Bloomsbury Academic Podcast

Alisa Perren is Professor in the Department of Radio-Television-Film and Co-Director of the Center for Entertainment and Media Industries at The University of Texas at Austin and editorial collective member of the journal Media Industries.

Gregory Steirer is Associate Professor of English and Film Studies at Dickinson College and a former National Endowment for the Humanities fellow and researcher for the Carsey-Wolf Center’s Media Industries Project.

In part two of our episode on The American Comic Book Industry and Hollywood, we'll be discussing why/how has the comic book industry retained its own practices and structure despite the conglomeratisation of media industries, how the comic industry has dealt with digital formats, the different business models in comics publishers and their dependence on Hollywood licensing IP, and the future of the relationship between the American comics industry and Hollywood. Take a listen.

If you would like to buy your own copy of The American Comic Book Industry and Hollywood, 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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Alisa Perren is Professor in the Department of Radio-Television-Film and Co-Director of the Center for Entertainment and Media Industries at The University of Texas at Austin and editorial collective member of the journal Media Industries.

Gregory Steirer is Associate Professor of English and Film Studies at Dickinson College and a former National Endowment for the Humanities fellow and researcher for the Carsey-Wolf Center’s Media Industries Project.

Together, they are the authors of The American Comic Book Industry and Hollywood, which traces the evolving relationship between the two industries from the launch of X-Men, Spider-Man, and Smallville in the early 2000s through the ascent of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the Arrowverse, and the Walking Dead Universe in the 2010s. In this episode, we’ll be delving into why have "superhero films" become the culturally dominant type of film in the 21st century, the lack of understanding film and TV people have about what artists do in comics, why comics has largely been a precarious industry to work in as a creator, and much much more. Take a listen.

If you would like to buy your own copy of The American Comic Book Industry and Hollywood, 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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Tara T. Green is CLASS Distinguished Professor and Chair of African American Studies at the University of Houston, USA. She is the author of several books including See Me Naked: Black Women Defining Pleasure during the Interwar Era (2022) and editor of two books, including From the Plantation to the Prison: African American Confinement Literature (2008).

In the second half of this conversation on activist, educator, writer, and bisexual icon Alice Dunbar-Nelson, Tara T. Green discusses Alice’s queerness and her life as a queer person in the 19th century United States. Dunbar-Nelson defied many assumptions a contemporary reader may have of the Reconstruction and post-Reconstruction era United States, including that she was exceptionally well-traveled. We learn about Alice’s love of California, her time in New York and contribution to the Harlem Renaissance, and her queer affairs. Take a listen.

If you would like to buy your own copy of Love, Activism, and the Respectable Life of Alice Dunbar-Nelson, 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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Tara T. Green is CLASS Distinguished Professor and Chair of African American Studies at the University of Houston, USA. She is the author of several books including See Me Naked: Black Women Defining Pleasure during the Interwar Era (2022) and editor of two books, including From the Plantation to the Prison: African American Confinement Literature (2008).

Love, Activism, and the Respectable Life of Alice Dunbar-Nelson has received starred reviews from Publisher’s Weekly and Booklist. Pulitzer-prize winning poet Jericho Brown praised the book as “a brilliant analysis.” So who was Alice Dunbar Nelson? Born in New Orleans in 1875, she would become an activist and writer and contributor to the Harlem Renaissance. She navigated a hostile and ever-changing country as a Black bisexual woman, subject to systemic racism and sexism and impositions of “respectability.” More intimately, she navigated an abusive marriage to the well-known writer Paul Laurence Dunbar. Bloomsbury Academic podcast and Tara T. Green discuss how Alice Dunbar-Nelson found ways to not only survive but thrive in a world and a marriage that were fundamentally against her. Take a listen.

