New Books Network
Big Ideas
Chinese Studies November 4, 2020

Tea War

A History of Capitalism in China and India

Andrew B. Liu

Hosted by Lukas Rieppel
After water, tea is the most widely consumed drink in the world. It is beloved by consumers in Asia, Africa, Europe, and the Americas, and it comes in a bewildering …

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History October 28, 2020

A Road to Nowhere

The Idea of Progress and Its Critics

Matthew W. Slaboch

Hosted by Hope J. Leman
Has history worked out the way so many have hoped? What did “progress” used to look like and who could possibly have been against it? What areas of human life …
World Affairs October 27, 2020

Fertility and Faith

The Demographic Revolution and the Transformation of World Religions

Philip Jenkins

Hosted by Carrie Lynn Evans
In his new book Fertility and Faith: The Demographic Revolution and the Transformation of World Religions (Baylor University Press, 2020), Philip Jenkins maps the demographic revolution that has taken hold …
History October 22, 2020

The Kindness of Strangers

How a Selfish Ape Invented a New Moral Code

Michael E. McCullough

Hosted by Dan Hill
Why Give a Damn About Strangers? In his book The Kindness of Strangers: How a Selfish Ape Invented a New Moral Code (Basic Books, 2020), Michael E. McCullough explains. McCullough …
World Affairs October 15, 2020

On the Judgment of History

Joan Scott

Hosted by Joshua Tham
Joan Scott’s groundbreaking work in gender and French history is essential reading for any aspiring historian. Indeed, she last joined us on New Books in French Studies to talk about …
American Studies October 13, 2020

A Traitor to His Species

Henry Bergh and the Birth of the Animal Rights Movement

Ernest Freeberg

Hosted by Mark Molloy
In Gilded Age America, people and animals lived cheek-by-jowl in environments that were dirty and dangerous to man and animal alike. The industrial city brought suffering, but it also inspired …
Economics October 12, 2020

Uncharted

How to Map and Navigate the Future Together

Margaret Heffernan

Hosted by Andrea Bernardi
Today I spoke with Dr Margaret Heffernan about her latest book, Uncharted: How to Map and Navigate the Future Together (Simon and Schuster, 2020). Margaret produced programmes for the BBC …
Science October 5, 2020

Every Life is on Fire

How Thermodynamics Explains the Origins of Living Things

Jeremy England

Hosted by Galina Limorenko
“How did life begin? Most things in the universe aren't alive, and yet if you trace the evolutionary history of plants and animals back far enough, you will find that …
Psychology October 1, 2020

Mama's Last Hug

Animal Emotions and What They Tell Us about Ourselves

Frans de Waal

Hosted by Mark Molloy
Mama's Last Hug: Animal Emotions and What They Tell Us about Ourselves (W. W. Norton & Company) is a fascinating exploration of the rich emotional lives of animals, beginning with …
American Studies September 30, 2020

The Destruction of the Bison

An Environmental History, 1750-1920

Andrew C. Isenberg

Hosted by Stephen Hausmann
In 1800, tens of millions of bison roamed the North American Great Plains. By 1900, fewer than 1,000 remained. In The Destruction of the Bison: An Environmental History, 1750-1920 (Cambridge …
Critical Theory September 24, 2020

Climate Crisis and the Global Green New Deal

The Political Economy of Saving the Planet

Noam Chomsky and Robert Pollin

Hosted by Brian Hamilton
In Climate Crisis and the Global Green New Deal: The Political Economy of Saving the Planet (Verso Books, 2020), Noam Chomsky, the world’s leading public intellectual, and Robert Pollin, the …
Environmental Studies September 17, 2020

Becoming Wild

How Animal Cultures Raise Families, Create Beauty, and Achieve Peace

Carl Safina

Hosted by Mark Molloy
Some people insist that culture is strictly a human accomplishment. What are those people afraid of? Becoming Wild: How Animal Cultures Raise Families, Create Beauty, and Achieve Peace (Henry Holt …
World Affairs September 15, 2020

Climate Crisis and the Global Green New Deal

The Political Economy of Saving the Planet

R. Pollin and N. Chomsky

Hosted by Daniel Peris
Is there a consensus on the best response to global warming? Not even close. Left and right both bring their own tools, math, and, most notably, agendas--climate related and non-climate …
Popular Culture September 14, 2020

Run, Spot, Run

The Ethics of Keeping Pets

Jessica Pierce

Hosted by Mark Molloy
A life shared with pets brings many emotions. We feel love for our companions, certainly, and happiness at the thought that we’re providing them with a safe, healthy life. But …
Intellectual History September 10, 2020

From Darwin to Derrida

Selfish Genes, Social Selves, and the Meanings of Life

David Haig

Hosted by Carrie Lynn Evans
In his book, From Darwin to Derrida: Selfish Genes, Social Selves, and the Meanings of Life (MIT Press), evolutionary biologist David Haig explains how a physical world of matter in …
American Studies September 8, 2020

One Billion Americans

The Case for Thinking Bigger

Matthew Yglesias

Hosted by Brian Hamilton
What would actually make America great? More people. If the most challenging crisis in living memory has shown us anything, it’s that America has lost the will and the means …
European Studies August 19, 2020

Rulers, Religion, and Riches

Why the West Got Rich and the Middle East Did Not

Jared Rubin

Hosted by Joshua Tham
Rulers, Religion, and Riches: Why the West Got Rich and the Middle East Did Not (Cambridge University Press, 2017) addresses one of the big questions in economics and economic history …
American Studies August 12, 2020

The Great Mistake

How We Wrecked Public Universities and How We Can Fix Them

Christopher Newfield

Hosted by Steven Rodriguez
In The Great Mistake: How We Wrecked Public Universities and How We Can Fix Them (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2016), Christopher Newfield diagnoses what he sees as a crisis in …
Religion August 12, 2020

The Flip

Epiphanies of Mind and the Future of Knowledge

Jeffrey J. Kripal

Hosted by Yakir Englander
A “flip,” writes Jeffrey J. Kripal, is “a reversal of perspective,” “a new real,” often born of an extreme, life-changing experience. The Flip: Epiphanies of Mind and the Future of …
Environmental Studies August 10, 2020

Science Fictions

Exposing Fraud, Bias, Negligence, and Hype in Science

Stuart Ritchie

Hosted by Matthew Jordan
So much relies on science. But what if science itself can’t be relied on? In Science Fictions: Exposing Fraud, Bias, Negligence, and Hype in Science (Penguin Books, 2020), Stuart Ritchie …