Best Jasanoff Podcasts (2024)

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Interview with 2024 Holberg Laureate Achille Mbembe 1:04:43

1M ago1:04:43

1:04:43

The 2024 Laureate Achille Mbembe in conversation with Hlonipha Mokoena. Achille Mbembe is research professor of history and politics at the Wits Institute for Social and Economic Research (WISER), at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg (Wits).Hlonipha Mokoena is professor and acting Co-Director at WiSER, Wits University.The interview …

1
The 2023 Holberg Conversation with Joan Martinez-Alier 58:40

4M ago58:40

58:40

The 2023 Holberg Prize was awarded to Catalan scholar Joan Martinez-Alier for his groundbreaking research in ecological economics, political ecology and environmental justice. Martinez-Alier is Professor Emeritus at the Institute of Environmental Science and Technology, at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (ICTA-UAB). In this interview, he talk…

1
The 2023 Holberg Debate on Consciousness: A. Seth, T. Luhrman, & R. Sheldrake 2:42:27

4M ago2:42:27

2:42:27

Do conscious experiences happen both within and outside the brain, and can science solve the 'hard problem' of consciousness?At the 2023 Holberg Debate, Tanya Luhrmann, Anil Seth and Rupert Sheldrake met to explore the deep scientific and philosophical mystery of consciousness. The debate was chaired by David Malone.The Holberg Debate is an annual …

1
Joan Martinez-Alier: "Land, Water, Air and Freedom" 58:18

9M ago58:18

58:18

On Wednesday, 7 June, the 2023 Holberg Prize Laureate Joan Martinez-Alier held the lecture: "Land, Water, Air and Freedom" in the University Aula in Bergen. Mapping geographies of resistance at the frontiers of commodity extraction and waste disposal in a world counter-movement for environmental justice.As the industrial economy grows, there is als…

1
The 2022 Holberg Debate on Ukraine, Russia, China and the West. 2:32:14

1+ y ago2:32:14

2:32:14

The 2022 Holberg Debate: "Will Fear Keep Us Safe?"How will the war in Ukraine and other geopolitical crises impact the global security order, and what do they mean for the power of deterrence ?Panel: John J. Mearsheimer and Carl BildtModerator: Cecilie Hellestveit Organizer: The Holberg PrizeJohn J. Mearsheimer is the R. Wendell Harrison Distinguis…

1
The Holberg Laureate LIVE With Sheila Jasanoff: "Expertise, Democracy and the Politics of Trust" 1:23:50

1+ y ago1:23:50

1:23:50

"Expertise, Democracy and the Politics of Trust"2022 Holberg Laureate Sheila Jasanoff in conversation with Professor Cathrine Holst.Phenomena such as climate skepticism and vaccine refusal indicate a loss of trust in relations between experts and publics in modern democracies.Comparisons of expert decision-making across democratic societies suggest…

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Sheila Jasanoff: "Democracy in an Unknowable World" 53:02

1+ y ago53:02

53:02

The Holberg Lecture by Sheila Jasanoff was held on 8 June 2022 in Bergen, as part of the 2022 Holberg Week Programme. Science and technology are so commonly seen as drivers of progress that their role in forming the horizons of individual and collective self-understanding often passes unnoticed in political theory and practice. STS corrects this im…

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The 2021 Holberg Debate on Identity Politics: J. Butler, C. West, G.Greenwald and S. Critchley. 2:31:16

2y ago2:31:16

2:31:16

The 2021 Holberg Debate: "Identity Politics and Culture Wars" Does identity politics as it is currently manifesting itself offer a suitable avenue towards social justice, or has it become a recipe for cultural antagonism, political polarization, and new forms of injustice?Panel: Judith Butler, Cornel West, Glenn Greenwald.Moderator: Simon Critchley…

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Interview with 2017 Nils Klim Laureate Katrine Vellesen Løken 21:59

2+ y ago21:59

21:59

In 2017, Katrine Vellesen Løken became Nils Klim Laureate. In this 2021 interview, she discusses her career choices and motivation, and describes her research interests.Vellesen Løken is interviewed by Ine Røvik for the Holberg Prize.By The Holberg Prize

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Lisa Napoli, Ellen Clegg, & Margaret Low, "Susan, Linda, Nina & Cokie: The Founding Mothers of NPR" 56:48

