Loading...

PODCAST

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:

science social sciences

All Episodes

51:48

Deborah Barer, "Going Off Script: Improvisational...

New Books in Critical Theory ·

2026/08/08

What does it really mean to go "beyond the letter of the law"? In this episode, Rabbi Marc Katz sits down with scholar Deborah Barer to discuss her book Going Off Script: Improvisational Judgment in the Talmud, which offers a surprising new interpretation of one of the Talmud's most enduring ethical concepts: lifnim mi-shurat ha-din. For generations, lifnim mi-shurat ha-din has been understood to mean acting "beyond the letter of the law"—choosing generosity or compassion over strict legal

en

86:31

Giulio Boccaletti, "The Environmental Republic: Why...

New Books in Critical Theory ·

2026/08/07

Republicanism is arguably the most powerful political idea in history, an extraordinary feat of human imagination that balances individual liberty with collective responsibility. The Environmental Republic: Why Citizens Will Save the World (Princeton University Press, 2026) reclaims this idea as the path to sustaining our life together on a changing planet, reframing our relationship to the environment not as a constraint on liberty but as its republican foundation. Giulio Boccaletti

en

43:12

Andres Saenz de Sicilia, "Subsumption in Kant, Hegel...

New Books in Critical Theory ·

2026/08/07

Subsumption in Kant, Hegel and Marx: From the Critique of Reason to the Critique of Societyis the latest book from Dr Andres Saenz De Sicilia, an Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Northeastern University London. Andres’ excellent title, published with Brill and released in soft cover with Haymarket Books late last year, is an in-depth exploration of the concept of subsumption as it appears in the works of three great thinkers, and the relevance of the paradigm for modern critical theory. In this

en

61:36

Katharina Stevens, "The Ethics of Argumentation"...

New Books in Critical Theory ·

2026/08/05

The Ethics of Argumentation(Routledge, 2025)offers a new approach to the theory of argumentation that conceptualizes argumentation as a fundamentally ethical activity whose norms are grounded in, and must be selected according to, moral reasons. Current normative approaches to argumentation do not treat ethics as an integral part of argumentation theory. This is at least in part due to a methodological commitment not to address internal states of the arguers, such as intentions and beliefs, which

en

25:49

Valena Beety, "Pink Crime: Fighting Against the...

New Books in Critical Theory ·

2026/08/04

A woman miscarries—and is charged with murder. A new mother tests positive for a drug her hospital administered—and loses custody of her newborn. Four women are convicted of horrific crimes against children they never touched, based on junk science and homophobia—and spend nearly twenty years in prison before being exonerated. A queer teenager takes a photo of a child’s diaper rash at work—and is sentenced to 126 years. These cases are not aberrations. They are symptoms of a system that

en

41:40

Lisa Blaydes and Samuel Helfont eds., "Ba‘thist Iraq...

New Books in Critical Theory ·

2026/07/29

The opening of Iraq's Ba'thParty archives revolutionized the study of Iraqi politics and history, offering scholars unprecedented access to the inner workings of one of the world's most impenetrable autocracies. Ba‘thist Iraq Through Archives: Reflections, Explorations, and Opportunities (Stanford University Press, 2026) edited by Dr. Lisa Blaydes and Dr. Samuel Helfont brings together leading scholars to take stock of what we have learned from over a decade of research using the Ba'thist

en

51:31

Paul Langley and Andrew Leyshon, "Fintech Capital:...

New Books in Critical Theory ·

2026/07/28

How is finance changing in the contemporary world? In FinTech Capital: The Digital Transformation of Everyday Money and Finance(Princeton University Press, 2026),Paul Langley, a Professor of Economic Geography at Durham Universityand Andrew Leyshon, a Senior Fellow in the Centre for Economy, Policy and Place, Nottingham Trent University and Emeritus Professor of Economic Geography at the University of Nottingham, chart the rise of a new form of capitalism in the digital age. Drawing on detailed

en

44:52

Toby Miller and Joan Pedro Carañana, "Global Sports...

New Books in Critical Theory ·

2026/07/26

Just how much damage is sport doing to the planet? In Global Sports Go Green—Or Do They?(Palgrave Macmillan, 2026)Toby Miller, Profesor Distinguido at the Instituto Tecnológico de Monterrey, Mexico and Joan Pedro Carañana, Associate Professor of Journalism at Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spainexamine the ecological impact of major sporting events. Using case studies of The World Cup, The Olympics, The America’s Cup and Formula One, the book demonstrates the vast range of economic, social,

en

69:15

Todd McGowan, "Self-Sabotage: How We Try Not to...

New Books in Critical Theory ·

2026/07/25

Self-Sabotage: How We Try Not to Flourish(Polity Press, 2026)contends that an unconscious impulse to undermine our own interests plays a dominant role in our lives. The idea of a primary drive to self-destruction is at odds with the prevailing common sense in a world where almost everyone believes that we strive to flourish. Yet often we fail to flourish not because some people are wicked but because the drive to sabotage ourselves outweighs the pleasures of flourishing. Our tendency to

en

63:10

Lily Kelting, "Against Heritage: The Reinvention of...

New Books in Critical Theory ·

2026/07/24

The rise of “heritage” foods—that is, the reinvention of traditional foods—has enjoyed a high profile thanks to the oft-praised efforts of chefs such as Sean Brock and René Redzepi. But Lily Kelting observes the popularity of heritage foods as something more: a global movement in response to climate catastrophe and the rise of right-wing, populist movements that center a return to the past as part of their ideology. Weaving ethnography, discourse analysis, critical theory, and sensory,

en

71:38

Elad Lapidot, "State of Others: Levinas and...

