Ricky Broome
@karanthir.bsky.social
Recovering academic who just can't seem to quit
Pinned
Ricky Broome
@karanthir.bsky.social
· Aug 11
I'm nothing if not self-deprecating.
And I'm not even that good at being self-deprecating.
And I'm not even that good at being self-deprecating.
First new book of 2026, with a review to follow soon
January 19, 2026 at 7:37 PM
First new book of 2026, with a review to follow soon
Because they have so much free time to fill with additional reading and writing projects.
Why do academics write book reviews? Wrong answers only.
January 19, 2026 at 2:48 PM
Because they have so much free time to fill with additional reading and writing projects.
That scene from The IT Crowd where Roy has an answer machine play a message of himself asking if the caller has tried turning it off and back on again, but it's an automatic reply to Teams messages that sends a gif of that scene from The IT Crowd.
January 19, 2026 at 10:53 AM
That scene from The IT Crowd where Roy has an answer machine play a message of himself asking if the caller has tried turning it off and back on again, but it's an automatic reply to Teams messages that sends a gif of that scene from The IT Crowd.
Reposted by Ricky Broome
The inkless doodles of Eadburg, an 8th-c. nun, discovered by new technology: now published by Jessica Hendy-Hodgkinson in EME doi.org/10.1111/emed... (Open access)
January 19, 2026 at 8:27 AM
The inkless doodles of Eadburg, an 8th-c. nun, discovered by new technology: now published by Jessica Hendy-Hodgkinson in EME doi.org/10.1111/emed... (Open access)
Reposted by Ricky Broome
This week's North Sea Nexus post on advancing trees and botanical exchanges across the sea
Seeds adrift
Advancing trees and botanical exchanges across the sea
substack.com
January 18, 2026 at 12:21 PM
This week's North Sea Nexus post on advancing trees and botanical exchanges across the sea
Reposted by Ricky Broome
Over on Substack, I’ve written about this curious little runic inscription on a hanging bowl. Come read about it!
open.substack.com/pub/jasminhi...
open.substack.com/pub/jasminhi...
January 17, 2026 at 6:44 PM
Over on Substack, I’ve written about this curious little runic inscription on a hanging bowl. Come read about it!
open.substack.com/pub/jasminhi...
open.substack.com/pub/jasminhi...
Reposted by Ricky Broome
My latest post is a look at counterfactual history (writing a history of something that didn't happen), which has many detractors, but it is useful for grounding agency and human behavior when constructing historical explanations #medievalsky
What if History Turned Out Different? The (In)validity of the Counterfactual
I leave to several futures (not to all) my garden of forking paths - Jorge Luis Borges, "The Garden of Forking Paths."[1]
It is a staple of popular internet videos and posts: what if history happened...
among-the-ruins.ghost.io
January 17, 2026 at 6:04 PM
My latest post is a look at counterfactual history (writing a history of something that didn't happen), which has many detractors, but it is useful for grounding agency and human behavior when constructing historical explanations #medievalsky
Reposted by Ricky Broome
WELCOME SYMON HEILÖGU!
@symonheilogu.bsky.social will have new illustrations in this year's issues. See cool previews and sign up to be alerted when the crowdfund launches: www.backerkit.com/c/projects/b...
@symonheilogu.bsky.social will have new illustrations in this year's issues. See cool previews and sign up to be alerted when the crowdfund launches: www.backerkit.com/c/projects/b...
January 17, 2026 at 1:00 PM
WELCOME SYMON HEILÖGU!
@symonheilogu.bsky.social will have new illustrations in this year's issues. See cool previews and sign up to be alerted when the crowdfund launches: www.backerkit.com/c/projects/b...
@symonheilogu.bsky.social will have new illustrations in this year's issues. See cool previews and sign up to be alerted when the crowdfund launches: www.backerkit.com/c/projects/b...
Reposted by Ricky Broome
Issue 42.2 of Parergon was released just before Christmas. A special issue focused on medieval English attitudes to the outside world, Alison Hudson's article 'Elephants in English Literature, Art, and Material Culture before the Reign of Henry III' is currently open access!
doi.org/10.1353/pgn....
doi.org/10.1353/pgn....
