Princeton UP Ideas Podcast
New Books Network
A series of interviews with authors of new books from Princeton University Press
Episodes
Mentioned books
Jan 3, 2013 • 1h 6min
Brian Leiter, “Why Tolerate Religion?” (Princeton UP, 2013)
Religious conviction enjoys a privileged status in our society.This is perhaps most apparent in legal contexts, where religious conviction is often given special consideration. To be more precise, religious conscience is recognized as a legitimate basis for exemption from standing laws, whereas claims of conscience deriving from non-religious commitments generally...
Nov 26, 2012 • 1h 9min
Corey Brettschneider, “When the State Speaks, What Should it Say? How Democracies can Protect Expression and Promote Equality” (Princeton UP, 2012)
Liberal democracies are in the business of protecting individuals and their rights. Central among these are the rights to free expression, freedom of association, and freedom of conscience. Liberal democracies are also in the business of sustaining a political environment in which citizens are regarded as political equals. In exercising...
Oct 31, 2012 • 1h 10min
Jamie Kelly, “Framing Democracy: A Behavioral Approach to Democratic Theory” (Princeton UP, 2012)
Plato famously argued that democracy is nearly the worst form of government because citizens are decidedly unwise. Many styles of democratic theory have tried to meet Plato’s argument by denying that democracy has anything to do with wisdom. Democracy, such views claim, is simply a matter of representing citizens’ preferences...
Sep 27, 2012 • 55min
Hugh Urban, “The Church of Scientology: A History of a New Religion” (Princeton UP, 2011)
What is religion? Who gets to define it? Why is defining something a religion such an important endeavor? What exactly is at stake in determining the status of religion? Like many people think, you may say “Religion is self evident – you just know it when you see it.” But...
Jun 24, 2012 • 1h 1min
Igor Marjanovic, “Marina City: Bertrand Goldberg’s Urban Vision” (Princeton Architectural Press, 2010)
Anyone who has visited downtown Chicago will remember seeing the dazzling round towers of Bertrand Goldberg’s Marina City on the north bank of the river. Often photographed, always a curiosity, these iconic buildings have been featured in numerous magazines, postcards, album covers, and films, but until now have received surprisingly...
Jun 20, 2012 • 1h 15min
Stephen Collier, “Post-Soviet Social: Neoliberalism, Social Modernity, Biopolitics” (Princeton UP, 2011)
Pipes matter. That’s right: pipes. Anyone who has spent time in Russia knows that the hulkish cylinders that snake throughout its cities are the lifeblood of urban space, linking apartment block after apartment block into a centralized network. But pipes are more than tentacles that form the Russian social state....
Feb 22, 2012 • 58min
Lynn Stout, “Cultivating Conscience: How Good Laws Make Good People” (Princeton UP, 2010)
Lynn Stout‘s pathbreaking book Cultivating Conscience:How Good Laws Make Good People (Princeton University Press, 2010) represents a much-needed update to the discipline of law and economics. Using current social science and discarding threadbare premises, it develops new methods for theorizing and deploying law in its real-life context — starting from the...
Nov 22, 2011 • 1h 7min
Andrei Markovits, “Gaming the World: How Sports Are Shaping Global Politics and Culture” (Princeton UP, 2010)
“We live in the age of globalization, with the interconnection of markets, technology, and cultures making the world a smaller place.” Sure.Tell that to the guys on my local sports radio show. For them, the world is bounded by the Big Ten and the North Division of the National Football...
Oct 15, 2011 • 1h 4min
Troy Jollimore, “Love’s Vision” (Princeton UP, 2011)
Love – being loved and loving in the way two otherwise unrelated persons can be – is a kind of experience that just about everyone values intrinsically. As we say, or sing: love makes the world go ’round, and all you need is love. But what sort of experience is...
Sep 30, 2011 • 1h 12min
Jason Brennan, “The Ethics of Voting” (Princeton UP, 2011)
Political philosopher Jason Brennan challenges the notion of a moral duty to vote and explores the ethical implications of voting decisions, including the duty not to vote. He discusses the concept of the common good, civic virtue, and the ethics of buying and selling votes, arguing for informed and ethical choices in the electoral process.
