Bench Ansfield
@benchansfield.bsky.social
asst prof of history at temple // they/them
BORN IN FLAMES: The Business of Arson and the Remaking of the American City (W.W. Norton, August 19)
https://wwnorton.com/books/9781324093510
BORN IN FLAMES: The Business of Arson and the Remaking of the American City (W.W. Norton, August 19)
https://wwnorton.com/books/9781324093510
Pinned
Bench Ansfield
@benchansfield.bsky.social
· Nov 25
In disbelief. The NYT named Born in Flames one of 100 Notable Books of 2025
Baltimore! Join the great Nathan Connolly and me at @redemmas.org on January 29th!!
January 15, 2026 at 8:30 PM
Baltimore! Join the great Nathan Connolly and me at @redemmas.org on January 29th!!
Very grateful for this smart and far-reaching review of Born in Flames by @david-helps.bsky.social in @dissentmag.bsky.social
dissentmagazine.org/article/the-...
dissentmagazine.org/article/the-...
January 13, 2026 at 8:15 PM
Very grateful for this smart and far-reaching review of Born in Flames by @david-helps.bsky.social in @dissentmag.bsky.social
dissentmagazine.org/article/the-...
dissentmagazine.org/article/the-...
Reposted by Bench Ansfield
Excited to offer this teachers writing workshop for educators to come together (virtually) to reflect, learn, and write about what’s going on—and to work toward producing a piece for publication. docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
What's Going On: The State of Our Schools, Our Students, and Our Selves
I’ve been listening to Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On album on repeat lately—not just because it’s the best album ever made, but also because the question of what’s going on has been ever on my mind, e...
docs.google.com
January 11, 2026 at 10:33 PM
Excited to offer this teachers writing workshop for educators to come together (virtually) to reflect, learn, and write about what’s going on—and to work toward producing a piece for publication. docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
Reposted by Bench Ansfield
One reason I favor impeaching Noem is because it's a political process for a political problem. No, this will not stop ICE enforcement action but YES it would be an opportunity to educate the public about DHS & perhaps begin to lay a foundation for dismantling it.
January 8, 2026 at 10:38 PM
One reason I favor impeaching Noem is because it's a political process for a political problem. No, this will not stop ICE enforcement action but YES it would be an opportunity to educate the public about DHS & perhaps begin to lay a foundation for dismantling it.
Reposted by Bench Ansfield
I am impeaching Secretary Kristi Noem, who is an incompetent leader and a disgrace to our democracy.
She wreaked havoc in the Chicagoland area and has brought her reign of terror to Minneapolis. One of her rogue ICE agents shot and killed an innocent woman today. It must come to an end.
She wreaked havoc in the Chicagoland area and has brought her reign of terror to Minneapolis. One of her rogue ICE agents shot and killed an innocent woman today. It must come to an end.
January 8, 2026 at 12:00 AM
I am impeaching Secretary Kristi Noem, who is an incompetent leader and a disgrace to our democracy.
She wreaked havoc in the Chicagoland area and has brought her reign of terror to Minneapolis. One of her rogue ICE agents shot and killed an innocent woman today. It must come to an end.
She wreaked havoc in the Chicagoland area and has brought her reign of terror to Minneapolis. One of her rogue ICE agents shot and killed an innocent woman today. It must come to an end.
Reposted by Bench Ansfield
Thinking about LA today, 1 year from the #LAfires. As a colleague and I wrote shortly afterwards, "only in the aftermath of these fires that their true toll will emerge..."
jacobin.com/2025/01/la-f...
jacobin.com/2025/01/la-f...
The Fire Next Time
Almost 60 years ago, Joan Didion wrote that “the city burning is Los Angeles’s deepest image of itself.” Since then, insurance companies and developers have prioritized short-term profits over housing...
jacobin.com
January 7, 2026 at 6:39 PM
Thinking about LA today, 1 year from the #LAfires. As a colleague and I wrote shortly afterwards, "only in the aftermath of these fires that their true toll will emerge..."
jacobin.com/2025/01/la-f...
jacobin.com/2025/01/la-f...
Reposted by Bench Ansfield
Larger context on the ICE shooting of Renee Nicole Good in Minnesota:
Fed. officers have fatally shot at least 3 other people in the last 5 months & wounded or threatened others. We describe a few of the recent incidents and patterns we've noticed here.
www.themarshallproject.org/2026/01/07/i...
