u/dhowlett1692

I'm Dr. Luke Berryman, and I'm here to talk about my book, "Resisting Nazism" - and questions about resistance to far-right extremism from 1920 to the present. AMA!

Was America’s first superhero a radical socialist? I am Matthew Warner Osborn, author of NIGHT HAWK: A NINETEENTH-CENTURY SUPERHERO AND THE DAWN OF AMERICAN MASS CULTURE which reconstructs the true story of a two-hundred-year-old ancestor of Batman. Ask Me Anything!

Hello! I am Matthew Warner Osborn and I'm a cultural historian of the early American republic. My new book Night Hawk: A Nineteenth Century Superhero and the Dawn of American Mass Culture (University of Chicago Press, 2026) just came out a couple weeks ago. It has been many years in the making, so it’s tremendously exciting to be talking about it today.

The Night Hawk was a mysterious columnist who appeared on the front page of the first radical socialist newspaper in American history. Dressed in a mysterious cloak, he soared over Philadelphia, revealing the evil crimes of prominent gentlemen, fighting murderous criminals, and calling out fraudulent moral authorities. Between July 5, 1828, and July 3, 1830, the weekly Mechanics’ Free Press published sixty-one Night Hawk episodes. Each running around 1,000 words long, they describe the nocturnal adventures of a superhuman vigilante fighting for justice on city streets. He was a true champion of the oppressed who fought against the exploitation of the working poor during the earliest years of the Industrial Revolution.

There are no drawings of the character, as early nineteenth-century newspapers did not print many illustrations. But the Night Hawk’s stories did appear on cheap newsprint and they were numbered like comic books. In “The Night-Hawk, No. VII,” he outwitted indolent watchmen. In “The Night-Hawk, No. XIII,” he confounded would-be grave robbers. In “The Night-Hawk, No. XXV,” he exposed a fraudulent fortune teller. In “The Night-Hawk, No. 57,” he railed against lewd behavior in the darkness of theaters during certain magic-lantern shows. The Night Hawk was the most prominent feature in the entire newspaper.

In 1828, the Night Hawk was a remarkable work of literary imagination. His superpowers were flight, night-seeing, and invisibility, which are arguably the most common superpowers of the twentieth century. He definitely lacked super strength. Where did his superpowers come from? The character was inspired by a very old European literary tradition, centered on nocturnal stories of the demon Asmodeus. I argue that this tradition played a very influential role in the development of popular American crime fiction, especially George Lippard’s Quaker City, or the Monks of Monk Hall, one of the most famous and influential novels of the nineteenth century. The Night Hawk was an early progenitor of detective fiction, fifteen years before the word "detective" was invented. And, I make the case that the literary origins of Batman can be found in the Asmodean tradition.

Quite unlike modern-day superheroes, the secret identity that the Night Hawk guarded was the actual name of his author, who was a beginning actor trying to get his career off the ground. Cornelius A. Logan created the character as the public champion the first socialist labor party to win electoral victories in a municipal election. These were Owenite socialists, as the Communist Manifesto was not published until 1848. The enormous success of the character made Logan into a celebrity. He went on to become one of the most popular comedians on the antebellum stage.

As a historian, I was drawn to study the Night Hawk’s adventures because they are hilarious, but they also provide a totally unique bird’s-eye view of nocturnal Philadelphia in the 1820s. He claims to be relating true-life adventures, moving unseen through the city's inky black alleyways, gambling dens, pawn shops, cemeteries, oyster cellars, taverns, dance halls, brothels, and theaters. These were all places that were rarely, if ever, described in print, but which would have been quite familiar to his working-class audience. So, the Night Hawk is also a fascinating historical artifact that illuminates the plebeian world the the nocturnal city. My book follows him on his avian rambles. Along the way, we meet nabobs, hags, sharpers, murderers, resurrectionists, con artists, and the other rapacious vampires that sought to exploit honest working people.

