Explore every episode of the podcast C-SPAN Bookshelf

Former Newsweek editor and managing editor of CNN Worldwide, Mark Whitaker, discusses the life and legacy of the Black nationalist leader Malcolm X, who was assassinated in 1965. Mr. Whitaker, author of "The Afterlife of Malcolm X," talks about Malcolm X's split with the Nation of Islam, his relationship with Martin Luther King Jr. and Muhammad Ali, and his posthumous impact on Barack Obama, Clarence Thomas, and others. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

New School economic professor Teresa Ghilarducci offered her thoughts on how to make retirement in the U.S. attainable for more Americans. She was interviewed by Washington Post economics correspondent Abha Bhattarai. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Former U.S. Congressman Christopher Cox (R-CA), author of "Woodrow Wilson: The Light Withdrawn," takes a critical look at the 28th President of the United States and his attitudes towards racial equality and women's suffrage. Mr. Cox also talks about Wilson's intellectual development and his tenure as president of Princeton University. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Max Boot, in his 836-page book titled "Reagan: His Life and Legend," says that his is the first definitive biography of the 40th president. Boot suggests that Edmund Morris, the president's official biographer, "appeared to be so flummoxed by the complexities of Reagan's character that he produced 'Dutch: A Memoir of Ronald Reagan,' that was widely criticized in spite of its acute insights." Max Boot also points out in his introduction: "I am fortunate that Ronald Reagan's story can now be told as never before because we possess far more archival sources and far more historical perspective." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on Q&A, Whole Foods co-founder John Mackey and Harvard University psychology professor Steven Pinker discuss their books. John Mackey, author of "The Whole Story," talks about the rise of Whole Foods, the organic foods grocery store chain, and his political and intellectual development. Professor Steven Pinker talks about the role that rationality plays in a functioning society and the growth of irrationality in the United States. These interviews were recorded in Las Vegas at FreedomFest, an annual libertarian conference. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Bloomberg News' Stephanie Baker looked at the global impact of U.S-led economic sanctions against Russia following Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine. She was interviewed by author and Brookings Institution senior fellow Angela Stent. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Brenda Wineapple calls them "two gladiators." The year was 1925. She writes that "the ubiquitous politician William Jennings Bryan and the criminal lawyer Clarence Darrow, each of them national celebrities for decades, were going into battle over God and science and the classroom and, not incidentally, over what it meant to be an American." Brenda Wineapple's latest book is titled "Keeping the Faith" and is about the Scopes Trial, held in the small town of Dayton, Tennessee, which focused on the state law that prohibited the teaching of evolution in the schools. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Historian Heath Hardage Lee, author of "The Mysterious Mrs. Nixon," talks about the life and times of the former First Lady (1969-74). She says that Pat Nixon, who was voted "Most Admired Woman in the World" in 1972, was largely mis-portrayed by the press, who characterized her as being elusive and "plastic." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Journalist Brigid Schulte examined the future of work and explored how to better align workplace culture with the needs of American workers. She was interviewed by Business Insider chief correspondent Aki Ito. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Actor Kirk Cameron discussed his latest book, "Born to Be Brave," on American culture and faith. He also discussed his series of children's books and experiences hosting story hours at public libraries. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Harvey Mansfield has been a professor of political philosophy at Harvard for over 6 decades. He retired from the classroom in 2023 at age 91. However, he's not finished thinking and writing about his favorite subject: democracy and how it works. In the Wall Street Journal of September 7, 2024, Professor Mansfield wrote an essay with this opening: "The Supreme Court case of Trump v. U.S. was about more than special counsel Jack Smith’s prosecution of Donald Trump, which continues under a superseding indictment handed up by a federal grand jury in Washington. The decision and the dissents contain a fundamental debate about the presidency that looks beyond the present personalities and campaign." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Former National Institutes of Health director Dr. Francis Collins, author of "The Road to Wisdom," talks about the milestones in his career, including his work on the Human Genome Project and the COVID-19 vaccine. He also talks about his Christian faith, the importance of engaging with those we disagree with, and the current distrust of science and government in the United States. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Yale University professor Timothy Snyder argued that freedom is often misinterpreted and offered his thoughts on what freedom is and isn't. He was interviewed by George Washington University political science professor and author Elisabeth Anker. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

