New Books in Communications

Rob Wells, a visiting associate professor of journalism at the University of Maryland, dives into the fascinating life of Willard Kiplinger, the founder of the groundbreaking Kiplinger Washington Letter. He discusses Kiplinger's unique position at the crossroads of finance and politics during the New Deal, and how his insightful journalism bridged these worlds. Wells also explores the complexities of unbiased reporting today, emphasizing the importance of transparency and media literacy, while reflecting on the entrepreneurial spirit that defined Kiplinger's legacy.

Tamar Mitts, an Associate Professor at Columbia’s School of International and Public Affairs, dives deep into the precarious world of online extremism. She discusses how different moderation standards create safe havens for hate groups to organize and mobilize, revealing the tactical adaptations they employ to bypass detection. Mitts critiques the varied approaches democracies take in regulating extremist content and raises concerns about potential centralization risks in moderation practices. Her insights illuminate the delicate balance between combating hate and protecting free speech.

Nora Kenworthy, a Professor at the University of Washington, dives deep into the complexities of healthcare crowdfunding in her new book. She reveals how platforms like GoFundMe are reshaping access to medical care and exposing societal inequalities. Kenworthy discusses the narratives of deservingness that impact fundraising success and critiques the notion that crowdfunding democratizes charity. She also highlights emotional and social benefits of these campaigns while suggesting that they reflect broader systemic issues within healthcare.

A formal approach to anime rethinks globalization and transnationality under neoliberalism Anime has become synonymous with Japanese culture, but its global reach raises a perplexing question--what happens when anime is produced outside of Japan? Who actually makes anime, and how can this help us rethink notions of cultural production? In Anime's Identity: Performativity and Form Beyond Japan (U Minnesota Press, 2021), Stevie Suan examines how anime's recognizable media-form--no matter where it is produced--reflects the problematics of globalization. The result is an incisive look at not only anime but also the tensions of transnationality. Far from valorizing the individualistic "originality" so often touted in national creative industries, anime reveals an alternate type of creativity based in repetition and variation. In exploring this alternative creativity and its accompanying aesthetics, Suan examines anime from fresh angles, including considerations of how anime operates like a brand of media, the intricacies of anime production occurring across national borders, inquiries into the selfhood involved in anime's character acting, and analyses of various anime works that present differing modes of transnationality. Anime's Identity deftly merges theories from media studies and performance studies, introducing innovative formal concepts that connect anime to questions of dislocation on a global scale, creating a transformative new lens for analyzing popular media.Jingyi Li is a PhD Candidate in Japanese History at the University of Arizona. She researches about early modern Japan, literati, and commercial publishing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/communications

Maggie Gram is a writer, cultural historian, and designer. She leads an experience-design team at Google. She has taught at the Maryland Institute College of Art, Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, and Harvard University, and she has written for N+1 and the New York Times. She lives in New York. The Invention of Design: A Twentieth-Century History (Basic Books, 2025) Recommended Books: Henry Dreyfuss, Designing for People Dolly Alderton, Ghosts Rob Franklin, Great Black Hope Chris Holmes is Chair of Literatures in English and Professor at Ithaca College. He writes criticism on contemporary global literatures. His book, Kazuo Ishiguro Against World Literature, is published with Bloomsbury Publishing. He is the co-director of The New Voices Festival, a celebration of work in poetry, prose, and playwriting by up-and-coming young writers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/communications

Women and Global Documentary: Practices and Perspectives in the 21st Century (Bloomsbury Academic, 2025), edited by Najmeh Moradiyan-Rizi and Shilyh J. Warren, answers the urgent need to re-evaluate not only the significance of women's documentary practices and their contributions to feminist world-building, but also the state of documentary studies as it engages with political, aesthetic, and industrial developments arising as a result of an increasing numbers of women's documentaries.  Bringing together a range of diverse practitioners and authors, the volume analyzes alternative and emergent networks of documentary production and collaboration within a global context. The chapters investigate filmmaking practices from regions such as East Africa, Latin America, South Asia, East Asia, the Middle East, and North Africa. They also examine decolonial practices in the Global North based on Indigenous filmmaking and feminist documentary institutions such as Women Make Movies. In doing so, they assess the global, institutional, political, and artistic factors that have shaped women's documentary practices in the 21st century, and their implications for scholarly debates regarding women's authorship, political subjectivity, and documentary representation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/communications

