Gal Beckerman
@galbeckerman.bsky.social
Staff writer at The Atlantic, formerly NYTBR, and author, most recently, of "The Quiet Before: On the Unexpected Origins of Radical Ideas."
Reposted by Gal Beckerman
This is well worth reading 👇
A Radical New Approach to Human History
The historians who want to know how our ancestors experienced love, anger, fear, and sorrow #skystorians 🗃️
www.theatlantic.com/magazine/202...
A Radical New Approach to Human History
The historians who want to know how our ancestors experienced love, anger, fear, and sorrow #skystorians 🗃️
www.theatlantic.com/magazine/202...
A Radical New Approach to Human History
The historians who want to know how our ancestors experienced love, anger, fear, and sorrow
www.theatlantic.com
December 5, 2025 at 5:49 PM
This is well worth reading 👇
A Radical New Approach to Human History
The historians who want to know how our ancestors experienced love, anger, fear, and sorrow #skystorians 🗃️
www.theatlantic.com/magazine/202...
A Radical New Approach to Human History
The historians who want to know how our ancestors experienced love, anger, fear, and sorrow #skystorians 🗃️
www.theatlantic.com/magazine/202...
Reposted by Gal Beckerman
Humans have long considered our emotions to be universal. It seems that sadness, for instance, would have felt the same way today as it did 500 years ago.
But an emerging field of history is turning this assumption on its head. @galbeckerman.bsky.social reports:
But an emerging field of history is turning this assumption on its head. @galbeckerman.bsky.social reports:
You Had to Be There
An emerging field of history asks if we can ever really understand how our forebears experienced love, anger, fear, and sorrow.
bit.ly
December 6, 2025 at 5:45 PM
Humans have long considered our emotions to be universal. It seems that sadness, for instance, would have felt the same way today as it did 500 years ago.
But an emerging field of history is turning this assumption on its head. @galbeckerman.bsky.social reports:
But an emerging field of history is turning this assumption on its head. @galbeckerman.bsky.social reports:
Reposted by Gal Beckerman
Modern vocabulary for describing emotions can be limited and vague. An emerging field of history that investigates how our forebears experienced feelings could allow people to better understand the emotions of the past—and present. @galbeckerman.bsky.social reports:
You Had to Be There
An emerging field of history asks if we can ever really understand how our forebears experienced love, anger, fear, and sorrow.
bit.ly
December 6, 2025 at 1:15 AM
Modern vocabulary for describing emotions can be limited and vague. An emerging field of history that investigates how our forebears experienced feelings could allow people to better understand the emotions of the past—and present. @galbeckerman.bsky.social reports:
Reposted by Gal Beckerman
Answer today’s trivia question from Gal Beckerman’s story about the historians who think our ancestors might have experienced emotion in ways we wouldn’t now recognize.
Check your response and sign up for Atlantic Trivia in your inbox every day: theatln.tc/8i1shY8r
Check your response and sign up for Atlantic Trivia in your inbox every day: theatln.tc/8i1shY8r
December 6, 2025 at 12:00 AM
Answer today’s trivia question from Gal Beckerman’s story about the historians who think our ancestors might have experienced emotion in ways we wouldn’t now recognize.
Check your response and sign up for Atlantic Trivia in your inbox every day: theatln.tc/8i1shY8r
Check your response and sign up for Atlantic Trivia in your inbox every day: theatln.tc/8i1shY8r
Reposted by Gal Beckerman
This was a long time in the making and I'm delighted it's now out. Huge thanks to @galbeckerman.bsky.social for his perseverance and diligence. Please check it out. Print edition will be out soon. www.theatlantic.com/magazine/202...
A Radical New Approach to Human History
The historians who want to know how our ancestors experienced love, anger, fear, and sorrow
www.theatlantic.com
December 5, 2025 at 4:36 PM
This was a long time in the making and I'm delighted it's now out. Huge thanks to @galbeckerman.bsky.social for his perseverance and diligence. Please check it out. Print edition will be out soon. www.theatlantic.com/magazine/202...