University of Michigan law professor Leah Litman explains why she believes the Supreme Court isn't making rulings based on legal principles. She was interviewed by author and Nation Magazine justice correspondent Elie Mystal. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The book is titled "All the Presidents' Money." It's about how the men who governed America governed their own money. The author, Megan Gorman, is the founding partner of Chequers Financial Management, a San Francisco-based firm specializing in tax and financial planning for high-net-worth individuals. Megan Gorman writes: "The American presidents are a complex group to tackle. While they live in a mud-slinging reality on the way to and through their presidency, the moment their term ends, they become historical figures carved in stone." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were executed in 1953 after being convicted of conspiracy to commit espionage for the Soviet Union. Their sons Michael and Robert Meeropol, nee Rosenberg, were 10 and 6 at the time. They are our guests this week. The sons talk about their parents' executions, their lives before and after, the anti-communist climate in the U.S. during the 1950s, the government's case against the Rosenbergs, and their efforts to clear their mother Ethel's record posthumously. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Journalist Paola Ramos looked at the rise of far-right Latino voters and what it means for America. She was interviewed by New York Times political reporter Jennifer Medina. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Associated Press books and publishing reporter Hillel Italie previews some of the non-fiction books being released in Fall 2024. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Lindsay Chervinsky is the brand-new executive director of the George Washington Presidential Library at Mount Vernon. Simultaneously, her new book on John Adams has just been published. The book's title is "Making the Presidency." In her introduction, Chervinsky writes that Adams was "guaranteed to fall short in comparison to George Washington." She says the "challenge of the second president, therefore, called for someone to battle the growing partisan divisions without Washington's presence." John Adams served only one term and was defeated by Thomas Jefferson for a second. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

James Allen, Jr., murdered Tony Sylvester in Las Vegas during a 1980 home burglary, a crime for which he was found guilty and sentenced to death. Mr. Allen, who was a teenager at the time, spent 26 years in prison, including almost 4 years on death row, before being paroled by the state of Nevada in 2008. Since being released, he has spent his time mentoring at-risk youth and working with the Nevada Coalition Against the Death Penalty. He co-wrote a book about his life titled "Not My Chair: Journey from Death Row to Freedom." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dartmouth College professor Brooke Harrington examined the world of offshore finance, how it works and its impact on the U.S. and globally. She was interviewed by Wall Street Journal U.S. tax policy reporter Richard Rubin. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dr. Marty Makary is a Johns Hopkins School of Medicine professor. He has published more than 300 scientific research articles. His book is called "Blind Spots: When Medicine Gets It Wrong, and What It Means for Our Health." In his preface, Dr. Makary says he realizes that much of what the public is told about health is medical dogma, an idea or practice given incontrovertible authority because someone decreed it to be true based on a gut feeling. He writes: "This book may change your life, it did mine." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Author and publisher Peter Osnos talks about "LBJ and McNamara," a book-length Substack serial and soon to be book about President Johnson and Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara's handling of the Vietnam War. Mr. Osnos, Saigon correspondent for the Washington Post during the war, also talks about publishing Robert McNamara's memoir "In Retrospect" and the meetings he had with McNamara in preparation for that book, which Mr. Osnos recorded. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Former assistant U.S. attorney and law professor Kim Wehle looked at how the pardon system works in the United States. She was interviewed by University of Michigan emeritus professor of law and sociology Richard Lempert. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

