Kelly Gray
@elizabethkellygray.bsky.social
Historian. Author of Habit Forming: Drug Addiction in America, 1776–1914 (OUP, 2023) 📚. Optimism ☀️. Baltimore ֱ🦀. Film Noir 🎥🕵️♂️. Old-time radio 📻. History 🗝️. Playwriting 🎭. The U.S. Constitution 📜🪶. I care deeply about my country. ❤️🇺🇸 Slava Ukraine! ❤️🇺🇦
A movie that takes place where you're from
November 23, 2025 at 8:35 PM
A movie that takes place where you're from
Reposted by Kelly Gray
If you’re a journalist who’s still on Twitter, from now on in your writing you have to replace “the American people want” with “troll bots in Eastern Europe demand”
Being there makes your judgment suspect. I don’t care how savvy you think you are, you’re marinating in a disinformation campaign.
Being there makes your judgment suspect. I don’t care how savvy you think you are, you’re marinating in a disinformation campaign.
November 23, 2025 at 4:27 PM
If you’re a journalist who’s still on Twitter, from now on in your writing you have to replace “the American people want” with “troll bots in Eastern Europe demand”
Being there makes your judgment suspect. I don’t care how savvy you think you are, you’re marinating in a disinformation campaign.
Being there makes your judgment suspect. I don’t care how savvy you think you are, you’re marinating in a disinformation campaign.
Reposted by Kelly Gray
My hot take is that over the next 10 years, we're going to see more emphasis on and investment in the humanities at Ivy League and other fancy schools just as state schools and small privates continue to decimate and even eliminate the humanities.
"While other universities report that the humanities are shrinking, at Berkeley, the opposite is true. The music major is the fastest-growing major on campus. We are finding bigger classrooms because film is exploding. English is back to the numbers we saw 15 years ago. We are hiring" bit.ly/4ohKuOe
"The humanities really are a resource — a confidence for living in our times.” Dean Sara Guyer on the modern utility of humanities degrees
This interview originally appeared on the Division of Arts
bit.ly
November 23, 2025 at 4:13 PM
My hot take is that over the next 10 years, we're going to see more emphasis on and investment in the humanities at Ivy League and other fancy schools just as state schools and small privates continue to decimate and even eliminate the humanities.
Reposted by Kelly Gray
An argument that didn’t work for Calley at My Lai, that didn’t work for the Nazis at Nuremberg
President insists his word is the one and only law in this land.
November 23, 2025 at 4:29 PM
An argument that didn’t work for Calley at My Lai, that didn’t work for the Nazis at Nuremberg
Reposted by Kelly Gray
X rolled out a new feature overnight showing where accounts are based. This network of “Trump-supporting independent women” that claimed to be “real Americans” are based in Thailand.
The photos were stolen from European models & posts pushed pro-Trump lines while targeting Islam and LGBTQ people.
The photos were stolen from European models & posts pushed pro-Trump lines while targeting Islam and LGBTQ people.
November 23, 2025 at 12:55 PM
X rolled out a new feature overnight showing where accounts are based. This network of “Trump-supporting independent women” that claimed to be “real Americans” are based in Thailand.
The photos were stolen from European models & posts pushed pro-Trump lines while targeting Islam and LGBTQ people.
The photos were stolen from European models & posts pushed pro-Trump lines while targeting Islam and LGBTQ people.
Reposted by Kelly Gray
Boston's Mayor Wu playing with Yo-Yo Ma at Symphony Hall
November 23, 2025 at 5:11 AM
Boston's Mayor Wu playing with Yo-Yo Ma at Symphony Hall
Reposted by Kelly Gray
no one has even bothered trying to convince us there’s a threat from Venezuela. no weapons of mass destruction. nothing. just a war of choice because why not.
US operations against Venezuela to begin within days.
Covert ops the first move.
Covert ops the first move.
www.reuters.com
November 22, 2025 at 9:48 PM
no one has even bothered trying to convince us there’s a threat from Venezuela. no weapons of mass destruction. nothing. just a war of choice because why not.
Reposted by Kelly Gray
Good for @globeopinion.bsky.social for calling out the harm of Trump’s new rules for programs serving the homeless. Mandating sobriety and employment won’t fix homelessness, it will fuel it. Let people get safe, so they can then work on recovery and jobs. 1/2 www.bostonglobe.com/2025/11/21/o...
