Bob Whitaker
@whitakeralmanac.bsky.social
Professor of History. Empire, Crime, Policing, and Video Games. Creator and host of historyrespawned.com (history in video games). Not communicating on behalf of my employer.
https://linktr.ee/bobwhitaker
https://linktr.ee/bobwhitaker
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Bob Whitaker
@whitakeralmanac.bsky.social
· Nov 15
History Respawned
History Respawned is a show where historians consider historical video games. The series concentrates on current games, but will occasionally include classic history games as well. Join us here and on...
www.youtube.com
Howdy y'all! I'm a professor of history in DFW TX. I'm going to spend most of my time on here talking about video games. I'm the creator and host of a video/podcast series called History Respawned, which features interviews with developers, historians, and other scholars about history games.
Reposted by Bob Whitaker
Once again, ILL remains the purest representation of scholarly community. I use it so much I often write little notes back and forth with the librarians when I’ve borrowed a lot from their library. It’s the closest you can get to those old penpal schemes and I love it.
Requested a book through ILL over break. It arrived today. Libraries man.
December 2, 2025 at 10:56 PM
Once again, ILL remains the purest representation of scholarly community. I use it so much I often write little notes back and forth with the librarians when I’ve borrowed a lot from their library. It’s the closest you can get to those old penpal schemes and I love it.
Post a movie from where you are from
November 24, 2025 at 4:20 AM
Post a movie from where you are from
Reposted by Bob Whitaker
Also Culloden (1964), an extraordinary historical recreation done on a shoestring budget with a tiny cast which demonstrated the possibilities of the documentary form and had enough confidence in its audience not to dumb down the material. www.reddit.com/r/Documentar...
October 31, 2025 at 8:15 PM
Also Culloden (1964), an extraordinary historical recreation done on a shoestring budget with a tiny cast which demonstrated the possibilities of the documentary form and had enough confidence in its audience not to dumb down the material. www.reddit.com/r/Documentar...
Reposted by Bob Whitaker
so the news is that i have done the unthinkable and... started a podcast.
"American Medieval" - because if we've never been fully modern, maybe it's because we've always been a little bit medieval.
the trailer has now dropped! please have a listen -->
patreon.com/americanmedieval
"American Medieval" - because if we've never been fully modern, maybe it's because we've always been a little bit medieval.
the trailer has now dropped! please have a listen -->
patreon.com/americanmedieval
October 30, 2025 at 7:39 PM
so the news is that i have done the unthinkable and... started a podcast.
"American Medieval" - because if we've never been fully modern, maybe it's because we've always been a little bit medieval.
the trailer has now dropped! please have a listen -->
patreon.com/americanmedieval
"American Medieval" - because if we've never been fully modern, maybe it's because we've always been a little bit medieval.
the trailer has now dropped! please have a listen -->
patreon.com/americanmedieval
👀….yikes y’all
GameFile: Ubisoft cancelled a post-Civil War Assassin’s Creed last year www.gamefile.news/p/scoop-ubis...
October 8, 2025 at 7:15 PM
👀….yikes y’all
Reposted by Bob Whitaker
Reposted by Bob Whitaker
Podcasts and "deep dive" media will try to convince you that you *now* know things, thanks to them.
A PhD, especially one with archival, observational, or observational components, will definitely convince you that you know next to nothing, thanks to the available resources & one's predecessors.
A PhD, especially one with archival, observational, or observational components, will definitely convince you that you know next to nothing, thanks to the available resources & one's predecessors.
September 24, 2025 at 12:28 PM
Podcasts and "deep dive" media will try to convince you that you *now* know things, thanks to them.
A PhD, especially one with archival, observational, or observational components, will definitely convince you that you know next to nothing, thanks to the available resources & one's predecessors.
A PhD, especially one with archival, observational, or observational components, will definitely convince you that you know next to nothing, thanks to the available resources & one's predecessors.
I’m over here trying to enjoy PSLF and this comes across my screen. Sigh. IGN claims his classes are “a world first.” FIRST TIME IN THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD, EVERYONE!!!! NEVER BEEN DONE BY ANYONE EVER!!!!
Meanwhile, I and many others have been doing this for a decade or more.
Meanwhile, I and many others have been doing this for a decade or more.