"Ernest Cuneo played Ivy League football at Columbia University and was in the old Brooklyn Dodgers NFL franchise before becoming a City Hall lawyer and 'Brain Trust' aide to President Franklin Roosevelt." While on the payroll of national radio columnist Walter Winchell, Cuneo "mingled with the famous and powerful. But his status as a spy remained a secret, hiding in plain sight." All of this is the way Hanover Square Press introduces readers to Thomas Maier's book, "The Invisible Spy." Maier, a graduate of Fordham and Columbia, is an author and a television producer. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Patrick Oliver, founder and CEO of Say It Loud! Readers & Writers, discusses the need for literary arts programs and his efforts to promote reading among children and young adults. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The book is called "Behind Closed Doors: In the Room with Reagan & Nixon." It's the title of a memoir by a man who worked closely with both. Ken Khachigian, the author, was a speechwriter and a confidant to former Presidents Nixon and Reagan back in the 1960s, 70s and 80s. Near the end of his book, Khachigian, a lawyer based in California, writes: "I spent a decade and a half in close, confidential contact with these two Presidents." In 1990, when Presidents Reagan and Nixon were together, chatting about history, Khachigian kept notes of their conversation, which he reveals in his memoir. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Fifty years ago, on August 8, 1974, President Nixon, who was under threat of impeachment, announced that he would resign from office. The following day, Vice President Gerald Ford was sworn in as the 38th president of the United States. Gerald and Betty Ford's son, Steven Ford, provides a behind-the-scenes look at that tumultuous period in American history and President Ford's term in office, including his decision to pardon Richard Nixon on September 8, 1974. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Breitbart News' Joel Pollak discussed what he thinks a potential second presidential term for Donald Trump should focus on in its first 100 days.  He was interviewed by Reason Magazine editor at large Matt Welch. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is the second in a 2-part series with David Roll, a Washington-based attorney, who has written books on Harry Hopkins, George Marshall, and Louis Johnson. Now comes his fourth book, "Ascent to Power," which focuses on Franklin Roosevelt's final days through the sudden transition to the presidency of Harry Truman. Spanning the years 1944-1948, David Roll's newest book looks at the struggles of a relatively unknown Missouri senator, Harry Truman, who had served the U.S. as vice president for only 82 days before FDR's death on April 12, 1945. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Former congressman Patrick Kennedy (D-RI) talks about Americans who have struggled with mental illness and the stigma and silence that he says still surrounds it. He shares the stories of the people profiled in his book, "Profiles in Mental Health Courage," including himself and members of his own family. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

David Roll, a Washington-based attorney, has written books on Harry Hopkins, George Marshall, and Louis Johnson. Now comes his fourth book, "Ascent to Power," which focuses on Franklin Roosevelt's final days through the sudden transition to the presidency of Harry Truman. Spanning the years 1944-1948, David Roll's newest book looks at the struggles of a relatively unknown Missouri senator, Harry Truman, who had served the U.S. as vice president for only 82 days before FDR's death on April 12, 1945. This is the first of a 2-part interview with David Roll. Part two will be posted next week. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We sat down with Ben's Chili Bowl owner Virginia Ali and Ben's Chili Bowl official historian Bernard Demczuk to talk about the history of the Washington, DC, landmark. Opened in 1958 by Ben and Virginia Ali, Ben's Chili Bowl has been a hangout for civil rights activists, politicians, and celebrities for over 65 years. Recently, Bernard Demczuk published a book about Mrs. Ali and Ben's titled "Breaking Barriers with Chili." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Presidential historian Tevi Troy has called his latest book "The Power and the Money: The Epic Clashes Between Commanders in Chief and Titans of Industry." Mr. Troy has spent most of his professional life in and around Washington-based government and politics. He is currently a senior fellow at the Bipartisan Policy Center. In the introduction to the book, he writes: "For current and future CEOs, this book can be a guide for how to engage with an increasingly powerful and involved federal government, especially in our era in which both Democrats and Republicans target corporations in their rhetoric and, often, in their policy prescriptions." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Author and actor George Takei talks about growing up in internment camps in the U.S. during World War II, following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Mr. Takei and his family were four of the 120,000 Japanese Americans to be forcibly removed from their homes and relocated to military-run camps during the war on the orders of President Franklin Roosevelt. Mr. Takei has recently published a children's book about his experiences titled "My Lost Freedom." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Former Ohio governor John Kasich (R) talks about the good work done by religious institutions and people of faith in the United States. In his book "Heaven Help Us," Mr. Kasich profiles over a dozen religious Americans involved in combating homelessness, hunger, human trafficking, and other issues. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Maureen Callahan's book "Ask Not: The Kennedy's and the Women They Destroyed" has been near the top of the New York Times nonfiction bestseller list since its publication in early July. In a review of the Callahan book by Nina Burleigh in the Washington Post, Burleigh writes: "She identifies the wellspring of misogyny in Irish Catholic patriarch Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. in Boston during the Gilded Age, and traces it anecdote by anecdote down through JFK, RFK and Teddy, and the litter of boomer generation men — boys hatched by three Kennedy wives Callahan depicts as humiliated breeders and political props, driven to madness and alcoholism." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We sat down with two World War II veterans – former U.S. Navy gunnery officer Steven Ellis and former U.S. Army Air Force B-24 navigator Rolf Slen – to talk about their experiences during the war. Mr. Ellis, age 99, and Mr. Slen, age 100, both served in the Pacific Theater. Of the 16.4 million Americans who served in uniform in World War II, 119,550 were still alive as of 2023. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Richard Brookhiser has written and edited for National Review magazine for over 50 years. He has also written books about George Washington, James Madison, John Marshall, Alexander Hamilton, and "gentleman revolutionary" Gouverneur Morris. Now comes his latest, "Glorious Lessons: John Trumbull, Painter of the American Revolution." Trumbull, who lived between 1756 and 1843, was most famous for his 4 very large paintings about the Revolutionary War on the walls of the rotunda in the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington, DC. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In "The Lies of the Land," Miami University (Oxford, Ohio) history professor Steven Conn argues that the reality of rural America today is vastly different from the way it is often portrayed by politicians and the media. He says rural Americans have not been left behind or been overlooked and are just as connected to the forces of American modernity – militarization, industrialization, corporatization, and suburbanization – as people living in the rest of the country. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Leon Dash spent over 30 years with the Washington Post from 1966 to 1998. In 1995 series on poverty and survival in urban America. Leon Dash spent 4 years following the life of Rosa Lee Cunningham and her 8 children and 5 grandchildren. He appeared on C-SPAN's Booknotes program in November 1996 to discuss his published book, which focused on the underclass in the United States. In the last 26 years, Leon Dash has been a professor of journalism and African American studies at the University of Illinois. We asked him for an update on his original story. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Columnist and Fox News contributor Tammy Bruce, author of "Fear Itself," argues that progressive Democrats have weaponized fear to increase government control over American citizens. She also argues that the mainstream media helps stoke fear through its biased coverage of topics like COVID-19, climate change, and racism. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