Trump’s reckless new policy on homelessness - The Boston Globe
Thousands of people in Massachusetts with a history of homelessness could lose housing due to policy shift.
www.bostonglobe.com
November 22, 2025 at 3:18 PM
Good for @globeopinion.bsky.social for calling out the harm of Trump’s new rules for programs serving the homeless. Mandating sobriety and employment won’t fix homelessness, it will fuel it. Let people get safe, so they can then work on recovery and jobs. 1/2 www.bostonglobe.com/2025/11/21/o...
Reposted by Kelly Gray
From Seattle to L.A., Chicago, and now Charlotte, communities are stepping up as Trump’s mass detention and deportation agenda grows more violent and indiscriminate.
"The ways that community members are helping their immigrant neighbors truly are ingenious and varied."
✍️ @tusk81.bsky.social
"The ways that community members are helping their immigrant neighbors truly are ingenious and varied."
✍️ @tusk81.bsky.social
Look For The Helpers: Americans Come Together To Protect Immigrant Neighbors
From buying out food vendors’ products to blowing whistles in order to warn about immigration agents, Americans are finding new and creative ways to defend immigrant communities.
americasvoicecnn.substack.com
November 21, 2025 at 9:02 PM
From Seattle to L.A., Chicago, and now Charlotte, communities are stepping up as Trump’s mass detention and deportation agenda grows more violent and indiscriminate.
"The ways that community members are helping their immigrant neighbors truly are ingenious and varied."
✍️ @tusk81.bsky.social
"The ways that community members are helping their immigrant neighbors truly are ingenious and varied."
✍️ @tusk81.bsky.social
Reposted by Kelly Gray
Far from the worst but this may be one of the weirdest 24 hrs of news in some time.
November 22, 2025 at 2:16 PM
Far from the worst but this may be one of the weirdest 24 hrs of news in some time.
Reposted by Kelly Gray
Reposted by Kelly Gray
No, he isn’t. There is literally no legal means by which he can do this. It’s not presidential power. TPS by law cannot be terminated early, and Somali TPS is not set to expire until March 17, 2026.
Trump says he’s ending Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Somali refugees in Minnesota “immediately.”
November 22, 2025 at 1:50 AM
No, he isn’t. There is literally no legal means by which he can do this. It’s not presidential power. TPS by law cannot be terminated early, and Somali TPS is not set to expire until March 17, 2026.
Reposted by Kelly Gray
BREAKING: Republican Senator Roger Wicker, the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, attacks Trump’s “peace plan” to end the Ukraine war:
“Ukraine should not be forced to give up its lands to one of the world’s most flagrant war criminals in Vladimir Putin.”
“Ukraine should not be forced to give up its lands to one of the world’s most flagrant war criminals in Vladimir Putin.”
November 21, 2025 at 11:12 PM
BREAKING: Republican Senator Roger Wicker, the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, attacks Trump’s “peace plan” to end the Ukraine war:
“Ukraine should not be forced to give up its lands to one of the world’s most flagrant war criminals in Vladimir Putin.”
“Ukraine should not be forced to give up its lands to one of the world’s most flagrant war criminals in Vladimir Putin.”
Reposted by Kelly Gray
I honestly don’t understand what the Times is doing here
Breaking News: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said he personally instructed the CDC to abandon its position that vaccines do not cause autism. The move underscores his determination to challenge scientific orthodoxy — in this case, that vaccines save lives — and bend the health department to his will.
RFK Jr. Says He Instructed CDC to Change Vaccines and Autism Language on Website
In an interview, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. cited gaps in vaccine safety research. His critics say he is ignoring a larger point: Vaccines save lives.
nyti.ms
November 21, 2025 at 11:02 PM
I honestly don’t understand what the Times is doing here
Reposted by Kelly Gray
X has changed their policy and now you can see where the accounts are based.
Here’s an “influencer from Texas”
Here’s an “influencer from Texas”
November 21, 2025 at 6:36 PM
X has changed their policy and now you can see where the accounts are based.
Here’s an “influencer from Texas”
Here’s an “influencer from Texas”
Reposted by Kelly Gray
This week, I withdrew from a speaking engagement at a public university because they sent me a list of prohibited “words & concepts.” I will not humor this censorship. It does a disservice to the stories I’m discussing & the audience, who deserve unfettered access to information & conversation.
November 20, 2025 at 10:20 PM
This week, I withdrew from a speaking engagement at a public university because they sent me a list of prohibited “words & concepts.” I will not humor this censorship. It does a disservice to the stories I’m discussing & the audience, who deserve unfettered access to information & conversation.
