to build a continental revolutionary movement.”

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Spencer Beswick @spencerbeswick.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

I have a new article out today in the Journal for the Study of Radicalism called "Building the American Anarchist Movement: Radical Collectives and Continental Convergences in the 1980s." 1/ Access it for free with my author link: scholarlypublishingcollective.org/msup/jsr/art...

Screenshot of the beginning of an article called "Building the American Anarchist Movement: Radical Collectives and Continental Convergences in the 1980s" by Spencer Beswick. Text reads:

“Bowl a strike, not a spare—Revolution everywhere!” Members of the Revolutionary Anarchist Bowling League (RABL) chanted bowling-themed slogans as they marched against President Ronald Reagan's threat to invade Nicaragua in 1988. Acting within a broad progressive coalition, RABL helped shut down major sections of downtown Minneapolis for three days in an outpouring of rebellion against the Reagan administration's covert wars in Central America. Events reached a dramatic climax when a masked protester threw a bowling ball through the window of a military recruitment office.1 The crash of the broken glass marked the beginning of a new era of anarchist militancy in the United States. The rage of a generation of young people raised in Reagan's America threatened to explode.

Reflecting this mood, the pilot edition of what became the Love and Rage anarchist newspaper (published from 1990 to 1998) was simply called RAGE! The pilot, which was distributed at an action at the Pentagon in 1988, reflected growing anger at the Reagan administration's wars at home and abroad, including the war on drugs. Promised a “new morning in America,” a generation of disaffected young people raised in the alienation

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Spencer Beswick @spencerbeswick.bsky.social · 10/05/2024

Howard Zinn: "The reward for participating in a movement for social justice is not the prospect of future victory. It is the exhilaration of standing together with other people, taking risks together, enjoying small triumphs and enduring disheartening setbacks — together."

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Spencer Beswick @spencerbeswick.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Occupy Wall Street began 15 years ago today. My experience of encountering occupied Dewey Square in Boston was like entering a new world shaped by different values, practices, and organizational forms. It proved in practice that it is possible to live differently 1/2

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Spencer Beswick @spencerbeswick.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Just looked on youtube for a video to show in class on the rise of penny press newspapers in the 1830s and it's full of AI-generated "shorts." Thanks I hate it.

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Spencer Beswick @spencerbeswick.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

I don't want regulation of AI (written by OpenAI and Anthropic, naturally). I want to unplug it.

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Spencer Beswick @spencerbeswick.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

Michel Foucault: “Do not think that one has to be sad in order to be militant, even though the thing one is fighting is abominable.”

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Spencer Beswick @spencerbeswick.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

Book cover just dropped for Anarchafeminist Horizons at the End of Gender and it's rad AF. Coming January 2027 with a chapter by yours truly: "'To Repulse the State from our Uteri': Anarcha-Feminism, Reproductive Freedom, and Dual Power."

Book cover for Anarchafeminist Horizons at the End of Gender: Praxis Across Movements, Solidarities Across Borders, edited by Nathan Poirier and Zane McNeill. The art is funky and colorful and hard to describe.

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Spencer Beswick @spencerbeswick.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

"Anti-organizationalists have long decried institutions and organizations, arguing that they ossify the necessarily fluid forms of anarchist revolt. But in order to build long-lasting movements, we need a dialectical relationship between ossification and renewal. 1/

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Spencer Beswick @spencerbeswick.bsky.social · 08/08/2026

I'm excited to have a chapter in Dog Section Press's forthcoming collection ANARCHISMS. Eight days left in the book's Crowdfunder. Hitting the stretch goal will let them "add a fancy embossed cover – because there's nothing too good for the working class!" www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/anarchisms

crowdfunder.co.uk

ANARCHISMS

Help us to pay for the printing costs of our next publication: Anarchisms

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Spencer Beswick @spencerbeswick.bsky.social · 01/08/2026

After finishing my postdoc at Cornell's Humanities Scholars Program, today is my first official day as a Visiting Assistant Professor of History at Union College in Schenectady, NY, where I will teach modern US history and finish writing my book on late 20th century US anarchism.

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Spencer Beswick @spencerbeswick.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

It is the last day of my postdoc at Cornell's Humanities Scholars Program, and what a joy it was. When much of academia, especially the humanities, is under attack, it was lovely to be in a space that unabashedly celebrates the role of the humanities in higher ed -- and in life.

