Best Up The Ris Podcasts (2025)

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Amanda Nichols Hess, "Information Literacy and Critical Thinking: Using Perspective Transformation to Break Information Bubbles" (ALA, 2025) 58:16

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9d ago58:16

58:16

Higher education is about transformation: research shows that the most well-prepared graduates are those who have experienced changes in how they think about and experience the world around them. Combined with flexible information-seeking and evaluation skills, learning ways to break information bubbles is essential for dealing with today's challen…

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Try to Love the Questions: From Debate to Dialogue in Classrooms and Life 1:01:07

7d ago1:01:07

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Among the most common challenges on college campuses today is figuring out how to navigate our politically charged culture and engage productively with opposing viewpoints. In Try to Love the Questions: From Debate to Dialogue in Classrooms and Life (Princeton UP, 2024), Lara Schwartz introduces the fundamental principles of free expression, academ…

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Samuel Moore, "Publishing Beyond the Market: Open Access, Care, and the Commons" (U Michigan Press, 2025) 1:03:39

14d ago1:03:39

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I talked to Dr. Samuel Moore about his recent book, Publishing Beyond the Market: Open Access, Care, and the Commons, (U Michigan Press, 2025) Samuel Moore is the Scholarly Communication Specialist at Cambridge University Libraries, Associate Lecturer at Cambridge Digital Humanities, and College Research Associate at King's College, Cambridge. In h…

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Carlo Rotella, "What Can I Get Out of This?: Teaching and Learning in a Classroom Full of Skeptics" (U California Press, 2025) 1:09:35

23d ago1:09:35

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I’m excited to talk to Carlo Rotella today. Carlo is Professor of English at Boston College. His books include The World Is Always Coming to an End: Pulling Together and Apart in a Chicago Neighborhood (University of Chicago Press, 2019); Playing in Time: Essays, Profiles, and Other True Stories (University of Chicago Press, 2012); Cut Time: An Edu…

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Alexander Cooley and Alexander Dukalskis, "Dictating the Agenda: The Authoritarian Resurgence in World Politics" (Oxford UP, 2025) 1:06:12

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Following the end of the Cold War, the world experienced a remarkable wave of democratization. Over the next two decades, numerous authoritarian regimes transitioned to democracies, and it seemed that authoritarianism as a political model was fading. But as recent events have shown, things have clearly changed. In Dictating the Agenda: The Authorit…

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Gracen Brilmyer and Lydia Tang eds., "Preserving Disability: Disability and the Archival Profession" (Library Juice Press, 2024) 40:26

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A transcript of this interview is available [here] Preserving Disability: Disability and the Archival Profession (Library Juice Press, 2024) weaves together first-person narratives and case studies contributed from disabled archivists and disabled archives users, bringing critical perspectives and approaches to the archival profession. Contributed …

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Janice M. McCabe, "Making, Keeping, and Losing Friends: How Campuses Shape College Students’ Networks" (U Chicago Press, 2025) 51:53

1M ago51:53

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We’re all familiar with the sentiment that “college is the best time of your life.” Along with a newfound sense of freedom, students have a unique opportunity to forge lifelong friendships at a point in life when friendship is particularly important. Why is it, then, that so many college students are falling victim to what the US Surgeon General te…

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Carlo Rotella, "What Can I Get Out of This?: Teaching and Learning in a Classroom Full of Skeptics" (U California Press, 2025) 47:16

1M ago47:16

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At a time when college students and their parents often question the "return on investment" from humanities courses, accomplished feature writer and English professor Carlo Rotella invites us into the minds of a group of skeptical first-year students who are ultimately transformed by a required literature class. In What Can I Get Out of This?: Teac…

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Ethan W. Ris, "Other People's Colleges: The Origins of American Higher Education Reform" (U Chicago Press, 2022) 1:06:07

1M ago1:06:07

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For well over one hundred years, people have been attempting to make American colleges and universities more efficient and more accountable. Indeed, Ethan Ris argues in Other People's Colleges: The Origins of American Higher Education Reform (U Chicago Press, 2022), the reform impulse is baked into American higher education, the result of generatio…

