Media and Communications

Media and Communications

episodes

Interviews with scholars of media and communications about their new books.

Are Libraries the Hidden Book Market? with Erin Cox of Words & Money

April 29, 2026

Are Libraries the Hidden Book Market?

Erin Cox
Hosted by Sarah Russo

What if the most powerful tool in your book marketing strategy isn't social media — it's your local library? In the debut episode of The Publishing Pl…

Kirsten Clark, "Practical Project Management for Librarians" (Bloomsbury, 2025)

April 26, 2026

Practical Project Management for Librarians

Kirsten Clark
Hosted by Michael LaMagna

Librarians continue to work under budget constraints while still needing to increase the user experience and remove barriers to library resources. Lea…

Jonathan Gray and Daphne Gershon, "Reading Media: How to Do Textual Analysis" (NYU Press, 2026)

April 25, 2026

Reading Media

Jonathan Gray and Daphne Gershon
Hosted by Pete Kunze

Reading Media: How to do Textual Analysis reinvigorates one of media and cultural studies’ most foundational methods at a moment when it is most neede…

Laura Horak, "Trans Cinema: Making Communities, Identities, and Worlds" (U California Press, 2026)

April 23, 2026

Trans Cinema

Laura Horak
Hosted by Miranda Melcher

Since the 1990s, a largely underground upwelling of trans creativity has helped new trans identities, communities, and political movements come togeth…

Sarah Murray, "Powered by Smart: A Prehistory of Everyday AI" (NYU Press, 2026)

April 22, 2026

Powered by Smart

Sarah Murray
Hosted by Pete Kunze

Powered by Smart traces the techno-cultural evolutions that made artificial intelligence feel more familiar than futuristic. From wearables and stream…

The Information State: How is the State Surveilling and Manipulating us These Days?

April 22, 2026

The Information State: How is the State Surveilling and Manipulating us These Days?

Jacob Siegel

In this episode of International Horizons, RBI Acting Director Eli Karetny interviews Jacob Siegel, writer, Army veteran, and author of The Informatio…

Wade Bishop et al., "A Critical Look at Information Science and Librarianship in a New Age" (Emerald Publishing, 2026)

April 21, 2026

A Critical Look at Information Science and Librarianship in a New Age

Wade Bishop and Renate L. Chancellor
Hosted by Michael LaMagna

A Critical Look at Information Science and Librarianship in a New Age: Constellation of Insanity (Emerald, 2026) fosters a platform for information sc…

Qi Ai, "Feng Xiaogang's New Year Films: Industry, Regulation, Humour and Authorship" (Routledge, 2025)

April 20, 2026

Feng Xiaogang's New Year Films

Qi Ai
Hosted by Victoria Lupascu

Feng Xiaogang's New Year Films: Industry, Regulation, Humour and Authorship (Routledge, 2025) offers not only an in-depth study of Feng Xiaogang as a …

Aurore Spiers, "Archiving the Past: Women's Film History in France, 1927–1978" (U California Press, 2026)

April 20, 2026

Archiving the Past

Aurore Spiers
Hosted by Alix Beeston

What happens when we assume women’s presence in film history instead of their absence? This is the question at the heart of Archiving the Past: Women’…

Nathaniel Greenberg, "The Long War of Ideas: American Public Diplomacy in Arabic After 9/11" (Columbia UP, 2026)

April 19, 2026

The Long War of Ideas

Nathaniel Greenberg
Hosted by Miranda Melcher

In the wake of the September 11 attacks, US officials identified the so-called battle for hearts and minds as the “second front” in the war on terror.…

Miranda Banks and Kate Fortmueller, "Boom to Bust: How Streaming Broke Hollywood Workers" (U California Press, 2026)

April 19, 2026

Boom to Bust

Miranda Banks and Kate Fortmueller
Hosted by Pete Kunze

Boom to Bust is a timely investigation into the rise of Peak TV and the perfect storm that caused a rapid decline in Hollywood work. When Hollywood w…

John Bechtold, "U.S. Militarism and the Terrain of Memory: Negotiating Dead Space" (Taylor & Francis, 2024)

April 12, 2026

U.S. Militarism and the Terrain of Memory

John Bechtold
Hosted by John Armenta

In U.S. Militarism and the Terrain of Memory: Negotiating Dead Space (Taylor & Francis, 2024), John Bechtold examines how the US military understands …

Katharina Wiedlack, "Under Western Eyes: Vulnerable Minorities and the Russian State in New Cold War Cultures" (Academic Studies Press, 2025)

April 12, 2026

Under Western Eyes

Katharina Wiedlack
Hosted by Amber Nickell

Under Western Eyes: Vulnerable Minorities and the Russian State in New Cold War Cultures (Academic Studies Press, 2025) examines the New Cold War betw…

Annahid Dashtgard, "Fire and Silence: A Roadmap for BIPOC Leaders" (Dundurn Press, 2026)

April 11, 2026

Fire and Silence

Annahid Dashtgard
Hosted by Hollay Ghadery

In this NBN episode, host Hollay Ghadery speaks with Annahid Dashtgard about her new book, Fire and Silence: A Roadmap for BIPOC Leaders (Dundurn Pres…

Christine Grandy, "Race on Screen: Audience Racism in Twentieth-Century Britain" (Cambridge UP, 2026)

April 4, 2026

Race on Screen

Christine Grandy
Hosted by Dave O'Brien

What is the role of television in the history of the UK? In Race on Screen: Audience Racism in Twentieth-Century Britain (Cambridge UP, 2026) Christin…

Asif Iqbal, "Bangladesh in Anglophone and Vernacular Literature: Cultural Imaginings of a Postcolonial Nation" (Routledge, 2025)

April 2, 2026

Bangladesh in Anglophone and Vernacular Literature

Asif Iqbal
Hosted by Raj Balkaran

Bangladesh in Anglophone and Vernacular Literature: Cultural Imaginings of a Postcolonial Nation (Routledge, 2025) illuminates individual and collecti…

Ben Collier on Tor: From the Dark Web to the Future of Privacy

March 30, 2026

Tor: From the Dark Web to the Future of Privacy

Ben Collier
Hosted by Lee Vinsel

Peoples & Things host, Lee Vinsel, and guest host, Paula Bialski, Associate Professor of Digital Sociology at University of St. Gallen, talk to Ben C…

Mark Hlavacik, "Willing Warriors: A New History of the Education Culture Wars" (U Chicago Press, 2025)

March 28, 2026

Willing Warriors

Mark Hlavacik
Hosted by Laura Kelly

How the rise of the culture wars afflicts the politics of education. On August 9, 2022, the Denton Independent School District held a meeting to add…

Gist Books: How Print on Demand Creates New Possibilities for the Publishing Industry

March 23, 2026

Gist Books

Ramona Liberoff and Liz Fried
Hosted by Caleb Zakarin

Today I’m speaking with Ramona Liberoff and Liz Fried, cofounders of the new publisher, Gist Books. Gist allows readers to pick the topics they want, …

Deirdre Flynn and Mary McGill eds., "Irish Digital Cultures: Identity, Contexts, Space" (Routledge, 2025)

March 22, 2026

Irish Digital Cultures

Deirdre Flynn and Mary McGill eds.
Hosted by Helen Penet

Irish Digital Cultures: Identity, Contexts, Space (Routledge, 2025) explores how questions of Ireland and Irishness are represented in online environm…