Help Support H-Net!
| Visit
New Books Network en Español
!
New Books Network
Pitch a Book!
Hosts
Subscribe
Newsletter
Boletín
Arts & Letters
Architecture
Art
Children's Literature
Digital Humanities
Fantasy
Film
Folklore
Food
Historical Fiction
Literary Studies
Literature
Music
Performing Arts
Photography
Poetry
Popular Culture
Science Fiction
History
Ancient History
Arguing History
Biography
Diplomatic History
Early Modern History
Economic and Business History
General History
Intellectual History
Medieval History
Military History
Women's History
Peoples & Places
African Studies
African American Studies
American Politics
American Studies
American South
American West
Asian American Studies
Australian and New Zealand Studies
British Studies
Canadian Studies
Caribbean Studies
Central Asian Studies
Chinese Studies
East Asian Studies
Eastern European Studies
European Politics
French Studies
German Studies
Iberian Studies
India Studies
Indian Ocean World
Irish Studies
Israel Studies
Italian Studies
Japanese Studies
Korean Studies
Latino Studies
Latin American Studies
Mexican Studies
Middle Eastern Studies
Native American Studies
Pacific Studies
Polish Studies
Russian and Eurasian Studies
Southeast Asian Studies
South Asian Studies
Ukrainian Studies
Western European Studies
World Affairs
Politics & Society
Animal Studies
Anthropology
Archaeology
Business, Management, and Marketing
Media
Critical Theory
Disability Studies
Drugs, Addiction and Recovery
Education
Economics
Finance
Geography
Gender Studies
Genocide Studies
Higher Education
Human Rights
Journalism
Language
Law
LGBTQ+ Studies
National Security
Philosophy
Policing, Incarceration, and Reform
Political Science
Politics
Politics & Polemics
Public Policy
Sex, Sexuality, and Sex Work
Sociology
Sound Studies
Sports
Urban Studies
Religion & Faith
Biblical Studies
Buddhist Studies
Catholic Studies
Christian Studies
Indian Religions
Islamic Studies
Jewish Studies
Religion
Secularism
Spiritual Practice and Mindfulness
World Christianity
Science & Technology
Biology and Evolution
Environmental Studies
History of Science
Mathematics
Medicine
Neuroscience
Physics and Chemistry
Psychoanalysis
Psychology
Public Health
Science
Science, Technology, and Society
Systems and Cybernetics
Technology
Special Series
Big Ideas
Celebration Studies
Co-Authored
Cover Story
Game Studies
Historical Materialism
Landscape Architecture
Mormonism
NBN Book of the Day
NBN Seminar
Postscript
Preparing for Life After Grad School
UP Partners
Behind the Book: A Nebraska UP Podcast
Brill on the Wire
Exchanges: A Cambridge UP Podcast
In Conversation: An OUP Podcast
Off the Page: A Columbia UP Podcast
Princeton UP Ideas Podcast
UNC Press Presents Podcast
Academic Partners
Academic Life
Almost Good Catholics
Asian Review of Books
Burned by Books
Dan Hill's EQ Spotlight
Darts & Letters
The Common Magazine
Nomads, Past and Present
East-West Psychology Podcast
Entrepreneurship and Leadership
Ethnographic Marginalia
The Future of . . . with Owen Bennett-Jones
Global Media & Communication
Grinnell College: Authors and Artists
High Theory
How to Be Wrong
Ideas Roadshow Podcast
The Imperfect Buddha Podcast
International Horizons
Interpretive Political and Social Science
Journal of Asian American Studies Podcast
Lies Agreed Upon
Life Wisdom
Ministry of Ideas
Mobilities and Methods
Nordic Asia Podcast
Novel Dialogue
NYIH Conversations
On Religion
Peoples & Things
A Podcast Series about Polymath Robert Eisler
The Proust Questionnaire Podcast
Recall This Book
Scholarly Communication
Shakespeare For All
Think About It
SSEAC Stories
Van Leer Institute Series on Ideas with Renee Garfinkel
The Vault
Why We Argue
Writ Large
Jan 22
Jan 23
Jan 24
Jan 25
Jan 26
Jan 27
Jan 28
Jan 29
Jan 30
Book of the Day
/
American Studies
Bob Dylan's New York
A Historic Guide
Dick Weissman
Hosted by
Robert Snyder
New York has long been a city where people go to reinvent themselves. And since the dawn of the twentieth century, New York City’s Greenwich Village has been at the center of that alchemy of reinvention. Its side streets, squares and coffeehouses have nurtured generations of artists, writers, and musicians, among them Bob Dylan. Dylan first set foot in the Village in 1961, and even as he continues to …
