This is the worst news I have heard in a very long time - what a tragic loss. @helenbranswell.bsky.social was, unquestionably, _the_ best in the field and just a wonderful person. Condolences to her family and colleagues - she'll be sorely missed. www.statnews.com/2026/10/13/h...

Helen Branswell, whose reporting on infectious diseases and public health drew acclaim, dies at 69

Helen Branswell, STAT's infectious disease reporter who earned the respect of experts and public health officials with her accessible, prescient dispatches, has died at age 69.

statnews.com

Life goal achieved: @ramckay.bsky.social & I made it into Duke Today, Duke University's "one stop shop" for BIG news I've asked Duke comms to get this piece to Swift's people (I said: "Duke comms has SWAY and surely you can sashay your way to getting this to Tay?") today.duke.edu/2026/10/opin...

OPINION: Has Taylor Swift Defanged the Toxic Term ‘Patient Zero’ ? | Duke Today

today.duke.edu

You see how Taylor Swift brings people together? It was a joy to meet and work with @ramckay.bsky.social!

Richard McKay@ramckay.bsky.social · last mo.

What fun it was to write this @bmj.com OpEd with the delightful @gavinyamey.bsky.social about the surprise message in Taylor Swift’s new single. www.bmj.com/content/395/...

What fun it was to write this @bmj.com OpEd with the delightful @gavinyamey.bsky.social about the surprise message in Taylor Swift’s new single. www.bmj.com/content/395/...

It's the first time I've written an OpEd on Taylor Swift, coauthored with the wonderful @ramckay.bsky.social As the @bmj.com editor noted, my last BMJ piece was on Fauci. From Fauci to Taylor—I contain multitudes, lol The tone is light-hearted, the message is serious www.bmj.com/content/395/...

Reposting an article I wrote for The Conversation in 2020 about the history of the slippery phrase “patient zero.” Just because. theconversation.com/patient-zero...

Patient zero: why it’s such a toxic term

Why we should wash our hands of this unhealthy phrase.

theconversation.com

If you're a historian working on global, international, or transregional topics in the (long) twentieth century, the series editors for INTERCONNECTIONS: THE GLOBAL 20TH CENTURY would be delighted to chat with you about your book project. uncpress.org/series/inter...

InterConnections: The Global 20th Century

InterConnections: The Global 20th Century is home to innovative global, international, and transregional histories of the long twentieth century. We also publish cutting-edge histories of the US and t...

uncpress.org

✨SSHM Mid-Career Online Writing Retreat✨ funded by Wellcome Over 2 days: Friday 9th and Monday 12th January 2026 10am-5.30pm GMT This event is for SSHM members. To sign up and for more details see website Deadline for sign-up: 17 December 2025 (23:59 GMT) #histmed

UPCOMING SSHM EVENTS

SSHM Mid-Career Writing Retreat funded by Wellcome Friday 9th and Monday 12th January 2026 10am-5.30pm GMT Deadline for applications: 17 December 2025 (23:59 GMT) Led by Professor Rowena Murra…

sshm.org

This World AIDS Day, I’d like to highlight a forthcoming new book by Rustam Alexander, AIDS in Soviet Russia: A story of deception, despair and hope (Manchester University Press, February 2026). manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk/9781526185327/ #histmed #skystorians #worldaidsday

Manchester University Press - AIDS in Soviet Russia

AIDS in Soviet Russia - Browse and buy the Hardcover edition of AIDS in Soviet Russia by Rustam Alexander

manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk

On LinkedIn as well as Bluesky? Why not follow SSHM's new LinkedIn page too! #histmed #histSTM

Society for the Social History of Medicine | LinkedIn

Society for the Social History of Medicine | 8 followers on LinkedIn. SSHM promotes interdisciplinary approaches to the history of health and medicine. Publishes a journal and book series. | A members...

linkedin.com

Upcoming Public Webinar: “Roy Porter Remembered” Hosted by the Christ's College Medical Alumni Association 6-7 pm, Tuesday, 21 October 2025 Register for free at royporterccmaa.eventbrite.co.uk

"The Greatest Medical Historian of his Generation" – Roy Porter Remembered

An online event reflecting on the life and legacy of medical historian Roy Porter, hosted by CCMAA and featuring Simon Schama and Bill Bynum

royporterccmaa.eventbrite.co.uk

The 2026 SSHM Conference will be @universityofleeds.bsky.social. The theme will be In/Out and we are inviting papers that consider experiences of being in and/or out of health or health care in any period or geographical location. #HistMed #HistSTM sshm.org/sshm-2026/

SSHM 2026: In/Out

Location: University of Leeds Dates: 30 June to 3 July 2026 Submission Deadline: 5.00pm (GMT) 11th January 2026 Conference Co-Convenors: Dr Alexia Moncrieff & Dr Katherine Rawling Conference Co…

sshm.org

Did I mention this? 🚨Online today, 6 Oct, 4-5:30pm BST. Still time for free registration!🚨 For The SSHM Lecture 2025, Prof. Jeremy Greene will be presenting 'Wasted medicines & medical wastes: Notes from the trash-heap of medical history' #histmed #histSTM #skystorians 🗃 sshm.org/sshm-agm/

