Zach Brodt
@zbarchivist.bsky.social
Pittsburgh archivist and historian of 19th c. US. Author - From the Steel City to the White City: Western Pennsylvania & the World’s Columbian Exposition. | zachbrodt.wordpress.com
About to start writing the last chapter of a biography, which means I have to kill the person I’ve just spent the last 5 years getting to know. Thrilled to be this far along in the project, but it’s sort of a bittersweet moment.
November 1, 2025 at 11:28 PM
About to start writing the last chapter of a biography, which means I have to kill the person I’ve just spent the last 5 years getting to know. Thrilled to be this far along in the project, but it’s sort of a bittersweet moment.
No idea how we snuck in this year, but our workshop for K-12 teachers about the 1892 Homestead Strike and Pittsburgh’s rise as an industrial power was approved for funding for its third cohort
NEH Announces $34.79 Million in Grants for 97 Humanities Projects tinyurl.com/ympbr56k
NEH Announces $34.79 Million for 97 Humanities Projects
tinyurl.com
August 7, 2025 at 6:10 PM
No idea how we snuck in this year, but our workshop for K-12 teachers about the 1892 Homestead Strike and Pittsburgh’s rise as an industrial power was approved for funding for its third cohort
If the sections of the bookstore are labeled like this you know it will be a good one
July 24, 2025 at 10:53 PM
If the sections of the bookstore are labeled like this you know it will be a good one
Doing yard work this morning in my Rage Against the Machine t-shirt, but now the machine is just my old weedwacker.
June 1, 2025 at 2:37 PM
Doing yard work this morning in my Rage Against the Machine t-shirt, but now the machine is just my old weedwacker.
I grew up near the canal in Easton, PA and guarantee almost nobody there knows about this despite there being a canal museum in the city
Most @njit.bsky.social students are unaware that a campus corner "was once a bustling checkpoint along the Morris Canal, a now-forgotten 100-mile, man-made water highway." Miriam F. Ascarelli shares the story of this waterway in #AHAPerspectives. #EverythingHasAHistory 🗃️
The Morris Canal – AHA
Gone are its traces in Newark, New Jersey, but the Morris Canal helped shape the city's industrial history.
www.historians.org
May 28, 2025 at 4:19 PM
I grew up near the canal in Easton, PA and guarantee almost nobody there knows about this despite there being a canal museum in the city
If you’re in town on May 31 we’d love to see you at the Greater Pittsburgh Festival of Books at the Carnegie Library where I’ll be moderating a panel on Pittsburgh history with Ed Simon and Jan Ellen Kurth at 11:30. Always a great time with plenty to see and do!
May 17, 2025 at 5:05 PM
If you’re in town on May 31 we’d love to see you at the Greater Pittsburgh Festival of Books at the Carnegie Library where I’ll be moderating a panel on Pittsburgh history with Ed Simon and Jan Ellen Kurth at 11:30. Always a great time with plenty to see and do!
Reposted by Zach Brodt
May 12, 2025 at 8:59 PM
Another move to control his legacy and influence the 250 in the hopes that it will shift public memory to his will. Our work as archivists and historians are more important now than ever
BREAKING: President Donald Trump abruptly fires Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden.
The dismissal was disclosed in statements from three top House Democrats and confirmed by a separate person familiar with the matter.
The dismissal was disclosed in statements from three top House Democrats and confirmed by a separate person familiar with the matter.
President Donald Trump fires Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden
President Donald Trump has abruptly fired Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden as the White House continues to purge the federal government of those perceived to oppose the president and his agenda.
bit.ly
May 9, 2025 at 1:45 AM
Another move to control his legacy and influence the 250 in the hopes that it will shift public memory to his will. Our work as archivists and historians are more important now than ever
You could probably teach an entire class on Pennsylvania history based on each section of this gate at the state library
May 3, 2025 at 12:20 PM
You could probably teach an entire class on Pennsylvania history based on each section of this gate at the state library
So deindustrialization created the Rust Belt, what will be the equivalent term for those eds and meds communities that collapse thanks to the villainization of universities and medical research? Soiled Gown Towns?
