Today on the show we’re talking about a woman you all have long known I admire — Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis. I have read every book I can get my hands on about this former First Lady, American (and, really, global) icon, and one of the most famous women to ever live. We have even had many episodes of the show about her in the past. But today we’re talking about the new book Our Jackie: Public Claims on a Private Life by Dr. Karen M. Dunak, which is out November 12, and instead of just looking at this remarkable woman’s life, we’re looking at this remarkable woman’s life through the lens of how she represented American womanhood more broadly. As Karen writes in the book, “Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis was a person, but she also served as a symbol of broader cultural expectations.” And what Karen found through her research here was totally fascinating. Jackie's designer Oleg Cassini called her “a powerful symbol for the United States,” and she held power as a public figure, both domestically and internationally. It goes without saying that American womanhood changed dramatically from 1960 and John F. Kennedy’s election to the presidency and 1994 and Jackie’s far too soon death. Jackie’s life is examined through her time as a campaign wife to First Lady to widow to a wife again after remarrying Aristotle Onassis to becoming a career woman and an icon. As Karen writes in the book of Jackie, “She often followed a path of her own choosing, enduring the ebbs and flows of assessments about her much as she did the transition from campaign wife to first lady and then beyond. Response to her may have reflected broader ideas about American womanhood. But she was just being herself.” This book specifically zooms in on media coverage of Jackie and how that framed her narrative, and I gobbled it up. Here on the show today we have the pleasure of hosting Dr. Karen M. Dunak, professor and Arthur G. and Eloise Barnes Cole Chair of American History in the Department of History at Muskingum University. Prior to Our Jackie, Karen was the author of As Long as We Both Shall Love: The White Wedding in Postwar America, and she is a contributor to Of the People: A History of the United States. Her research interests include post-World War II U.S. history, American women’s history, gender and sexuality, and social movements, and celebrity and media in U.S. history, and her work has appeared in many academic journals. I can’t wait for you to hear what she has to say.

Our Jackie: Public Claims on a Private Life by Dr. Karen M. Dunak

What an episode we have for you today, listeners. Today on the show we have the phenomenal Terri Cole, whose work about boundaries I have so resonated with in the past. She has a new book out on October 15 called Too Much: A Guide to Breaking the Cycle of High-Functioning Codependency, and it examines what we thought we knew about codependency. We have had the godmother of codependency, Melody Beattie, on the show, and Melody introduced the concept to the world. Now, in Too Much, Terri is taking the concept to the next level, introducing us to high-functioning codependency. In today’s conversation we define what high-functioning codependency, or HFC, is, what it looks like, some common behaviors exhibited by those who have it, and how those with HFC got to this place. You also might have heard this called “overfunctioning.” You’ll hear me say this many times throughout this episode, but I identify as a recovering HFC, and Terri writes that these behaviors are “highly programmed and largely unconscious.” Terri, too, is a recovering HFC, and writes in Too Much that “prioritizing the wants, needs, and outcomes of others over my own well-being was my default setting.” She talks about the moment she knew she couldn’t go on this way, and the book is a deeply personal one to her. We also talk about how we draw the line from being caring and a high-functioning codependent — and when we know, as the book’s title suggests, that it’s too much. By the way, when it comes to romantic relationships, codependents are attracted to narcissists, and the reverse is true, as well. The book talks about how we can prevent this deeply unhealthy combination. In our conversation today, we talk about the cost to a life if one doesn’t address their high-functioning codependency, and how the key to getting to the other side is boundaries. Now, Terri is an expert in boundaries; her book prior to Too Much, which I also highly recommend, is called Boundary Boss: The Essential Guide to Talk True, Be Seen, and (Finally) Live Free. I do think it’s important to note that reversing high-functioning codependency is absolutely possible, but it isn’t a linear path or a straight line, and that those working through this should expect setbacks. You know what? People could probably live their whole lives with high-functioning codependency, but because of Terri’s book, they won’t want to, and they don’t have to. Terri Cole, MSW, LCSW, is a licensed psychotherapist and global relationship and empowerment expert and has been doing this work for over 25 years. She is the host of a podcast I love, “The Terri Cole Show,” and inspires over 600,000 people weekly. She has a deep gift for making complex psychological concepts actionable and accessible so that clients achieve sustainable change. This conversation with Terri meant a lot to me, and I bet it will to you, too. Take a listen.

Too Much: A Guide to Breaking the Cycle of High-Functioning Codependency by Terri Cole

Check out Terri’s HFC Toolkit at terricole.com/hfc and visit hfcbook.com/ for more information!

Today on the show to kick off season 14 is a second-time guest: Kathy Iandoli, who we spoke to back in 2021 about her book on the legendary Aaliyah. And Kathy is back with a book she co-wrote with another legendary musician—Eve, who in a word, is just fabulous. In the book, we learn so much about this rapper, actress, talk show host, and multihyphenate, including that she felt cursed by being born with the name Eve—as in the first woman, Eve, according to the Bible. We talk today with Kathy about Eve’s childhood in Philadelphia and how that molded her into the woman she is today; how she opened so many doors for women in music—rap specifically—as the First Lady of Ruff Ryderz, and what it was like to be a female in such a male-dominated industry; the biggest obstacle she faced in her 25-year career; and what she’s really like when the spotlight is off of her. We also talk about Eve being 43 when she gave birth for the first time to her son, Wilde, and how that shifted her life. As she writes towards the end of Who’s That Girl?, which is out September 17, “The ride isn’t as rough anymore, and I’m enjoying every minute of it.” (“Who’s That Girl?” by the way, is probably my favorite Eve song.) You know who Eve is—she’s a Grammy-winning rapper and singer with singles like the aforementioned “Who’s That Girl?,” “Let Me Blow Ya Mind,” and “Tambourine”; she’s an actress who has appeared in films like Barbershop and television shows like Queens; she’s a talk show host and has been on The Talk and The Real; and now she’s an author. She’s also a history maker, by the way—when she won the Grammy Award for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration for “Let Me Blow Ya Mind” with Gwen Stefani, she was the first recipient ever of that award. I love that. Today on the show we have Eve’s fantastic co-writer Kathy Iandoli, who has written everywhere from Vibe to The Source, The Village Voice, Rolling Stone, Billboard, Cosmopolitan, and so much more. Kathy specializes in music, specifically hip-hop, and has written books like God Save the Queens: The Essential History of Women in Hip-Hop and the aforementioned Baby Girl: Better Known as Aaliyah, among others. She’s also a professor of music business at New York University, a documentarian who has produced film projects on women in hip-hop for BBC and Netflix (including the award-winning Ladies First!), and one of my favorite guests. I’m so happy to have her back on.

