I can point you to mountains of research about prisons. I can also recommend at least a dozen Netflix documentaries, and highlight a handful of radical activists and scholars. There’s a lot of intellectual work doneabout prison.But what about intellectual work donein prison? As part of this week’s “ideas in strange places” theme, we want to play you this episode from right near when we started Darts and Letters, where we ask what kind of radical thought can come from the extreme oppression prisoners endure. We’ll be back with brand new episodes on September 18th, until then we’re replaying the best of our catalogue with a different theme each week. In Prison Notebooks… First, in the opening essay, hostGordon Katicdiscusses the long history of radical prison writing.From Thoreau to Gramsci, MLK, Oscar Wilde, Eugene Debs, Emma Goldman, and even Wittgenstein. Next (@5:36),Chandra Bozelkoserved 6 years, three months, and 11 days in a women’s prison in Connecticut. While inside, she started an award-winning newspaper column. She tells us what writing did for her while inside, and what everyday prison intellectualism really looks like. Then (@42:30),Justin Pichéedits one of the most amazing academic journals you will ever come across. It’s called theJournal of Prisoners on Prisons. It has been around for over thirty years. In each and every edition, you will see brilliant scholarly work—it just so happens that this work is written by prisoners themselves. —————————-SUPPORT THE SHOW—————————- You can support the show for free by following or subscribing onSpotify,Apple Podcasts, or whichever app you use. This is the best way to help us out and it costs nothing so we’d really appreciate you clicking that button. If you want to do a little more we would love if you chip in. You can find us onpatreon.com/dartsandletters. Patrons get content early, and occasionally there’s bonus material on there too. —————————-CONTACT US————————- To stay up to date, follow us onTwitterandInstagram. If you’d like to write us, email darts@citedmedia.ca or tweetGordondirectly. —————————-CREDITS—————————- This episode of Darts and Letters was produced byJay Cockburn. Research and support fromDavid MoscropandAddye Susnick. Our theme song and music was created byMike Barber, and our graphic design was created byDakota Koop. 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
Our first August rebroadcast was John and Pu's 2019 interview with SF superstarCixin Liu(you may want to re-listen to that episodebefore this one!). Here, they reflect on the most significant things that Liu had said, and to ponder the political situation for contemporary Chinese writers who come to the West to discuss their work. They consider whether our world is like a cabinet in a basement, and what kind of optimism or pessimism might be available to science fiction writers. They compare the interview to a recent profile of Liu inThe New Yorker, and ponder the advantages and disadvantages of pressing writers to weigh in on the hot-button topics of the day. Discussed in this episode: Cixin Liu,The Three Body Problem,The Dark Forest, andDeath’s End Jiayang Fan, “Liu Cixin’s War of the Worlds” (New Yorkerinterview/profile) Yuri Slezkine,The House of Government: A Saga of the Russian Revolution Isaac Asimov,The End of Eternity George Melies (dir.),A Voyage to the Moon Fritz Lang (dir.),Metropolis Frant Gwo (dir.),The Wandering Earth Ivan Goncharov,Oblomov Transcript availablehere. Elizabeth Ferryis Professor of Anthropology at Brandeis University. Email:ferry@brandeis.edu.John Plotzis Barbara Mandel Professor of the Humanities at Brandeis University and co-founder of theBrandeis Educational Justice Initiative. Email:plotz@brandeis.edu. 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
On 9 May 2018, an ideologically diverse opposition alliance called Pakatan Harapan (PH) defeated the long-ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition which had dominated politics in Malaysia since the 1980s. This was the first regime change in Malaysia’s history. This outstanding development was shortly followed by a series of defections culminating in the collapse of the Pakatan Harapan government in February 2020, after just 22 months in power. A new government was sworn in in March 2020, led by Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, but only lasted until August 2021, when another new government led by Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yakoob was formed. As Malaysia gears up for its 15thgeneral elections to be held in the second half of 2022, Professor Elvin Ong joins Dr Natali Pearson onSSEAC Storiesto discuss the tumultuous state of Malaysian politics. Drawing on his bookOpposing Power: Building