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Let's Talk Religion
What is Alchemy?

Let's Talk Religion

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 5, 2025 63:12


Discover the fascinating history of alchemy — the ancient art that aimed to turn base metals into gold. From mystical experiments to the birth of modern chemistry, this video explores how alchemists shaped science, philosophy, and the human quest for knowledge.Find me and my music here:https://linktr.ee/filipholmSupport Let's Talk Religion on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/letstalkreligion Or through a one-time donation: https://paypal.me/talkreligiondonateSources/Recommended Reading:Abt, Theodore (ed.) (2007). "Corpus Alchemicum Arabicum: Book of the Explanation of the Symbols Kitab Hall Ar-Rumuz". Psychological Commentary by Marie-Louise Von Franz. Living Human Heritage Publications. Adamson, Peter (2021). "Al-Rāzī". Great Medieval Thinkers. OUP USA.Corriente, Federico & Ed Emery (translated by) (2004). "Twenty-seven Muwashshashaat and One Zajal by Ibn al-'Arabi of Murcia (1165-1240)". Dodge, Bayard (translated by) (1998). "The Fihrist: A 10th Century Ad Survey of Islamic Culture". Kazi Pubns Inc. Grimes, Shannon (2018). "Becoming Gold: Zosimos of Panopolis and the Alchemical Arts in Roman Egypt". Rubedo Press.Hirtenstein, Stephen (translated by) (2018). "The Alchemy of Human Happiness (Mystical Treatises of Muhyiddin Ibn 'Arabi)". Anqa Publishing.Principe, Lawrence (2013). "The Secrets of Alchemy". University of Chicago Press. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Nothing Never Happens
Love Us Back: Queer Commitment After Institutional Betrayal

Nothing Never Happens

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 1, 2025 80:25 Transcription Available


What pedagogies arise from institutional betrayal? How can we do the work we love in contexts where harassment is endemic and administrative responses to it escalate the problem? What assumptions have normalized the expectation that our institutions cannot be spaces of love?In this episode, we welcome Dr. Jennifer Doyle to discuss all of these issues as they arise in her most recent book, Shadow of My Shadow (Duke University Press, 2024). This remarkable work develops from Doyle's own experience of being stalked by a student and unfurls into a bracing critique of the institutional administration of harassment cases--as well as the attachments that arise in their aftermath. This line of inquiry builds on Doyle's Campus Sex / Campus Security (Semiotexte, 2015), on how the bureaucratic management of sex on college campuses coincides with the militarization of campus police.Jennifer Doyle is a writer, arts and performance curator, sports analyst, and professor of English. She serves on the Board of Directors of Human Resources Los Angeles; her most recent co/curated exhibition is Sciencia Sexualis at the Institute for Contemporary Arts, LA (2024-2025). In addition to the books named above, Jennifer is the author of Hold It Against Me: Difficulty and Emotion in Contemporary Art (Duke University Press, 2013) and Sex Objects: Art and the Dialectics of Desire (University of Minnesota Press, 2006). She is also the voice behind the beloved soccer blog From a Left Wing (2007-2013) and, now, The Sport Spectacle.Links to recommended stuff!Esme Wang, The Collected Schizophrenias (Graywolf, 2019)Barbara Johnson, "Muteness Envy" in The Barbara Johnson Reader (Duke UP, 2014)Francois Tosquelles, Psychotherapy and Materialism, English translation (ICI Berlin Press, 2024)Camille Robcis, Disalienation (University of Chicago Press 2021)Colm Toibin, The Magician (Scribner, 2022)Alexandra Horowitz, On Looking (Scribner, 2014)

Beauty Unlocked the podcast
Vampires in Pop Culture: Why We Can't Let the Undead Go

Beauty Unlocked the podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 30, 2025 23:43


Welcome, my ghoulish loves!In this final episode of Dark Thirst, I'm diving into pop culture's undying obsession with vampires. From the sensual chaos of True Blood to the glittering restraint of Twilight, and from Coppola's lavish Dracula to Eggers' haunting Nosferatu, I explore how every vampire revival mirrors what's happening in society. From our fears, desires, and shifting ideals of beauty. What do these immortal beings say about us and the times we live in?After centuries of fascination, it's clear, we don't just crave the vampire. We crave what they promise. *Listener Discretion is Strongly Advised*************Sources & References:Auerbach, Nina. Our Vampires, Ourselves. University of Chicago Press, 1995.Gelder, Ken. Reading the Vampire. Routledge, 1994.Skal, David J. Hollywood Gothic: The Tangled Web of Dracula from Novel to Stage to Screen. Faber & Faber, 1990.Anatol, Giselle Liza. Bringing Light to Twilight: Perspectives on a Pop Culture Phenomenon. Palgrave Macmillan, 2011.Weinstock, Jeffrey Andrew. The Vampire Film: Undead Cinema. Wallflower Press, 2012.Additional references:Include contemporary film criticism from The Guardian, Le Monde, IndieWire, and Rotten Tomatoes (2024–2025).****************Leave Us a 5* Rating, it really helps the show!Apple Podcast:https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/beauty-unlocked-the-podcast/id1522636282Spotify Podcast:https://open.spotify.com/show/37MLxC8eRob1D0ZcgcCorA****************Follow Us on Social Media & Subscribe to our YouTube Channel!YouTube:@beautyunlockedspodcasthourTikTok:tiktok.com/@beautyunlockedthepod****************MUSIC & SOUND FX:"Beast by Beast" Edward Karl Hanson"Alleys of Darkness" Phoenix Tail"Rain Light 6" SFX Producer Epidemic SoundFind the perfect track on Epidemic Sound for your content and take it to the next level! See what the hype is all about!

Stuff You Missed in History Class
Hammersmith Ghost Murder

Stuff You Missed in History Class

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 29, 2025 33:21 Transcription Available


In late 1803, accounts of ghost sightings began to circulate in Hammersmith, England. This led to a tragic event, and a legal case that revealed some limitations in existing English law. Research: “The case of the murdered ghost.” BBC News. January 3, 2004. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/london/3364467.stm “Fears of a Ghost and the Fatal Catastrophe.” The Morning Chronicle. Jan 5, 1804. https://www.newspapers.com/image/394016127/?match=1&terms=Francis%20Smith Feikert-Ahalt, Clare. “The Case of a Ghost Haunted England for Over Two Hundred Years.” Library of Congress Blog. In Custodia Legis. Law Librarians of Congress. Oct. 30, 2015. https://blogs.loc.gov/law/2015/10/the-case-of-a-ghost-haunted-england-for-over-two-hundred-years/ Castle, Terry. “Phantasmagoria: Spectral Technology and the Metaphorics of Modern Reverie.” Critical Inquiry. Autumn, 1988, Vol. 15, No. 1.pp. 26-61. The University of Chicago Press. https://www.jstor.org/stable/1343603 “FRANCIS SMITH. Killing; murder. 11th January 1804..” Proceedings of the Old Bailey. “The Hammersmith Ghost: London’s Paranormal Murder.” Discovery UK. Jan. 7, 2025. https://www.discoveryuk.com/mysteries/the-hammersmith-ghost-londons-paranormal-murder/ “The Hammersmith Ghost.” Cambridge Chronicle and Journal. Jan. 14, 2804. https://www.newspapers.com/image/975790052/?match=1&terms=Hammersmith%20ghost Kirby, R.S. “Kirby's Wonderful and Scientific Museum: Or, Magazine of Remarkable Characters, Volume 2.” 1804. https://books.google.com/books?id=ggMhkDz-33EC&source=gbs_navlinks_s Medland, W.M. and Charles Weobly. “A Collection of Remarkable and Interesting Criminal Trials, Actions at Law, &c: To which is Prefixed, an Essay on Reprieve and Pardon, and Biographical Sketches of John Lord Eldon, and Mr. Mingay, Volume 2.” Badcock. January 1804. Accessed online: https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=c5YuAAAAYAAJ&rdid=book-c5YuAAAAYAAJ&rdot=1 Mitchell, Edwin Valentine, ed. “The Newgate calendar :comprising interesting memoirs of the most notorious characters who have been convicted of outrages on the laws of England.” Garden City Pub. Co. 1926. https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/006759756 “Murder – Hammersmith Ghost.” The Bury and Norwich Post. Jan. 18, 1804. https://www.newspapers.com/image/394552157/?match=1&terms=Hammersmith%20ghost “The Reath Hammersmith Ghost.: The Bath Journal. Jan. 16, 1804. https://www.newspapers.com/image/975620428/?match=1&terms=Hammersmith%20ghost “Regine v. Gladstone Williams.” Transcript of the Shorthand Notes of Marten Walsh Cherer Ltd., 36-38 Whitefriers Street,Fleet Street, London, EC4Y 8BH. Telephone Number: 01-583 7635, Shorthand Writers to the Court. https://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWCA/Crim/1983/4.html See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

KPFA - Against the Grain
Austerity: Guardian of Capitalism

KPFA - Against the Grain

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 29, 2025 8:24


Capitalism by its nature produces crises and, for the last century, states have responded by imposing austerity measures on the public. Governments claim it's a bitter but necessary medicine to set economies back on track. But economist Clara Mattei argues that austerity is actually a bludgeon to entrench elite power and repress workers' aspirations for a more egalitarian society. She looks at its origins — and that of modern economics — during the greatest existential threat to the Western capitalist order. Clara E. Mattei, The Capital Order: How Economists Invented Austerity and Paved the Way to Fascism University of Chicago Press, 2022 Forum for Real Economic Emancipation Photo credit of Athens protest: Kotsolis The post Austerity: Guardian of Capitalism appeared first on KPFA.

Beauty Unlocked the podcast
Blood, Beauty & the Vampire Myth: Our Eternal Obsession with Youth

Beauty Unlocked the podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 28, 2025 22:59


Welcome, my ghoulish fiends! Join me as I sink my teeth into the dark allure of vampires and the eternal obsession with youth. From Countess Elizabeth Bathory's infamous legend to Roman and early modern rituals of blood and renewal, I explore how the vampire became the ultimate beauty icon and how our own thirst for ageless perfection mirrors their seductive, deadly world. *Listener Discretion is Strongly Advised*************Sources & References:Groom, Nick. The Vampire: A New History (Oxford University Press, 2018)Auerbach, Nina. Our Vampires, Ourselves (University of Chicago Press, 1995)Sugg, Richard. Mummies, Cannibals and Vampires (Routledge, 2011)Wilde, Oscar. The Picture of Dorian Gray (1890)Polidori, John. The Vampyre (1819)Le Fanu, Sheridan. Carmilla (1872)Stoker, Bram. Dracula (1897)Historical references: Pliny the Elder, Juvenal, Marsilio Ficino, and accounts from the Bathory trial (1609–1610)Day, Doris. Commentary on PRP “vampire facial” (2015–2019)Regalado, Antonio. “Young Blood Transfusions: Silicon Valley's Obsession with Youth.” MIT Technology Review (2019)Lepore, Jill. “The Cult of Youth in Modern Science.” The New Yorker (2019)GlobalData (2027 projection for anti-aging skincare market)JAMA Facial Plastic Surgery (2018–2020) studies on “Snapchat dysmorphia”****************Leave Us a 5* Rating, it really helps the show!Apple Podcast:https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/beauty-unlocked-the-podcast/id1522636282Spotify Podcast:https://open.spotify.com/show/37MLxC8eRob1D0ZcgcCorA****************Follow Us on Social Media & Subscribe to our YouTube Channel!YouTube:@beautyunlockedspodcasthourTikTok:tiktok.com/@beautyunlockedthepod****************MUSIC & SOUND FX:"Alleys of Darkness" Phoenix Tail"Rain Light 6" SFX Producer Epidemic SoundFind the perfect track on Epidemic Sound for your content and take it to the next level! See what the hype is all about!

