New Books in Popular Culture

The podcast dives into Bruce Springsteen's 1982 album Nebraska, exploring its rich personal and political layers. One host shares a lifelong appreciation, while the other confronts it as a newcomer. They discuss the lo-fi recording's historical context, capturing the anxieties of early 80s America. Key themes include the moral dilemmas in songs like 'Highway Patrolman' and the haunting imagery of 'My Father's House.' The discussion reflects on how the album's timeless sound continues to influence artists today.

Rebecca van Laer, an ex-academic with a PhD from Brown, shares insights from her upcoming book, Cat. She humorously navigates the complexities of human-cat relationships, discussing the appeal of cats’ independence against the structured roles of dog ownership. Van Laer also challenges stereotypes like the 'crazy cat lady' and explores how cats subtly influence ideas about work and affection. With a mix of memoir and cultural commentary, she encourages listeners to appreciate the autonomy of feline companionship.

Michael F. Maniates, a leading scholar in environmental politics, discusses his book, The Living-Green Myth. He challenges the notion that individual green choices can drive systemic change, calling it 'utter nonsense.' Maniates delves into the origins of lifestyle environmentalism and critiques its depoliticizing effect. He emphasizes the power of collective action over consumer-focused change and advocates for institutional reforms. Additionally, he highlights the need for structural changes that simplify sustainable living, pushing back against the myths that hinder genuine progress.

Tamar Mitts, an Associate Professor at Columbia's School of International and Public Affairs, dives into the challenges of content moderation and online extremism. She discusses how varying moderation standards across social media platforms create safe havens for hate groups like Islamic State and QAnon. Mitts explores how extremist actors manipulate platform rules, the impact on user radicalization and echo chambers, and the tension between censorship and free speech. Her insights highlight the need for unified moderation to combat these complex issues.

Brian Baker, a veteran punk-rock guitarist from bands like Minor Threat and Bad Religion, shares insights from his photography collection, The Road. He discusses how his cell phone has influenced his artistic practice, capturing both iconic rock moments and the mundane aspects of touring. Baker reveals that the book's images are intentionally left without captions to invite interpretation, much like song lyrics. He also highlights standout photos, including a memorable backstage shot, and shares plans for upcoming book events and tours.

Micah Salkind, a scholar, DJ, and author, dives into the fascinating world of Frankie Knuckles, the 'Godfather of House.' He discusses how Knuckles redefined music after the backlash against disco, creating a sound that resonated with marginalized communities. The conversation unpacks the impacts of Disco Demolition Night, explores the roots of house music in Chicago's underground, and highlights the significance of spaces like the Warehouse. Salkind also addresses the misremembering of house music and its connection as 'Chicago's musical Stonewall,' emphasizing resilience through creativity.

In this episode of International Horizons, Interim Director Eli Karetny speaks with film scholar Nathan Abrams about the enduring relevance of Stanley Kubrick and what his work can teach us about our current era. From the nuclear absurdities of Dr. Strangelove to the cosmic rebirth of 2001: A Space Odyssey, Kubrick’s films expose the fragile line between technological mastery and moral collapse. Abrams unpacks Kubrick’s fascination with war, authority, and obedience, his roots in the New York Jewish intellectual tradition, and his exploration of mystical and mythic themes—from Kabbalah to The Odyssey. Together, they reveal how Kubrick’s cinematic universe reflects our own: a world where human creativity, paranoia, and power intertwine in both terrifying and illuminating ways. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/popular-culture