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Spencer Beswick @spencerbeswick.bsky.social · 28/07/2026

Happy to share I have a chapter on anarchafeminism and reproductive freedom in the forthcoming book "Anarchafeminist Horizons at the End of Gender: Praxis Across Movements, Solidarities Across Borders," edited by Nathan Poirier & Zane McNeill, coming from Bloomsbury in Feb 2027.

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Spencer Beswick @spencerbeswick.bsky.social · 22/07/2026

Just submitted proofs for a forthcoming journal article on North American anarchist gatherings in the 1980s in the Journal for the Study of Radicalism. I look forward to sharing it when it is published!

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Spencer Beswick @spencerbeswick.bsky.social · 13/07/2026

I have a piece on "Anarchist Institutions" in this forthcoming book simply titled "Anarchisms," published by Dog Section Press. I LOVE the illustration @catsimsart.bsky.social did for my chapter and I'm super excited for the book. Support it here: www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/anarchisms

Photo of a black book on a yellow background. Yellow text on the book reads "Anarchisms."

Photo of a book spread. On the left page is an illustration of a building labeled The Anarchist Bookshop. On the right is the first page of a chapter titled "Anarchist Institutions" by Spencer Beswick.

Quote in black text on a yellow background. "As we assemble this alternative world we need a strategic vision to build power and make a revolution. In the meantime, we are building a new world in the shell of the old." Spencer Beswick

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Spencer Beswick @spencerbeswick.bsky.social · 22/07/2026

There is a real contradiction between the argument that academia is controlled by the left and the reality that the professors getting fired, denied tenure, blacklisted, and fleeing the country from far-right death threats are almost all, in fact, on the left.

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Spencer Beswick @spencerbeswick.bsky.social · 21/07/2026

The AHA leadership election is over and the Democracy Slate totally lost, right? Unless I missed it (and googling failed), there hasn't been any public acknowledgement of this, which feels odd. Does anyone know the vote counts or anything? Weird to have total radio silence.

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Spencer Beswick @spencerbeswick.bsky.social · 18/07/2026

Sometimes I despair at the state of higher ed (right-wing attacks, the job market, AI, etc. etc.), but I also remember how excited I was to go to college. The summer before, I pored over the course catalog, thrilled by visions of everything I could learn. What a joy, learning!

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Spencer Beswick @spencerbeswick.bsky.social · 17/07/2026

Sad to see that Hard Crackers: Chronicles of Everyday Life is calling it quits, but they had a great decade of publishing. Who will pick up the mantle of Race Traitor in their place? hardcrackers.com/farewell-2/

hardcrackers.com

Farewell

We wish to inform our readers and supporters that after 10 years of publishing in print and online, Hard Crackers is closing up shop. This announcement brings with it a mix of pride and sadness: pride...

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Spencer Beswick @spencerbeswick.bsky.social · 17/07/2026

It is hard not to conclude that Trump is laying the groundwork to declare a national emergency to interfere with midterm elections this fall. In South Korea a 2024 coup attempt was defeated by mass popular mobilization. That is what would be necessary here to defend democracy.

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Spencer Beswick @spencerbeswick.bsky.social · 14/07/2026

I'm teaching a class this fall on the history of the 1960s in the US -- what a dream! I have most of the readings nailed down, but I'm curious to hear: what are your favorite pieces of writing (or film or other media) on the sixties?

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Spencer Beswick @spencerbeswick.bsky.social · 13/07/2026

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Ola Jönsson @madwrist.bsky.social · 13/07/2026

Dog Section Press crowdfunding for there next publication: Anarchisms - Collection of 10 essays aims to increase awareness of – and encourage involvement in – anarchist forms of organisation. - Crowdfunder page with more information: 👉 www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/anarchisms 👈 - youtu.be/-EXPNaF58hM

youtu.be

Anarchisms

YouTube video by Dog Section Press

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Spencer Beswick @spencerbeswick.bsky.social · 10/07/2026

I don't want "consumer choice" in health insurance that makes me spend hours trying to decipher the "best" option for benefits in a new job (how do you choose? Who knows!). At this point I'm essentially a single issue voter on Medicare for All.

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Spencer Beswick @spencerbeswick.bsky.social · 10/07/2026

Some AI boosters act like it's a huge win to say "you can't actually 'not use' AI because it's in everything now, including all of Google's tools and algorithms" -- you know what has gotten so much worse the last couple years? Google! Along with *checks notes* everything else.

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Spencer Beswick @spencerbeswick.bsky.social · 07/07/2026

Ok now back to your regularly scheduled anarcho-history-posting. "Here's why making diy vegan iced lattes is actually anarchist praxis..."