During his two-year career, the Night Hawk was a sensation on the streets of Philadelphia, but in 1830, he abruptly left the stage and disappeared entirely from the historical record. The Mechanics’ Free Press is extremely rare and can only be read on microfilm or through expensive proprietary research databases. Luckily, the Night Hawk lives in the Public Domain, free of the hegemonic Marvel and DC cinematic universes! I have started a Substack, One Who Rambles at Night, where I am posting complete transcriptions of his adventures. I'm only up to No. VII, but I plan to eventually add all of them.

So, yes, Night Hawk is about a totally unknown superhero (The Night Hawk, two words, sometimes hyphenated), a two-hundred-year-old ancestor of Batman, who took flight seventy years before the word “superhero” was invented, in an obscure and inaccessible socialist newspaper, and who completely disappeared in 1830, never to be heard from or mentioned again. Until now, of course! Telling a never-before-told story, my writing process often felt like archeology, like I was digging up a lost mosaic. I made many fascinating discoveries along the way.

Please feel free to ask me anything about the Night Hawk, Philadelphia in the 1820s, early nightlife, commercial theater, the early labor movement, or what I had for breakfast. All

questions are welcome.

Did you know that night has a history? AMA with Sara Pritchard, author of the brand-new book, Transforming Night: The History and Science of Light Pollution.

Hi everyone! I’m Sara Pritchard, a historian of science and technology, environmental historian, and professor in the Department of Science & Technology Studies at Cornell University. I’m the author of the brand-new book, Transforming Night: The History and Science of Light Pollution—out today, September 22, from the University of Washington Press! Woo hoo!

I look forward to answering your questions about the history of artificial light and night, and how scientists became concerned about what is now called light pollution. You can also ask me about light poverty and light justice. AMA!

I’ll be off and on all day, but plan to answer a lot of questions during the afternoon (Eastern time). Thanks for being here!

Here’s a bit more about Transforming Night:

"Who owns the night—and what is lost as we flood it with light, worldwide?

Darkness has become legible—and contested. Blending archival narrative with on-the-ground ethnography, Sara B. Pritchard traces how four fields—astronomy, remote sensing, conservation science, and ecology—have investigated artificial light at night, turning a ubiquitous convenience into a category of harm. From observatories chasing ever-receding darkness to the satellite images that first rendered a nocturnal planet from space and recent “Black Marble” maps, Pritchard shows how methods, instruments, and field sites shape what scientists can know about night and light—and what remains unseen.

Across these encounters, night emerges not as a backdrop but as an environment in its own right—one transformed by rapidly expanding, brightening illumination in the Anthropocene. Transforming Night chronicles the ascent of “light pollution,” as well as the new challenge of space-based brightness from satellite constellations, even as dark-sky advocates fight to preserve the starry firmament. Attentive to politics as much as photons, Pritchard brings environmental justice to the fore—highlighting tensions among light poverty, forced illumination, and surveillance and calls for “beneficial darkness.” She takes seriously Indigenous astronomers’ critiques of dispossession and “astro-colonialism,” asking what it means to site world-class telescopes on sacred land.

Sweeping from local parks to planetary vistas, Transforming Night reframes a familiar story of modern light as a history of changing nights—past, present, and possible. It will engage readers in environmental history and humanities, science and technology studies, and the sciences themselves, along with dark-sky activists and anyone drawn to the beauty and politics of the world after nightfall.” 

To learn more about me and my research, you can visit my website. You can also read several recent publications online, including an excerpt from the book in LitHub, an essay on “Urban Nightscapes and the Anthropocene,” and why night matters and the interdisciplinary field of “Night Studies” is needed. To order the book, click the hyperlink (or please consider ordering it from your local, independent bookstore). You can follow me on BlueSky at u/sarabpritchard.bsky.social or Mastodon at u/SaraBPritchard.

Hi everyone! I’m Sara Pritchard, a historian of science and technology, environmental historian, and professor in the Department of Science & Technology Studies at Cornell University. I’m the author of the brand-new book, Transforming Night: The History and Science of Light Pollution—out today, September 22, from the University of Washington Press! Woo hoo!

