Nick Kapur
@nickkapur.bsky.social
Historian of Japan and East Asia. I only post extremely interesting things.
Author of "Japan at the Crossroads," out now from Harvard University Press.
https://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674984424
Author of "Japan at the Crossroads," out now from Harvard University Press.
https://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674984424
Pinned
Nick Kapur
@nickkapur.bsky.social
· Oct 20
Thrilled to announce the publication of my article "The Invention of the Kamikaze: Dissent and Resistance in the Japanese Military" in the October issue of the Journal of Military History!
Reposted by Nick Kapur
Insanity: Sources close to the White House told the Washington Post Trump lost interest in backing Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado to lead the country because she accepted her Nobel Peace Prize rather than demanding it be given to Trump, which was viewed as an “ultimate sin.”
January 5, 2026 at 4:47 AM
Insanity: Sources close to the White House told the Washington Post Trump lost interest in backing Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado to lead the country because she accepted her Nobel Peace Prize rather than demanding it be given to Trump, which was viewed as an “ultimate sin.”
Reposted by Nick Kapur
There was a decently large constituency in South Florida for overthrowing Maduro and replacing him with a democratic regime. Overthrowing Maduro for a similarly despotic puppet so we can get resources makes no group of voters happy, though.
How Trump Fixed On a Maduro Loyalist as Venezuela’s New Leader
www.nytimes.com
January 4, 2026 at 1:17 PM
There was a decently large constituency in South Florida for overthrowing Maduro and replacing him with a democratic regime. Overthrowing Maduro for a similarly despotic puppet so we can get resources makes no group of voters happy, though.
Reposted by Nick Kapur
As the picture of what happened yesterday comes into focus, I think the proper analogy is a country bombing us, whisking Trump and Melania away for trial elsewhere, declaring that the Democrats have no hope of governing, and leaving Vance in charge as the guy they believe they can work with.
January 4, 2026 at 1:12 PM
As the picture of what happened yesterday comes into focus, I think the proper analogy is a country bombing us, whisking Trump and Melania away for trial elsewhere, declaring that the Democrats have no hope of governing, and leaving Vance in charge as the guy they believe they can work with.
Reposted by Nick Kapur
"Look, I will give you the full balance of my Robinhood account. Money is no object. Unless, of course, that money will be added to a pool of community funds that would then be used to pay for the services I’m currently requesting." #McSweeneysTop25of2025
I Will Pay Any Amount to Not Pay My Taxes
Our 6th most-read article of 2025. - - -I’ve gotten myself into a bit of a jam. A series of natural disasters is barreling towards my home, and th...
buff.ly
January 4, 2026 at 2:01 PM
"Look, I will give you the full balance of my Robinhood account. Money is no object. Unless, of course, that money will be added to a pool of community funds that would then be used to pay for the services I’m currently requesting." #McSweeneysTop25of2025
Reposted by Nick Kapur
"As with so many things, Trump didn’t invent a bloated, power-grabbing presidency, but he has brought it to its inevitable conclusion, the very thing most feared by the Founders: A madman able to plunge the country into war on a whim."
Trump’s Bogus Rationale for Invading Venezuela Is an Impeachable Offense
The Framers would have regarded this president as an out-of-control lunatic in desperate need of reining in by Congress
www.theunpopulist.net
January 4, 2026 at 9:30 AM
"As with so many things, Trump didn’t invent a bloated, power-grabbing presidency, but he has brought it to its inevitable conclusion, the very thing most feared by the Founders: A madman able to plunge the country into war on a whim."
Reposted by Nick Kapur
A remarkable trend that will come as a shock to you if your only info about NYC is from this Fox News.
Homicides in NYC...
1990: 2,262
1993: 1,927
1998: 629
2001: 649
2013: 335
2019: 320
2021: 488
2024: 382
2025 (as of 12/28): 302
Homicides in NYC...
1990: 2,262
1993: 1,927
1998: 629
2001: 649
2013: 335
2019: 320
2021: 488
2024: 382
2025 (as of 12/28): 302
December 31, 2025 at 11:40 PM
A remarkable trend that will come as a shock to you if your only info about NYC is from this Fox News.
Homicides in NYC...
1990: 2,262
1993: 1,927
1998: 629
2001: 649
2013: 335
2019: 320
2021: 488
2024: 382
2025 (as of 12/28): 302
Homicides in NYC...
1990: 2,262
1993: 1,927
1998: 629
2001: 649
2013: 335
2019: 320
2021: 488
2024: 382
2025 (as of 12/28): 302
Reposted by Nick Kapur
@zhonggg.bsky.social is currently on a South Korean icebreaker in Antarctica because the US is no longer a serious country. The Trump regime got rid of our Antarctic icebreaker, Nathaniel B. Palmer, so for the first time in six decades we are without a dedicated Antarctic research vessel.
Is Thwaites Still the ‘Doomsday Glacier’?
www.nytimes.com
January 1, 2026 at 4:53 AM
@zhonggg.bsky.social is currently on a South Korean icebreaker in Antarctica because the US is no longer a serious country. The Trump regime got rid of our Antarctic icebreaker, Nathaniel B. Palmer, so for the first time in six decades we are without a dedicated Antarctic research vessel.
Reposted by Nick Kapur
good piece with an incidental insanely brutal takedown of klein
December 31, 2025 at 2:51 PM
good piece with an incidental insanely brutal takedown of klein
Trump's first year back in office has been an unmitigated disaster for fighting climate change, building out clean energy, and Americans' ability to breath clean air and drink clean water.
December 23, 2025 at 5:53 AM
Trump's first year back in office has been an unmitigated disaster for fighting climate change, building out clean energy, and Americans' ability to breath clean air and drink clean water.
Reposted by Nick Kapur
If you haven't already, definitely read this WSJ story on how Putin hand-picked Witkoff for his malleability and cupidity.
www.wsj.com/world/putin-...
www.wsj.com/world/putin-...
How Putin Got His Preferred U.S. Envoy: Come Alone, No CIA
The Kremlin fueled the rise of Trump’s friend Steve Witkoff with a prisoner release, sidelining career diplomats.
www.wsj.com
December 22, 2025 at 4:21 PM
If you haven't already, definitely read this WSJ story on how Putin hand-picked Witkoff for his malleability and cupidity.
www.wsj.com/world/putin-...
www.wsj.com/world/putin-...
After New York public schools began locking up students' smartphones, kids rediscovered hobbies and human interaction
December 21, 2025 at 5:11 PM
After New York public schools began locking up students' smartphones, kids rediscovered hobbies and human interaction
Reposted by Nick Kapur
It is utterly catastrophic that RFK Jr. plans to end CDC recommendations for most childhood vaccines.
It’s a betrayal of science, ethics, compassion, and the people of the United States.
And it was also a specific goal of Project 2025 (page 254).
It’s a betrayal of science, ethics, compassion, and the people of the United States.
And it was also a specific goal of Project 2025 (page 254).
December 20, 2025 at 12:50 AM
It is utterly catastrophic that RFK Jr. plans to end CDC recommendations for most childhood vaccines.
It’s a betrayal of science, ethics, compassion, and the people of the United States.
And it was also a specific goal of Project 2025 (page 254).
It’s a betrayal of science, ethics, compassion, and the people of the United States.
And it was also a specific goal of Project 2025 (page 254).
Reposted by Nick Kapur
Keep in mind that UNC's annual budget for athletics is a staggering $160 million.
This includes paying celebrity football coach Bill Belichick $10 million a year (the highest salary of any state employee in all of North Carolina) to finish near the bottom of the ACC.
This includes paying celebrity football coach Bill Belichick $10 million a year (the highest salary of any state employee in all of North Carolina) to finish near the bottom of the ACC.
This is insane. UNC is permanently shutting down all 6 of its area studies research centers, plus 8 other centers, affecting hundreds of faculty and grad students, just to get "$3 million in near-term savings," which is a tiny rounding error in the university's annual budget.
December 18, 2025 at 2:44 PM
Keep in mind that UNC's annual budget for athletics is a staggering $160 million.
This includes paying celebrity football coach Bill Belichick $10 million a year (the highest salary of any state employee in all of North Carolina) to finish near the bottom of the ACC.
This includes paying celebrity football coach Bill Belichick $10 million a year (the highest salary of any state employee in all of North Carolina) to finish near the bottom of the ACC.
Keep in mind that UNC's annual budget for athletics is a staggering $160 million.
This includes paying celebrity football coach Bill Belichick $10 million a year (the highest salary of any state employee in all of North Carolina) to finish near the bottom of the ACC.
This includes paying celebrity football coach Bill Belichick $10 million a year (the highest salary of any state employee in all of North Carolina) to finish near the bottom of the ACC.
This is insane. UNC is permanently shutting down all 6 of its area studies research centers, plus 8 other centers, affecting hundreds of faculty and grad students, just to get "$3 million in near-term savings," which is a tiny rounding error in the university's annual budget.
December 18, 2025 at 2:44 PM
Keep in mind that UNC's annual budget for athletics is a staggering $160 million.
This includes paying celebrity football coach Bill Belichick $10 million a year (the highest salary of any state employee in all of North Carolina) to finish near the bottom of the ACC.
This includes paying celebrity football coach Bill Belichick $10 million a year (the highest salary of any state employee in all of North Carolina) to finish near the bottom of the ACC.
Reposted by Nick Kapur
NCAR is a crown jewel of US scientific innovation. Dismantling it is utterly crazy. I hope representatives around the country are hearing lots of pushback from their constituents.
NCAR is quite literally our global mothership.
Everyone who works in climate and weather has passed through its doors and benefited from its incredible resources.
Dismantling NCAR is like taking a sledgehammer to the keystone holding up our scientific understanding of the planet.
Unbelievable.
Everyone who works in climate and weather has passed through its doors and benefited from its incredible resources.
Dismantling NCAR is like taking a sledgehammer to the keystone holding up our scientific understanding of the planet.
Unbelievable.
