Best Marshal Arnold Podcasts (2025)

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David Woodman, "The First King of England: Æthelstan and the Birth of a Kingdom" (Princeton UP, 2025) 39:15

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4d ago39:15

39:15

The First King of England: Æthelstan and the Birth of a Kingdom (Princeton University Press, 2025) by Professor David Woodman is a foundational biography of Æthelstan (d. 939), the early medieval king whose territorial conquests and shrewd statesmanship united the peoples, languages, and cultures that would come to be known as the “kingdom of the E…

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David Edmonds, "Death in a Shallow Pond: A Philosopher, a Drowning Child, and Strangers in Need" (Princeton UP, 2025) 55:30

5d ago55:30

55:30

Imagine this: You’re walking past a shallow pond and spot a toddler thrashing around in the water, in obvious danger of drowning. You look around for her parents, but nobody is there. You’re the only person who can save her and you must act immediately. But as you approach the pond you remember that you’re wearing your most expensive shoes. Wading …

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The McStay Family Murders 57:43

6d ago57:43

57:43

Joseph McStay, his wife Summer, and their two young sons went missing in February 2010. Their bodies were found in the California desert three years later. Initially, it was believed that the family had decided to travel to Mexico, but authorities discovered evidence suggesting that someone close to Joseph was involved in their murders. Join Mike a…

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Joshua Specht, "Red Meat Republic: A Hoof-to-Table History of How Beef Changed America" (Princeton UP, 2019) 30:37

6d ago30:37

30:37

Why do Americans eat so much beef? In Red Meat Republic: A Hoof-to-Table History of How Beef Changed America (Princeton University Press, 2019), the historian Joshua Specht provides a history that shows how our diets and consumer choices remain rooted in nineteenth century enterprises. A century and half ago, he writes, the colonialism and appropri…

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Margaret E. Roberts, "Censored: Distraction and Diversion Inside China’s Great Firewall" (Princeton UP, 2020) 50:55

6d ago50:55

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We often think of censorship as governments removing material or harshly punishing people who spread or access information. But Margaret E. Roberts’ new book Censored: Distraction and Diversion Inside China’s Great Firewall (Princeton University Press, 2020) reveals the nuances of censorship in the age of the internet. She identifies 3 types of cen…

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Peter Conti-Brown and Sean H. Vanatta, "Private Finance, Public Power: A History of Bank Supervision in America" (Princeton UP, 2025) 53:22

8d ago53:22

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What does it mean to supervise a bank? And why does it matter who holds that power? In this episode, Sean H. Vanatta joins us to explore the hidden machinery behind American finance, as told in his new book Private Finance, Public Power: A History of Bank Supervision in America (Princeton UP, 2025), co-authored with Peter Conti-Brown. Spanning near…

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Tom Arnold-Forster, "Walter Lippmann: An Intellectual Biography" (Princeton UP, 2025) 42:50

10d ago42:50

42:50

From the years before World War I until the late 1960s, the journalist and political theorist Walter Lippmann was one of the most influential writers in the United States of America. His words and ideas had a powerful impact on American liberalism and his writings on the media are still taught today. Lippmann is now the subject of Tom Arnold-Forste…

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Walter Scheidel, "What Is Ancient History?" (Princeton UP, 2025) 59:20

12d ago59:20

59:20

It’s easy to think that ancient history is, well, ancient history—obsolete, irrelevant, unjustifiably focused on Greece and Rome, and at risk of extinction. In What Is Ancient History?, Walter Scheidel presents a compelling case for a new kind of ancient history—a global history that captures antiquity’s pivotal role as a decisive phase in human de…

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Todd Kendhammer 54:04

12d ago54:04

54:04

On the morning of September 16th, 2016, Todd Kendhammer called 911 to report that his wife, Barbara, had been seriously injured in an accident. He claimed a pipe fell off a passing truck, flew through their windshield, and hit Barbara, causing fatal injuries. Investigators didn’t think his story added up. Join Mike and Gibby as they discuss Todd Ke…

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Steven Levitsky and Lucan Way, "Revolution and Dictatorship: The Violent Origins of Durable Authoritarianism" (Princeton UP, 2022) 57:29

13d ago57:29

57:29

Revolution and Dictatorship: The Violent Origins of Durable Authoritarianism (Princeton UP, 2022) explores why dictatorships born of social revolution—such as those in China, Cuba, Iran, the Soviet Union, and Vietnam—are extraordinarily durable, even in the face of economic crisis, large-scale policy failure, mass discontent, and intense external p…