Anthropology
The Industrial Ephemeral
Labor and Love in Indian Architecture and Construction
Namita Vijay Dharia
Hosted by
Garima Jaju
What transformative effects does a multimillion-dollar industry have on those who work within it? The Industrial Ephemeral: Labor and Love in Indian Architecture and Construction (U California Press, 2022), presents …
Ministry of Ideas
Progressive Souls
Religion and the Pursuit of a Just Society (Part 2)
Elizabeth Bruenig, EJ Dionne, and Dan McKanan
Hosted by
Zachary Davis
Religious people have played an important role in progressive politics in the US for its entire history. Contemporary leftists should look to build bridges and include religious voices in the …
Medieval History
Byzantine Religious Law in Medieval Italy
James Morton
Hosted by
Diki Sherpa
Southern Italy was conquered by the Norman Hauteville dynasty in the late eleventh century after over five hundred years of continuous Byzantine rule. At a stroke, the region's Greek Christian …
Digital Humanities
Podcast Series: Hell on Earth
The 30 Years War and the Violent Birth of Capitalism
Chris Wade and Matt Christman
Hosted by
Michael Vann
Hell on Earth: The 30 Years War and the Violent Birth of Capitalism is a new 10-part series from the creators of Hell of Presidents — one of Entertainment Weekly’s …
American West
Taking the Field
Soldiers, Nature, and Empire on American Frontiers
Amy Kohout
Hosted by
Stephen Hausmann
The US military didn't just conquer its way across the US West and the Pacific - it also collected and categorized across these spaces too. In Taking the Field: Soldiers, Nature …
Peoples & Things
Deafness “Cures” in History
A Conversation with Jaipreet Virdi
Jaipreet Virdi
Hosted by
Lee Vinsel
Jaipreet Virdi talks about her book Hearing Happiness: Deafness Cures in History with Peoples & Things host Lee Vinsel. The book details the long history of attempts to “fix” deaf people …
Almost Good Catholics
The Feminine Genius
Everyday Mysticism and How to Organize Your Life around It
Danielle Bean
Hosted by
Krzysztof Odyniec
Danielle Bean talks about everyday mysticism and learning to listen for God in her book, Whisper: Finding God in the Everyday. God is there in our daily tasks and especially …
Children's Literature
A Grand Day
Jean Reidy
Hosted by
Mel Rosenberg
Jean Reidy’s best-selling and award-winning picture books have earned their spots as favorites among readers and listeners of all ages and from all over the world. She is honored to …
Caribbean Studies
Tell My Mother I Gone to Cuba
Stories of Early Twentieth-century Migration from Barbados
Sharon Milagro Marshall
Hosted by
Carmen Gomez-Galisteo
Barbadians were among the thousands of British West Indians who migrated to Cuba in the early twentieth century in search of work. They were drawn there by employment opportunities fueled …
Book of the Day
/
Intellectual History
A New History of the Humanities
The Search for Principles and Patterns from Antiquity to the Present
Rens Bod
Hosted by
Morteza Hajizadeh
Many histories of science have been written, but A New History of the Humanities (Oxford UP, 2014) offers the first overarching history of the humanities from Antiquity to the present. There are already historical studies of musicology, logic, art history, linguistics, and historiography, but this volume gathers these, and many other humanities disciplines, into a single coherent account. Its central theme is the way in which scholars throughout the ages …
Middle Eastern Studies
Losing Istanbul
Arab-Ottoman Imperialists and the End of Empire
Mostafa Minawi
Hosted by
Reuben Silverman
Mostafa Minawi's Losing Istanbul: Arab-Ottoman Imperialists and the End of Empire (Stanford University Press, 2022) offers an intimate history of empire, following the rise and fall of a generation of Arab-Ottoman imperialists living …
Finance
The Intelligent Fund Investor
Practical Steps for Better Results in Active and Passive Funds
Joe Wiggins
Hosted by
John Emrich
Investing in funds is not straightforward. We are faced with a countless range of options and constantly distracted by meaningless noise and turbulent markets. To make matters worse, our flawed …
Ministry of Ideas
Climate of Denial
Why Do Americans Doubt Climate Change?
