Indigenous Studies

Indigenous Studies

episodes

Interviews with scholars of Indigenous Studies about their new books.

Samuel Marquis, "Empire and Frontier: Colonel Peter Schuyler and the Valiant Iroquois in King William's War: 1689-1701" (Pegasus Books, 2026)

August 4, 2026

Empire and Frontier

Samuel Marquis
Hosted by Miranda Melcher

Empire and Frontier: Colonel Peter Schuyler and the Valiant Iroquois in King William's War: 1689-1701 (Pegasus Books, 2026) by Samuel Marquis presen…

Kristen Tegtmeier Oertel, "Seeking Freedom in Indian Country: Slavery, Sovereignty, and Resistance Within the Five Tribes, 1790–1861" (LSU Press, 2026)

August 3, 2026

Seeking Freedom in Indian Country

Kristen Tegtmeier Oertel
Hosted by Miranda Melcher

Dr. Kristen Tegtmeier Oertel’s Seeking Freedom in Indian Country: Slavery, Sovereignty, and Resistance within the Five Tribes, 1790–1861 (LSU Press, 2…

Linford Fisher, "Stealing America: The Hidden Story of Indigenous Slavery in U.S. History" (Liveright, 2026)

July 27, 2026

Stealing America

Linford Fisher
Hosted by Russell Arbic

Although the first enslaved Africans arrived in Jamestown in 1619, European slavery in America began more than a century before. In a work distinguish…

Patrick Nunn, "Whispers from Celtic Seas: The True Meanings of Ancient Stories from Northwest Europe" (Reaktion, 2026)

July 26, 2026

Whispers from Celtic Seas

Patrick Nunn
Hosted by Miranda Melcher

What if the legends of submerged cities, land-making witches and sea-crossing bishops are not mere inventions but echoes of real events? Whispers …

Michelle Bigenho and Henry Stobart, "Heritage Fever: Law and Cultural Politics in a Decolonizing State" (Oxford UP, 2025)

July 26, 2026

Heritage Fever

Michelle Bigenho and Henry Stobart
Hosted by Miranda Melcher

The early twenty-first century ushered in a period of change in Bolivia. The country welcomed its first Indigenous president, a new constitution, …

Ian J. McNiven, "Sentient Seas: Archaeologies of Seascapes and Maritime Rituals" (UP Florida, 2026)

July 20, 2026

Sentient Seas

Ian J. McNiven
Hosted by Natali Pearson

Sentient Seas: Archaeologies of Seascapes and Maritime Rituals (UP Florida, 2026), published by University Press of Florida (2026), offers a global pe…

Robert G Parkinson, "Heart of American Darkness: Bewilderment and Horror on the Early Frontier" (Norton, 2024)

July 13, 2026

Heart of American Darkness

Robert G Parkinson
Hosted by Edward Blum

We are divided over the history of the United States, and one of the central dividing lines is the frontier. Was it a site of heroism? Or was it where…

Peter C. Mancall, "Contested Continent: The Struggle for North America, c. 1000–1680" (Oxford UP, 2026)

July 11, 2026

Contested Continent

Peter C. Mancall
Hosted by Ryan Tripp

In Contested Continent: The Struggle for America, c.1000-1680 (Oxford University Press, 2026), the newest installment of the acclaimed Oxford History …

Gajendran Ayyathurai, "Tamil Buddhism and Brahminism in Modern India: Deep Resistance Against Caste" (Oxford UP, 2026)

July 4, 2026

Tamil Buddhism and Brahminism in Modern India

Gajendran Ayyathurai
Hosted by Sanjukta Poddar

Tamil Buddhism and Brahminism in Modern India: Deep Resistance Against Caste (Oxford University Press, 2026) explores Tamil Buddhism in modern India, …

Shawn William Miller, "Dream Road to Pan America: A Century in Pursuit of the World's Longest Highway" (U California Press, 2026)

