New Books in Performing Arts

Marshall Poe

Music

Hollywood

New York City

Music Industry

Theater

Cultural Identity

World War II

Colonialism

Globalization

American Opera

Celebrity Culture

Pop Music

Broadway

Spotify

Capitalism

Tiktok

Folk Music

Feminism

Ballroom Dancing

Bible

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

10 ratings

Publishes	Daily	Episodes	1159	Founded	13 years ago
Number of Listeners		Categories	Performing ArtsArts

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Latest Episodes

Laura Horak, "Trans Cinema: Making Communities, Identities, and Worlds" (U California Press, 2026)

Since the 1990s, a largely underground upwelling of trans creativity has helped new trans identities, communities, and political movements come together. In Trans Cinema: Making Communities, Identities, and Worlds (University of California Press, 202... more

23 Apr 2026 • 36 min

Dybbuks, Golems, S. An-ski, and Jewish Legends in Times of Fear

S. An-ski’s play The Dybbuk, a story of possession set in a shtetl (think The Exorcist meets Fiddler on the Roof), is the foundation of modern Jewish drama. This talk by scholar Gabriella Safran explores its roots: in Jewish folklore, the scandalous ... more

18 Apr 2026

The Shawshank Redemption in China: An Interview with Matti Lehtonen

How can an entirely foreign cast perform the American “The Shawshank Redemption” in the Chinese language across China? In this episode of the Nordic Asia podcast, Julie Yu-Wen Chen talks with Matti E. Lehtonen, a Finnish national who shares his journ... more

17 Apr 2026

Daniel Rachel, "This Ain't Rock 'n' Roll: Pop Music, the Swastika, and the Third Reich" (Akashic Books, 2026)

Over the last seven decades, some of rock 'n' roll's most celebrated figureheads have flirted with the imagery and theater of the Third Reich. From Keith Moon and Vivian Stanshall kitting themselves out in Nazi uniforms to Siouxsie Sioux and Sid Vici... more

4 Apr 2026 • 57 min

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Recent Guests

Gabriella Safran

Ava Chernov-Loki Professor of Jewish Studies at Stanford University

Stanford University

Episode: Dybbuks, Golems, S. An-ski, and Jewish Legends in Times of Fear

Matti Lehtonen

Speaker/Producer involved in Chinese Shawshank Redemption stage production

University of Helsinki

Episode: The Shawshank Redemption in China: An Interview with Matti Lehtonen

Daniel Rachel

Author and musician

Akashic Books

Episode: Daniel Rachel, "This Ain't Rock 'n' Roll: Pop Music, the Swastika, and the Third Reich" (Akashic Books, 2026)

Danielle Bainbridge

Assistant Professor and the Director of Interdisciplinary PhD in the Theatre and Drama Program at Northwestern University

Northwestern University

Episode: Danielle Bainbridge, "Currencies of Cruelty: Slavery, Freak Shows, and the Performance Archive" (NYU Press, 2026)

Eddy Portnoy

specialist in Jewish popular culture, YIVO senior researcher and exhibit curator

YIVO Institute for Jewish Research

Episode: Jewface: “Yiddish” Dialect Songs of Tin Pan Alley

Jody Rosen

New York Times Sunday Magazine critic at large, author of White Christmas, Story of an American Song

The New York Times

Episode: Jewface: “Yiddish” Dialect Songs of Tin Pan Alley

Dr. Jessica Clarke

Historian and archaeologist specializing in ancient Roman theatre and entertainment culture

Liverpool University Press (author)

Episode: Jessica Clarke, "A New History of Ancient Roman Theatre" (Liverpool UP, 2025)

Dr. Lynneth Miller Renberg

Historian specializing in performance

Boydell & Brewer

Episode: Lynneth Miller Renberg, "Women, Dance and Parish Religion in England, 1300-1640: Negotiating the Steps of Faith" (Boydell & Brewer, 2022)

Matti Friedman

Award-winning journalist and author

Episode: Matti Friedman, "Who by Fire: Leonard Cohen in the Sinai" (Spiegel & Grau, 2022)

Hosts

Renée Garris

Host associated with New Books Network.