This one started for me with an almost childish question: Can we take it for granted that people in the past experienced reality the same way we do? It turns out a whole field of study and an important scholar were asking the same...down into this fascinating rabbit hole I went.
A radical new field of history asks if we can ever really understand how our forebears experienced love, anger, fear, and sorrow, Gal Beckerman writes.
You Had to Be There
An emerging field of history asks if we can ever really understand how our forebears experienced love, anger, fear, and sorrow.
bit.ly
December 5, 2025 at 3:38 PM
This one started for me with an almost childish question: Can we take it for granted that people in the past experienced reality the same way we do? It turns out a whole field of study and an important scholar were asking the same...down into this fascinating rabbit hole I went.
Reposted by Gal Beckerman
A radical new field of history asks if we can ever really understand how our forebears experienced love, anger, fear, and sorrow, Gal Beckerman writes.
You Had to Be There
An emerging field of history asks if we can ever really understand how our forebears experienced love, anger, fear, and sorrow.
bit.ly
December 5, 2025 at 1:30 PM
A radical new field of history asks if we can ever really understand how our forebears experienced love, anger, fear, and sorrow, Gal Beckerman writes.
Reposted by Gal Beckerman
The Atlantic’s editors pick their favorite books of the year—10 titles that distinguish themselves as worth reading and remembering. See the full list:
The Atlantic 10: The Best Books of 2025
The books that made us think the most this year
bit.ly
December 4, 2025 at 1:30 PM
The Atlantic’s editors pick their favorite books of the year—10 titles that distinguish themselves as worth reading and remembering. See the full list:
Reposted by Gal Beckerman
Review: When They Come for Us We’ll Be Gone: The Epic Struggle to Save Soviet Jewry, by Gal Beckerman
https://www.booksns.com/157259/
This is not going to be an easy book to summarize… The subtitle isn't kidding when it says "epic" – this is an account of decades of activism and the oppression …
https://www.booksns.com/157259/
This is not going to be an easy book to summarize… The subtitle isn't kidding when it says "epic" – this is an account of decades of activism and the oppression …
Review: When They Come for Us We'll Be Gone: The Epic Struggle to Save Soviet Jewry, by Gal Beckerman - Trending Books
This is not going to be an easy book to summarize...
www.booksns.com
August 21, 2025 at 3:50 PM
Review: When They Come for Us We’ll Be Gone: The Epic Struggle to Save Soviet Jewry, by Gal Beckerman
https://www.booksns.com/157259/
This is not going to be an easy book to summarize… The subtitle isn't kidding when it says "epic" – this is an account of decades of activism and the oppression …
https://www.booksns.com/157259/
This is not going to be an easy book to summarize… The subtitle isn't kidding when it says "epic" – this is an account of decades of activism and the oppression …
Reposted by Gal Beckerman
New books arrived and a) I am happy with the accurate picture they give of my nerdy interests, and b) thanks to whoever here I picked up the recommendations from
September 19, 2025 at 7:01 PM
New books arrived and a) I am happy with the accurate picture they give of my nerdy interests, and b) thanks to whoever here I picked up the recommendations from
Reposted by Gal Beckerman
In #BookSky news, delightful to see @susanorlean.bsky.social last night, discussing her new @avidreaderpress.bsky.social memoir JOYRIDE with insightful Qs from @galbeckerman.bsky.social, as part of @theatlantic.com's ongoing festival. Wildly entertaining as always, and debuting a fantastic skirt!
September 20, 2025 at 7:04 PM
In #BookSky news, delightful to see @susanorlean.bsky.social last night, discussing her new @avidreaderpress.bsky.social memoir JOYRIDE with insightful Qs from @galbeckerman.bsky.social, as part of @theatlantic.com's ongoing festival. Wildly entertaining as always, and debuting a fantastic skirt!
