New Books in Public Policy
Episodes
Samuel Zipp, “Manhattan Projects: The Rise and Fall of Urban Renewal in Cold War New York” (Oxford UP, 2010)
22 Sep 2011
Contributed by Lukas
If you’ve ever lived in New York City, you know exactly what a “pre-war building” is. First and foremost, it’s better than a “post-war build...
Alan Jacobs, “The Pleasures of Reading in an Age of Distraction” (Oxford UP, 2011)
12 Sep 2011
Contributed by Lukas
In his new book, The Pleasures of Reading in an Age of Distraction (Oxford University Press, 2011), Alan Jacobs, Clyde S. Kilby Chair Professor of Eng...
Mikaila Lemonik Arthur, “Student Activism and Curricular Change in Higher Education” (Ashgate, 2011)
09 Sep 2011
Contributed by Lukas
Colleges and universities have a reputation for being radical places where tenured radicals teach radical ideas. Don’t believe it. Consider this: t...
Mara Hvistendahl, “Unnatural Selection: Choosing Boys over Girls, and the Consequences of a World Full of Men” (PublicAffairs, 2011)
07 Sep 2011
Contributed by Lukas
The students in my undergraduate class on gender, sexuality, and human rights are a pretty tough bunch. They know they’re in for some unpleasant top...
Ben Shapiro, “Primetime Propaganda: The True Story of How the Left Took Over Your TV” (Broadside Books, 2011)
31 Aug 2011
Contributed by Lukas
In his new book, Primetime Propaganda: The True Hollywood Story of How the Left Took Over Your TV (Broadside Books, 2011), Ben Shapiro, who is the you...
Elaine Sciolino, “La Seduction: How the French Play the Game of Life” (Times Books, 2011)
24 Aug 2011
Contributed by Lukas
In her new book, La Seduction: How the French Play the Game of Life(Times Books, 2011), Elaine Sciolino, Paris bureau chief of The New York Times, exp...
Max Singer, “History of the Future: The Shape of the World to Come Is Visible Today” (Lexington Books, 2011)
12 Aug 2011
Contributed by Lukas
In his new book, History of the Future: The Shape of the World to Come Is Visible Today (Lexington Books, 2011), Max Singer, Senior Fellow and co-foun...
Tamara Metz, “Untying the Knot: Marriage, the State, and the Case for Their Divorce” (Princeton UP, 2010)
04 Aug 2011
Contributed by Lukas
Marriage is at the center of some of our fiercest political debates. Here are some recent developments regarding marriage in the United States. Earlie...
Kimbrew McLeod and Peter DiCola, “Creative License: The Law and Culture of Digital Sampling” (Duke University Press, 2011)
04 Aug 2011
Contributed by Lukas
One hallmark of important art, in any medium, is a thoughtful relation with artistic precursors. Every artist reckons with heroes and rivals, influenc...
Dov Zakheim, "A Vulcan's Tale: How the Bush Administration Mismanaged the Reconstruction of Afghanistan" (Brookings Institution Press, 2011)
15 Jul 2011
Contributed by Lukas
In his new book, A Vulcan's Tale: How the Bush Administration Mismanaged the Reconstruction of Afghanistan (Brookings Institution Press, 2011) Dov ...
Scott Cleland with Ira Brodsky, “Search and Destroy: Why You Can’t Trust Google” (Telescope Books, 2011)
20 Jun 2011
Contributed by Lukas
In their new book Search and Destroy: Why You Can’t Trust Google (Telescope Books, 2011), Scott Cleland, President of Precursor LLC, and Ira Brodsky...
Eric C. Schneider, “Smack: Heroin and the American City” (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2008)
15 Jun 2011
Contributed by Lukas
When I arrived at college in the early 1980s, drugs were cool, music was cool, and drug-music was especially cool. The coolest of the cool drug-music ...
William Damon, “Failing Liberty 101: How We Are Leaving Young Americans Unprepared for Citizenship in a Free Society” (Hoover Institution, 2011)
03 Jun 2011
Contributed by Lukas
In his new book, Failing Liberty 101: How We Are Leaving Young Americans Unprepared for Citizenship in a Free Society, (Hoover Institution Press, 2011...
Michael Auslin, "Pacific Cosmopolitans: A Cultural History of U.S.-Japan Relations" (Harvard UP, 2011)
05 May 2011
Contributed by Lukas
How have the United States and Japan managed to remain such strong allies, despite having fought one another in a savage war less than 70 years ago? I...
Walter Olson, “Schools for Misrule: Legal Academia and an Overlawyered America” (Encounter Books, 2011)
01 May 2011
Contributed by Lukas
What kind of education are students at top American law schools getting? And how does that education influence their activities upon graduation? In Wa...
Elizabeth Pisani, “The Wisdom of Whores: Bureaucrats, Brothels, and the Business of AIDS” (Norton, 2008)
24 Apr 2011
Contributed by Lukas
When in medical school, I found myself drawn to the study of infectious diseases in large part because of the mixture of science and anthropology – ...
Paul Offit, “Deadly Choices: How the Anti-Vaccine Movement Threatens Us All” (Basic Books, 2011)
25 Mar 2011
Contributed by Lukas
If a parent decides not to vaccinate their children, is that an individual choice, or is it a serious threat to the public health? In Deadly Choices: ...
Brandon L. Garrett, “Convicting the Innocent: Where Criminal Prosecutions Go Wrong” (Harvard UP, 2011)
25 Mar 2011
Contributed by Lukas
Wrongful conviction is, both morally and practically, the worst mistake that society can inflict on an individual. From Franz Kafka to Errol Morris, f...
Teresa Gowan, “Hobos, Hustlers and Backsliders-Homeless in San Francisco” (University of Minnesota Press, 2010)
25 Mar 2011
Contributed by Lukas
Why do people become homeless? Is it because some people have made bad decisions in their lives or can’t hold onto a stable job? Or is homelessness ...
Robert Goldberg, “Tabloid Medicine: How the Internet is Being Used to Hijack Medical Science for Fear and Profit” (Simon & Schuster, 2010)
18 Mar 2011
Contributed by Lukas
This week New Books in Public Policy interviews Bob Goldberg about his new book Tabloid Medicine: How the Internet Is Being Used to Hijack Medical Sci...
Beth Bailey, “America’s Army: Making the All-Volunteer Force” (Harvard UP, 2009)
18 Mar 2011
Contributed by Lukas
The United States Army is a product of our society and its values (for better and for worse), but it also makes claims to shape our society – and of...
James Fleming, “Fixing the Sky: The Checkered History of Weather and Climate Control” (Columbia UP, 2010)
20 Oct 2010
Contributed by Lukas
In the summer of 2008 the Chinese were worried about rain. They were set to host the Summer Olympics that year, and they wanted clear skies. Surely cl...
Nick Reding, “Methland: The Death and Life of an American Small Town” (Bloomsbury, 2009)
14 Aug 2009
Contributed by Lukas
In 1980 I left Kansas to go to college in Iowa. A lot of things caught my attention about Iowa, for example, that the people really are very nice. I a...
Colin Gordon, “Mapping Decline: St. Louis and the Fate of the American City” (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2008)
09 May 2008
Contributed by Lukas
This week we have Professor Colin Gordon of the University of Iowa on the show talking about his new book Mapping Decline: St. Louis and the Fate of t...