New Books Network

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

Writ Large August 9, 2022

On Zora Neale Hurston's "Their Eyes Were Watching God"

A Discussion with Joshua Bennett

Joshua Bennett

Hosted by Zachary Davis

Zora Neale Hurston was an important figure in the Harlem Renaissance, but her novels didn’t conform to the style of her contemporaries. As a result, her work was almost lost—until …

The Future of . . . with Owen Bennett-Jones August 9, 2022

The Future of Political Anger

A Conversation with Mark Blyth

Mark Blyth

Hosted by Owen Bennett-Jones

Trump’s voters. The yellow jackets in France. Putin’s base in Russia. The Brexiteers. One thing all these groups have in common is anger – anger at being left behind, anger …

General History August 9, 2022

The Literacy Myth

Cultural Integration and Social Structure in the Nineteenth Century

Harvey J. Graff

Hosted by Nathan Moore

Harvey Graff's pioneering study presents a new and original interpretation of the place of literacy in nineteenth-century society and culture. Based upon an intensive comparative historical analysis, employing both qualitative …

Film August 8, 2022

Hollywood Sports Movies and the American Dream

Grant Wiedenfeld

Hosted by Annie Berke

Through the heart of Hollywood cinema runs a surprising current of progressive politics. Sports movies, a genre that has flourished since the mid-seventies, evoke the American dream and represent the …

Darts & Letters August 8, 2022

January 6th and the Myth of the Mob

The Pervasive Power of Crowd Theory

Hosted by Gordon Katic

This week, we’re showcasing some of our favourite past episodes of Darts and Letters themed around “Activism & Academia”. Today’s episode originally aired a little earlier this summer. In the …

Writ Large August 8, 2022

On "Black Elk Speaks"

A Discussion with Philip Deloria

Philip Deloria

Hosted by Zachary Davis

In many ways, Black Elk and John Neihardt lived very different lives. Black Elk was an Oglala Lakota holy man. Neihartd was a European-American literary critic. Black Elk performed for …

African American Studies August 8, 2022

Riding Jane Crow

African American Women on the American Railroad

Miriam Thaggert

Hosted by Deidre Tyler

Miriam Thaggert illuminates the stories of African American women as passengers and as workers on the nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century railroad. As Jim Crow laws became more prevalent and forced Black …

Critical Theory August 8, 2022

The Cruel Optimism of Racial Justice

Nasar Meer

Hosted by Dave O'Brien

Why are societies still not offering racial equality? In The Cruel Optimism of Racial Justice (Policy Press, 2022), Nasar Meer, a professor of Race, Identity and Citizenship in the School of …

American Studies August 5, 2022

Living the Dream

The Contested History of Martin Luther King Jr. Day

Daniel T. Fleming

Hosted by James West

Living the Dream: The Contested History of Martin Luther King Jr. Day (UNC Press, 2022) tells the history behind the establishment of Martin Luther King Jr. Day and the battle …

Writ Large August 5, 2022

On Walt Whitman's "Leaves of Grass"

A Discussion with Elisa New

Elisa New

Hosted by Zachary Davis

“These United States are themselves the greatest poem.” When Walt Whitman wrote this line, he was an unknown Brooklyn newspaper man. But his work would transform American poetry and offer …

Darts & Letters August 5, 2022

American Chernobyl, Part 2

The Most Poisonous Place in the USA

Hosted by Gordon Katic

Hanford is the most-polluted place in America. In our last episode, you heard about the nuclear plant's largely-forgotten history--how it poisoned the people living downwind. On our season finale: a …