Who’s That Girl?: A Memoir by Eve and Kathy Iandoli

Today’s episode is a tough one—but it is also such a beautiful one. I want to insert a trigger warning here: my guest and I will be discussing the loss of a child to stillbirth today, so if you are grieving any type of pregnancy loss (or any type of loss, period) this conversation may be upsetting to you. Please take care of yourself and return to the conversation when you can. This is an absolutely beautiful, powerful conversation with a dear friend of mine, Vera Chapman, who is also the first children’s book author we’ve ever had on the show. Vera’s book, Our Baby In Our Hearts, focuses on the real life experience that her two living children, Grayson and Ivey, faced when confronted with the loss of their baby brother, Hayes, on February 15, 2021. (Yes, this episode is being released on Hayes’ third birthday.) Our Baby In Our Hearts offers practical mindfulness exercises to help young hearts cope with big feelings. It is also stunningly illustrated and will truly be so moving to anyone, but especially anyone who has experienced pregnancy loss. After losing Hayes in 2021, Vera has turned her pain into purpose, not only writing this book but also creating the “Light in Loss” daily healing affirmation cards series for women. She is the founder of the wellness coaching practice Resonating Soul Wellness and has over a decade of experience supporting women through coaching and counseling. I am so proud to call her my friend, and today’s esteemed guest.

Our Baby In Our Hearts: A Mindful Story of Grief and Healing by Vera V. Chapman

Daily affirmation cards for grieving mothers and women

More affirmations for both women and children

Follow Vera on Instagram @veravchapman!

I first became familiar with the dynamic Jennie Allen in the thick of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, when my Bible study group did a study on Jennie’s book Get Out of Your Head: Stopping the Spiral of Toxic Thoughts, which is a book worth reading anytime, but especially in the summer of 2020. Now she’s back with a new book called Untangle Your Emotions: Naming What You Feel and Knowing What to Do About It, which is out February 13. As you’ll hear Jennie and I discuss, Untangle Your Emotions is a perfect companion piece to Get Out of Your Head which, by the way, was a New York Times bestseller. Untangle Your Emotions dives deep into understanding where our emotions come from, what to do with them, and how to honor God in processing all that we feel. Jennie admits that this is the most difficult book she’s ever written, and the subject matter is tough—but through this book and this conversation, if we take it all to heart, we can walk away so much the better for it. Jennie—thank you for writing a difficult book. It will touch so many lives, and it has already touched mine.

Untangle Your Emotions: Naming What You Feel and Knowing What to Do About It by Jennie Allen

Today on the show we have the remarkable Patti Davis, daughter of U.S. President Ronald Reagan and First Lady Nancy Reagan. Patti’s new book, Dear Mom and Dad: A Letter About Family, Memory, and the America We Once Knew is a book, in Patti’s own words, about acceptance, forgiveness, and moving on from the past, a book that—though Patti’s parents were much more famous than most, even before her father entered politics—anyone can relate to. There’s not a person among us who hasn’t at one point or another struggled with their parents, as the parent-child relationship is so complicated; this is Patti’s story, and it’s a powerful one. When her father became president, Patti became Ribbon, her Secret Service code name. The complexities that go along with being the child of a president are daunting, and we talk about that in today’s episode, as well as family secrets, living life as the world watched, and what she’d like to say to her father and mother after their deaths in 2004 and 2016, respectively.

Dear Mom and Dad: A Letter About Family, Memory, and the America We Once Knew by Patti Davis

The Long Goodbye: Memories of My Father by Patti Davis

I am so pleased to have Dr. Caroline Leaf on the show today to impart knowledge from her 30-year career as an applied neuroscientist. I originally intended to do a career retrospective on Dr. Leaf’s many books, but quickly realized that if I did that, this would become an hours and hours long episode. So I decided to choose one of her books, Cleaning Up Your Mental Mess: 5 Simple, Scientifically Proven Steps to Reduce Anxiety, Stress, and Toxic Thinking, to zoom in on for our conversation today—but I highly recommend all of her books. In this book (and in this conversation), she teaches us what mental mess is, how to practice mind management, what neuroplasticity is, and about the neurocycle, which she formulated. The neurocycle has, amazingly, statistically reduced depression and anxiety by a staggering 81 percent! I guarantee you’ll learn something in this episode, and for this episode in particular, I’d recommend listening when you can really absorb what Dr. Leaf is saying. Some episodes on the show are light and frothy and can be listened to while multitasking; I’d say this episode is not one of those. To get maximum impact from what Dr. Leaf is teaching us, set aside some time for yourself to truly take all of this in, because you know what? You deserve it. Dr. Leaf is also a podcaster, and in addition to her own show, “Cleaning Up Your Mental Mess,” she is an extremely frequent guest on other podcasts. That’s actually how I found Dr. Leaf—from hearing her on other podcasts and then discovering her work. She has spent three decades researching the mind-brain connection, the nature of mental health, and the formation of memory, and her work centers around helping people learn how to use their mind to detox and grow their brain to succeed in every area of their lives—talk about work that truly matters!

Cleaning Up Your Mental Mess: 5 Simple, Scientifically Proven Steps to Reduce Anxiety, Stress, and Toxic Thinking by Dr. Caroline Leaf

A link to all of Dr. Leaf’s books

Welcome one, welcome all to season 10 of I’d Rather Be Reading! As ever, I’m so happy to have you here and a part of this community—don’t forget to reach out if you ever want to chat books at helloidratherbereading@gmail.com. For our season opener today, we have the fantastic Julie Menanno, who is a licensed marriage and family therapist, an expert couple’s therapist, and the person behind the popular Instagram account @TheSecureRelationship, which has over 1 million followers. I have long been interested in attachment theory and attachment styles, and there is secure attachment (the ideal which we should all strive for) and three different insecure attachments—anxious, avoidant, and disorganized. Julie will explain what all of that means in the episode, and how we can work towards bringing a secure attachment to our relationships. Beyond just attachment styles, Julie brings so much wisdom and insight into how we navigate romantic relationships, and how we can create a healthy relationship that will, as the subtitle suggests, last a lifetime.

