Help
Support the NBN
and
NBN en Español
on Patreon | Visit
New Books Network en Español
!
New Books Network
Pitch a Book!
Hosts
Subscribe
Newsletter
Films
Store
Arts & Letters
Architecture
Art
Children's Literature
Digital Humanities
Fantasy
Film
Folklore
Food
Historical Fiction
Library Science
Literary Studies
Literature
Museum Studies
Music
Performing Arts
Photography
Poetry
Popular Culture
Science Fiction
History
Ancient History
Arguing History
Biography
Diplomatic History
Early Modern History
Economic and Business History
General History
Intellectual History
Medieval History
Military History
Women's History
Peoples & Places
African Studies
African American Studies
American Politics
American Studies
American South
American West
Asian American Studies
Australian and New Zealand Studies
British Studies
Canadian Studies
Caribbean Studies
Central Asian Studies
Chinese Studies
East Asian Studies
Eastern European Studies
European Politics
French Studies
German Studies
Iberian Studies
India Studies
Indian Ocean World
Irish Studies
Israel Studies
Italian Studies
Japanese Studies
Korean Studies
Latino Studies
Latin American Studies
Mexican Studies
Middle Eastern Studies
Native American Studies
Pacific Studies
Polish Studies
Russian and Eurasian Studies
Southeast Asian Studies
South Asian Studies
Ukrainian Studies
Western European Studies
World Affairs
Politics & Society
Animal Studies
Anthropology
Archaeology
Business, Management, and Marketing
Media
Critical Theory
Disability Studies
Drugs, Addiction and Recovery
Education
Economics
Finance
Geography
Gender Studies
Genocide Studies
Higher Education
Human Rights
Journalism
Language
Law
LGBTQ+ Studies
National Security
Philosophy
Policing, Incarceration, and Reform
Political Science
Politics
Politics & Polemics
Public Policy
Sex, Sexuality, and Sex Work
Sociology
Sound Studies
Sports
Urban Studies
Religion & Faith
Biblical Studies
Buddhist Studies
Catholic Studies
Christian Studies
Indian Religions
Islamic Studies
Jewish Studies
Religion
Secularism
Spiritual Practice and Mindfulness
World Christianity
Science & Technology
Biology and Evolution
Environmental Studies
History of Science
Mathematics
Medicine
Neuroscience
Physics and Chemistry
Psychoanalysis
Psychology
Public Health
Science
Science, Technology, and Society
Systems and Cybernetics
Technology
Special Series
Big Ideas
Celebration Studies
Co-Authored
Cover Story
Game Studies
Historical Materialism
History Ex Silo
Landscape Architecture
Mormonism
NBN Book of the Day
NBN Seminar
Postscript
Preparing for Life After Grad School
Psychology and Climate Change
UP Partners
CEU Press Podcast Series
Behind the Book: A Nebraska UP Podcast
Brill on the Wire
Exchanges: A Cambridge UP Podcast
In Conversation: An OUP Podcast
MIT Press Podcast
Off the Page: A Columbia UP Podcast
Princeton UP Ideas Podcast
UNC Press Presents Podcast
Academic Partners
Academic Life
Almost Good Catholics
America and Beyond with Paul Starobin
Asian Review of Books
Burned by Books
Dan Hill's EQ Spotlight
Darts & Letters
The Common Magazine
East-West Psychology Podcast
Entrepreneurship and Leadership
Ethnographic Marginalia
Fifteen Minute Film Fanatics
The Future of . . . with Owen Bennett-Jones
Global Media & Communication
Grinnell College: Authors and Artists
High Theory
How to Be Wrong
Ideas Roadshow Podcast
The Imperfect Buddha Podcast
International Horizons
Interpretive Political and Social Science
Journal of Asian American Studies Podcast
Lies Agreed Upon
Life Wisdom
Madison's Notes
Ministry of Ideas
Mobilities and Methods
Nomads, Past and Present
Nordic Asia Podcast
Novel Dialogue
NYIH Conversations
On Religion
Peoples & Things
People, Power, Politics
A Podcast Series about Polymath Robert Eisler
The Proust Questionnaire Podcast
Recall This Book
Scholarly Communication
Shakespeare For All
Taiwan on Air
Think About It
SSEAC Stories
Van Leer Institute Series on Ideas with Renee Garfinkel
The Vault
Why We Argue
Writ Large
Capitalism and Freedom in the Twenty-First Century
About Jim Stein
NBN Episodes hosted by Jim:
Mathematics
April 19, 2023
Solving the Price Is Right
How Mathematics Can Improve Your Decisions on and Off the Set of America's Celebrated Game Show
Justin L. Bergner
Hosted by
Jim Stein
The Price is Right is television's longest-running game show. Since its inception in 1956, contestants have won cars, tropical vacations, diamond jewelry, even a live horse, and the hosts' excited …
Mathematics
December 18, 2022
Who's Counting?
