NBN Book of the Day

NBN Book of the Day

episodes

One book selected daily from those published on the New Books Network.

Keith Cooper, "Amazing Worlds of Science Fiction and Science Fact" (Reaktion, 2025)

April 15, 2026

Amazing Worlds of Science Fiction and Science Fact

Keith Cooper
Hosted by Miranda Melcher

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to watch a double sunset on Tatooine, stand among the sand dunes of Arrakis or gaze at the gas-giant plan…

Daphne A. Brooks, "Blackstar Rising and the Purple Reign: The Sonic Afterlives of David Bowie and Prince" (Duke UP, 2026)

April 14, 2026

Blackstar Rising and the Purple Reign

Daphne A. Brooks
Hosted by Rebekah Buchanan

Blackstar Rising and the Purple Reign: The Sonic Afterlives of David Bowie and Prince (Duke UP, 2026) is the first critical anthology dedicated to exp…

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…

Matthew Bothwell, "The Invisible Universe: Why There's More to Reality than Meets the Eye" (Simon and Schuster, 2021)

April 12, 2026

The Invisible Universe

Matthew Bothwell
Hosted by Gregory McNiff

Since the dawn of our species, people all over the world have gazed in awe at the night sky. But for all the beauty and wonder of the stars, when we l…

Beans Velocci, "Sex Isn't Real: The Invention of an Incoherent Binary" (Duke UP, 2026)

April 11, 2026

Sex Isn't Real

Beans Velocci
Hosted by Clayton Jarrard

In Sex Isn’t Real: The Invention of an Incoherent Binary (Duke UP, 2026), Beans Velocci traces the history of current high stakes attempts to define s…

Nurhaizatul Jamil, "Faithful Transformations: Islamic Self-Help in Contemporary Singapore" (U Illinois Press, 2025)

April 10, 2026

Faithful Transformations

Nurhaizatul Jamil
Hosted by Jaclyn Michael

Nurhaizatul Jamil’s Faithful Transformations: Islamic Self-Help in Contemporary Singapore (U Illinois Press, 2025) is a complex and meticulous ethnogr…

Cedric de Leon, "Freedom Train: Black Politics and the Story of Interracial Labor Solidarity" (U California Press, 2025)

April 9, 2026

Freedom Train

Cedric De Leon
Hosted by Thomas Discenna

Our guest today is Cedric de Leon, author of Freedom Train: Black Politics and the Story of Interracial Labor Solidarity (U California Press, 2025). I…

Adam Zeman, "The Shape of Things Unseen: A New Science of Imagination" (Bloomsbury, 2025)

April 8, 2026

The Shape of Things Unseen

Adam Zeman
Hosted by Gregory McNiff

A compelling insight into how our imagination works, based on the latest scientific research. People often think of imagination as something used onl…

Andrew Thomas Park, "Sarah Wambaugh and the Plebiscite: The Turbulent History of a Democratic Alternative to War" (Cambridge UP, 2026)

April 7, 2026

Sarah Wambaugh and the Plebiscite

Andrew Thomas Park
Hosted by Miranda Melcher

In Sarah Wambaugh and the Plebiscite: The Turbulent History of a Democratic Alternative to War (Cambridge UP, 2026) Dr. Andrew Park tells the story of…

Stephen Grosz, "Love's Labour: How We Break and Make the Bonds of Love" (Vintage, 2026)

April 6, 2026

Love's Labour

Stephen Grosz
Hosted by Helena Vissing

When it comes to love why do we find things so difficult? Drawing on over forty years of candid and surprising conversations with his patients, Stephe…

Hilary Matfess, "After Liberation: Women and the Politics of Expectations in Rebel-to-Party Transitions" (Stanford UP, 2026)

April 5, 2026

After Liberation

Hilary Matfess
Hosted by Miranda Melcher

War offers opportunities for women to liberate their communities and build a better life for themselves. When women join rebel groups, they often take…

Christine Grandy, "Race on Screen: Audience Racism in Twentieth-Century Britain" (Cambridge UP, 2026)

April 4, 2026

Race on Screen

Christine Grandy
Hosted by Dave O'Brien

What is the role of television in the history of the UK? In Race on Screen: Audience Racism in Twentieth-Century Britain (Cambridge UP, 2026) Christin…

Isabelle Held, "Atomic Bombshells: How Plastics Shaped Postwar Bodies" (Duke UP, 2026)

April 3, 2026

Atomic Bombshells

Isabelle Held
Hosted by Miranda Melcher

Bullet bras, bazookas, bombshells, bikinis. In Atomic Bombshells: How Plastics Shaped Postwar Bodies (Duke UP, 2026), Dr. Isabelle Held challenges the…

Amelia Frank-Vitale, "Leave If You Can: Migration and Violence in Bordered Worlds" (U California Press, 2026)

April 2, 2026

Leave If You Can

Amelia Frank-Vitale
Hosted by Rachel Newman

The consequences of U.S. border policies through the experiences of Honduran migrants. Hondurans have been at the heart of some of the most visible mi…

Lee Ann S. Wang, "The Violence of Protection: Policing, Immigration Law, and Asian American Women" (Duke UP, 2026)

April 1, 2026

The Violence of Protection

Lee Ann S. Wang
Hosted by Ailin Zhou

The Violence of Protection: Policing, Immigration Law, and Asian American Women (Duke UP, 2026) examines U.S. laws designed to rescue immigrant surviv…

Tyesha Maddox, "A Home Away from Home: Mutual Aid, Political Activism, and Caribbean American Identity" (U Pennsylvania Press, 2024)

March 31, 2026

A Home Away from Home

Tyesha Maddox
Hosted by Kiana Knight

A Home Away from Home: Mutual Aid, Political Activism, and Caribbean American Identity (U Pennsylvania Press, 2024) examines the significance of Carib…

Derek Krueger "Monastic Desires: Homoeroticism, Homophobia, and the Love of God in Medieval Constantinople" (Cambridge UP, 2026)

March 30, 2026

Monastic Desires

Derek Krueger
Hosted by Michael Motia

Derek Krueger Monastic Desires: Homoeroticism, Homophobia, and Love of God in Medieval Constantinople (Cambridge UP, 2026) The Byzantine Abbot Symeo…

Ainehi Edoro, "Forest Imaginaries: How African Novels Think" (Columbia UP, 2026)

March 29, 2026

Forest Imaginaries

Ainehi Edoro

Forests in fiction are often understood simply as settings, symbols, or remnants of a premodern past. Yet many African novelists have turned to the fo…

Mark Hlavacik, "Willing Warriors: A New History of the Education Culture Wars" (U Chicago Press, 2025)

March 28, 2026

Willing Warriors

Mark Hlavacik
Hosted by Laura Kelly

How the rise of the culture wars afflicts the politics of education. On August 9, 2022, the Denton Independent School District held a meeting to add…

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…