Brenden W. Rensink 📚🏃♂️⛰
@brendenwrensink.bsky.social
-Historian, American West, Borderlands, Environment, Indigenous Peoples
-Professor @ BYU & Assoc. Director @byureddcenter.bsky.social
-Podcast Host/Producer @WritingWestward.bsky.social
-Editor IntermountainHistories.org
-Books/Projects linktr.ee/BWRensink
-Professor @ BYU & Assoc. Director @byureddcenter.bsky.social
-Podcast Host/Producer @WritingWestward.bsky.social
-Editor IntermountainHistories.org
-Books/Projects linktr.ee/BWRensink
Pinned
Brenden W. Rensink | Twitter | Linktree
Professor of History & Associate Director @ BYU Redd Center
linktr.ee
Re-posting an intro for new contacts. I’m a North American West historian w/ pubs on borderlands, Indigenous peoples, genocide studies, religion, public history, etc. Environmental history for new book. I'm a history prof., run a research center, host a podcast, & more. Links: linktr.ee/bwrensink
Get ready for all of the dogs to be wagged. It's going to be a chaotic few weeks.
a cartoon of homer simpson and his family standing next to a man that says hey look over there
ALT: a cartoon of homer simpson and his family standing next to a man that says hey look over there
media.tenor.com
November 13, 2025 at 11:51 PM
Get ready for all of the dogs to be wagged. It's going to be a chaotic few weeks.
Reposted by Brenden W. Rensink 📚🏃♂️⛰
Friends who use Goodreads, @wwnorton.com is offering a giveaway of my book, Salt Lakes: An Unnatural History. You can enter until December 11! 🧂🌊🌈🌱
www.goodreads.com/giveaway/sho...
www.goodreads.com/giveaway/sho...
Book giveaway for Salt Lakes: An Unnatural History by Caroline Tracey Nov 13-Dec 11, 2025
Enter to win one of 10 free copies available. Giveaway dates from Nov 13-Dec 11, 2025. An acclaimed young nature writer’s intimate exploration into the h...
www.goodreads.com
November 13, 2025 at 4:41 PM
Friends who use Goodreads, @wwnorton.com is offering a giveaway of my book, Salt Lakes: An Unnatural History. You can enter until December 11! 🧂🌊🌈🌱
www.goodreads.com/giveaway/sho...
www.goodreads.com/giveaway/sho...
Only the slightest pink was visible to the naked eye but the phone cameras caught some nice colors above Timpanogos, Provo Canyon, and Cascade Mountain. Seeing legit northern lights is one of my bucket list experiences.
November 12, 2025 at 4:02 AM
Only the slightest pink was visible to the naked eye but the phone cameras caught some nice colors above Timpanogos, Provo Canyon, and Cascade Mountain. Seeing legit northern lights is one of my bucket list experiences.
Reposted by Brenden W. Rensink 📚🏃♂️⛰
Call for papers for the edited collection, Beyond the American Western: Picturing the Far West in Global Comics: williamgrady.co.uk/cfp/
The volume aims to explore the vibrancy and diversity of the Western genre in comics from around the world.
Deadline for proposals: 14th December 2025
The volume aims to explore the vibrancy and diversity of the Western genre in comics from around the world.
Deadline for proposals: 14th December 2025
November 9, 2025 at 5:10 PM
Call for papers for the edited collection, Beyond the American Western: Picturing the Far West in Global Comics: williamgrady.co.uk/cfp/
The volume aims to explore the vibrancy and diversity of the Western genre in comics from around the world.
Deadline for proposals: 14th December 2025
The volume aims to explore the vibrancy and diversity of the Western genre in comics from around the world.
Deadline for proposals: 14th December 2025
Streaming live now, Yolonda Youngs’ lecture on her award-winning book, “Framing Nature: Creating an American Icon at the Grand Canyon.”
www.youtube.com/live/tptdxh-...
www.youtube.com/live/tptdxh-...
Yolonda Youngs - Framing Nature at the Grand Canyon: Creating an American Icon
YouTube video by BYU Redd Center
www.youtube.com
November 6, 2025 at 6:14 PM
Streaming live now, Yolonda Youngs’ lecture on her award-winning book, “Framing Nature: Creating an American Icon at the Grand Canyon.”
www.youtube.com/live/tptdxh-...
www.youtube.com/live/tptdxh-...
This was a thought-provoking collection of essays and a VERY fun conversation.
🚨New Episode Alert🚨
This month we chat with essayist, novelist, and Univ. of Montana environmental studies professor Mark Sundeen about his new essay collection, "Delusions + Grandeur: Dreamers of the New West" (@unmpress.bsky.social, 2025).
writingwestwardpodcast.podbean.com/e/080-mark-s...
This month we chat with essayist, novelist, and Univ. of Montana environmental studies professor Mark Sundeen about his new essay collection, "Delusions + Grandeur: Dreamers of the New West" (@unmpress.bsky.social, 2025).
writingwestwardpodcast.podbean.com/e/080-mark-s...
