Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Andrew Wehrman

Mary Fissell @maryfissell.bsky.social · 3h

Hey bookshop.org has FREE Shipping today! catch my book at at a discount AND free shipping: bookshop.org/p/books/push...

7 11

Andrew Wehrman @profwehrman.bsky.social · 22h

My son turned his “Quaker Life Notes” from his 8th grade U.S. history class into “Quaker Otes” He gets an A in my book.

A history worksheet on the Quakers where my son blacked out letters to make it say “Quaker Otes” (Oats) instead of Quaker Life Notes”

13 8 180

Andrew Wehrman @profwehrman.bsky.social · 1d

Very near Gladstone. Riverside when I was very young, and then my parents moved to the Briarcliff area.

Andrew Wehrman @profwehrman.bsky.social · 1d

I know! Absolutely unacceptable and infuriating.

1

Andrew Wehrman @profwehrman.bsky.social · 1d

I agree with that! With the development of Northwest Arkansas and I-49, Kansas City is much more connected to Arkansas than it was 20-30 years ago. I think you can hear the southern accent in local TV commercials, and I don't remember that when I was a kid.

Andrew Wehrman @profwehrman.bsky.social · 1d

I think St. Louis feels more Midwestern (more like Chicago or Cincinnati) than Kansas City does. You hear more southern accents in KC, and it also has a more western cowboy focus. KC, however, certainly thinks of itself as the Midwest, though and can easily fit there.

1 1

Andrew Wehrman @profwehrman.bsky.social · 1d

I think you're right, but as someone who grew up in "north of the river" Kansas City and who has lived in Chicago, Ohio, and now Michigan. I think you can reasonably make the claim that KC is something other than Midwest. It's certainly an intersection between West/Great Plains, South, and Midwest.

2

Andrew Wehrman @profwehrman.bsky.social · 2d

It took me most of the weekend to track down one reference that I knew I had read but inexplicably did not save or put in my notes. All that is to say that writing on the new book has officially begun.

2 1 34

Reposted by Andrew Wehrman

John Fabian Witt @johnfabianwitt.bsky.social · 2d

Political violence, post-pandemic one-party rule, vast economic inequality, and immigration backlash? The 2020s are the 1920s all over again--and that may show us a way out. Adapted from my book, to be published next week. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/06/o...

Opinion | How to Save the American Experiment

www.nytimes.com

10 55 170

Andrew Wehrman @profwehrman.bsky.social · 3d

My book, The Contagion of Liberty is coming out (in January) in paperback, and I got some preview copies of this cheaper, more flexible version with new blurbs on the cover!

For the 250th anniversary, it argues that American independence was only achieved through inoculation and public health.

The paperback version of The Contagion of Liberty: The Politics of Smallpox in the American Revolution.

2 12 55

Andrew Wehrman @profwehrman.bsky.social · 7d

The year before I got my current job at CMU, I was a finalist for a tenure-track U. S. history position at New College of Florida. It was an incredible, unusual place. It's such a shame how it has been intentionally damaged and dismantled.

Will Bunch @willbunch.bsky.social · 7d

You'll be shocked to learn New College of Florida is on the brink of implosion just a couple of years after DeSantis engineered an extreme right-wing takeover

Fun fact: NCF's new overlords spend $134K per student (!!...the average at other FL publics is $10K) www.insidehighered.com/news/governa...

Spending Soars, Rankings Fall at New College of Florida

Student outcomes and rankings are slipping at the liberal arts college while spending is up. Critics believe the college is at risk of implosion, and some are calling for privatization.

www.insidehighered.com

2

Andrew Wehrman @profwehrman.bsky.social · 7d

Amazing! Headed straight for my vaccine files

1 1

Andrew Wehrman @profwehrman.bsky.social · 7d

We can afford the lunches, but it’s 1) really nice and so convenient just to send kids to school and to not worry about it, and 2) (more importantly) it’s wonderful to know that all the kids at their school have enough to eat and that there’s 0 stigma to kids getting a free lunch by giving it to all

1 2

Reposted by Andrew Wehrman

Branden McEuen but he’s spooky @bmceuen.bsky.social · 7d

Let’s be clear on this: republicans don’t want kids to have guaranteed free meals

Bridge Michigan @bridgemi.com · 7d

Some Michigan schools to limit free student meals — starting Wednesday

No such thing as a free lunch? That’s the case in some Michigan public schools as state officials approach a budget deadline.

bridgemi.com

1 2 14

Reposted by Andrew Wehrman

Tara C. Smith @aetiology.bsky.social · 12d

Recall RFK's claim that doctors & scientists were "on his side" at his last hearing? Wanna prove him wrong?

