David Coast is currently a Reader in Early Modern History at Bath Spa University, as well as a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and the Royal Historical Society. His research interests focus on the political, cultural and social history of early modern England, with a particular interest in news, rumour and public opinion. He has published widely in this field, including in his 2014 book, News and Rumour in Jacobean England: information, court politics and diplomacy, 1618-25.

Dr Coast has held a Leverhulme Early Career Fellowship at Durham University, as well as fellowships at a number of research libraries. He currently serves as a Co-Investigator for this AHRC-funded research project on ‘COVID-19 rumours in historical perspective’.