Another review for Inside Story, on a topic that I didn’t think I would know enough to write upon. But it turns out this great book by Kate Loveman on Pepys’s famous 17th-century diary is mostly about the different ways readers have and can approach history. Loved it. Here it begins: The website pepysdiary.com has been posting … Continue reading Gateways to History and Samuel Pepys

Loved writing this more personal (for me) and reflective essay for Australian Book Review. It begins: Zoom in. The most unusual detail in this painting is the left hand, with tattooed dots carefully spaced across its back and knuckles. The fingers themselves are poorly done. The thumb and pointer are folded into the figure’s thick … Continue reading Questions for Mai – ABR essay

Loved doing this podcast with Richard Whatmore for the ANU’s new Urgent History series. It was based mostly on Richard’s last book, The End of Enlightenment (2023), which I reviewed in May 2024 in Inside Story. Here we discuss his book, eighteenth-century Europe, the Voice Referendum, and Trumpian USA. This series looks like a good … Continue reading Podcast on Enlightenment

The best advocacy I could do right now as a historian is to help fight for equity and recognition of the value of the humanities and social sciences in Australia. Both are under severe threat, from both the government and Vice Chancellors (who take their cues from govt). Most specifically we fight the egregious Job-Ready … Continue reading Advocacy for Humanities