Secure Love: Create a Relationship That Lasts a Lifetime by Julie Menanno

For our season nine finale I have a legendary journalist, Laurence Leamer, here to talk about his book Capote’s Women: A True Story of Love, Betrayal, and a Swan Song for an Era, which is the basis for the new Ryan Murphy show on FX, Feud: Capote vs. the Swans. (I loved the first iteration of Feud—about Bette Davis and Joan Crawford—and I love everything Ryan Murphy does.) The show has a cast as deep as any ocean: Naomi Watts. Diane Lane. Demi Moore. Calista Flockhart. Chloe Sevigny. Molly Ringwald. And Tom Hollander as Truman Capote. It premieres on FX on January 31 (and the next day on Hulu) and it will be appointment television for me. Through this book, this series, and this conversation, we dip our toe into New York City high society, into the world of Truman Capote and his “Swans”—glamorous women who were Capote’s closest confidantes. Babe Paley, Slim Keith, CZ Guest, Gloria Guinness, Pamela Harriman, Lee Radziwell, and Marella Agnelli were not just beautiful and wealthy, but intelligent and interesting. Then, enter the “feud” portion of the program: Capote wrote a piece for Esquire called “La Cote Basque 1965,” in which he puts the Swans’ dirty secrets in black and white, and in print for the entire world to read. The women cut Capote off totally; it was social suicide, and it led to Capote’s downfall that ultimately resulted in his death. Why did he do this? He thought they’d be too dumb to know the piece was about them. It was one of the worst decisions he could have ever made. Here to tell us all about it is the legendary Laurence Leamer, who is regarded as an expert on the Kennedy family and who has written biographies of not just the Kennedys but also the Reagans, Johnny Carson, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Ingrid Bergman, and Donald Trump’s resort, Mar-a-Lago. By the way, I have to throw this detail in here—his book about Mar-a-Lago was controversial and banned him from the resort for life. Not unlike that detail, this book and this conversation are as compelling as it comes.

Capote’s Women: A True Story of Love, Betrayal, and a Swan Song for an Era by Laurence Leamer

“La Cote Basque” by Truman Capote for Esquire

No matter if you are a parent or not, this conversation is for you—after all, we all have parents, right? Today’s guest is Dr. Aliza Pressman, a Dartmouth and Columbia-educated developmental psychologist whose new book The 5 Principles of Parenting: Your Essential Guide to Raising Good Humans is out January 23. In today’s conversation we discuss her five principles, all of which begin with R: relationships, reflection, regulation, rules, and repair, all leading to the sixth R, which is resilience. We talk today about the science and art of parenting—how there is no right way to parent, reparenting ourselves, how it feels harder than ever to be a parent. Parenting is, simply put, the hardest work anyone will ever do—I can’t wait for all of you parents to hear what Dr. Pressman has to say in this episode, and I hope that it absolves you of your mom guilt or dad guilt. I hope her words will give you the permission you need to let that guilt go, once and for all. It is such an enriching conversation. Dr. Pressman has an extremely popular podcast of her own, “Raising Good Humans," and she herself is the mother of two teenagers and has a lot of wisdom to impart to us.

The 5 Principles of Parenting: Your Essential Guide to Raising Good Humans by Dr. Aliza Pressman

Hi friends! If you didn’t know, I am the Senior Celebrity and Royals Editor at Marie Claire magazine, and as of this month I am in charge of our monthly virtual book club, #ReadwithMC. Seeing as though we already read together here on I’d Rather Be Reading, why not read on #ReadwithMC, too? It is my hope to grow this book club on par with some of my favorite book clubs, like those from Jenna Bush Hager, Reese Witherspoon, Queen Camilla, and Oprah Winfrey. (Now, look. I’m never going to be Oprah. But a girl can try.) If you’re listening to this show I hope you like my taste in books, and you know that just how I only bring you the best of the best on I’d Rather Be Reading, I plan to do the same with #ReadwithMC. 

I am so excited to tell you about my very first #ReadwithMC book pick, and that is One in a Millennial: On Friendships, Feelings, Fangirls, and Fitting In by Kate Kennedy, which is out January 23, this Tuesday. Kate is a podcaster so many know and love; she hosts “Be There in Five” and is a dynamic pop culture commentator. When I read One in a Millennial, I felt so seen. Kate is a year younger than me. I was born in 1986 and I believe Kate was born in 1987. In this book, Kate wrote everything I wish I could have written about being a millennial but I probably wouldn’t be able to articulate as concisely and perfectly as she did. I laughed, I cried, I found in Kate the voice of a generation. This book essentially nails down the millennial experience into a 336-page book. I could wax on and on, but this book encapsulates the experience of being a millennial largely through the lens of pop culture—an exploration of the millennial zeitgeist and the life lessons learned (for better and for worse) from being a member of this generation.

Below you’ll find some useful links:

Read chapter one of One in a Millennial and buy the book with the link in the post (again, it comes out January 23)

Learn more about #ReadwithMC on the whole

Join us for Kate’s Instagram takeover on Marie Claire’s page on January 25

Leave a review of the book on Instagram or Twitter (or X, whatever) by January 28 using the hashtag #Readwith MC (keep in mind your profile needs to be set to public for me to see it)

Then join us in the first week of February for our next pick!

I can’t wait to be in a book club with you!

To say that having Kate Bowler here today is an honor is something I don’t say lightly. Kate is so gentle, soothing, and easy to open up to that I cry at the end of this episode; her new book of daily devotions, Have a Beautiful, Terrible Day!: Daily Meditations for the Ups, Downs, and In Betweens, will bring out emotions in you, as well. I appreciate everything about this conversation, but especially Kate confirming that faith and fear can and do coexist, and that it is okay. Kate is a three-time New York Times bestselling author, a graduate of Yale and Duke, a wildly popular podcaster, a professor at Duke, and, perhaps most blessedly, a cancer survivor. She’s also a truly wonderful person who is just as lovely off mic as she is on. Prepare to fall in love with her!

Have a Beautiful, Terrible Day!: Daily Meditations for the Ups, Downs, and In Betweens by Kate Bowler

For episode two of two of our bonus Mean Girls content, we’ve got Rosalind Wiseman on the show today, whose 2002 book Queen Bees and Wannabes: Helping Your Daughter Survive Cliques, Gossip, Boyfriends, and the New Realities of Girl World was the basis for Tina Fey’s screenplay for the original 2004 Mean Girls film. This book—which is currently undergoing its third revision—is the go-to manual for being a teenage girl and raising a teenage girl. This isn’t Rosalind’s only book—she has written nine and has multiple New York Times bestsellers—but it’s likely her most well-known book, and Rosalind is a subject matter expert when it comes to girls and the complex social issues they face, like cliques, gossip, bullying, self-image, social hierarchy, and (of course) boys.

