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New Books in Biography & Memoir

This podcast is a channel on the New Books Network. The New Books Network is an academic audio library dedicated to public education. In each episode you will hear scholars discuss their recently published research with another expert in their field. Discover our 150+ channels and browse our 28,000+ episodes on our website: ⁠newbooksnetwork.com⁠ Subscribe to our free weekly Substack newsletter to get informative, engaging content straight to your inbox: ⁠https://newbooksnetwork.substack.com/⁠ Follow us on Instagram and Bluesky to learn about more our latest interviews: @newbooksnetworkSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/biography

Cathryn J. Prince, "For the Love of Labor: The Life of Pauline Newman" (U Illinois Press, 2026)

52 mins; March 26, 2026

The Remarkable Life and Afterlife of Sholem Aleichem

63 hours 17 mins; March 24, 2026

David Bather Woods, "Arthur Schopenhauer: The Life and Thought of Philosophy's Greatest Pessimist" (U Chicago Press, 2025)

76 hours 34 mins; March 23, 2026

Martha Feldman, "Castrato Phantoms: Moreschi, Fellini, and the Sacred Vernacular in Rome" (Zone Books, 2026)

42 mins; March 22, 2026

The Vilna Gaon and the Making of Modern Judaism

62 hours 20 mins; March 22, 2026

Marc Chagall: Reflections of a Granddaughter

64 hours 16 mins; March 19, 2026

Kalpana Karunakaran, "A Woman of No Consequence: Memory, Letters and Resistance in Madras" (Context, 2026)

62 hours 56 mins; March 18, 2026

H. S. Jones, "Liberal Worlds: James Bryce and the Democratic Intellect" (Princeton UP, 2025)

58 mins; March 17, 2026

Ethelene Whitmire, "The Remarkable Life of Reed Peggram" (Viking, 2026)

28 mins; March 15, 2026

Teresa Svoboda, "Hitler and My Mother-In-Law" (OR Books, 2025)

44 mins; March 13, 2026

Dana A. Williams, "Toni at Random: The Iconic Writer's Legendary Editorship" (Amistad, 2025)

50 mins; March 10, 2026

Glen Oglaza, "When I Stories" (Pegasus, 2024)

77 hours 4 mins; March 09, 2026

Charles Delgadillo and James Stacey, eds., "Heartland Utopia: William Allen White on the Ideal Midwestern Town" (UP of Kansas, 2026)

54 mins; March 09, 2026

Look & See: A Portrait of Wendell Berry | Filmmaker Q&A

61 hours 58 mins; March 07, 2026

Vladka Meed's "On Both Sides of the Wall"

56 mins; March 06, 2026

Daniel Brook, "The Einstein of Sex: Dr. Magnus Hirschfeld, Visionary of Weimar Berlin" (W. W. Norton & Co, 2025)

50 mins; March 05, 2026

Richard Vinen, "The Last Titans: How Churchill and De Gaulle Saved Their Nations and Transformed the World" (Simon & Schuster, 2026)

105 hours 49 mins; March 04, 2026

Ani DiFranco and Lauren Coyle Rosen, "The Spirit of Ani: Reflections on Spirituality, Feminism, Music, and Freedom" (Akashic Books, 2026)

38 mins; March 03, 2026

E. T. Dailey, "Radegund: The Trials and Triumphs of a Merovingian Queen" (Oxford UP, 2023)

66 hours 0 mins; March 02, 2026

Coming Out as Dalit with Yashica Dutt

57 mins; March 02, 2026

Michael Glover Smith, "Bob Dylan as Filmmaker: No Time to Think" (McNidder and Grace, 2026)

78 hours 12 mins; February 28, 2026

Sandra E. Greene, “Slave Owners of West Africa: Decision Making in the Age of Abolition” (Indiana UP, 2017)

42 mins; February 28, 2026

Preacher, Teacher, and Founder: On Princeton's famous President, John Witherspoon

50 mins; February 26, 2026

Seamus McElearney with Barbara Finkelstein, "Flipping Capo: How the FBI Dismantled the Real Sopranos" (Chicago Review Press, 2025)

