New Books in Religion

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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

58 ratings

Publishes	Daily	Episodes	2720	Founded	15 years ago
Number of Listeners		Category	Religion & Spirituality

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Latest Episodes

Sudalaimuthu Palaniappan, "Tamil Śiva Temples, Āgamas, and Śivabrāhmaṇas/Ādiśaivas" (YSSR Foundation, 2026)

Tamil Śiva Temples, Āgamas, and Śivabrāhmaṇas/Ādiśaivas addresses the issue of whether members of all castes can become priests in Tamil Śiva temples. The history of the Śivabrāhmaṇas or Ādiśaivas as priests in Tamil Śiva temples is described using t... more

2 Jul 2026 • 33 min

Good Goy, Bad Goy: The Portrayal of Gentiles in Sketches from the London Yiddish Press

Gentiles often appeared in the news sections of the London Yiddish press, and sometimes they also appeared in the regular “feuilleton” section in character sketches and fiction, stories and scenes from immigrant East-End Jewish life. Many of these po... more

1 Jul 2026

Susannah Crockford, "A Perturbed System: Religion and Climate Change from the End of a World" (U Chicago Press, 2026)

Our ecological system is disturbed, and with it, every other system we’ve built to inhabit it. We do not face inevitable destruction, yet many of us cannot conceive of climate change as anything but the end of the world, an apocalypse with all its bi... more

29 Jun 2026 • 48 min

Gina M. Pérez, "Sanctuary People: Faith-Based Organizing in Latina/o Communities" (NYU Press, 2024)

In her latest book, Sanctuary People: Faith Based Organizing in Latina/o Communities (NYU Press, 2024), Dr. Gina Perez explores sanctuary practices in Ohio, locating them in broader local and national efforts to provide refuge and care in the face of... more

26 Jun 2026 • 48 min

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Recent Guests

John Roth

Author of Saving the American Dream, Meditations for Dark Times

Wipf and Stock (publisher)

Episode: John K. Roth, "Saving the American Dream: Meditations for Dark Times" (Wipf and Stock, 2026)

Gina Bérez

Chair of the Department of Comparative American Studies at Oberlin College and author of Sanctuary People

Oberlin College

Episode: Gina M. Pérez, "Sanctuary People: Faith-Based Organizing in Latina/o Communities" (NYU Press, 2024)

Ben Nourse

Author of The Power of Publishing in Early Modern Tibetan Buddhism

Lexington Books

Episode: Benjamin J. Nourse, "The Power of Publishing in Early Modern Tibetan Buddhism"(Lexington Books, 2025)

Hamsa Stainton

Co-editor of Sanskrit Hymns Across Traditions, Studying Stotras

Routledge Studies in Asian Religion and Philosophy (edited volume)

Episode: Hamsa Stainton and Anna Lee White, "Sanskrit Hymns Across Traditions: Studying Stotras" (Routledge, 2026)

Anna Lee White

Co-editor of Sanskrit Hymns Across Traditions, Studying Stotras

Routledge Studies in Asian Religion and Philosophy (edited volume)

Episode: Hamsa Stainton and Anna Lee White, "Sanskrit Hymns Across Traditions: Studying Stotras" (Routledge, 2026)

Carola Lorea

Author of Communities of Sound, Religion, Displacement, and Caste in the Bay of Bengal

Wesleyan University

Episode: Carola E. Lorea, "Communities of Sound: Religion, Displacement, and Caste in the Bay of Bengal" (Wesleyan UP, 2026)

David Beal

Emmanuel Ringelblum Distinguished Professor of Jewish History, UC Davis

University of California, Davis

Episode: A Very Jewish Christmas: Jesus and Shabbtai Zvi, from Heretic to Hero

Donald Baker

Author of Korean New Religions (Cambridge University Press, 2025)

University of British Columbia (retired); Korean studies scholar

Episode: Don Baker, "Korean New Religions" (Cambridge UP, 2025)

Youssef J. Carter

Assistant Professor of Religious Studies and Kenan Rafai Fellow in Islamic Studies

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Episode: Youssef J. Carter, "The Vast Oceans: Remembering Allah and Self on the Mustafawiyya Sufi Path" (UNC Press, 2026)

Host

Schneur Zalman Newfield; Amisah Bakuri; Raj Operon; Greg Soden; Roland Clark; Jonathon Lookadoo; Shobana Xavier; Elisa Prosperetti; Michael Morales; Pierce Salguero; Raj Balkaran; Shahnaz Haqqani; Anas; Jacob Barrett

Diverse hosts from the New Books Network, primarily facilitating author interviews and scholarly conversations across religion and related fields.

