New Books in Science, Technology, and Society

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Autonomous Weapons Systems

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China

Plastic Pollution

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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

77 ratings

Publishes	Daily	Episodes	2869	Founded	14 years ago
Number of Listeners		Categories	Social SciencesScience

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Latest Episodes

Angus Burgin on the Rise of the Internet

We were joined by Angus Burgin, Associate Professor of History at Johns Hopkins University, and talked about how the arrival of the Internet remade life and politics in the 90s. Angus shared his thoughts on the motivations behind his upcoming book, w... more

11 May 2026 • 3 min

Peter S. Soppelsa, "Paris After Haussmann: Living with Infrastructure in the City of Light, 1870–1914" (U Pittsburgh Press, 2026)

Modern Paris is often hailed as a capital of urban infrastructure. Baron Georges-Eugène Haussmann’s rebuilding of Paris in 1853–1870, branded “Haussmannization,” helped define urban modernity for cities worldwide. But even as infrastructures expanded... more

10 May 2026 • 51 min

Olivier Sylvain, "Recovering the Internet: How Big Tech Took Control-And How We Can Take It Back" (Columbia Global Reports, 2026)

Recovering the Internet: How Big Tech Took Control-And How We Can Take It Back (Columbia Global Reports, 2026)is an indictment of how Big Tech cloaks ruthless commercial exploitation in the language of free speech. Olivier Sylvain, a leading legal sc... more

9 May 2026 • 31 min

Are We Entering An Arms Race in Outer Space?

This week on International Horizons, RBI interim director Eli Karetny interviewed Mallory Stewart, Chief Executive Officer of the Council on Strategic Risks. Stewart discusses the evolving role of the US Space Force and the shift in its doctrine towa... more

8 May 2026 • 52 min

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Recent Guests

Max Morris

Author of Not Sex Work, sociologist by training

Not Sex Work (book)

Episode: Max Morris, "Not Sex Work: Queer Intimacy, Post-identity, and Incidental Encounters in the Digital Era" (Routledge, 2025)

Darin Barney

Gersen Chair in Communication Studies, McGill University; co-editor of Media Rurality

McGill University

Episode: Patrick Brodie and Darin Barney eds., "Media Rurality" (Duke UP, 2026)

Patrick Brodie

Assistant Professor, Information and Communication Studies, University College Dublin; co-editor of Media Rurality

University College Dublin

Episode: Patrick Brodie and Darin Barney eds., "Media Rurality" (Duke UP, 2026)

Megan Wiessner

Co-author of a chapter on Green Data Capitalism; postdoc and future faculty role

University of Virginia / University of Richmond

Episode: Patrick Brodie and Darin Barney eds., "Media Rurality" (Duke UP, 2026)

Burç Köstem

Co-author focusing on peripheries; Assistant Professor at UNC Chapel Hill

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Episode: Patrick Brodie and Darin Barney eds., "Media Rurality" (Duke UP, 2026)

Scott Solomon

Professor of Evolutionary Biology, author of Becoming Martian

Rice University

Episode: Scott Solomon, "Becoming Martian: How Living in Space Will Change Our Bodies and Minds" (MIT Press, 2026)

Deirdre Loughridge

Music professor at Northeastern University

Northeastern University

Episode: Deirdre Loughridge & Thomas Patteson, "The Museum of Imaginary Musical Instruments" (Reaktion, 2026)

Thomas Patteson

Co-author and researcher

Independent scholar / Northeastern University

Episode: Deirdre Loughridge & Thomas Patteson, "The Museum of Imaginary Musical Instruments" (Reaktion, 2026)

Vindhya Buthpitiya

Anthropologist researching nationalist conflict and visual culture in Sri Lanka

University of London (PhD work context)

Episode: Vindhya Buthpitiya, "A Volatile Picture: War and the Political Work of Photography in Sri Lanka" (U Washington Press, 2026)

Host

Dr. Miranda Melcher

Host of The New Books Network; multiple appearances; represents scholarly and publishing-centered interviews.

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 well-chosen and bring deep expertise; episodes feel like accessible academic surveys with practical takeaways.

Some audio quality issues can be a distraction, particularly at the start of episodes, but content quality remains high.

The show consistently delivers thoughtful, scholarship-forward conversations with clear explanations of complex ideas.

Chart Rankings

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

Apple Podcasts	#72	United States/Science/Social Sciences
Apple Podcasts	#32	Canada/Science/Social Sciences
Apple Podcasts	#143	United Kingdom/Science/Social Sciences
Apple Podcasts	#247	Canada/Science
Apple Podcasts	#113	Italy/Science/Social Sciences
Apple Podcasts	#118	Australia/Science/Social Sciences

Talking Points

Recent interactions between the hosts and their guests.

Max Morris, "Not Sex Work: Queer Intimacy, Post-identity, and Incidental Encounters in the Digital Era" (Routledge, 2025)

Q: Could you explain a bit about how you understand the term sex work and what this term means or does?

Morris discusses defining terms bluntly at the outset, the contestation around sex work across feminist and LGBTQ+ perspectives, and the idea that many participants do not identify as workers even when their activities involve money for sex.

Patrick Brodie and Darin Barney eds., "Media Rurality" (Duke UP, 2026)

Q: After the completion of the volume, you ask and I ask, what forms of mediation emerge when we foreground rurality in the function of media systems and technologies?

The editors explain that the volume foregrounds how mediation in rural contexts reconfigures our understanding of media systems, highlighting infrastructure as a lens to study urban-rural inequalities and the politics around energy, data, and production.

Scott Solomon, "Becoming Martian: How Living in Space Will Change Our Bodies and Minds" (MIT Press, 2026)

Q: Why does you argue there are three potential paths for humanity: stasis, extinction, or evolution?

Solomon explains that evolution is continuous and inevitable; stasis would require an unrealistically perfect, unchanging lineage, while extinction remains a real risk if humanity fails to adapt or migrate beyond Earth.

Deirdre Loughridge & Thomas Patteson, "The Museum of Imaginary Musical Instruments" (Reaktion, 2026)

Q: Could you introduce yourselves and tell us why you decided to write the book together?

We discussed our long-standing mutual interest in instruments as physical objects and ideas, which led us to turn a shared project into a formal collection and, eventually, a book that treats imagination as a serious scholarly subject.

Karen Hao, "Empire of AI: Inside the Race for Total Domination" (Allan Lane, 2025)

Q: What was it about OpenAI specifically that grabbed your attention?

OpenAI became the central case study because it sparked the AI boom and shaped the early decisions that defined today's AI landscape, influencing major players and setting the tone for how AI is developed, deployed, and discussed in public discourse.

Audience Metrics

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

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Frequently Asked Questions About This Podcast

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

Across recent episodes, the show centers on scholarly discussions of recently published work in science, technology, and society, with a strong emphasis on historical perspectives, data practices, and the social and political implications of technology. Conversations feature historians, linguists, information scholars, and interdisciplinary researchers who trace how technologies shape culture, economy, and everyday life—from early computing and data archives to modern policy debates surrounding AI, digital infrastructure, and environmental impact. A notable strength is the ability to translate complex research into accessible storytelling through archival anecdotes, cross-disciplinary comparisons, and thoughtful critiques of technological c... more

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1. New Books in Critical Theory
2. Tech Won't Save Us
3. Acid Horizon
4. Politics Theory Other
5. 99% Invisible

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this podcast launched 14 years ago and published 2869 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. Max Morris
2. Darin Barney
3. Patrick Brodie
4. Megan Wiessner
5. Burç Köstem
6. Scott Solomon
7. Deirdre Loughridge
8. Thomas Patteson

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