New Books in Science, Technology, and Society

Félix Nadar took the first aerial photograph in 1858, so the story goes. The evidence, Emily Doucet notes, is mixed. In Inventing Nadar: A History of Photographic Firsts (Duke UP, 2026), Doucet analyzes the historical and material production of the nineteenth-century Parisian photographer’s famous and numerous photographic firsts. Focusing on these oft-labeled groundbreaking elements of his career, she deconstructs Nadar’s legacy as a prime protagonist in the history of photography by interrogating the media techniques used to construct his invention narratives. Doucet highlights this highly mediated process as one that canonized novel applications of photography as discrete techniques with single authors and inventors. Looking to this process of mediation through the institutions and individuals that shaped Nadar’s archives, Doucet unpacks assumptions of Nadar as a master of early photography and shows how the medium is enmeshed in larger histories of media, science, and technology. The result is both a new account of Nadar’s place in photographic history and a critical study of how stories of innovation take shape.
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One of the things that stood out in my conversation with John Longhurst about his book Can Robots Love God and Be Saved? A Journalist Reports on Faith (CMU Press, 2024) was his seriousness about journalism itself. Longhurst understands the journalist's vocation not as providing
definitive answers but as asking good questions, paying close
attention, and engaging thoughtfully with the people and events that
shape our world.

Our discussion focused on a theme that runs throughout the book: if
religion's enduring strength lies not in providing final answers but in
sustaining meaningful questions, then what sustains belief amid
suffering, doubt, and uncertainty? Longhurst's work suggests that faith
often emerges not from certainty but from ongoing engagement with life's
deepest mysteries.

Rather than offering simple conclusions, Can Robots Love God and Be Saved? invites
readers into conversations about faith, technology, culture, politics,
and everyday life. It reminds us that religious questions remain central
to how many people understand themselves and the world around them. In
an age increasingly shaped by AI and our histories, these questions may
become even more important, not less so.

My
thanks to John Longhurst for joining me on the New Books Network and
for sharing insights drawn from a lifetime of careful observation,
thoughtful reporting, and persistent questioning. 

Amisah Bakuri (PhD)
is an Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Social Sciences and
Humanities at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. Her research examines the
intersections of religion, sexuality, gender, and migration,
particularly within African diasporic communities in the Netherlands.
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Like many people, I've been following the developments of AI, testing out new models and following the deluge of news stories about the fight for supremacy. Much has been written about the existential and economic risks posed by AI, but the political implications of superintelligent systems have often been sidelined. In the United States and elsewhere, AI companies steam ahead with little regulation or oversight. Meanwhile, politicians appear flatfooted and unsure about the best way to integrate AI into the government to make democracies stronger and more responsive to the needs and will of the people. AI will undeniably change how governments work, but how can we ensure that democracy and individual rights are safeguarded amidst the most transformative technological revolution in more than a century? Today I'm speaking with Andrew Sorota, Head of Research for the Office of Eric Schmidt. Andrew has written extensively about the relationship between democracy and artificial intelligence. His writing has appeared in outlets like the New York Times and Noema magazine. Andrew will dispel many myths about AI, where he looks to call bullshit on the idea that democracy is a system heading fast into the dustbin of history.

Follow Andrew Sorota on LinkedIn

"This Is No Way to Rule a Country" in the New York Times

"Rescuing Democracy From The Quiet Rule Of AI" in Noema

Andrew Sorota is currently Head of Research for the Office of Eric Schmidt.

Caleb Zakarin is CEO and Publisher of the New Books Network.
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The 21st Century in 100 Games (Routledge India, 2024) is an interactive public history of the contemporary world. It creates a ludological retelling of the 21st century through 100 games that were announced, launched and played from the turn of the century.

Aditya Deshbandhu is a Lecturer of Communications, Digital Media Sociology at the University of Exeter, UK. A researcher of video game studies, new media, and the digital divide, he examines how people engage with digital artefacts and seeks to understand how these interactions shape everyday lives. As someone who actively examines digital acts of leisure, his
research in the last decade has examined social media and streaming
platforms alongside video games and digital cultures. He is also the
author of Gaming Culture(s) in India: Digital Play in Everyday Life and also serves as an editor for this book series.

Khadeeja Amenda is a PhD candidate in the Department of Communication and New Media at the National University of Singapore, Singapore.
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How the sound of the female playback voice impacts Bollywood's cultural, musical, and cinematic environment.

Drawing on sound studies and performance theory, scholar Shikha Jhingan explores the discursive nature of the female playback voice in Bombay film songs in The Female Playback in Bombay Cinema: Voice, Body, Technology (Wayne State UP, 2025). Mapping the production, circulation, and reception of the voices of singing stars—notably Lata Mangeshkar and Asha Bhosle—Jhingan situates the singing voice as a cinematic object with limitless possibilities of distribution and dispersal. She employs the perspectives of a diverse range of listeners across a vast media landscape to illustrate how the affective charge of the female playback voice, combined with developments in audio technology, has led to a gradual expansion of opportunities for women in film, popular music, and media and audio production. With nuanced exploration of the way the human voice becomes intertwined with devices such as the microphone, radio, cassettes, and digital technologies, Jhingan argues for the sonic excess of the female voice beyond the narrative and visual. The Female Playback in Bombay Cinema is an authoritative addition to the field of sound studies with implications for gender studies, performance studies, and cinema studies.
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