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PODCAST

New Books in Science

New Books Network

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 natural sciences

All Episodes

68:01

Matthew Bothwell, "The Invisible Universe: Why...

New Books in Science ·

2026/04/12

Since the dawn of our species, people all over the world have gazed in awe at the night sky. But for all the beauty and wonder of the stars, when we look with just our eyes we are seeing and appreciating only a tiny fraction of the Universe. What does the cosmos have in store for us beyond the phenomena we can see, from black holes to supernovas? How different does the invisible Universe look from the home we thought we knew? In The Invisible Universe: Why There's More to Reality than Meets the

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68:57

Adam Zeman, "The Shape of Things Unseen: A New...

New Books in Science ·

2026/04/08

A compelling insight into how our imagination works, based on the latest scientific research.People often think of imagination as something used only in creative endeavours. In fact, we use imagination constantly as we reminisce, anticipate, plan, daydream, read, create imagined worlds. The truth is we live in the here and now much less than we tend to think. Imagination isn't the exception in our daily lives; it's our default setting. Yet only now are we beginning to understand exactly how it

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47:58

Douglas H. Erwin, "The Origins of the New: Novelty...

New Books in Science ·

2026/04/06

The Origins of the New (Princeton University Press, 2026) presents a revolutionary approach to evolutionary success in all realms of life. In this groundbreaking book, Douglas Erwin takes readers on a dazzling excursion across science and history to explore how evolution generates new and enduring features in biology, culture, and technology.Erwin begins by tracing how thinkers from Darwin’s time to the present day have sought to discover the driving mechanisms of evolutionary novelty. He then lays

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37:01

Dominik Berrens, "Naming New Things and Concepts in...

New Books in Science ·

2026/04/06

Naming new discoveries is central to science, and for centuries, Latin dominated this process. The resulting terminology still shapes modern science, yet the influences behind its creation have remained largely unexplored. Naming New Things and Concepts in Early Modern Science: The Case of Natural History (Cambridge University Press, 2026) by Dr. Dominik Berrens is the first comprehensive exploration of how modern scientific terminology took shape during the early modern period. Far from being the

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34:50

Patricia B. O'Hara, "Food Chemistry in Small Bites:...

New Books in Science ·

2026/03/30

Food Chemistry in Small Bites takes readers on an up-close scientific journey through the transformation of food when meals are prepared. Organized in bite-size, digestible units, this innovative text introduces students to food's molecular makeup as well as the perception of food by the five senses. Using familiar foods as examples, it explores what happens to ingredients when heated, cooled, or treated and also considers what happens when materials that don't naturally mix are forced to do

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37:27

Vojta Hybl, "Rocks: A Guide to the Stones Around Us...

New Books in Science ·

2026/03/30

What is that rock you’ve just picked up? Which minerals is it made of, what’s unique about it and what can it reveal about Earth’s deeper story?Rocks: A Guide to the Stones Around Us and the Stories They Tell (Frances Lincoln, 2026) gives you the tools to answer these questions. Geologist and science illustrator Vojta Hybl guides you through more than 100 rock types, explaining how they form, what they look like and the geological processes they represent.This authoritative yet accessible guide

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46:08

Charles G. Curtin, "Place-Based Solutions: The Power...

New Books in Science ·

2026/03/19

Place-Based Solutions (JHU Press, 2026) offers a bold and practical response, charting a path toward what Charles G. Curtin calls "prosilience"—the capacity not just to endure crises, but to leap forward through them. With over thirty years of collaborative, on-the-ground experience in conservation and climate adaptation. This book emphasizes the power of small and mid-sized organizations to catalyze meaningful change, using real-world examples to illustrate how lasting impact depends on aligning

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54:19

⁠The Collective Cure: Upstream Solutions for Better...

New Books in Science ·

2026/03/19

A powerful blend of deeply human stories and rigorous research, The Collective Cure: Upstream Solutions for Better Public Health (Beacon Press, 2026) reveals how social and structural factors like income, occupation, race and ethnicity, neighborhood conditions, and social connections, profoundly shape our well-being. Dr. Monica Wang, an award-winning public health researcher, educator, and working mother who came of age as an Asian American bussing student, brings a personal lens to these complex

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73:20

Emma Chapman, "Radio Universe: How to Explore Space...

New Books in Science ·

2026/03/19

In Radio Universe: How to Explore Space Without Leaving Earth (Hachette UK, 2026) award-winning astrophysicist Emma Chapman takes us on an electrifying voyage through the cosmos using one of the most powerful, yet overlooked, tools in science: the radio wave. With dazzling clarity and humour, Chapman reveals how these invisible messengers glide through space, bounce off planets, tunnel through clouds and slip past galactic dust – carrying secrets of the universe that no other kind of light can

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66:35

César A. Hidalgo, "The Infinite Alphabet: And the...

New Books in Science ·

2026/03/16

We all understand that knowledge shapes the fate of business and the growth of nations, but few of us are aware of the principles that govern its motion. The Infinite Alphabet: And the Laws of Knowledge (Allen Lane, 2026) unravels the laws describing the growth and diffusion of knowledge by taking you from a failed attempt to build a city of knowledge in Ecuador to the growth of China's innovation economy. Through dozens of stories, you will learn why aircraft manufacturers in Italy began

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55:02

John Oakes, "The Fast: The History, Science,...

