New Books in Folklore Creators & Guests

Caleb Zakarin is an Assistant Editor at the New Books Network.

Dr. Miranda Melcher earned her PhD in Defence Studies from King’s College London, where she researched how to negotiate and implement peace treaties. Her research identifies methods for integrating opposing forces into unified post-conflict security institutions through peace treaty negotiation and implementation, with her qualitative historical case studies focusing on Mozambique and Angola. She is currently a Senior Legal Fellow at Just Access.

Armin Firouzi Haj is a sales manager at Clavis Aurea.

Nicholas Jubber is a travel writer.

Christian Sheppard is the author of the book: "The Ancient Wisdom of Baseball: Lessons for Life from Homer's Odyssey to the World Series" (Greenleaf, 2025).

Yuval Noah Harari is an author, public intellectual, historian, and Professor in the Department of History at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Rachelle Hope Saltzman is an executive director of the Oregon Folklife Network and lecturer in the University of Oregon’s Folklore and Public Culture program.

Adheesh A. Sathaye is an associate professor of Sanskrit Literature and South Asian Folklore at the University of British Columbia, writer, and author of the book Crossing the Lines of Caste.

Lisa Gilman is an author and Professor in Folklore Studies & Public Humanities at George Mason University.

Dr. David J. Halperin is a Judaica scholar who specializes in religious traditions of heavenly ascent. He is also known for having been a teenage UFO investigator.Now retired from teaching, Halperin taught Jewis History at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill.Halperin has written five non-fiction books on Jewish mysticism and messianism, and two novels, "Journal of a UFO Investigator," and "Intimate Alien: The Hidden Story of the UFO."Halperin received his B.A. in Semitic Studies from Cornell University and his Ph.D. in Near Eastern Studies from University of California Berkeley.

James E. Montgomery is one of the translators of the book: "Kalīlah and Dimnah: Fables of Virtue and Vice."