Best Defining Duke Podcasts (2026)

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#261 | We Dare To Dream About Xbox's 2026... 2:27:30

3h ago2:27:30

2:27:30

After 2025, it's safe to say the years of saying "next year is their year" are over for Xbox. When it comes to the prior 24 months, it has not gone according to the Duke's plans whatsoever. With that in mind, we have dared to look ahead in spite of all of that. The games, the unimaginable business decisions, and yes, even hardware. What is in store…

1
Adam S. Ferziger. "Agents of Change: American Jews and the Transformation of Israeli Judaism" (NYU Press, 2025) 57:14

3m ago57:14

57:14

In this episode Drora Arussy speaks with historian Adam S. Ferziger about his latest book, Agents of Change: American Jews and the Transformation of Israeli Judaism (New York University Press, 2025). Ferziger, a professor at Bar-Ilan University and one of the leading voices in the study of modern religious movements, offers a compelling exploration…

1
James Greenwood-Reeves, "Justifying Violent Protest: Law and Morality in Democratic States" (Routledge, 2023) 1:14:23

3m ago1:14:23

1:14:23

Was the use of violence on January 6th Capitol attacks legitimate? Is the use of violence morally justified by members of Extinction Rebellion or Just Stop Oil campaigners? Justifying Violent Protest: Law and Morality in Democratic States (Routledge, 2023) addresses these issues head on, to make a radical, but compelling argument in favour of the l…

1
Shuchen Xiang, "Chinese Cosmopolitanism: The History and Philosophy of an Idea" (Princeton UP, 2023) 1:29:30

3m ago1:29:30

1:29:30

A provocative defense of a forgotten Chinese approach to identity and difference. Historically, the Western encounter with difference has been catastrophic: the extermination and displacement of aboriginal populations, the transatlantic slave trade, and colonialism. China, however, took a different historical path. In Chinese Cosmopolitanism: The H…

1
Philip J. Stern, "Empire, Incorporated: The Corporations That Built British Colonialism" (Harvard UP, 2023) 54:46

22m ago54:46

54:46

Philip Stern places the corporation―more than the Crown―at the heart of British colonialism, arguing that companies built and governed global empire, raising questions about public and private power that were just as troubling four hundred years ago as they are today. Across four centuries, from Ireland to India, the Americas to Africa and Australi…

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Matthew Davis, "A Biography of a Mountain: The Making and Meaning of Mount Rushmore" (St. Martin's Press, 2025) 1:06:05

3m ago1:06:05

1:06:05

Mount Rushmore is something of an American Rorschach test. Some look at the monument and see American patriotic ideals carved into a mountainside. Others see only the rank hypocrisy of American presidents blasted into an Indigenous sacred site. In A Biography of a Mountain: The Making and Meaning of Mount Rushmore, writer and journalist Matthew Dav…

1
Bo Tao, "Cooperative Evangelist: Kagawa Toyohiko and His World, 1888-1960" (U Hawaii Press, 2025) 1:24:06

22m ago1:24:06

1:24:06

Cooperative Evangelist: Kagawa Toyohiko and His World, 1888-1960 (University of Hawai’i Press, 2025) by Bo Tao uncovers the extraordinary world of a Japanese man who was once described as the “Saint Francis” or the “Gandhi” of Japan. A renowned religious figure on the world stage, Kagawa Toyohiko (1888–1960) received wide acclaim for his work as a …

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Arseli Dokumaci, "Activist Affordances: How Disabled People Improvise More Habitable Worlds" (Duke UP, 2023) 1:14:38

3m ago1:14:38

1:14:38

For people who are living with disability, including various forms of chronic diseases and chronic pain, daily tasks like lifting a glass of water or taking off clothes can be difficult if not impossible. In Activist Affordances: How Disabled People Improvise More Habitable Worlds (Duke UP, 2023), Arseli Dokumacı draws on ethnographic work with dif…

1
Youshaa Patel, "The Muslim Difference: Defining the Line Between Believers and Unbelievers from Early Islam to the Present" (Yale UP, 2023) 1:33:18

3m ago1:33:18

1:33:18

According to a famous prophetic report, “Whoever imitates a people becomes one of them.” What does “imitation” here mean? Rather, what does this statement really mean at all, and how have Muslims historically understood it? How did this simple report become a doctrine in the Islamic tradition? What does this hadith mean for Muslims today, in an inc…

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The Postgame: Mustangs Run Past UNC, 97-83 19:55

21m ago19:55

19:55

North Carolina's first trip to SMU was an experience the Tar Heels would like to forget. Behind light's out shooting from all over the court, the Mustangs blitzed the Tar Heels 97-83 in Moody Coliseum on Saturday afternoon. Boopi Miller's 27 points led the home team while Seth Trimble's 22 led four Heels in double figures. Inside Carolina's Tommy A…

