Josh Shepperd
@joshshepperd.bsky.social
Political Economy of Media Theory; Director, New Terrain at Sundance Conference; Sound Fellow, Library of Congress; Prof at University of Colorado
This is so excellent. It’s really worth a listen.
On the Media@onthemedia.bsky.social · 7h ago“Because political polarization is a symptom, and not the root of the problem that ails us, ‘fixing’ polarization will not restore American democratic health.” – @lilymasonphd.bsky.social explains why being more civil to one another won't solve our political crisis: lnk.to/onthemedia/b...
Looks like two new university book contracts are on their way before 2026 year's end. One connected to the Library of Congress work, the other to my political economic/public media research. More to announce in the coming months.
Acid Mothers Temple live in Denver. Kawabata Makoto is still one of the best guitarists in the world. About as good as music gets.
For lack of clear rules about the use of AI in classrooms, it’s difficult to steer students toward slow, close reading and analysis. So I’m pretty sure that I’m gonna return to reading together in class and bluebook-style assignments next year.
Thrilled to announce that NSF just awarded PI TSU Historian of Science & Mathematics Roger Hart & me (Co-PI) a major 3-Year NSF grant on the history of quantum computing/quantum information science (scholarship, 30 CBI oral histories, infrastructural tools for study...) cse.umn.edu/cbi/news/new...
Newly Awarded Multiyear NSF Project to TSU and CBI on “The Second Quantum Revolution”
MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL (9/8/2026) — The Charles Babbage Institute (CBI) for Computing, Information and Culture is pleased to announce that in partnership Texas Southern University (TSU), we received a...
cse.umn.edu
Happy to share that "Sixty Years of Daisies: Perspectives on Věra Chytilová’s Anarchic Classic" is out now in @jcmsjournal.bsky.social. Essays by @hennefem.bsky.social, @aurspiers.bsky.social, Leana Hirschfeld-Kroen, Barbora Bartunkova, Dijana Jelača + Meta Mazaj, edited by Masha Shpolberg + me.
My department has a new opening in Cinema Studies! Please spread the word. cuny.jobs/staten-islan...
cuny.jobs
Starting 'The State of Digital Studies' here in Basel today with @berrydm.bsky.social talking about the Vector Paradigm. Register via contralab.online/state-of-dig...
Honored to be part of this! Hanging out near the Rockies in January will make this Calgary gal very nostalgic. 🏔️🏔️🏔️
Josh Shepperd@joshshepperd.bsky.social · 2w agoWebsite live for our new academic conference “New Terrain,” in University of Colorado partnership with the Sundance Film Festival. I’m directing. This year we’re featuring 12 invited talks and a brainstorming session to discuss how New Terrain will grow in 2028. www.colorado.edu/cmdi/new-ter...
Website live for our new academic conference “New Terrain,” in University of Colorado partnership with the Sundance Film Festival. I’m directing. This year we’re featuring 12 invited talks and a brainstorming session to discuss how New Terrain will grow in 2028. www.colorado.edu/cmdi/new-ter...
Trump is banning students majoring in degrees that don’t make enough money from taking out college loans. Degrees for social work, art, religious studies, teaching aides, and music will be hit the hardest. trib.al/kQdKbY1
Trump Moves to Cut Off Student Loans for Tons of Degrees
Under a new rule, if your degree doesn’t make enough money, you won’t be able to get a student loan.
trib.al
Today’s John Coltrane’s centennial. Listening to his music taught me as much about thinking as Gramsci, Husserl, Hall, or Anderson. One of the very few historical figures who I’d call a hero. 
India (Live From Village Vanguard/November 1,1961)
YouTube video by John Coltrane - Topic
m.youtube.com
Delighted to join the History on Film podcast with Brad to talk about the rise of broadcast journalism as a 1940s nation-building paradigm, how it became a mid-century public service, and the emergence of newsertainment in the mid-1970s. Plus…Ned Beatty.
The History on Film Podcast@historyonfilm.bsky.social · 3w agoNEW EPISODE ALERT! I'm joined by returning guests @abradschwartz.bsky.social and @joshshepperd.bsky.social to talk about the 1976 masterpiece, NETWORK. We discuss the commercialization of news media, the legacy of Murrow, how this film anticipated the present, and much more! youtu.be/Az9u5Z-ueiM
It's arrived! It was wonderful to work with colleagues on this volume on Copy/Rights & Early Cinema. We'll celebrate the book in Pordenone, Italy on Oct. 6 with Ian Christie and Paolo Tosini, among others, at the 45th Le Giornate del Cinema Muto (Days of Silent Cinema). doi.org/10.3998/mpub...
The professors and instructors who turn classrooms back into spaces for reading and discussion, are going to leave the biggest legacies in this world. Everyone one else will disappear into LLM wallpaper proxies and derivatives. 
Feels like universities might also want to wait to liquidate hundreds of years of educational practice before transforming themselves into single-corporation stewarded data centers.
Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei: "For too long the industry lied" about AI risks
The head of the artificial intelligence company calls the exponential rate of AI developments a "warning sign," with risks for humanity, and says, "We need to slow down." He talks with "Sunday Morning...
cbsnews.com
One of the most visionary leaders in the history of The Smithsonian (his appointment is titled "The Secretary"), and the DC heritage sector. Up there with Archibald McLeish at the Library of Congress. Bunch's example positioned memory and recognition as central to preservation and curation.
Smithsonian chief Lonnie Bunch III to retire amid Trump administration pressure on institution - US politics live
Bunch told the New York Times it was not Trump pressure on the organization that had led to his departure but acknowledged ‘stress’ of the role
theguardian.com
Been enjoying the Merlin app, from Cornell University. You just turn on the app and leave it by the window and it tells you which birds are making what sounds outside.
Identify Bird Songs and Calls with Sound ID
Sound ID listens to the birds around you and shows real-time suggestions for who’s singing. Compare your recording to the songs and calls in Merlin to confirm what you heard. More About Sound ID ...
merlin.allaboutbirds.org
I was interviewed by Times Higher Education about the changing landscape of Academic Twitter, its migration to Bluesky, and how the conditions and institutional support for public scholarship shifted over the past three years. www.timeshighereducation.com/news/has-aca...
Has Academic Twitter found its voice again?
Issues raised by Jason Arday case sent many scholars back on to platform now known as X for first time in years. But critics say Elon Musk-owned site is still no ‘healthy home’ for debate
timeshighereducation.com
Looks like I’ll be the director of an academic conference as part of University of Colorado’s new partnership with the Sundance Film Festival, coming to Boulder in January. It’ll be baby steps this year, but there will be a lot to plan for January 2028.
2027 Sundance Film Festival
CU Boulder is excited to welcome the Sundance Film Festival and Festival-goers to Boulder, Colo. in 2027!
colorado.edu
Was just invited to give my 13th annual invited talk at the Library of Congress. It'll be my 18th overall at the institution.
I hope y’all see that this will mean the imminent closure of a number of graduate programs.
Anna Kornbluh@annakornbluh.bsky.social · last mo."A projected 111,000 fewer international students are expected in the U.S. this fall — a more than 9% drop in enrollment. A coalition of higher education organizations (AND UNIONS) sued the Department of Homeland Security to prevent the rule from taking effect." www.wuky.org/wuky-news/20...
The American Historical Association hired a lobbying firm to help silence member advocacy on Palestine. In this essay, Adam Rzepka covers @historians.org's relationship w/ Thorn Run Partners, its deep ethical conflicts, & the advocacy crisis AHA has thrust upon us. www.chronicle.com/article/a-sc...
Opinion | A Scholarly Association’s Secret Washington Playbook
Did the American Historical Association ask a corporate lobbying firm for advice on how to silence its members?
chronicle.com
Ok serious question for class prep: what's your list of "five best or greatest films"? Not favorite movies, best films.
Will someone please buy this for me? I promise to have you over and cook dinner and we will admire its sublimity together. 
Mogens Koch for Rud Radmussen Modular Book Case in Mahogany
For Sale on 1stDibs - Mogens Koch for Rud Rasmussen, modular bookcase, mahogany, Denmark, design 1928 Modular book case or wall unit by Danish designer Mogens Koch. This piece
1stdibs.com
