Today’s What We’re Reading features the government shutdown and academia, the “right way to teach history”, Reagan’s missing arm, a new book embroils a university press in controversy, and much more!

Government Shutdown

HNN has provided a thorough digest of federal agencies and services that are suspended or closed, while Tenured Radical points to one that has special significance to historians. The Chronicle of Higher Education offers a look at how the shutdown may affect academia in the short and long-term.

A screenshot of the shuttered WhiteHouse.gov site.

History in the News

The Right Way to Teach History

The Washington Post ran a piece by Marion Brady, claiming that “History matters, but you couldn’t tell by the way it is taught in many schools.

This Map Shows Which Ethnicities Have the Largest Ancestry in U.S. Counties

We would like to link to the US Census page, where this map originated, but since that page is closed due to the government shutdown, here is Upworthy’s offering instead.

Polish Police Searching for Vandal Who Cut Arm Off of Reagan Statue

A vandal cut off one arm of a Ronald Regan statue and ran away with it.

Publishing

Critics Assail Harvard Press for Publishing Book on Hollywood-Hitler Ties

Controversy erupts over a recent book that alleges a tie between Hollywood and Nazi Germany.

This post first appeared on AHA Today.