Best David C Baker Podcasts (2025)

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What I Learned From Teaching Motorcycle Racing 25:04

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8d ago25:04

25:04

David recognizes more than a few parallels between his passion for motorcycle racing and the work being done in creative and marketing agencies. LINKS “What I Learned from the Race Track” by David C. Baker for punctuation.comBy David C. Baker and Blair Enns

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Kirin Narayan, "Cave of My Ancestors: Vishwakarma and the Artisans of Ellora" (U Chicago Press, 2024) 1:17:25

13m ago1:17:25

1:17:25

On the podcast today I am joined by Kirin Narayan, emerita professor at the College of Asia and the Pacific at the Australian National University. Kirin is joining me to talk about her new book, Cave of my Ancestors: Vishwakarma and the Artisans of Ellora published by Chicago University Press in 2024, and in 2025 as an Indian edition by HarperColli…

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Vijay Selvam, "Principles of Bitcoin: Technology, Economics, Politics, and Philosophy" (Columbia UP, 2025) 58:41

6m ago58:41

58:41

Principles of Bitcoin presents a holistic, first-principles-based framework for understanding one of the most misunderstood inventions of our time. By stripping away the hype, jargon, and superficial analysis that often surrounds the crypto industry, this book uncovers the true ingenuity behind Satoshi Nakamoto’s creation—and its profound implicati…

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Aviva Guttmann, "Operation Wrath of God: The Secret History of European Intelligence and Mossad's Assassination Campaign" (Cambridge UP, 2025) 50:09

12h ago50:09

50:09

In this unprecedented history of intelligence cooperation during the Cold War, Aviva Guttmann uncovers the key role of European intelligence agencies in facilitating Mossad's Operation Wrath of God; a campaign of assassination against Black September terrorists. She reveals how, in the aftermath of the 1972 Munich Olympics Massacre, Palestinians su…

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"Swiz" (Akashic Books, 2025) 1:11:30

10m ago1:11:30

1:11:30

Swiz (Akashic Books, 2025). Swiz was a Washington DC hardcore punk band that existed from April of 1987 through August of 1990, cutting their teeth and carving their place in the scene that birthed trailblazers and contemporaries like Minor Threat, Bad Brains, Dag Nasty, Fugazi, Ian MacKaye, Dave Grohl, and Henry Rollins. Featuring original Dag Nas…

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Bryon L. Garner, "Black Veteranality: Military Service and the Illusion of Inclusive Patriotism" (Routledge, 2025) 56:32

26m ago56:32

56:32

Military service in the United States has long been associated with patriotism. But for Black veterans, this association with patriotism, love for country, is complicated by their experiences with racism and discrimination in the US and both civilians and as members of the military. In Black Veteranality: Military Service and the Illusion of Inclus…

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Horror and Humanism in "28 Years Later" 1:08:32

6m ago1:08:32

1:08:32

We break down the themes and ideas in 28 Years Later, with a particular focus on the politics of this Danny Boyle / Alex Garland sequel to 28 Days Later. We react to the humanitarianism of Dr. Kelson, the role of the islands within the movie, and analyze the visions of family, fatherhood, and masculinity presented. We explain the controversial endi…

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Federico Marcon, "Fascism: The History of a Word" (U Chicago Press, 2025) 1:34:03

10m ago1:34:03

1:34:03

The rise and popular support for authoritarianism around the world and within traditional democracies have spurred debates over the meaning of the term “fascist” and when and whether it is appropriate to use it. The landmark study Fascism: The History of a Word (The University of Chicago Press, 2025) takes this debate further by tackling its most f…

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Jacob F. H. Smith, "Waves of Discontent: Electoral Volatility, Public Policymaking, and the Health of American Democracy" (U Michigan Press, 2025) 22:05

6m ago22:05

22:05

After a period of relative calm in congressional elections prior to 2006, America has experienced a series of highly competitive, volatile national elections. Since then, at least one of the US House, US Senate, and presidency has flipped party control--often with a large House or Senate seat swing--with the exception of the 2012 election. In Waves…

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Tatiana Bur, "Technologies of the Marvellous in Ancient Greek Religion" (Cambridge UP, 2025) 55:56

