Dr. Betsy
@drbetsy.bsky.social
Work me: historian, involved with museums/local history in Ohio. Other me: into cats; sci-fi; romance and mystery novels; Scottish country dance. she/her
Cue the time I asked my mom for her pumpkin pie recipe. We were on the phone, and she had a whole bit ready. "Do you have a pencil? Are you ready?" "Okay. Go to the store. Buy a can of Libby's pumpkin pie mix. The mix, not the pure pumpkin. Do what it says on the label."
I asked my mom for her cornbread recipe because I could never get it right. And she said, " well, I start with a box of jiffy cornbread and then I follow the instructions."
November 27, 2025 at 2:49 PM
Cue the time I asked my mom for her pumpkin pie recipe. We were on the phone, and she had a whole bit ready. "Do you have a pencil? Are you ready?" "Okay. Go to the store. Buy a can of Libby's pumpkin pie mix. The mix, not the pure pumpkin. Do what it says on the label."
The end of one bullet journal and the start of the next. Why, yes, the through line is stickers from @berincole.bsky.social
August 27, 2025 at 12:17 AM
The end of one bullet journal and the start of the next. Why, yes, the through line is stickers from @berincole.bsky.social
Reposted by Dr. Betsy
The White House's latest effort to bend the Smithsonian to its will is an affront to our country's cultural crown jewel, history practitioners, and the American people. We urge both our field and our audiences to reject this effort and stand up for a full and honest approach to our shared story.
Statement on White House Interference at the Smithsonian
The White House’s latest, most concerted effort yet to bend the Smithsonian Institution to its will through a “comprehensive review” of content and policies—starting with its foremost museums of history, culture, and art—is an affront
aaslh.org
August 15, 2025 at 4:28 PM
The White House's latest effort to bend the Smithsonian to its will is an affront to our country's cultural crown jewel, history practitioners, and the American people. We urge both our field and our audiences to reject this effort and stand up for a full and honest approach to our shared story.
Reposted by Dr. Betsy
Have a lot of new followers who are unaware of my stickers…
the I Love History is the best sticker for anyone who has actually read history and understands the special flavor of cynicism that comes from focused study of the past…
Order one at: littlebraincomics.etsy.com/listing/1508...
the I Love History is the best sticker for anyone who has actually read history and understands the special flavor of cynicism that comes from focused study of the past…
Order one at: littlebraincomics.etsy.com/listing/1508...
July 27, 2025 at 1:01 AM
Have a lot of new followers who are unaware of my stickers…
the I Love History is the best sticker for anyone who has actually read history and understands the special flavor of cynicism that comes from focused study of the past…
Order one at: littlebraincomics.etsy.com/listing/1508...
the I Love History is the best sticker for anyone who has actually read history and understands the special flavor of cynicism that comes from focused study of the past…
Order one at: littlebraincomics.etsy.com/listing/1508...
Reposted by Dr. Betsy
This graph is astonishing. The people that bang on about “natural birth” and “women have been doing this forever without help” need to be forced to stare at this until their eyes water.
September 28, 2024 at 6:34 PM
This graph is astonishing. The people that bang on about “natural birth” and “women have been doing this forever without help” need to be forced to stare at this until their eyes water.
Reposted by Dr. Betsy
Every time someone says “well people in the past didn’t have this and they were fine” you know they don’t know anything about the past because people were miserable and sad and dead a lot more. I don’t mean to be whiggish about this but go to a cemetery and tell me you think people were fine.
People didn’t “used to be fine” without air conditioning during heat waves in the U.S. - a lot more people *just died*.
According to this study, air conditioning has cut heat deaths in the U.S. by around 80% since 1960.
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
According to this study, air conditioning has cut heat deaths in the U.S. by around 80% since 1960.
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
Adapting to Climate Change: The Remarkable Decline in the U.S. Temperature-Mortality Relationship Over the 20th Century
This paper examines the temperature-mortality relationship over the course of the 20th century US both for its own interest and to identify potentially useful a
papers.ssrn.com
July 13, 2025 at 4:03 PM
Every time someone says “well people in the past didn’t have this and they were fine” you know they don’t know anything about the past because people were miserable and sad and dead a lot more. I don’t mean to be whiggish about this but go to a cemetery and tell me you think people were fine.
🧵
I know we don't feel like there's much to celebrate this July 4th. It's been a rough several years.
So I want to talk about how we're making history right now.
So I want to talk about how we're making history right now.
July 5, 2025 at 12:23 AM
🧵
So much yes to this whole thread.
I refuse to give the NYT my eyeballs, so I can't speak to the specifics of this article. But any historians attempting to use AI for either writing or research should be run out of the field. AI is inherently unable to do anything we need it to do to understand and communicate history.