Queen Bees and Wannabes: Helping Your Daughter Survive Cliques, Gossip, Boyfriends, and the New Realities of Girl World by Rosalind Wiseman

Unbelievably, we’ve reached the season finale of season 13! What a season, huh? Don’t you worry, because we’ve got more conversations to come in season 14. But today we’ve got a great one for you—Julia Boorstin of CNBC is here to chat about her buzzy, powerful book When Women Lead: What They Achieve, Why They Succeed, and How We Can Learn from Them, which came out in 2022 but is still making waves today. The book is, in my opinion, a masterpiece about women, leadership, and business. And Julia knows what she’s talking about—she’s a longtime CNBC reporter and before that was at Fortune magazine, and her work covers business, tech, and entrepreneurship. The crux of the book centers around how and why women leaders thrive, and why women are essential to a successful workplace. Today we talk about what skillsets women specifically bring to a workplace; what women need to succeed in business and what needs to be changed in the modern workplace; women’s adaptability advantage and why resilience matters; and how, if companies care about making money, they’ll invest in women. When Women Lead zooms in on the stories of over 60 female CEOs and is, as Julia writes, a “radical blueprint for the future of business and our world at large.” It’s an absolutely necessary read and I can’t wait to talk about it with Julia today. Julia Boorstin is the senior media and tech correspondent for CNBC and is a graduate of Princeton; she worked at Fortune, has contributed to both CNN and CNN Headline News, and joined CNBC in 2006, and in 2013 created the CNBC Disruptor 50 list, an annual list that highlights private companies that are challenging established industries. She also helped launch the network’s “Closing the Gap” initiative, covering the people and companies closing gender and diversity gaps. This is the perfect conversation to end season 13 on. Take a listen!

When Women Lead: What They Achieve, Why They Succeed, and How We Can Learn from Them by Julia Boorstin

The godfather of emotional intelligence is on the show today! Dr. Daniel Goleman’s groundbreaking bestseller Emotional Intelligence was released nearly 30 years ago; I studied Dr. Goleman’s work in college (and I have been out of college for, unfortunately, many, many years). Emotional intelligence is the key to success in leadership and life, and in his latest book Optimal: How to Sustain Personal and Organizational Excellence Every Day, Dr. Goleman teaches us how to reach peak performance through emotional intelligence while avoiding burnout and maintaining balance. Sound too good to be true? It’s not! It’s totally attainable. If you’re looking to achieve results in your life and your work—plus fulfillment and satisfaction—let Dr. Goleman teach you how to get to your optimal level.

Optimal: How to Sustain Personal and Organizational Excellence Every Day by Dr. Daniel Goleman

Daniel Goleman Emotional Intelligence Courses

Surprise! I’m here with a bonus episode today celebrating the pop culture juggernaut that is Mean Girls, in honor of the release of the musical film yesterday. To talk about Mean Girls—yes, the 2024 film, but also the 2004 original film and the Broadway musical, which debuted in 2018—I have Jennifer Keishin Armstrong, who has actually been on the show before. She joined me in late 2021 to chat about Sex and the City and she’s back today to talk about another pop culture phenomenon we both love. Jennifer is a New York Times bestselling author and a pop culture historian, and her latest book, So Fetch: The Making of Mean Girls (and Why We’re Still So Obsessed with It) comes out January 16. Interestingly enough, Jennifer and her publisher did not time the book’s release four days after the new Mean Girls movie on purpose—it just worked out that way. Talk about happenstance! As we approach the 20-year anniversary of the 2004 original in April, I’m wondering: will we ever see a proper Mean Girls 2 featuring Lindsay Lohan, Rachel McAdams, Amanda Seyfried, and Lacey Chabert? After all, three of the four original Plastics did do a commercial together late last year. What is the Broadway musical like, and is the new movie worth seeing? Do younger generations relate to the original film like my generation did? (After all, we were in high school at the time and the movie’s target audience.) What are some behind-the-scenes details about the filming of the movie we might not know? I have questions, and Jennifer has all the answers.

So Fetch: The Making of Mean Girls (and Why We’re Still So Obsessed with It) by Jennifer Keishin Armstrong

If I told you that today’s episode—the eighth and final in our January Wellness Series—could help you stop anxiety, burnout, and fatigue before they even start, I know your ears would perk up. Dr. Linnea Passaler is working to do just that—shift from reactive treatment to proactive healing—for nervous system dysregulation, which is so often not spoken about but can contribute to a number of problems both mentally and physically. She has written a five-stage plan in her new book Heal Your Nervous System: The 5-Stage Plan to Reverse Nervous System Dysregulation, and we discuss the five stages of awareness, regulation, restoration, connection, and expansion on the show today. We talk about so much today, including how stress and fear affects everyone differently; as ever, I learned so much, and I am confident that you will, too.

Heal Your Nervous System: The 5-Stage Plan to Reverse Nervous System Dysregulation by Dr. Linnea Passaler

For the only throwback pick of the January Wellness Series, I present to you the fabulous Dr. Samantha Boardman, who is talking to us today about vitality. Let’s be honest: do you ever think about vitality, let alone in your day-to-day life? If I put you on the spot and quizzed you, could you even totally define what vitality means? Today we not only define it but help you understand that vitality is a verb and have practical steps for how to implement it in your daily life. We also talk about building resilience, countering stress, and how it’s time to eliminate the phrase “When things calm down…” from our lexicon. I guarantee you’ll look at life just a bit differently after listening to this episode.

Everyday Vitality: Turning Stress into Strength by Dr. Samantha Boardman

This might shock you (or maybe it won’t) but 75 percent of Americans don’t get the federally recommended weekly minimum of 150 minutes of moderate intensity exercise (or 75 minutes of vigorous exercise), let alone the recommended two days of full body strength training. When we think about getting healthier, we often think about nutrition, as we should—but exercise is a critical part of the equation, too. Our guest today, Dr. Gabrielle Lyon, puts forth in her new book Forever Strong: A New Science Based Strategy for Aging Well that, instead of focusing so closely on decreasing fat on and in our bodies, we should focus instead on increasing muscle. Muscles, Dr. Lyon says, are the key to aging well; she even calls muscles the fountain of youth, says healthy muscle is imperative to a body’s function, and writes that muscle is the organ of longevity. She is a practitioner of muscle-centric medicine, and after listening to this episode, you might be, too.

Forever Strong: A New Science Based Strategy for Aging Well by Dr. Gabrielle Lyon

As our January Wellness Series continues, today we are speaking to the dynamic Neal Allen about taming our inner critic. We all have one, and it’s called the superego; the superego was developed in our respective childhoods as a survival mechanism, but as adults, we no longer need it for protection—but for so many of us, its presence in our lives is cumbersome at best and extremely damaging at its worst. The good news? Our inner critic can be quieted, allowing us to live our best lives. Neal teaches us how through his book and this conversation, finally examining a critical aspect of the human psyche—the superego—that often gets ignored. Listeners, you also might be interested to know that Neal is married to the writer Anne Lamott, and often refers to himself as Mr. Anne Lamott (which I love him for).