Fed. officers have fatally shot at least 3 other people in the last 5 months & wounded or threatened others. We describe a few of the recent incidents and patterns we've noticed here.
www.themarshallproject.org/2026/01/07/i...
Before ICE Shooting, Immigration Agents Repeatedly Used Deadly Force
The killing of a Minneapolis woman is latest by ICE and Border Patrol officers in recent months. Others have been wounded or threatened with guns.
www.themarshallproject.org
January 8, 2026 at 2:51 AM
Larger context on the ICE shooting of Renee Nicole Good in Minnesota:
Fed. officers have fatally shot at least 3 other people in the last 5 months & wounded or threatened others. We describe a few of the recent incidents and patterns we've noticed here.
www.themarshallproject.org/2026/01/07/i...
Fed. officers have fatally shot at least 3 other people in the last 5 months & wounded or threatened others. We describe a few of the recent incidents and patterns we've noticed here.
www.themarshallproject.org/2026/01/07/i...
Reposted by Bench Ansfield
Don't let the fascists speak - Pat Parker
YouTube video by cassandra gillig
www.youtube.com
January 3, 2026 at 1:54 PM
Reposted by Bench Ansfield
3/ @realLandsEnd & @city.bsky.social spoke to Bench Ansfield @benchansfield.bsky.social about “riot prone areas,” moral hazard, how landlords burned the Bronx in the 1970s, and their new book Born in Flames: The Business of Arson and the Remaking of the American City
www.patreon.com/posts/best-o...
www.patreon.com/posts/best-o...
Best of 2025: Born in Flames w/ Bench Ansfield | The Death Panel
Get more from The Death Panel on Patreon
www.patreon.com
December 31, 2025 at 6:53 PM
3/ @realLandsEnd & @city.bsky.social spoke to Bench Ansfield @benchansfield.bsky.social about “riot prone areas,” moral hazard, how landlords burned the Bronx in the 1970s, and their new book Born in Flames: The Business of Arson and the Remaking of the American City
www.patreon.com/posts/best-o...
www.patreon.com/posts/best-o...
Reposted by Bench Ansfield
I'm 9 pages into @benchansfield.bsky.social's Born Into Flames and already mesmerized by the storytelling. Who knew a book about property insurance could be so captivating!
PS All hail @littlefreelibrary.bsky.social, which brought this gem to my hands.
PS All hail @littlefreelibrary.bsky.social, which brought this gem to my hands.
December 19, 2025 at 12:26 PM
I'm 9 pages into @benchansfield.bsky.social's Born Into Flames and already mesmerized by the storytelling. Who knew a book about property insurance could be so captivating!
PS All hail @littlefreelibrary.bsky.social, which brought this gem to my hands.
PS All hail @littlefreelibrary.bsky.social, which brought this gem to my hands.
Reposted by Bench Ansfield
Bench Ansfield (@benchansfield.bsky.social, Temple) then introduced an exciting new project on catastrophe bonds, climate change, and the politics of risk
December 13, 2025 at 3:39 PM
Bench Ansfield (@benchansfield.bsky.social, Temple) then introduced an exciting new project on catastrophe bonds, climate change, and the politics of risk
Reposted by Bench Ansfield
The week in review: a call to join the ranks of the @a-lpe.bsky.social, an interview with @benchansfield.bsky.social about the business of arson, and a new entry by Amna Akbar in our symposium on Free Gifts.
Plus, the best of Law and Political Economy from around the web 👇🧵
Plus, the best of Law and Political Economy from around the web 👇🧵
Weekly Roundup: Dec 12
A call to join the ranks of the Association for Law and Political Economy, an interview with Bench Ansfield about the business of arson, and a new entry by Amna Akbar in our symposium on Free Gifts.
lpeproject.org
December 12, 2025 at 4:51 PM
The week in review: a call to join the ranks of the @a-lpe.bsky.social, an interview with @benchansfield.bsky.social about the business of arson, and a new entry by Amna Akbar in our symposium on Free Gifts.
