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New Books in Critical Theory

This podcast is a channel on the New Books Network. The New Books Network is an academic audio library dedicated to public education. In each episode you will hear scholars discuss their recently published research with another expert in their field. Discover our 150+ channels and browse our 28,000+ episodes on our website: ⁠newbooksnetwork.com⁠ Subscribe to our free weekly Substack newsletter to get informative, engaging content straight to your inbox:

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42:04

Catherine A John, "Afroindigenization: A Theory of...

New Books in Critical Theory ·

2026/09/15

In Afroindigenization: A Theory of Grassroots Cultural Practice (Duke University Press, 2026), Catherine A. John addresses the underbelly of spiritual resilience shaping a range of African diasporic institutions, traditions, and practices. John argues that repressed forms of indigenous African knowledge systems manifest in a myriad of culturally embodied ways in African diaspora spaces and places. From mermaid lore in rural Jamaica to hip-hop trance-induced dance in Los Angeles to the stories of two

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67:50

John Charles Simon and Jennalee Donian,...

New Books in Critical Theory ·

2026/09/12

In John Charles Simon and Jennalee Donian’s Understanding Laughter and Humor: Why We Laugh, Why We Don’t, and Why It Matters (Palgrave Macmillan, 2025), the authors put forward a comprehensive new theoretical approach to understanding laughter and the humour we use to inspire it. Applying an evolutionary and biological lens to these complex and universal human behaviours, the book distinguishes itself from classical and contemporary theories by focusing not simply on laughter’s causes and effects,

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70:47

Robert A. Wilson, "Kin Matters: Relational Beings in...

New Books in Critical Theory ·

2026/09/10

What is kinship? This central question in cultural anthropology is standardly answered in terms of culturally constructed relationships that are unconstrained by biological relationships. InKin Matters: Relational Beings in the Fragile Sciences(Oxford UP, 2026), Robert Wilson proposes an alternative view that does not separate kin relations from biological facts about reproduction that are universally known, such as the fact that human females are pregnant before they give birth. On the

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58:22

Leonhard Emmerling, "The Idiots: The History of the...

New Books in Critical Theory ·

2026/09/09

In a world obsessed with expertise and control, the figure of the idiot illuminates deeper truths about society.In this interview,Morteza Hajizadeh interviewsLeonhard Emmerling about his bookThe Idiots: The History of the Homo Nullus(Seagull Books, 2026)Dostoevsky and Nietzsche wrote about him; Dadaists and punks idolized him; artists like Warhol and Beuys made him their icon. From holy fool to punk rebel, the idiot—a figure that traces its roots back to the Greekidiotes, a person who was

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69:23

Kevin Van Meter and Robert Ovetz eds. "Points of...

New Books in Critical Theory ·

2026/09/07

“The general thrust of capitalist policy in this period aims at the intensified imposition of work in response to ongoing struggle against it.”—Harry Cleaver, “Work Is Still the Central Issue: New Words for New Worlds,” inPoints of Departure, ed. Robert Ovetz and Kevin Van Meter, p. 35. What changes if we begin the history of capitalism not with what capital does to workers, but with what workers force capital to do? This reversal helps set Harry Cleaver’s approach to Marxism apart from more

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62:58

Marnie Hughes-Warrington, "Artificial Historians"...

New Books in Critical Theory ·

2026/09/05

I spoke with Professor Marnie Hughes-Warrington about her 2026 bookArtificial Historians, co-authored with Anne Martin and Lewis Yarlupurka O’Brien. A distinguished historian, philosopher, academic leader, and Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) based at the University of Adelaide, my guest explores how the logic of history, defined around trivalent logic (the “maybes,” the “ifs,” the ontological uncertainties), intersects with and challenges the logic of dominant AI algorithms.The book raises

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55:39

Chika Watanabe, "Play to Survive: Disaster...

New Books in Critical Theory ·

2026/09/04

We live in a fragile world. This much is evident as stories abound ofnatural disasters that wipe out communities in an instant. How can we survive the future on such a planet, amid intensifying climate change? This question is particularly poignant along the Ring of Fire, a tectonic belt in the Pacific region that routinely faces some of the most devastating disasters in the world. Based on ethnographic research spanning seven years, Play to Survive: Disaster Preparedness Along the Ring of

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58:47

Piergiorgio Di Giminiani, "Alterhumanism: Becoming...

New Books in Critical Theory ·

2026/09/04

In the Anthropocene, a question has become increasingly urgent: What does it mean to be human? Set against the backdrop of southern Chile’s conservation frontier, Alterhumanism: Becoming Human on a Conservation Frontier (University of Arizona Press, 2025) invites us to recognize the centrality of the human condition in the face of an increasingly uncertain world and imagine future forms of coexistence. Reflecting on more than a decade of ethnographic fieldwork with smallholding settlers,

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62:24

Michael Diniscia and Ellyn M Toscano eds. "Civility...

New Books in Critical Theory ·

2026/09/03

The idea of civility goes back to classical Rome and the ways in which citizens engaged one another within the republic. The term itself is often used in a number of different ways, reflecting expected behavior, particularly in public spaces, and as a mechanism to manage human interaction. But civility and the use of this idea often shape hierarchical relationships within society and within politics and may define who is to be included within the polis and who may be excluded. Thus, the

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61:52

Jonathan Quong, "Political Philosophy: The Puzzle of...

