New Books Network
American Studies
Military History March 2, 2021

Robert E. Lee and Me

A Southerner's Reckoning with the Myth of the Lost Cause

Ty Seidule

Hosted by Bob Wintermute
Almost right after the guns fell silent, a counter-factual and ultimately pernicious narrative of the Civil War took shape that proved to be one of the longest lasting and most …

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History March 2, 2021

Calhoun

American Heretic

Robert Elder

Hosted by Lane Davis
In Calhoun: American Heretic (Basic Books, 2021), historian Robert Elder documents the life and thought of one of America's most controversial statesman, John C. Calhoun. A congressman, a vice president, and …
Sociology March 1, 2021

What the Signs Say

Language, Gentrification, and Place-Making in Brooklyn

Shonna Trinch and Edward Snajdr

Hosted by Richard Ocejo
Two stores sit side-by-side. One with signage overflowing with text: a full list of business services (income tax returns, notary public, a variety of insurance) on the storefront, twenty-two words …
Popular Culture March 1, 2021

Damaged

Musicality and Race in Early American Punk

Evan Rapport

Hosted by Rebekah Buchanan
Damaged: Musicality and Race in Early American Punk (University Press of Mississippi, 2020) is the first book-length portrait of punk as a musical style with an emphasis on how punk developed …
Journal of Asian American Studies Podcast March 1, 2021

#WeToo Reader

Journal of Asian American Studies 24:1 (February 2021)

erin Khuê Ninh and Shireen Roshanravan

Hosted by Christopher Patterson
In this inaugural episode, we discuss a unique special issue of The Journal of Asian American Studies: #WeToo, a reader of Art, Poetry, Fiction, and Memoir, that seeks to answer …
Political Science February 25, 2021

Madam President?

Gender and Politics on the Road to the White House

Lori Cox Han and Caroline Heldman

Hosted by Lilly Goren
Lori Cox Han and Caroline Heldman, both scholars of gender and politics as well as scholars of the American Presidency, have assembled a wide array of essays[*] to revisit the …
Dan Hill's EQ Spotlight February 25, 2021

Overground Railroad

The Green Book and the Roots of Black Travel in America

Candacy Taylor

Hosted by Dan Hill
Today I talked to Candacy Taylor about her book Overground Railroad: The Green Book and the Roots of Black Travel in America (Abrams Press, 2020) Taylor is an award-winning author …
Christian Studies February 24, 2021

God's Cold Warrior

The Life and Faith of John Foster Dulles

John D. Wilsey

Hosted by Zachary McCulley
When John Foster Dulles died in 1959, he was given the largest American state funeral since Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s in 1945. President Eisenhower called Dulles—his longtime secretary of state—“one of …
African American Studies February 23, 2021

Women's War

Fighting and Surviving the Civil War

Stephanie Mccurry

Hosted by Jerrad Pacatte
In Women's War: Fighting and Surviving the Civil War (Harvard UP, 2019), the award-winning author of Confederate Reckoning challenges the idea that women are outside of war, through a trio of dramatic …
Popular Culture February 23, 2021

Can't Nobody Do Me Like Jesus!

Photographs from the Sacred Steel Community

Robert L. Stone

Hosted by Rebekah Buchanan
Folklorist Robert L. Stone presents a rare collection of high-quality documentary photos of the sacred steel guitar musical tradition and the community that supports it. The introductory text and extended …
African American Studies February 23, 2021

Liner Notes for the Revolution

The Intellectual Life of Black Feminist Sound

Daphne A. Brooks

Hosted by Amanda Joyce Hall
Liner Notes for the Revolution: The Intellectual Life of Black Feminist Sound (Harvard University Press, 2021) by Dr. Daphne Brooks is a lyrical masterpiece that takes readers on an exhilarating …
Christian Studies February 23, 2021

Yours, Till Heaven

The Untold Love Story of Charles and Susie Spurgeon

Ray Rhodes Jr.

Hosted by Zachary McCulley
Enter the remarkable untold love story of Charles and Susie Spurgeon.  Charles Spurgeon is esteemed for his writing, preaching, and passion for the Lord. But behind the great man was …
Jewish Studies February 23, 2021

How Yiddish Changed America and How America Changed Yiddish

Ilan Stavans and Josh Lambert

Hosted by Zalman Newfield
Is it possible to conceive of the American diet without bagels? Or Star Trek without Mr. Spock? Are the creatures in Maurice Sendak’s Where the Wild Things Are based on …
Literary Studies February 23, 2021

Fictions of America

The Book of Firsts

Ulrich Baer and Smaran Dayal

Hosted by Miranda Corcoran
In this episode of New Books in Literary Studies, Miranda Corcoran speaks to Ulrich Baer and Smaran Dayal about their unique anthology, Fictions of America: The Book of Firsts (Warbler Press …
Political Science February 22, 2021

Separate But Faithful

The Christian Right's Radical Struggle to Transform Law and Legal Culture

Amanda Hollis-Brusky and Joshua C. Wilson

Hosted by Susan Liebell
How do we understand the nuances of efforts by Christian conservatives to affect American law – and evaluate their success? What lessons do they hold for other social movements? Dr …
Film February 22, 2021

The Brothers Mankiewicz

Hope, Heartbreak, and Hollywood Classics

Sydney Stern

Hosted by Joel Tscherne
Herman J. (1897–1953) and Joseph L. Mankiewicz (1909–1993) wrote, produced, and directed over 150 pictures. With Orson Welles, Herman wrote the screenplay for Citizen Kane and shared the picture’s only …
Jewish Studies February 19, 2021

They Left It All Behind

Trauma, Loss, and Memory Among Eastern European Jewish Immigrants and their Children

Hannah Hahn

Hosted by Robert Snyder
Hannah Hahn’s They Left It All Behind: Trauma, Loss and Memory Among Eastern European Jewish Immigrants and Their Children (Roman and Littlefield, 2020) explores the impact of conflict, social change …
American Studies February 19, 2021

Margaret Mead

A Twentieth-Century Faith

Elesha J. Coffman

Hosted by Lilian Calles Barger
Elesha J. Coffman's Margaret Mead: A Twentieth-Century Faith (Oxford UP, 2021) takes a careful look at Mead’s religious origins and influence. As a famous American anthropologist, Mead’s intellectual contributions to mid-century culture …
Christian Studies February 16, 2021

They Knew They Were Pilgrims

Plymouth Colony and the Contest for American Liberty

John G. Turner

Hosted by Ryan Shelton
John G. Turner's excellent new history of the early American separatists, They Knew They Were Pilgrims: Plymouth Colony and the Contest for American Liberty (Yale University Press, 2020) provides a new …
Gender Studies February 16, 2021

Me, Not You

The Trouble with Mainstream Feminism

Alison Phipps

Hosted by Jana Byars
We are joined today by Alison Phipps, Professor in Gender Studies and the University of Sussex to talk about her newest book, Me, Not You: The Trouble with Mainstream Feminism (Manchester …