University of Tennessee students will have the chance to study up on the Grand Theft Auto franchise in 2026. The class will be led by history professor Tore Olsson, the same educator that taught a Red Dead Redemption class in 2021. bit.ly/47StbPi
September 19, 2025 at 7:09 PM
I’m over here trying to enjoy PSLF and this comes across my screen. Sigh. IGN claims his classes are “a world first.” FIRST TIME IN THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD, EVERYONE!!!! NEVER BEEN DONE BY ANYONE EVER!!!!
Meanwhile, I and many others have been doing this for a decade or more.
Meanwhile, I and many others have been doing this for a decade or more.
I know things are tough all around, but this is a glorious morning for one Bob Whitaker. 120 out of 120! Public Service Loan Forgiveness secured. So relieved.
September 19, 2025 at 1:46 PM
I know things are tough all around, but this is a glorious morning for one Bob Whitaker. 120 out of 120! Public Service Loan Forgiveness secured. So relieved.
Reposted by Bob Whitaker
Historians (rightly) get annoyed when other academics weigh in on their subject & claim to have “solved” or “completed” history, ignoring existing research & nuance. Yet historians keep weighing in on games as if no one has ever paid attention to them before (& it’s not great)
Another 👀 passage in @enwright.bsky.social's review, pointing out how the book is at odds with... scholarship it doesn't cite... all the while praising RDR's treatment of the history of the US West.
![Existing academic work treats Red Dead as, to borrow Soraya Murray’s label, a “difficult object” (Red Dead Redemption: History, Myth, and Violence in the Video Game West [2023], 207). Red Dead’s History is largely positive about the way the games engage with and represent the diversity of Western history. The author praises the “pains that Rockstar [. . .] took to capture the world of the late 1800s,” and claims that “the video games frequently excel in showcasing the contours not only of outlaw life but also of American life” (2). This perspective is not without merit—the game is indeed impressive and richly detailed. Historians will naturally disagree when it comes to interpreting their sources, as the author notes. But claims that Red Dead Redemption 2 is a game that meaningfully engages with any other historical perspective than that of white men are at odds with existing critical writing on this game (popular and academic), particularly where the game deals with the presence and stories of women, Native Americans, and Black Americans. This is one area where, at the very least, acknowledging the existence of other work in this field was warranted.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:7mpwyqkv2tdiho653oyczicd/bafkreickl2htheohnfajlomp4kpowipjc5apigmx6minm74rf7fy4ebxze@jpeg)
September 16, 2025 at 7:04 AM
Historians (rightly) get annoyed when other academics weigh in on their subject & claim to have “solved” or “completed” history, ignoring existing research & nuance. Yet historians keep weighing in on games as if no one has ever paid attention to them before (& it’s not great)
Happy Silksong Day to all who celebrate
Hollow Knight: Silksong releases in 15 minutes (7 AM PT - $19.99):
Steam buff.ly/PHnI1ll
Humble (w/ Choice discount) buff.ly/sH1C9nZ
US eShop buff.ly/LKfh7hr
US PSN buff.ly/8SGYJll
XBL buff.ly/FxWZUC3
also on Game Pass Ultimate
Steam buff.ly/PHnI1ll
Humble (w/ Choice discount) buff.ly/sH1C9nZ
US eShop buff.ly/LKfh7hr
US PSN buff.ly/8SGYJll
XBL buff.ly/FxWZUC3
also on Game Pass Ultimate
September 4, 2025 at 2:16 PM
Happy Silksong Day to all who celebrate
Reposted by Bob Whitaker
I wrote a piece for the Guardian games newsletter this week on my PhD research into preserving play experiences, and why I think that the most archaeological games are those that that actually make you *think* like one 🏺
www.theguardian.com/games/2025/s...
www.theguardian.com/games/2025/s...
Forget Tomb Raider and Uncharted, there’s a new generation of games about archaeology – sort of
In this week’s newsletter: an archaeologist (and gamer) on why we love to walk around finding objects in-game and in real life
www.theguardian.com
September 3, 2025 at 4:41 PM
I wrote a piece for the Guardian games newsletter this week on my PhD research into preserving play experiences, and why I think that the most archaeological games are those that that actually make you *think* like one 🏺
www.theguardian.com/games/2025/s...
www.theguardian.com/games/2025/s...