If you would like to buy your own copy of Love, Activism, and the Respectable Life of Alice Dunbar-Nelson, 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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Leighann Chaffee is Associate Teaching Professor of Psychology at the University of Washington, Tacoma, and Stephanie P. da Silva is a psychology professor at Columbus State University, USA. Together, they are the co-authors of The Guide to the Psychology of Eating. In part two of our episode, we delve into the relationship between public policy and societal thinking about food as well as how our perception of food habits or diets is tied up in race, class, gender, age. Then we chat with the authors about fatphobia, how can we decrease the prevalence of disordered eating, and what the future of social perceptions of food might look like. Take a listen. 

If you would like to buy your own copy of A Guide to the Psychology of Eating, 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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Leighann Chaffee is Associate Teaching Professor of Psychology at the University of Washington, USA, and Stephanie P. da Silva is a psychology professor at Columbus State University, USA. Together, they are the co-authors of The Guide to the Psychology of Eating. In this episode, we will be talking about all things eating, including how our brains make sense of the chemicals in food to allow us to taste. Then, we’ll be answering why hunger makes us “hangry, why comfort food is so comforting, how food reflects our cultural knowledge and values, and much much more. Take a listen.

If you would like to buy your own copy of A Guide to the Psychology of Eating, 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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Emma Lee is a trawlwulwuy woman of tebrakunna country, north-east Tasmania, Australia. Her research fields over the last 25 years have focused on Indigenous affairs, land and sea management, natural and cultural resources, regional development, policy and governance of Australian regulatory environments.

Jen Evans is a dharug woman with dual connections to dharug and palawa country. She is a Research Fellow with the Rural Clinical School at the University of Tasmania whose research is focused on the valuing of natural environments, land use conflict, participatory GIS mapping and Indigenous methodologies.

Together, they are the anthology editors of Indigenous Women's Voices: 20 Years on from Linda Tuhiwai Smith’s Decolonizing Methodologies. In part two of our episode, we ask the editors hard-hitting questions, including whether men can weave baskets as well as what feminism and queerness look like in an indigenous framework. We then delve into the types of resistance work that the editors are currently working on, the international Indigenous rights movements are going on right now, and what forms atonement can take. Take a listen.

If you would like to buy your own copy of Indigenous Women’s Voices, 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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Emma Lee is a trawlwulwuy woman of tebrakunna country, north-east Tasmania, Australia. Her research fields over the last 25 years have focused on Indigenous affairs, land and sea management, natural and cultural resources, regional development, policy and governance of Australian regulatory environments.

Jen Evans is a dharug woman with dual connections to dharug and palawa country. She is a Research Fellow with the Rural Clinical School at the University of Tasmania whose research is focused on the valuing of natural environments, land use conflict, participatory GIS mapping and Indigenous methodologies.

Together, they are the anthology editors of Indigenous Women's Voices: 20 Years on from Linda Tuhiwai Smith’s Decolonizing Methodologies. In part one of our episode, we’ll be discussing the reasons the editors wanted to reflect on Linda Tuhiwai Smith’s Decolonizing Methodologies 20 years after its publication, examples of colonization in academia, and the importance of incorporating indigenous voices into our institutions. We will delve into the process of making this an Open Access title and much much more. Take a listen.

If you would like to buy your own copy of Indigenous Women’s Voices, 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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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 two of this episode, we discuss Spears’ conservatorship, and the public discussion around it as well as disability rights in general. Then, we look at stan culture and the influence of (social) media on celebrity and vice versa and how social media has changed since this album was released, looking at its impact on stars like Billie Eilish and Taylor Swift, plus what Britney Spears’ Instagram looks like today. Take a listen.

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.

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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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.

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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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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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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

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

Antonio Aloisi is Marie Sklodowska-Curie Fellow and Assistant Professor of European and Comparative Labour Law at IE Law School, Madrid, Spain, and Valerio De Stefano is Canada Research Chair in Innovation, Law and Society, Osgoode Hall Law School, York University, Canada. Together, they are the authors of Your Boss Is an Algorithm. In part two of this episode, we discuss how to address the pervasive power of AI-enabled monitoring, the likelihood that the gig-economy model will emerge as a new organizational paradigm, what social partners and political players can do to adopt effective regulations that protect workers, and even what a future without work could look like. Take a listen.

