Speaking of learning from my sons! AmericanStudier Father’s Day present ftw.
June 15, 2025 at 6:12 PM
Speaking of learning from my sons! AmericanStudier Father’s Day present ftw.
August's birthday month at AmericanStudier: my sister's on the 2nd; @gvaughnjoy.bsky.social's on the 4th; my late Dad's on the 11th; & your humble AmericanStudier himself on the 15th. Well, maybe not so humble, as every year I dedicate a blog series to sharing favorite posts from each prior year! +
August 1, 2026 at 6:27 PM
August's birthday month at AmericanStudier: my sister's on the 2nd; @gvaughnjoy.bsky.social's on the 4th; my late Dad's on the 11th; & your humble AmericanStudier himself on the 15th. Well, maybe not so humble, as every year I dedicate a blog series to sharing favorite posts from each prior year! +
Which is to say: this AmericanStudier kills fascists.
This machine kills fascists - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
July 14, 2026 at 12:10 PM
Which is to say: this AmericanStudier kills fascists.
My daily AmericanStudier blog turns 16 this November & is still going strong, so hear hear!
September 10, 2026 at 5:08 PM
My daily AmericanStudier blog turns 16 this November & is still going strong, so hear hear!
How my AmericanStudier blog has changed & improved since the move to our new public scholarly website--& why there's never been a better time propose a Guest Post of your own for it! That & more in today's anniversary series post! 🗃️
So for the next post in my One Year of B&W&RAO blog series, a couple of positive changes when AmericanStudier shifted to our new public scholarly website--& why one of them makes me even more excited to share y'all's Guest Posts if you keep them coming!
blackwhiteandread.com/september-30...
blackwhiteandread.com/september-30...
September 30, 2026: One Year of B&W&RAO: This Blog’s Evolutions – Black and White and Read All Over
[Just over a year ago, Vaughn finalized and we launched this new public scholarly website, Black & White & Read All Over. There’s a lot about the site and what it has brought out of and added to our w...
blackwhiteandread.com
October 1, 2026 at 12:26 AM
How my AmericanStudier blog has changed & improved since the move to our new public scholarly website--& why there's never been a better time propose a Guest Post of your own for it! That & more in today's anniversary series post! 🗃️
Open invitation to pitch some public scholarship to either my Review Roulette or @americanstudier.bsky.social's AmericanStudier blog!
April 15, 2026 at 5:44 PM
Open invitation to pitch some public scholarship to either my Review Roulette or @americanstudier.bsky.social's AmericanStudier blog!
It’s been a very tough week for this AmericanStudier, but I continue to find comfort in community. So here’s my 215th #ScholarSunday thread of public scholarly writing & work, podcast eps, new & forthcoming books from the last week. Share widely & enjoy!🗃️
americanstudier.substack.com/p/scholarsun...
americanstudier.substack.com/p/scholarsun...
#ScholarSunday Thread 215
Shared on March 9, 2025
americanstudier.substack.com
March 9, 2025 at 12:10 PM
It’s been a very tough week for this AmericanStudier, but I continue to find comfort in community. So here’s my 215th #ScholarSunday thread of public scholarly writing & work, podcast eps, new & forthcoming books from the last week. Share widely & enjoy!🗃️
americanstudier.substack.com/p/scholarsun...
americanstudier.substack.com/p/scholarsun...
It's a damn shame, if not a crime, that I'm 15.5 years into a daily AmericanStudier blog & have written very little about one of the most iconic & inspiring Americans, a figure who every day resisted our worst & fought for truth, justice, & the American Way. I'm talking, obvi, about Lt. Columbo. +
April 27, 2026 at 3:57 PM
It's a damn shame, if not a crime, that I'm 15.5 years into a daily AmericanStudier blog & have written very little about one of the most iconic & inspiring Americans, a figure who every day resisted our worst & fought for truth, justice, & the American Way. I'm talking, obvi, about Lt. Columbo. +
The hardest part of building a new home for our public scholarship to get off of Substack is rebuilding our communities.
