Help Support H-Net! | Visit New Books Network en Español!

New Books Network
Folklore
Music December 8, 2022

An American Singing Heritage

Songs from the British-Irish-American Oral Tradition as Recorded in the Early Twentieth Century

Norm Cohen, Carson Cohen, and Anne Dhu McLucas

Hosted by Kristen Turner
The Music of the United States of America Series of musical editions is a monumental undertaking funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities with financial and organizational support from …

Folklore

Subscribe:

Interviews with folklorists and scholars of folklore about their new books.

Religion November 29, 2022

Orthodox Christianity, New Age Spirituality and Vernacular Religion

The Evil Eye in Greece

Eugenia Roussou

Hosted by Tiatemsu Longkumer
Eugenia Roussou's book Orthodox Christianity, New Age Spirituality and Vernacular Religion: The 'Evil Eye' in Greece (Bloomsbury, 2021) thoroughly illustrates the novel synthesis of Christian religion and New Age spirituality in …
Literary Studies November 25, 2022

Fairy Tales in Contemporary American Culture

How We Hate to Love Them

Kate Christine Moore Koppy

Hosted by Carmen Gomez-Galisteo
In the twenty-first century, American culture is experiencing a profound shift toward pluralism and secularization. In Fairy Tales in Contemporary American Culture: How We Hate to Love Them (Lexington Books …
Literary Studies November 14, 2022

World Literature and the Question of Genre in Colonial India

Poetry, Drama, and Print Culture 1790-1890

Kedar Arun Kulkarni

Hosted by Gargi Binju
In 1818, the East India Company defeated the Maratha confederacy, acquiring vast domains in central and western India. Through coercion if not outright violence, the Company transformed many aspects of …
Writ Large November 2, 2022

On "Grimms' Fairytales"

A Discussion with Annie Pfeifer

Annie Pfeifer

Hosted by Zachary Davis
You probably already know the story of Snow White—as well as Little Red Riding Hood, Briar Rose, The Frog Prince, and so many others. These tales have a rich history …
Music October 28, 2022

The Folk

Music, Modernity, and the Political Imagination

Ross Cole

Hosted by Gummo Clare
In The Folk: Music, Modernity, and the Political Imagination (U California Press, 2021), Ross Cole revisits the remarkable upswell of interest in folk songs in fin de siècle Britain and …
American Studies October 18, 2022

Trash Talk

Anti-Obama Lore and Race in the Twenty-First Century

Patricia A. Turner

Hosted by Deidre Tyler
Barack Obama and his family have been the objects of rumors, legends, and conspiracy theories unprecedented in US politics. Outbreaks of anti-Obama lore have occurred in every national election cycle …
Ancient History October 11, 2022

Monsters and Monarchs

Serial Killers in Classical Myth and History

Debbie Felton

Hosted by Elizabeth Barrett
Even if the term "Serial Killer" wasn’t coined until the end of the 20th century, the practice of multiple murder has followed humanity through the ages. In Monsters and Monarchs …
Nordic Asia Podcast September 23, 2022

"Riding the Wild Horse in Chinese Literature”: Translation and Research on "Jin Ping Mei"

A Conversation with Vibeke Børdahl

Vibeke Børdahl

Hosted by Julia Heinle
What is the oral tradition of Chinese storytelling about and what is the connection to the great Chinese novels? How to translate a Chinese classic such as the famed and …
Gender Studies September 21, 2022

The Goddess Myth in Contemporary Literature and Popular Culture

A Feminist Critique

Mary J. Magoulick

Hosted by Iqra Shagufta Cheema
Goddess characters are revered as feminist heroes in the popular media of many cultures. However, these goddess characters often prove to be less promising and more regressive than most people …
Mobilities and Methods August 26, 2022

Cultural Labour

Conceptualizing the 'Folk Performance' in India

Brahma Prakash

Hosted by Lakshita Malik
Folk performances reflect the life-worlds of a vast section of subaltern communities in India. What is the philosophy that drives these performances, the vision that enables as well as enslaves …
General History August 19, 2022

Pan

The Great God’s Modern Return

Paul Robichaud

Hosted by Jana Byars
From ancient myth to contemporary art and literature, a beguiling look at the many incarnations of the mischievous—and culturally immortal—god Pan. Pan—he of the cloven hoof and lustful grin, beckoning …
Indian Religions August 18, 2022

Singing the Goddess Into Place

Locality, Myth, and Social Change in Chamundi of the Hill, a Kannada Folk Ballad

Caleb Simmons

Hosted by Raj Balkaran
Singing the Goddess Into Place: Locality, Myth, and Social Change in Chamundi of the Hill, a Kannada Folk Ballad (SUNY Press, 2022) demonstrates how folk narratives reflect local context while …
Indian Religions June 27, 2022

The Stories Behind the Poses

The Indian Mythology That Inspired 50 Yoga Postures

Raj Balkaran

Hosted by Raj Balkaran
Raj Balkaran's 200th podcast episode: Christa Kuberry interviews him on his beautifully written new book The Stories Behind the Poses: The Indian Mythology That Inspired 50 Yoga Postures (Leaping Hare, 2022), and highlighting their …
Princeton UP Ideas Podcast June 24, 2022

Flying Snakes and Griffin Claws

And Other Classical Myths, Historical Oddities, and Scientific Curiosities

Adrienne Mayor

Hosted by Mark Klobas
Adrienne Mayor is renowned for exploring the borders of history, science, archaeology, anthropology, and popular knowledge to find historical realities and scientific insights--glimmering, long-buried nuggets of truth--embedded in myth, legends …
Chinese Studies June 16, 2022

The Dragon Daughter and Other Lin Lan Fairy Tales

Juwen Zhang

Hosted by Miranda Melcher
The Dragon Daughter and Other Lin Lan Fairy Tales (Princeton University Press, 2022) by Dr. Juwen Zhang brings together forty-two magical Chinese tales, most appearing for the first time in …
Recall This Book April 21, 2022

Madeline Miller on Circe (GT, JP)

Madeline Miller

Hosted by Elizabeth Ferry and John Plotz
In this rebroadcast, John and Brandeis neuroscientist Gina Turrigiano (an occasional host and perennial friend of Recall this Book) speak with Madeline Miller, author of the critically acclaimed bestseller Circe …
Recall This Book April 7, 2022

Fantasy Then, Now, and Forever with Anna Vaninskaya

A Conversation with Anna Vaninskaya

Anna Vaninskaya

Hosted by Elizabeth Ferry and John Plotz
Elizabeth and John talk about fantasy's power of world-making with Edinburgh professor Anna Vaninskaya, author of William Morris and the Idea of Community: Romance, History and Propaganda, 1880-1914 (2010) and …
Folklore March 25, 2022

Contemporary Korean Shamanism

From Ritual to Digital

Liora Sarfati

Hosted by Timothy Thurston
Once viewed as an embarrassing superstition, the theatrical religious performances of Korean shamans--who communicate with the dead, divine the future, and become possessed--are going mainstream. Attitudes toward Korean shamanism are …
Irish Studies March 18, 2022

Collecting Music in the Aran Islands

A Century of History and Practice

Deirdre Ní Chonghaile

Hosted by Aidan Beatty
Deirdre Ní Chonghaile is a writer, musician, broadcaster, and curator from the Aran Islands. Working bilingually in Irish and English, she is drawn to voices, contemporary and historical, especially those …