2+ y ago56:48

56:48

In the years after the Civil Rights Act of 1964, women in the workplace still found themselves relegated to secretarial positions or locked out of jobs entirely. This was especially true in the news business, a backwater of male chauvinism where a woman might be lucky to get a foothold on the “women’s pages.” But when a pioneering nonprofit called …

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Peter S. Canellos and Farah Stockman, "The Great Dissenter: The Story of John Marshall Harlan" 56:47

2+ y ago56:47

56:47

They say that history is written by the victors. But not in the case of the most famous dissenter on the Supreme Court. Almost a century after his death, it was John Marshall Harlan’s words that helped end segregation, and gave us our civil rights and our modern economic freedom.But his legacy would not have been possible without the courage of Rob…

1
Louis Menand and Maya Jasanoff, "The Free World: Art and Thought in the Cold War" 55:14

2+ y ago55:14

55:14

The Cold War was not just a contest of power. It was also about ideas, in the broadest sense―economic and political, artistic and personal. In The Free World, the acclaimed Pulitzer Prize–winning scholar and critic Louis Menand tells the story of American culture in the pivotal years from the end of World War II to Vietnam and shows how changing ec…

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Ben Railton, "Of Thee I Sing: The Contested History of American Patriotism" 56:24

3y ago56:24

56:24

When we talk about patriotism in America, we tend to mean one form: the version captured in shared celebrations like the national anthem and the Pledge of Allegiance. But as Ben Railton argues, that celebratory patriotism is just one of four distinct forms: celebratory, the communal expression of an idealized America; mythic, the creation of nation…

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Akhil Reed Amar, "The Words that Made Us: America's Constitutional Conversation, 1760-1840" 56:15

3y ago56:15

56:15

When the US Constitution won popular approval in 1788, it was the culmination of thirty years of passionate argument over the nature of government. But ratification hardly ended the conversation. For the next half century, ordinary Americans and statesmen alike continued to wrestle with weighty questions in the halls of government and in the pages …

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Martha C. Nussbaum: "Justice for Animals: Practical Progress through Philosophical Theory" 51:45

3y ago51:45

51:45

The Holberg Lecture by Holberg Laureate Martha C. Nussbaum was held on 8 June, 2021.Animals suffer injustice at our hands: the cruelties of the factory farming industry, poaching and trophy hunting, assaults on the habitats of many creatures, and innumerable other instances of cruelty and neglect. Human domination is everywhere: in the seas, where …

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Martha S. Jones and Karen Holmes Ward, "Vanguard: How Black Women Broke Barriers" 57:47

3y ago57:47

57:47

In the standard story, the suffrage crusade began in Seneca Falls in 1848 and ended with the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment in 1920. But this overwhelmingly white women's movement did not win the vote for most black women. Securing their rights required a movement of their own.In Vanguard, acclaimed historian Martha S. Jones offers a new …

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Robert Mrazek, "The Indomitable Florence Finch: The Story of a War Widow Turned Resistance Fighter" 57:09

3y ago57:09

57:09

When Florence Finch died at the age of 101, few of her Ithaca, NY neighbors knew that this unassuming Filipina native was a Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient, whose courage and sacrifice were unsurpassed in the Pacific War against Japan. Long accustomed to keeping her secrets close in service of the Allies, Finch waited fifty years to reveal …

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Diana Greenwald, "Painting by Numbers: Data-Driven Histories of Nineteenth-Century Art" 58:48

3y ago58:48

58:48

Painting by Numbers presents a groundbreaking blend of art historical and social scientific methods to chart, for the first time, the sheer scale of nineteenth-century artistic production. With new quantitative evidence for more than five hundred thousand works of art, Diana Seave Greenwald provides fresh insights into the nineteenth century, and t…

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Don Hagist, "Noble Volunteers: The British Soldiers Who Fought the American Revolution" 1:06:40

3y ago1:06:40

1:06:40

Redcoats. For Americans, the word brings to mind the occupying army that attempted to crush the Revolutionary War. There was more to these soldiers than their red uniforms, but the individuals who formed the ranks are seldom described in any detail in historical literature, leaving unanswered questions. Who were these men? Why did they join the arm…

1
Boston Art Song Society, "Art Songs of Black American Composers" 1:26:52

3y ago1:26:52

1:26:52

Guest baritone Emery Stephens and pianist Ann Schaefer will perform a recital of works by African American composers. This program will include an open forum discussion about African American experiences in classical music. Dr. Stephens’ Singing Down the Barriers project aims to empower and encourage singers, voice teachers, voice coaches, and rese…