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

Antonio Aloisi is Marie Sklodowska-Curie Fellow and Assistant Professor of European and Comparative Labour Law at IE Law School, Madrid, Spain, and Valerio De Stefano is Canada Research Chair in Innovation, Law and Society, Osgoode Hall Law School, York University, Canada. Together, they are the authors of Your Boss Is an Algorithm, which examines the effect that robots, algorithms, and online platforms have on the world of work. In part one of this episode, we discuss what algorithms have to do with labor, how COVID has impacted certain platforms and algorithms, how digital spaces and technology can replicate power structures, and much much more. Take a listen.

This is part two of our episode on Thinking Through Loneliness. We are continuing our conversation with Diane Enns, Professor of Philosophy at Toronto Metropolitan University, Canada. In part of two this episode, we discuss the ambiguity of loneliness, social media, the ways we can re-focus on the societal, rather than the personal, failures that produce loneliness, and whether there is a political alternative to our isolation. Take a listen.

Diane Enns is Professor of Philosophy at Toronto Metropolitan University, Canada as well as the author of Thinking Through Loneliness, a lyrical and compassionate philosophy of loneliness. Throughout the book, Enns explores the ambiguities of being alone and argues that loneliness needs to be recognised as a political issue as much as a personal one. In part of one this episode, we break down the meaning of the book’s title, the aspects of loneliness that became more apparent during the pandemic, the changing role of the nuclear family, and much much more. Take a listen.

Sarah Olsen is Assistant Professor of Classics at Williams College, USA, and Mario Telò is Professor of Classics and Critical Theory at the University of California, Berkeley, USA. Together, they are the editors of Queer Euripides, the first volume to reconsider the entire corpus of an ancient canonical author through the lens of queerness broadly conceived. In part two of this episode, we delve into what Euripides play our guests would see in the ancient past, as well as the classic figure they’d bring to a desert island. 

Sarah Olsen is Assistant Professor of Classics at Williams College, USA, and Mario Telò is Professor of Classics and Critical Theory at the University of California, Berkeley, USA. Together, they are the editors of Queer Euripides, the first volume to reconsider the entire corpus of an ancient canonical author through the lens of queerness broadly conceived. In part one of this episode, we delve into what we know about Euripides and what we can benefit from viewing his tragedies and other ancient materials through a queer lens, as well as the process of selecting contributors for this volume and much much more. Take a listen. 

We are continuing our conversation with Ciara Cremin about capitalism and what she refers to as the masculine disorder. We explore the relationship between far-right authoritarianism and masculinity, as well as the ways in which masculinity dominates leftist spaces.  Upon that reflection we discuss what it would look like to collectively reject masculinity, and what our future might look like if we all reconciled as a society with the feminine. 

Ciara Cremin's work draws on Marxist, psychoanalytic and critical theory perspectives to diagnose the human condition in capitalism today. In part one of this episode, we delve into the values, behaviors and aesthetic choices typically associated with masculinity and how these standards reproduce cycles of violence, the ways in which masculinity can be interpreted as a psychological disorder, how capitalism caters to masculinity, and much more.

This is the first play anthology to offer eight new plays by trans playwrights featuring trans characters. It establishes a canon of contemporary American trans theatre which represents a variety of performance modes and genres. In part two of this episode, we talked to anthology editors Lindsey Mantoan, Angela Farr Schiller and Leanna Keyes about the importance of studying the work of trans artists, trans theatre is a form of activism, and what the editors hoped to achieve with this collection. 

This is the first play anthology to offer eight new plays by trans playwrights featuring trans characters. It establishes a canon of contemporary American trans theatre which represents a variety of performance modes and genres. We talked to anthology editors Lindsey Mantoan, Angela Farr Schiller and Leanna Keyes, about the plays selected, and how they explicitly call for trans characters as central protagonists in order to promote opportunities for trans performers.

