Robin Bernstein
@robinmbernstein.bsky.social
Author of Freeman's Challenge: The Murder That Shook America's Original Prison for Profit and Racial Innocence: Performing American Childhood from Slavery to Civil Rights. https://scholar.harvard.edu/robinbernstein/home ; robinbernsteinphd.com .
Thank you, @draftingthepast.bsky.social! Kate Carpenter interviews #historians about how--and why--we do what we do. I loved talking with her about what I call the "disco ball of integrity." draftingthepast.com/podcast-epis... And now she's sent me this awesome swag! Thanks for this awesome podcast.
November 11, 2025 at 1:42 PM
Thank you, @draftingthepast.bsky.social! Kate Carpenter interviews #historians about how--and why--we do what we do. I loved talking with her about what I call the "disco ball of integrity." draftingthepast.com/podcast-epis... And now she's sent me this awesome swag! Thanks for this awesome podcast.
I'm thrilled to announce that Freeman's Challenge has received Nonfiction Honors for the Massachusetts Book Awards. I'm incredibly grateful.
@uchicagopress.bsky.social
#BookAward
#MassBookAwards
#prisons
@uchicagopress.bsky.social
#BookAward
#MassBookAwards
#prisons
September 3, 2025 at 2:03 PM
I'm thrilled to announce that Freeman's Challenge has received Nonfiction Honors for the Massachusetts Book Awards. I'm incredibly grateful.
@uchicagopress.bsky.social
#BookAward
#MassBookAwards
#prisons
@uchicagopress.bsky.social
#BookAward
#MassBookAwards
#prisons
Backyard rabbit nest! Their eyes are still closed, but they're very active.
August 26, 2025 at 8:15 PM
Backyard rabbit nest! Their eyes are still closed, but they're very active.
How excited am I about the new issue of Sinister Wisdom? It's a compendium of 3 poetry chapbooks by Chocolate Waters. This is the perfect way to introduce a new Sapphic generation to this biting, sexy, funny, intense work.
PS: Check out my favorite poem: "Question/Answer," p.68. You won't be sorry.
PS: Check out my favorite poem: "Question/Answer," p.68. You won't be sorry.
July 17, 2025 at 4:47 PM
How excited am I about the new issue of Sinister Wisdom? It's a compendium of 3 poetry chapbooks by Chocolate Waters. This is the perfect way to introduce a new Sapphic generation to this biting, sexy, funny, intense work.
PS: Check out my favorite poem: "Question/Answer," p.68. You won't be sorry.
PS: Check out my favorite poem: "Question/Answer," p.68. You won't be sorry.
I love this clip from @positivetalkradio.bsky.social. I talk about watching #Roots when I was a kid--and what it meant to me as a little white girl and future historian.
@uchicagopress.bsky.social #BlackHistory #slavery #authorinterview
@uchicagopress.bsky.social #BlackHistory #slavery #authorinterview
July 11, 2025 at 5:08 PM
I love this clip from @positivetalkradio.bsky.social. I talk about watching #Roots when I was a kid--and what it meant to me as a little white girl and future historian.
@uchicagopress.bsky.social #BlackHistory #slavery #authorinterview
@uchicagopress.bsky.social #BlackHistory #slavery #authorinterview
Today in the Bernstein Bean Experience: I made flageolet beans for the first time. I didn't know if they would retain their lovely green color when cooked. They did keep some of it! Left: raw beans; right: cooked.
#beans #letsoglebeans
#beans #letsoglebeans
June 20, 2025 at 2:26 PM
Today in the Bernstein Bean Experience: I made flageolet beans for the first time. I didn't know if they would retain their lovely green color when cooked. They did keep some of it! Left: raw beans; right: cooked.
#beans #letsoglebeans
#beans #letsoglebeans
OK, on a day when nothing seems funny, this made me laugh.
June 5, 2025 at 4:34 PM
OK, on a day when nothing seems funny, this made me laugh.
Eight! Well done, goose parents.
June 2, 2025 at 8:58 PM
Eight! Well done, goose parents.
OMG, everyone, @c19americanists.bsky.social is in @alisonbechdel.bsky.social 's new book, #Spent! This is page 144!!! Published today!