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James Elwick, "Making a Grade: Victorian Examinations and the Rise of Standardized Testing" (U Toronto Press, 2025) 1:03:06

2M ago1:03:06

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Making a Grade: Victorian Examinations and the Rise of Standardized Testing (U Toronto Press, 2025) takes historiographic and sociological perspectives developed to understand large-scale scientific and technical systems and uses them to highlight the standardization that went into "standardized testing." Starting in the 1850s achievement tests bec…

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Diane Ravitch, "An Education: How I Changed My Mind About Schools and Almost Everything Else" (Columbia UP, 2025) 1:02:58

2M ago1:02:58

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For many years, Diane Ravitch was among the country’s leading conservative thinkers on education. The cure for what ailed the school system was clear, she believed: high-stakes standardized testing, national standards, accountability, competition, charters, and vouchers. Then Ravitch saw what happened when these ideas were put into practice and rec…

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Tim Beasley-Murray, "Critical Games: On Play and Seriousness in Academia, Literature and Life" (Manchester UP, 2025) 42:00

2M ago42:00

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Which parts of life are serious, and which are a game? In Critical Games: On Play and Seriousness in Academia, Literature and Life (Manchester UP, 2025) Tim Beasley-Murray, an Associate Professor of European Thought and Culture and Vice-Dean (Innovation and Enterprise) for the Faculty of Arts and Humanities at University College London, offers a se…

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Matthew D. Nelsen, "The Color of Civics: Civic Education for a Multiracial Democracy" (Oxford UP, 2023) 47:18

2M ago47:18

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Matthew D. Nelsen, an Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Miami, has a new book out that focuses on the content of civic education in the United States, and how we learn about the diverse and varied history of the United States. There is an ongoing and contemporary conversation about civic education in the United States, a…

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Kate McDowell, "Critical Data Storytelling for Libraries: Crafting Ethical Narratives for Advocacy and Impact" (ALA, 2025) 53:06

2M ago53:06

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In today’s polarized landscape, libraries face two key challenges: the difficulty of turning raw data into narratives that effectively advocate for libraries, and the ethical complexities of representing communities in these stories. In Critical Data Storytelling for Libraries: Crafting Ethical Narratives for Advocacy and Impact (ALA, 2025), Kate M…

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Eddie's Million Dollar Cookoff: How Men Uphold the Patriarchy 1:09:32

3M ago1:09:32

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The patriarchy still persists because men are doing everything they can to keep it alive. When it comes to trying to maintain the facade of “masculinity” you have to ask yourself, who are they doing it for? The women don’t seemed to be impressed by it, so, they’re doing it for other men. But, does that serve them positivley? NO, what should be thei…

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Make Your Manuscript Work: A Guide to Developmental Editing for Scholarly Writers 54:04

3M ago54:04

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Developmental editing holds the power to make a manuscript connect with publishers and readers, yet few scholarly writers have the training to do it well. Make Your Manuscript Work: A Guide to Developmental Editing for Scholarly Writers (Princeton UP, 2025) offers scholars a practical method for assessing and refining the features of their texts th…

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What is Free Speech with Fara Dabhoiwala 1:09:38

3M ago1:09:38

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The speech debates have not abated, and it’s clear that invoking the First Amendment, and the importance of free speech for democracy, does not settle these debates but provokes more questions. We have lost our way, it seems, since people on all sides invoke free speech and then try to silence those they disagree with. Historian Fara Dabhoiwala of …

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Robots, the anti-capitalist movie we needed 34:09

3M ago34:09

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Deepa Das Acevedo, "The War on Tenure" (Cambridge UP, 2025) 1:02:47

3M ago1:02:47

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As academia increasingly comes under attack in the United States, The War on Tenure (Cambridge UP, 2025) steps in to demystify what professors do and to explain the importance of tenure for their work. Deepa Das Acevedo takes readers on a backstage tour of tenure-stream academia to reveal hidden dynamics and obstacles. She challenges the common bel…