Human Circus: Journeys in the Medieval World
Osman of Timisoara 5: Osman's Great Escape

Human Circus: Journeys in the Medieval World

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 28, 2025 45:51


Osman flees Vienna and reaches freedom, with success and suffering on the other side. If you like what you hear and want to chip in to support the podcast, ⁠⁠⁠⁠my Patreon is here⁠⁠⁠⁠. I'm on BlueSky ⁠⁠⁠⁠@a-devon.bsky.social⁠⁠⁠⁠, Instagram ⁠⁠⁠⁠@humancircuspod⁠⁠⁠⁠, and I have some things on ⁠⁠⁠⁠Redbubble⁠⁠⁠⁠. Sources: Osman Aga of Timisoara. Prisoner of the Infidels. Edited, translated, and introduced by Giancarlo Casale. University of California Press, 2021. Olin, Timothy. The Banat of Temesvar: Borderland Colonization in the Habsburg Monarchy. Stanford University Press, 2025. Yaycıoğlu, Ali. "On the Ottoman Arguments during the Congress of Karlowitz (1699)," in Territorial Imaginaries: Beyond the Sovereign Map, edited by Kären Wigen. University of Chicago Press, 2025. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Conversations in Atlantic Theory
Margaret J. Wiener on Magic's Translation: Reality Politics in Colonial Indonesia

Conversations in Atlantic Theory

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 28, 2025 60:16


Dr. Margaret J. Wiener is a Professor of Anthropology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Her book Visible and Invisible Realms: Power, Magic, and Colonial Conquest in Bali (University of Chicago Press) won the 1995 Victor Turner Prize for Ethnographic Writing, awarded by the Society for Humanistic Anthropology. Her publications have been grounded in many years of field research on the island of Bali, Indonesia's most famous province, as well as foraging in colonial archives and libraries in The Netherlands. She considers herself an empirical philosopher, who brings an ethnographic sensibility to the clashes involved in colonial encounters while asking broad questions about practices of knowing and making worlds. Inspirations from thinkers in the interdisciplinary field of science, technology, and society (STS) inform her recent book Magic's Translations: Reality Politics in Colonial Indonesia (Duke University Press, 2025), the topic of today's conversation. Dr. Wiener examines how the category of magic traveled from Europe through the imposition of colonial rule and the birth of anthropology.  Her current research extends her longstanding interest in the worlds different practices produce to multispecies entanglements and conflicting visions of the future.

KPFA - Against the Grain
The Financialization of Higher Education

KPFA - Against the Grain

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 27, 2025 59:57


While the Trump administration has pointedly targeted dissent at universities, sharp conflict between administrators, board members and many students, staff, and faculty have roiled colleges and universities for much longer. Economic sociologist Charlie Eaton reflects on how powerful financiers have transformed higher education well beyond elite institutions, while burdening students with high levels of debt. Charlie Eaton, Bankers in the Ivory Tower: The Troubling Rise of Financiers in US Higher Education University of Chicago Press, 2022 Photo by Tim Alex on Unsplash The post The Financialization of Higher Education appeared first on KPFA.

Main Bhi Muslim
EP37 - Examining Muslim representation in post-colonial Hindi cinema

Main Bhi Muslim

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 26, 2025 76:44


This MBM conversation is with Nadira Khatun, author of the book ‘Postcolonial Bollywood and Muslim Identity: Production, Representation, and Reception'. Through this book, Nadira traces the representation of Muslim characters within Hindi cinema in post-partition India, and how the socio-political and economic factors have contributed to varied representations across decades.We discuss the influence of Bollywood on our own personal upbringings, how cinematic representations contributed to the majoritarian perceptions of the Muslim identity and its interactions with us. From films like Mughal-e-Azam and Mammo to Gully Boy and Superboys of Malegaon, we talk about the evolution of Muslim characters and what would it take to make a movie with a truly effortless Muslim representation that does not fulfil any expectation or stereotype.We also discuss the many failings of Hindi film-makers in representing Muslim women - who were either exoticised or oppressed, leaving us with the hope that there is a whole world to cover when it comes to exciting possibilities in the space of truly bebaak representations.About Nadira KhatunNadira Khatun is associate professor at School of Communications, XIM University, Bhubaneswar, Odisha. She was visiting assistant professor at McMaster University, Hamilton from January 2021 to January 2022. She has contributed to academic journals and edited volumes on social media, Bollywood and Muslim identity. Her book tilted, Postcolonial Bollywood and Muslim Identity: Production, Representation, and Reception was released in August 2024 with Oxford University Press, UK. Email address of corresponding author: nadira.khatun@gmail.comEpisode notes:* ‘Exoticised, alienised, villainised': A book looks at how Muslims have been portrayed in Hindi films (Nandini Ramnath, Scroll, June 2025)* Ghettoisation, Crime and Punishment in Mumbai (Abdul Shaban, Economic and Political Weekly, 2008)* Jain, Ranu, and Shaban, Abdul (1999). Socio Economic and Educational Status of Muslims in Mumbai. A Research Report, Submitted to the Maharashtra State Minorities Commission. Mumbai: Government of Maharashtra.* Bombay Cinema's Islamicate Histories (Edited by Ira Bhaskar and Richard Allen, The University of Chicago Press, 2021)* To Be Seen Whole: Blackness, Muslimness, and the Politics of Art (Topibechwa's Substack, May 2025)* Links to certain films discussed in the conversation:* Mammo (1994)* Garm Hava (1974)* Mughal-e-Azam (1960)* Umrao Jaan (1981)* Pakeezah (1972)* Bebaak (2018)* Dhadak 2 (2025)* Salim Langde Pe Mat Ro (1989)* Gully Boy (2019)* Darlings (2022)* Superboys of Malegaon (2024)* Supermen of Malegaon (2008)* Jawan (2023)* Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara (2011)* Coolie (1983)MBM visual identity design by Shazia Salam || Music by Jupneet Singh This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.mainbhimuslim.com

Bright On Buddhism
Who is Xuanzang?

Bright On Buddhism

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 24, 2025 18:23


Bright on Buddhism - Episode 126 - Who is Xuanzang? What were some of his views and written works? How did they affect Buddhism in East Asia?Resources: Beal, Samuel, trans. (1911). The Life of Hiuen-Tsiang. Translated from the Chinese of Shaman (monk) Hwui Li. London. 1911. Reprint Munshiram Manoharlal, New Delhi. 1973. (a dated, abridged translation)Bernstein, Richard (2001). Ultimate Journey: Retracing the Path of an Ancient Buddhist Monk (Xuanzang) who crossed Asia in Search of Enlightenment. Alfred A. Knopf, New York. ISBN 0-375-40009-5.Christie, Anthony (1968). Chinese Mythology. Feltham, Middlesex: Hamlyn Publishing. ISBN 0600006379.Gordon, Stewart. When Asia was the World: Traveling Merchants, Scholars, Warriors, and Monks who created the "Riches of the East" Da Capo Press, Perseus Books, 2008. ISBN 0-306-81556-7.Julien, Stanislas (1853). Histoire de la vie de Hiouen-Thsang, par Hui Li et Yen-Tsung, Paris.Yung-hsi, Li (1959). The Life of Hsuan Tsang by Huili (Translated). Chinese Buddhist Association, Beijing. (a more recent, abridged translation)Li, Rongxi, trans. (1995). A Biography of the Tripiṭaka Master of the Great Ci'en Monastery of the Great Tang Dynasty. Numata Center for Buddhist Translation and Research. Berkeley, California. ISBN 1-886439-00-1 (a recent, full translation)Nattier, Jan. "The Heart Sutra: A Chinese Apocryphal Text?". Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies Vol. 15 (2), p. 153-223. (1992) PDF Archived 29 October 2013 at the Wayback MachineSaran, Mishi (2005). Chasing the Monk's Shadow: A Journey in the Footsteps of Xuanzang. Penguin Books. ISBN 978-0-14-306439-8Sun Shuyun (2003). Ten Thousand Miles Without a Cloud (retracing Xuanzang's journeys). Harper Perennial. ISBN 0-00-712974-2Waley, Arthur (1952). The Real Tripitaka, and Other Pieces. London: G. Allen and Unwin.Watters, Thomas (1904–05). On Yuan Chwang's Travels in India. London, Royal Asiatic Society. Reprint, Delhi, Munshiram Manoharlal, 1973.Wriggins, Sally Hovey. Xuanzang: A Buddhist Pilgrim on the Silk Road. Westview Press, 1996. Revised and updated as The Silk Road Journey With Xuanzang. Westview Press, 2003. ISBN 0-8133-6599-6.Wriggins, Sally Hovey (2004). The Silk Road Journey with Xuanzang. Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press. ISBN 0-8133-6599-6.Xuanzang (1996). The great Tang dynasty record of the western regions. Translated by Li, Rongxi. Berkeley, CA: Numata Center for Buddhist Translation & Research. ISBN 978-1-886439-02-3.Yu, Anthony C. (ed. and trans.) (1980 [1977]). The Journey to the West. Chicago and London: The University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-97150-6 (fiction)https://wck.org/relief/chefs-for-gazaDo you have a question about Buddhism that you'd like us to discuss? Let us know by emailing us at Bright.On.Buddhism@gmail.com.Credits:Nick Bright: Script, Cover Art, Music, Voice of Hearer, Co-HostProven Paradox: Editing, mixing and mastering, social media, Voice of Hermit, Co-Host

Conversations
Telling the future and the past through the palm

Conversations

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 22, 2025 53:18


From fairground palmistry to the science of fingerprinting, historian Alison Bashford explores the secrets, history and psychology of the hand.Alison was in a London library when she discovered a ginormous palm print of a gorilla, taken two days after it died at London Zoo in the 1930s.She had no idea whatsoever about why someone had made this mysterious print, or why it had been kept in pristine condition for all these years.Alison plunged into researching the history of the hand, from fairground palm reading to Jungian analysis.She was transported into the magical, scientific and pseudo-scientific attitudes to markings on the body.She encountered Victorian wellness entrepreneurs, how Down Syndrome was first diagnosed in neonates, and celebrity palm readers whose influence reached all the way to former British Prime Minister, William Gladstone.Further informationAlison's book Decoding The Hand: A History of Science, Medicine, and Magic is published by The University of Chicago Press.This episode of Conversations was produced by Alice Moldovan. The Executive Producer is Nicola Harrison.To binge even more great episodes of the Conversations podcast with Richard Fidler and Sarah Kanowski go the ABC listen app (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. There you'll find hundreds of the best thought-provoking interviews with authors, writers, artists, politicians, psychologists, musicians, and celebrities.This episode explores gypsies, Roma, palm reading, fortune telling, psychology, psychoanalysis, Charlotte Wolff, Carl Jung, Weimar Germany, Nazi Germany, Brahmin, palmistry, cheiromancy, Cheiro, writing a book, university, Hollywood, 1930s Hollywood, celebrity, Down Syndrome, diagnosis, genetics, eugenics, Lionel Penrose, BBC, simian line, occult, Francis Galton, Ellis Family and British Institute for Mental Science.

