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About Miranda Melcher
I have had the pleasure of interviewing over 1,200 authors on the New Books Network, on a range of topics! I tend to interview authors of interdisciplinary books that seek to interrogate and subvert preconceptions about elements of history that have either been neglected in scholarship, or authors who are analysing history through a novel lens.
You can follow all of my episodes on the channel New Books with Miranda Melcher, available on all podcast players.
I completed my PhD in Defense Studies at King's College London, where I researched how to negotiate and implement peace treaties. My book on the topic was released in April 2024 from Bloomsbury: Securing Peace in Angola and Mozambique. Prior to my PhD, I earned an MA in Intelligence and International Security from the Department of War Studies at King's College London and a BA in Political Science from Yale University.
Dr. Miranda Melcher (Ph.D. in Defense Studies from Kings College London) is the host of New Books with Miranda Melcher where she interviews authors on a wide range of books related to history and politics.
NBN Episodes hosted by Miranda:
April 19, 2026
The Long War of Ideas
In the wake of the September 11 attacks, US officials identified the so-called battle for hearts and minds as the “second front” in the war on terror.…
April 18, 2026
Pirate Imperialism
In the middle decades of the nineteenth century, imperial powers around the world came into direct confrontation with local resistance in the form of …
April 17, 2026
Beyond States and Spies
Scholars have long viewed intelligence as the preserve of nation states. Where the term ‘private sector intelligence’ is used, the focus has been over…
April 16, 2026
Make Cheese Not War
In 1971, the French government announced a massive extension of its military base on the Larzac plateau in southern France. Land was to be expropriate…
April 16, 2026
American Bacon
In American Bacon: The History of a Food Phenomenon (U Georgia Press, 2026), Dr. Mark A. Johnson asks (and answers) a seemingly simple question: How h…
April 16, 2026
Borders, Citizenship, and Pregnancy
Using the analytical framework of reproductive justice, Borders, Citizenship, and Pregnancy: Migrant Women’s Experiences of Pregnancy and Maternity Ca…
April 15, 2026
Amazing Worlds of Science Fiction and Science Fact
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…
April 15, 2026
The Politics of Social Change
Few time periods have been as defined by waves of monumental social change as the United States during the 1960s. Even today, almost sixty years later…
April 14, 2026
Gold from Newton's Apple Tree
Flowering currant, ivy, Portuguese laurel, and woad might all have grown in a medieval garden, but it would have taken special expertise to extract an…
April 14, 2026
Offa
In Offa: King of the Mercians (Yale UP, 2026), Professor Rory Naismith presents an authoritative biography of Offa of Mercia, revealing his importance…
April 13, 2026
Stories of the Stones
Stories of the Stones: Imagining Prehistory in Britain, Ireland and Brittany (Reaktion, 2026) by Dr. Paul Robichaud explores how ancient monuments – s…
April 12, 2026
Coca and the Victorians
The South American coca plant was established in 19th-century Britain as a medical product before it became a globally restricted drug. Drawing on bot…
April 7, 2026
Sarah Wambaugh and the Plebiscite
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…
April 7, 2026
Brand New Beat
Rolling Stone's first decade was truly rock and roll: chaotic, wild, and unpredictable. Brand New Beat: The Wild Rise of Rolling Stone Magazine (U Cal…
April 6, 2026
Naming New Things and Concepts in Early Modern Science
Naming new discoveries is central to science, and for centuries, Latin dominated this process. The resulting terminology still shapes modern science, …
April 5, 2026
Breathing Space
Breathing Space: The Architecture of Pneumatic Beings (Zone Books, 2026) is a compelling and wide-ranging analysis of pneumatic phenomena in modern cu…
April 5, 2026
After Liberation
War offers opportunities for women to liberate their communities and build a better life for themselves. When women join rebel groups, they often take…
April 4, 2026
Fossil Consumerism
Fossil Consumerism: Energy, Ecology and Everyday Life in the Early Modern Low Countries (Leuven UP, 2026) by Dr. Wout Saelens explores how the homes o…
April 4, 2026
The Surgeon's Battle
Between May 1 and May 22, 1863, Union soldiers marched nearly 200 miles through the hot, humid countryside to assault and capture the fortified city o…
April 3, 2026
Atomic Bombshells
Bullet bras, bazookas, bombshells, bikinis. In Atomic Bombshells: How Plastics Shaped Postwar Bodies (Duke UP, 2026), Dr. Isabelle Held challenges the…
April 3, 2026
Property of the People
"Honoured Investors, As Zhongfu Group enters its eighth decade, we are pleased to announce the acquisition of two famous coal mines. These assets fur…
April 1, 2026
Between the Buddha and the New Tsar
Between the Buddha and the New Tsar: Urban Religion and Minority Politics at the Asian Borderlands of Russia (Cornell UP, 2026) by Dr. Kristina Jonuty…
April 1, 2026
The Medieval Guide to Healthy Living
We often think of medieval medicine as strange, unhygienic and unscientific, but The Medieval Guide to Healthy Living (Reaktion, 2026) by Dr. Katherin…
March 31, 2026
Tojo
The military general who became Emperor Hirohito’s prime minister, Tojo Hideki is most often remembered as an iron-fisted leader who dragged Japan int…