Without question the best history radio show/podcast of all time. Nothing else comes close.
A huge moment -- Melvyn Bragg steps down from In Our Time after over a quarter of a century. What a programme and what a legacy! Just a model for how to make great, clever, engaging radio, and a twenty-seven-year experiment that proves there's a huge global audience for smart, scholarly programming.
Melvyn Bragg decides to step down from presenting In Our Time
After 26 years on the programme, the legendary presenter bids farewell to the series
www.bbc.co.uk
September 3, 2025 at 11:42 AM
Without question the best history radio show/podcast of all time. Nothing else comes close.
Reposted by Bob Whitaker
In Our Time is one of the greatest creations in broadcast history.
I mean that without any trace of hyperbole.
I mean that without any trace of hyperbole.
A huge moment -- Melvyn Bragg steps down from In Our Time after over a quarter of a century. What a programme and what a legacy! Just a model for how to make great, clever, engaging radio, and a twenty-seven-year experiment that proves there's a huge global audience for smart, scholarly programming.
Melvyn Bragg decides to step down from presenting In Our Time
After 26 years on the programme, the legendary presenter bids farewell to the series
www.bbc.co.uk
September 3, 2025 at 11:20 AM
In Our Time is one of the greatest creations in broadcast history.
I mean that without any trace of hyperbole.
I mean that without any trace of hyperbole.
Reposted by Bob Whitaker
We need a film depicting the process where the historian uses Google Scholar, clicks on the desired article, finds that it is paywalled, goes to uni library website, logs in, goes back to article page again, downloads PDF into a folder with 500 other unread PDFs, and repeats the process for 120 min.
No film gets historians right, but that's only because no audience wants to watch someone quietly work their way through a cardboard box of old papers, in total silence, for eight straight hours.
an interesting subtopic! which shows/movies are beloved by the profession for Getting It Right! Lawyers famously love MY COUSIN VINNIE, doctors I believe love SCRUBS, apparently Aussie barristers are surprisingly fond of RAKE's depiction of some aspects of the law.
August 29, 2025 at 1:14 AM
We need a film depicting the process where the historian uses Google Scholar, clicks on the desired article, finds that it is paywalled, goes to uni library website, logs in, goes back to article page again, downloads PDF into a folder with 500 other unread PDFs, and repeats the process for 120 min.
Reposted by Bob Whitaker
Rio. Wow. What a moment
August 25, 2025 at 9:08 PM
Rio. Wow. What a moment
Reposted by Bob Whitaker
We've acquired the historic game magazine Computer Entertainer.
As in, we got the rights. We own the magazine. And we're putting it into the Creative Commons for anyone to use for free.
Learn more: gamehistory.org/computerente...
As in, we got the rights. We own the magazine. And we're putting it into the Creative Commons for anyone to use for free.
Learn more: gamehistory.org/computerente...
August 6, 2025 at 2:00 PM
We've acquired the historic game magazine Computer Entertainer.
As in, we got the rights. We own the magazine. And we're putting it into the Creative Commons for anyone to use for free.
Learn more: gamehistory.org/computerente...
As in, we got the rights. We own the magazine. And we're putting it into the Creative Commons for anyone to use for free.
Learn more: gamehistory.org/computerente...
Reposted by Bob Whitaker
My next episode of Echoes of History is up!
I spoke to Raphael Lacoste, the concept artist & art director on the very first Assassin’s Creed game & many more since.
We had a fascinating chat about inspirations, evoking feeling, & so much more.
Give it a listen👇
podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/d...
I spoke to Raphael Lacoste, the concept artist & art director on the very first Assassin’s Creed game & many more since.
We had a fascinating chat about inspirations, evoking feeling, & so much more.
Give it a listen👇
podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/d...
Dev Talk: What Film Inspired The Look Of Assassin's Creed?
Podcast Episode · Echoes of History · 28/07/2025 · 1h
podcasts.apple.com
August 5, 2025 at 11:08 AM
My next episode of Echoes of History is up!
I spoke to Raphael Lacoste, the concept artist & art director on the very first Assassin’s Creed game & many more since.