Better Days: Tame Your Inner Critic by Neal Allen

What if I told you that it was possible to control anxiety, ADHD, OCD, depression, and more by what you eat (or don’t eat)? That it was completely possible to calm your mind with food? That’s what today’s episode is all about, and we’re talking to Harvard nutritional psychiatrist Dr. Uma Naidoo about the “powerful medicine of food,” looking at a groundbreaking, full-body approach to mental health, how we can enhance our overall mental wellbeing through what we eat, and how our daily food choices can help treat and prevent a wide range of cognitive and psychological health issues. So fascinating—and proof that we have more control over our health than maybe we even realized heretofore.

Calm Your Mind with Food: A Revolutionary Guide to Controlling Your Anxiety by Dr. Uma Naidoo

For today’s January Wellness Series conversation, we’re back to mental and emotional wellness, specifically this relatable topic: caring too much about what others think of you. Our guest today, Dr. Michael Gervais, calls caring too much about other people’s opinions “the single greatest constrictor of human potential,” and introduces the concept of “FOPO” (fear of other people’s opinions), assessing that it is a human epidemic in our society. (I know it has impacted my life personally in spades over the years.) We all have a basic human need to belong, but it’s when we let others’ opinions of us control our lives that we know we need to make a change—and I hope for all of us that 2024 is the year we begin to or continue to live our authentic lives, not chained to what others think of us. Michael has taught companies like Microsoft, Amazon, and AT&T to perform to the highest level, as well as Olympians, Fortune 100 leaders and teams, and world renowned artists and musicians—and now it’s our turn for a one on-one coaching session. There is a huge connection between the mind and human performance, and we’re delving into it today.

The First Rule of Mastery: Stop Worrying About What Other People Think of You by Dr. Michael Gervais

As our January Wellness Series rolls on, today we switch from mental and emotional wellness to physical wellness. Aging is a good thing—hey, it certainly beats the alternative, right?—but I’d venture to guess that all of us want to continue to grow older without looking or feeling older. Today’s guest, Dr. Anthony Youn, teaches us how to do just that, looking at environmental and lifestyle factors to turn back and freeze the clock. What we eat, how much we sleep, and our skincare routines allow us to have an ample amount of control on aging, and we cover the gamut in today’s episode—this might be one of the most jam-packed informational episodes we’ve ever done on the show and I know you’ll walk away having learned so much about how to look and feel younger as we enter 2024 and, interestingly, though Dr. Youn is one of the most well-known plastic surgeons in the country (his social media following tops 14 million!), we don’t mention plastic surgery at all in this episode—it’s all natural methods to staying, as he puts it, “younger for life.”

Younger for Life: Feel Great and Look Your Best with the New Science of Autojuvenation by Dr. Anthony Youn

Welcome to 2024, and welcome to our January Wellness Series! We are alternating episodes about mental and emotional wellness (like this one) and physical wellness, and I am thrilled to kickstart this series with perhaps my favorite book of 2023: How to Be the Love You Seek: Break Cycles, Find Peace, and Heal Your Relationships by Dr. Nicole LePera. In the book, Dr. LePera gives the simple but profound advice “You already are the love you seek.” Before we go seeking love (many of us in all the wrong places), let’s begin this year by realizing we already have an abundance of love within us, and, once we harness our self-love and self-worth, we will truly be able to attract what we have deserved all along. This is truly one of the most revelatory, powerful books I have ever read.

How to Be the Love You Seek: Break Cycles, Find Peace, and Heal Your Relationships by Dr. Nicole LePera

Today on the show, we’re talking about the history and power of hairdressing and how, as our guest Dr. Elizabeth Block puts it in her new book, how hair “contributed to the lived experiences of women.” Her new book Beyond Vanity: The History and Power of Hairdressing is out September 10 and looks at hair through an academic lens—and it’s totally compelling. We get into the cultural impact of hair; why hair is, as the title suggests, something that is beyond vanity; how choosing a hairstyle or color is much deeper than surface level; hairdressers, wigs, salons, hair products, hair tools, hair length, and so much more. We dig into when people realized that hair as an entrepreneurial venture could be profitable, hair throughout history, and what historians like our guest today might say about our hair 100 years from now. Walking us through it all is Dr. Elizabeth Block, who teaches us that studying hair and its importance is anything but frivolous. She is an art historian and a senior editor in the publications and editorial department at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. She is also the author of the award-winning Dressing Up: The Women Who Influenced French Fashion, and her work has appeared in Town & Country, Slate, BBC News, and BBC Woman’s Hour, among other prestigious places. I’m excited for you to hear what she has to say as we dig in.

Beyond Vanity: The History and Power of Hairdressing by Dr. Elizabeth Block

My annual best books episode with the dynamic Carla Jean Whitley never disappoints! Below are her picks, in order. Happy reading!

The Best Books She’s Read This Year:

I Have Some Questions for You by Rebecca Makkai (Fiction) 

Arrangements in Blue: Notes on Loving and Living Alone by Amy Key (Nonfiction) 

Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano (Fiction)

The Quickening: Creation and Community at the Ends of the Earth by Elizabeth Rush (Nonfiction, and her No. 1 pick of 2023!)

Tom Lake by Ann Patchett (Fiction)

Happily: A Personal History—With Fairy Tales by Sabrina Orah Mark (Nonfiction) 

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin (Fiction) 

You Could Make This Place Beautiful by Maggie Smith (Nonfiction) 

The Comfort of Crows: A Backyard Year by Margaret Renkl (Nonfiction) 

The Best Books She’s Reread This Year:

Frindle by Andrew Clements (Fiction)

The Giver by Lois Lowry (Fiction)

Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott (Nonfiction)

This is the Story of a Happy Marriage by Ann Patchett (Nonfiction) 

This Time Tomorrow by Emma Straub (Fiction)

Signal Fires by Dani Shapiro (Fiction)

The Books She Is Anticipating for 2024:

Sandwich by Catherine Newman (Fiction)

After Annie by Anna Quindlen (Fiction)

Grief Is for People by Sloane Crosley (Nonfiction)

The Last Fire Season by Manjula Martin (Nonfiction)

Splinters: Another Kind of Love Story by Leslie Jamison (Nonfiction)

If You Can't Take the Heat: Tales of Food, Feminism, and Fury by Geraldine DeRuiter (Nonfiction)

