Shows / New Books in Politics and Polemics
New Books in Politics and Polemics
This podcast is a channel on the New Books Network. The New Books Network is an academic audio library dedicated to public education. In each episode you will hear scholars discuss their recently published research with another expert in their field. Discover our 150+ channels and browse our 28,000+ episodes on our website: newbooksnetwork.com Subscribe to our free weekly Substack newsletter to get informative, engaging content straight to your inbox: https://newbooksnetwork.substack.com/…
Episodes
- New Books in Politics and Polemics
False Dawn: A Conversation with George Selgin on Recovering from the Great Depression
Join us on Madison's Notes as we sit down with George Selgin, senior fellow and director emeritus of the Cato Institute’s Center for Monetary and Financial…
- New Books in Politics and Polemics
Jeanne Sheehan, "American Democracy in Crisis: The Case for Rethinking Madisonian Government Post January 6" (Palgrave Macmillan, 2024)
American Democracy in Crisis: The Case for Rethinking Madisonian Government Post January 6 (Palgrave Macmillan, 2024) analyzes the roots of widespread…
- New Books in Politics and Polemics
Constitutional Crisis or a Stalemate?
At the 100 day mark of Donald Trump’s second term as president, the political scientists at Bright Line Watch released their 25th report on the state of…
- New Books in Politics and Polemics
Lara Montesinos Coleman, "Struggles for the Human: Violent Legality and the Politics of Rights" (Duke UP, 2023)
In Struggles for the Human: Violent Legality and the Politics of Rights (Duke University Press 2024), Lara Montesinos Coleman blends ethnography, political…
- New Books in Politics and Polemics
Jake Monaghan, "Just Policing" (Oxford UP, 2023)
Policing is a source of perennial conflict and philosophical disagreement. Current political developments in the United States have only increased the urgency…
- New Books in Politics and Polemics
Mark Fallon, "Unjustifiable Means: The Inside Story of How the CIA, Pentagon, and US Government Conspired to Torture" (Regan Arts, 2017)
From busting drug lords to leading the Pentagon task force charged with bringing the 9/11 terrorists to justice, Mark Fallon has spent his career on the front…
- New Books in Politics and Polemics
Democracy for Sale: Death by Dark Money
On this edition of Ctrl Alt Deceit: Democracy in Danger, we are live at the Royal United Services Institute. Nina Dos Santos and Owen Bennett Jones are joined…
- New Books in Politics and Polemics
Threats to Universities and What We Can Do: A Conversation with Brandice Canes Wrone
Universities are under attack, but what exactly are the threats? How does free speech in the last 10 years compare to today? What do we stand to lose if higher…
- New Books in Politics and Polemics
Eunji Kim, "The American Mirage: How Reality TV Upholds the Myth of Meritocracy" (Princeton UP, 2025)
In an age of growing wealth disparities, politicians on both sides of the aisle are sounding the alarm about the fading American Dream. Yet despite all…
- New Books in Politics and Polemics
Liz Pelly, "Mood Machine: The Rise of Spotify and the Costs of the Perfect Playlist" (Atria, 2025)
Liz Pelly has been closely following the evolution of Spotify and other music streaming services and the effect they have had on the music sector and musicians…
- New Books in Politics and Polemics
"I have not Finished...": Rokahya Diallo on being Black, Muslim, and frequently interrupted (Emilie Diouf, JP)
Emilie Diouf of Brandeis English, whose monograph on genocide and trauma is forthcoming, joins John to speak with the celebrated French journalist and activist…
- New Books in Politics and Polemics
Katherine Stewart, "Money, Lies, and God: Inside the Movement to Destroy American Democracy" (Bloomsbury, 2025)
Today, and for the past several years, many people both here and abroad have been trying to make sense of the radical right and its financial and ideological…
- New Books in Politics and Polemics
Time to Rethink Democracy: Participatory and More-Than-Human Perspectives
This is a special episode that features a conversation between Sonia Bussu and Hans Asenbaum on democracy, capitalism, climate and the practices and prospects…
- New Books in Politics and Polemics
Stephen H. Legomsky, "Reimagining the American Union: The Case for Abolishing State Government" (Cambridge UP, 2024)
