New Books Network Podcast

Food September 30, 2023

Holy Food

How Cults, Communes and Religious Movements Influenced What We Eat

Christina Ward

Hosted by Laura Goldberg

Independent food historian and author Christina Ward joins New Books Network to discuss her highly anticipated book Holy Food: How Cults, Communes and Religious Movements Influenced What We Eat (Process …

Christian Studies September 29, 2023

Kierkegaard and the Changelessness of God

A Modern Defense of Classical Immutability

Craig A. Hefner

Hosted by Jackson Reinhardt

Listen:

Danish theologian and philosopher Søren Kierkegaard was not afraid to express his opinions. Living amid what he perceived to be a culturally lukewarm Christianity, he was often critical of his …

Jewish Studies September 29, 2023

The Unknown History of Jewish Women Through the Ages

On Learning and Illiteracy, On Slavery and Liberty

Rachel Elior

Hosted by Ari Barbalat

Listen:

Rachel Elior's book The Unknown History of Jewish Women: On Learning and Illiteracy, On Slavery and Liberty (de Gruyter, 2023) is a comprehensive study on the history of Jewish women, which discusses their …

Environmental Studies September 25, 2023

Thoreau's Religion

Walden Woods, Social Justice, and the Politics of Asceticism

Alda Balthrop-Lewis

Hosted by Ilana Maymind

Balthrop-Lewis's Thoreau's Religion: Walden Woods, Social Justice, and the Politics of Asceticism (Cambridge UP, 2021) presents a ground-breaking interpretation of Henry David Thoreau's most famous book, Walden. Rather than treating …

Indian Religions September 25, 2023

Jain Studies and the Arihanta Institute

A Conversation with Christopher Jain Miller

Christopher Jain Miller

Hosted by Raj Balkaran

Listen:

Today I talked to Christopher Jain Miller about practicing and studying Jainism, the founding of Jain Studies professorships and the Arihanta Institute, an online learning platform. Also see:MA in Engaged Jain Studies Program …

Buddhist Studies September 22, 2023

Buddhist Masculinities

Megan Bryson and Kevin Buckelew

Hosted by Jue Liang

Listen:

While early Buddhists hailed their religion's founder for opening a path to enlightenment, they also exalted him as the paragon of masculinity. According to Buddhist scriptures, the Buddha's body boasts …

Islamic Studies September 22, 2023

Merchants of Virtue

Hindus, Muslims, and Untouchables in Eighteenth-Century South Asia

Divya Cherian

Hosted by SherAli Tareen

Listen:

In her formidable and fiercely well-argued new book Merchants of Virtue: Hindus, Muslims, and Untouchables in Eighteenth-Century South Asia (U California Press, 2023), Divya Cherian shows with meticulous detail and in lyrical …

Indian Religions September 21, 2023

Middle-Class Dharma

Gender, Aspiration, and the Making of Contemporary Hinduism

Jennifer D. Ortegren

Hosted by Raj Balkaran

Listen:

Middle-Class Dharma: Gender, Aspiration, and the Making of Contemporary Hinduism (Oxford UP, 2023) is a contemporary ethnography of class mobility among Hindus in Udaipur, Rajasthan, India. Focusing on women …

Religion September 16, 2023

An Ethology of Religion and Art

Belief as Behavior

Bryan Rennie

Hosted by Caleb Zakarin

Drawing from sources including the ethology of art and the cognitive science of religion, An Ethology of Religion and Art: Belief as Behavior (Routledge, 2020) proposes an improved understanding of both art …

Literary Studies September 16, 2023

Emergency

Reading the Popol Vuh in a Time of Crisis

Edgar Garcia

Hosted by John Yargo

Today’s guest is Edgar Garcia. Garcia’s new book Emergency: Reading the Popol Vuh in a Time of Crisis (University of Chicago Press, 2022). Emergency takes nine words—“birds,” “wealth,” “caves,” “television,” …

Asian Review of Books September 14, 2023

Ancient Persia and the Book of Esther

Achaemenid Court Culture in the Hebrew Bible

Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones

Hosted by Nicholas Gordon

The Book of Esther, one of the historical books in the Torah and the Old Testament, is known as a story of community, discrimination, and human ingenuity. It’s core to …

Almost Good Catholics September 14, 2023

Brides of Christ

Contemplative Life among the Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles

Sister Mary Josefa

Hosted by Krzysztof Odyniec

Sister Mary Josefa of the Eucharist is a Benedictine nun in Missouri; she and the sisters of her community recently wrote a charming children’s book, Brides of Christ (Sophia Institute …

Jewish Studies September 14, 2023

Reimagining Repentance

Experiencing the High Holidays Through the Lens of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy

Matisyahu Shulman

Hosted by Matthew Miller

Matisyahu Shulman's Reimagining Repentance: Experiencing the High Holidays Through the Lens of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (Kodesh, 2023) is unique in its attempt to bridge Torah content on the High …

Madison's Notes September 12, 2023

Religion and Politics in the Lord of the Rings

A Discussion with Rachel Fulton Brown

Rachel Fulton Brown

Hosted by Annika Nordquist

Listen:

J.R.R. Tolkien's masterwork The Lord of the Rings delighted so many of us as children, yet it and its vast body of accompanying work, such as the Silmarillion, contain a …

The Future of . . . with Owen Bennett-Jones September 11, 2023

The Future of Secularization

A Discussion with Ryan Cragun

Ryan Cragun

Hosted by Owen Bennett-Jones

Listen:

The statement ‘we live in a secular age’ is open to the obvious challenge that in some parts of the word, religion is a growing force in society. And even …

East Asian Studies September 10, 2023

Daoist Cultivation of Qi and Virtue for Life, Wisdom, and Learning

Tom Culham and Jing Lin

Hosted by Bingwan Tian

Daoist Cultivation of Qi and Virtue for Life, Wisdom, and Learning (Palgrave MacMillan, 2020) explores Daoist philosophies of qi and virtue through inquiry into their potential as technologies for cultivating …

Indian Ocean World September 9, 2023

The Owl and the Occult

Popular Politics and Social Liminality in Early Modern South Asia

Divya Cherian

Hosted by Ahmed Almaazmi

Today I talked to Divya Cherian about her article "The Owl and the Occult: Popular Politics and Social Liminality in Early Modern South Asia" published in Comparative Studies in Society and History (June …

Buddhist Studies September 8, 2023

Situating Religion and Medicine

A Discussion with Michael Stanley-Baker

Michael Stanley-Baker

Hosted by Pierce Salguero

Listen:

Today I sit down for an in-depth conversation with my good friend, Michael Stanley-Baker, a scholar of Chinese religion and medicine. We talk about Mike’s international childhood and how his …

Christian Studies September 8, 2023

Reason in the Service of Faith

Collected Essays of Paul Helm

Oliver Crisp and Daniel J. Hill, eds.

Hosted by Crawford Gribben

Listen:

Paul Helm is a distinguished philosopher, with particular interests in the philosophy of religion. His work covers some of the most important aspects of the field as it has developed …

Indian Religions September 7, 2023

Between Hindu and Christian

Khrist Bhaktas, Catholics, and the Negotiation of Devotion in Banaras

Kerry P. C. San Chirico

Hosted by Raj Balkaran

Listen:

On the second Saturday of each month, on the outskirts of the ancient city of Varanasi, Shiva's own city, thousands of shudra and Dalit devotees worship Yesu (Jesus) at a …