May 20, 2025 at 10:41 PM
OMG, everyone, @c19americanists.bsky.social is in @alisonbechdel.bsky.social 's new book, #Spent! This is page 144!!! Published today!
Sigh. A dog seized a baby bunny. I got the dog to drop the kit. There was no blood, but the kit was clearly traumatized. I put it someplace safe. Now, an hour later, it's still there. I hope it survives.
May 19, 2025 at 10:46 PM
Sigh. A dog seized a baby bunny. I got the dog to drop the kit. There was no blood, but the kit was clearly traumatized. I put it someplace safe. Now, an hour later, it's still there. I hope it survives.
I stress-baked mashed potato bread at 6am.
May 15, 2025 at 1:15 PM
I stress-baked mashed potato bread at 6am.
So much gratitude. The journal Civil War History published a forum on Freeman's Challenge--and look at this cover. Thank you, @jimdowns.bsky.social, @historianheather.bsky.social, @crystallynnweb.bsky.social, @profkori.bsky.social, and more for your deep, kind, sharp engagement. I'm so moved.
May 9, 2025 at 10:14 PM
So much gratitude. The journal Civil War History published a forum on Freeman's Challenge--and look at this cover. Thank you, @jimdowns.bsky.social, @historianheather.bsky.social, @crystallynnweb.bsky.social, @profkori.bsky.social, and more for your deep, kind, sharp engagement. I'm so moved.
I am THRILLED to be on this longlist! And to be in such great company. Thank you, Massachusetts Center for the Book!
@uchicagopress.bsky.social #massbookawards #freemanschallenge #bookaward
@uchicagopress.bsky.social #massbookawards #freemanschallenge #bookaward
May 1, 2025 at 5:04 PM
I am THRILLED to be on this longlist! And to be in such great company. Thank you, Massachusetts Center for the Book!
@uchicagopress.bsky.social #massbookawards #freemanschallenge #bookaward
@uchicagopress.bsky.social #massbookawards #freemanschallenge #bookaward
Look who greeted me this morning! The kits have left their nest. Moments after I took these photos, they all jumped out of the planter and scampered away.
April 24, 2025 at 5:58 PM
Look who greeted me this morning! The kits have left their nest. Moments after I took these photos, they all jumped out of the planter and scampered away.
THIS SAT: I'm delighted to speak at the Newburyport Literary Festival @nbptlitfest.bsky.social in a panel sponsored by the Mass Center for the Book. Toussaint Losier & I will discuss Freeman’s Challenge: The Murder That Shook America’s Original Prison for Profit. Join us!
@uchicagopress.bsky.social
@uchicagopress.bsky.social
April 24, 2025 at 5:56 PM
THIS SAT: I'm delighted to speak at the Newburyport Literary Festival @nbptlitfest.bsky.social in a panel sponsored by the Mass Center for the Book. Toussaint Losier & I will discuss Freeman’s Challenge: The Murder That Shook America’s Original Prison for Profit. Join us!
@uchicagopress.bsky.social
@uchicagopress.bsky.social
Today! Join me and @ibramxk.bsky.social for conversation about how #prisons, #racism, and #capitalism all intertwined--half a century before the #13thAmendment. Conversation will be at the @hutchinscenter.bsky.social and on YouTube. Join us!
April 23, 2025 at 2:12 PM
Today! Join me and @ibramxk.bsky.social for conversation about how #prisons, #racism, and #capitalism all intertwined--half a century before the #13thAmendment. Conversation will be at the @hutchinscenter.bsky.social and on YouTube. Join us!
The Bernstein Bean Experience continues. Today: speckled bayo beans with rice, coconut, thyme, and scallions. I accidentally used sweetened coconut milk, so the dish came out like dessert. I added unsweetened shredded coconut to try to mellow it out. It didn't work, but it was still delicious.
April 22, 2025 at 4:13 PM
The Bernstein Bean Experience continues. Today: speckled bayo beans with rice, coconut, thyme, and scallions. I accidentally used sweetened coconut milk, so the dish came out like dessert. I added unsweetened shredded coconut to try to mellow it out. It didn't work, but it was still delicious.