I'll be chatting with the incomparable @susanorlean.bsky.social tomorrow evening as part of @theatlantic.com's festival. Join us!
www.mcnallyjackson.com/atlantic-rea...
www.mcnallyjackson.com/atlantic-rea...
www.mcnallyjackson.com
September 18, 2025 at 2:42 PM
I'll be chatting with the incomparable @susanorlean.bsky.social tomorrow evening as part of @theatlantic.com's festival. Join us!
www.mcnallyjackson.com/atlantic-rea...
www.mcnallyjackson.com/atlantic-rea...
Reposted by Gal Beckerman
Join author Maya Arad, translator @jesscohen.bsky.social, and @galbeckerman.bsky.social, staff writer at The Atlantic, next Tuesday, Sept. 9 at 7 p.m. in discussing HAPPY NEW YEARS @barnesandnoble.com on Manhattan's Upper West Side, 2289 Broadway, NYC.
stores.barnesandnoble.com/event/978006...
stores.barnesandnoble.com/event/978006...
September 2, 2025 at 12:52 PM
Join author Maya Arad, translator @jesscohen.bsky.social, and @galbeckerman.bsky.social, staff writer at The Atlantic, next Tuesday, Sept. 9 at 7 p.m. in discussing HAPPY NEW YEARS @barnesandnoble.com on Manhattan's Upper West Side, 2289 Broadway, NYC.
stores.barnesandnoble.com/event/978006...
stores.barnesandnoble.com/event/978006...
Such a smart and important one from @rossandersen.bsky.social
The rapid decline of American science has few precedents in history, argues @rossandersen.bsky.social. We are witnessing an unparalleled act of self-sabotage:
How Scientific Empires End
And what it means for America
bit.ly
July 31, 2025 at 6:48 PM
Such a smart and important one from @rossandersen.bsky.social
I wrote about how overwhelmed Americans have become by choice, and what we can do about it (before Trump solves the problem on his terms).
Americans Are Tired of Choice
How did freedom become synonymous with having lots of options?
www.theatlantic.com
June 23, 2025 at 11:04 PM
I wrote about how overwhelmed Americans have become by choice, and what we can do about it (before Trump solves the problem on his terms).
Reposted by Gal Beckerman
How did freedom become synonymous with having lots of options? Gal Beckerman on a recent book, "The Age of Choice," that helps explain Americans' exhaustion with "choice idolatry":
Americans Are Tired of Choice
How did freedom become synonymous with having lots of options?
bit.ly
June 23, 2025 at 12:30 PM
How did freedom become synonymous with having lots of options? Gal Beckerman on a recent book, "The Age of Choice," that helps explain Americans' exhaustion with "choice idolatry":
Reposted by Gal Beckerman
When a disgusting habit is part of your national identity, banning it might prove to be awkward. @galbeckerman.bsky.social, an ex-smoker and still a Francophile, asks if France is even France without cigarettes:
Is France Even France Without Cigarettes?
When a disgusting habit is part of your national identity, banning it might prove to be awkward.
bit.ly
June 19, 2025 at 7:15 AM
When a disgusting habit is part of your national identity, banning it might prove to be awkward. @galbeckerman.bsky.social, an ex-smoker and still a Francophile, asks if France is even France without cigarettes:
Reposted by Gal Beckerman
Really worth reading Cullen Murphy’s lovely remembrance of William Langewiesche, who lived several lifetimes in just 70 years but still died too young.
Then, of course, you have to read Langewiesche himself… 🧵
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...
Then, of course, you have to read Langewiesche himself… 🧵
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...
The Master of the White-Knuckle Narrative
Remembering William Langewiesche, who died this week at age 70
www.theatlantic.com
June 19, 2025 at 12:03 AM
Really worth reading Cullen Murphy’s lovely remembrance of William Langewiesche, who lived several lifetimes in just 70 years but still died too young.
Then, of course, you have to read Langewiesche himself… 🧵
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...
