Melinda Baldwin

Right now I mildly distrust any academic who isn't at least occasionally feral, given... everything. 😵‍💫

... has talked about their difficulties finding reviewers. I know people who have been out of academia for over a decade who still get requests for referee reports.

Like many pillars of academia, it's a system designed around the assumption that the average researcher is someone with few family responsibilities and ample flexible time to devote to professional service. That is no longer the case. Every journal editor I've talked to since starting my project ...

I always find Dave's newsletters valuable and as someone who studies peer review (though from the perspective of the past) this was thought-provoking. I think he's absolutely right that modern peer review has not been in a stable equilibrium. It's had a serious labor problem for a while now.

I have never been happier that my oldest, formerly a Mr. Beast superfan, recently declared Mr. Beast “kinda sus.”

I WILL BE DISCUSSING THE STAR TREK TO RAISE FUNDS FOR MUTUAL AID

YOU WANT TO BE THERE, YES YOU DO

Can historians benefit from creative works for historical research? In this @hsnatsci.bsky.social short piece, I share how I worked w/ different types of making to research and write my recent book on 17th-c. florilegia. Thank you @dominikhhh.bsky.social & @mbaldwin.bsky.social for the invitation!

What the National Center for Atmospheric Research means to the atmospheric sciences Born out of a time of great need for the federal government, NCAR plays a role with few analogues.

Great piece out today in Physics Today on historical origins, contemporary relevance, & fundamental irreplaceability of the National Center for Atmospheric Research, which remains at imminent risk of dismantling for partisan political reasons.

Philanthropies selectively mitigate damage from lost federal science funding They are focusing on early-career scientists and on vulnerable areas like climate.

In response to the disruptions and uncertainties in federal funding for science, researchers are knocking on the doors of philanthropies. But they can pick up only some of the slack.

Thinking about this because I’ve spent my entire career competing with and being evaluated by men who say “yes” to what @seanmcarroll.bsky.social is describing here and also being framed as “problematic“ by people who would literally say yes to this kind of shit and worse 🫩

This great piece is part of a collection of exciting essays on Historical Practice I had the great pleasure of co-editing with the wonderful @mbaldwin.bsky.social for @hsnatsci.bsky.social . #HistSci #HistSTM

The AHA is proud to announce that our three- month trial with The Guardian on Past/Present has been a success! From late February, the AHA will publish a monthly column in The Guardian, written by a member, that engages with the historical context of today's events, exemplifies the original work we do, and demonstrates our value to a national readership. Funded by an extraordinarily generous donation, the column both extends our advocacy work and helps forge a new venture into publicising the work of members. Members submit a pitch to VP Kate Fullagar; selected writers will be paid a generous 750.

1) this from @kfullagar.bsky.social and @austhistassoc.bsky.social is awesome. A great model for scholarly orgs to place member writing in mass media.

theaha.org.au/publicising-...

The raised hands were actually in response to the question "whose 401k is at an all-time high today."

Sarah, I'm assuming you wrote this before you heard that the Dow is above fifty thousand dollars, we all need to be talking about that now.

dear peace monks, you don’t know me but DO NOT GET ON THAT BUS

Me holding copy of the book

You’ve seen the halftime show … now read my friend Petra’s new book from @dukepress.bsky.social about how Bad Bunny became the global voice of Puerto Rican resistance! 👏🏽👏🏽

www.dukeupress.edu/p-fkn-r

Okay winter, we get it. Now would you PLEASE fuck off.

Opinion page of the Onion Jan-Feb 2026 issue with a piece titled "Anyone Else Have Those Weird Dreams Where Sobbing Future Generations Beg You To Change Course?" by Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI

@theonion.com is so worth the subscription for this

Internal White House meetings going on, like, "Hopefully the racism will distract from the pedophilia which will distract from the killings which will distract from the pedophilia again which will distract from the economy which will distract from the pedophilia a third time"

This is a person who has no business teaching 18-year-olds of any gender. "This is how men behave"? Only if you teach them that this behavior is OK and expected.

Join The 51st The 51st is a worker-led nonprofit news source for D.C. Our reporting is rooted in our conviction that local journalism is meant to make people’s lives better — no paywalls, ever. But that's only…

6/ The Post has lost over 375,000 subscribers in just over a year. If 10% of those readers subscribed to The 51st instead, we could hire 10 reporters and five editors, dramatically scaling our coverage of the city at this critical time. 51st.news/signup

Total meltdown. Unbelievable, yet believable!

God forbid a woman have hobbies.

My kids’ art teacher did this on the school field! Brought his hockey skates and stick and waved to all the kids while skating around during dropoff. And yes, this stuff is that hard and frozen.

Bravo, @dcpubliclibrary.bsky.social, bravo.

It is unforgivably appalling that someone who has regularly displayed these qualities & behaviors for decades on end was allowed to become the most prominent public-facing economist in the entire country, with access to the commanding heights of academic power & unlimited elite media platforms.

GIVE HIM HIS HAT AND BACKPACK BACK YOU GHOULS

Here’s Duke behavioral economist Dan Ariely asking Jeffrey Epstein for “the name and email of the redhead that was here with you.” This is four years after Epstein’s 2008 conviction for procuring a child for prostitution.

* I needed a 2-course physics sequence for my chem major, non-calculus was the only one that fit into my schedule, and I am here to tell you that physics is SO MUCH HARDER without calculus 😭