January 17, 2026 at 5:59 AM
Issue 42.2 of Parergon was released just before Christmas. A special issue focused on medieval English attitudes to the outside world, Alison Hudson's article 'Elephants in English Literature, Art, and Material Culture before the Reign of Henry III' is currently open access!
doi.org/10.1353/pgn....
doi.org/10.1353/pgn....
Reposted by Ricky Broome
LORD OF A SHATTERED LAND. Cleverly structured episodic short stories stacked up in book-length tv style "seasons", following an alt-universe Hannibal of Carthage trying to free his enslaved people from alt-universe Romans.
Too many good qualities for a skeet, so here's one of MANY glowing reviews.
Too many good qualities for a skeet, so here's one of MANY glowing reviews.
January 17, 2026 at 2:20 AM
LORD OF A SHATTERED LAND. Cleverly structured episodic short stories stacked up in book-length tv style "seasons", following an alt-universe Hannibal of Carthage trying to free his enslaved people from alt-universe Romans.
Too many good qualities for a skeet, so here's one of MANY glowing reviews.
Too many good qualities for a skeet, so here's one of MANY glowing reviews.
Reposted by Ricky Broome
Howard is THE giant upon whose shoulders New Edge Sword & Sorcery stands. Check out Scott's words to learn more about him.
January 16, 2026 at 10:12 PM
Howard is THE giant upon whose shoulders New Edge Sword & Sorcery stands. Check out Scott's words to learn more about him.
Reposted by Ricky Broome
Reposted by Ricky Broome
Long shot, I know, but does anyone have a reproduction or transcription of BNF MS Doat 126, ff 32r-47v (three pieces concerning the foundation of the priory of Fons)?
January 16, 2026 at 2:02 PM
Long shot, I know, but does anyone have a reproduction or transcription of BNF MS Doat 126, ff 32r-47v (three pieces concerning the foundation of the priory of Fons)?
A new issue of Viator with a cluster of papers on Male Hair in the Middle Ages? Oh my!
www.brepols.net/products/IS-...
www.brepols.net/products/IS-...
Brepols - VIATOR 56:1 (2025)
Brepols is an international academic publisher of works in the humanities, with a particular focus in history, archaeology, history of the arts, language and literature, and critical editions of histo...
www.brepols.net
January 16, 2026 at 9:41 AM
A new issue of Viator with a cluster of papers on Male Hair in the Middle Ages? Oh my!
www.brepols.net/products/IS-...
www.brepols.net/products/IS-...
Reposted by Ricky Broome
This is the kind of aggressive market research we really should be doing.
Wyrd Science is amazing I have no idea why more people aren't buying it up like mother fuckers. Let me know in the comments.
Massive shout out to the 51st person who bought the current issue of Wyrd Science on DriveThruRPG earlier and just nudged it over the line and into the mighty thewed ranks of the site’s copper best sellers 🫡
PDFs, truly the future of the publishing industry
PDFs, truly the future of the publishing industry
January 16, 2026 at 8:53 AM
This is the kind of aggressive market research we really should be doing.
Reposted by Ricky Broome
🌊North Sea Friday Folk #1 — lives shaped by the shallow sea on our doorstep
Kicking us off is Krijn, the name given to the owner of a skull fragment recovered from the bottom of the North Sea in 2001
A young male Neanderthal living 50,000-70,000 years ago in the now submerged landscape Doggerland
Kicking us off is Krijn, the name given to the owner of a skull fragment recovered from the bottom of the North Sea in 2001
A young male Neanderthal living 50,000-70,000 years ago in the now submerged landscape Doggerland
January 16, 2026 at 8:11 AM
🌊North Sea Friday Folk #1 — lives shaped by the shallow sea on our doorstep
Kicking us off is Krijn, the name given to the owner of a skull fragment recovered from the bottom of the North Sea in 2001
A young male Neanderthal living 50,000-70,000 years ago in the now submerged landscape Doggerland
Kicking us off is Krijn, the name given to the owner of a skull fragment recovered from the bottom of the North Sea in 2001
A young male Neanderthal living 50,000-70,000 years ago in the now submerged landscape Doggerland
Reposted by Ricky Broome
Greetings! Our other imprint -- Elastic Torch Books -- launched a preview of its first publication today on Backerkit: Swords Against! A sword and sorcery fiction magazine.
