Karl Appuhn
@appuhn.bsky.social
Historian of Renaissance Italian trees, critters, medical practitioners, and assorted other stuff. Californian in exile. Veteran. Semi-pro Curmudgeon.
Pinned
Karl Appuhn
@appuhn.bsky.social
· Dec 23
I think we need a mega thread of everyone's craziest archive stories.
I started this thread because some folks had suggested that Historians could do their research using LLMs, and anyone who disagreed was ignorant. I wanted some stories that illustrated why that's not true. The results exceeded my expectations. Most of the replies are in the form of quote-skeets.
These are crimes against humanity. We're going to need bigger courtrooms.
I don’t really know what I expect in posting this, but maybe some people see it and can learn from it.
I’ll call it “lessons from an unwilling immigration attorney.”
1/
I’ll call it “lessons from an unwilling immigration attorney.”
1/
February 12, 2026 at 2:22 PM
These are crimes against humanity. We're going to need bigger courtrooms.
I don't have a personal stake in any of this, but as an early modern historian I just want to say it's been too long since there's been a good schism.
Pope Leo XIV is facing his first major crisis with traditionalist Catholics.
Pope Leo XIV faces crisis as a traditionalist group plans bishop consecrations without consent
Pope Leo XIV is facing his first major crisis with traditionalist Catholics. A breakaway group attached to the traditional Latin Mass, the Society of St.
bit.ly
February 4, 2026 at 1:12 AM
I don't have a personal stake in any of this, but as an early modern historian I just want to say it's been too long since there's been a good schism.
Watching the ice floes go upstream on the Hudson is fun. You don't usually get to see the effect of the tides.
February 3, 2026 at 2:42 PM
Watching the ice floes go upstream on the Hudson is fun. You don't usually get to see the effect of the tides.
The first option is the only way if we want to save the republic. And it has to involve real consequences for all of these assholes.
Th future is basically:
1. Some sort of wide-ranging tribunal to credibly sort through the crime spree
2. We see a sort of Nixon style forgive-and-forget policy
3. We never get the chance to pursue the first two options
1. Some sort of wide-ranging tribunal to credibly sort through the crime spree
2. We see a sort of Nixon style forgive-and-forget policy
3. We never get the chance to pursue the first two options
Exclusive: A U.S. official has alleged wrongdoing by U.S. spy chief Tulsi Gabbard in a complaint that is so highly classified it has sparked months of wrangling over how to share it with Congress, according to people familiar with the matter.
February 2, 2026 at 3:24 PM
The first option is the only way if we want to save the republic. And it has to involve real consequences for all of these assholes.
Not quite ready to walk over to Manhattan, but we're getting close.
February 2, 2026 at 3:00 PM
Not quite ready to walk over to Manhattan, but we're getting close.
Raze it and salt the earth. It's the only way to be sure.
Mar-a-Lago delenda est.
By this point it feels strange to say things like this and not reflexively end with a "Furthermore he should be impeached and removed from office"
February 2, 2026 at 2:34 PM
Raze it and salt the earth. It's the only way to be sure.
He's absolutely going to have it demolished.
Trump: "I have determined that the fastest way to bring The Trump Kennedy Center to the highest level of Success, Beauty, and Grandeur, is to cease Entertainment Operations for an approximately two year period of time, with a scheduled Grand Reopening that will rival and surpass anything."
February 1, 2026 at 11:56 PM
He's absolutely going to have it demolished.
This one feels almost cruel. The "our job is to make the subject look good" part was magnificent.
February 1, 2026 at 11:53 PM
This one feels almost cruel. The "our job is to make the subject look good" part was magnificent.
Never mind the jobs you had, tell me five classes you took in college.
The History of Mathematics in 20 Proofs
Silver Age Latin Poetry
The History of Genetics
Accounting
Augustine (City of God and Confessions).
The History of Mathematics in 20 Proofs
Silver Age Latin Poetry
The History of Genetics
Accounting
Augustine (City of God and Confessions).