New York Times reporter Peter Goodman looked at how the global supply chain works and what happens when it doesn't. He was interviewed by Northeastern University professor and author Nada Sanders. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This Booknotes+ podcast is a repeat of a Q&A program from November 4, 2015. The featured guest, Ronald Feinman, is the author of the book "Assassinations, Threats, and the American Presidency," in which he examines attempts on the lives of presidents and presidential candidates throughout history. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Prior to becoming Donald Trump's VP pick or a U.S. Senator representing Ohio, J.D. Vance was a bestselling author. Over 1.6. million copies of his book "Hillbilly Elegy," a memoir about growing up in a poor, white family that has its roots in Appalachia, have sold to date. After the VP announcement, the book once again shot to the top of the Amazon bestsellers list. This week on Q&A, our 2016 interview with Mr. Vance about his book. He talks about his childhood, his family, his military service in Iraq with the U.S. Marine Corps, his education at Ohio State and Yale Law School, and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Law professor Jonathan Turley highlights individuals who've fought to exercise & defend the right to free speech throughout U.S. history. Author and American Civil Liberties Union former president Nadine Strossen interviews him.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Atlantic Magazine staff writer Sophie Gilbert looks at the pop culture of the '90s & early 2000s and its impact on women and the feminist movement. She's interviewed by Jennifer Pozner, author and founder of Women in Media & News. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Yangyang Cheng and Helen Lewis discussed book reviewing and winning the 2024 Kukula Award, the only journalism prize dedicated recognizing non-fiction book reviews and public affairs book criticism. About Books also reported on new releases and the current books featured on BookTV. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Rupert William Simon Allason was a Conservative member of the British House of Commons from 1987 and 1997. However, he's best known around the world as Nigel West, military historian and journalist specializing in security and intelligence matters. During the recent commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the Normandy landings, Nigel West's name surfaced in relation to his 1985 book on Agent Garbo, the personal story of who, some say, was the most successful double agent of World War II. The agent's real name was Juan Pujol. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 2022, collegiate swimmer Riley Gaines tied for 5th place in the 200m freestyle final at the NCAA Women's Championships. The swimmer she tied with was transgender athlete Lia Thomas. Since then, Riley Gaines has become an outspoken critic of transgender women competing in women's sports and has even testified on the issue before Congress. In this week's Q&A, she talks about her swimming career, her stance on transgender athletes, and the backlash she has received after going public with her views, topics she covers in her new book "Swimming Against the Current." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices