Podcast Episodes
Back to SearchMaya L. Kornberg, "Stuck: How Money, Media, and Violence Prevent Change in Congress" (JHU Press, 2026)
Episode 1767
Why fifty years of changemaking and reform haven't fixed Congress—and what that reveals about American democracy. Congress, the central democratic in…
7 months, 1 week ago
On Trump as a “World Historical Individual” with author John B. Judis
Episode 1766
The philosopher G.W.F. Hegel “viewed history as consisting of stages punctuated by times of upheaval,” the author John B. Judis wrote in a recent ess…
7 months, 1 week ago
Hsuan L Hsu, "Olfactory Worldmaking" (U Minnesota Press, 2026)
Episode 387
Smell is a vital, if underappreciated, medium through which we inhabit and imagine the world. In Olfactory Worldmaking (University of Minnesota Press…
7 months, 2 weeks ago
Steven Pinker, "When Everyone Knows That Everyone Knows...: Common Knowledge and the Mysteries of Money, Power, and Everyday Life" (Scribner, 2025)
Episode 1763
Common knowledge is necessary for coordination, for making arbitrary but complementary choices like driving on the right, using paper currency, and c…
7 months, 2 weeks ago
David Bather Woods, "Arthur Schopenhauer: The Life and Thought of Philosophy's Greatest Pessimist" (U Chicago Press, 2025)
Episode 1764
Arthur Schopenhauer: The Life and Thought of Philosophy’s Greatest Pessimist by David Bather Woods
An engaging biography of one of the most influenti…
7 months, 2 weeks ago
Daniel McClellan, "The Bible Says So: What We Get Right (and Wrong) About Scripture’s Most Controversial Issues" (St. Martin's Essentials, 2025)
Episode 1762
The Bible is arguably the world’s most influential book, but do we really know what it says? Every day across social media and in homes, businesses, …
7 months, 2 weeks ago
Sidra Hamidi, "After Fission: Recognition and Contestation in the Atomic Age" (Cambridge UP, 2026)
Episode 1761
Nuclear status is typically treated as a stable feature of a state's capacity to possess, use, or build nuclear weapons. Challenging this view, After…
7 months, 2 weeks ago
Gabrielle Oliveira, "Now We Are Here: Family Migration, Children’s Education, and Dreams for a Better Life" (Stanford UP, 2025)
Episode 1760
Who gets to live a life with dignity? Each day, families around the world make the difficult decision to leave their homes in search of safety, stabi…
7 months, 2 weeks ago
Emma Chapman, "Radio Universe: How to Explore Space Without Leaving Earth" (Hachette UK, 2026)
Episode 1759
In Radio Universe: How to Explore Space Without Leaving Earth (Hachette UK, 2026) award-winning astrophysicist Emma Chapman takes us on an electrifyi…
7 months, 2 weeks ago
Lisa Nakamura, "The Inattention Economy: How Women of Color Built the Internet" (U Minnesota Press, 2026)
Episode 1758
The Inattention Economy: How Women of Color Built the Internet (U Minnesota Press, 2026) by Dr. Lisa Nakamura challenges the widespread myth that the…
7 months, 2 weeks ago