69 hours 8 mins; February 26, 2026

John Beyer, "Live a Little Better: One Man's Journey of Survival, Sobriety, and Success" (Worth, 2025)

44 mins; February 25, 2026

Anna-Luna Post, "Galileo’s Fame: Science, Credibility, and Memory in the Seventeenth Century" (U Pittsburgh Press, 2025)

59 mins; February 25, 2026

Ananya Vajpeyi, "Place: Intimate Encounters with Cities" (Women Unlimited Ink, 2025)

75 hours 49 mins; February 23, 2026

Zalman Newfield, "Brooklyn Odyssey: My Journey Out of Hasidism" (Temple UP, 2026)

78 hours 55 mins; February 23, 2026

American Masterpiece: The Civil War Diaries of George Templeton Strong with Brenda Wineapple and Geoff Wisner

60 hours 29 mins; February 23, 2026

Mai Serhan, "I Can Imagine It for Us: A Palestinian Daughter's Memoir" (American University in Cairo Press, 2025)

32 mins; February 21, 2026

Ray Yep, "Man in a Hurry: Murray MacLehose and Colonial Autonomy in Hong Kong" (Hong Kong UP, 2024)

63 hours 51 mins; February 20, 2026

Carla Kaplan, "Troublemaker: The Fierce, Unruly Life of Jessica Mitford" (Harper, 2025)

65 hours 36 mins; February 18, 2026

Brian Hallstoos, "Sol Butler: An Olympian's Odyssey through Jim Crow America" (U Illinois Press, 2026)

59 mins; February 17, 2026

Cindy Schweich Handler, "A German Jew's Triumph: Fritz Oppenheimer and the Denazification of Germany" (McFarland, 2025)

57 mins; February 16, 2026

Ian Gittins, "The Cure: A Perfect Dream" (Gemini Books, 2025)

36 mins; February 12, 2026

Karen Bermann, "The Art of Being a Stranger: A Family Memoir" (New Jewish Press, 2025)

28 mins; February 11, 2026

Elizabeth A. DeWolfe, "Alias Agnes: The Notorious Tale of a Gilded Age Spy" (UP of Kentucky, 2025)

49 mins; February 11, 2026

Nicholas Boggs, "Baldwin: A Love Story" (FSG, 2025)

38 mins; February 10, 2026

Marc Mierowsky, "A Spy Amongst Us: Daniel Defoe's Secret Service and the Plot to End Scottish Independence" (Yale UP, 2026)

57 mins; February 10, 2026

Matti Friedman, "Who by Fire: Leonard Cohen in the Sinai" (Spiegel & Grau, 2022)

63 hours 4 mins; February 09, 2026

Chris Washburn and Ron Chepesiuk, "Out of Bounds: From Broken NBA Dreams to Redemption" (WildBlue Press, 2025)

51 mins; February 09, 2026

Joshua D. Zimmerman, "Jozef Pilsudski: Founding Father of Modern Poland" (Harvard UP, 2022)

97 hours 35 mins; February 08, 2026

Garrett Felber, "A Continuous Struggle: The Revolutionary Life of Martin Sostre" (AK Press, 2025)

54 mins; February 06, 2026

164 Maurice Samuels: Jewish Assimilation, Integration and the Dreyfus Affair (JP)

60 hours 19 mins; February 05, 2026

Dianna N. Watkins-Dickerson, "A Black Woman for President: Shirley Chisholm, Carol Moseley Braun, and Kamala Harris" (UP of Mississippi)

60 hours 48 mins; February 04, 2026

Janet Kintner, "A Judge’s Tale: A Trailblazer Fights for her Place on the Bench" (She Writes Press, 2025)

26 mins; February 03, 2026

Sunny Dhillon, "Hide and Sikh: Letters from a Life in Brown Skin" (Wolsak and Wynn, 2025)

32 mins; February 03, 2026

Peter Stansky, "The Socialist Patriot: George Orwell and War" (Stanford UP, 2023)

43 mins; January 31, 2026

Najati Sidqi, "Memoirs of a Palestinian Communist: The Secret Life of Najati Sidqi" (U Texas Press, 2025)