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Michael Fernandez and Amauri Serrano, "Streaming Video Collection Development and Management" (Bloomsbury Libraries Unlimited, 2025) 47:03

3M ago47:03

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Streaming video is not new to the library environment, but recent years have seen an exponential growth in the number of platforms and titles available for streaming. For libraries, this has meant an increasingly complex acquisitions landscape, with more vendors occupying the marketplace and larger portions of the budget dedicated to streaming. Use…

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Leading Toward Liberation: How to Build Cultures of Thriving in Higher Education 52:26

3M ago52:26

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In Leading Toward Liberation: How to Build Cultures of Thriving in Higher Education (JHU Press, 2025), Dr. Annmarie Caño reimagines academic leadership as a practice rooted in liberation and equity. Drawing on her experiences as a Latina, first-generation college student, clinical psychologist, and higher education administrator, Caño shows how lea…

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Debaditya Bhattacharya, "The Indian University: A Critical History" (Orient BlackSwan, 2025) 58:45

3M ago58:45

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Is there such a thing as an ‘Indian university’? Is there an ‘idea’ of an Indian university? Were universities in India living and breathing products of the soil, or were they conceptual imports from a colonial heritage? What is the relationship between universities in India and the ‘publics’ that have inhabited or are alienated by them? More point…

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M.A. in Yoga Studies with Christopher Chapple 37:35

3M ago37:35

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Dr. Christopher Chapple, founder of Loyola Marymount University’s pioneering M.A. in Yoga Studies, joins us to discuss how the program blends rigorous scholarship with embodied practice. We explore its study of Sanskrit, classical texts, philosophy, and modern applications, as well as its flexible residential and low-residency formats. Hear how thi…

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Alisha Karabinus et al. eds., "Historiographies of Game Studies: What It Has Been, What It Could Be" (Punctum Books, 2025) 27:01

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Historiographies of Game Studies: What It Has Been, What It Could Be (Punctum Books, 2025) offers a first-of-its-kind reflection on how game studies as an academic field has been shaped and sustained. Today, game studies is a thriving field with many dedicated national and international conferences, journals, professional societies, and a strong pr…

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Designing and Facilitating Workshops with Intentionality 47:49

4M ago47:49

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Designing and Facilitating Workshops with Intentionality offers practical guidance, tools, and resources to assist practitioners in creating effective, engaging workshops for adult learners. Drawing from three key learning frameworks and the author’s considerable expertise in facilitating workshops across both educational and corporate settings, th…

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Deconstructing as a Fangirl 2.0 1:29:30

4M ago1:29:30

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Can it be possible to have a healthy relationship to the entertainment world? How does dehumanization tie into everything? Part 2 of Deconstructing Patriarchy as a Fangirl. I chat about accountability, values, parasocial relationships, dehumanization (etc). and how we can connect all these elements to patriarchy. There are so many insidious ways pa…

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Stephanie K. Kim, "Constructing Student Mobility: How Universities Recruit Students and Shape Pathways between Berkeley and Seoul" (MIT Press, 2023) 53:07

4M ago53:07

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Constructing Student Mobility: How Universities Recruit Students and Shape Pathways between Berkeley and Seoul (MIT Press, 2023) challenges the popular image of the international student in the American imagination, an image of affluence, access, and privilege. In this provocative book, higher education scholar Stephanie Kim argues that universitie…

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Sarah McLaughlin, "Authoritarians in the Academy: How the Internationalization of Higher Education and Borderless Censorship Threaten Free Speech" (Johns Hopkins UP, 2025) 41:51

4M ago41:51

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In an era of globalized education, where ideals of freedom and inquiry should thrive, an alarming trend has emerged: foreign authoritarian regimes infiltrating American academia. In Authoritarians in the Academy, Sarah McLaughlin exposes how higher education institutions, long considered bastions of free thought, are compromising their values for f…

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Christopher Willard et al., "College Mental Health 101: A Guide for Students, Parents, and Professionals" (Oxford UP, 2025) 45:11