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Konrad H. Jarausch, "Embattled Europe: A Progressive Alternative" (Princeton UP, 2021) 31:25

14d ago31:25

31:25

A bracing corrective to predictions of the European Union’s decline, by a leading historian of modern Europe Is the European Union in decline? Recent history, from the debt and migration crises to Brexit, has led many observers to argue that the EU’s best days are behind it. Over the past decade, right-wing populists have come to power in Poland, H…

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Nan Z. Da, The Chinese Tragedy of King Lear (Princeton UP, 2025) 29:38

16d ago29:38

29:38

I’m Nicholas Gordon, host of the Asian Review of Books podcast, done in partnership with the New Books Network. On this show, we interview authors writing in, around, and about the Asia-Pacific region. King Lear, one of Shakespeare’s most famous tragedies, starts with Lear dividing up his kingdom between his three daughters: Goneril, Regan and Cord…

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Mary Bridges on US Bankers Abroad and the Making of a Global Superpower 1:08:10

19d ago1:08:10

1:08:10

Peoples & Things host, Lee Vinsel, talks with Mary Bridges, Ernest May Fellow in History and Policy at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government, about her book, Dollars and Dominion: US Bankers and the Making of a Superpower. Dollars and Dominion takes an infrastructural view of ba…

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Antolin Garcia-Torres 58:27

20d ago58:27

58:27

15-year-old Sierra LaMar left home to walk to her bus stop on a Friday morning near her California home. Although a man was convicted of murdering her five years later, Sierra has never been found. The authorities were able to narrow down the timeline of when Sierra was taken to around ten minutes. But the details that eventually emerged were shock…

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Lost in Thought: The Hidden Pleasures of an Intellectual Life 56:38

23d ago56:38

56:38

In an overloaded, superficial, technological world, in which almost everything and everybody is judged by its usefulness, where can we turn for escape, lasting pleasure, contemplation, or connection to others? While many forms of leisure meet these needs, Zena Hitz writes, few experiences are so fulfilling as the inner life, whether that of a bookw…

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Audrey Truschke, "India: 5,000 Years of History on the Subcontinent" (Princeton UP, 2025) 44:10

23d ago44:10

44:10

I’m Nicholas Gordon, host of the Asian Review of Books podcast, done in partnership with the New Books Network. On this show, we interview authors writing in, around, and about the Asia-Pacific region. How do you tell the story of India–not just the modern-day country, but the whole region of South Asia, home to over two billion people? Historian A…

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Angelika Graswald 58:21

27d ago58:21

58:21

Angelika Graswald was accused of killing her fiancé during a 2015 kayaking trip on the Hudson River. Prosecutors argued that she wanted out of the relationship, so she intentionally removed the kayak’s drain plug, which contributed to its subsequent capsizing and her fiancé’s drowning. Join Mike and Gibby as they discuss the case of Angelika Graswa…

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Athena Aktipis, "The Cheating Cell: How Evolution Helps Us Understand and Treat Cancer" (Princeton UP, 2020) 57:38

29d ago57:38

57:38

When we think of the forces driving cancer, we don’t necessarily think of evolution. But evolution and cancer are closely linked because the historical processes that created life also created cancer. The Cheating Cell: How Evolution Helps Us Understand and Treat Cancer (Princeton UP, 2020) delves into this extraordinary relationship, and shows tha…

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David D. Hall, "The Puritans: A Transatlantic History" (Princeton UP, 2019) 1:18:36

1M ago1:18:36

1:18:36

This book is a sweeping transatlantic history of Puritanism from its emergence out of the religious tumult of Elizabethan England to its founding role in the story of America. Shedding critical new light on the diverse forms of Puritan belief and practice in England, Scotland, and New England, David D. Hall provides a multifaceted account of a cult…

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Steven Jones 1:06:53

1M ago1:06:53

1:06:53

Steven Jones was a freshman at Northern Arizona University. In October 2015, he was involved in a confrontation that turned violent. It ended with Steven killing another NAU student and injuring three more. Steven claimed he acted in self-defense because he feared for his life, while prosecutors argued he shot the students in a premeditated rampage…

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Margaret C. Jacob, "The Secular Enlightenment" (Princeton UP, 2019) 1:04:36

