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41 RTB Books in Dark Times 13: Lorraine Daston, Historian of Science (JP) Jul 24, 2020

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In this final episode of Books in Dark Times, John chews the bibliographic fat with Lorraine Daston of the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science in Berlin. Her list of publications outstrips our capacity to mention here; John particularly admires her analysis of “epistemic virtues” such as truth to nature and objectivity in her … Continue reading "41 RTB Books in Dark Times 13: Lorraine Daston, Historian of Science (JP)"

40 Global Policing 1: Hayal Akarsu on Turkish Community Policing (EF, JP) Jul 17, 2020

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The Black Lives Matter movement and the policing-related deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and others have struck a nerve worldwide. Our “Global Policing” series aims to capture the protests over systemic racism and policing in their various national forms. In Turkey, for example, a June 19 article in the English edition of DuvaR. … Continue reading "40 Global Policing 1: Hayal Akarsu on Turkish Community Policing (EF, JP)"

39 RTB Books in Dark Times 12: Carlo Rotella (JP) Jul 09, 2020

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Carlo Rotella of Boston College is author of six books, among them the amazing Good With Their Hands: Boxers, Bluesmen, and Other Characters from the Rust Belt (University of California Press, 2002) and most recently The World Is Always Coming to an End: Pulling Together and Apart in a Chicago Neighborhood (University of Chicago Press, 2019). … Continue reading "39 RTB Books in Dark Times 12: Carlo Rotella (JP)"

38 Beth Blum on Self-Help from Carnegie to Today (JP) Jul 06, 2020

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Beth Blum, Assistant Professor of English at Harvard, is the author of The Self-Help Compulsion (Columbia University Press 2019). Learn how self-help went from its Victorian roots (worship greatness!) to the ingratiating unctuous style prescribed by the other-directed Dale Carnegie (everyone loves the sound of their own name) before arriving at the “neo-stoical” self-help gurus … Continue reading "38 Beth Blum on Self-Help from Carnegie to Today (JP)"

37 RTB Books In Dark Times 11: Elizabeth Bradfield (JP) Jun 26, 2020

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Elizabeth Bradfied is editor of Broadsided Press, professor of creative writing at Brandeis, naturalist, photographer–and most of all an amazing poet (“Touchy” for example just appeared in The Atlantic). Her books include Interpretive Work, Approaching Ice, Once Removed, and Toward Antarctica. She lives on Cape Cod, travels north every summer to guide people into Arctic … Continue reading "37 RTB Books In Dark Times 11: Elizabeth Bradfield (JP)"

36 Policing and White Power: (EF, JP) Global Policing Series Jun 17, 2020

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Black lives matter. Yet for decades or centuries in America that basic truth has been ignored, denied, violently suppressed. Many of the mechanisms that create an oppressed and subordinated American community of color can seem subtle and indirect, despite the insidious ways they pervade housing law (The Color of Law), education (Why Are All the … Continue reading "36 Policing and White Power: (EF, JP) Global Policing Series"

35 RTB Books In Dark Times 10: Martin Puchner Jun 11, 2020

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RTB listeners already know the inimitable Martin Puchner from that fabulous RTB episode about his “deep history” of literature and literacy, The Written World. You may even know he has a family memoir coming out soon, The Language of Thieves. But it took Books in Dark Times to uncover his secret hankering for tales of … Continue reading "35 RTB Books In Dark Times 10: Martin Puchner"

34 The Caribbean and Vectors of Warfare: Vincent Brown (EF, JP) Jun 04, 2020

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The largest slave uprising in the 18th century British Caribbean was also a node of the global conflict called the Seven Year’s War, though it isn’t usually thought of that way. In the first few days of the quarantine and our current geopolitical and epidemiological shitshow, John and Elizabeth spoke with Vincent Brown, who recently … Continue reading "34 The Caribbean and Vectors of Warfare: Vincent Brown (EF, JP)"

33 RTB Books in Dark Times 9: Ben Fountain (JP) May 28, 2020

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Ben Fountain is far more than just the author of Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk, which won RTB hearts and minds (and the National Book Award) long before it became a weird Ang Lee movie. What is consoling and engaging the author of the best novel about America’s dismal experience in Iraq? American novels, especially … Continue reading "33 RTB Books in Dark Times 9: Ben Fountain (JP)"

32 RTB Books in Dark Times 8: Paul Saint-Amour (JP 5/20) May 21, 2020

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Who better to talk about Dark Times than the author of an unforgettable scholarly book about the grimness of the interwar years, Tense Future? Paul Saint-Amour, Professor of English at University of Pennsylvania and author of various prizewinning books and brilliant articles, joins John to talk about realism, escapism and the glories of science fiction. … Continue reading "32 RTB Books in Dark Times 8: Paul Saint-Amour (JP 5/20)"

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