Richard A Bailey
@richardabailey.bsky.social
Historian. Professor. Author, “Race and Redemption in Puritan New England” (OUP, 2011). northern AL in western NY. Fly fisher. Personal account. Thus, opinions = mine.
http://richardabailey.com
https://linktr.ee/richardabailey
http://richardabailey.com
https://linktr.ee/richardabailey
Lots of thanks to Michael Oberg for sharing this thoughtful essay—especially at a time when so many of our respective institutions, their leaders, and trustees need to figure out what we are and maybe what we want to be. If we want to continue to be, that is.
thepointmag.com/examined-lif...
thepointmag.com/examined-lif...
The Left Case for Great Books | The Point Magazine
A great-books model at the undergraduate level is, in fact, so consonant with Freire’s radical critique that it represents a far better path forward for a left-wing vision of education than virtually ...
thepointmag.com
February 8, 2026 at 12:29 PM
Lots of thanks to Michael Oberg for sharing this thoughtful essay—especially at a time when so many of our respective institutions, their leaders, and trustees need to figure out what we are and maybe what we want to be. If we want to continue to be, that is.
thepointmag.com/examined-lif...
thepointmag.com/examined-lif...
“There may be plenty of good reasons to despair over the present. The…classroom should not be one of them.”
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/02/youth-reading-books-professors/685825/?gift=aa4zxkB8ECuOApt3s7wYp3kWOvOOL4Pbe4PT4EAvzO4
www.theatlantic.com
February 6, 2026 at 10:11 PM
“There may be plenty of good reasons to despair over the present. The…classroom should not be one of them.”
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...
Alright, friends, it’s time! Make plans now to join us on March 26 in the Montante Cultural Center at Canisius University for this year’s installment of the Fitzpatrick Lecture Series when Tom Nichols joins us for an important and timely conversation.
I look forward to seeing you there.
I look forward to seeing you there.
February 6, 2026 at 4:50 PM
Alright, friends, it’s time! Make plans now to join us on March 26 in the Montante Cultural Center at Canisius University for this year’s installment of the Fitzpatrick Lecture Series when Tom Nichols joins us for an important and timely conversation.
I look forward to seeing you there.
I look forward to seeing you there.
As I approach two years since dad’s death, I return again to Wendell Berry’s “Fidelity,” the short story I read a few days before he died and a year ago (and likely every year to come). If you haven’t read it, by the book of that title. Every story in it is good. And this one is, well, transcendent.
February 4, 2026 at 9:44 PM
As I approach two years since dad’s death, I return again to Wendell Berry’s “Fidelity,” the short story I read a few days before he died and a year ago (and likely every year to come). If you haven’t read it, by the book of that title. Every story in it is good. And this one is, well, transcendent.
“Americans who support liberal democracy need to recognize what we’re dealing with in order to cope with it, and to recognize something, one must name it.”
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...
Yes, It’s Fascism
Until recently, I thought it a term best avoided. But now, the resemblances are too many and too strong to deny.
www.theatlantic.com
January 26, 2026 at 12:19 PM
“Americans who support liberal democracy need to recognize what we’re dealing with in order to cope with it, and to recognize something, one must name it.”
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...
Meeting up with a meat and three on Meeting Street.
January 23, 2026 at 4:42 PM
Meeting up with a meat and three on Meeting Street.
Nothing to see here. Literally nothing.
While this move isn’t the worst or stupidest thing we’ve seen (or not seen) in the last year or so, it sure is bad and stupid. At least in the opinion of this historian or race and slavery in America.
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/22/u...
While this move isn’t the worst or stupidest thing we’ve seen (or not seen) in the last year or so, it sure is bad and stupid. At least in the opinion of this historian or race and slavery in America.
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/22/u...
National Park Service Dismantles Slavery Exhibit in Philadelphia
www.nytimes.com
January 23, 2026 at 11:36 AM
Nothing to see here. Literally nothing.
While this move isn’t the worst or stupidest thing we’ve seen (or not seen) in the last year or so, it sure is bad and stupid. At least in the opinion of this historian or race and slavery in America.
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/22/u...
While this move isn’t the worst or stupidest thing we’ve seen (or not seen) in the last year or so, it sure is bad and stupid. At least in the opinion of this historian or race and slavery in America.
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/22/u...
Char ‘em if you got ‘em. Or not.
January 22, 2026 at 8:05 PM
Char ‘em if you got ‘em. Or not.