1
Emma Smith and Stephen Greenblatt, "This is Shakespeare" 58:53

3y ago58:53

58:53

A genius and prophet whose timeless works encapsulate the human condition like no other. A writer who surpassed his contemporaries in vision, originality, and literary mastery. A man who wrote like an angel, putting it all so much better than anyone else. Is this Shakespeare? Well, sort of. But it doesn’t tell us the whole truth. So much of what we…

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Ralph Keyes, "The Hidden History of Coined Words" 55:08

3y ago55:08

55:08

Successful word-coinages—those that stay in currency for a good long time—tend to conceal their beginnings. We take them at face value and rarely when and where they were first minted. Engaging, illuminating, and authoritative, Ralph Keyes's The Hidden History of Coined Words explores the etymological underworld of terms and expressions, and uncove…

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Annalee Newitz and Sarah Parcak, "Four Lost Cities: A Secret History of the Urban Age" 58:49

3y ago58:49

58:49

In Four Lost Cities, acclaimed science journalist Annalee Newitz takes readers on an entertaining and mind-bending adventure into the deep history of urban life. Investigating across the centuries and around the world, Newitz explores the rise and fall of four ancient cities, each the center of a sophisticated civilization: the Neolithic site of Ça…

1
Jamal Greene and Randall Kennedy, "How Rights Went Wrong" 56:47

3y ago56:47

56:47

Rights are a sacred part of American identity. Yet they were an afterthought for the Framers, and early American courts rarely enforced them. Only as a result of the racial strife that exploded during the Civil War—and a series of resulting missteps by the Supreme Court—did rights gain such outsized power. The result is a system of legal absolutism…

1
Janice P. Nimura, "The Doctors Blackwell: How Two Pioneering Sisters Brought Medicine to Women" 55:28

3y ago55:28

55:28

Elizabeth Blackwell believed from an early age that she was destined for a mission beyond the scope of "ordinary" womanhood. Though the world at first recoiled at the notion of a woman studying medicine, her intelligence and intensity ultimately won her the acceptance of the male medical establishment. In 1849, she became the first woman in America…

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Jacquelyn Dowd Hall, "Sisters and Rebels: A Struggle for the Soul of America" 56:48

3y ago56:48

56:48

Winner of the PEN / Jacqueline Bograd Weld Award for Biography and the Southern Historical Association Sydnor AwardDescendants of a prominent slaveholding family, Elizabeth, Grace, and Katharine Lumpkin grew up in a culture of white supremacy. But while Elizabeth remained a lifelong believer, her younger sisters chose vastly different lives. Seekin…

1
John Matteson and Amy Cherry, "A Worse Place Than Hell: How Fredericksburg Changed a Nation" 57:03

3y ago57:03

57:03

December 1862 drove the United States toward a breaking point. The Battle of Fredericksburg shattered Union forces and Northern confidence. As Abraham Lincoln’s government threatened to fracture, this critical moment also tested five extraordinary individuals whose lives reflect the soul of a nation. The changes they underwent led to profound reper…

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Bettye Kearse, "The Other Madisons: The Lost History of a President’s Black Family" 57:53

3y ago57:53

57:53

For thousands of years, West African griots (men) and griottes (women) have recited the stories of their people. Without this tradition Bettye Kearse would not have known that she is a descendant of President James Madison and his slave, and half-sister, Coreen. In 1990, Bettye became the eighth-generation griotte for her family. Their credo—“Alway…

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Robert Darnton and John Buchtel, "Pirating and Publishing" 1:05:44

3y ago1:05:44

1:05:44

In the late-18th century, a group of publishers in what historian Robert Darnton calls the "Fertile Crescent" countries located along the French border, stretching from Holland to Switzerland pirated the works of prominent (and often banned) French writers and distributed them in France, where laws governing piracy were in flux and any notion of "c…

1
Alice Baumgartner, "South to Freedom: Runaway Slaves to Mexico and the Road to the Civil War" 1:00:25

3y ago1:00:25

1:00:25

The Underground Railroad to the North promised salvation to many American slaves before the Civil War. But thousands of people in the south-central United States escaped slavery not by heading north but by crossing the southern border into Mexico, where slavery was abolished in 1837.In South to Freedom, historian Alice L. Baumgartner tells the stor…

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Justyne Fischer, "The Implications of Blackness in Birth of a Nation" 1:00:53