1M ago1:04:36

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The Secular Enlightenment by Professor Margaret C. Jacob, has been called a major new history on how the Enlightenment transformed people's everyday lives. It’s a panoramic account of the radical ways that life began to change for ordinary people in the age of Locke, Voltaire, and Rousseau. In this landmark book, familiar Enlightenment figures shar…

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William Marx, "Libraries of the Mind" (Princeton UP, 2025) 1:05:38

1M ago1:05:38

1:05:38

Erich Auerbach wrote his classic work Mimesis, a history of narrative from Homer to Proust, based largely on his memory of past reading. Having left his physical library behind when he fled to Istanbul to escape the Nazis, he was forced to rely on the invisible library of his mind. Each of us has such a library—if not as extensive as Auerbach’s—eve…

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On Bullshit in AI 18:55

1M ago18:55

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Today we’re continuing our series on Harry Frankfurt’s seminal work, On Bullshit. I have the privilege to speak with Arvind Narayanan co-author of the book AI Snake Oil: What Artificial Intelligence Can Do, What it Can’t, and How to Tell the Difference (Princeton University Press, 2024). Arvind is the perfect guest to explore the subject of bullshi…

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Dan-el Padilla Peralta, "Classicism and Other Phobias" (Princeton UP, 2025) 49:07

1M ago49:07

49:07

Classicism and Other Phobias (Princeton University Press, 2025) shows how the concept of “classicism” lacks the capacity to affirm the aesthetic value of Black life and asks whether a different kind of classicism—one of insurgence, fugitivity, and emancipation—is possible. Engaging with the work of Sylvia Wynter and other trailblazers in Black stud…

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Ünver Rüstem, "Ottoman Baroque: The Architectural Refashioning of Eighteenth-Century Istanbul" (Princeton UP, 2019) 1:12:03

1M ago1:12:03

1:12:03

In Istanbul, there is a mosque on every hill. Cruising along the Bosphorus, either for pleasure, or like the majority of Istanbul’s denizens, for transit, you cannot help but notice that the city’s landscape would be dramatically altered without the mosques of the city. In Ottoman Baroque: The Architectural Refashioning of Eighteenth-Century Istanb…

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The Entrepreneurial Scholar: A New Mindset for Success in Academia and Beyond 59:52

1M ago59:52

59:52

In the increasingly competitive world of academia, simply mastering your discipline is no longer enough to guarantee career success or personal fulfillment. The Entrepreneurial Scholar: A New Mindset for Success in Academia and Beyond (Princeton UP, 2025) challenges scholars at all stages—from doctoral students to tenured professors—to break free f…

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Audrey Truschke, "India: 5,000 Years of History on the Subcontinent" (Princeton UP, 2025) 1:18:56

2M ago1:18:56

1:18:56

Much of world history is Indian history. Home today to one in four people, the subcontinent has long been densely populated and deeply connected to Asia, Africa, Europe, and the Americas through migration and trade. In this magisterial history, Audrey Truschke tells the fascinating story of the region historically known as India--which includes tod…

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Melissa Merritt 1:12:27

2M ago1:12:27

1:12:27

In less than five years, Bill Harrison, his wife Bridget, and their son Caleb all died in the same home. The first death was ruled natural, the second suspicious, but the third was immediately declared a homicide. The police looked to Caleb’s ex-wife, Melissa Merritt, who was in the middle of a custody battle with Caleb and his parents. Join Mike a…

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Ian Stewart, "The Celts: A Modern History" (Princeton UP, 2025) 1:00:33

2M ago1:00:33

1:00:33

Before the Greeks and Romans, the Celts ruled the ancient world. They sacked Rome, invaded Greece, and conquered much of Europe, from Ireland to Turkey. Celts registered deeply on the classical imagination for a thousand years and were variously described by writers like Caesar and Livy as unruly barbarians, fearless warriors, and gracious hosts. B…

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Elizabeth Popp Berman, "Thinking like an Economist: How Efficiency Replaced Equality in U.S. Public Policy" (Princeton UP, 2022) 50:56

2M ago50:56

50:56

For decades, Democratic politicians have frustrated progressives by tinkering around the margins of policy while shying away from truly ambitious change. What happened to bold political vision on the left, and what shrunk the very horizons of possibility? In Thinking like an Economist, Elizabeth Popp Berman tells the story of how a distinctive way …