Then, of course, you have to read Langewiesche himself… 🧵
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...
Reposted by Gal Beckerman
"These moments of idle nothingness—or acute presence—are a source of nostalgia for me in part because they belong to the aimlessness of youth, and because our phones have since become a constant portal to somewhere else."
Uh oh: @galbeckerman.bsky.social has me pining for an American Spirit
Uh oh: @galbeckerman.bsky.social has me pining for an American Spirit
When a Nasty Habit Is Part of Your National Identity
As France bans cigarettes in most public places, it stands to lose a strong cultural signifier.
www.theatlantic.com
June 11, 2025 at 8:38 PM
"These moments of idle nothingness—or acute presence—are a source of nostalgia for me in part because they belong to the aimlessness of youth, and because our phones have since become a constant portal to somewhere else."
Uh oh: @galbeckerman.bsky.social has me pining for an American Spirit
Uh oh: @galbeckerman.bsky.social has me pining for an American Spirit
Reposted by Gal Beckerman
An unexpected purpose for the technology—but the outcome here is not what I expected at all. Lovely and sober by @ibogost.bsky.social
A Computer Wrote My Mother’s Obituary
The funeral industry turns to AI.
www.theatlantic.com
June 10, 2025 at 8:12 PM
An unexpected purpose for the technology—but the outcome here is not what I expected at all. Lovely and sober by @ibogost.bsky.social
I wrote about France's smoking ban...and me.
When a Nasty Habit Is Part of Your National Identity
As France bans cigarettes in most public places, it stands to lose a strong cultural signifier.
www.theatlantic.com
June 11, 2025 at 2:02 PM
I wrote about France's smoking ban...and me.
Reposted by Gal Beckerman
When a disgusting habit is part of your national identity, banning it might prove to be awkward. @galbeckerman.bsky.social, an ex-smoker and still a Francophile, asks if France is even France without cigarettes:
Is France Even France Without Cigarettes?
When a disgusting habit is part of your national identity, banning it might prove to be awkward.
bit.ly
June 11, 2025 at 12:30 PM
When a disgusting habit is part of your national identity, banning it might prove to be awkward. @galbeckerman.bsky.social, an ex-smoker and still a Francophile, asks if France is even France without cigarettes:
Reposted by Gal Beckerman
The Atlantic’s newest cover story, by Elizabeth Bruenig, is unforgettable. Deeply reported and beautifully written: www.theatlantic.com/magazine/arc...
Inside America’s Death Chambers
What years of witnessing executions taught me about sin, mercy, and the possibility of redemption
www.theatlantic.com
June 9, 2025 at 1:37 PM
The Atlantic’s newest cover story, by Elizabeth Bruenig, is unforgettable. Deeply reported and beautifully written: www.theatlantic.com/magazine/arc...
Reposted by Gal Beckerman
Edmund White, who died on Tuesday at 85, infused his life with as much pleasure as he did his writing. Gary Shteyngart on the naughty interpreter of our lives:
The Naughty Interpreter of Our Lives
Edmund White, who died on Tuesday at 85, infused his life with as much pleasure as he did his writing.
bit.ly
June 5, 2025 at 1:30 PM
Edmund White, who died on Tuesday at 85, infused his life with as much pleasure as he did his writing. Gary Shteyngart on the naughty interpreter of our lives:
"He loved sex the way some of his younger contemporaries love recognition or a well-cooked egg at brunch."
@shteyngart.bsky.social on Edmund White.
@shteyngart.bsky.social on Edmund White.
The Naughty Interpreter of Our Lives
Edmund White, who died yesterday at 85, infused his life with as much pleasure as he did his writing.
www.theatlantic.com
June 4, 2025 at 6:55 PM
"He loved sex the way some of his younger contemporaries love recognition or a well-cooked egg at brunch."
@shteyngart.bsky.social on Edmund White.
@shteyngart.bsky.social on Edmund White.