Bunny nest! There are at least 3 kits. Their eyes are open, so they're probably about a week old. This mother was smart: she built her nest in an unused planter in our garage. It's sheltered from rain, and the planter's height offers some protection from predators. Stay tuned for further cuteness.
April 21, 2025 at 1:12 PM
Bunny nest! There are at least 3 kits. Their eyes are open, so they're probably about a week old. This mother was smart: she built her nest in an unused planter in our garage. It's sheltered from rain, and the planter's height offers some protection from predators. Stay tuned for further cuteness.
This Wednesday at noon, I'll be in conversation with the extraordinary @ibramxk.bsky.social about #PrisonForProfit and my book #FreemansChallenge. Hope you can join us--live or online! Link in comments below.
@uchicagopress.bsky.social
@hutchinscenter.bsky.social
@uchicagopress.bsky.social
@hutchinscenter.bsky.social
April 20, 2025 at 3:31 PM
This Wednesday at noon, I'll be in conversation with the extraordinary @ibramxk.bsky.social about #PrisonForProfit and my book #FreemansChallenge. Hope you can join us--live or online! Link in comments below.
@uchicagopress.bsky.social
@hutchinscenter.bsky.social
@uchicagopress.bsky.social
@hutchinscenter.bsky.social
I'm delighted that #FreemansChallenge has won the Montaigne Medal. This award honors books that "illuminate, progress, or redirect thought." I'm grateful for this honor! @uchicagopress.bsky.social
April 17, 2025 at 12:21 PM
I'm delighted that #FreemansChallenge has won the Montaigne Medal. This award honors books that "illuminate, progress, or redirect thought." I'm grateful for this honor! @uchicagopress.bsky.social
I will be in conversation with the incomparable @ibramxk.bsky.social at @hutchinscenter.bsky.social , @harvard.edu on Weds, April 23 at noon. Join us for a story of the origins of #PrisonForProfit and the racist allegation of Black criminality.
April 4, 2025 at 12:13 PM
I will be in conversation with the incomparable @ibramxk.bsky.social at @hutchinscenter.bsky.social , @harvard.edu on Weds, April 23 at noon. Join us for a story of the origins of #PrisonForProfit and the racist allegation of Black criminality.
I interrupt the global cataclysm to announce that I made lemon-blueberry bread.
April 3, 2025 at 3:34 PM
I interrupt the global cataclysm to announce that I made lemon-blueberry bread.
I'm thrilled to speak at the Newburyport Literary Festival
with Toussaint Losier about #FreemansChallenge and the true origins of #PrisonForProfit (spoiler: it didn't start in the South, and it began half a century before the #13thAmendment).
@nbptlitfest.bsky.social
@uchicagopress.bsky.social
with Toussaint Losier about #FreemansChallenge and the true origins of #PrisonForProfit (spoiler: it didn't start in the South, and it began half a century before the #13thAmendment).
@nbptlitfest.bsky.social
@uchicagopress.bsky.social
April 2, 2025 at 6:10 PM
I'm thrilled to speak at the Newburyport Literary Festival
with Toussaint Losier about #FreemansChallenge and the true origins of #PrisonForProfit (spoiler: it didn't start in the South, and it began half a century before the #13thAmendment).
@nbptlitfest.bsky.social
@uchicagopress.bsky.social
with Toussaint Losier about #FreemansChallenge and the true origins of #PrisonForProfit (spoiler: it didn't start in the South, and it began half a century before the #13thAmendment).
@nbptlitfest.bsky.social
@uchicagopress.bsky.social
Too much?
I don't think so, either.
I don't think so, either.
March 20, 2025 at 7:33 PM
Too much?
I don't think so, either.
I don't think so, either.
I'm in Providence for the #AAIHS conference. Learning so much from the wonderful papers. Then I check into my hotel room and find a framed portrait of #WendyCarlos, whom I have loved since 1985. A sign?
March 14, 2025 at 7:59 PM
I'm in Providence for the #AAIHS conference. Learning so much from the wonderful papers. Then I check into my hotel room and find a framed portrait of #WendyCarlos, whom I have loved since 1985. A sign?