Peter Mandler

Trump and Republicans are restarting their voter fraud misinformation machine ahead of the midterms. When I checked, Republican candidates were implicated in voter fraud at up to 38,000x the public’s rate. If they were actually worried about voter fraud, they’d start with their own candidates.

This has made my day. "Illuminati" given five stars and called "superb" by @BrendanCGillott in @Telegraph www.telegraph.co.uk/books/non-fi...

New call for applications: RHS Workshop Grants, 2027, supporting day meetings of historians to plan and pursue a project bit.ly/48hkJrD The Society now invites applications for 6 Workshop Grants of £1000 each to support group activities and networking. Closing date: 15 January 2027 #Skystorians

I am a bit perturbed by the mention of gloves! Why gloves? unless there were arsenic-green bindings involved, were these at all necessary? Hope they were not the white cotton items beloved of the media Clean hands are usually best practice, nitrile gloves if absolutely necessary.

I have just discovered - via a post by the Friends of the Women's Library on Facebook dated 23 Oct - that David Doughan died recently. Fondly remembered by generations of historians of women who worked at what was then the Fawcett Library, whose debt to him is immense.

The Great Free Speech Absolutist

It is a great example of if a Labour administration does act on its instincts and not cower in the face of the right wing media and concocted protests it can actually do some very good things. This is something Starmer never understood and perhaps Burnham understands much better #letLabourbeLabour

ICYMI - a good read for the weekend

I think this is probably true - but if 'not surprising' (it's the kind of thing people were denying until recently), it's still significant, and has to be taken into account by relevant disiplines, and probably the rest of us too ultimately.

It would be nice if the most powerful man in the world wasn't a delusional lunatic.

Call for submissions - students, early-career academics and writers - to the Robert Silver Prize for essays on histories of Jewry in Britain in the 20th and 21st centuries. More information at www.hist.cam.ac.uk/news/robert-...

Many congratulations to Tom Arnold-Forster, whose book Walter Lippmann has been named the Winner of the Eugenia M. Palmegiano Prize in the History of Journalism, presented by @historians.org! Learn more about the book: buff.ly/W6XYF00

We literally have the largest bike-touring event in the world which has been an annual summer state tradition for FIFTY YEARS. There's a giant exhibit in the state historical museum about it. This is comical.

Are you a recent PhD graduate looking to publish your first monograph? Join us on 28 Oct to hear from @bloomsburyacademic.bsky.social Editorial Director in British, European & Medieval History for top tips on strengthening your book proposals. www.history.ac.uk/news-events/... @royalhistsoc.org

Chris Wickham, remembered fondly, appreciated finely.

Applications are open for the 2027 SAS Creative Practitioner in Residence Scheme, hosted with institutes including the Institute of Historical Research. The 6-month residency offers a stipend to support artists, writers, filmmakers, curators, and creative practitioners. Apply here: buff.ly/mnO3dCN

In 2026, the Journal of Victorian Studies is celebrating its 30th year!! Go to academic.oup.com/jvc/pages/30... to see our Virtual Special Issue of previously published works that best represent the journal's interdisciplinary remit and intellectual community!

By every measure, Opus 4.8 beats human experts as peer reviewers in a study of 124 Harvard social science papers covering a range from statistical analyses to formal models to qualitative work. As academics, we need to figure out how to adapt the practice of science to AI, and we need to do it fast

Very much this. Alongside her excellent scholarship, Lucy, the RHS central team, and RHS Council do so much important work to support the discipline. Much of that work is visible but there’s so much more quietly done work going on behind the scenes that is no less vital. Congratulations Lucy!

The Society will be one of 80+ history & archive groups taking part in History Day 2027 bit.ly/4eLhj3Y - a great opportunity to discover the world of historical research. We look forward to meeting attendees and learning about the work and collections of fellow exhibitors #Skystorians

An excellent analysis of the current protests in France by historian Quentin Deluermoz (English version below)

@lauracforster.bsky.social @bristoluni.bsky.social @york.ac.uk @edinburgh-uni.bsky.social @lsehy.bsky.social

The Opus Caroli, in which the Franks attacked the Byzantine theology of icons. In the margin, erased but visible under UV light, 'optime' - excellent point! The voice, perhaps, of Charlemagne.

Bodleian Library, Oxford, Visiting Fellowships are open for application. These include African Studies Visiting Fellowship, Visiting Fellowships in Music, in Women's History and in the History of Science, a Visiting Fellowship in South Asian and Black History and more. Great schemes! #Skystorians

St Magnus House - an understated late 1970s Seifert building looking fresh from a refurb. I guess it could have easily been demolished, so glad to see it remain on the Thames waterfront.

The Cinema Museum are still campaigning to secure their permanent home by the end of 2026. The museum is a wonderful place: a collection built + maintained by volunteers, with frequent screenings of films you're unlikely to see anywhere else. You can donate via the link below!

I am late to this post from Trump, but my goodness.

Mark your calendars NACBS is heading to London! The Call for Papers for #nacbs2027 is out now. We will be meeting at Senate House on July 13-16, hosted by @ihr.bsky.social The submission website will open on December 1 and close on January 8. Join us in London! www.nacbs.org/call-for-pap...

Good news on the economy? 👀 A new measure of productivity has the UK performing much better than previously thought 👇

Applications now invited to join the editorial boards of two @royalhistsoc.org publications: our journal 'Transactions' and the 'New Historical Perspectives' book series for early career historians bit.ly/47rl76A Closing date: Monday 4 December 2026 #Skystorians

This *is* as advertised an excellent essay. And don't beat yourself up with handwritten exams - proctored exams with laptops and 'lockdown' software in class or in exam halls can work perfectly well. Modern problems can have modern solutions.

The October 2026 update to the Bibliography of British and Irish History adds 4035 new publications. Find out more about what the latest update contains buff.ly/a96pnIb @brepols.net

Syon House Conservatory, West London: built 1820-27 to the designs of Charles Fowler, architect, and Richard Forrest, head gardener to the Duke of Northumberland. Grade I-listed.

Blue glass bead from #MustFarm - made in Iran in the 9th century BC and lost to the bottom of a fenland river c. 850BC #InternationalArchaeologyDay

"We have never seen a model do this before, but GLM-5.3 sometimes reasons (unprompted) about how its current actions could become training data and impact its future self" x.com/ApolloResear... www.apolloresearch.ai/science/upda...

www.dailyprincetonian.com/article/2026... 🧐

just when you think ebooks can't get any worse

Sad. But at least she can go back to not being a lawyer.

My department is hiring in Asian history: www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DTG789/l...

Including details of the fund in his memory "to support PhD scholarships in the social history or material culture of Byzantine Studies (preferably) or early medieval history".

16 October 1869. Girton College, Cambridge was founded by Emily Davies and Barbara Bodichon. It was the UK’s 1st residential institution offering university-level education, but not degrees for women. Girton did not become an official Cambridge college until 27 April 1948.

Call for submissions - students, early-career academics and writers - to the Robert Silver Prize for essays on histories of Jewry in Britain in the 20th and 21st centuries. More information at www.hist.cam.ac.uk/news/robert-...

The Prince Charles Cinema Secures its Future The Prince Charles Cinema is thrilled to announce that we have signed a new 25-year lease with no break clause, ensuring our projectors will keep rolling for years to come. #YouSavedthePCC