New Books Network Podcast

Nomads, Past and Present December 27, 2022

An Introduction to Digital Nomads

Maggie Freeman

Hosted by Maggie Freeman

Welcome to Digital Nomads! This episode introduces your host, Maggie, and gives a brief overview of the aims, future of, and inspiration behind this podcast. Music in this episode: Desert …

Nomads, Past and Present May 22, 2023

Embracing Landscape

Living with Reindeer and Hunting among Spirits in South Siberia

Selcen Küçüküstel

Hosted by Maggie Freeman

Examining human-animal relations among the reindeer hunting and herding Dukha community in northern Mongolia, Embracing Landscape: Living with Reindeer and Hunting among Spirits in South Siberia (Berghahn Books, 2021), focuses …

Nomads, Past and Present April 3, 2023

Nomad, Nomad

Jonan Pilet

Hosted by Maggie Freeman

In his debut short story collection, Nomad, Nomad (Bound to Brew, 2021), Jonan Pilet explores the lives of Mongols and expats looking for a sense of home within the nomadic …

Nomads, Past and Present March 31, 2023

The Transformation of Livestock Herding in Socialist Mongolia

Kenny Linden

Hosted by Maggie Freeman

Between 1956 and 1960, leaders in the Mongolian People’s Republic embarked on a collectivization campaign to change the way in which Mongolians interacted with animals and the environment. Collectivization in …

Nomads, Past and Present February 13, 2023

Jangar: The Heroic Epic of the Kalmyk Nomads

An interview with Dr. Saga Bougdaeva

Saga Bougdaeva

Hosted by Maggie Freeman

Saga Bougdaeva is the translator of the first English version of Jangar (University of California Press, 2023), the heroic epic of the Kalmyk nomads. The Kalmyks are the Western Mongols …

Nomads, Past and Present February 10, 2023

Star Wars: Andor’s Aldhani and its Real-World Parallels

An interview with Kenneth E. Linden

Kenneth E. Linden

Hosted by Maggie Freeman

In this episode, Dr. Kenny Linden, an environmental and animal historian of Mongolia and Inner Asia, joins me to discuss the Disney+ Star Wars prequel series Andor and its real-world …

Nomads, Past and Present January 27, 2023

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 …

Nomads, Past and Present January 24, 2023

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 …

Nomads, Past and Present January 12, 2023

The Sámi in "Frozen" (Part 2)

An interview with Niina Niskanen

Niina Niskanen

Hosted by Maggie Freeman

The traditional folklore and animistic beliefs of the Sámi, the Indigenous nomadic peoples of northern Sweden, Norway, Finland, and Russia, are under-studied and their cultural significance rarely acknowledged, even in …

Nomads, Past and Present January 11, 2023

The Sámi in "Frozen" (Part 1)

An interview with Aili Keskitalo

Aili Keskitalo

Hosted by Maggie Freeman

Despite the box-office and critical success of Walt Disney Animation Studios' 2013 film Frozen, it also drew criticism and backlash for how it incorporated elements of the culture and heritage …

Nomads, Past and Present January 10, 2023

The Fremen in "Dune"

An interview with Kara Kennedy

Kara Kennedy

Hosted by Maggie Freeman

Despite being set in the distant future on a remote desert planet, the story of resource extraction, power, politics, ecology, and religion told in Frank Herbert's sci-fi series Dune bears …

Nomads, Past and Present January 9, 2023

Romani Representation in Pop Culture

An interview with Vicente Rodriguez Fernandez

Vicente Rodriguez Fernandez

Hosted by Maggie Freeman

Roma figures have been an essential part of European folklore, myths, and literary traditions for centuries, with writers from Cervantes to Shakespeare to Victor Hugo drawing on the stereotype of …

Nomads, Past and Present January 8, 2023

Roma in the Medieval Islamic World

An interview with Kristina Richardson

Kristina Richardson

Hosted by Maggie Freeman

Medieval Arabic sources are full of references to the Banu Sasan (Sons of Sasan) and the Ghuraba' (Strangers), an enigmatic but captivating group who begged, told fortunes, trained animals, and …

Nomads, Past and Present January 7, 2023

Bordering the Bedouin

Hosted by Maggie Freeman

Contemporary issues like the refugee crisis, climate refugees, and global restrictions on movement caused by the COVID-19 pandemic have brought into stark relief the extent to which our movements, lives …

Nomads, Past and Present January 6, 2023

Pastoralism and French Environmental Policy in the Mediterranean

An interview with Andrea Duffy

Andrea Duffy

Hosted by Maggie Freeman

For most of human history, the Mediterranean was home to a significant number of pastoralists, who herded livestock along seasonal migratory routes. Today, traces of this pastoralist presence have all …

Nomads, Past and Present January 5, 2023

The Bedouin and the Formation of Iraq's National Borders

An interview with Carl Shook

Hosted by Maggie Freeman

The British occupation of Iraq after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire led to the creation of Iraq's national boundaries, a process with profound and long-lasting implications for the inhabitants …

Nomads, Past and Present January 4, 2023

Rock Art in the Nomadic Landscape of the Black Desert

An interview with Nathalie Brusgaard

Hosted by Maggie Freeman

The "Black Desert" in the northern Arabian Peninsula is home to thousands of pieces of rock art - both written inscriptions and figural images - left there by the region's …

Nomads, Past and Present January 3, 2023

The 'Queens of the Arabs' during the Neo-Assyrian Period

An interview with Ellie Bennett

Ellie Bennett

Hosted by Maggie Freeman

Eight women appear in Neo-Assyrian sources from the 7th and 8th centuries BCE with the ambiguous but intriguing title 'queen of the Arabs.' Despite providing a rare glimpse of power …

Nomads, Past and Present January 2, 2023

Iraqi Bedouin and Intangible Cultural Heritage

An interview with Salah Hatem and Jaafar Jotheri

Salah Hatem and Jaafar Jotheri

Hosted by Maggie Freeman

A conversation with Dr. Salah Hatem and Dr. Jaafar Jotheri, professors of archaeology at al-Qadisiyah University, about their research project documenting the intangible cultural heritage of the Bedouin in southern …

Nomads, Past and Present January 1, 2023

Bonus Episode: "Nomadland"

Hosted by Maggie Freeman

A special bonus episode in honor of the 93rd Academy Awards on April 25, 2021! One of the most-nominated films at this year's Oscars is "Nomadland," adapted from a book …