Bench Ansfield
@benchansfield.bsky.social
asst prof of history at temple // they/them
BORN IN FLAMES: The Business of Arson and the Remaking of the American City (W.W. Norton, August 19)
https://wwnorton.com/books/9781324093510
BORN IN FLAMES: The Business of Arson and the Remaking of the American City (W.W. Norton, August 19)
https://wwnorton.com/books/9781324093510
Pinned
Bench Ansfield
@benchansfield.bsky.social
· Nov 25
In disbelief. The NYT named Born in Flames one of 100 Notable Books of 2025
A librarian snub if I’ve ever heard one
February 3, 2026 at 9:59 PM
A librarian snub if I’ve ever heard one
Reposted by Bench Ansfield
They arrested at 21 year old too along with Don Lemon and Georgia Fort - share.inquirer.com/ebzCYi [gift link]
Temple student arrested for anti-ICE protest at Minnesota church in case involving journalist Don Lemon
Jerome Richardson, 21, a senior at Temple who is a native of St. Paul, turned himself in Monday morning to federal authorities in Philadelphia.
share.inquirer.com
February 3, 2026 at 2:42 AM
They arrested at 21 year old too along with Don Lemon and Georgia Fort - share.inquirer.com/ebzCYi [gift link]
Reposted by Bench Ansfield
Go Fund Me about the young person arrested on Monday in MN along with Lemon and Fort.
They have a go fund me to assist with legal fees.
gofund.me/c58716223
gofund.me/c58716223
Donate to Support Jerome Richardson's Legal Defense, organized by mary mccallum
Jerome Richardson is a youth leader and activist who has always stood up fo… mary mccallum needs your support for Support Jerome Richardson's Legal Defense
gofund.me
February 3, 2026 at 3:42 AM
Go Fund Me about the young person arrested on Monday in MN along with Lemon and Fort.
Tonight!
Baltimore! Join the great Nathan Connolly and me at @redemmas.org on January 29th!!
January 29, 2026 at 7:01 PM
Tonight!
Reposted by Bench Ansfield
Minneapolis, MN -
A view from the inside entrance to the lobby of the hotel where the noise demonstration against ICE is happening.
A view from the inside entrance to the lobby of the hotel where the noise demonstration against ICE is happening.
January 26, 2026 at 3:09 AM
Minneapolis, MN -
A view from the inside entrance to the lobby of the hotel where the noise demonstration against ICE is happening.
A view from the inside entrance to the lobby of the hotel where the noise demonstration against ICE is happening.
Reposted by Bench Ansfield
I've read most of the scholarship about US policing since the early 20th century. What you learn from this is that violence is inherent. You cannot "separate" out violence from policing. Police in the U.S. are violence workers.
January 15, 2026 at 2:33 AM
I've read most of the scholarship about US policing since the early 20th century. What you learn from this is that violence is inherent. You cannot "separate" out violence from policing. Police in the U.S. are violence workers.
Reposted by Bench Ansfield
What are the most hopeful stories you know about US history? The ones that make you feel like another world is possible. Teaching 10th graders the truth about this country’s past + present is heavy, and I need to give my students (and myself) more reasons to stay hopeful.
January 23, 2026 at 1:15 AM
What are the most hopeful stories you know about US history? The ones that make you feel like another world is possible. Teaching 10th graders the truth about this country’s past + present is heavy, and I need to give my students (and myself) more reasons to stay hopeful.
Philly about to show its true colors
January 22, 2026 at 4:45 PM
Philly about to show its true colors
Baltimore! Join the great Nathan Connolly and me at @redemmas.org on January 29th!!
January 15, 2026 at 8:30 PM
Baltimore! Join the great Nathan Connolly and me at @redemmas.org on January 29th!!
Very grateful for this smart and far-reaching review of Born in Flames by @david-helps.bsky.social in @dissentmag.bsky.social
dissentmagazine.org/article/the-...
dissentmagazine.org/article/the-...
January 13, 2026 at 8:15 PM
Very grateful for this smart and far-reaching review of Born in Flames by @david-helps.bsky.social in @dissentmag.bsky.social
dissentmagazine.org/article/the-...
dissentmagazine.org/article/the-...