New Books Network
Ladelle McWhorter, "Unbecoming Persons: The Rise and Demise of the Modern Moral Self" (U Chicago Press, 2025)

New Books Network

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 20, 2025 70:04


How should one live? What should one do? And what do these questions have to do with being a good person? In Unbecoming Persons: The Rise and Demine of the Modern Moral Self (University of Chicago Press, 2025), Ladelle McWhorter reorients these questions through a genealogy of the concept of personhood. That genealogy is in the service of showing us not only that personhood is historically contingent, but that it is also optional. In unbecoming persons, we can feel relief, vital belonging, and exhilaration. We can also embrace an ethos of active belonging, a mode of living that eschews the trappings of personhood for the possibilities of life together. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

New Books in Philosophy
Ladelle McWhorter, "Unbecoming Persons: The Rise and Demise of the Modern Moral Self" (U Chicago Press, 2025)

New Books in Philosophy

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 20, 2025 70:04


How should one live? What should one do? And what do these questions have to do with being a good person? In Unbecoming Persons: The Rise and Demine of the Modern Moral Self (University of Chicago Press, 2025), Ladelle McWhorter reorients these questions through a genealogy of the concept of personhood. That genealogy is in the service of showing us not only that personhood is historically contingent, but that it is also optional. In unbecoming persons, we can feel relief, vital belonging, and exhilaration. We can also embrace an ethos of active belonging, a mode of living that eschews the trappings of personhood for the possibilities of life together. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/philosophy

New Books in Intellectual History
Ladelle McWhorter, "Unbecoming Persons: The Rise and Demise of the Modern Moral Self" (U Chicago Press, 2025)

New Books in Intellectual History

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 20, 2025 70:04


How should one live? What should one do? And what do these questions have to do with being a good person? In Unbecoming Persons: The Rise and Demine of the Modern Moral Self (University of Chicago Press, 2025), Ladelle McWhorter reorients these questions through a genealogy of the concept of personhood. That genealogy is in the service of showing us not only that personhood is historically contingent, but that it is also optional. In unbecoming persons, we can feel relief, vital belonging, and exhilaration. We can also embrace an ethos of active belonging, a mode of living that eschews the trappings of personhood for the possibilities of life together. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/intellectual-history

Beauty Unlocked the podcast
'Monstrous' Women: Lilith, Lamia, and the Making of the Vampire Myth

Beauty Unlocked the podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 14, 2025 15:19


Welcome, my devilish fiends!Join me as we trace the roots of the vampire back to the women who came before her: Lamia, Lilith, and the succubi.These "monstrous" figures haunted ancient myth and medieval imagination, embodying male fears of female power, pleasure, and autonomy. Long before Dracula, they turned desire into danger and defiance into sin. Their stories reveal how myth and theology worked together to make women's power appear monstrous and how those same fears still shape the vampire we know today. So, close your doors and windows, turn off the lights, get cozy, and join me... ***Listener Discretion is Strongly Advised*******************Sources & References:Epic of Gilgamesh – references to lilītu demons.The Alphabet of Ben Sira.The Zohar (Book of Splendor).Philostratus, Life of Apollonius of Tyana.Heinrich Kramer and Jacob Sprenger, Malleus Maleficarum.King James VI of Scotland, Daemonologie.John Keats, Lamia.Sarah Iles Johnston, Restless Dead: Encounters Between the Living and the Dead in Ancient Greece (University of California Press, 1999).Daniel Ogden, Drakōn: Dragon Myth and Serpent Cult in the Greek and Roman Worlds (Oxford University Press, 2013).Judith Plaskow, The Coming of Lilith: Essays on Feminism, Judaism, and Sexual Ethics, 1972–2003 (Beacon Press, 2005).Gershom Scholem, Kabbalah (Quadrangle/New York Times Book Co., 1974).Raphael Patai, The Hebrew Goddess (Wayne State University Press, 1990).Jeffrey Burton Russell, Witchcraft in the Middle Ages (Cornell University Press, 1972).Deborah Lyons, Dangerous Gifts: Gender and Exchange in Ancient Greece (Princeton University Press, 1997).Diane Apostolos-Cappadona, Dictionary of Women in Religious Art (Oxford University Press, 1996).Nina Auerbach, Our Vampires, Ourselves (University of Chicago Press, 1995).Paul Barber, Vampires, Burial, and Death: Folklore and Reality (Yale University Press, 1988).Barbara Creed, The Monstrous-Feminine: Film, Feminism, Psychoanalysis (Routledge, 1993).Marina Warner, From the Beast to the Blonde: On Fairy Tales and Their Tellers (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1995).****************Leave Us a 5* Rating, it really helps the show!Apple Podcast:https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/beauty-unlocked-the-podcast/id1522636282Spotify Podcast:https://open.spotify.com/show/37MLxC8eRob1D0ZcgcCorA****************Follow Us on Social Media & Subscribe to our YouTube Channel!YouTube:@beautyunlockedspodcasthourTikTok:tiktok.com/@beautyunlockedthepod****************MUSIC & SOUND FX:"Beast by Beast" by Edward Karl Hanson"An Obsession" by DayonEpidemic SoundFind the perfect track on Epidemic Sound for your content and take it to the next level! See what the hype is all about!

Belly Dance Life
Ep 346. Virginia Danielson: Book Discussion: The Voice of Egypt. Umm Kulthum, Arabic Song, and Egyptian Society in the 20th Century

Belly Dance Life

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 14, 2025 61:22


Virginia Danielson (PhD, Ethnomusicology, University of Illinois, 1991) is an associate of the Harvard Music Department and a visiting scholar at New York University Abu Dhabi. She is the author of The Voice of Egypt: Umm Kulthum, Arabic Song and Egyptian Society in the 20th Century (University of Chicago Press, 1997), the first English-language biography of the Arab world's most celebrated singer. Through rich ethnographic insight and historical analysis, Danielson traces how Umm Kulthum—known as “the voice of Egypt”—rose from rural beginnings to become a unifying cultural icon whose songs shaped modern Egyptian identity and Arab popular culture. Danielson's work illuminates the complex interplay between gender, media, and nation-building in 20th-century Egypt, showing how one woman's artistry transcended social boundaries to define an era.In this episode you will learn about:- How a village Imam's daughter became Egypt's most celebrated voice through talent, strategy, and relentless discipline.- The clever business deals and radio contracts that secured Umm Kulthum's financial and artistic independence.- The myth-making and media control behind her carefully protected public image.- The musical evolution of Umm Kulthum's ensemble, blending classical Arabic poetry with modern Western instruments.- Why audience described her concerts as a national ritual where “life stopped” every Thursday night.Show Notes to this episode:Find Virginia Danielson on FB. You can find her book “The Voice of Egypt. Umm Kulthum, Arabic Song, and Egyptian Society in the 20th Century” on Amazon and other major book platforms.Follow Iana on Instagram, FB, and Youtube . Check out her online classes and intensives at the Iana Dance Club.Find information on how you can support Ukraine and Ukrainian belly dancers HERE.Podcast: www.ianadance.com/podcast

New Books Network
Kevin M. Schultz, "Why Everyone Hates White Liberals (Including White Liberals): A History" (U Chicago Press, 2025)

New Books Network

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 10, 2025 86:39


A bracing, accessible history of white American liberals—and why it's time to change the conversation about them.If there's one thing most Americans can agree on, it's that everyone hates white liberals. Conservatives hate them for being culturally tolerant and threatening to usher in communism. Libertarians hate them for believing in the power of the state. Socialists hate them for serving as capitalism's beard. Even liberals hate liberals—either because they can't manage to overcome their own prejudices, or precisely because they're so self-hating.This is the starting point for Kevin M. Schultz's lively new history of white liberals in the United States. He efficiently lays out the array of objections to liberals—ineffective, spineless, judgmental, authoritarian, and more—in a historical frame that shows how protean the concept has been throughout the past hundred years. It turns out, he declares, that how you define a “white liberal” is less a reflection of reality and more a Rorschach test revealing your own anxieties.Sharply assessing how decades of attacks on liberals and liberalism have steadily hollowed out the center of American political life, Schultz also explains precisely what needs to be done to avoid digging ourselves even further into the hole of polarization. The ultimate goal, he argues, is to achieve political fragmentation that will fuel the rise of a true multiparty system, where ideology will matter more, not less.With a tight command of postwar American history and a spirited voice, Why Everyone Hates White Liberals (Including White Liberals): A Critical History (University of Chicago Press, 2025) is a must-read for anyone wishing to understand—and envision a way forward in—the complicated landscape of American politics. Kevin M. Schultz is professor and chair of history at the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC). He is the author of Buckley and Mailer and Tri-Faith America. Morteza Hajizadeh is a Ph.D. graduate in English from the University of Auckland in New Zealand. His research interests are Cultural Studies; Critical Theory; Environmental History; Medieval (Intellectual) History; Gothic Studies; 18th and 19th Century British Literature. YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/a48266/videos Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

New Books Network
Allen B. Downey, "Probably Overthinking It: How to Use Data to Answer Questions, Avoid Statistical Traps, and Make Better Decisions" (U Chicago Press, 2023)

New Books Network

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 10, 2025 62:40


Statistics are everywhere: in news reports, at the doctor's office, and in every sort of forecast, from the stock market to the weather. Blogger, teacher, and computer scientist Allen B. Downey knows well that people have an innate ability both to understand statistics and to be fooled by them. As he makes clear in this accessible introduction to statistical thinking, the stakes are big. Simple misunderstandings have led to incorrect medical prognoses, underestimated the likelihood of large earthquakes, hindered social justice efforts, and resulted in dubious policy decisions. There are right and wrong ways to look at numbers, and Downey will help you see which are which. Probably Overthinking It: How to Use Data to Answer Questions, Avoid Statistical Traps, and Make Better Decisions (University of Chicago Press, 2023) uses real data to delve into real examples with real consequences, drawing on cases from health campaigns, political movements, chess rankings, and more. He lays out common pitfalls--like the base rate fallacy, length-biased sampling, and Simpson's paradox--and shines a light on what we learn when we interpret data correctly, and what goes wrong when we don't. Using data visualizations instead of equations, he builds understanding from the basics to help you recognize errors, whether in your own thinking or in media reports. Even if you have never studied statistics--or if you have and forgot everything you learned--this book will offer new insight into the methods and measurements that help us understand the world. Allen B. Downey is a curriculum designer at the online learning company Brilliant and professor emeritus of computer science at Olin College. Gregory McNiff is a Managing Director in the New York office of the Blueshirt Group, an IR firm focused on technology. Greg holds an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, an M. Litt. in Shakespeare Studies from the University of St. Andrews and a B.A. in Classical Languages from Columbia University. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