March 29, 2025 at 8:56 PM
So deindustrialization created the Rust Belt, what will be the equivalent term for those eds and meds communities that collapse thanks to the villainization of universities and medical research? Soiled Gown Towns?
Can we please stop acting like these nitwits are normal or relatable and hold them to a higher standard, or any standard at all really
The Trump administration's Signal group chat leak may be the world's most relatable fail. Who hasn't added a stranger to a text thread or group chat?
'We've all done this': Trump admin group chat scandal is its most relatable fail
The Trump administration's Signal group chat leak may be the world's most relatable fail. Who hasn't added a stranger to a text thread or group chat?
bit.ly
March 26, 2025 at 2:06 AM
Can we please stop acting like these nitwits are normal or relatable and hold them to a higher standard, or any standard at all really
Reposted by Zach Brodt
(1/4) The Trump administration recently issued an executive order directing the Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS) acting director to take immediate steps to eliminate the agency to the maximum extent allowable by law...
#ncph #PublicHistory #PublicHistorians
#ncph #PublicHistory #PublicHistorians
LinkedIn
This link will take you to a page that’s not on LinkedIn
lnkd.in
March 20, 2025 at 7:42 PM
(1/4) The Trump administration recently issued an executive order directing the Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS) acting director to take immediate steps to eliminate the agency to the maximum extent allowable by law...
#ncph #PublicHistory #PublicHistorians
#ncph #PublicHistory #PublicHistorians
Reposted by Zach Brodt
March 16, 2025 at 1:04 AM
Well this isn’t going to go well
The University of Pittsburgh confirmed Friday that there would be no new Ph.D. offers of admission while Pitt works to understand how reduced federal aid could impact the institution.
The University of Pittsburgh pauses its Ph.D. admissions process amid research funding uncertainty
A spokesperson for the University told WESA Friday that the school has "temporarily paused additional Ph.D. offers of admission," while Pitt works to understand how proposed federal funding cuts could...
www.wesa.fm
February 22, 2025 at 5:35 PM
Well this isn’t going to go well
My colleagues are absolutely crushing it making sure that Pittsburgh’s jazz legacy will be preserved and remembered
The legacy of Ahmad Jamal and Pittsburgh’s jazz roots was celebrated on Wednesday at the Community Engagement Center in Homewood at the Journeys & Jazz event.
Journeys & Jazz celebrates Ahmad Jamal and Pittsburgh's Jazz history
The legacy of Ahmad Jamal and Pittsburgh’s jazz roots was celebrated on Wednesday at the Community Engagement Center in Homewood at the Journeys & Jazz event. Jamal, who is from Homewood and who...
triblive.com
February 20, 2025 at 9:18 PM
My colleagues are absolutely crushing it making sure that Pittsburgh’s jazz legacy will be preserved and remembered
Tonight is my rescheduled lecture at Pitt’s Heinz Chapel. I’ll be sharing some of the stories I uncovered while researching for my book about Western PA’s role at the 1893 Columbian Exposition
"From the Steel City to the White City" lecture by Zachary Brodt | Heinz Memorial Chapel in Pittsburgh, PA
In
www.heinzchapel.pitt.edu
February 20, 2025 at 4:12 PM
Tonight is my rescheduled lecture at Pitt’s Heinz Chapel. I’ll be sharing some of the stories I uncovered while researching for my book about Western PA’s role at the 1893 Columbian Exposition
At the moment there’s no reason to think NARA is going to fare any better than the other government agencies. Trump’s crew is already endangering the present and future, now he’s coming to alter the past. Stay strong and vigilant friends and colleagues.