Reposted by Kelly Gray
Reposted by Kelly Gray
It's a censorship engine designed to promote ideas that Elon Musk likes and suppress ideas that Elon Musk does not like. I really don't get why this evident fact - that Musk openly admits! - is so hard for so many people to understand
An X user asks Elon Musk why they’re seeing tweets from left-wing lawmakers.
Musk: “Because we are failing very badly with the recommendations algorithm. Doing my best to address this.”
Musk: “Because we are failing very badly with the recommendations algorithm. Doing my best to address this.”
November 21, 2025 at 2:47 AM
It's a censorship engine designed to promote ideas that Elon Musk likes and suppress ideas that Elon Musk does not like. I really don't get why this evident fact - that Musk openly admits! - is so hard for so many people to understand
Reposted by Kelly Gray
Man, everything is so bleak, anyone got a fun fact or little bit of trivia they want to share
November 21, 2025 at 1:49 AM
Man, everything is so bleak, anyone got a fun fact or little bit of trivia they want to share
Reposted by Kelly Gray
Calling all contingent historians and their editors--if you haven't submitted for this year's lists, why not? Seriously, these are our most highly read pieces of the year. They are a great way to get your scholarship in front of people and SELL YOUR BOOKS.
Thank you to @erinbartram.bsky.social for the idea as a public scholarly companion to Contingent's end of year list of publications from non-tenure track historians.
Submissions for @contingent-mag.bsky.social are due by November 29th if you haven't submitted yet!
Submissions for @contingent-mag.bsky.social are due by November 29th if you haven't submitted yet!
Publications by Non-Tenure-Track Historians
Since we began publishing in 2019, Contingent has published end-of-year lists of books and articles by non-tenure-track historians released in the past calendar year. To submit something for inclusion...
contingentmagazine.org
November 21, 2025 at 2:33 AM
Calling all contingent historians and their editors--if you haven't submitted for this year's lists, why not? Seriously, these are our most highly read pieces of the year. They are a great way to get your scholarship in front of people and SELL YOUR BOOKS.
Reposted by Kelly Gray
Really excellent point that often gets lost in the (deserved) mockery.
These things are not neutral arbiters of truth. They are easily manipulated extensions of the ideology of their creators.
The attempt to shove them into every conceivable knowledge space is an explicitly political project.
These things are not neutral arbiters of truth. They are easily manipulated extensions of the ideology of their creators.
The attempt to shove them into every conceivable knowledge space is an explicitly political project.
The grok stuff is pathetic but it’s also a perfect and undeniable illustration of chatbots as ideology. It’s no less true for chatgpt or other bots, but sometimes not as visible.
November 20, 2025 at 8:40 PM
Really excellent point that often gets lost in the (deserved) mockery.
These things are not neutral arbiters of truth. They are easily manipulated extensions of the ideology of their creators.
The attempt to shove them into every conceivable knowledge space is an explicitly political project.
These things are not neutral arbiters of truth. They are easily manipulated extensions of the ideology of their creators.
The attempt to shove them into every conceivable knowledge space is an explicitly political project.
Reposted by Kelly Gray
JP Morgan knew about Epstein's sex trafficking, but didn't report it so they could keep doing business with him.
EPSTEIN BOMBSHELL: my staff is releasing a new report showing JPMorgan Chase executives – all the way to the top – enabled Epstein's sex trafficking operation. You're going to want to read this.
Wyden Presses for Investigation Into JPMorgan Chase and Epstein
www.nytimes.com
November 20, 2025 at 7:25 PM
JP Morgan knew about Epstein's sex trafficking, but didn't report it so they could keep doing business with him.
Reposted by Kelly Gray
Someone posted this in my timeline, offering a different perspective on our current struggle.
And though I think it's premature to say we're winning, we are in fact mounting a good resistance to fascism. With our continued and growing fight, we CAN prevail.
And though I think it's premature to say we're winning, we are in fact mounting a good resistance to fascism. With our continued and growing fight, we CAN prevail.
November 20, 2025 at 3:21 PM
Someone posted this in my timeline, offering a different perspective on our current struggle.
And though I think it's premature to say we're winning, we are in fact mounting a good resistance to fascism. With our continued and growing fight, we CAN prevail.
And though I think it's premature to say we're winning, we are in fact mounting a good resistance to fascism. With our continued and growing fight, we CAN prevail.
Reposted by Kelly Gray
This is a foul development:
www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...
www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...
November 20, 2025 at 7:02 PM
This is a foul development:
www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...
www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...