New Books in Political Science
Kevin M. Schultz, "Why Everyone Hates White Liberals (Including White Liberals): A History" (U Chicago Press, 2025)

New Books in Political Science

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 10, 2025 86:39


A bracing, accessible history of white American liberals—and why it's time to change the conversation about them.If there's one thing most Americans can agree on, it's that everyone hates white liberals. Conservatives hate them for being culturally tolerant and threatening to usher in communism. Libertarians hate them for believing in the power of the state. Socialists hate them for serving as capitalism's beard. Even liberals hate liberals—either because they can't manage to overcome their own prejudices, or precisely because they're so self-hating.This is the starting point for Kevin M. Schultz's lively new history of white liberals in the United States. He efficiently lays out the array of objections to liberals—ineffective, spineless, judgmental, authoritarian, and more—in a historical frame that shows how protean the concept has been throughout the past hundred years. It turns out, he declares, that how you define a “white liberal” is less a reflection of reality and more a Rorschach test revealing your own anxieties.Sharply assessing how decades of attacks on liberals and liberalism have steadily hollowed out the center of American political life, Schultz also explains precisely what needs to be done to avoid digging ourselves even further into the hole of polarization. The ultimate goal, he argues, is to achieve political fragmentation that will fuel the rise of a true multiparty system, where ideology will matter more, not less.With a tight command of postwar American history and a spirited voice, Why Everyone Hates White Liberals (Including White Liberals): A Critical History (University of Chicago Press, 2025) is a must-read for anyone wishing to understand—and envision a way forward in—the complicated landscape of American politics. Kevin M. Schultz is professor and chair of history at the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC). He is the author of Buckley and Mailer and Tri-Faith America. Morteza Hajizadeh is a Ph.D. graduate in English from the University of Auckland in New Zealand. His research interests are Cultural Studies; Critical Theory; Environmental History; Medieval (Intellectual) History; Gothic Studies; 18th and 19th Century British Literature. YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/a48266/videos Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/political-science

New Books in Critical Theory
Kevin M. Schultz, "Why Everyone Hates White Liberals (Including White Liberals): A History" (U Chicago Press, 2025)

New Books in Critical Theory

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 10, 2025 86:39


A bracing, accessible history of white American liberals—and why it's time to change the conversation about them.If there's one thing most Americans can agree on, it's that everyone hates white liberals. Conservatives hate them for being culturally tolerant and threatening to usher in communism. Libertarians hate them for believing in the power of the state. Socialists hate them for serving as capitalism's beard. Even liberals hate liberals—either because they can't manage to overcome their own prejudices, or precisely because they're so self-hating.This is the starting point for Kevin M. Schultz's lively new history of white liberals in the United States. He efficiently lays out the array of objections to liberals—ineffective, spineless, judgmental, authoritarian, and more—in a historical frame that shows how protean the concept has been throughout the past hundred years. It turns out, he declares, that how you define a “white liberal” is less a reflection of reality and more a Rorschach test revealing your own anxieties.Sharply assessing how decades of attacks on liberals and liberalism have steadily hollowed out the center of American political life, Schultz also explains precisely what needs to be done to avoid digging ourselves even further into the hole of polarization. The ultimate goal, he argues, is to achieve political fragmentation that will fuel the rise of a true multiparty system, where ideology will matter more, not less.With a tight command of postwar American history and a spirited voice, Why Everyone Hates White Liberals (Including White Liberals): A Critical History (University of Chicago Press, 2025) is a must-read for anyone wishing to understand—and envision a way forward in—the complicated landscape of American politics. Kevin M. Schultz is professor and chair of history at the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC). He is the author of Buckley and Mailer and Tri-Faith America. Morteza Hajizadeh is a Ph.D. graduate in English from the University of Auckland in New Zealand. His research interests are Cultural Studies; Critical Theory; Environmental History; Medieval (Intellectual) History; Gothic Studies; 18th and 19th Century British Literature. YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/a48266/videos Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/critical-theory

New Books in American Studies
Kevin M. Schultz, "Why Everyone Hates White Liberals (Including White Liberals): A History" (U Chicago Press, 2025)

New Books in American Studies

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 10, 2025 86:39


A bracing, accessible history of white American liberals—and why it's time to change the conversation about them.If there's one thing most Americans can agree on, it's that everyone hates white liberals. Conservatives hate them for being culturally tolerant and threatening to usher in communism. Libertarians hate them for believing in the power of the state. Socialists hate them for serving as capitalism's beard. Even liberals hate liberals—either because they can't manage to overcome their own prejudices, or precisely because they're so self-hating.This is the starting point for Kevin M. Schultz's lively new history of white liberals in the United States. He efficiently lays out the array of objections to liberals—ineffective, spineless, judgmental, authoritarian, and more—in a historical frame that shows how protean the concept has been throughout the past hundred years. It turns out, he declares, that how you define a “white liberal” is less a reflection of reality and more a Rorschach test revealing your own anxieties.Sharply assessing how decades of attacks on liberals and liberalism have steadily hollowed out the center of American political life, Schultz also explains precisely what needs to be done to avoid digging ourselves even further into the hole of polarization. The ultimate goal, he argues, is to achieve political fragmentation that will fuel the rise of a true multiparty system, where ideology will matter more, not less.With a tight command of postwar American history and a spirited voice, Why Everyone Hates White Liberals (Including White Liberals): A Critical History (University of Chicago Press, 2025) is a must-read for anyone wishing to understand—and envision a way forward in—the complicated landscape of American politics. Kevin M. Schultz is professor and chair of history at the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC). He is the author of Buckley and Mailer and Tri-Faith America. Morteza Hajizadeh is a Ph.D. graduate in English from the University of Auckland in New Zealand. His research interests are Cultural Studies; Critical Theory; Environmental History; Medieval (Intellectual) History; Gothic Studies; 18th and 19th Century British Literature. YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/a48266/videos Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/american-studies

New Books in Science
Allen B. Downey, "Probably Overthinking It: How to Use Data to Answer Questions, Avoid Statistical Traps, and Make Better Decisions" (U Chicago Press, 2023)

New Books in Science

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 10, 2025 62:40


Statistics are everywhere: in news reports, at the doctor's office, and in every sort of forecast, from the stock market to the weather. Blogger, teacher, and computer scientist Allen B. Downey knows well that people have an innate ability both to understand statistics and to be fooled by them. As he makes clear in this accessible introduction to statistical thinking, the stakes are big. Simple misunderstandings have led to incorrect medical prognoses, underestimated the likelihood of large earthquakes, hindered social justice efforts, and resulted in dubious policy decisions. There are right and wrong ways to look at numbers, and Downey will help you see which are which. Probably Overthinking It: How to Use Data to Answer Questions, Avoid Statistical Traps, and Make Better Decisions (University of Chicago Press, 2023) uses real data to delve into real examples with real consequences, drawing on cases from health campaigns, political movements, chess rankings, and more. He lays out common pitfalls--like the base rate fallacy, length-biased sampling, and Simpson's paradox--and shines a light on what we learn when we interpret data correctly, and what goes wrong when we don't. Using data visualizations instead of equations, he builds understanding from the basics to help you recognize errors, whether in your own thinking or in media reports. Even if you have never studied statistics--or if you have and forgot everything you learned--this book will offer new insight into the methods and measurements that help us understand the world. Allen B. Downey is a curriculum designer at the online learning company Brilliant and professor emeritus of computer science at Olin College. Gregory McNiff is a Managing Director in the New York office of the Blueshirt Group, an IR firm focused on technology. Greg holds an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, an M. Litt. in Shakespeare Studies from the University of St. Andrews and a B.A. in Classical Languages from Columbia University. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/science

New Books in Economics
Allen B. Downey, "Probably Overthinking It: How to Use Data to Answer Questions, Avoid Statistical Traps, and Make Better Decisions" (U Chicago Press, 2023)

New Books in Economics

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 10, 2025 62:40


Statistics are everywhere: in news reports, at the doctor's office, and in every sort of forecast, from the stock market to the weather. Blogger, teacher, and computer scientist Allen B. Downey knows well that people have an innate ability both to understand statistics and to be fooled by them. As he makes clear in this accessible introduction to statistical thinking, the stakes are big. Simple misunderstandings have led to incorrect medical prognoses, underestimated the likelihood of large earthquakes, hindered social justice efforts, and resulted in dubious policy decisions. There are right and wrong ways to look at numbers, and Downey will help you see which are which. Probably Overthinking It: How to Use Data to Answer Questions, Avoid Statistical Traps, and Make Better Decisions (University of Chicago Press, 2023) uses real data to delve into real examples with real consequences, drawing on cases from health campaigns, political movements, chess rankings, and more. He lays out common pitfalls--like the base rate fallacy, length-biased sampling, and Simpson's paradox--and shines a light on what we learn when we interpret data correctly, and what goes wrong when we don't. Using data visualizations instead of equations, he builds understanding from the basics to help you recognize errors, whether in your own thinking or in media reports. Even if you have never studied statistics--or if you have and forgot everything you learned--this book will offer new insight into the methods and measurements that help us understand the world. Allen B. Downey is a curriculum designer at the online learning company Brilliant and professor emeritus of computer science at Olin College. Gregory McNiff is a Managing Director in the New York office of the Blueshirt Group, an IR firm focused on technology. Greg holds an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, an M. Litt. in Shakespeare Studies from the University of St. Andrews and a B.A. in Classical Languages from Columbia University. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/economics

New Books in Politics
Kevin M. Schultz, "Why Everyone Hates White Liberals (Including White Liberals): A History" (U Chicago Press, 2025)

New Books in Politics

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 10, 2025 86:39


A bracing, accessible history of white American liberals—and why it's time to change the conversation about them.If there's one thing most Americans can agree on, it's that everyone hates white liberals. Conservatives hate them for being culturally tolerant and threatening to usher in communism. Libertarians hate them for believing in the power of the state. Socialists hate them for serving as capitalism's beard. Even liberals hate liberals—either because they can't manage to overcome their own prejudices, or precisely because they're so self-hating.This is the starting point for Kevin M. Schultz's lively new history of white liberals in the United States. He efficiently lays out the array of objections to liberals—ineffective, spineless, judgmental, authoritarian, and more—in a historical frame that shows how protean the concept has been throughout the past hundred years. It turns out, he declares, that how you define a “white liberal” is less a reflection of reality and more a Rorschach test revealing your own anxieties.Sharply assessing how decades of attacks on liberals and liberalism have steadily hollowed out the center of American political life, Schultz also explains precisely what needs to be done to avoid digging ourselves even further into the hole of polarization. The ultimate goal, he argues, is to achieve political fragmentation that will fuel the rise of a true multiparty system, where ideology will matter more, not less.With a tight command of postwar American history and a spirited voice, Why Everyone Hates White Liberals (Including White Liberals): A Critical History (University of Chicago Press, 2025) is a must-read for anyone wishing to understand—and envision a way forward in—the complicated landscape of American politics. Kevin M. Schultz is professor and chair of history at the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC). He is the author of Buckley and Mailer and Tri-Faith America. Morteza Hajizadeh is a Ph.D. graduate in English from the University of Auckland in New Zealand. His research interests are Cultural Studies; Critical Theory; Environmental History; Medieval (Intellectual) History; Gothic Studies; 18th and 19th Century British Literature. YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/a48266/videos Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/politics-and-polemics

