Ben Breen here. This new version of Res Obscura — which began in 2010 as a history blog I started when I was a grad student at UT Austin — will launch in July of 2023.
In Latin, res means thing, event, history, and obscura is the root of the English word “obscure” — so Res Obscura could be loosely translated as “obscure stuff” or “hidden history.” Which is a fair description of the contents.
I had meant to make this switch back in 2020, but many things — Covid, going up for tenure, becoming a new parent — got in the way. Throughout it all though I’ve meant to get back into the habit of writing weekly posts, and Substack of the 2020s reminds me (mostly in a good way) of blogging in the 2010s.
Perhaps my proudest moment from writing the original Res Obscura was when I gave a mumbly interview on Radio New Zealand about 17th century watermelons, the history of chili peppers, and the once-popular medicine known as “snail water.”
I can only hope to replicate that success with this newsletter.