Go join the swords against!
www.backerkit.com/call_to_acti...
Go join the swords against!
www.backerkit.com/call_to_acti...
Get Ready for Swords Against! The swords & sorcery fiction magazine against Tyranny!
From Elastic Torch Books - Get Ready for Swords Against! The swords & sorcery fiction magazine against Tyranny!
www.backerkit.com
January 15, 2026 at 7:50 PM
Greetings! Our other imprint -- Elastic Torch Books -- launched a preview of its first publication today on Backerkit: Swords Against! A sword and sorcery fiction magazine.
Go join the swords against!
www.backerkit.com/call_to_acti...
Go join the swords against!
www.backerkit.com/call_to_acti...
Reposted by Ricky Broome
shows.acast.com/64e77e8296ce...?
Interested in Baltic Sea viking activity?
If yes: here's a 40 minute podcast interview
If no: here's a 40 minute podcast interview
Interested in Baltic Sea viking activity?
If yes: here's a 40 minute podcast interview
If no: here's a 40 minute podcast interview
I Came, I Saw, I Vikinged: The Baltic Edition | If It Ain't Baroque...
Historical Spotlight
shows.acast.com
January 15, 2026 at 6:02 PM
shows.acast.com/64e77e8296ce...?
Interested in Baltic Sea viking activity?
If yes: here's a 40 minute podcast interview
If no: here's a 40 minute podcast interview
Interested in Baltic Sea viking activity?
If yes: here's a 40 minute podcast interview
If no: here's a 40 minute podcast interview
Reposted by Ricky Broome
New review to start off your 2026 - be sure to read the insightful discussion at the end!
David M. Wheeler reviews "Critical Archaeology in the Digital Age: Proceedings of the 12th IEMA Visiting Scholar’s Conference" Kevin Garstki, ed. (UCLA - Cotsen).
rheaclassicalreviews.com/2026/01/15/w...
David M. Wheeler reviews "Critical Archaeology in the Digital Age: Proceedings of the 12th IEMA Visiting Scholar’s Conference" Kevin Garstki, ed. (UCLA - Cotsen).
rheaclassicalreviews.com/2026/01/15/w...
Critical Archaeology in the Digital Age: Proceedings of the 12th IEMA Visiting Scholar’s Conference
Kevin Garstki, ed., Critical Archaeology in the Digital Age: Proceedings of the 12th IEMA Visiting Scholar’s Conference (Los Angeles: The Cotsen Institute of Archaeology Press, 2022). 9781950446261…
rheaclassicalreviews.com
January 15, 2026 at 4:17 PM
New review to start off your 2026 - be sure to read the insightful discussion at the end!
David M. Wheeler reviews "Critical Archaeology in the Digital Age: Proceedings of the 12th IEMA Visiting Scholar’s Conference" Kevin Garstki, ed. (UCLA - Cotsen).
rheaclassicalreviews.com/2026/01/15/w...
David M. Wheeler reviews "Critical Archaeology in the Digital Age: Proceedings of the 12th IEMA Visiting Scholar’s Conference" Kevin Garstki, ed. (UCLA - Cotsen).
rheaclassicalreviews.com/2026/01/15/w...
Reposted by Ricky Broome
Heard a lad earlier talking about ‘Belgian whistles’
“A basic website costs 10k or 25k upwards if you want all the Belgian whistles”
BELGIAN WHISTLES
“A basic website costs 10k or 25k upwards if you want all the Belgian whistles”
BELGIAN WHISTLES
January 15, 2026 at 4:33 PM
Heard a lad earlier talking about ‘Belgian whistles’
“A basic website costs 10k or 25k upwards if you want all the Belgian whistles”
BELGIAN WHISTLES
“A basic website costs 10k or 25k upwards if you want all the Belgian whistles”
BELGIAN WHISTLES
Reposted by Ricky Broome
Oh hey, it's the cover art for issue 8! Painted by @jimmymakepeace.bsky.social!