3y ago1:00:53

1:00:53

D.W. Griffith’s 1915 film, Birth of a Nation, glorified and revived the Ku Klux Klan in America. In contrast, Justyne Fischer’s woodcut examines the legacy of deep-rooted racism within American systems and institutions. Fischer’s Birth of a Nation renders the Klansmen as mountains, grand and carved into the American landscape. They are not hidden i…

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Jo Marchant, "The Human Cosmos: A Secret History of the Stars" 1:00:07

3y ago1:00:07

1:00:07

For most of human history, we have led not just an earthly existence but a cosmic one. Celestial cycles drove every aspect of our daily lives. Our innate relationship with the stars shaped who we are—our religious beliefs, power structures, scientific advances, and even our biology. But over the last few centuries we have separated ourselves from t…

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Theo Tyson, "The Harriet Hayden Albums: A History of Photography, Agency & Identity in Boston" 59:19

3y ago59:19

59:19

Join Theo Tyson, Polly Thayer Starr Fellow in American Art and Culture as she shares her insights and inquiries on a set of nineteenth-century photo albums that belonged to Harriet Bell Hayden (1816-1893), a survivor of slavery and anti-slavery activist. Married to famed abolitionist Lewis Hayden (1811-1889), Mrs. Hayden’s albums are a unique oppor…

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Peniel E. Joseph and David Waters, "The Sword and the Shield" 54:51

3y ago54:51

54:51

To most Americans, Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. represent contrasting ideals: self-defense vs. nonviolence, black power vs. civil rights, the sword vs. the shield. The struggle for black freedom is wrought with the same contrasts. While nonviolent direct action is remembered as an unassailable part of American democracy, the movement's mili…

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Jürgen Kocka: "European Integration and Present Challenges of the European Union" (2014) 1:30:36

3y ago1:30:36

1:30:36

In this lecture Jürgen Kocka speaks about the history of the European Union and its present challenges. The lecture was held at the University of Agder in Kristiansand, Norway 5 May 2014, as part of the 10th year anniversary of the Holberg Prize.The Holberg Prize was awarded to Jürgen Kocka in 2011. Kocka is a historian of modern Germany and Europe…

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Natalie Zemon Davis: "Dealing with Strangeness" (2014) 1:11:05

3y ago1:11:05

1:11:05

Dealing with Strangeness: Information Flow and Language in a Colonial Slave SocietyHolberg Lecture by Natalie Zemon Davis at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, May 8th 2014. The Holberg Lectures was a series of lectures with previous Holberg Prize laureates held as part of the ten-year anniversary of the Holberg Prize.The Holberg P…

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Jürgen Habermas: "Democracy in Europe" (2014) 1:05:44

3y ago1:05:44

1:05:44

This lecture by Jürgen Habermas was held at at the University of stavanger, on 11 September 2014, as part of the ten-year anniversary of the Holberg Prize.Jürgen Habermas recieved the Holberg Prize in 2005.The Holberg Prize was established by the Norwegian Government in 2003. The Holberg Prize is awarded annually to scholars who have made outstandi…

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Julia Kristeva: "New Forms of Revolt" (2014) 1:11:35

3y ago1:11:35

1:11:35

In this lecture Julia Kristeva proposes a new interpretation of the experience of revolt: far from simply a negation or contestation of the norm, revolt is a transvaluation of memory, a reconstruction of subjectivity. Setting out from this definition, Kristeva stresses the personal experience of revolt as an infinite refounding of the self, and as …

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Cass Sunstein: The 2018 Holberg Conversation 58:14

3y ago58:14

58:14

In this interview from June 4 , 2018 Holberg Laureate Cass R. Sunstein talks about his research, his background , and how he has worked to promote enduring constitutional ideals - freedom, dignity, equality, self-government, the rule of law - under contemporary circumstances.Sunstein is interviewed by Anine Kierulf, Research Director at the Norwegi…

1
Onora O'Neill: The 2017 Holberg Conversation 59:23

3+ y ago59:23

59:23

In this interview, 2017 Holberg Laureate Onora O’Neill discusses a variety of topics, including Immanuel Kant and public reason, human rights and duties, the ethics for communication and the dilemmas that arise from media globalisation. O’Neill is interviewed by Professor of Philosophy Lars Fredrik Svendsen, University of Bergen.Baroness Onora O’Ne…

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Stephen Greenblatt: The 2016 Holberg Conversation 1:02:19

