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The Harvard Brief

New Books Network
Slavery
Entrepreneurial Work Ethic
China
Hideki Tojo
Epidemiology
Race
Division Of Labor
Spanish Empire
New World
Medicine
Gaokao
Józef Piłsudski
John Hancock
Friction
Germany
Immanuel Kant
Hellenistic Period
Free Speech
Benjamin Franklin
Prince Demah

Interviews with authors of Harvard UP books.

PublishesWeeklyEpisodes569Founded2 years ago
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Latest Episodes

In this episode, Matthew Mason (Professor of History at Brigham Young University) interviews Christa Dierksheide (Brockman Foundation Jefferson Scholars Foundation Professor of History at the University of Virginia) and Nicholas Guyatt (Professor of ... more

Today, political theorists and philosophers treat as axiomatic the claim that all persons are equal. Dig deeper, however, and what we mean by equality—and what it demands from us, politically and otherwise—is far from obvious. Does it mean that we ar... more

Pundits, scholars, and the general public alike have argued that conspiratorial thinking is the greatest threat to liberal democracy. In Conspiracy: The History of a Political Obsession (Harvard UP, 2026), Dr. Nicolas Guilhot, however, challenges us ... more

From a leading historian, the story of how entrepreneurial Jewish immigrants transformed commercial banking and enabled the economic and social advancement of Jews in America.

What are immigrants to do when business opportunities abound in their new... more

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Recent Guests

Kenneth Moss
Harriet and Ulrich E. Meyer Professor of Jewish History, University of Chicago
University of Chicago
Episode: An Unchosen People: Jewish Political Reckoning in Interwar Poland
Steven Zipperstein
Daniel E. Koshland Professor in Jewish History and Culture, Stanford University
Stanford University
Episode: An Unchosen People: Jewish Political Reckoning in Interwar Poland
AJ Murphy
Author of Pentagon Capitalism, Harvard University Press (2026)
Harvard University Press
Episode: A. J. Murphy, "Pentagon Capitalism: How the Cold War US Military Modeled Itself on Private Business" (Harvard UP, 2026)
Emile Chabal
Professor of Contemporary History
University of Edinburgh
Episode: Emile Chabal, "The Age of Hobsbawm: The Life of a Revolutionary Historian" (Harvard UP, 2026)
William Whyte
Professor of architectural history, author of The University, A History in Stone, Silk, and Blood
University of Oxford
Episode: William Whyte, "The University: A History in Stone, Silk, and Blood" (Harvard UP, 2026)
Ashton Lazarus
Author of Performing Transgression, Crowds and Bodies in Heian Japan
University of Utah
Episode: Ashton Lazarus, "Performing Transgression: Crowds and Bodies in Heian Japan" (Harvard UP, 2026)
Luna Sabastian
Assistant Professor in History, Northeastern University in London; author of Fascism in India, Race, Caste, and Hindutva
Harvard University Press (book)
Episode: Luna Sabastian, "Fascism in India: Race, Caste, and Hindutva" (Harvard UP, 2025)
Jay Belsky
Professor Emeritus of Human Development and Family Studies, author of The Nature of Nurture
University of California Davis
Episode: Jay Belsky, "Nature of Nurture: Rethinking Why and How Childhood Adversity Shapes Development" (Harvard UP, 2026)
Paul Osterman
Professor Emeritus of Human Resources and Management at MIT Sloan School of Management; author
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
Episode: Paul Osterman, "Disposable Workers: The Transformation of Employment" (Harvard UP, 2026)

Hosts

Miranda Melcher
Host of The New Books Network
Jingyi Li
Host of New Books in Japanese Studies

Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars from 1 ratings
  • Is the interviewer an AI bot?

    The interview of Erik Baker is difficult to listen to—the interviewer sounds like a robot. Awful voice.

    Apple Podcasts
    2
    outraged American
    United States2 years ago

Listeners Say

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

Guests are highly credible and topics are deeply researched.
The interviewer's voice can sound robotic and off-putting to some listeners.
The scholarly nature of discussions may intimidate casual listeners.

Chart Rankings

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

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#173
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Talking Points

Recent interactions between the hosts and their guests.

Melissa M. Matthes, "When Sorrow Comes: The Power of Sermons from Pearl Harbor to Black Lives Matter" (Harvard UP, 2021)
Q: What sparked your interest in turning to sermons as a window into religion and politics after national crises?
Her initial interest was sparked by 9/11 and the way she saw sermons both reflect and shape public discourse, leading to a broader arc from Pearl Harbor to more recent crises, and a desire to understand how pastors navigate church-state boundaries and public memory.
Thomas Piketty, "A Brief History of Equality" (Harvard UP, 2022)
Q: Why writing a book instead of longer articles or op-eds?
Piketty argues that books allow developing fully articulated thoughts and durable frameworks, even though he also writes op-eds and speaks on radio; books enable deeper, coherent, long-term explanations of big questions.
Thomas Piketty, "A Brief History of Equality" (Harvard UP, 2022)
Q: So why is this A Brief History of Equality and not a long history of inequality for you?
The book is concise, about 250 pages, and aims to summarize the most important findings of his prior work while emphasizing the optimistic takeaway that long-run history shows movement toward greater equality, though with current gaps and challenges.
Hang Tu, "Sentimental Republic: Chinese Intellectuals and the Maoist Past" (Harvard UP, 2025)
Q: How do you define emotion politics in your book and what do you see as your contribution to affect studies?
I propose affective ideas as the way political ideologies form when memories and volatile emotions intertwine with moral sentiments. This helps explain why liberal, nationalist, and other groups mobilize emotions to justify political positions, and it extends affect theory into the Chinese context by showing how feelings are integral to political judgment and memory.
Hang Tu, "Sentimental Republic: Chinese Intellectuals and the Maoist Past" (Harvard UP, 2025)
Q: Could you give listeners a general overview of Sentimental Republic, the central questions that drive the book, its overall structure, and what you hope to achieve?
The book is guided by two broad questions: a methodological one about how emotion shapes public intellectual debate, and a historical one about how emotion and memory intersect in post-Mao China. It foregrounds four emotional clusters—liberal mourning, leftist melancholy, conservative piety, and nationalist resentment—to show that intellectual history is also a history of feelings, which helps explain why debates about Maoist legacies remain politically potent.

Audience Metrics

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Frequently Asked Questions About The Harvard Brief

What is The Harvard Brief about and what kind of topics does it cover?

This show centers on in-depth conversations with authors of Harvard University Press books, spanning history, sociology, economics, and related humanities. Episodes foreground scholarly argument, methodological framing, and broader cultural or policy implications, with guests who are leading researchers or biographers. Listeners can expect rigorous, source-driven discussions that connect historical scholarship to contemporary debates, often touching on empire, education, labor, and national identity. A notable strength is the breadth of disciplines represented, paired with approachable host engagement that helps translate dense scholarship for a thoughtful audience.

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1. The LRB Podcast
2. Ones and Tooze
3. The Ezra Klein Show
4. The Foreign Affairs Interview
5. Private Life: A New York Review Podcast

How many episodes of The Harvard Brief are there?

The Harvard Brief launched 2 years ago and published 569 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 The Harvard Brief?

Recent guests on The Harvard Brief include:

1. Kenneth Moss
2. Steven Zipperstein
3. AJ Murphy
4. Emile Chabal
5. William Whyte
6. Ashton Lazarus
7. Luna Sabastian
8. Jay Belsky

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