Uniting Numbers and Narratives with Stories from Pop Culture, Puzzles, Politics, and More
John Allen Paulos
Hosted by
Jim Stein
Innumeracy, by John Allen Paulos, was first published in 1988. In it the author brilliantly highlighted many of the sorry truths those of us who teach math and science know …
Mathematics
November 23, 2022
The Secret Lives of Numbers
Numerals and Their Peculiarities in Mathematics and Beyond
Alfred S. Posamentier
Hosted by
Jim Stein
Alfred S. Posamentier's The Secret Lives of Numbers: Numerals and Their Peculiarities in Mathematics and Beyond (Prometheus Books, 2022) is the first book I’ve ever seen written by a mathematician that …
Mathematics
November 11, 2022
Mathematical Tools for Real-World Applications
A Gentle Introduction for Students and Practitioners
Alexandr Draganov
Hosted by
Jim Stein
I’ve never read a book like Mathematical Tools for Real-World Applications: A Gentle Introduction for Students and Practitioners (MIT Press, 2022) – it’s a book about how engineers and scientists …
Mathematics
October 31, 2022
The Story of Proof
Logic and the History of Mathematics
John Stillwell
Hosted by
Jim Stein
The Story of Proof: Logic and the History of Mathematics (Princeton UP, 2022) investigates the evolution of the concept of proof--one of the most significant and defining features of mathematical …
Mathematics
August 30, 2021
Math Tricks
The Surprising Wonders of Shapes and Numbers
Alfred S. Posamentier
Hosted by
Jim Stein
Alfred S. Posamentier's Math Tricks: The Surprising Wonders of Shapes and Numbers (Prometheus Books, 2021) has a lovely assortment of puzzles from all areas of mathematics. Some will be familiar to …
Mathematics
April 2, 2021
The Raven's Hat
Fallen Pictures, Rising Sequences, and Other Mathematical Games
Jonas Peters and Nicolai Meinshausen
Hosted by
Jim Stein
Games have been of interest to mathematicians almost since mathematics became a subject. In fact, entire branches of mathematics have arisen simply to analyze certain games. The Raven's Hat: Fallen …
Mathematics
February 22, 2021
Math Without Numbers
Milo Beckman
Hosted by
Jim Stein
One of the questions I am often asked is exactly what do mathematicians do. The short answer is that they look at different mathematical structures, try to deduce their properties …
Mathematics
January 25, 2021
Games for Your Mind
The History and Future of Logic Puzzles
Jason Rosenhouse
Hosted by
Jim Stein
Jason Rosenhouse's Games for Your Mind: The History and Future of Logic Puzzles (Princeton UP, 2020) is about a panoply of logic puzzles. You’ll find Mastermind and sudoku discussed early on, and …
Mathematics
November 11, 2020
The Joy of Geometry
Alfred S. Posamentier
Hosted by
Jim Stein
Alfred S. Posamentier's The Joy of Geometry (Prometheus, 2020) is a book for someone who has taken geometry but wants to go further. This book, as one might expect, is …
Mathematics
September 9, 2020
Mathematics Entertainment for the Millions
Alfred Posamentier
Hosted by
Jim Stein
The book being discussed is Mathematics Entertainment for the Millions (World Scientific Publishing Co.), by Alfred Posamentier. In reading this book, it occurred to me that it might equally well …
Mathematics
August 13, 2020
Mage Merlin's Unsolved Mathematical Mysteries
Satyan Devadoss and Matt Harvey
Hosted by
Jim Stein
There are very few math books that merit the adjective ‘charming’ but Mage Merlin's Unsolved Mathematical Mysteries (MIT Press, 2020) is one of them. Satyan Devadoss and Matt Harvey have …
Science
April 27, 2020
Extraterrestrials
Wade Roush
Hosted by
Jim Stein
Everything we know about how planets form and how life arises suggests that human civilization on Earth should not be unique. We ought to see abundant evidence of extraterrestrial activity―but …