Never mind the jobs you had, tell me five classes you took in college
Urban politics
Urban sociology
Mid 20th century U.S. History
Gender and Politics
World History (I'm sorry for sleeping through this at 8am, but the prof was so nice in office hours, I will always pay that forward)
Urban politics
Urban sociology
Mid 20th century U.S. History
Gender and Politics
World History (I'm sorry for sleeping through this at 8am, but the prof was so nice in office hours, I will always pay that forward)
Never mind the jobs you had, tell me five classes you took in college
Calc II
Irish drama
Bertolt Brecht auf deutsch
Poetry writing
Race in America
Calc II
Irish drama
Bertolt Brecht auf deutsch
Poetry writing
Race in America
January 30, 2026 at 11:57 PM
Never mind the jobs you had, tell me five classes you took in college.
The History of Mathematics in 20 Proofs
Silver Age Latin Poetry
The History of Genetics
Accounting
Augustine (City of God and Confessions).
The History of Mathematics in 20 Proofs
Silver Age Latin Poetry
The History of Genetics
Accounting
Augustine (City of God and Confessions).
Reposted by Karl Appuhn
Please buy books that are coming out this year.
Doesn’t have to be mine. But there is a stellar release calendar this year especially of Black writers and it would be a shame if one of the fascist victories was people not buying those books (from the indies that are in the fight with us). #BookSky
Doesn’t have to be mine. But there is a stellar release calendar this year especially of Black writers and it would be a shame if one of the fascist victories was people not buying those books (from the indies that are in the fight with us). #BookSky
January 30, 2026 at 2:18 PM
Please buy books that are coming out this year.
Doesn’t have to be mine. But there is a stellar release calendar this year especially of Black writers and it would be a shame if one of the fascist victories was people not buying those books (from the indies that are in the fight with us). #BookSky
Doesn’t have to be mine. But there is a stellar release calendar this year especially of Black writers and it would be a shame if one of the fascist victories was people not buying those books (from the indies that are in the fight with us). #BookSky
So has Bari Weiss said anything about the arrest of a CBS journalist?
Ha, ha. Just kidding.
Ha, ha. Just kidding.
January 30, 2026 at 3:17 PM
So has Bari Weiss said anything about the arrest of a CBS journalist?
Ha, ha. Just kidding.
Ha, ha. Just kidding.
Is it cold in NYC this fine sunny morning? Why yes, yes it is.
January 30, 2026 at 3:05 PM
Is it cold in NYC this fine sunny morning? Why yes, yes it is.
This is why we are going to need a Nuremberg style tribunal if we get to the other side of this. This can't be a Truth and Reconciliation process, or even worse "let's just look forward." Looking forward is going to require that people who committed crimes against humanity pay for it.
Kristi Noem: "Everything I've done, I've done at the direction of the president and Stephen"
January 28, 2026 at 2:42 PM
This is why we are going to need a Nuremberg style tribunal if we get to the other side of this. This can't be a Truth and Reconciliation process, or even worse "let's just look forward." Looking forward is going to require that people who committed crimes against humanity pay for it.
Reposted by Karl Appuhn
An open movement, that’s huge and universal, will be more effective than a closed movement that is tiny and paranoid. If we let a fed spy into rapid response, who cares? For every one of them we get 300 neighbors. All they can do is listen as we swarm them.
January 23, 2026 at 4:37 PM
An open movement, that’s huge and universal, will be more effective than a closed movement that is tiny and paranoid. If we let a fed spy into rapid response, who cares? For every one of them we get 300 neighbors. All they can do is listen as we swarm them.
Reposted by Karl Appuhn
Another friend put it to me like this: "ICE has made the classic Nazi mistake. They've invaded a winter people in the winter."
January 22, 2026 at 3:58 AM
Another friend put it to me like this: "ICE has made the classic Nazi mistake. They've invaded a winter people in the winter."
Roger and Me With Big Naturals
Gimme Shelter With Big Naturals
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince with Big Naturals
January 22, 2026 at 2:42 AM
Roger and Me With Big Naturals
I'd like a constitutional amendment requiring every member of the executive branch to be able to correctly identify the site of a proposed military action on a map before proposing use of force, and the legislative branch to be able to do the same before they are allowed to vote to authorize it.
