Beyond the Margins: The University of California Press Podcast

Beyond the Margins: The University of California Press Podcast

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Beyond the Margins: The University of California Press Podcast episodes

  • Kiara Wyndham, "Diversityland: Hiding Racial Inequality in an American Suburb" (U California Press, 2026)

    Fort

    Bend County, Texas, looks like the America we claim to want: a suburb
    where Black, White, Asian, and Latinx families share cul-de-sacs,
    schools, and celebrations. Residents trade dishes, honor
    one another's traditions, and take pride in their community's
    diversity. Yet beneath this harmony lies what sociologist Dr. Kiara
    Wyndham calls "the diversity contract"—an unspoken agreement that racial
    diversity may be celebrated, but racial inequality must not be named. 

    Drawing on two years of ethnographic research and more than 150 interviews, Diversityland: Hiding Racial Inequality in an American Suburb

    (University of California Press, 2026) reveals how the language of
    inclusion can obscure enduring racial hierarchy. In Fort Bend and
    communities like it, White advantage adapts to diversity rather than
    disappearing. Vivid and deeply researched, Diversityland
    transforms how we understand suburban life and challenges foundational
    narratives of what racial progress will look like in 21st century
    America.

    This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose book

    focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty
    negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative
    analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. You can find
    Miranda’s interviews on New Books with Miranda Melcher, wherever you get your podcasts. 


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    39 min
  • Mithi Mukherjee, "Asianism and the Fall of Empire: India's Road to Freedom" (U California Press, 2026)

    Offering a new global perspective on modern Indian history, Asianism and the Fall of Empire: India's Road to Freedom (University

    of California Press, 2026) by Mithi Mukherjee identifies the rise of
    Asianism in the early twentieth century as the origin and primary
    driving force of resistance movements that brought down the British
    Empire. Mithi Mukherjee ties together into a single sweeping narrative
    two contrasting, conflicting forms of anticolonialism: the emergence of
    the nonviolent resistance movement under Mahatma Gandhi in South Africa
    and the militant movement culminating in the war on British India by the
    Indian National Army under Subhas Chandra Bose in alliance with the
    Japanese army. Asia emerges in this breakthrough retelling not as an
    inert geographical category, but instead as a singular agent of change
    in modern world history.

    Mithi Mukherjee is a Professor of

    History at the University of Colorado Boulder. She specializes in the
    legal, political, and cultural history of modern India.

    Shatrunjay

    Mall is a Visiting Assistant Professor of History at Trinity College in
    Hartford, Connecticut. His work in modern Japanese history, South Asian
    history, and transnational Asian history explores ideas of Pan-Asianism
    and its legacies, as well as intellectual, political, and cultural
    intersections and affinities between colonial India and imperial Japan
    in the twentieth century.


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    1 hr 5 min
  • The Microbiopolitics of Novel Foods

    What role do microbes play in aquaponic farming and cultivated meat production, and how might such novel food technologies impact microbiomes? In this episode, Ishita Dey of Gastronomica hosts Lukáš Senft, Tereza Stöckelová, and Varvara Borisova in a conversation about their new article, “The Microbiopolitics of Novel Foods: The Pro- and Antibiotic Implications of Cultivated Meat and Aquaponic Farming.” In a discussion that connects food futures with environment, sustainability, health, and technology, the research team shares insights from their multisited ethnography of indoor vertical farms, bioreactors, and alternative food production in Czechia. They illuminate the emergence of new food technologies and the regulatory landscape, discuss the demand for protein and alternative protein sources, and reflect on the broader implications for microbial diversity and resilience-building in food systems.

    “The Microbiopolitics of Novel Foods: The Pro- and Antibiotic Implications of Cultivated Meat and Aquaponic Farming” by Lukáš Senft, Tereza Stöckelová, and Varvara Borisova, appears in issue 26.1 of Gastronomica. Their article is one of eleven in a newly published special section on microbes in food and food systems. Learn more about the two-part special section and access the articles in the Spring 2026 and Summer 2026 issues of the journal.

    Lukáš Senft has a PhD in sociology from Charles University and is currently a postdoctoral researcher at the Institute of Sociology of the Czech Academy of Sciences. His work on food systems has explored topics related to small-scale farming, mushroom foraging, precision agriculture, and the use of medicinal plants through multispecies ethnography and public scholarship.

    Tereza Stöckelová is a senior researcher at the Institute of Sociology of the Czech Academy of Sciences and also an associate professor in the Department of Social and Cultural Anthropology at Charles University. An expert in social studies of science, her current research on food and health focuses on extended metabolism in relation to bodies, ecologies, and technologies.

    Varvara Borisova recently completed her PhD in anthropology at Charles University and is now a postdoctoral researcher at the Institute of Sociology of the Czech Academy of Sciences where she is pursuing research on science and technology, obesity, metabolism, and alternative proteins.