Tanya Luhrmann, Gary Aylesworth, and Lee McIntyre
Hosted by
Zachary Davis
Human-caused climate change is real and growing in impact. Yet many Americans see climate change as a belief that they can opt out of. Two belief structures are to blame …
Shakespeare For All
Shakespeare’s Life, World and Works 4: Shakespeare’s Work
A Discussion with Emma Smith
Emma Smith
Hosted by
Zachary Davis
William Shakespeare, who lived in England from 1564 to 1616, is one of the world’s most popular and most captivating authors. Even four hundred years after his death, his plays …
Peoples & Things
How Universities Are Plundering Our Cities
A Discussion with Davarian Baldwin
Davarian Baldwin
Hosted by
Lee Vinsel
Davarian L. Baldwin is a professor of American studies and founding director of the Smart Cities Lab at Trinity College in Hartford, Conn. His latest book, In the Shadow of …
Almost Good Catholics
Catholic in Karachi
Living as a Christian in an Islamic Country
Ayyaz Gulzar
Hosted by
Krzysztof Odyniec
Ayyaz Gulzar, journalist and Catholic youth leader in Pakistan, describes the challenges and persecutions the Church faces in the Islamic Republic, which includes the county’s blasphemy laws. He also talks …
Biblical Studies
Divine Shepherd Christology in the Gospel of Matthew
Wayne Baxter
Hosted by
Michael Morales
The Gospel of Matthew presents Jesus as ‘Shepherd. ’ Is this theme part of the Gospel’s divine Christology? Wayne Baxter, by exploring shepherd imagery in the Hebrew Bible and the …
How to Be Wrong
The Editor and Humility
A Conversation with the NYT's Peter Catapano
Peter Catapano
Hosted by
John Kaag and John Traphagan
In this episode we talk with New York Times Opinion Section Editor Peter Catapano, who has edited and published more than 1,000 pieces in The Times and worked with thinkers …
International Horizons
Contextualizing the Iranian Protests
The Role of Women in Leading the Change
Mahnaz Afkhami and Kelly Shannon
Hosted by
International Horizons
Western sanctions have slowed Iran's economy, causing protests against the absence of freedom and opportunities -- teachers their lack of pay; farmers their lack of water; retirees their fear of …
High Theory
Near Death Experience
A Discussion with Laura Wittman
Laura Wittman
Hosted by
Kim Adams and Saronik Bosu
In this episode of High Theory, Laura Wittman tells us about near death experiences. The central feature of these experiences is a vision and a story, which it turns out …
Book of the Day
/
Popular Culture
Finding Jackie
The Second Act of America's First Lady
Oline Eaton
Hosted by
Rebekah Buchanan
In her new book, Finding Jackie: A Life Reinvented (Diversion Books, 2023), scholar and writer Oline Eaton examines the story of an era's biggest "star of life," Jaqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis, as she coped with trauma and built a new existence in an unstable world during the time between JFK's murder in 1963 and the death of her second husband, Aristotle Onassis, in 1975. Jackie Kennedy was universally loved and to this …
Economics
Power and Prediction
The Disruptive Economics of Artificial Intelligence
Ajay Agrawal, Joshua Gans, and Avi Goldfarb
Hosted by
Peter Lorentzen
Disruption resulting from the proliferation of AI is coming. The authors of the bestselling Prediction Machines describe what you can do to prepare. Banking and finance, pharmaceuticals, automotive, medical technology …
Women's History
"Fame Is Not Just for the Fellas"
Female Renown and the Childhood of Famous Americans Series
Gregory M. Pfitzer
Hosted by
Rebecca Turkington
In “Fame is Not Just for the Fellas”: Female Renown and the Childhood of Famous Americans Series (University of Massachusetts Press, 2022), Gregory Pfitzer examines the editorial and production choices …
Literature
The Kudzu Queen
Mimi Herman
Hosted by
G. P. Gottlieb
Kudzu salesman James T. Cullowee arrives in Cooper County, North Carolina in the spring of 1941 to spread the gospel of kudzu. It can apparently feed cattle, improve soil, grow …
Nomads, Past and Present
Pastures of Change
Contemporary Adaptations and Transformations among Nomadic Pastoralists of Eastern Tibet
Gillian G. Tan
Hosted by
Maggie Freeman
Tibetan nomads have developed a way of life that is dependent in multiple ways on their animals and shaped by the phenomenological experience of mobility. These pastoralists have adapted to …
Burned by Books
The Sense of Wonder
A Novel
Matthew Salesses
Hosted by
Chris Holmes
MATTHEW SALESSES is the author of eight books, including The Sense of Wonder, which comes out in January 2023 from Little, Brown. Most recent are the national bestseller Craft in …
Ministry of Ideas
Stealing the Canon
Who Should Be In and Who Should Be Out?
Stephen Greenblatt, Oskar Eustis, John Ray Proctor, and Rory Loughnane
Hosted by
Zachary Davis
Literary canons have come under fire for perpetuating privilege and exclusion. But some artists — including William Shakespeare and Hamilton’s Lin-Manuel Miranda — show us how canons can actually build …
Anthropology
Undocumented Motherhood
Conversations on Love, Trauma, and Border Crossing
Elizabeth Farfán-Santos
Hosted by
Reighan Gillam
Claudia Garcia crossed the border because her toddler, Natalia, could not hear. Leaving behind everything she knew in Mexico, Claudia recounts the terror of migrating alone with her toddler and …
Peoples & Things
The History of Temp Work
A Discussion with Louis Hyman
Louis Hyman
Hosted by
Lee Vinsel
Historian Louis Hyman, professor and director of the Institute of Workplace Studies at Cornell University’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations, talks about his book, Temp: How American Work, American …
Scholarly Communication
Unsaid
Analyzing Harmful Silences
Lois Presser
Hosted by
Jen Hoyer
Harm takes shape in and through what is suppressed, left out, or taken for granted. Unsaid: Analyzing Harmful Silences (U California Press, 2022) is a guide to understanding and uncovering what …
