Paul Morland, author of 'No One Left', joins the Brain in a Vat podcast to discuss demographic changes and Pronatalism. Paul explores the idea of having more children in response to declining fertility rates, demographic momentum, and the potential societal impacts of population collapse. Paul discusses potential solutions, including state interven…

Are you a musical theatre fan who loves TikTok? Or are you curious about how this social media app has changed musical theatre fandom - and even the concept of the musical itself? TikTok Broadway: Musical Theatre Fandom in the Digital Age (Oxford UP, 2024) takes readers inside the world of TikTok Broadway, where fans create, expand, and canonize mu…

Tracklist: It Just Won't Do - Brendan Mills, Tess Burrstone, Braaheim Bang Bang - Jessie J, Ariana Grande, Nicki Minaj, Super Stylers Someone To Be Mine - Boris Way Paint The Town Red - Harrison, Jessica Hammond Pleasure - Party Pupils, Britt Lari Ride on Time - Cuban Deejay$, Black Box, Mr. Vegas, Roberto Ferrante, DJ Shorty Testify - Kaleena Zand…

In Fate Unknown: Tracing the Missing after World War II and the Holocaust (Oxford University Press, 2023), Dan Stone tells the story of the last great unknown archive of Nazism, the International Tracing Service. Set up by the Allies at the end of World War II, the ITS has worked until today to find missing persons and to aid survivors with restitu…

Political Scientist E.J. Fagan, an Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Illinois at Chicago, once worked at a think tank, and has long been interested in the intersecting work of think tanks and politics. Thus, The Thinkers: The Rise of Partisan Think Tanks and the Polarization of American Politics (Oxford UP, 2024) is an o…

Tracklist: Music On The Radio - Empire Of The Sun dive /stay/ - Felix Cartal, emma løv No Drama - SICK INDIVIDUALS Enjoy the Silence - Alle Farben, Maurice Lessing, RELOVA Let Me Go - Mark Bale, Noel Holler, Alyshia To Be Real - Lee Foss, Cheryl Lynn, Wuki Thinking Straight - Redsole Seeking Thrills - Josh Hunter Work - Laurent Wery, N.J.E. Pull Yo…

What is the difference between love, limerence, crushes and squishes? Can someone be mistaken about whether they’re in love? And is limerence harmful, or can it also have therapeutic value? [00:00] Introduction to Love and Limerence [00:09] Thought Experiment: Terry and Sam Seder [01:38] Philosophical Debates on Love [03:37] The Power of Self-Descr…

Tracklist: LIFETIMES - Katy Perry Be My Lover - La Bouche, David Guetta, Hypaton Let Me Go - Mark Bale, Noel Holler, Alyshia Rush - Troye Sivan, Punctual No-Wifi - Funkerman, I, Fan thicc - Shygirl, Cosha, Fedde Le Grand Good Ones - Charlie XCX, Joel Corry Teka - DJ Snake, Peso Pluma Good Luck - Mabel, CraigWelsh I Wish - Mabel, Joey Corry, Westend…

The second of Daniel Todman's two sweeping volumes on Great Britain and World War II, Britain's War: A New World, 1942-1947 (Oxford UP, 2020), begins with the event Winston Churchill called the "worst disaster" in British military history: the Fall of Singapore in February 1942 to the Japanese. As in the first volume of Todman's epic account of Bri…

Lise Butler’s Michael Young, Social Science and the British Left, 1945-70 (Oxford UP, 2020) invites us to revisit a figure who, in Butler’s words, is both a ‘relatively obscure’ yet also ‘curiously ubiquitous’ in the political and cultural history of twentieth-century Britain. The book uses Young, a policy maker and sociology to explore the role of…

The Parashakthi Temple in Pontiac, Michigan serves as a site of worship for the Hindu goddess Karumariamman, whose origins are in South India. In her American home Karumariamman has assumed the status of Great Goddess, a tantric deity and wonder worker who communicates directly with devotees through dreams, visions, and miracles. Drawing on fifteen…

During the mid-seventeenth century, Anglo-American Protestants described Native American ceremonies as savage devilry, Islamic teaching as violent chicanery, and Catholicism as repugnant superstition. By the mid-eighteenth century, they would describe amicable debates between evangelical missionaries and Algonquian religious leaders about the moral…

Whether it is pirates, smugglers, illicit fishing, or disputes in the South China Sea, the oceans are of increasing importance in international security. In Understanding Maritime Security (Oxford UP, 2024), Christian Bueger and Timothy Edmunds provide a concise introduction to the history of security at sea and explain the core frameworks of analy…

