By popular demand, I have turned my 'if i am dead, look here' list into a fillable template: (Almost) everything someone wrapping up your estate needs to know about finances, how to access your accounts, and other fun things. www.realsesmith.com/the-list

🧵It's been a tough few days for #Archaeology and #HistoricPreservation in the US. ACHP released proposed regs changes to S106 on FRIDAY EVENING. They have betrayed all committments to an established timeline or collaboration with preservation partners. The proposed changes subordinate NHPA to NEPA;

“Writing isn’t just the production of sentences – it’s the training of endurance by way of sustained attention. It’s a way of learning what one thinks by attempting to say it.“

Evan May@gianttourtiere.bsky.social · 3mo ago

This is an interesting piece and connects to a convo i was having with friends yesterday, about how one of my challenges recently is persuading students that I want *their* thoughts and analysis about things, and that it coming *from them* is the entire point. www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-i...

NYT story 🎁 Proud & grateful for @historians.org and the collective. @acls1919.bsky.social's Joy Connolly: "Today’s decision is a step toward honoring the will of Congress and our mission as a nation—to... know ourselves and build a better future on that knowledge.." www.nytimes.com/2026/05/07/a...

DOGE’s Termination of Humanities Grants Is Ruled Unconstitutional

nytimes.com

Huge news!!

Le Monde in English@english.lemonde.fr · 3mo ago

France passes law on the restitution of cultural artifacts looted during colonial rule

This is happening! Debuts Melbourne mid 2027 then global!

Australian Arts Review@artsreviewau.bsky.social · 4mo ago

ACMI, together with BBC Studios and the multi award-winning producers of Bluey, Ludo Studio, have announced an exclusive world premiere exhibition about the making of the much-loved animated TV series Bluey. artsreview.com.au/bluey-exhibi...

This is very exciting and I am excited to read each of the first three confirmed books.

Jeff (Gutenberg Parenthesis) Jarvis@jeffjarvis.bsky.social · 5mo ago

Big personal news: I will be editing a new book series for Bloomsbury called Intelligence - AI and Humanity, providing writes from many disciplines the opportunity to reflect on AI and how it reflects on society. More here: medium.com/p/d8c5d6cda6...

A nice surprise to see @drkyliesmith.bsky.social quoted here.

Evelyn Douek@evelyndouek.bsky.social · 5mo ago

Chilling effects are hard to measure or document. They are what doesn't get said over here, because of some gvt action over there. But pieces like this are a small part of making visible what is obvious: right now, chilling effects are everywhere www.nytimes.com/2026/03/16/u...

You may have seen that a major update in our lawsuit challenging the dismantling of the National Endowment for the Humanities went a bit viral this week. Why? Because the outcome of this case affects a lot of people—not just historians. Here’s what’s going on. 🧵 (1/5)

!! @shannonmattern.bsky.social I see your name called in vain.

Johannes Klingebiel@klingebeil.bsky.social · 5mo ago

wild stuff…

As the author of a forthcoming book on how Americans remember (and forget) George Washington's legacy, and a public historian who's worked on the 250th anniversary for almost a decade now, I have lots of thoughts about this. For now I'll just say to media friends interested in this story: hit me up.

404 Media@404media.co · 5mo ago

Thanks to PragerU and the White House, we have the Freedom Truck which hopes to educate kids via AI slop George Washington (and others) of their America can do no wrong version of US history. @mjgault.bsky.social reports. Full story: www.404media.co/i-visited-th...

Oh boy. A real doozy. If you haven't been following the @nehgov.bsky.social fiasco, this gift article will catch up up. If you have been following, prepare to have your rage stoked all over again. As one of the recipients of a cancelled grant, I have some thoughts /1 www.nytimes.com/2026/03/07/a...

When DOGE Unleashed ChatGPT on the Humanities

nytimes.com

Huge NYT article on the back story of those two weeks in March/April 2025 when DOGE illegally terminated hundreds of NEH grants. Gift link!! www.nytimes.com/2026/03/07/a...

