Dr Surekha Davies, Historical Monster Consultant (she/her)
@drsurekhadavies.bsky.social
Historian of science, art & ideas.
Words: Smithsonian, LA Times, TLS, Aeon, Nature, Science, Reactor.
Buy HUMANS: A MONSTROUS HISTORY now: https://www.surekhadavies.org/humans-a-monstrous-history
Newsletter: https://buttondown.com/surekhadavies?tag=bluesky
Words: Smithsonian, LA Times, TLS, Aeon, Nature, Science, Reactor.
Buy HUMANS: A MONSTROUS HISTORY now: https://www.surekhadavies.org/humans-a-monstrous-history
Newsletter: https://buttondown.com/surekhadavies?tag=bluesky
Pinned
Launch Day for HUMANS: A MONSTROUS HISTORY!
Welcome back, and hallo, new readers! This is it! The US launch day for HUMANS: A MONSTROUS HISTORY is February 4th. I’m amazed and relieved to get to this...
buttondown.com
Launch day for HUMANS: A MONSTROUS HISTORY! So relieved to make it this far.
💙📚 🧪 🗃 #medieval #earlymodern #histsci #histmed #18thC #HAMH
buttondown.com/surekhadavie...
💙📚 🧪 🗃 #medieval #earlymodern #histsci #histmed #18thC #HAMH
buttondown.com/surekhadavie...
Reposted by Dr Surekha Davies, Historical Monster Consultant (she/her)
HEY! It’s hard to find gifts for writers/readers. What if you could give #Writers the gift of readers, and #Readers the chance to meet writers? @peculiarbookclub.bsky.social let’s you do this! As low as 5$ a month or buy annual and get two months free.
#BookSky 📚
Link:
payhip.com/PeculiarBook...
#BookSky 📚
Link:
payhip.com/PeculiarBook...
December 1, 2025 at 2:01 PM
HEY! It’s hard to find gifts for writers/readers. What if you could give #Writers the gift of readers, and #Readers the chance to meet writers? @peculiarbookclub.bsky.social let’s you do this! As low as 5$ a month or buy annual and get two months free.
#BookSky 📚
Link:
payhip.com/PeculiarBook...
#BookSky 📚
Link:
payhip.com/PeculiarBook...
Reposted by Dr Surekha Davies, Historical Monster Consultant (she/her)
I have just (I mean ten minutes ago...) finished INTERMEDIARIES by @bschillace.brandyschillace.com and it's a fascinating read. An astonishing hidden history that reveals just how far thinking had progressed by the 1930s and how far we still have to go. A beautifully written and important book.
@profciara.bsky.social I don’t know if you saw; I am the author of THE INTERMEDIARIES —It’s been one of those things, where it’s too timely for its own good, and getting the word out has been uphill both ways.
wwnorton.com/books/978132...
wwnorton.com/books/978132...
The Intermediaries
A <em>Kirkus Reviews</em> Best Book of the Year <br /><br /> The fascinating history of a daring team of sexologists who built the first trans clinic in the shadow of the Third Reich., The Intermedia...
wwnorton.com
December 1, 2025 at 1:59 PM
I have just (I mean ten minutes ago...) finished INTERMEDIARIES by @bschillace.brandyschillace.com and it's a fascinating read. An astonishing hidden history that reveals just how far thinking had progressed by the 1930s and how far we still have to go. A beautifully written and important book.
Reposted by Dr Surekha Davies, Historical Monster Consultant (she/her)
...for the undergrads I taught in the US from 2012, writing was some big deal thing not something as mundane as daydreaming or walking. Daydreaming and walking exist on a continuum with deep analytical thought and running (or other physically demanding activities). They're still foundational.
7/
7/
November 29, 2025 at 6:00 AM
...for the undergrads I taught in the US from 2012, writing was some big deal thing not something as mundane as daydreaming or walking. Daydreaming and walking exist on a continuum with deep analytical thought and running (or other physically demanding activities). They're still foundational.
7/
7/
Reposted by Dr Surekha Davies, Historical Monster Consultant (she/her)
I dunno, convert some of the endless paved space reserved for cars into green space that can absorb water, maybe?
Sorry, forget it. That could result in a car owner being inconvenienced, which would of course be far worse than the flooding of our cities and towns.
Sorry, forget it. That could result in a car owner being inconvenienced, which would of course be far worse than the flooding of our cities and towns.
Is there anything we can do to alleviate flash floods in the West Midlands
Experts say housebuilding and concrete drives are making floods worse, but that there are things we can do.
www.bbc.co.uk
November 23, 2025 at 9:22 AM
I dunno, convert some of the endless paved space reserved for cars into green space that can absorb water, maybe?
