New Books Network Podcast

Ministry of Ideas December 10, 2023

A Medieval Anti-Racist

Genealogies of Modernity Episode 6

Hosted by Zachary Davis

What if racism shared an origin with opposition to racism? What if the condemnation of injustice gave rise both to an early form of anti-racism and to the racial hierarchies …

Almost Good Catholics December 9, 2023

Our Lady of Guadalupe and Aztec True Myth

How the Flower World Bloomed into History in 1531

Joseph Gonzalez and Monique González

Hosted by Krzysztof Odyniec

It turns out that our familiar narrative of the Virgin of Guadalupe, when Mary appeared to Juan Diego in 1531 and left her image on his tilma, resembles an …

Biblical Studies December 6, 2023

That I May Dwell Among Them

Incarnation and Atonement in the Tabernacle Narrative

Gary A. Anderson

Hosted by Michael Morales

The Tabernacle Narrative comprises passages in Exodus and Leviticus that detail the construction, furnishing, and liturgical use of the tabernacle. Given its genre and style, the narrative is often passed …

Medieval History December 6, 2023

The Keys to Bread and Wine

Faith, Nature, and Infrastructure in Late Medieval Valencia

Abigail Agresta

Hosted by Benjamin Phillips

How did medieval people think about the environments in which they lived? In a world shaped by God, how did they treat environments marked by religious difference? The Keys to …

Religion December 3, 2023

Sacred Foundations

The Religious and Medieval Roots of the European State

Anna M. Grzymała-Busse

Hosted by Piotr Kosicki

In Sacred Foundations: The Religious and Medieval Roots of the European State (Princeton University Press, 2023), political scientist Anna Grzymała-Busse corrects a long-standing distortion in the study of state formation …

Christian Studies December 2, 2023

Crucified

The Christian Invention of the Jewish Executioners of Jesus

J. Christopher Edwards

Hosted by Zalman Newfield

In his book Crucified: The Christian Invention of the Jewish Executioners of Jesus (Fortress Press, 2023), J. Christopher Edwards explores the early Christian teachings regarding who actually killed Jesus. Historians …

Medieval History November 30, 2023

The Power of Protocol

Diplomatics and the Dynamics of Papal Government, c. 400 – c.1600

D. L. d'Avray

Hosted by Miranda Melcher

Listen:

The Power of Protocol: Diplomatics and the Dynamics of Papal Government, c. 400 – c.1600 (Cambridge University Press, 2023) by Dr. David d’Avray asks: How did the papacy govern European …

Medieval History November 26, 2023

Radegund

The Trials and Triumphs of a Merovingian Queen

E. T. Dailey

Hosted by Miranda Melcher

A princess born to the Thuringian royal house. A captive in war, forced to marry the Frankish king who killed her family. A queen, who renounced her position, received consecration …

Asian American Studies November 25, 2023

Nisei Radicals

The Feminist Poetics and Transformative Ministry of Mitsuye Yamada and Michael Yasutake

Diane Carol Fujino

Hosted by Donna Anderson

This episode, which is co-hosted with Michael Nishimura, features a conversation with Dr. Diane C. Fujino, the author of Nisei Radicals: The Feminist Poetics and Transformative Ministry of Mitsuye Yamada …

Medieval History November 24, 2023

International Law in Europe, 700–1200

Jenny Benham

Hosted by Miranda Melcher

Was there international law in the Middle Ages? Using treaties as its main source, International Law in Europe, 700-1200 (Manchester University Press, 2022) by Dr. Jenny Benham examines the extent …

Almost Good Catholics November 23, 2023

Darwinian Accident or Divine Architect?

The Debate between Natural Selection and Intelligent Design

Jay Richards

Hosted by Krzysztof Odyniec

Jay Richards PhD, OP discusses the new book to which he contributed a chapter, God’s Grandeur: The Catholic Case for Intelligent Design (Sophia Institute Press, 2023), edited by Ann Gauger …

Christian Studies November 17, 2023

Hell Hath No Fury

Gender, Disability, and the Invention of Damned Bodies in Early Christian Literature

Meghan Henning

Hosted by Zalman Newfield

In her book Hell Hath No Fury: Gender, Disability, and the Invention of Damned Bodies in Early Christian Literature (Yale University Press, 2021), Meghan Henning illuminates how the bodies that …

Biblical Studies November 16, 2023

Early Christ Groups and Greco-Roman Associations

Organizational Models and Social Practices

Richard S. Ascough

Hosted by Rob Heaton

Listen:

Exegetes have long relied on the framework of the Acts of the Apostles to understand the behavior and organization of Paul’s various ekklēsiai (assemblies), or church communities, from which Christ-groups …

Intellectual History November 15, 2023

Theology, Horror and Fiction

A Reading of the Gothic Nineteenth Century

Jonathan Greenaway

Hosted by Stephen Dozeman

When one thinks of your typical horror movie and it’s usual imagery, a number of tropes may come forward. Graveyards behind old cathedrals, crucifixes and holy water, possessions and …

World Christianity November 15, 2023

Cambodian Evangelicalism

Cosmological Hope and Diasporic Resilience

Briana L. Wong

Hosted by Byung Ho Choi

The Cambodian Civil War and genocide of the late 1960s and ’70s left the country and its diaspora with long-lasting trauma that continues to reverberate through the community. In Cambodian …

Religion November 14, 2023

Christianity, Race, and Sport

Jeffrey Scholes

Hosted by Jacob Barrett

Listen:

This book provides a rigorously researched introduction to the relationship between Christianity, race, and sport in the United States. Christianity, Race, and Sport (Routledge, 2021) examines how Protestant Christianity and …

Biblical Studies November 12, 2023

1 Kings 12-22

Concordia Commentary

Walter A. Maier III

Hosted by Michael Morales

The book of Kings tracks the division of Israel's kingdom into the Northern Kingdom of Israel and the Southern Kingdom of Judah, narrating each one's demise. Yet Kings is no …

Biblical Studies November 11, 2023

1 Kings: 1-11 - Concordia Commentary

Walter A. Maier III

Hosted by Michael Morales

The book of Kings in the Bible records more than 380 years of the history of Israel and its monarchy, from the last part of David’s rule to the end …

Almost Good Catholics November 9, 2023

Let Us Make Man in Our Image

Children of God in a Throw-Away Culture

Paul Louis Metzger

Hosted by Krzysztof Odyniec

Listen:

In our talk about his book, More than Things: A Personalist Ethics for a Throwaway Culture (InterVarsity Press, 2023), and in addition to quoting Pope John Paul II and Pope …

Biblical Studies November 5, 2023

Making Sense of the Divine Name in the Book of Exodus

From Etymology to Literary Onomastics

Austin Surls

Hosted by Michael Morales

The obvious riddles and difficulties in Exodus 3:13-15 and 6:2-8 have attracted an overwhelming amount of attention and comment. These texts make important theological statements about the divine name and …