When DOGE Unleashed ChatGPT on the Humanities

nytimes.com

These cancellations were so much more horrible for other people than for me personally, as my fellowship was coming to an end. Huge losses to hundreds of people and dozens of long term projects and ongoing relationships. The loss to humanities has been incalculable

This and a ton of additional material from our NEH case is available on our website historians.org/lawsuit-to-restore-the-neh

Lawsuit to Restore the NEH - AHA

Major Update in our NEH Lawsuit Discovery in NEH Lawsuit Reveals How Humanities Grants Were Cancelled On March 6, 2026, the American Historical Association and our co-plaintiffs filed a motion for sum...

historians.org

Joseph Rezek@rezekjoe.bsky.social · 5mo ago

Here is the spreadsheet DOGE had ChatGPT produce, to determine which grants were too DEI www.historians.org/wp-content/u...

So wonderful to see my home museum (and the first museum I worked at) in @theartnewspaper.bsky.social. The team there has done an amazing job. ❤️

The Art Newspaper@theartnewspaper.bsky.social · 5mo ago

Newcastle Art Gallery enjoyed a grand reopening in the coal city two hours’ drive north of Sydney at the end of February, following an expansion project costing A$47m ($33m) that has more than doubled its exhibition space and attracted a major gift of art. buff.ly/wgKCkjD

What I’d like to understand is how much damage from this term could be undone somewhat quickly and easily? Obv. there are long-term effects like broken international relations that will take time to repair, but could the Dems easily stop the camps, bring health and EPA regulations back, etc?

Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · 5mo ago

Mike Johnson: "If we lost the midterms -- heaven forbid, if we lost the majority in the House -- it would be the end of the Trump presidency in a real effect."

Here for this content.

kelly @kickinson.bsky.social · 5mo ago

my local park is full of hundreds of snow sculptures and someone has been adding museum labels

This is a powerfully moving piece.

removing a symbol of pride from a small park in the middle of the west village is really an enormous fuck you from the worst people on the planet

MisterJayEm@misterjayem.bsky.social · 6mo ago

The erasure of symbols is a symbol of erasure.

This is just delightful.

The Associated Press@apnews.com · 6mo ago

A couple invited Bad Bunny to their wedding. He suggested they be part of his halftime show instead.

I wrote about the Epstein files and what it teaches us about the rot in the art world.

Epstein Files Expose the Depths of the Art World's Rot

How do we empower arts leaders to reject funding from corrupt individuals in favor of donors who have proven themselves to be civic leaders?

hyperallergic.com

THIRD PRINTING ALERT: This is my first book and @wehere.bsky.social's first book. The response has been overwhelming (two small printing selling out in a matter of days), but also has meant a bit of lead time in-between. If you've read and enjoyed, please share this out so more folks can explore!

we here®️@wehere.bsky.social · 6mo ago

now available — the house archives built & other thoughts on black archival possibilities by @dorothyjberry.bsky.social (3rd printing) www.weherepress.org

Just when we need clear writing about the threats to arts and culture…

Amanda Katz@katzish.bsky.social · 6mo ago

Hearing that almost all the WaPo arts section is gone, with the exception of a couple people. A major source of great writing as well as Pulitzers.

In which @tressiemcphd.bsky.social scares the shit out of me. “ICE knows that it cannot shoot us all. But the Department of Homeland Security is close to being able to track us all.” www.nytimes.com/2026/02/03/o...

Opinion | Democracy Dies by Database

nytimes.com

I wrote in TIME about what happens when a government sets out to reconstruct a nation’s cultural memory.

Trump’s Campaign to Defund the Arts—and Rewrite History

"The campaign to defund the arts, capture our museums, and rewrite our history is a prelude to silencing dissent."

time.com

While the Trump administration is forcing the National Park Service to remove mentions of slavery from George Washington’s house, sites like the Legacy Museum in Montgomery continue to tell the story of enslavement in a direct, uncompromised way, making clear the connection between past and present.

Those Who Try to Erase History Will Fail

Montgomery shows what’s possible when museums aren’t subject to capricious executive orders.

theatlantic.com