Almost Good Catholics
Faithful Frontiers
A Turkish Scholar Describes How She Became a Catholic Apologist
Derya Little
Hosted by
Krzysztof Odyniec
Derya Little has been a Muslim, an atheist, and a Protestant; today she is a Catholic writer and apologist. She tells the story of her conversion, talks about faith, family …
Book of the Day
/
Eastern European Studies
In the Shadow of the Holocaust
Poland, the United Nations War Crimes Commission, and the Search for Justice
Michael Fleming
Hosted by
Piotr Kosicki
In the midst of the Second World War, Central and East European governments-in-exile struggled to make their voices heard as they reported back to the Allies and sought to reach mass Allied publics with eyewitness testimony of German atrocities committed in their respective homelands. The most striking case is that of Poland, whose wartime exile government served as the principal conduit for first-hand testimony (much of which was initially ignored …
Intellectual History
The Battle of the Classics
How a Nineteenth-Century Debate Can Save the Humanities Today
Eric Adler
Hosted by
Morteza Hajizadeh
These are troubling days for the humanities. In response, a recent proliferation of works defending the humanities has emerged. But, taken together, what are these works really saying, and how …
Sports
Break Point
Two Minnesota Athletes and the Road to Title IX
Sheri Brenden
Hosted by
Rebekah Buchanan
In Break Point: Two Minnesota Athletes and the Road to Title IX (University of Minnesota Press, 2022), Sheri Brenden examines how two teenage girls in Minnesota jump-started a revolution in high school …
Geography
Just One Rain Away
The Ethnography of River-City Flood Control
Stephanie C. Kane
Hosted by
Stentor Danielson
Not long ago it seemed flood control experts were close to mastering the unruly flows funnelling toward Hudson Bay and the Prairie city of Winnipeg. But as more intense and …
Jewish Studies
Yiddish Revolutionaries in Migration
The Transnational History of the Jewish Labour Bund
Frank Wolff
Hosted by
Miriam Schulz
Frank Wolff's ground-breaking Yiddish Revolutionaries in Migration: The Transnational History of the Jewish Labour Bund (Haymarket Books, 2021) investigates how this social movement transformed itself from one of the most important revolutionary protagonists in …
Ministry of Ideas
Welcome to Valhalla
On a Progressive Paganism
Robert Schreiwer, Michael Strmiska, Lauren Crow, Ben Waggoner, and Thomas Engelmann
Hosted by
Zachary Davis
Heathenry, a modern movement drawing on pre-Christian pagan religions, has become associated with the violent, racialized politics of the alt-right. Less well known is the fight to make heathenry — …
American Studies
Generation Gap
Why the Baby Boomers Still Dominate American Politics and Culture
Kevin Munger
Hosted by
Caleb Zakarin
In Generation Gap: Why the Baby Boomers Still Dominate American Politics and Culture (Columbia UP, 2022), Kevin Munger marshals novel data and survey evidence to argue that generational conflict will define the politics …
Peoples & Things
Engineering and Social Justice
A Discussion with Donna Riley
Donna Riley
Hosted by
Lee Vinsel
Donna Riley, professor and head of the school of engineering education at Purdue University, talks about her path, her work, and her 2008 book, Engineering and Social Justice, with Peoples …
Almost Good Catholics
Stabat Mater
A Sandy Hook Mom Stands with Mary at the Foot of the Cross
Laura Phelps
Hosted by
Krzysztof Odyniec
One morning in December of 2012, Laura Phelps’s little children went to school and lived through an attack by a madman who shot 20 of their classmates. Laura’s community was …
Jewish Studies
Jewish Flavours of Italy
A Family Cookbook
Silvia Nacamulli
Hosted by
Ari Barbalat
Jewish Flavours of Italy: A Family Cookbook (Green Bean Books, 2022) is a culinary journey through Italy and a deep dive into family culinary heritage. With more than 100 kosher …
Book of the Day
/
Animal Studies
If Nietzsche Were a Narwhal
What Animal Intelligence Reveals About Human Stupidity
Justin Gregg
Hosted by
Miranda Melcher
What if human intelligence is actually more of a liability than a gift? After all, the animal kingdom, in all its diversity, gets by just fine without it. At first glance, human history is full of remarkable feats of intelligence, yet human exceptionalism can be a double-edged sword. With our unique cognitive prowess comes severe consequences, including existential angst, violence, discrimination, and the creation of a world teetering towards climate …
Asian Review of Books
Anglo-India and the End of Empire
Uther Charlton-Stevens
Hosted by
Nicholas Gordon
It can be easy to think of colonies as having two populations: colonial subjects, and colonial overlords from Europe. It’s an easy narrative: one has power, status and privilege, the …
Postscript
Postscript: Narrative and Influence Activities in the Russo-Ukraine War
Jordan Miller
Hosted by
Lilly Goren
For almost a year now, we have been absorbing news and information about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. There are a variety of different, or competing, narratives to explain and …
Academic Life
The Connected PhD, Part One
A Discussion with Alyssa Stalsberg Canelli and Jonathan Shapiro Anjaria
Alyssa Stalsberg Canelli and Jonathan Shapiro Anjaria
Hosted by
Christina Gessler
Why do PhD programs assume students will become professors, when most people find careers outside academia? How can we better prepare graduate students for the post-grad career path? This episode …
Indian Religions
Opening Kailasanatha
The Temple in Kanchipuram Revealed in Time and Space
Padma Kaimal
Hosted by
Raj Balkaran
In Opening Kailasanatha: The Temple in Kanchipuram Revealed in Time and Space (U Washington Press, 2020), Padma Kaimal deciphers the intentions of the monument’s makers, reaching back across centuries to …
Ministry of Ideas
Virtually Violent
Are Online Attacks "Violence?"
