New Books Network
Medieval History
Middle Eastern Studies July 28, 2021

Arab Conquests and Early Islamic Historiography

The Futuh Al-Buldan of Al-Baladhuri

Ryan J. Lynch

Hosted by Christopher Rose
Of the available sources for Islamic history published before the 9th century of the Christian Era, few are of greater importance than Kitab Futuh al-Buldan (The Book of the Conquest …

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Jewish Studies July 27, 2021

Nahmanides

Law and Mysticism

Moshe Halbertal

Hosted by Michael Morales
Rabbi Moses ben Nahman (1194–1270), known in English as Nahmanides and by the acronym the Ramban, was one of the most creative kabbalists, one of the deepest and most original …
Intellectual History July 26, 2021

Speculation

A Cultural History from Aristotle to AI

Gayle Rogers

Hosted by Pierre d'Alancaisez
In a world that purports to know more about the future than any before it, why do we still need speculation? Insubstantial speculations – from utopian thinking to high-risk stock …
General History July 23, 2021

Devil's Historians

How Modern Extremists Abuse the Medieval Past

Amy Kaufman and Paul Sturtevant

Hosted by Zalman Newfield
In The Devil's Historians: How Modern Extremists Abuse the Medieval Past (University of Toronto Press, 2020), Amy S. Kaufman and Paul B. Sturtevant examine the many ways in which the …
Christian Studies July 8, 2021

The Cambridge Companion to the Council of Nicaea

Young Richard Kim

Hosted by Zachary McCulley
Every Sunday, Christians all over the world recite the Nicene Creed as a confession of faith. While most do not know the details of the controversy that led to its …
General History July 2, 2021

Thou Art the Man

The Masculinity of David in the Christian and Jewish Middle Ages

Ruth Mazo Karras

Hosted by Jana Byars
Today on the podcast, Ruth Mazo Karras, the Lecky Professor of History at Trinity College Dublin talks about her new book, Thou Art the Man: The Masculinity of David in …
General History July 1, 2021

Queens of Jerusalem

The Women Who Dared to Rule

Katherine Pangonis

Hosted by Jennifer Eremeeva
Any study of the Crusades — the religious wars waged by Latin Catholics to recapture the Holy Land — is primarily an exploration of men and their military deeds, with …
Middle Eastern Studies June 29, 2021

The Horde

How the Mongols Changed the World

Marie Favereau

Hosted by Christopher Rose
The Mongols are widely known for one thing: conquest. Through the ages, word "horde" has entered the English lexicon with a negative connotation, conjuring up images of warriors on horseback …
Buddhist Studies June 25, 2021

Worldly Saviors and Imperial Authority in Medieval Chinese Buddhism

April D. Hughes

Hosted by Natasha Heller
What is the relationship between Buddhism and politics? How might Buddhism be realized in this world? And how might Buddhist texts help legitimate new rulers? These questions are ably addressed …
General History June 24, 2021

Legions of Pigs in the Early Medieval West

Jamie Kreiner

Hosted by Jana Byars
On this episode of New Books in History, Jamie Kreiner, Associate Professor of History at the University of Georgia, talks about her new book, Legions of Pigs in the Early …
Architecture June 22, 2021

Notre-Dame of Amiens

Life of the Gothic Cathedral

Stephen Murray

Hosted by Bryan Toepfer
Notre-Dame of Amiens is one of the great Gothic cathedrals. Its construction began in 1220, and artistic production in the Gothic mode lasted well into the sixteenth century. In Notre-Dame …
Japanese Studies June 18, 2021

Dancing the Dharma

Religious and Political Allegory in Japanese Noh Theater

Susan Blakeley Klein

Hosted by Jingyi Li
Dancing the Dharma: Religious and Political Allegory in Japanese Noh Theater (Harvard UP, 2020) examines the theory and practice of allegory by exploring a select group of medieval Japanese noh …
General History May 12, 2021

That Most Precious Merchandise

The Mediterranean Trade in Black Sea Slaves, 1260-1500

Hannah Barker

Hosted by Jonathan Megerian
Before the Transatlantic slave trade ravaged the western coast of Africa, immense numbers of persons were taken from their homes and carried across the Black and Mediterranean Seas as involuntary …
Indian Religions April 30, 2021

Land of the Golden River

The Medieval Tamil Folk Epic of Poṉṉivaḷa Nāḍu

Brenda Beck

Hosted by Raj Balkaran
This podcast features Brenda Beck’s lifelong work on the Tamil folk epic Ponnivala. In addition to her forthcoming new English translation of the epic (“Land of the Golden River”), we …
General History March 31, 2021

Roundtable on Medieval Conspiracy Theories

Michael D. Bailey, Miri Rubin, and Sean Field

Hosted by Jana Byars
Join us today for a roundtable conversation with three leading medieval scholars about the phenomenon of conspiracy theories in history.  Michael D. Bailey, professor of history at Iowa State University …
General History March 29, 2021

Acts of Care

Recovering Women in Late Medieval Health

Sara Ritchey

Hosted by Jana Byars
We are here today with Sara Ritchey, associate professor of history at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, TN, about her new book, Acts of Care: Recovering Women in Late …
Indian Religions March 23, 2021

Till Kingdom Come

Medieval Hinduism in the Modern Himalaya

Lokesh Ohri

Hosted by Raj Balkaran
Hinduism, as is well known, has taken a multitude of shapes and forms. Some Hindu "little traditions" have remained obscure or understudied to this day due to their regional remoteness …
Jewish Studies March 22, 2021

Yiddish

Biography of a Language

Jeffrey Shandler

Hosted by Zalman Newfield
The most widely spoken Jewish language on the eve of the Holocaust, Yiddish continues to play a significant role in Jewish life today, from Hasidim for whom it is a …
Japanese Studies March 16, 2021

Reflecting the Past

Place, Language, and Principle in Japan's Medieval Mirror Genre

Erin L. Brightwell

Hosted by Jingyi Li
Reflecting the Past: Place, Language, and Principle in Japan's Medieval Mirror Genre (Harvard UP, 2020) is the first English-language study to address the role of historiography in medieval Japan, an age …
General History March 15, 2021

Saint Patrick Retold

The Legend and History of Ireland's Patron Saint

Roy Flechner

Hosted by Ryan Shelton
The only surviving contemporary texts that provide insight into the life of Saint Patrick were both written by the legendary patron saint of Ireland. By Patrick's own account, his life …