New Books Network Podcast

Fifteen Minute Film Fanatics November 27, 2023

I Know Where I’m Going!

A Film by Emeric Powell and Michael Pressburger

Samuel Johnson once asked, “What enemy would invade Scotland, where there is nothing to be got?” He must never have seen I Know Where I’m Going (1945). In their fifth …

American West November 24, 2023

Black Rodeo

A History of the African American Western

Mia Mask

Hosted by Stephen Hausmann

Did you know Sidney Poitier was a western icon? In a genre best known for John Wayne and Clint Eastwood, African American actors and directors have played an important role in both …

Asian Review of Books November 23, 2023

Godzilla and Godzilla Raids Again

The Original Novellas by Shigeru Kayama

Shigeru Kayama

Hosted by Nicholas Gordon

Earlier this month, Toho Studios released “Godzilla Minus One”—the 37th film in the now almost seven-decade-old franchise. Godzilla has gone through many phases over the past 70 years: symbol of …

Fifteen Minute Film Fanatics November 21, 2023

Spirited Away

A Film by Hayao Miyazaki

Hosted by Fifteen Minute Film Fanatics

We are used to entering cinematic fantasy worlds in which we learn the rules of how the world works and then watch our hero navigate through it: think of Star …

Literary Studies November 18, 2023

Affective Ecologies

Empathy, Emotion, and Environmental Narrative

Alexa Weik von Mossner

Hosted by Arnab Dutta Roy

Affective Ecologies: Empathy, Emotion, and Environmental Narrative (Ohio State UP, 2017) explores our emotional engagement with environmental narrative. Focusing on the American cultural context, Alexa Weik von Mossner develops an …

UConn PopCast November 15, 2023

'For All Mankind'

An Alternate History About the Possibility of Utopia

Hosted by UConn PopCast

It’s the UConn PopCast, and in this episode we tackle ‘For All Mankind,’ Apple TV’s alternate history about a space race that never ended. We first react to episode one …

Sound Studies November 15, 2023

Listening with a Feminist Ear

Soundwork in Bombay Cinema

Pavitra Sundar

Hosted by Khadeeja Amenda

Pavitra Sundar's book Listening with a Feminist Ear: Soundwork in Bombay Cinema (U Michigan Press, 2023) is a study of the cultural politics and possibilities of sound in cinema. Eschewing ocularcentric …

Media November 14, 2023

Scratchin' and Survivin'

Hustle Economics and the Black Sitcoms of Tandem Productions

Adrien Sebro

Hosted by Pete Kunze

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The 1970s was a golden age for representations of African American life on TV sitcoms: Sanford & Son, Good Times, The Jeffersons. Surprisingly, nearly all the decade’s notable Black sitcoms …

Fifteen Minute Film Fanatics November 13, 2023

Minority Report

A FIlm by Steven Spielberg

Hosted by Fifteen Minute Film Fanatics

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Minority Report (2002) is Exhibit A of how screenwriters love the premises of Philip K. Dick’s source materials and then adapt his core thought experiments into genres that get people …

Film November 8, 2023

It's a Wonderful Life

Michael Newton

Hosted by Daniel Moran

Frank Capra's It's a Wonderful Life is one of the best-loved films of Classical Hollywood cinema, a story of despair and redemption in the aftermath of war that is …

UConn PopCast November 8, 2023

What Reality TV Says About Us

A Discussion with Danielle J. Lindemann

Danielle J. Lindemann

Hosted by UConn PopCast

Reality TV shapes and reflects how we see ourselves, and what we regard as normal. Professor Danielle J. Lindemann watched thousands of hours of reality tv to decode its influence …

UConn PopCast November 7, 2023

This Will Change Your Perspective on James Bond

A Discussion with Susan Burgess

Hosted by UConn PopCast

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The Bond movies have influenced portrayals of masculinity and femininity for decades, but the Daniel Craig-era saw a revolution in depictions of sex, gender, and inclusivity. The UConn PopCast discusses …

Fifteen Minute Film Fanatics November 6, 2023

Point Blank

A Film by John Boorman

Hosted by Fifteen Minute Film Fanatics

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In 1962, Donald E. Westlake used the pseudonym Richard Stark and published The Hunter, the story of Parker, a betrayed thief who seeks vengeance with more determination than we see …

Film November 2, 2023

She Damn Near Ran the Studio

The Extraordinary Lives of Ida R. Koverman

Jacqueline R. Braitman

Hosted by Bruce Shapiro

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In this episode, I am happy to be interviewing historian and author Dr. Jacqueline R. Braitman about her very engaging biography, She Damn Near Ran the Studio: The Extraordinary Lives …

Film October 31, 2023

Charlie Chaplin vs. America

When Art, Sex, and Politics Collided

Scott Eyman

Hosted by Daniel Moran

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The remarkable, must-read story of Charlie Chaplin’s years of exile from the United States during the postwar Red Scare, and how it ruined his film career, from bestselling biographer …

Fifteen Minute Film Fanatics October 30, 2023

Babette’s Feast

A Film by Gabriel Axel

Hosted by Fifteen Minute Film Fanatics

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In 1965, Bob Dylan sang, “She’s got everything she needs; she’s an artist; she don’t look back.” About twenty years later, Gabriel Axel brilliantly dramatized this idea in Babette’s Feast …

Popular Culture October 27, 2023

I Want You Around

The Ramones and the Making of Rock 'n' Roll High School

Stephen B. Armstrong

Hosted by Rebekah Buchanan

Stephen Armstrong's new book I Want You Around: The Ramones and the Making of Rock-n-Roll High School (Backbeat Books, 2023), provides a detailed production history of this beloved film that draws upon extensive interviews …

Film October 24, 2023

Point Blank

Eric G. Wilson

Hosted by Daniel Moran

John Boorman's Point Blank (1967) has long been recognized as one of the seminal films of the sixties, with its revisionary mix of genres including neo-noir, New Wave, and …

Fifteen Minute Film Fanatics October 23, 2023

Big Night

A Film by Campbell Scott and Stanley Tucci

Hosted by Fifteen Minute Film Fanatics

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Sometimes, the idea for a film would work on paper—such is the case with Big Night (1996), a film that packs in as much real life a full novel. “Love” …

Film October 21, 2023

The Hollywood Reporter’s 100 Greatest Film Books of All Time

Scott Feinberg

Hosted by Daniel Moran

In the October 12, 2023 issue of The Hollywood Reporter, Scott Feinberg offered an annotated list of the 100 greatest film books of all time. Drawing on a jury of …