An independent society for original research, interesting people, wild places, long conversations, and a drink when the day's work is done.
PLATE I — AN INSTRUMENT FOR WONDER TRUE NORTH / AN UNFINISHED IDEA A SIMPLE PROPOSITION
Meridian is being built around two things we think belong together: the pursuit of knowledge and the pleasure of good company.
We want to investigate difficult questions, publish what we find, explore places worth seeing, and bring together people who are both intellectually curious and genuinely fun to be around.
Sometimes that means computational linguistics. Sometimes it means a long hike, a historical dinner, or an argument about Rome over an excellent beer.
Read the Meridian mission ↗We aren't a history society that occasionally does science, or a laboratory that tolerates the humanities. We follow questions worth asking—and expect the work to withstand scrutiny.
PLATE II · COMPUTATIONAL LINGUISTICSWORKING PAPER · ORIGINAL RESEARCH
Can a computational search change a corpus's linguistic structure? A non-neural experiment that revealed more about typological similarity than historical ancestry.
Read the investigation ↗
PLATE III · ECONOMIC HISTORYMONOGRAPH · HISTORICAL INVESTIGATION
A 160-page examination of the forces shaping the rise and decline of a New Mexico community—and the hazards of an overly tidy explanation.
Read the investigation ↗Both works began independently before Meridian's formal launch. Their inclusion does not imply completed peer review or prior institutional sponsorship.
The sort of people who will help you build a telescope on Saturday and argue about the Roman Republic over drinks that evening.
The social side isn't a funding scheme for research. It's something worth creating in its own right: real friendships, adventures, great conversations, and eventually a place of our own.
The social side of Meridian ↗Start with gatherings. Build the community. Let the clubhouse come later.
Big questions, knowledgeable guests, spirited disagreement—and nobody checking your credentials at the door.
EXPLORE ↗ 02 / THE TRAIL
Interesting landscapes, long walks, campfires, and people with fascinating explanations for the rocks beneath your feet.
EXPLORE ↗ 03 / THE TABLE◌Historical suppers, strange recipes, conversation past closing time—and, eventually, our own bar.
EXPLORE ↗The public voice of the society. History without the museum-placard voice, from Southwestern politics and economic history to the civilization of food.
THESERIES ONE / NARRATIVE HISTORY
Empires, gunfighters, railroads, land grants, laboratories, and our complicated friendship with Clay Allison.
WORKING TITLE · IN DEVELOPMENT
A HISTORYSERIES TWO / FOOD & CIVILIZATION
Who was Melba? Who was Taillevent? What are we being served at this Han Dynasty dinner party?
WORKING TITLE · IN DEVELOPMENTAN INSTITUTION YOU CAN WALK INTO
A library with a bar. A workshop with actual tools. A salon where you can stay and talk long after the lecture ends.
We imagine shared laboratory space, member AI resources, a makerspace, a brewing or hospitality operation, and a clubhouse built around the people who make the place worth visiting.
This is a long-term vision. Meridian does not currently operate a clubhouse, brewery, laboratory, or paid membership program.
What the clubhouse could become ↗
FOUNDING CORRESPONDENCE / NO. 001
We're gathering the first circle of curious, capable, generous people who want to help shape Meridian. Get the research updates, first invitations, new episodes, and occasional proof that this idea is becoming real.
Join the founding list ↗