From “The Simpsons” house genius John Swartzwelder, interviewed in The New Yorker by Mike Sacks

This is wonderful.

Trying to explain St Augustine to the pope, the former head of the Augustinian order, who wrote his doctoral thesis on Augustine, on his way back from celebrating mass at the Basilica of St Augustine in Annaba, Algeria, overlooking the site where Augustine lived is peak Adult Catholic Convert.

It's so funny to me that right-wingers love to pretend to love the Middle Ages and the Crusades and all that and then complain that the Pope shouldn't get involved in politics.

Seriously, especially the middle one. Marvel villain soldier meets fallen angel, with a hint of the Statue of Liberty. Crazy AF

One Last Chance to See Dürer's Monumental Print in NYC The "Triumphal Arch," one of the largest prints ever produced, will go into storage at the New York Public Library in the fall.

The “Triumphal Arch,” the 13-foot high, multi-paneled woodcut print created by Albrecht Dürer in 1515, is on view now at the New York Public Library, but only until the fall when it’ll head back to storage.

Happy 50th anniversary to “All the President’s Men” — a film that owes its existence to Redford, who bought the film rights, developed the script and cajoled a reluctant Woodward & Bernstein.

I thought it was “a great character study,” he said later. But, for months, “they didn’t return my calls.”

Katrina Olds!

As a full, tenured professor at an institution that pays its adjuncts significantly more I can say this is still a criminal, academic class system. It preys on PhDs who can’t find a TT position quickly enough and then get stuck bc they are teaching so much to live that they can’t publish.

New Book: Cambridge Companion to Counter-Reformation Sanctity, Machielson, Michelson, & Olds, eds The Cambridge Companion to Counter-Reformation Sanctity, Jan Machielson, Emily Michelson, and Katrina B. Olds, eds (Cambridge, 2025). Introduction, Jan Michielson, Emily Michelson, and Katrina B. O…

Many of the writers in this (star-studded) lineup are Iberianists, including @madmcmahon.bsky.social @erinkathleenrowe.bsky.social @cloecavero.bsky.social & @mia1va.bsky.social (+ allies @profliztingle.bsky.social & @emilymichelson.bsky.social) emspanishhistorynotes.wordpress.com/2026/04/06/n...

How is this the first time I was told that women made this

And it requires and celebrates actual expertise and scientific inquiry for a greater good. Breath of fresh air.

No One at Waffle House Remembers FEMA Official Who Says He Teleported In

The Onion meets the NYT.

www.nytimes.com/2026/04/03/u...

Roughly, left of the dark area is part of the far side of the Moon, not seen from Earth. The big round feature is the Orientale impact basin, the Moons youngest. That area was in darkness for all the Apollo flights so the Integrity crew are the first humans to see it with their own eyes

Killer rabbit.

I could space out on this all day.

Horrible, please make it all stop. This is happening to me too in a social media context. Someone is scamming students by DM’ing fake letters signed by “me” on university letterhead. It’s been impossible to shut down. If anyone has ideas, I am all ears.

A close-up of pink flowers emerging from a tree, a blue sky is in the background

Did you know... magnolia evolved on earth about 95 million years ago!

Magnolia is so old in fact that it pre-dates the existence of bees and butterflies, meaning they relied on beetles to pollinate in their early days.

Picture taken from inside Integrity at the window looking at Earth.

A full picture taken from Integrity looking at the half-disc of Earth surrounded by space.

Holy shit these two photos from Artemis II that were shared just a bit ago.

A heartwarming story of three spunky old nuns who escaped their nursing home and broke back into their locked convent to live out their days. Now they are traveling to
Rome to plead their case directly to
Papa Leo. Huzza for them!

Think you can spot an AI face? Take this test — BBC Science Focus Magazine Even ‘super recognisers’ struggle with the challenge. Can you do better?

How many can you identify correctly? Harder than it might seem.

apple.news/AqLJF4JzdSxe...

Love the axial entrance to nowhere.

History should be rewritten

Scientists Filmed a Whale Birth. The Surprise: Mom Had Many Helpers.

“11 sperm whales huddled together at the surface, strangely still and taking occasional shallow dives. After about an hour, the animals seemed to start thrashing, and a plume of blood reddened the water. The researchers feared trouble, maybe a shark attack. But it was something else.”

WHALE DOULAS!

Pilot on my flight: “Air travel is not fun right now. Please be nice to each other. I don’t want to be on CNN. Let’s just go home.”

The Bourne Identity (2002) / The Hidalgo Legacy (2026)

Heartbreaking truth in this essay. LC can and will ruthlessly go after your health and identity, with few who bother to really listen.

Absolute DREAM of a PhD position! Four years getting lost in the Plantin Press 🤩 #BookHistory #EarlyModern #Skystorians

Appointee wants to replace White House columns with the ones Trump prefers The head of a federal arts commission is proposing the more ornate Corinthian style for the nearly 200-year-old columns at the building’s front entrance

For nearly 200 years, these iconic — and Ionic — columns have welcomed visitors to the White House.

Trump has privately mused about changing them to his preferred style, and now his top arts commissioner has proposed a plan to do exactly that.

With @asteckelberg.bsky.social.

Pictures emerging from today’s heavy bombing of Isfahan. Damages to the mirror works, tiles, floors, and carved wooden doors of Safavid palaces of Aali Qapu and Chehelsotoon. Both of these are within the UNESCO Heritage complex of Naqsh-e Jahan Square. These are 16th-17th century bldgs.