Bloomsbury Academic Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Britney Spears' Blackout by Natasha Lasky, part one Jan 13, 2023

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If you would like to buy your own copy of Britney Spears's Blackout, go to the Bloomsbury website and use code pod35 followed your respective country code, US, UK, CA, AU, depending on where you are located.

Natasha Lasky is a writer and filmmaker living in Chicago and author of our 33 1/3 book Britney Spears's Blackout. In part one of this episode, we discuss Britney Spears' 2007 album Blackout, which was released at a harrowing time in Spears' life. We discuss the album in relation to Spears' personal life as well as in relation to popular culture. Then, we look at the album's production and the public response to it, including backlash to Spears' vocal fry and the impact Spears' literal and figurative voice has had on popular music. Take a listen.

Nuclear Russia by Paul Josephson, part 2 Dec 30, 2022

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This is part two of our episode on Nuclear Russia, and we are continuing our conversation with Paul Josephson, Professor of History at Colby College, USA. We'll be discussing the groups that have suffered as a result of Russia's pursuit of nuclear power, a nuclear themed beauty contest, and the evolution of Russia's nuclear culture. Then looking forward, we consider what Russia's recent self-proclaimed nuclear power 'renaissance' could mean for international security and the environment and what could be done to combat this nuclear resistance. Take a listen.

If you would like to buy your own copy of Nuclear Russia go to the Bloomsbury website and use code POD35 followed your respective country code, US, UK, CA, AU, depending on where you are located.

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Nuclear Russia by Paul Josephson, part 1 Dec 16, 2022

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Paul Josephson is Professor of History at Colby College, USA, and he is the author of twelve books, including Nuclear Russia: The Atom in Russian Politics and Culture. We start off with an overview of the history of nuclear physics and how its emergence in Russia compares with other parts of the world. We'll then delve into the ways in which nuclear power influenced the Cold War and vice versa before moving into a discussion of the ramifications Chernobyl had on the Soviet Union and the rest of the world. Take a listen.

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Queer Data by Kevin Guyan Nov 18, 2022

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If you would like to buy your own copy of Queer Data, go to the Bloomsbury website and use code pod35 followed your respective country code, US, UK, CA, AU, depending on where you are located.

How do we decide who counts? Kevin Guyan, queer author, activist and scholar, joins us to discuss his latest book Queer Data: Using Gender, Sex and Sexuality Data for Action to break down how data shapes the world around us, and how we in turn, shape it.

Numbers, after all, can hold an entire history of power and politics. We turn to Kevin's experience with the film and television industry to discuss the limitations of using quantitative data to represent and solve problems and more broadly the complications behind using language to represent identity and lived experience. Take a listen.

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Want to hear more? Make sure to check out all our episodes here, or wherever you get your podcasts

Black British Queer Plays and Practitioners, part two Oct 28, 2022

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Mojisola Adebayo is a playwright, performer, director, producer, workshop facilitator and lecturer, and

Lynette Goddard is Professor of Drama and Theatre at Royal Holloway, University of London, UK. Together, they are the anthology editors of Black British Queer Plays and Practitioners. In part two of our episode, we'll be talking about issues of accessibility in theatre and how that impacts playwrights, audiences, and even this collection. To combat this accessibility issue, we'll delve into how practitioners and theatre-goers can benefit from reading this collection, particularly the intergenerational 'in-conversation' pieces. Then, the editors will be giving us a behind the scenes look at how the collection evolved over time as well as their own work in the theatre space.

If you would like to buy your own copy of Black British Queer Plays and Practitioners, go to the Bloomsbury website and use code POD35 followed your respective country code, US, UK, CA, AU, depending on where you are located.

Americas customers (excluding Canada): POD35US

UK and rest of world customers: POD35UK

Canada customers: POD35CA

Australia and New Zealand customers: POD35AU

Want to hear more? Make sure to check out all our episodes here, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Black British Queer Plays and Practitioners, part one Oct 24, 2022

Show notes

If you would like to buy your own copy of Black British Queer Plays and Practitioners, go to the Bloomsbury website and use code pod35 followed your respective country code, US, UK, CA, AU, depending on where you are located.

Mojisola Adebayo is a playwright, performer, director, producer, workshop facilitator and lecturer, and Lynette Goddard is Professor of Drama and Theatre at Royal Holloway, University of London, UK. Together, they are the anthology editors of Black British Queer Plays and Practitioners. In this episode, we'll be discussing the process behind selecting plays for this collection, the collection's historical context, and the role of theatre publishing in allowing people to access plays, particularly plays from marginalized groups. Then, because the anthology covers plays from several decades, we'll be taking a look at the ways in which the theatre landscape has changed and the progress that is still yet to be made. Take a listen.

The Godfather, part two Oct 18, 2022

Show notes

If you would like to buy your own copy of The Godfather, go to the Bloomsbury website and use code pod35 followed your respective country code, US, UK, CA, AU, depending on where you are located.

Jon Lewis is the University Distinguished Professor of Film Studies and University Honors College Eminent Professor at Oregon State University. He has published thirteen books, including The Godfather and The Godfather, Part II for our British Film Institute's Film Classics series. In part two of this episode, we will be exploring what the relationship between Hollywood and crime was like before and after this movie as well as how the film got its reputation as "high art" in the Western canon. Then, we talk about New Hollywood, the power of the director, the idea of the auteur, and what the future for medium-sized indie films could look like. Take a listen.

The Godfather, part one Oct 14, 2022

Show notes

If you would like to buy your own copy of The Godfather, go to the Bloomsbury website and use code pod35 followed your respective country code, US, UK, CA, AU, depending on where you are located.

Jon Lewis is the University Distinguished Professor of Film Studies and University Honors College Eminent Professor at Oregon State University. He has published thirteen books, including The Godfather and The Godfather, Part II for our British Film Institute's Film Classics series. In this episode, we will be discussing film's revolutionary visual style, the political context for the film, and its unusual production history—was the film partly funded by the mob? We'll find out. We'll also be talking about the theme of assimilation into (white) America and the depiction of women in the films. Take a listen.

The Empire Strikes Back, part two Sep 23, 2022

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If you would like to buy your own copy of The Empire Strikes Back, go to the Bloomsbury website and use code pod35 followed your respective country code, US, UK, CA, AU, depending on where you are located.

Rebecca Harrison is a Lecturer in Film and Television at the University of Glasgow, UK and author of our BFI Film Classics book on The Empire Strikes Back. In part two of this episode, be talking about the relationship between fandom and franchise, including the ways profit-making gets in the way of storytelling and the impact that fans can have on casting or the plot of a movie. Then we'll be turning back to the franchise that started it all to discuss how it directly gave life to the Marvelization of the film industry, how the Star Wars fandom continues to affect the "cannon," and the ways that the meaning and reception of this movie has shifted over the past 40 years.

The Empire Strikes Back, part one Sep 16, 2022

Show notes

Rebecca Harrison is a Lecturer in Film and Television at the University of Glasgow, UK and author of our BFI Film Classics book on The Empire Strikes Back. In part one of this episode, we contextualize the film in its time to discuss its political theme and the ways the original trilogy revolutionized special effects practices. Then, we take a step back to talk about the industry at large, including how franchises or big movie sensations deal with diversity, the ways that the most recent trilogy deals with nostalgia and how this connects to the current Hollywood trend of remakes, and much more. Take a listen.

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