Podcast Episodes

James Redfield, "Adventures of Rabah and Friends: The Talmud's Strange Tales and Their Readers" (Brown Judaic Studies, 2025)

Episode 700

Adventures of Rabbah & Friends offers a new reader-centered approach to some of the Talmud’s most challenging stories. The Talmud contains about two pages of some of the strangest tales in the rabbin…

Published on 1 day, 10 hours ago

Mirya Holman, "The Hidden Face of Local Power: Appointed Boards and the Limits of Democracy" (Temple UP, 2025)

The Hidden Face of Local Power: Appointed Boards and the Limits of Democracy (Temple UP, 2025) by Dr. Mirya Holman explicates the purpose, role, and consequences of appointed boards in U.S. cities. D…

Published on 1 day, 10 hours ago

Jerry Moore, "Cat Tales: A History" (Thames & Hudson, 2025)

For as long as cats have coexisted with humans, they have been feared, revered and respected. They appear as dynamic hunters in Palaeolithic carvings and cave paintings; were venerated as gods in anc…

Published on 1 day, 10 hours ago

Inside Jobs: How Great Powers Meddle in Other Countries’ Elections

From Argentina’s recent vote under the shadow of a threatened $20 billion U.S. aid package to Russia’s covert operations in the 2016 U.S. election, foreign meddling at the ballot box is more common a…

Published on 1 day, 10 hours ago

Mike Bird, "The Land Trap: A New History of the World's Oldest Asset" (Penguin, 2025)

Episode 260

In The Land Trap (Portfolio / Penguin), Mike Bird—Wall Street editor at The Economist—reveals how this ancient asset still exerts outsize influence over the modern world. From the speculative land gr…

Published on 1 day, 10 hours ago

Inside Jobs: How Great Powers Meddle in Other Countries’ Elections

From Argentina’s recent vote under the shadow of a threatened $20 billion U.S. aid package to Russia’s covert operations in the 2016 U.S. election, foreign meddling at the ballot box is more common a…

Published on 1 day, 10 hours ago

Michelle Anya Anjirbag, "Appropriated Tales: Race and the Disney Fairy-Tale Mode" (Wayne State UP, 2025)

In Appropriated Tales: Race and the Disney Fairy-Tale Mode (Wayne State UP, 2025), scholar Michelle Anya Anjirbag examines Disney's method of fairy-tale storytelling to determine how the corporation…

Published on 1 day, 10 hours ago

Katrina Navickas, "Contested Commons: A History of Protest and Public Space in England" (Reaktion, 2025)

Episode 186

A radical history of England, Contested Commons: A History of Protest and Public Space in England (Reaktion, 2025) by Dr. Katrina Navickas is a gripping overview of increasingly restrictive policing …

Published on 1 day, 10 hours ago

Mark Deuze, "Well-Being and Creative Careers: What Makes You Happy Can Also Make You Sick" (Intellect Books, 2025)

Episode 171

The media and creative industries thrive on passion, but that passion often comes at a cost. Behind the glamour of journalism, filmmaking, games, music, advertising, and online content creation lies …

Published on 1 day, 10 hours ago

Dr. Michael Uebler on Reimaging Equanimity

Michael Uebel is a psychotherapist and researcher currently based in Austin, Texas. He is recognized as a pioneer in applying psychological insights to the historical intersections of social, persona…

Published on 2 days, 10 hours ago