Tracklist: One in a Million - Bebe Rexha, David Guetta, Alok AROUND THE WORLD - XTN, DR. GRECO Where R U Now? - MOTi, Eirik Næss Stereo Love - Braaheim, Jeannette, HYPER BOYZ 21 Reasons - Ella Henderson, Nathan Dawe Be My World - Milky Ferrari - James Hype, Oliver Heldens How Do I Make You Love Me? - The Weeknd, Sebastian Ingrosso, Salvatore Ganacc…

How would we explain our social structures to aliens? Can we define our social groups in a way that is easy to articulate and understand? Jason Werbeloff argues that it’s extremely difficult to answer even the simplest questions about the nature of our social groups. Does this mean we should exclude any talk of groups when describing ourselves on t…

Tracklist: Love Again - Lewis Thompson STAY - Vivid, Thando1988 Only For A Moment - Ekko, Rezident Good For You - Dimitri Vegas, Goodboys, Chapter & Verse Empty - JAiMES, DubVision, Martin Garrix Lost Without You - Caitlyn Scarlett, Jack Wins The Feeling- Jovan Le Saunier, Luis Garcelli, Joheel Rodmar Just The Way I Feel - Wankelmut, Emiah We Could…

Business and Human Rights Law is a rapidly growing area of law, which has dramatically transformed many parts of international law. In this new volume in the Elements series, Robert McCorquodale explores how the responsibility for human rights abuses has transitioned from a purely state obligation to also being the responsibility of businesses. Bus…

The problems that gave rise to the widespread desire to introduce a common currency were myriad. While trade was able to cope with-and even to benefit from-the parallel circulation of many different types of coin, it nevertheless harmed both the common people and the political authorities. The authorities in particular suffered from neighbours who …

Tracklist: The Game of Love - Thomas Gold, SVNSETS Lovin On Me - Jack Harlow Alien - Sabrina Carpenter, Jonas Blue, M-22 Mr. Saxobeat - Steve Void, DMNDS, Dance Fruit Music Superstar (Sped up Version) - David Puentez, Albert Neve Venus - Bananarama, Boys Noize Forever Young - Lika Morgan My Love Is True - Michael Milov La dadi - Enisa My Oh My - Ky…

Staging the Sacred: Performance in Late Ancient Liturgical Poetry (Oxford UP, 2023) examines the importance of Christian, Jewish, and Samaritan liturgical poetry from Late Antiquity through the lenses of performance, entertainment, and spectacle. Laura Lieber proposes an account of hymnody as a performative and theatrical genre, combining religious…

Has selfishness been misunderstood? Is there a way of defending Ayn Rand’s egoism? Tara Smith confronts challenging questions about morality, individual rights, and the balance between personal and societal well-being. Read Smith’s book here: https://a.co/d/5r4HfXb [00:00] Introduction to Ayn Rand and Egoism [00:21] Challenging Common Perceptions o…

Tracklist: Unforgettable - Jayem, Tima Dee, Seamus D It's Not Right But It's Okay - Mr Belt & Wezol Cruel Summer - Taylor Swift, LP Giobbi Stay the Night - Optical Disco Ecstasy - That Kind TRUSTFALL - P!nk, Sebastian Perez One Sign - Manse, KDH Time After Time - Dash Berlin, DubVision, Emma Hewitt Flowers - Arggic…

Tracklist: Illusion - Dua Lipa, The Blaze What A Life - John Summit, Guz Good To Me - Shane Codd Shine - Mark Sixma, Mr.Black King Of My Castle - MATTN, R3SPAWN Rockin' - Kristin Velvet Parasol - Arel & Schaefer Turn It Up - Franz Kolo, Yooniq Party People - Jamie Hughes Just the Kinda Feeling - Lost Boy, Yotto Love Brand New - Bob Moses, Vintage C…

The New Testament and the Theology of Trust (Oxford UP, 2022) argues for the recovery of trust as a central theme in Christian theology, and offers the first theology of trust in the New Testament. 'Trust' is the root meaning of Christian 'faith' (pistis, fides), and trusting in God and Christ is still fundamental to Christians. But unlike faith, a…

Is intelligent design the best theory for how perfectly calibrated our universe is? How does God as an explanation compare with competing theories, like the multiverse? Perhaps we can understand the fine-tuned complexity of the universe in the same way we understand the fine-tuned complexity of AI creations? Tune in for a profound discussion on the…

Imagining Time in the English Chronicle Play: Historical Futures, 1590-1660 (Oxford University Press, 2023) argues that dramatic narratives about monarchy and succession codified speculative futures in the early modern English cultural imaginary. This book considers chronicle plays—plays written for the public stage and play pamphlets composed when…