Reviews

4.2 out of 5 stars from 58 ratings

Erudite and in depth…. But where are the women?
Love having these deep dives into religious history—but so many of these scholars are men. Maybe it’s a problem with academia or cafe mic publishing, and this podcast is just reflecting it. But there’s either a systematic problem, or a systemic one.
Apple Podcasts
4
AGbrooklyn
United States4 years ago
Sound
Surely you can get better sound quality. Such a shame. Otherwise excellent
Apple Podcasts
3
Brompton Listener!
United Kingdom7 years ago
too much poor sound in some conversations
Many interesting discussions- but why is the sound quality so poor in some of the phone interviews? It sounds like they were recorded from low quality VoIP lines on a noisy cell phone connection. Surely in an age of digital communications it shouldn't be so hard to record a phone conversation that doesn't sound like its coming through a distortion system muffled through a blanket.
Apple Podcasts
3
James Ettaman
Canada11 years ago

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Listeners Say

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

Great depth and rigor, but more women voices would balance perspectives.

Deep conversations with strong scholarly insights, though some episodes could benefit from clearer audio.

Sound quality varies, especially on phone interviews.

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Talking Points

Recent interactions between the hosts and their guests.

Raissa von Doetinchem de Rande, "The Politics of Islamic Ethics: Hierarchy and Human Nature in the Philosophical Tradition (Cambridge UP, 2025)

Q: Could you provide an overview of the main argument of the book and the ways that human nature and these things are brought out?

Raissa outlines that the book traces fitra through four major thinkers—Al-Farabi, Ibn Bajja, Ibn Tufayl, and Ibn Rushd—showing how each uses fitra to address diversity, hierarchy, and political order, while arguing that translating the term loses important nuance; instead, the historical trajectories reveal how Islamic ethics engages with governance, education, and gender in ways that illuminate contemporary debates.

Stephen Spector, "God and the First Families: Parenting, Trauma, and Healing in the Book of Genesis" (Jewish Publication Society, 2026)

Q: How did writing this book influence your approach to teaching Bible, and what might you do differently if you taught it again?

The author describes a teaching approach that stresses line-by-line analysis and open-ended discussion to reveal character and morality, and suggests that greater clarity about God's forgiving and reconciling aims would shape future teaching.

Stephen Spector, "God and the First Families: Parenting, Trauma, and Healing in the Book of Genesis" (Jewish Publication Society, 2026)

Q: Your book traces a maturation of God over Genesis from authoritarian beginnings to a more authoritative end. Why does this shift occur in the narrative, and what does it imply about God and humanity?

He argues that the narrative shows God evolving in response to human behavior, starting with a strong, punitive mode and gradually adopting more relational, empathetic approaches as people grow, while still employing sanctions when necessary to teach and guide.

Stephen Spector, "God and the First Families: Parenting, Trauma, and Healing in the Book of Genesis" (Jewish Publication Society, 2026)

Q: So let's go through them and let's start with first the parenting styles and then we'll get to God. Tell us about the four parenting styles and maybe define each one briefly.

Spector outlines four parenting styles—authoritarian, permissive, neglectful, and authoritative—and explains that while each can be loving in its own way, authoritative parenting tends to yield the best outcomes due to its mix of clear rules, discipline, and empathetic communication.

Benjamin J. Nourse, "The Power of Publishing in Early Modern Tibetan Buddhism"(Lexington Books, 2025)

Q: What is it about publishing under the Fifth Dalai Lama during this period that is unique, and how did it set the scene for later publishing growth?

The Fifth Dalai Lama's ascent to power coincided with a centralized political project that actively coordinated publishing across regions, turning text production into a state-supported activity. He and his government consolidated control over knowledge, printed large, multi-volume corpora, and used publishing to legitimate the Gelug school and the new administration, effectively creating a culture of prolific, centralized book production.

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Frequently Asked Questions About New Books in Religion

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

Scholarly interviews with authors who publish across religion, theology, and related humanities form the heart of this program. Conversations typically center on new books, archival research, and methodological questions, often weaving in historical, textual, and ethnographic perspectives. Listeners can expect rigorous analysis, fresh case studies, and thoughtful explorations of how religion intersects with culture, politics, and everyday life. A few episodes spotlight topics like sacred spaces, scriptural interpretation, myth and memory, and the social dimensions of religious communities, making the feed valuable for researchers, graduate students, and practitioners seeking depth and context. A notable strength is the consistent pairing of... more

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1. New Books in Critical Theory
2. Hermitix
3. Know Your Enemy
4. The LRB Podcast
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New Books in Religion launched 15 years ago and published 2720 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 Religion?

Recent guests on New Books in Religion include:

1. John Roth
2. Gina Bérez
3. Ben Nourse
4. Hamsa Stainton
5. Anna Lee White
6. Carola Lorea
7. David Beal
8. Donald Baker

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