6m ago55:56

55:56

Tatiana Bur, Technologies of the Marvellous in Ancient Greek Religion (Cambridge UP, 2025) This open-access book investigates the ways that technological, and especially mechanical, strategies were integrated into ancient Greek religion. By analysing a range of evidence, from the tragic use of the deus ex machina to Hellenistic epigrams to ancient …

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Ryan Griffiths, "The Disunited States: Threats of Secession in Red and Blue America and Why They Won't Work" (Oxford UP, 2025) 1:03:52

6m ago1:03:52

1:03:52

Is the breakup of an increasingly polarized America into separate red and blue countries even possible? There is a growing interest in American secession. In February 2023, Marjorie Taylor Greene tweeted that "We need a national divorce...We need to separate by red states and blue states." Recent movements like Yes California have called for a nati…

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Alan M. Wald, "Bohemian Bolsheviks: Dispatches from the Culture and History of the Left" (Brill, 2025) 1:40:37

7m ago1:40:37

1:40:37

For several decades now, Alan Wald has been thoroughly documenting the history of the literature and cultural output of the American left. While his numerous books and essays cover a lot of territory, much of his work is united by an interest in commitment, particularly when it comes to radical politics. What does it mean to commit ones life to a r…

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Rosebud Baker Was Raised by War Criminals (and Writes for Weekend Update) 53:50

30m ago53:50

53:50

Rosebud Baker joins Dana and David for a very fun chat about writing for SNL’s Weekend Update with Colin Jost and Michael Che. They get into why Rosebud once felt “unfuckable,” what it was like growing up around political power (and possible war crimes), and how Dana met her family at the White House. To learn more about listener data and our priva…

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Mini: Cannes Lions Scandal — When AI Crosses the Line 3:24

7m ago3:24

3:24

This year’s Cannes Lions Festival — the world’s biggest celebration of creativity — made headlines for all the wrong reasons. Brazilian agency DM9 was stripped of multiple awards — including a Grand Prix — after using AI to fabricate campaign case study results. Jason Harris breaks down how they pulled it off, why it’s a symptom of a bigger problem…

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Alexandra Freidus, "Unequal Lessons: School Diversity and Educational Inequality in New York City" (NYU Press, 2025) 28:58

8m ago28:58

28:58

Unequal Lessons: School Diversity and Educational Inequality in New York City (NYU Press, 2025) argues that diversity and racial integration efforts are not sufficient to address educational inequality. New York City schools are among the most segregated in the nation. Yet over seven decades after the Brown v. Board of Education decision, New Yorke…

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Daniel I. Block, "Hearing the Gospel According to Moses: Chapters 24-34" (Inspirata, 2024) 31:44

8m ago31:44

31:44

For renowned scholar Daniel Block, Deuteronomy is the “Gospel according to Moses.” In his farewell addresses, Moses calls God’s people to remember divine grace in salvation and their covenant relationship with him, as well as his revelation of a way of blessing in a lost world. Tune in as we speak with Daniel Block about the third and final volume …

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Rita Kiki Edozie and Moses Khisa, "Africa's New Global Politics: Regionalism in International Relations" (Lynne Rienner, 2022) 1:55:57

8m ago1:55:57

1:55:57

The African Union's threat to lead African states' mass withdrawal from the International Criminal Court in 2008 marked just one of many encounters that demonstrate African leaders' growing confidence and activism in international relations. Rita Kiki Edozie and Moses Khisa explore the myriad ways in which the continent’s diplomatic engagement and …

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Frances Egan, "Deflating Mental Representation" (MIT Press, 2025) 1:02:21

8h ago1:02:21

1:02:21

The human mind has the curious, even mysterious, ability to generate thoughts about things with which we are not in causal contact, such as when we think about yesterday’s tennis final, or Aristotle, or unicorns. Naturalizing mental content has usually meant explaining how this is possible in terms that eliminate the mystery while retaining commitm…

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Karin Roginer Hofmeister, "Remembering Suffering and Resistance: Memory Politics and the Serbian Orthodox Church" (CEU Press, 2024) 1:05:53

8m ago1:05:53

1:05:53

Remembering Suffering and Resistance investigates the role of the Serbian Orthodox Church in shaping memory politics in Serbia following the fall of Slobodan Milošević. It argues that in periods of societal instability, religious institutions mobilise their memory potential to reaffirm their public relevance. The study analyses the Church’s mnemoni…