SSHM AGM & The SSHM Lecture 2025

Monday 6 October [Online]  4:00 – 5:30pm (UK time)  As required, the Society gives notice to members that the Annual General Meeting to formally accept the accounts for 2024 and for…

sshm.org

Delighted to be invited to co-present today’s keynote to the 5th annual Rise Up conference, with Kevin Kareem Brooks, Leon “Struggle” Davis, and the voice of our team member Reginald T. Qualls. Our title was “Unearthing Carceral Sickness through the Power of Transformative History.” #RiseUp2025

📣Exciting News 📣 Dates & host institution for the SSHM Biennial Conference #SSHM2026 are confirmed! Save the Date in your planners 📅 Theme and CFPs to follow later #histmed #medhumanities #histSTM

Came home to the best gift ever - a copy of my new book, edited with @drkyliesmith.bsky.social. This book is the culmination of years of fantastic conversations with some brilliant scholars, and I'm so thrilled to finally hold it in my hands. I might be prouder of this than my actual monograph. 1/

Really happy to see that this special issue on transnational histories of HIV/AIDS activism is out in the world. Thanks so much to @npapadogian.bsky.social and @somakbiswas.bsky.social for all their hard work bringing it together! #histmed [1/2] muse.jhu.edu/issue/55146

✨Join the team ✨ The Society's peer reviewed journal Social History of Medicine published by @oxfordacademic.bsky.social has a vacancy for a co-editor. Deadline for applications 27 June 2025 Further details available at sshm.org/notices/ #histmed #skystorians

This week’s UK COVID-19 inquiry hearings are investigating the role of test, trace, and isolate - a vital public health practice for responding to infections like COVID-19. 1/

Kudos to PfizerUK for working to raise awareness of the growing risks of antimicrobial resistance. They interviewed three older members of the public about their memories of a time before antibiotics. I was happy to help them draw the historical threads together. www.youtube.com/watch?v=0qJi...

Before the Breakthrough: Memories from a Pre-antibiotic Era

YouTube video by PfizerUK

youtube.com

Job Klaxon: come and join us. We are looking for a Postdoctoral Research Associate to work on a project on the history of intensive care medicine, directed by @fcondrau.bsky.social in Zurich and me in Manchester. www.jobs.manchester.ac.uk/Job/JobDetai...

Research Associate - Life Support: Technologies, Institutions and Experiences in the History of Intensive Care Medicine, 1945-2020:Oxford Road

jobs.manchester.ac.uk

“All five of Canada's living prime ministers released a letter Tuesday urging Canadians to fly their flags with pride, and their call seems to be working.” www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

The Maple Leaf is turning 60, and Canadians are more proud than ever of the flag | CBC News

The Maple Leaf turns 60 years old on Saturday and, in the wake of U.S. President Donald Trump's continued jabs at Canada, the nation's flag and its special day are gaining more attention than usual.

cbc.ca

Oh heyyyy - you need a new book!!

Kylie M. Smith@drkyliesmith.bsky.social · 2y ago

I was just talking to an Honors student about ethics in the history of medicine and looked to see if we had a @hopkinspress.bsky.social preorder site for Do Less Harm yet and oh guess what? WE DO! www.press.jhu.edu/books/title/...

Yay the cover is here! So thrilled I got to contribute a chapter to this volume and collaborate with a bunch of amazing scholars!

Kylie M. Smith@drkyliesmith.bsky.social · 2y ago

@cethompson.bsky.social and I are so excited to share the cover for our book Do Less Harm out soon with @hopkinspress.bsky.social

I LOVE this cover - and the fact that I’ve been able to collaborate with such an amazing scholarly collective!

Kylie M. Smith@drkyliesmith.bsky.social · 2y ago

@cethompson.bsky.social and I are so excited to share the cover for our book Do Less Harm out soon with @hopkinspress.bsky.social

Our latest blog piece is by SSHM members who attended the Reproductive Health Histories Working Group Hybrid Meeting in July 2024 An event supported by SSHM conference funding! Deadline for the next round of conference funding is 1 March.

CHSTM Reproductive Health Histories Hybrid Meeting

by Kate Errington, Birkbeck University and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine; Dr Catherine Medici-Thiemann, University of Nebraska Medical Center; Dr Erin Spinney, University of Ne…

sshm.org

If you wanna reach the historical communities of the blue skies, consider using this established hashtag that reaches out to all fields with historical perspectives: #skystorians So, users of #historians #historian #bluestorians #blustorian #history etc, join in and enjoy. Let's boost this posting

That feeling you get at the end of a long week? Enya and Zelda are with you.

You can still book a space for today’s talk - 4 pm UK time.

Society for the Social History of Medicine (SSHM)@sshmedicine.bsky.social · 2y ago

The SSHM Lecture 2024 to TODAY at 4pm. It will be delivered by Prof. Lauren Kassell, ‘Why Astrological Medicine Doesn't Work: Reflections on How to Write the Histories of Science and Medicine’. BOOK NOW www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-sshm-l...