New Books Network Podcast

Sociology September 24, 2023

The Golden Passport

Global Mobility for Millionaires

Kristin Surak

Hosted by Miranda Melcher

Our lives are in countless ways defined by our citizenship. The country we belong to affects our rights, our travel possibilities, and ultimately our chances in life. Obtaining a new …

Japanese Studies September 24, 2023

Inglorious, Illegal Bastards

Japan's Self-Defense Force During the Cold War

Aaron Skabelund

Hosted by Ran Zwigenberg

In Inglorious, Illegal Bastards: Japan's Self-Defense Force During the Cold War (Cornell UP, 2022), Aaron Herald Skabelund examines how the Self-Defense Force (SDF)—the post–World War II Japanese military—and specifically the …

Asian Review of Books September 21, 2023

China Incorporated

The Politics of a World Where China is Number One

Kerry Brown

Hosted by Nicholas Gordon

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How do we talk about China? It’s a question every analyst, academic, policymaker, and reporter probably needs to ask themselves. Is China, as some of the hawks claim, an existential …

Literary Studies September 21, 2023

Godzilla and Godzilla Raids Again

The Original Novellas by Shigeru Kayama

Shigeru Kayama

Hosted by Daniel Moran

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Godzilla emerged from the sea to devastate Tokyo in the now-classic 1954 film, produced by Tōhō Studios and directed by Ishirō Honda, creating a global sensation and launching one of …

Chinese Studies September 18, 2023

Contemporary Chinese Queer Performance

Hongwei Bao

Hosted by Shu Wan

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In Contemporary Chinese Queer Performance (Routledge, 2022), Hongwei Bao analyses queer theatre and performance in contemporary China. Boa documents various forms of queer performance - including music, film, theatre, and …

Chinese Studies September 15, 2023

Nation and Ethnicity

Chinese Discourses on History, Historiography, and Nationalism (1900s-1920s)

Julia C. Schneider

Hosted by Julia Keblinska

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Julia Schneider’s Nation & Ethnicity: Chinese Discourses on History, Historiography, and Nationalism (1900s-1920s), published with Brill in 2017, is an erudite study of early twentieth century theories of Chinese nationalism …

Nordic Asia Podcast September 15, 2023

Development and Migration in Contemporary Asia

A Discussion with Jonathan Rigg and Marta Bivand Erdal

Jonathan Rigg and Marta Bivand Erdal

Hosted by Arve Hansen

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Is migration good or bad for development? How does migration affect those who leave and those who stay behind? How are rural and urban livelihoods interconnected in Asian cities? What …

Chinese Studies September 10, 2023

Violent Intimacy

Family Harmony, State Stability, and Intimate Partner Violence in Post-Socialist China

Tiantian Zheng

Hosted by Shu Wan

Based on ethnographic research with victims of intimate partner violence since 2014, Tiantian Zheng's Violent Intimacy: Family Harmony, State Stability, and Intimate Partner Violence in Post-Socialist China (Bloomsbury, 2022) brings …

East Asian Studies September 10, 2023

Daoist Cultivation of Qi and Virtue for Life, Wisdom, and Learning

Tom Culham and Jing Lin

Hosted by Bingwan Tian

Daoist Cultivation of Qi and Virtue for Life, Wisdom, and Learning (Palgrave MacMillan, 2020) explores Daoist philosophies of qi and virtue through inquiry into their potential as technologies for cultivating …

Nordic Asia Podcast September 9, 2023

Victims, Perpetrators and Professionals

The Representation of Women in Chinese Crime Films

Tingting Hu

Hosted by Joanne Kuai

How are women represented in Chinese crime films? In what ways do the representation reflect traditional Chinese values and contemporary Chinese social-cultural norms? How did boys’ love culture emerge in …

Buddhist Studies September 8, 2023

Situating Religion and Medicine

A Discussion with Michael Stanley-Baker

Michael Stanley-Baker

Hosted by Pierce Salguero

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Today I sit down for an in-depth conversation with my good friend, Michael Stanley-Baker, a scholar of Chinese religion and medicine. We talk about Mike’s international childhood and how his …

Chinese Studies September 6, 2023

A Feminist Reading of China’s Digital Public Sphere

Altman Yuzhu Peng

Hosted by Shu Wan

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In A Feminist Reading of China’s Digital Public Sphere (Palgrave Pivot, 2020), Altman Yuzhu Peng articulates how feminism and pseudo-feminism become confused in contemporary Chinese society, and how this confusion is invoked by …

Japanese Studies September 5, 2023

Gas Mask Nation

Visualizing Civil Air Defense in Wartime Japan

Gennifer Weisenfeld

Hosted by Ran Zwigenberg

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Airplanes, gas masks, and bombs were common images in wartime Japan. Yet amid these emblems of anxiety, tasty caramels were offered to children with paper gas masks as promotional giveaways …

Women's History September 4, 2023

Among Women Across Worlds

North Korea in the Global Cold War

Suzy Kim

Hosted by Rebecca Turkington

In Among Women across Worlds: North Korea in the Global Cold War (Cornell University Press, 2023), Suzy Kim follows Korean women’s engagement in a broader international women’s movement from the …

Korean Studies August 28, 2023

K-pop Dance

Fandoming Yourself on Social Media

Chuyun Oh

Hosted by Leslie Hickman

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K-pop Dance: Fandoming Yourself on Social Media (Routledge, 2022) is about K-pop dance and the evolution and presence of its dance fandom on social media. Based on five years of …

East Asian Studies August 28, 2023

Taiwan New Cinema at Film Festivals

Beth Tsai

Hosted by Li-Ping Chen

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Taiwan New Cinema (first wave, 1982–1989; second wave, 1990 onward) has a unique history regarding film festivals, particularly in the way these films are circulated at major European film festivals …

Nordic Asia Podcast August 25, 2023

Journalism History in Macau: A Abelha da China in its 200 Years

A Conversation with Hugo Pinto

Hugo Pinto

Hosted by Joanne Kuai

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How did the first newspaper in Macau come into being? What was the first foreign language newspaper on Chinese soil about? How was the dynamic between the Chinese and Portuguese …

East Asian Studies August 17, 2023

Slavery in East Asia

Don J. Wyatt

Hosted by Dong Wang

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Today I talked to Don J. Wyatt about his book Slavery in East Asia (Cambridge UP, 2022). In premodern China, Korea, Japan, and Vietnam, just as in the far less culturally …

Madison's Notes August 15, 2023

Paratroopers in the Pacific

A Conversation with James Fenelon

James M. Fenelon

Hosted by Annika Nordquist

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In the final episode of Season 3, Annika sits down with James Fenelon, a veteran-turned-historian, who served in the Army for over a decade and is a graduate of the …

Japanese Studies August 15, 2023

The Time of Laughter

Comedy and the Media Cultures of Japan

David Humphrey

Hosted by Nathan Hopson

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David Humphrey’s The Time of Laughter: Comedy and the Media Cultures of Japan (U Michigan Press, 2023) examines the roles of mediated laughter in the media and cultural history of …