✍️ Sign up to be alerted when NESS 2026 launches,
👨🏫 Learn about our crowdfund exclusives,
and
👁️ See teases, with reveal dates, for all kinds of surprises all at...
⚔️THIS LINK⚔️: www.backerkit.com/c/projects/b...
✍️ Sign up to be alerted when NESS 2026 launches,
👨🏫 Learn about our crowdfund exclusives,
and
👁️ See teases, with reveal dates, for all kinds of surprises all at...
⚔️THIS LINK⚔️: www.backerkit.com/c/projects/b...
January 15, 2026 at 12:56 PM
Oh hey, it's the cover art for issue 8! Painted by @jimmymakepeace.bsky.social!
✍️ Sign up to be alerted when NESS 2026 launches,
👨🏫 Learn about our crowdfund exclusives,
and
👁️ See teases, with reveal dates, for all kinds of surprises all at...
⚔️THIS LINK⚔️: www.backerkit.com/c/projects/b...
✍️ Sign up to be alerted when NESS 2026 launches,
👨🏫 Learn about our crowdfund exclusives,
and
👁️ See teases, with reveal dates, for all kinds of surprises all at...
⚔️THIS LINK⚔️: www.backerkit.com/c/projects/b...
Reposted by Ricky Broome
We --@lauramorreale.bsky.social and I-- are delighted to be bringing Digital Medieval Studies Insitute to two of the most important gatherings for #medievalists in 2026! Thanks to the support of many colleagues and organisations, including @digitalmedievalist.bsky.social! #medievalsky #DMSI2026
January 15, 2026 at 4:57 PM
We --@lauramorreale.bsky.social and I-- are delighted to be bringing Digital Medieval Studies Insitute to two of the most important gatherings for #medievalists in 2026! Thanks to the support of many colleagues and organisations, including @digitalmedievalist.bsky.social! #medievalsky #DMSI2026
Reposted by Ricky Broome
Ok here is a very early, completely un-playtested draft of my PbtA grubby fantasy hack GODWROT.
#ttrpg #pbta #bosr
#ttrpg #pbta #bosr
GODWROT
rg-wood.github.io
January 15, 2026 at 5:05 PM
Reposted by Ricky Broome
RT if you've never had a tab of ChatGPT open 'just to do quick research'
![You’ve got super fans pausing and zooming in on individuals frames of your documentary. One allegedly shows one of the Duffers with a ChatGPT tab open on their computer. In your presence, what did they use ChatGPT for?
I mean, are we even sure they had ChatGPT open?
I’m personally not, but the internet seems sure.
Well, there’s a lot of chatter where [social media users] are like, “We don’t really know, but we’re assuming.” But to me it’s like, doesn’t everybody have it open, to just do quick research?
I do.
How can you possibly write a storyline with 19 characters and use ChatGPT, I don’t even understand.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:7t2urmt3i33jl6tjgiolio6g/bafkreidw2tmcr2ayq74oqmjm5pn2tdox6hlxnpqevhuqqj6oa7nsslx3oi@jpeg)
January 13, 2026 at 8:45 PM
RT if you've never had a tab of ChatGPT open 'just to do quick research'
Reposted by Ricky Broome
The wonderful @caitlinrgreen.bsky.social has a hugely interesting new article just out in Early Medieval England & its Neighbours, all about Alfred the Great's embassy to India - free to read here #India #AlfredtheGreat #medieval www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
King Alfred and India: an Anglo-Saxon Embassy to Southern India in the Ninth Century | Early Medieval England and its Neighbours | Cambridge Core
King Alfred and India: an Anglo-Saxon Embassy to Southern India in the Ninth Century - Volume 52
www.cambridge.org
January 14, 2026 at 10:03 AM
The wonderful @caitlinrgreen.bsky.social has a hugely interesting new article just out in Early Medieval England & its Neighbours, all about Alfred the Great's embassy to India - free to read here #India #AlfredtheGreat #medieval www.cambridge.org/core/journal...