The Humanities in the World https://humanitiesintheworld.podbean.com A Podcast from University of Rochester Press

What role do the humanities play in shaping our world? How can literature, history, philosophy, and the arts help us understand—and change—the societies we live in?

The Humanities in the World is a podcast that brings together voices from across the globe to explore these urgent questions. Hosted by the University of Rochester Press, the series features conversations with researchers and thinkers working in a wide range of humanities disciplines. Each episode delves into the ways humanistic inquiry intersects with today’s social and political challenges—from climate justice to digital culture, from historical memory to ethical futures.

Inspired by the mission of the academic book series The Humanities in the World, this podcast stands on its own as a space for dialogue, reflection, and engagement. It affirms a simple but powerful belief: that the humanities are not a luxury—they are essential to the ways we live, think, and imagine better worlds.

]]> Fri, 29 May 2026 07:02:11 -0400 https://podbean.com/?v=5.5 en Copyright 2025 All rights reserved. Society & Culture 1440 episodic University of Rochester Press University of Rochester Press No false https://pbcdn1.podbean.com/imglogo/image-logo/21494318/Podbean_Image6zid6.jpg The Humanities in the World https://humanitiesintheworld.podbean.com 144 144 Dealing with Drugs Dealing with Drugs https://humanitiesintheworld.podbean.com/e/dealing-with-drugs/ https://humanitiesintheworld.podbean.com/e/dealing-with-drugs/#comments Fri, 29 May 2026 07:02:11 -0400 humanitiesintheworld.podbean.com/8b2803e1-1e8d-35e2-9db3-efa9fae93d40 David Herzberg, Joseph M. Gabriel, and Nils Kessell reflect on the shifting boundaries between medicines and drugs. The speakers emphasise the importance of the humanities in making sense of these complexities. Rather than treating drugs as purely technical objects, humanistic approaches place them within broader stories of human behaviour, inequality, and belief. Kessell describes this work as “putting science back into society,” while Gabriel underscores the urgency of humanities perspectives in addressing contemporary crises in medicine.

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]]> David Herzberg, Joseph M. Gabriel, and Nils Kessell reflect on the shifting boundaries between medicines and drugs. The speakers emphasise the importance of the humanities in making sense of these complexities. Rather than treating drugs as purely technical objects, humanistic approaches place them within broader stories of human behaviour, inequality, and belief. Kessell describes this work as “putting science back into society,” while Gabriel underscores the urgency of humanities perspectives in addressing contemporary crises in medicine.

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]]> David Herzberg, Joseph M. Gabriel, and Nils Kassell reflect on the shifting boundaries between medicines and drugs. University of Rochester Press false No 1969 2 1 full The Shaping of Global Narratives The Shaping of Global Narratives https://humanitiesintheworld.podbean.com/e/the-shaping-of-global-narratives/ https://humanitiesintheworld.podbean.com/e/the-shaping-of-global-narratives/#comments Wed, 17 Dec 2025 09:43:13 -0500 humanitiesintheworld.podbean.com/5ae968b6-63db-3963-8b6c-290b96c83fe1 Samantha Pinto, (The University of Texas at Austin) and Nasser Rabbat (MIT) join us to examine how global narratives have often been shaped and repurposed to serve specific cultural and political agendas, and how historical figures and archaeological discoveries have been harnessed to propose specific visions of history and the world. The humanities can help us reveal these mechanisms and make us aware of these propagandistic manipulations.

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]]> Samantha Pinto, (The University of Texas at Austin) and Nasser Rabbat (MIT) join us to examine how global narratives have often been shaped and repurposed to serve specific cultural and political agendas, and how historical figures and archaeological discoveries have been harnessed to propose specific visions of history and the world. The humanities can help us reveal these mechanisms and make us aware of these propagandistic manipulations.

Download the transcript [Word] 

More about University of Rochester Press

]]> University of Rochester Press false No 2014 3 full The Transformative Potential of the Humanities The Transformative Potential of the Humanities https://humanitiesintheworld.podbean.com/e/transformative-potential-of-the-humanities/ https://humanitiesintheworld.podbean.com/e/transformative-potential-of-the-humanities/#comments Mon, 24 Nov 2025 05:29:49 -0500 humanitiesintheworld.podbean.com/7c1bace4-ab8d-3a5c-95d5-c12c28bc6bf2 Carlos Rojas (Duke University, USA) and Jie Hyun Lim (Williams College, USA) talk to us about how the humanities are transforming in the age of social media and AI. They explain why these disciplines remain indispensable as tools that help us think critically, listen deeply, and imagine futures beyond the limits of the present.

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]]> Carlos Rojas (Duke University, USA) and Jie Hyun Lim (Williams College, USA) talk to us about how the humanities are transforming in the age of social media and AI. They explain why these disciplines remain indispensable as tools that help us think critically, listen deeply, and imagine futures beyond the limits of the present.

Download the transcript (Word)

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]]> Carlos Rojas (Duke University, USA) and Jie Hyun Lin (Williams College, USA) talk to us about how the humanities are transforming in the age of social media and AI. They explain why these disciplines remain indispensable as tools that help us think critically, listen deeply, and imagine futures beyond the limits of the present. University of Rochester Press false No 1696 1 2 full The Humanities Across The Globe The Humanities Across The Globe https://humanitiesintheworld.podbean.com/e/humanities-across-the-globe/ https://humanitiesintheworld.podbean.com/e/humanities-across-the-globe/#comments Fri, 31 Oct 2025 11:18:52 -0400 humanitiesintheworld.podbean.com/9e14cfea-8933-3eb7-9cef-4de51dafbacb In the inaugural episode of Humanities in the World, a podcast from the University of Rochester Press, scholars Maya Dodd (Flame University, India) and Erika Pani (El Colegio de México, Mexico) explore how the humanities shape national narratives, public memory, and cultural identity in India and Mexico—two nations deeply marked by colonial legacies and vibrant postcolonial transformations.  

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]]> In the inaugural episode of Humanities in the World, a podcast from the University of Rochester Press, scholars Maya Dodd (Flame University, India) and Erika Pani (El Colegio de México, Mexico) explore how the humanities shape national narratives, public memory, and cultural identity in India and Mexico—two nations deeply marked by colonial legacies and vibrant postcolonial transformations.  

Download the transcript (Word)

More about University of Rochester Press

]]> Explore how the humanities shape national narratives, public memory, and cultural identity in India and Mexico—two nations deeply marked by colonial legacies and vibrant postcolonial transformations. Guests: Maya Dodd (Flame University, India) and Erika Pani (El Colegio de México, Mexico) University of Rochester Press false No 1475 1 1 full