New Books in the American West

About New Books in the American West

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: @newbooksnetwork Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/american-west

Publisher

New Books Network

Category

history · society & culture

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

26 Jan 2008

Latest episode

19 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

18 of 566 episodes have a transcript.

1. 

   19 Oct 2026TRANSCRIPT

   Spanish Louisiana: Contest for Borderlands, 1763–1803 with Frances Kolb Turnbell (LSU Press, 2024)

   Host [Host Name] interviews historian Frances Kolb Turnbell about her book, exploring how Spanish Louisiana's overlooked history reveals crucial insights into borderlands contest and the American West's revolutionary period.

2. 

   17 Oct 2026TRANSCRIPT

   Multiracial Mandarin: Asian Americans and Impossible Language with David Shuang Song (U of Minnesota Press, 2026)

   Dr. Miranda Melcher interviews Dr. David Shuang Song about how race and privilege shape Mandarin language education in the US, revealing complexities in identity and equity.

3. 

   2 Oct 2026TRANSCRIPT

   Indefensible Spaces: Policing and the Struggle for Housing with Rahim Kurwa (U California Press, 2025)

   Lilyanna D'Amato interviews author Rahim Kurwa about his book exploring how policing criminalizes housing and evicts Black residents in Los Angeles' Antelope Valley.

Inside a recent episode

Spanish Louisiana: Contest for Borderlands, 1763–1803 with Frances Kolb Turnbell (LSU Press, 2024)

Published 19 Oct 2026 · Transcript excerpt

[…] So throughout the Spanish period, which is what I look at, Spain, you know, of course, has its policies that it's trying to stamp upon Louisiana with varying degrees of success. But the the fact of the matter, you know, as far as these nebulous watery spaces create is a huge factor in creating, you know, that that power of parlay we were just talking about and the the room for you know, colonists, enslaved people, um, native populations, um, to make their own choices and to diverge from imperial plans or, um, to try to contest the expanding, um, slave society, things like that. Um, when we're thinking about this space, um, the Spanish period is really super interesting because it's a moment of a lot with a lot of motion and migration. […]

Who has been a guest on New Books in the American West

Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.

• Frances Kolb Turnbell
• David Shuang Song
• Rahim Kurwa
• Mary Elizabeth Reynolds
• Lee M Panich

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

YouTube views

243

Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025

Apple Podcasts (US)

4.4 / 5

14 ratings

Spotify

5.0 / 5

6 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 77 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

90

Social presence

0

YouTube

72

Engagement

90

Contact New Books in the American West

Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.

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