Samantha Barbas is a legal and cultural historian and the author of several books on media history and legal history topics, with a focus on journalism, privacy, defamation, and the First Amendment. A Professor at the University of Iowa College of Law, she is the recipient of a National Endowment for the Humanities Public Scholar Award. Samantha was previously on Delving In three years ago to discuss her book, Actual Malice: Civil Rights and Freedom of the Press in New York Times v. Sullivan, about the landmark case that reaffirmed freedom of the press by establishing a high bar for libel suits against journalists. Today’s interview will focus on her latest book, Hate Speech: The Legal and Cultural History of an American Dilemma, due to be published on September 15, 2026.

Recorded 9/2/26.

Jenny Radesky is a developmental behavioral pediatrician and associate professor of pediatrics at the University of Michigan Medical School in Ann Arbor, where she directs the Division of Developmental Pediatrics and runs a research laboratory focused on family media use, digital design, and tech policy. She is also co-medical director of the American Academy of Pediatrics Center of Excellence on Social Media and Youth Mental Health and editor of the textbook, Encounters with Children, 5th Edition. Today’s interview will focus on her book, co-written with Megan Moreno, Connecting: Raising Kids in the Digital World, to be published this October. The book tackles an area of concern not just for parents, but also for educators and society at large. It seems that parenting has become more and more difficult in this digital age and combating negative influences requires that parents develop extra savvy in order to steer their children through potential mine fields.

Recorded 8/26/26.

Mia Bennett is a professor in the Department of Geography at the University of Washington, who focuses on the geopolitics of the arctic, the current dramatic transformation the region is undergoing due to climate change, and the interests and power dynamics of both state actors and indigenous groups in or near the region. She is the author of the blog, Cryopolitics and co-author, with Klaus Dobbs, of a recent book-length treatment of the subject, Unfrozen: the Fight for the Future of the Arctic, published in December of 2025.

Recorded 8/24/26.