Caroline Dodds Pennock
@carolinepennock.bsky.social
Historian and human-sacrifice enthusiast (she/her). Author of On Savage Shores: How Indigenous Americans Discovered Europe
Pinned
PEN Hessell-Tiltman Prize 2024 shortlist - English PEN
www.englishpen.org
Genuinely overwhelmed that #OnSavageShores has been shortlisted for the Pen Hessell-Tiltman Prize. Supporting writers facing persecution and censorship, @englishpen.bsky.social’s work is sorely needed right now, & I’m honoured to be in such wonderful company. 🗃️ #history
Reposted by Caroline Dodds Pennock
If they hated that, they'll really loathe Civilisations: Rise & Fall, with its lessons from history that isolationism, hostility to outsiders, social inequality and lack of contingency planning for natural disasters (e.g. epidemics) spell doom for mighty empires.
1/5 It was entirely predictable that The Telegraph would jump on @DavidOlusoga’s Empire series to fight its right wing culture war for control of our public history. Let’s see what they’ve done:
November 27, 2025 at 3:28 PM
If they hated that, they'll really loathe Civilisations: Rise & Fall, with its lessons from history that isolationism, hostility to outsiders, social inequality and lack of contingency planning for natural disasters (e.g. epidemics) spell doom for mighty empires.
Reposted by Caroline Dodds Pennock
I’ll have what she’s having
Good morning to Brazilian reporter Manuela Borges, who’s been waiting eleven years for this petty moment. ❤️ 🇧🇷
November 26, 2025 at 2:22 PM
I’ll have what she’s having
I’m delighted that Jay Silverstein felt so positive about the Aztecs episode of BBC Civilisations for @theconversation.com. But I am baffled that anyone interested in challenging colonial myths would recommend a hundred-year-old translation of a (massive) conquistador account as ‘further reading’!
Does BBC Civilisations get its four stories of collapse correct? Experts weigh in
The new series attempts to chart the fall of four major empires but doesn’t always get it right.
theconversation.com
November 25, 2025 at 6:50 PM
I’m delighted that Jay Silverstein felt so positive about the Aztecs episode of BBC Civilisations for @theconversation.com. But I am baffled that anyone interested in challenging colonial myths would recommend a hundred-year-old translation of a (massive) conquistador account as ‘further reading’!
Reposted by Caroline Dodds Pennock
And so Civilisations: Rise and Fall hits iPlayer. If you cant wait until 8 December, catch @carolinepennock.bsky.social and @amyfuller.bsky.social, and some bumbling non-specialists, on the Aztecs here.
www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/epis...
www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/epis...
Civilisations: Rise and Fall - Series 1: 3. Aztecs
The Aztecs battle to save their civilisation from Spanish invaders – but is the real threat from the enemy within?
www.bbc.co.uk
November 25, 2025 at 9:32 AM
And so Civilisations: Rise and Fall hits iPlayer. If you cant wait until 8 December, catch @carolinepennock.bsky.social and @amyfuller.bsky.social, and some bumbling non-specialists, on the Aztecs here.
www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/epis...
www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/epis...
Reposted by Caroline Dodds Pennock
A very, very important peer-reviewed empirical study published in the academic journal Pediatrics shows that hormone treatment of young trans people decreases suicidality very significantly.
Doubtless it will be ignored by Simonoff et al, who are not even measuring this in the “Pathways” study.
Doubtless it will be ignored by Simonoff et al, who are not even measuring this in the “Pathways” study.
Changes in Suicidality among Transgender Adolescents Following Hormone Therapy: An Extended Study
To examine changes in suicidality following hormone therapy (HT) among transgender and gender-diverse adolescents and young adults.A retrospective cha…
www.sciencedirect.com
November 25, 2025 at 5:05 AM
A very, very important peer-reviewed empirical study published in the academic journal Pediatrics shows that hormone treatment of young trans people decreases suicidality very significantly.
Doubtless it will be ignored by Simonoff et al, who are not even measuring this in the “Pathways” study.
Doubtless it will be ignored by Simonoff et al, who are not even measuring this in the “Pathways” study.
Reposted by Caroline Dodds Pennock
Can’t believe my face is going to be on the telly and iPlayer FOREVER 😳🙈
Eek! My episode doesn't technically air until 8 December, but the whole series of the new BBC Arts Civilisations series is out now on iPlayer, including this episode on the Aztecs with me and friends @amyfuller.bsky.social & @restall.bsky.social (& others not on the Sky). Airs Mondays at 9pm, BBC2.
Civilisations: Rise and Fall - Series 1: 3. Aztecs
The Aztecs battle to save their civilisation from Spanish invaders – but is the real threat from the enemy within?
www.bbc.co.uk
November 24, 2025 at 11:13 AM
Can’t believe my face is going to be on the telly and iPlayer FOREVER 😳🙈
Time to buy a lottery ticket. I have been honoured by the extraordinarily rare blessing of a Lap Cat.