I look forward to answering your questions about the history of artificial light and night, and how scientists became concerned about what is now called light pollution. You can also ask me about light poverty and light justice. AMA!

I’ll be off and on all day, but plan to answer a lot of questions during the afternoon (Eastern time). Thanks for being here!

Here’s a bit more about Transforming Night:

"Who owns the night—and what is lost as we flood it with light, worldwide?

Darkness has become legible—and contested. Blending archival narrative with on-the-ground ethnography, Sara B. Pritchard traces how four fields—astronomy, remote sensing, conservation science, and ecology—have investigated artificial light at night, turning a ubiquitous convenience into a category of harm. From observatories chasing ever-receding darkness to the satellite images that first rendered a nocturnal planet from space and recent “Black Marble” maps, Pritchard shows how methods, instruments, and field sites shape what scientists can know about night and light—and what remains unseen.

Across these encounters, night emerges not as a backdrop but as an environment in its own right—one transformed by rapidly expanding, brightening illumination in the Anthropocene. Transforming Night chronicles the ascent of “light pollution,” as well as the new challenge of space-based brightness from satellite constellations, even as dark-sky advocates fight to preserve the starry firmament. Attentive to politics as much as photons, Pritchard brings environmental justice to the fore—highlighting tensions among light poverty, forced illumination, and surveillance and calls for “beneficial darkness.” She takes seriously Indigenous astronomers’ critiques of dispossession and “astro-colonialism,” asking what it means to site world-class telescopes on sacred land.

Sweeping from local parks to planetary vistas, Transforming Night reframes a familiar story of modern light as a history of changing nights—past, present, and possible. It will engage readers in environmental history and humanities, science and technology studies, and the sciences themselves, along with dark-sky activists and anyone drawn to the beauty and politics of the world after nightfall.” 

To learn more about me and my research, you can visit my website. You can also read several recent publications online, including an excerpt from the book in LitHub, an essay on “Urban Nightscapes and the Anthropocene,” and why night matters and the interdisciplinary field of “Night Studies” is needed. To order the book, click the hyperlink (or please consider ordering it from your local, independent bookstore). You can follow me on BlueSky at u/sarabpritchard.bsky.social or Mastodon at u/SaraBPritchard.

Ask Me Anything with Peter Staudenmaier about The Politics of Nature in Nazi Germany

>Hello everybody, I am Peter Staudenmaier, associate professor of history at Marquette University. I’m here to discuss a book I recently published titled The Politics of Nature in Nazi Germany: Environmental Ideals and the Myth of Blood and Soil. You can find out more about the book at the publisher site:  https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/politics-of-nature-in-nazi-germany/4B1CC03961CDC141794E0C2671E401F6 and the Introduction to the book can be read here: https://www.academia.edu/175942674/Introduction_to_The_Politics_of_Nature_in_Nazi_Germany

>The book addresses a controversial subject, the role of environmental currents in Germany during the Nazi era. Much of it focuses on early organic agriculture movements, particularly the biodynamic movement, and their interactions with various parts of the Nazi regime. Please feel free to ask me anything about the book and the research behind it.

AMA: I’m Ronald “Ron” M. James, historian and folklorist with a recent book integrating the two fields

I’m Ron James (AKA Folklore), the author of the newly released The History of Cornish Tradition: A Folkloric Journey. This book presents an opportunity to consider how oral narratives and cultural practices change over the centuries – see its introduction here. Four hundred years of primary sources from Britain’s far southwestern peninsula document cultural survival, change, and innovation. In the minds of many, folklore conjures images of hoary traditions that transform slowly if at all. Reality is more dynamic, inviting a blend of historical and folkloristic perspectives. This is the second time I have combined history and folklore to this extent: a previous book, Monumental Lies: Early Nevada Folklore of the Wild West (2023) tackles questions about how folklore emerged and evolved amid the mining frontier. The History of Cornish Tradition is extremely expensive, but fortunately the University of Exeter Press is offering a 30% discount – use AMA30 (good through the end of the year) when checking out. In addition, Monumental Lies is also available with a 30% discount – use UNP2026 (good through 30 September 2026) when checking out.