Opposition Alliances in Electoral Autocracies(University of Michigan Press, 2022), Professor Ong reflects on the numerous challenges—structural, perceptual, and strategic—that can often undermine the opposition, and offers insights into what may happen at the upcoming ballot in Malaysia. About Elvin Ong: Elvin Ong is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science at the National University of Singapore. He is also Chair Elect of the Association for Asian Studies (AAS) Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei (MSB) Studies Group. Previously, he was a postdoctoral fellow at the Centre for Southeast Asia Research (CSEAR) in the Institute of Asian Research (IAR) at the University of British Columbia. His research has been published in various political science disciplinary journals such asParty Politicsand theAmerican Journal of Political Science, as well as various regional journals such asContemporary Southeast Asiaand theJournal of East Asian Studies. His bookOpposing Poweris published by the University of Michigan Press, under the Weiser Center for Emerging Democracies book series. His PhD is from Emory University, and his MPhil is from the University of Oxford. For more information or to browse additional resources, visit the Sydney Southeast Asia Centre’s website:www.sydney.edu.au/sseac. 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
Twelfth-century Europe was not a good time or place to be born female. Even queens had few rights, garnered little respect, and were tolerated largely for their ability to produce male heirs—preferably in quantity and without exhibiting any unfortunate qualities such as independence or intelligence. One notable exception was Eleanor of Aquitaine, queen of England thanks to her marriage (following a scandalous affair and divorce) to Henry II of England—although Eleanor spent many of her later years imprisoned by her no longer loving husband, who suspected her of conspiring with their sons against him. InThe Falcon's Eyes(Harper, 2022), Eleanor appears first as a shining if distant example for Isabelle, a young countess whose impoverished family is delighted to marry her off to the wealthy if less distinguished Gerard de Meurtaigne. Isabelle initially welcomes the match, but her new husband soon shows a disturbing need for control over his dependents, including his wife. Budding friendships with her maid, her steward, and even the noble Lady Fastrada attract Gerard’s ire, leaving Isabelle yearning for the one sure escape available to medieval women: the convent. Specifically, she longs to join the convent at Fontevraud, which attracts both nuns like Lady Fastrada’s sister and well-endowed laywomen in search of a quiet refuge. But she never expects to find herself face-to-face with Eleanor of Aquitaine. Francesca Stanfill’smultilayered story offers a rich and absorbing picture of medieval life at all levels, from the sorceress living in a hut in the woods to the falcons’ mews and the exigencies of travel. Her sure hand and light touch make this both a memorable and an enjoyable read. Francesca Stanfill’s previous novels areShadows and LightandWakefield Hall. Her enduring fascination with Eleanor of Aquitaine inspiredThe Falcon’s Eyes. C. P. Lesleyis the author of two historical fiction series set during the childhood of Ivan the Terrible and three other novels. Her latest novel, Song of the Sinner, appeared in January 2022. 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
Behold the history of a film so scandalous, so outrageous, so explosive it disappeared from print for over a quarter century! A film so dangerous, half its cast and crew met their demise bringing eccentric billionaire Howard Hughes’ final cinematic vision to life! Starring All-American legend John Wayne in full Fu Manchu make-up as Mongol madman Genghis Khan! Featuring sultry seductress Susan Hayward as his lover! Killing John Wayne(Lyons Press, 2021) is the true story ofThe Conqueror(1956), the worst movie ever made. Filmed during the dark underbelly of the 1950s—the Cold War—when nuclear testing in desolate southwestern landscapes was a must for survival, the very same landscapes were where exotic stories set in faraway lands could be made. Just 153 miles from the St. George, Utah, set, nuclear bombs were detonated regularly at Yucca Flat and Frenchman Flat in Nevada, providing a bizarre and possibly deadly background to an already surreal moment in cinema history. This book tells the full story of the making ofThe Conqueror, its ignominious aftermath, and the radiation induced cancer that may have killed John Wayne and many others. Ryan Uytdewilligen attended Lethbridge College in Alberta and earned a degree in Broadcast