Sorry, forget it. That could result in a car owner being inconvenienced, which would of course be far worse than the flooding of our cities and towns.
Sorry, forget it. That could result in a car owner being inconvenienced, which would of course be far worse than the flooding of our cities and towns.
Reposted by Dr Surekha Davies, Historical Monster Consultant (she/her)
Social media, eh? Actually from a pamphlet published in Berlin, in around 1828.
December 1, 2025 at 7:59 AM
Social media, eh? Actually from a pamphlet published in Berlin, in around 1828.
Reposted by Dr Surekha Davies, Historical Monster Consultant (she/her)
I wish all figures of authority cared about moms and babies. But some don’t. Some even want you to hurt. And those are the people who cast doubt on the vaccination miracle that has allowed so many of us to live longer and better.
kentuckylantern.com/2025/11/25/t...
kentuckylantern.com/2025/11/25/t...
Third unvaccinated Kentucky baby dies of whooping cough • Kentucky Lantern
A third unvaccinated infant in Kentucky has died of pertussis as public health officials urge Kentuckians to get vaccinated against the disease.
kentuckylantern.com
November 30, 2025 at 11:39 PM
I wish all figures of authority cared about moms and babies. But some don’t. Some even want you to hurt. And those are the people who cast doubt on the vaccination miracle that has allowed so many of us to live longer and better.
kentuckylantern.com/2025/11/25/t...
kentuckylantern.com/2025/11/25/t...
Reposted by Dr Surekha Davies, Historical Monster Consultant (she/her)
One of the books in my office is 290 years old. It’s still in excellent condition and easy to read. I wonder how easy it’ll be to read electronic texts 290 years from now. I expect it’ll be rather trickier.
November 28, 2025 at 9:49 PM
One of the books in my office is 290 years old. It’s still in excellent condition and easy to read. I wonder how easy it’ll be to read electronic texts 290 years from now. I expect it’ll be rather trickier.
Reposted by Dr Surekha Davies, Historical Monster Consultant (she/her)
Exxon-Mobil (current market cap): $488B
Norway GDP (2025 est): $517B
Dispersed by TARP to rescue the financial system (adjusted for inflation): $667B
Saudi Arabia GDP (2025 est): $1268B
Amount OpenAI is on the hook for that’ll ruin companies’ balance sheets if OpenAI can’t make good: $1400B
Norway GDP (2025 est): $517B
Dispersed by TARP to rescue the financial system (adjusted for inflation): $667B
Saudi Arabia GDP (2025 est): $1268B
Amount OpenAI is on the hook for that’ll ruin companies’ balance sheets if OpenAI can’t make good: $1400B
December 1, 2025 at 3:02 AM
Exxon-Mobil (current market cap): $488B
Norway GDP (2025 est): $517B
Dispersed by TARP to rescue the financial system (adjusted for inflation): $667B
Saudi Arabia GDP (2025 est): $1268B
Amount OpenAI is on the hook for that’ll ruin companies’ balance sheets if OpenAI can’t make good: $1400B
Norway GDP (2025 est): $517B
Dispersed by TARP to rescue the financial system (adjusted for inflation): $667B
Saudi Arabia GDP (2025 est): $1268B
Amount OpenAI is on the hook for that’ll ruin companies’ balance sheets if OpenAI can’t make good: $1400B
Reposted by Dr Surekha Davies, Historical Monster Consultant (she/her)
a lot of people debating the merits of that dogshit essay meanwhile the girl’s mom is retweeting demands to ban all trans people from teaching at any level. it’s forest for the trees shit
December 1, 2025 at 4:42 AM
a lot of people debating the merits of that dogshit essay meanwhile the girl’s mom is retweeting demands to ban all trans people from teaching at any level. it’s forest for the trees shit
Reposted by Dr Surekha Davies, Historical Monster Consultant (she/her)
every trans person i see post about the OU suspension knows that the suspended target is trans & a grad student, & has an innate awareness that this is about purging trans employees. every cis person i see thinks the target is a rando professor & that this is about giving conservatives good grades
December 1, 2025 at 12:04 AM
every trans person i see post about the OU suspension knows that the suspended target is trans & a grad student, & has an innate awareness that this is about purging trans employees. every cis person i see thinks the target is a rando professor & that this is about giving conservatives good grades
Reposted by Dr Surekha Davies, Historical Monster Consultant (she/her)
“He once boasted that he would “stuff the drugs up the gringos’ noses.” He accepted a $1 million bribe from El Chapo to allow cocaine shipments to pass through Honduras.”
