Podcast Episodes
Back to SearchGuoqi Xu, "The Idea of China: A Contested History" (Harvard UP, 2026)
Episode 1748
What counts as China, and who counts as Chinese?
China became a capitalist superpower by investing in globalization. Now that it has established its …
8 months ago
Tamara Kay, "Sesame Street Around the World: Culture, Politics, and Transnational Organizational Partnerships" (Oxford UP, 2025)
Episode 1747
Given the sometimes extraordinary politicization of culture, it is surprising that Sesame Street has gained acceptance and legitimacy in more than fi…
8 months ago
Bryan Caplan's Case Against Education
Episode 1746
Today I’m speaking with economist Bryan Caplan about education and bullshit, with a particular focus on his book, The Case Against Education: Why the…
8 months ago
Jennifer Randles, "Living Diaper to Diaper: The Hidden Crisis of Poverty and Motherhood" (U California Press, 2026)
Episode 1745
Many of us take diapers for granted. Yet diaper insecurity is a common, often hidden consequence of poverty in the US, where nearly half of American …
8 months ago
Elizabeth Suhay, "Debating the American Dream: How Explanations for Inequality Polarize Politics" (Russell Sage Foundation, 2025)
Episode 1744
Our guest today is Elizabeth Suhay, the author of Debating the American Dream: How Explanations for Inequality Polarize Politics. Faith in the Americ…
8 months ago
Helen Redmond, "Liquid Handcuffs: Policing and Punishment in Methadone Clinics and the Future of Opioid Addiction Treatment" (North Atlantic Books, 2026)
Episode 1743
A hard-hitting exposé of how methadone clinics fail people in recovery—and an urgent, unapologetic case for their abolition.
Methadone is a life-sav…
8 months ago
Amy Landry, "The Ocean of Yoga: A Complete Guide to Living the Teachings, Tradition, and Practice" (Shambhala, 2026)
Episode 1742
The Ocean of Yoga: A Complete Guide to Living the Teachings, Tradition, and Practice (Shambhala, 2026) is definitive guidebook to the core principles…
8 months ago
Aaron Donaghy, "The Second Cold War: Carter, Reagan, and the Politics of Foreign Policy" (Cambridge UP, 2021)
Episode 1741
Towards the end of the Cold War, the last great struggle between the United States and the Soviet Union marked the end of détente, and escalated into…
8 months, 1 week ago
Clarissa E. Francis, "Black Women's Bodily Autonomy, Sexual Freedom, and Pleasure: Explorations of the Hot Girl Movement" (Routledge, 2025)
Episode 1740
Black Women's Bodily Autonomy, Sexual Freedom, and Pleasure: Explorations of the Hot Girl Movement (Routledge, 2025) explores scholarship, practice, …
8 months, 1 week ago
Margaret S. Graves, "Invisible Hands: Fabrication, Forgery, and the Art of Islamic Ceramics" (Princeton UP, 2026)
Episode 1739
In the heyday of Islamic art collecting around the turn of the twentieth century, thousands of premodern ceramic objects circulated on the internatio…
8 months, 1 week ago