Mehul Shah
@mshah1025.bsky.social
Reposted by Mehul Shah
As some of you may know, I’m writing a book on the history of high school English in the United States, and I’m excited to share a new article from that project—“High School English and the Making of American Readers”—out today in American Literary History! 🧵
academic.oup.com/alh/article/...
academic.oup.com/alh/article/...
High School English and the Making of American Readers
Abstract. The high school English classroom is the most influential literary institution in the United States, and the most overlooked by literary scholars
academic.oup.com
February 13, 2026 at 7:21 PM
As some of you may know, I’m writing a book on the history of high school English in the United States, and I’m excited to share a new article from that project—“High School English and the Making of American Readers”—out today in American Literary History! 🧵
academic.oup.com/alh/article/...
academic.oup.com/alh/article/...
Reposted by Mehul Shah
My architecture column today. "To show off these structures that are being developed in Chicago, I think it’s a really beautiful art," Chicago Architecture Center Chief Marketing Officer Lauren Bakos said. "And it’s sad that it’s kind of a dying one."
Model shop that provided the first draft of many great Chicago buildings closes
Columbian Model & Exhibit Works made architectural models for the Lakeshore East high-rise development, the Jeanne Gang-designed St. Regis at 363 E. Wacker Drive and the Obama Presidential Center in J...
chicago.suntimes.com
February 13, 2026 at 1:11 PM
My architecture column today. "To show off these structures that are being developed in Chicago, I think it’s a really beautiful art," Chicago Architecture Center Chief Marketing Officer Lauren Bakos said. "And it’s sad that it’s kind of a dying one."
Reposted by Mehul Shah
Gonna buy this $450K condo in Chicago, rename it "The Hexagon" and transform it into a mid-level villain's lair.
February 11, 2026 at 3:01 PM
Gonna buy this $450K condo in Chicago, rename it "The Hexagon" and transform it into a mid-level villain's lair.
Reposted by Mehul Shah
very good piece on how workers use LLMs and how it changes their work patterns. I've noticed some of these patterns myself working in software engineering
AI Doesn’t Reduce Work—It Intensifies It
One of the promises of AI is that it can reduce workloads so employees can focus more on higher-value and more engaging tasks. But according to new research, AI tools don’t reduce work, they consisten...
hbr.org
February 9, 2026 at 5:15 PM
very good piece on how workers use LLMs and how it changes their work patterns. I've noticed some of these patterns myself working in software engineering
Reposted by Mehul Shah
Imagine going to Italy and bringing food from home. Unprecedented depths of loserdom afoot. bsky.app/profile/hock...
Not only did they bring a small private army, but among the waste of taxpayer money was BRINGING A FULL PLANE OF FOOD.
To *Italy*.
To *Italy*.
February 7, 2026 at 8:48 PM
Imagine going to Italy and bringing food from home. Unprecedented depths of loserdom afoot. bsky.app/profile/hock...
Reposted by Mehul Shah
A player in massive trade rumors owning part of a prediction market where people can bet on whether he gets traded is a MASSIVE conflict of interest.
This is so far beyond players doing sportsbook ads.
This is so far beyond players doing sportsbook ads.
February 6, 2026 at 10:22 PM
A player in massive trade rumors owning part of a prediction market where people can bet on whether he gets traded is a MASSIVE conflict of interest.
This is so far beyond players doing sportsbook ads.
This is so far beyond players doing sportsbook ads.
Reposted by Mehul Shah
ALERT: The City of Boston has declared a cold emergency from Saturday through Monday as wind chills are expected to drop as low as -15°F.
Check on neighbors.
Warming centers are open.
Stay safe.
Check on neighbors.
Warming centers are open.
Stay safe.
February 6, 2026 at 10:39 PM
ALERT: The City of Boston has declared a cold emergency from Saturday through Monday as wind chills are expected to drop as low as -15°F.
Check on neighbors.
Warming centers are open.
Stay safe.
Check on neighbors.
Warming centers are open.
Stay safe.
Reposted by Mehul Shah
This isn't mine, and I can't definitively find the original source. But I love this little bit of wisdom:
"If you're a fifteen-minute walk from a coffee shop, but the server there has to drive an hour to get to work, you don't live in a walkable city. You live in a theme park."
"If you're a fifteen-minute walk from a coffee shop, but the server there has to drive an hour to get to work, you don't live in a walkable city. You live in a theme park."
