M. Laser
@mlaser.bsky.social
Historian, history communicator, 'historytuber', Oxford Alumnus & Cambridge PhD student, trying to promote & write about public history & history communication. Also about medieval history sometimes.
www.youtube.com/@MLaserHistory
www.youtube.com/@MLaserHistory
Pinned
M. Laser
@mlaser.bsky.social
· Aug 13
How Rome Changed Sex : Creation of European Sexual Standards
YouTube video by M. Laser History
youtu.be
My new video is an exploration of the sexual laws and morals in Ancient Rome and their evolution from the time of the Republic all the way to the fall of Rome. I argue that it was during the late Roman Empire that our modern conservative ideas about sexuality were created. youtu.be/AY5L0Ik0WNo
I still get these comments at least once a week without fail and they always make me laugh. Never in my life have I cared what year notation people use, so I always find it funny when people care so much that they feel the need to tell me they stopped watching because of it.
January 29, 2026 at 11:24 AM
I still get these comments at least once a week without fail and they always make me laugh. Never in my life have I cared what year notation people use, so I always find it funny when people care so much that they feel the need to tell me they stopped watching because of it.
I had to go to the White House website to read the 'RESTORING TRUTH & SANITY TO AMERICAN HISTORY' for my public history research & that entire website is just sooooo 'we are an evil dictatorship' coated. All it needs is a renaming to something like 'Free Democratic National People's White House'.
January 26, 2026 at 10:15 AM
I had to go to the White House website to read the 'RESTORING TRUTH & SANITY TO AMERICAN HISTORY' for my public history research & that entire website is just sooooo 'we are an evil dictatorship' coated. All it needs is a renaming to something like 'Free Democratic National People's White House'.
Reposted by M. Laser
I pointed out (elsewhere) that the Vice President was lying when he said in a speech that archaeologists used mass infant remains to identify ancient brothels (they don't) so now I have right-wing chuds emailing my university email to 'gotcha' me about the sites I mentioned by name already.
January 25, 2026 at 4:41 PM
I pointed out (elsewhere) that the Vice President was lying when he said in a speech that archaeologists used mass infant remains to identify ancient brothels (they don't) so now I have right-wing chuds emailing my university email to 'gotcha' me about the sites I mentioned by name already.
The Little Free Library on my street was absolutely full of books in early January and I am convinced this was because of all the books people received for Christmas that they did not want. After all, that was the reason why I was there. Getting rid of 'Spare' which I couldn't care less about.
January 25, 2026 at 3:54 PM
The Little Free Library on my street was absolutely full of books in early January and I am convinced this was because of all the books people received for Christmas that they did not want. After all, that was the reason why I was there. Getting rid of 'Spare' which I couldn't care less about.
Reposted by M. Laser
To the average Roman Empire truther, remember that most of its inhabitants lived in villages or farms, many regularly on the verge of starvation, the Roman Army was not nicer than the „barbarians“ if they visited your neighborhood and those great sanitary amenities were full of lead and bacteria.
January 22, 2026 at 7:43 AM
To the average Roman Empire truther, remember that most of its inhabitants lived in villages or farms, many regularly on the verge of starvation, the Roman Army was not nicer than the „barbarians“ if they visited your neighborhood and those great sanitary amenities were full of lead and bacteria.
Being deep in writing my PhD, one thing I miss is researching into random historical topics. It's all just public & digital history with no time to read about Aztec sacrifices or sexuality in Rome. I don't know how I feel about this academic idea of only doing and specialising in one or two things.
January 21, 2026 at 2:27 PM
Being deep in writing my PhD, one thing I miss is researching into random historical topics. It's all just public & digital history with no time to read about Aztec sacrifices or sexuality in Rome. I don't know how I feel about this academic idea of only doing and specialising in one or two things.
Managed to again do some skating on the Fens this year.
January 8, 2026 at 2:07 PM
Managed to again do some skating on the Fens this year.
Also, imperialism has never benefited you and never will. 'Uncommon Wealth, Britain and the Aftermath of Empire' is a great book showcasing how the British Empire has only benefited the powerful and the wealthy. Unless you're a rich upper class person, you will not see the benefits of imperialism.
This neo-imperialism is also deeply foolish.
There may be corruption-money in backing dysfunctional mafia states, but there isn't national enrichment money in it. Did the USSR get wealthy off its economic vassals? How's that British Empire doing?
These things cost more than they bring in.
There may be corruption-money in backing dysfunctional mafia states, but there isn't national enrichment money in it. Did the USSR get wealthy off its economic vassals? How's that British Empire doing?
These things cost more than they bring in.
