# Eran Shalev, "The Star-Spangled Republic: Political Astronomy and the Rise of the American Constellation" (U Virginia Press, 2025)

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/new-books-in-american-studies-1045748/eran-shalev-the-star-spangled-republic-political-astronomy-and-the-rise-of-the-american-constellation-u-virginia-press-2025
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/new-books-in-american-studies-1045748/eran-shalev-the-star-spangled-republic-political-astronomy-and-the-rise-of-the-american-constellation-u-virginia-press-2025.md
Podcast: [New Books in American Studies](https://stenobird.com/podcast/new-books-in-american-studies-1045748)
Published: 2026-08-24T08:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://pdst.fm/e/traffic.megaphone.fm/NBNK9930374340.mp3
Audio file: https://pdst.fm/e/traffic.megaphone.fm/NBNK9930374340.mp3
Processing state: not_requested
JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/new-books-in-american-studies-1045748/episodes/eran-shalev-the-star-spangled-republic-political-astronomy-and-the-rise-of-the-american-constellation-u-virginia-press-2025
Duration seconds: 2050

## Resource

Why does the American flag use stars to represent the states? In The Star-Spangled Republic: Political Astronomy and the Rise of the American Constellation (U Virginia Press, 2025), Eran Shalev answers this and many other questions, considering the cosmic imagery—so familiar today but so peculiar on reflection—that suffused the United States’ early political culture. In this comprehensive study, Shalev uncovers how “political astronomy”—the discussion and representation of politics through astronomical models, allusions, and metaphors—reflected and facilitated the emerging worldview that enabled Americans to justify and find meaning in the country’s new democratic modes of governance and its federal system. No other scholar has looked at American political rhetoric through this lens; in so doing, Shalev is able to explain in fascinating detail how Americans turned away from the sun of heliocentric monarchy toward the night sky full of federated constellations, and to discover republicanism imprinted in the firmament. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/american-studies

## Actions

- request_transcript: `POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/new-books-in-american-studies-1045748/episodes/eran-shalev-the-star-spangled-republic-political-astronomy-and-the-rise-of-the-american-constellation-u-virginia-press-2025/transcription-requests` — Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode.
- read_markdown: `GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/new-books-in-american-studies-1045748/eran-shalev-the-star-spangled-republic-political-astronomy-and-the-rise-of-the-american-constellation-u-virginia-press-2025.md` — Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource.

A page view does not enqueue transcription. Agents should invoke `request_transcript` explicitly when they need this episode processed.

## Transcript

Full transcripts are not published on public pages unless there is a clear rights basis.