Terry Bouton
@terrybouton.bsky.social
Forthcoming Book: American Monarchists: The Founders Who Betrayed the Revolution (Basic Books, 2027).
Historian of the American Revolution and Creation of the US Constitution. Author of Taming Democracy.
Democracy Dies in Doomerism. Don't be a Doomer.
Historian of the American Revolution and Creation of the US Constitution. Author of Taming Democracy.
Democracy Dies in Doomerism. Don't be a Doomer.
Pinned
Terry Bouton
@terrybouton.bsky.social
· Aug 6
It’s finally real. I have a publication date! The Conspiracists: Women, Extremism, and the Lure of Belonging comes out Jan 6, 2026. Five years inside conspiracy culture—what draws people in, what it costs to leave. Pre-orders are up: noellecook.com/book
An amazing book (as @noellecook.com's proud husband, I've read it several times, so I know!). It's a timely, fascinating, head-scratching, heartbreaking, funny, sobering, empathetic, and intimate look at the epidemic of conspiracism sweeping the nation and the world. A wild and entertaining ride!
Reposted by Terry Bouton
This is one of the most meaningful reviews I’ve received. Keri Ladner read The Conspiracists with such care and empathy for me, Tammy and Yvonne. By the end, I was reading through tears. I’m deeply grateful for how thoughtfully she wrote about my book.
www.christiancentury.org/books/lonely...
www.christiancentury.org/books/lonely...
Lonely conspiracists
Noelle Cook opens a window into the lives of two insurrectionists, Yvonne and Tammy, as they navigate the world after January...
www.christiancentury.org
September 18, 2026 at 1:14 AM
This is one of the most meaningful reviews I’ve received. Keri Ladner read The Conspiracists with such care and empathy for me, Tammy and Yvonne. By the end, I was reading through tears. I’m deeply grateful for how thoughtfully she wrote about my book.
www.christiancentury.org/books/lonely...
www.christiancentury.org/books/lonely...
High praise for @noellecook.com's book The Conspiracists from a reviewer who understands how the current crisis of faith and belonging is being juiced by social media algorithms to drive millions of people across the globe into conspiracism.
www.christiancentury.org/books/lonely...
www.christiancentury.org/books/lonely...
Lonely conspiracists
Noelle Cook opens a window into the lives of two insurrectionists, Yvonne and Tammy, as they navigate the world after January...
www.christiancentury.org
September 18, 2026 at 1:08 AM
High praise for @noellecook.com's book The Conspiracists from a reviewer who understands how the current crisis of faith and belonging is being juiced by social media algorithms to drive millions of people across the globe into conspiracism.
www.christiancentury.org/books/lonely...
www.christiancentury.org/books/lonely...
Reposted by Terry Bouton
👇👇👇👇👇
Yes, reading and literacy rates are dropping. But the fault here isn't with kids but adults and the mess we've made of our education system. We aren't supporting kids. We can keep printing op-eds whining about college students who can't read a full book, or we can fix an education system we broke.
September 17, 2026 at 5:03 PM
👇👇👇👇👇
Reposted by Terry Bouton
Many of you will be surprised to know the Continental Army existed in 1753
How dare the National Museum of the American Indian refer to George Washington with a name that he was given by the Iroquois in 1753, a name which he himself used in his correspondence!
So glad to see Fox News taking a stand against the politicization of history. s/
So glad to see Fox News taking a stand against the politicization of history. s/
September 16, 2026 at 4:34 PM
Many of you will be surprised to know the Continental Army existed in 1753
Reposted by Terry Bouton
The illusion of learning.
“Getting answers from a bot can create ‘the illusion of learning’ for students who reach for A.I. ‘at the first hint of struggle,’ the M.I.T. committee wrote.”
“Getting answers from a bot can create ‘the illusion of learning’ for students who reach for A.I. ‘at the first hint of struggle,’ the M.I.T. committee wrote.”
Universities Sound Warnings About A.I. Even as They Embrace It (Gift Article)
As A.I. upends education, university leaders have been all over the map about how to respond. It can be very confusing for students.
www.nytimes.com
September 15, 2026 at 12:13 PM
The illusion of learning.
“Getting answers from a bot can create ‘the illusion of learning’ for students who reach for A.I. ‘at the first hint of struggle,’ the M.I.T. committee wrote.”
“Getting answers from a bot can create ‘the illusion of learning’ for students who reach for A.I. ‘at the first hint of struggle,’ the M.I.T. committee wrote.”
Reposted by Terry Bouton
It was exactly ten years ago today, on my 33rd birthday, that I posted this comic online.
September 13, 2026 at 11:54 PM
It was exactly ten years ago today, on my 33rd birthday, that I posted this comic online.
Reposted by Terry Bouton
Alan Taylor is astonishingly prolific for a historian. His new book looks like it might be another classic.
www.nytimes.com/2026/09/06/b...
www.nytimes.com/2026/09/06/b...
