New Episodes

10.4 Place Presents Itself To You in Fragments: Ivan Vladislavić and Jeanne-Marie Jackson (MAT)

May 7, 2026

Place Presents Itself To You in Fragments

Hosted by Novel Dialogue

How to write about place is a question that cuts across the career of the South African Ivan Vladislavić. The questions of place and space are pressin…

Fighting for a Foothold: How Government and Markets Undermine Black Middle-Class Suburbia

May 7, 2026

Fighting for a Foothold

Angela Simms

Prince George’s County, Maryland, is a suburban jurisdiction in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area and is home to the highest concentration of Bl…

170 What Waltham Does When the Water Rises: Rachel McKane and Danielle Jacques (JP)

May 7, 2026

What Waltham Does When the Water Rises

Permafrost melts, desert cities boil, inland lakes dry up; but Waltham too in its own way has become one of the dark places of the earth. Adverse manm…

Julia Stephens, "Worldly Afterlives: Tracing Family Trails Between India and Empire" (Princeton UP, 2025)

May 7, 2026

Worldly Afterlives

Julia Stephens
Hosted by Nicholas Gordon

The British Empire covered much of the world during the 19th century–and each time someone moved through it, they left a paper trail in their wake. Ju…

Peter Darbyshire, "The Wonder Lands War" (Wolsak & Wynn, 2025)

May 7, 2026

The Wonder Lands War

Hosted by Hollay Ghadery

In this NBN episode, host Hollay Ghadery interviews Peter Darbyshire about the fourth book in his Cross series, The Wonder Lands War (Wolsak & Wynn, 2…

Maria Lucia, " What Doesn't Kill Me Makes Me Weirder and Harder to Relate To" (U Minnesota Press, 2025)

May 7, 2026

What Doesn't Kill Me Makes Me Weirder and Harder to Relate To

Mary Lucia
Hosted by Rebekah Buchanan

In What Doesn't Kill Me Makes Me Weirder and Harder to Relate To (U Minnesota Press, 2025) an iconic rock DJ of the Twin Cities tells her harrowing st…

Edith Szanto, "Twelver Shi'i Self-flagellation Rites in Contemporary Syria: Mourning Sayyida Zaynab" (Edinburgh UP, 2025)

May 7, 2026

Twelver Shi'i Self-flagellation Rites in Contemporary Syria

Edith Szanto
Hosted by Shehnaz Haqqani

Edith Szanto’s Twelver Shi'i Self-Flagellation Rites in Contemporary Syria: Mourning Sayyida Zaynab (Edinburgh UP, 2025) is a striking and deeply imme…

Lucy Stewart, "The Japanese Garden: Ella Christie and Cowden" (Birlinn, 2026)

May 7, 2026

The Japanese Garden

Lucy Stewart
Hosted by Miranda Melcher

As detailed in The Japanese Garden: Ella Christie and Cowden (Birlinn, 2026) by Lucy Stewart, at the turn of the twentieth century, Scottish adventure…

Nithin Sridhar, "Chatuh Shloki Manusmriti: An English Commentary" (Vitasta, 2025)

May 7, 2026

Chatuh Shloki Manusmriti

Nithin Sridhar
Hosted by Raj Balkaran

Manusmriti occupies a prominent place in Indian textual tradition as one of the authentic sources of dharma. However, contemporary engagement with the…

10.4 Place Presents Itself To You in Fragments: Ivan Vladislavić and Jeanne-Marie Jackson (MAT)

May 7, 2026

Place Presents Itself To You in Fragments

Hosted by Novel Dialogue

How to write about place is a question that cuts across the career of the South African Ivan Vladislavić. The questions of place and space are pressin…

Fighting for a Foothold: How Government and Markets Undermine Black Middle-Class Suburbia

May 7, 2026

Fighting for a Foothold

Angela Simms

Prince George’s County, Maryland, is a suburban jurisdiction in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area and is home to the highest concentration of Bl…

170 What Waltham Does When the Water Rises: Rachel McKane and Danielle Jacques (JP)

May 7, 2026

What Waltham Does When the Water Rises

Permafrost melts, desert cities boil, inland lakes dry up; but Waltham too in its own way has become one of the dark places of the earth. Adverse manm…

Julia Stephens, "Worldly Afterlives: Tracing Family Trails Between India and Empire" (Princeton UP, 2025)

May 7, 2026

Worldly Afterlives

Julia Stephens
Hosted by Nicholas Gordon

The British Empire covered much of the world during the 19th century–and each time someone moved through it, they left a paper trail in their wake. Ju…

Peter Darbyshire, "The Wonder Lands War" (Wolsak & Wynn, 2025)

May 7, 2026

The Wonder Lands War

Hosted by Hollay Ghadery

In this NBN episode, host Hollay Ghadery interviews Peter Darbyshire about the fourth book in his Cross series, The Wonder Lands War (Wolsak & Wynn, 2…

Maria Lucia, " What Doesn't Kill Me Makes Me Weirder and Harder to Relate To" (U Minnesota Press, 2025)

May 7, 2026

What Doesn't Kill Me Makes Me Weirder and Harder to Relate To

Mary Lucia
Hosted by Rebekah Buchanan

In What Doesn't Kill Me Makes Me Weirder and Harder to Relate To (U Minnesota Press, 2025) an iconic rock DJ of the Twin Cities tells her harrowing st…