Plus, the best of Law and Political Economy from around the web 👇🧵
Plus, the best of Law and Political Economy from around the web 👇🧵
Reposted by Bench Ansfield
"[P]ublic housing was the only type of housing spared by the inferno… What would it mean to take that finding seriously?" @benchansfield.bsky.social on implications of the 1970s arson wave for the housing justice movement today: www.hpeproject.org/blog/firestorm
FIREstorm — History & Political Economy Project
Bench Ansfield in conversation with Andrew Anastasi
www.hpeproject.org
December 9, 2025 at 7:03 PM
"[P]ublic housing was the only type of housing spared by the inferno… What would it mean to take that finding seriously?" @benchansfield.bsky.social on implications of the 1970s arson wave for the housing justice movement today: www.hpeproject.org/blog/firestorm
New interview! Andrew Anastasi and I discuss the emotional logic of insurance and how racial capitalism is being misconstrued in the present -- as made manifest in some reviews of my book. Grateful for this partnership between @hpe-project.bsky.social and @lpeblog.bsky.social!
Today, Andrew Anastasi and @benchansfield.bsky.social discuss the wave of landlord-perpetrated arson during the 1970s, how residents organized to stop it, and what this tells us about the ongoing interplay between property and racial capitalism.
The Business of Arson: An Interview with Bench Ansfield
An examination of the wave of landlord perpetrated arson in the Bronx during the 1970s presents an untold story of racial capitalism and financialization. Andrew Anastasi interviews Bench Ansfield…
lpeproject.org
December 9, 2025 at 3:09 PM
New interview! Andrew Anastasi and I discuss the emotional logic of insurance and how racial capitalism is being misconstrued in the present -- as made manifest in some reviews of my book. Grateful for this partnership between @hpe-project.bsky.social and @lpeblog.bsky.social!
New interview! Andrew Anastasi and I discuss the emotional logic of insurance and how racial capitalism is being misconstrued in the present -- as made manifest in some reviews of my book. Grateful for this partnership between @hpe-project.bsky.social and @lpeblog.bsky.social!
New on our blog: a wide-ranging interview with HPE grantee @benchansfield.bsky.social on their monumental book, Born in Flames www.hpeproject.org/blog/firestorm
FIREstorm — History & Political Economy Project
Bench Ansfield in conversation with Andrew Anastasi
www.hpeproject.org
December 9, 2025 at 3:09 PM
New interview! Andrew Anastasi and I discuss the emotional logic of insurance and how racial capitalism is being misconstrued in the present -- as made manifest in some reviews of my book. Grateful for this partnership between @hpe-project.bsky.social and @lpeblog.bsky.social!
Reposted by Bench Ansfield
“it turns out that insurance is utterly mesmerizing, and that’s in part because insurers quantify emotions like fear, hope, and mourning. They can offer an almost transparent window into the affective logic of capitalism.
Today, Andrew Anastasi and @benchansfield.bsky.social discuss the wave of landlord-perpetrated arson during the 1970s, how residents organized to stop it, and what this tells us about the ongoing interplay between property and racial capitalism.
The Business of Arson: An Interview with Bench Ansfield
An examination of the wave of landlord perpetrated arson in the Bronx during the 1970s presents an untold story of racial capitalism and financialization. Andrew Anastasi interviews Bench Ansfield…
lpeproject.org
December 9, 2025 at 2:38 PM
“it turns out that insurance is utterly mesmerizing, and that’s in part because insurers quantify emotions like fear, hope, and mourning. They can offer an almost transparent window into the affective logic of capitalism.
Reposted by Bench Ansfield
We're delighted to be publishing this in conjunction with the fine folks over at the @hpe-project.bsky.social!
FIREstorm — History & Political Economy Project
Bench Ansfield in conversation with Andrew Anastasi
www.hpeproject.org
December 9, 2025 at 2:23 PM
We're delighted to be publishing this in conjunction with the fine folks over at the @hpe-project.bsky.social!
Reposted by Bench Ansfield
Today, Andrew Anastasi and @benchansfield.bsky.social discuss the wave of landlord-perpetrated arson during the 1970s, how residents organized to stop it, and what this tells us about the ongoing interplay between property and racial capitalism.
The Business of Arson: An Interview with Bench Ansfield
An examination of the wave of landlord perpetrated arson in the Bronx during the 1970s presents an untold story of racial capitalism and financialization. Andrew Anastasi interviews Bench Ansfield…
lpeproject.org
December 9, 2025 at 2:23 PM
Today, Andrew Anastasi and @benchansfield.bsky.social discuss the wave of landlord-perpetrated arson during the 1970s, how residents organized to stop it, and what this tells us about the ongoing interplay between property and racial capitalism.