New Books in Science, Technology, and Society
Allen B. Downey, "Probably Overthinking It: How to Use Data to Answer Questions, Avoid Statistical Traps, and Make Better Decisions" (U Chicago Press, 2023)

New Books in Science, Technology, and Society

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 10, 2025 62:40


Statistics are everywhere: in news reports, at the doctor's office, and in every sort of forecast, from the stock market to the weather. Blogger, teacher, and computer scientist Allen B. Downey knows well that people have an innate ability both to understand statistics and to be fooled by them. As he makes clear in this accessible introduction to statistical thinking, the stakes are big. Simple misunderstandings have led to incorrect medical prognoses, underestimated the likelihood of large earthquakes, hindered social justice efforts, and resulted in dubious policy decisions. There are right and wrong ways to look at numbers, and Downey will help you see which are which. Probably Overthinking It: How to Use Data to Answer Questions, Avoid Statistical Traps, and Make Better Decisions (University of Chicago Press, 2023) uses real data to delve into real examples with real consequences, drawing on cases from health campaigns, political movements, chess rankings, and more. He lays out common pitfalls--like the base rate fallacy, length-biased sampling, and Simpson's paradox--and shines a light on what we learn when we interpret data correctly, and what goes wrong when we don't. Using data visualizations instead of equations, he builds understanding from the basics to help you recognize errors, whether in your own thinking or in media reports. Even if you have never studied statistics--or if you have and forgot everything you learned--this book will offer new insight into the methods and measurements that help us understand the world. Allen B. Downey is a curriculum designer at the online learning company Brilliant and professor emeritus of computer science at Olin College. Gregory McNiff is a Managing Director in the New York office of the Blueshirt Group, an IR firm focused on technology. Greg holds an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, an M. Litt. in Shakespeare Studies from the University of St. Andrews and a B.A. in Classical Languages from Columbia University. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/science-technology-and-society

New Books in Finance
Allen B. Downey, "Probably Overthinking It: How to Use Data to Answer Questions, Avoid Statistical Traps, and Make Better Decisions" (U Chicago Press, 2023)

New Books in Finance

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 10, 2025 62:40


Statistics are everywhere: in news reports, at the doctor's office, and in every sort of forecast, from the stock market to the weather. Blogger, teacher, and computer scientist Allen B. Downey knows well that people have an innate ability both to understand statistics and to be fooled by them. As he makes clear in this accessible introduction to statistical thinking, the stakes are big. Simple misunderstandings have led to incorrect medical prognoses, underestimated the likelihood of large earthquakes, hindered social justice efforts, and resulted in dubious policy decisions. There are right and wrong ways to look at numbers, and Downey will help you see which are which. Probably Overthinking It: How to Use Data to Answer Questions, Avoid Statistical Traps, and Make Better Decisions (University of Chicago Press, 2023) uses real data to delve into real examples with real consequences, drawing on cases from health campaigns, political movements, chess rankings, and more. He lays out common pitfalls--like the base rate fallacy, length-biased sampling, and Simpson's paradox--and shines a light on what we learn when we interpret data correctly, and what goes wrong when we don't. Using data visualizations instead of equations, he builds understanding from the basics to help you recognize errors, whether in your own thinking or in media reports. Even if you have never studied statistics--or if you have and forgot everything you learned--this book will offer new insight into the methods and measurements that help us understand the world. Allen B. Downey is a curriculum designer at the online learning company Brilliant and professor emeritus of computer science at Olin College. Gregory McNiff is a Managing Director in the New York office of the Blueshirt Group, an IR firm focused on technology. Greg holds an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, an M. Litt. in Shakespeare Studies from the University of St. Andrews and a B.A. in Classical Languages from Columbia University. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/finance

New Books in American Politics
Kevin M. Schultz, "Why Everyone Hates White Liberals (Including White Liberals): A History" (U Chicago Press, 2025)

New Books in American Politics

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 10, 2025 86:39


A bracing, accessible history of white American liberals—and why it's time to change the conversation about them.If there's one thing most Americans can agree on, it's that everyone hates white liberals. Conservatives hate them for being culturally tolerant and threatening to usher in communism. Libertarians hate them for believing in the power of the state. Socialists hate them for serving as capitalism's beard. Even liberals hate liberals—either because they can't manage to overcome their own prejudices, or precisely because they're so self-hating.This is the starting point for Kevin M. Schultz's lively new history of white liberals in the United States. He efficiently lays out the array of objections to liberals—ineffective, spineless, judgmental, authoritarian, and more—in a historical frame that shows how protean the concept has been throughout the past hundred years. It turns out, he declares, that how you define a “white liberal” is less a reflection of reality and more a Rorschach test revealing your own anxieties.Sharply assessing how decades of attacks on liberals and liberalism have steadily hollowed out the center of American political life, Schultz also explains precisely what needs to be done to avoid digging ourselves even further into the hole of polarization. The ultimate goal, he argues, is to achieve political fragmentation that will fuel the rise of a true multiparty system, where ideology will matter more, not less.With a tight command of postwar American history and a spirited voice, Why Everyone Hates White Liberals (Including White Liberals): A Critical History (University of Chicago Press, 2025) is a must-read for anyone wishing to understand—and envision a way forward in—the complicated landscape of American politics. Kevin M. Schultz is professor and chair of history at the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC). He is the author of Buckley and Mailer and Tri-Faith America. Morteza Hajizadeh is a Ph.D. graduate in English from the University of Auckland in New Zealand. His research interests are Cultural Studies; Critical Theory; Environmental History; Medieval (Intellectual) History; Gothic Studies; 18th and 19th Century British Literature. YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/a48266/videos Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Imperfect Men
68: Francis Hopkinson

Imperfect Men

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 7, 2025 33:04


On this episode, Cody and Steve discuss the oft-overlooked patriot behind some of this country's greatest symbols, Francis Hopkinson.Sources· Hastings, George E. The Life and Works of Francis Hopkinson. Chicago, IL: U. of Chicago Press, 1926.· Mastai, Boleslaw; Mastai, Marie-Louise d'Otrange. The Stars and Stripes: The American Flag as Art and as History from the Birth of the Republic to the Present. New York City, NY: Knopf, 1973.· Patterson, Richard S.; Dougall, Richardson. The Eagle and the Shield: A History of the Great Seal of the United States. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of State, 1978.· See pinned post on Bluesky for general sources Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Stuff You Missed in History Class
Loudun Possessions

Stuff You Missed in History Class

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 6, 2025 35:06 Transcription Available


In 17th century France a group of nuns described some unsettling visitations at their convent, which developed into a story of possession, political intrigue, and a moment in time that was rife with social tensions. Research: The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. "Wars of Religion". Encyclopedia Britannica, 11 Mar. 2025, https://www.britannica.com/event/Wars-of-Religion “Hawthorn.” National Institute of Health. https://www.nccih.nih.gov/health/hawthorn Cameron, Teagan. “A Diabolical Martyrdom: Urbain Grandier, the Transgressive Outsider, and the Surrogate Victim in The Possession at Loudun.” Constellations. Vol. 13, no. 2. Aug. 2022, doi:10.29173/cons29475 deCerteau, Michel. “The Possession at Loudun.” University of Chicago Press. 2000. Dumas, Alexandre, Pere. “Urbain Grandier – 1634.” 1910. https://www.gutenberg.org/files/2746/2746-h/2746-h.html Ferber, Sarah. “Demonic Possession and Exorcism in Early Modern France.” Routledge. 2013. Hunter, Mary Kate. “Loudun Possessions: Witchcraft Trials at The Jacob Burns Law Library.” Newsletter of the Legal History & Rare Books Special Interest Section of the American Association of Law Libraries. Volume 16 Number 3. Hallowe’en 2010. https://www.aallnet.org/lhrbsis/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/01/lhrb-16-3.pdf Huxley, Aldous. “The Devils of Loudun.” London. Chatto & Windus. 1952. Accessed online: https://ia601400.us.archive.org/3/items/in.ernet.dli.2015.469712/2015.469712.The-Devils_text.pdf Niau, Des and Edmund Goldsmith (tr.) “The history of the devils of Loudun; the alleged possession of the Ursuline nuns, and the trial and execution of Urbain Grandier, told by an eye-witness.” Edinburgh. Private Printing. 1887. Accessed online: https://archive.org/details/historyofdevilso00desn/page/n31/mode/2up Sluhovsky, Moshe. “The Devil in the Convent.” The American Historical Review , Vol. 107, No. 5 (December 2002), pp. 1379-1411. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Historical Association. https://.www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/532851 Soth, Amelia. “A Mother Superior’s Demons.” JSTOR Daily. Oct. 31, 2024. https://daily.jstor.org/a-mother-superiors-demons/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Psychoanalysis On and Off the Couch
An Analyst's Reflections on Her Treatments and Her Life with Beverly Kolsky, MSW (Tupper Lake, New York)

Psychoanalysis On and Off the Couch

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 5, 2025 55:47


“This really is the full motivation for my having written the memoir. I want people to know what the process is like; not only what the process is like but what the feelings are that don't really make you think of psychoanalysis as a way of changing your life. We're just living and hoping that things will change without really taking account of the fact that we could be living better lives and in a better way. I began to think of the ways of the world and the wickedness in it. There's so many things that we do to keep us going - me and my aphrodisiacs, and I think other people doing other things just to divert them from the misery and unhappiness that they feel.  I don't know how often that's looked at or discussed, so I hope the book does open that up a little bit.”  Episode Description: We begin with Beverly's description of her early years of feeling lost and the consequent self-destructive patterns she replayed. Years of sensation-seeking led her to become "exhausted, limp, tarnished, and each time, more profoundly lost." She "landed on an analyst's couch in Little Venice, a section of London. I was paying for someone to recognize me. She did." Beverly shares her analytic journey with us and how vital her discovery of 'kindness' was, first from the outside and then from within. We discuss the early death of her father, her mother's depression and the devotion of her older brother.  She closes with "Like life, psychoanalysis is a continuing process. It doesn't stop...issues crop up, new feelings arise...we better understand what those feelings are telling us, and how to make use of them in an environment we have been able to choose for ourselves. And so it goes…"   Our Guest:  Beverly Kolsky, MSW has worked as a psychotherapist for more than forty years both in America and in England.  She trained as a psychoanalyst with the New York Institute for Psychoanalytic Self Psychology also and received training in London where she worked under the auspices of the Tavistock Clinic and the Institute of Marital Studies. Her work has been published in two journals:  Mind Consiliums and Voices: Art and Science of Psychotherapy. She had two psychoanalytic experiences in two countries with analysts of two different orientations. Her motivation for writing the book as a memoir was to let others in the community know the transformative and enduring power of psychoanalysis. She was in private practice in Englewood, N.J. and now lives, mostly retired, in the northern Adirondacks.   Recommended Readings: Jung, C.G. 1963. Memories, Dreams, Reflections. London: Collins and Routledge and Kegan Paul.   Kohut, H. 1984.  How Does Analysis Cure? Chicago: University of Chicago Press.   Kolsky, B. 2015  Mind Consiliums 15(10), (1-10).  Empathy and Secrecy: Discovering Suicide as a Form of Addiction."   Kolsky, B. 2019  "The Ghost in You: Psychotherapy and Grief" (Voices: The Art and Science of Psychotherapy.) Paperback The American Academy of Psychotherapists.   Kolsky, B. 2019  Voices: Journal of the American Academy of Psychotherapists. Vol 55 No 2 "To Be or Not To Be: A Patient's Search for the Lost Mother."    Kuchuck, S. 2021. London: Confer Books. The Relational Revolution in Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy. Confer Books.    Malan, D, 1979.  England. Butterworth & Co Ltd. Individual Psychotherapy and the Science of Psychodynamics.   Taylor, K. 2002. U.S. Kevin Taylor M.D. Seduction of Suicide: Understanding and Recovering From Addiction to Suicide.  

