New Books in Critical Theory
Marshall Poe
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.
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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: https://newbooksnetwork.substack.com/
Follow us on Instagram and Bluesky to learn about more our latest interviews: @newbooksnetworkSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/critical-theory
Episodes
Mentioned books
Mar 19, 2026 • 1h 4min
Miriam Ticktin, "Against Innocence: Undoing and Remaking the World" (U Chicago Press, 2025)
Miriam Ticktin, a CUNY anthropology professor who studies migration and humanitarianism, discusses her book Against Innocence: Undoing and Remaking the World. She explores how claims of innocence shape political life and justify intervention. She traces innocence across migration, visual culture, race, reproduction, and environmental claims. She also outlines commoning and collective responsibility as alternatives.
Mar 17, 2026 • 58min
H. S. Jones, "Liberal Worlds: James Bryce and the Democratic Intellect" (Princeton UP, 2025)
Stuart Jones, professor of intellectual history at the University of Manchester and author of Liberal Worlds, traces James Bryce’s life as scholar, politician, traveler, and public diplomat. He explores Bryce’s Presbyterian roots, his reform work in education and Manchester, transatlantic travels, debates over race and segregation, and his role in shaping international institutions after World War I.
Mar 15, 2026 • 54min
Alec Ryrie, "The Age of Hitler and How We Will Survive It" (Reaktion, 2025)
Alec Ryrie, a historian of Christianity and fellow of the British Academy, examines why Hitler and Nazism dominate our cultural imagination. He traces this moral shift from religion to anti‑Nazi values. Conversations touch on pop culture echoes, signs the anti‑Nazi consensus is fraying, and what positive moral frameworks might replace a merely anti‑evil stance.
Mar 15, 2026 • 52min
Susannah B. Mintz, "Hypochondria: In Sickness and in Story" (Reaktion, 2026)
Susannah B. Mintz, Professor of English at Skidmore College and author of Hypochondria: In Sickness and in Story, reframes health anxiety as creative and communicative rather than pathological. She explores historical meanings, modern diagnostic shifts, hypochondria as social realism and knowledge production, links to politics and aging, and how stigma and bias shape care.
Mar 14, 2026 • 1h 15min
Tristan J. Rogers, "Conservatism, Past and Present: A Philosophical Introduction" (Routledge, 2025)
Tristan J. Rogers, philosopher and author who teaches logic and Latin, discusses philosophical conservatism as a tradition rooted in prudence, institutions, and human limits. He traces historical thinkers, examines nationalism, populism, family and education, and explores how authority, markets, and institutional health shape ordered liberty. The conversation highlights conservatism as a return to cultural and civic practices.
Mar 12, 2026 • 51min
What’s on Her Mind: The Mental Workload of Family Life
Dr. Allison Daminger, assistant professor of sociology and author exploring gender and family labor. She discusses cognitive labor: anticipating, researching, deciding, and monitoring family life. Short interviews and decision logs reveal why women often carry this invisible load. Conversation covers methods, why it feels burdensome, gendered skill formation, and policy ideas to reduce mental load.
Mar 12, 2026 • 41min
Wendy Brown, "States of Injury: Power and Freedom in Late Modernity" (Princeton UP, 2025)
Wendy Brown, UPS Foundation Professor and political theorist, offers a brisk tour of her new book States of Injury. She traces how woundedness shapes modern political identities. She links neoliberal subjectivity to commodified identity and debates truth, censorship, and the limits of legal remedies. She calls for a renewed, inclusive left oriented toward care, class, and collective freedom.
9 snips
Mar 11, 2026 • 50min
Sari Hanafi, "Against Symbolic Liberalism: A Plea for Dialogical Sociology" (Liverpool UP, 2025)
Sari Hanafi, Professor of Sociology and Director at AUB, and former ISA president, critiques how proclaimed liberal values can become politically illiberal. He outlines symbolic liberalism, its role in inflating rights and narrowing dialogue, and argues for a dialogical turn that reintroduces neighbor, shared goods, religious language, and practical reforms to rebuild common civic space.
10 snips
Mar 10, 2026 • 48min
Jacob Stegenga, "Heart of Science: A Philosophy of Scientific Inquiry" (U Chicago Press, 2026)
Jacob Stegenga, philosopher of science and professor at Nanyang Technological University, challenges truth-focused views in favor of assessing scientific justification. He discusses process vs product, common knowledge as science’s aim, publicity and trust, values in rapid pandemic science, and how diversity and standards shape proper scientific evaluation.
Mar 10, 2026 • 1h 9min
Stephen Lee Naish, "Screen Captures: Film in the Age of Emergency" (Lever Press, 2026)
Stephen Lee Naish, writer and cultural critic who studies film, politics, music, and pop culture. He traces how blockbusters, indie horror, and teen comedies mirror political and climate anxieties. He probes Star Wars fandom vs studio power, masculinity in films from Point Break to American Pie, and how VHS and streaming reshape private viewing.