For all the fearmongering about capital flight from New York City, there’s an exodus few want to talk about: working people.
Sky-high rents and outrageous child care costs are already pushing families out of the city they keep running.
That’s what we have to change.
That’s what we have to change.
January 28, 2026 at 7:59 PM
This isn't mine, and I can't definitively find the original source. But I love this little bit of wisdom:
"If you're a fifteen-minute walk from a coffee shop, but the server there has to drive an hour to get to work, you don't live in a walkable city. You live in a theme park."
"If you're a fifteen-minute walk from a coffee shop, but the server there has to drive an hour to get to work, you don't live in a walkable city. You live in a theme park."
Reposted by Mehul Shah
I didn’t realise things were this bad - 30% cuts are disastrous. This will kill all prospects of the UK being a science superpower since astro is a gateway to science for many. @teamlabouruk.bsky.social @rushanaraalibgs.bsky.social this needs fixing urgently.
The Royal Astronomical Society is gravely concerned at the drastic cuts to support for UK astronomy outlined by the Science and Technology Facilities Council.
Read our statement 👉 ras.ac.uk/news-and-pre...
Read our statement 👉 ras.ac.uk/news-and-pre...
Proposed budget cuts a catastrophe for UK astronomy
The Royal Astronomical Society (RAS) is gravely concerned at the drastic cuts to support for UK astronomy outlined by the Science and Technology Facilities Council (...
ras.ac.uk
January 29, 2026 at 8:13 AM
I didn’t realise things were this bad - 30% cuts are disastrous. This will kill all prospects of the UK being a science superpower since astro is a gateway to science for many. @teamlabouruk.bsky.social @rushanaraalibgs.bsky.social this needs fixing urgently.
Reposted by Mehul Shah
Wait, it's snowing again?
January 27, 2026 at 1:40 AM
Wait, it's snowing again?
Reposted by Mehul Shah
A revenue-sharing recipient possibly trading away an ace who costs a measly $8 million is a much bigger problem for MLB than anything the Dodgers are doing.
January 22, 2026 at 2:27 AM
A revenue-sharing recipient possibly trading away an ace who costs a measly $8 million is a much bigger problem for MLB than anything the Dodgers are doing.
Awesome to see @sheaserrano.bsky.social written up in one of my hometown papers
Author Shea Serrano embraces one of the toughest truths of NBA writing:
There’s no simple way to write something new about Michael Jordan.
There’s no simple way to write something new about Michael Jordan.
Shea Serrano tackles Michael Jordan’s numerology and Dennis Rodman’s brilliance in ‘Expensive Basketball’
Author Shea Serrano embraces one of the toughest truths of NBA writing: There’s no simple way to write something new about Michael Jordan.
trib.al
January 21, 2026 at 10:12 PM
Awesome to see @sheaserrano.bsky.social written up in one of my hometown papers
Reposted by Mehul Shah
Subway cars bound for the MBTA are detained at US ports, and that's leading the company finishing the cars to furlough half its workforce in MA: https://bit.ly/4qE3zfA
CRRC to furlough 161 Massachusetts workers due to detained subway car shells
The manufacturer under contract to build the MBTA's new Red Line fleet will furlough nearly half its workforce in Massachusetts this spring as subway car shells from China remain detained at U.S. ports.
bit.ly
January 21, 2026 at 9:20 PM
Subway cars bound for the MBTA are detained at US ports, and that's leading the company finishing the cars to furlough half its workforce in MA: https://bit.ly/4qE3zfA
Reposted by Mehul Shah
For @flaminghydra.com I wrote about the most riveting book I've read so far this year, which is, of course, a 624-page guide to New York City written in 1939 by a branch of the Works Progress Administration as part of a New Deal program to employ out-of-work writers flaminghydra.com/new-york-for...
New York, Forever Lost and Found
When I first moved to New York in 2009, the very first night I lay down to sleep in a coffin-narrow room in Harlem, I had a maddening sense of wonderful things happening just out of my reach: all the ...
flaminghydra.com
January 21, 2026 at 1:02 AM
For @flaminghydra.com I wrote about the most riveting book I've read so far this year, which is, of course, a 624-page guide to New York City written in 1939 by a branch of the Works Progress Administration as part of a New Deal program to employ out-of-work writers flaminghydra.com/new-york-for...