November 24, 2025 at 9:43 PM
Time to buy a lottery ticket. I have been honoured by the extraordinarily rare blessing of a Lap Cat.
Reposted by Caroline Dodds Pennock
Job Alert! DH postdoc at Edinburgh - Post-Doctoral Research Fellow to work on the AHRC-funded project "Voices in Slavery’s Archive: Law, Place and Testimony in British Guiana", which will build a digital archive out of the recorded words of enslaved people. www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DPN147/p...
Postdoctoral Research Fellow at The University of Edinburgh
Explore an exciting academic career as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow. Don't miss out on other academic jobs. Click to apply and explore more opportunities.
www.jobs.ac.uk
November 24, 2025 at 2:24 PM
Job Alert! DH postdoc at Edinburgh - Post-Doctoral Research Fellow to work on the AHRC-funded project "Voices in Slavery’s Archive: Law, Place and Testimony in British Guiana", which will build a digital archive out of the recorded words of enslaved people. www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DPN147/p...
Reposted by Caroline Dodds Pennock
This is how epidemiologists say fuck around and found out. It is horrifying to think about how many people RFK will kill
2/ so many gutting moment but this was among the first, from one of the world’s leading scientists on vaccines and immunology:
November 24, 2025 at 2:48 PM
This is how epidemiologists say fuck around and found out. It is horrifying to think about how many people RFK will kill
Reposted by Caroline Dodds Pennock
Super exciting!
Eek! My episode doesn't technically air until 8 December, but the whole series of the new BBC Arts Civilisations series is out now on iPlayer, including this episode on the Aztecs with me and friends @amyfuller.bsky.social & @restall.bsky.social (& others not on the Sky). Airs Mondays at 9pm, BBC2.
Civilisations: Rise and Fall - Series 1: 3. Aztecs
The Aztecs battle to save their civilisation from Spanish invaders – but is the real threat from the enemy within?
www.bbc.co.uk
November 24, 2025 at 11:11 AM
Super exciting!
Eek! My episode doesn't technically air until 8 December, but the whole series of the new BBC Arts Civilisations series is out now on iPlayer, including this episode on the Aztecs with me and friends @amyfuller.bsky.social & @restall.bsky.social (& others not on the Sky). Airs Mondays at 9pm, BBC2.
Civilisations: Rise and Fall - Series 1: 3. Aztecs
The Aztecs battle to save their civilisation from Spanish invaders – but is the real threat from the enemy within?
www.bbc.co.uk
November 24, 2025 at 11:01 AM
Eek! My episode doesn't technically air until 8 December, but the whole series of the new BBC Arts Civilisations series is out now on iPlayer, including this episode on the Aztecs with me and friends @amyfuller.bsky.social & @restall.bsky.social (& others not on the Sky). Airs Mondays at 9pm, BBC2.
“Are you in the festive spirit yet? Or, just, well…a bit stressed? This time of year can feel overwhelming, but…” don’t worry, the Guardian have ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY EIGHT Christmas present suggestions to make things seem simpler.
158 Christmas presents, chosen by Guardian columnists
Struggling with gift ideas? The Guardian’s expert columnists are here to help, with everything from Yotam Ottolenghi’s favourite pans to the only nail polish brand Sali Hughes uses
www.theguardian.com
November 24, 2025 at 8:04 AM
“Are you in the festive spirit yet? Or, just, well…a bit stressed? This time of year can feel overwhelming, but…” don’t worry, the Guardian have ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY EIGHT Christmas present suggestions to make things seem simpler.
The problem is that they’re historically illiterate ignorami who are so insecure they’re threatened by a jumper.
Maga is in meltdown over a preppy pink sweater for men. So, what exactly is the problem? | Ellie Violet Bramley
Maga is in meltdown over a preppy pink sweater for men. So, what exactly is the problem? | Ellie Violet Bramley
The outrage a J Crew jumper has provoked shows that the US right’s sense of masculinity is far more fragile than it would care to admit, says freelance writer Ellie Violet Bramley
www.theguardian.com
November 23, 2025 at 9:32 AM
The problem is that they’re historically illiterate ignorami who are so insecure they’re threatened by a jumper.
Reposted by Caroline Dodds Pennock
the multi-year lack of a truly functional manuscripts catalog at the BL is finally over!!!!
Latest update from @britishlibrary.bsky.social says they are launching a new version of their main catalogue on Monday 8 December and around that time also launch an interim version of their Archives and Manuscripts Catalogue. Hooray!
www.bl.uk/stories/news...
www.bl.uk/stories/news...
Restoring our services – November 2025 update
In the coming weeks and months we will be restoring a number of key functions.
www.bl.uk
November 22, 2025 at 2:32 PM
the multi-year lack of a truly functional manuscripts catalog at the BL is finally over!!!!
Reposted by Caroline Dodds Pennock
There are plenty of links between the anti-trans “women’s rights” movement & anti-feminist conservatism. And opposing abortion is a logical conclusion for a movement that says no, you should not have agency over your own body; no, you do not know best about yourself; no, you have no choice.