Reposted by Bench Ansfield
Excited to offer this teachers writing workshop for educators to come together (virtually) to reflect, learn, and write about what’s going on—and to work toward producing a piece for publication. docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
What's Going On: The State of Our Schools, Our Students, and Our Selves
I’ve been listening to Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On album on repeat lately—not just because it’s the best album ever made, but also because the question of what’s going on has been ever on my mind, e...
docs.google.com
January 11, 2026 at 10:33 PM
Excited to offer this teachers writing workshop for educators to come together (virtually) to reflect, learn, and write about what’s going on—and to work toward producing a piece for publication. docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
Reposted by Bench Ansfield
One reason I favor impeaching Noem is because it's a political process for a political problem. No, this will not stop ICE enforcement action but YES it would be an opportunity to educate the public about DHS & perhaps begin to lay a foundation for dismantling it.
January 8, 2026 at 10:38 PM
One reason I favor impeaching Noem is because it's a political process for a political problem. No, this will not stop ICE enforcement action but YES it would be an opportunity to educate the public about DHS & perhaps begin to lay a foundation for dismantling it.
The feeling is mutual!
January 8, 2026 at 11:23 PM
The feeling is mutual!
I’m grateful you shared this 💜
January 8, 2026 at 12:05 PM
I’m grateful you shared this 💜
Reposted by Bench Ansfield
I am impeaching Secretary Kristi Noem, who is an incompetent leader and a disgrace to our democracy.
She wreaked havoc in the Chicagoland area and has brought her reign of terror to Minneapolis. One of her rogue ICE agents shot and killed an innocent woman today. It must come to an end.
She wreaked havoc in the Chicagoland area and has brought her reign of terror to Minneapolis. One of her rogue ICE agents shot and killed an innocent woman today. It must come to an end.
January 8, 2026 at 12:00 AM
I am impeaching Secretary Kristi Noem, who is an incompetent leader and a disgrace to our democracy.
She wreaked havoc in the Chicagoland area and has brought her reign of terror to Minneapolis. One of her rogue ICE agents shot and killed an innocent woman today. It must come to an end.
She wreaked havoc in the Chicagoland area and has brought her reign of terror to Minneapolis. One of her rogue ICE agents shot and killed an innocent woman today. It must come to an end.
Reposted by Bench Ansfield
Thinking about LA today, 1 year from the #LAfires. As a colleague and I wrote shortly afterwards, "only in the aftermath of these fires that their true toll will emerge..."
jacobin.com/2025/01/la-f...
jacobin.com/2025/01/la-f...
The Fire Next Time
Almost 60 years ago, Joan Didion wrote that “the city burning is Los Angeles’s deepest image of itself.” Since then, insurance companies and developers have prioritized short-term profits over housing...
jacobin.com
January 7, 2026 at 6:39 PM
Thinking about LA today, 1 year from the #LAfires. As a colleague and I wrote shortly afterwards, "only in the aftermath of these fires that their true toll will emerge..."
jacobin.com/2025/01/la-f...
jacobin.com/2025/01/la-f...
Reposted by Bench Ansfield
Larger context on the ICE shooting of Renee Nicole Good in Minnesota:
Fed. officers have fatally shot at least 3 other people in the last 5 months & wounded or threatened others. We describe a few of the recent incidents and patterns we've noticed here.
www.themarshallproject.org/2026/01/07/i...
Fed. officers have fatally shot at least 3 other people in the last 5 months & wounded or threatened others. We describe a few of the recent incidents and patterns we've noticed here.
www.themarshallproject.org/2026/01/07/i...
Before ICE Shooting, Immigration Agents Repeatedly Used Deadly Force
The killing of a Minneapolis woman is latest by ICE and Border Patrol officers in recent months. Others have been wounded or threatened with guns.
www.themarshallproject.org
January 8, 2026 at 2:51 AM
Larger context on the ICE shooting of Renee Nicole Good in Minnesota:
Fed. officers have fatally shot at least 3 other people in the last 5 months & wounded or threatened others. We describe a few of the recent incidents and patterns we've noticed here.
www.themarshallproject.org/2026/01/07/i...