New Books in Critical Theory ·

2026/09/03

Can laws be unjust and yet remain, in some sense, morally legitimate? InPolitical Philosophy: The Puzzle of Legitimate Injustice(Princeton UP, 2026), Jonathan Quong considers central issues in political philosophy through the lens of this single question. He explores and evaluates recent influential work on this topic and then proposes a novel approach of his own. The puzzle at the heart of his account is the phenomenon of legitimate injustice—laws and policies that are substantively unjust yet may

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31:44

Duty, Banality, and Hopefulness with Alex Cain

New Books in Critical Theory ·

2026/09/01

In this episode Pat speaks with Dr Alex Cain.Dr Alex Cain researches in the fields of political theory and ethical theory, with a particular focus on the work of Hannah Arendt, among other figures in the history of philosophy. Her work in this field has so far mostly focussed on the topics of friendship, political action, judgement and the role of experience in philosophical inquiry. They discuss Sidney Nolan’s duty to paint the concentration camps, the hopefulness of Hannah Arendt, and the

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46:59

Raf de Bont et al eds., "Globalizing Wildlife" (UNC...

New Books in Critical Theory ·

2026/08/31

Humans have always incorporated wildlife into processes of work, capture, and exchange. During the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, globalization became the latest in a long line of forces affecting human-animal relations. Grey parrots travelled the world as pets; rats used global shipping infrastructure to spread to far-off islands and became the object of cross-border extermination campaigns; and California sea otters were relocated to accommodate global oil transportation needs. The language

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36:49

Gastronomy as Sensory Engineering

New Books in Critical Theory ·

2026/08/31

One year after the publication ofGastronomica’sspecial feature on food and philosophy, Robert T. Valgenti of the Editorial Collective revisits the question of what a philosophical perspective could bring to addressing food-related issues. In this episode, he talks withGastronomicaauthor and philosopher Sascha Benjamin Fink about human perception and how people experience the world, taking up questions at the cutting edge of science, art, and gastronomy. Sascha discusses the role of the senses and

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68:45

Prakash Kashwan, "Decolonizing Environmentalism:...

New Books in Critical Theory ·

2026/08/30

Brought to you by the BISA Environment and Climate Politics Working Group. Decolonizing Environmentalism:Alternative Visions and Practices of EnvironmentalAction (Bloomsbury, 2024)helps us reimagine our approach to environmental stewardship critically interrogating the problems associated with existing legacies of environmentalism and how we imagine other ways to addressing the multiple planetary crises. The authors cast a critical eye on wealthy and influential environmental groups that

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41:46

María Angélica Thumala Olave, "The Love of Books:...

New Books in Critical Theory ·

2026/08/30

Why do people read? InThe Love of Books: Attachment to a Changing Cultural Object(Manchester UniversityPress, 2026)María Angélica Thumala Olave,a Senior Lecturer in Sociology at the University of Edinburgh’s School of Social and Political Science, explores people’s relationship to books and to reading, demonstrating the pleasure and importance books provide in contemporary life. Moving beyond a narrow focus on the social status offered by books and reading, the analysis shows the role of material

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75:35

Stefan Collini, "Literature and Learning: A History...

New Books in Critical Theory ·

2026/08/29

Literature and Learning: A History of English Studies in Britain(Oxford University Press, 2025)by Stefan Collini The study and teaching of English literature is generally regarded as one of the central disciplines in the modern university, yet for much of its history it struggled to gain academic legitimacy and was frequently derided as 'a soft option'. Its early professors responded by emphasizing its scholarly character, foregrounding philology and literary history in ways that marked the

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50:51

Paul Johnson, "Challenging Inequalities: How We Got...

New Books in Critical Theory ·

2026/08/26

There is a widespread sense throughout the developed world that progress towards a better society has stalled. Many countries, including the UK, have experienced persistent economic stagnation accompanied by declining trust in institutions. Governments are struggling to respond not only to traditional economic problems but also to newer challenges posed by climate change, migration and technological change. Challenging Inequalities: How We Got Stuck and Where We Go Next(Princeton University

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57:28

Niharika Pandit, "Occupying the Everyday:...

New Books in Critical Theory ·

2026/08/25

Our recent conversation aboutOccupying the Everyday: Militarisation and Gendered Politics of Living in Kashmir(Oxford UP, 2026), with author Niharika Pandit, covers the journey of how critical methodology meets the weight of lived experience. This book examines the everyday politics of militarized control in Kashmir following the Indian government’s August 5, 2019, decision to de-operationalize Jammu and Kashmir’s nominal autonomy. The core of our reflection centered on how one theorizes through

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53:40

A.J.A. Woods, "The Cultural Marxism Conspiracy: Why...

New Books in Critical Theory ·

2026/08/24

The Cultural Marxism Conspiracy: Why the Right Blames the Frankfurt School for the Decline of the West (Verso Books, 2026)is thedefinitive history of a dangerous right-wing conspiracy theory.“Cultural Marxism” is one of the far right’s favorite buzzwords. But despite its currency, the meaning and origins of the term are rarely investigated. This book uncovers the bizarre story of the cult leaders, right-wing intellectuals, and White House officials who believe a coterie of left-wing scholars

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83:59

Ryan Engley, "Seriality: Media and the Psychic Form...

New Books in Critical Theory ·

2026/08/23

This material and theoretical history of seriality shows it to be the dominant form of culture since its inception within 19th-century print culture, as both a media structure and a psychic one. The serial is everywhere. Commonly identified by the segmented release structure of an ongoing narrative—from installments of Victorian novels to TV episodes to comic books—seriality names the spread of installment-based storytelling across a range of media. However, Ryan Engley argues that seriality

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