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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
Public Health
Science
Galileo Galilei
Cold War
Disability Studies
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 weeklyEpisodes860Founded5 years ago
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BooksArtsHistory

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Artwork for New Books in the History of Science

Latest Episodes

In this episode of In Conversation, Lilyanna D'Amato speaks with Paul Kelton about his new book, Hidden Terrors: The Scourge of Cholera in Jackson's America (Oxford UP, 2026), which traces the arrival of the first cholera pandemic in the United St... more

What drives someone to challenge the status quo to prevent disaster? In The Preventioneers: Diseases, Disasters, and the Discoveries That Changed Our World with Barry R Davis (JHU Press, 2026), Barry R. Davis chronicles the work of bold individual... more

Tune in to this discussion about How Real Is Race?: Unraveling Race, Biology, and Culture by Carol C. Mukhopadhyay, Rosemary Henze, and Yolanda T. Moses (Rowman & Littlefield, 2025)

Biologically speaking, there is no such thing as race. Yet this... more

Projecting Knowledge: The Optical Lantern and Science Communication, 1880s-1940s (Brepols, 2026) takes one of those fundamental questions - how does knowledge circulate? - and says, like others: we must look at the media technologies through which th... more

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Recent Guests

Paul Kelton
Historian of Indigenous peoples and medical history, and Gardner Chair in American History at Stony Brook University
Stony Brook University
Episode: Hidden Terrors: The Scourge of Cholera in Jackson's America with Paul Kelton (Oxford UP, 2026)
Barry R. Davis
Author of The Preventioneers
Johns Hopkins University Press (author)
Episode: The Preventioneers: Diseases, Disasters, and the Discoveries That Changed Our World with Barry R Davis (JHU Press, 2026)
Erin Maglaquel
Author of Presence: A Hidden History of the Female Body
Astra House / book author
Episode: Erin Maglaquel "Presence: A Hidden History of the Female Body" (Astra House, 2026)
Lee Dugatkin
Professor of biology; evolutionary biologist; historian of science; author
University of Louisville
Episode: Lee Alan Dugatkin, "Nary a Horse Left Standing: How a Nineteenth-Century Epidemic Transformed Medicine, Animal Welfare, and the Modern City" (MIT Press, 2026)
Ketil Slagstad
Author, Standardizing Sex, A History of Trans Medicine
University of Chicago Press / academic researcher
Episode: Ketil Slagstad, "Standardizing Sex: A History of Trans Medicine" (U Chicago Press, 2025)
Xiaochang Li
Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication at Stanford University
Stanford University
Episode: Xiaochang Li, "Divination Engines: Natural Language Processing, Artificial Intelligence, and the Making of Algorithmic Culture" (U Chicago Press, 2026)
Jessica Riskin
Frances and Charles Field Professor of History, Stanford University
Stanford University
Episode: Jessica Riskin, "The Power of Life: The Invention of Biology and the Revolutionary Science of Jean-Baptiste Lamarck" (Penguin, 2026)
Jonathan Fuller
Author of The New Modern Medicine: Disease, Evidence, and Epidemiological Medicine
Episode: The New Modern Medicine: Disease, Evidence, and Epidemiological Medicine with Jonathan Fuller
Ellery Foutch
Author of A Perfectionist Impulse, The Art of Stopping Time in the Nineteenth Century
University of Minnesota Press
Episode: Ellery E. Foutch, "A Perfectionist Impulse: The Art of Stopping Time in the Nineteenth Century (U Minnesota Press, 2026)

Host

Dr. Miranda Melcher
Host of The 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 States6 months ago

Listeners Say

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

Guests are typically well-published scholars offering fresh historical insights.
Interviews often connect historical narratives to contemporary issues in science and policy.
Some episodes are dense and source-heavy, which may be challenging for casual listeners.
Listeners appreciate the depth and rigor of scholarly interviews.

Chart Rankings

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

Apple Podcasts
#211
Denmark/Arts/Books

Talking Points

Recent interactions between the hosts and their guests.

Hidden Terrors: The Scourge of Cholera in Jackson's America with Paul Kelton (Oxford UP, 2026)
Q: What parallels to COVID, if at all, are there?
Kelton cautions that pandemics differ and historical comparisons should not be overextended. He argues that authorities should communicate uncertainty honestly, challenge assumptions, provide robust health care, and protect access to clean water and nutritious food.
Hidden Terrors: The Scourge of Cholera in Jackson's America with Paul Kelton (Oxford UP, 2026)
Q: Why do you think people haven't really studied cholera in the 1830s?
Kelton says historians often avoid disease unless they specialize in medical history, and the pandemic did not appear to reshape politics, the economy, or military outcomes. He adds that elite archival sources often obscured the disease's unequal effects.
Devin Kennedy, "Coding Capitalism: Computers and the Remaking of the Postwar US Economy" (Columbia UP, 2026)
Q: Why start the book in 1947?
Kennedy points to the immediate postwar disruptions in the US economy and the emergence of computers as tools aimed at stabilizing and reorganizing economic life, arguing that this moment reveals how computerization was tied to industrial power and postwar recovery, not simply a later military origin.
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.

Audience Metrics

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

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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?

A rigorous history-of-science focused show that guides conversations with authors and scholars on how ideas about science, technology, and knowledge have shaped society. Episodes frequently center on books that trace long historical arcs—from the origins of computing and data, to the social impact of pandemics, to transformative moments in chemistry, neuroscience, and memory—always anchored by archival research, primary sources, and cross-disciplinary context. Listeners likely appreciate deep scholarly insight, nuanced debate, and global perspectives; the show often features guests who are authors or historians presenting their latest work, with a clear emphasis on how ideas travel, compete, and reframe public understanding. A notable stren... more

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These podcasts share a similar audience with New Books in the History of Science:

1. History of Philosophy Without Any Gaps
2. New Books in Critical Theory
3. Close Readings
4. What's Left of Philosophy
5. The Partially Examined Life Philosophy Podcast

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New Books in the History of Science launched 5 years ago and published 860 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. Paul Kelton
2. Barry R. Davis
3. Erin Maglaquel
4. Lee Dugatkin
5. Ketil Slagstad
6. Xiaochang Li
7. Jessica Riskin
8. Jonathan Fuller

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