Fed. officers have fatally shot at least 3 other people in the last 5 months & wounded or threatened others. We describe a few of the recent incidents and patterns we've noticed here.
www.themarshallproject.org/2026/01/07/i...
Reposted by Bench Ansfield
Don't let the fascists speak - Pat Parker
YouTube video by cassandra gillig
www.youtube.com
January 3, 2026 at 1:54 PM
Reposted by Bench Ansfield
3/ @realLandsEnd & @city.bsky.social spoke to Bench Ansfield @benchansfield.bsky.social about “riot prone areas,” moral hazard, how landlords burned the Bronx in the 1970s, and their new book Born in Flames: The Business of Arson and the Remaking of the American City
www.patreon.com/posts/best-o...
www.patreon.com/posts/best-o...
Best of 2025: Born in Flames w/ Bench Ansfield | The Death Panel
Get more from The Death Panel on Patreon
www.patreon.com
December 31, 2025 at 6:53 PM
3/ @realLandsEnd & @city.bsky.social spoke to Bench Ansfield @benchansfield.bsky.social about “riot prone areas,” moral hazard, how landlords burned the Bronx in the 1970s, and their new book Born in Flames: The Business of Arson and the Remaking of the American City
www.patreon.com/posts/best-o...
www.patreon.com/posts/best-o...
Reposted by Bench Ansfield
I'm 9 pages into @benchansfield.bsky.social's Born Into Flames and already mesmerized by the storytelling. Who knew a book about property insurance could be so captivating!
PS All hail @littlefreelibrary.bsky.social, which brought this gem to my hands.
PS All hail @littlefreelibrary.bsky.social, which brought this gem to my hands.
December 19, 2025 at 12:26 PM
I'm 9 pages into @benchansfield.bsky.social's Born Into Flames and already mesmerized by the storytelling. Who knew a book about property insurance could be so captivating!
PS All hail @littlefreelibrary.bsky.social, which brought this gem to my hands.
PS All hail @littlefreelibrary.bsky.social, which brought this gem to my hands.
Huge! Congrats Quinn
December 16, 2025 at 4:28 PM
Huge! Congrats Quinn
Reposted by Bench Ansfield
Bench Ansfield (@benchansfield.bsky.social, Temple) then introduced an exciting new project on catastrophe bonds, climate change, and the politics of risk
December 13, 2025 at 3:39 PM
Bench Ansfield (@benchansfield.bsky.social, Temple) then introduced an exciting new project on catastrophe bonds, climate change, and the politics of risk
Reposted by Bench Ansfield
The week in review: a call to join the ranks of the @a-lpe.bsky.social, an interview with @benchansfield.bsky.social about the business of arson, and a new entry by Amna Akbar in our symposium on Free Gifts.
Plus, the best of Law and Political Economy from around the web 👇🧵
Plus, the best of Law and Political Economy from around the web 👇🧵
Weekly Roundup: Dec 12
A call to join the ranks of the Association for Law and Political Economy, an interview with Bench Ansfield about the business of arson, and a new entry by Amna Akbar in our symposium on Free Gifts.
lpeproject.org
December 12, 2025 at 4:51 PM
The week in review: a call to join the ranks of the @a-lpe.bsky.social, an interview with @benchansfield.bsky.social about the business of arson, and a new entry by Amna Akbar in our symposium on Free Gifts.
Plus, the best of Law and Political Economy from around the web 👇🧵
Plus, the best of Law and Political Economy from around the web 👇🧵
Reposted by Bench Ansfield
"[P]ublic housing was the only type of housing spared by the inferno… What would it mean to take that finding seriously?" @benchansfield.bsky.social on implications of the 1970s arson wave for the housing justice movement today: www.hpeproject.org/blog/firestorm
FIREstorm — History & Political Economy Project
Bench Ansfield in conversation with Andrew Anastasi
www.hpeproject.org
December 9, 2025 at 7:03 PM
"[P]ublic housing was the only type of housing spared by the inferno… What would it mean to take that finding seriously?" @benchansfield.bsky.social on implications of the 1970s arson wave for the housing justice movement today: www.hpeproject.org/blog/firestorm