To commemorate today’s official book release of “The People’s Historian: The Outsized Life of Howard Zinn” I wrote the following column for @thenation.com “Liberals Are Shaming Howard Zinn’s Memory Yet Again” thenation.com/article/soci...

Liberals Are Shaming Howard Zinn’s Memory Yet Again

Zinn saw firsthand what happened when liberals did more to fight the left than the right—they sabotaged their own power.

thenation.com

A third thing-I-planned-to-do but never did: write an overview of labor history for 17c/18c North America, a book-length version of my article “Good Hands, Stout Hearts, and Fast Feet.” Commissioned by Eric Foner for Hill & Wang Books. I was too busy with *The Many Headed-Hydra*.

For all you writers out there: a list of sixteen writing tips, culled from long experience of trying get unruly words down onto the page. Originally posted on social media, recently republished in the *Pittsburgh Review of Books (@pghreviewofbooks.bsky.social). pghrev.com/sixteen-writ...

Sixteen Writing Tips from Marcus Rediker - Pittsburgh Review of Books

Editor's Note: Acclaimed writer and Distinguished Professor of Atlantic History at the University of Pittsburgh Marcus Rediker has long informally circulated

pghrev.com

Decertification of upstate officers in police departments and sheriff's offices is more than double downstate even though there are more decertifications in raw numbers downstate! The rate standardizes the raw numbers and tells an interesting story.

Here’s an interview with one of my favorite poets and musicians, the incomparable Linton Kewsi Johnson. I discovered his work when I went to London for the first time in 1979. LKJ has long been an inspiration. His music was the soundtrack to one of my book, *Outlaws of the Atlantic*.

‘Dread Beat an Blood’ Set Black Londoners’ Struggle to a Groove (Gift Article)

A newly restored 1979 documentary examines how Linton Kwesi Johnson’s dub-infused poetry documented the challenges faced by Britain’s Black Caribbean population.

nytimes.com

I was elated that Dr. @malszy.bsky.social insisted I write something about my FOIL experiences for @cliocontemporary.bsky.social. I'm really proud of this work and hope it helps you out in your transparency journey!

Clio and the Contemporary@cliocontemporary.bsky.social · 2w ago

Ted Forsyth encourages historians to become more fluent in open records policies. This detailed and accessible guide demystifies New York State's FOIL process from initial inquiry to appeals. #academia 🗃️ clioandthecontemporary.com/2026/07/23/f...

Ted Forsyth encourages historians to become more fluent in open records policies. This detailed and accessible guide demystifies New York State's FOIL process from initial inquiry to appeals. #academia 🗃️ clioandthecontemporary.com/2026/07/23/f...

FOIL it and Find Out! A Guide to Submitting Open Records Requests in New York State and Why it is Important

Open records laws empower anyone to request information from local, state, and federal government agencies.

clioandthecontemporary.com

New project!!!

Sad I couldn't make the Roc Indie Comic Expo, but I do want to say that the poster for it has to be one of the best rochester posters I've ever seen. Don't know who made it, but please give them a high-five for me if you do.

I was skimming my old FOIL emails from the city and found an unopened zip file full of complaints against Rochester Police Department (RPD) officers. The file size was 14 gigs.... I can't wait to dive into it!

A density analysis of use of force incidents in Rochester, NY overlaid with a redlining map from 1935. Orange circles are for 2015 and green are for 2016.

It's amazing what a sample can do for you. The attached maps are use of force incidents in Rochester, NY.

Publishing tip #4: Try to make personal contact with editors early, after a year or so of research. The ideal place to do this is in the book stalls at the AHA, OAH, ASA, etc., where editors always show up. Drop by, have a friendly conversation, mention your work, plant a seed.

Publishing tip #3: Don’t approach editors until it is completely clear in your own mind exactly what the contribution of your book project actually is. Do not overstate its importance and do not understate it. Be precise and seek the editor’s reaction to your summary.

Dear friends, please join us for the world premiere of our new documentary film, *Becoming Benjamin Lay*, Sat., April 11, 4:00 pm, Carnegie Library, 419 Library St., Braddock PA. Please help us publicize the event as we have a big venue to fill! Tickets here: www.eventbrite.com/e/becoming-b...

