People are losing faith in democracy’s ability to deliver social progress. But are democracies better than autocracies at promoting economic growth, alleviating poverty, and creating healthier, more educated, and more peaceful societies? On all counts, the answer is yes.

What Democracy Does . . . And Does Not Do | Journal of Democracy

People are losing faith in democracy’s ability to deliver social progress. But are democracies better than autocracies at promoting economic growth, alleviating poverty, and creating healthier…

journalofdemocracy.org

nativenewsonline.net/opinion/ken-...

Ken Burns Finally Puts Native People Back In the American Revolution Story — And It Matters

Opinion. Ken Burns, the award-winning filmmaker whose work has defined how Americans understand the Civil War, baseball, jazz, and the Vietnam War, is back this week on PBS with a new six-part documen...

nativenewsonline.net

Earlier this year, the United States deported 252 Venezuelans to El Salvador and paid its government to imprison them. Now two human-rights organizations have found that all of those men were physically abused, Conor Friedersdorf writes:

What the Deported Venezuelans Went Through in El Salvador

Forty men sent to El Salvador by the Trump administration have shared disturbing accounts of abuse by a regime that America paid to imprison them.

bit.ly

Yn a free society, universitye-level studye of the artes and humanityes sholde not be avaylable onlye to the wealthye and privileged.

“We don’t deserve the trust of the nation if we’re unclear about the divisiveness of swastikas,” the official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity due to a fear of reprisal. www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...

U.S. Coast Guard will no longer classify swastikas, nooses as hate symbols

The military service, which falls under the Department of Homeland Security, has drafted a new policy that classifies such items “potentially divisive.”

washingtonpost.com

Cast your mind back a few presidents and remind yourself how INSANE this question is.

Kyle Griffin@kylegriffin1.bsky.social · 11mo ago

A real question asked at the White House press briefing: Does the president want to execute members of Congress?

Ken Burns’ new documentary about the American Revolution premieres on Sunday at 8pm Eastern, and @herberthistory.bsky.social, @michaelhattem.bsky.social, & I are hosting a watch party! It’s free to join and you can chat with and ask us questions throughout the premiere.

Think all Rev War artists were elite white men? Meet Prince Demah: Black, enslaved, trained in London, and a Patriot. 🎧 His story challenges the canon. Hear more on Ben Franklin’s World w/ @drzara.bsky.social #ArtHistory #RevWar #Revolution250 #USHistory #History

Episode 423: Zara Anishanslin, The Forgotten Artists of the American Revolution

Zara Anishanslin joins us to uncover the hidden world of artists, artisans, and makers who painted, stitched, and crafted the Revolution into being.

benfranklinsworld.com

Revolutionary art wasn’t all Trumbull and Copley. 🎨 Some artists were enslaved. Some were women. In Ep. 423, @drzara.bsky.social shares the story of Prince Demah—painter, patriot, and genius. 🎧 benfranklinsworld.com/423 #ArtHistory #AmericanRevolution

Museums show us the art that survives. But what about the art—and artists—we’ve lost? 🎧 In Ep. 423, @drzara.bsky.social reveals the lives of forgotten creators like Prince Demah. Listen: benfranklinsworld.com/423 💬 Which stories deserve to be remembered? #AmericanRevolution #History

Episode 423: Zara Anishanslin, The Forgotten Artists of the American Revolution

Zara Anishanslin joins us to uncover the hidden world of artists, artisans, and makers who painted, stitched, and crafted the Revolution into being.

benfranklinsworld.com

Prince Demah: Enslaved in Massachusetts. Trained in London. Painted portraits. Fought for liberty. Left everything to his mother, Daphny. His life reads like fiction—but it’s true. 🎧 Hear his story: benfranklinsworld.com/423 w/ @drzara.bsky.social #HiddenHistories #AmericanRevolution

REV. BLACK (who was shot in the head with a pepper ball): “If this is what they’re doing to pastors, journalists, teachers, mothers, and the elderly gathered to sing and pray outside ICE facilities… what might they be doing to our neighbors who are behind those walls?”

SNAP isn't about "people who don't work." It's about people who don't get paid enough to live. Of the 40 or so million people who rely on food stamps: * Two-thirds are children, seniors, or disabled * Most working-age adults who receive SNAP are employed—but in jobs that pay poverty wages

Here it is, my 247th #ScholarSunday thread of great public scholarly writing & work, podcast episodes, new & forthcoming books from the last week. Add more below, share as widely as possible, & enjoy, all! 🗃️ blackwhiteandread.com/scholarsunda...