Edith Szanto, "Twelver Shi'i Self-flagellation Rites in Contemporary Syria: Mourning Sayyida Zaynab" (Edinburgh UP, 2025)

May 7, 2026

Twelver Shi'i Self-flagellation Rites in Contemporary Syria

Edith Szanto
Hosted by Shehnaz Haqqani

Edith Szanto’s Twelver Shi'i Self-Flagellation Rites in Contemporary Syria: Mourning Sayyida Zaynab (Edinburgh UP, 2025) is a striking and deeply imme…

Lucy Stewart, "The Japanese Garden: Ella Christie and Cowden" (Birlinn, 2026)

May 7, 2026

The Japanese Garden

Lucy Stewart
Hosted by Miranda Melcher

As detailed in The Japanese Garden: Ella Christie and Cowden (Birlinn, 2026) by Lucy Stewart, at the turn of the twentieth century, Scottish adventure…

Nithin Sridhar, "Chatuh Shloki Manusmriti: An English Commentary" (Vitasta, 2025)

May 7, 2026

Chatuh Shloki Manusmriti

Nithin Sridhar
Hosted by Raj Balkaran

Manusmriti occupies a prominent place in Indian textual tradition as one of the authentic sources of dharma. However, contemporary engagement with the…

Claudia Goldin, "Career and Family: Women’s Century-Long Journey toward Equity" (Princeton UP, 2021)

May 6, 2026

Career and Family

Claudia Goldin
Hosted by Marshall Poe

A century ago, it was a given that a woman with a college degree had to choose between having a career and a family. Today, there are more female coll…

10.4 Place Presents Itself To You in Fragments: Ivan Vladislavić and Jeanne-Marie Jackson (MAT)

May 7, 2026

Place Presents Itself To You in Fragments

Hosted by Novel Dialogue

How to write about place is a question that cuts across the career of the South African Ivan Vladislavić. The questions of place and space are pressin…

Fighting for a Foothold: How Government and Markets Undermine Black Middle-Class Suburbia

May 7, 2026

Fighting for a Foothold

Angela Simms

Prince George’s County, Maryland, is a suburban jurisdiction in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area and is home to the highest concentration of Bl…

170 What Waltham Does When the Water Rises: Rachel McKane and Danielle Jacques (JP)

May 7, 2026

What Waltham Does When the Water Rises

Permafrost melts, desert cities boil, inland lakes dry up; but Waltham too in its own way has become one of the dark places of the earth. Adverse manm…

Julia Stephens, "Worldly Afterlives: Tracing Family Trails Between India and Empire" (Princeton UP, 2025)

May 7, 2026

Worldly Afterlives

Julia Stephens
Hosted by Nicholas Gordon

The British Empire covered much of the world during the 19th century–and each time someone moved through it, they left a paper trail in their wake. Ju…

Peter Darbyshire, "The Wonder Lands War" (Wolsak & Wynn, 2025)

May 7, 2026

The Wonder Lands War

Hosted by Hollay Ghadery

In this NBN episode, host Hollay Ghadery interviews Peter Darbyshire about the fourth book in his Cross series, The Wonder Lands War (Wolsak & Wynn, 2…

Maria Lucia, " What Doesn't Kill Me Makes Me Weirder and Harder to Relate To" (U Minnesota Press, 2025)

May 7, 2026

What Doesn't Kill Me Makes Me Weirder and Harder to Relate To

Mary Lucia
Hosted by Rebekah Buchanan

In What Doesn't Kill Me Makes Me Weirder and Harder to Relate To (U Minnesota Press, 2025) an iconic rock DJ of the Twin Cities tells her harrowing st…

Edith Szanto, "Twelver Shi'i Self-flagellation Rites in Contemporary Syria: Mourning Sayyida Zaynab" (Edinburgh UP, 2025)

May 7, 2026

Twelver Shi'i Self-flagellation Rites in Contemporary Syria

Edith Szanto
Hosted by Shehnaz Haqqani

Edith Szanto’s Twelver Shi'i Self-Flagellation Rites in Contemporary Syria: Mourning Sayyida Zaynab (Edinburgh UP, 2025) is a striking and deeply imme…

Lucy Stewart, "The Japanese Garden: Ella Christie and Cowden" (Birlinn, 2026)

May 7, 2026

The Japanese Garden

Lucy Stewart
Hosted by Miranda Melcher

As detailed in The Japanese Garden: Ella Christie and Cowden (Birlinn, 2026) by Lucy Stewart, at the turn of the twentieth century, Scottish adventure…

Nithin Sridhar, "Chatuh Shloki Manusmriti: An English Commentary" (Vitasta, 2025)

May 7, 2026

Chatuh Shloki Manusmriti

Nithin Sridhar
Hosted by Raj Balkaran

Manusmriti occupies a prominent place in Indian textual tradition as one of the authentic sources of dharma. However, contemporary engagement with the…

Claudia Goldin, "Career and Family: Women’s Century-Long Journey toward Equity" (Princeton UP, 2021)

May 6, 2026

Career and Family

Claudia Goldin
Hosted by Marshall Poe

A century ago, it was a given that a woman with a college degree had to choose between having a career and a family. Today, there are more female coll…