Sometimes you gotta check out super cool places. Marsh Hen Mill is such a place. I was blown away seeing their work today. I’ve been enjoying the labors of these folks for years. Now, I’m even more in awe of those labors.
January 21, 2026 at 11:51 PM
Sometimes you gotta check out super cool places. Marsh Hen Mill is such a place. I was blown away seeing their work today. I’ve been enjoying the labors of these folks for years. Now, I’m even more in awe of those labors.
Another flight. Another Benjamin. This time the essay that prompted the title of last flight’s book.
January 21, 2026 at 1:32 PM
Another flight. Another Benjamin. This time the essay that prompted the title of last flight’s book.
More exploring what one can do with stories
January 21, 2026 at 10:43 AM
More exploring what one can do with stories
While it might take another few days before I get those new beauties situated in my office (and I’ll share them there too), I’m so very glad to have these two Robert Gipe pieces.
January 21, 2026 at 10:42 AM
While it might take another few days before I get those new beauties situated in my office (and I’ll share them there too), I’m so very glad to have these two Robert Gipe pieces.
Feel free to use whatever gymnastics you like to explain these comments. But while doing so and telling everyone who will listen about your black friends, please know that they are gymnastics and what we should simply say is that such thinking and talking is wrong.
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/11/u...
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/11/u...
Trump Says Civil Rights Led to White People Being ‘Very Badly Treated’
www.nytimes.com
January 12, 2026 at 9:22 PM
Feel free to use whatever gymnastics you like to explain these comments. But while doing so and telling everyone who will listen about your black friends, please know that they are gymnastics and what we should simply say is that such thinking and talking is wrong.
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/11/u...
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/11/u...
A little Hobbes this Sunday morning—without Calvin, but with a little Locke and Jefferson.
January 11, 2026 at 2:04 PM
A little Hobbes this Sunday morning—without Calvin, but with a little Locke and Jefferson.
A little Hobbes this Sunday morning—without Calvin, but with a little Locke and Jefferson.
www.theatlantic.com/books/2026/0...
www.theatlantic.com/books/2026/0...
https://www.theatlantic.com/books/2026/01/philosopher-who-explains-stephen-miller-thomas-hobbes/685574/?gift=aa4zxkB8ECuOApt3s7wYp0wacKzYbExN2Il21zrr1Ro
www.theatlantic.com
January 11, 2026 at 2:04 PM
A little Hobbes this Sunday morning—without Calvin, but with a little Locke and Jefferson.
www.theatlantic.com/books/2026/0...
www.theatlantic.com/books/2026/0...
A little Hobbes this Sunday morning—without Calvin, but with a little Locke and Jefferson.
www.theatlantic.com/books/2026/0...
www.theatlantic.com/books/2026/0...
https://www.theatlantic.com/books/2026/01/philosopher-who-explains-stephen-miller-thomas-hobbes/685574/?gift=aa4zxkB8ECuOApt3s7wYp0wacKzYbExN2Il21zrr1Ro
www.theatlantic.com
January 11, 2026 at 2:04 PM
A little Hobbes this Sunday morning—without Calvin, but with a little Locke and Jefferson.
www.theatlantic.com/books/2026/0...
www.theatlantic.com/books/2026/0...
“this effort has been absurd; there is no way to kill someone without some element of torture, either psychological, physical, or both.”
Tortured to Death in Alabama - The Atlantic
Tortured to Death in Alabama - The Atlantic
October 25, 2025 at 11:57 AM
“this effort has been absurd; there is no way to kill someone without some element of torture, either psychological, physical, or both.”
Tortured to Death in Alabama - The Atlantic
Tortured to Death in Alabama - The Atlantic
Grateful to the folks at Front Porch Republic for inviting me to share on the passing of Gurney Norman—writer, documentarian, advocate, Kentucky poet laureate, teacher, mentor, & friend.
Whether you read them, let me encourage you to read some of Gurney’s words. You’ll be better for doing so.
Whether you read them, let me encourage you to read some of Gurney’s words. You’ll be better for doing so.
Inside a Web of Love: Thoughts on Gurney Norman - Front Porch Republic
As Gurney’s family and friends wrestle with the loss of their friend, I hope they—or more accurately we—will lean into being lonely inside a web of love.
www.frontporchrepublic.com
October 16, 2025 at 10:43 AM
Grateful to the folks at Front Porch Republic for inviting me to share on the passing of Gurney Norman—writer, documentarian, advocate, Kentucky poet laureate, teacher, mentor, & friend.
