Mark Stout, Ph.D from Miskatonic University

Mark Stout, Ph.D from Miskatonic University

@markstout.bsky.social

Former intelligence officer and university educator, current intelligence historian. Also live on the borderlands of military history. Former Historian at the International Spy Museum. I wish I were in Seattle. The cat is Boadicea. Not flying with Natalie.

21.7K followers6K following3.3K posts

Mark Stout, Ph.D from Miskatonic University reposted

MeidasTouch
@meidastouch.com

A stunning defeat for a Trump-aligned right-wing leader in Europe. Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, whose government cultivated close ties with Donald Trump and his family, has conceded defeat to a student-led opposition movement in a historic parliamentary election.

Mark Stout, Ph.D from Miskatonic University
@markstout.bsky.social

I’m quite interested to see the Operation FOOT material here.

Secrets & Spies Podcast: Global Affairs | Intelligence@secretsandspies.bsky.social

A file release from MI5 Over 100 Security Service (MI5) files are being released at The National Archives today covering a wide range of subjects and individuals. www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/explore-the-...

nationalarchives.gov.ukA file release from MI5Over 100 MI5 files are released at The National Archives today. In this blog, Mark Dunton explores some of the notable names and stories found within.

Mark Stout, Ph.D from Miskatonic University reposted

Erin Grievances
@erinbartram.bsky.social

Seeing tenured scholars argue for LLM use in drafting/writing papers or doing peer review feels like the pinnacle of academic antinomianism. “I don’t have to do the work anymore because I’m one of the elect.”

Mark Stout, Ph.D from Miskatonic University reposted

Secrets & Spies Podcast: Global Affairs | Intelligence
@secretsandspies.bsky.social

Chinese-made cars rented by Norwegian military automatically recorded and stored video footage during military exercises www.techradar.com/pro/chinese-...

techradar.comSoldiers’ gate codes were captured by dashcams they forgot to switch offA routine military exercise turned awkward after Norwegian soldiers discovered dashcam recordings showing their movements and restricted-area access codes

Mark Stout, Ph.D from Miskatonic University reposted

Mel Buer
@melbuer.bsky.social

Putting out a general call here: Are there any historians of past left movements who would like to come on the radio to talk about the historical parallels to Trump's NSPM-7 directive? Hit my DMs!

Mark Stout, Ph.D from Miskatonic University reposted

Australian Spy Museum
@aus-spymuseum.bsky.social

This week we're displaying extra items from the secret history of covert communications - featuring spy radios used by women spies in WWII. Australian Spy Museum is at Lyox Gallery, 17 Lyons Road Drummoyne until the end of October. Wed-Sunday - 10:30am - 5:30pm Fri and Saturday - open til 8:00pm

Mark Stout, Ph.D from Miskatonic University reposted

Bryn Hammond
@brynleyh.bsky.social

These #FWW #maps are intriguing. They seem intended for educating allied troops to the progress of the Allied war effort and as a means to build and maintain #morale. Does anyone know of any work that’s been done in looking into them? Journal articles? #ww1 #FWWHist

Robertson WWI Diary@robertsondiary.bsky.social

Oct 18, 1918. My great-grandfather wrote: “News in that we have Lille. – Navy landed at Ostend which with DOUAI makes a great days work.” He also kept this General Staff map: the front on July 17 against Oct 5 robertsondiary.com/gallery#map-allied-progress-october-1918 #WWI #WW1 #CanadianHistory

Mark Stout, Ph.D from Miskatonic University reposted

Rachel Parris
@rachelparris.bsky.social

Hey folks. In total honesty my tour is NOT selling well. I’ve sold 30 tickets in a 400 seater in Birmingham, and not much more elsewhere. If you like musical comedy, if you like standup, then please come see my show! And spread the word! The Rachel Parris Songbook tour starts in Nov! Link in bio! 🎶

Mark Stout, Ph.D from Miskatonic University reposted

David Gregory-Kumar
@drdavidgk.bsky.social

Anyway. Please enjoy this DAZZLE CAMOUFLAGE NARROW BOAT!!!! (You probably can’t see* it, it’s centre frame) (*or at least accurately torpedo it)

Mark Stout, Ph.D from Miskatonic University reposted

Elena Wicker
@elenawicker.bsky.social

Going full mad scientist in my kitchen replicating how the U.S. Army printed orders and maps in the trenches of the Western Front… (Just a very normal research day.)

Mark Stout, Ph.D from Miskatonic University
@markstout.bsky.social

Cool book find today. For a museum library I tend, I got a copy of the first US intelligence manual, the 1893 "Service of Security and Information" by Arthur Wagner. The copy turned out to have belonged to M. W. Day, a white officer who spent most of his career w/the 9th Cavalry (Buffalo Soldiers).

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Mark Stout, Ph.D from Miskatonic University
@markstout.bsky.social

Day had graduated near the bottom of his West Point class which is why he was assigned to a Buffalo Soldiers unit. He seems to have found the assignment quite agreeable, however. He also spent a year detached from the 9th Cavalry serving with the Apache Scouts during the campaign chasing Geronimo.

Mark Stout, Ph.D from Miskatonic University
@markstout.bsky.social

Cool book find today. For a museum library I tend, I got a copy of the first US intelligence manual, the 1893 "Service of Security and Information" by Arthur Wagner. The copy turned out to have belonged to M. W. Day, a white officer who spent most of his career w/the 9th Cavalry (Buffalo Soldiers).

