New Books Network Podcast

Why We Argue April 6, 2023

Seeing Truth in Physics

A Conversation with Professor of Physics Stephon Alexander

Stephon Alexander

Hosted by Alexis Boylan

Stephon Alexander talks about a better way of thinking about the interconnections between music, physics, and creativity and how as someone often seen as “outside” the field, he has found …

Why We Argue March 23, 2023

Seeing Truth in the Climate Crisis

A Conversation with Artist Alexis Rockman about Art and the Environment

Alexis Rockman

Hosted by Alexis Boylan

Feeling bad about the environment? You should. Artist Alexis Rockman talks about his art, the potential for real change, and his ongoing relationship with the American Museum of Natural History …

Why We Argue March 9, 2023

Seeing Truth in the Lab

A Conversation with Professor Max Liboiron on Taking Control and Leveraging Science for Justice

Max Liboiron

Hosted by Alexis Boylan

Max Liboiron founder of Environmental Action Research (CLEAR), a feminist, anti-colonial laboratory talks about making better science and how they aren’t interested in dismantling the masters house (because who cares …

Why We Argue February 23, 2023

Seeing Truth in Photographs

A Conversation with Artist Penelope Umbrico about Democracy, Tyranny, and Pinterest

Penelope Umbrico

Hosted by Alexis Boylan

Artist Penelope Umbrico talks about her work, images as currency, and how technology and various platforms herd images. And is photography tyrannical? Umbrico has some thoughts. Learn more about the …

Why We Argue February 9, 2023

Seeing Truth in the Archives

A Conversation about the AMNH and What Gets Saved with Joel Sweimler

Joel Sweimler

Hosted by Alexis Boylan

Joel Sweimler, Exhibition Specialist at the American Museum of Natural History, talks about his career at the museum, working on Seeing Truth, and what his favorite object in the collection …

Why We Argue January 26, 2023

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 …

Why We Argue January 12, 2023

Seeing Truth in the Speculative

A Conversation with Dexter Gabriel

Dexter Gabriel

Hosted by Alexis Boylan

Historian and author Dexter Gabriel talks about his relationship to truth and memory in his fiction and non-fiction writing. Come for his thoughts on what truth we can find in …

Why We Argue December 29, 2022

Seeing Truth in Picturing the Pandemic

A Conversation about Sight, Archives, and Shaping Memory with Sarah Willen

Hosted by Alexis Boylan

Professor Sarah Willen talks about her part in creating the Pandemic Journaling Project and how that has morphed into a series of visual exhibitions that emphasis how we all can …

Why We Argue December 15, 2022

Seeing Truth in Variability, Creativity, and Building Biological Collections

A Conversation with Bernard Goffinet and Eric Schultz

Bernard Goffinet and Eric Schultz

Hosted by Alexis Boylan

In this episode, scientists speak back to ideas about collection building, knowledge making, and the role of art and creativity in research. Bernard Goffinet and Eric Schultz, professors in the …

Why We Argue December 1, 2022

Seeing Truth in Plant Humanities

A Conversation with Romita Ray

Valerie Hegarty

Hosted by Alexis Boylan

Art historian Romita Ray has long puzzled power, visual culture, and how knowledge moves globally. Currently writing about tea, we talk with Ray about botany, picking tea, archives, and the …

Why We Argue November 3, 2022

Seeing Truth in Collections, Memory and Death Studies

A Conversation with Jane Wildgoose

Jane Wildgoose

Hosted by Alexis Boylan

Jane Wildgoose claims she just expanded a beachcomber’s collection but in fact her Wildgoose Memorial Library is a subversive infiltration into the nature of display, memory, knowledge building. Join us …

Why We Argue October 20, 2022

Seeing Truth in Data

A Conversation with Wendy Chun

Wendy Chun

Hosted by Alexis Boylan

Wendy Hui Kyong Chun sees value in the truth, but worries what data we might be looking at to find it. Chun discusses her new book, Discriminating Data (MIT Press …

Why We Argue June 1, 2021

Democracy and Social Critique with Cornel West

Cornel West

Hosted by Robert Talisse

Cornel West is the Dietrich Bonhoeffer Professor at Union Theological Seminary. Professor West is among the nation’s most distinguished philosophers. For several decades running, Cornel West has infused into public …

Why We Argue May 24, 2021

Democratic Repair and Public Things with Bonnie Honig

Bonnie Honig

Hosted by Robert Talisse

Bonnie Honig the Nancy Duke Lewis Professor of Modern Culture and Media, and Political Science at Brown University. Bonnie works at the intersections of political theory, democratic theory, and culture …

Why We Argue May 18, 2021

Climate Denialism and Propaganda with Catriona McKinnon

Catriona McKinnon

Hosted by Robert Talisse

Catriona McKinnon is Professor of Political Theory at the University of Exeter. Her research focuses on climate ethics and environmental justice. Much of her recent work aims at addressing denialism …

Why We Argue May 4, 2021

Social Trust in a Free Society with Kevin Vallier

Kevin Vallier

Hosted by Robert Talisse

Kevin Vallier is Associate Professor in the Department of Philosophy at Bowling Green State University. His most recent book is titled Trust in a Polarized Age. You can follow him …

Why We Argue April 13, 2021

Political Rhetoric and Demagoguery with Jennifer Mercieca

Jennifer Mercieca

Hosted by Robert Talisse

Jennifer Mercieca is Associate Professor in the Department of Communication at Texas A&M University. She is the author of Demagogue for President: The Rhetorical Genius of Donald Trump. You can …

Why We Argue April 6, 2021

Anger, Rage, and Forgiveness with Myisha Cherry

Myisha Cherry

Hosted by Robert Talisse

Myisha Cherry is Assistant Professor of Philosophy at the University of California, Riverside. Myisha’s research focuses on the intersection of moral psychology and social and political philosophy. More specifically she …

Why We Argue March 23, 2021

Conspiracy Theories and Democracy with Quassim Cassam

Quassim Cassam

Hosted by Robert Talisse

Quassim Cassam is Professor in the Department of Philosophy at the University of Warwick. You can follow him on Twitter at .@QCassam. Quassim’s research focus is epistemology, the area of …

Why We Argue March 16, 2021

Democracy and Truth with Sophia Rosenfeld

Sophia Rosenfeld

Hosted by Robert Talisse

Sophia Rosenfeld is Walter H. Annenberg Professor of History at the University of Pennsylvania. She is the author of Democracy and Truth: A Short History.The "Why We Argue" podcast is …