New Books Network

Fabio Rojas, sociology professor and author of From Black Power to Black Studies, traces how 1960s Black Power activism transformed into an academic discipline. He recounts San Francisco State’s 1968 strike, the Panthers’ and students’ tactics, the shift from protest to institutional bargaining, philanthropy’s role, unequal resources across universities, and the field’s future challenges and public relevance.

Judy Batalion, Canadian-born author and historian who chronicles women resistance fighters in Hitler’s ghettos. She recounts how teenage ghetto activists smuggled arms, built bunkers, posed as Poles, and carried out sabotage. The conversation covers research in YIVO archives, oral histories, gendered risks and roles, relations with partisans and councils, and adapting these stories for film.

Kira Ganga Kieffer, a scholar of contemporary American spiritualities and health, explores the religious roots of vaccine resistance. She traces historical flashpoints, legal exemptions, and how wellness culture, mothering movements, and politics shape refusal. The conversation highlights shifting coalitions, COVID-era dynamics, and how spiritual marketing and identity inform modern hesitancy.

Photis Lysandrou, research professor and co-director at City University’s Political Economy Research Center, explains why the U.S. dollar keeps its global edge. He traces how crises push investors into dollar safety. He describes the shift from trade-based to finance-based dominance and what Europe and emerging markets would need to mount a challenge.

J.J. Dupuis, author of the Creature X mystery series, blends cryptozoology and evocative landscape writing. He talks about his childhood fascination with nature and paleontology. He explains choosing a skeptical female protagonist, deep Bigfoot research, and how he crafts the Pacific Northwest as a living, dangerous setting. He also reads an atmospheric excerpt from Roanoke Ridge.

Rina Bliss, a Rutgers sociology professor who studies the social effects of genetic research. She traces how race became a shaky genetic category and how scientists often use racial labels despite disclaimers. The conversation covers biotech risks like genetic IQ tests and embryo scoring. It ends with ideas for safer research practices and a teaser about AI, genomics, and everyday life.

Maria Ingrande Mora, author of queer YA fiction, chats about her 2026 fantasy romance A Wild Radiance. She explores an industrial-era world with electricity-like magic, a protagonist unlearning indoctrination, and an unconventional queer triad. Conversation touches on worldbuilding, research into Tesla and the World's Fair, and themes of community, protest, and queer platonic bonds.

Sally Maslansky, licensed marriage and family therapist and memoirist, recounts living with dissociative identity disorder and healing through interpersonal neurobiology. She discusses how relational therapy, memory barriers, and mindfulness practices helped her reconnect with forgotten parts. The conversation covers triggers, intensive therapeutic work, integration, and reclaiming a joyful life.

Amy D. McDowell, sociologist who studies religion, race, gender, and sexuality, discusses how everyday interactions in an evangelical church manufacture sameness. She explains how friendliness, small talk, and volunteer rituals silence contested topics. The conversation highlights multiracial tensions, gendered authority, avoidance of politics like Trump, and how surface-level outreach and compromise shape belonging.

Charles L. Glaser, an MIT security studies scholar and author, argues for a bold rethink of U.S. strategy toward a rising China. He recommends partial retrenchment by ending the U.S. defense pledge to Taiwan while deepening ties with Japan and South Korea. He also explores nuclear policy shifts and calibrated conventional postures in East Asia to lower war risks.