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British Studies
Irish Studies June 30, 2022

The Case of Ireland

Commerce, Empire and the European Order, 1750-1848

James Stafford

Hosted by Aidan Beatty
James Stafford teaches at Columbia University, where he specializes in the political and intellectual history of Ireland, Britain and Western Europe since 1750, with a particular interest in questions of …

British Studies

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Interviews with scholars of the United Kingdom about their new books.

Middle Eastern Studies June 28, 2022

The Irish Imperial Service

Policing Palestine and Administering the Empire, 1922–1966

Seán William Gannon

Hosted by Roberto Mazza
Seán William Gannon's book The Irish Imperial Service: Policing Palestine and Administering the Empire, 1922–1966 (Palgrave Macmillan, 2018) explores Irish participation in the British imperial project after ‘Southern’ Ireland’s independence in 1922 …
African American Studies June 28, 2022

Espionage and Enslavement in the Revolution

The True Story of Robert Townsend and Elizabeth

Claire Bellerjeau and Tiffany Yecke Brooks

Hosted by Katrina Anderson
Today I talked to Claire Bellerjeau about her book (co-authored with Tiffany Yecke Brooks) Espionage and Enslavement in the Revolution: The True Story of Robert Townsend and Elizabeth (Lyons Press, 2021). In January 1785 …
Critical Theory June 24, 2022

The Club on the Edge of Town

A Pandemic Memoir

Alan Lane

Hosted by Dave O'Brien
What happened to arts organisations during the pandemic? In The Club on the Edge of Town: A Pandemic Memoir (Salamander Street, 2022), Alan Lane, Artistic Director of SlungLow, a theatre company …
Asian Review of Books June 23, 2022

Everest 1922

The Epic Story of the First Attempt on the World's Highest Mountain

Mick Conefrey

Hosted by Nicholas Gordon
It can be hard to think of Everest as unknown anymore. While it’s certainly a challenge to climb the world’s tallest mountain, someone–with enough time and money–has a good chance …
Middle Eastern Studies June 22, 2022

European Cultural Diplomacy and Arab Christians in Palestine, 1918–1948

Between Contention and Connection

Karène Sanchez Summerer and Sary Zananiri

Hosted by Roberto Mazza
European Cultural Diplomacy and Arab Christians in Palestine (1918-1948) (Palgrave Macmillan, 2020) investigates the transnationally connected history of Arab Christian communities in Palestine during the British Mandate (1918-1948) through the lens of …
African Studies June 21, 2022

Emirs in London

Subalteran Travel and Nigeria's Modernity

Moses E. Ochonu

Hosted by Sara Katz
Emirs in London: Subalteran Travel and Nigeria's Modernity (Indiana UP, 2022) recounts how Northern Nigerian Muslim aristocrats who traveled to Britain between 1920 and Nigerian independence in 1960 relayed that experience …
Middle Eastern Studies June 17, 2022

'The House of the Priest'

A Palestinian Life (1885-1954)

Sarah Irving, Charbel Nassif, and Karène Sanchez Summerer

Hosted by Roberto Mazza
'The House of the Priest': A Palestinian Life (1885-1954) (Brill, 2022) presents and discusses the hitherto unpublished and untranslated memoirs of Niqula Khoury, a senior member of the Orthodox Church …
Policing, Incarceration, and Reform June 16, 2022

The Suspect

Counterterrorism, Islam and the Security State

Rizwaan Sabir

Hosted by Catriona Gold
What impact has two decades' worth of policing and counterterrorism had on the state of mind of Muslims in Britain? In The Suspect: Counterterrorism, Islam, and the Security State (Pluto …
Recall This Book June 16, 2022

Elizabeth Ferry and John Plotz on Zadie Smith

Elizabeth Ferry and John Plotz

Hosted by Elizabeth Ferry and John Plotz
John and Elizabeth look back at Recall This Book’s 2019 conversation with Zadie Smith, so you may want to listen to that again before proceeding. Elizabeth and John try their …
Literary Studies June 16, 2022

Improbability, Chance, and the Nineteenth-Century Realist Novel

Adam Grener

Hosted by Su Min Kim
In Improbability, Chance, and the Nineteenth-Century Realist Novel (Ohio State UP, 2020), Adam Grener advances a new approach to evaluating realism in fiction by arguing that nineteenth-century literary realism …
British Studies June 15, 2022

Sociolinguistic History of Scotland

Robert McColl Millar

Hosted by Miranda Melcher
In A Sociolinguistic History of Scotland (Edinburgh University Press, 2020), Dr. Robert McColl Millar presents the first sociolinguistic history of all languages spoken in Scotland. The book includes analyses from …
Recall This Book June 2, 2022

Zadie Smith in Focus (JP)

Zadie Smith

Hosted by Elizabeth Ferry and John Plotz
In this 2019 episode, John interviews the celebrated British writer Zadie Smith. The conversation quickly moves through Brexit (oh, the inhumanity!) and what it means to be a London–no, a …
Critical Theory June 2, 2022

Running the Family Firm

How the Monarchy Manages Its Image and Our Money

Laura Clancy

Hosted by Dave O'Brien
Why does the monarchy matter? In Running the Family Firm: How the Monarchy Manages Its Image and Our Money (Manchester UP, 2021),  Laura Clancy, a Lecturer in Media and Lancaster …
Sociology June 1, 2022

The Colonial Public and the Parsi Stage

The Making of the Theatre of Empire (1853-1893)

Rashna Darius Nicholson

Hosted by Rituparna Patgiri
Rashna Darius Nicholson’s The Colonial Public and the Parsi Stage: The Making of the Theatre of Empire (1853-1893) (Palgrave Macmillan, 2021) is the first comprehensive study of the Parsi theatre …
Southeast Asian Studies June 1, 2022

Colonizing Animals

Interspecies Empire in Myanmar

Jonathan Saha

Hosted by Patrick Jory
Colonial Myanmar was teeming with animals, both wild and domesticated. Yet few histories have devoted close attention to the importance of animals to British colonial rule in Myanmar. Jonathan Saha’s …
Women's History June 1, 2022

She Being Dead Yet Speaketh

The Franklin Family Papers

Mary Franklin and Hannah Burton

Hosted by Deidre Tyler
On Black Bartholomew's Day--August 24, 1662--nearly two thousand ministers denied the authority of the Church of England and were subsequently removed from their posts. Mary Franklin was the wife of …
Critical Theory May 31, 2022

The Identity Myth

Why We Need to Embrace Our Differences to Beat Inequality

David Swift

Hosted by Pierre d'Alancaisez
In conversations about polarised political issues, phrases like ‘it’s not about race, it’s about class’ have become the perfect way to induce a stalemate. It seems as though the traditional …
Secularism May 31, 2022

Inventing Secularism

The Radical Life of George Jacob Holyoake

Ray Argyle

Hosted by Carrie Lynn Evans
Inventing Secularism: The Radical Life of George Jacob Holyoake (McFarland, 2021), by Ray Argyle is the first modern biography of the founder of Secularism, describing a transformative figure whose controversial …
Critical Theory May 27, 2022

Heritage and Nationalism

Understanding Populism through Big Data

Chiara Bonacchi

Hosted by Dave O'Brien
What are the connections between the past and modern politics? In Heritage and Nationalism: Understanding Populism through Big Data (UCL Press, 2022), Chiara Bonacchi, a Chancellor's Fellow in Heritage, Text …