Wicked Intelligence: An Interview

The pages of Matthew C. Hunter’s wonderful new book are full of paper fish, comets, sleepy-eyed gazes, drunk ants, and a cast full of fascinating (and sometimes hilarious) members of the experimental community of Restoration London. Wicked Intelligence: Visual Art and the Science of Experiment in Restoration London (University of Chicago Press, 2013) maps the visual traces of drawing, collecting, and building practices between 1650 and 1720 to … Continue reading Wicked Intelligence: An Interview

Carla NappiAugust 21, 2015May 29, 2021

Podcasts

Current Flow: An Interview

Ronen Shamir’s new book is a timely and thoughtful study of the electrification of Palestine in the early twentieth century. Current Flow: The Electrification of Palestine (Stanford University Press, 2013) makes use of Actor-Network Theory as a methodology to trace the processes involved in constructing a powerhouse and assembling an electric grid in 1920s Palestine. The book brilliantly shows how electrification “makes politics” rather than just transmitting … Continue reading Current Flow: An Interview

Carla NappiAugust 19, 2015May 29, 2021

Podcasts

Visions of Science: An Interview

Jim Secord’s new book is both deeply enlightening and a pleasure to read. Visions of Science: Books and Readers at the Dawn of the Victorian Age (University of Chicago Press, 2014) is a fascinating exploration of books and their readers during a moment of intense transformation in British society. Secord brings us into a period of the nineteenth century when transformations in publishing and an expanded reading … Continue reading Visions of Science: An Interview

Carla NappiJuly 4, 2015May 29, 2021

Podcasts

Huxley’s Church and Maxwell’s Demon: An Interview

Matthew Stanley’s wonderful new book introduces James Clerk Maxwell (1831-79) and T.H. Huxley (1825-95) as they embodied theistic and naturalistic science, respectively, in Victorian Britain. Moving well beyond the widespread assumption that modern science and religion are and always have been fundamentally antithetical to one another, Huxley’s Church and Maxwell’s Demon offers a history of scientific naturalism that illustrates the deep and fundamental commonalities between positions on the proper practice … Continue reading Huxley’s Church and Maxwell’s Demon: An Interview

Carla NappiFebruary 14, 2015May 29, 2021

Podcasts

From Frontier Policy to Foreign Policy: An Interview

Matthew Mosca and I recently had the chance to sit down in Vancouver and talk about his great new book on geography and geopolitics in the Qing. You can listen to our conversation here. Continue reading From Frontier Policy to Foreign Policy: An Interview

Carla NappiAugust 3, 2013May 30, 2021

Podcasts

A Single Sky: An Interview

I recently spoke with David Munns about his spirited new book on radio astronomy and transnational science during the Cold War. You can find our conversation here. Continue reading A Single Sky: An Interview

Carla NappiAugust 3, 2013May 30, 2021

Podcasts

The Lius of Shanghai: An Interview

I had the pleasure of talking with Sherm Cochran recently about his and Andrew Hsieh’s wonderful new book. The book traces a history of transformations in early 20th century China through the letters of a prominent Shanghai family, and it is a gripping read. You can listen to our conversation here. Continue reading The Lius of Shanghai: An Interview

Carla NappiJuly 4, 2013May 30, 2021

Podcasts

Walter Ralegh’s History of the World: An Interview

I recently spoke with Nick Popper about his exceptionally rich new book on Walter Ralegh and the history of history in late Renaissance politics and culture. You can find our conversation here. Continue reading Walter Ralegh’s History of the World: An Interview

Carla NappiApril 8, 2013May 30, 2021

Podcasts

The Secrets of Alchemy: An Interview

Larry Principe and I recently spoke about his wonderful new book on the history of alchemy. You can find our conversation here. Continue reading The Secrets of Alchemy: An Interview

Carla NappiMarch 27, 2013May 30, 2021

Podcasts

Loving Faster Than Light: An Interview

Katy Price and I recently talked about her engaging and elegantly written new book on the engagement with Einsteinian relativity by various reading publics in early twentieth-century Britain. You can find our conversation here. Continue reading Loving Faster Than Light: An Interview

Carla NappiJanuary 9, 2013May 30, 2021