IDS staff and students have put together an essential reading and listening list for the year so far.
These books and podcasts cover a whole range of topical themes within development studies including:
- Democracy
- Gender
- Digital Technology
- Economics
- Food and Nutrition
All are thought-provoking, not only looking to the past, but also examining issues that will impact development in the future.
If you have a book or podcast you would like to recommend, then share them on Bluesky with the hashtag: #IDSReadListen and tag us at @ids.ac.uk
Book recommendations
Doppelganger
By Naomi Klein.
Recommended by Steve Metcalfe, Head of Communications & Engagement.
Democracy is failing and facts are under threat. Social media is enabling influential voices to manipulate truth to further their own goals or perspectives.
Naomi Klein’s latest book is based on her doppelgänger Naomi Wolf, a former liberal feminist who morphed into a conspiracy theorist. This transformation had black comedy-like consequences for the author, but also revealed much about the social movements driving the rise of the far-right in the US.
The book outlines a concept of ‘diagonalism’ – a blend of left-wing and right-wing politics, highly sceptical of parliamentary politics and supportive of individual liberties. Diagonalism championed many of the conspiracy theories emerging out of Covid-19 and Klein makes a convincing case for how it was a crucial factor behind the (second) rise of Trump.
Klein goes on to explore doppelgängers in culture, and examines duplicity and contradictions within the colonial logic that underpins the state of Israel. The first part of her book, however, is strongest, helping us understand societal dynamics behind the rise of authoritarianism in a world where truth is being flipped on its head.
White Tears / Brown Scars
By Ruby Hamad.
Recommended by Ben O-Donovan, Senior Communications Officer.
This evocative book brings to the forefront the experiences of women of colour and the need for urgent true intersectional feminism. Hamad roots the book in historical and current events, showing how white feminism can weaponise privilege and distress to dismiss and detract from the experiences of women of colour.
Counterrevolution: Extravagance and Austerity in Public Finance
By Melinda Cooper.
Recommended by Mahdi Zaidan, IDS Research Officer.
Why do states hold increasing amounts of sovereign debt despite decades of austerity? How does the ballooning of housing and asset prices help explain the rise of Trump? In answering these questions, Cooper trace today’s Trump to an economic consensus that emerged in the latter part of the 20th century: asset inflation: rising real estate and stock prices became the guiding star of central bankers and policymakers. The aim was to incentivise workers to become asset holders/investors – treating them as petty capitalists and small business owners rather than employees. The persistent rise in US and European property values and stock options turned their economies into centripetal forces, attracting investment and capital from across the globe with the promise of low-risk, near-guaranteed returns. The consequence was a highly segmented and disillusioned Western working class, and a capital-impoverished Global South: the foundation of today’s global turbulence. Cooper’s book provides key insights into the history of the present.
The Anxious Generation
By Jonathan Haidt.
Recommended by Julia Shirley, HR Officer.
“The Anxious Generation” by Jonathan Haidt is considered essential reading because it provides a well-researched, urgent examination of how digital technology – especially smartphones and social media – is reshaping childhood, mental health, and society.
It confronts a profound, ongoing cultural shift with urgency, clarity, and evidence. It speaks not just to parents, but to anyone concerned about the future of society, democracy, and mental wellbeing in the digital age.
Pocketful of Sunshine, Sorrow and Schism
By Harshita Kumari.
Recommended by Nicola Davies, Marketing and Communications Manager.
I had the pleasure of working with Harshita when she was studying MA Gender & Development at IDS and in the process got to learn more about her feminism, which despite being shaped by a different cultural and generational context was strikingly similar to my own. I have been incredibly proud to follow her career since graduating and am grateful for the time and care she has spent writing about her experiences at IDS to inspire future cohorts. Her collection of poems showcases her creativity, are an absolute masterclass in expressing complex emotion and a must read for anyone who wants to understand more about the type of person who comes to study at IDS.
Who’s afraid of Gender?
By Judith Butler.
Recommended by Janine Shaw, Senior Project Support Officer.
Gender theorist explores the fear that exploded particularly among the political right surrounding the concept of gender. Highly relevant to the work IDS does.
Ultra Processed People
By Chris van Tulleken.
Recommended by Gary Edwards, Senior Marketing Officer.
You will never look at processed food the same way again. This book is a real-eye opener on how the food giants infiltrated our food systems to create edible substances that are designed and marketed to be addictive.
This book links to the work done by Stuart Gillespie from the Food Equity Centre and his recent seminar Food Fight: From plunder and profit to people and planet.
Podcast recommendations
How to Succeed at Failing
Freakonomics podcast.
Recommended by Erica Nelson, IDS Research Fellow.
Extreme Resiliency. In it the host Stephen Dubner speaks with experts in the science and art of failure, a topic we do not give enough attention in Development Studies or in International Development more broadly. He interviews Dr. Babak Javid, who studies Tuberculosis, a disease which continues to kill more than a million people a year and which has proved challenging to eradicate on the grounds of its capacity for ‘adaptive mistranslation’. He speaks with Dr. Gary Klein, a cognitive psychologist who advises organizations on how to respond to failure and who encourages a ‘pre-mortem’ approach to thinking about wicked problems. He also includes in the conversation Dr. Amy Edmondson who is a scholar of failure at Harvard Business School and teaches students to joyfully celebrate failures as learning opportunities.
The Future of Work
UC Berkeley Extension podcast.
Recommended by Ayako Ebata, IDS Research Fellow.
The Future of Work” explores how, in the world of AI and other innovation, our work is changing and what this means for equity and equality in working experiences, arrangements and outcomes. This is a great podcase to hear about cutting edge social and economic research linking technology and livelihoods, which are important topics across LMICs as well as high-income countries.
Economics Explained
Recommended by Ayako Ebata, IDS Research Fellow.
With examples from around the globe, “Economics Explained” delves into economic questions that are pertinent and timely in our world today. Recent episodes addressed generational inequality and wealth accumulation in high-income countries, different models of economic development that rapidly growing economies have employed, and the challenges with foreign aids.
The Seen and the Unseen
By Amit Varma.
Recommended by Jigyasa Agarwal, Communications and Support Officer – External Affairs.
The Seen and the Unseen by Amit Varma is a thought-provoking podcast that explores the deeper forces shaping politics, economics, and society in India. Whether it is crisp conversation for few minutes or four hour long deep dived podcasts with experts across disciplines, the podcast uncovers not just the visible effects of policy and culture, but also the often-ignored unintended consequences—the “unseen.”
Over the time, I have seen the podcast bringing range of guests, some talk about a municipality issue, some about the struggles of women in an economically advancing state, and some about the history of development in India. The politics of everything is a baseline in this podcast. If you are interested in Indian politics or the local to national developmental issues in a diverse country such as India, you will love listening to this podcast.
Related material
IDS, along with our project partners, publishes a range of publications each year, many of which are open access and can be found on our core websites:
- IDS Publications . Our world-class research brings an understanding of people’s lived experiences to policy and practice.
- The IDS Bulletin. The IDS Bulletin is an open access, peer-reviewed journal focusing on international development. In continual publication since 1968, it has a well-established reputation for intellectually rigorous articles developed through learning partnerships on emerging and evolving development challenges presented in an accessible manner in themed issues that bridge academic, practice and policy discourse.
- IDS Between the Lines podcast. This podcast series explores ground-breaking ideas in development for positive social and environmental change. Each month we feature an interview with an expert in international development who will talk about their latest research and ideas. Episodes content could feature authors of new books, IDS research or interviews with special guest stars.
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