Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Jack El-Hai @jackelhai.bsky.social · 3h

Are there usable #writing techniques here? www.eurekalert.org/news-release...

Mental time travel: a new case of autobiographical hypermnesia

Remembering past events in minute detail, revisiting them methodically, and reliving past emotions—this is the peculiarity of people with an exceptional memory of their own lives, known as…

www.eurekalert.org

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Jack El-Hai @jackelhai.bsky.social · 5h

#Writing: "Scenes are essential for any great narrative." niemanstoryboard.org/2025/10/03/j...

From index cards to interviews: Eight journalists on reporting and writing scenes - Nieman Storyboard

Nieman Storyboard's archive of lessons and advice from some of the most memorable narrative nonfiction

niemanstoryboard.org

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Jack El-Hai @jackelhai.bsky.social · 7h

"Widespread and on the rise."

Today's article pick from Damn History, a free monthly newsletter for readers/writers of #popularhistory. Congrats to writer @drg.bsky.social!

Read/subscribe to Damn History: damn-history-16d93f.beehiiv.com/subscribe

www.bbc.com/future/artic...

The strange history of the anti-vaccine movement

Vaccine scepticism may seem like a new, growing movement. It’s probably a lot older than you think.

www.bbc.com

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Jack El-Hai @jackelhai.bsky.social · 7h

"The brink of disintegration."

Today's book pick from Damn History, a free monthly newsletter for readers/writers of #popularhistory. Congrats to author @hrcastor.bsky.social & @avidreaderpress.bsky.social!

Read/subscribe to Damn History: damn-history-16d93f.beehiiv.com/subscribe

Jack El-Hai @jackelhai.bsky.social · 1d

#Writing: “You may as well answer the door, my child, the truth is furiously knocking.” — Lucille Clifton

Jack El-Hai @jackelhai.bsky.social · 1d

"His lilting voice was so angelic."

Today's article pick from Damn History, a free monthly newsletter for readers/writers of #popularhistory. Congrats to writer Jeff Maysh & @financialtimes.com!

Read/subscribe to Damn History: damn-history-16d93f.beehiiv.com/subscribe

www.ft.com/content/a652...

The mafia hitman who dreamt of being a pop star

The scarcely believable true story of convicted Israeli assassin Avner Harari

www.ft.com

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Jack El-Hai @jackelhai.bsky.social · 1d

"A work of spectral beauty."

Today's book pick from Damn History, a free monthly newsletter for readers/writers of #popularhistory. Congrats to author @johnubacon.bsky.social!

Read/subscribe to Damn History: damn-history-16d93f.beehiiv.com/subscribe

Jack El-Hai @jackelhai.bsky.social · 2d

"With the websites gone, so is access to the reports of those offices as well as links for whistleblowers." www.nextgov.com/digital-gove...

Trump administration knocks out at least 15 oversight websites, saying IGs 'lied to the public'

It's not a shutdown issue: the White House is withholding funds from the umbrella organization for the government's inspectors general.

www.nextgov.com

Jack El-Hai @jackelhai.bsky.social · 2d

#Writing: "I’m going to speak my mind because I have nothing to lose." – S. I. Hayakawa

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Jack El-Hai @jackelhai.bsky.social · 2d

#scuba

Today's article pick from Damn History, a free monthly newsletter for readers/writers of #popularhistory. Congrats to writer @inverting-vision.bsky.social & @jstordaily.bsky.social!

Read/subscribe to Damn History: damn-history-16d93f.beehiiv.com/subscribe

daily.jstor.org/arthur-c-cla...

Arthur C. Clarke’s Scuba Adventures and Ocean Frontiers - JSTOR Daily

Clarke’s interest in oceanic exploration in the 1950s was, like his undersea fiction, often neglected by an audience focused on the race for outer space.

daily.jstor.org

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Jack El-Hai @jackelhai.bsky.social · 3d

#Writing: "I wouldn't dream of working on something that didn't make my gut rumble and my heart want to explode." – Kate Winslet, born 50 years ago on today's date

Jack El-Hai @jackelhai.bsky.social · 5d

#Writing: "The unfed mind devours itself." - Gore Vidal, born 100 years ago on today's date

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Jack El-Hai @jackelhai.bsky.social · 5d

"A not-so-secret desire to annex Canada."

Today's book pick from Damn History, a free monthly newsletter for readers/writers of #popularhistory. Congrats to author @mdrohan.bsky.social & @dundurnpress.bsky.social!

Read/subscribe to Damn History: damn-history-16d93f.beehiiv.com/subscribe

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Jack El-Hai @jackelhai.bsky.social · 5d

"Solved."

Today's article pick from Damn History, a free monthly newsletter for readers/writers of #popularhistory. Congrats to writer @deborahcole.bsky.social & @theguardian.com!

