Megan Kate Nelson 📚
@mkn.bsky.social
I am a Colorado-born and raised, Boston-based writer, historian, and Pulitzer Prize Finalist. I am the author of "The Westerners" (2026), “Saving Yellowstone” (2022) and “The Three-Cornered War” (2020). More details at https://megankatenelson.com
Pinned
Megan Kate Nelson 📚
@mkn.bsky.social
· Oct 23
Everything is terrible but BIG NEWS:
My new author website is live! megankatenelson.com
Read more about me, my books, upcoming events, and
pre-order "The Westerners"!
My new author website is live! megankatenelson.com
Read more about me, my books, upcoming events, and
pre-order "The Westerners"!
Reposted by Megan Kate Nelson 📚
hey remember when a bunch of middle-aged drunk korean lawmakers climbed the locked gates to the national assembly to hold an emergency session after the president gave illegal orders to the military, all of which ended with said president being sentenced to prison
January 3, 2026 at 7:02 AM
hey remember when a bunch of middle-aged drunk korean lawmakers climbed the locked gates to the national assembly to hold an emergency session after the president gave illegal orders to the military, all of which ended with said president being sentenced to prison
Reposted by Megan Kate Nelson 📚
The author of the Monroe Doctrine (John Quincy Adams) also said:
“[We] go not abroad in search of monsters to destroy.”
“[We] go not abroad in search of monsters to destroy.”
January 3, 2026 at 5:22 PM
The author of the Monroe Doctrine (John Quincy Adams) also said:
“[We] go not abroad in search of monsters to destroy.”
“[We] go not abroad in search of monsters to destroy.”
Reposted by Megan Kate Nelson 📚
We are a rogue state, run by a dictator, and the international community should treat us as such including all appropriate economic and diplomatic sanctions
January 3, 2026 at 3:36 PM
We are a rogue state, run by a dictator, and the international community should treat us as such including all appropriate economic and diplomatic sanctions
While I was sure that this motherfucker in the White House would destroy our dreams of a more peaceful 2026, I did not anticipate that it would only take 48 hours.
January 3, 2026 at 3:25 PM
While I was sure that this motherfucker in the White House would destroy our dreams of a more peaceful 2026, I did not anticipate that it would only take 48 hours.
And also this.
Marco Rubio is reportedly saying Maduro will stand trial in US courts.
Which means it’s now the US administration’s position that US courts can hold foreign presidents, but not the US president, accountable for crimes.
Which means it’s now the US administration’s position that US courts can hold foreign presidents, but not the US president, accountable for crimes.
January 3, 2026 at 2:06 PM
And also this.
This. So incredibly infuriating.
Always remember, Republicans in Congress could stop this at precisely any moment they choose.
January 3, 2026 at 2:03 PM
This. So incredibly infuriating.
This book is going to be 🔥🔥🔥🔥
Pre-order it, Blueskis!
Pre-order it, Blueskis!
Cover reveal. It's about how & why colonies/states controlled international & domestic migration until 1888, why in the late 19th c the feds took over, & what it was like for politically disfavored groups to live under that arrangement of power. You can't understand voluntary migration history 1/
January 2, 2026 at 1:58 PM
This book is going to be 🔥🔥🔥🔥
Pre-order it, Blueskis!
Pre-order it, Blueskis!
I don't know what is worse in NYT piece on book sales in 2025:
1. That an audiobook sale is not considered a book sale
2. That even book critics think the primary goal of a nonfiction book is to "provide information."
1. That an audiobook sale is not considered a book sale
2. That even book critics think the primary goal of a nonfiction book is to "provide information."
December 31, 2025 at 5:49 PM
I don't know what is worse in NYT piece on book sales in 2025:
1. That an audiobook sale is not considered a book sale
2. That even book critics think the primary goal of a nonfiction book is to "provide information."
1. That an audiobook sale is not considered a book sale
2. That even book critics think the primary goal of a nonfiction book is to "provide information."
I will have lived through the entirety of MTv.
I'm not sure how to feel about this.
parade.com/news/mtv-off...
I'm not sure how to feel about this.
parade.com/news/mtv-off...
The MTV You Remember Is Now Officially Gone After 44 Years
MTV ends its iconic music era as it pulls the plug across the globe.
parade.com
December 31, 2025 at 3:57 PM
Morning light bouncing off the stove and onto the dishwasher this morning.