1
Jürgen Zimmerer, "Memory Wars: New German Historical Consciousness" (Reclam Verlag, 2023) 1:01:32

20h ago1:01:32

1:01:32

Erinnerungskämpfe: Neues deutsches Geschichtsbewusstsein (Ditzingen: Reclam, 2023) is a new, provocative volume on German memory cultures and politics edited by Jürgen Zimmerer. What can be loosely translated as Memory Wars: New German Historical Consciousness is a collection of chapters that lay bare a mosaic of a diverse German memory landscape a…

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Ashley Brown, "Serving Herself: The Life and Times of Althea Gibson" (Oxford UP, 2023) 45:42

15h ago45:42

45:42

From her start playing paddle tennis on the streets of Harlem as a young teenager to her eleven Grand Slam tennis wins to her professional golf career, Althea Gibson became the most famous black sportswoman of the mid-twentieth century. In her unprecedented athletic career, she was the first African American to win titles at the French Open, Wimble…

1
Judd B. Kessler, "Lucky by Design: The Hidden Economics of Getting More of What You Want" (Little, Brown Spark, 2025) 51:36

13h ago51:36

51:36

What's the secret to scoring a reservation at a hot new restaurant? When should you enter a lottery to increase your odds of winning? Why did your neighbor's kid get into a nearby preschool while yours didn't? Who gets priority for a life-saving organ donation? These outcomes are not a matter of luck. Instead, they depend on how we navigate hidden …

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Mary M. Burke, "Race, Politics, and Irish America: A Gothic History" (Oxford UP, 2023) 43:20

15h ago43:20

43:20

In this interview, she discusses her book, Race, Politics, and Irish America: A Gothic History (Oxford UP, 2023), which inserts successive Irish-American identities--forcibly transported Irish, Scots-Irish, and post-Famine Irish--into American histories and representations of race. Figures from the Scots-Irish Andrew Jackson to the Caribbean-Irish …

1
Insane for the Light (Fr Ron Rolheiser, OMI) 1:20:43

8m ago1:20:43

1:20:43

Father Ron Rolheiser’s new book Insane for the Light: A Spirituality for Our Wisdom Years, which is about how to grow old well and be fruitful, first giving your life away and then your death so as to be a blessing. That’s a recipe for joy. We also talked about mysticism, St. John of the Cross, and some miraculous experiences in real people’s lives…

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Hans Van Eyghen, "The Epistemology of Spirit Beliefs" (Routledge, 2023) 37:06

8m ago37:06

37:06

Hans Van Eyghen's book The Epistemology of Spirit Beliefs (Routledge, 2023) assesses whether belief in spirits is epistemically justified. It presents two arguments in support of the existence of spirits and arguments that experiences of various sorts (perceptions, mediumship, possession, and animistic experiences) can lend justification to spirit-…

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Pluribus Episodes 8 & 9 Analysis: It’s Over! 1:05:05

8m ago1:05:05

1:05:05

It’s The Pop Culture Professors, and we continue our analysis of Pluribus, with our thoughts on episode 8, “Charm Offensive” and episode 9, “La Chico o El Mundo.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network…

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Stuart Carroll, "Enmity and Violence in Early Modern Europe" (Cambridge UP, 2023) 51:09

15h ago51:09

51:09

Stuart Carroll's Enmity and Violence in Early Modern Europe (Cambridge University Press, 2023) transforms our understanding of Europe between 1500 and 1800 by exploring how ordinary people felt about their enemies and the violence it engendered. Enmity, a state or feeling of mutual opposition or hostility, became a major social problem during the t…

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Book Talk 69: American Medium, with Eyal Peretz 1:28:14

9m ago1:28:14

1:28:14

What is “America” not only as a political entity but in our imagination? How can we properly envision America, without repeating clichés that frame America as either reactionary or revolutionary, repressive or liberatory? I spoke with Eyal Peretz about his book American Medium, which looks at Hollywood to re-imagine the concept of "America" through…

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Scott Feinberg, “The Hollywood Reporter’s 100 Greatest Film Books of All Time” (2023) 55:05

22h ago55:05

55:05

In the October 12, 2023 issue of The Hollywood Reporter, Scott Feinberg offered an annotated list of the 100 greatest film books of all time. Drawing on a jury of 322 people who make, study, and are otherwise connected to the movies, Feinberg assembled an annotated list that reads like the ultimate film study syllabus. In this interview, Dan Moran …

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How THIS Pinstripe Bowl Win Might Define Penn State Football's Next Era | Road To Happy Valley 29:19