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Christopher McCowen 58:22

2M ago58:22

58:22

Christa Worthington, a former fashion journalist and single mother who lived in Truro, a town on northern Cape Cod, was murdered in January 2002. Three years later, DNA evidence matched a surprising suspect, a local sanitation worker. Join Mike and Gibby as they discuss Christopher McCowen. McCowen told several different stories but was linked to t…

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On Bullshit in Politics 31:15

2M ago31:15

31:15

Today we’re continuing our series on philosopher Harry Frankfurt’s seminal work, On Bullshit. Our guest is Michael Patrick Lynch, Provost Professor of the Humanities and Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor of Philosophy at the University of Connecticut. Michael is the author of the recently published book, On Truth in Politics: Why Democracy …

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Nan Z. Da, "The Chinese Tragedy of King Lear" (Princeton UP, 2025) 37:32

2M ago37:32

37:32

At the start of Shakespeare's famous tragedy, King Lear promises to divide his kingdom based on his daughters' professions of love, but portions it out before hearing all of their answers. For Nan Da, this opening scene sparks a reckoning between King Lear, one of the cruelest and most confounding stories in literature, and the tragedy of Maoist an…

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Edward Cairney and Avril Jones 1:02:02

2M ago1:02:02

1:02:02

In the late ‘90s, Margaret Fleming was living under the care of Edward Cairney and Avril Jones, friends of her deceased father. In October 2016, the police launched an investigation when concerns were raised about a benefits claim made by Avril on Margaret’s behalf. Join Mike and Gibby as they discuss Edward Cairney and Avril Jones. The police foun…

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Paul Tucker, "Global Discord: Values and Power in a Fractured World Order" (Princeton UP, 2024) 47:48

2M ago47:48

47:48

How to sustain an international system of cooperation in the midst of geopolitical struggle? Can the international economic and legal system survive today’s fractured geopolitics? Democracies are facing a drawn-out contest with authoritarian states that is entangling much of public policy with global security issues. In Global Discord: Values and P…

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Michael Cook, "A History of the Muslim World: From Its Origins to the Dawn of Modernity" (Princeton UP, 2024) 1:15:02

2M ago1:15:02

1:15:02

A History of the Muslim World: From Its Origins to the Dawn of Modernity (Princeton UP, 2024) by Michael A. Cook This book describes and explains the major events, personalities, conflicts, and convergences that have shaped the history of the Muslim world. The body of the book takes readers from the origins of Islam to the eve of the nineteenth cen…

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Jack Snyder, "Human Rights for Pragmatists: Social Power in Modern Times" (Princeton UP, 2024) 46:03

2M ago46:03

46:03

Human rights are among our most pressing issues today. But rights promoters have reached an impasse in their effort to achieve rights for all. Human Rights for Pragmatists (Princeton University Press, 2022) explains why: activists prioritize universal legal and moral norms, backed by the public shaming of violators, but in fact, rights prevail only…

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Nancy Brophy 1:09:18

2M ago1:09:18

1:09:18

Nancy Brophy is a former author who wrote romantic suspense novels. She once wrote an essay on how to get away with murder. When her husband was found murdered, Nancy quickly became the prime suspect. Join Mike and Gibby as they discuss Nancy Brophy. Prosecutors believed she spent months plotting the murder to cash in on more than a million dollars…

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Vali Nasr, "Iran’s Grand Strategy: A Political History" (Princeton UP, 2025) 50:41

2M ago50:41

50:41

Iran presents one of the most significant foreign policy challenges for America and the West, yet very little is known about what the country’s goals really are. Vali Nasr examines Iran’s political history in new ways to explain its actions and ambitions on the world stage, showing how, behind the veneer of theocracy and Islamic ideology, today’s I…

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The Truth About Bullshit: Celebrating the 20th Anniversary Edition of On Bullshit with Pamela Hieronymi 35:07

3M ago35:07

35:07

Today I’m thrilled to launch a brand new series for the Princeton UP Ideas Podcast. 20 years ago, Princeton University Press published a short volume with an excellent title: On Bullshit (Princeton UP, 2025). Written by philosopher Harry Frankfurt, On Bullshit was adapted from an essay that explored the meaning, uses, and consequences of bullshit. …

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Stephen Marshall 58:56

3M ago58:56

58:56

In March and April 2009, a man’s dismembered remains were scattered across two counties in England. The “jigsaw man,” as the media called the victim, was identified as 49-year-old Jeffrey Howe. The main suspect was his roommate and “best friend,” Stephen Marshall. Join Mike and Gibby as they discuss Stephen Marshall. Jeffrey Howe thought he was hel…