4M ago45:11

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With a growing number of students entering college with an existing mental health diagnosis, College Mental Health 101: A Guide for Students, Parents, and Professionals (Oxford UP, 2025) offers hope and clear direction to those struggling with mental illness. There is an undeniable mental health crisis on campuses these days. More students are anxi…

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Who Needs College Anymore: Imagining A Future Where Degrees Don’t Matter 51:42

4M ago51:42

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In this optimistic yet practical assessment of how postsecondary education can evolve to meet the needs of next-generation learners, Kathleen deLaski reimagines what higher education might offer and whom it should serve. In the wake of declining enrollment and declining confidence in the value of a college degree, she urges a mindset shift regardin…

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Matthew Goodman, "The City Game: Triumph, Scandal, and a Legendary Basketball Team" (Ballantine Books, 2019) 50:28

4M ago50:28

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The 1949-50 CCNY Beavers basketball team were one of the unlikeliest of champions in sports history. CCNY was a tuition-free in Harlem, New York, intended to give working class students the best education possible. The school was comprised of minorities, many of whom were the immigrants or children of immigrants. In 1949-50, the CCNY squad, led by …

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Christopher R. Matthews, "Doing Good Social Science: Lessons from Immersion, Understanding Social Life and Exploring the In-Between" (Routledge, 2025) 31:43

5M ago31:43

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Doing Good Social Science: Lessons from Immersion, Understanding Social Life and Exploring the In-Between (Routledge, 2025) takes readers on a personal and thought-provoking journey and empowers readers to become unshakeable, free-thinking scholars. Drawing from nearly two decades of experience in research and mentorship, this book shares insights …

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

5M ago56:38

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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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David Theo Goldberg, "The War on Critical Race Theory: Or, The Remaking of Racism" (Polity Press, 2023) 1:15:23

5M ago1:15:23

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The War on Critical Race Theory: Or, The Remaking of Racism (Polity Press, 2023) by David Theo Goldberg discusses how “Critical Race Theory” is consuming conservative America. The mounting attacks on a once-obscure legal theory are upending public schooling, legislating censorship, driving elections, and cleaving communities. In this much-needed re…

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Teacher by Teacher: The People Who Change Our Lives 51:08

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Teacher By Teacher traces the journey of the tenth U.S. Secretary of Education and is a deeply personal love letter to all the teachers in our lives. The story of John B. King Jr.’s inspiring path to President Obama’s Cabinet begins the day that his mother died. He insisted on going to school that day, knowing he would find comfort in his classroom…

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Dan-el Padilla Peralta, "Classicism and Other Phobias" (Princeton UP, 2025) 50:52

5M ago50:52

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

5M ago59:52

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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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How ClioVis is Transforming Education and Historical Research 22:14

5M ago22:14

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Today I’m speaking with Marcus Golding, historian and Director of Educational Operations at ClioVis. ClioVis is an incredible software and learning tool that allows educators and studies to create digital timelines, network visualizations, and interactive presentations. Founded by UT Austin history professor Erika Bsumek, ClioVis is made for profes…

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Overcoming ABD Pitfalls: Tips for Getting Unstuck 53:13

6M ago53:13

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The ABD [All But Dissertation] phase can either feel liberating—no more coursework or comps!—or like the floor has dropped out. The scaffolding that prepared you for being a graduate assistant, passing comps or conducting your research gives way to a new, wide open space where you are just supposed to write. While some people will flourish in this …

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Alexander Lian, "Stereoscopic Law: Oliver Wendell Holmes and Legal Education" (Cambridge UP, 2020) 37:11

6M ago37:11

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A unique and thorough work of intellectual history and legal scholarship Stereoscopic Law: Oliver Wendell Holmes and Legal Education (Cambridge University Press, 2020) by Alexander Lian, a practicing commercial litigator, reconstructs Oliver Wendell Holmes’ as a pioneering legal pedagogue and sophisticated theoretician of law and the ‘reality of pr…