    Ishita Dey is an assistant professor of sociology at South Asian University and a member of Gastronomica’s Editorial Collective. Her new book, a multisited ethnography of sweet-making titled Sweet Excess: Crafting Mishti in Bengal, was published by Routledge in 2025.

    Gastronomica: The Journal for Food Studies is published by the University of California Press. Quarterly issues are available in print and online.

    Listeners can now find the Gastronomica podcast on the New Books Network. Subscribe to Gastronomica’s podcast feed to stay updated on the newest episodes.


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    52 min
  • Carly Thomsen, "Reproductive Justice, Queerly" (U California Press, 2026)

    Queer theory and reproductive justice need each other—now more than ever. As liberals and leftists increasingly frame reproductive justice in terms of LGBTQ+ rights, often adopting the language of “queerness,” it has become difficult to see that their political demands and strategies are often quite conservative. In Reproductive Justice, Queerly (U California Press, 2026), Carly Thomsen examines typical reproductive justice issues—including abortion, surrogacy, crisis pregnancy centers, paid parental leave, and parenting—in queer ways. She shows what can happen when we bring queer theory and reproductive justice together: a queerer, more powerful articulation of what we are fighting for.

    Your host Yining Pan is a Ph.D. candidate in anthropology at Washington University in St. Louis.


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    51 min
  • Inside Science Fiction Studies

    In this episode, the editors and managing editor of Science Fiction Studies offer an inside look at the journal, discussing its place in the field and revisiting notable articles that have contributed to the study of science fiction. Science Fiction Studies is published three times a year by University of California Press. For more information about the journal, including subscription and submission information, please visit online.ucpress.edu/sfs. If you are interested in supporting the work of UC Press and its Journals Program, please consider making a charitable donation to the UC Press Foundation.

    To learn more about the UC Press Foundation and how to contribute, please visit ucpress.edu/support-us.

    Articles mentioned:

    1. Istvan Csicsery-Ronay, Jr.; Antimancer: Cybernetics and Art in Gibson's 'Count Zero.' Science Fiction Studies March 1995; 22 (1): 63-86. Link.
    2. John Rieder; On Defining SF, or Not. Science Fiction Studies July 2010; 37 (2): 191-201: Link.
    3. Paul Kincaid; Review: H.G. Wells: Contemporary Perspectives, edited by Lourdes López-Ropero. Science Fiction Studies March 2026; 53 (1): 190-193: Link.
    4. Veronica Hollinger; Introduction: Women in Science Fiction and Other Hopeful Monsters. Science Fiction Studies July 1990; 17 (2): 129-135: Link.
    5. Darko Suvin; A, B, and C. The Significant Context of SF: A Dialogue of Comfort against Tribulation. Science Fiction Studies March 1973; 1 (1): 44-50: Link.
    6. Special Issue on Science Fiction and Postmodernism. Science Fiction Studies Nov. 1991: Link.
    7. A complete list of University of California Press journals is available at UC Press Journals

      8. Phoenix Alexander is the Jay Kay and Doris Klein Librarian for Science Fiction and Fantasy at the University of California, Riverside, and Book Review Editor of Science Fiction Studies.

      Stephen Darren Dougherty is Professor in the Department of Foreign Languages and Translation at the University of Agder and an Editor of Science Fiction Studies.

      Colin Milburn is Distinguished Professor and Gary Snyder Chair in Science and the Humanities at the University of California, Davis, and an Editor of Science Fiction Studies.

      Patrick Sharp is Professor of Liberal Studies at California State University, Los Angeles, and an Editor of Science Fiction Studies.

      Elizabeth (Lisa) Swanstrom is an Associate Professor of English at the University of Utah and an Editor of Science Fiction Studies.


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      55 min
    8. Shawn William Miller, "Dream Road to Pan America: A Century in Pursuit of the World's Longest Highway" (U California Press, 2026)

      A century after the Pan-American Highway was first conceived, its

      story remains largely unknown—even to the hundreds of motorists who
      annually attempt
      the 30,000-kilometer drive from far northern Alaska to the tip of
      Tierra del Fuego. There is more to the highway, however, than the
      persistent allure of the open road. In Dream Road to Pan America: A Century in Pursuit of the World's Longest Highway
      (University of California Press, 2026), historian Dr. Shawn William
      Miller unveils a larger tale of lofty ideals and bedrock greed, romantic
      adventure and pragmatic diplomacy, immigrant desperation and Indigenous resistance.

      This

      book journeys to the early 1920s when everyday Americans invented the
      idea of a road that would spread fraternity, democracy, and prosperity
      across the hemisphere. It looks at the commercial and geopolitical
      interests that shaped the highway—often with little concern for those
      living along its margins—and explains why the road became an escape
      route for millions of migrants rather than a corridor for tourists. Dr.
      Miller contends that the highway’s troubled past points to an unresolved
      future, offering insights into the growing costs of continuing down
      well-worn paths.

      This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose book

      focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty
      negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative
      analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. You can find
      Miranda’s interviews on New Books with Miranda Melcher, wherever you get your podcasts. 