No way I’m sharing Stock’s UnHerd article. But I am going to point to this bit which amply demonstrates the anti-trans=>anti-women’s rights pipeline. “Abortions should only be done for a highly restricted set of reasons. They should not be just nodded through for any reason a pregnant woman likes.”
November 22, 2025 at 10:40 AM
There are plenty of links between the anti-trans “women’s rights” movement & anti-feminist conservatism. And opposing abortion is a logical conclusion for a movement that says no, you should not have agency over your own body; no, you do not know best about yourself; no, you have no choice.
Reposted by Caroline Dodds Pennock
Kathleen Stock has written an article against "abortion permissiveness". She claims abortion requires "justification" saying the state should limit "unacceptable decision-making" by women about their own bodies.
This is who anti-trans activists proclaim as the feminist thought leaders of our time.
This is who anti-trans activists proclaim as the feminist thought leaders of our time.
November 21, 2025 at 11:51 AM
Kathleen Stock has written an article against "abortion permissiveness". She claims abortion requires "justification" saying the state should limit "unacceptable decision-making" by women about their own bodies.
This is who anti-trans activists proclaim as the feminist thought leaders of our time.
This is who anti-trans activists proclaim as the feminist thought leaders of our time.
A #FridayFeeling that I wish I could replicate.
November 21, 2025 at 1:43 PM
A #FridayFeeling that I wish I could replicate.
No way I’m sharing Stock’s UnHerd article. But I am going to point to this bit which amply demonstrates the anti-trans=>anti-women’s rights pipeline. “Abortions should only be done for a highly restricted set of reasons. They should not be just nodded through for any reason a pregnant woman likes.”
November 21, 2025 at 10:55 AM
No way I’m sharing Stock’s UnHerd article. But I am going to point to this bit which amply demonstrates the anti-trans=>anti-women’s rights pipeline. “Abortions should only be done for a highly restricted set of reasons. They should not be just nodded through for any reason a pregnant woman likes.”
Reposted by Caroline Dodds Pennock
🕯 Today we pause to remember the trans people whose lives were taken by violence this year. Those lost to hatred, and those lost to the unbearable weight of living in a world that too often refuses to see their worth.
We hold every name and every story in our hearts.
#TDOR
We hold every name and every story in our hearts.
#TDOR
November 20, 2025 at 9:01 AM
🕯 Today we pause to remember the trans people whose lives were taken by violence this year. Those lost to hatred, and those lost to the unbearable weight of living in a world that too often refuses to see their worth.
We hold every name and every story in our hearts.
#TDOR
We hold every name and every story in our hearts.
#TDOR
As positive arguments for a person go, 'he bought as many slaves as he could' is quite the choice.
November 20, 2025 at 2:58 PM
As positive arguments for a person go, 'he bought as many slaves as he could' is quite the choice.
Good morning.
a man is covered in snow and the words sooo cold are above him
ALT: a man is covered in snow and the words sooo cold are above him
media.tenor.com
November 20, 2025 at 9:42 AM
Good morning.
Reposted by Caroline Dodds Pennock
While I don’t want to get too into the weeds of the discourse this morning, I think this text - from my draft trans pay paper - has some relevance to what we’re talking about this morning.
November 20, 2025 at 7:51 AM
While I don’t want to get too into the weeds of the discourse this morning, I think this text - from my draft trans pay paper - has some relevance to what we’re talking about this morning.
This would put the UK further to the right than any modern democracy I can think of. What on earth has happened to the Labour Party?
Keir Starmer's spokesman insisted on Monday that "clearly these changes will not be retrospective" for those already granted asylum, as Reform have been demanding.
Now we learn they will be
inews.co.uk/news/politic...
Now we learn they will be
inews.co.uk/news/politic...
November 19, 2025 at 12:32 PM
This would put the UK further to the right than any modern democracy I can think of. What on earth has happened to the Labour Party?
Reposted by Caroline Dodds Pennock
I'm glad to have signed this statement in support of queer and trans staff at the National Library of Scotland, who by the sounds of it are going through an awful time at the moment: docs.google.com/document/d/e...
November 19, 2025 at 10:15 AM
I'm glad to have signed this statement in support of queer and trans staff at the National Library of Scotland, who by the sounds of it are going through an awful time at the moment: docs.google.com/document/d/e...
"If they don't want to ride with all women, then it's not the kind of ride I want to be part of." Bravo Claire Sharpe. And (metaphorically, as I am really not a cyclist) co-signed!
Woman refuses Cycling UK award over trans women being left out
Claire Sharpe says she disagrees with Cycling UK only naming biological women in their top 100 list.
www.bbc.co.uk
November 19, 2025 at 9:50 AM
"If they don't want to ride with all women, then it's not the kind of ride I want to be part of." Bravo Claire Sharpe. And (metaphorically, as I am really not a cyclist) co-signed!