Since American president Donald Trump was elected to a second term, it is common to hear citizens, journalists, and public officials distinguish between the…
- New Books in Politics and Polemics
Cynthia Enloe, "Twelve Feminist Lessons of War" (U California Press, 2023)
Women's wars are not men's wars. This is the first lesson of Cynthias Enloe’s Twelve Feminist Lessons of War (U California Press, 2023): the lack of attention…
- New Books in Politics and Polemics
Sharon Udasin and Rachel Frazin, "Poisoning the Well: How Forever Chemicals Contaminated America" (Island Press, 2025)
This is the shocking true-life story of how PFAS—a set of toxic chemicals most people have never heard of—poisoned the entire country. Based on original…
- New Books in Politics and Polemics
Claudia Rowe, "Wards of the State: The Long Shadow of American Foster Care" (Abrams Press, 2025)
Wards of the State: The Long Shadow of American Foster Care (Abrams Press, 2025) is compelling exploration of the broken American foster care system, told…
- New Books in Politics and Polemics
Laleh Khalili, "Extractive Capitalism: How Commodities and Cronyism Drive the Global Economy" (Profile Books, 2025)
Whether it's pumping oil, mining resources or shipping commodities across oceans, the global economy runs on extraction. Promises of frictionless trade and…
- New Books in Politics and Polemics
No Common Ground: Confederate Monuments and the Ongoing Fight for Racial Justice
When it comes to Confederate monuments, there is no common ground. Polarizing debates over their meaning have intensified into legislative maneuvering to…
- New Books in Politics and Polemics
Nat Dyer, "Ricardo’s Dream: How Economists Forgot the Real World and Led Us Astray" (Bristol UP, 2024)
From the workings of financial markets to our response to the ecological crisis, economic theory shapes the world. But where do these ideas come from?…
- New Books in Politics and Polemics
The Good Father Syndrome: Why Strongmen Still Seduce
In this episode of International Horizons, RBI director John Torpey speaks with Stephen Hanson and Jeffrey Kopstein, co-authors of The Assault on the State…
- New Books in Politics and Polemics
Emma Casey, "The Return of the Housewife: Why Women Are Still Cleaning Up" (Manchester UP, 2025)
How has the rise of digital platforms changed domestic labour? In The Return of the Housewife: Why Women Are Still Cleaning Up (Manchester UP, 2025), Emma…
- New Books in Politics and Polemics
How to Found A College: A Conversation with University of Austin President Pano Kanelos
Today I’m speaking with Pano Kanelos, founding president of the University of Austin. A scholar and professor of Shakespeare studies, Panos’ advocacy for the…
- New Books in Politics and Polemics
Steven Hahn, "Illiberal America: A History" (Norton, 2024)
If your reaction to the January 6, 2021, insurrection at the Capitol was to think, 'That’s not us,' think again. In Illiberal America: A History (Norton…
- New Books in Politics and Polemics
Adam Kissel et al., "Slacking: A Guide to Ivy League Miseducation" (Encounter Books, 2025)
What does a general education from an Ivy League mean? What structures produce the course catalogues that students can choose to customize their education…
- New Books in Politics and Polemics
Daniel J. Solove, "On Privacy and Technology" (Oxford UP, 2025)
Data and privacy have emerged as critical issues in our digitally interconnected era, profoundly influencing individual rights, societal norms, and democratic…
- New Books in Politics and Polemics
Reginald K. Ellis et al., "Black Citizens and American Democracy: Fighting for the Soul of a Nation" (UP of Florida, 2025)
In 2020, Black Americans continued a centuries-long pursuit of racial equality and justice in the streets and at the polls. Arguing that this year was not a…
- New Books in Politics and Polemics
Ignat Solzhenitsyn, ed., "We Have Ceased to See the Purpose: Essential Speeches of Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn" (U Notre Dame Press, 2025)
We Have Ceased to See the Purpose: Essential Speeches of Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn (U Notre Dame Press, 2025) brings together ten of Nobel Prize–winner Aleksandr…
- New Books in Politics and Polemics
Postscript: Political Scientists Ring Alarm Bell Over Trump’s Second Administration
