New Books in Political Science

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.

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Science
Social Sciences
2951
K. Dittmar, K. Sanbonmatsu, and S. Carroll, “A ...
Interviewing one member of Congress is a feat for most researchers. Interviewing nearly 100 and almost every women member of Congress is remarkable. Even more remarkable is what we can learn from that data collection about the perceptions of women memb...
22 min
2952
Daniel E. Ponder, “Presidential Leverage: Presi...
Dan Ponder’s new book, Presidential Leverage: Presidents, Approval, and the American State (Stanford University Press, 2018), is an important and thoughtful exploration of the concept of presidential leverage,
48 min
2953
Joel R. Pruce, “The Mass Appeal of Human Rights...
How can human rights campaigns function in consumer and celebrity society? In The Mass Appeal of Human Rights (Palgrave Macmillan, 2019), Joel Pruce, assistant professor in political science at the University of Dayton,
36 min
2954
P.W. Singer and Emerson T. Brooking, “LikeWar: ...
LikeWar: The Weaponization of Social Media (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2018), by P.W. Singer and Emerson T. Brooking, outlines the history of social media platforms and their use in popular culture and modern conflict.
48 min
2955
Candice Delmas, “A Duty to Resist: When Disobed...
According to a long tradition in political philosophy, there are certain conditions under which citizens may rightly disobey a law enacted by a legitimate political authority.  That is, it is common for political philosophers to recognize the permissib...
65 min
2956
Samuel Helfont, “Compulsion in Religion: Saddam...
Samuel Helfont‘s Compulsion in Religion: Saddam Hussein, Islam and the Roots of Insurgencies in Iraq (Oxford University Press, 2018) makes an invaluable contribution to an understanding of Iraqi strongman’s Saddam Hussein harnessing of Islam in support...
57 min
2957
Nicholas Carnes, “The Cash Ceiling: Why Only th...
In 2018, much attention has been drawn to candidates like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Randy Bryce: candidates for Congress who’ve made a living doing working class jobs. They are unusual because Congressional candidates are almost always drawn from wh...
19 min
2958
Janelle Wong, “Immigrants, Evangelicals, and Po...
Surprising to many, white Evangelicals voted for Donald Trump in the 2016 election at a higher rate than any candidate in the previous four presidential elections. At the same time, the Evangelical community is changing,
18 min
2959
Ellen R. Wald, “Saudi Inc.: The Arabian Kingdom...
Ellen R. Wald’s timely, well-written history of the Saudi national oil company, Saudi Inc. The Arabian Kingdom’s Pursuit of Power and Profit (Pegasus Books, 2018), is as much the story of the Saudi oil industry as it is of the ruling Al Saud family’s r...
56 min
2960
Neil Roberts, “A Political Companion to Frederi...
The year 2018 marks the 200th anniversary of Frederick Douglass’ birth. It can hardly be said that scholars have neglected Douglass; indeed, he is one of the most written-about figures in American history. But not all aspects of Douglass’ thought have ...
75 min
2961
Spencer Piston, “Class Attitudes in American Po...
It has long been a truism that Americans’ disdain for poor people–our collective sense that if they only worked harder or behaved more responsibly they would do well in this land of opportunity–explains, at least in part,
28 min
2962
Courtney Freer, “Rentier Islamism: The Influenc...
Courtney Freer‘s new book Rentier Islamism: The Influence of the Muslim Brotherhood in Gulf Monarchies (Oxford University Press, 2018) contributes significantly to an understanding of one of the most controversial political groups in Middle East politi...
57 min
2963
B. T. Gervais and I. L. Morris, “Reactionary Re...
There’s been a lot written about the Tea Party, but nothing focused on members of Congress like the new book, Reactionary Republicans: How the Tea Party in the House Paved the Way for Trump’s Victory (Oxford University Press, 2018) by Bryan T.
22 min
2964
Madiha Afzal, “Pakistan Under Siege: Extremism,...
Pakistan Under Siege: Extremism, Society, and the State (Brookings, 2018) provides a unique insight into Pakistan’s complex and multi-layered relationship with militancy and the role of the state in Islamicizing society in a way that Pakistanis may in ...
67 min
2965
Millington W. Bergeson-Lockwood, “Race Over Par...
Boston’s political culture is most known within the frame of antebellum political struggles over the institution of slavery. What about Reconstruction and post-Reconstruction era Black Bostonian politics though? That story is made clear by the Dr.
47 min
2966
Sean Molloy, “Kant’s International Relations: T...
What does Kant have to tell us about International Relations? In Kant’s International Relations: The Political Theology of Perpetual Peace (University of Michigan Press, 2017), Sean Molloy, a Reader in International Relations at the University of Kent,...
46 min
2967
Michele Margolis, “From Politics to the Pews: H...
On this American Political Science Association special podcast, we welcome a special guest host – and former guest of the podcast – Andy Lewis. In addition to his recent book, The Rights Turn in Conservative Christian Politics,
21 min
2968
Elizabeth F. Cohen, “The Political Value of Tim...
The Political Value of Time: Citizenship, Duration, and Democratic Justice (Cambridge University Press, 2018), Elizabeth F. Cohen’s new book, explores the concept of time, which is both temporal and theoretical,
42 min
2969
Ben Epstein, “The Only Constant is Change: Tech...
Ben Epstein’s new book, The Only Constant is Change: Technology, Political Communication, and Innovation over Time (Oxford University Press, 2018), traces communication changes and innovations in the United States from the time of the Founding to the p...
44 min
2970
Mary E. Stuckey, “Political Vocabularies: FDR, ...
Mary E. Stuckey’s new book, Political Vocabularies: FDR, The Clergy Letters, and the Elements of Political Argument (Michigan State University Press, 2018), is a fascinating and engaging investigation of an early period during the Roosevelt Administrat...
49 min
2971
Lessie B. Branch, “Optimism at All Costs: Black...
Optimism at All Costs: Black Attitudes, Activism, and Advancement in Obama’s America (University of  Massachusetts Press, 2018) takes as its point of departure and central preoccupation the notion of “paradoxical ebullience,” by which author Lessie B.
45 min
2972
Ron Fein, “The Constitution Demands It: The Cas...
Is there a case for the impeachment of Donald Trump? Constitutional attorney Ron Fein says not only is there a case, but also that the case exists regardless of what happens with the special counsel investigation.
40 min
2973
Thomas Mulligan, “Justice and the Meritocratic ...
Thomas Mulligan’s new book, Justice and the Meritocratic State (Routledge Press, 2018), posits a theory of justice that is based on the allocation of valuable goods (jobs and appropriate income) according to merit.
51 min
2974
Timothy J. Lombardo, “Blue-Collar Conservatism:...
President Donald Trump is not sui generis. Populist impulses and political actors have been pulsating in the American soul since the nation’s founding. Timothy J.  Lombardo’s excellent book, Blue-Collar Conservatism: Frank Rizzo’s Philadelphia and Popu...
58 min
2975
Stephen Tankel, “With Us and Against Us: How Am...
With Us and Against Us: How America’s Partners Help and Hinder the War on Terror (Columbia University Press, 2018) offers readers a fresh, insightful and new perspective on US counterterrorism cooperation with complex countries like Saudi Arabia,
59 min