Prominent MAGA figures are making it 100% explicit that MAGA is a neo-imperialist movement that's all about pillage and plunder justified by assumed racial superiority:
January 5, 2026 at 5:13 PM
Also, imperialism has never benefited you and never will. 'Uncommon Wealth, Britain and the Aftermath of Empire' is a great book showcasing how the British Empire has only benefited the powerful and the wealthy. Unless you're a rich upper class person, you will not see the benefits of imperialism.
Reposted by M. Laser
I assume what we'll actually see is that elite institutions will attempt to reduce class sizes by increasing the number of adjuncts (to keep teaching loads of the tenure-line steady, but not hire more), while non-elite institutions will embrace jumbo-slop-classes.
I think a fundamental problem in 2026 is the good solutions require smaller first year classes where we can create new assessment methods (oral presentations, digital research projects, etc). LLMs break the assignments that worked OK with big groups. But no one is investing in hiring professors.
January 5, 2026 at 4:40 PM
I assume what we'll actually see is that elite institutions will attempt to reduce class sizes by increasing the number of adjuncts (to keep teaching loads of the tenure-line steady, but not hire more), while non-elite institutions will embrace jumbo-slop-classes.
I just got a US Visa email about having to update my paperwork. What paperwork? The last time I was there was 2 years ago. Is American visa now something you just need to constantly update like bank account information? I presume nothing will happen if I just ignore it but gods is this stupid.
January 5, 2026 at 3:17 PM
I just got a US Visa email about having to update my paperwork. What paperwork? The last time I was there was 2 years ago. Is American visa now something you just need to constantly update like bank account information? I presume nothing will happen if I just ignore it but gods is this stupid.
One thing that interviewing experts has taught me is that most people don't think too deeply about the work they do. Like a lot of people are good at stuff without being able to properly explain why. They can tell you the strategies they employ but those are not explanations of why they employ them.
January 4, 2026 at 5:29 PM
One thing that interviewing experts has taught me is that most people don't think too deeply about the work they do. Like a lot of people are good at stuff without being able to properly explain why. They can tell you the strategies they employ but those are not explanations of why they employ them.
Reposted by M. Laser
I’m already seeing faked images of Maduro’s capture mixed in with real ones, so just a reminder to be careful when looking at image and video feeds today.
January 3, 2026 at 5:39 PM
I’m already seeing faked images of Maduro’s capture mixed in with real ones, so just a reminder to be careful when looking at image and video feeds today.
Reposted by M. Laser
So like…now what? Is there a plan here exactly for what happens when you decapitate a government overnight?
Or is this just the “Jesus take the wheel” school of military planning?
Or is this just the “Jesus take the wheel” school of military planning?
January 3, 2026 at 1:23 PM
So like…now what? Is there a plan here exactly for what happens when you decapitate a government overnight?
Or is this just the “Jesus take the wheel” school of military planning?
Or is this just the “Jesus take the wheel” school of military planning?
Trying to remake a countrie's state apparatus by force, for it to be more like you want it to be, is a very complicated money & time consuming thing which is why most countries just put "their own people" in charge instead of fundamentally changing anything. Remember that with Venezuela.
January 3, 2026 at 12:48 PM
Trying to remake a countrie's state apparatus by force, for it to be more like you want it to be, is a very complicated money & time consuming thing which is why most countries just put "their own people" in charge instead of fundamentally changing anything. Remember that with Venezuela.
People who complain about paper straws or plastic bottlecaps being attached are the same kind of people who complain about kids today being too privileged. Surely since you walked to school up hill both ways back in the day you can suck it up and deal with the little inconvenience of a paper straw.
January 3, 2026 at 12:26 PM
People who complain about paper straws or plastic bottlecaps being attached are the same kind of people who complain about kids today being too privileged. Surely since you walked to school up hill both ways back in the day you can suck it up and deal with the little inconvenience of a paper straw.
Real Life Lore video scripts, including the ones that are like older than modern LLMs, feel like they are AI generated.
December 30, 2025 at 6:00 PM
Real Life Lore video scripts, including the ones that are like older than modern LLMs, feel like they are AI generated.
I posted on Patreon and YouTube Community an end of 2025 update about me and the channel.
tldr is I am not going anywhere but the video drought from me will continue for at least one more year.
www.patreon.com/posts/end-of...
tldr is I am not going anywhere but the video drought from me will continue for at least one more year.
www.patreon.com/posts/end-of...
End of 2025 Update | M. Laser
Get more from M. Laser on Patreon
www.patreon.com
December 27, 2025 at 5:15 PM
I posted on Patreon and YouTube Community an end of 2025 update about me and the channel.
tldr is I am not going anywhere but the video drought from me will continue for at least one more year.
www.patreon.com/posts/end-of...
tldr is I am not going anywhere but the video drought from me will continue for at least one more year.
www.patreon.com/posts/end-of...