After being sworn in as the 47th president, President Donald Trump quickly altered American government – and political discourse. He issued a slew of executive…
- New Books in Politics and Polemics
Jonathan D. Cohen, "Losing Big: America's Dangerous Sports Gambling Boom" (Columbia Global Reports, 2025)
In 2018, the United States Supreme Court opened the floodgates for states to legalize betting on sports. Eager for revenue, almost forty states have done so…
- New Books in Politics and Polemics
Sophie Lewis, "Enemy Feminisms: Terfs, Policewomen, and Girlbosses Against Liberation" (Haymarket Books, 2025)
Enemy Feminisms: Terfs, Policewomen, and Girlbosses Against Liberation (Haymarket Books, 2025) is a provocative compendium of the feminisms we love to dismiss…
- New Books in Politics and Polemics
Anita Say Chan, "Predatory Data: Eugenics in Big Tech and Our Fight for an Independent Future" (U California Press, 2025)
It’s a common refrain: AI is neither good nor bad because that depends on how its used. Professor Anita Say Chan begs to differ. Chan is the author of…
- New Books in Politics and Polemics
Ian Boyd, "Science and Politics" (Polity, 2024)
The recent coronavirus pandemic proved that the time-old notion seems now truer than ever: that science and politics represent a clash of cultures. But why…
- New Books in Politics and Polemics
Neil Kraus, "The Fantasy Economy: Neoliberalism, Inequality, and the Education Reform Movement" (Temple UP, 2023)
Wage stagnation, growing inequality, and even poverty itself have resulted from decades of neoliberal decision making, not the education system, writes Neil…
- New Books in Politics and Polemics
Aaron Kupchik, "Suspended Education: School Punishment and the Legacy of Racial Injustice" (NYU Press, 2025)
Every year, millions of public school students are suspended. This overused punishment removes students from the classroom, but it does not improve their…
New Books in Politics and PolemicsIs Liberal Democracy Dying?
Live from the Frontline Club in London, Ctrl Alt Deceit is back for its second season. Hosts Nina dos Santos and Owen Bennett-Jones host a fascinating…
New Books in Politics and PolemicsPandemic Power: The Covid Response and the Erosion of Democracy - A Liberal Critique
In this episode, host Andrea Talabér (CEU Press) sat down with Muriel Blaive to talk about her new book with CEU Press, Pandemic Power: The Covid Response and…
- New Books in Politics and Polemics
What Might Be: Confronting Racism to Transform Our Institutions
Leaders who introduce anti-racist approaches to their organizations often face backlash. In What Might Be: Confronting Racism to Transform Our Institutions…
- New Books in Politics and Polemics
Ståle Holgersen, "Against the Crisis: Economy and Ecology in a Burning World" (Verso, 2024)
In Against the Crisis: Economy and Ecology in a Burning World (Verso, 2024), Ståle Holgersen develops a conceptualization of 'crisis' that moves beyond…
- New Books in Politics and Polemics
Sam Wetherell, "Liverpool and the Unmaking of Britain" (Bloomsbury, 2025)
What does the history of Liverpool tell us about the future of Britain? In Liverpool and the Unmaking of Britain (Bloomsbury, 2025), Sam Wetherall, a Senior…
- New Books in Politics and Polemics
Paddy Walker, "War Without Oversight: Why We Need Humans on the Battlefield" (Howgate, 2025)
Amid the fanfare around AI and autonomous weapons, decision-makers - both military and political - are imagining an augmented future for warfare that minimises…
- New Books in Politics and Polemics
Benjamin M. Studebaker, "Legitimacy in Liberal Democracies" (Edinburgh UP, 2024)
Liberal democracies don’t age gracefully. Established systems of governance like those of the UK and the US which once served as blueprints are today…
- New Books in Politics and Polemics
Will Potter, "Little Red Barns: Hiding the Truth, from Farm to Fable" (City Lights Books, 2025)
Little Red Barns: Hiding the Truth, from Farm to Fable (City Lights Books, 2025) is a groundbreaking investigation of factory farms and the unprecedented…
- New Books in Politics and Polemics
Sally King, "Menstrual Myth Busting: The Case of the Hormonal Female" (Policy Press, 2025)
In Menstrual Myth Busting: The Case of the Hormonal Female (Policy Press, 2025), Dr. Sally King interrogates the diagnostic label of premenstrual syndrome…
- New Books in Politics and Polemics
Postscript: Collective Action to Support Students at American Colleges and Universities