Reposted by Mehul Shah
My spouse just counted up my book tour stops and apparently I'm going to 15 cities for 18 events 😭
Please buy my book because I need this to be worth it lol
www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/746817...
Please buy my book because I need this to be worth it lol
www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/746817...
The Edge of Space-Time by Chanda Prescod-Weinstein: 9780593701683 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books
A fresh, charming, socially conscious tour of the mysteries of space-time, from the award-winning author of The Disordered Cosmos In her highly acclaimed debut, distinguished cosmologist and particle...
www.penguinrandomhouse.com
January 20, 2026 at 9:06 PM
My spouse just counted up my book tour stops and apparently I'm going to 15 cities for 18 events 😭
Please buy my book because I need this to be worth it lol
www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/746817...
Please buy my book because I need this to be worth it lol
www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/746817...
Reposted by Mehul Shah
During the 2014 NBA Draft, Nikola Jokić was selected 41st overall by the Denver Nuggets — in the middle of a Taco Bell commercial for the Quesarito. Now, he's finally trying it.
January 16, 2026 at 9:59 PM
During the 2014 NBA Draft, Nikola Jokić was selected 41st overall by the Denver Nuggets — in the middle of a Taco Bell commercial for the Quesarito. Now, he's finally trying it.
Reposted by Mehul Shah
What a good year to skip SDCC and come to the @graphicmedicine.bsky.social conference instead!
www.graphicmedicine.org/2026-gm-conf...
www.graphicmedicine.org/2026-gm-conf...
2026 GM Conference: Call for Submissions! | Graphic Medicine
The 2026 Graphic Medicine Conference in Baltimore, MD is now taking submissions for talks, presentations, and more.
www.graphicmedicine.org
January 14, 2026 at 9:52 PM
What a good year to skip SDCC and come to the @graphicmedicine.bsky.social conference instead!
www.graphicmedicine.org/2026-gm-conf...
www.graphicmedicine.org/2026-gm-conf...
Reposted by Mehul Shah
And the destruction of public space exploration work continues...
lavocedinewyork.com/en/news/2026...
lavocedinewyork.com/en/news/2026...
NASA’s Largest Library to Close, Putting Thousands of Unique Documents at Risk
The decision is immediate and irreversible: NASA will close its largest research library. This is happening at the Goddard Space
lavocedinewyork.com
January 12, 2026 at 4:47 PM
And the destruction of public space exploration work continues...
lavocedinewyork.com/en/news/2026...
lavocedinewyork.com/en/news/2026...
Reposted by Mehul Shah
The greatest thing on the internet today
Best TikTok thing going is the two dudes trying food from every country without leaving NYC. If you haven’t seen them yet, it’s incredible. My favorite so far is last week’s. Legit got me emotional.
January 9, 2026 at 6:55 AM
The greatest thing on the internet today
Reposted by Mehul Shah
Bill Siemering, founding program director of NPR, author of its mission statement, has asked me to inquire if any profs might be interested in a Zoom class visit? No honorarium necessary. Bill founded All Things Considered, Fresh Air, won a MacArthur, etc.
A Founding Father of NPR Worries About Its Fate
www.nytimes.com
January 7, 2026 at 7:40 PM
Bill Siemering, founding program director of NPR, author of its mission statement, has asked me to inquire if any profs might be interested in a Zoom class visit? No honorarium necessary. Bill founded All Things Considered, Fresh Air, won a MacArthur, etc.
Reposted by Mehul Shah
January 6, 2026 at 5:49 PM
Reposted by Mehul Shah
All the numbers are good
Congestion pricing after one year: How life has changed. (Gift Article)
How life has changed in the New York area, according to data on traffic, transit and the responses of 600 readers.
www.nytimes.com
January 5, 2026 at 2:04 PM
All the numbers are good
Reposted by Mehul Shah
obviously not the most critical issue here but NCAR might also be I M Pei's best bldg
December 18, 2025 at 2:21 AM
obviously not the most critical issue here but NCAR might also be I M Pei's best bldg
Reposted by Mehul Shah
Reposted by Mehul Shah
While hiking in the Italian Alps, a nature photographer came upon a surface speckled with more than 2,000 dinosaur footprints that scientists are calling “remarkable.” nyti.ms/44zfQc8
December 18, 2025 at 4:21 AM
While hiking in the Italian Alps, a nature photographer came upon a surface speckled with more than 2,000 dinosaur footprints that scientists are calling “remarkable.” nyti.ms/44zfQc8