New Books Network

General History August 12, 2022

A Brief History of the Atlantic

Jeremy Black

Hosted by Charles Coutinho

The Atlantic has borne witness to major historic events that have drastically shaped humanity with each crossing of its path. In A Brief History of the Atlantic (Robinson, 2022), Jeremy …

Film August 12, 2022

History by HBO

Televising the American Past

Rebecca Weeks

Hosted by Joel Tscherne

The television industry is changing, and with it, the small screen's potential to engage in debate and present valuable representations of American history. Founded in 1972, HBO has been at …

Military History August 12, 2022

The Lion of Round Top

The Life and Military Service of Brigadier General Strong Vincent in the American Civil War

Hans G. Myers

Hosted by Boris Karpa

Hans G. Myers' book The Lion of Round Top: The Life and Military Service of Brigadier General Strong Vincent in the American Civil War (Casemate, 2022) presents the story of the true …

Public Policy August 12, 2022

Single Payer Healthcare Reform

Grassroots Mobilization and the Turn Against Establishment Politics in the Medicare for All Movement

Lindy S. F. Hern

Hosted by Gregory Soden

In Single Payer Healthcare Reform: Grassroots Mobilization and the Turn Against Establishment Politics in the Medicare for All Movement (Palgrave Macmillan, 2020), Lindy Hern provides a comprehensive history of the grassroots Movement …

Music August 12, 2022

Music and Mystique in Muscle Shoals

Christopher M. Reali

Hosted by Emily Ruth Allen

The forceful music that rolled out of Muscle Shoals in the 1960s and 1970s shaped hits by everyone from Wilson Pickett and Aretha Franklin to the Rolling Stones and Paul …

Gender Studies August 11, 2022

Millennial Feminism at Work

Bridging Theory and Practice

Jane Juffer

Hosted by Iqra Shagufta Cheema

In Millennial Feminism at Work: Bridging Theory and Practice (Cornell UP, 2021), volume editor Jane Juffer brings together recently graduated students from across the US to reflect on the relevance of …

Political Science August 11, 2022

Stars and Shadows

The Politics of Interracial Friendship from Jefferson to Obama

Saladin Ambar

Hosted by Lilly Goren

Slavery and its lingering remnants remain a plague on the United States, continuing to foster animosity between races that hinders the understanding and connection conducive to dismantling the remains of …

Public Health August 11, 2022

Big Vape

The Incendiary Rise of Juul

Jamie Ducharme

Hosted by Caleb Zakarin

It began with a smoke break. James Monsees and Adam Bowen were two ambitious graduate students at Stanford, and in between puffs after class they dreamed of a way to …

On Religion August 11, 2022

Islamophobia

What Christians Should Know (and Do) about Anti-Muslim Discrimination

Jordan Denari Duffner

Hosted by Gregory Soden

Jordan Denari Duffner is an author and scholar of Muslim-Christian relations, interreligious dialogue, and Islamophobia. Jordan is currently pursuing a PhD in Theological and Religious Studies at Georgetown University. A …

African American Studies August 11, 2022

Or, on Being the Other Woman

Simone White

Hosted by Brittney Edmonds

In or, on being the other woman (Duke UP, 2022), Simone White considers the dynamics of contemporary black feminist life. Throughout this book-length poem, White writes through a hybrid of …

On Religion August 11, 2022

On Mormon Fundamentalism

A Discussion with Cristina Rosetti

Cristina Rosetti

Hosted by Gregory Soden

Cristina Rosetti completed her Ph.D. in religious studies at the University of California Riverside. She writes about Mormon fundamentalism. …

Music August 10, 2022

Have a Little Faith

The John Hiatt Story

Michael Elliott

Hosted by Daniel Moran

A journey through an artist's quest for success, deep dive into substance abuse, family tragedy, and ultimate triumph. By the mid-1980s, singer-songwriter John Hiatt had been dropped from three record …

Law August 10, 2022

Who Decides?

States As Laboratories of Constitutional Experimentation

Jeffrey S. Sutton

Hosted by William Domnarski

Everything in law and politics, including individual rights, comes back to divisions of power and the evergreen question: Who decides? Who wins the disputes of the day often turns on …

Politics & Polemics August 10, 2022

Paths of Dissent

Soldiers Speak Out Against America's Forever Wars

Andrew Bacevich and Daniel A. Sjursen

Hosted by Caleb Zakarin

Compiled by New York Times bestselling author Andrew Bacevich and retired army officer Danny A. Sjursen, Paths of Dissent: Soldiers Speak Out Against America’s Misguided Wars (Metropolitan Books, 2022) collects provocative …

Drugs, Addiction and Recovery August 10, 2022

Heroin

An Illustrated History

Susan C. Boyd

Hosted by Jay Shifman

Dr. Susan Boyd is a scholar/activist and Distinguished Professor emerita at the University of Victoria. Her research examines a variety of topics related to the history of drug prohibition and …

Film August 10, 2022

Competing with Idiots

Herman and Joe Mankiewicz, a Dual Portrait

Nick Davis

Hosted by Daniel Moran

A fascinating, complex dual biography of Hollywood's most dazzling—and famous—brothers, and a dark, riveting portrait of competition, love, and enmity that ultimately undid them both. One most famous for having …

Writ Large August 10, 2022

On Walter Lippmann's "Public Opinion"

A Discussion with Heidi Tworek

Heidi Tworek

Hosted by Zachary Davis

What is the role of the press in a democracy? For nearly a century, scholars, media critics, and politicians have debated this question—in a large part thanks to Walter Lippmann …

Performing Arts August 10, 2022

The Lost Conversation

Interviews with an Enduring Avant-Garde

Sara Farrington

Hosted by Andy Boyd

Sara Farrington's The Lost Conversation: Interviews with an Enduring Avant-Garde (53rd State Press, 2021) is a collection of interviews with a host of influential artists in experimental theatre, including Richard Foreman …

American West August 10, 2022

Visions of Nature

How Landscape Photography Shaped Settler Colonialism

Jarrod Hore

Hosted by Stephen Hausmann

During the early years of photography, settlers around the Pacific World were fascinated with the landscapes of the places they conquered. According to Dr. Jarrod Hore, a postdoctoral researcher and …

Medicine August 9, 2022

Building Schools, Making Doctors

Architecture and the Modern American Physician

Katherine L. Carroll

Hosted by Rachel Pagones

In the late nineteenth century, medical educators intent on transforming American physicians into scientifically trained, elite professionals recognized the value of medical school design for their reform efforts. Between 189 …