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historyasif.bsky.social
New Yorker. Historian of Science and Technology. Space. Music. Soviet History. Comics
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I know a lot of bad shit is going on now but this small thing brought me joy - I got the new Caroline LP ("Caroline 2") in the mail and the band included a signed picture for no reason at all. Very nice of them. Definitely my favorite music of the year so far: www.hearingthings.co/caroline-2-a...

As a New Yorker who has met and talked to him (and will vote for him), I can say he's the real deal. Let's go.

NEW: The board of the Fulbright Program has just resigned after accusing Trump aides of political interference. They say a State Dept. office under Rubio and Darren Beattie has cancelled scholarships to nearly 200 US professors and researchers. Story: www.nytimes.com/2025/06/11/u...

I wrote a book -- during lockdown and maternity leave -- about imperial culture in contemporary Britain, exploring how the empire shaped British society, politics and ordinary people's lives -- from the stuttering run up to the Second World War, to the televised end of the second Elizabethan age.

To all of what you just wrote: NO. None of this is true.

The primary policy objective of the centrist political pundit is to keep making six to seven figures

T--p & M--k are going to kill some of the most amazing space exploration ever done by anyone, including the planned Mars sample return mission.

More on how the bullshit machines are destroying the planet.

"If there were justice in the world, Musk would never be able to repair his reputation... Musk’s sojourn in government has revealed severe flaws in his character — a blithe, dehumanizing cruelty, and a deadly incuriosity. This should shape how he’s seen for the rest of his public life."

Soviet secret cities. ZATOs! 40+ cities suddenly appeared on Russian maps at the end of the Cold War. Here's the story: www.cambridge.org/core/journal... #coldwar #secretcities #zato #closedcities

Me on the WWII-era Nazi transatlantic superbomber to blow up NYC. The Soviets tried to kidnap its chief engineer, Eugen Sänger. www.huntington.org/verso/silver...

Matt Groening from 1994

I can't think of a band I detest more than Pavement. Middlebrow music dressed up in White T-Shirt Dude hipster indie references. Every song a root canal. I'd rather listen to Bon Jovi. #pavement

My favorite TV show of the year: "Andor is a political thriller about living under a fascist state—one built on casual brutality, quota-driven slave labor, the destruction of minority culture, and the needs of endless war." foreignpolicy.com/2025/04/22/a...

It seems starvation-related deaths are now happening. This has echoes of the Siege of Leningrad in WW2: www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblo...

For those in Cambridge and environs, announcement of 29th Annual Hans Rausing Lecture at the Dept of History & Philosophy of Science at the University of Cambridge, June 5, 3:30 pm. #histsci #histech #sts www.hps.cam.ac.uk/news-events/...

135 Palestinians killed in Gaza so far today. Massacre after massacre, day after day. The world does nothing.

For those in Cambridge and environs, announcement of 29th Annual Hans Rausing Lecture at the Dept of History & Philosophy of Science at the University of Cambridge, June 5, 3:30 pm. #histsci #histech #sts www.hps.cam.ac.uk/news-events/...

Andor. Brilliant, moving, thoughtful filmmaking at its peak.

Here is the grad speech that NYU is now withholding the student's diploma for: "As I search my heart today in addressing you all…the only thing that is appropriate to say in this time and to a group this large is a recognition of the atrocities currently happening in Palestine."

NEW: Facing a significant increase in the number of SpaceX launches, British officials detailed their concerns about the safety of Turks and Caicos and other Caribbean territories after debris from an earlier failed launch littered beaches and roads. By @heathervogell.bsky.social

(1/n) My new (edited) book is out! 'Cosmic Fragments: Dislocation and Discontent in the Global Space Age.' Out from @upittpress.bsky.social, the book has 18 scholars weigh in on aspects of space, esp deleterious phenomena, that rarely get foregrounded in celebratory narratives. Most critically..

Class action lawsuit from the Authors Guild to reverse NEH grant terminations:

The Soviet spacecraft that came in from the cold (and fell into the Indian Ocean this morning) -- @nytimes.com on Kosmos-482, the lost Soviet Venus probe from 1972 and its legacy. I'm quoted a few times. (Gift article) www.nytimes.com/2025/05/10/s...

A world historical crime, taking place in full view, with the perpetrators so convinced of their impunity that they can brag about genocidal intent, and it’s hard not to agree with their calculation that no one will stop them and no one will be held accountable

I don't generally give out life advice but one suggestion I have is to not take or remain in a job that requires you to hide your face from your fellow citizens in shame while you do your fucking nazi cosplay on behalf of a paste-brained tyrant

THIS IS NOT NORMAL Telemundo Nueva Inglaterra captured video of a 16-year-old girl's face being held on the ground by Worcester police officers; she and her mother were detained in an apparent ICE operation #immigration

My new book is out! Adopt if for your fall medieval or pop culture courses #medievalsky The softcover edition is $29.95 and the ebook is $28.99. You can purchase it from any online book retailer or directly from Fordham Press here: www.fordhampress.com/978153151013...