NEW: Trump fires National Archives chief Colleen Shogan, apparently over agency's role in classified-documents probe at Mar-a-Lago before she took over. Law says president is supposed to give Congress the reasons for her dismissal. w/ @kyledcheney.bsky.social www.politico.com/news/2025/02...
Trump fires National Archives chief
The president has dismissed the top U.S. archivist after fuming about the agency’s role in the criminal classified-documents case against him.
www.politico.com
February 8, 2025 at 1:12 PM
At the moment there’s no reason to think NARA is going to fare any better than the other government agencies. Trump’s crew is already endangering the present and future, now he’s coming to alter the past. Stay strong and vigilant friends and colleagues.
Reposted by Zach Brodt
Weekend + writing project = spending a day off from my archives job doing research at a different archive. Gotta love what you do
February 1, 2025 at 1:30 PM
Weekend + writing project = spending a day off from my archives job doing research at a different archive. Gotta love what you do
Reposted by Zach Brodt
This is a good time to remind people that there is no evidence that history educators are indoctrinating students. They are doing their job. 🗃️ www.historians.org/teaching-lea...
January 30, 2025 at 1:00 AM
This is a good time to remind people that there is no evidence that history educators are indoctrinating students. They are doing their job. 🗃️ www.historians.org/teaching-lea...
Due to the threat of inclement weather, my book talk at Heinz Chapel for this evening has been postponed. Please stay tuned for a new date for the talk in the coming weeks. I look forward to seeing you there!
January 16, 2025 at 3:28 PM
Due to the threat of inclement weather, my book talk at Heinz Chapel for this evening has been postponed. Please stay tuned for a new date for the talk in the coming weeks. I look forward to seeing you there!
In John White Alexander’s “The Apotheosis of Pittsburgh” a steel-clad knight represents the city’s rise to economic and cultural glory … and looks suspiciously like Andrew Carnegie. The mural is in the Carnegie Institute after all. 🗃️
January 4, 2025 at 12:43 AM
In John White Alexander’s “The Apotheosis of Pittsburgh” a steel-clad knight represents the city’s rise to economic and cultural glory … and looks suspiciously like Andrew Carnegie. The mural is in the Carnegie Institute after all. 🗃️
If you’re in Pittsburgh on January 16 come check out my talk at Pitt’s incredible Heinz Chapel. I’ll be sure to include some info on how one of the chapel’s namesakes, HJ Heinz, fared at the Columbian Exposition
"From the Steel City to the White City" lecture by Zachary Brodt | Heinz Memorial Chapel in Pittsburgh, PA
In
www.heinzchapel.pitt.edu
December 24, 2024 at 8:38 PM
If you’re in Pittsburgh on January 16 come check out my talk at Pitt’s incredible Heinz Chapel. I’ll be sure to include some info on how one of the chapel’s namesakes, HJ Heinz, fared at the Columbian Exposition
Kipp’s papers are in the archives at Pitt and are a treasure trove of activist history
In “Love, Joy, Hope,” Amelia Golcheski & Jess B. Ramey use the career of activist Kipp Dawson to examine how resilience can operate in social movements even as activists encounter setbacks, losses, and violent repression. 🗃️
Love, Joy, and Hope: Kipp Dawson and Social Movement Resiliency since the 1950s
Abstract. What does resilience look like in social movements? How do activists keep going when times are hard? What tools have people used to form movement
doi.org
December 24, 2024 at 8:31 PM
Kipp’s papers are in the archives at Pitt and are a treasure trove of activist history
In 1921 Marie Curie toured the US and delegations would gift her money needed to buy more uranium for her research. This is the thank you note she sent to the University of Pittsburgh for their contribution. She was also awarded an honorary degree. #history
December 21, 2024 at 3:37 PM
In 1921 Marie Curie toured the US and delegations would gift her money needed to buy more uranium for her research. This is the thank you note she sent to the University of Pittsburgh for their contribution. She was also awarded an honorary degree. #history