Charles J. Stivale (Distinguished Professor Emeritus, Wayne State University) and Dan Smith (Professor of Philosophy, Purdue University) join me to discuss: Deleuze, Gilles. 2025. On Painting. Edited by David Lapoujade, translated by Charles J. Stivale. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. Although Charles is the translator of this New Book, he has been working with Dan for years on The Deleuze Seminars (website here). Dan is also the translator of Deleuze’s Francis Bacon: The Logic of Sensation, which Deleuze published shortly after giving this seminar. I thank Charles for bringing him in to contribute to our discussion! From the inside flap: “ ” Nathan Smith is a PhD candidate in Music Theory at Yale University nathan.smith@yale.edu Available for the first time in English: the complete and annotated transcripts of Deleuze’s 1981 seminars on paintingFrom 1970 until 1987, Gilles Deleuze held a weekly seminar at the Experimental University of Vincennes and, starting in 1980, at Saint-Denis. In the spring of 1981, he began a series of eight seminars on painting and its intersections with philosophy. The recorded sessions, newly transcribed and translated into English, are now available in their entirety for the first time. Extensively annotated by philosopher David Lapoujade, On Painting illuminates Deleuze’s thinking on artistic creation, significantly extending the lines of thought in his book Francis Bacon.Through paintings and writing by Rembrandt, Delacroix, Turner, Cézanne, Van Gogh, Klee, Pollock, and Bacon, Deleuze explores the creative process, from chaos to the pictorial fact. The introduction and use of color feature prominently as Deleuze elaborates on artistic and philosophical concepts such as the diagram, modulation, code, and the digital and the analogical. Through this scrutiny, he raises a series of profound and stimulating questions for his students: How does a painter ward off grayness and attain color? What is a line without contour? Why paint at all?Written and thought in a rhizomatic manner that is thoroughly Deleuzian—strange, powerful, and novel—On Painting traverses both the conception of art history and the possibility of color as a philosophical concept. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/popular-culture

Why is there no metric system in the United States? Why is it that a country known for its openness to the future, its scientific innovations, and its preference for practicality has not adopted the most practical, scientific, and innovative system of measurement? Yardstick Nation: The Metric System in America (Vanderbilt UP, 2025) by Dr. Hector Vera answers these questions by analyzing the political, economic, and international factors that determined the trajectory of the United States as a nation self-excluded from one of the most successful global technical languages. Using a historical-comparative approach and qualitative analysis of archival material, the book examines the trajectories of American scientists, engineers, politicians, and industrialists from 1787 to 1982, to detail what they wanted to attain and to explain what was actually possible to achieve given the political and economic conditions in which they lived. Yardstick Nation argues that in order to understand the unbreached distance between the United States and the metric system, we must consider the interaction between three structural elements: historical timing, state infrastructural power, and international economic integration. Dr. Vera’s systematic look at when and why countries have adopted the metric system shows that its introduction is never casual. In the countries that voluntarily embraced the metric system, this was the result of either deep internal political transformations or momentous changes in the international economy. When the adoption of the metric system is politically driven, it comes as the result of a social revolution, independence war, national unification, or the draft of a new constitution. When it is propelled by economic factors, metrication is part of the efforts of economically stagnant countries to integrate into international markets. This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose book focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. You can find Miranda’s interviews on New Books with Miranda Melcher, wherever you get your podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/popular-culture

Epic Disruptions: 11 Innovations That Shaped Our Modern World (Harvard Business Review Press, 2025) arrives at the perfect moment as artificial intelligence and other technologies promise to unleash another wave of major transformation. This book is a kaleidoscopic look at how eleven disruptive innovations—including the iPhone, transistor, disposable diapers, and Julia Child's The Art of French Cooking—reshaped industries and societies, propelling humanity toward new frontiers. It masterfully weaves together the fascinating stories behind history's most transformative disruptions—from ninth-century China to twenty-first-century Silicon Valley. Through the eleven pivotal innovations that it covers, including the printing press, mass-produced automobiles, the McDonald's revolutionary food system, and the iPhone, the author Dartmouth Business School Professor Scott D. Anthony reveals the hidden patterns behind world-changing breakthroughs from gunpowder to generative AI. These forces of disruption are repeatedly rewriting the rules of business, society, and human possibility. Through vivid storytelling and sharp analysis, Professor Anthony introduces the iconoclasts who dared to think differently—the Renaissance-era scientists, French-cooking enthusiasts, and corporate visionaries who saw opportunities others missed. This books shows how disruptions actually took place. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/popular-culture