New Books Network
Technology
National Security February 26, 2021

Reset

Reclaiming the Internet for Civil Society

Ronald J. Deibert

Hosted by John Sakellariadis
Ronald Deibert is a professor of Political Science at the University of Toronto and the Director of The Citizen Lab, a public interest research organization that uncovers privacy and human …

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Christian Studies February 26, 2021

@ Worship

Liturgical Practices in Digital Worlds

Teresa Berger

Hosted by Ryan Shelton
Digital dualism, or a sharp division between online and offline activity as "virtual" or "real" has long been a feature of liturgical studies and discussions around worship gatherings for theorists and …
Science, Technology, and Society February 24, 2021

The Innovation Delusion

How Our Obsession with the New Has Disrupted the Work That Matters Most

Lee Vinsel and Andrew L. Russell

Hosted by Matthew Jordan
It’s hard to avoid innovation these days. Nearly every product gets marketed as being disruptive, whether it’s genuinely a new invention or just a new toothbrush. But in this manifesto …
National Security February 18, 2021

This Is How They Tell Me the World Ends

The Cyberweapons Arms Race

Nicole Perlroth

Hosted by John Sakellariadis
For years, cybersecurity experts have debated whether cyber-weapons represent a destabilizing new military technology or merely the newest tool in the spy’s arsenal. In This Is How They Tell Me …
National Security January 28, 2021

The Centaur's Dilemma

US National Security Law for the Coming AI Revolution

James E. Baker

Hosted by Kyle Beadle
From facial recognition to online shopping, artificial intelligence has become the backbone of the internet and has led to an unprecedented extraction and utilization of personal data. As a result …
Science, Technology, and Society January 8, 2021

An Anthropology of the Machine

Tokyo's Commuter Train Network

Michael Fisch

Hosted by John Traphagan
With its infamously packed cars and disciplined commuters, Tokyo’s commuter train network is one of the most complex technical infrastructures on Earth. In An Anthropology of the Machine: Tokyo's Commuter …
Film December 29, 2020

American Blockbuster

Movies, Technology, and Wonder

Charles R. Acland

Hosted by Joel Tscherne
Ben-Hur (1959), Jaws (1975), Avatar (2009), Wonder Woman (2017): the blockbuster movie has held a dominant position in American popular culture for decades. In American Blockbuster: Movies, Technology, and Wonder (Duke …
Science, Technology, and Society December 24, 2020

The Demon in the Machine

How Hidden Webs of Information Are Solving the Mystery of Life

Paul Davies

Hosted by John Traphagan
What is life? For generations, scientists have struggled to make sense of this fundamental question, for life really does look like magic: even a humble bacterium accomplishes things so dazzling …
Science, Technology, and Society December 23, 2020

The Mutant Project

Inside the Global Race to Genetically Modify Humans

Eben Kirksey

Hosted by Galina Limorenko
In The Mutant Project: Inside the Global Race to Genetically Modify Humans (St. Martin's Press, 2020), anthropologist Eben Kirksey visits the frontiers of genetics, medicine, and technology to ask: Whose values …
History December 16, 2020

Tank Warfare

Jeremy Black

Hosted by Charles Coutinho
The story of the battlefield in the 20th century was dominated by a handful of developments. Foremost of these was the introduction and refinement of tanks. In Tank Warfare (Indiana UP …
History December 9, 2020

The Fabric of Civilization

How Textiles Made the World

Virginia Postrel

Hosted by Krzysztof Odyniec
In The Fabric of Civilization: How Textiles Made the World (Basic Books, 2020), Virginia Postrel describes how humans coevolved with textiles. The story begins with our distant ancestors who used …
Economics December 7, 2020

Big Tech and the Digital Economy

The Moligopoly Scenario

Nicolas Petit

Hosted by Tim Jones
Consumers may love their products and services but, among politicians and activists, the big-technology companies are fast developing a reputation as the Robber Barons of the 21st century. Google recently …
Sociology December 7, 2020

Voices from the Valley

Tech Workers Talk About What They Do--and How They Do It

Ben Tarnoff and Moira Weigel

Hosted by Patrick Sheehan
In Voices from the Valley: Tech Workers Talk About What They Do and How They Do It (FSG Originals, 2020), the celebrated writers and Logic cofounders Moira Weigel and Ben …
Mathematics December 7, 2020

The Fate of Schrodinger's Cat

Using Math and Computers to Explore the Counterintuitive

James D. Stein

Hosted by Cory Brunson
Math has a complicated relationship with the counterintuitive: Rigorous logic, calculation, and simulation can both help us wrap our minds around phenomena that defy our intuition, and thrust upon us whole new worlds …
Education November 30, 2020

Digital Divisions

How Schools Create Inequality in the Tech Era

Matthew H. Rafalow

Hosted by Trevor Mattea
In this episode, I speak with Matt Rafalow, about his book, Digital Divisions: How Schools Create Inequality in the Tech Era (University of Chicago Press, 2020). This book provides an …
Asian Review of Books November 25, 2020

Blockchain Chicken Farm

And Other Stories of Tech in China's Countryside

Xiaowei Wang

Hosted by Nicholas Gordon
Most of our discussions about how “technology will change the world” focus on the global cities that drive the world economy. Even when we talk about China, we focus on …
Philosophy November 10, 2020

Games

Agency As Art

C. Thi Nguyen

Hosted by Carrie Figdor
Monopoly, Solitaire, football and Minecraft are all games, but for C. Thi Nguyen they are also an art form – specifically, the art form of agency, our capacity to set …
Education November 5, 2020

Human Work in the Age of Smart Machines

Jamie Merisotis

Hosted by Dan Hill
Are robots going to be our overlords? In Human Work in the Age of Smart Machines (RosettaBooks, 2020), Jamie Merisotis says they don't have to be. We can make them …
Science, Technology, and Society November 4, 2020

Systems Thinking for a Turbulent World

A Search for New Perspectives (Part 2)

Anthony Hodgson

Hosted by Kevin Lindsay
This is the second episode of a two-part conversation with Hodgson, and in it we pick up our conversation on anticipatory systems and the role they play in ‘decision integrity’ …
Economics October 12, 2020

Uncharted

How to Map and Navigate the Future Together

Margaret Heffernan

Hosted by Andrea Bernardi
Today I spoke with Dr Margaret Heffernan about her latest book, Uncharted: How to Map and Navigate the Future Together (Simon and Schuster, 2020). Margaret produced programmes for the BBC …