Gender Studies

Gender Studies

episodes

Interviews with scholars of gender about their new books.

Julia Bowes, "Every Man's Home a Castle: Parental Rights and the Makings of Modern Conservatism" (Princeton UP, 2026)

May 8, 2026

Every Man's Home a Castle

Julia Bowes
Hosted by Miranda Melcher

“Parental rights” is a rallying cry for today’s American conservatives, signaling opposition to mandatory vaccination and “woke” public school curricu…

Jewish Anarchist Women 1920–1950: The Politics of Sexuality

May 8, 2026

Jewish Anarchist Women 1920–1950

Hosted by YIVO Institute

Anarchist theory includes the belief in freedom for all - that no one person, nor group of people, should have power over any others; that individuals…

Claudia Goldin, "Career and Family: Women’s Century-Long Journey toward Equity" (Princeton UP, 2021)

May 6, 2026

Career and Family

Claudia Goldin
Hosted by Marshall Poe

A century ago, it was a given that a woman with a college degree had to choose between having a career and a family. Today, there are more female coll…

Angela Dimitrakaki, "Feminism. Art. Capitalism" (Pluto Press, 2026)

May 6, 2026

Feminism. Art. Capitalism.

Angela Dimitrakaki
Hosted by Dave O'Brien

Can art change the contemporary world? In Feminism, Art, Capitalism Angela Dimitrakaki, a Professor of Contemporary Art History and Theory at the univ…

Max Morris, "Not Sex Work: Queer Intimacy, Post-identity, and Incidental Encounters in the Digital Era" (Routledge, 2025)

May 6, 2026

Not Sex Work

Max Morris
Hosted by Rine Vieth

Max Morris's Not Sex Work: Queer Intimacy, Post-identity, and Incidental Encounters in the Digital Era (Routledge, 2025) brings together feminist theo…

Samira K. Mehta, "God Bless the Pill: The Surprising History of Contraception and Sexuality in American Religion" (UNC Press, 2026)

April 30, 2026

God Bless the Pill

Samira K. Mehta
Hosted by Miranda Melcher

Most people today understand contraception as central to women’s liberation, and when the birth control pill arrived in 1960, the media thought it wou…

Elena Foulis, "Embodied Encuentros: Oral History Archives of Latina/o/e Experiences" (Ohio State UP, 2026)

April 29, 2026

Embodied Encuentros

Elena Foulis
Hosted by Brad Wright

In Embodied Encuentros: Oral History Archives of Latina/o/e Experiences (Ohio State UP, 2026), Elena Foulis offers a practical guide for completing et…

Rugged Individualism

April 28, 2026

Rugged Individualism

Andrew Bennett, Jo Hoffman, Kai North, and Ally Sullivan

In this special student edition of High Theory, Andrew Bennett, Jo Hoffman, Kai North, and Ally Sullivan tell us about Rugged Individualism, a concept…

Vanda Krefft, "Expect Great Things!: How the Katharine Gibbs School Revolutionized the American Workplace for Women" (Algonquin Books, 2026)

April 24, 2026

Expect Great Things!

Vanda Krefft
Hosted by Jane Scimeca

It’s a safe bet that most of the secretaries on the TV series Mad Men would have attended the Katharine Gibbs School in New York City. The iconic inst…

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…

Abigail Ocobock, "Marriage Material: How an Enduring Institution Is Changing Same-Sex Relationships" (U Chicago Press, 2024)

April 21, 2026

Marriage Material

Abigail Ocobock
Hosted by Miranda Melcher

It is no secret that marriage rates in the United States are at an all-time low. Despite this significant decline, the institution of marriage endures…

Rebecca Buxton and Samuel Ritholtz, "The Way Out: Justice in the Queer Search for Refuge" (U California Press, 2026)

April 20, 2026

The Way Out

Rebecca Buxton and Samuel Ritholtz
Hosted by Hannah Pool

The global refugee regime has shifted under our feet. Over the last forty years, international asylum practices have expanded to include the queer and…

Eileen G'Sell, "Lipstick" (Bloomsbury, 2026)

April 20, 2026

Lipstick

Eileen G'Sell
Hosted by Miranda Melcher

From Revlon to Glossier, from Marilyn to Gaga, lipstick is as shape-shifting and unwieldy as femininity itself. Who wears lipstick today – as a mat…

Samuel Clowes Huneke, "I Will Not Abandon You: Queer Women in Nazi Germany" (Aevo UTP, 2026)

April 18, 2026

I Will Not Abandon You

Samuel Clowes Huneke
Hosted by Deep Acharya

I Will Not Abandon You: Queer Women in Nazi Germany (Aevo UTP, 2026) brings to life the unrelenting defiance of queer women in fascist Germany. In hi…

Alisa Kessel, "Rape Fantasies: Rape Culture and the Persistence of Sexual Violence" (Oxford UP, 2025)

April 16, 2026

Rape Fantasies

Alisa Kessel

Political theorist Alisa Kessel (University of Puget Sound) has an important and impressive new book, Rape Fantasies: Rape Culture and the Persistence…

Gwyneth Lonergan, "Borders, Citizenship, and Pregnancy: Migrant Women’s Experiences of Pregnancy and Maternity Care in the UK" (Bristol UP, 2025)

April 16, 2026

Borders, Citizenship, and Pregnancy

Gwyneth Lonergan
Hosted by Miranda Melcher

Using the analytical framework of reproductive justice, Borders, Citizenship, and Pregnancy: Migrant Women’s Experiences of Pregnancy and Maternity Ca…

Daphne A. Brooks, "Blackstar Rising and the Purple Reign: The Sonic Afterlives of David Bowie and Prince" (Duke UP, 2026)

April 14, 2026

Blackstar Rising and the Purple Reign

Daphne A. Brooks
Hosted by Rebekah Buchanan

Blackstar Rising and the Purple Reign: The Sonic Afterlives of David Bowie and Prince (Duke UP, 2026) is the first critical anthology dedicated to exp…

Gabriel S. Estrada, "Queer Indigenous Cinemas: Sovereign Genders from Seven Directions" (U Arizona Press, 2026)

April 13, 2026

Queer Indigenous Cinemas

Gabriel S. Estrada
Hosted by Caleb Zakarin

In Queer Indigenous Cinemas, scholar Gabriel S. Estrada offers an analysis of queer Indigenous media from the Americas, the Pacific, and the Caribbean…

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…

Beans Velocci, "Sex Isn't Real: The Invention of an Incoherent Binary" (Duke UP, 2026)

April 11, 2026

Sex Isn't Real

Beans Velocci
Hosted by Clayton Jarrard

In Sex Isn’t Real: The Invention of an Incoherent Binary (Duke UP, 2026), Beans Velocci traces the history of current high stakes attempts to define s…