New Books in Political Science

New Books Network

Episodes

Mentioned books

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Apr 2, 2026 • 35min

The Gen Z Revolution in Bangladesh and Its Fallout

Ishrat Hossain, researcher on liberation war narratives; Mubashar Hasan, scholar-activist blending analysis with lived repression; Arild Engelsen Ruud, South Asia expert on autocratization. They unpack Gen Z's role in the July 2024 uprising. They trace how youth-led digital mobilization, shifting legitimacy narratives, and everyday resistance converged to challenge long-standing power structures.
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Mar 30, 2026 • 59min

Mark Pennington, "Foucault and Liberal Political Economy: Power, Knowledge, and Freedom" (Oxford UP, 2025)

Mark Pennington, Professor of Political Economy at King’s College and author of Foucault and Liberal Political Economy, links Foucauldian thought to a post‑modern liberalism. He explores over‑government and decentralized power. He probes limits of expert rule, cultural cartelization, public‑health micro‑regulation, predictive policing, sustainability governance, and crisis narratives that expand control.
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Mar 28, 2026 • 29min

Mark Hlavacik, "Willing Warriors: A New History of the Education Culture Wars" (U Chicago Press, 2025)

Mark Hlavacik, assistant professor at Texas A&M and author of Willing Warriors, studies public arguments about schooling. He traces how culture wars reshaped education from the 1970s to today. Short, vivid case studies reveal how exposés, viral classroom panics, and high-profile interventions drive heated curriculum battles. He also explores when conflict can spur better public debate and how to read education controversies critically.
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Mar 28, 2026 • 1h 5min

Thomas Hegghammer and Diego Gambetta eds., "Fight, Flight, Mimic: Identity Mimicry in Conflict" (Oxford UP, 2024)

Thomas Hegghammer, a senior research fellow and scholar of militant Islamism, discusses deceptive identity mimicry in conflict. He explores time and costly signals versus words online. Conversations cover jihadi forums, reputation systems, limits of online research, state advantage over militants, and how AI undermines time-based trust signals.
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Mar 27, 2026 • 28min

Sarah James, "The Politics of Failed Policies" (Oxford UP, 2025)

Sarah James, an assistant professor and former K–12 teacher and principal, explores how politics and data determine when failed policies get noticed. She discusses truancy laws, contrasting data systems in Texas and Washington. Short scenes show how credible evidence can amplify marginalized voices and how political choices shape what counts as proof.
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Mar 26, 2026 • 35min

Tom Wells, "The Kissinger Tapes: Inside His Secretly Recorded Phone Conversations" (Oxford UP, 2026)

Tom Wells, historian of the Nixon era and author of The Kissinger Tapes, mined secretly recorded phone transcripts to illuminate a turbulent time. He discusses how he found and edited thousands of calls. Short takes cover Kissinger’s character, his secrecy and relationship with Nixon, debates over Vietnam and Cambodia, covert aid to Pakistan, Watergate links, and surprising personal anecdotes.
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Mar 26, 2026 • 49min

Maya L. Kornberg, "Stuck: How Money, Media, and Violence Prevent Change in Congress" (JHU Press, 2026)

Maya Kornberg, Senior Fellow at the NYU Brennan Center and author of Stuck, studies why reformers fail in Congress. She discusses three reform waves, the traits that help newcomers push change, and how money, media, and rising political violence make meaningful reform nearly impossible. Short, sharp, and focused on what keeps Congress immobilized.
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Mar 25, 2026 • 23min

How Authoritarians Exploit Gender

Pär Zetterberg, a scholar of elections and representation, and Elin Bjarnegård, an expert on gender, violence, and authoritarianism, discuss how autocrats mix anti-gender rhetoric with token promotion of loyal women. They explain the tactics of gender bashing and gender washing. The conversation covers strategic motives, regional case studies, and the dilemmas activists face when engaging with authoritarian reforms.
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Mar 25, 2026 • 35min

On Trump as a “World Historical Individual” with author John B. Judis

John B. Judis, author and journalist who writes on populism and contemporary politics. He frames Trump through a Hegelian lens as a world-historical figure. The conversation covers how exhausted political orders and populist grievances propelled him. They compare Trump to Napoleon and Caesar, discuss unintended consequences, risks of overreach, and possible fractures in the global order.
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Mar 24, 2026 • 28min

Lucia Motolinia, "Unity through Particularism: How Electoral Reforms Influence Parties and Legislative Behavior" (Cambridge UP, 2026)

Lucia Motolinia, an assistant professor studying institutions and legislative behavior, discusses her book on how electoral reforms reshape party incentives in Mexico. She explores the 2014 re-election reform, staggered rollout as a natural experiment, and how candidate selection, campaign finance, and renomination influence legislative loyalty and particularistic goods. The conversation highlights institutional interactions that shape political incentives.

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