Reposted by M. Laser
Just saw the Odyssey trailer and it is horrible but they are all dressed like in what I imagine Roman carnival costumes of Homer would have been, and I cannot stop thinking that Vergil would have absolutely*loved* it.
December 24, 2025 at 11:38 AM
Just saw the Odyssey trailer and it is horrible but they are all dressed like in what I imagine Roman carnival costumes of Homer would have been, and I cannot stop thinking that Vergil would have absolutely*loved* it.
Reposted by M. Laser
Matt Walsh is not an expert at American history, and he is certainly not an expert at teaching American history. If you want to actually learn history, read books and listen to actual historians, not political reactionaries trying to spin narratives to promote their ideologies.
December 24, 2025 at 4:51 AM
Matt Walsh is not an expert at American history, and he is certainly not an expert at teaching American history. If you want to actually learn history, read books and listen to actual historians, not political reactionaries trying to spin narratives to promote their ideologies.
Medieval history be like:
A knight had multiple arrows in him but kept fighting. Eventually he won but not before he lost an arm & severely damaged his leg. He survived & retired to a monastery for the rest of his life.
His brother, in the same year, got a paper cut which got infected & he died.
A knight had multiple arrows in him but kept fighting. Eventually he won but not before he lost an arm & severely damaged his leg. He survived & retired to a monastery for the rest of his life.
His brother, in the same year, got a paper cut which got infected & he died.
December 22, 2025 at 9:13 AM
Medieval history be like:
A knight had multiple arrows in him but kept fighting. Eventually he won but not before he lost an arm & severely damaged his leg. He survived & retired to a monastery for the rest of his life.
His brother, in the same year, got a paper cut which got infected & he died.
A knight had multiple arrows in him but kept fighting. Eventually he won but not before he lost an arm & severely damaged his leg. He survived & retired to a monastery for the rest of his life.
His brother, in the same year, got a paper cut which got infected & he died.
Reposted by M. Laser
I'm honestly so proud of my friends and our community, thank you so much to everyone who supported the Jingle Jam. We contributed an insane £138,000 for The Trevor Project to this!
With all the fundraisers tallied up, Jingle Jam 2025 has officially raised over £3.4 million for charity - absolutely insane stuff. Thank you so, so much! We hope you enjoyed our two weeks of festive fundraising. Now, off to sleep ‘til 2026!
December 20, 2025 at 12:38 PM
I'm honestly so proud of my friends and our community, thank you so much to everyone who supported the Jingle Jam. We contributed an insane £138,000 for The Trevor Project to this!
Reposted by M. Laser
I put together a blogpost reflecing a bit further on this point. I think that traditional practices are very important markers for understanding both the reality & the nature of climate change: my-albion.blogspot.com/2025/12/beer....
December 19, 2025 at 10:19 PM
I put together a blogpost reflecing a bit further on this point. I think that traditional practices are very important markers for understanding both the reality & the nature of climate change: my-albion.blogspot.com/2025/12/beer....
Reposted by M. Laser
A climate historical addendum to my recent posts on brewing. This year my father starting boiling the water one day early so it had time to cool down before adding the yeast. Traditionally, we would have cooled it down by placing it in the snow, but, as he said, "now we don't have snow anymore".
December 17, 2025 at 9:14 PM
A climate historical addendum to my recent posts on brewing. This year my father starting boiling the water one day early so it had time to cool down before adding the yeast. Traditionally, we would have cooled it down by placing it in the snow, but, as he said, "now we don't have snow anymore".
Reposted by M. Laser
Get ready to lock in for 36 straight hours of speedrunning: ESA Speedrunning are live now with a mega Jingle Jam marathon, making wishes come true for @makeawishintl.bsky.social!
Tune in to /ESAMarathon and donate! Can we speedrun our way to our Jingle Jam 2025 fundraising goals!?
Tune in to /ESAMarathon and donate! Can we speedrun our way to our Jingle Jam 2025 fundraising goals!?
December 13, 2025 at 10:05 AM
Get ready to lock in for 36 straight hours of speedrunning: ESA Speedrunning are live now with a mega Jingle Jam marathon, making wishes come true for @makeawishintl.bsky.social!
Tune in to /ESAMarathon and donate! Can we speedrun our way to our Jingle Jam 2025 fundraising goals!?
Tune in to /ESAMarathon and donate! Can we speedrun our way to our Jingle Jam 2025 fundraising goals!?