New Books in Science ·

2026/03/15

With fasting at an all-time high in popularity, here is an enlightening exploration into the history, science, and philosophy behind the practice—essential to many religions and wellness routines. Whether for philosophical, political, or health-related reasons, fasting marks a departure from daily routine. Based on extensive historical, scientific, and cultural research and reporting, John Oakes The Fast: The History, Science, Philosophy, and the Promise of Doing Without (Avid Reader Press,

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52:33

Anne W. Johnson, "Mexico in Space: From La Raza...

New Books in Science ·

2026/03/12

From Aztec sun stones to satellite launches, from muralist visions to dark sky parks, Mexico's engagement with outer space is fundamental to its identity. Mexico in Space: From La Raza Cósmica to the Space Race (University of Arizona Press, 2026) offers a groundbreaking look at how the country has navigated the tensions between technological dependence and sovereign dreams.Anthropologist Anne W. Johnson reveals Mexico's unique relationship with outer space, describing Indigenous knowledge,

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48:20

Jacob Stegenga, "Heart of Science: A Philosophy of...

New Books in Science ·

2026/03/10

In Heart of Science: A Philosophy of Scientific Inquiry (University of Chicago Press, 2026), philosopher Jacob Stegenga breaks with the most dominant epistemologies of science to argue that in judging scientific activity, we should focus on its justification, not the achievement of truth or knowledge. Yet, Stegenga argues, the aim of science goes far beyond justification and is, instead, a special kind of truth—common knowledge, a broadly shared and mutually justified scientific finding. Drawing on

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41:43

George Frazier, "Riverine Dreams: Away to the...

New Books in Science ·

2026/03/10

Dr. George Frazier is currently an assistant professor of Computer Information Sciences at Washburn University, where his research focuses on such topics as artificial intelligence and environmental informatics. But George is so much more then a computer scientists. As a well known environmental author, Riverine Dreams: Away to the Glorious and Forgotten Grassland Rivers of America (University of Chicago Press, 2025) provides a compendium of engaging stories at the deep intersections of nature,

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63:10

Alan J. McComas, "Consciousness: The Road to...

New Books in Science ·

2026/02/27

Neuroscientific evidence increasingly shows that consciousness is a remarkable but explainable function of a machinelike brain. Alan J. McComas' discusses his article for the American Scientist.Alan J. McComas is an emeritus professor of medicine at McMaster University in Hamilton, Canada. Greg is the Executive Director and Founder of the World War II Discussion Forum (wwiidf.org). He also has a strong interest in literature, culture, religion, science and philosophy (translation: he's an

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59:21

Anna-Luna Post, "Galileo’s Fame: Science,...

New Books in Science ·

2026/02/25

From the beginning of Galileo’s career, well before the publication of the Sidereus Nuncius, his contemporaries took pains to shape his reputation and fame. They were fully aware that their efforts would shape the course of his career; they also knew that they would profit from helping him. With Galileo’s Fame: Science, Credibility, and Memory in the Seventeenth Century (U Pittsburgh Press, 2025), Anna-Luna Post offers a welcome new perspective on the volatile dynamic between early modern fame and

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52:06

Robert Endres, "The Unreasonable Likelihood of Being:...

New Books in Science ·

2026/02/24

In this episode we discuss the paper "The Unreasonable Likelihood of Being: Origin of Life, Terraforming, and AI" (arXiv, 2025) with Robert Endres. Paper Abstract: The origin of life on Earth via the spontaneous emergence of a protocell prior to Darwinian evolution remains a fundamental open question in physics and chemistry. Here, we develop a conceptual framework based on information theory and algorithmic complexity. Using estimates grounded in modern computational models, we evaluate the

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34:06

Vanessa Rampton, "Making Medical Progress: History of...

New Books in Science ·

2026/02/15

Answers to the question 'what is medical progress?' have always been contested, and any one response is always bound up with contextual ideas of personhood, society, and health. However, the widely held enthusiasm for medical progress escapes more general critiques of progress as a conceptual category.From the intersection of intellectual history, philosophy, and the medical humanities, in Making Medical Progress: History of a Contested Idea (Cambridge UP, 2025) Dr. Vanessa Rampton sheds light on

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54:30

Tom Bolton, "Atomic Albion: Journeys Around Britain’s...

New Books in Science ·

2026/02/11

The United Kingdom has sixteen nuclear power stations. Most go under the radar, but their presence is enormous, both physically and culturally. They divide opinion like nothing else. Are they relics of a past era, or a crucial part of our futures? Are they cathedrals of science or temples of doom?Atomic Albion: Journeys Around Britain’s Nuclear Power Stations (Strange Attractor, 2025) by Dr. Tom Bolton is a journey around Britain’s nuclear power stations and the country itself. From the Essex

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37:58

Oren Harman, "Metamorphosis: A Natural and Human...

New Books in Science ·

2026/02/08

A search for the meaning of one of nature's greatest riddles: why do so many creatures transform?“How many creatures walking on this earth / Have their first being in another form?” the Roman poet Ovid asked two thousand years ago. He could not have known the full extent of the truth: today, biologists estimate a stunning three-quarters of all animal species on Earth undergo some form of metamorphosis.But why do tadpoles transform into frogs, caterpillars into butterflies, elvers into eels,

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159 results

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