Now Trump set him free.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/29/n...
Now Trump set him free.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/29/n...
The Ex-President Whom Trump Plans to Pardon Flooded America With Cocaine
www.nytimes.com
November 30, 2025 at 1:45 PM
“He once boasted that he would “stuff the drugs up the gringos’ noses.” He accepted a $1 million bribe from El Chapo to allow cocaine shipments to pass through Honduras.”
Now Trump set him free.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/29/n...
Now Trump set him free.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/29/n...
Reposted by Dr Surekha Davies, Historical Monster Consultant (she/her)
This Day in Labor History: November 22, 1909. Approximately 20,000 garment workers in New York City went on strike against the horrendous conditions of their sweatshops. This strike, known as the Uprising of the 20,000, was the largest strike led by women in American history to that time!!!
November 22, 2025 at 3:26 PM
This Day in Labor History: November 22, 1909. Approximately 20,000 garment workers in New York City went on strike against the horrendous conditions of their sweatshops. This strike, known as the Uprising of the 20,000, was the largest strike led by women in American history to that time!!!
Reposted by Dr Surekha Davies, Historical Monster Consultant (she/her)
"Cultural reception studies ask us to think of culture as a living being, a creature with a life as old as earth and water . . . Del Toro’s Frankenstein offers an exemplary lens into the life cycle of one of the oldest stories in recorded mythologies: that of the creator and his progeny."
To Invent Immortality
Frankenstein yearns to live.
contingentmagazine.org
December 1, 2025 at 1:59 AM
"Cultural reception studies ask us to think of culture as a living being, a creature with a life as old as earth and water . . . Del Toro’s Frankenstein offers an exemplary lens into the life cycle of one of the oldest stories in recorded mythologies: that of the creator and his progeny."
Reposted by Dr Surekha Davies, Historical Monster Consultant (she/her)
And that’s how Calvin got a degree in physics at OU
November 30, 2025 at 11:18 PM
And that’s how Calvin got a degree in physics at OU
Reposted by Dr Surekha Davies, Historical Monster Consultant (she/her)
In the US & the UK the ground was prepared for tech trash by the lowering of standards (No Child Left Behind; O- and A-levels changing once GCSEs, with lower reqs at the top end, came in).
When IT bullshit entered primary ed for kids who hadn't even learned to write yet, the spiral worsened.
5/
When IT bullshit entered primary ed for kids who hadn't even learned to write yet, the spiral worsened.
5/
November 29, 2025 at 5:56 AM
In the US & the UK the ground was prepared for tech trash by the lowering of standards (No Child Left Behind; O- and A-levels changing once GCSEs, with lower reqs at the top end, came in).
When IT bullshit entered primary ed for kids who hadn't even learned to write yet, the spiral worsened.
5/
When IT bullshit entered primary ed for kids who hadn't even learned to write yet, the spiral worsened.
5/
Reposted by Dr Surekha Davies, Historical Monster Consultant (she/her)
AI companies depend on psyching people out: on pretending that their brains don't matter, and that they can't make things or research things without slop machines.
They're wrong.
buttondown.com/surekhadavie...
They're wrong.
buttondown.com/surekhadavie...
Basement adventures showed me why ChatGPT can only ever be garbage.
In The British Library. Photo by Surekha Davies. Hallo readers, First, a news flash: Join me for a virtual book launch for HUMANS: A MONSTROUS HISTORY...
buttondown.com
November 30, 2025 at 4:20 AM
AI companies depend on psyching people out: on pretending that their brains don't matter, and that they can't make things or research things without slop machines.
They're wrong.
buttondown.com/surekhadavie...
They're wrong.
buttondown.com/surekhadavie...
Reposted by Dr Surekha Davies, Historical Monster Consultant (she/her)
“Look not at the monsters but at their enablers and storytellers, for they are the real monster-makers.”
“Enablers are those who continue to make atrocities possible even after the true nature of actions and their perpetrators has become apparent.”
3/
“Enablers are those who continue to make atrocities possible even after the true nature of actions and their perpetrators has become apparent.”
3/
November 30, 2025 at 11:01 AM
“Look not at the monsters but at their enablers and storytellers, for they are the real monster-makers.”
“Enablers are those who continue to make atrocities possible even after the true nature of actions and their perpetrators has become apparent.”
3/
“Enablers are those who continue to make atrocities possible even after the true nature of actions and their perpetrators has become apparent.”
