New Books Network
Ancient History
Princeton UP Ideas Podcast January 14, 2022

Ravenna

Capital of Empire, Crucible of Europe

Judith Herrin

Hosted by Mark Klobas
At the end of the fourth century, as the power of Rome faded and Constantinople became the seat of empire, a new capital city was rising in the West. Here …

Ancient History

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Interviews with scholars of ancient history about their new books.

Indian Religions December 30, 2021

Vaiśeṣikasūtra

A Translation

Ionut Moise and Ganesh U. Thite

Hosted by Raj Balkaran
This book introduces readers to Indian philosophy by presenting the first integral English translation of Vaiśeṣikasūtra with the earliest extant commentary of Candrānanda on the old aphorisms of Vaiśeṣika school …
Ideas Roadshow Podcast December 29, 2021

From Linear A to Linear B

Suggestive Continuity

Ester Salgarella

Hosted by Howard Burton
In this episode, Howard Burton talks with Ester Salgarella, Junior Research Fellow at St John's College, University of Cambridge, about her groundbreaking work on the intriguing relationship between Linear A …
Biblical Studies December 23, 2021

The Reception of Exodus Motifs in Jewish and Christian Literature

"Let My People Go!"

Beate Kowalski and Susan E. Docherty

Hosted by Michael Morales
The account of the exodus of Israel out of Egypt led by Moses has shaped the theology and community identity of both Jewish people and Christians across the centuries, blossoming …
Christian Studies January 3, 2022

The Book of Revelation and Its Eastern Commentators

Making the New Testament in the Early Christian World

Thomas Schmidt

Hosted by Zachary McCulley
In The Book of Revelation and Its Eastern Commentators (Cambridge UP, 2021), T. C. Schmidt offers a new perspective on the formation of the New Testament by examining it simply as …
Ideas Roadshow Podcast November 30, 2021

Herculaneum Uncovered

Andrew Wallace-Hadrill

Hosted by Howard Burton
Herculaneum Uncovered is based on an in-depth filmed conversation between Howard Burton and Andrew Wallace-Hadrill, Director of Research and Honorary Professor of Roman Studies in the Faculty of Classics at …
Recall This Book November 18, 2021

Writing and Reading from Gilgamesh to Amazon

A Conversation with Martin Puchner

Martin Puchner

Hosted by Elizabeth Ferry and John Plotz
Book Industry Month continues with a memory-lane voyage back to a beloved early RtB episode. This conversation with Martin Puchner about the very origins of writing struck us as perfect …
Ancient History November 17, 2021

Lyric Poetry and Social Identity in Archaic Greece

Jessica Romney

Hosted by Reyes Bertolin
Jessica Romney's book Lyric Poetry and Social Identity in Archaic Greece (U Michigan Press, 2020) examines how Greek men presented themselves and their social groups to one another. The author examines …
Language November 5, 2021

Editorial Bodies

Perfection and Rejection in Ancient Rhetoric and Poetics

Michele Kennerly

Hosted by Lee Pierce
Though typically considered oral cultures, ancient Greece and Rome also boasted textual cultures, enabled by efforts to perfect, publish, and preserve both new and old writing. In Editorial Bodies: Perfection and …
Biblical Studies November 1, 2021

Come and Read

Interpretive Approaches to the Gospel of John

Alicia D. Myers and Lindsey S. Jodrey

Hosted by Jonathan Wright
Come and Read: Interpretative Approaches to the Gospel of John (Fortress Academic, 2019) is a unique volume that both introduces numerous interpretive approaches to the Bible and includes examples in action …
Biblical Studies October 29, 2021

Ezekiel and the World of Deuteronomy

Jason Gile

Hosted by Michael Morales
Did the ideas of Deuteronomy influence the prophecies of Ezekiel? Jason Gile says Yes. His recent monograph argues that Deuteronomy's ideas influenced Ezekiel's response to the crisis surrounding the fall …
Van Leer Institute Series on Ideas with Renee Garfinkel October 21, 2021

Why Learn History (When It's Already on Your Phone)

Sam Wineburg

Hosted by Renee Garfinkel
We are surrounded by more readily available information than ever before. And a huge percentage of it is inaccurate. Some of the bad info is well-meaning but ignorant. Some of …
Jewish Studies October 15, 2021

The Prince and the Emperors: The Life and Times of Rabbi Judah the Prince

Dov Zakheim

Hosted by Michael Morales
Rabbi Judah the Prince transformed the Mishnah into a text, and now Dov Zakheim, culling from a fascinating array of sources, has brought to life the story and historical times …
Ideas Roadshow Podcast October 14, 2021

Democratic Lessons

What the Greeks Can Teach Us

Josiah Ober

Hosted by Howard Burton
Democratic Lessons: What the Greeks Can Teach Us is based on an in-depth filmed conversation between Howard Burton and Josiah Ober, Tsakopoulos-Kounalakis Professor in Honor of Constantine Mitsotakis Professor of …
Jewish Studies October 12, 2021

The Soul of the Mishna

Yakov Nagen

Hosted by Michael Morales
As the foundational text of the Oral Torah in Judaism, the Mishnah is generally analyzed to understand Jewish law and the workings of the halakhic system. But Yakov Nagen, in …
Ancient History October 8, 2021

The Eternal Decline and Fall of Rome

The History of a Dangerous Idea

Edward J. Watts

Hosted by Craig Sorvillo
As this book intriguingly explores, for those who would make Rome great again and their victims, ideas of Roman decline and renewal have had a long and violent history. The …
Christian Studies October 5, 2021

Cambridge Greek Lexicon

James Diggle

Hosted by Crawford Gribben
Professor James Diggle, editor in chief of the Cambridge Greek Lexicon (Cambridge UP, 2021), joins us to explain the background to this extraordinary project. Setting out to provide a standard …
Asian Review of Books September 23, 2021

Ancient Egypt and Early China

State, Society, and Culture

Anthony J Barbieri-Low

Hosted by Nicholas Gordon
One would think that comparing civilizations as far removed in time and space as Ancient Egypt and Ancient China might not reveal much. Yet Professor Tony Barbieri’s Ancient Egypt and …
Christian Studies September 21, 2021

The Didache

Shawn J. Wilhite

Hosted by Crawford Gribben
Shawn Wilhite is author of this outstanding new commentary on one of the most important early Christian documents. We don't know who wrote the Didache, when it was written, or …
Philosophy September 20, 2021

Jewel of Reflection on the Truth about Epistemology

A Complete and Annotated Translation of the Tattva-cintā-maṇi

Stephen Phillips (trans.)

Hosted by Malcolm Keating
In the first complete English translation of a monumental 14th century Sanskrit philosophical text, the Jewel of Reflection on the Truth about Epistemology (Bloomsbury 2020), Stephen Phillips introduces modern readers to …