Read/subscribe to Damn History: damn-history-16d93f.beehiiv.com/subscribe

www.theguardian.com/world/2025/o...

Historian uses AI to help identify Nazi in notorious Holocaust murder image

Jürgen Matthäus has for years been investigating the killer – and is confident he has finally solved the mystery

www.theguardian.com

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Jack El-Hai @jackelhai.bsky.social · 5d

“80% of those bans originated in just three states that have enacted or attempted to enact laws calling for removal of books deemed objectionable — #Florida, #Texas and #Tennessee.” www.knoe.com/2025/10/02/r...

Report shows which author is the most banned in US schools

A new report on book bans in U.S. schools finds Stephen King as the author most likely to be censored and the country divided between states actively restricting works and those attempting to limit…

www.knoe.com

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Jack El-Hai @jackelhai.bsky.social · 6d

#Writing: "There is no money in poetry, but then there is no #poetry in money, either." – Robert Graves

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Jack El-Hai @jackelhai.bsky.social · 6d

"A despot."

Today's article pick from Damn History, a free monthly newsletter for readers/writers of #popularhistory. Congrats to writer @lesleyabravanel.bsky.social & @alternet.org!

Read/subscribe to Damn History: damn-history-16d93f.beehiiv.com/subscribe

www.alternet.org/ken-burns-tr...

'A despot': Ken Burns signals danger of 'greatest existential threat' to the US right now

Filmmaker Ken Burns, whose latest documentary focuses on the American Revolutionary War, tells the New York Times that the greatest existential threat to the United States right now is sitting right i...

www.alternet.org

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Jack El-Hai @jackelhai.bsky.social · 6d

"A classic story of good versus evil."

Today's book pick from Damn History, a free monthly newsletter for readers/writers of #popularhistory. Congrats to author @malgeo.bsky.social & @islandpress.bsky.social!

Read/subscribe to Damn History: damn-history-16d93f.beehiiv.com/subscribe

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Jack El-Hai @jackelhai.bsky.social · 6d

Those food stains on the pages of old cookbooks? They contain valuable historical information. read.dukeupress.edu/american-lit...

Literary Forensics as Method: Chemical Analysis, Food Stains, and Readerly Encounters with Nineteenth-Century Cookbooks

Abstract. Much of the study of cookbooks relies on guesswork and reading between the lines that are written down—the type of guesswork that requires cookbooks be read alongside other types of texts…

read.dukeupress.edu

Jack El-Hai @jackelhai.bsky.social · 7d

#Writing: "Do you need an MFA to be a published writer? Heck no! But you do need an education." – Allison K. Williams

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Jack El-Hai @jackelhai.bsky.social · 7d

"Strange."

Today's article pick from Damn History, a free monthly newsletter for readers/writers of #popularhistory. Congrats to writer @davidkphd.bsky.social & @nursingclio.bsky.social!

Read/subscribe to Damn History: damn-history-16d93f.beehiiv.com/subscribe

nursingclio.org/2025/10/01/t...

The Strange Case of Henrietta Wiley: A Habitual Drunkard’s Journey Through Guardianship and the Asylum

In the 1880s, a court declared that Henrietta Wiley – a wealthy New York heiress and socialite – was a habitual drunkard and put her under guardianship. Her court-appointed guardian subsequently co…

nursingclio.org

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Jack El-Hai @jackelhai.bsky.social · 7d

"Radical retelling of the drama of emancipation."

Today's book pick from Damn History, a free monthly newsletter for readers/writers of #popularhistory. Congrats to author @tomzoellner.bsky.social & @thenewpress.bsky.social!

Read/subscribe to Damn History: damn-history-16d93f.beehiiv.com/subscribe

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Jack El-Hai @jackelhai.bsky.social · 7d

Now out: the October issue of DAMN HISTORY, my free monthly newsletter for #history readers and writers. Busy fascists, criminal miscarriage, sedan chair tumult, glass eyes, Victorian humiliation, weak criminals, biography, drudgery, + more.

Read/subscribe: damn-history-16d93f.beehiiv.com/subscribe

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Jack El-Hai @jackelhai.bsky.social · 8d

#Writing: "When you write, you're inside the project. You can't really think about the reception. It has to be worth it even if no one reads it." – Ta-Nehisi Coates, born 50 years ago on today's date

Jack El-Hai @jackelhai.bsky.social · 8d

"First cold-storage banquet."

Today's article pick from Damn History, a free monthly newsletter for readers/writers of #popularhistory. Congrats to writer Nicola Twilley & @newyorker.com!

Read/subscribe to Damn History: damn-history-16d93f.beehiiv.com/subscribe

www.newyorker.com/culture/the-...

How the Fridge Changed Flavor

From the tomato to the hamburger bun, the invention has transformed not just what we eat but taste itself.

www.newyorker.com

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