We had a fascinating chat about inspirations, evoking feeling, & so much more.
Give it a listen👇
podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/d...
I spoke to Raphael Lacoste, the concept artist & art director on the very first Assassin’s Creed game & many more since.
We had a fascinating chat about inspirations, evoking feeling, & so much more.
Give it a listen👇
podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/d...
Advertise your account with a GIF
August 3, 2025 at 3:54 PM
Advertise your account with a GIF
Reposted by Bob Whitaker
If you missed our Gender panel event on Tuesday, you can now watch the recording of this fantastic discussion here via our Youtube Channel! Featuring @verysrsgames.com @katexe.bsky.social @tesswatty.bsky.social & @ide4fix.bsky.social
www.youtube.com/watch?v=xtP3...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=xtP3...
Historical Games Network Discussion Panel: Gender (29th July 2025)
YouTube video by Historical Games Network
www.youtube.com
July 31, 2025 at 11:38 AM
If you missed our Gender panel event on Tuesday, you can now watch the recording of this fantastic discussion here via our Youtube Channel! Featuring @verysrsgames.com @katexe.bsky.social @tesswatty.bsky.social & @ide4fix.bsky.social
www.youtube.com/watch?v=xtP3...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=xtP3...
Reposted by Bob Whitaker
Reminder that from the end of summer I’m available for work!
Writing, narrative design, historical and narrative consultancy, research etc.
I’ve got a PhD, 5 academic publications (another on the way), 3 shipped games (3 more on the way), lots of experience collaborating with cultural institutions
Writing, narrative design, historical and narrative consultancy, research etc.
I’ve got a PhD, 5 academic publications (another on the way), 3 shipped games (3 more on the way), lots of experience collaborating with cultural institutions
July 28, 2025 at 8:46 PM
Reminder that from the end of summer I’m available for work!
Writing, narrative design, historical and narrative consultancy, research etc.
I’ve got a PhD, 5 academic publications (another on the way), 3 shipped games (3 more on the way), lots of experience collaborating with cultural institutions
Writing, narrative design, historical and narrative consultancy, research etc.
I’ve got a PhD, 5 academic publications (another on the way), 3 shipped games (3 more on the way), lots of experience collaborating with cultural institutions
Very thankful to Graham for his work at RPS, but also for helping to launch History Respawned with a Sunday Papers mention over a decade ago. I doubt many people would have seen that first video without that spotlight on RPS. Happy trails, Graham!
Here’s to @grahamsmith.bsky.social, signing off from RPS after 20 years in game journalism with the wisest thoughts about games media you’ll read www.rockpapershotgun.com/the-sunday-p...
The Sunday Papers
The Sunday Papers is our weekly roundup of great writing about (mostly) videogames from across the web.
www.rockpapershotgun.com
July 27, 2025 at 7:51 PM
Very thankful to Graham for his work at RPS, but also for helping to launch History Respawned with a Sunday Papers mention over a decade ago. I doubt many people would have seen that first video without that spotlight on RPS. Happy trails, Graham!
Reposted by Bob Whitaker
Best book on WSC and the SWW
3. David Reynolds (2005) 'In Command of History: Churchill Fighting and Writing the Second World War'
July 27, 2025 at 11:18 AM
Best book on WSC and the SWW
Reposted by Bob Whitaker
I spend a lot of time talking about all the things historical games do wrong when representing (or, mostly, not representing) women in the past - for a change, here I wrote about some games which I think do something better and more interesting in their depictions of historical women & girls!
New on the HGN blog: Gender panel guest speaker @katexe.bsky.social explores the widespread lack of engagement with “women’s histories” in historical video games, & discusses some examples that do represent women’s stories more meaningfully:
www.historicalgames.net/womens-histo...
www.historicalgames.net/womens-histo...
Women’s Histories in Historical Games | Historical Games Network
There are staggering problems with historical games’ representation of women. Based on an analysis of games with identifiable protagonists from the HistoriaGames database, less than 7% of historical g...
www.historicalgames.net
July 26, 2025 at 11:18 AM
I spend a lot of time talking about all the things historical games do wrong when representing (or, mostly, not representing) women in the past - for a change, here I wrote about some games which I think do something better and more interesting in their depictions of historical women & girls!