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Spencer Beswick @spencerbeswick.bsky.social · 07/07/2026

I have started making iced lattes at home that taste just like $7 iced lattes and I feel like I have unlocked a summer secret. Takes two minutes to make coffee in the Aeropress and add oat milk and ice. Incredible.

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Spencer Beswick @spencerbeswick.bsky.social · 06/07/2026

Tbh I really think a lot of longtime lefties who hate DSA are still stuck with their image of the org from before 2016.

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Spencer Beswick @spencerbeswick.bsky.social · 06/07/2026

It feels auspicious that DSA became the largest socialist organization in US history (with 120k members) on the July 4th 250th anniversary.

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Spencer Beswick @spencerbeswick.bsky.social · 05/07/2026

The idea that today's most important political divide is between YIMBYs and NIMBYs is just patently absurd to me.

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Spencer Beswick @spencerbeswick.bsky.social · 04/07/2026

As a Historian™, I say that there have been three (3) moments in American history in which it was acceptable to be patriotic: during and after the Revolution, Civil War through Reconstruction, and New Deal through WWII. 1/

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Spencer Beswick @spencerbeswick.bsky.social · 03/07/2026

Looking forward to presenting my piece "Anarchist Institutions: Infoshops and Beyond" at the Anarchist Studies Network conference in August. The conference is in Manchester, but I will be presenting as part of the online day.

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Spencer Beswick @spencerbeswick.bsky.social · 01/07/2026

Instant pot stans constantly gaslight everyone about how fast and easy they are. Sure, just add all the ingredients, wait 20 min for it to pressurize, another half hour to cook, then 15-20 min to depressurize. All without being able to taste and adjust seasonings. I don't get it.

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Spencer Beswick @spencerbeswick.bsky.social · 30/06/2026

We watched the first episode of the Ken Burns American Revolution documentary series and unfortunately military history is still as boring as ever.

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Spencer Beswick @spencerbeswick.bsky.social · 26/06/2026

I just looked at recent posts in r/RFKJrForPresident and they feel that Trump utterly betrayed the MAHA movement (true). I just wish they could ask themselves: what is it about them and their movement that led them to trust the most obvious liar and conman in the country?

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Spencer Beswick @spencerbeswick.bsky.social · 16/06/2026

I'm reading Gordon Wood's (RIP) book on the early American republic and I am actually surprised to learn the extent to which Hamilton and most of the Federalists (in their own words) hated the French Revolution and straight up wanted to build a monarchy modeled after Britain. 1/

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Spencer Beswick @spencerbeswick.bsky.social · 30/09/2024

I love finding stuff like this: "Socialist Mayors Discuss Nation's Problems" in 1990 with Bernie Sanders and Benjamin Nichols (socialist mayor of Ithaca, NY). It's wild to me that there was a small revival of municipal socialism in the 1980s-90s that we just never talk about.

Photo of a newspaper article with the headline "Socialist Mayors Discuss Nation's Problems" from April 27, 1990

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Spencer Beswick @spencerbeswick.bsky.social · 13/06/2026

Jenny Brown: “More important than speaking truth to power is speaking truth to each other in order to build our power. This is how we’re going to protect and advance abortion rights, and it’s also how we’re going to win the other things we need for our happiness. 1/2

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Spencer Beswick @spencerbeswick.bsky.social · 04/06/2026

For a terrifying treat, try this: stand next to a road for a while watching cars and notice just how many people drive around glued to their phones. Fun!

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Rita, antifascist🏴 @oldsquida.bsky.social · 31/05/2026

“Building on the legacy of anarcha-feminists in the women’s liberation movement, Love and Rage argued that the only way to guarantee reproductive freedom was to struggle for autonomy against the state rather than reform within it.” - Spencer Beswick

read.dukeupress.edu

“To Repulse the State from Our Uteri”: Anarcha-feminism, Reproductive Freedom, and Dual Power

Abstract. This article analyzes how anarcha-feminists in the United States critiqued the state and attempted to build feminist dual power in response to the New Right’s attacks on reproductive freedom...

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PM Press @pmpress.bsky.social · 30/05/2026

Born on this day in 1814, Mikhail Bakunin was a Russian revolutionary and an anarchist thinker.

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Spencer Beswick @spencerbeswick.bsky.social · 30/05/2026

The right grifts by selling you gold and fake supplements. The left grifts by convincing you to subscribe to another knockoff Jacobin magazine.

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