Clio and the Contemporary

“Something of a Hero”: 50 Years Since the Taxi Driver This month marks the 50th anniversary of Martin Scorsese’s Taxi Driver. Like many Vietnam War-era films, Taxi Driver contains historical truths but also reinforces deeply problematic myths ab…

“Are you talking to me?” This week is the 50th anniversary of Martin Scorsese's Taxi Driver. Historian @jasonhiggins.bsky.social explains how Taxi Driver, like many #VietnamWar era films, contains historical truths but also reinforces deeply problematic myths about veterans, homecoming, & trauma. 🗃️

A Continuum of Federal Violence: A History of Indigenous-US relations in Minnesota in the Wake of the Murders of Nicole Renee Good and Alex Pretti Federal immigration violence against Minnesotans in January 2026 echoes the historic federal violence committed against Minnesota’s Indigenous peoples in the nineteenth century.

In the wake of the ICE surge in Minnesota, @legg.bsky.social explains how federal immigration violence against Minnesotans echoes the historic federal violence committed against Minnesota’s Indigenous peoples in the nineteenth century. 🗃️

ICYMI: check out my recent essay with @cliocontemporary.bsky.social that contextualizes recent federal violence in Minnesota with violence against Native people during the nineteenth century.

I teach Taxi Driver in my History of Film class, and I will add this piece from @jasonhiggins.bsky.social to my syllabus.

photo of Pam Bondi testifying in the foreground as a group of 7 women and 1 men raise their hands

Likely-historic photo by NBC News of all the Epstein victims asked to raise their hands if they've not yet been asked to meet with the DOJ as Bondi testifies in foreground

It was so much “fun” to do a deep dive analysis of Taxi Driver on its 50th anniversary. Check it out if you’re interested in psychiatric trauma in Vietnam veteran homecoming narratives, tropes, or even in intensely violent, noir films!

Taxi Driver is one of my favorite films of all time and @jasonhiggins.bsky.social has provided great analysis of the movie and larger historical context in this great piece

Considering History: Bad Bunny, José Martí, and a Hemispheric America | The Saturday Evening Post Inspired by that Super Bowl performance from one of our moment’s most famous Caribbean young men, American Studies Professor Ben Railton share the story of another of history’s most prominent such fig...

This is one of my favorite @satevepost.bsky.social Considering History columns I’ve gotten to write & I’m gonna share the heck out of it! #LoSientoNoSiento 🗃️

www.saturdayeveningpost.com/2026/02/cons...

Great analysis by @jasonhiggins.bsky.social on the 50th anniversary of Taxi Driver. A must-read for those interested in the #VietnamWar, #filmhistory, and #veterans and their representation on film.

“Something of a Hero”: 50 Years Since the Taxi Driver This month marks the 50th anniversary of Martin Scorsese’s Taxi Driver. Like many Vietnam War-era films, Taxi Driver contains historical truths but also reinforces deeply problematic myths ab…

“Are you talking to me?” This week is the 50th anniversary of Martin Scorsese's Taxi Driver. Historian @jasonhiggins.bsky.social explains how Taxi Driver, like many #VietnamWar era films, contains historical truths but also reinforces deeply problematic myths about veterans, homecoming, & trauma. 🗃️

A Continuum of Federal Violence: A History of Indigenous-US relations in Minnesota in the Wake of the Murders of Nicole Renee Good and Alex Pretti Federal immigration violence against Minnesotans in January 2026 echoes the historic federal violence committed against Minnesota’s Indigenous peoples in the nineteenth century.

In the wake of the ICE surge in Minnesota, @legg.bsky.social explains how federal immigration violence against Minnesotans echoes the historic federal violence committed against Minnesota’s Indigenous peoples in the nineteenth century. 🗃️

Before Norman and After Norman: The Impact of All in the Family on American Television Fifty-five years ago this month, All in the Family debuted, launching a transformation of the American sitcom.

This month marks 55 years since the premiere of All in the Family. Historian @oscarwinberg.bsky.social, author of Archie Bunker for President: How One Television Show Remade American Politics (2025) explains the show's transformative impact on American television. 🗃️

If any historians have a rebuttal to Bondi's interpretation of our founding here, and if it centers on events in 1776 in particular (perhaps a line by line explanation of the MFing Declaration of Independence), you might consider submitting a proposal to @cliocontemporary.bsky.social

Announcements If you have a talk coming up, a book on its way, a podcast trailer to drop, or an accomplishment to celebrate, we want to help you share it!

First, if you have ideas for your own public scholarly engagements with 2026 historic anniversaries, check out Clio & the Contemporary’s call for submissions, featured our Black & White & Read All Over site’s Announcements page!

blackwhiteandread.com/announcements/

If you are teaching a course on the Civil War, Reconstruction or slavery, I would love to know what books you are teaching.

Post your pics in the replies.

Thank you. 🗃️ #booksky

We’re here for it!

Absolutely! DM us or visit our site to email us about it.

What the Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald Can Teach Us Fifty Years Later Fifty years ago the ore freighter Edmund Fitzgerald sank in a Lake Superior storm. But more than the “gales of November” wrecked the Fitz. The ship was also the casualty of a globalizing neoliberal…

From last year: clioandthecontemporary.com/2025/11/10/w...

The “Thrilla in Manila” at 50: A Retrospective on Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier, and the Power of Their “Calculated Blaze” At the 50th anniversary of the fight, the “Thrilla in Manila” emerges as not only the story of two extraordinary boxers’ pushing themselves to their physical limits, but also embodies creativity an…

From last year: clioandthecontemporary.com/2025/10/01/t...

Call for Contributors: 2026 Anniversaries in Historical Context Clio and the Contemporary welcomes pitches from contributors looking to mark historically significant anniversaries or to draw attention to forgotten events. In 2026, we remember 1976, 1926, 1876, …

We welcome pitches from #skystorians looking to mark historically significant anniversaries or to draw attention to forgotten events. The past is present.
clioandthecontemporary.com/call-for-con...

I heard Rev Dr. Bernice King speak at a Juneteenth event and she said, “What man has a legacy not owed to a woman?”

Wow.
In fact, Coretta insisted, and both Martin, Jr. and Sr. agreed, that the vow of obedience be removed from their wedding ceremony.[1] When Coretta declared, “I was called, too,” she insisted we remember her not as a shadow of her husband, but as an equal.

Herstory is just as important as history

“I Was Called, Too:” The Life and Work of Coretta Scott King In honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s legacy, it is both appropriate—and overdue—to discuss the significance of Coretta Scott King. When Coretta declared, “I was called, too,” she insisted we r…

When honoring Dr. King's legacy, we must discuss the significance of Coretta Scott King, Dr. Kris Burrell argues. When Coretta declared, “I was called, too,” she insisted we remember her not as a shadow of her husband, but as an equal. 🗃️

clioandthecontemporary.com/2026/01/19/i...

#ScholarSunday Thread 258 (1/11/26) – Black and White and Read All Over I’m not gonna lie, there are times when compiling & sharing threads of public scholarship feels like an entirely inadequate task. & of course it’s far from the only way to resist & fight right now (or...

So amidst every damn thing, here, still & proudly, is my 258th #ScholarSunday thread of great public scholarly writing, podcasts, new & forthcoming books from last week. Add more below, please share widely, & solidarity as la lucha continua, all! 🗃️

blackwhiteandread.com/scholarsunda...

Syllabus help: Looking for an article about eugenics history that can help introduce students (especially upper level undergrads) to the history of eugenics in the 19th-20th c in the US.

It’s for a class where students’ main competencies are mostly not humanities/social sciences.

Suggestions?

Any interest in writing a short piece about this historical connection for Clio?

Understanding Trump’s Donroe Doctrine on Venezuela: What the Progressive Era Teaches us about US Imperialism While the history of Cold War intervention rightly shapes international responses to Nicolás Maduro’s kidnapping, the emphases of US policymakers today are more in line with those of the early 20th…

While Cold-War era intervention shapes global responses to Nicolás Maduro’s kidnapping, @eblevey.bsky.social argues US policy today aligns more with the early 20th century, especially after Cuban independence from Spain and Wilson’s occupation of Haiti. clioandthecontemporary.com/2026/01/07/d...

Book cover of In the Eagle's Shadow

Looking to understand the long history behind the US attack on Venezuela? Here are a few introductory-level reading recommendations from a professor and historian of US-Latin American Relations: (1/5)
🗃️ #history
1. Kyle Longley's "In the Eagle's Shadow: The United States and Latin America"

#ScholarSunday Thread 257 (1/4/26) – Black and White and Read All Over There’s a lot I don’t know about what 2026 (or today) might bring, but I can promise you this: the #ScholarSunday threads will continue! Here’s my 257th of public scholarly writing, podcast episodes, ...

There’s a lot I don’t know about what 2026 might bring, but I promise you this: the #ScholarSunday threads will continue! Here’s my 257th of public scholarly writing, podcasts, new & forthcoming books from the past week. Add more below, share widely, & enjoy! 🗃️

blackwhiteandread.com/scholarsunda...