Erica Chenoweth, Joan Donovan, Oren Segal
Hosted by
Zachary Davis
During the COVID-19 pandemic, vulnerable communities have been hit especially hard by disruptive online attacks. But calling these attacks "violent" could jeopardize the future of disruptive protests designed to protest …
Peoples & Things
The Archaeology of Innovation
A Discussion with Catherine Frieman
Catherine Frieman
Hosted by
Lee Vinsel
Catherine Frieman, an associate professor of European Archaeology at the School of Archaeology, talks about her recent book, An Archaeology of Innovation: Approaching Social and Technological Change in Human Society …
Dan Hill's EQ Spotlight
Between Us
How Cultures Create Emotions
Batja Mesquita
Hosted by
Dan Hill
Today I talked to Batja Mesquita about her book Between Us: How Cultures Create Emotions (Norton, 2022). To a degree sometimes not realized, we discuss emotions through the lens of what have been …
Almost Good Catholics
In the Swiss Guards
Reflections on Two Years Guarding the Pope
David Geisser
Hosted by
Krzysztof Odyniec
David Geisser was a Swiss Guard protecting Pope Francis and the Apostolic Palace between 2013 and 2015. He was following the footsteps of his father who had been in the …
SSEAC Stories
Shaping Civilisations
The Sea in Asian History
Eric Tagliocozzo
Hosted by
Natali Pearson
The ocean is more connective device than barrier, bringing together diverse topics, time-periods and geographies. It has linked and connected the various littorals of Asia into a segmented, yet at …
Why We Argue
Seeing Truth in Museums
A Conversation about the Legacy and Future of Museums with Chris Newell
Chris Newell
Hosted by
Alexis Boylan
Feeling down about museums? We have so many reasons to, but Chris Newell, Tribal Community Member-in-Residence at UConn and Director of Education at the Akomawt Educational Initiative, gives a dose …
Literature
Charles Street Trio
A Novel in Three Voices
Anthony Valerio, Kate Farrell, and Pamela Manché Pearce
Hosted by
Caleb Zakarin
Charles Street Trio: A Novel in Three Voices (2022) is a series of books that collectively form a tapestry of life in the form of a sprawling epic of a …
Book of the Day
/
Medicine
Habit Forming
Drug Addiction in America, 1776-1914
Elizabeth Kelly Gray
Hosted by
Rachel Pagones
Habitual drug use in the United States is at least as old as the nation itself. Elizabeth Kelly Gray's book Habit Forming: Drug Addiction in America, 1776-1914 (Oxford UP, 2023) traces the history of unregulated drug use and dependency before 1914, when the Harrison Narcotic Tax Act limited sales of opiates and cocaine under US law. Many Americans used opiates and other drugs medically and became addicted. Some tried ‘Hasheesh Candy’, injected …
Van Leer Institute Series on Ideas with Renee Garfinkel
The Aryan Jesus
Christian Theologians and the Bible in Nazi Germany
Susannah Heschel
Hosted by
Renee Garfinkel
The Aryan Jesus: Christian Theologians and the Bible in Nazi Germany (Princeton UP, 2010) documents the process, and relative ease, with which institutions of higher learning and the religious establishment …
European Politics
Central Banks and Supervisory Architecture in Europe
Lessons from Crises in the 21st Century
Robert Holzmann and Fernando Restoy
Hosted by
Tim Jones
Since 2020, Europe's financial sector has been severely stress-tested by a global pandemic and a major land war yet, compared to the period between 2007 and 2012, the impact has …
Islamic Studies
In and Out of This World
Material and Extraterrestrial Bodies in the Nation of Islam
Stephen C. Finley
Hosted by
Kristian Petersen
With In and Out of This World: Material and Extraterrestrial Bodies in the Nation of Islam (Duke University Press, 2022), Stephen C. Finley, Inaugural Chair, Department of African and African …
Ministry of Ideas
Dissecting Morality
What do Scientists Have To Say About Ethics? (Part 1)
Diane Paul, Ben Allen, and Steven Pinker
Hosted by
Zachary Davis
Linking morality and science can conjure up disturbing histories around social Darwinism, eugenics, and genetically engineered humans. But scientists today are making discoveries that moral agents shouldn’t ignore: how to …
British Studies
Black Oot Here
Black Lives in Scotland
Francesca Sobande and layla-roxanne hill
Hosted by
Miranda Melcher
What does it mean to be Black in Scotland today? How are notions of nationhood, Scottishness, and Britishness implicated in this? Why is it important to archive and understand Black …
Peoples & Things
The History of Electricity in Mexico
A Discussion with Diana Montaño
Diana Montaño
Hosted by
Lee Vinsel
In her detailed cultural history of technological change, Electrifying Mexico, Diana Montaño argues that ordinary Mexicans became electrifying agents who actively negotiated the extent and manner electricity entered their lives …
Almost Good Catholics
What if You're Gay?