Twelve Trees: The Deep Roots of Our Future by Daniel Lewis (Nonfiction)

Anita De Monte Laughs Last by Xochitl Gonzalez (Fiction)

The Books I Am Anticipating for 2024:

The Summer Pact by Emily Giffin (Fiction)

Closer Together: Knowing Ourselves, Loving Each Other by Sophie Grégoire Trudeau (Nonfiction)

Today on the show we have a career retrospective episode with journalist Nancy Jo Sales, who walks us through her career writing for the likes of Vanity Fair, New York Magazine, Harper’s Bazaar, and more. Nancy Jo is a New York Times bestselling author, and we also discuss her three books: The Bling Ring: How a Gang of Fame-Obsessed Teens Ripped Off Hollywood and Shocked the World (which was made into a movie directed by Sofia Coppola), American Girls: Social Media and the Secret Lives of Teenagers, and Nothing Personal: My Secret Life in the Dating App Inferno; she is also behind a documentary film called Swiped: Hooking Up in the Digital Age, which aired on HBO. I know you’ll find Nancy Jo real and raw and transparent, and her career as a journalist has long inspired my own.

Books by Nancy Jo Sales:

The Bling Ring: How a Gang of Fame-Obsessed Teens Ripped Off Hollywood and Shocked the World

American Girls: Social Media and the Secret Lives of Teenagers

Nothing Personal: My Secret Life in the Dating App Inferno

Her HBO Documentary:

Swiped: Hooking Up in the Digital Age

Other Works Mentioned:

“The Suspects Wore Louboutins” by Nancy Jo Sales for Vanity Fair

Picture by Lillian Ross

Air Mail

Simply put? Today’s guest, Aurora James, is a force. I have no idea what hidden stash of hours she has to do all that she does in a day, a week, a month, a year—but she is changing the world. One of my favorite books of 2023 was her memoir, Wildflower, and I’m not alone—it was praised globally for its vulnerability and candidness. Aurora contains multitudes: in addition to being an author, she is the founder and designer behind Brother Vellies, a Black-owned and female-led lifestyle and accessories brand that is, in its own words, redefining luxury. Beyoncé, Solange Knowles, Elaine Welteroth, and Nicki Minaj have worn her items, and in 2015 Aurora made history as the first Black designer to win the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund prize; in 2020, she was on the cover of the September issue of Vogue. Also in 2020, after the senseless murder of George Floyd, Aurora founded the 15 Percent Pledge, a nonprofit that urges major retailers to commit 15 percent of shelf space to Black-owned businesses. Within two weeks of Aurora announcing the pledge on May 29, 2020, Sephora signed the pledge; companies like Macy’s, Rent the Runway, Yelp, and West Elm have followed. This is an impressive person who has left her mark in so many spaces, and I can’t tell you how much I enjoyed this conversation.

Wildflower by Aurora James

The one, the only Candace Bushnell is on the show today! *insert fangirl screaming here* As Sex and the City is my favorite show of all time—and Candace, you know, created the whole franchise back in 1994—this is a dream come true. I actually met Candace in person in 2019, when she was on her book tour for Is There Still Sex and the City?, and I found her to be as lovely as I hoped she would be. Most people probably know Candace best from penning The New York Observer column “Sex and the City” from 1994 to 1996, which later became an anthology of the same name in 1996 and, of course, an HBO show of the same name in 1998. But actually, Candace is one of those unicorn writers that can tackle both fiction and nonfiction writing and do both well. My favorite works from Candace are actually her novels, of which there are many: 4 Blondes, Trading Up, Lipstick Jungle (also made into a television show), One Fifth Avenue, and Killing Monica. She’s also written young adult fiction like The Carrie Diaries (also made into a television show), Summer and the City, and Rules for Being a Girl. Candace continues to evolve and pivot, and is now on tour with her one-woman show, “True Tales of Sex, Success, and Sex and the City” (go to candacebushnell.com for more information!) and is also helming a reality dating show for women over 50 that is generating tons of buzz. It was an honor to do this career retrospective with not just a talented writer, but a really cool person.

Sex and the City (1996)

4 Blondes (2000)

Trading Up (2003)

Lipstick Jungle (2005)

One Fifth Avenue (2008)

The Carrie Diaries (2010)

Summer and the City (2011)

Killing Monica (2015)

Is There Still Sex and the City? (2019)

Rules for Being a Girl (2020)

For Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino—star of MTV’s Jersey Shore and a career reality show talent with other appearances on shows like Dancing with the Stars and Celebrity Big Brother—the highs have been very high, and the lows have been very low. At his highest point (or at least what he thought was his highest point at the time), Mike was a multimillionaire, the second highest-paid reality star of 2010—second only to Kim Kardashian. Drugs, partying, and women came easily, and he was living seemingly every twentysomething man’s dream. But the lows were so low: a crippling drug addiction that could have taken his life, prison time for tax evasion, and nearly losing a child. In today’s conversation, we talk about it all, and Mike is candid, vulnerable, and real about every part of it. Today, Mike is a husband and a father to soon-to be three children (what he now realizes is truly what the dream life consists of), and truly believes this book will save lives—and I agree. A conversation my 25-year-old self could never dreamed of having, but one I am so glad I got to take part in.

Reality Check: Making the Best of the Situation by Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino

There will literally never be another "I'd Rather Be Reading" episode this short again. Enjoy it, and support your local booksellers this holiday season. That's all!

Today on the show we have one-half of one of my favorite writing duos: BBC’s Katty Kay who, along with fellow journalist Claire Shipman, has authored five books that are all about advancing womanhood. The bulk of our conversation today centers around The Confidence Code: The Science and Art of Self-Assurance— What Women Should Know, addressing specifically the confidence gap between men and women, which is keeping women from achieving their full potential. Confidence is something that matters so much but is so rarely spoken about like this—and conversations like this will hopefully move the needle forward. We also talk about the duo’s books Womenomics: Work Less, Achieve More, Live Better and their latest, The Power Code: More Joy, Less Ego, Maximum Impact for Women (and Everyone), which came out this summer. (They’ve also written two books geared towards a younger audience, The Confidence Code for Girls and Living the Confidence Code.) It’ll be impossible for you to not leave feeling empowered.

All by Katty Kay and Claire Shipman:

Womenomics: Work Less, Achieve More, Live Better

The Confidence Code: The Science and Art of Self-Assurance—What Women Should Know

The Power Code: More Joy, Less Ego, Maximum Impact for Women (and Everyone)

The Confidence Code for Girls

Living the Confidence Code

There are so many details when it comes to planning a wedding: what dress code will your guests wear? How about the flowers? Should you get a photographer, a videographer, or both? What do you want your wedding theme to be? (I honestly didn’t even know there was such a thing.) There are so many details to planning a wedding that it can be enormously overwhelming, but it will be decidedly less so with my guest today’s new book. Terri Pous had only been on one date with her now fiancé when she started writing How to Plan a Wedding: A Month-by-Month Guide for Modern Weddings, and now, of course, they’re deep in planning a wedding of their own—and through this book, Terri wrote her own guide to making wedding planning easier, she just didn’t know it at the time. Isn’t life beautiful? Terri’s book covers everything you can think of about wedding planning and some aspects of it that you wouldn’t even know to think of, and our conversation covers a pretty wide swath as well. Some of you know you will be planning a 2024 wedding; some of you are about to get engaged over the holidays and start wedding planning yourself, you just don’t know it yet! I know you will really enjoy this conversation, and I promise you will learn something.

How to Plan a Wedding: A Month-by-Month Guide for Modern Weddings by Terri Pous

Some episodes of this show are more niche, and some apply to us all—and this is an example of the latter. No matter where you’re at in your personal finance journey—whether you’re debt free and have it all figured out or are in a rock bottom moment financially—my guest today is here to teach you something. I am so excited to introduce you to my personal finance heroine Tiffany Aliche, also known as “The Budgetnista,” whose new book, Made Whole: The Practical Guide to Reaching Your Financial Goals, follows her New York Times-bestselling book Get Good with Money. Tiffany and I have a candid conversation about everything from budgets to savings to living wills, 401Ks, how a credit score is calculated, and more. If you’re intimidated by personal finance, you’re certainly not alone—but through this episode and reading her 10-step book, I promise you will emerge more confident and ready to tackle your personal finance goals as we walk into 2024. Don’t forget to visit madewholeworkbook.com (also linked below) to grab your copy!

Made Whole: The Practical Guide to Reaching Your Financial Goals by Tiffany Aliche

Today’s season nine opener is so fun—I could have talked to Rob Harvilla forever! We are going back to our mutual favorite decade, the 1990s, specifically to talk the decade’s music. And what a random grab bag assortment that decade was in terms of music: grunge. Ska. Swing. The Latin explosion. Bubblegum pop. Hip-hop—perhaps some of the best of the genre, ever. MTV still played music videos (!), and played them all the time. We all knew every song on the Top 40. The 1990s were magic, as Rob writes in his book 60 Songs That Explain the 90s, and we are tapping into that magic today. So many trends from the 1990s are coming back around in present day—and oh, to return to the days when our biggest worries were if we’d make it home in time to watch that day’s episode of TRL. If you know, you know.

60 Songs That Explain the 90s by Rob Harvilla

The 40th president of the United States, Ronald Reagan, is once again our topic du jour today, as we’re talking about Max Boot’s new book Reagan: His Life and Legend, which comes out on September 10. In the fantastic 880-page book, Max quotes someone as having said of Reagan that “there was almost no one who did not succumb to his magic.” Today on the show we talk about what that magic was; about his love story with his wife, Nancy Reagan, who Max writes in the book without her Reagan “would never have been elected to anything”; how he and his presidency are perceived 20 years after his death in 2004; and if, as Max writes in the book, “Reaganism contain[ed] the seeds of Trumpism?” Max and I talk about the differences between Reagan the man and Reagan the public figure, how he was as a father to his four children (one of whom we’ve had on the show!), where his elevated sense of self-confidence came from, and, of course, his legacy. Much to get into, and here to delve into it all with me is Max Boot, an author, historian, and policy analyst who, in addition to writing 880-page definitive biographies, is also a columnist for The Washington Post, a global affairs analyst for CNN, and the Jeane J. Kirkpatrick senior fellow in national security studies at the Council on Foreign Relations. In addition to this new book, Max has also written The Road Not Taken: Edward Lansdale and the American Tragedy in Vietnam, which was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Biography, and Invisible Armies: An Epic History of Guerilla Warfare from Ancient Times to the Present. He has also written The Savage Wars of Peace: Small Wars and the Rise of American Power and War Made New: Technology, Warfare, and the Course of History, 1500 to Today. An impressive man who has certainly written an impressive book.

Reagan: His Life and Legend by Max Boot

For our season eight finale, I had the honor of speaking to the editor-in-chief of Guideposts, a faith-based magazine I grew up reading, as my grandparents were subscribers. If you’ve listened to past episodes, you know that Alzheimer’s disease has profoundly affected my family, my grandparents, in particular—and that is the topic of conversation today, as I speak with Edward Grinnan about his mother’s battle with the disease and his fear of one day falling victim to it, too. This beautiful conversation has ugly facts embedded into it, like that, in the absence of a cure, Alzheimer’s will have a $355 billion economic impact by 2050. I was not given a brain for science to help cure this—but I am able to do my part to spread awareness of it. I am proud to use any platform I have to advocate for a cure for this terrible disease—and I want to dedicate this season eight finale (and all of my work) to my grandparents, who I miss every day of my life.

A Journey of Faith: A Mother’s Alzheimer’s, a Son’s Love, and His Search for Answers by Edward Grinnan

Samantha Harris—a broadcaster who you know from co-hosting Dancing with the Stars alongside Tom Bergeron for seven seasons and hosting shows like E! News, Entertainment Tonight, and so many more—is the picture of health, and even wrote the book on it back in 2018. She’s also a breast cancer survivor and learned firsthand that, at the end of the day, if your health is compromised, not much else matters. Today we have a wide ranging conversation about diet, exercise, and getting to our healthiest healthy—and don’t forget to reach out to her via Instagram or Facebook for her clean beauty products PDF, which she has graciously offered to all of you listeners. Just DM her @samanthaharristv for this great resource.

Your Healthiest Healthy: 8 Easy Steps to Take Control, Help Prevent and Fight Cancer, and Live a Longer, Cleaner, Happier Life by Samantha Harris

Who knew that a text about blueberries could nearly end a marriage? Eve Rodsky received a text from her husband, Seth, asking why she didn’t pick up blueberries at the store—and it sparked a movement that has saved countless marriages and made women’s time and the value of it a topic in the forefront of conversation. A Harvard-educated lawyer, Eve is the author of two of my favorite books: Fair Play: A Game Changing Solution for When You Have Too Much to Do (and More Life to Live) and Find Your Unicorn Space: Reclaim Your Creative Life in a Too Busy World. Both books, at their core, are about time: in Fair Play, how to create a more equitable division of labor within a household, and in Find Your Unicorn Space, how to create—period. Creativity, as Eve argues, is not optional—it is essential, and makes us more interested and interesting. This is an interview I’ve wanted to have for years and am so thankful to have made it happen, hence its release on Thanksgiving. Both books are essential to modern womanhood (and personhood, really), and are groundbreaking in their respective approaches. Two must reads, and a must listen.