A coalition of educators and allies has come together to push back against a variety of different kinds of attacks on higher education and students at colleges…
- New Books in Politics and Polemics
Jonathan Rauch, "Cross Purposes: Christianity's Broken Bargain with Democracy" (Yale UP, 2025)
Today I’m speaking with Jonathan Rauch, a senior fellow in governance studies at the Brookings Institution and a contributing editor of The Atlantic. We are…
- New Books in Politics and Polemics
We Have Never Been Woke: A Conversation with Musa al-Gharbi
Why does occupation reliably predict political leanings? What is social capitalism, and how does it span income classes? If social capitalists are sincerely…
- New Books in Politics and Polemics
Postscript: History, Narratives, and Political Power--An Emergency Oral History Project
President Donald Trump has threatened the federal funding and jobs of institutions and individuals that document, archive, and analyze historical materials. On…
- New Books in Politics and Polemics
Peder Anker, "For The Love of Bombs: The Trail of Nuclear Suffering" (Anthem Press, 2025)
The truism that history is written by its winners reflects the literature about how the bomb came about, with apologetic books most often written by U.S…
- New Books in Politics and Polemics
Human Rights in the Trump Era: A Conversation with Kenneth Roth
In this episode of International Horizons, Kenneth Roth, former longtime executive director of Human Rights Watch, joins RBI director John Torpey to discuss…
- New Books in Politics and Polemics
Anita Say Chan, "Predatory Data: Eugenics in Big Tech and Our Fight for an Independent Future" (U California Press, 2025)
Predatory Data: Eugenics in Big Tech and Our Fight for an Independent Future (University of California Press, 2025) illuminates the throughline between the…
- New Books in Politics and Polemics
Matt Mahmoudi, "Migrants in the Digital Periphery: New Urban Frontiers of Control" (U California Press, 2025)
As the fortification of Europe's borders and its hostile immigration terrain has taken shape, so too have the biometric and digital surveillance industries…
- New Books in Politics and Polemics
Postscript: Not a Matter of Left or Right: Historians Fighting Censorship
The presidents of the American Historical Association and Organization of American Historians join the podcast to talk about the effects of historical…
- New Books in Politics and Polemics
Royce Kurmelovs, "Slick: Australia's Toxic Relationship with Big Oil" (U Queensland Press, 2024)
A riveting expose of the global oil industry' s multi-decade conspiracy to muddy the waters around the science of climate change and use the Australian…
- New Books in Politics and Polemics
David Hollenbach, "Human Rights in a Divided World: Catholicism as a Living Tradition" (Georgetown UP, 2024)
In his most recent book, Human Rights in a Divided World: Catholicism as a Living Tradition (Georgetown UP, 2024), Jesuit scholar and Georgetown professor, Fr…
- New Books in Politics and Polemics
Genevieve Guenther, "The Language of Climate Politics: Fossil-Fuel Propaganda and How to Fight It" (Oxford UP, 2024)
The Language of Climate Politics (Oxford UP, 2024) offers readers new ways to talk about the climate crisis that will help get fossil fuels out of our economy…
- New Books in Politics and Polemics
In Covid’s Wake: How our Politics Failed Us--A Conversation with Stephen Macedo (Part 2)
This week on Madison’s Notes, we continue our discussion with Stephen Macedo, co-author of In COVID’s Wake: How Our Politics Failed Us (Princeton UP, 2025)…
- New Books in Politics and Polemics
Bryan Caplan, "Build, Baby, Build: The Science and Ethics of Housing" (Cato Institute, 2024)
Economist Bryan Caplan has written—and artist Ady Branzei has illustrated—this new graphic novel about housing regulation (if ‘novel’ can be applied to an…
- New Books in Politics and Polemics
Lydia Pelot-Hobbs, "Prison Capital: Mass Incarceration and Struggles for Abolition Democracy in Louisiana" (UNC Press, 2023)
Every year between 1998 to 2020 except one, Louisiana had the highest per capita rate of incarceration in the nation and thus the world. Prison Capital: Mass…
- New Books in Politics and Polemics
Postscript: Donald Trump is Erasing History – What YOU Can Do about it
On January 20th, Donald Trump issued an executive order entitled “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal…