Join us Dec. 15 for the next BHC Book Series event. 9:00 a.m. EST live on YouTube Philip Scranton discusses *Spare Parts: A Global History of a Modern Problem, 1940-1980* @hopkinspress.bsky.social with @profmarkwilson.bsky.social and Valentina Fava Send us your questions for Phil in advance #BizHis

PhD students in #BizHis: applications are open for the 2027 BHC Doctoral Colloquium in Mexico City, March 18. Work closely with BHC scholars on your dissertation, research strategy, and career development. DEADLINE is Dec. 11, 2026. thebhc.org/doctoral-col... #BHC2027 #Skystorians

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...

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.’

lareviewofbooks.org

Many Pentagon projects face delays, budget increases and performance issues. The causes of these problems are often opaque to the taxpayers who foot the bill. Help point us to the most important stories 👇

Do You Know About U.S. Military Spending? Help ProPublica Understand Where the Money Goes.

Many Pentagon projects face delays, budget increases and performance issues. The causes of these problems are often opaque to the taxpayers who foot the bill. Help point us to the most important stori...

propublica.org

Presidential Memo: Rebuilding the United States Navy and America’s Shipbuilding Industrial Base — USNI News news.usni.org/2026/08/13/p...

Presidential Memo: Rebuilding the United States Navy and America's Shipbuilding Industrial Base - USNI News

The following is President Donald Trump’s presidential memorandum, Rebuilding the United States Navy and America’s Shipbuilding Industrial Base, signed Aug. 13, 2026. From the Memorandum MEMORANDUM FO...

news.usni.org

New entrants promised to escape the politics that ossified traditional defense procurement. The subsidies aligning them with statehouses may unintentionally deliver those same politics. warontherocks.com/cogs-of-war/...

The Arsenal and the Statehouse: New Defense Firms, Venture Capital and State Industrial Policy

When Anduril announced a $910 million drone production facility in Ohio, it was not politics as usual. The main message came from Ohio’s governor, Mike

warontherocks.com

So proud of this forthcoming book! I spearheaded the project, but it was a labor of love for a whole team of talented scholars.

Hagley Center for the History of Business, Technology, & Society@hagleycenter.bsky.social · 2mo ago

The newest volume in our Hagley Perspectives in Business and Culture book series is now available for pre-order from UPenn Press! How and why do microorganisms, mountains, crabs, and chimps shape business? Check out Raw Capital: More-Than-Human Business History here www.pennpress.org/978151283057...

The Business History Conference #BHC2027 is now accepting proposals Deadline is Oct 16 2026 Use the session organizer thebhc.org/session-orga... Please share @entandsoc.bsky.social @historian-kparkin.bsky.social @umanitoba.bsky.social @hagleycenter.bsky.social @reaktionbooks.bsky.social #bizhis

www.cambridge.org/core/books/c... So our Cambridge History of War and Society is out and available! My co-editor Jennifer Keene and I are so appreciative of all our authors—see list in the image. We’re very proud of this volume and it’s because of all the incredible scholars who contributed.

Now moving into copyediting, this book is currently scheduled for release in May 2027. press.princeton.edu/books/hardco...

American War Machine

A sweeping history of the vast military and industrial complex behind America’s unmatched power on the world stage, from the Eisenhower presidency to Trump

press.princeton.edu

In a new @washingtonmonthly.bsky.social piece, I explain how this agenda from @repcasar.bsky.social & @usprogressives.bsky.social revives an American tradition of DIY progressivism that promotes affordability by using public factories to counter monopoly power washingtonmonthly.com/2026/05/18/p...

The Affordability Case for Public Factories

Public factories once helped America fight monopoly pricing. A new push would revive them to lower drug costs and ease supply bottlenecks.

washingtonmonthly.com

Congressman Greg Casar@repcasar.bsky.social · 5mo ago

We make your prescription drugs cheaper by saying if companies won’t make prescription drugs affordable, we’ll just make them ourselves. A vial of insulin goes from $300 a vial to $50. That's a bill from @schakowsky.house.gov and @warren.senate.gov.

Business History Conference 2027 𖡼 Call for Papers 𖡼 thebhc.org/2027-bhc-cal... We encourage 𓂃✍︎ 𖡼Full panel proposals 𖡼Proposals en español 𖡼Interdisciplinary approaches Deadline for proposals: October 16, 2026 Location: Mexico City #bizhis #BHC2027

You will want to read Anand Toprani’s excellent book on Lehman, now available for preorder. www.sup.org/books/politi...

The Man in the Middle | Stanford University Press

John Lehman is a legendary figure in American naval history. He was one of the youngest people ever to serve as Secretary of the Navy and arguably the most-powerful holder of that office. While the Pr...

sup.org

In the supply-shock era, we should revisit a lost industrial policy tool: public factories. 🏭In a new paper, Ganesh Sitaraman & I explore the history & future of US public factories. ⚡️In another paper, I propose public factories for critical energy components www.vanderbilt.edu/vanderbilt-p... 🧵

Public Factories

Our Work Public factories can be powerful means to support production of critical goods. Policymakers at all levels of government have deployed government-owned production facilities throughout Americ...

vanderbilt.edu

I appreciate @kschake.bsky.social's efforts to shed light on these vital issues, but I am less sanguine Politicization operates through multiple mechanisms not captured by analyzing the credentials or past partisan commentary of senior officers replacing those who have been fired. 1/

Kori Schake@kschake.bsky.social · 6mo ago

Mostly not — we found just 2 concerning appointments, beyond the obvious attempt to undercut the deservingness of minority and female officers.

Blurbs are in for my new book, Gangster of New York! Many thanks to Eric Rauchway (@rauchway.bsky.social), Rebecca Jo Plant, and Douglas Egerton.

North Carolina’s budget stalemate froze raises, cutting average teacher pay ~1% to $60,984. The state ranks 43rd nationally, and about 10.1% of teachers—roughly 1 in 10—leave each year, worsening shortages. #NCed

NC lawmakers didn’t pass a state budget. How it’s led to a drop in teacher pay

New state report shows the average pay for North Carolina teachers dropped 1% this school year amid no new raises from General Assembly

newsobserver.com

Miller Center oral history interviews with Obama administration officials now available. (Apparently different from broader set of Obama presidency interviews also released recently from a Columbia University Incite Institute project.) millercenter.org/the-presiden...

Microsoft, in a legal filing, is challenging Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s action last week to shut Anthropic out of military work by labeling its AI products as posing a threat to national security.

Microsoft and retired military chiefs back AI company Anthropic in court fight against Pentagon

stripes.com

👋 Say hello at #BHC2026 👉 Business History is sponsoring workshops and is an official sponsor of the @businesshistoryc.bsky.social in London. We look forward to connecting, hearing about your work, and continuing conversations around #bizhis #businesshistory.

A 21st century policymaker reflects on lessons from the WWII industrial mobilization, while offering a generous and astute discussion of my 2016 book on the subject. www.factorysettings.org/p/what-does-...

What Does World War II Teach Us About Industrial Policy Today?

CHIPS and WWII have more in common than I thought

factorysettings.org

Never has so much US combat power been assembled with so little explanation to the public, allies, or Congress regarding why or how it will be used. Never.

Got an idea for reforming defense acquisition? The Pentagon’s all ears. | “We need radically different ideas,” says assistant defense secretary. | by Jennifer Hlad, reporting from Honolulu:

Got an idea for reforming defense acquisition? The Pentagon’s all ears.

“We need radically different ideas,” says assistant defense secretary.

buff.ly

The program for the BHC 2026 Annual Meeting in London is now available‼️ You can view the full meeting program here: thebhc.org/meeting-prog... Note that there are visa requirements to enter the UK for most nationalities -- ETA application form: www.gov.uk/eta #BHC2026 #bizhis #BHCLondon

Trump orders defense companies to stop stock buybacks, dividends

RIP to Nick Salvatore, author of Eugene V. Deb’s: Citizen and Socialist, one of the book’s that inspired me to pursue the study of history.

David Waldstreicher@dwaldstreicher.bsky.social · 10mo ago

Thinking about one of my all-time favorite historians, CUNY grad Nick Salvatore, & what he did for cultural/political biography, radical history, Af-Am history. I am always telling folks about We All Got History: The Memory Books of Amos Webber. www.ithacavoice.org/2025/12/obituary-nick-salvatore/

“A 3rd (awful) NYT editorial on the future of war has dropped”

Secretary of Defense Rock@sodrock.bsky.social · 10mo ago

“A 2nd (awful) NYT editorial on the future of war has dropped”

Use code: UPKHOLIDAY25 to receive 40% off (kansaspress.ku.edu/9780700640089/). @strickjl.bsky.social #americanpresidency #presidentialleadership #welfare #FranklinDRoosevelt #harrystruman #DwightDEisenhower #JohnFKennedy #LyndonBJohnson #ForeignPolicy #upkansas

How to Fix a Typewriter and Your Life. How a man traded steady, grinding corporate security for a dying craft, and, in the process, found his soul. Wonderful writing by the great Kurt Streeter.

How to Fix a Typewriter and Your Life (Gift Article)

This is the story of how a man traded steady, grinding corporate security for a dying craft and, in the process, found his soul.

nytimes.com

Good news: the US National Archives system is still making its way through researchers’ Mandatory Declassification Review requests. Not so good news: the update I received today concerned a request I filed in March 2015, nearly 11 years ago.