Whether you read them, let me encourage you to read some of Gurney’s words. You’ll be better for doing so.
Whether you read them, let me encourage you to read some of Gurney’s words. You’ll be better for doing so.
The best way to prove universities’ value is to get countercultural again.…That means defending inefficient, human-centered learning: strange and premodern practices such as reading an old book, then writing a long essay about it.”
newrepublic.com/article/1983...
newrepublic.com/article/1983...
What Besieged Universities Can Learn From the Christian Resurgence
Educators can fight back against Trump’s attacks by re-embracing “old-fashioned” disciplines and ideas.
newrepublic.com
August 24, 2025 at 12:49 PM
The best way to prove universities’ value is to get countercultural again.…That means defending inefficient, human-centered learning: strange and premodern practices such as reading an old book, then writing a long essay about it.”
newrepublic.com/article/1983...
newrepublic.com/article/1983...
“[P]art of being a historian during Trump 2.0 is to witness a renewal of debunked mythologies and outdated ideas made fresh by a state apparatus deeply invested in protecting the historical reputation of whiteness.”
https://newrepublic.com/article/198384/trump-white-nationalist-vision-future-history
https://newrepublic.com/article/198384/trump-white-nationalist-vision-future-history
Trump’s White Nationalist Vision for the Future of History
The administration is using the tools of the state to influence—even poison—how America’s racial history will be taught in our public forums and schools.
newrepublic.com
August 22, 2025 at 10:54 AM
“[P]art of being a historian during Trump 2.0 is to witness a renewal of debunked mythologies and outdated ideas made fresh by a state apparatus deeply invested in protecting the historical reputation of whiteness.”
https://newrepublic.com/article/198384/trump-white-nationalist-vision-future-history
https://newrepublic.com/article/198384/trump-white-nationalist-vision-future-history
What an amazing conversation between @silashouse and @crystalwilki about the writing of creative nonfiction. Once again, I’m reminded how much these folks rock. Y’all find it wherever you go for podcasts and listen.
August 21, 2025 at 3:28 PM
What an amazing conversation between @silashouse and @crystalwilki about the writing of creative nonfiction. Once again, I’m reminded how much these folks rock. Y’all find it wherever you go for podcasts and listen.
“Leaving the next generation ignorant of this historical knowledge, of the institutions, cultural practices, and processes that have either created or nourished division, will only perpetuate and deepen division.”
https://newrepublic.com/article/198366/indoctrination-call-education
https://newrepublic.com/article/198366/indoctrination-call-education
“Indoctrination”? We Call It “Education.”
It’s not “divisive” to teach about division. It’s divisive to bury it.
newrepublic.com
August 18, 2025 at 11:16 AM
“Leaving the next generation ignorant of this historical knowledge, of the institutions, cultural practices, and processes that have either created or nourished division, will only perpetuate and deepen division.”
https://newrepublic.com/article/198366/indoctrination-call-education
https://newrepublic.com/article/198366/indoctrination-call-education
“As we enjoy ceremonies in 2026, we might also recall that celebration without commemoration is vanity, that flattering memory without truthful history is self-delusion.”
https://newrepublic.com/article/198387/trump-reckless-assault-remembrance
https://newrepublic.com/article/198387/trump-reckless-assault-remembrance
Trump’s Reckless Assault on Remembrance
The attempts by his administration to control the ways Americans engage with our nation’s history threaten to weaken patriotism, not strengthen it.
newrepublic.com
August 17, 2025 at 1:14 PM
“As we enjoy ceremonies in 2026, we might also recall that celebration without commemoration is vanity, that flattering memory without truthful history is self-delusion.”
https://newrepublic.com/article/198387/trump-reckless-assault-remembrance
https://newrepublic.com/article/198387/trump-reckless-assault-remembrance
A taste of Blight’s usual incisive prose: “official triumphal narratives rooted in a brand of pickled patriotism designed to force the past to serve the present.”
Pickled patriotism.
newrepublic.com/article/1983...
Pickled patriotism.
newrepublic.com/article/1983...
What if History Died by Sanctioned Ignorance?
We must mobilize now to defend our profession, not only with research and teaching but in the realm of politics and public persuasion.
newrepublic.com
August 16, 2025 at 12:43 PM
A taste of Blight’s usual incisive prose: “official triumphal narratives rooted in a brand of pickled patriotism designed to force the past to serve the present.”
Pickled patriotism.
newrepublic.com/article/1983...
Pickled patriotism.
newrepublic.com/article/1983...