Jason L. Newton
@jason-l-newton.bsky.social
Assistant teaching prof, PhD, #history of #capitalism / #envhist
@CLTHistoryDept #laborhistory #historyofcapitalism #firstgenphd. Views my own. pages.charlotte.edu/jasonlnewton/. @aaup.bsky.social member.
@CLTHistoryDept #laborhistory #historyofcapitalism #firstgenphd. Views my own. pages.charlotte.edu/jasonlnewton/. @aaup.bsky.social member.
Pinned
It was the greatest honor of my career to be a runner up for the George Perkins Marsh prize for best book in environmental history at #aesh2025. I wrote this book for these people and it is so great to know they liked it! @wvupress.bsky.social
Finished Death by Lightning. They wanted to make this a relatable political drama instead of focusing on how weird it all was. The Oneida Community was a sex cult but it was stranger than depicted. The weirdness of the past was what made me fall in love with history. www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jop...
Death by Lightning | Official Trailer | Netflix
“Assassination can no more be guarded against than death by lightning; it is best not to worry about either.” - President James Garfield
Death by Lightning, a four episode limited series starring…
www.youtube.com
November 18, 2025 at 10:53 PM
Finished Death by Lightning. They wanted to make this a relatable political drama instead of focusing on how weird it all was. The Oneida Community was a sex cult but it was stranger than depicted. The weirdness of the past was what made me fall in love with history. www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jop...
There has been a lot of talk recently about #agi and the paper clip maximizer problem meanwhile everyone is forgetting that humans have already created planet-devastating, runaway CO2 emissions maximizers (ie industrial corporations)
November 18, 2025 at 3:55 AM
There has been a lot of talk recently about #agi and the paper clip maximizer problem meanwhile everyone is forgetting that humans have already created planet-devastating, runaway CO2 emissions maximizers (ie industrial corporations)
I’m not a fan of urban sprawl but I think right now in Charlotte sprawl is protecting a lot of immigrants from deportation. It take 50 min to drive from one end of this city to another. It is impossible for border patrol to effectively patrol the area.
November 17, 2025 at 1:26 PM
I’m not a fan of urban sprawl but I think right now in Charlotte sprawl is protecting a lot of immigrants from deportation. It take 50 min to drive from one end of this city to another. It is impossible for border patrol to effectively patrol the area.
This is kind of what I’m thinking about. Stores closing because of the raids. www.charlotteobserver.com/charlottefiv...
November 16, 2025 at 3:01 AM
This is kind of what I’m thinking about. Stores closing because of the raids. www.charlotteobserver.com/charlottefiv...
Is anyone doing natural experiments on the cities being affected by border patrol? We have a roving force going city to city arresting and intimidating entire sectors of the working class. How is this negatively affecting urban economies?
November 15, 2025 at 8:51 PM
Is anyone doing natural experiments on the cities being affected by border patrol? We have a roving force going city to city arresting and intimidating entire sectors of the working class. How is this negatively affecting urban economies?
The people of Charlotte, for the most part, do not want border patrol here
November 15, 2025 at 3:51 PM
The people of Charlotte, for the most part, do not want border patrol here
Reposted by Jason L. Newton
As of this morning, Starbucks workers across the country are officially ON STRIKE. And we're prepared for this to become the biggest and longest ULP strike in Starbucks history.
Say #NoContractNoCoffee with us: DON'T BUY STARBUCKS for the duration of our open-ended ULP strike! $SBUX
Say #NoContractNoCoffee with us: DON'T BUY STARBUCKS for the duration of our open-ended ULP strike! $SBUX
November 13, 2025 at 11:33 AM
As of this morning, Starbucks workers across the country are officially ON STRIKE. And we're prepared for this to become the biggest and longest ULP strike in Starbucks history.
Say #NoContractNoCoffee with us: DON'T BUY STARBUCKS for the duration of our open-ended ULP strike! $SBUX
Say #NoContractNoCoffee with us: DON'T BUY STARBUCKS for the duration of our open-ended ULP strike! $SBUX
This historian seemed to be able to get an #AI to "think" like a historian, using historical context to make a correct inference about a transcription choice.: generativehistory.substack.com/p/has-google...
Has Google Quietly Solved Two of AI’s Oldest Problems?
A mysterious new model currently in testing on Google’s AI Studio is nearly perfect on automated handwriting recognition but it is also showing signs of spontaneous, abstract, symbolic reasoning.
generativehistory.substack.com
November 14, 2025 at 3:17 PM
This historian seemed to be able to get an #AI to "think" like a historian, using historical context to make a correct inference about a transcription choice.: generativehistory.substack.com/p/has-google...
Sometimes I wonder if I really actually liked some places I used to live in like Portland, ME or Salem, MA or if I just liked being younger.
November 13, 2025 at 10:08 PM
Sometimes I wonder if I really actually liked some places I used to live in like Portland, ME or Salem, MA or if I just liked being younger.
Would it be fair to say that people’s connection to other people and other things in the world is on average more complicated now then ever before? In other words, is society (including the economy) more complex and difficult to understand today than ever before in history?
November 13, 2025 at 2:54 PM
Would it be fair to say that people’s connection to other people and other things in the world is on average more complicated now then ever before? In other words, is society (including the economy) more complex and difficult to understand today than ever before in history?
