Originally published on August 7, 2019 (Episode 123)
Introduction
Marshall Poe is founder and editor of the New Books Network, which now hosts hundreds of conversations each month across disciplines. He is also a historian, podcaster, and author of How to Read a History Book: The Hidden History of History (Zero Books, 2018).
In this wide-ranging conversation, we talk about his career (including that fascinating Wikipedia bio), the mission behind the NBN, and the passion for making ideas accessible to the widest possible audience. Along the way, we reflect on what it means to “love history” and why communication matters.
About the Guest
Marshall Poe is the founder and editor of the New Books Network and a historian of Russia and Europe. Poe is the co-founder and a former editor of the academic journal Kritika: Explorations in Russian and Eurasian History, and is the author or editor of several books on Russia including A People Born to Slavery: Russia in Early Modern European Ethnography (2000) and The Russian Elite in the Seventeenth Century (2004).
For Further Investigation
Marshall Poe, How to Read a History Book: The Hidden History of History (Zero Books, 2018)
Listen & Discuss
What makes for a good conversation about ideas?
How can historians write and speak for audiences beyond the academy?
What does it mean to read history well?
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