Communicable
Communicable E37: 'Peer review is broken'

Communicable

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 5, 2025 67:02


Contrary to popular belief, peer review has only recently become an integral step in scientific publishing. Currently seen by many as a badge of honour ensuring valid, innovative and honest research, peer review seems in reality to be increasingly thankless, exploitative, and sometimes invisible. How did we get here? In this episode of Communicable, Annie Joseph and Angela Huttner are joined by two experts, Melinda Baldwin (University of Maryland, USA) and Serge Horbach (Radboud University, Netherlands), to unpack and examine the role of peer review, why it is still essential, and how it fits within the greater editorial process. The conversation covers the history of peer review, contemporary formats including open review and the use of artificial intelligence, and thoughtful discussion on how to fix and rethink peer review. This episode was edited by Kathryn Hostettler and peer reviewed by Barbora Píšová from the Czech Republic.Related podcast episodes Communicable episode 13: The Wild West of publishing today—predatory journals and how to deal with them https://share.transistor.fm/s/e3abe9af ResourcesEASE, the European Association of Science Editors https://ease.org.uk/ Peer review week https://peerreviewweek.net/ Further readingCsiszar, A. The Scientific Journal: Authorship and the Politics of Knowledge in the Nineteenth Century. The University of Chicago Press, 2018. DOI: 10.7208/chicago/9780226553375.001.0001 Entradas, Sousa, Yan, et al. (2023) Public Deliberative Workshops – Findings. POIESIS project deliverable D2.2. https://poiesis-project.eu/deliverables/.Ross-Hellauer T and Horbach SPJM. Additional experiments required: A scoping review of recent evidence on key aspects of Open Peer Review, Research Evaluation, 2024. DOI: 10.1093/reseval/rvae004Horbach SPJM and Halffman W. The changing forms and expectation of peer review. Res Integr Peer Rev 2018. DOI: 10.1186/s41073-018-0051-5Danziger S, et al. Extraneous factors in judicial decisions. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA, 2011. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1018033108Fyfe, A., Moxham, N., McDougall-Waters, J., & Røstvik, C. M. (2022). A History of Scientific Journals: Royal Society publishing, 1665-2015. London: UCL Press.“Misconduct in Science,” 9 February 1983, NN3-443-UD-12D-1 box 78, file “RES 12 Misconduct in Science, 1983-1987,” Papers of the NIH Director, National Archives and Records Administration, College Park, MD.Baldwin M. In Referees We Trust? How Peer Review Became a Mark of Scientific Legitimacy. MIT Press (Open Access). Work in Progress.

Underscore
090 • MATT AVERY

Underscore

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 29, 2025 79:06


Our guest is Matt Avery, founder of Monograph, a Chicago-based design studio specializing in publishing and typography. After 14 years as Principal Designer at the University of Chicago Press, where he designed The Chicago Manual of Style, 17th Edition, Matt launched his independent practice in 2018.Matt joins host Christian Solorzano to discuss his journey from engineering dropout to book designer, how Emigre magazine shaped his early design thinking, and why he has moved from constantly trying new typefaces to relying on a trusted palette he knows intimately. They explore the craft of book design—from cast-offs and justification to the subjective chaos of cover design feedback—and the myths about what makes covers sell (spoiler: nobody really knows).Beyond design, Matt shares his volunteer work as a TreeKeeper with Openlands, how pruning trees connects to typography principles, his dormant photographic collage practice, and why the best creative moment is that first sketch when you know an idea will work. They also reflect on the intersection of nature and design, the importance of protecting creative time, and finding balance between client work and personal expression.Related linkshttps://monograph.studio/https://mattavery.design/https://mattavery.net/

Maghrib in Past & Present | Podcasts
Introduction à la journée d'études « Chants et musiques d'Algérie : un fait social »

Maghrib in Past & Present | Podcasts

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 25, 2025 14:10


Episode 214: Introduction à la journée d'études « Chants et musiques d'Algérie : un fait social » Dans ce podcast, Jonathan Glasser, professeur agrégé d'anthropologie à l'université William & Mary à Williamsburg, en Virginie, introduit la journée d'étude intitulée « Chants et musiques d'Algérie : un fait social », organisée conjointement par le Centre d'Études Maghrébines en Algérie (CEMA) et le Centre de Recherche en Anthropologie Sociale et Culturelle (CRASC) le 15 décembre 2024, en présentant une bibliographie sur la musique citadine algérienne de langue arabe. Jonathan Glasser est l'auteur de l'ouvrage The Lost Paradise : Andalusi Music in Urban North Africa (University of Chicago Press, 2016), qui a remporté le prix L. Carl Brown Book Prize de l'American Institute for Maghrib Studies et le prix Mahmoud Guettat International Prize in Musicology du Ministère tunisien des Affaires culturelles. Plusieurs de ses travaux ont été publiés dans l'International Journal of Middle East Studies, l'American Ethnologist, l'Anthropological Quarterly, Hespéris-Tamuda et Turath. Glasser a récemment terminé un manuscrit intitulé More Than Friends : Muslim-Jewish Intimacy in Algerian Music (Plus que des amis : l'intimité entre musulmans et juifs dans la musique algérienne). Pr. Karim Ouaras, Université d'Oran 2 / CEMA a modéré le débat. Nous remercions Dr. Jonathan Glasser, anthropologue au College of William & Mary, pour son istikhbar in sika à l'alto pour l'introduction et la conclusion de ce podcast. Montage : Hayet Yebbous Bensaid, Bibliothécaire / Chargée de la diffusion des activités scientifiques (CEMA). 

Wednesday Blog by Seán Thomas Kane

This week, bringing together my research and my life through wine.---Click here to support the Wednesday Blog: https://www.patreon.com/sthosdkane---Sources:[1] Thevet, Singularitez, 14v.[2] Thevet, Singularitez, 15r.[3] Thevet, Singularitez, 159r.[4] Thevet, Singularitez, 15v.[5] Émile Littré, Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols., (Paris, 1873-1877) s.v. « mignol. »[6] Florike Egmond, Eye for Detail: Images of Plants and Animals in Art and Science, 1500-1630, (Reaktion Books, 2017), 30; Mackenzie Cooley, The Perfection of Nature: Animals, Breeding, and Race in the Renaissance, (University of Chicago Press, 2022), 101.[7] Thevet, Singularitez, 18v.[8] Thevet, Singularitez, 19r.[9] Thevet, Singularitez, 19v.[10] Thevet, Singularitez, 19v-20r.[11] Homer, Odyssey 9.403, trans. Fagles.

New Books in African American Studies
Nicholas Bromell, "The Time is Always Now: Black Political Thought and the Transformation of U.S. Democracy" (Oxford UP, 2013)

New Books in African American Studies

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 23, 2025 60:48


Nick Bromell is the author of By the Sweat of the Brow: Labor and Literature in Antebellum American Culture and Tomorrow Never Knows: Rock and Psychedelics in the Sixties, both published by the University of Chicago Press. His articles and essays on African American literature and political thought have appeared in American Literature, American Literary History, Political Theory, Raritan, and The Sewanee Review. He teaches at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and he blogs at thetimeisalwaysnow.org. Nick Bromell's book is a work of intellectual history and political theory that places Black thinkers—writers, activists, and artists—at the center of American democratic thought. He argues that African American intellectual traditions have continually reshaped the meaning of democracy in the U.S., offering critiques and visions that go beyond the frameworks typically emphasized in mainstream political philosophy. The title, taken from James Baldwin's writings, reflectsthe idea that democracy is never finished—it is always urgent and ongoing.The Time is Always Now: Black Political Thought and the Transformation of U.S. Democracy (Oxford UP, 2013) posits that Black thought epitomizes the crucible of American Democratic theory Bromell contends that African American thinkers are not simply responding to oppression but actively producing political theory—ideasabout freedom, justice, equality, and collective life. Their insights emerge from lived experiences of slavery, segregation,and racial inequality, which provide a unique vantage point for critiquing American democracy.Secondly, Democracy is an ongoing and incomplete project of reconstruction, renewal, and revival. Building on Baldwin's phrase “the time is always now,” Bromell argues that democracy must be constantly reimagined and fought for. Black intellectual traditions highlight democracy's fragility and incompleteness, challenging myths of American exceptionalism.Third, American Democracy exists beyond what are known to be traditional American institutions. While mainstream American political theory often places focus on constitutions, governments, or laws, Black thinkers and citizens emphasize affective, relational, and cultural dimensions of democracy—dimensions that exhibit and feature American virtues and values of community, solidarity, and recognition.Fourth, Professor Bromell calls for a vibrant relational empathy and mutual recognition. In this sense, Bromell highlights Black thought's insistence on recognition of shared humanity and mutual vulnerability as the foundation for democraticpractice. Thinkers as varied as James Baldwin, Frederick Douglass, Martin Luther King Jr, Toni Morrison, and Ralph Ellison stress the necessity of empathy as a civic virtue. Bromell reframes African American intellectual history as politicaltheory, not just cultural or social commentary. He challenges readers to recognize that the deepest resources fordemocratic renewal in America come from traditions forged under conditions of racial oppression.  Ultimately The Time is Always Now insists that democracy is less about stable American institutions and more about the practice of bettering and refining incipient features of American institutions-facing each other honestly, acknowledging and shouldering of collective pain, and being committed to a shared mutual recognition of the totality of our collective experience. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/african-american-studies

New Books Network
Nicholas Bromell, "The Time is Always Now: Black Political Thought and the Transformation of U.S. Democracy" (Oxford UP, 2013)