If you are or have ever been a fan of my Review Roulette or @americanstudier.bsky.social's #ScholarSunday threads and AmericanStudier blog, please subscribe to keep getting them!
If you are or have ever been a fan of my Review Roulette or @americanstudier.bsky.social's #ScholarSunday threads and AmericanStudier blog, please subscribe to keep getting them!
November 2, 2025 at 1:50 PM
The hardest part of building a new home for our public scholarship to get off of Substack is rebuilding our communities.
If you are or have ever been a fan of my Review Roulette or @americanstudier.bsky.social's #ScholarSunday threads and AmericanStudier blog, please subscribe to keep getting them!
If you are or have ever been a fan of my Review Roulette or @americanstudier.bsky.social's #ScholarSunday threads and AmericanStudier blog, please subscribe to keep getting them!
Forty years ago this week, the Space Shuttle Challenger broke apart upon takeoff, instantly becoming one of the most visible & tragic American stories of the last half-century--& one of the most striking childhood memories for this AmericanStudier, who was watching live on a small TV at school. +
January 26, 2026 at 4:44 PM
Forty years ago this week, the Space Shuttle Challenger broke apart upon takeoff, instantly becoming one of the most visible & tragic American stories of the last half-century--& one of the most striking childhood memories for this AmericanStudier, who was watching live on a small TV at school. +
Thanks to a generous rec from @freedomoverfascism.bsky.social, getting tons of new subscribers & followers at the newsletter. Would love to make tomorrow's #ScholarSunday thread extra full o' goodness, so share writing, podcast eps, new books from the week, por favor!
americanstudier.substack.com
americanstudier.substack.com
#ScholarSunday Threads | AmericanStudier | Substack
The best public scholarly writing, podcasts, books, every week! Click to read #ScholarSunday Threads, by AmericanStudier, a Substack publication with hundreds of subscribers.
americanstudier.substack.com
February 1, 2025 at 7:32 PM
Thanks to a generous rec from @freedomoverfascism.bsky.social, getting tons of new subscribers & followers at the newsletter. Would love to make tomorrow's #ScholarSunday thread extra full o' goodness, so share writing, podcast eps, new books from the week, por favor!
americanstudier.substack.com
americanstudier.substack.com
This week, my younger (but not so young any more!) son Kyle turns 18. That's definitely impossible & morally reprehensible but also somehow factually accurate. & so, as is my AmericanStudier wont, I decided to deal with the feels by writing a weeklong blog series inspired by all things Kyle Railton.
April 14, 2025 at 7:24 PM
This week, my younger (but not so young any more!) son Kyle turns 18. That's definitely impossible & morally reprehensible but also somehow factually accurate. & so, as is my AmericanStudier wont, I decided to deal with the feels by writing a weeklong blog series inspired by all things Kyle Railton.
15 years ago this week, I started my AmericanStudier daily blog. A ton has happened since then, with the blog (which migrated to Wordpress, then back to Blogspot, & now has moved to our new website), with my public scholarly career, &, well, in a heck of a lot of other ways for AmericanStudying. +
November 3, 2025 at 10:41 PM
15 years ago this week, I started my AmericanStudier daily blog. A ton has happened since then, with the blog (which migrated to Wordpress, then back to Blogspot, & now has moved to our new website), with my public scholarly career, &, well, in a heck of a lot of other ways for AmericanStudying. +
Happy Raymond Chandler Day! Down these Memory Days an AmericanStudier must walk.
memorydaycalendar.blogspot.com/p/july-nomin...
memorydaycalendar.blogspot.com/p/july-nomin...
July Nominees
July 1: William Strunk, Jr ., the English professor and writer whose short and vital book , later amplified by E.B. White , remains perhaps...
memorydaycalendar.blogspot.com
July 23, 2026 at 12:04 PM
Happy Raymond Chandler Day! Down these Memory Days an AmericanStudier must walk.
memorydaycalendar.blogspot.com/p/july-nomin...
memorydaycalendar.blogspot.com/p/july-nomin...