Lots of commentary on this piece already, all of which I agree with.
For historians, research is a fundamental part of writing.
To farm it out to AI changes the nature of this intellectual process in fundamental ways.
And as Stacy Schiff points out, it also takes all the fun out of it.
For historians, research is a fundamental part of writing.
To farm it out to AI changes the nature of this intellectual process in fundamental ways.
And as Stacy Schiff points out, it also takes all the fun out of it.
June 17, 2025 at 11:43 AM
So much yes to this whole thread.
Reposted by Dr. Betsy
We feed you.
They hunt us.
They hunt us.
June 11, 2025 at 5:05 AM
We feed you.
They hunt us.
They hunt us.
Reposted by Dr. Betsy
Hey! I’m going to be talking about my nuclear-history comics on June 6!
Tune in for a free webinar with historian & artist B. Erin Cole to discover how graphics & memoir tell engaging stories of nuclear history. Join us Fri, 6/6 at noon PT. Don't miss this chance to explore the challenges & opportunities of understanding nuclear history in comics form. bit.ly/45ciyoS
Welcome! You are invited to join a webinar: Nuclear Waste Scholar Series: Cute Drawings of Terrible Things: Nuclear History through Comics. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email abo...
Can comics help us better understand the places, people and impact of uranium mining, nuclear testing, and weapons production? On Friday, June 6 at noon PT, B. Erin Cole, a historian and an artist, wi...
bit.ly
May 26, 2025 at 7:34 AM
Hey! I’m going to be talking about my nuclear-history comics on June 6!
Reposted by Dr. Betsy
👇🎯
They. Are. Breaking. Signed. Contracts. For. No. Legal. Reason.
You want to pass legislation not funding this stuff going forward? Fine. Epically idiotic, but legal.
This is something else. Shredding the basic foundations of the rule of law. Textbook authoritarianism.
They. Are. Breaking. Signed. Contracts. For. No. Legal. Reason.
You want to pass legislation not funding this stuff going forward? Fine. Epically idiotic, but legal.
This is something else. Shredding the basic foundations of the rule of law. Textbook authoritarianism.
Ok so yeah, this has quickly become the #1 misunderstanding about the canceled grants
the grants are not “subsidies” or “entitlements” to Harvard or Princeton or whatever
they aren’t going into universities’ endowments
they are competitive contracts won by these universities to do research
the grants are not “subsidies” or “entitlements” to Harvard or Princeton or whatever
they aren’t going into universities’ endowments
they are competitive contracts won by these universities to do research
There is a PR narrative quickly emerging about “entitlement” of elite universities, as if this $ is some sort of subsidy
Harvard & others must counter this quickly
The $ doesn’t flow into Harvard’s coffers - this is grant money, most of which goes to research the govt has agreed has social value
Harvard & others must counter this quickly
The $ doesn’t flow into Harvard’s coffers - this is grant money, most of which goes to research the govt has agreed has social value
April 18, 2025 at 1:12 PM
👇🎯
They. Are. Breaking. Signed. Contracts. For. No. Legal. Reason.
You want to pass legislation not funding this stuff going forward? Fine. Epically idiotic, but legal.
This is something else. Shredding the basic foundations of the rule of law. Textbook authoritarianism.
They. Are. Breaking. Signed. Contracts. For. No. Legal. Reason.
You want to pass legislation not funding this stuff going forward? Fine. Epically idiotic, but legal.
This is something else. Shredding the basic foundations of the rule of law. Textbook authoritarianism.
Reposted by Dr. Betsy
This is a friendly reminder that library cards are free, and your local public library will never make you pay extra so you don't have to watch ads.
March 19, 2025 at 1:25 PM
This is a friendly reminder that library cards are free, and your local public library will never make you pay extra so you don't have to watch ads.
Reposted by Dr. Betsy
Social Security experiences remarkably little fraud
In such a massive program are there a handful of beneficiaries who try to cheat? Yes, ofc — they've got a secret bank book, an undisclosed crypto account, a secret house on the cape…
But this ⤵️? Ain't about that ⤴️
www.cnn.com/2025/03/18/p...
In such a massive program are there a handful of beneficiaries who try to cheat? Yes, ofc — they've got a secret bank book, an undisclosed crypto account, a secret house on the cape…
But this ⤵️? Ain't about that ⤴️
www.cnn.com/2025/03/18/p...