😳
😳
December 30, 2025 at 7:13 PM
Morning light bouncing off the stove and onto the dishwasher this morning.
😳
😳
Reposted by Megan Kate Nelson 📚
You can’t say “shit” in The Chronicle of Higher Education apparently. We tried.
"Anyone who tells you that the recent wave of antagonism and demolition is a proportional reaction to some kind of progressive overreach, to too much DEI, to wokeness, to “blueskyism,” to police abolitionists and Free Gaza encampments, is full of it." www.chronicle.com/article/the-...
The ‘Crisis of the Humanities’ Is Over. That’s Not a Good Thing.
All of higher ed now suffers the attacks of politics and technology.
www.chronicle.com
December 30, 2025 at 1:28 PM
You can’t say “shit” in The Chronicle of Higher Education apparently. We tried.
Oooh, I am a criminal investigator who can engrave details of crime scenes and interviews in my mind!
Well, now I'm an English professor...
December 29, 2025 at 7:38 PM
Oooh, I am a criminal investigator who can engrave details of crime scenes and interviews in my mind!
Blueskis, I have to choose an audiobook narrator for "The Westerners."
When listening to history nonfiction, do you prefer a narrator who is the same gender identity as the author?
Or do you not care, as long as the narrator has a great voice and intonation?
When listening to history nonfiction, do you prefer a narrator who is the same gender identity as the author?
Or do you not care, as long as the narrator has a great voice and intonation?
December 28, 2025 at 9:12 PM
Blueskis, I have to choose an audiobook narrator for "The Westerners."
When listening to history nonfiction, do you prefer a narrator who is the same gender identity as the author?
Or do you not care, as long as the narrator has a great voice and intonation?
When listening to history nonfiction, do you prefer a narrator who is the same gender identity as the author?
Or do you not care, as long as the narrator has a great voice and intonation?
My Insta feed right now is 10% New Year’s sales and 90% “Heated Rivalry” content.
December 28, 2025 at 3:16 AM
My Insta feed right now is 10% New Year’s sales and 90% “Heated Rivalry” content.
Reposted by Megan Kate Nelson 📚
I just taught my lecture course on mid-20th c US history, which starts with Harding and concludes with Nixon.
For the first time, I had to pause and stress that those scandals were actually shocking at the time and, what’s more, that Americans actually demanded people be held accountable.
For the first time, I had to pause and stress that those scandals were actually shocking at the time and, what’s more, that Americans actually demanded people be held accountable.
All of the money that changed hands in the Teapot Dome scandal totaled less than $10 million after adjusting for inflation, and it was considered so corrupt we still teach it in high school government classes a century later.
Corruption so pungent, it wafts right off the page:
Lobbyists who do pardon deals “say their going rate is $1 million. Pardon-seekers have offered some lobbyists close to the president success fees of as much as $6 million if they can close the deal.”
Gift link www.wsj.com/politics/pol...
Lobbyists who do pardon deals “say their going rate is $1 million. Pardon-seekers have offered some lobbyists close to the president success fees of as much as $6 million if they can close the deal.”
Gift link www.wsj.com/politics/pol...
December 27, 2025 at 9:30 PM
I just taught my lecture course on mid-20th c US history, which starts with Harding and concludes with Nixon.
For the first time, I had to pause and stress that those scandals were actually shocking at the time and, what’s more, that Americans actually demanded people be held accountable.
For the first time, I had to pause and stress that those scandals were actually shocking at the time and, what’s more, that Americans actually demanded people be held accountable.
Reposted by Megan Kate Nelson 📚
No one says to legit business owners, "hey I see there's an underground market selling toxic knock-offs of your product: how will you incorporate the toxic product AND protect your customers against its harms?" But apparently it's fine to make this suggestion to educators with respect to AI.
December 24, 2025 at 7:56 PM
No one says to legit business owners, "hey I see there's an underground market selling toxic knock-offs of your product: how will you incorporate the toxic product AND protect your customers against its harms?" But apparently it's fine to make this suggestion to educators with respect to AI.
A Merry Christmas Eve to all who celebrate!
We are celebrating with La Cometas (a twist on the Paper Plane, with Reposado Tequila)
We are celebrating with La Cometas (a twist on the Paper Plane, with Reposado Tequila)
December 24, 2025 at 11:57 PM
A Merry Christmas Eve to all who celebrate!
