Politics & Polemics

Politics & Polemics

episodes

Interviews with partisans and polemicists about their new books.

Dinesh Wadiwel, "Animals and Capital" (Edinburgh UP, 2023)

March 19, 2024

Animals and Capital

Dinesh Wadiwel
Hosted by Kyle Johannsen

In the 20th century, capitalist animal agriculture emerged with a twofold mission: to ruthlessly exploit animals for their labour time and enlarge hum…

Anna Kornbluh, "Immediacy: Or, The Style of Too Late Capitalism" (Verso, 2024)

March 17, 2024

Immediacy

Anna Kornbluh
Hosted by David Maruzzella

What is the status of art and culture in a world dominated by apps, algorithms, and influencers? Anna Kornbluh’s newest book Immediacy, Or the Style o…

Foster Care, Family, and Social Class: A Conversation with Rob Henderson

March 14, 2024

Foster Care, Family, and Social Class

Rob Henderson
Hosted by Annika Nordquist

Robert Kim Henderson, a recently-minted psychology PhD from Cambridge and prominent essayist, had a troubled childhood. A victim of child abuse, he wa…

Daniel Tutt, "How to Read Like a Parasite: Why the Left Got High on Nietzsche" (Repeater, 2024)

March 12, 2024

How to Read Like a Parasite

Daniel Tutt
Hosted by David Kunsman

A how-to guide for the left on how to overcome Nietzsche's divisive and damaging influence. How to Read Like a Parasite: Why the Left Got High on Ni…

Freedom in the Academy: A Conversation with Niall Ferguson

March 5, 2024

Freedom in the Academy

Niall Ferguson
Hosted by Annika Nordquist

Finishing off our series on freedom of speech, renowned historian Niall Ferguson discusses ideological conflict both between America and China and wit…

David P. Gushee, "Defending Democracy from Its Christian Enemies" (William B. Eerdmans, 2023)

March 2, 2024

Defending Democracy from Its Christian Enemies

David P. Gushee
Hosted by Meghan Cochran

Why do some devout Christians support authoritarian leaders who threaten the very democracies that protect religious freedoms? The resounding suppor…

Verity Harding, "AI Needs You: How We Can Change AI's Future and Save Our Own" (Princeton UP, 2024)

March 1, 2024

AI Needs You

Verity Harding
Hosted by Mark Klobas

Artificial intelligence may be the most transformative technology of our time. As AI's power grows, so does the need to figure out what--and who--this…

Alissa Quart and David Wallis, "Going for Broke: Living on the Edge in the World's Richest Country" (Haymarket, 2023)

February 28, 2024

Going for Broke

Alissa Quart and David Wallis
Hosted by Thomas Discenna

Going for Broke: Living on the Edge in the World's Richest Country (Haymarket, 2023), edited by Alissa Quart, Executive Director of the Economic Hards…

Leadership in Business, Leadership Abroad: A Conversation with Dave McCormick *96

February 28, 2024

Leadership in Business, Leadership Abroad

David McCormick
Hosted by Annika Nordquist

Dave McCormick *96 has enjoyed incredible success in a wide variety of arenas: after graduating from West Point, where he competed as a varsity wrestl…

Gerald Epstein, "Busting the Bankers' Club: Finance for the Rest of Us" (U California Press, 2024)

February 28, 2024

Busting the Bankers' Club

Gerald Epstein
Hosted by John Emrich

Bankers brought the global economic system to its knees in 2007 and nearly did the same in 2020. Both times, the US government bailed out the banks an…

Yanis Varoufakis, "Technofeudalism: What Killed Capitalism" (Melville House, 2023)

February 26, 2024

Technofeudalism

Yanis Varoufakis
Hosted by Louisa Hann

In Technofeudalism: What Killed Capitalism (Melville House, 2023), Yanis Varoufakis argues that capitalism is dead and a new economic era has begun. …

Can We Ever Unthink Linguistic Nationalism?

February 19, 2024

Can We Ever Unthink Linguistic Nationalism?

Aneta Pavlenko

Ingrid Piller speaks with Aneta Pavlenko about multilingualism through the ages. We start from the question whether the world today is more multilin…

Steven Harvey, "The Beloved Republic" (Wandering Aengus Press, 2023)

February 15, 2024

The Beloved Republic

Steven Harvey
Hosted by Dan Hill

Steven Harvey is the author of numerous books, including his latest collection of essays The Beloved Republic (Wandering Aengus Press). Besides being …

Richard L. Hasen, "A Real Right to Vote: How a Constitutional Amendment Can Safeguard American Democracy" (Princeton UP, 2024)

February 15, 2024

A Real Right to Vote

Richard L. Hasen
Hosted by Mark Klobas

Throughout history, too many Americans have been disenfranchised or faced needless barriers to voting. Part of the blame falls on the Constitution, wh…

Josh Fernandez, "The Hands That Crafted the Bomb: The Making of a Lifelong Antifascist" (PM Press, 2024)

February 13, 2024

The Hands That Crafted the Bomb

Josh Fernandez
Hosted by Gregory Soden

Today I talked to Josh Fernandez about his new memoir The Hands That Crafted the Bomb: The Making of a Lifelong Antifascist (PM Press, 2024). Josh Fe…

Lehasa Moloi, "Developing Africa?: New Horizons with Afrocentricity" (Anthem Press, 2024)

February 12, 2024

Developing Africa?

Lehasa Moloi
Hosted by Anna Lindner

Developing Africa? New Horizons with Afrocentricity (Anthem Press, 2024) is written for those who are interested in theoretical debates as they relate…

Brian H. Williams, "The Bodies Keep Coming: Dispatches from a Black Trauma Surgeon on Racism, Violence, and How We Heal" (Broadleaf Books, 2023)

February 10, 2024

The Bodies Keep Coming

Brian H. Williams
Hosted by Deidre Tyler

Trauma surgeon and professor Dr. Brian H. Williams has seen it all: gunshot wounds, stabbings, and traumatic brain injuries. In The Bodies Keep Coming…

Nicholas B. Dirks, "City of Intellect: The Uses and Abuses of the University" (Cambridge UP, 2024)

February 9, 2024

City of Intellect

Nicholas B. Dirks
Hosted by Ariadna Obregon

Drawing from his experiences of having belonged to the faculty, administrative, and presidential circles of the university, author Nicholas B. Dirks o…

Seth Zuiho Segall, "The House We Live in: Virtue, Wisdom, and Pluralism" (Equinox, 2023)

February 8, 2024

The House We Live in

Seth Zuiho Segall
Hosted by Jack Petranker

The values of liberalism, pluralism, and democratic governance are under sustained attack from right-wing Christian fundamentalists, white ethnonation…

Sabina Andron, "Urban Surfaces, Graffiti, and the Right to the City" (Routledge, 2024)

February 4, 2024

Urban Surfaces, Graffiti, and the Right to the City

Sabina Andron
Hosted by Victoria Lupascu

Sabina Andron's book Urban Surfaces, Graffiti, and the Right to the City (Routledge, 2024) focuses on urban surfaces, on exploring their authorship a…