After a breathtaking episode on Othello last season, Ayanna Thompson is back to talk about her book, Blackface, which is part of our Object Lessons series. In this episode, we discuss the events that drove Ayanna to write this book, the history of Blackface up to the 21st century, how media weaponizes the notion of white innocence in contemporary examples of Blackface, and much more.

We are continuing our conversation with Vanessa R. Sasson, Professor of Religious Studies in the Liberal and Creative Arts Department of Marianopolis College, Canada and author of Yasodhara and the Buddha. In part two this episode, we delve into a narrative about Yasodhara's expansive life, and why her story feels deeply human and relatable today.

Vanessa R. Sasson is Professor of Religious Studies in the Liberal and Creative Arts Department of Marianopolis College, Canada and the author of Yasodhara and the Buddha, which we discuss in this episode. For those who do not know Yasodhara, this largely forgotten woman was once married to the Buddha. In part one of this episode, we discuss Yasodhara’s rich, intricate story, as well as the research process behind the book. We also delve into why Vanessa felt compelled to write this book as a “western woman” and how that position affects the context of her modern storytelling. 

This is part two of our episode on The War on Disabled People. We are continuing our conversation with Ellen Clifford, a disabled activist who has worked within the disability sector for over twenty years and is a current member of the National Steering Group for Disabled People Against Cuts. In this episode, Ellen unpacks the ways in which people with disabilities are made to feel invisible, how austerity reversed progress for disability rights, the future of disability rights and how to break the cycle of inaccessibility, and much more. Take a listen.

In 2016, a United Nations report found the UK government responsible for ‘grave and systematic violations’ of disabled people’s rights. Ellen Clifford, a disabled activist, has been at the heart of the resistance against the war on disabled people for over twenty years. 

In part one of this episode, we'll unpack the history surrounding the war on disabled people; the relationship between disability and capitalism, and how covid-19 has exacerbated the violent conditions of the austerity state.

As architecture grapples with its own racist legacy, Hip-Hop Architecture outlines a powerful new manifesto-the voice of the underrepresented, marginalized, and voiceless within the discipline. In part two of this episode, we discuss Sekou’s now finished exhibit at the MoMA, how the transformation of public spaces has been used to displace marginalized communities, architecture’s response to social justice movements like Black Lives Matter, Sekou’s ultimate “desert island” hip-hop track, and much more. 

As architecture grapples with its own racist legacy, Hip-Hop Architecture outlines a powerful new manifesto-the voice of the underrepresented, marginalized, and voiceless within the discipline. In part one of this episode, we discuss the production of spaces, buildings, and urban environments that embody the creative energies in hip-hop, as well as the expanding design philosophy which which uses hip-hop as a lens through which to provoke new architectural ideas.

In part two of this episode, Bill Miller, author of A History of Private Policing in the United States, discusses the history of privatization in the police force, and how, in tandem with the US military and prison system, it has served as a major component of authority in America as an auxiliary of the state. Our conversation covers everything from gun violence, the role of police in suppressing the American labor movement in the 60s, and the current campaign to defund the police.

In part one of this episode, Bill Miller, author of A History of Private Policing in the United States, discusses the history of privatization in the police force, and how, in tandem with the US military and prison system, it has served as a major component of authority in America as an auxiliary of the state. Our conversation covers everything from gun violence, the role of police in suppressing the American labor movement in the 60s, and the current campaign to defund the police.

Back to Black seeks to show us the long, powerful and painful history of Black radical politics. Born out of resistance to slavery and colonialism, its rich past encompasses figures such as Marcus Garvey, Angela Davis, the Black Panthers and the Black Lives Matter activists of today. In part two of this episode, we discuss systemic racism in academia, the future of the Black Lives Matter movement, and much more. 