Mathematics
April 22, 2020
Beautiful Symmetry
A Coloring Book about Math
Alex Berke
Hosted by
Jim Stein
Alex Berke's Beautiful Symmetry (MIT Press, 2020) is both a fascinating book and a concept -- it's like no other book I’ve ever read. It's a coloring book about math …
Mathematics
April 3, 2020
Hot Molecules, Cold Electrons
From the Mathematics of Heat to the Development of the Trans-Atlantic Telegraph Cable
Paul J. Nahin
Hosted by
Jim Stein
Hot Molecules, Cold Electrons: From the Mathematics of Heat to the Development of the Trans-Atlantic Telegraph Cable (Princeton University Press, 2020), by Paul Nahin, is a book that is meant …
Mathematics
March 30, 2020
Sleight of Mind
75 Ingenious Paradoxes in Mathematics, Physics, and Philosophy
Matt Cook
Hosted by
Jim Stein
Paradox is a sophisticated kind of magic trick. A magician's purpose is to create the appearance of impossibility, to pull a rabbit from an empty hat. Yet paradox doesn't require …
Mathematics
March 10, 2020
Math Makers
The Lives and Works of 50 Famous Mathematicians
Alfred S. Posamentier
Hosted by
Jim Stein
Today I talked to Alfred S. Posamentier, a co-author (with Christian Spreitzer) of Math Makers: The Lives and Works of 50 Famous Mathematicians (Prometheus, 2020). This charming book is more …
Mathematics
January 28, 2020
Conundrum
Crack the Ultimate Cipher Challenge
Brian Clegg
Hosted by
Jim Stein
The book we are discussing is by Brian Clegg, a well-known author of books on math and science -- but this is not exactly a book on math or science …
Mathematics
December 3, 2019
How Charts Lie
Getting Smarter about Visual Information
Alberto Cairo
Hosted by
Jim Stein
We’ve all heard that a picture is worth a thousand words, but what if we don’t understand what we’re looking at? Social media has made charts, infographics, and diagrams ubiquitous―and …
Mathematics
November 15, 2019
Curves for the Mathematically Curious
An Anthology of the Unpredictable, Historical, Beautiful, and Romantic
Julian Havil
Hosted by
Jim Stein
Today I talked to Julian Havil about his latest book Curves for the Mathematically Curious: An Anthology of the Unpredictable, Historical, Beautiful, and Romantic (Princeton University Press, 2019). You don’t …
Science
November 5, 2019
Six Impossible Things
The ‘Quanta of Solace’ and the Mysteries of the Subatomic World
John Gribbin
Hosted by
Jim Stein
Today's podcast is on the book Six Impossible Things: The ‘Quanta of Solace’ and the Mysteries of the Subatomic World (Icon Books, 2019) by the noted author John Gribbin. Although …
Mathematics
October 30, 2019
Tales of Impossibility
The 2000-Year Quest to Solve the Mathematical Problems of Antiquity
David S. Richeson
Hosted by
Jim Stein
David S. Richeson's book Tales of Impossibility: The 2000-Year Quest to Solve the Mathematical Problems of Antiquity (Princeton University Press, 2019) is the fascinating story of the 2000 year quest …
Mathematics
September 16, 2019
Tools to Help Your Children Learn Math
Strategies, Curiosities, and Stories to Make Math Fun for Parents and Children
Alfred Posamentier
Hosted by
Jim Stein
Our guest today is Al Posamentier, the lead author of Tools to Help Your Children Learn Math (WSPC, 2019). Helping your children with math is one of the most important …
Science
July 18, 2019
Your Place in the Universe
Understanding Our Big, Messy Existence
Paul M. Sutter
Hosted by
Jim Stein
In Your Place in the Universe: Understanding Our Big, Messy Existence (Prometheus, 2018), Paul Sutter presents an in-depth yet accessible tour of the universe for lay readers, while conveying the …
Load More