New Books Network
The Proust Questionnaire Podcast June 24, 2020

The Proust Questionnaire Podcast

An Introduction

Uli Baer and Caroline Weber

Hosted by Uli Baer and Caroline Weber
What motivates creative people to do what they do, especially to change the world? The Proust Questionnaire is thought in action. It's a personality test that allows us a glimpse …

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The Imperfect Buddha Podcast July 10, 2015

Imperfect Buddha Podcast: Introducing the Why, the How, the Intent of it All

Hosted by Matthew O'Connell
What is the Imperfect Buddha Podcast? Where does it come from? Why listen to it? All of these questions and more are presented in this introduction designed at clarifying for …
Anthropology January 21, 2022

Afterlives of Affect

Science, Religion, and an Edgewalker’s Spirit

Matthew C. Watson

Hosted by Adam Bobeck
In Afterlives of Affect: Science, Religion, and an Edgewalker’s Spirit (Duke UP, 2020), Matthew C. Watson considers the life and work of artist and Mayanist scholar Linda Schele (1942-1998) as …
Nordic Asia Podcast January 21, 2022

China's Environmental Foreign Relations

Heidi Wang-Kaeding

Hosted by Nordic Asia Podcast
Environmental protection and climate actions has embedded in China’s foreign policy and the Chinese government has recently pledged to make the Belt and Road Initiative “open, green, and clean”. How …
Women's History January 21, 2022

Maria W. Stewart and the Roots of Black Political Thought

Kristin Waters

Hosted by Jane Scimeca
Kristin Waters' book Maria W. Stewart and the Roots of Black Political Thought (U Mississippi Press, 2021) tells a crucial, almost-forgotten story of African Americans of early nineteenth-century America. In 1833 …
Children's Literature January 21, 2022

Over, Bear! Under, Where?

Julie Hedlund

Hosted by Mel Rosenberg
Julie Hedlund and I talked about the trials and tribulations of being an author and how patience and perseverance led her to her recent success, Over, Bear! Under, Wear? (Philomel …
Critical Theory January 21, 2022

Confidence Culture

Shani Orgad and Rosalind Gill

Hosted by Louisa Hann
In Confidence Culture (Duke UP, 2022), Shani Orgad and Rosalind Gill argue that imperatives directed at women to “love your body” and “believe in yourself” imply that psychological blocks rather …
SSEAC Stories January 21, 2022

Speaking Bones

Unearthing Ancient Stories of Illness and Disease

Melandri Vlok

Hosted by Natali Pearson
From mosquito-borne diseases such as malaria and dengue to chronic bacterial infections such as yaws, Southeast Asia is home to a wide range of tropical diseases. For a long time …
Poetry January 21, 2022

The Sign of the Dragon

Mary Soon Lee

Hosted by Andrea Blythe
First place winner of the 2021 Elgin Award, The Sign of the Dragon by Mary Soon Lee (Jaberwocky, 2020) is an epic fantasy about a young king who must defend …
Environmental Studies January 21, 2022

Climate Chaos

Lessons on Survival from Our Ancestors

Brian Fagan and Nadia Durrani

Hosted by Galina Limorenko
Human-made climate change may have begun in the last two hundred years, but our species has witnessed many eras of climate instability. The results have not always been pretty. From …
African American Studies January 21, 2022

Black Gathering

Art, Ecology, Ungiven Life

Sarah Jane Cervenak

Hosted by Brittney Edmonds
In Black Gathering: Art, Ecology, Ungiven Life (Duke UP, 2021), Dr. Sarah Jane Cervenak engages with Black artists and writers who create alternative spaces for Black people to gather free from …
Political Science January 20, 2022

Toxic Masculinity

Mapping the Monstrous in Our Heroes

Esther De Dauw and Daniel J. Connell

Hosted by Lilly Goren
Scholars Esther De Dauw and Daniel J. Connell have assembled an array of chapters that explore the idea of masculinity in the realm of contemporary heroes and superheroes. Toxic Masculinity: Mapping …
Recall This Book January 20, 2022

Caryl Phillips Speaks with Corina Stan

Caryl Phillips and Corina Stan

Hosted by Elizabeth Ferry and John Plotz
Our second January Novel Dialogue conversation is with Caryl Phillips, professor of English at Yale and world-renowned for novels ranging from The Final Passage to 2018’s A View of the …
Asian Review of Books January 20, 2022

On the Edge

Life Along the Russia-China Border

Franck Billé and Caroline Humphrey

Hosted by Nicholas Gordon
The border between Russia and China is one of the world’s longest, spanning thousands of miles. It’s one of the few extended land borders between two great powers, subject to …
General History January 20, 2022

Degrees of Difficulty

How Women's Gymnastics Rose to Prominence and Fell from Grace

Georgia Cervin

Hosted by Miranda Melcher
Electrifying athletes like Olga Korbut and Nadia Comaneci helped make women’s artistic gymnastics one of the most popular events in the Olympic Games. But the transition of gymnastics from a …
Technology January 20, 2022

In AI We Trust

Power, Illusion and Control of Predictive Algorithms

Helga Nowotny

Hosted by Galina Limorenko
Today I talked to Helga Nowotny about her new book In AI We Trust: Power, Illusion and Control of Predictive Algorithms (Polity, 2021).One of the most persistent concerns about the future is …
Indian Religions January 20, 2022

Swami Vivekananda

His Life, Legacy, and Liberative Ethics

Rita D. Sherma

Hosted by Raj Balkaran
Rita D. Sherma's book Swami Vivekananda: His Life, Legacy, and Liberative Ethics (Lexington Books, 2021) re-assesses the life and legacy of Swami Vivekananda from the vantage point of socially-engaged religion in …
Children's Literature January 20, 2022

Let Liberty Rise!

How America’s Schoolchildren Helped Save the Statue of Liberty

Chana Stiefel Chana

Hosted by Mel Rosenberg
Chana Stiefel Chana and I talked about her new book Let Liberty Rise!: How America’s Schoolchildren Helped Save the Statue of Liberty (Scholastic Press, 2021).  On America's 100th birthday, the …
Science January 19, 2022

Lives of Weeds

Opportunism, Resistance, Folly

John Cardina

Hosted by Galina Limorenko
Lives of Weeds: Opportunism, Resistance, Folly (Cornell UP, 2021) explores the tangled history of weeds and their relationship to humans. Through eight interwoven stories, John Cardina offers a fresh perspective …
American Studies January 19, 2022

Radical Empathy

Finding a Path to Bridging Racial Divides

Givens, Terri

Hosted by Jill Massino
Structural racism has impacted the lives of African Americans in the United States since before the country’s founding. Although the country has made some progress towards a more equal society …