Rebecca Spang
@rlspang.bsky.social
Professor of History, sometimes administrator at big public university in Midwest. Writes about money, French Revolution, restaurants. Friend to vert paleo.
ex UCL History; Yale SOM Visiting Fellow; Guggenheim and New America Fellow.
once/future Mainer
ex UCL History; Yale SOM Visiting Fellow; Guggenheim and New America Fellow.
once/future Mainer
I have spent much time over the last few years reading numismatists great and small. As a group, they surely get the prize for "most detail-oriented scholars." They can also be judgmental (even catty), not hesitating to comment on a coin's "beauty" or lack thereof. I wait for them to do their thing
November 11, 2025 at 3:16 AM
I have spent much time over the last few years reading numismatists great and small. As a group, they surely get the prize for "most detail-oriented scholars." They can also be judgmental (even catty), not hesitating to comment on a coin's "beauty" or lack thereof. I wait for them to do their thing
Reposted by Rebecca Spang
Nov. 10, 1775: "I tell you of a general Disinclination in People to furnish their Lists" of taxable property in Virginia, writes that colony's treasurer, Robert Carter Nicholas, to Thomas Jefferson. Nicholas also seeks help finding a Philadelphia printer to make paper money to pay Virginia troops.
November 10, 2025 at 5:16 PM
Nov. 10, 1775: "I tell you of a general Disinclination in People to furnish their Lists" of taxable property in Virginia, writes that colony's treasurer, Robert Carter Nicholas, to Thomas Jefferson. Nicholas also seeks help finding a Philadelphia printer to make paper money to pay Virginia troops.
It's also Scots dialect for "to walk quickly" (the way I almost always do walk). And, of course can be used as an adverb intensifier, as when Lurvy (the farm hand) first notices that Charlotte has written her tribute to Wilbur "right spang in the middle of the web"
Word of the Hour: Spang - A bound or spring. #WordOfTheHour #WordOfTheDay
November 10, 2025 at 4:05 PM
It's also Scots dialect for "to walk quickly" (the way I almost always do walk). And, of course can be used as an adverb intensifier, as when Lurvy (the farm hand) first notices that Charlotte has written her tribute to Wilbur "right spang in the middle of the web"
Reposted by Rebecca Spang
Two dead, one million evacuated as Typhoon Fung-wong slams into the Philippines reut.rs/3WIQtQR
Two dead, one million evacuated as Typhoon Fung-wong slams into the Philippines
Residents emerged after a sleepless night to start assessing the damage.
reut.rs
November 10, 2025 at 3:50 AM
Two dead, one million evacuated as Typhoon Fung-wong slams into the Philippines reut.rs/3WIQtQR
Reposted by Rebecca Spang
Fight don’t fold.
November 10, 2025 at 2:12 AM
Fight don’t fold.
Reposted by Rebecca Spang
Just found an advertisement for screen windows from 1909:
"Flies are more dangerous than rattlesnakes or elephants. Moody & Holbrook can fit your windows."
And I'm wondering what precautions the readers of the _Atlanta Georgian_ were taking against those other pests.
"Flies are more dangerous than rattlesnakes or elephants. Moody & Holbrook can fit your windows."
And I'm wondering what precautions the readers of the _Atlanta Georgian_ were taking against those other pests.
November 9, 2025 at 10:47 PM
Just found an advertisement for screen windows from 1909:
"Flies are more dangerous than rattlesnakes or elephants. Moody & Holbrook can fit your windows."
And I'm wondering what precautions the readers of the _Atlanta Georgian_ were taking against those other pests.
"Flies are more dangerous than rattlesnakes or elephants. Moody & Holbrook can fit your windows."
And I'm wondering what precautions the readers of the _Atlanta Georgian_ were taking against those other pests.