2h ago29:19

29:19

Welcome BACK to The Road To Happy Valley! Pinstripe Bowl Champs! Penn State Beats Clemson! The Nittany Lions capped off a rollercoaster season with a dominant win against the Clemson Tigers at Yankee Stadium in New York City. In this week's brand-new episode, Noah Malone shares his thoughts on the game, key performances, and what this win means for…

1
IC Daily: Why Not UNC? 17:27

1h ago17:27

17:27

Despite historically being one of the worst programs in college football, Indiana will play in the College Football Playoff final four next week. The Hoosiers, under Curt Cignetti, have parlayed the new era of the sport into a new era of excellence and the program is poised to win a national championship - again - in FOOTBALL. Inside Carolina's Gre…

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Michelle Gielan: How Small Shifts in Communication Create Big Changes in Happiness and Resilience 45:22

23m ago45:22

45:22

In this powerful conversation, former CBS news anchor and positive psychology researcher Michelle Gielan unpacks how we can rewire our communication habits to shape more resilient, empowered, and optimistic lives — both personally and collectively. Drawing on research from her book *Broadcasting Happiness*, Gielan shows how small shifts in the way …

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Brooke Kroeger, "Undaunted: How Women Changed American Journalism" (Knopf, 2023) 45:12

1d ago45:12

45:12

Undaunted: How Women Changed American Journalism (Knopf, 2023) is a representative history of the American women who surmounted every impediment put in their way to do journalism's most valued work. From Margaret Fuller's improbable success to the highly paid reporters of the mid-nineteenth century to the breakthrough investigative triumphs of Nell…

1
D. J. Taylor, "Orwell: The New Life" (Pegasus Books, 2023) 46:29

17m ago46:29

46:29

A fascinating exploration of George Orwell--and his body of work--by an award-winning Orwellian biographer and scholar, presenting the author anew to twenty-first-century readers. We find ourselves in an era when the moment is ripe for a reevaluation of the life and the works of one of the twentieth century's greatest authors. This is the first twe…

1
Deana Heath and Jinee Lokaneeta, "Policing and Violence in India: Colonial Origins and Contemporary Realities" (Speaking Tiger, 2025) 46:18

1d ago46:18

46:18

Why does Indias police force, created under British rule, still echo the priorities of a bygone empire? And what is it about this institution, tasked with maintaining the law and order, that has led to a normalization of daily violence? These are the key questions that inform the analyses in this volume by lawyers, academics and activists. Divided …

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Matt Dawson, "The Political Durkheim: Sociology, Socialism, Legacies" (Routledge, 2023) 46:10

5m ago46:10

46:10

Matt Dawson's The Political Durkheim: Sociology, Socialism, Legacies (Routledge, 2023) presents Durkheim as an important political sociologist, inspired by and advocating socialism. Through a series of studies, it argues that Durkheim’s normative vision, which can be called libertarian socialism, shaped his sociological critique and search for alte…

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Richard Wolin, "Heidegger in Ruins: Between Philosophy and Ideology" (Yale UP, 2023) 1:53:11

1d ago1:53:11

1:53:11

What does it mean when a radical understanding of National Socialism is inextricably embedded in the work of the twentieth century's most important philosopher? Martin Heidegger's sympathies for the conservative revolution and National Socialism have long been well known. As the rector of the University of Freiburg in the early 1930s, he worked har…

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Andrew S. Curran, "Biography of a Dangerous Idea: A New History of Race from Louis XIV to Thomas Jefferson" (Other Press, 2026) 1:16:45

2d ago1:16:45

1:16:45

An engaging investigation of how 13 key Enlightenment figures shaped the concept of race, from the acclaimed author of Diderot and the Art of Thinking Freely. Over the first decades of the 18th century, Christianity began to lose its grip on the story of humankind. Yet centuries of xenophobia, religious intolerance, and proto-biological ideas did n…

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Megha Anwer and Anupama Arora, "Screening Precarity: Hindi Cinema and Neoliberal Crisis in Twenty-first Century India" (U Michigan Press, 2025) 53:53

1d ago53:53

53:53

Screening Precarity integrates a cultural analysis of film texts and history, industry transformations, and the violence and crises of political economy infrastructures, to study post-liberalization shifts in the Hindi film industry in India. The book investigates Bollywood as a media system that has moved away from the glee and gusto of liberaliza…

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Prit Buttar, "To Besiege a City: Leningrad 1941-42" (Osprey, 2023) 1:41:09

1d ago1:41:09

1:41:09

The city of St. Petersburg held great significance to the Russian Empire when Peter the Great first built the city in 1703. It was intended to be Russia's "window to the West" and usher in Russia's place as a modern European power. It also replaced Moscow as the capital of the growing empire that stretched across two continents. It was also the sit…

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