Trump moves to dismantle major US climate research center in Colorado
The Trump administration is breaking up the National Center for Atmospheric Research, taking aim at one of the world's leading climate research labs.
www.usatoday.com
December 18, 2025 at 1:15 AM
NCAR is a crown jewel of US scientific innovation. Dismantling it is utterly crazy. I hope representatives around the country are hearing lots of pushback from their constituents.
This is insane. UNC is permanently shutting down all 6 of its area studies research centers, plus 8 other centers, affecting hundreds of faculty and grad students, just to get "$3 million in near-term savings," which is a tiny rounding error in the university's annual budget.
December 18, 2025 at 1:10 AM
This is insane. UNC is permanently shutting down all 6 of its area studies research centers, plus 8 other centers, affecting hundreds of faculty and grad students, just to get "$3 million in near-term savings," which is a tiny rounding error in the university's annual budget.
Reposted by Nick Kapur
Happy 75th anniversary to “Rabbit of Seville” (1950), directed by Chuck Jones, this classic Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd chase is staged to Rossini’s “Barber of Seville” overture.
It has been voted No. 12 in The 50 Greatest Cartoons of all time.
#LooneyTunes
It has been voted No. 12 in The 50 Greatest Cartoons of all time.
#LooneyTunes
December 16, 2025 at 10:48 PM
Happy 75th anniversary to “Rabbit of Seville” (1950), directed by Chuck Jones, this classic Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd chase is staged to Rossini’s “Barber of Seville” overture.
It has been voted No. 12 in The 50 Greatest Cartoons of all time.
#LooneyTunes
It has been voted No. 12 in The 50 Greatest Cartoons of all time.
#LooneyTunes
😂
For anyone worried AI will replace all of us.
Courtesy of Gemini for the prompt “create an infographic of all the World Series winners since 1986”
I dare you to find 10 things that are right.
Courtesy of Gemini for the prompt “create an infographic of all the World Series winners since 1986”
I dare you to find 10 things that are right.
December 17, 2025 at 3:22 PM
😂
Reposted by Nick Kapur
Sounds about right.
December 15, 2025 at 12:38 PM
Sounds about right.
How is this headline not from an Onion article???
December 10, 2025 at 9:59 PM
How is this headline not from an Onion article???
The Trump administration has changed which holidays qualify for free entrance to national parks, removing Martin Luther King Day and Juneteenth and adding Trump's own birthday.
www.sfgate.com/national-par...
www.sfgate.com/national-par...
National parks change prioritizes Trump birthday over days honoring Black people
Free entrance days at national parks no longer include MLK Day and Juneteenth.
www.sfgate.com
December 5, 2025 at 2:01 PM
The Trump administration has changed which holidays qualify for free entrance to national parks, removing Martin Luther King Day and Juneteenth and adding Trump's own birthday.
www.sfgate.com/national-par...
www.sfgate.com/national-par...
Reposted by Nick Kapur
A young Howard Zinn in Japan, pictured here with Ralph Featherstone, among others, during a June 1966 lecture tour focused on civil disobedience and non-violent direct action for anti-Vietnam War groups across the country
December 5, 2025 at 5:44 AM
A young Howard Zinn in Japan, pictured here with Ralph Featherstone, among others, during a June 1966 lecture tour focused on civil disobedience and non-violent direct action for anti-Vietnam War groups across the country
Reposted by Nick Kapur
This is a million times worse than anything Hunter Biden was accused of doing in even the most fevered right-wing conspiracy dream
UPDATE: Trump Jr.-backed startup receives $620 million Pentagon loan
In October, Popular Information reported that the Pentagon awarded a contract to Unusual Machines, an obscure drone company that President Trump’s son, Donald Trump Jr., joined as an advisor in Novemb...
popular.info
December 4, 2025 at 4:00 PM
This is a million times worse than anything Hunter Biden was accused of doing in even the most fevered right-wing conspiracy dream
Super excited for this one!!
On December 2!
Akiko Takenaka (U of Kentucky) on her new book, "Mothers Against War: Gender, Motherhood, and Peace Activism in Cold War Japan", in conversation with Chelsea Szendi Schieder (Aoyama Gakuin U) and Sara Kang (Princeton U).
Register for Zoom here: mjha.org/event-6314073
Akiko Takenaka (U of Kentucky) on her new book, "Mothers Against War: Gender, Motherhood, and Peace Activism in Cold War Japan", in conversation with Chelsea Szendi Schieder (Aoyama Gakuin U) and Sara Kang (Princeton U).
Register for Zoom here: mjha.org/event-6314073
November 26, 2025 at 3:32 PM
Super excited for this one!!
Reposted by Nick Kapur
In one of my classes, students create a work of historical interpretation based on primary sources - can be anything: slide deck, video, comic, artwork, diorama, or pretty much anything else you can think of, or else they can do a traditional 5-page essay.
Which do you think is most popular?
1/3
Which do you think is most popular?
1/3
November 21, 2025 at 10:18 PM
In one of my classes, students create a work of historical interpretation based on primary sources - can be anything: slide deck, video, comic, artwork, diorama, or pretty much anything else you can think of, or else they can do a traditional 5-page essay.
Which do you think is most popular?
1/3
Which do you think is most popular?
1/3