Becoming Benjamin Lay World Premiere

Discover Becoming Benjamin Lay, the radical Quaker who denounced slavery nearly 300 years ago, in this powerful 55-minute documentary.

eventbrite.com

On the set of Star Trek with the one and only Leonard Nimoy. 🖖 Thinking of him today! (Photo via The Everett Collection)

Publishing tip #2: Ask all your friends and colleagues who work in your field or a related one about their presses and editors. When you are in the final six months of completing your project, make appointments with a few editors to make your pitch in person.

Here’s an interview I did with my friend Dave Clinch for *Socialist Worker*. A British edition of the book was published March 10 by @versobooks.bsky.social. socialistworker.co.uk/reviews-and-...

Average immigration detention deaths per month from FY 2010 to FY 2024: 0.69 Average immigration detention deaths per month in FY 2025: 1.75 Average immigration detention deaths per month so far in FY 2026: 4.6 www.npr.org/2026/03/10/g...

Immigration detention on track for deadliest fiscal year since 2004

Twenty-three people have died since October in ICE custody, as advocates warn about overcrowding and health care access.

npr.org

Publishing tip #1: Identify the presses that publish well in your specific field. That proves their interest. Find books that have had success and figure out how. When you are close to finishing your work, use those books as examples of how you would want your own book to be handled.

I've now finished the writing tips and can offer tips on another subject: publishing, based on forty years of experience with manuscripts, submissions, editors, agents, university presses, and trade presses. Any interest?

The dots on the maps represent uses of force by Rochester police ofcs in their subject resistance reports from 2015. The first image has the HOLC redline map of Rochester in 1935. The second is race and ethnicity data by US Census tract in 2010. What interventions might be used to reduce force?

Happy to share the trailer for our new documentary, *Becoming Benjamin Lay*, about the “Abolitionist, Quaker, Sailor, Dwarf, and Revolutionary." The world premiere will be held Sat., Apr. 11, 2026, 4:00 pm, Carnegie Library, 419 Library St., Braddock, PA. Join us! vimeo.com/1166424363?f...

Becoming Benjamin Lay Trailer

The documentary Becoming Benjamin Lay by director Tony Buba and historian Marcus Rediker explores the life and ideas of an unknown radical Quaker dwarf…

vimeo.com

Writing tip #12: Economy of expression. Strunk and White said, “Omit needless words.” Blaise Pascal wrote to a friend: “I’m sorry I wrote you such a long letter; I didn’t have time to write a short one.” Use 3 words rather than 4; 2 words rather than 3; be ruthless. Shorter = more powerful.

Writing tip #13: Do everything you can as a writer to control the circle of meaning with your readers. Be crystal clear in everything you say; edit ruthlessly to eliminate ambiguity. Readers are of course free to misread you, and they will. Clarity of argument will make that harder.

Looking forward to this. Highest respect to the Zinn Education Project!

Zinn Education Project@zinnedproject.bsky.social · 5mo ago

On May 4, join historian @marcusrediker.bsky.social to discuss "Freedom Ship: The Uncharted History of Escaping Slavery by Sea." Up to 100,000 enslaved people fled bondage via maritime routes in N. America. We'll also discuss his book on Revolutionary War era. www.zinnedproject.org/news/freedom...

Writing tip #14: Go on reading your sources until you hear voices, then write a deeply human story about your historical subjects. Readers want to learn about real people, making real choices, in real circumstances. Make your actors complex and multi-dimensional.

Here is a long, deep vein of maritime radicalism: revolutionary Russian sailors in Kronstadt in 1921 recreated an 18c pirate flag to represent their struggle, using the skull and crossbones with a pike and scythe, to say “death to the bourgeoisie.” Thanks to @erikloomis.bsky.social for the photo.

Writing tip #15: Read broadly and deeply to master the cultures you are writing about. Your command of cultural detail, especially language and meaning, will add authenticity and depth to your writing. Much history from below is to be found in *A Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue* (1785).