Mark Stout, Ph.D from Miskatonic University
@markstout.bsky.social

Matthias Day and a black sergeant named John Denny also got the Medal of Honor in 1890 and 1894, respectively, for getting wounded soldiers to safety while under heavy fire during an engagement with Indians in New Mexico in 1879. They did this contrary to orders which probably explains the delay.

Mark Stout, Ph.D from Miskatonic University reposted

MARC in a Cold Climate
@marccold.bsky.social

nothing can go wrong if we tell the cataloger to teach a library instruction session for a comparative literature seminar on the Brothers Grimm, they said

Mark Stout, Ph.D from Miskatonic University reposted

Will Stancil
@whstancil.bsky.social

A great illustration of the way social media has essentially shredded society’s informational immune system: The USSR spent a fortune trying to spread conspiracy theories, without success because they couldn’t crack newsrooms. Today, you can reach the globe with a post that costs $20 to make.

Liberal Currents@liberalcurrents.com

"The evidence continues to grow. Social media, as it is currently constructed, redounds to the net benefit of illiberal regimes and their allies in democracies. The question is what to do about it." www.liberalcurrents.com/social-media...

Mark Stout, Ph.D from Miskatonic University reposted

Paul Byrne
@theplanetaryguy.com

These are what the clouds on Jupiter look up close. The small patches of white are cloud tops, soaring above the main, colourful cloud layer. Image from NASA's Juno spacecraft during its 38th close approach to Jupiter on 29 November 2021, processed by Kevin Gill (@kevinmgill.bsky.social)

Mark Stout, Ph.D from Miskatonic University
@markstout.bsky.social

There has been pretty widespread reporting that AI recently broke a previously unsolved Enigma message from WWII. Turns out that an AI system has also solved a WWI-era German message encrypted with the fiendishly difficult (for the time) ADFGVX cipher. French codebreaker Georges Painvin...

hackaday.comWorld War I Coded Message Appears Cracked, FinallyWhen you think of wartime cryptography, you probably think of World War II and Enigma, although there were other famous codes used during that war. But in fact, there have been codes used through w…
Mark Stout, Ph.D from Miskatonic University
@markstout.bsky.social

...with modest help from the Americans made some solid progress against this cipher during the war, though ultimately only a few days of German traffic could be recovered. Lots of ADFGVX messages remained unsolved. Now there is one fewer. The topic is discussed in more detail here.

prinzai.comGPT-6 Astra Solves a WWI German Radio CipherScienceblogs.de, a German science blogging portal, includes a relatively famous list of 50 unsolved ciphers, which range from cryptograms published by serial killers to the famous Voynich manuscript.

Mark Stout, Ph.D from Miskatonic University reposted

U.S. Naval Institute
@usni.org

NHHC has confirmed a wreck off Russia’s Kurile Islands as USS Herring (SS-233), lost in June 1944 with all 83 crew members. https://www.usni.org/magazines/naval-history/2026/october/wreck-kurile-islands-confirmed-world-war-ii-era-submarine

usni.orgWreck off the Kurile Islands Confirmed as World War II–Era SubmarineNHHC has confirmed a wreck off Russia’s Kurile Islands as USS Herring (SS-233), lost in June 1944 with all 83 crew members.
Mark Stout, Ph.D from Miskatonic University
@markstout.bsky.social

Great piece.

DJ (he, him)🏳️‍🌈@dmrh0720.bsky.social

SPECIAL REPORT - Your Neighbour Canada Has Changed And You're Not Going to Like What is Happening Underestimating Canadians - Trumps Fatal Mistake americanpulse.substack.com/p/special-re...

americanpulse.substack.comSPECIAL REPORT - Your Neighbour Canada Has Changed And You're Not Going to Like What is Happening Underestimating Canadians - Trumps Fatal Mistake50% tariffs, a collapsed trade deal, and a Canadian economy posting record highs anyway. Here's news you're not going to like, but you need to know it

Mark Stout, Ph.D from Miskatonic University reposted

Brian Groom
@groomb.bsky.social

Woman, child and pram, St Stephen’s Green, Dublin, Ireland, c.1967, photo by Evelyn Hofer, German-American photographer (1922-2009).

Mark Stout, Ph.D from Miskatonic University reposted

Angry
@angrystaffer.bsky.social

This is an absolute disaster from a national security perspective. Obviously, a lot on F-35s is classified, but a weapons-bay door and a canopy with radar-absorbing material are some of the most sensitive. Hard to describe how bad this is.

Mark Stout, Ph.D from Miskatonic University
@markstout.bsky.social

Really enjoyed seeing Mike Campbell and the Dirty Knobs in DC two nights ago. Mike’s as good as he ever was and I hadn’t realized that his band now included former Heartbreaker Steve Ferrone. Mike is making great music and threw in a few Petty songs, as well. So much fun.

Mark Stout, Ph.D from Miskatonic University reposted

Dr. Jonathan Schroden
@jjschroden.bsky.social

Replying to @gravitysra1nbow.bsky.social

As it pertains to warfare, the US is tactically brilliant, operationally questionable, strategically deficient, and politically inept Some may pass that off as “things get more complex as you go up”—which is true—but our leaders should rise commensurately too That they don’t is a *real* problem