Starting Conversations with and about LGBT Catholics
Father James Martin, SJ
Hosted by
Krzysztof Odyniec
Since 2016, and with the blessing of Pope Francis, Father Jim Martin has been talking with LGBT Catholics about their relationship with their church. That’s the subject of his book …
Nomads, Past and Present
Words Like Daggers: The Political Poetry of the Negev Bedouin
Kobi Peled
Hosted by
Maggie Freeman
For generations, the composition and recitation of poetry has been a key mode of expression among Bedouin populations in the Middle East, reflecting social norms, religious practices, relationships with the …
Jewish Studies
Rewriting Maimonides
Early Commentaries on the Guide of the Perplexed
Igor H. De Souza
Hosted by
Ari Barbalat
Maimonideanism, the intellectual culture inspired by Maimonides’ writings, has received much recent attention. Yet a central aspect of Maimonideanism has been overlooked: the formal reception of the Guide of the …
African American Studies
The Black Athlete Revolt
The Sport Justice Movement in the Age Of #BlackLivesMatter
Shaun M. Anderson
Hosted by
Ari Barbalat
In the age of social media, athletes have a powerful influence like never before. Many Black athletes have used that power in positive ways, galvanizing their platforms to create impactful …
Nordic Asia Podcast
Myanmar Jewellers in China
A Discussion with Juliet Zhu
Juliet Zhu
Hosted by
Julie Yu-Wen Chen
China re-opened border in a final farewell to its strict zero-COVID policy on the 8th of January, 2023. But in the first few weeks of January, the Myanmar side of …
Book of the Day
/
Law
The China Nexus
Thirty Years in and Around the Chinese Communist Party's Tyranny
Benedict Rogers
Hosted by
Jane Richards
The China Nexus: Thirty Years In and Around the Chinese Communist Party's Tyranny (Optimum Publishing, 2022) brings together Benedict Rogers' 30 years of advocacy, research and work in and around China. Opening with his rollicking adventures as an 18 year old teaching English in Qingdao in 1992, the human element of this monograph, the real people and their lives are foregrounded. Rogers takes the reader through a nexus of the CCP's tyranny; from China's …
Diplomatic History
The Struggle for Iran
Oil, Autocracy, and the Cold War, 1951-1954
David S. Painter and Gregory Brew
Hosted by
Grant Golub
Beginning with the nationalization of the Iranian oil industry in spring 1951 and ending with its reversal following the overthrow of Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddeq in August 1953, the Iranian …
Animal Studies
Animals in Irish Society
Interspecies Oppression and Vegan Liberation in Britain's First Colony
Corey Lee Wrenn
Hosted by
Kyle Johannsen
Irish vegan studies are poised for increasing relevance as climate change threatens the legitimacy and longevity of animal agriculture and widespread health problems related to animal product consumption disrupt long …
Catholic Studies
Jesuit Colleges and Universities in the United States
A History
Michael T. Rizzi
Hosted by
Allison Isidore
Jesuit Colleges and Universities in the United States: A History (Catholic University of America Press, 2022) provides a comprehensive history of Jesuit higher education in the United States, weaving together the stories …
Ministry of Ideas
Dissecting Morality
What do Scientists Have To Say About Ethics? (Part 2)
Diane Paul, Ben Allen, and Steven Pinker
Hosted by
Zachary Davis
Linking morality and science can conjure up disturbing histories around social Darwinism, eugenics, and genetically engineered humans. But scientists today are making discoveries that moral agents shouldn’t ignore: how to …
South Asian Studies
The Vulgarity of Caste
Dalits, Sexuality, and Humanity in Modern India
Shailaja Paik
Hosted by
Niharika Yadav
The Vulgarity of Caste: Dalits, Sexuality, and Humanity in Modern India (Stanford UP, 2022) offers the first social and intellectual history of Dalit performance of Tamasha—a popular form of public, secular …
Peoples & Things
Business in Socialist Hungary
A Discussion with Phil Scranton
Phil Scranton
Hosted by
Lee Vinsel
Philip Scranton, University Board of Governors Professor Emeritus of the history of industry and technology at Rutgers University-Camden, talks about his book, Business Practice In Socialist Hungary, Volume 1: Creating …
Ukrainian Studies
Wild Music
Sound and Sovereignty in Ukraine
Maria Sonevytsky
Hosted by
John Vsetecka
In Wild Music: Sound and Sovereignty in Ukraine (Wesleyan UP, 2019), Maria Sonevytsky tracks vernacular Ukrainian discourses of “wildness” as they manifested in popular music during a volatile decade of …
Almost Good Catholics
Chatting with the Homeless
Looking for Jesus among the Least of Our Brothers
Brother John Vianney Russel, OP
Hosted by
Krzysztof Odyniec
Dominican Friar John Vianney Russel has made a habit of talking with homeless people and shares what he has learned. He doesn’t have all the answers and, in fact, we …
Jewish Studies
The Holocaust in Romania
The Destruction of Jews and Roma Under the Antonescu Regime, 1940-1944
Radu Ioanid
Hosted by
Ari Barbalat