25 mins; January 30, 2026

Thomas Aiello, "Return of the King: The Rebirth of Muhammad Ali and the Rise of Atlanta" (U Nebraska Press, 2025)

49 mins; January 30, 2026

Betty Boyd Caroli, "A Slumless America: Mary K. Simkhovitch and the Dream of Affordable Housing" (Oxford UP, 2026)

59 mins; January 28, 2026

Duy Lap Nguyen, "Walter Benjamin and the Critique of Political Economy: A New Historical Materialism" (Bloomsbury, 2024)

38 mins; January 27, 2026

Robert P. Kolker and Nathan Abrams, "Kubrick: An Odyssey" (Pegasus Books, 2024)

57 mins; January 24, 2026

Ben Ratliff, "Run the Song: Writing About Running About Listening" (Graywolf Press, 2025)

50 mins; January 23, 2026

Andrew Burstein, "Being Thomas Jefferson: An Intimate History" (Bloomsbury, 2026)

54 mins; January 21, 2026

Christopher Lynch, "Formulating Foster: Stephen C. Foster and the Creation of a National Musical Myth" (Oxford UP, 2025)

61 hours 38 mins; January 19, 2026

Oline Eaton, "Finding Jackie: The Second Act of America's First Lady" (Diversion Books, 2023)

56 mins; January 18, 2026

Giles Tremlett, "El Generalísimo: A Biography of Francisco Franco" (Oxford UP, 2025)

59 mins; January 17, 2026

Everything Is Fine, I'll Just Work Harder: Confessions of a Former Badass

39 mins; January 15, 2026

Luiz Guilherme Burlamaqui, "The Making of Global FIFA: Cold War Politics and the Rise of João Havelange to the FIFA Presidency, 1950-1974" (De Gruyter, 2023)

74 hours 45 mins; January 14, 2026

Vanessa Díaz and Petra R. Rivera-Rideau, "P FKN R: How Bad Bunny Became the Global Voice of Puerto Rican Resistance" (Duke UP, 2026)

57 mins; January 14, 2026

Matthew Kennedy, "On Elizabeth Taylor: An Opinionated Guide" (Oxford UP, 2024)

67 hours 28 mins; January 11, 2026

Chris Boucher, "Harry "Bucky" Lew: A Biography of the First Black Professional Basketball Player" (McFarland, 2026)

46 mins; January 11, 2026

Stuart Klawans, "Crooked, But Never Common: The Films of Preston Sturges" (Columbia UP, 2023)

52 mins; January 10, 2026

David Morris, "Stealing The Future: Sam Bankman-Fried, Elite Fraud, and the Cult of Techno-Utopia" (Watkins Media, 2025)

59 mins; January 07, 2026

Bo Tao, "Cooperative Evangelist: Kagawa Toyohiko and His World, 1888-1960" (U Hawaii Press, 2025)

84 hours 6 mins; January 06, 2026

Kelsey Klotz, "Dave Brubeck and the Performance of Whiteness" (Oxford UP, 2023)

69 hours 36 mins; January 05, 2026

D. J. Taylor, "Orwell: The New Life" (Pegasus Books, 2023)

46 mins; January 04, 2026

Ashley Brown, "Serving Herself: The Life and Times of Althea Gibson" (Oxford UP, 2023)

45 mins; January 03, 2026

Richard Wolin, "Heidegger in Ruins: Between Philosophy and Ideology" (Yale UP, 2023)

113 hours 11 mins; January 02, 2026

Daniel Pollack-Pelzner, "Lin-Manuel Miranda: The Education of an Artist" (Simon and Schuster, 2025)

59 mins; December 27, 2025

Douglas Morris, "Legal Sabotage: Ernst Fraenkel in Hitler's Germany" (Cambridge UP, 2020)

63 hours 35 mins; December 25, 2025

Marcus Willaschek, "Kant: A Revolution in Thinking" (Harvard UP, 2025)

65 hours 4 mins; December 24, 2025

Amy Bowers Cordalis, "The Water Remembers: My Indigenous Family's Fight to Save a River and a Way of Life" (Little Brown, 2024)

62 hours 51 mins; December 23, 2025

Michael Braddick, "Christopher Hill: The Life of a Radical Historian" (Verso Books, 2025)

53 mins; December 22, 2025

Jane Eisner, "Carole King: She Made the Earth Move" (Yale UP, 2025)

42 mins; December 21, 2025

Kwame Nkrumah and Pan-Africanism’s High Tide: A Conversation with Howard W. French

48 mins; December 20, 2025

Joseph Torigian, "The Party’s Interests Come First: The Life of Xi Zhongxun, Father of Xi Jinping" (Stanford UP, 2025)

47 mins; December 18, 2025

Michael Staunton, "Thomas Becket and His World" (Reaktion Books, 2025)

71 hours 37 mins; December 10, 2025

Henry Rausch, "Submerged: Life on a Fast Attack Submarine in the Last Days of the Cold War" (Independently Published, 2024)

56 mins; December 06, 2025

Adam Silverstein, "Haman" (Princeton UP, 2025)

37 mins; December 05, 2025

Ali Anooshahr, "Slavery in the Early Mughal World: The Life and Thoughts of Jawhar Aftabachi (1520s–1580s)" (Oxford UP, 2025)

54 mins; December 05, 2025

Brooke Barbier, "King Hancock: The Radical Influence of a Moderate Founding Father" (Harvard UP, 2023)

49 mins; December 02, 2025

Dennis Deletant, "In Search of Romania" (Hurst, 2022)

53 mins; December 01, 2025

Sarah Ruden, "Vergil: The Poet's Life" (Yale UP, 2023)

65 hours 35 mins; November 28, 2025

Chris Yogerst, "The Warner Brothers" (UP of Kentucky, 2023)

67 hours 36 mins; November 28, 2025

Christina Cecelia Davidson, "Dominican Crossroads: H.C.C. Astwood and the Moral Politics of Race-Making in the Age of Emancipation" (Duke UP, 2024)

40 mins; November 26, 2025

Treena Orchard, "Sticky, Sexy, Sad: Swipe Culture and the Darker Side of Dating Apps" (Aevo, U Toronto Press, 2024)

40 mins; November 26, 2025

Emma Heaney, "This Watery Place: Four Essays on Gestation" (Pluto Press UK, 2025)

75 hours 49 mins; November 23, 2025

David Chanoff, "Anthony Benezet: Quaker, Abolitionist, Anti-Racist" (U Georgia Press, 2025)

46 mins; November 22, 2025

Julie Dobrow, "Love and Loss After Wounded Knee: A Biography of an Extraordinary Interracial Marriage" (NYU Press, 2025)

44 mins; November 22, 2025

Simon Appleford, "Drawing Liberalism: Herblock's Political Cartoons in Postwar America" (U Virginia Press, 2023)

56 mins; November 21, 2025

Dustin Condren, "An Imaginary Cinema: Sergei Eisenstein and the Unrealized Film" (Cornell UP, 2024)

67 hours 57 mins; November 19, 2025

Philip Nash, "Clare Boothe Luce: American Renaissance Woman" (Routledge, 2022)

64 hours 56 mins; November 17, 2025

Lester D. Friedman, "Citizen Spielberg" (U of Illinois Press, 2022)

48 mins; November 17, 2025

Christina Lane, "Phantom Lady: Hollywood Producer Joan Harrison, the Forgotten Woman Behind Hitchcock" (Chicago Review Press, 2020)

61 hours 36 mins; November 16, 2025

Meg Groff, "Not If I Can Help It" (Rivertown Books, 2025)

38 mins; November 12, 2025

Aaron Magid, "The Most American King: Abdullah of Jordan" (Universal Publishers, 2025)

52 mins; November 12, 2025

Judith L. Pearson, "Radical Sisters: Shirley Temple Black, Rose Kushner, Evelyn Lauder, and the Dawn of the Breast Cancer Movement" (Mayo Clinic Press, 2025)

61 hours 56 mins; November 11, 2025

Al Posamentier, "Math Makers: The Lives and Works of 50 Famous Mathematicians" (Prometheus, 2020)

56 mins; November 09, 2025

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