The Co-production Landscape in Europe: From Eurimages to Netflix (Springer Nature, 2025) explores the evolving landscape of European film and television co-productions, from traditional models supported by Eurimages to new collaborations shaped by global streaming platforms like Netflix. It examines how European co-production policies have influenced industry practices, funding structures, and audience engagement, balancing artistic, economic, and cultural priorities. Through historical analysis, case studies, and stakeholder perspectives – including policymakers, industry professionals, and audiences – this book offers fresh insights into the challenges and opportunities facing European audiovisual production today. It is essential reading for scholars, industry professionals, and policymakers interested in transnational media, cultural policy, and the future of European cinema. Dr Petar Mitric is an Assistant Professor in Film Studies at the University of Copenhagen. His research focuses on European audiovisual policy, co-production, and audience design practices, bridging film studies and creative media industry studies. He has published extensively on European cinema and has collaborated in an advisory capacity with organizations such as Film iVäst and TorinoFilmLab. Dr Priyam Sinha is an Alexander Von Humboldt Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Institute for Asian and African Studies, Humboldt University in Berlin. Her research interests lie at the intersection of critical media industry studies, disability studies, gender studies, affect studies, production culture studies, and anthropology of the body. So far, her articles have been published in Media, Culture and Society; Communication, Culture and Critique; South Asian Diaspora, among others. She is also a regular podcast host at NewBooksNetwork and has been published in public writing forums like the Economic and Political Weekly, FemAsia, Asian Film Archive, among others. More information on her ongoing projects can be found on her website here and you can follow her on X here Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/communications

John R. Davis, an archivist and musician, dives into the vibrant world of punk fanzines from Washington, D.C. He shares insights on how these DIY publications emerged in the 1970s, shaping community and creativity. Davis emphasizes the historical significance of zines in documenting the local punk scene and their role in building connections among fans. He also discusses the evolution of zines in the digital age and their resurgence today, inspiring new creators to explore punk's rich legacy.

In this engaging discussion, Will Kitchen, an Associate Lecturer at Arts University Bournemouth and author of Culture, Capital and Carnival, delves into the fascinating intersections of media and labor. He explores the carnivalesque and its role in shaping perceptions of work, citing Orwell's critique of poverty and the significance of shows like The Office. Kitchen also takes a critical look at films like Boiling Point and Captain Phillips, revealing how they reflect contemporary labor dynamics. Expect a thought-provoking take on media's influence on our understanding of work!

Selfies are more than fleeting images—across India, they shape how people imagine themselves, connect with others, and inhabit spaces. In this episode of the Nordic Asia Podcast, Prof. Xenia Zeiler from the University of Helsinki talks to Prof. Avishek Ray about his co-authored book Digital Expressions of the Self(ie): The Social Life of Selfies in India. This book explores how the digital selfie, unlike traditional photography, turns the lens inward while reconfiguring social identities, gender norms, power relations, and everyday interactions. Drawing on rich, situated examples, it shows how selfies operate as acts of self-making and place-making in contemporary India. At once playful and political, intimate and public, selfies offer a fascinating entry point into the fast-changing cultures of digital media and visual expression. Avishek Ray is Associate Professor of Cultural Studies at the National Institute of Technology Silchar, India. His research spans mobility, marginality, and digital culture, with a focus on South Asia. He is the author of The Vagabond in the South Asian Imagination (Routledge, 2022) and co-author of Digital Expressions of the Self(ie): The Social Life of Selfies in India (Routledge, 2024). A Fulbright-Nehru Fellow (2021), he has held visiting fellowships at institutions across Europe, North America, and Asia. Xenia Zeiler is Professor of South Asian Studies at the University of Helsinki. Her research and teaching are situated at the intersection of digital media, culture, and society, specifically as related to India and global Indian communities. Her focus within this wider field of digital culture is video games and gaming research, in India and beyond. She also researches and teaches digital religion, popular culture, cultural heritage, and mediatization processes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/communications