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Tom Waidzunas et al., "Out Doing Science: LGBTQ STEM Professionals and Inclusion in Neoliberal Times" (UMass Press, 2025) 1:05:41

6M ago1:05:41

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Over the past 50 years, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer professionals have organized to achieve greater inclusion into the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). This inclusion, however, has come at a cost. In the 1970s, these professionals sought to radically transform STEM fields by confronting the homo…

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Pooja Agarwal, Cynthia Nebel, Veronica Yan, "Smart Teaching Stronger Learning: Practical Tips From 10 Cognitive Scientists" (Unleash Learning Press, 2025) 1:10:22

6M ago1:10:22

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How can I help my students not only learn my course material but also retain and transfer that information? This is a question that has plagued and intrigued teachers for centuries. In Smart Teaching Stronger Learning: Practical Tips for 10 Cognitive Scientists, the authors provide their readers with evidence-based practices for immediate classroom…

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Steve Haberlin, "Meditation in the College Classroom: A Pedagogical Tool to Help Students De-Stress, Focus, and Connect" (Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2023). 42:03

6M ago42:03

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This book provides background, strategies, and tips for higher education faculty and instructors interested in incorporating meditation in their classrooms. The work is based on research involving introducing brief meditation practices to college students and developing a detailed guide. Readers will learn how to develop their own meditation practi…

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Considering Leaving Academia? 53:35

6M ago53:35

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Today we again explore what it means to leave academia, as Dr. Sophia Basaldua-Sun shares how an informational interview was key to her success in landing a job outside academia, and what her life in the world of publishing is like. Leaving Academia is an ongoing sub-series with the Academic Life, with guests candidly sharing their decisions to sta…

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Jennifer R. Nájera, "Learning to Lead: Undocumented Students Mobilizing Education" (Duke UP, 2024) 1:12:15

6M ago1:12:15

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In Learning to Lead: Undocumented Students Mobilizing Education (Duke University Press, 2024), Jennifer R. Nájera explores the intersections of education and activism among undocumented students at the University of California, Riverside. Taking an expansive view of education, Nájera shows how students’ experiences in college—both in and out of the…

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James M. Lang, "Write Like You Teach: Taking Your Classroom Skills to a Bigger Audience" (University of Chicago Press, 2025) 1:01:05

6M ago1:01:05

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Teachers are subject matter experts that can distill information into manageable chunks for their students. In Write Like You Teach: Taking Your Classroom Skills to a Bigger Audience (University of Chicago Press, 2025), Dr. James M. Lang insists that the skills teachers use in their classrooms can be transferred to a broader audience. This book pro…

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Milton E. Clarke, "The Community College Reform Movement: Contentions and Ideological Origins" (Routledge, 2025) 1:19:00

6M ago1:19:00

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In his new book, The Community College Reform Movement: Contentions and Ideological Origins (Routledge, 2025), political scientist Milton Clarke critically examines the rise of the higher education reform movement, often referred to as the “completion agenda,” which, since the early 2000s, has sought to restructure core aspects of the community col…

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Deconstructing Patriarchy as a Fangirl 42:59

6M ago42:59

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A rant on how we all need to be deconstructing patriarchy and ESPECIALLY if you are a fangirl. The patriarchy has taught women to be dismissive and underestimate things, how does this seep into the way fans act? Why are people defending celebrity men? Sharing some of my insights on how I've noticed this in my experience as a fangirl and how that's …

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The Truth About Bullshit: Celebrating the 20th Anniversary Edition of On Bullshit with Pamela Hieronymi 36:52

6M ago36:52

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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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John Barr, "1960s University Buildings: The Golden Age of British Modern Architecture" (Lund Humphries, 2025) 57:39

6M ago57:39

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The 1960s continue to hold an almost mythical place in Western culture, particularly in Britain, where change was widespread and infiltrated many aspects of life. This included architecture, whose role in a modern democracy and the form it should take were hotly debated. 1960s University Buildings: The Golden Age of British Modern Architecture (Lun…