New Books Network Podcast

Science September 8, 2023

Fascination of Science

60 Encounters with Pioneering Researchers of Our Time

Herlinde Koelbl

Hosted by Caleb Zakarin

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An intimate collection of portraits of internationally renowned scientists and Nobel Prize winners, paired with interviews and personal stories. What makes a brilliant scientist? Who are the people behind the …

Van Leer Institute Series on Ideas with Renee Garfinkel August 27, 2023

Distrust

Big Data, Data-Torturing, and the Assault on Science

Gary Smith

Hosted by Renee Garfinkel

There is no doubt science is currently suffering from a credibility crisis. Gary Smith's book Distrust: Big Data, Data-Torturing, and the Assault on Science (Oxford UP, 2023) argues that, ironically, science's …

The Future of . . . with Owen Bennett-Jones August 26, 2023

The Future of Talking

A Discussion with Shane O'Mara

Shane O'Mara

Hosted by Owen Bennett-Jones

Talking is a defining part of what makes us human – we are almost constantly in dialogue but what purpose does all this conversation serve? Both for the individual and …

Princeton UP Ideas Podcast August 15, 2023

Alien Worlds

How Insects Conquered the Earth, and Why Their Fate Will Determine Our Future

Steve Nicholls

Hosted by Mark Klobas

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Life on Earth depends on the busy activities of insects, but global populations of these teeming creatures are currently under threat, with grave consequences for us all. Steve Nicholls' book Alien …

Scholarly Communication July 26, 2023

The Science of Science

A Discussion with Aaron Clauset

Aaron Clauset

Hosted by Daniel Shea

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Listen to this interview of Aaron Clauset, Professor of Computer Science at the University of Colorado at Boulder and in the BioFrontiers Institute. Aaron is also External Faculty at …

Scholarly Communication July 23, 2023

The Role of Luck in Science

A Discussion with Nicolas Christin

Nicolas Christin

Hosted by Daniel Shea

Listen to this interview of Nicolas Christin, Professor at Carnegie Mellon University, jointly appointed in the School of Computer Science and in the department of Engineering and Public Policy. We …

Princeton UP Ideas Podcast July 15, 2023

How the Universe Got Its Spots

Diary of a Finite Time in a Finite Space

Janna Levin

Hosted by Mark Klobas

Is the universe infinite or just really big? With this question, cosmologist Janna Levin announces the central theme of this book, which established her as one of the most direct …

MIT Press Podcast July 15, 2023

Working on Mars

Voyages of Scientific Discovery with the Mars Exploration Rovers

William J. Clancey

Hosted by MIT Press

Geologists in the field climb hills and hang onto craggy outcrops; they put their fingers in sand and scratch, smell, and even taste rocks. Beginning in 2004, however, a team …

Science July 13, 2023

How to Speak Whale

A Voyage into the Future of Animal Communication

Tom Mustill

Hosted by Frances Sacks

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What if animals and humans could speak to one another? Tom Mustill—the nature documentarian who went viral when a thirty‑ton humpback whale breached onto his kayak—asks this question in his …

Neuroscience July 7, 2023

The Woman Who Couldn't Wake Up

Hypersomnia and the Science of Sleepiness

Quinn Eastman

Hosted by Melek Firat Altay

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Sleep was taking over Anna's life. Despite multiple alarm clocks and powerful stimulants, the young Atlanta lawyer could sleep for thirty or even fifty hours at a stretch. She stopped …

Medicine July 4, 2023

From Oversight to Overkill

Inside the Broken System That Blocks Medical Breakthroughs--And How We Can Fix It

Simon N. Whitney

Hosted by Deidre Tyler

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Medical research saves lives-yet all too often, it is thwarted by a review system supposed to safeguard patients that instead creates needless delays and expense. Institutional Review Boards, which exist …

MIT Press Podcast July 4, 2023

The Outer Limits of Reason

What Science, Mathematics, and Logic Cannot Tell Us

Noson S. Yanofsky

Hosted by MIT Press

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Many books explain what is known about the universe. This book investigates what cannot be known. Rather than exploring the amazing facts that science, mathematics, and reason have revealed to …

Medicine July 1, 2023

The Face Laughs While the Brain Cries

The Education of a Doctor

Stephen Hauser

Hosted by Ron Winslow

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Dr. Stephen L. Hauser and a patient named Andrea were both 27 years old when they met. He was an up-and-coming neurologist-in-training; she was a Harvard Law School graduate and …

Science, Technology, and Society June 28, 2023

Science as a Cultural Human Right

Helle Porsdam

Hosted by Melek Firat Altay

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The human right to science, outlined in the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights and repeated in the 1966 International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights, recognizes everyone's right …

Science June 24, 2023

The World Before Us

The New Science Behind Our Human Origins

Tom Higham

Hosted by Melek Firat Altay

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Fifty thousand years ago, Homo sapiens was not the only species of humans in the world. There were also Neanderthals in what is now Europe, the Near East, and parts …

Science June 23, 2023

How Kant Matters for Biology

A Philosophical History

Andrew Jones

Hosted by Özlem Yilmaz

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Kant denied biology the status of a proper science, yet his account of the organism profoundly influenced a range of intellectual disciplines. Andrew Jones's How Kant Matters for Biology: A Philosophical History …

Science June 20, 2023

Why We Teach Science (and Why We Should)

John L. Rudolph

Hosted by Morteza Hajizadeh

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Today I talked to John L. Rudolph about his book Why We Teach Science (and Why We Should) (Oxford UP, 2023). Few people question the importance of science education in American schooling …

Science June 16, 2023

Worlds Without End

Exoplanets, Habitability, and the Future of Humanity

Chris Impey

Hosted by Caleb Zakarin

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The science of finding habitable planets beyond our solar system and the prospects for establishing human civilization away from our ever-less-habitable planetary home. Planet Earth, it turns out, may not …

Science June 7, 2023

Not Just for the Boys

Why We Need More Women in Science

Athene Donald

Hosted by Morteza Hajizadeh

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Why are girls discouraged from doing science? Why do so many promising women leave science in early and mid-career? Why do women not prosper in the scientific workforce? Not Just …

MIT Press Podcast June 3, 2023

Gender and Equality in Art and Exploration

A Discussion with Bettina Forget and Lindy Elkins-Tanton

Bettina Forget and Lindy Elkins-Tanton

Hosted by MIT Press

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Featured episode from Between Art and Science, a new podcast from Leonardo. This episode, hosted by Erica Hruby, features a conversation between two authors published in the Leonardo special issue …