MIT Press Podcast

MIT Press Podcast

episodes

The MIT Press Podcast features exclusive interviews and content that draw on the topics, themes, and trends explored in our books and journals. Subject areas that are covered include art and design, technology, science, information and data science, linguistics, neuroscience, business and management, architecture and urban design, ecology and sustainability, science fiction, and more. The podcast also regularly features high level discussions about open access publishing and knowledge.

Kathryn Nave, "A Drive to Survive: The Free Energy Principle and the Meaning of Life" (MIT Press, 2025)

April 10, 2026

A Drive to Survive

Kathryn Nave
Hosted by Carrie Figdor

The cybernetic tradition in cognitive science analyzes the purposive behavior of many complex systems – from sensory-guided missiles to sensory-guided…

Eivind Røssaak, "The Cory Arcangel Hack: Digital Culture and Aesthetic Practice" (MIT Press, 2025)

April 4, 2026

The Cory Arcangel Hack

Eivind Røssaak

The first in-depth exploration of the work of artist Cory Arcangel, a pioneer of DIY-new media art whose influential “hacks” subvert the confines of B…

Ben Collier on Tor: From the Dark Web to the Future of Privacy

March 30, 2026

Tor: From the Dark Web to the Future of Privacy

Ben Collier
Hosted by Lee Vinsel

Peoples & Things host, Lee Vinsel, and guest host, Paula Bialski, Associate Professor of Digital Sociology at University of St. Gallen, talk to Ben C…

E. and H. Heron, "Flaxman Low: Occult Detective" (MIT Press, 2026)

March 15, 2026

Flaxman Low

E. and H. Heron
Hosted by Miranda Melcher

Flaxman Low, literature’s first professional, full-time “occult detective”—that is, an intrepid investigator who deploys the scientific method when ta…

Carlin Wing, "Bounce: Balls, Walls, and Bodies in Games and Play" (MIT Press, 2026)

March 11, 2026

Bounce

Carlin Wing

Bounce: Balls, Walls, and Bodies in Games and Play (MIT Press, 2026) follows an array of bouncing balls through the histories of nonelectronic and ele…

Alex Brostoff and Vilashini Cooppan eds., "Autotheories" (MIT Press, 2025)

March 6, 2026

Autotheories

Alex Brostoff and Vilashini Cooppan eds.

A transdisciplinary array of authors offering a new frame of reference for autotheory and its genre-bending synthesis of autobiography and critical th…

Amelia Acker, "Archiving Machines: From Punch Cards to Platforms" (MIT Press, 2025)

March 4, 2026

Archiving Machines

Amelia Acker
Hosted by Adam Kriesberg

We're so pleased to welcome Dr. Amelia Acker, author of Archiving Machines: From Punch Cards to Platforms (MIT Press, 2025) to the New Books Network! …

Victor Navarro-Remesal, "Zen and Slow Games" (MIT Press, 2026)

March 3, 2026

Zen and Slow Games

Victor Navarro-Remesal

A deep dive into the reflective modes of playfulness in video games. Slowness and reflectiveness have always been part of the video game medium, thoug…

Catherine Elgin, "Epistemic Ecology" (MIT Press, 2025)

March 3, 2026

Epistemic Ecology

Catherine Elgin
Hosted by Carrie Figdor

Humans are highly inquisitive, yet fallible and cognitively limited. How can we improve our epistemic lot despite our limitations? In Epistemic Ecolog…

Miguel Sicart, "Playing Software: Homo Ludens in Computational Culture" (MIT Press, 2023)

March 2, 2026

Playing Software

Miguel Sicart

The play element at the heart of our interactions with computers—and how it drives the best and the worst manifestations of the information age. Whet…

Honghong Tinn, "Island Tinkerers: Innovation and Transformation in the Making of Taiwan's Computing Industry" (MIT Press, 2025)

February 26, 2026

Island Tinkerers

Honghong Tinn
Hosted by Li-Ping Chen

How Taiwan rose to global prominence in high tech manufacturing, from computer maker to the world's leading chip manufacturer. How did Taiwan, a forme…

Raiford Guins, "King PONG: How Atari Bounced Across Markets to Make Millions" (MIT Press, 2026)

February 20, 2026

King PONG

Raiford Guins
Hosted by Miranda Melcher

PONG is one of the longest- and most consistently circulating video games. Released in 1972, it remains at our fingertips as Android or iOS app, hoste…

W. Patrick McCray, "README: A Bookish History of Computing from Electronic Brains to Everything Machines" (MIT Press, 2025)

February 19, 2026

README

W. Patrick McCray
Hosted by Miranda Melcher

In README: A Bookish History of Computing from Electronic Brains to Everything Machines (MIT Press, 2025), historian Dr. Patrick McCray argues that i…

Javiera Barandiaran, "Living Minerals: Nature, Trade, and Power in the Race for Lithium" (MIT Press, 2026)

February 13, 2026

Living Minerals

Javiera Barandiaran

A sobering investigation of the rush for lithium for electric vehicles, the problematic history of lithium mining, and the consequences for sustainabi…

Robert Dorschel, "The Social Codes of Tech Workers: Class Identity in Digital Capitalism" (MIT Press, 2025)

January 20, 2026

The Social Codes of Tech Workers

Robert Dorschel
Hosted by Dave O'Brien

Who are the people staffing the digital economy? In The Social Codes of Tech Workers: Class Identity in Digital Capitalism (MIT Press, 2025) Robert Do…

Ambika Kamath and Melina Packer, "Feminism in the Wild: How Human Biases Shape Our Understanding of Animal Behavior" (MIT Press, 2025)

January 13, 2026

Feminism in the Wild

Ambika Kamath and Melina Packer
Hosted by Kyle Johannsen

In Feminism in the Wild: How Human Biases Shape Our Understanding of Animal Behavior (MIT Press, 2025), Ambika Kamath and Melina Packer reveal how sci…

Aaron Bateman. "Weapons in Space: Technology, Politics, and the Rise and Fall of the Strategic Defense Initiative" (MIT Press, 2024)

January 6, 2026

Weapons in Space

Aaron Bateman

A new and provocative take on the formerly classified history of accelerating superpower military competition in space in the late Cold War and beyond…

Donna J. Drucker, "Fertility Technology" (MIT Press, 2023)

December 29, 2025

Fertility Technology

Donna J. Drucker
Hosted by Caleb Zakarin
Listen:

A concise overview of fertility technology—its history, practical applications, and ethical and social implications around the world. In the late 1850…

Sharon Sliwinski, "An Alphabet for Dreamers: How to See the World with Eyes Closed" (MIT Press, 2025)

December 18, 2025

An Alphabet for Dreamers

Sharon Sliwinski
Hosted by Miranda Melcher

Borrowing from the traditional alphabet book genre for children, An Alphabet for Dreamers: How to See the World with Eyes Closed (MIT Press, 2025) by …

Matthew A. Tattar, "Innovation and Adaptation in War" (MIT Press, 2025)

December 15, 2025

Innovation and Adaptation in War

Matthew A. Tattar
Hosted by Gregory McNiff

An analysis of advances in military technology that illustrates the importance of organizational flexibility in both an attacker’s innovations and an …