I’m Ron James (AKA Folklore), the author of the newly released The History of Cornish Tradition: A Folkloric Journey. This book presents an opportunity to consider how oral narratives and cultural practices change over the centuries – see its introduction here. Four hundred years of primary sources from Britain’s far southwestern peninsula document cultural survival, change, and innovation. In the minds of many, folklore conjures images of hoary traditions that transform slowly if at all. Reality is more dynamic, inviting a blend of historical and folkloristic perspectives. This is the second time I have combined history and folklore to this extent: a previous book, Monumental Lies: Early Nevada Folklore of the Wild West (2023) tackles questions about how folklore emerged and evolved amid the mining frontier. The History of Cornish Tradition is extremely expensive, but fortunately the University of Exeter Press is offering a 30% discount – use AMA30 (good through the end of the year) when checking out. In addition, Monumental Lies is also available with a 30% discount – use UNP2026 (good through 30 September 2026) when checking out.

AMA: I'm A.J. Bauer, a historian of right-wing media in the U.S. and author of the new book MAKING THE LIBERAL MEDIA — Ask Me Anything!

Hi r/AskHistorians! My name is A.J. Bauer and I'm an assistant professor of journalism at the University of Alabama.^(*) You may know me from Twitter or Bluesky, or from my occasional columns in outlets like Bloomberg Opinion, the Philadelphia Inquirer, Politico, and Time magazine. I'm editor, along with Anthony Nadler, of the book News on the Right: Studying Conservative News Cultures (Oxford, 2019). And I'm author of the new book Making the Liberal Media: How Conservatives Built a Movement Against the Press, published by Columbia University Press in March. Here's a little bit about the book!

• Conservatives have disagreed about many things, but they have long been united by the belief that the mainstream—or “liberal”—media is biased against them. Why did conflict with the press become so central to conservative identity, and how has antipathy toward the media shaped the modern conservative movement? I trace how decades of right-wing criticism of the “liberal media” reshaped US news culture and came to define conservative politics.
• In the 1940s, progressives saw the newspaper industry as a reactionary bastion and supported regulations such as the Fairness Doctrine to ensure a wider range of viewpoints over the airwaves. Anticommunist campaigners soon borrowed tactics from their foes, adapting claims of structural media bias and fostering skepticism toward mainstream outlets. I track the conservative turn to media activism, demonstrating how allegations of bias bridged the gap between relatively mainstream figures such as William F. Buckley and more extreme groups like the John Birch Society. I consider key moments from Texas oilman H. L. Hunt’s bankrolling of the supposedly nonpartisan Facts Forum in the 1950s to Spiro Agnew’s tirades against the media elite and the rise of watchdog groups such as Accuracy in Media in the 1970s. By cultivating grassroots hostility toward the press, conservatives built an audience base for the right-wing media sector that emerged after the Reagan administration lifted the Fairness Doctrine. From Rush Limbaugh to Fox News to today’s right-wing podcasts and influencers, this book shows why conservative media ultimately eclipsed the movement that enabled it. In recounting the long history of conflict between conservatives and the press, I offer a new origin story for today’s polarized media environment.

I'll be answering your questions this afternoon (CDT) — ASK ME ANYTHING!

^(*My public comments do not reflect those of my employer.)

AMA: I’m Dr. Conor Heffernan, historian of fitness and bodybuilding and author of When Fitness Went Global

Hi everyone, I'm Conor Heffernan, a historian of sport and the body and Lecturer in the Sociology of Sport at Ulster University. I'm here to talk about my new book, When Fitness Went Global: The Rise of Physical Culture in the Nineteenth Century (Bloomsbury, 2026).