New Books Network

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 23, 2025 60:48


Nick Bromell is the author of By the Sweat of the Brow: Labor and Literature in Antebellum American Culture and Tomorrow Never Knows: Rock and Psychedelics in the Sixties, both published by the University of Chicago Press. His articles and essays on African American literature and political thought have appeared in American Literature, American Literary History, Political Theory, Raritan, and The Sewanee Review. He teaches at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and he blogs at thetimeisalwaysnow.org. Nick Bromell's book is a work of intellectual history and political theory that places Black thinkers—writers, activists, and artists—at the center of American democratic thought. He argues that African American intellectual traditions have continually reshaped the meaning of democracy in the U.S., offering critiques and visions that go beyond the frameworks typically emphasized in mainstream political philosophy. The title, taken from James Baldwin's writings, reflectsthe idea that democracy is never finished—it is always urgent and ongoing.The Time is Always Now: Black Political Thought and the Transformation of U.S. Democracy (Oxford UP, 2013) posits that Black thought epitomizes the crucible of American Democratic theory Bromell contends that African American thinkers are not simply responding to oppression but actively producing political theory—ideasabout freedom, justice, equality, and collective life. Their insights emerge from lived experiences of slavery, segregation,and racial inequality, which provide a unique vantage point for critiquing American democracy.Secondly, Democracy is an ongoing and incomplete project of reconstruction, renewal, and revival. Building on Baldwin's phrase “the time is always now,” Bromell argues that democracy must be constantly reimagined and fought for. Black intellectual traditions highlight democracy's fragility and incompleteness, challenging myths of American exceptionalism.Third, American Democracy exists beyond what are known to be traditional American institutions. While mainstream American political theory often places focus on constitutions, governments, or laws, Black thinkers and citizens emphasize affective, relational, and cultural dimensions of democracy—dimensions that exhibit and feature American virtues and values of community, solidarity, and recognition.Fourth, Professor Bromell calls for a vibrant relational empathy and mutual recognition. In this sense, Bromell highlights Black thought's insistence on recognition of shared humanity and mutual vulnerability as the foundation for democraticpractice. Thinkers as varied as James Baldwin, Frederick Douglass, Martin Luther King Jr, Toni Morrison, and Ralph Ellison stress the necessity of empathy as a civic virtue. Bromell reframes African American intellectual history as politicaltheory, not just cultural or social commentary. He challenges readers to recognize that the deepest resources fordemocratic renewal in America come from traditions forged under conditions of racial oppression.  Ultimately The Time is Always Now insists that democracy is less about stable American institutions and more about the practice of bettering and refining incipient features of American institutions-facing each other honestly, acknowledging and shouldering of collective pain, and being committed to a shared mutual recognition of the totality of our collective experience. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

New Books in Political Science
Nicholas Bromell, "The Time is Always Now: Black Political Thought and the Transformation of U.S. Democracy" (Oxford UP, 2013)

New Books in Political Science

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 23, 2025 60:48


Nick Bromell is the author of By the Sweat of the Brow: Labor and Literature in Antebellum American Culture and Tomorrow Never Knows: Rock and Psychedelics in the Sixties, both published by the University of Chicago Press. His articles and essays on African American literature and political thought have appeared in American Literature, American Literary History, Political Theory, Raritan, and The Sewanee Review. He teaches at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and he blogs at thetimeisalwaysnow.org. Nick Bromell's book is a work of intellectual history and political theory that places Black thinkers—writers, activists, and artists—at the center of American democratic thought. He argues that African American intellectual traditions have continually reshaped the meaning of democracy in the U.S., offering critiques and visions that go beyond the frameworks typically emphasized in mainstream political philosophy. The title, taken from James Baldwin's writings, reflectsthe idea that democracy is never finished—it is always urgent and ongoing.The Time is Always Now: Black Political Thought and the Transformation of U.S. Democracy (Oxford UP, 2013) posits that Black thought epitomizes the crucible of American Democratic theory Bromell contends that African American thinkers are not simply responding to oppression but actively producing political theory—ideasabout freedom, justice, equality, and collective life. Their insights emerge from lived experiences of slavery, segregation,and racial inequality, which provide a unique vantage point for critiquing American democracy.Secondly, Democracy is an ongoing and incomplete project of reconstruction, renewal, and revival. Building on Baldwin's phrase “the time is always now,” Bromell argues that democracy must be constantly reimagined and fought for. Black intellectual traditions highlight democracy's fragility and incompleteness, challenging myths of American exceptionalism.Third, American Democracy exists beyond what are known to be traditional American institutions. While mainstream American political theory often places focus on constitutions, governments, or laws, Black thinkers and citizens emphasize affective, relational, and cultural dimensions of democracy—dimensions that exhibit and feature American virtues and values of community, solidarity, and recognition.Fourth, Professor Bromell calls for a vibrant relational empathy and mutual recognition. In this sense, Bromell highlights Black thought's insistence on recognition of shared humanity and mutual vulnerability as the foundation for democraticpractice. Thinkers as varied as James Baldwin, Frederick Douglass, Martin Luther King Jr, Toni Morrison, and Ralph Ellison stress the necessity of empathy as a civic virtue. Bromell reframes African American intellectual history as politicaltheory, not just cultural or social commentary. He challenges readers to recognize that the deepest resources fordemocratic renewal in America come from traditions forged under conditions of racial oppression.  Ultimately The Time is Always Now insists that democracy is less about stable American institutions and more about the practice of bettering and refining incipient features of American institutions-facing each other honestly, acknowledging and shouldering of collective pain, and being committed to a shared mutual recognition of the totality of our collective experience. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/political-science

New Books in Intellectual History
Nicholas Bromell, "The Time is Always Now: Black Political Thought and the Transformation of U.S. Democracy" (Oxford UP, 2013)

New Books in Intellectual History

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 23, 2025 60:48


Nick Bromell is the author of By the Sweat of the Brow: Labor and Literature in Antebellum American Culture and Tomorrow Never Knows: Rock and Psychedelics in the Sixties, both published by the University of Chicago Press. His articles and essays on African American literature and political thought have appeared in American Literature, American Literary History, Political Theory, Raritan, and The Sewanee Review. He teaches at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and he blogs at thetimeisalwaysnow.org. Nick Bromell's book is a work of intellectual history and political theory that places Black thinkers—writers, activists, and artists—at the center of American democratic thought. He argues that African American intellectual traditions have continually reshaped the meaning of democracy in the U.S., offering critiques and visions that go beyond the frameworks typically emphasized in mainstream political philosophy. The title, taken from James Baldwin's writings, reflectsthe idea that democracy is never finished—it is always urgent and ongoing.The Time is Always Now: Black Political Thought and the Transformation of U.S. Democracy (Oxford UP, 2013) posits that Black thought epitomizes the crucible of American Democratic theory Bromell contends that African American thinkers are not simply responding to oppression but actively producing political theory—ideasabout freedom, justice, equality, and collective life. Their insights emerge from lived experiences of slavery, segregation,and racial inequality, which provide a unique vantage point for critiquing American democracy.Secondly, Democracy is an ongoing and incomplete project of reconstruction, renewal, and revival. Building on Baldwin's phrase “the time is always now,” Bromell argues that democracy must be constantly reimagined and fought for. Black intellectual traditions highlight democracy's fragility and incompleteness, challenging myths of American exceptionalism.Third, American Democracy exists beyond what are known to be traditional American institutions. While mainstream American political theory often places focus on constitutions, governments, or laws, Black thinkers and citizens emphasize affective, relational, and cultural dimensions of democracy—dimensions that exhibit and feature American virtues and values of community, solidarity, and recognition.Fourth, Professor Bromell calls for a vibrant relational empathy and mutual recognition. In this sense, Bromell highlights Black thought's insistence on recognition of shared humanity and mutual vulnerability as the foundation for democraticpractice. Thinkers as varied as James Baldwin, Frederick Douglass, Martin Luther King Jr, Toni Morrison, and Ralph Ellison stress the necessity of empathy as a civic virtue. Bromell reframes African American intellectual history as politicaltheory, not just cultural or social commentary. He challenges readers to recognize that the deepest resources fordemocratic renewal in America come from traditions forged under conditions of racial oppression.  Ultimately The Time is Always Now insists that democracy is less about stable American institutions and more about the practice of bettering and refining incipient features of American institutions-facing each other honestly, acknowledging and shouldering of collective pain, and being committed to a shared mutual recognition of the totality of our collective experience. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/intellectual-history

New Books in American Politics
Nicholas Bromell, "The Time is Always Now: Black Political Thought and the Transformation of U.S. Democracy" (Oxford UP, 2013)

New Books in American Politics

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 23, 2025 60:48


Nick Bromell is the author of By the Sweat of the Brow: Labor and Literature in Antebellum American Culture and Tomorrow Never Knows: Rock and Psychedelics in the Sixties, both published by the University of Chicago Press. His articles and essays on African American literature and political thought have appeared in American Literature, American Literary History, Political Theory, Raritan, and The Sewanee Review. He teaches at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and he blogs at thetimeisalwaysnow.org. Nick Bromell's book is a work of intellectual history and political theory that places Black thinkers—writers, activists, and artists—at the center of American democratic thought. He argues that African American intellectual traditions have continually reshaped the meaning of democracy in the U.S., offering critiques and visions that go beyond the frameworks typically emphasized in mainstream political philosophy. The title, taken from James Baldwin's writings, reflectsthe idea that democracy is never finished—it is always urgent and ongoing.The Time is Always Now: Black Political Thought and the Transformation of U.S. Democracy (Oxford UP, 2013) posits that Black thought epitomizes the crucible of American Democratic theory Bromell contends that African American thinkers are not simply responding to oppression but actively producing political theory—ideasabout freedom, justice, equality, and collective life. Their insights emerge from lived experiences of slavery, segregation,and racial inequality, which provide a unique vantage point for critiquing American democracy.Secondly, Democracy is an ongoing and incomplete project of reconstruction, renewal, and revival. Building on Baldwin's phrase “the time is always now,” Bromell argues that democracy must be constantly reimagined and fought for. Black intellectual traditions highlight democracy's fragility and incompleteness, challenging myths of American exceptionalism.Third, American Democracy exists beyond what are known to be traditional American institutions. While mainstream American political theory often places focus on constitutions, governments, or laws, Black thinkers and citizens emphasize affective, relational, and cultural dimensions of democracy—dimensions that exhibit and feature American virtues and values of community, solidarity, and recognition.Fourth, Professor Bromell calls for a vibrant relational empathy and mutual recognition. In this sense, Bromell highlights Black thought's insistence on recognition of shared humanity and mutual vulnerability as the foundation for democraticpractice. Thinkers as varied as James Baldwin, Frederick Douglass, Martin Luther King Jr, Toni Morrison, and Ralph Ellison stress the necessity of empathy as a civic virtue. Bromell reframes African American intellectual history as politicaltheory, not just cultural or social commentary. He challenges readers to recognize that the deepest resources fordemocratic renewal in America come from traditions forged under conditions of racial oppression.  Ultimately The Time is Always Now insists that democracy is less about stable American institutions and more about the practice of bettering and refining incipient features of American institutions-facing each other honestly, acknowledging and shouldering of collective pain, and being committed to a shared mutual recognition of the totality of our collective experience. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

New Books Network
Shakirah E. Hudani, "Master Plans and Minor Acts: Repairing the City in Post-Genocide Rwanda" (U Chicago Press, 2024)

