New Books in Psychology
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/psychology
Episodes
Mentioned books
May 13, 2026 • 1h 14min
Sally Maslansky, "A Brilliant Adaptation: How Dissociative Identity Disorder and the Power of the Therapeutic Bond Saved Me" (New Harbinger Publications, 2026)
Sally Maslansky, LMFT, therapist and memoirist who recovered from dissociative identity disorder. She recounts rediscovering childhood trauma, intensive relational therapy with Dan Siegel, and how therapeutic safety and neuroplasticity enabled healing. Conversations cover memory, mindfulness practices, integration of fragmented states, family boundaries, and reclaiming joy and wholeness.
May 12, 2026 • 44min
Rebecca Newberger Goldstein, "The Mattering Instinct: How Our Deepest Longing Drives Us and Divides Us" (Liveright Publishing, 2026)
Rebecca Newberger Goldstein, philosopher and novelist known for blending philosophy and literature, discusses the human longing to matter. She traces how storytelling revealed the idea and outlines four mattering strategies like transcending via religion, seeking intimacy or fame, striving for excellence, and competitive group identity. The conversation connects mattering to adolescence, political polarization, and how people can shift strategies over a lifetime.
May 12, 2026 • 52min
Andrea Gutiérrez-Glik, "Healing the Oppressed Body: A Therapeutic Guide for Radical Self-Liberation" (Penguin, 2026)
Andrea Gutiérrez-Glik, a licensed clinical social worker and somatic psychotherapist, offers an anti-oppression approach to trauma healing. She discusses why mainstream trauma books exclude queer, trans, and marginalized experiences. Topics include somatic and parts work, community as caregiver, therapy training accessibility, and how individual healing supports collective liberation.
6 snips
May 8, 2026 • 1h 7min
Extraordinary, Mysterious, and Impossible Experiences, with Jeffrey Kriple
Jeffrey Kripal, Rice University religion scholar who studies mystical and paranormal experiences. He explores what counts as an impossible experience and why scholars hide theirs. They map altered states, argue for ontological pluralism, and call for humanities to speak plainly and take the paranormal seriously.
Apr 30, 2026 • 49min
Empathy Takes Action: An Autistic Therapist on the Radical Work of Connection
Aimee Cliff, a London-based psychotherapist and autistic author of Empathy Takes Action, reframes empathy as a skill anyone can practice. She challenges myths about autism and emotion. She outlines five pillars of empathy and discusses communication, power, and the ongoing work of building connection.
Apr 27, 2026 • 48min
Heather Shay, "Identity Building Among Role-Playing Gamers: Slaying Goblins in the Real World" (Bloomsbury, 2025)
Heather Shay, sociologist and tabletop role-player, draws on 19 months of fieldwork to explore how players build moral, meaningful identities through role-playing. She discusses what makes a 'good gamer,' how privilege and stereotypes shape play, risks of deep immersion, group dynamics and sanctions, and how gaming serves as emotional practice and social skill rehearsal.
Apr 24, 2026 • 1h 8min
Sunita Sah, "Defy: The Power of No in a World That Demands Yes" (Random House, 2025)
Sunita Sah, a physician-researcher studying why people comply or resist, discusses research-backed ways to speak up. She explores insinuation anxiety, reframes defiance as a trainable skill, and lays out a five-stage model for vocalizing concerns. Practical strategies include using questions to shift group dynamics and building organizational cultures that support dissent.
Apr 22, 2026 • 59min
Masud Husain, "Our Brains, Our Selves: What a Neurologist’s Patients Taught Him About the Brain" (Canongate, 2025)
Masud Husain, Oxford neurologist and cognitive neuroscientist, shares clinical tales that explore how brain changes reshape identity. He describes cases of lost words, sudden disinhibition, and altered relationships. The conversation covers motivation, memory loss, hallucinations, dopamine and other treatments. Short, human stories illuminate neuroscience questions about self, perception and free will.
Apr 18, 2026 • 1h 4min
Emely Rumble, "Bibliotherapy in The Bronx" (Row House, 2025)
Emily (Emely) Rumble, a licensed clinical social worker and bibliopsychotherapist, draws on 15+ years blending literature and therapy. She discusses how books act as mirrors, the ritual of rereading and commonplace books, poetry therapy and carry-along poems, and why fiction and book access matter for community mental health.
Mar 29, 2026 • 50min
Nikita Kaur Simpson, "Tension: Mental Distress and Embodied Inequality in the Western Himalayas" (Duke UP, 2026)
Nikita Kaur Simpson, a medical anthropologist at SOAS who studies structural dimensions of mental distress, discusses the Gaddi peoples' concept of “tension.” Short scenes explore how tension shows in bodies and homes, how women disproportionately absorb it, sensory methods for studying it, and how rivalry, land loss, and modern change shape everyday distress.
