Podcast Episodes
Back to SearchDavid Wiles, "Democracy, Theatre and Performance: From the Greeks to Gandhi" (Cambridge UP, 2024)
Democracy, argues David Wiles, is actually a form of theatre. In making his case, the author deftly investigates orators at the foundational moments of ancient and modern democracy, demonstrating how…
Published on 8 months, 2 weeks ago
Ryan M. Nefdt, "The Philosophy of Theoretical Linguistics: A Contemporary Outlook" (Cambridge UP, 2024)
Episode 365
Between the study of specific languages and the philosophy of language lies what Ryan Nefdt calls a “Goldilocks zone” of theoretical issues related to language. In The Philosophy of Theoretical Lingu…
Published on 8 months, 2 weeks ago
Lesley J. Gordon, "Dread Danger: Cowardice and Combat in the American Civil War" (Cambridge UP, 2024)
Episode 263
Those who fought in the Civil War were expected to overcome their fear of injury or death as they charged into a hail of bullets. Soldiers could expect erupting artillery shells or Minié balls to mai…
Published on 8 months, 2 weeks ago
Roland Mayer, "The Ruins of Rome: A Cultural History" (Cambridge UP, 2025)
Episode 34
The beguiling ruins of Rome have a long history of allure. They first engaged the attention of later mediaeval tourists, just as they do today. The interest of travellers was captured in the Renaissa…
Published on 8 months, 3 weeks ago
Matthew D'Auria et al., "The Cambridge History of Nationhood and Nationalism" (Cambridge UP, 2024)
The origins and nature of nationhood and nationalism continue to be topics of heated scholarly debate. This major new reference work with contributions from an international team of scholars provides…
Published on 8 months, 3 weeks ago
Angus Lockyer, "Exhibitionist Japan: The Spectacle of Modern Development" (Cambridge UP, 2025)
Episode 168
From the second half of the nineteenth century, Japan has been a particularly enthusiastic user of exhibitions. Large-scale international exhibitions, including Osaka 2025, form only the tip of an ic…
Published on 8 months, 3 weeks ago
Colonial Origins of Democracy and Dictatorship: A Discussion with Alexander Lee and Jack Paine
Episode 27
The debate about the impact of colonialism on the prospects for democracy and development continues to rage. Was the legacy of colonialism equally destructive everywhere? Or were some forms of coloni…
Published on 8 months, 3 weeks ago
Miriam Haughton, "The Theatre of Louise Lowe" (Cambridge UP, 2025)
Episode 81
Louise Lowe is a theatre and performance director, writer, choreographer, dramaturge, and, more recently, a television director and short film writer/director, working in Ireland and internationally.…
Published on 8 months, 3 weeks ago
Tana Li, "A Maritime Vietnam: From Earliest Times to the Nineteenth Century" (Cambridge UP, 2024)
Episode 157
When we think of Vietnamese history, we tend to think of plucky peasant guerillas fighting for their independence against French colonial rule or American imperialism - or even mighty China.
In her n…
Published on 8 months, 4 weeks ago
Sarah Bassett, "Style and Meaning in Late Antique Art" (Cambridge UP, 2025)
Episode 40
How do we best see and understand the art of late antiquity? One of the perceived challenges of so doing is that this is a period whose visual production has been defined as stylistically abstract an…
Published on 8 months, 4 weeks ago