New Social Security anti-fraud rule will force more people to visit agency offices | CNN Politics
The Social Security Administration will require people filing benefit applications who cannot prove their identities online to visit a field office to complete the claim in person in an effort to comb...
www.cnn.com
March 19, 2025 at 4:34 AM
Social Security experiences remarkably little fraud
In such a massive program are there a handful of beneficiaries who try to cheat? Yes, ofc — they've got a secret bank book, an undisclosed crypto account, a secret house on the cape…
But this ⤵️? Ain't about that ⤴️
www.cnn.com/2025/03/18/p...
In such a massive program are there a handful of beneficiaries who try to cheat? Yes, ofc — they've got a secret bank book, an undisclosed crypto account, a secret house on the cape…
But this ⤵️? Ain't about that ⤴️
www.cnn.com/2025/03/18/p...
Reposted by Dr. Betsy
Trump and DOGE are dismantling Social Security— firing thousands of SSA employees and shuttering offices.
Why? Because they don't want one of the govt's most successful programs to work.
They want to pave the way for privatization so Wall Street can gamble with our retirement.
Why? Because they don't want one of the govt's most successful programs to work.
They want to pave the way for privatization so Wall Street can gamble with our retirement.
March 17, 2025 at 11:30 PM
Trump and DOGE are dismantling Social Security— firing thousands of SSA employees and shuttering offices.
Why? Because they don't want one of the govt's most successful programs to work.
They want to pave the way for privatization so Wall Street can gamble with our retirement.
Why? Because they don't want one of the govt's most successful programs to work.
They want to pave the way for privatization so Wall Street can gamble with our retirement.
Reposted by Dr. Betsy
Nobody elected Elon Musk. Elon Musk is breaking laws and trying to destroy the federal government to line his own pockets. We’ll work with the Republicans when Trump gets rid of Elon Musk.
There. That’s what they should say. Does anyone really think they would lose on the politics of that message?
There. That’s what they should say. Does anyone really think they would lose on the politics of that message?
March 12, 2025 at 10:26 PM
Nobody elected Elon Musk. Elon Musk is breaking laws and trying to destroy the federal government to line his own pockets. We’ll work with the Republicans when Trump gets rid of Elon Musk.
There. That’s what they should say. Does anyone really think they would lose on the politics of that message?
There. That’s what they should say. Does anyone really think they would lose on the politics of that message?
Reposted by Dr. Betsy
This is all to pay for a tax cut for the wealthiest Americans
March 12, 2025 at 11:45 PM
This is all to pay for a tax cut for the wealthiest Americans
Reposted by Dr. Betsy
March 11, 2025 at 8:24 AM
Reposted by Dr. Betsy
Don't let Trump flood your zone. Stay focused. Keep your eye on what this corrupt regime is really doing — looting the government to line their own pockets with massive tax cuts and the ability to steer more federal contracts their way.
February 15, 2025 at 9:01 PM
Don't let Trump flood your zone. Stay focused. Keep your eye on what this corrupt regime is really doing — looting the government to line their own pockets with massive tax cuts and the ability to steer more federal contracts their way.
This is the way: www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
February 8, 2025 at 2:37 PM
This is the way: www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
Reposted by Dr. Betsy
The word for this is "coup."
Musk's new department, which just seized control over payments as broad as USAID, defense, and social security, is presently livetweeting screenshots as they gleefully stop payments related to DEI, accessibility, and immigration. The account claims $1B in payments have already been cut off.
February 2, 2025 at 4:41 PM
The word for this is "coup."
Reposted by Dr. Betsy
These are the same picture.
February 1, 2025 at 3:52 AM
These are the same picture.
Reposted by Dr. Betsy
Reposted by Dr. Betsy
Always have to harp on this: Medicaid is the ONLY federal program that pays for long term nursing care for our rapidly aging population
January 29, 2025 at 10:47 PM
Always have to harp on this: Medicaid is the ONLY federal program that pays for long term nursing care for our rapidly aging population
Reposted by Dr. Betsy
right now we are at "first they came for transgender people"
January 29, 2025 at 11:55 PM
right now we are at "first they came for transgender people"
Reposted by Dr. Betsy
today is Martin Luther King Day.
what you will see is a timeline of canva collages telling you offices are closed for the holiday.
what you deserve are organizations living Dr. King’s legacy. 🧵
what you will see is a timeline of canva collages telling you offices are closed for the holiday.
what you deserve are organizations living Dr. King’s legacy. 🧵
January 20, 2025 at 12:56 PM
today is Martin Luther King Day.
what you will see is a timeline of canva collages telling you offices are closed for the holiday.
what you deserve are organizations living Dr. King’s legacy. 🧵
what you will see is a timeline of canva collages telling you offices are closed for the holiday.
what you deserve are organizations living Dr. King’s legacy. 🧵