080 - Mark Sundeen - Delusions + Grandeur: Dreamers of the New West | Writing Westward Podcast
A conversation with Mark Sundeen about their book Delusions + Grandeur: Dreamers of the New West (University of New Mexico Press, 2025)
Mark Sundeen is an award-winning novelist, essayist, and Assoc...
writingwestwardpodcast.podbean.com
November 3, 2025 at 3:09 PM
This was a thought-provoking collection of essays and a VERY fun conversation.
Made a deliciously rich and deeply complex no-bean chili for our neighborhood church Halloween party and, of course, did not win the cook off. The bean bias persists but I’m a man of of principles and historical accuracy. Beans are great for your spicy bean stew, but keep them out of my chili! 😉
October 29, 2025 at 1:19 AM
Made a deliciously rich and deeply complex no-bean chili for our neighborhood church Halloween party and, of course, did not win the cook off. The bean bias persists but I’m a man of of principles and historical accuracy. Beans are great for your spicy bean stew, but keep them out of my chili! 😉
PAWS?!?!
October 28, 2025 at 9:37 PM
PAWS?!?!
So…an academic conference (at least, for those of us with face/name memory issues). 😭🙋♂️
October 27, 2025 at 10:43 PM
So…an academic conference (at least, for those of us with face/name memory issues). 😭🙋♂️
If you haven’t gotten your hands on Coll Thrush’s wonderful new book, Wrecked: Unsettling Histories from the Graveyard of the Pacific, here’s a short little docmentary film that NWPB did on it. Also check out my Writing Westward Podcast interview with Coll about the book.
youtu.be/cwoMXisb_SI?...
youtu.be/cwoMXisb_SI?...
Shipwrecks and the clash of Northwest coastal cultures
YouTube video by Northwest Public Broadcasting
youtu.be
October 25, 2025 at 7:09 PM
If you haven’t gotten your hands on Coll Thrush’s wonderful new book, Wrecked: Unsettling Histories from the Graveyard of the Pacific, here’s a short little docmentary film that NWPB did on it. Also check out my Writing Westward Podcast interview with Coll about the book.
youtu.be/cwoMXisb_SI?...
youtu.be/cwoMXisb_SI?...
It seems like social media & tech companies have been introducing AI services/features as a way to attract users. But for me, the (often forcefully and unsolicited) integration of AI is a deterrent & makes me LESS likely to use their platform/service/product. An AI "disable" feature is what I want.
October 22, 2025 at 4:49 PM
It seems like social media & tech companies have been introducing AI services/features as a way to attract users. But for me, the (often forcefully and unsolicited) integration of AI is a deterrent & makes me LESS likely to use their platform/service/product. An AI "disable" feature is what I want.
Cosign. 100%
Hi. I wrote an essay about AI slop: How it feels like an invasive species for the internet. How its boosters describe building a future that’s devoid of craft. How frictionlessness can be nihilistic & how this stuff seems to leach part of our shared humanity out of the world. I hope you'll read it.
AI’s Invasive Species
The slop is winning.
www.theatlantic.com
October 21, 2025 at 4:03 PM
Cosign. 100%
Returning to office on Monday after a week of out of state archival research and a conference is...rough. Setting that "out of office" automatic reply before you leave is heavenly, but dealing with the backlog of emails and tasks it leaves in its wake is most definitely not.
a man with a mustache and curly hair says it 's fan-tas-tic
ALT: a man with a mustache and curly hair says it 's fan-tas-tic
media.tenor.com
October 20, 2025 at 2:30 PM
Returning to office on Monday after a week of out of state archival research and a conference is...rough. Setting that "out of office" automatic reply before you leave is heavenly, but dealing with the backlog of emails and tasks it leaves in its wake is most definitely not.
Is Duolingo ok? These seem like…odd sentences.
October 19, 2025 at 4:10 PM
Is Duolingo ok? These seem like…odd sentences.
Western History Association in ABQ was so great. Saw old friends (sad I didn’t see many others who I heard were there), talked with prospective authors for my UNM series, had a nice roundtable with other centers people, ate good food, & tried to stand up for democracy at the #NoKings march. #WHA2025
October 19, 2025 at 3:15 AM
Western History Association in ABQ was so great. Saw old friends (sad I didn’t see many others who I heard were there), talked with prospective authors for my UNM series, had a nice roundtable with other centers people, ate good food, & tried to stand up for democracy at the #NoKings march. #WHA2025
Hit the UNM special collections this morning and now ready to get my WHA on! This will be my 20th in a row. That is hard to believe. Say hi in the halls! #WHA2025
October 15, 2025 at 8:53 PM
Hit the UNM special collections this morning and now ready to get my WHA on! This will be my 20th in a row. That is hard to believe. Say hi in the halls! #WHA2025
I spent the day at some archives in Sante Fe today. You know how your fingers and hands start to get a specific dry feeling to them after spending hours leading through old collections? Yeah, love that feeling.