& leading up to a very special Valentine's weekend post on a recent book I love from an AmericanStudier I really love, the phenomenal first book from my badass & awesome wife @gvaughnjoy.bsky.social!
February 9, 2026 at 4:07 PM
& leading up to a very special Valentine's weekend post on a recent book I love from an AmericanStudier I really love, the phenomenal first book from my badass & awesome wife @gvaughnjoy.bsky.social!
So that sucked. But nothing, & I do mean nothing, can dim the memories of Camp Virginia, nor the legacy of what it meant for little Baby Ben the AmericanStudier in Training.
July 20, 2026 at 4:07 PM
So that sucked. But nothing, & I do mean nothing, can dim the memories of Camp Virginia, nor the legacy of what it meant for little Baby Ben the AmericanStudier in Training.
+ & if you want to keep up on all the threads, remember you can subscribe to this newsletter--& any of ours—for free! This weekend is the site’s 1-year anniversary (thanks as ever to @gvaughnjoy.bsky.social for her amazing, ongoing work), & subscribers just happen to be our favorite gift! +
Subscribe
Subscribe to our newsletters for a weekly round up of the site's new content, Vaughn's Review Roulette, or Ben's #ScholarSunday or daily AmericanStudier blog.
blackwhiteandread.com
September 27, 2026 at 11:58 AM
+ & if you want to keep up on all the threads, remember you can subscribe to this newsletter--& any of ours—for free! This weekend is the site’s 1-year anniversary (thanks as ever to @gvaughnjoy.bsky.social for her amazing, ongoing work), & subscribers just happen to be our favorite gift! +
PS. In the meantime, check out the Guest Posts featured at the top of the blog's page--from @walterdgreason.bsky.social & @dieselfunk.bsky.social, my @scholars.org mentee Regina Mills, & students at UMass Lowell & Sacred Heart! & then proposed your own Guest Posts, please!
AmericanStudier - Black and White and Read All Over
Ben Railton's daily blog on all things AmericanStudies
blackwhiteandread.com
September 30, 2026 at 4:48 PM
PS. In the meantime, check out the Guest Posts featured at the top of the blog's page--from @walterdgreason.bsky.social & @dieselfunk.bsky.social, my @scholars.org mentee Regina Mills, & students at UMass Lowell & Sacred Heart! & then proposed your own Guest Posts, please!
James Wong Howe’s story embodies so much of our worst & best, & so much of why I’m an AmericanStudier. I’m eternally grateful to this podcast & my badass film studying wife @gvaughnjoy.bsky.social for introducing him to me, & hope you’ll check out the whole blog series! @hcrichardson.bsky.social 🗃️
So for a weekend follow-up post, reflections on that podcast convo & further contexts for James Wong Howe, including a wonderful & nicely symbolic scene at the conclusion of Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942), & the painful & too-familiar effects of HUAC.
blackwhiteandread.com/march-14-15-...
blackwhiteandread.com/march-14-15-...
March 14-15, 2026: James Wong Howe in Context: The You’re Missing Out Podcast – Black and White and Read All Over
[Late last year, in preparation for a podcast appearance of my wife’s, we watched Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942), and through it were introduced to the groundbreaking cinematographer and all-around amazin...
blackwhiteandread.com
March 15, 2026 at 12:46 AM
James Wong Howe’s story embodies so much of our worst & best, & so much of why I’m an AmericanStudier. I’m eternally grateful to this podcast & my badass film studying wife @gvaughnjoy.bsky.social for introducing him to me, & hope you’ll check out the whole blog series! @hcrichardson.bsky.social 🗃️
As a Southern boy, I thought the 1st verse of Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Sweet Home Alabama" was a badass response to Neil Young's patronizing.
As a blossoming AmericanStudier, I thought the 2nd verse of "Sweet Home Alabama" was white supremacist.
Today, I think both things are true--but also ...
As a blossoming AmericanStudier, I thought the 2nd verse of "Sweet Home Alabama" was white supremacist.