Piercing the Delusions of a ‘Humane’ Plantation (Gift Article)
In “Tower Hill,” the Pulitzer Prize-winning scholar Alan Taylor pulls apart the twisted logic of a Virginia slave owner and his descendants.
www.nytimes.com
September 14, 2026 at 12:13 AM
Alan Taylor is astonishingly prolific for a historian. His new book looks like it might be another classic.
www.nytimes.com/2026/09/06/b...
www.nytimes.com/2026/09/06/b...
The evidence of this point seems overwhelming. COVID greatly accelerated the use of online and software-based learning. Since then test scores in reading and math have cratered across the nation and students now enter colleges incapable of reading whole books.
Teaching is the very thing that’s been degraded and underfunded and is the very thing that we know across k-16 is the most important aspect of student learning and outcomes – well beyond the classroom. Yes, this is now my checklist for any essay/ pod abt "higher ed." 10/
September 13, 2026 at 3:29 PM
The evidence of this point seems overwhelming. COVID greatly accelerated the use of online and software-based learning. Since then test scores in reading and math have cratered across the nation and students now enter colleges incapable of reading whole books.
Reposted by Terry Bouton
I have listened to and read lots and lots of What AI will Mean for College and the one big thing that gets skips all the time is TEACHING. Information provided is not teaching. 8/
September 13, 2026 at 11:55 AM
I have listened to and read lots and lots of What AI will Mean for College and the one big thing that gets skips all the time is TEACHING. Information provided is not teaching. 8/
Reposted by Terry Bouton
Teaching is the very thing that’s been degraded and underfunded and is the very thing that we know across k-16 is the most important aspect of student learning and outcomes – well beyond the classroom. Yes, this is now my checklist for any essay/ pod abt "higher ed." 10/
September 13, 2026 at 11:55 AM
Teaching is the very thing that’s been degraded and underfunded and is the very thing that we know across k-16 is the most important aspect of student learning and outcomes – well beyond the classroom. Yes, this is now my checklist for any essay/ pod abt "higher ed." 10/
Reposted by Terry Bouton
another researcher accuses OpenAI of training on conversations and then claiming a breakthrough
September 9, 2026 at 10:51 PM
another researcher accuses OpenAI of training on conversations and then claiming a breakthrough
Reposted by Terry Bouton
In 1801, Jefferson issued an order to executive branch officers "not [to] attempt to influence the votes of others, nor take any part in the business of electioneering, that being deemed inconsistent with the spirit of the Constitution."
September 10, 2026 at 1:52 PM
In 1801, Jefferson issued an order to executive branch officers "not [to] attempt to influence the votes of others, nor take any part in the business of electioneering, that being deemed inconsistent with the spirit of the Constitution."
Reposted by Terry Bouton
I’ve been playing around with that idea (in a casual way) ever since I wrote this for the New Republic in July 2024
newrepublic.com/article/1834...
newrepublic.com/article/1834...
The Case for Expanding the Supreme Court Has Never Been Stronger
Biden has repeatedly refused to endorse “court-packing.” The right-wing justices’ ruling on presidential immunity ought to change his mind.
newrepublic.com
September 8, 2026 at 10:39 PM
I’ve been playing around with that idea (in a casual way) ever since I wrote this for the New Republic in July 2024
newrepublic.com/article/1834...
newrepublic.com/article/1834...
Reposted by Terry Bouton
I had a v fun talk with law students today about originalism's foundational flaw
The idea that the Constitution must mean what it meant when it was adopted presupposes that
1) there ever was just one historical meaning
2) we can find this one true historic meaning
3) and it's worth using
The idea that the Constitution must mean what it meant when it was adopted presupposes that
1) there ever was just one historical meaning
2) we can find this one true historic meaning
3) and it's worth using
begging y'all to check out my book about this goofyass ideology, how it has taken over the law, and what we should do about it
bookshop.org/p/books/the-...
bookshop.org/p/books/the-...
September 8, 2026 at 9:20 PM
I had a v fun talk with law students today about originalism's foundational flaw
The idea that the Constitution must mean what it meant when it was adopted presupposes that
1) there ever was just one historical meaning
2) we can find this one true historic meaning
3) and it's worth using
The idea that the Constitution must mean what it meant when it was adopted presupposes that
1) there ever was just one historical meaning
2) we can find this one true historic meaning
3) and it's worth using
Reposted by Terry Bouton
Nancy 9/7/26 … Happy Labor Day 🛠️
September 7, 2026 at 7:00 PM
Nancy 9/7/26 … Happy Labor Day 🛠️
Reposted by Terry Bouton
Have you heard of Leaving MAGA? It’s a community for people questioning their political and conspiratorial beliefs and finding their way beyond the movement. There are many stories beyond the one that has dominated the headlines. Read them here:
leavingmaga.org/they-left-ma...
leavingmaga.org/they-left-ma...
They Left MAGA - Leaving MAGA
They Left MAGA Steve Vilchez Illinois Read His Story Erica Roach New York Read Her Story Justin Yu California Read His Story Deanna Raper North Carolina Read Her Story Courtney Rosenberg Michigan Read...
leavingmaga.org
September 7, 2026 at 1:52 AM
Have you heard of Leaving MAGA? It’s a community for people questioning their political and conspiratorial beliefs and finding their way beyond the movement. There are many stories beyond the one that has dominated the headlines. Read them here:
leavingmaga.org/they-left-ma...
leavingmaga.org/they-left-ma...
Reposted by Terry Bouton
Been enjoying the Merlin app, from Cornell University. You just turn on the app and leave it by the window and it tells you which birds are making what sounds outside.
Identify Bird Songs and Calls with Sound ID
Sound ID listens to the birds around you and shows real-time suggestions for who’s singing. Compare your recording to the songs and calls in Merlin to confirm what you heard.
More About Sound ID
...
merlin.allaboutbirds.org
September 6, 2026 at 2:30 PM
Been enjoying the Merlin app, from Cornell University. You just turn on the app and leave it by the window and it tells you which birds are making what sounds outside.
Reposted by Terry Bouton
Here’s my op-ed on Chief Justice John Roberts whitewashed history of President and Chief Justice William Howard Taft. Roberts adoration of Taft’s “restraint” conveniently omits Taft’s racism, refusal to condemn lynching, and embrace of Lost Causism.
That’s no accident.
share.inquirer.com/IcPlmx
That’s no accident.
share.inquirer.com/IcPlmx
Will the real William Howard Taft please stand up?
Chief Justice John Roberts penned an incomplete, but revealing, tribute to former President and Chief Justice William Howard Taft.
share.inquirer.com
September 4, 2026 at 2:56 PM
Here’s my op-ed on Chief Justice John Roberts whitewashed history of President and Chief Justice William Howard Taft. Roberts adoration of Taft’s “restraint” conveniently omits Taft’s racism, refusal to condemn lynching, and embrace of Lost Causism.
That’s no accident.
share.inquirer.com/IcPlmx
That’s no accident.
share.inquirer.com/IcPlmx
Reposted by Terry Bouton
Rough Draft vs Final Draft
September 3, 2026 at 1:52 PM
Rough Draft vs Final Draft
Reposted by Terry Bouton
If I may get on my soap box: No Kings is a tactic. It is not the strategy and no one involved in putting it on considers it sufficient on its own. It's a mass show of defiance that's also served as an onramp to the kind of local organizing work that's necessary to shift power
I see on-the-ground evidence *on a daily basis* of how people's involvement in No Kings, Indivisible, 50501 has grown into ICE monitoring, flock camera protests, city council blowups over data centers and running for office. THAT was the point of No Kings, all along, from my perspective.
September 4, 2026 at 1:10 AM
If I may get on my soap box: No Kings is a tactic. It is not the strategy and no one involved in putting it on considers it sufficient on its own. It's a mass show of defiance that's also served as an onramp to the kind of local organizing work that's necessary to shift power
It's the kind of thing that's essential for movement building.
If I may get on my soap box: No Kings is a tactic. It is not the strategy and no one involved in putting it on considers it sufficient on its own. It's a mass show of defiance that's also served as an onramp to the kind of local organizing work that's necessary to shift power
I see on-the-ground evidence *on a daily basis* of how people's involvement in No Kings, Indivisible, 50501 has grown into ICE monitoring, flock camera protests, city council blowups over data centers and running for office. THAT was the point of No Kings, all along, from my perspective.
September 4, 2026 at 1:21 AM
It's the kind of thing that's essential for movement building.
Reposted by Terry Bouton
I was an original member of Indivisible Baltimore County way back when. Tactics like No Kings matter because they build community. And when people feel like they belong, they act.
If I may get on my soap box: No Kings is a tactic. It is not the strategy and no one involved in putting it on considers it sufficient on its own. It's a mass show of defiance that's also served as an onramp to the kind of local organizing work that's necessary to shift power
I see on-the-ground evidence *on a daily basis* of how people's involvement in No Kings, Indivisible, 50501 has grown into ICE monitoring, flock camera protests, city council blowups over data centers and running for office. THAT was the point of No Kings, all along, from my perspective.
September 4, 2026 at 1:18 AM
I was an original member of Indivisible Baltimore County way back when. Tactics like No Kings matter because they build community. And when people feel like they belong, they act.
Reposted by Terry Bouton
Sobering, insightful essay on how chatbots mangle historical primary sources.
🗃
www.hnn.us/article/ai-i...
🗃
www.hnn.us/article/ai-i...
AI Is an Anti-Primary Source Machine
Real voices from the past are threatened by chatbots designed to amplify — and ultimately become — the loudest voices in the room.
www.hnn.us
September 3, 2026 at 8:14 PM
Sobering, insightful essay on how chatbots mangle historical primary sources.
🗃
www.hnn.us/article/ai-i...
🗃
www.hnn.us/article/ai-i...
Reposted by Terry Bouton
Can't help but think of this hiker-rescue story I saw earlier today
September 2, 2026 at 4:30 PM
Can't help but think of this hiker-rescue story I saw earlier today
Reposted by Terry Bouton
This is what living next door to a 30 megawatt data center sounds like.
September 2, 2026 at 2:43 PM
This is what living next door to a 30 megawatt data center sounds like.