Back to Black seeks to show us the long, powerful and painful history of Black radical politics. Born out of resistance to slavery and colonialism, its rich past encompasses figures such as Marcus Garvey, Angela Davis, the Black Panthers and the Black Lives Matter activists of today. In part one of this episode, we discuss Kehinde’s work as a Black activist and educator, the history of Black intellectual thought, and what a renewed politics of Black radicalism might look like in the 21st century.

Live Through This is an album about girlhood and motherhood; desire and disgust; self-destruction and survival. There have been few rock albums before or since so intimately concerned with female experience. It is an album that changed lives – so why is Courtney Love's achievement as a songwriter and musician still not taken seriously, two decades on? In part two of this episode, we continue our discussion of how Courtney Love both challenged and parodied ideals of womanhood, the gendered connotations of fandom, Hole’s influence on the music of today, and more.

Live Through This is an album about girlhood and motherhood; desire and disgust; self-destruction and survival. There have been few rock albums before or since so intimately concerned with female experience. It is an album that changed lives – so why is Courtney Love's achievement as a songwriter and musician still not taken seriously, two decades on? In part one of this episode, we explore Hole’s origin and influences, their glam 90s LA image, and the 3rd wave feminist backlash against Courtney Love as she challenged every preconceived notion of “good” womanhood.

Octavia E. Butler is widely recognized today as one of the most important figures in contemporary science fiction. In this episode, Kendra R. Parker discusses what attracted her to Butler’s work, before jumping into discussions about Afrofuturism, the environment, representation in literature, and much more. Connecting current social movements to those of Butler’s time, this episode ultimately reflects on the timeless nature of Butler’s work and her uncanny ability to predict the future.

Paulo Freire (1921-1997) is one of the most widely read and studied educational thinkers of our time. His seminal works, including Pedagogy of the Oppressed, sparked the global social and philosophical movement of critical pedagogy, and his ideas about the close ties between education and social justice and politics are as relevant today as they ever were. In part two of this episode, Walter Omar Kohan discusses his book, Paulo Freire: A Philosophical Biography, as well as the relationship between education and politics more broadly. He contextualizes Freire's work within the past and current political terrain in Brazil and encourages educators to put themselves and their educational work into question by highlighting some of Freire's lesser known thoughts on time.

Paulo Freire (1921-1997) is one of the most widely read and studied educational thinkers of our time. His seminal works, including Pedagogy of the Oppressed, sparked the global social and philosophical movement of critical pedagogy, and his ideas about the close ties between education and social justice and politics are as relevant today as they ever were. In part one of this episode, Walter Omar Kohan discusses his book, Paulo Freire: A Philosophical Biography, as well as the relationship between education and politics more broadly. He contextualizes Freire's work within the past and current political terrain in Brazil and encourages educators to put themselves and their educational work into question by highlighting some of Freire's lesser known thoughts on time.

Obscured behind concrete and razor wire, the lives of the incarcerated remain hidden from public view. Inside the walls, imprisoned people all over the world stage theatrical productions that enable them to assert their humanity and capabilities. In part two of this episode, Ashley E. Lucas discusses her most recent book, Prison Theatre and the Global Crisis of Incarceration, as well as her very personal experience with the carceral system growing up. We cover her in-depth research into prison institutions around the world, the role that theatre plays in creating community, and how it can transform the lives of the people forced into the prison system. 

Obscured behind concrete and razor wire, the lives of the incarcerated remain hidden from public view. Inside the walls, imprisoned people all over the world stage theatrical productions that enable them to assert their humanity and capabilities. In part one of this episode, Ashley E. Lucas discusses her most recent book, Prison Theatre and the Global Crisis of Incarceration, as well as her very personal experience with the carceral system growing up. We cover her in-depth research into prison institutions around the world, the role that theatre plays in creating community, and how it can transform the lives of the people forced into the prison system. 

The Bloomsbury Academic Podcast is more than just a book talk. Each episode is its own unique forum, bringing Bloomsbury authors and experts to the front of the conversation and tackling key issues in today’s culture, both in academia and beyond. Season one is now available on our website, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever it is you get your podcasts. Season 2 starts June 10 and is the same exciting format, with a whole host of new authors.

