Princeton UP Ideas Podcast

Princeton UP Ideas Podcast

episodes

Interviews with authors of Princeton University Press books.

Craig Perry, "Slavery and the Jews of Medieval Egypt: A History" (Princeton UP, 2026)

April 23, 2026

Slavery and the Jews of Medieval Egypt

Craig Perry
Hosted by Nicholas Gordon

Slavery was a key part of pre-modern Islamic society, spanning from soldiers to concubines. And one of the most revealing repositories of evidence we …

Roland Betancourt, "Disneyland and the Rise of Automation: How Technology Created the Happiest Place on Earth" (Princeton UP, 2026)

April 23, 2026

Disneyland and the Rise of Automation

Roland Betancourt
Hosted by Miranda Melcher

When Disneyland opened to the public in 1955, it demystified the hidden world of factory automation through its extraordinary new attractions. In Disn…

Yair Mintzker, "I, Wandering Jew: A Five-Century History of Our Modern Condition" (Princeton UP, 2026)

April 23, 2026

I, Wandering Jew

Yair Mintzker
Hosted by Amir Engel

The story behind the mythical figure of "the Wandering Jew" is one of the most fascinating tales in European history. In I, Wandering Jew, National Je…

Audrey Borowski, "Leibniz in His World: The Making of a Savant" (Princeton UP, 2026)

April 16, 2026

Leibniz in His World

Audrey Borowski

Described by Voltaire as “perhaps a man of the most universal learning in Europe,” Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (1646–1716) is often portrayed as a ratio…

Daniel A. Bell, "Why Ancient Chinese Political Thought Matters: Four Dialogues on China’s Past, Present, and Future" (Princeton UP, 2026)

April 15, 2026

Why Ancient Chinese Political Thought Matters

Daniel A. Bell
Hosted by Keith Krueger

Daniel A. Bell joins the podcast to discuss his new book, Why Ancient Chinese Political Thought Matters: Four Dialogues on China’s Past, Present, and …

Nabil Ali, "Gold from Newton's Apple Tree: Historical Recipes for Natural Inks, Paints, and Dyes" (Princeton UP, 2026)

April 14, 2026

Gold from Newton's Apple Tree

Nabil Ali
Hosted by Miranda Melcher

Flowering currant, ivy, Portuguese laurel, and woad might all have grown in a medieval garden, but it would have taken special expertise to extract an…

Money Beyond Borders with Barry Eichengreen

April 13, 2026

Money Beyond Borders

Barry Eichengreen
Hosted by Caleb Zakarin

Doubts about the international dominance of the dollar are only growing amid worries about tariffs, political dysfunction, and fraying international a…

Michael L. Satlow, "An Enchanted World: The Shared Religious Landscape of Late Antiquity" (Princeton UP, 2026)

April 13, 2026

An Enchanted World

Michael L. Satlow
Hosted by Michael Motia

In Late Antiquity (ca. 200–600 CE), the world was alive with unseen forces—divine agents who influenced every aspect of daily life. For most ordinary …

Douglas H. Erwin, "The Origins of the New: Novelty and Innovation in the History of Life, Culture, and Technology" (Princeton UP, 2026)

April 6, 2026

The Origins of the New

Douglas H. Erwin

The Origins of the New (Princeton University Press, 2026) presents a revolutionary approach to evolutionary success in all realms of life. In this gro…

Priyanka Kumar, "Light Between Apple Trees: Rediscovering the Wild Through a Beloved American Fruit" (Island Press, 2025)

April 6, 2026

Light Between Apple Trees

Priyanka Kumar
Hosted by Caleb Zakarin

As a child in the foothills of the Himalayas, Priyanka Kumar was entranced by forest-like orchards of diverse and luscious fruit--especially apples. T…

Avner Greif et al., "Two Paths to Prosperity: Culture and Institutions in Europe and China, 1000–2000" (Princeton UP, 2025)

April 2, 2026

Two Paths to Prosperity

Avner Greif, Joel Mokyr, and Guido Tabellini
Hosted by Nicholas Gordon

It’s one of the biggest questions in economic history: How did a richer, more advanced China fall behind Europe? Why was Europe the home of the Indust…

Jeanne-Marie Jackson, "The Letter of the Law in J. E. Casely Hayford's West Africa" (Princeton UP, 2026)

March 31, 2026

The Letter of the Law in J. E. Casely Hayford's West Africa

Jeanne-Marie Jackson

The African Gold Coast writer and statesman J. E. Casely Hayford (1866–1930) was a key figure in liberal anticolonial thought as well as African and B…

Ricardo Wilson, "Troubled Lands: Stories of Mexico and Cuba as Translated by Langston Hughes" (Princeton UP, 2026)

March 27, 2026

Troubled Lands

Ricardo Wilson
Hosted by Caleb Zakarin

Why Did Langston Hughes's "Troubled Lands" Go Unpublished for Nearly a Century?: A Conversation with Ricardo Wilson A landmark book—the first complet…

The Criminal Record Complex: Risk, Race, and the Struggle for Work in America

March 26, 2026

The Criminal Record Complex

Melissa Burch

Most employers in the United States routinely conduct criminal background checks on job applicants, weeding out those with criminal convictions—and th…

Stephen G. Brooks, "The Political Economy of Security" (Princeton UP, 2026)

March 22, 2026

The Political Economy of Security

Stephen G. Brooks

In his new book, The Political Economy of Security (Princeton University Press, 2026), Stephen Brooks provides a systematic empirical and theoretical …

Craig Perry, "Slavery and the Jews of Medieval Egypt: A History" (Princeton UP, 2026)

March 21, 2026

Slavery and the Jews of Medieval Egypt

Craig Perry
Hosted by Marc Katz

What did slavery actually look like in the everyday lives of Jews in the medieval Middle East? In this episode, Rabbi Marc Katz sits down with histori…

H. S. Jones, "Liberal Worlds: James Bryce and the Democratic Intellect" (Princeton UP, 2025)

March 17, 2026

Liberal Worlds

H. S. Jones

James Bryce (1838–1922) was a leading figure in Britain’s Liberal Party and a distinguished historian, a versatile scholar-politician who moved seamle…

Suzanne Mettler and Trevor E. Brown, "Rural Versus Urban: The Growing Divide That Threatens Democracy" (Princeton UP, 2025)

March 14, 2026

Rural Versus Urban

Suzanne Mettler and Trevor E. Brown
Hosted by Ursula Hackett

How the urban-rural divide drives partisan polarization Why have Americans living in different places come to experience politics as a battle between …

Understanding Iran Under Attack: A Discussion with Author Vali Nasr

March 12, 2026

Understanding Iran Under Attack

Vali Nasr
Hosted by Paul Starobin

Eleven days into the attack on Iran by the United States and Israel, starting on Feb. 28, 2026, I speak with Vali Nasr, a renowned analyst of Iran. He…

Wendy Brown, "States of Injury: Power and Freedom in Late Modernity" (Princeton UP, 2025)

March 12, 2026

States of Injury

Wendy Brown

A sympathetic critique that attempts to free Left politics from its own snares, States of Injury: Power and Freedom in Late Modernity (Princeton Unive…