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New Books in Central Asian Studies

Marshall Poe
Central Asia
Soviet Union
Eurasian Nomadic Societies
Nuclear History
Xiongnu
Kazakhstan
Nomadic Empires
Soviet Central Television
Partition Of India
Afghanistan
Animal Style Imagery
Collectivization
Russian Empire
Soviet Atheism
Art History
Cultural Exchange
Chernobyl
Ukraine
Han Dynasty
Archaeology

This podcast is a channel on the New Books Network. The New Books Network is an academic audio library dedicated to public education. In each episode you will hear scholars discuss their recently published research with another expert in their field. Discover our 150+ channels and browse our 28,000+ episodes on our website: ⁠newbooksnetwork.com⁠ Subscribe to our free weekly Substack newsletter to ... more

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Artwork for New Books in Central Asian Studies

Latest Episodes

In early 2022, protests rocked Kazakhstan. Initially peaceful demonstrations turned violent after brutal government crackdowns, leaving at least 238 dead during "Bloody January." Many feared the unrest might fracture the country along ethno-linguisti... more

Can Europe afford to stand back as China rewrites the global electric vehicle (EV) ecosystem? In this episode, Julie Yu-Wen Chen at the University of Helsinki talks to United Nations Senior Adviser Matthew Gray for Europe and Central Asia Markets, wh... more

Turkmenistan rarely makes international headlines–and when it did, it was often stories that highlighted things like the strange cult of personality that surrounded Saparmurat Niyazov, its first post-Soviet president, who named months after himself a... more

The Power of Publishing in Early Modern Tibetan Buddhism (Lexington Books, 2025) is a rich exploration of the history of Tibetan books during the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. Looking at this ‘golden age’ of book production, Benjam... more

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Recent Guests

Dr. Kudaibergen
Lecturer in Central Asian Politics and Society at University College London
University College London (UCL)
Episode: Diana T. Kudaibergen, "What Does It Mean to Be Kazakhstani?: Power, Identity and Nation-Building" (Oxford UP, 2024)
Olivier Hein
Author of Mother of the World, The Remarkable History of Turkmenistan
Hurst Publishers
Episode: Olivier Hein, "Mother of the World: The Remarkable History of Turkmenistan" (Hurst, 2026)
Matthew Gray
Senior Advisor to the United Nations
United Nations
Episode: Chinese EVs: From Nordic Streets to Central Asian Hubs
Ben Nourse
Author of The Power of Publishing in Early Modern Tibetan Buddhism
Lexington Books / Studies in Modern Tibetan Culture
Episode: Benjamin J. Nourse, "The Power of Publishing in Early Modern Tibetan Buddhism"(Lexington Books, 2025)
David Leupold
Author, The Death and Life of Southern Soviet Cities, Urban Futures and Their Afterlives
Routledge
Episode: David Leupold, "The Death and Life of Southern Soviet Cities: Urban Futures and Their Afterlives" (Routledge, 2026)
Stephen Jones
Professor, author of The First Social Democracy, The Democratic Republic of Georgia, 1918-1921
Harvard University Press (author)
Episode: Stephen F. Jones, "The First Social Democracy: The Democratic Republic of Georgia, 1918–1921" (Harvard UP, 2026)
Warwick Ball
Archaeologist and author of Ancient Civilizations of Afghanistan
Archaeological research in Afghanistan; author
Episode: Warwick Ball, "Ancient Civilizations of Afghanistan: From the Earliest Times to the Mongol Conquest" (Reaktion, 2025)
Joanna Lillis
Kazakhstan-based journalist and author writing about Central Asia
Bloomsbury Publishing
Episode: Joanna Lillis, "Silk Mirage: Through the Looking Glass in Uzbekistan" (Bloomsbury, 2025)
Sugata Bose
A historian at Harvard University and author of 'Asia after Europe'
Harvard University
Episode: Sugata Bose, "Asia after Europe: Imagining a Continent in the Long Twentieth Century" (Harvard UP, 2024)

Hosts

Dr. Miranda Melcher
Host of New Books in Central Asian Studies, affiliated with New Books Network
Nicholas Gordon
Host of the Asian Review of Books podcast (New Books Network partner) and Asian Review of Books / New Books Network

Reviews

4.7 out of 5 stars from 25 ratings
  • Excellent. Listening from Brooklyn.