Journalism, leading to work in radio anchoring, reporting, and media coordinating for the prestigious Vancouver International Film Festival. After writing-producing his first short film,Tea Time(2014), he optioned two feature film scripts and has worked as a script doctor/writer for hire. In 2016, he published his first non-fiction work, a film history examination called101 Most Influential Coming of Age Movies.Ryan currently resides in Vancouver, British Columbia. He would like to express his sympathy to everyone who lost a loved one that worked onThe Conqueror. Daniel Moran earned his B.A. and M.A. in English from Rutgers University and his Ph.D. in History from Drew University. The author of Creating Flannery O’Connor: Her Critics, Her Publishers, Her Readers, he teaches research and writing at Rutgers and co-hosts the podcastFifteen-Minute Film Fanatics(Twitter @15MinFilm). 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
Today I talked toMark Andryczyk, translator ofVolodymyr Rafeyenko’s novelMondegreen: Songs about Death and Love(Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute, 2022). Amondegreenis something that is heard improperly by someone who then clings to that misinterpretation as fact. Fittingly,Mondegreen: Songs about Death and Loveexplores the ways that memory and language construct our identity, and how we hold on to it no matter what. The novel tells the story of Haba Habinsky, a refugee from Ukraine’s Donbas region, who has escaped to the capital city of Kyiv at the onset of the Ukrainian–Russian war. His physical dislocation—and his subsequent willful adoption of the Ukrainian language—place the protagonist in a state of disorientation during which he is forced to challenge his convictions. Written in beautiful, experimental style, the novel shows how people—and cities—are capable of radical transformation and how this, in turn, affects theirinterpersonal relations and cultural identification. Taking on crucial topics stirred by Russian aggression that began in 2014, the novel stands out for the innovative and probing manner in which it dissects them, while providing a fresh Donbas perspective on Ukrainian identity. Nataliya Shpylova-Saeedis a PhD candidate in the Department of Slavic and East European Languages and Cultures, Indiana University. 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
Roanne Kantor tells us about World Literature, in the ideas and practices of readers, writers, and scholars. Spatial metaphors like libraries, closets, and airport bookshops, help her imagine the “world” in world literature. In the episode Roanne references work by many scholars in the field, including David Damrosch’sWhat is World Literature(Princeton UP, 2003); Debjani Ganguly’sThis Thing Called the World(Duke UP, 2016), and Gloria Fisk’sOrhan Pamuk and the Good of World Literature(Columbia UP, 2018). In the longer version of our conversation, we talked about how little magazines from the 1970s New York literary scene, like Ed Sanders’Fuck You: A Magazine of the Arts,circulated in South Asia, inspiring avant-garde magazines like Arvind Krishna Mehrotra’sdamn you/a magazineof the arts. Roanneis an assistant professor of English and Comparative Literature at Stanford University. She has a brand new book,South Asian Writers, Latin American Literature, and the Rise of Global English,(Cambridge UP, 2022). If you want to learn more about the world of world lit, check it out. This week’s image of an airport bookshop at the Incheon International Airport in South Korea, was photographed by Adli Wahid and made publicly available onWikimedia Commonsunder a Creative Commons License. Music used in promotional material: ‘Six More Weeks’ by Evening Fires 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
TheKushnamehis unique, literally. Only one copy of the “Epic of Kush”exists, sitting in the British Library. Hardly anything is known about its author, Iranshah. It features a quite villainous protagonist, the tusked warrior Kush, who carves a swathe of destruction across the region. And it spans nearly half the world, with episodes in Spain, the Maghreb, India, China and even Korea. It was that last reference that encouraged academics in Korea to study theKushnameh,and bring Kaveh Hemmat to do its first-ever English translation, published by the University of California Press this year. Kaveh L. Hemmat is assistant professor, professional faculty in History at Benedictine University, scholar of world history and Islamicate culture, director of the NEH-funded Khataynameh Translation Project, an unusually determined cyclist, and a dabbler in sundry pursuits ranging from sourdough bread baking to drawing. He completed his Ph.D at the University of Chicago in the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations in 2014. His research focuses on interaction between the Islamic world and East Asia and the importance of this interaction to Islamic political thought and premodern global political history. In this interview, Kaveh and I discuss this unique document and the cultural and political context behind its writing. You can find more reviews, excerpts, interviews, and essays atThe Asian Review of Books, including its review of theKushnameh. Follow onFacebookor on Twitter at@BookReviewsAsia. Nicholas Gordon is an associate editor for a global magazine, and a reviewer for the Asian Review of Books. He can be found on Twitter at@nickrigordon. 