New Books Network
Environmental Studies
American West February 23, 2021

This Land Is My Land

Rebellion in the West

James R. Skillen

Hosted by Stephen Hausmann
On January 6th, 2021, when right wing supporters of Donald Trump staged an insurrection at the US Capitol building, they were participating in a long tradition of conservative rebellion with …

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SSEAC Stories February 18, 2021

Decolonising Conservation Practices and Research

Seeing the Orangutan in Borneo with Dr June Rubis

June Rubis

Hosted by Natali Pearson
Around the world, orangutans are widely recognised as an iconic species for environmental and wildlife conservation efforts. The rainforest in the Malaysian state of Sarawak is one of last remaining …
Public Policy February 9, 2021

Ending Hunger

The Quest to Feed the World without Destroying It

Anthony Warner

Hosted by Stephen Pimpare
Nutritionists tell you to eat more fish. Environmentalists tell you to eat less fish. Apparently they are both right. It's the same thing with almonds, or quinoa, or a hundred …
Systems and Cybernetics February 8, 2021

The Hidden Power of Systems Thinking

Governance in a Climate Emergency

Ray Ison and Ed Straw

Hosted by Kevin Lindsay
The Hidden Power of Systems Thinking: Governance in Climate Emergency (Routledge, 2020) is a persuasive, lively book that shows how systems thinking can be harnessed to effect profound, complex change.  …
Latin American Studies February 8, 2021

Magdalena, River of Dreams

A Story of Colombia

Wade Davis

Hosted by Akash Ondaatje
Travelers often become enchanted with the first country that captures their hearts and gives them license to be free. For Wade Davis, it was Colombia. In his new book Magdalena, River …
Indian Ocean World January 28, 2021

Imperial Mecca

Ottoman Arabia and the Indian Ocean Hajj

Michael Christo Low

Hosted by Ahmed Almaazmi
With the advent of the steamship, repeated outbreaks of cholera marked oceanic pilgrimages to Mecca as a dangerous form of travel and a vehicle for the globalization of epidemic diseases …
Environmental Studies January 25, 2021

Scorched Earth

Environmental Warfare as a Crime Against Humanity and Nature

Emmanuel Kreike

Hosted by Ahmed Almaazmi
In Scorched Earth: Environmental Warfare as a Crime Against Humanity and Nature (Princeton UP, 2021), Emmanuel Kreike offers a global history of environmental warfare and makes the case for why it should …
History January 22, 2021

Feral Atlas

The More-than-human Anthropocene

Anna L. Tsing

Hosted by Michael Vann
Do you feel lost in the Anthropocene? Would you like a map to chart your way through our changing world? How about an atlas? Well, the Feral Atlas Collective has …
Science, Technology, and Society January 22, 2021

Catastrophic Thinking

Extinction and the Value of Diversity from Darwin to the Anthropocene

David Sepkoski

Hosted by Lukas Rieppel
We live in an age in which we are repeatedly reminded—by scientists, by the media, by popular culture—of the looming threat of mass extinction. We’re told that human activity is …
East Asian Studies January 21, 2021

Fir and Empire

The Transformation of Forests in Early Modern China

Ian M. Miller

Hosted by Sarah Bramao-Ramos
Ian M. Miller’s book Fir and Empire: The Transformation of Forests in Early Modern China (University of Washington Press, 2020) offers a transformation of our understanding of China’s early modern …
Southeast Asian Studies January 15, 2021

Disturbed Forests, Fragmented Memories

Jarai and Other Lives in the Cambodian Highlands

Jonathan Padwe

Hosted by Faizah Zakaria
Cambodia’s troubled history has often been depicted in terms of conflict, trauma and tussles between great powers. In Disturbed Forests, Fragmented Memories: Jarai and Other Lives in the Cambodian Highlands …
Dan Hill's EQ Spotlight January 14, 2021

Soul Full of Coal Dust

The True Story of an Epic Battle for Justice

Chris Hamby

Hosted by Dan Hill
Today I talked to Chris Hamby about his book Soul Full of Coal Dust: The True Story of an Epic Battle for Justice (Little Brown, 2020). Hamby looks into why there has …
Latin American Studies January 12, 2021

The Last Turtlemen of the Caribbean

Waterscapes of Labor, Conservation, and Boundary Making

Sharika D. Crawford

Hosted by Lisette Varon Carvajal
In The Last Turtlemen of the Caribbean: Waterscapes of Labor, Conservation, and Boundary Makin (University of North Carolina Press 2020), Dr. Sharika Crawford tells the story of Caymanian turtle hunters …
Literary Studies January 8, 2021

Radical Animism

Reading for the End of the World

Jemma Deer

Hosted by Nataliya Shpylova-Saeed
Jemma Deer’s Radical Animism: Reading for the End of the World (Bloomsbury Academic Press, 2020) invites the reader to take a moment and to ponder on the way of reading …
Architecture January 6, 2021

Modern Architecture and Climate

Design Before Air Conditioning

Daniel A. Barber

Hosted by Nushelle de Silva
Modern Architecture and Climate explores how leading architects of the twentieth century incorporated climate-mediating strategies into their designs, and shows how regional approaches to climate adaptability were essential to the …
Asian Review of Books December 24, 2020

Owls of the Eastern Ice

A Quest to Find and Save the World's Largest Owl

Jonathan C. Slaght

Hosted by Nicholas Gordon
The Blakiston’s fish owl is the world’s largest living species of owl, with larger females of the species weighing as much as ten pounds. It lives in the Russian Far …
Van Leer Institute Series on Ideas with Renee Garfinkel December 18, 2020

The Human Planet

How We Created the Anthropocene

Simon L. Lewis and Mark A. Maslin

Hosted by Renee Garfinkel
Meteorites, mega-volcanoes, and plate tectonics--the old forces of nature--have transformed Earth for millions of years. They are now joined by a new geological force--humans. Our actions have driven Earth into …
Latin American Studies December 17, 2020

A Living Past

Environmental Histories of Modern Latin America

John Soluri, Pádua José Augusto, Claudia Leal

Hosted by Lisette Varon Carvajal
A Living Past: Environmental Histories of Modern Latin America (Berghahn Books, 2018) is a wonderful collection that seeks to provide a general overview of environmental history within Latin American history …
Systems and Cybernetics December 16, 2020

Small Arcs of Larger Circles

Framing Through Other Patterns

Nora Bateson

Hosted by Kevin Lindsay
“To be a participant in a complex system is to desire to be both lost and found in the interrelationships between people, nature and ideas.” Nora Bateson writes these words …
Science December 16, 2020

Turtle

Louise M. Pryke

Hosted by Bede Haines
As ancient creatures that once shared the Earth with dinosaurs, turtles have played a crucial role in maintaining healthy terrestrial and marine ecosystems for more than one hundred million years …