"The Historian Who Loves Architecture" - NY Mag Look Book, April 2018
Sep 15, 2023 • 47 tweets • 12 min read
I wanted to pen a little love letter to free online history archives as a way of marking the end of Now & Then and expressing how much researching for @HC_Richardson & @jbf1755 meant to me. Take a read (and check out the thread) for some invaluable historical tools:
When I first started producing Now & Then, I knew a lot more about 20th century America than I did about the early years. The eminently patient @jbf1755 helped to change that, and I also took to the @USNatArchives Founders Online portal:
How has the West responded to past droughts? On Now & Then, @HC_Richardson & @jbf1755 put the recent Colorado River agreement into context. In the Time Machine, I look at how the Golden State confronted the 1976-1977 dry spell:
cafe.com/article/everyo…
In late 1975, a high-pressure ridge in the Pacific pushed precipitation North to Canada and South to Mexico; California was entering a drought, and the national media was taking notice (@baltimoresun, Jan. 22, 1976):
Jan 13, 2023 • 21 tweets • 11 min read
How do we know when we are in a new era? On Now & Then, @HC_Richardson & @jbf1755 talked about how epochal shifts have shaped America's self-image. In the Time Machine, I look at Marilyn Ferguson’s vibe-defining 1980 book "The Aquarian Conspiracy":
cafe.com/article/a-rema…
Marilyn Ferguson was 42 when she published "The Aquarian Conspiracy." A poet & journalist from Grand Junction, CO, she had traveled a winding literary road to arrive at her impactful tome (PC: Mary Frampton, @latimes, Nov. 13, 1980):
Jul 1, 2022 • 21 tweets • 11 min read
What did Justice Clarence Thomas’s predecessor, the legendary Justice Thurgood Marshall, say upon retiring? On Now & Then, @HC_Richardson & @jbf1755 processed Roe’s reversal. In the Time Machine, I look at Marshall’s exit and its poignant relevance:
cafe.com/article/libert…
Justice Marshall’s final dissent came on June 27th, 1991, in Payne v. Tennessee. The Court ruled that a victim impact statement in a brutal double-killing was admissible, a reversal of precedent. Here’s @nytimes coverage of the case (June 28, 1991):
May 20, 2022 • 20 tweets • 13 min read
How should we interpret Elon Musk’s free speech criticisms? On Now & Then, @HC_Richardson & @jbf1755 talked about how gov’t and citizens have defined free speech. In the Time Machine, I look back at the 1995 Washington battle over Internet speech:
cafe.com/article/the-po…
The Internet exploded between 1993 and 1995, with @AOL, the popular dial-up provider, seeing revenues grow from $40 mil to $375 mil. In January 1996, @Newsweek provided this telling graph:
Mar 4, 2022 • 25 tweets • 13 min read
How can a State of the Union address change the world? On Now & Then, @HC_Richardson & @jbf1755 spoke on foreign policy in #SOTU speeches. In the Time Machine, I looked at Carter’s 1980 #SOTU, which came weeks after the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan: cafe.com/article/let-th…
On June 3rd, 1979, @washingtonpost political analyst Jim Hoagland wrote an article called “A Carter Doctrine for the Middle East?” You can read the full article here: washingtonpost.com/archive/opinio…
Feb 25, 2022 • 19 tweets • 10 min read
How do small groups take outsized control of the political discourse? I was inspired by @HC_Richardson & @jbf1755’s Now & Then convo on false majorities to research the late-1970s Sagebrush Rebellion. Check out the latest Time Machine article:
cafe.com/article/the-pe…
On the morning of Ronald Reagan’s first inauguration, Jan. 20, 1981, writer Wallace Stegner published a long & lyrical op-ed in the @washingtonpost about Reagan’s views on federal land control in the West:
On Now & Then this week, we encored our July ep on the history of federal holidays, in which @HC_Richardson & @jbf1755 explained the development of July 4th, Election Day, & Columbus Day. In the Time Machine, I looked at the battle over MLK Day:
cafe.com/article/to-tho…
On January 15th, 1969, nine months after Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated, millions marked what would have been his 40th birthday. In Atlanta, singer @harrybelafonte and Rosa Parks joined King's family and thousands in a solemn parade ( Irving Philips for @afronews)
