There is a widespread sense throughout the developed world that
progress towards a better society has stalled. Many countries, including
the UK, have experienced persistent economic stagnation accompanied by
declining trust in institutions. Governments are struggling to respond
not only to traditional economic problems but also to newer challenges
posed ... Show More
Aug 25
Niharika Pandit, "Occupying the Everyday: Militarisation and Gendered Politics of Living in Kashmir" (Oxford UP, 2026)
Our recent conversation about Occupying the Everyday: Militarisation and Gendered Politics of Living in Kashmir (Oxford UP, 2026), with author Niharika Pandit, covers the journey of how critical methodology meets the weight of lived experience. This book examines the everyday pol ... Show More
57m 28s
Aug 24
A.J.A. Woods, "The Cultural Marxism Conspiracy: Why the Right Blames the Frankfurt School for the Decline of the West" (Verso, 2026)
The Cultural Marxism Conspiracy: Why the Right Blames the Frankfurt School for the Decline of the West (Verso Books, 2026) is the definitive history of a dangerous right-wing conspiracy theory. “Cultural Marxism” is one of the far right’s favorite buzzwords. But despite its curr ... Show More
53m 40s
Aug 23
Ryan Engley, "Seriality: Media and the Psychic Form of Everyday Life" (Bloomsbury, 2026)
This material and theoretical history of seriality shows it to be the dominant form of culture since its inception within 19th-century print culture, as both a media structure and a psychic one. The serial is everywhere. Commonly identified by the segmented release structure of a ... Show More
1h 23m
Feb 2024
The Future of the Future: A Discussion with Jonathan White
"An air of finality pervades today’s world." That is the opening sentence of Jonathan White’s book In the Long Run: The Future as a Political Idea (Profile, 2024). What role, the book asks, has the idea of "the future" played in past politics? What role does it play in contempora ... Show More
41m 56s
Oct 2024
Episode 215: The Secret Life of Joan Didion
Lili Anolik looks at a question that’s always intrigued the literati—what exactly was the nature of the relationship between Joan Didion and her husband, John Gregory Dunne? Then our man in Paris, John von Sothen, reports on one poll that has been quite reliable at predicting the ... Show More
35m 17s