The book asks a deceptively simple question. Why do people all over the world train their bodies in such similar ways, and when did that start? The short answer is the long nineteenth century. From yoga and gymnastics to Indian club swinging and jiujitsu, I follow fitness practices as they travelled across borders through empire, military education, print culture and expanding trade networks. Along the way, exercise became tangled up with ideas about nationalism, gender, race, medicine and empire, while muscular and ‘beautiful’ bodies were increasingly presented as evidence of national strength and imperial power.

I'm just as interested in the practices that didn't go global as the ones that did, and in how people adapted, resisted and transformed the exercises they encountered.

Alongside the book I run Physical Culture Study, a long-running history-of-fitness site, so I'm very happy to range well beyond the nineteenth century too. Strongmen, bodybuilding history, the origins of the gym, forgotten exercise crazes, dubious health advice, weight training, fitness culture, or why your New Year's resolution is about 200 years old are all fair game.

Ask me anything. I'll be answering from 9am to 12pm ET, and then following up after I do bedtime with my kiddo.

Also note that you can currently pick up a copy from the Bloomsbury website for 30% off thanks to their back to school sale.

I’m Evan Dawley, historian of Taiwan. Ask Me Anything!

Hello Everyone. I am Evan Dawley, Associate Professor of History at Goucher College, where I teach classes on China, Japan, Taiwan, and East Asia more broadly. I am also the author of Taiwan: A People’s History (Reaktion, 2026), a survey of Taiwan’s history from roughly 8,000 years ago to the present, with a focus on social history. What that means is that I concentrate on the lives and experiences of the different ethnic and racial groups that have inhabited the island instead of the different states that have governed it. I trace the evolution and interconnections of four historical trajectories that have defined Taiwan and the identities of its residents, especially over the past five centuries: Indigenousization, Sinicization, Taiwanization, and Democratization.

I look forward to answering your questions on Taiwan’s history, in its internal, regional, and global dimensions, so please AMA!

I am Dr. Utathya Chattopadhyaya, author of Ganja Matters: Empire & the Pursuits of Cannabis in British India! AMA!

Hi everyone!

My name is Utathya and I'm the author of a new book on the history of the cannabis plant in colonial South Asia (contemporary India & Bangladesh) - it's called Ganja Matters: Empire & the Pursuits of Cannabis in British India (Oakland: UC Press, 2026). It's free to read online - open access on the Luminos app and Jstor. You can learn more about me here.

The book invites us to think about plant matter from species like cannabis (that have coevolved with humans for centuries) as co-participants in social histories. To do this, I take six different and related historical processes in British India - going from the cultivation of the crop, state governance, and its symbolic role to histories of devotional religion and cooperative economics - as specific examples of how the plant matter of cannabis came to matter in modern history. I trace who grew it, where, and when, along with how it animated religious ideas, lives of the poor, and most notably, the Indian Rebellion of 1857-59.

I'm here to answer questions about the book and the history of drugs, modern empire, and British India in the modern imperial system, so AMA!

I am Dr. Ito Osayimwese, here to talk about my book "Africa's Buildings: Architecture and the Displacement of Cultural Heritage" and the ethics of retaining colonial collections in our museums. AMA!

Hi there! I am Ito Osayimwese, a historian of African architecture. My book Africa's Buildings: Architecture and the Displacement of Cultural Heritage was recently published:

Between the nineteenth century and today, colonial officials, collectors, and anthropologists dismembered African buildings and dispersed their parts to museums in Europe and the United States. Most of these artifacts were cataloged as ornamental art objects, which erased their intended functions, and the removal of these objects often had catastrophic consequences for the original structures. Africa’s Buildings traces the history of the collection and distribution of African architectural fragments, documenting the brutality of the colonial regimes that looted Africa’s buildings and addressing the ethical questions surrounding the display of these objects.

I am excited to talk to you about the book and about the larger debate on restituting African art from US and European museums.