October 14, 2025 at 9:54 PM
I spent the day at some archives in Sante Fe today. You know how your fingers and hands start to get a specific dry feeling to them after spending hours leading through old collections? Yeah, love that feeling.
At NMSU Special Collections in Las Cruces today. Feels good to be digging through dusty boxes and folders again.
October 13, 2025 at 6:39 PM
At NMSU Special Collections in Las Cruces today. Feels good to be digging through dusty boxes and folders again.
Patty Limerick gave me the heads up on this letter to the editor she just sent in regarding the anti-Mormon chants at the BYU-CU game. Indeed, what a world this would be if everyone had better historical thinking skills and historical perspective.
www.dailycamera.com/2025/10/07/i...
www.dailycamera.com/2025/10/07/i...
October 7, 2025 at 3:08 PM
Patty Limerick gave me the heads up on this letter to the editor she just sent in regarding the anti-Mormon chants at the BYU-CU game. Indeed, what a world this would be if everyone had better historical thinking skills and historical perspective.
www.dailycamera.com/2025/10/07/i...
www.dailycamera.com/2025/10/07/i...
Constitutional rights and democracy, good. Dictatorships and power-hungry autocrats, bad. There I said it. Look at me being so edgy and controversial. 😞
October 7, 2025 at 4:26 AM
Constitutional rights and democracy, good. Dictatorships and power-hungry autocrats, bad. There I said it. Look at me being so edgy and controversial. 😞
Not ok. What happened to the party that is supposedly the champion of the constitution and the rights it enshrines?
Adults and children alike were pulled from their Chicago apartments, crying and screaming, during a large overnight raid that has left tenants and neighbors shaken. https://cnn.it/4pPCXIt
37 people arrested and American kids separated from parents after ICE raid at Chicago apartments | CNN
Adults and children alike were pulled from their Chicago apartments, crying and screaming, during a large overnight raid that has left tenants and neighbors shaken.
www.cnn.com
October 5, 2025 at 12:12 AM
Not ok. What happened to the party that is supposedly the champion of the constitution and the rights it enshrines?
New on my Intermountain Histories project: 6 tours (35 stories!) on Boating, Prohibition, Googie Architecture, Mountain Biking, Roadside Attractions, & Wildfires from NAU Public History students of Prof. Michael Amundson. Publishing student research never gets old.
Tour links in the comments below ⬇️
Tour links in the comments below ⬇️
Stories in
Intermountain Histories is a free website and mobile app that curates histories of the Intermountain West regions of Idaho, Wyoming, Montana, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico.
Explore...
www.intermountainhistories.org
October 3, 2025 at 7:56 PM
New on my Intermountain Histories project: 6 tours (35 stories!) on Boating, Prohibition, Googie Architecture, Mountain Biking, Roadside Attractions, & Wildfires from NAU Public History students of Prof. Michael Amundson. Publishing student research never gets old.
Tour links in the comments below ⬇️
Tour links in the comments below ⬇️
Reposted by Brenden W. Rensink 📚🏃♂️⛰
“There is artificial intelligence, and then there’s actual intelligence.”
A+ no notes ⬇️⬇️⬇️
A+ no notes ⬇️⬇️⬇️
We are thrilled to announce that our NEW Large Language Model will be released on 11.18.25.
October 1, 2025 at 3:52 PM
“There is artificial intelligence, and then there’s actual intelligence.”
A+ no notes ⬇️⬇️⬇️
A+ no notes ⬇️⬇️⬇️
I really enjoyed this doing this interview with Ernesto. Just when you think you have a handle on a certain topic, you find out it is infinitely more complicated than you thought.
🚨New Episode Alert🚨
We're celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month via a conversation with Prof. Ernesto Sagás (Colorado State University, Ethnic Studies) about his new book, "Latino Colorado: The Struggle for Equality in the Centennial State.
writingwestwardpodcast.podbean.com/e/079-ernest...
We're celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month via a conversation with Prof. Ernesto Sagás (Colorado State University, Ethnic Studies) about his new book, "Latino Colorado: The Struggle for Equality in the Centennial State.
writingwestwardpodcast.podbean.com/e/079-ernest...
079 - Ernesto Sagas - Latino Colorado | Writing Westward Podcast
A conversation with Ernesto Sagas about their book Latino Colorado: The Struggle for Equality in the Centennial State (University Press of Colorado, 2025)
Ernesto Sagás is Professor of Ethnic Studie...
writingwestwardpodcast.podbean.com
October 1, 2025 at 3:29 PM
I really enjoyed this doing this interview with Ernesto. Just when you think you have a handle on a certain topic, you find out it is infinitely more complicated than you thought.
And the award for most inarticulate world leader in modern history goes to…
a woman is sitting in a chair in a courtroom wearing a black sweater and white collar .
ALT: a woman is sitting in a chair in a courtroom wearing a black sweater and white collar .
media.tenor.com
September 29, 2025 at 6:34 PM
And the award for most inarticulate world leader in modern history goes to…