Do newborns think-do they know that 'three' is greater than 'two'? Do they prefer 'right' to 'wrong'? What about emotions--do newborns recognize happiness or anger? If they do, then how are our inborn thoughts and feelings encoded in our bodies? Could they persist after we die? Going all the way back to ancient Greece, human nature and the mind-bod…

Tracklist: Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This) - Eurythmics, Dave Stewart, Annie Lennox, Steve Angello The Pulse - Robbie Rivera, David Tort Work - Laurent Wery, N.J.E. Together - SIDEPIECE Body Burner - Blinders Wild Mustang - Becky G, Cesqeaux, Yellow Claw, Mike Cervello Everybody Goes Like That - Retrovision Heaven Is A Place On Earth - W&W, AXMO De…

The Search for Shelter: Writings on Land and Housing (Oxford UP, 2022) sheds light on the global population living in slums, which has increased from 1 billion in 2014 to 1.6 billion in 2018. The book also looks at the impact of neoliberalism on urban planning, the manner of organization and the struggles of the communities affected by these proces…

How Documentaries Went Mainstream: A History, 1960-2022 (Oxford University Press, 2023) provides a more comprehensive and meaningful periodization of the commercialization of documentary film. Although the commercial ascension of documentary films might seem meteoric, it is the culmination of decades-long efforts that have developed and fortified t…

Katharine Sykes joins Jana Byars to talk about her new book, Symbolic Representation in Early Medieval England (Oxford University Press, 2024). In the early Middle Ages, the conversion of the early English kingdoms acted as a catalyst for significant social and cultural change. One of the most visible of these changes was the introduction of a new …

This year, many countries around the world, including most of the world's most populous democracies, have consequential nation-wide elections. In many of these elections, democracy itself is at stake. The Dispersion of Power: A Critical Realist Theory of Democracy (Oxford UP, 2023) is an urgent call to rethink centuries of conventional wisdom about…

Tracklist: Funkin' Music Keep It On - Dave Leatherman, HP Vince, Bruce Nolan Keep It On - Mike Dunn, Jerk Boy Freedom - Disco Incorporated, Nu Disco Gypsy Woman - Stev Dive Moves at Midnight - Ian Ossia My Heart Is Full Of Love - Funky Star I Love The Nightlife - Ministry Of Funk, Back 2 Disco Freak - Daniel Harrison Feels Good - GW Harrison Valeri…

Historically, the insurance industry in America has been fragmented. As a result, there have been debates and conflicts over the proper roles of federal and state governments, business, and the responsibilities of individuals. Who should cover the risks of loss? And to what extent should risk be shared and by whom? In Uncovered: The Story of Insura…

Kate Manne discusses how fatphobia impacts the lives of fat-bodied people in various domains, including healthcare, education, and employment. Manne explores the relationship between weight and health, and challenges pervasive societal biases. She argues for a deeper understanding of systemic oppression against fat-bodied people, and considers how …

Earlier histories of the Cold War haven’t exactly been charitable toward the peace activists and pacifists who led peace initiatives. Pacifists in the United States were either simplistic and naïve, or they were fellow travelers of the Soviet Union. Peace proposals coming from the Soviet Union were nothing more than propaganda. Activists in Europe,…

Tracklist: HEAT - Tove Lo, SG Lewis A Bar Song (Tipsy) -Shaboozey, Alesso Real Love - AnAmStyle, Branco Argenta Dunno (What To Do) - ILY, Jack wins Free - TELYKast, x.o.anne 911 - Lady Gaga, Weiss Pedro - Raffaella Carra, Agatino Romero, Jaxomy L’AMOUR DE MA VIE - Billie Eilish Release Me - Alissa, Art Directors My Universe - Coldplay, BTS, SUGA…

Hollywood is haunted by the ghost of playwright and novelist Oscar Wilde. Wilde in the Dream Factory: Decadence and the American Movies (Oxford University Press, 2024) by Dr. Kate Hext is the story of his haunting, told for the first time. Set within the rich evolving context of how the American entertainment industry became cinema, and how cinema …

Tracklist: Dance Alone - Sia, Kylie Minogue, Malibu Babie Be The One - Eli Brown Eat Your Man - Dom Dolla, Nelly Furtado Close To Me - Lomax New Light - Lost Prince, Higher Lane Blue Monday - Above & Beyond My Way - S7AR Jungle - Alok, The Chainsmokers, Mae Stephens The Sound of Silence - Disturbed, CYRIL Addicted - ZERB, The Chainsmokers, Ink If O…