Bloomsbury Academic Podcast

The American Comic Book Industry and Hollywood cover

The American Comic Book Industry and Hollywood by Alisa Perren and Gregory Steirer, part two

In part two of our episode on The American Comic Book Industry and Hollywood, we’ll be discussing why/how has the comic book industry retained its own practices and structure despite the conglomeratisation of media industries, how the comic industry has dealt with digital formats, the different business models in comics publishers and their dependence on Hollywood licensing IP, and the future of the relationship between the American comics industry and Hollywood. Take a listen.

The American Comic Book Industry and Hollywood cover

The American Comic Book Industry and Hollywood by Alisa Perren and Gregory Steirer, part one

Together, they are the authors of The American Comic Book Industry and Hollywood, which traces the evolving relationship between the two industries from the launch of X-Men, Spider-Man, and Smallville in the early 2000s through the ascent of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the Arrowverse, and the Walking Dead Universe in the 2010s. In this episode, we’ll be delving into why have “superhero films” become the culturally dominant type of film in the 21st century, the lack of understanding film and TV people have about what artists do in comics, why comics has largely been a precarious industry to work in as a creator, and much much more. Take a listen.

Love, Activism, and the Respectable Life of Alice Dunbar-Nelson cover

Love, Activism, and the Respectable Life of Alice Dunbar-Nelson by Tara T. Green, part two

In the second half of this conversation on activist, educator, writer, and bisexual icon Alice Dunbar-Nelson, Tara T. Green discusses Alice’s queerness and her life as a queer person in the 19th century United States. Dunbar-Nelson defied many assumptions a contemporary reader may have of the Reconstruction and post-Reconstruction era United States, including that she was exceptionally well-traveled. We learn about Alice’s love of California, her time in New York and contribution to the Harlem Renaissance, and her queer affairs. Take a listen.

Love, Activism, and the Respectable Life of Alice Dunbar-Nelson cover

Love, Activism, and the Respectable Life of Alice Dunbar-Nelson by Tara T. Green, part one

Love, Activism, and the Respectable Life of Alice Dunbar-Nelson has received starred reviews from Publisher’s Weekly and Booklist. Pulitzer-prize winning poet Jericho Brown praised the book as “a brilliant analysis.” So who was Alice Dunbar Nelson? Born in New Orleans in 1875, she would become an activist and writer and contributor to the Harlem Renaissance. She navigated a hostile and ever-changing country as a Black bisexual woman, subject to systemic racism and sexism and impositions of “respectability.” More intimately, she navigated an abusive marriage to the well-known writer Paul Laurence Dunbar. Bloomsbury Academic podcast and Tara T. Green discuss how Alice Dunbar-Nelson found ways to not only survive but thrive in a world and a marriage that were fundamentally against her. Take a listen.

A Guide to the Psychology of Eating cover

A Guide to the Psychology of Eating by Leighann R. Chaffee and Stephanie P. da Silva, part 2

In part two of our episode, we delve into the relationship between public policy and societal thinking about food as well as how our perception of food habits or diets is tied up in race, class, gender, age. Then we chat with the authors about fatphobia, how can we decrease the prevalence of disordered eating, and what the future of social perceptions of food might look like. Take a listen. 

Indigenous Women’s Voices book cover

Indigenous Women’s Voices: 20 Years on from Linda Tuhiwai Smith’s Decolonizing Methodologies edited by Emma Lee and Jennifer Evans, part two

In part two of our episode, we ask the editors hard-hitting questions, including whether men can weave baskets as well as what feminism and queerness look like in an indigenous framework. We then delve into the types of resistance work that the editors are currently working on, the international Indigenous rights movements are going on right now, and what forms atonement can take. Take a listen.

Indigenous Women’s Voices book cover

Indigenous Women’s Voices: 20 Years on from Linda Tuhiwai Smith’s Decolonizing Methodologies edited by Emma Lee and Jennifer Evans, part one

In part one of our episode, we’ll be discussing the reasons the editors wanted to reflect on Linda Tuhiwai Smith’s Decolonizing Methodologies 20 years after its publication, examples of colonization in academia, and the importance of incorporating indigenous voices into our institutions. We will delve into the process of making this an Open Access title and much much more. Take a listen.

Britney Spears’ Blackout cover

Britney Spears’ Blackout by Natasha Lasky, part one

In part one of this episode, we discuss Britney Spears’ 2007 album Blackout, which was released at a harrowing time in Spears’ life. We discuss the album in relation to Spears’ personal life as well as in relation to popular culture. Then, we look at the album’s production and the public response to it, including backlash to Spears’ vocal fry and the impact Spears’ literal and figurative voice has had on popular music. Take a listen.

Cover of Black British Queer Plays and Practitioners

Black British Queer Plays and Practitioners, part one

In this episode, we’ll be discussing the process behind selecting plays for this collection, the collection’s historical context, and the role of theatre publishing in allowing people to access plays, particularly plays from marginalized groups. Then, because the anthology covers plays from several decades, we’ll be taking a look at the ways in which the theatre landscape has changed and the progress that is still yet to be made. Take a listen.