Today, I think both things are true--but also ...
August 26, 2026 at 6:26 PM
As a Southern boy, I thought the 1st verse of Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Sweet Home Alabama" was a badass response to Neil Young's patronizing.
As a blossoming AmericanStudier, I thought the 2nd verse of "Sweet Home Alabama" was white supremacist.
Today, I think both things are true--but also ...
As a blossoming AmericanStudier, I thought the 2nd verse of "Sweet Home Alabama" was white supremacist.
Today, I think both things are true--but also ...
I try to be an AmericanStudier all day every day, but some days really exemplify what I do & why I love it. Today:
*Part 2 of my War of the Rebellion podcast convo on my patriotism book dropped;
*My new article on Katrina Culture was published;
*& I shared a blog post on Rock Hudson's TV roles. 🗃️
*Part 2 of my War of the Rebellion podcast convo on my patriotism book dropped;
*My new article on Katrina Culture was published;
*& I shared a blog post on Rock Hudson's TV roles. 🗃️
November 19, 2025 at 10:50 PM
I try to be an AmericanStudier all day every day, but some days really exemplify what I do & why I love it. Today:
*Part 2 of my War of the Rebellion podcast convo on my patriotism book dropped;
*My new article on Katrina Culture was published;
*& I shared a blog post on Rock Hudson's TV roles. 🗃️
*Part 2 of my War of the Rebellion podcast convo on my patriotism book dropped;
*My new article on Katrina Culture was published;
*& I shared a blog post on Rock Hudson's TV roles. 🗃️
The approaching first day of summer means we can all start searching for the Song of the Summer 2026 (my money's on Dua Lipa). But also, & more importantly for us AmericanStudier types, we can use the occaion to analyze some layers & contexts to summer songs from years past! +
June 15, 2026 at 4:43 PM
The approaching first day of summer means we can all start searching for the Song of the Summer 2026 (my money's on Dua Lipa). But also, & more importantly for us AmericanStudier types, we can use the occaion to analyze some layers & contexts to summer songs from years past! +
& happy Theodore Seuss Geisel Day! I can't imagine a better Memory Day nominee to celebrate my Dad, whose amazing reading of McElligot's Pool was one of the first moments this young AmericanStudier fell in love with books.
memorydaycalendar.blogspot.com/p/march-nomi...
memorydaycalendar.blogspot.com/p/march-nomi...
March 2, 2026 at 1:03 PM
& happy Theodore Seuss Geisel Day! I can't imagine a better Memory Day nominee to celebrate my Dad, whose amazing reading of McElligot's Pool was one of the first moments this young AmericanStudier fell in love with books.
memorydaycalendar.blogspot.com/p/march-nomi...
memorydaycalendar.blogspot.com/p/march-nomi...
Definitely subscribe to History Teaches..., & then make sure to subscribe for free as well on the awesome public scholarly website @gvaughnjoy.bsky.social made for us!
June 7, 2026 at 7:12 PM
Definitely subscribe to History Teaches..., & then make sure to subscribe for free as well on the awesome public scholarly website @gvaughnjoy.bsky.social made for us!
Guest Posts have always been my favorite part of my AmericanStudier blog, & I'm stoked that @gvaughnjoy.bsky.social has just dropped her first Review Roulette guest post. Check out @celexo.bsky.social on a ubiquitous, morbid musical motif in the movies! 🗃️
blackwhiteandread.com/hearing-deat...
blackwhiteandread.com/hearing-deat...
Hearing Death at the Movies – Black and White and Read All Over
A Guest Post by Alexander Ludwig
blackwhiteandread.com
August 12, 2026 at 3:13 PM
Guest Posts have always been my favorite part of my AmericanStudier blog, & I'm stoked that @gvaughnjoy.bsky.social has just dropped her first Review Roulette guest post. Check out @celexo.bsky.social on a ubiquitous, morbid musical motif in the movies! 🗃️
blackwhiteandread.com/hearing-deat...
blackwhiteandread.com/hearing-deat...