New Books Network

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 18, 2025 38:44


Master Plans and Minor Acts: Repairing the City in Post-Genocide Rwanda (U of Chicago Press, 2024) by Dr. Shakirah Hudani examines a “material politics of repair” in post-genocide Rwanda, where in a country saturated with deep historical memory, spatial master planning aims to drastically redesign urban spaces. How is the post-conflict city reconstituted through the work of such planning, and with what effects for material repair and social conciliation? Through extended ethnographic and qualitative research in Rwanda in the decades after the genocide of 1994, this book questions how repair after conflict is realized amidst large-scale urban transformation. Bridging African studies, urban studies, and human geography in its scope, this work ties Rwanda's transformation to contexts of urban change in other post-conflict spaces, bringing to the fore critical questions about the ethics of planning in such complex geographies. This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose new book focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

New Books in African Studies
Shakirah E. Hudani, "Master Plans and Minor Acts: Repairing the City in Post-Genocide Rwanda" (U Chicago Press, 2024)

New Books in African Studies

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 18, 2025 38:44


Master Plans and Minor Acts: Repairing the City in Post-Genocide Rwanda (U of Chicago Press, 2024) by Dr. Shakirah Hudani examines a “material politics of repair” in post-genocide Rwanda, where in a country saturated with deep historical memory, spatial master planning aims to drastically redesign urban spaces. How is the post-conflict city reconstituted through the work of such planning, and with what effects for material repair and social conciliation? Through extended ethnographic and qualitative research in Rwanda in the decades after the genocide of 1994, this book questions how repair after conflict is realized amidst large-scale urban transformation. Bridging African studies, urban studies, and human geography in its scope, this work ties Rwanda's transformation to contexts of urban change in other post-conflict spaces, bringing to the fore critical questions about the ethics of planning in such complex geographies. This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose new book focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/african-studies

New Books in Genocide Studies
Shakirah E. Hudani, "Master Plans and Minor Acts: Repairing the City in Post-Genocide Rwanda" (U Chicago Press, 2024)

New Books in Genocide Studies

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 18, 2025 38:44


Master Plans and Minor Acts: Repairing the City in Post-Genocide Rwanda (U of Chicago Press, 2024) by Dr. Shakirah Hudani examines a “material politics of repair” in post-genocide Rwanda, where in a country saturated with deep historical memory, spatial master planning aims to drastically redesign urban spaces. How is the post-conflict city reconstituted through the work of such planning, and with what effects for material repair and social conciliation? Through extended ethnographic and qualitative research in Rwanda in the decades after the genocide of 1994, this book questions how repair after conflict is realized amidst large-scale urban transformation. Bridging African studies, urban studies, and human geography in its scope, this work ties Rwanda's transformation to contexts of urban change in other post-conflict spaces, bringing to the fore critical questions about the ethics of planning in such complex geographies. This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose new book focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/genocide-studies

New Books in Sociology
Shakirah E. Hudani, "Master Plans and Minor Acts: Repairing the City in Post-Genocide Rwanda" (U Chicago Press, 2024)

New Books in Sociology

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 18, 2025 38:44


Master Plans and Minor Acts: Repairing the City in Post-Genocide Rwanda (U of Chicago Press, 2024) by Dr. Shakirah Hudani examines a “material politics of repair” in post-genocide Rwanda, where in a country saturated with deep historical memory, spatial master planning aims to drastically redesign urban spaces. How is the post-conflict city reconstituted through the work of such planning, and with what effects for material repair and social conciliation? Through extended ethnographic and qualitative research in Rwanda in the decades after the genocide of 1994, this book questions how repair after conflict is realized amidst large-scale urban transformation. Bridging African studies, urban studies, and human geography in its scope, this work ties Rwanda's transformation to contexts of urban change in other post-conflict spaces, bringing to the fore critical questions about the ethics of planning in such complex geographies. This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose new book focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/sociology

New Books in Geography
Shakirah E. Hudani, "Master Plans and Minor Acts: Repairing the City in Post-Genocide Rwanda" (U Chicago Press, 2024)

New Books in Geography

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 18, 2025 38:44


Master Plans and Minor Acts: Repairing the City in Post-Genocide Rwanda (U of Chicago Press, 2024) by Dr. Shakirah Hudani examines a “material politics of repair” in post-genocide Rwanda, where in a country saturated with deep historical memory, spatial master planning aims to drastically redesign urban spaces. How is the post-conflict city reconstituted through the work of such planning, and with what effects for material repair and social conciliation? Through extended ethnographic and qualitative research in Rwanda in the decades after the genocide of 1994, this book questions how repair after conflict is realized amidst large-scale urban transformation. Bridging African studies, urban studies, and human geography in its scope, this work ties Rwanda's transformation to contexts of urban change in other post-conflict spaces, bringing to the fore critical questions about the ethics of planning in such complex geographies. This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose new book focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/geography

New Books Network
Jovana Diković, "The Laissez-Faire Peasant: Post-Socialist Rural Development in Serbia" (UCL Press, 2025)

New Books Network

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 10, 2025 55:05


What if rural progress isn't about government intervention but about the self-reliance and ingenuity of peasants themselves?  The Laissez-Faire Peasant: Post-Socialist Rural Development in Serbia (UCL Press, 2025) subverts conventional wisdom on rural development by shifting the focus from state-led planning to the agency of peasants themselves. Rejecting the notion that rural populations are passive victims of top-down policies, Jovana Dikovic presents a compelling ethnographic study of three Serbian villages, where autonomy and local cooperation drive economic and social resilience. She introduces the concept of the “laissez-faire peasant”—a figure who thrives outside rigid government schemes, shaping rural development on their own terms. By examining the friction between state policies and the everyday strategies of rural communities, Dikovic uncovers how peasant autonomy not only resists external intervention but fosters sustainable and self-sufficient growth.The first in-depth study of contemporary Serbian peasantry, this book reframes rural life as a site of innovation rather than stagnation. An area of interest for scholars of post-socialist transitions, rural development, and economic anthropology, The Laissez-Faire Peasant provides a new lens on how rural communities survive and adapt in a rapidly changing world. The Laissez-Faire Peasant: Post-Socialist Rural Development in Serbia was published in the UK by UCL Press (2025), and in the United States by University of Chicago Press (2025). The Laissez-Faire Peasant is also available online open-access through UCL Press. Guest: Jovana Dikovic (she/her), is an economic anthropologist, publicist, and head of Sustainable Development and Inclusive Growth at the Center for Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability, School of Management, Fribourg. Host: Jenna Pittman (she/her) is a Ph.D. student in the Department of History at Duke University. She studies modern European history, political economy, and Germany from 1945-1990. Scholars@Duke here Linktree here Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

New Books in Anthropology
Jovana Diković, "The Laissez-Faire Peasant: Post-Socialist Rural Development in Serbia" (UCL Press, 2025)

New Books in Anthropology

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 10, 2025 55:05


What if rural progress isn't about government intervention but about the self-reliance and ingenuity of peasants themselves?  The Laissez-Faire Peasant: Post-Socialist Rural Development in Serbia (UCL Press, 2025) subverts conventional wisdom on rural development by shifting the focus from state-led planning to the agency of peasants themselves. Rejecting the notion that rural populations are passive victims of top-down policies, Jovana Dikovic presents a compelling ethnographic study of three Serbian villages, where autonomy and local cooperation drive economic and social resilience. She introduces the concept of the “laissez-faire peasant”—a figure who thrives outside rigid government schemes, shaping rural development on their own terms. By examining the friction between state policies and the everyday strategies of rural communities, Dikovic uncovers how peasant autonomy not only resists external intervention but fosters sustainable and self-sufficient growth.The first in-depth study of contemporary Serbian peasantry, this book reframes rural life as a site of innovation rather than stagnation. An area of interest for scholars of post-socialist transitions, rural development, and economic anthropology, The Laissez-Faire Peasant provides a new lens on how rural communities survive and adapt in a rapidly changing world. The Laissez-Faire Peasant: Post-Socialist Rural Development in Serbia was published in the UK by UCL Press (2025), and in the United States by University of Chicago Press (2025). The Laissez-Faire Peasant is also available online open-access through UCL Press. Guest: Jovana Dikovic (she/her), is an economic anthropologist, publicist, and head of Sustainable Development and Inclusive Growth at the Center for Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability, School of Management, Fribourg. Host: Jenna Pittman (she/her) is a Ph.D. student in the Department of History at Duke University. She studies modern European history, political economy, and Germany from 1945-1990. Scholars@Duke here Linktree here Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/anthropology

This Is Hell!
Corporate Science Wants You to Buy the World a Coke / Susan Greenhalgh

This Is Hell!

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 2, 2025 89:43


Susan Greenhalgh joins us to discuss her new book, "Soda Science: Making the World Safe for Coca Cola" (University of Chicago Press). "This Day in Rotten History" from Renaldo Migaldi follows the interview. Check out Susan's book here: https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/S/bo221451790.html Help keep This Is Hell! completely listener supported and access bonus episodes by subscribing to our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thisishell Please rate and review This Is Hell! wherever you get your podcasts. It really helps the show ascend the algorithm to reach new listeners.

KPFA - Against the Grain

While we're told by politicians that the ideas of Karl Marx are foreign and have no place in this country, history proves otherwise. Andrew Hartman shows that Marx and Marxism have had an a significant influence on the United States, from Marx's journalistic writings for the New York Daily Tribune, on the mass politics of the Socialist and Communist Parties and the Wobblies, on the most radical edge of the New Deal and the New Left, and finally with the return to Marx's ideas since the Global Financial Crisis. (Encore presentation.) Andrew Hartman, Karl Marx in America University of Chicago Press, 2025 The post American Marx appeared first on KPFA.

In Our Time
Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle (Archive Episode)

In Our Time

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 14, 2025 58:10


Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the German physicist who, at the age of 23 and while still a student, effectively created quantum mechanics for which he later won the Nobel Prize. Werner Heisenberg made this breakthrough in a paper in 1925 when, rather than starting with an idea of where atomic particles were at any one time, he worked backwards from what he observed of atoms and their particles and the light they emitted, doing away with the idea of their continuous orbit of the nucleus and replacing this with equations. This was momentous and from this flowed what's known as his Uncertainty Principle, the idea that, for example, you can accurately measure the position of an atomic particle or its momentum, but not both. With Fay Dowker Professor of Theoretical Physics at Imperial College London Harry Cliff Research Fellow in Particle Physics at the University of Cambridge And Frank Close Professor Emeritus of Theoretical Physics and Fellow Emeritus at Exeter College at the University of Oxford Producer: Simon Tillotson Reading list: Philip Ball, Beyond Weird: Why Everything You Thought You Knew about Quantum Physics Is Different (Vintage, 2018) John Bell, ‘Against 'measurement'' (Physics World, Vol 3, No 8, 1990) Mara Beller, Quantum Dialogue: The Making of a Revolution (University of Chicago Press, 2001) David C. Cassidy, Beyond Uncertainty: Heisenberg, Quantum Physics, And The Bomb (Bellevue Literary Press, 2010) Werner Heisenberg, Physics and Philosophy (first published 1958; Penguin Classics, 2000) Carlo Rovelli, Helgoland: The Strange and Beautiful Story of Quantum Physics (Penguin, 2022) Spanning history, religion, culture, science and philosophy, In Our Time from BBC Radio 4 is essential listening for the intellectually curious. In each episode, host Melvyn Bragg and expert guests explore the characters, events and discoveries that have shaped our world.