Reposted by Rebecca Spang
agreeing to make a terrible deal while your main opponent is quite literally being boo'd on live tv by an entire stadium of people is the kind of political instinct you'd normally only find in a 3 week old dead goldfish
November 10, 2025 at 12:36 AM
agreeing to make a terrible deal while your main opponent is quite literally being boo'd on live tv by an entire stadium of people is the kind of political instinct you'd normally only find in a 3 week old dead goldfish
Just found an advertisement for screen windows from 1909:
"Flies are more dangerous than rattlesnakes or elephants. Moody & Holbrook can fit your windows."
And I'm wondering what precautions the readers of the _Atlanta Georgian_ were taking against those other pests.
"Flies are more dangerous than rattlesnakes or elephants. Moody & Holbrook can fit your windows."
And I'm wondering what precautions the readers of the _Atlanta Georgian_ were taking against those other pests.
November 9, 2025 at 10:47 PM
Just found an advertisement for screen windows from 1909:
"Flies are more dangerous than rattlesnakes or elephants. Moody & Holbrook can fit your windows."
And I'm wondering what precautions the readers of the _Atlanta Georgian_ were taking against those other pests.
"Flies are more dangerous than rattlesnakes or elephants. Moody & Holbrook can fit your windows."
And I'm wondering what precautions the readers of the _Atlanta Georgian_ were taking against those other pests.
Reposted by Rebecca Spang
This is my default assumption about any story from Axios, Punchbowl, and the like.
it’s very difficult at this point to figure out if there is actual movement towards a Dem cave or just a Republican whisper campaign to Axios to make it seem like there’s a Dem cave and I’m going to hold my fire on any of it until something actually happens (or not)
November 9, 2025 at 9:00 PM
This is my default assumption about any story from Axios, Punchbowl, and the like.
Reposted by Rebecca Spang
"I didn't want to say immediately it was me," fifteen-year-old Pedro Elias Garzon Delvaux said. "With this photo there is a mystery, so you have to make it last." n.pr/3WOLsWT
Fedora man unmasked: Meet the teen behind the Louvre mystery photo
"I didn't want to say immediately it was me," fifteen-year-old Pedro Elias Garzon Delvaux said. "With this photo there is a mystery, so you have to make it last."
n.pr
November 9, 2025 at 5:36 PM
"I didn't want to say immediately it was me," fifteen-year-old Pedro Elias Garzon Delvaux said. "With this photo there is a mystery, so you have to make it last." n.pr/3WOLsWT
Reposted by Rebecca Spang
the aggressive expansions of sport betting & genAI have parallels — mainly, lots of CEOs and leaders making what are absurdly stupid & reckless decisions
there’s def groupthink & cultural delusion involved, but in the end, i think we’ll find out it’s corruption & fraud driving most of that behavior
there’s def groupthink & cultural delusion involved, but in the end, i think we’ll find out it’s corruption & fraud driving most of that behavior
More from Passan: “The 23-page indictment against Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz lays out the alleged scheme for the pitchers to intentionally throw balls so bettors could wager on pitches to be balls or strikes. It started, prosecutors say, as early as May 2023 with Clase and later included Ortiz.”
Breaking news per Jeff Passan: “Cleveland Guardians pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz have been indicted by prosecutors in Brooklyn on a host of charges related to a scheme to rig bets on pitches thrown in MLB games. Ortiz was arrested in Boston earlier today. Clase is not currently in custody”
November 9, 2025 at 7:59 PM
the aggressive expansions of sport betting & genAI have parallels — mainly, lots of CEOs and leaders making what are absurdly stupid & reckless decisions
there’s def groupthink & cultural delusion involved, but in the end, i think we’ll find out it’s corruption & fraud driving most of that behavior
there’s def groupthink & cultural delusion involved, but in the end, i think we’ll find out it’s corruption & fraud driving most of that behavior
Reposted by Rebecca Spang
This is because Intuit, Inc. gave Donald Trump $1,000,000 for his "inauguration." Intuit owns Turbo Tax, which makes money off charging taxpayers to file their returns.
The corruption is rampant and in plain sight.