A Black female artist fighting to control her career, her body, and her life, Janet Jackson was a 20th century icon. As a part of our minicast on politics, Ayanna Dozier – author, filmmaker, and performance artist – shares her experience writing about The Velvet Rope for our 33 1/3 series, while tackling Black women’s sexuality and bodily autonomy, technophilia, online structures of oppression, and much more. This episode is for anyone wondering about Janet Jackson’s life and legacy and the influence she still has on artists today.

Slavery is a horrifying yet fundamental part of history that still shapes modern racism and culture. As a part of our minicast on politics, author and historian Ana Lucia Araujo draws on archival research, interviews, slave narratives, and other resources to explain how slavery is discussed and taught in modern society and the role that memory plays in how we understand race. This episode addresses issues such as the collective and public memory of enslaved people, the willful forgetting of past trauma, and modern attempts at reparations. It also addresses current movements such as the Black Lives Matter protests, the dismantling of pro-slavery monuments and symbols, and the construction of memorials around the world. For anyone looking to discuss collective memory and learn how we can create systemic change to heal from the past.

In order for any politician to be successful, they need to tell a good story—one they can weave into their platform and policies, and one that grabs the voters attention. As a part of our minicast on politics, author Philip Seargeant discusses how narratives are used by conservatives and progressives, activist movements and conspiracy theorists, to create a political identity. Covering everything from the US presidential election to domestic terrorism to the climate strikes and Black Lives Matter protests, this episode is for anyone wondering how our leaders, our media, and the people around us are manipulating facts in the era of social media.​

The spread of false information, whether purposeful or unintentional,  poses one of the biggest threats to democracy today. As a part of our minicast on politics, author and analyst Nina Jankowicz draws from her experience working in Russia, Ukraine, and Washington DC to answer questions on combating Russian interference, regulating tech and media companies, fighting foreign and domestic terrorism, and confronting disinformation in the digital age. This episode is for anyone wondering how we can protect our democratic process while still maintaining our basic rights and freedoms.

D’Angelo is an artist with endless emotion and honesty, one who seems to literally put the soul in soul music. In this episode, author Faith Pennick discusses why so many are entranced by his work and how his songs inspired her to write D”Angelo’s Voodoo. We go beyond his music, analyzing his career, the strong messages of mental health in his lyrics, his experience as a Black musician, the release of his “Untitled” music video, and more. For R&B fans looking to explore the meaning behind D'Angelo's music and discover what has everyone so captivated.  

Born out of 1970s Britain, The Raincoats were a band formed from the ashes of experimental punk and rebellion. In this episode, author and journalist Jenn Pelly transports you back to a world of indie record stores, feminist ideals, DIY music, and a fight against capitalism as she discusses four independent, talented women, their work as artists, and their impact as a group. Explore their history, songs, opinions, and culture with someone who traveled to London to speak with The Raincoats themselves.

Fashion, in many ways, is an extension of the person who wears it and can be used to make a statement, create a persona, or even claim an identity. In this special episode, performance artist, writer, and LGBTQ+ rights activist Alok Vaid-Menon talks about their experience reading Sex and Suits, the history behind gendered fashion, their own choices in style, and the fight against the gender binary.

Ayanna Thompson is a scholar, activist, and self-proclaimed Othello whisperer. She is the co-author of Teaching Shakespeare with Purpose, the author of Passing Strange and Performing Race and Torture on the Early Modern Stage, and the editor of Weyward Macbeth, Colorblind Shakespeare, and the Arden Third Series’ Othello. In this episode, Ayanna Thompson outlines the complexities of Othello, the history of racism in theater, and the strides the industry still needs to make to reach equality. For any theater buff, aspiring performer, literature professor, or Shakespeare fan, this is a conversation you’ll want to join.

