Smarty Pants

In March 2018, the Oxford philosopher Amia Srinivasan wrote a provocative essay for the London Review of Books asking, “Does anyone have the right to sex?” Three years later, the essay forms the backbone of a bold new collection that probes the complexity of sex as private and political act, moving beyond the simplicity of yes and no and the hashtags of #girlboss feminism. Srinivasan joins the podcast to discuss the ideas that animate The Right to Sex, whether it’s pornography and freedom, rape and racial injustice, punishment and accountability, or pleasure and power.Go beyond the episode:Amia Srinivasan’s The Right to Sex: Feminism in the Twenty-First CenturyRead the essay that started it all: “Does anyone have the right to sex?”Relatedly, her essay on pronouns: “He, She, One, They, Ho, Hus, Hum, Ita”How many other philosophers have been profiled by Vogue?Smarty Pants is no stranger to feminism: listen to our episodes on feminist book collecting, rock criticism, war, science, and religionListen to historian Scott Stern on the origins of criminalizing sex work, and read his essay, “Sex Workers of the World United”Tune in every week to catch interviews with the liveliest voices from literature, the arts, sciences, history, and public affairs; reports on cutting-edge works in progress; long-form narratives; and compelling excerpts from new books. Hosted by Stephanie Bastek.Subscribe: iTunes • Feedburner • Stitcher • Google Play • AcastHave suggestions for projects you’d like us to catch up on, or writers you want to hear from? Send us a note: podcast [at] theamericanscholar [dot] org. And rate us on iTunes! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A bear burrowing through the trash bin. Rats on a home invasion spree. Elephants barreling through Indian villages. Caterpillars munching through crops. Once upon a time these offenders would be put on trial and dealt with in a court of law, however ineffectually. Today, conflict management between humans and the natural world is an entire industry that grows with every incursion we make into the wilderness. Mary Roach returns to the podcast to talk about what it was like to be mugged by a macaque while working on her new book, Fuzz: When Nature Breaks the Law.Go beyond the episode:Mary Roach’s Fuzz: When Nature Breaks the LawFlash back to 2016, when Roach was our very first guestYes: we really did put animals on trial, and it did not go wellAre the parrots of Western cities pests? San Francisco thinks not; Amsterdam disagreesWhat to do when 30-50 feral hogs run into your yard (OK, but they are actually a problem)Tune in every week to catch interviews with the liveliest voices from literature, the arts, sciences, history, and public affairs; reports on cutting-edge works in progress; long-form narratives; and compelling excerpts from new books. Hosted by Stephanie Bastek.Subscribe: iTunes • Feedburner • Stitcher • Google Play • AcastHave suggestions for projects you’d like us to catch up on, or writers you want to hear from? Send us a note: podcast [at] theamericanscholar [dot] org. And rate us on iTunes! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For many of us, our very first book wasn’t one that we read ourselves—it was one read to us, the pages pawed by grubby hands eager to flip back to a favorite illustration. The very best children’s books combine a good story—however simple—with enchanting illustrations that can spark a love for reading, writing, art—or all three. Elizabeth Lilly, the author-illustrator of a new book for children called Let Me Fix You a Plate, joins us on the podcast to talk about the process of inviting the littlest readers into a new world.Go beyond the episode:Elizabeth Lilly’s Let Me Fix You a Plate: A Tale of Two Kitchens and GeraldineRead Scholar assistant editor Jayne Ross’s list of “10 Classic Books for Cooped-Up Kids” and her ode to the late Beverly ClearyThe science of how children learn to read, from linguist and Scholar contributing editor Jessica LoveTune in every week to catch interviews with the liveliest voices from literature, the arts, sciences, history, and public affairs; reports on cutting-edge works in progress; long-form narratives; and compelling excerpts from new books. Hosted by Stephanie Bastek.Subscribe: iTunes • Feedburner • Stitcher • Google Play • AcastHave suggestions for projects you’d like us to catch up on, or writers you want to hear from? Send us a note: podcast [at] theamericanscholar [dot] org. And rate us on iTunes! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The most groundbreaking ideas in modern physics—the Earth is round, special relativity, the uncertainty principle—were once seen as shocking, impossible, even deviant (recall Galileo’s trial). Even today, wild ideas can be laughed out of a conference, especially if they come from someone perceived as an outsider. Brown University physics professor Stephon Alexander, one such self-identified outsider, joins the podcast to talk about his new book, Fear of a Black Universe, and his own experiences as a Black man in science who has made major contributions, “not in spite of [his] outsider’s perspective, but because of it.”Go beyond the episode:Stephon Alexander’s Fear of a Black Universe: An Outsider’s Guide to the Future of PhysicsRead an excerpt from his first book, The Jazz of PhysicsListen to the whole of Here Comes Now, Stephon Alexander’s album with RiouxScience writer Priscilla Long explains what’s so great about the Higgs bosonMedical doctor Robert Lanza steps out of his lane to propose “A New Theory of the Universe”Jethro K. Lieberman bemoans the state of physics education in “The Gravity of the Situation”Math and philosophy team up in Cristopher Moore and John Kaag’s exploration of “The Uncertainty Principle”Tune in every week to catch interviews with the liveliest voices from literature, the arts, sciences, history, and public affairs; reports on cutting-edge works in progress; long-form narratives; and compelling excerpts from new books. Hosted by Stephanie Bastek.Subscribe: iTunes • Feedburner • Stitcher • Google Play • AcastHave suggestions for projects you’d like us to catch up on, or writers you want to hear from? Send us a note: podcast [at] theamericanscholar [dot] org. And rate us on iTunes! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As of this summer’s Tokyo Games, skateboarding is an Olympic sport—and those of us who didn’t grow up popping ollies and skinning our knees might be wondering how that happened. Originally known as “sidewalk surfing,” skateboarding was invented in midcentury California and Hawaii by surfers looking for something to do when the waves weren’t great. Since the first commercial skateboard was sold in 1962, the sport has ballooned to a billion-dollar industry including magazines, movies, and merchandise. Kyle Beachy, the author of The Most Fun Thing: Dispatches from a Skateboard Life, and a devoted skateboarder and skateboarding critic, joins the podcast to explain how the pastime became a global sensation.Go beyond the episode:Kyle Beachy’s new book, The Most Fun Thing: Dispatches from a Skateboard LifeBehold: skateboarding at the OlympicsFor a taste of feature-length skate documentaries, try Dogtown and the Z-Boys (2001) or Minding the Gap (2018)Three “high-reward skate films” recommended by our guest:Mouse: Spike Jonze directs a street skateboarding video from the latter days of the so-called “golden era” of the mid ’90s. A perfect example of what the traditional “skate video” form can yield. Paving Space: A 12-minute documentary about a collaborative art project between the Isle skateboard team and artist Raphael Zarka.Atlantic Drift Episode 11: Jacob Elliot Harris has defined a style for his Atlantic Drift project, and this one, featuring his lifetime friend Tom Knox, reveals just how vital the relationship between filmmaker and skater-subject is. Tune in every week to catch interviews with the liveliest voices from literature, the arts, sciences, history, and public affairs; reports on cutting-edge works in progress; long-form narratives; and compelling excerpts from new books. Hosted by Stephanie Bastek.Subscribe: iTunes • Feedburner • Stitcher • Google Play • AcastHave suggestions for projects you’d like us to catch up on, or writers you want to hear from? Send us a note: podcast [at] theamericanscholar [dot] org. And rate us on iTunes! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Black Beauty, Flicka, Secretariat, National Velvet, Misty of Chincoteague, and all the rest—horse books are a genre unto themselves, occupying an entire shelf (or more, should you add the 112 books in The Saddle Club series) of girls’ bedrooms everywhere. For all of the girls who lived and breathed horses (on the page or in the barn), the infatuation meant something that is difficult—or even embarrassing—to explain outside of the stable. Horse Girls, edited by Halimah Marcus, the executive director of Electric Literature, smashes all the stereotypes you might hold about riders and the way they relate to their horses, with diverse essays from the literary likes of horsewoman Jane Smiley and aspiring horse girl Carmen Maria Machado.Go beyond the episode:Horse Girls: Recovering, Aspiring, and Devoted Riders Redefine the Iconic Bond, edited by Halimah Marcus (read her introduction here)“I Hate Horses” by T Kira Madden, excerpted from the book“How Horses Helped My Ancestors Evade Colonizers, & Helped Me Find Myself” by Braudie Blais Billie, another excerpt“Horse girl energy” (and all the memes) explainedThough during the pandemic many people turned to riding—during which riders stayed six feet apart long before social distancing—horse fever has a long historyOur host outed herself as a horse girl once before, in an interview with The Age of the Horse author Susanna ForrestTune in every week to catch interviews with the liveliest voices from literature, the arts, sciences, history, and public affairs; reports on cutting-edge works in progress; long-form narratives; and compelling excerpts from new books. Hosted by Stephanie Bastek.Subscribe: iTunes • Feedburner • Stitcher • Google Play • AcastHave suggestions for projects you’d like us to catch up on, or writers you want to hear from? Send us a note: podcast [at] theamericanscholar [dot] org. And rate us on iTunes! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

If you were to distill the story of King Arthur and the Knights of Camelot down to its essence, you might alight on three nouns: Sword Stone Table. That’s the title of a new collection of Arthurian retellings, edited by Swapna Krishna and Jenn Northington, that imagines the legends of yore in a London coffee shop, a dystopian Mexico City, Anishinaabe country, and even on Mars. Krishna and Jenn Northington join the podcast to talk about the Arthurs, Merlins, Guineveres, Lancelots, Morgans, and more who populate the once and future land of our imagination.Go beyond the episode:Sword Stone Table: Old Legends, New Voices, edited by Swapna Krishna and Jenn NorthingtonReacquaint yourself with the magic of Mary Stewart’s Merlin TrilogyEven the BBC wants to know: King Arthur and Camelot—Why the cultural fascination?The boy king is no stranger to television, but “good adaptations of the King Arthur myth to screen are far out-numbered by the unsuccessful ones”A good one from the Arthur extended universe: The Green KnightTune in every week to catch interviews with the liveliest voices from literature, the arts, sciences, history, and public affairs; reports on cutting-edge works in progress; long-form narratives; and compelling excerpts from new books. Hosted by Stephanie Bastek.Subscribe: iTunes • Feedburner • Stitcher • Google Play • AcastHave suggestions for projects you’d like us to catch up on, or writers you want to hear from? Send us a note: podcast [at] theamericanscholar [dot] org. And rate us on iTunes!Music featured from Strobotone (“Medieval Theme 02”), courtesy of the Free Music Archive. Our theme music was composed by Nathan Prillaman. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In her cover story for the magazine’s summer issue, Lucy Jones writes about “a renaissance of love for nature” that took place during the pandemic in the midst of so much isolation and death. Why is it, exactly, that going into nature is so therapeutic? Jones’s new book, Losing Eden, examines the wealth of scientific literature on the psychological effects of nature, from neurons to the whole nervous system. She joins us on the podcast to talk about her research into what we lose when we lose contact with nature.Go beyond the episode:Lucy Jones’s Losing Eden: Our Fundamental Need for the Natural World and Its Ability to Heal Body and SoulRead her Summer 2021 cover story, “Rewilding Our Minds” and an essay in Emergence on “The Druid Renaissance”A 2020 instance of a white woman calling the police on a Black birdwatcher sparked new studies and stories on the problems minorities face in parks and other public spaces, but racism in outdoor pursuits is nothing new. Groups like Outdoor Afro aim to make nature more welcoming.Find solace (and food!) in foraging responsibly: @blackforager Alexis Nikole on Instagram, “Wildman” Steve Brill on your bookshelf, Falling Fruit on the map, meetups in your own back yardCall us Smarty Plants: some of our other favorite nature-centric episodes include an interview with forestry legend Suzanne Simard, rewilding queen Isabella Tree, plant messiah Carlos Magdalena, and cherry blossom enthusiast Naoko Abe.Tune in every two weeks to catch interviews with the liveliest voices from literature, the arts, sciences, history, and public affairs; reports on cutting-edge works in progress; long-form narratives; and compelling excerpts from new books. Hosted by Stephanie Bastek.Have suggestions for projects you’d like us to catch up on, or writers you want to hear from? Send us a note: podcast [at] theamericanscholar [dot] org. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The experimental archaeologist Dr. Patrick McGovern, known casually as the “Indiana Jones of Ancient Ales, Wines, and Extreme Beverages,” and Sam Calagione, master brewer and founder of Dogfish Head Brewery, have spent years resurrecting the beverages of the past. In 2017, we sat down with them before an event at the Smithsonian to discuss what it takes to turn millennia-old booze samples at the bottom of a jug into mead fit for a king—or jiahu for an emperor—or tahenket for a pharaoh.Go beyond the episode:Try not to spill any beer on your copy of Ancient Brews: Rediscovered and Re-CreatedExplore Dr. Pat’s work on the intoxicating science of alcohol at the University of Pennsylvania MuseumWatch Patrick McGovern and Sam Calagione work on a recipe for a new ancient aleAnd if you’re in the area … pop over to Dogfish Head Brewery to check out what’s on tapTune in every week to catch interviews with the liveliest voices from literature, the arts, sciences, history, and public affairs; reports on cutting-edge works in progress; long-form narratives; and compelling excerpts from new books. Hosted by Stephanie Bastek.Subscribe: iTunes • Feedburner • Stitcher • Google Play • AcastHave suggestions for projects you’d like us to catch up on, or writers you want to hear from? Send us a note: podcast [at] theamericanscholar [dot] org. And rate us on iTunes! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Love it or hate it, sweat is the reason why you don’t die of heatstroke in the summer—though you might want to die of embarrassment if you work up too much of it. But perspiration also contains a trove of secrets about our body’s inner workings, from sexy pheromones and disease markers to what we had for lunch. In her new book, The Joy of Sweat: The Strange Science of Perspiration, science journalist Sarah Everts explores what it reveals about our biology and behavior, debunking overheated myths—and maybe even some stigma—along the way.Go beyond the episode:Sarah Everts’s The Joy of SweatDip into the world of custom perfume, which can smell quite different depending on who wears itDon’t cancel your gym membership, but do give your heart a workout in the saunaYes, you really do smell your hand after shaking someone else’s: here is the experiment with the videos to prove itTry out the first “mail odor dating service”Tune in every week to catch interviews with the liveliest voices from literature, the arts, sciences, history, and public affairs; reports on cutting-edge works in progress; long-form narratives; and compelling excerpts from new books. Hosted by Stephanie Bastek.Subscribe: iTunes • Feedburner • Stitcher • Google Play • AcastHave suggestions for projects you’d like us to catch up on, or writers you want to hear from? Send us a note: podcast [at] theamericanscholar [dot] org. And rate us on iTunes! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.