The corruption is rampant and in plain sight.
November 9, 2025 at 1:47 AM
This is because Intuit, Inc. gave Donald Trump $1,000,000 for his "inauguration." Intuit owns Turbo Tax, which makes money off charging taxpayers to file their returns.
The corruption is rampant and in plain sight.
The corruption is rampant and in plain sight.
Reposted by Rebecca Spang
BREAKING: Mark Wolf, appointed to the federal bench by Ronald Reagan, writes that he is resigning as a judge to have the freedom to speak out against the president's assault on the rule of law.
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/1...
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/1...
November 9, 2025 at 2:27 PM
BREAKING: Mark Wolf, appointed to the federal bench by Ronald Reagan, writes that he is resigning as a judge to have the freedom to speak out against the president's assault on the rule of law.
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/1...
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/1...
Reposted by Rebecca Spang
“I didn't exactly panic, but here's what was going through my head,” Liz in Wisconsin, 43, who receives SNAP benefits for her and her adult daughter, explained. “We have to eat. This money will not last. What happens in December? What about January? Do I have to make this food last all winter?”
The voices of SNAP
Recipients have become political pawns. They explained, in their own words, what Trump withholding funds has been like.
www.thehandbasket.co
November 7, 2025 at 11:21 PM
“I didn't exactly panic, but here's what was going through my head,” Liz in Wisconsin, 43, who receives SNAP benefits for her and her adult daughter, explained. “We have to eat. This money will not last. What happens in December? What about January? Do I have to make this food last all winter?”
Reposted by Rebecca Spang
“We have rarely witnessed such brutality erupt into public view like it has in Chicago,” writes Michael Woolf, senior minister of Lake Street Church of Evanston. “For me, this is a spiritual emergency, and it means putting our bodies on the line in order to stop deportations.”
I’m One of the Clergy ICE Assaulted. They Treat Immigrants Worse
I learned the hard way that my clerical collar doesn’t offer much protection from ICE. But immigrants have no protection at all.
sojo.net
November 9, 2025 at 3:53 PM
“We have rarely witnessed such brutality erupt into public view like it has in Chicago,” writes Michael Woolf, senior minister of Lake Street Church of Evanston. “For me, this is a spiritual emergency, and it means putting our bodies on the line in order to stop deportations.”
Reposted by Rebecca Spang
I’ve had two conferences—one in the US and one international—change titles of panels or the entire gathering to avoid being targeted or make people’s lives more difficult.
It’s the exact kind of thing the US used to label totalitarian when foreign countries did this to their scholars.
It’s the exact kind of thing the US used to label totalitarian when foreign countries did this to their scholars.
Going to a research conference next week. One of my panels featured researchers coming from Asia, who decided to withdraw given the uncertainty about domestic travel with flight cancelations. Just one more reference point for how the US under Trump has become seen as a basket case country.
November 9, 2025 at 3:29 PM
I’ve had two conferences—one in the US and one international—change titles of panels or the entire gathering to avoid being targeted or make people’s lives more difficult.
It’s the exact kind of thing the US used to label totalitarian when foreign countries did this to their scholars.
It’s the exact kind of thing the US used to label totalitarian when foreign countries did this to their scholars.
Reposted by Rebecca Spang
This research gets called "AI" now because that's the latest buzzword. 5 years ago it would've been called "machine learning" (the term the researchers themselves use, although the magazine writer calls it AI). In the oughts it would've been called "big data." Before that, "time-series forecasting."
November 9, 2025 at 12:31 PM
This research gets called "AI" now because that's the latest buzzword. 5 years ago it would've been called "machine learning" (the term the researchers themselves use, although the magazine writer calls it AI). In the oughts it would've been called "big data." Before that, "time-series forecasting."
Reposted by Rebecca Spang
Our School of Information Sciences is running four searches, and we can hire more than four candidates. Here’s the first link, for a job that might appeal to people working in history of information, history of science, or digital humanities. +
Assistant/Associate/Full Professor in Information, Culture & Society - School of Information Science
Duties & Responsibilities
illinois.csod.com
November 6, 2025 at 4:58 PM
Our School of Information Sciences is running four searches, and we can hire more than four candidates. Here’s the first link, for a job that might appeal to people working in history of information, history of science, or digital humanities. +
Reposted by Rebecca Spang
Trump‘s brilliant plan of 50 year mortgages means that after your first 20 years making huge interest payments to a bank you will have paid down almost none of the principal and they will still own the house you are living in with 30 years to go. A scam from a career con man.
November 9, 2025 at 11:53 AM
Trump‘s brilliant plan of 50 year mortgages means that after your first 20 years making huge interest payments to a bank you will have paid down almost none of the principal and they will still own the house you are living in with 30 years to go. A scam from a career con man.
Reposted by Rebecca Spang
Mamdani is going to implement Scheherazade Law. Everyone will have to tell good stories to avoid losing a head.
November 9, 2025 at 3:36 AM
Mamdani is going to implement Scheherazade Law. Everyone will have to tell good stories to avoid losing a head.
Reposted by Rebecca Spang
True then, true now.
November 8, 2025 at 5:43 PM
True then, true now.
Reposted by Rebecca Spang
ICYMI: Microsoft’s charge “implies a more than $12 billion quarterly loss at OpenAI, said Firoz Valliji, an analyst at Bernstein.”
That “would mark one of the largest single-quarter losses for a tech company in history.”
@jessefelder.bsky.social $MSFT
www.wsj.com/livecoverage...
That “would mark one of the largest single-quarter losses for a tech company in history.”
@jessefelder.bsky.social $MSFT
www.wsj.com/livecoverage...
November 7, 2025 at 7:17 PM
ICYMI: Microsoft’s charge “implies a more than $12 billion quarterly loss at OpenAI, said Firoz Valliji, an analyst at Bernstein.”
That “would mark one of the largest single-quarter losses for a tech company in history.”
@jessefelder.bsky.social $MSFT
www.wsj.com/livecoverage...
That “would mark one of the largest single-quarter losses for a tech company in history.”
@jessefelder.bsky.social $MSFT
www.wsj.com/livecoverage...
Reposted by Rebecca Spang
Latest write-up about outrageous administrative over reach at IU. www.jta.org/2025/11/07/u...
In Indiana, a vaunted Jewish studies program is upended by red-state politics over Israel and speech - Jewish Telegraphic Agency
A leadership shakeup, a defunded graduate student and political pressure from above have turned a storied program into a flashpoint for Trump-era campus politics.
www.jta.org
November 8, 2025 at 3:20 AM
Latest write-up about outrageous administrative over reach at IU. www.jta.org/2025/11/07/u...
Reposted by Rebecca Spang
40 men Trump sent to CECOT tell the NYT they were beaten, tortured, and sexually assaulted. The details are worse than you can imagine.
We can’t let them get away with this. Miller and the other architects of this sadism need to go to prison.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/08/w...
We can’t let them get away with this. Miller and the other architects of this sadism need to go to prison.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/08/w...
‘You Are All Terrorists’: Four Months in a Salvadoran Prison
www.nytimes.com
November 9, 2025 at 2:20 AM
40 men Trump sent to CECOT tell the NYT they were beaten, tortured, and sexually assaulted. The details are worse than you can imagine.
We can’t let them get away with this. Miller and the other architects of this sadism need to go to prison.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/08/w...
We can’t let them get away with this. Miller and the other architects of this sadism need to go to prison.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/08/w...
Reposted by Rebecca Spang
Senate update: Republicans are now trying to sneak a backdoor national abortion ban into their government funding bill. Republicans will stop at nothing to control women's health care decisions.
November 8, 2025 at 9:05 PM
Senate update: Republicans are now trying to sneak a backdoor national abortion ban into their government funding bill. Republicans will stop at nothing to control women's health care decisions.