There is no alternative. The End of History. Climate Apocalypse. It
seems that our contemporary moment is defined by the idea that things
can only get worse or, in the most optimistic reading, perhaps stay as
they are. Ideas for things getting better, utopian ideas, seem in short
supply. It is this which Joe Davidson confronts in his book Saving Utopia: ... Show More
Today
Joe P. L. Davidson, "Saving Utopia: Imagining Hopeful Futures in Dystopian Times" (MIT Press, 2026)
There is no alternative. The End of History. Climate Apocalypse. It seems that our contemporary moment is defined by the idea that things can only get worse or, in the most optimistic reading, perhaps stay as they are. Ideas for things getting better, utopian ideas, seem in short ... Show More
1h 4m
Jun 15
Marielle Risse, "Ethnographic Reflections on Marriage in Dhofar, Oman" (Anthem Press, 2026)
In this episode of the New Books Network, we explore Ethnographic Reflections on Marriage in Dhofar, Oman (Anthem Press, 2026), with anthropologist Dr Marielle Risse. Drawing on nearly two decades of ethnographic fieldwork, Dr Risse offers a nuanced examination of marriage pract ... Show More
36m 17s
Feb 2025
Inside Europe's Biggest Red Light District
<p>Between 1860 and 1925, tens of thousands of women worked in Dublin's Monto, the largest red light district in Europe.</p><br><p>It was a world of narrow alleyways full of brothels busy with sex workers, at a time when the Catholic church was trying to establish ideas around wh ... Show More
51m 47s
Oct 2025
Inside Imperial Japan's Brothels
After the first licensed brothel opened in the 17th century, how was sex work thought of in Japan throughout the following centuries?From the brothels in the pleasure quarters, to the rise and popularity of male sex workers and where geishas fit into the picture, Kate is joined b ... Show More
50m 34s
May 2018
Roadmap to Hell: Sex, Drugs and Guns on the Mafia Coast, with Barbie Latza Nadeau
Rome-based journalist Barbie Latza Nadeau tells the horrifying story of the thousands of Nigerian women and girls duped into being trafficked to Italy, where they are forced to become sex slaves, drug mules, or weapons smugglers. How can this be stopped? The Nigerian government t ... Show More
23m 4s
Nov 2024
Caroline Séquin, "Desiring Whiteness: A Racial History of Prostitution in France and Colonial Senegal, 1848-1950" (Cornell UP, 2024)
Since the French Revolution of 1789, the absence of laws banning interracial marriages has served to reinforce two myths about modern France--first, that it is a sexual democracy and second, it is a color-blind nation where all French citizens can freely marry whomever they wish ... Show More
1h 37m
Jan 2025
Inside the Brothel of Pompeii
<p>Sex work was everywhere in the ancient world, but a known dedicated space for it (a brothel), is an extremely rare and important thing.</p><br><p>Pompeii offers exactly that, with details such as graffiti and drawings immaculately preserved in the only known brothel from this ... Show More
46m 45s
May 2024
Matilda Bickers, "Working It: Sex Workers on the Work of Sex" (PM Press, 2023)
Fiercely intelligent, fantastically transgressive, Working It: Sex Workers on the Work of Sex (PM Press, 2023) is an intimate portrait of the lives of sex workers. A polyphonic story of triumph, survival, and solidarity, this collection showcases the vastly different experiences ... Show More
38m 6s
May 2024
Matilda Bickers, "Working It: Sex Workers on the Work of Sex" (PM Press, 2023)
Fiercely intelligent, fantastically transgressive, Working It: Sex Workers on the Work of Sex (PM Press, 2023) is an intimate portrait of the lives of sex workers. A polyphonic story of triumph, survival, and solidarity, this collection showcases the vastly different experiences ... Show More
38m 6s