New Books in Science, Technology, and Society

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Artificial Intelligence

World War II

Social Media

Climate Change

Technology

Memory

Silicon Valley

Medical Progress

Environmental Justice

Geoai

Social Justice

Capitalism

Plastic Pollution

Drone Warfare

Cultural History

Neuroscience

Cultural Studies

Telecommunications

History Of Technology

Black Holes

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

77 ratings

Publishes	Daily	Episodes	2896	Founded	14 years ago
Number of Listeners		Categories	Social SciencesScience

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Latest Episodes

Gareth Doherty, "Landscape Fieldwork: How Engaging the World Can Change Design" (U Virginia Press, 2025)

Landscape architecture is at a crossroads. The ability to draw upon

interdisciplinary perspectives and generate insights from the combined

vantage points of design, environmental studies, and the social sciences

puts it in a prime position to addr... more

21 Jun 2026 • 1 hr 3 min

Hidden Heretics: Jewish Doubt in the Digital Age

In her recent publication, Hidden Heretics: Jewish Doubt in the Digital Age, scholar Ayala Fader tells the fascinating, often heart-wrenching stories of married ultra-Orthodox Jewish men and women in twenty-first-century New York who lead “double liv... more

20 Jun 2026

Emily Doucet, "Inventing Nadar: A History of Photographic Firsts" (Duke UP, 2026)

Félix Nadar took the first aerial photograph in 1858, so the story goes. The evidence, Emily Doucet notes, is mixed. In Inventing Nadar: A History of Photographic Firsts (Duke UP, 2026), Doucet analyzes the historical and material production of the ... more

16 Jun 2026 • 1 hr 8 min • Popular

John Longhurst, "Can Robots Love God and Be Saved? A Journalist Reports on Faith" (CMU Press, 2024)

One of the things that stood out in my conversation with John Longhurst about his book Can Robots Love God and Be Saved? A Journalist Reports on Faith (CMU Press, 2024) was his seriousness about journalism itself. Longhurst understands the journalist... more

14 Jun 2026 • 43 min • Popular

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Recent Guests

Aditya Deshbandhu

Lecturer in Communications, Digital Media and Sociology at University of Exeter

University of Exeter

Episode: Aditya Deshbandhu, "The 21st Century in 100 Games" (Routledge, 2024)

Shikha Jhingan

Associate professor, School of Arts and Aesthetics, Jawaharlal Nehru University, India

Jawaharlal Nehru University

Episode: Shikha Jhingan, "The Female Playback in Bombay Cinema: Voice, Body, Technology" (Wayne State UP, 2025)

Margaret O'Mara

Scott and Dorothy Bullet Chair of American History at the University of Washington

University of Washington

Episode: Margaret O’Mara on the Clintons, Tech, and Memory

Ann Carlson

Professor of Environmental Law at UCLA School of Law

University of California, Los Angeles

Episode: Ann Carlson, "Smog and Sunshine: The Surprising Story of How Los Angeles Cleaned Up Its Air" (U California Press, 2026)

Ralph Jones

Author of Microphone (Bloomsbury, 2026) in the Object Lessons series

Bloomsbury

Episode: Ralph Jones, "Microphone" (Bloomsbury, 2026)

Rahul Mukherjee

Associate professor of TV and New Media, graduate chair in the Department of Cinema & Media Studies at University of Pennsylvania

University of Pennsylvania

Episode: Rahul Mukherjee, "Unlimited: Aspirational Politics and Mobile Media Distribution" (MIT Press, 2026)

Pedro Domingos

Author of The Master Algorithm

University of Washington

Episode: Pedro Domingos, "The Master Algorithm: How the Quest for the Ultimate Learning Machine Will Remake Our World" (Basic Books, 2018)

Amy Thomas

Lecturer in intellectual property and information law at the University of Glasgow, CREATE Center

University of Glasgow, CREATE Center

Episode: Amy Thomas, "Copyright, Contract, and Video Games: Terms of Play" (Hart Publishing, 2026)

Yeong Ju Lee

Academic in the Department of Linguistics and the School of Education at Macquarie University

Macquarie University

Episode: Learning Languages on Social Media

Host

Miranda Melcher

Host of The New Books Network; focus on history and science/technology topics; affiliated with New Books Network.

Reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars from 77 ratings

Excellent, but please fix the audio
Excellent content, but the audio of the introductory part is disturbed by static noise. Thankfully the introduction is pretty short. The audio of the interview is much better. I think it would be wise to get a new microphone.
Apple Podcasts
3
Em1975
United States5 years ago

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Listeners Say

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

Guests are clearly experts and bring depth to debates.

Thoughtful, rigorous conversations with top scholars.

Occasional audio quality issues during intros.

The show combines archival insight with contemporary relevance.

Great for background reading and understanding complex topics.

Chart Rankings

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

Apple Podcasts	#47	United States/Science/Social Sciences
Apple Podcasts	#87	Canada/Science/Social Sciences
Apple Podcasts	#147	United Kingdom/Science/Social Sciences
Apple Podcasts	#66	Australia/Science/Social Sciences
Apple Podcasts	#109	Germany/Science/Social Sciences
Apple Podcasts	#21	Ukraine/Science/Social Sciences

Talking Points

Recent interactions between the hosts and their guests.

Ann Carlson, "Smog and Sunshine: The Surprising Story of How Los Angeles Cleaned Up Its Air" (U California Press, 2026)

Q: What role did policy play in driving the changes, especially the Clean Air Act and California's regulatory framework?

Policy established a timeline and a framework for technology upgrade, with California allowed to set stricter standards and the federal government requiring tech like catalytic converters; this tech-forcing approach pushed automakers to innovate despite initial resistance.

Ann Carlson, "Smog and Sunshine: The Surprising Story of How Los Angeles Cleaned Up Its Air" (U California Press, 2026)

Q: What were the key factors that combined to create the air pollution problem in LA in the early days?

The problem arose from household incinerators, citrus-processing fires, industrial emissions, and, most significantly, a car-dominated growth pattern that amplified emissions; understanding these sources helped explain why targeted regulation and technological shifts were necessary.

Ann Carlson, "Smog and Sunshine: The Surprising Story of How Los Angeles Cleaned Up Its Air" (U California Press, 2026)

Q: Could you start us off by introducing yourself, please, and tell us why you decided to write this book? And maybe as a starting point, how clean is LA's air these days?

I'm a law professor who has long studied environmental policy and vehicle regulation, and my book argues that LA's air has dramatically improved over the last 70 years due to a combination of monitoring, regulation, technology like catalytic converters, and persistent advocacy from scientists, journalists, and community groups, though ozone and some pollution challenges persist.

Shikha Jhingan, "The Female Playback in Bombay Cinema: Voice, Body, Technology" (Wayne State UP, 2025)

Q: How did recording technologies influence gendered sonic worlds and the actor-singer relationship?

Recording technologies and studio practices solidified a material theory of voice, where the microphone, breath, and breath control governed vocal production, enabling a distinct feminine voice to emerge that could be both intimate and spectacular within film narratives.

Margaret O’Mara on the Clintons, Tech, and Memory

Q: What was it like to transition from personal involvement in the 1990s to writing about Silicon Valley's broader history?

The move helped me see common threads between political strategy and tech industry storytelling, and how narratives—whether about memory or innovation—drive public understanding of both politics and technology.

Audience Metrics

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Frequently Asked Questions About This Podcast

What is This Podcast about and what kind of topics does it cover?

This program features in-depth conversations with scholars who discuss recently published books and research across science, technology, and society. Episodes cover topics like psywar history, language and AI, urban self-provisioning, environmental disasters, peace infrastructures, phrenology's historical impact, AI leadership in GLAM institutions, reparative media, race and genomics, internet history, space policy, and data capitalism in rural contexts. Guests are primarily academics and policy thinkers who illuminate historical debates, technological change, and social implications, often tying scholarly work to contemporary public conversations. The show is notable for integrating archival research with contemporary issues, offering rigo... more

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1. New Books in Critical Theory
2. Tech Won't Save Us
3. Acid Horizon
4. The LRB Podcast
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this podcast launched 14 years ago and published 2896 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 this podcast?

Recent guests on this podcast include:

1. Aditya Deshbandhu
2. Shikha Jhingan
3. Margaret O'Mara
4. Ann Carlson
5. Ralph Jones
6. Rahul Mukherjee
7. Pedro Domingos
8. Amy Thomas

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