New Books in Critical Theory ·

2026/07/22

Elad Lapidot is Professor of Jewish Thought at the University of Lille, France. His work is guided by questions concerning the relation between knowledge and politics. Among his publications:State of Others: Levinas and Decolonial Israel(Indiana UP, forthcoming),Politics of Not Speaking(Albany: SUNY Press, 2025),Jews Out of the Question: A Critique of Anti-Anti-Semitism(Albany: SUNY Press, 2020), Hebrew translation of Hegel’sPhänomenologie des Geistes(Tel Aviv: Resling Publishing, 2020),Heidegger

en

60:13

Timothy Mitchell, "The Alibi of Capital: How We Broke...

New Books in Critical Theory ·

2026/07/21

Stealing the future and concealing the theft—capitalism’s method, as examined by the author of the acclaimed Carbon Democracy Today, extraordinary wealth seems to arrive from nowhere. The trick of conjuring this unearned wealth is, in fact, the key to understanding capitalism’s origins and a clue to why the catastrophe of climate collapse is upon us: value is created by consuming the future. In The Alibi of Capital: How We Broke the Earth to Steal the Future on the Promise of a Better Tomorrow

en

38:33

Kurt Warner, "False Idols: How Diversion is...

New Books in Critical Theory ·

2026/07/21

False Idols: How Diversion is Destroying Democracy(Vernon Press, 2024)examines how modern forms of diversion shape civic life and weaken democratic responsibility. Drawing on the ancient Roman idea of “bread and circuses,” Kurt Warner explores how contemporary society is saturated with distractions that keep citizens focused on what is immediate, pleasurable, profitable, or spectacular, rather than on what is politically and socially meaningful. The conversation introduces listeners to the book’s

en

65:47

Caste as a Material Question with Rahul Sonpimple

New Books in Critical Theory ·

2026/07/20

This episode featured a conversation with Rahul Sonpimple, founder of the All-India Independent Scheduled Castes Association. Our conversation began with Rahul’s conception of Indian history and the place of anti-caste struggle within it. We delved further into Rahul’s own understanding of “anti-caste” as deeply rooted in Ambedkar’s own argument about the necessity of force in emancipatory social transformation. Rahul was especially forthright about the political cost of elevating meekness as a

en

39:30

Martin Fitzgerald, "The Umbrella Man and Other...

New Books in Critical Theory ·

2026/07/19

What does the JKF assassination mean to us now? In ⁠The Umbrella Man and Other Stories: What We Talk About When We Talk About the JFK Assassination⁠, (Biteback Publishing, 2026) ⁠Martin Fitzgerald⁠ explores the lives and stories of the people present on that day in Dallas at Dealey Plaza. In doing so, the book examines cultural memory, artistic representations, history, conspiracy theory and the global impact of the event. Drawing on personal reflections, rich archival sources, and contemporary

en

60:06

Recall This Book x The Caste Pod: a Crossover episode...

New Books in Critical Theory ·

2026/07/16

In the spirit of Hannah Arendt's natality principle (that new things are always and should always be being born, each one unique and endowed with limitless potential) we at RTB love it when a new podcast appears. Especially one as thoughtful and original asThe Caste Pod, which assembles scholars and activists to make sense of what caste is, how it's experienced and how it has travelled globally. Join us to discuss and share an extended excerpt is its widely published (check out her earlier books!)

en

36:57

Luna Sabastian, "Fascism in India: Race, Caste, and...

New Books in Critical Theory ·

2026/07/16

Fascism swept the world in the 1920s and 1930s, but not only because of the seductive rhetoric of Mussolini, Hitler, and their collaborators. In India as well, a distinctive brand of fascist thought emerged—influenced by Euro-American ideologies but also departing from them in critical ways. The first systematic examination of this political philosophy,Fascism in India: Race, Caste, and Hindutva(Harvard UP, 2025)revises our sense of what fascism can be, while demonstrating that it is very much

en

0:00

Heidegger in Ruins

New Books in Critical Theory ·

2026/07/13

Martin Heidegger’s sympathies for the conservative revolution and National Socialism have long been well known. As the rector of the University of Freiburg in the early 1930s, he worked hard to reshape the university in accordance with National Socialist policies. He also engaged in an all-out struggle to become the movement’s philosophical preceptor, “to lead the leader.” Yet for years, Heidegger’s defenders have tried to separate his political beliefs from his philosophical doctrines. They argued,

en

55:30

Monika Kirloskar-Steinbach, "Freedom to Know:...

New Books in Critical Theory ·

2026/07/09

Freedom to Know: Creating Community with Ambedkar, Du Bois, Iqbal, Ramabai and Tagore (Edinburgh University Press, 2025) asks how a (world) community can be created to allow structural minorities equitable access to intellectual and material resources Draws on a range of primary sources Brings the work of W.E.B. Du Bois into conversation with his Indian contemporaries Adds a novel historical perspective to recent scholarship on critical social epistemology Diversifies current ways of

en

43:57

Alexandre Frenette, "Blame the Intern: On (Not)...

New Books in Critical Theory ·

2026/07/06

Who gets to be a creative worker? In Blame the Intern: On (Not) Breaking Into the Creative Economy, (Princeton University Press, 2026) Alexandre Frenette, an Assistant Professor of Sociology at Vanderbilt University, examines the relationship between work and education in the difficult moment of the early career transition from university to industry. Drawing on a detailed case study of the music industry, the book explains and critiques the way internships have come to dominate routes into

en

807 results

Similar Podcasts

NÖÖRDS - Der Podcast

NÖÖRDS

Speaking of Psychology

American Psychological Association

Natures Miracles Volume 2- Energy and Vibration

Elisha Gray

Outside/In

NHPR

New Books in Critical Theory

Marshall Poe