Miranda Melcher

Host on The New Books Network; appears across performing arts discussions.

Reviews

4.1 out of 5 stars from 10 ratings

Hidden Gem!
As a peace worker using movement and arts in my work, these podcasts are not only a library but helps me feel connected to like minds.
Letting others know
Apple Podcasts
5
Hawthorne the Pitbull
United States7 years ago

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Listeners Say

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

The conversations are described as deeply researched and engaging, offering meaningful context for readers and practitioners of performance.

Some listeners value the breadth of topics but may wish for more widely varied guest backgrounds or more accessible summaries for non-specialists.

Listeners praise the show as a thoughtful, scholarly resource that connects academic insights with practical understanding of the arts.

Chart Rankings

How this podcast ranks in the Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube charts.

Apple Podcasts	#59	South Africa/Arts/Performing Arts
Apple Podcasts	#69	Denmark/Arts/Performing Arts
Apple Podcasts	#78	Ireland/Arts/Performing Arts
Apple Podcasts	#108	New Zealand/Arts/Performing Arts
Apple Podcasts	#212	Brazil/Arts/Performing Arts
Apple Podcasts	#241	Japan/Arts/Performing Arts

Talking Points

Recent interactions between the hosts and their guests.

Dybbuks, Golems, S. An-ski, and Jewish Legends in Times of Fear

Q: An-ski's religious affiliation—what was his relationship to religious Judaism?

Safran explains that An-ski grew up in a Chabad environment but was ultimately a cultural Jew who admired religious culture while adhering to socialist revolutionary ideals, balancing deep respect for religious tradition with secular, modern cultural projects.

Dybbuks, Golems, S. An-ski, and Jewish Legends in Times of Fear

Q: One, someone noticed that in the picture of the Chuppah, it's blue. It's called a Black Chuppah, but it's blue. Can you comment on that?

The speaker notes that the blue chuppah image is a remembered artifact from a real cholera wedding photograph, and suggests checking Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblitz's collection for context, acknowledging slight variations in visual representations over time.

The Shawshank Redemption in China: An Interview with Matti Lehtonen

Q: So how did he make it, given the censorship and casting constraints?

Matti explains the strategic casting of a Canadian narrator, the involvement of a well-known Chinese-speaking actor for the warden, and careful editing of the script to satisfy censorship while preserving the core themes, with ongoing negotiations and approvals across cities.

Danielle Bainbridge, "Currencies of Cruelty: Slavery, Freak Shows, and the Performance Archive" (NYU Press, 2026)

Q: Talk about how you came to that question.

The question grew out of an early encounter with the photograph of Millie Christine McKoy in the archive and a broader interest in how labor and enslaved labor intersect with performance, which led to examining the archive as a site of meaning-making and violence.

Daniel Rachel, "This Ain't Rock 'n' Roll: Pop Music, the Swastika, and the Third Reich" (Akashic Books, 2026)

Q: So to get started, can you tell us what your book is about?

Daniel Rachel explains that the book surveys how pop music intersects with the Third Reich and swastika imagery across decades, examining performers, historical context, and the shifting perceptions of accountability as culture and media shape collective memory.

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Frequently Asked Questions About New Books in Performing Arts

What is New Books in Performing Arts about and what kind of topics does it cover?

This show features scholarly conversations with authors and researchers in the performing arts, covering dance history and pedagogy, theatre and acting methods, music, performance studies, and translation and literary work. Episodes often center on new books or historical-cultural contexts, bringing rigorous analysis to topics like dance education, ballroom culture, method acting, postcolonial theory, and the politics of performance. Listeners can expect thoughtful cross-disciplinary discussions that connect archival research, cultural memory, and contemporary performance practice, with a strong emphasis on education, identity, and the social power of the arts. A notable strength is the consistent pairing of historians, literary scholars, a... more

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New Books in Performing Arts launched 13 years ago and published 1159 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 Performing Arts?

Recent guests on New Books in Performing Arts include:

1. Gabriella Safran
2. Matti Lehtonen
3. Daniel Rachel
4. Danielle Bainbridge
5. Eddy Portnoy
6. Jody Rosen
7. Dr. Jessica Clarke
8. Dr. Lynneth Miller Renberg

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