Podcast Episodes

Emely Rumble, "Bibliotherapy in The Bronx" (Row House, 2025)

Bibliotherapy in The Bronx (Row House, 2025) by Emely Rumble, LCSW, is a groundbreaking exploration of the healing power of literature in the lives o…

1 month, 2 weeks ago

Laughter and Leadership: A Conversation with Tikva Blaukopf Schein, Ph.D.

We laugh without thinking — but what if laughter is one of the most revealing human acts?

In this episode of The Van Leer Institute Series On Ideas, …

1 month, 2 weeks ago

Dybbuks, Golems, S. An-ski, and Jewish Legends in Times of Fear

S. An-ski’s play The Dybbuk, a story of possession set in a shtetl (think The Exorcist meets Fiddler on the Roof), is the foundation of modern Jewish…

1 month, 2 weeks ago

Jane Vaynman, "Enemies in Agreement: Political Volatility and the Design of Arms Control" (Cambridge UP, 2026)

Why do adversaries sometimes cooperate to restrain their military competition? Why do they design arms control agreements with intrusive verification…

1 month, 2 weeks ago

Gautamiputra Kamble, "The Seekers" (Blaft Publication, 2025)

The seekers in these stories travel through worlds both ancient and modern, worlds of symbol and fantastical allegory, on their paths to greater trut…

1 month, 2 weeks ago

Sayantani DasGupta, "Theft of the Ruby Lotus" (Scholastic Press, 2026)

Sayantani DasGupta's latest middle grades novel, Theft of the Ruby Lotus (Scholastic, 2026) is an adventure heist. Ria Bailey finds herself in quite …

1 month, 2 weeks ago

Penny Roberts, "Huguenot Networks: Truth and Secrecy in Sixteenth-Century Europe" (Cambridge UP, 2025)

Huguenot Networks: Truth and Secrecy in Sixteenth-Century Europe (Cambridge UP, 2025), Penny Robert's latest book, takes us into the world of secr…

1 month, 2 weeks ago

New Book Releases 2026 on Japan, Taiwan

This episode of the Books on Asia podcast introduces new fiction and non-fiction on Japan to be published this year, 2026, along with two upcoming bo…

1 month, 2 weeks ago

The Shawshank Redemption in China: An Interview with Matti Lehtonen

How can an entirely foreign cast perform the American “The Shawshank Redemption” in the Chinese language across China? In this episode of the Nordic …

1 month, 2 weeks ago

Mark A. Johnson, "American Bacon: The History of a Food Phenomenon" (U Georgia Press, 2026)

In American Bacon: The History of a Food Phenomenon (U Georgia Press, 2026), Dr. Mark A. Johnson asks (and answers) a seemingly simple question: How …

1 month, 2 weeks ago