New Books Network

Princeton UP Ideas Podcast January 14, 2022

Ravenna

Capital of Empire, Crucible of Europe

Judith Herrin

Hosted by Mark Klobas

At the end of the fourth century, as the power of Rome faded and Constantinople became the seat of empire, a new capital city was rising in the West. Here …

Princeton UP Ideas Podcast January 6, 2022

The January 6th Capitol Insurrection One Year On

A Discussion of the Far Right with Cynthia Miller-Idriss

Cynthia Miller-Idriss

Hosted by Mark Klobas

Hate crimes. Misinformation and conspiracy theories. Foiled white-supremacist plots. The signs of growing far-right extremism are all around us, and communities across America and around the globe are struggling to …

Political Science January 6, 2022

Uncivil Mirth

Ridicule in Enlightenment Britain

Ross Carroll

Hosted by Lilly Goren

Political Theorist Ross Carroll takes the reader through Enlightenment conversations about the use of ridicule and laughter in politics and political engagement in his new book, Uncivil Mirth: Ridicule in …

Princeton UP Ideas Podcast January 3, 2022

Western Europe’s Democratic Age

1945-1968

Martin Conway

Hosted by Mark Klobas

What happened in the years following World War II to create a democratic revolution in the western half of Europe? In Western Europe’s Democratic Age: 1945-1968 (Princeton UP, 2021), Martin …

Philosophy December 31, 2021

Grief

A Philosophical Guide

Michael Cholbi

Hosted by Robert Talisse

We think of grief as a normal response to the death of a loved one. We’re familiar with the so-called “five stages” of grief. Grief seems as an emotional episode …

Genocide Studies December 24, 2021

The Crime of Aggression

The Quest for Justice in an Age of Drones, Cyberattacks, Insurgents, and Autocrats

Noah Weisbord

Hosted by Jeff Bachman

On July 17, 2018, starting an unjust war became a prosecutable international crime alongside genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes. Instead of collective state responsibility, our leaders are now …

Education December 17, 2021

Scripting the Moves

Culture and Control in a "No-Excuses" Charter School

Joanne W. Golann

Hosted by Alice Garner

Ethnographer and sociologist Joanne Golann spent 18 months observing the day-to-day life of students and teachers in a “no-excuses” charter school. In her book Scripting the Moves: Culture and Control …

Princeton UP Ideas Podcast December 15, 2021

"Bambi" isn't about what you think it's about

Jack Zipes explains what it's really about

Jack Zipes

Hosted by Marshall Poe

Most of us think we know the story of Bambi—but do we? The Original Bambi: The Story of a Life in the Forest (Princeton UP, 2022) is an all-new, illustrated …

Genocide Studies December 21, 2021

Sharing Responsibility

The History and Future of Protection from Atrocities

Luke Glanville

Hosted by Jeff Bachman

The idea that states share a responsibility to shield people everywhere from atrocities is presently under threat. Despite some early twenty-first century successes, including the 2005 United Nations endorsement of …

Political Science December 14, 2021

Divided Armies

Inequality and Battlefield Performance in Modern War

Jason Lyall

Hosted by Lamis Abdelaaty

Why do some armies fare better than others on the battlefield? In Divided Armies: Inequality and Battlefield Performance in Modern War (Princeton UP, 2020), Jason Lyall argues that a state's prewar treatment …

Political Science December 6, 2021

Figures of the Future

Latino Civil Rights and the Politics of Demographic Change

Michael Rodríguez-Muñiz

Hosted by Susan Liebell

Figures of the Future: Latino Civil Rights and the Politics of Demographic Change (Princeton UP, 2021) examines the “contemporary population politics of national Latino civil rights advocacy.” The book …

Princeton UP Ideas Podcast December 1, 2021

Billy Wilder on Assignment

Dispatches from Weimar Berlin and Interwar Vienna

Noah Isenberg and Shelley Frisch

Hosted by Marshall Poe

Before Billy Wilder became the screenwriter and director of iconic films like Sunset Boulevard and Some Like It Hot, he worked as a freelance reporter, first in Vienna and then …

Sociology December 1, 2021

Getting Something to Eat in Jackson

Race, Class, and Food in the American South

Joseph C. Ewoodzie

Hosted by Michael Johnston

Getting Something to Eat in Jackson (Princeton Press, 2021) uses food—what people eat and how—to explore the interaction of race and class in the lives of African Americans in the …

Environmental Studies November 29, 2021

After One Hundred Winters

In Search of Reconciliation on America's Stolen Lands

Margaret D. Jacobs

Hosted by Brady McCartney

After One Hundred Winters: In Search of Reconciliation on America's Stolen Lands (Princeton UP, 2021) confronts the harsh truth that the United States was founded on the violent dispossession of …

Asian Review of Books November 24, 2021

Distant Shores

Colonial Encounters on China's Maritime Frontier

Melissa Macauley

Hosted by Nicholas Gordon

“The Europeans raise all the cattle, but the Chinese get all the milk.” This joke, told in colonial Singapore, was indicative of the importance of the Chinese diaspora throughout Southeast …

Political Science November 18, 2021

Fears of a Setting Sun

The Disillusionment of America's Founders

Dennis C. Rasmussen

Hosted by Lilly Goren

When Americans conjure the image of the signing of the Constitution of the United States, they often think about the various paintings that depict the Founders looking to George Washington …

Princeton UP Ideas Podcast November 15, 2021

Why Trust Science?

Naomi Oreskes

Hosted by Marshall Poe

Do doctors really know what they are talking about when they tell us vaccines are safe? Should we take climate experts at their word when they warn us about the …

Political Science November 8, 2021

Policing the Second Amendment

Guns, Law Enforcement, and the Politics of Race

Jennifer Carlson

Hosted by Susan Liebell

When Americans talk about guns, they often use terms like “gun rights” or “gun control.” They also tend to separate gun politics and the politics of the police. In Policing …

Public Policy November 3, 2021

Firepower

How the NRA Turned Gun Owners Into a Political Force

Matthew J. Lacombe

Hosted by Joe Renouard

Firepower: How the NRA Turned Gun Owners into a Political Force (Princeton, 2021) explores the scope and power of one of America’s most influential interest groups. Despite widespread public support …

Princeton UP Ideas Podcast November 1, 2021

When Bad Thinking Happens to Good People

How Philosophy Can Save Us from Ourselves

Steven Nadler and Lawrence Shapiro

Hosted by Marshall Poe

There is an epidemic of bad thinking in the world today. An alarming number of people are embracing crazy, even dangerous ideas. They believe that vaccinations cause autism. They reject …