Music

Music

episodes

Interviews with musicians and scholars of music about their new books.

Our Common Life: Folksong from the Front Porch to the Concert Hall with Stephen Wade

October 4, 2026

Our Common Life

Stephen Wade
Hosted by Kristen Turner

Our Common Life: Folk Song from the Front Porch to the Concert Hall (U Illinois Press, 2026) by Stephen Wade is part memoir, part meditation on Americ…

Cool Heat: Anita O'Day and Her Dangerous Jazz Life with James Gavin (Equinox, 2026)

October 1, 2026

Cool Heat

James Gavin
Hosted by Bradley Morgan

How did Anita O'Day-the legendary jazz singer who, along with Chet Baker, Miles Davis, Gerry Mulligan, and Stan Getz, led the so-called "cool school" …

Joe Jackson, "Kahlil Joseph and the Audiovisual Atlantic: Music, Modernity, Transmedia Art" (Bloomsbury, 2024)

September 20, 2026

Kahlil Joseph and the Audiovisual Atlantic

Joe Jackson
Hosted by Gummo Clare

Kahlil Joseph has collaborated with musicians FKA twigs, Flying Lotus, Sampha and Shabazz Palaces among many others. He has directed numerous films, m…

Christopher Freeburg, "Soul: A Brief History of Black Cultural Life" (Yale UP, 2026)

September 11, 2026

Soul

Christopher Freeburg
Hosted by Jane Degenhardt

Today’s guest, Christopher Freeburg, is the author of Soul: A Brief History of Black Cultural Life (Yale University Press, 2026). This book explores t…

Ashley Kahn, "Days of Miracle and Wonder: Paul Simon and the Trials and Triumphs of Graceland" (Atria Books, 2026)

September 5, 2026

Days of Miracle and Wonder

Ashley Kahn
Hosted by Bradley Morgan

In 1984, Paul Simon was at a professional and personal crossroads. His new marriage was failing and his career was in danger of stalling. He was forty…

Erin Osmon, "Won't Back Down: Heartland Rock and the Fight for America" (W. W. Norton, 2026)

September 1, 2026

Won't Back Down

Erin Osmon
Hosted by Bradley Morgan

Hear "American Girl" or "Born in the U.S.A." and, like it or not, chances are you begin to hum along. The soundtrack of grocery stores, pool halls, bo…

Nancy Yunhwa Rao, "Inside Chinese Theater: Community and Artistry in Nineteenth Century California and Beyond" (U Illinois Press, 2025)

August 31, 2026

Inside Chinese Theater

Nancy Yunhwa Rao
Hosted by Kristen Turner

The first large number of Chinese immigrants began arriving in the United States in the 1840s, and Chinese opera troupes were not far behind. In Insid…

Robyn Hitchcock, "Stranded in the Future" (Akashic Books, 2026)

August 26, 2026

Stranded in the Future

Robyn Hitchcock
Hosted by Rebekah Buchanan

Robyn Hitchcock's second memoir, Stranded in the Future (Akashic Books, 2026), explores the formation of his seminal 1970s band the Soft Boys, and the…

Musical Pripetshik: Lyrics and Melodies of Traditional Yiddish Folksongs

August 25, 2026

Musical Pripetshik

Michael Lukin
Hosted by YIVO Institute

Most of the Yiddish songs we know today were created in the first half of the 20th century and distributed through commercial channels such as sheet m…

Transcending Disciplinary Confinements With(in) Beckett Studies

August 25, 2026

Transcending Disciplinary Confinements With(in) Beckett Studies

Lucy Jeffery
Hosted by Swati Joshi

This is Dr. Swati Joshi's inaugural episode on the New Books Network. In this episode, she interviews Dr. Lucy Jeffery about her monograph, Transdisci…

Mhoze Chikowero, "The Military Entertainment Complex: Chimurenga Afrosonic Making of Zimbabwe" (MIT Press, 2026)

August 24, 2026

The Military Entertainment Complex

Mhoze Chikowero
Hosted by Miranda Melcher

The Military Entertainment Complex: Chimurenga Afrosonic Making of Zimbabwe (MIT Press, 2026) by Dr. Mhoze Chikowero is the story of the making of pos…

Scott Peeples, "How Many Roads: A Life of Bob Dylan" (Reaktion, 2026)

August 17, 2026

How Many Roads

Scott Peeples
Hosted by Jana Byars

Scott Peeple's How Many Roads: A Life of Bob Dylan (Reaktion, 2026) chronicles Bob Dylan’s rise from apprenticeships in Minneapolis cafés and Greenwic…

Jehnie Burns on Mixtape Culture

August 17, 2026

Jehnie Burns on Mixtape Culture

Hosted by Lee Vinsel

Peoples & Things host, Lee Vinsel, talks with writer and researcher, Jehnie I. Burns about her book, Mixtape Nostalgia: Culture, Memory, and Represent…

Christopher Campo-Bowen, "Visions of the Village: Ruralness, Identity, and Czech Opera" (Oxford UP, 2025)

August 10, 2026

Visions of the Village

Christopher Campo-Bowen
Hosted by Kristen Turner

The Bartered Bride, a comic opera by Bedrich Smetana, premiered in Prague on March 30, 1866. Its pastoral love story and setting in a rural Czech vill…

Elijah Wald, "Rock ‘N’ Roll: A Very Short Introduction" (Oxford UP, 2026)

July 30, 2026

Rock ‘N’ Roll

Elijah Wald
Hosted by Bradley Morgan

Rock 'n' roll appeared in the 1950s as the high-energy, electrically amplified music of young dancers and listeners, first in the United States and th…

Stacey Copeland, "Lavender Sounds: From Lesbian Radio to Queer Feminist Soundwork" (U Michigan Press, 2026)

July 17, 2026

Lavender Sounds

Stacey Copeland
Hosted by Jana Byars

Stacey Copeland, Assistant Professor of Cultural Heritage and Identity at the Centre for Media and Journalism Studies at the University of Groningen, …

Gayle F. Wald, "This Is Rhythm: Ella Jenkins, Children’s Music, and the Long Civil Rights Movement" (U Chicago Press, 2025)

July 15, 2026

This Is Rhythm

Gayle F. Wald
Hosted by Kristen Turner

Ella Jenkins (1924–2024) was one of the most influential musicians of the twentieth century, although many people have never heard of her. A pioneer i…

Yiddish Tangos and Klezmer Mambos

July 10, 2026

Yiddish Tangos and Klezmer Mambos

Ronald Robboy, Sonia Gollance, Josh Kun
Hosted by YIVO Institute

This panel discussion will explore the remarkable influence of Latin American music and dance on the culture of Yiddish speaking communities in the Un…

Brad Tolinski and Chris Gill, "Blow by Blow: The Jeff Beck Story" (Da Capo, 2026)

July 9, 2026

Blow by Blow

Brad Tolinski and Chris Gill
Hosted by Rebekah Buchanan

With his shag haircut and white Stratocaster guitar, Jeff Beck was an icon known and loved by millions. Yet somehow, he maintained the ineffable low p…

George Grella, "Minimalist Music" (Bloomsbury, 2026)

July 7, 2026

Minimalist Music

George Grella
Hosted by Bradley Morgan

Minimalist Music (Bloomsbury, 2026) looks critically into the music's past, shows how the genre thrives across styles, and points the way toward minim…