New Books Network

Critical Theory July 28, 2021

There Is No Unhappy Revolution

The Communism of Destitution

Marcello Tarì

Hosted by Stephen Dozeman

The Marxist philosopher Theodor Adorno once quipped that much of his work was written without practical applications in mind, and that the constant demand for immediate practical relevance felt like …

Sociology July 27, 2021

Against White Feminism

Notes on Disruption

Rafia Zakaria

Hosted by Deidre Tyler

Elite white women have branded feminism, promising an apolitical individual empowerment along with sexual liberation and satisfaction, LGBTQ inclusion, and racial solidarity. As Rafia Zakaria expertly argues in Against White Feminism …

National Security July 26, 2021

Pastels and Pedophiles

Inside the Mind of QAnon

Mia Bloom and Sophia Moskalenko

Hosted by Beth Windisch

Two experts of extremist radicalization take us down the QAnon rabbit hole, exposing how the conspiracy theory ensnared countless Americans, and show us a way back to sanity. In January …

Critical Theory July 26, 2021

Crises and Hegemonic Transitions

From Gramsci's Quaderni to the Contemporary World Economy

Lorenzo Fusaro

Hosted by Stephen Dozeman

Gramsci’s concept of hegemony is often invoked, but usually as a means of cultural critique and analysis. However, my guest Lorenzo Fusaro argues in his recent book Crises and Hegemonic …

Film July 23, 2021

Beyond Bias

Conservative Media, Documentary Form, and the Politics of Hysteria

Scott Krzych

Hosted by Joel Tscherne

Scott Krzych's book Beyond Bias: Conservative Media, Documentary Form, and the Politics of Hysteria (Oxford University Press, 2021) offers the first scholarly study of contemporary right-wing documentary film and video. Drawing from …

Critical Theory July 20, 2021

For Abolition

Essays on Prisons and Socialist Ethics

David Scott

Hosted by Rachel Stuart

According to Jonathan Swift (1667-1745) 'Laws are like cobwebs, which may catch small flies, but let wasps and hornets break through.' Connecting the politics of abolition to wider emancipatory struggles …

Intellectual History July 12, 2021

Workers' Inquiry and Global Class Struggle

Strategies, Tactics, Objectives

Robert Ovetz

Hosted by Keith Krueger

"The point of studying the world – including the past and other’s writings – is not just to understand it but to use that understanding to change it." – Harry …

Environmental Studies July 5, 2021

Stop Saving the Planet!

An Environmentalist Manifesto

Jenny Price

Hosted by Brian Hamilton

We’ve been “saving the planet” for decades…and environmental crises just get worse. All this Tesla driving and LEED building and carbon trading seems to accomplish little to nothing — all …

Genocide Studies June 30, 2021

It Can Happen Here

White Power and the Rising Threat of Genocide in the US

Alexander Laban Hinton

Hosted by Jeff Bachman

If many people were shocked by Donald Trump’s 2016 election, many more were stunned when, months later, white supremacists took to the streets of Charlottesville, Virginia, chanting “Blood and Soil” …

Politics & Polemics June 28, 2021

Open Democracy

Reinventing Popular Rule for the Twenty-First Century

Hélène Landemore

Hosted by Jack Petranker

Students of American history know that the framers of the Constitution were deeply concerned that the United States would founder on the shoals of mob rule. They designed a system …

Communications June 17, 2021

Rebirthing a Nation

White Women, Identity Politics, and the Internet

Wendy K. Z. Anderson

Hosted by Lee Pierce

In Rebirthing a Nation: White Women, Identity Politics, and the Internet (U Mississippi Press, 2021), author Wendy K. Z. Anderson details how white nationalist and alt-right women refine racist rhetoric …

Politics & Polemics June 8, 2021

Reclaiming Patriotism in an Age of Extremes

Steven B. Smith

Hosted by Jack Petranker

In a time when questions about patriotism, nationalism, multiculturalism, and the like are sure to stir up controversy, Steven Smith offers a careful, balanced defense of what he calls “enlightened …

Cover Story June 8, 2021

Writing Engaged History

An Interview with Matthew Karp

Matthew Karp

Hosted by Agata Popeda

Matthew Karp is a historian of the U.S. Civil War era and its relationship to the nineteenth-century world. He received his Ph.D. in History from the University of Pennsylvania in …

General History June 7, 2021

The Constitution of Knowledge

A Defense of Truth

Jonathan Rauch

Hosted by Mark Klobas

In recent years Americans have experienced a range of assaults upon the truth. In The Constitution of Knowledge: A Defense of Truth (Brookings Institution Press, 2021), Jonathan Rauch describes the …

General History June 3, 2021

Socialism As a Secular Creed

A Modern Global History

Andrei Znamenski

Hosted by Mark Klobas

The predominantly secular focus of socialism can often obscure the parts of its ideology that reflect the elements it inherited from Western religious thinking. In Socialism as a Secular Creed …

Politics & Polemics June 2, 2021

American Awakening

Identity Politics and Other Afflictions of Our Time

Joshua Mitchell

Hosted by Hope J. Leman

Brace yourself for a sobering analysis of the state of the body politic and national soul. America is ailing from three main afflictions that are dangerously undermining the nation’s ability …

Medicine May 25, 2021

At What Cost

Modern Capitalism and the Future of Health

Nicholas Freudenberg

Hosted by Claire Clark

Freedom of choice lies at the heart of American society. Every day, individuals decide what to eat, which doctors to see, who to connect with online, and where to educate …

Van Leer Institute Series on Ideas with Renee Garfinkel May 25, 2021

Not in Kansas Anymore

Academic Freedom in Palestinian Universities

Cary Nelson

Hosted by Renee Garfinkel

“Allying with a Hamas cell (on a Palestinian university campus) is not the same as joining the College Republicans at the University of Kansas...in the West Bank and Gaza, we …

Middle Eastern Studies May 24, 2021

Teach-In on Sheikh Jarrah and Israel-Palestine

A Discussion of the May, 2021 Middle East Crisis

Hosted by Samee Siddiqui

Today, I am introducing a recording of an event on Israel-Palestine organized by members of the history department at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The event took …

Sex, Sexuality, and Sex Work May 19, 2021

Pain Generation

Social Media, Feminist Activism, and the Neoliberal Selfie

L. Ayu Saraswati