The Holocaust in Romania: The Destruction of Jews and Roma Under the Antonescu Regime, 1940-1944 (Rowman & Littlefield, 2022), Radu Ioanid explores in great detail the physical destruction of Romania's …
African American Studies
Soundworks
Race, Sound, and Poetry in Production
Anthony Reed
Hosted by
Henry Ivry
In Soundworks: Race, Sound, and Poetry in Production (Duke UP, 2020), Anthony Reed argues that studying sound requires conceiving it as process and as work. Since the long Black Arts …
The Future of . . . with Owen Bennett-Jones
The Future of Computer Chips
A Discussion with Julian Kamasa
Julian Kamasa
Hosted by
Owen Bennett-Jones
Microchips are both important and in short supply. So how important? And what can be done to make them more plentiful? Also, what are the geopolitical implications of having the …
Book of the Day
/
Exchanges: A Cambridge UP Podcast
This Is Not Who We Are
America’s Struggle Between Vengeance and Virtue
Zachary Shore
Hosted by
Mark Klobas
What kind of country is America? Zachary Shore tackles this polarizing question by spotlighting some of the most morally muddled matters of WWII. Should Japanese Americans be moved from the west coast to prevent sabotage? Should the German people be made to starve as punishment for launching the war? Should America drop atomic bombs to break Japan's will to fight? Surprisingly, despite wartime anger, most Americans and key officials favored …
Systems and Cybernetics
Design Journeys Through Complex Systems
Practice Tools for Systemic Design
Peter Jones and Kristel van Ael
Hosted by
Kevin Lindsay
As I slowly settle into 2023 — reflecting on the blur that was 2022 — I can’t help but think about the complex problems (aka big messes!) we face at …
World Christianity
The Politics of Persecution
Middle Eastern Christians in an Age of Empire
Mitri Raheb
Hosted by
Byung Ho Choi
Persecution of Christians in the Middle East has been a recurring theme since the middle of the nineteenth century. The topic has experienced a resurgence in the last few years …
Middle Eastern Studies
Water the Willow Tree
Memoirs of a Bethlehem Boyhood
George Anton Kiraz
Hosted by
Ari Barbalat
In Water the Willow Tree: Memoirs of a Bethlehem Boyhood (Gorgias Press, 2022), George A. Kiraz tells the story of a young Palestinian boy growing up in Bethlehem, fascinated with …
Ministry of Ideas
Above the Veil
Beyond Segregationism and Assimilationism
Ibram X. Kendi, Max Mueller, and Anika Prather
Hosted by
Zachary Davis
The work of Ibram X. Kendi distinguishes between two forms of racism: segregationism and assimilationism. Segregationists argue that some groups are inferior by nature; assimilationists, on the other hand, argue …
South Asian Studies
Whole Numbers and Half Truths
What Data Can and Cannot Tell Us About Modern India
Rukmini S.
Hosted by
Alok Prasanna and Sarayu Natarajan
How do you see India? Fuelled by a surge of migration to cities, the country's growth appears to be defined by urbanisation and by its growing, prosperous middle class. It …
Peoples & Things
Collaborations between Cold War Scientists and Artists
A Discussion with Patrick McCray
Patrick McCray
Hosted by
Lee Vinsel
Patrick McCray, Professor of History at University of California, Santa Barbara, talks about his book, Making Art Work: How Cold War Engineers and Artists Forged a New Creative Culture, with …
Almost Good Catholics
Apocalypse Past, Present, and Future
Thinking about the End in History and Culture
John Jeffries Martin
Hosted by
Krzysztof Odyniec
Historian John Jeffries Martin traces narratives of the Apocalypse over the last 500 years in the Christian, Jewish, and Muslim traditions in his new book, A Beautiful Ending. This discussion …
Poetry
Hereafter
The Telling Life of Ellen O'Hara
Vona Groarke
Hosted by
Hal Coase
Ellen O'Hara was a young immigrant from Ireland at the end of the nineteenth century who, with courage and resilience, made a life for herself in New York while financially …
Jewish Studies
In Search of Truth
Three Yeshiva Students on a Spiritual Journey
Menachem Brod
Hosted by
Ari Barbalat
Menachem Brod's In Search of Truth: Three Yeshiva Students on a Spiritual Journey (BSD Publishers, 2022) describes the struggle of yeshiva students searching for a path in serving Hashem. Examining …
Sociology
Stacked Decks
Building Inspectors and the Reproduction of Urban Inequality
Robin Bartram
Hosted by
Michael Johnston
Though we rarely see them at work, building inspectors have the power to significantly shape our lives through their discretionary decisions. The building inspectors of Chicago are at the heart …
Scholarly Communication
Think Bigger--How Researchers Can Use their Books to Make Real Breakthroughs
A Discussion with Gita Manaktala, Editorial Director at MIT Press
Gita Manaktala
Hosted by
Avi Staiman
Avi and Gita Manaktala discuss how researchers should approach the book publishing process, including determining whether research should be published as an article or book, how to make an impact …
Book of the Day
/
East Asian Studies
The Emergence of Global Maoism