An important skill for any designer is the ability to create the future of fashion, or at least be able to predict it. Learn how to do just that with author Lorynn Divita as she shares her secrets to anticipating emerging trends in the fashion industry. Covering a wide range of topics including fashion theory, cultural appropriation, economic status and affordability, style tribes, and more, this episode is perfect for any aspiring fashionista or trend-setting trainee.

Having grown up in northern Florida, Tom Petty had a distinctly narrow view of America—something that is apparent in his album, Southern Accents. In this interview, author Michael Washburn analyzes these songs and Petty himself, commenting on the prevailing racial prejudices that still exist in the south today. Covering everything from 80’s rock ‘n’ roll to white nationalism, this episode discusses a music legend while also revealing some of the vital southern culture that he was misconstruing.

Turkey is home to a vast creative community and a complex political climate—something that author and journalist Kaya Genç is extremely familiar with. During this episode, we explore the tense dynamic that exists between the Turkish government and the people who live there, touching on the country’s rich history and the many interviews Kaya has had with marginalized citizens whose voices often go unheard. If you’re interested in learning more about foreign politics or following the story behind Kaya’s literary journalism, take a listen.​

May 8th 2020 marks the 50th anniversary of the Beatles’ Let It Be album—the recording sessions for which might be the most dramatic, creative, and chaotic of their career. In celebration, author Steve Matteo gives a behind-the-scenes look into the Beatles themselves, the story of Let It Be, and the many interviews he had with people close to the band. If you’re a Beatles or music fan, this is the episode for you.

Xinjiang, China is home to the largest known concentration camp network in the modern world. Author and journalist Nick Holdstock discusses his work investigating the mass imprisonment of Muslims by Chinese officials and the tight government control that makes gathering information and providing aid to the Uyghur people so difficult. This episode covers the history and politics surrounding this human rights crisis.

The fashion industry is currently responsible for 10% of annual global carbon emissions. In this episode, Dr. Leslie Davis Burns explains how we can change that, breaking down key concepts and ideas covered in her own classroom. Discover what different organizations and retailers are doing to be more sustainable and learn how you can help to reduce the negative impact the fashion industry has on our environment. 

In the midst of this international pandemic, there are many new and important discussions taking place. During this special follow-up episode, author Chris Schaberg is back to talk about the impact of coronavirus on the environment around us—including the rapid decrease in air travel, employment, economic stability, and overall human interaction. A quick listen for anyone looking to consider how these extreme conditions are changing the climate conversation.

Debated, denied, unheard of, encompassing: the Anthropocene is a vexed topic, and requires interdisciplinary imagination. Christopher Schaberg invites listeners on an atmospheric, impressionistic adventure with the environmental humanities. This episode is not about defining or settling the Anthropocene, but rather about articulating what it's like to live in the Anthropocene, to live with a sense of its nagging presence, even as the stakes grow higher with each passing year.

Christopher Schaberg is Dorothy Harrell Brown Distinguished Professor of English at Loyola University New Orleans and author of Searching for the Anthropocene. He is also co-editor of the Object Lessons series.

Veganism. Animal rights. Feminism. Masculinity. Capitalism. The climate crisis. Racism. Author Carol Adams discusses how each of these issues is connected. If you’re eager to explore the intersectional relationships between them and discover how they relate to the way society thinks about meat consumption and gender politics, then this is the episode for you.

The veil is a complex and unique object, one that holds personal and cultural significance and often prompts very passionate and even aggressive reactions. Author Rafia Zakaria is here to help us consider the veil from a range of perspectives, including her own. This episode takes a close look at the veil in relation to women, aesthetics, power, and identity, and is for anyone looking to join the conversation.

Simone de Beauvoir was an existentialist philosopher who laid the foundation for the modern feminist movement. We sat down to talk to author Kate Kirkpatrick about everything Beauvoir, from her childhood, to her personal relationships, to her commitment to social justice movements such as the decolonization of Algeria. This episode is for anyone interested in discussing Beauvoir’s social ideals and discovering how they remain relevant today.