3+ y ago1:02:19

1:02:19

Stephen Greenblatt, John Cogan University Professor at Harvard University, is the 2016 Holberg Laureate. In this interview Greenblatt shares his thoughts on the role of New Historicism in literary studies, the socio-economic changes in the US in the 1960's and 1970's, and how the work of William Shakespeare is still relevant today, 400 years after …

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Marina Warner: The 2015 Holberg Conversation 45:17

3+ y ago45:17

45:17

Marina Warner received the Holberg Prize in 2015 for her work on the analysis of stories and myths and how they reflect their time and place. Professor Dame Marina Warner, FBA, is Professor of English and Creative Writing at Birkbeck College, University of London, Fellow of All Souls College, Oxford, and Professorial Research Fellow at SOAS.Warner …

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Manuel Castells: "Social Movements in the Internet Age" (2014) 1:28:01

3+ y ago1:28:01

1:28:01

This lecture by Manuel Castells was held at the University of Nordland in Bodø, 15 May, 2014 as part of a series of Holberg Lectures celebrating the 10th year anniversary of the Holberg Prize.The Holberg Prize is awarded annually to scholars who have made outstanding contributions to research in the arts and humanities, social science, law or theol…

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George Galloway: The 2018 Holberg Debate "Politics and Affects: The Dynamics of Social Mobilization" 23:16

3+ y ago23:16

23:16

Fifty years after the 1968 revolt, how important are affects in influencing the behavior of voters, activists and policy makers? Achille Mbembe, Kathleen Cleaver and George Galloway met in Bergen on 1 December, 2018 to discuss these issues at the Holberg Debate: "Politics and Affects: The Dynamics of Social Mobilization".This recording is the keyno…

1
Achille Mbembe: The 2018 Holberg Debate "Politics and Affects: The Dynamics of Social Mobilization" 25:34

3+ y ago25:34

25:34

Fifty years after the 1968 revolt, how important are affects in influencing the behavior of voters, activists and policy makers? Achille Mbembe, Kathleen Cleaver and George Galloway met in Bergen on 1December, 2018 to discuss these issues at the 2018 Holberg Debate: "Politics and Affects: The Dynamics of Social Mobilization"This recording is the ke…

1
Frederik Poulsen: The 2020 Nils Klim Conversation 1:17:13

3+ y ago1:17:13

1:17:13

The Danish theologian Frederik Poulsen was awarded the 2020 Nils Klim Prize for his outstanding contributions to Old Testament Studies. His work is characterised by an innovative combination of historical-critical and literary methodologies that have enabled him to cast new light on the ancient texts of the bible.Frederik Poulsen is Assistant Profe…

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The 2016 Holberg Debate with Timothy Garton Ash: "Free Speech in an Age of Diversity and Conflict" 1:53:48

3+ y ago1:53:48

1:53:48

Professor Timothy Garton Ash of the University of Oxford is the keynote speaker of the first Holberg Debate in 2016. He was invited to elaborate on the central themes of his book "Free Speech: Ten Principles for a Connected World". Following an interview with Anine Kierulf, Professor Garton Ash joins in a panel discussion with Jostein Gripsrud and …

1
Griselda Pollock: The 2020 Holberg Conversation 1:32:00

3+ y ago1:32:00

1:32:00

The 2020 Holberg Prize is awarded to British-Canadian scholar Griselda Pollock for her groundbreaking contributions to feminist art history and cultural studies. In this interview, Pollock discusses her background and her research, the history of art history, the women's movement, and more. Griselda Pollock is Professor of Social and Critical Histo…

1
The 2020 Holberg Debate: "Is Global Stability a Pipe Dream?" 2:22:20

3+ y ago2:22:20

2:22:20

At the 2020 Holberg Debate, Amb. John Bolton and Member of the Hellenic Parliament Yanis Varoufakis discussed current threats to regional and global stability. The debate took place on 5 December and was chaired from Bergen, Norway.At the 2020 Holberg Debate we were joined via videolink by two top speakers who have both been important policy makers…

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Grace Talusan and Elif Armbruster, “The Body Papers: A Memoir” 41:50

4y ago41:50

41:50

March 3, 2020 at the Boston Athenæum.Born in the Philippines, young Grace Talusan moves with her family to a New England suburb in the 1970s. At school, she confronts racism as one of the few kids with a brown face. At home, the confusion is worse: her grandfather’s nightly visits to her room leave her hurt and terrified, and she learns to build a …

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