American West

Ideas Roadshow Podcast October 25, 2021

Religion and Culture

A Historian’s Tale

Miri Rubin

Hosted by Howard Burton

Religion and Culture: A Historian’s Tale is based on an in-depth filmed conversation between Howard Burton and Miri Rubin, Professor of Medieval and Early Modern History at Queen Mary University …

Law October 25, 2021

Human Choice in International Law

Anna Spain Bradley

Hosted by Jane Richards

Professor Anna Spain Bradley "wrote this book to be accessible to anyone, because international law is for everyone." In this accessible and concise monograph, Professor Spain Bradley asks how human choice influences …

Catholic Studies October 25, 2021

America's Most Famous Catholic (According to Himself)

Stephen Colbert and American Religion in the Twenty-First Century

Stephanie N. Brehm

Hosted by Carlos Ruiz Martinez

For nine years, Stephen Colbert’s persona “Colbert”?—a Republican superhero and parody of conservative political pundits--informed audiences on current events, politics, social issues, and religion while lampooning conservative political policy, biblical …

Japanese Studies October 25, 2021

Yamamba

In Search of the Japanese Mountain Witch

Rebecca Copeland and Linda C. Ehrlich

Hosted by Matthew Hayes

Alluring, nurturing, dangerous, and vulnerable, the yamamba, or Japanese mountain witch, has intrigued audiences for centuries. What is it about the fusion of mountains with the solitary old woman that …

Critical Theory October 25, 2021

Lukács

Praxis and the Absolute

Daniel Andrés López

Hosted by Stephen Dozeman

The Hungarian Marxist philosopher George Lukács has long occupied a complicated place in the Marxist canon of thinkers, both his lived and theoretical practice subject to much critical commentary …

Jewish Studies October 25, 2021

Emmanuel Levinas's Talmudic Turn

Philosophy and Jewish Thought

Ethan Kleinberg

Hosted by Britton Edelen

In this episode, I interview Ethan Kleinberg, professor of history and letters at Wesleyan University, about his new book, Emmanuel Levinas’s Talmudic Turn: Philosophy and Jewish Thought, recently published by …

Environmental Studies October 25, 2021

Nomad's Land

Pastoralism and French Environmental Policy in the Nineteenth-Century Mediterranean World

Andrea E. Duffy

Hosted by Matthew Brown

Chronicling the retreat of mobile pastoralization from Mediterranean coastlines, Andrea Duffy's Nomad's Land: Pastoralism and French Environmental Policy in the Nineteenth-Century Mediterranean World (U Nebraska Press, 2019) investigates a mystery: where …

East Asian Studies October 25, 2021

An Urban History of China

Toby Lincoln

Hosted by Zachary Lowell

In An Urban History of China (Cambridge UP, 2021), Toby Lincoln offers the first history of Chinese cities from their origins to the present. Despite being an agricultural society for …

Sports October 25, 2021

The War

Hagler-Hearns and Three Rounds for the Ages

Don Stradley

Hosted by Paul Knepper

The battle between Marvelous Marvin Hagler and Thomas Hearns is remembered as one of the greatest fights of all time. But in the months before the two finally collided on …

Technology October 25, 2021

Building the New Economy

Data As Capital

Alex Pentland and Alexander Lipton

Hosted by Galina Limorenko

Data is now central to the economy, government, and health systems—so why are data and the AI systems that interpret the data in the hands of so few people? Alex …

Political Science October 25, 2021

Gendered Citizenship

The Original Conflict Over the Equal Rights Amendment, 1920-1963

Rebecca DeWolf

Hosted by Susan Liebell

In Political Science, we are very familiar with the work of scholars who try to unpack why the ERA failed to get the required states. But Gendered Citizenship: The Original …

Latino Studies October 25, 2021

My Book of the Dead

New Poems

Ana Castillo

Hosted by Jonathan Cortez

“My poetry captures a moment,” remarked Dr. Castillo when asked about the process of writing her most recent collection of poems My Book of the Dead: New Poems (University of …

General History October 25, 2021

Muslims and the Making of Modern Europe

Emily Greble

Hosted by Vladislav Lilic

Dr. Emily Greble, Associate Professor of History at Vanderbilt University, is the author of Muslims and the Making of Modern Europe (Oxford University Press, 2021). Focusing on the Muslim inhabitants of …

Chinese Studies October 22, 2021

The End of the Village

Planning the Urbanization of Rural China

Nick R. Smith

Hosted by Suvi Rautio

Today I spoke to Nick R. Smith to talk about how China's expansive new era of urbanization threatens to undermine the foundations of rural life, which he writes about in …

Media October 22, 2021

Politics for the Love of Fandom

Fan-Based Citizenship in a Digital World

Ashley Hinck

Hosted by Lee Pierce

Politics for the Love of Fandom: Fan-Based Citizenship in a Digital World (Louisiana State Press, 2019) examines what Ashley Hinck calls “fan-based citizenship”: civic action that blends with and arises from …

Education October 22, 2021

Surviving Emotional Work for Teachers

Improving Wellbeing and Professional Learning Through Reflexive Practice

Jean Hopman

Hosted by Alice Garner

Jean Hopman’s book Surviving Emotional Work for Teachers: Improving Wellbeing and Professional Learning Through Reflexive Practice (Routledge, 2020), is a guide to improving teachers' wellbeing and practice through support of …

Architecture October 22, 2021

Sandfuture

Justin Beal

Hosted by Bryan Toepfer

Sandfuture (MIT Press, 2021) is a book about the life of the architect Minoru Yamasaki (1912–1986), who remains on the margins of history despite the enormous influence of his work on American …

Latin American Studies October 22, 2021

Disruptive Archives

Feminist Memories of Resistance in Latin America's Dirty Wars

Viviana Beatriz MacManus

Hosted by Minni Sawhney

Today I talked to Viviana MacManus, author of Disruptive Archives: Feminist Memories of Resistance in Latin America’s Dirty Wars published by the University of Illinois Press in 2020. It has …

Film October 22, 2021

The Sensuous Cinema of Wong Kar-wai

Film Poetics and the Aesthetic of Disturbance

Gary Bettinson

Hosted by Gustavo Gutiérrez Suárez

The widely acclaimed films of Wong Kar-wai are characterized by their sumptuous yet complex visual and sonic style. This study of Wong’s filmmaking techniques uses a poetics approach to examine …

Science October 22, 2021

Moving Forward

Reflections on Autism, Neurodiversity, Brain Surgery, and Faith

Jacki Edry