New Books Network

Mathematics May 10, 2022

Teaching Mathematics Through Games

Mindy Capaldi

Hosted by Cory Brunson

Games are an established aide in pre-college mathematics education. Meanwhile, innumerable popular books have investigated the mathematics of games. In a new edited volume for the AMS/MAA Classroom Resource Materials …

Scholarly Communication April 13, 2022

The Science of Science

Dashun Wang and Albert-László Barabási

Hosted by Daniel Shea

Listen to this interview of Dashun Wang, Professor at the Kellogg School of Management and McCormick School of Engineering at Northwestern University, and also with Albert-László Barabási, Robert Gray Dodge …

Scholarly Communication March 31, 2022

Science Research Writing

For Native and Non-Native Speakers of English

Hilary Glasman-Deal

Hosted by Daniel Shea

Listen to this interview of Hilary Glasman-Deal, teacher of STEMM communication at the Centre for Academic English, Imperial College London, and author ofScience Research Writing For Native and Non-Native Speakers …

Science, Technology, and Society March 30, 2022

A New History of Modern Computing

Thomas Haigh and Paul E. Ceruzzi

Hosted by Austin Clyde

In A New History of Modern Computing (MIT Press, 2021), Thomas Haigh and Paul Ceruzzi trace changes leading to the computer becoming a ubiquitous technology. Over the past fifty years, the computer …

Sociology March 28, 2022

Algorithms and the End of Politics

How Technology Shapes 21st-Century American Life

Scott Timcke

Hosted by Michael Johnston

As the US contends with issues of populism and de-democratization, this timely study considers the impacts of digital technologies on the country’s politics and society. In Algorithms and the End …

Language March 23, 2022

Language Vs. Reality

Why Language Is Good for Lawyers and Bad for Scientists

N. J. Enfield

Hosted by Malcolm Keating

Nick Enfield’s book, Language vs. Reality: Why Language is Good for Lawyers and Bad for Scientists (MIT Press, 2022), argues that language is primarily for social coordination, not precisely transferring …

Science, Technology, and Society March 21, 2022

The Atlas of AI

Power, Politics, and the Planetary Costs of Artificial Intelligence

Kate Crawford

Hosted by Matthew Jordan

What happens when artificial intelligence saturates political life and depletes the planet? How is AI shaping our understanding of ourselves and our societies? In The Atlas of AI: Power, Politics, and …

Scholarly Communication March 21, 2022

The Scientist’s Guide to Writing

How to Write More Easily and Effectively Throughout Your Scientific Career, 2nd ed.

Stephen B. Heard

Hosted by Daniel Shea

Listen to this interview of Stephen Heard, Professor of Biology at the University of New Brunswick. We talk about his book The Scientist’s Guide to Writing: How to Write More Easily …

Science, Technology, and Society March 16, 2022

The Constitution of Algorithms

Ground-Truthing, Programming, Formulating

Florian Jaton

Hosted by Austin Clyde

The Constitution of Algorithms: Ground-Truthing, Programming, Formulating (MIT Press, 2021) is a laboratory study that investigates how algorithms come into existence. Algorithms--often associated with the terms big data, machine learning, or artificial …

Law March 4, 2022

Predict and Surveil

Data, Discretion, and the Future of Policing

Sarah Brayne

Hosted by Cory Brunson

Police use of advanced data collection and analysis technologies—or, "big data policing"—continues to receive both positive and negative attention through media, activism, and politics. While some high-profile cases illustrate its …

Science, Technology, and Society February 16, 2022

Your Wit Is My Command

Building AIs with a Sense of Humor

Tony Veale

Hosted by Galina Limorenko

Most robots and smart devices are not known for their joke-telling abilities. And yet, as computer scientist Tony Veale explains in Your Wit Is My Command (MIT Press, 2021), machines …

Mathematics February 10, 2022

Bernoulli's Fallacy

Statistical Illogic and the Crisis of Modern Science

Aubrey Clayton

Hosted by Galina Limorenko

There is a logical flaw in the statistical methods used across experimental science. This fault is not a minor academic quibble: it underlies a reproducibility crisis now threatening entire disciplines …

Mathematics February 1, 2022

Breaking Barriers

Student Success in Community College Mathematics

Brian Cafarella

Hosted by Cory Brunson

Students' success in mathematics at community colleges has been the subject of thorough quantitative research, which has reported poor overall results and described a range of explanations for them. Even …

Technology January 20, 2022

In AI We Trust

Power, Illusion and Control of Predictive Algorithms

Helga Nowotny

Hosted by Galina Limorenko

Today I talked to Helga Nowotny about her new book In AI We Trust: Power, Illusion and Control of Predictive Algorithms (Polity, 2021).One of the most persistent concerns about the future is …

Mathematics January 17, 2022

Bits and Bugs

A Scientific and Historical Review of Software Failures in Computational Science

Thomas Huckle and Tobias Neckel

Hosted by Cory Brunson

A true understanding of the pervasive role of software in the world demands an awareness of the volume and variety of real-world software failures and their consequences. No more thorough …

Mathematics December 7, 2021

Arguing with Numbers

The Intersections of Rhetoric and Mathematics

James Wynn and G. Mitchell Reyes

Hosted by Cory Brunson

One pervasive stereotype about mathematics is that it is objective, unbiased, or otherwise exempt from the influence of human passions. James Wynn and G. Mitchell Reyes's edited collection will be …

Ideas Roadshow Podcast November 12, 2021

The Joy of Mathematics

Ian Stewart

Hosted by Howard Burton

The Joy of Mathematics is based on an in-depth filmed conversation between Howard Burton and Ian Stewart, Emeritus Professor of Mathematics at the University of Warwick and bestselling science and …

Mathematics November 5, 2021

Why Study Mathematics?

Vicky Neale

Hosted by Cory Brunson

Students and their families face a consequential choice in whether to pursue a degree, and in what area. For those considering mathematics programs, the choice may be particularly fraught: A …

Science September 28, 2021

Ten Patterns That Explain the Universe

Brian Clegg

Hosted by Galina Limorenko

Our universe might appear chaotic, but deep down it's simply a myriad of rules working independently to create patterns of action, force, and consequence. In Ten Patterns That Explain the …

Mathematics September 27, 2021

Poems That Solve Puzzles

The History and Science of Algorithms

Chris Bleakley

Hosted by Cory Brunson

As algorithms become ever more significant to and embedded in our everyday lives, ever more accessible introductions to them are needed. While several excellent technical and critical treatments have emerged …