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Ahmad Shokr, "Harvests of Liberation: Cotton, Capitalism, and the End of Empire in Egypt" (Stanford UP, 2025) 38:29

8h ago38:29

38:29

Harvests of Liberation offers a critical reinterpretation of Egypt’s path to decolonization through the lens of its most important export crop: cotton. In this richly detailed and methodologically innovative work, historian Ahmad Shokr shifts the focus from nationalist rhetoric and elite politics to the material infrastructures, commodity chains, a…

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Kenneth Jones, "African American Males and Video Games: How Gaming Technology Can Motivate and Enhance Learning" (Myers Education, 2025) 20:01

8m ago20:01

20:01

African American males are confronted with formidable barriers in their pursuit of quality education, resulting in stark disparities in academic performance, economic opportunities, and social outcomes. Despite numerous educational initiatives striving for parity, African American males persistently bear the brunt of the highest rates of suspension…

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Guidance about the Transgender Question 1:05:23

8m ago1:05:23

1:05:23

The authors and editors of a new edited volume, Gender Ideology and Pastoral Practice: A Handbook for Catholic Clergy, Counselors, and Ministerial Leaders, represent a tremendous knowledge and experience in theology, philosophy, history, and social politics, and apply it to help us sort how to think about and talk about the recent wave of transgend…

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Terri Diane Halperin, “The Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798: Testing the Constitution” (Johns Hopkins UP, 2016) 58:16

23m ago58:16

58:16

In The Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798: Testing the Constitution (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2016), Terri Diane Halperin has provided a political history of the 1790s and explained the origins of one of the most contentious free speech events in American history. The Alien and Seditions Acts, which were actually four laws enacted in 1798, dram…

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Paul Thagard, "Bots and Beasts: What Makes Machines, Animals, and People Smart?" (MIT Press, 2021) 59:54

1d ago59:54

59:54

Octopuses can open jars to get food, and chimpanzees can plan for the future. An IBM computer named Watson won on Jeopardy! and Alexa knows our favorite songs. But do animals and smart machines really have intelligence comparable to that of humans? In Bots and Beasts: What Makes Machines, Animals, and People Smart? (MIT Press, 2021), Paul Thagard l…

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Manuel Barcia, "The Yellow Demon of Fever: Fighting Disease in the 19th-Century Transatlantic Slave Trade" (Yale UP, 2020) 48:40

1d ago48:40

48:40

As we now know, epidemics and pandemics are not new phenomena. In her new book The Yellow Demon of Fever: Fighting Disease in the 19th-Century Transatlantic Slave Trade (Yale University Press, 2020), Manuel Barcia offers a striking rendition of the diseases that swept through the illegal slave trade Atlantic World. In fact, Barcia argues that the h…

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Grace C. Huang, "Chiang Kai-Shek's Politics of Shame: Leadership, Legacy, and National Identity in China" (Harvard UP, 2021) 47:09

1d ago47:09

47:09

Once a powerful figure who reversed the disintegration of China and steered the country to Allied victory in World War II, Chiang Kai-shek fled into exile following his 1949 defeat in the Chinese civil war. As attention pivoted to Mao Zedong’s communist experiment, Chiang was relegated to the dustbin of history. In Chiang Kai-shek’s Politics of Sha…

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Stephanie McCurry, "Women's War: Fighting and Surviving the Civil War" (Harvard UP, 2019) 1:12:50

3m ago1:12:50

1:12:50

In Women's War: Fighting and Surviving the Civil War (Harvard UP, 2019), the award-winning author of Confederate Reckoning challenges the idea that women are outside of war, through a trio of dramatic stories revealing women's transformative role in the American Civil War. We think of war as a man's world, but women have always played active roles …

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Amy Moore, "The Baker's Dozen" (Sleeping Bear Press, 2025) 41:15

1d ago41:15

41:15

In our charming interview, Amy Moore celebrates two new picture books, The Bakers Dozen (illustrated by Andrea Stegmaier) published by Sleeping Bear Press in May. 2025, and Humpty's Great Fall (illustrated by Josh Cleland) published this month by Two Lions. Amy Moore has been writing since childhood. After earning a degree in Journalism from the Un…