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
Spoken by a quarter of the world's population, English is today's lingua franca--its common tongue. The language of business, popular media, and international politics, English has become commodified for its economic value and increasingly detached from any particular nation. This meteoric "rise of English" has many obvious benefits to communication. Tourists can travel abroad with greater ease. Political leaders can directly engage their counterparts. Researchers can collaborate with foreign colleagues. Business interests can flourish in the global economy. But the rise of English has very real downsides at times generating intense legal conflicts. In Europe, imperatives of political integration, job mobility, and university rankings compete with pride in national language and heritage as countries like France attempt to curb its spread. In countries like India, South Africa, Morocco, and Rwanda, it has stratified society along lines of English proficiency and devalued commonly spoken languages. In Anglophone countries like the United States and England, English isolates us from the cultural and economic benefits of speaking other languages. InThe Rise of English: Global Politics and the Power of Language(Oxford University Press, 2021), Dr. Rosemary Salomone offers a commanding view of the unprecedented spread of English and the far-reaching effects it has on global and local politics, economics, media, education, and business. From the inner workings of the European Union to China's use of language as "soft power" in Africa, Salomone draws on a wealth of research to tell the complex story of English--and, ultimately, to argue for English not as a force for domination but as a core component of multilingualism and the transcendence of linguistic and cultural borders. This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose doctoral work focused on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. 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
Graduate students and newly-minted economists often find that while their time in graduate school taught them a lot about great research of the past and the methods needed to do their own research, they didn't learn that much about the other aspects of the job.How do you submit a paper to a journal? How do you respond to reviewer comments? How do you write referee reports for other people? How do you present you findings in clear and compelling way, whether in a paper or in a talk?Academic advisors and other mentors can help fill the gap, but may not even realize they need to communicate things that they know implicitly.The existence of this hidden curriculumalso perpetuates the insider bias and lack of diversity in economics, making it harder for the best ideas to rise to the top. Marc Bellemare's new bookDoing Economics: What You Should Have Learned in Grad School--But Didn't(MIT, 2022), helps fill the gap.This book is essential reading for economists and other quantitative social scientists trying to succeed in academia and adjacent fields. Graduate students and junior faculty should read it cover to cover. Senior faculty can also benefit from having a copy around to help make sure their own advice is comprehensive and up-to-date. AuthorMarc Bellemareis the Distinguished McKnight University Professor, Distinguished University Teaching Professor, and Northrop Professor in theDepartment of Applied Economicsat theUniversity of Minnesota, where he also directs the Center for International Food and Agricultural Policy. He is also currently a co-editor of theAmerican Journal of Agricultural Economics. He alsoblogs regularlyand can befound on Twitter. HostPeter Lorentzenis an Associate Professor in the Department of Economics at the University of San Francisco, where he leads a newMaster's program in Applied Economicsfocused on the digital economy. His own research focus is the political economy of governance in China. 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