Reposted by Jason L. Newton
Ban guns.
Cleaning Woman Killed Through Door After Arriving at Wrong Home, Police Say
www.nytimes.com
November 7, 2025 at 4:16 PM
Ban guns.
Folks say "work smarter not harder" but if you work in brain work like me isn't working smarter the same as working harder?
November 7, 2025 at 7:14 PM
Folks say "work smarter not harder" but if you work in brain work like me isn't working smarter the same as working harder?
Reposted by Jason L. Newton
This Day in Labor History: November 5, 1916. Cop thugs opened fire on a group of IWW organizers and workers attempting to land in Everett, Washington. Let's talk about the horrors of the Everett Massacre and the murderous ways of cops.
November 5, 2025 at 2:20 PM
This Day in Labor History: November 5, 1916. Cop thugs opened fire on a group of IWW organizers and workers attempting to land in Everett, Washington. Let's talk about the horrors of the Everett Massacre and the murderous ways of cops.
We saw big victories for public transportation this election cycle in NYC and my home city of Charlotte. Keep in mind that investment in public transit is progressive, helping poorer people more (even if it’s funded by a flat tax like in Charlotte)
November 5, 2025 at 12:54 PM
We saw big victories for public transportation this election cycle in NYC and my home city of Charlotte. Keep in mind that investment in public transit is progressive, helping poorer people more (even if it’s funded by a flat tax like in Charlotte)
Man I can’t wait to be retired so I can actually have the time to get some work done.
November 4, 2025 at 10:55 PM
Man I can’t wait to be retired so I can actually have the time to get some work done.
Our @aaup chapter put out a statement on CPHE accreditation. Please read, share, and join AAUP! www.ninertimes.com/opinion/lett...
Letter to the Editor: Prevent the 'Floridification' of North Carolina Accreditation
Have you heard of CPHE, the Commission for Public Higher Education, a newly formed but not yet approved educational accreditation agency? UNC Charlotte recently announced its intention to join the
www.ninertimes.com
November 3, 2025 at 10:42 PM
Our @aaup chapter put out a statement on CPHE accreditation. Please read, share, and join AAUP! www.ninertimes.com/opinion/lett...
Say what you will about broken American institutions but you can get those Amazon items super quick here!
November 3, 2025 at 1:45 PM
Say what you will about broken American institutions but you can get those Amazon items super quick here!
I kinda wanna get all ahistorical and pull a Dinesh D'Souza and make a doc about how the Republicans were the original nanny state party (cuz of their moral crusading)
November 2, 2025 at 12:48 AM
I kinda wanna get all ahistorical and pull a Dinesh D'Souza and make a doc about how the Republicans were the original nanny state party (cuz of their moral crusading)
Honestly I think we are having a moment with housing like the Card & Krueger moment with minimum wage. The supply and demand orthodoxy just doesn’t hold up here.
Build build build doesn’t work. Charlotte lacks affordable housing even though we built more units than expected. YIMBYism = plausible in theory, wrong empirically issuu.com/docs/f945e82...
October 30, 2025 at 1:08 PM
Honestly I think we are having a moment with housing like the Card & Krueger moment with minimum wage. The supply and demand orthodoxy just doesn’t hold up here.
Build build build doesn’t work. Charlotte lacks affordable housing even though we built more units than expected. YIMBYism = plausible in theory, wrong empirically issuu.com/docs/f945e82...
October 30, 2025 at 11:27 AM
Build build build doesn’t work. Charlotte lacks affordable housing even though we built more units than expected. YIMBYism = plausible in theory, wrong empirically issuu.com/docs/f945e82...
The university wants us to teach classes for the new #AI major and I was thinking about making a critical history of workplace automation and AI called "Do bosses dream of electric workers?"
October 29, 2025 at 7:54 PM
The university wants us to teach classes for the new #AI major and I was thinking about making a critical history of workplace automation and AI called "Do bosses dream of electric workers?"
Let’s see how legit crypto is when this AI bubble pops and everyone liquidates useless crypto to get some useful currency/treasuries. Also, for all the bots that are going to like and retweet this: IM SAYING CRYPTO IS DUMB AND DANGEROUS.
October 27, 2025 at 9:45 PM
Let’s see how legit crypto is when this AI bubble pops and everyone liquidates useless crypto to get some useful currency/treasuries. Also, for all the bots that are going to like and retweet this: IM SAYING CRYPTO IS DUMB AND DANGEROUS.
Let’s be real. There is no reason to have a clean desk cuz everything you do it on the computer anyways. If you have room to type you are fine.
October 27, 2025 at 6:36 PM
Let’s be real. There is no reason to have a clean desk cuz everything you do it on the computer anyways. If you have room to type you are fine.
I asked 80 freshman "Should workers get to decide democratically the conditions of work? What about pay?" They overwhelmingly thought that workers should have a say in conditions BUT NOT pay. Very interestingly the reality is the exact opposite of what my students thought.
October 25, 2025 at 8:05 PM
I asked 80 freshman "Should workers get to decide democratically the conditions of work? What about pay?" They overwhelmingly thought that workers should have a say in conditions BUT NOT pay. Very interestingly the reality is the exact opposite of what my students thought.