I'll be ordering post cards soon, so if you're local to me, I can pass some along. I can also send them on your behalf (DM me your info for that).

Or do it yourself--info @ link below.

Nurse Teri 🇺🇦🏳️‍🌈 🇲🇽 🇨🇦 👩🏽‍⚕️ 👊🏼 @nurseteria.bsky.social · 13d

Sick (you probably are with his idiotic policies) and tired (every single day it's something) of RFK Jr.? You aren't alone!

Join @defendpublichealth.bsky.social campaign! All you need is a postcard and stamp.

Directions-- www.defendpublichealth.org/campaign/hel...

Help Prove RFK Jr. is Wrong | Defend Public Health

When Senator Wyden stated he’d heard from thousands of doctors and scientists concerned by RFK Jr’s policies, Kennedy responded "I'll put my mailbag against your mailbag any day.” Let's prove Kennedy ...

www.defendpublichealth.org

4 32 61

Andrew Wehrman @profwehrman.bsky.social · 12d

It's the most measles cases in the U.S. (by far) since 1992 and currently has a 12% hospitalization rate.

3

Andrew Wehrman @profwehrman.bsky.social · 12d

I hope you’re sending us some amazing future historians!

1 2

Reposted by Andrew Wehrman

👻 Boo!-ver Street Rag @hooverstreetrag.org · 12d

Can I take a moment to appreciate that the subdomain for the recommender portal for Central Michigan is

fireup.cmich.edu

Admissions and Aid

Central Michigan University is a public research university offering over 200 programs in business, engineering, health sciences, education and more.

fireup.cmich.edu

3 1 9

Andrew Wehrman @profwehrman.bsky.social · 14d

It's the chopper sounds in the background that really got me--the implication that their America 250 project will be backed by military force.

1

Reposted by Andrew Wehrman

Jess Calarco @jessicacalarco.com · 15d

Whether they're blaming vaccines and Tylenol, or selling dubious "remedies," what they're really doing is promoting the perception that families (and especially mothers) can prevent and treat Autism. And thus also the perception that people with Autism and their families don't need social support.

440 3.4K 12K

Reposted by Andrew Wehrman

Andrew Wehrman @profwehrman.bsky.social · Apr 10

My incredible 13-year-old autistic son wants RFK Jr. to read these pages, especially the parts he highlighted, from the wonderful book Welcome to the Autistic Community.

2 scanned pages from Lar Berry’s 2020 book Welcome to the Autistic Community. The pages emphasize that vaccines do not cause autism and that autism is not a disease that needs a cure. My son highlighted these sentences: “In the end what causes autism doesn’t matter very much. What matters is supporting autistic people….[seeking a cure] is bad for autistic people. People should spend that time and money by helping us live good lives….There is no normal person trapped inside an autistic person. Autism is a part of who we are. We are autistic and that’s good.”

1 9 27

Andrew Wehrman @profwehrman.bsky.social · 15d

I'm not sure what you're objecting to. I'm just saying that by peddling an easy to point to cause and an easy solution, it will be easier for Republicans to justify cutting more complex (and therefore expensive) autism support services.

1

Andrew Wehrman @profwehrman.bsky.social · 15d

Why? States are already limiting coverage for autism therapies by capping annual spending, limiting therapy visits, and narrowing age limits, etc. The requirements for autism coverage vary wildly by state. The recent cuts to Medicaid are going to force states to make further cuts.

1

Andrew Wehrman @profwehrman.bsky.social · 15d

Thomas Jefferson on vaccines in 1800: “every friend of humanity must look with pleasure on this discovery, by which one evil the [more] is withdrawn from the condition of man.”

Trump on vaccines in 2025: “It’s too much liquid. Too many different things are going into that baby at too big a number.”

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 15d

Trump: "It's too much liquid. Too many different things are going into that baby at too big a number. The size of this thing when you look at it. It's like 80 different vaccines and beyond vaccines."

2 13

Andrew Wehrman @profwehrman.bsky.social · 15d

Speech, occupational, and physical therapies cost insurers and therefore corporations a lot of money. Blaming Tylenol and naming a different drug as treatment will justify stripping insurance plans of more expensive therapies and effective forms of support.

Tara C. Smith @aetiology.bsky.social · 15d

Confirming shift to allow leucovorin to make it available for kids with autism. "hundreds of thousands of kids" will benefit.

1 13 33