New Books Network Podcast

Higher Education September 29, 2023

The Abundant University

Remaking Higher Education for a Digital World

Michael D. Smith

Hosted by John Emrich

Listen:

For too long, our system of higher education has been defined by scarcity: scarcity in enrollment, scarcity in instruction, and scarcity in credentials. In addition to failing students professionally, this system has exacerbated social injustice and socioeconomic stratification across the globe. In The Abundant University, Michael D. Smith argues that the only way to create a financially and morally sustainable higher education system is by embracing digital technologies for enrolling …

Australian and New Zealand Studies September 28, 2023

Blood and Dirt

Prison Labour and the Making of New Zealand

Jared Davidson

Hosted by Ed Amon

Listen:

Picture, for a minute, every artwork of colonial New Zealand you can think of. Now add a chain gang. Hard-labour men guarded by other men with guns. Men moving heavy …

Sex, Sexuality, and Sex Work September 27, 2023

Pregnancy Test

Karen Weingarten

Hosted by Jana Byars

Listen:

In the 1970s, the invention of the home pregnancy test changed what it means to be pregnant. For the first time, women could use a technology in the privacy of …

African American Studies September 26, 2023

Before the Movement

The Hidden History of Black Civil Rights

Dylan C. Penningroth

Hosted by Katrina Anderson

Listen:

A prize-winning scholar draws on astonishing new research to demonstrate how Black people used the law to their advantage long before the Civil Rights Movement. The familiar story of civil …

Biography September 25, 2023

Walter Lippmann

American Skeptic, American Pastor

Mark Thomas Edwards

Hosted by Caleb Zakarin

Listen:

Walter Lippmann was arguably the most recognized and respected political journalist of the twentieth century. His "Today and Tomorrow" columns attracted a global readership of well over ten million. Lippmann …

The Future of . . . with Owen Bennett-Jones September 24, 2023

The Future of Ukraine

A Discussion with Christopher Miller

Christopher Miller

Hosted by Owen Bennett-Jones

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has already changed the world. Why did it happen? Who is winning? How will it end? Christopher Miller is the author of The War Came to …

Law September 23, 2023

Justifying Violent Protest

Law and Morality in Democratic States

James Greenwood-Reeves

Hosted by Jane Richards

Was the use of violence on January 6th Capitol attacks legitimate? Is the use of violence morally justified by members of Extinction Rebellion or Just Stop Oil campaigners? Justifying Violent Protest …

Education September 22, 2023

Off the Mark

How Grades, Ratings, and Rankings Undermine Learning (but Don't Have To)

Jack Schneider and Ethan L. Hutt

Hosted by Max Jacobs

Listen:

Amid widespread concern that our approach to testing and grading undermines education, two experts explain how schools can use assessment to support, rather than compromise, learning. Anyone who has ever …

Literary Studies September 21, 2023

Godzilla and Godzilla Raids Again

The Original Novellas by Shigeru Kayama

Shigeru Kayama

Hosted by Daniel Moran

Listen:

Godzilla emerged from the sea to devastate Tokyo in the now-classic 1954 film, produced by Tōhō Studios and directed by Ishirō Honda, creating a global sensation and launching one of …

Disability Studies September 20, 2023

Fixing the Poor

Eugenic Sterilization and Child Welfare in the Twentieth Century

Molly Ladd-Taylor

Hosted by Shu Wan

Listen:

Between 1907 and 1937, thirty-two states legalized the sterilization of more than 63,000 Americans. In Fixing the Poor: Eugenic Sterilization and Child Welfare in the Twentieth Century (Johns Hopkins UP, 2020) …

African American Studies September 19, 2023

The Black Angels

The Untold Story of the Nurses Who Helped Cure Tuberculosis

Maria Smilios

Hosted by Katrina Anderson

Listen:

New York City, 1929. A sanatorium, a deadly disease, and a dire nursing shortage. In the pre-antibiotic days when tuberculosis stirred people’s darkest fears, killing one in seven, white nurses …

Political Science September 18, 2023

We're Here Because You Were There

Immigration and the End of Empire

Ian Sanjay Patel

Hosted by Lamis Abdelaaty

Listen:

What are the origins of the hostile environment against immigrants in the UK? In We’re Here Because You Were There: Immigration and the End of Empire (Verso, 2021), Patel retells …

Military History September 17, 2023

Bismarck's War

The Franco-Prussian War and the Making of Modern Europe

Rachel Chrastil

Hosted by AJ Woodhams

Among the conflicts that convulsed Europe during the nineteenth century, none was more startling and consequential than the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1871. Deliberately engineered by Prussian chancellor Otto von Bismarck …

Politics & Polemics September 16, 2023

Splitsville USA

A Democratic Argument for Breaking Up the United States

Christopher F. Zurn

Hosted by Keith Krueger

At the end of the day, I have faith in the wisdom of democracy: the idea that good political solutions only arise from widely dispersed discussion, debate and decision among …

Public Policy September 15, 2023

Poverty in the Pandemic

Policy Lessons from COVID-19

Zachary Parolin

Hosted by Stephen Pimpare

Listen:

Zachary Parolin's book Poverty in the Pandemic: Policy Lessons from COVID-19 (Russell Sage Foundation, 2023) is interested in poverty during the COVID-19 pandemic in the U.S., as well as what the …

General History September 14, 2023

The Golden Voice

The Ballad of Cambodian Rock's Lost Queen

Gregory Cahill

Hosted by Michael Vann

The Golden Voice: The Ballad of Cambodian Rock's Lost Queen (Life Drawn, 2023) is very well-researched graphic novel based on the life of beloved Cambodian singer Ros Serey Sothea, whose …

Critical Theory September 13, 2023

Seeing Others

How to Redefine Worth in a Divided World

Michèle Lamont

Hosted by Dave O'Brien

Listen:

How can we challenge and change inequalities? In Seeing Others: How Recognition Works— and How It Can Heal a Divided World (Atria, 2023), Michele Lamont, Professor of Sociology and African and African …

Media September 12, 2023

A Better Way to Buy Books

A Conversation with Andy Hunter, Founder and CEO, Bookshop.org

Andy Hunter

Hosted by Caleb Zakarin

Listen:

Bookshop.org is an online book retailer that donates more than 80% of its profits to independent bookstores. Launched in 2020, Bookshop.org has already raised more than $27,000,000. In this interview …

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 …

Ancient History September 10, 2023

Vergil

The Poet's Life

Sarah Ruden

Hosted by Benjamin Phillips

The Aeneid stands as a towering work of Classical Roman literature and a gripping dramatization of the best and worst of human nature. In the process of creating this epic …