#ScholarSunday Thread 247 (10/26/25) – Black and White and Read All Over

Here it is, my 247th #ScholarSunday thread of great public scholarly writing & work, podcast episodes, new & forthcoming books from the last week. Add more below, share as widely as possible, & enjoy,...

blackwhiteandread.com

What will surprise you most about Prince Demah? His London training? His enlistment with Paul Revere’s artillery unit? Or how he honored his mother Daphny in his will? 🎧 Ep. 423 of Ben Franklin’s World w/ @drzara.bsky.social 🔗 benfranklinsworld.com/423 #History #AmericanRevolution

Ben Franklin's World has a weekly newsletter, History Behind the Headlines. Each week, @lizcovart.bsky.social takes a historical lens to the origins of a topic in the news. This week, learn more about the White House. Read the issue and subscribe: ben-franklins-world.kit.com/profile

Ben Franklin's World

Ben Franklin's World is an award-winning podcast about early American history hosted by historian Liz Covart, Ph.D. It's for people who love and enjoy history and want to know more about the people, p...

ben-franklins-world.kit.com

Revolutionary art wasn’t all Trumbull and Copley. 🎨 Some artists were enslaved. Some were women. In Ep. 423, @drzara.bsky.social shares the story of Prince Demah—painter, patriot, and genius. 🎧 benfranklinsworld.com/423 #ArtHistory #AmericanRevolution

What will surprise you most about Prince Demah? His London training? His enlistment with Paul Revere’s artillery unit? Or how he honored his mother Daphny in his will? 🎧 Ep. 423 of Ben Franklin’s World w/ @drzara.bsky.social 🔗 benfranklinsworld.com/423 #History #AmericanRevolution

Think all Rev War artists were elite white men? Meet Prince Demah: Black, enslaved, trained in London, and a Patriot. 🎧 His story challenges the canon. Hear more on Ben Franklin’s World w/ @drzara.bsky.social #ArtHistory #RevWar #Revolution250 #USHistory #History

Episode 423: Zara Anishanslin, The Forgotten Artists of the American Revolution

Zara Anishanslin joins us to uncover the hidden world of artists, artisans, and makers who painted, stitched, and crafted the Revolution into being.

benfranklinsworld.com

Museums show us the art that survives. But what about the art—and artists—we’ve lost? 🎧 In Ep. 423, @drzara.bsky.social reveals the lives of forgotten creators like Prince Demah. Listen: benfranklinsworld.com/423 💬 Which stories deserve to be remembered? #AmericanRevolution #History

Episode 423: Zara Anishanslin, The Forgotten Artists of the American Revolution

Zara Anishanslin joins us to uncover the hidden world of artists, artisans, and makers who painted, stitched, and crafted the Revolution into being.

benfranklinsworld.com

Prince Demah: Enslaved in Massachusetts. Trained in London. Painted portraits. Fought for liberty. Left everything to his mother, Daphny. His life reads like fiction—but it’s true. 🎧 Hear his story: benfranklinsworld.com/423 w/ @drzara.bsky.social #HiddenHistories #AmericanRevolution

A big question now is: why isn't FEMA in western Alaska? Because they have not been deployed. Gov. Dunleavy has requested a federal disaster declaration, and Alaska is waiting to hear back. In the meantime, it's all local, tribal and state led relief efforts. alaskabeacon.com/2025/10/17/m...

Municipal, state officials mobilize to welcome hundreds of storm evacuees to Anchorage | Alaska Beacon

Alaska has requested a federal disaster declaration; in the meantime, the state is bearing the cost of aid, response and cleanup.

alaskabeacon.com

ICYMI, I wrote this about why we need humanities majors now, more than ever, and how they succeed. Maybe even pass it on to students whose One Relative at the Thanksgiving table condescendingly asks "what are you going to do with THAT degree?" Here are some talking points—and data!—to refute them.

Andrea Kaston Tange@aktange.bsky.social · 12mo ago

My latest: "Numerous studies show that majors in the humanities—typically, in departments of English, history, philosophy, religious studies, classics and languages—lead students to employment and life satisfaction outcomes as positive as those for majors traditionally championed as 'practical.'”

Speaker Johnson: "People’s faith in the government is at an all time low" Republicans control all 3 branches of the government.

Hanging onto every bit of good news The river has come alive in the Klamath with wild Chinook salmon. The wider ecosystem is healing. This most powerful story of Indigenous-led #rewilding after the largest dam removal in US history keeps getting better. lostcoastoutpost.com/2025/oct/9/o...

One Year After Klamath Dam Removal, 'There's Just Fish Jumping All Over the Place': Scientists Describe Improvements to Water Quality and Wildlife

lostcoastoutpost.com

Again, Trump has crossed a Red Line no president has ever crossed: personally ordering the criminal prosecution of an American he doesn't like despite DOJ not finding evidence of any crime. If Trump can do this to the powerful, he can do it to you. That's not freedom, and its not America.

New York Attorney General Letitia James@newyorkstateag.bsky.social · last yr.

This is nothing more than a continuation of the president’s desperate weaponization of our justice system. I am not fearful — I am fearless. We will fight these baseless charges aggressively, and my office will continue to fiercely protect New Yorkers and their rights..

This is the lesson of 2025

Today is a day when arts degrees are worthless, but the product of those degrees is so valuable it would kill an entire industry if they were made to pay for it.

The Verge@theverge.com · last yr.

Nick Clegg says asking artists for use permission would ‘kill’ the AI industry

Pope Leo XIV says he will "stand with" Catholic leaders in protecting immigrants facing mass deportations in the U.S., according to advocates who recently met with the Pope.

Pope Leo will ‘stand with’ Catholic leaders in protecting immigrants’ rights, advocates say

The comments from the pope mark the most recent push from the Vatican against the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.

politico.com