Listen to Owen Bennett-Jones discuss the future of opinion polls with Mark Pack

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Princeton UP Ideas Podcast
South Asian Studies May 23, 2022

Vernacular English

Reading the Anglophone in Postcolonial India

Akshya Saxena

Hosted by Saronik Bosu
Against a groundswell of critiques of global English, Vernacular English: Reading the Anglophone in Postcolonial India (Princeton UP, 2022) argues that literary studies are yet to confront the true political import …

Princeton UP Ideas Podcast

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Interviews with authors of Princeton University Press books.

Science May 19, 2022

The Joy of Science

Jim Al-Khalili

Hosted by Morteza Hajizadeh
Today’s world is unpredictable and full of contradictions, and navigating its complexities while trying to make the best decisions is far from easy. The Joy of Science (Princeton UP, 2022) …
Princeton UP Ideas Podcast May 17, 2022

When Animals Dream

The Hidden World of Animal Consciousness

David M. Peña-Guzmán

Hosted by Mark Klobas
Are humans the only dreamers on Earth? What goes on in the minds of animals when they sleep? When Animals Dream: The Hidden World of Animal Consciousness (Princeton UP, 2022) …
General History May 4, 2022

Maria Theresa

The Habsburg Empress in Her Time

Barbara Stollberg-Rilinger

Hosted by Charles Coutinho
Maria Theresa (1717–1780) was once the most powerful woman in Europe. At the age of twenty-three, she ascended to the throne of the Habsburg Empire, a far-flung realm composed of …
General History May 3, 2022

The Presidency of Donald J. Trump

A First Historical Assessment

Julian E. Zelizer

Hosted by Caleb Zakarin
The Presidency of Donald J. Trump: A First Historical Assessment (Princeton University Press, 2022) presents a first draft of history by offering needed perspective on one of the nation's most divisive …
Princeton UP Ideas Podcast May 2, 2022

The Wordhord

Daily Life in Old English

Hana Videen

Hosted by Mark Klobas
Old English is the language you think you know until you actually hear or see it. Unlike Shakespearean English or even Chaucer’s Middle English, Old English—the language of Beowulf—defies comprehension …
Intellectual History April 21, 2022

Freedom, Resentment, and the Metaphysics of Morals

Pamela Hieronymi

Hosted by August Baker
An innovative reassessment of philosopher P. F. Strawson's influential "Freedom and Resentment" P. F. Strawson was one of the most important philosophers of the twentieth century, and his 1962 paper …
Princeton UP Ideas Podcast April 15, 2022

A Vertical Art

On Poetry

Simon Armitage

Hosted by Mark Klobas
In A Vertical Art: On Poetry (Princeton UP, 2022), acclaimed poet Simon Armitage takes a refreshingly common-sense approach to an art form that can easily lend itself to grand statements …
Anthropology April 13, 2022

How to Do Things with Emotions

The Morality of Anger and Shame across Cultures

Owen Flanagan

Hosted by August Baker
How to Do Things with Emotions: The Morality of Anger and Shame across Cultures (Princeton UP, 2021) is an expansive look at how culture shapes our emotions—and how we can …
Sociology April 12, 2022

Patchwork Leviathan

Pockets of Bureaucratic Effectiveness in Developing States

Erin Metz McDonnell

Hosted by Sebastián Rojas Cabal
Corruption and ineffectiveness are often expected of public servants in developing countries. However, some groups within these states are distinctly more effective and public oriented than the rest. Why? Patchwork …
Economic and Business History April 11, 2022

Agents of Reform

Child Labor and the Origins of the Welfare State

Elisabeth Anderson

Hosted by Javier Mejia
The beginnings of the modern welfare state are often traced to the late nineteenth-century labor movement and to policymakers’ efforts to appeal to working-class voters. But in Agents of Reform …
African Studies April 8, 2022

The War That Doesn't Say Its Name

The Unending Conflict in the Congo

Jason K. Stearns

Hosted by Ari Barbalat
Well into its third decade, the military conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has been dubbed a "forever war"--a perpetual cycle of war, civil unrest, and local feuds …
Finance April 5, 2022

Restarting the Future

How to Fix the Intangible Economy

Jonathan Haskel and Stian Westlake

Hosted by John Emrich
The past two decades have witnessed sluggish economic growth, mounting inequality, dysfunctional competition, and a host of other ills that have left people wondering what has happened to the future …
Popular Culture April 5, 2022

In Praise of Good Bookstores

Jeff Deutsch

Hosted by Rebekah Buchanan
In In Praise of Good Bookstores (Princeton University Press, 2022), Jeff Deutsch, the director of the Seminary Co-op Bookstores in Chicago, aims to make the case for the value of spaces …
Jewish Studies April 5, 2022

American Shtetl

The Making of Kiryas Joel, a Hasidic Village in Upstate New York

Nomi M. Stolzenberg and David N. Myers

Hosted by Zalman Newfield
In American Shtetl: The Making of Kiryas Joel, a Hasidic Village in Upstate New York (Princeton University Press, 2022), Nomi Stolzenberg and David Myers tell the story of how a …
Political Science April 5, 2022

Politics and Expertise

How to Use Science in a Democratic Society

Zeynep Pamuk

Hosted by Caleb Zakarin
Our ability to act on some of the most pressing issues of our time, from pandemics and climate change to artificial intelligence and nuclear weapons, depends on knowledge provided by …
Princeton UP Ideas Podcast April 1, 2022

All About Birds

A Series of Regional Field Guides

Jill Leichter and Hugh Powell

Hosted by Mark Klobas
The All About Birds Regional Field-Guide Series brings birding enthusiasts the best information from the renowned Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s website, AllAboutBirds.org, used by more than 21 million people each …
Princeton UP Ideas Podcast March 21, 2022

Does Skill Make Us Human?

Migrant Workers in 21st-Century Qatar and Beyond

Natasha Iskander

Hosted by Mark Klobas
Skill—specifically the distinction between the “skilled” and “unskilled”—is generally defined as a measure of ability and training, but Does Skill Make Us Human?: Migrant Workers in 21st-Century Qatar and Beyond …
Political Science March 17, 2022

By Executive Order

Bureaucratic Management and the Limits of Presidential Power

Andrew Rudalevige

Hosted by Lilly Goren
Andrew Rudalevige, the Thomas Brackett Reed Professor of Government at Bowdoin College, has a new book that examines the processes that transpires in the generation of executive orders—noting that the …
General History March 7, 2022

You Say You Want a Revolution?

Radical Idealism and Its Tragic Consequences

Daniel Chirot

Hosted by Caleb Zakarin
Why have so many of the iconic revolutions of modern times ended in bloody tragedies? And what lessons can be drawn from these failures today, in a world where political …