June 29, 2026

Dream Road to Pan America

Shawn William Miller
Hosted by Miranda Melcher

A century after the Pan-American Highway was first conceived, its story remains largely unknown—even to the hundreds of motorists who annually attempt…

Anna O. Law, "Migration and the Origins of American Citizenship: African Americans, Native Americans, and Immigrants" (Oxford UP, 2026)

June 18, 2026

Migration and the Origins of American Citizenship

Anna O. Law
Hosted by Lilly Goren

Anna O. Law, the Herbert Kurz Chair in Constitutional Rights in the Department of Political Science at City University of New York-Brooklyn Campus, ha…

Mardi Reardon-Smith, "Making Do: Conservation Ethics and Ecological Care in Australia" (Stanford UP, 2025)

June 10, 2026

Making Do

Mardi Reardon-Smith
Hosted by Amisah Bakuri

Modern environmentalism often frames conservation as moral, humans damage nature, and conservation protects it. But Mardi Reardon-Smith’s Making Do: C…

Kenna Neitch, "A Praxis of Persistence: Central American Feminist Testimony and Sustainable Activism" (SUNY Press, 2026)

June 1, 2026

A Praxis of Persistence

Kenna Neitch
Hosted by Miranda Melcher

A Praxis of Persistence: Central American Feminist Testimony and Sustainable Activism (SUNY Press, 2026) by Dr. Kenna Neitch establishes persistence a…

Craig Fehrman, "This Vast Enterprise: A New History of Lewis & Clark" (Simon & Schuster, 2026)

May 31, 2026

This Vast Enterprise

Craig Fehrman
Hosted by Raymond Williams

In 1806, when Meriwether Lewis and William Clark return from their journey—having led the Corps of Discovery across eight thousand miles of rapids, mo…

Annette Gordon-Reed ed., "Jefferson on Race: A Reader" (Princeton UP, 2026)

May 30, 2026

Jefferson on Race

Annette Gordon-Reed
Hosted by Caleb Zakarin

From The New York Times–bestselling and Pulitzer Prize–winning author of The Hemingses of Monticello, a groundbreaking collection of Thomas Jefferson’…

Ashley Rose Young, "Nourishing Networks: The Public Culture of Food in New Orleans" (Oxford UP, 2025)

May 29, 2026

Nourishing Networks

Ashley Rose Young
Hosted by Miranda Melcher

For much of the Crescent City's history, days began with the cries of roaming street vendors and the percussive thwack of butchers' meat cleavers echo…

Dalit Feminism with Thenmozhi Soundararajan

May 25, 2026

Dalit Feminism

Thenmozhi Soundararajan

This episode features a conversation with Thenmozhi Soundararajan, founder Equality Labs and author of The Trauma of Caste. We discussed her own comin…

Daniela Soto-Hernández, "Lithium Extraction in Chile: Ontological, Ecological and Economic Dimensions" (Routledge, 2025)

May 24, 2026

Lithium Extraction in Chile

Daniela Soto-Hernández

Lithium Extraction in Chile: Ontological, Ecological and Economic Dimensions (Routledge, 2025) is a new book from Dr Daniela Soto-Hernández, a Social …

Anna O. Law, "Migration and the Origins of American Citizenship: African Americans, Native Americans, and Immigrants" (Oxford UP, 2026)

May 22, 2026

Migration and the Origins of American Citizenship

Anna O. Law
Hosted by Miranda Melcher

Since the late nineteenth century, the US federal government has enjoyed exclusive authority to decide whether someone has the ability to enter and …

Shyam Ranganathan, "Moral Philosophy and De-Colonialism: The Irrationality of Oppression" (Bloomsbury Academic, 2026)

May 21, 2026

Moral Philosophy and De-Colonialism

Shyam Ranganathan
Hosted by Raj Balkaran

Why have moral philosophers largely ignored colonialism? In Moral Philosophy and De-Colonialism: The Irrationality of Oppression (Bloomsbury Academic,…