New Books Network Podcast

Think About It December 9, 2023

Ruth Ben-Ghiat on Threats to Democracy and H. L. Mencken’s "Notes on Democracy"

Book Talk 61

Ruth Ben-Ghiat

Hosted by Uli Baer

A century ago, journalist H. L. Mencken provocatively stated in Notes On Democracy (new edition by Warbler Press, 2023) that anti-democratic behavior is not only not shocking but that we …

Critical Theory December 6, 2023

Undoing Work, Rethinking Community

A Critique of the Social Function of Work

James A. Chamberlain

Hosted by Thomas Discenna

This revolutionary book presents a new conception of community and the struggle against capitalism. In Undoing Work, Rethinking Community: A Critique of the Social Function of Work (ILR Press, 2018) …

Madison's Notes December 5, 2023

Unwoke

A Discussion with Senator Ted Cruz

Ted Cruz

Hosted by Annika Nordquist

How do we defeat woke ideology and the threat it poses to free speech? Senator Ted Cruz '92 joins Madison's Notes to discuss his latest book, Unwoke: How to Defeat …

The Future of . . . with Owen Bennett-Jones December 4, 2023

The Future of the State

A Discussion with Graeme Garrard

Graeme Garrard

Hosted by Owen Bennett-Jones

The Reagan-Thatcher neoliberal era started the retreat of the state. Privatisation and deregulation meant power was handed over to corporations and markets. Now that neoliberalism has run its course, will …

Public Policy December 1, 2023

Practical Radicals

Seven Strategies to Change the World

Deepak Bhargava and Stephanie Luce

Hosted by Stephen Pimpare

Listen:

In the tradition of Saul Alinsky’s Rules for Radicals and Sun Tzu’s The Art of War, Deepak Bhargava and Stephanie Luce’s Practical Radicals: Seven Strategies to Change the World (The …

Art November 29, 2023

Artists Remake the World

A Contemporary Art Manifesto

Vid Simoniti

Hosted by Pierre d'Alancaisez

Artists Remake the World: A Contemporary Art Manifesto (Yale UP, 2023) puts forward an account of contemporary art’s political ambitions and potential. Surveying such innovations as evidence-driven art, socially engaged …

Critical Theory November 28, 2023

The Age of Insecurity

Coming Together as Things Fall Apart

Astra Taylor

Hosted by Louisa Hann

Listen:

These days, everyone feels insecure. We are financially stressed and emotionally overwhelmed. The status quo isn’t working for anyone, even those who appear to have it all. What is going …

Critical Theory November 27, 2023

A Queer Theory of the State

Samuel Clowes Huneke

Hosted by Lea Greenberg

Queer theory has often been hesitant to align itself with a politics of the state, approaching it with a negative or pragmatic framework. A Queer Theory of the State (Floating …

General History November 25, 2023

A Brief History of History

Jeremy Black

Hosted by Charles Coutinho

In A Brief History of History (Indiana UP, 2023), acclaimed historian Jeremy Black seeks to reinvigorate and redefine our ideas about history. The stories we tell about the past are …

International Horizons November 22, 2023

Israel, Hamas, and American Jews in a Time of War

A Discussion with Jodi Rudoren, editor-in-chief of "Forward"

Jodi Rudoren

Hosted by International Horizons

On today’s episode of International Horizons, RBI director John Torpey speaks with Jodi Rudoren, editor-in-chief of the Forward magazine, about the situation in Israel and Gaza. She notes that Hamas’s …

Genocide Studies November 20, 2023

Warnings

The Holocaust, Ukraine, and Endangered American Democracy

Leonard Grob and John K. Roth

Hosted by Jeff Bachman

Old friends--one a Jew, the other a Christian--Leonard (Lenny) Grob and John K. Roth are philosophers who have long studied the Holocaust. That experience makes us anxious about democracy, because …

Politics & Polemics November 19, 2023

The Death of the Millennial Left

Interventions: 2006-2022

Chris Cutrone

Hosted by David Kunsman

In The Death of the Millennial Left: Interventions: 2006-2022 (Sublation Media, 2023), Chris Cutrone investigates how and why the Millennial Left did not take up the task of socialism for the …

Political Science November 18, 2023

Robert P. George's 'Making Men Moral'-A 30th Anniversary Conference

An interview with J. Joel Alicea

J. Joel Alicea

Hosted by Hope J. Leman

The first book in the storied career of one of the most influential conservative legal scholars and philosophers of our day is the focus of an upcoming conference in Washington …

High Theory November 17, 2023

Plantationocene

A Discussion with Neil Safier

Neil Safier

Hosted by Kim Adams and Saronik Bosu

In this episode of High Theory, Neil Safier talks with us about the Plantationocene, a geological epoch that traces the effects of climate change to the historical systems of human …

America and Beyond with Paul Starobin November 16, 2023

Where Have All the Democrats Gone?

A Discussion with Ruy Teixeira and John B. Judis

Ruy Teixeira and John B. Judis

Hosted by Paul Starobin

Listen:

In 2002, John B. Judis and Ruy Teixeira published The Emerging Democratic Majority (Scribner). Now the pair are back with Where Have All the Democrats Gone?: The Soul of the Party …

Critical Theory November 15, 2023

Immanent Critiques

The Frankfurt School under Pressure

Martin Jay

Hosted by Ryan Tripp

The Frankfurt School’s own legacy is best preserved by exercising an immanent critique of its premises and the conclusions to which they often led. By distinguishing between what is still …

African American Studies November 13, 2023

Black Grief/White Grievance

The Politics of Loss

Juliet Hooker

Hosted by Ari Barbalat

Listen:

In democracies, citizens must accept loss; we can't always be on the winning side. But in the United States, the fundamental civic capacity of being able to lose is not …

Economics November 13, 2023

Hijacked

How Neoliberalism Turned the Work Ethic against Workers and How Workers Can Take It Back

Elizabeth Anderson

Hosted by Thomas Discenna

Listen:

What is the work ethic? Does it justify policies that promote the wealth and power of the One Percent at workers' expense? Or does it advance policies that promote workers' …

Language November 12, 2023

Unlocking Scots

The Secret Life of the Scots Language

Clive Young

Hosted by Miranda Melcher

In Unlocking Scots: The Secret Life of the Scots Language (Luath, 2023), Dr. Clive Young sets out to uncover the secret life of Scots – the centuries of vibrant debate …

Diplomatic History November 11, 2023

Grand Delusion

The Rise and Fall of American Ambition in the Middle East

Steven Simon

Hosted by Andrew Pace

A longtime American foreign policy insider’s penetrating and definitive reckoning with this country’s involvement in the Middle East The culmination of almost forty years at the highest levels of policymaking …