January 19, 2026 at 4:35 PM
I'd like a constitutional amendment requiring every member of the executive branch to be able to correctly identify the site of a proposed military action on a map before proposing use of force, and the legislative branch to be able to do the same before they are allowed to vote to authorize it.
I've been saying for a while that if we get to the other side of this, I don't want truth and reconciliation. I want Nuremberg.
If we are going to treat this as a sort of civil war, then one thing I would like everyone to keep in mind is the victors of the last one were nowhere near harsh enough in their dealings with the lead traitors.
January 14, 2026 at 3:25 PM
I've been saying for a while that if we get to the other side of this, I don't want truth and reconciliation. I want Nuremberg.
What is the process server going to say to the bear?
Ursine here please.
Ursine here please.
Black bear living underneath California house shows no sign of budging as homeowner mulls legal action
Black bear living underneath Altadena house shows no sign of budging as homeowner mulls legal action
The 550-pound black bear has taken up residence in the crawlspace underneath Ken Johnson's home in California for a month.
www.cbsnews.com
January 2, 2026 at 2:33 AM
What is the process server going to say to the bear?
Ursine here please.
Ursine here please.
Hall of Fame bad response to the JH thread. JH's cardinal sin as a scholar was that he did not recognize anything outside of his own interests as legitimate. If your response is that what he worked on was obviously unimportant, then you are exactly as narrow minded as he is. Congratulations.
January 1, 2026 at 3:39 PM
Hall of Fame bad response to the JH thread. JH's cardinal sin as a scholar was that he did not recognize anything outside of his own interests as legitimate. If your response is that what he worked on was obviously unimportant, then you are exactly as narrow minded as he is. Congratulations.
For the end of 2025, I just want to say that I didn't like Hankins or the AI boosters before, but now I am extra resentful at both because I had to do two serious threads in a row, when my real reason for being here is to make bad jokes. Happy new year everyone.
December 31, 2025 at 11:47 PM
For the end of 2025, I just want to say that I didn't like Hankins or the AI boosters before, but now I am extra resentful at both because I had to do two serious threads in a row, when my real reason for being here is to make bad jokes. Happy new year everyone.
It's a pervasive problem in academia. Definitely not limited to any one discipline.
This thread has reminded me of the people who are angry that we aren’t teaching systematics in frosh biology anymore.
Or that classes that emphasize systematics are disappearing or becoming electives.
Or that classes that emphasize systematics are disappearing or becoming electives.
The politics here are reprehensible but also really sad. He was a great scholar once. He had philological skills that no one has anymore. There are very few people who could produce that kind of work today. And to some extent, that's what this is about. He's mad that our field lost its former status
December 31, 2025 at 4:10 PM
It's a pervasive problem in academia. Definitely not limited to any one discipline.
Reposted by Karl Appuhn
When Hulk Hogan died. bsky.app/profile/thea...
Favorite sports moment of 2025? 🎉
December 31, 2025 at 3:30 PM
When Hulk Hogan died. bsky.app/profile/thea...
Reposted by Karl Appuhn
A really important thread. As we scholars age, our fields evolve. Some older scholars evolve with them. Some gracefully accept the changes happening while continuing to do "old-fashioned" work. And, unfortunately, still others rage against the changes and craft declension narratives to explain them.
The politics here are reprehensible but also really sad. He was a great scholar once. He had philological skills that no one has anymore. There are very few people who could produce that kind of work today. And to some extent, that's what this is about. He's mad that our field lost its former status
The reason this Harvard history professor decided he was done with one of the best and most privileged jobs in the world was, in his own words, because he was forced to lecture in a mask during peak Covid.
I’m not making this up.
I’m not making this up.
December 31, 2025 at 3:28 PM
A really important thread. As we scholars age, our fields evolve. Some older scholars evolve with them. Some gracefully accept the changes happening while continuing to do "old-fashioned" work. And, unfortunately, still others rage against the changes and craft declension narratives to explain them.