    Thanks. Good job.

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    Bakhtiyor Kuliev
    United States6 years ago

Listeners Say

Key themes from listener reviews, highlighting what works and what could be improved about the show.

The show is valuable for researchers and educators seeking primary-source perspectives and context.
Listeners appreciate rigorous, topic-dense conversations on Central Asia and related history.
Guests are consistently scholars or authors with deep subject-matter expertise.

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Talking Points

Recent interactions between the hosts and their guests.

David Leupold, "The Death and Life of Southern Soviet Cities: Urban Futures and Their Afterlives" (Routledge, 2026)
Q: What were the biggest methodological challenges you faced researching these cities?
The main challenges were learning seismic engineering and urban planning concepts to understand resilience, gaining trust in Bishkek as a newcomer, and balancing archival work with oral histories and multilingual sources from Czechia, Slovakia, and Central Asia.
Stephen F. Jones, "The First Social Democracy: The Democratic Republic of Georgia, 1918–1921" (Harvard UP, 2026)
Q: What were the key ideas and people that helped bring about the Democratic Republic of Georgia in 1918?
The DRG emerged from the end of World War I and imperial collapse, driven by Georgian social democrats who leaned European social democracy, with leaders who prioritized autonomy, education reform, language policy, and minority rights; key figures and events include the move away from federation and the May 1918 declaration, aided by German support under the Potti Agreements.
Stephen F. Jones, "The First Social Democracy: The Democratic Republic of Georgia, 1918–1921" (Harvard UP, 2026)
Q: But before we get there, can you start us off by introducing yourself a little bit and tell us why you decided to write this book?
I'm Stephen Jones, trained in the UK, with a long career that includes founding a Georgian studies program at Harvard and researching Georgia's independence movement; I was drawn to Georgia because its path to independence and its open, democratic project in a socialist frame stood out as distinctive and instructive.
Joanna Lillis, "Silk Mirage: Through the Looking Glass in Uzbekistan" (Bloomsbury, 2025)
Q: What is your history with Uzbekistan and the major events that you reported on?
Lillis recounts her move to Uzbekistan in 2001, her initial experiences, the political repression she witnessed, and the oppressive environment under Karimov's regime.
Zubeda Jalalzai, "Literary License and the West’s Romance with Afghanistan" (Bloomsbury, 2023)
Q: How does genre ambiguity between ethnography, romance, and fiction shape what Western audiences came to know about Afghanistan?
Dr. Jalalzai explained that the slippage between documentary and fiction in travel narratives influences the representation and understanding of Afghanistan for Western audiences.

Audience Metrics

Listeners, social reach, demographics and more for this podcast.

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Frequently Asked Questions About New Books in Central Asian Studies

What is New Books in Central Asian Studies about and what kind of topics does it cover?

A scholarly interview series focused on Central Asia, its history, politics, and culture through discussions of recently published academic works. Episodes frequently feature historians, regional specialists, and area experts exploring topics from post-Soviet transitions and nation-building to archaeology, religion, and geopolitics in Central Asia. Interesting through-lines include how borderlands shape identity, the region's role in larger Eurasian dynamics, and the translation of scholarship into public understanding. The show often blends deep archival context with contemporary reflections, making it a solid fit for listeners who want rigorous analysis, access to primary sources, and book-level insights from leading researchers.

A notab... more

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These podcasts share a similar audience with New Books in Central Asian Studies:

1. The Rest Is Politics: US
2. The Rest Is History
3. Pekingology
4. In Moscow's Shadows
5. Spotlight on Central Asia

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New Books in Central Asian Studies launched 12 years ago and published 193 episodes to date. You can find more information about this podcast including rankings, audience demographics and engagement in our podcast database.

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What guests have appeared on New Books in Central Asian Studies?

Recent guests on New Books in Central Asian Studies include:

1. Dr. Kudaibergen
2. Olivier Hein
3. Matthew Gray
4. Ben Nourse
5. David Leupold
6. Stephen Jones
7. Warwick Ball
8. Joanna Lillis

To view more recent guests and their details, simply upgrade your Rephonic account. You'll also get access to a typical guest profile to help you decide if the show is worth pitching.

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