We are celebrating with La Cometas (a twist on the Paper Plane, with Reposado Tequila)
We are celebrating with La Cometas (a twist on the Paper Plane, with Reposado Tequila)
Reposted by Megan Kate Nelson 📚
If you’re wondering why your friends in academia are a little on edge right now, it’s because an eighteen-year-old who hasn’t done the reading, doesn’t look at the assignment, and has does no critical thinking skills more complex than “because I think it’s in the Bible” can literally end your career
The University of Oklahoma has removed an instructor who was accused by a student of religious discrimination over a failing grade on a psychology paper in which she cited the Bible and argued that promoting a “belief in multiple genders” was “demonic.” https://cnn.it/4b6g3rd
Oklahoma instructor removed from teaching for failing a Bible-based gender essay | CNN
The University of Oklahoma has removed an instructor who was accused by a student of religious discrimination over a failing grade on a psychology paper in which she cited the Bible and argued that promoting a “belief in multiple genders” was “demonic.”
cnn.it
December 24, 2025 at 6:21 PM
If you’re wondering why your friends in academia are a little on edge right now, it’s because an eighteen-year-old who hasn’t done the reading, doesn’t look at the assignment, and has does no critical thinking skills more complex than “because I think it’s in the Bible” can literally end your career
I don’t think of myself as a sentimental person but I do love a gorgeous Christmas tree in a public square.
Left: Marienplatz, Munich
Right: Piazza del Popolo, Rome
Left: Marienplatz, Munich
Right: Piazza del Popolo, Rome
December 23, 2025 at 3:58 PM
I don’t think of myself as a sentimental person but I do love a gorgeous Christmas tree in a public square.
Left: Marienplatz, Munich
Right: Piazza del Popolo, Rome
Left: Marienplatz, Munich
Right: Piazza del Popolo, Rome
Reposted by Megan Kate Nelson 📚
when some people choose between a weekly injection or daily pill to regulate their hormones so as to align their body with their desired appearance i guess it's no big deal
U.S. regulators on Monday gave the green light to a pill version of the blockbuster weight-loss drug Wegovy, the first daily oral medication to treat obesity. n.pr/4pNYnVN
U.S. regulators approve Wegovy pill for weight loss
U.S. regulators on Monday gave the green light to a pill version of the blockbuster weight-loss drug Wegovy, the first daily oral medication to treat obesity.
n.pr
December 23, 2025 at 2:26 PM
when some people choose between a weekly injection or daily pill to regulate their hormones so as to align their body with their desired appearance i guess it's no big deal
I sent my dad the ARC of "The Westerners" and asked him to tell me about any typos he found. He called earlier to tell me he found two.
I just called him back to say that the press will fix the typos before pub and he literally cheered.
I come by my #nerdlife honestly, Blueskis.
I just called him back to say that the press will fix the typos before pub and he literally cheered.
I come by my #nerdlife honestly, Blueskis.
December 22, 2025 at 9:45 PM
I sent my dad the ARC of "The Westerners" and asked him to tell me about any typos he found. He called earlier to tell me he found two.
I just called him back to say that the press will fix the typos before pub and he literally cheered.
I come by my #nerdlife honestly, Blueskis.
I just called him back to say that the press will fix the typos before pub and he literally cheered.
I come by my #nerdlife honestly, Blueskis.
December 22, 2025 at 1:21 PM
It’s also about whitewashing history (in books, libraries, historic sites) so that the billionaires and tech lords can depict America as “white” and take rights away from anyone who isn’t.
Fwiw I think the “apologize for being white” thing is very clearly about making sure white people don’t feel an obligation to alleviate past injustices or make society fairer. Ultimately to do that you have to raise taxes and the billionaires holding Vance’s leash don’t want that.
December 22, 2025 at 12:04 AM
It’s also about whitewashing history (in books, libraries, historic sites) so that the billionaires and tech lords can depict America as “white” and take rights away from anyone who isn’t.
Reposted by Megan Kate Nelson 📚
I want to dare to use language as only a human can, to practice forms no machine can reliably replicate.
December 21, 2025 at 3:31 PM
I want to dare to use language as only a human can, to practice forms no machine can reliably replicate.
Reposted by Megan Kate Nelson 📚
Happy winter solstice everyone. ❄️
December 21, 2025 at 11:54 AM
Happy winter solstice everyone. ❄️