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      44 min
    9. John Kapusta, "Self-Realization Nation: How Artists of the Creative Counterculture Made a New America" (U California Press, 2026)

      John Kapusta's Self-Realization Nation: How Artists of the Creative Counterculture Made a New America (U California Press, 2026) is the story of an unexpected group of performing artists who led one of the most influential artistic movements in contemporary American history. After World War II, personal fulfillment emerged as a defining American cultural ideal. Self-realization--the quest to become our authentic selves--remains a powerful part of American culture and arts today. In Self-Realization Nation, John Kapusta provides a lively cultural history of how an overlooked movement of musicians, dancers, and actors championed the ideal of self-realization. These performers, who spanned many backgrounds, identities, genres, and artistic styles, became what he calls the creative counterculture. Artists as varied as Sonny Rollins, John Cage, Anna Halprin, Alice and John Coltrane, and Pauline Oliveros shared an approach to creativity focused on letting go of limiting beliefs and subverting oppressive social norms. Through colorful vignettes, Kapusta reveals how these artists made their art and how their approach spread beyond the performing arts to influence such fields as psychology, education, and wellness. Ultimately, these creative counterculturists came to define a new vision of an America where everyone was free to be themselves, together.


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      47 min
    10. Introducing Periodically: A UC Press Journals Podcast with Journals Director David Famiano

      1. A complete list of University of California Press journals is available at UC Press Journals

      2. Clare E. B. Cannon; Advancing sustainable transitions: A spatial analysis of socio-environmental dynamics of landfills across the United States. Elementa: Science of the Anthropocene 12 January 2024; 12 (1): 00101: Link

      3. Morrison, Matthew D. Blacksound: Making Race and Popular Music in the United States. Oakland: University of California Press, 2024. Available at: UC Press Bookstore

      4. Matthew D. Morrison; Race, Blacksound, and the (Re)Making of Musicological Discourse. Journal of the American Musicological Society 1 December 2019; 72 (3): 781–823: Link

      6. Jennifer Lynn Peterson; Scenes of Destruction and Beauty: Sponsored Film, Women Reformers, and the Save-the-Redwoods League. Feminist Media Histories 1 April 2023; 9 (2): 43–75: Link

      If you are interested in supporting the work of UC Press and its Journals Program, please consider making a charitable donation to the UC Press Foundation. To learn more about the UC Press Foundation and how to contribute, please visit UC Press Website.

      David Famiano is the Journals Director at the University of California Press

      Jessica Chesnutt is the Journals Manager at the University of California Press.


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      25 min
    11. Charlotte Brooks, "The Moys of New York and Shanghai: One Family’s Extraordinary Journey Through War and Revolution" (U California Press, 2026)

      The story of the Moy family—U.S.-born Chinese-American siblings who grow up in the first half of the 20th century—is one that spans the Pacific, covering New York, Chicago, and cosmopolitan Shanghai. It’s a story that spans the Great Depression, the Second World War, the Chinese Civil War, and the early Cold War—and stars one sibling who was an early participant in the Kuomintang…and another who records propaganda for Germany and Japan during the Second World War.

      In her new book, The Moys of New York and Shanghai: One Family’s Extraordinary Journey Through War and Revolution (University of California Press, 2026), historian Charlotte Brooks follows the Moys as they confront discrimination in the United States, search for opportunity in cosmopolitan Shanghai, and wrestle with questions of loyalty, identity, and belonging that still resonate today.

      Charlotte is a historian and author who has published widely on Asian American history, especially Chinese American and Chinese diaspora history. Originally from California, she graduated from Yale and worked in mainland China and Hong Kong before earning a PhD from Northwestern University. She is a professor of history at Baruch College and the CUNY Graduate Center.

      In this conversation, we talk about Charlotte’s research, the lives of the Moy siblings, and what their experiences tell us about being Chinese American in a turbulent century.


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      45 min
    12. Robert B. Marks, "Deep Time in the Mono Lake Basin: Nature and History Over the Last 10,000 Years" (U California Press, 2026)

      "Deep Time," a way of understanding the distant past popularized in the late 20th century by the writer John McPhee, changes our perspective on history. When looked at in the context of tectonic movements long-term climate shifts, human affairs can seem small, even insignificant. However, in Deep Time in the Mono Lake Basin: Nature and History Over the Last 10,000 Years (U California Press, 2026), Whittier College professor emeritus Bob Marks explains that people still matter, even within the long sweep of deep time. Rather than shrink human affairs down to nothing, deep time helps us contextualize the places where humans live, die, build societies, and destroy one another. Geology, hydrology, and climate change (anthropogenic and otherwise) are all part of the human story, and vice versa, in Marks' telling. The Mono Lake Basin, as a fragile and unforgiving environment that has been peopled for many centuries, is a perfect place to tell this story of environmental change, environmental degredation and, ultimately, hopeful ecoloigical restoration.


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      54 min

    About Beyond the Margins: The University of California Press Podcast

    From the publisher's feed

    Interviews with authors of UC Press books.