3/
Reposted by Dr Surekha Davies, Historical Monster Consultant (she/her)
This is not an academic paper. She doesn't even cite her fucking Bible sources. Never mind that her reading of the biblical sources is entirely off -- that's another fisking for another day -- she does not say, "From an evangelical Christian pov, this approach does not hold. +
November 30, 2025 at 10:33 PM
This is not an academic paper. She doesn't even cite her fucking Bible sources. Never mind that her reading of the biblical sources is entirely off -- that's another fisking for another day -- she does not say, "From an evangelical Christian pov, this approach does not hold. +
Reposted by Dr Surekha Davies, Historical Monster Consultant (she/her)
This was handed in for a PSYCH CLASS & when the prof said she didn't use empirical sources but rather submitted op-ed she whined about religious liberty + prof got suspended.
I was a *Religious Studies* major; in my time she would have been rightly BBQ'd had she dared to hand in this absolute drek.
I was a *Religious Studies* major; in my time she would have been rightly BBQ'd had she dared to hand in this absolute drek.
Turning Point at OU posted this girl's essay in full and man is it rough
November 30, 2025 at 10:31 PM
This was handed in for a PSYCH CLASS & when the prof said she didn't use empirical sources but rather submitted op-ed she whined about religious liberty + prof got suspended.
I was a *Religious Studies* major; in my time she would have been rightly BBQ'd had she dared to hand in this absolute drek.
I was a *Religious Studies* major; in my time she would have been rightly BBQ'd had she dared to hand in this absolute drek.
Reposted by Dr Surekha Davies, Historical Monster Consultant (she/her)
Sooo here's a little public records request I just made to the University of Oklahoma.
November 30, 2025 at 10:06 PM
Sooo here's a little public records request I just made to the University of Oklahoma.
Reposted by Dr Surekha Davies, Historical Monster Consultant (she/her)
Again: I am not talking about this paper. I did not read it other than to glance quickly at screenshots. I’m just saying that in my experience, the C- is the bad grade that’s still bad but not so bad that an outside board will generally take action … because it will seem generous to them.
December 1, 2025 at 1:24 AM
Again: I am not talking about this paper. I did not read it other than to glance quickly at screenshots. I’m just saying that in my experience, the C- is the bad grade that’s still bad but not so bad that an outside board will generally take action … because it will seem generous to them.
Reposted by Dr Surekha Davies, Historical Monster Consultant (she/her)
conservatives basically want to implement the caricature of affirmative action for conservative students. acceptance without meeting qualifications, good grades and degrees without having to do the work.
OU has put the professor here on administrative leave:
December 1, 2025 at 1:29 AM
conservatives basically want to implement the caricature of affirmative action for conservative students. acceptance without meeting qualifications, good grades and degrees without having to do the work.
Reposted by Dr Surekha Davies, Historical Monster Consultant (she/her)
and you know what? these students should also be judged, and judged harshly for this. running to the admins and state legislators and the press because you got a fairly earned failing grade on an assignment is and should be seen as a mark of extremely poor character. it makes you a very bad person.
the primary thing that TPUSA provides to young conservatives is a blueprint for weaponizing the abject cowardice of university administrators against individual teachers and instructors, and university admins should take a long look in the mirror and think about what that says about them
OU has put the professor here on administrative leave:
November 30, 2025 at 9:02 PM
and you know what? these students should also be judged, and judged harshly for this. running to the admins and state legislators and the press because you got a fairly earned failing grade on an assignment is and should be seen as a mark of extremely poor character. it makes you a very bad person.
Reposted by Dr Surekha Davies, Historical Monster Consultant (she/her)
@annaleen.bsky.social, from Twitter; NYPL Book of the Day!
"In 'Automatic Noodle' by Annalee Newitz, a group of robots reopen a ghost kitchen to serve hand-pulled noodles in a post-war San Francisco but when trouble brews, they must fight to keep their dream alive in a world not built for them."
"In 'Automatic Noodle' by Annalee Newitz, a group of robots reopen a ghost kitchen to serve hand-pulled noodles in a post-war San Francisco but when trouble brews, they must fight to keep their dream alive in a world not built for them."
November 30, 2025 at 1:00 PM
@annaleen.bsky.social, from Twitter; NYPL Book of the Day!
"In 'Automatic Noodle' by Annalee Newitz, a group of robots reopen a ghost kitchen to serve hand-pulled noodles in a post-war San Francisco but when trouble brews, they must fight to keep their dream alive in a world not built for them."
"In 'Automatic Noodle' by Annalee Newitz, a group of robots reopen a ghost kitchen to serve hand-pulled noodles in a post-war San Francisco but when trouble brews, they must fight to keep their dream alive in a world not built for them."