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New Books in the History of Science

New Books Network
History Of Science
Eugenics
Artificial Intelligence
Psychoanalysis
Mathematics
Enlightenment
Climate Change
Science
Galileo Galilei
Cold War
Disability Studies
Public Health
Early Modern Russia
Natural History
Cancer
Nuclear Weapons
Labor History
Sigmund Freud
World War II
Institutional Psychotherapy

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

PublishesTwice weeklyEpisodes851Founded5 years ago
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Artwork for New Books in the History of Science

Latest Episodes

The Devil’s Castle: Nazi Eugenics, Euthanasia, and How Psychiatry's Troubled History Reverberates Today (Catapult, 2025) delves into the forgotten history of eugenics and links it to present-day psychiatry to explain how we as a culture continue to g... more

The first chemists were Sri Lankan forgers who crafted

unimaginably strong steel millennia before it should have been

possible. They were alchemists in Roman Egypt, who designed apparatus

still in use today. They were Stone Age leatherworkers, ... more

Anyone

alive today is among a tiny fraction of the once living: over 90% of

species that ever existed are now extinct. How did we come to think of

ourselves as survivors in a world where species can vanish forever, or

as capable of pushing our pl... more

This is the third time I have the great fortune of interviewing Tom Mullaney. I can hardly think of a more worthy ambassador for the history discipline, and the work we are discussing today, I believe, will serve as the perfect bridge from Tom’s hist... more

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Recent Guests

Kit Chapman
Author of The Age of Alchemy, historian of science
Author, The Age of Alchemy
Episode: Kit Chapman, "The Age of Alchemy: How Early Innovators Shaped Modern Chemistry" (Profile Books, 2026)
Sadiah Qureshi
Author of Vanished: An Unnatural History of Extinction
Penguin (publisher)
Episode: Sadiah Qureshi, "Vanished: An Unnatural History of Extinction" (Penguin, 2025)
Thomas S. Mullaney
Professor of History and UNESCO Chair in Digital Futures at Stanford University
Stanford University
Episode: Thomas S. Mullaney, "How We Disappear: A Personal History of Information" (W. W. Norton, 2026)
Andy Byford
Historian and author of Science of the Child in Late Imperial and Early Soviet Russia
Durham University
Episode: Andy Byford, "Science of the Child in Late Imperial and Early Soviet Russia" (Oxford UP, 2020)
Hilary Buxton
Author, Assistant Professor of History at Kenyon College
Kenyon College
Episode: Hilary R. Buxton, "Disabled Empire: The Colonial Body in First World War Britain" (U Chicago Press, 2026)
Frank Stahnisch
Professor of the History of Medicine and Health Care at the University of Calgary
University of Calgary
Episode: Great Minds in Despair
Philippe Huneman
Director of Research at the Institute of History and Philosophy of Science and Technology
CNRS; University of Paris 1, Pantheon-Sorbonne
Episode: Philippe Huneman, "When Metaphysics Meets Biology: Kantian Approaches to the Concept of An Organism" (Routledge, 2026)
Margaret O'Mara
Scott and Dorothy Bullet Chair of American History at the University of Washington; author on technology and politics in the 1990s
University of Washington
Episode: Margaret O’Mara on the Clintons, Tech, and Memory
Geraldine Fela
Author of Critical Care: Nurses on the Frontline of Australia's AIDS Crisis
UNSW Press (author)
Episode: Geraldine Fela, "Critical Care: Nurses on the Frontline of Australia's AIDS Crisis" (UNSW Press, 2024)

Host

Dr. Miranda Melcher
Host on New Books Network; multiple episode appearances; associated with New Books Network.

Reviews

4.7 out of 5 stars from 17 ratings
  • Excessive Verbal fillers detracting from message

    I really wanted to enjoy this podcast, but found it impossible to understand the intellectual message that I know is that the heart of these books because of the way that the authors spoke. The use of verbal fillers- “right,” “kind of,” “such as,” and “like” is getting out of control. People need to take a hard look at how often they use them and work to fix their speech so that their important messages can actually be heard.

    Apple Podcasts
    4
    Bop. Bob.
    United States3 months ago

Chart Rankings

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

Apple Podcasts
#77
Denmark/Arts/Books
Apple Podcasts
#77
Russia/Arts/Books
Apple Podcasts
#149
Russia/Arts
Apple Podcasts
#229
Netherlands/Arts/Books
Apple Podcasts
#241
Denmark/Arts

Talking Points

Recent interactions between the hosts and their guests.

Paul Stob, "Empire of Skulls: Phrenology, the Fowler Family, and a New Nation's Quest to Unlock the Secrets of the Mind" (Counterpoint Publishing, 2026)
Q: Could you summarize why phrenology captured the imagination of reform-era America?
Phrenology offered a tangible, science-backed framework for self-improvement and social reform, presenting a democratic pathway to betterment that appealed to reformers across abolition, women's rights, and education, even though the science was flawed by today's standards.
Hilary R. Buxton, "Disabled Empire: The Colonial Body in First World War Britain" (U Chicago Press, 2026)
Q: Can you talk about how recruitment and early medical encounters were intertwined and not neutral?
Racial assumptions shaped who was deemed fit for combat or labor, and these classifications were reinforced through medical inspections, influencing care, pay, and service assignments across the empire.
Philippe Huneman, "When Metaphysics Meets Biology: Kantian Approaches to the Concept of An Organism" (Routledge, 2026)
Q: What was the context in the 18th century that prompted Kant and others to rethink life and organism beyond a mechanistic view?
The episode discusses how mechanistic explanations were challenged by observations in embryology and development, the rise of vitalist ideas, and Kant's own critique, which reframed organisms as natural possibilities explained through purposiveness rather than mere mechanical assembly.
Great Minds in Despair
Q: Could you tell us a bit more about your background and how your own identity as a German migrant in North America has shaped your research?
I came to study migration and the history of neuroscience with a dual background in medicine and the humanities, which helped me see how German-speaking scholars influenced North American medical culture and how personal migration experiences intersect with professional development.
Richard Elwes, "Huge Numbers: A Story of Counting Ambitiously, from 4 1/2 to Fish 7" (Basic Books, 2026)
Q: Do you think AI mathematicians will overtake human mathematicians in proving theorems?
The host and Elwes discuss that AI can generate and verify proofs but remain fallible; ultimate collaboration between AI and humans, especially using proof-checking software, is anticipated rather than full automation.

Audience Metrics

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Frequently Asked Questions About New Books in the History of Science

What is New Books in the History of Science about and what kind of topics does it cover?

This show centers scholarly conversations with authors and researchers about recently published books in history of science, technology, and related fields. Interviews typically pair the author with another expert to unpack core arguments, historical contexts, and methodological approaches, often linking long-running threads in science, medicine, mathematics, and intellectual history to broader cultural and social developments. Across episodes, listeners encounter deep dives into topics like medieval and early modern science, race and genetics, the diffuse history of technology, and the social meanings of scientific practices, with a steady emphasis on archival work, historiography, and the reception of ideas in public life. What stands out... more

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1. New Books in Critical Theory
2. The World in Time / Lapham’s Quarterly
3. History of Philosophy Without Any Gaps
4. Throughline
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New Books in the History of Science launched 5 years ago and published 851 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 the History of Science?

Recent guests on New Books in the History of Science include:

1. Kit Chapman
2. Sadiah Qureshi
3. Thomas S. Mullaney
4. Andy Byford
5. Hilary Buxton
6. Frank Stahnisch
7. Philippe Huneman
8. Margaret O'Mara

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