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Amin Ghaziani, "Long Live Queer Nightlife: How the Closing of Gay Bars Sparked a Revolution" (Princeton UP, 2024) 48:11

3M ago48:11

48:11

In this exhilarating journey into underground parties, pulsating with life and limitless possibility, acclaimed author Amin Ghaziani unveils the unexpected revolution revitalizing urban nightlife. Drawing on Ghaziani's immersive encounters at underground parties in London and more than one hundred riveting interviews with everyone from bar owners t…

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John H. Cochrane, Klaus Masuch, and Luis Garicano, "Crisis Cycle: Challenges, Evolution, and Future of the Euro" (Princeton UP, 2025) 1:11:01

3M ago1:11:01

1:11:01

Crisis Cycle: Challenges, Evolution, and Future of the Euro (Princeton UP, 2025) John Cochrane Luis Garicano Klaus Masuch PRINCETON UNIVERSITY PRESS, 2025 Launched 26 years ago, the euro was never expected to have an easy life but it wasn't supposed to be this hard. A three-year solvency crisis, a string of bailouts, and a rescue by the European Ce…

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Introducing The Critical Edition of the Works of C. G. Jung 13:48

3M ago13:48

13:48

"Princeton University Press is thrilled to share news of a major new initiative: the publication of The Critical Edition of the Works of C. G. Jung. As the longtime publisher of the Collected Works of C. G. Jung in North America, PUP is honored to be global publisher of the Critical Edition, having recently secured world language rights and the sup…

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Dale Bruner 1:03:56

3M ago1:03:56

1:03:56

Dale Bruner reported his wife Stephanie missing on November 23rd, 2010. He told the police she left the house to cool off after an argument. Throughout the investigation, the police found evidence of a troubled marriage and incidents of domestic violence that caused Stephanie to file for divorce. Join Mike and Gibby as they discuss Dale Bruner. It …

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Elizabeth N. Saunders, "The Insiders' Game: How Elites Make War and Peace" (Princeton UP, 2024) 47:01

3M ago47:01

47:01

One of the most widely held views of democratic leaders is that they are cautious about using military force because voters can hold them accountable, ultimately making democracies more peaceful. How, then, are leaders able to wage war in the face of popular opposition, or end conflicts when the public still supports them? The Insiders’ Game (Princ…

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Meg Wellnitz-Appleton and Bill Meece 1:09:58

3M ago1:09:58

1:09:58

In 1993, Joseph Wellnitz, his wife Beth, and their 20-year-old son Dennis were murdered inside their Columbia, Kentucky home. Although the police had their suspicions early on, it took nearly a decade to catch the killer. Join Mike and Gibby as they discuss Meg Wellnitz-Appleton and Bill Meece. For years, their alibis stood up and prevented the aut…

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Questions: A Discussion with Leslie Butler and Holly Case 1:32:39

3M ago1:32:39

1:32:39

BOOKS UNDER DISCUSSION: Leslie Butler, Consistent Democracy: The "Woman Question" and Self-Government in Nineteenth-Century America (Oxford University Press, 2023). Holly Case, The Age of Questions: Or, A First Attempt at an Aggregate History of the Eastern, Social, Woman, American, Jewish, Polish, Bullion, Tuberculosis, and Many Other Questions ov…

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Sheila Fitzpatrick, "Lost Souls: Soviet Displaced Persons and the Birth of the Cold War" (Princeton UP, 2024) 1:02:26

3M ago1:02:26

1:02:26

When World War II ended, about one million people whom the Soviet Union claimed as its citizens were outside the borders of the USSR, mostly in the Western-occupied zones of Germany and Austria. These “displaced persons,” or DPs—Russians, prewar Soviet citizens, and people from West Ukraine and the Baltic states forcibly incorporated into the Sovie…

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Robert Garland, "What to Expect When You're Dead: An Ancient Tour of Death and the Afterlife" (Princeton UP, 2025) 49:49

3M ago49:49

49:49

A lively story of death, What to Expect When You're Dead: An Ancient Tour of Death and the Afterlife (Princeton University Press, 2025) by Dr. Robert Garland explores the fascinating death-related beliefs and practices of a wide range of ancient cultures and traditions—Mesopotamian, Egyptian, Hindu, Jewish, Zoroastrian, Etruscan, Greek, Roman, Earl…