David Suisman

The Desire for Terror And the defense of democracy

A purpose of the war on Iran might well be to provoke a terrorist attack inside the United States, thereby justifying the need to “federalize” elections. We must anticipate it, with sadness and resolution, and not be surprised, if it happens.
snyder.substack.com/p/the-desire...

Stand With Minnesota Donation Directory Stand With Minnesota is a hub for supporting, learning, and taking action to support Minnesotans impacted by ICE and federal enforcement.

If you want to support Minnesotans right now, this page links to local organizations that are doing things like delivering groceries to people afraid to leave their homes. www.standwithminnesota.com

Medical examiner believes death of man in ICE custody was homicide, recording says A fellow detainee says he witnessed Geraldo Lunas Campos being choked to death by guards at the ICE detention center in Texas on Jan. 3.

Breaking news: An employee of El Paso County’s Office of the Medical Examiner said it is likely to classify the death of Geraldo Lunas Campos at an ICE detention center as a homicide. A detainee says he witnessed Campos being choked to death by guards.

Need an Inner Ear Detour? I'm filling in on the WFMU airwaves Mon 12/15 8-9pm on Out Here in the Field, Amanda Nazario's amazing field recordings show! So excited. www.wfmu.org/playlists/OU

American Music, American War - Public Books In World War II, G.I.s waking up in a combat zone in Italy were reported to have belted out “Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin,” a blockbuster smash of 1943.

Public Books has published a roundtable on my book Instrument of War. Thanks to all who participated and to Gus Stadler and Gayle Wald for organizing it. www.publicbooks.org/american-mus...

NYC Comptroller Brad Lander: "I don't think the line for the [Democratic] party right now is between progressives and moderates; I think it's between fighters and folders."

Best characterization ever of social media? "Participatory disinfotainment" (from Richard Seymour's book Disaster Nationalism)

The guy with banjo: amazing illustration of the centrality (literally!) of blackface minstrelsy in the recreational culture of the Union military. Wish I had seen this photo before finishing my book Instrument of War.

entire block of crowd control barricades arranged to accommodate a long line of people at security, empty

One block over from the White House: the aspirational security line setup

Perry Anderson · Regime Change in the West? Where amid this turmoil does neoliberalism stand? In emergency conditions it has been forced to take measures –...

‘What sort of reconstruction, by now inevitably a radical one, of actually existing liberal democracy would be required to put an end to the oligarchies it has spawned?’

Perry Anderson on regime change in the West: www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...

Music: An Instrument of War Award-winning historian David Suisman explores music as a martial technology, used for morale, discipline, psychological warfare, and torture.

I had a great conversation with Mack Hagood about music in the lives of American soldiers for his indispensable podcast Phantom Power. phantompod.org/david-suisma...

Jasmine Crockett speaks for me (and multitudes, and oy, WATCH THE VIDEO!)

If you need a break from the headlines, I'll be giving a talk on music and soldiers to the University of Cambridge's Centre for Geopolitics next Monday, 12pm ET, online and free. You can register here. www.cfg.polis.cam.ac.uk/events/5644-2/

It's been 15 years since the end of the Iraq War. For U.S. soldiers, the Iraq War ended 15 years ago. This playlist shares some of the emotions and memories of soldiers and civilians.

Here’s a short piece I wrote about music & the Iraq War, for the website Good Authority. It's an annotated playlist of 7 remarkable recordings to help understand that war, from hip hop to classical to experimental collage. Guaranteed to be new to most people!
goodauthority.org/news/good-pl...

Hilarious and brilliant protest radio this morning: @wfmu.bsky.social's Joe Belock let the Band's "Cripple Creek" skip on the line "To the Gulf of Mexico" . . . for four minutes.

Welcome! You are invited to join a webinar: Instrument of War: Music and the Making of America's Soldiers. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the webinar. Music has been part of waging war since time immemorial, but its significance has rarely received serious critical scrutiny. Drawing on his recent book Instrument of War: Music and the Making of Ameri...

Centre for Geopolitics, University of Cambridge
When: Mar 3, 2025 05:00 PM London
Topic: Instrument of War: Music and the Making of America's Soldiers

Register in advance for this webinar:
zoom.us/webinar/regi...

Gig alert. I’ll be talking about my new book Instrument of War in a webinar hosted by the Centre for Geopolitics at the University of Cambridge on Mar 3. The event will be on Zoom and open to the public. Registration info in the comments below. www.cfg.polis.cam.ac.uk/events/5644-2/

Adam Rothman @arothmanhistory If teachers could indoctrinate students, more people would use apostrophes correctly.

A blast from the past (2023)

“I will not give into the lies. I will not give into the fear.”

Thanks, @adamrothman.bksy.social for the plugs--not just the book but my website for the book too

Author Talk: “Firesign” and “Instrument of War” About Firesign: A cultural clearinghouse of the American 1960s and ’70s told through the story of the period’s most important forgotten comedy group. This expansive book reclaims the Fi…

DC-area folks: on Feb 7, I will be in convo with Jeremy Braddock about my new book Instrument of War and his brilliant new book about the Firesign Theatre at People’s Books in Takoma Park. I would love to see you there!
peoplesbooktakoma.com/event/firesi...

The Soundtrack to Vietnam War History Isn’t Quite Historically Accurate Why rock overtook every other genre to define our understanding of America at war.

I'm delighted that the History News Network has just published an excerpt from my book Instrument of War. It's from the chapter on the war in Vietnam, "Demythologizing the Rock-and-Roll War." www.hnn.us/article/not-...