Reposted by Bench Ansfield
New on our blog: a wide-ranging interview with HPE grantee @benchansfield.bsky.social on their monumental book, Born in Flames www.hpeproject.org/blog/firestorm
FIREstorm — History & Political Economy Project
Bench Ansfield in conversation with Andrew Anastasi
www.hpeproject.org
December 9, 2025 at 2:05 PM
New on our blog: a wide-ranging interview with HPE grantee @benchansfield.bsky.social on their monumental book, Born in Flames www.hpeproject.org/blog/firestorm
Reposted by Bench Ansfield
I reviewed @benchansfield.bsky.social's stunning book earlier this year, and since then my admiration for it has only grown.
"Revelatory... Deeply researched and masterfully told, Born in Flames is a definitive account of how race, risk and exploitative real estate have shaped the American city."
"Revelatory... Deeply researched and masterfully told, Born in Flames is a definitive account of how race, risk and exploitative real estate have shaped the American city."
Born in Flames: The Business of Arson and the Remaking of the American City
The Business of Arson and the Remaking of the American City
bookshop.org
December 8, 2025 at 1:29 PM
I reviewed @benchansfield.bsky.social's stunning book earlier this year, and since then my admiration for it has only grown.
"Revelatory... Deeply researched and masterfully told, Born in Flames is a definitive account of how race, risk and exploitative real estate have shaped the American city."
"Revelatory... Deeply researched and masterfully told, Born in Flames is a definitive account of how race, risk and exploitative real estate have shaped the American city."
Reposted by Bench Ansfield
My book about recent immigration policy, immigration from Africa, and the anti-Black racism at the heart of nativism might be clarifying to read in this moment?
30% off 01UNCP30 @uncpress.bsky.social happy to zoom if you assign it, etc.
uncpress.org/978146967304...
30% off 01UNCP30 @uncpress.bsky.social happy to zoom if you assign it, etc.
uncpress.org/978146967304...
December 5, 2025 at 12:52 PM
My book about recent immigration policy, immigration from Africa, and the anti-Black racism at the heart of nativism might be clarifying to read in this moment?
30% off 01UNCP30 @uncpress.bsky.social happy to zoom if you assign it, etc.
uncpress.org/978146967304...
30% off 01UNCP30 @uncpress.bsky.social happy to zoom if you assign it, etc.
uncpress.org/978146967304...
Philly-area grad students (regardless of institution) -- I have 1-2 spots in my spring seminar, Readings in the History of Capitalism. We'll meet on Wednesdays from 2-4:20. Email or DM if you're interested.
December 3, 2025 at 5:41 PM
Philly-area grad students (regardless of institution) -- I have 1-2 spots in my spring seminar, Readings in the History of Capitalism. We'll meet on Wednesdays from 2-4:20. Email or DM if you're interested.
Reposted by Bench Ansfield
My new Intercept piece on the NYPD’s targeting of MLK is up today, with never-before-published police surveillance photos of King.
November 29, 2025 at 2:22 PM
My new Intercept piece on the NYPD’s targeting of MLK is up today, with never-before-published police surveillance photos of King.
What does an androgynous voice sound like? I weirdly had never really asked that question until I had to decide who would narrate the audiobook for Born in Flames. One of the more difficult decisions for a nonbinary author
November 28, 2025 at 7:06 PM
What does an androgynous voice sound like? I weirdly had never really asked that question until I had to decide who would narrate the audiobook for Born in Flames. One of the more difficult decisions for a nonbinary author
Reposted by Bench Ansfield
I just finished reading Born in Flames and, WOW, this is the most scorching indictment of capitalism ever, specifically racialized capitalism. READ THIS BOOK. Kudos @benchansfield.bsky.social
Born in Flames
A <em>New York Times</em> Editors' Choice<br /><br />“[R]evelatory…Deeply researched and masterfully told.” —Brian Goldstone, <em>New York Times Book Review</em><br /><br />Th...
wwnorton.com
November 26, 2025 at 3:09 AM
I just finished reading Born in Flames and, WOW, this is the most scorching indictment of capitalism ever, specifically racialized capitalism. READ THIS BOOK. Kudos @benchansfield.bsky.social