China's Red Evangelism and the Cambodian Communist Movement, 1949-1979
Matthew Galway
Hosted by
Sarah Bramao-Ramos
How do ideas manifest outside of their place of origin, and how do they change once they do? The Emergence of Global Maoism: China’s Red Evangelism and the Cambodian Communist Movement, 1949–1979 (Cornell University Press, 2022) by Matthew Galway examines how ideological systems become localized, both in the indigenization of Marxism-Leninism by Mao Zedong and, more significantly, the indigenization of Maoism by the Communist Party of Kampuchea. Galway carefully investigates …
Almost Good Catholics
The Mesopotamian Connection
Comparing the Bible to Other Literature of the Ancient Near East
Cathleen Chopra-McGowan
Hosted by
Krzysztof Odyniec
Professor Cathleen Chopra-McGowan examines some the incongruities of our Bible in the context of the Ancient Near East, showing how the stories and traditions of Israel resembled and borrowed from …
Jewish Studies
Anthology of Religious Poetry from the Mexican Inquisition Trials of 16th-Century CryptoJews
Mark A. Schneegurt
Hosted by
Ari Barbalat
A century after being expelled from Portugal, cryptoJews in Mexico, false converts to Christianity, could not speak of their beliefs for fear of becoming embroiled in the imprisonment, torture, and …
General History
Epidemic Orientalism
Race, Capital, and the Governance of Infectious Disease
Alexandre I. R. White
Hosted by
Nathan Moore
For many residents of Western nations, COVID-19 was the first time they experienced the effects of an uncontrolled epidemic. This is in part due to a series of little-known regulations …
Ministry of Ideas
Public Thinking
Social Media and the New 'Public Intellectual'
Cornel West and George Scialabba
Hosted by
Zachary Davis
We have usually relied on public intellectuals to provide facts, ideas, and cultural leadership--though not all have lived up to the ideal of “speaking truth to power.” Today, however, online …
Shakespeare For All
Shakespeare's Life, World and Works 5: How to Read Shakespeare
A Discussion with Emma Smith
Emma Smith
Hosted by
Zachary Davis
William Shakespeare, who lived in England from 1564 to 1616, is one of the world’s most popular and most captivating authors. Even four hundred years after his death, his plays …
Peoples & Things
The History of Teletherapy
A Conversation with Hannah Zeavin
Hannah Zeavin
Hosted by
Lee Vinsel
Hannah Zeavin, lecturer in the department of History and member of the executive committees of both the Center for New Media and the Center for Science, Technology, Medicine, and Society …
South Asian Studies
Last Among Equals
Power, Caste and Politics in Bihar's Villages
M. R. Sharan
Hosted by
Alok Prasanna and Sarayu Natarajan
M. R. Sharan is an Assistant Professor at the University of Maryland, studying questions centred around development economics and political economy. He obtained his PhD from Harvard University in 202 …
Early Modern History
The Moving Statues of Seventeenth-Century Amsterdam
Automata, Waxworks, Fountains, Labyrinths
Angela Vanhaelen
Hosted by
Jana Byars
Angela Vanhaelen's The Moving Statues of Seventeenth-Century Amsterdam: Automata, Waxworks, Fountains, Labyrinths (Penn State University Press, 2022) opens a window onto a fascinating and understudied aspect of the visual, material, intellectual, and cultural …
Psychology
Small Habits for a Big Life
Rebecca Ray
Hosted by
Elizabeth Cronin
Change is not about grand statements and sweeping gestures. It is about chipping away, a bit at a time, at the habits that hold us back.Dr Rebecca Ray knows about …
Critical Theory
Adorno and the Ban on Images
Sebastian Truskolaski
Hosted by
Lukas Hoffman
Adorno and the Ban on Images (Bloomsbury, 2022) upends some of the myths that have come to surround the work of the philosopher Theodor W. Adorno – not least amongst …
Think About It
Anne Fernald and Rajgopal Saikumar on Virginia Woolf's "Three Guineas" (1938)
Book Talk 57
Anne Fernald and Rajgopal Saikumar
Hosted by
Uli Baer
Virginia Woolf’s 1938 provocative and polemical essay Three Guineas presents the iconic writer’s views on war, women, and the way the patriarchy at home oppresses women in ways that resemble …
Burned by Books
The Margot Affair
A Novel
Sanaë Lemoine
Hosted by
Chris Holmes
Sanaë Lemoine is the author of The Margot Affair and a 2022 National Endowment for the Arts Creative Writing Fellow. She was born in Paris to a Japanese mother and …
High Theory
Queer Space
A Discussion with Jack Jen Gieseking
Jack Jen Gieseking
Hosted by
Kim Adams and Saronik Bosu
In this episode of High Theory, Jack Jen Gieseking tells us about queer space. Queer geographies matter alongside queer temporalities. And it turns out that lesbian life in the 1950s …
Higher Education
Money or Meaning?
A Discussion on Choice, Restlessness, and Higher Education with Ben and Jenna Storey
Ben Storey and Jenna Storey
Hosted by
Annika Nordquist
What kinds of tools do we need to make big decisions, and why aren't our universities training us to make them? Are universities doing students a disservice by occupying them …