Fair Play: A Game Changing Solution for When You Have Too Much to Do (and More Life to Live) by Eve Rodsky

Find Your Unicorn Space: Reclaim Your Creative Life In a Too Busy World by Eve Rodsky

This conversation lit a fire in me, and I knew I’d Rather Be Reading was nowhere near finished. Mitch is the author of my favorite work of fiction of all time, The Five People You Meet in Heaven, and his latest, The Little Liar, is just as powerful. It takes us back to the Holocaust, a beautiful tale during an awful time told masterfully by the well-researched and thoughtful Mitch Albom. This show is about nonfiction books, so you know if we have a fiction pick on the show, it’s special. That’s what this book is, in a nutshell—special, and worthy of a spot on your bookshelf.

The Little Liar by Mitch Albom

The Murdaugh saga (there is no better word I can find for it than that) gripped the nation earlier this year, as patriarch Alex Murdaugh was sentenced to two life sentences for the brutal murders of his wife, Maggie, and younger son, Paul. As horrific as that crime alone is, that’s nowhere near where the Murdaugh saga begins or ends. In 2019, a boat driven by Paul crashed and killed friend Mallory Beach; an upcoming hearing about the Murdaugh finances is what I believe killed Paul and Maggie just three days prior. There’s also the 2015 murder of Stephen Smith on a rural road in Hampton County, South Carolina, and the 2018 alleged “accidental” death of the Murdaugh housekeeper, Gloria Satterfield. Three months after Paul and Maggie were murdered in June 2021, Alex was shot in the head in a failed assisted suicide that September. He was eventually arrested for Paul and Maggie’s murders and convicted on March 2, 2023. Alex is also believed to have embezzled up to $20 million, mostly from his clients he was paid to help, all in support of a rampant opioid addiction. Today on the show we have the reporter who covered the Murdaughs from the 2019 boat crash forward, Mandy Matney. In addition to covering the case, she also hosts the extremely popular Murdaugh Murders podcast, and if you know anything about the Murdaugh saga, you’ve likely heard of her or her podcast. Her new book about the Murdaugh trial comes out November 14, and it’s a must read if you’re even 1 percent interested in this wild “truth is stranger than fiction” saga.

Blood on Their Hands: Murder, Corruption, and the Fall of the Murdaugh Dynasty by Mandy Matney

It’s very rare I know my guests on the show personally, but for today’s episode, I do. I have been proud to know Mark Dent and Rustin Dodd since our days as students at the University of Kansas, where we all graduated from journalism school in the same class—the class of 2009. (As the senior class president of the class of 2009 back in my glory days, to that I say a heartfelt Rock Chalk.) Mark and Rustin have gone on to have extremely successful careers, both in sportswriting; Mark is now working in the business and tech sector. (You’ll hear all about what they’ve done with the past 14 years on the show.) These longtime friends just wrote a book together, Kingdom Quarterback: Patrick Mahomes, the Kansas City Chiefs, and How a Once Swingin’ Cow Town Chased the Ultimate Comeback, which zooms in on the quarterback of a generation, Patrick Mahomes, and how the Kansas City Chiefs have gone from struggling to winning their first Super Bowl in 50 years in 2020, made another Super Bowl appearance in 2021, and won this year’s Super Bowl, as well. (And more to come.) In addition to being about Mahomes and the Chiefs, the book is just as much about Kansas City—a love letter of sorts to the place where Mark and Rustin grew up. And if you’re wondering about the Kansas City Chiefs elephant in the room—Taylor Swift—yes, we do talk about her, and her connection to the so-called “greater Kansas City area” goes even deeper than you think.

Kingdom Quarterback: Patrick Mahomes, the Kansas City Chiefs, and How a Once Swingin’ Cow Town Chased the Ultimate Comeback by Mark Dent and Rustin Dodd

It's January 15, 1978. Kathy Kleiner is a student at Florida State University and is asleep in her room at the Chi Omega sorority house. Unbeknownst to her, a serial killer named Ted Bundy has discovered the sorority house’s back door is accessible—the lock is broken. That night, he broke into the house, murdered two of her sorority sisters, savagely injured Kathy and her roommate, and changed so many lives forever. Today, Kathy gets to tell her story. It is harrowing and terrifying, and please be forewarned that this conversation contains graphic descriptions of violence that is very difficult to listen to. Bundy was ultimately convicted of murder in Florida and executed by electrocution on January 24, 1989; his total victim count is unknown, but it numbers over 30 women across seven states from 1974 to 1978. Kathy is the first confirmed survivor of his to write a book, and it is a beautiful one, though the subject matter is ugly. As Kathy put it, she didn’t just want to survive—she wanted to live. And that she has. This book is her offering to honor Bundy’s victims who never got the chance to tell their story. One of the most, if not the most, powerful conversations I’ve ever had.

A Light in the Dark: Surviving More Than Ted Bundy by Kathy Kleiner Rubin

From beauty in our last throwback pick episode to fashion in this one, I have another of my heroes, Robin Givhan, on the program today. Robin is a fashion critic at The Washington Post and is a Pulitzer Prize winner, having won the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism in 2006—the first time that award was given to a fashion writer. Just as she herself has made history, her 2015 book The Battle of Versailles: The Night American Fashion Stumbled into the Spotlight and Made History talks about a night that was so culturally impactful it forever changed the history of fashion, specifically American fashion. The Battle of Versailles took place 50 years ago this month, and saw five French designers (Yves Saint Laurent, Pierre Cardin, Emanuel Ungaro, Marc Bohan, and Hubert de Givenchy) pitted against five American designers (Oscar de la Renta, Stephen Burrows, Halston, Bill Blass, and Anne Klein) in a competition concocted to raise money for the restoration of the Palace of Versailles. The deck was more than stacked against the American fashion designers—it was all but assured that victory would go to the French. But then, lo and behold, the Americans stole the show, and not just the American fashion industry but the global fashion industry changed forever. It is a fantastic conversation about a game-changing moment in history with one of the most respected journalists in the fashion stratosphere. I can’t wait for you to listen.

The Battle of Versailles: The Night American Fashion Stumbled Into the Spotlight and Made History by Robin Givhan

Today’s episode is truly a dream come true—I get to chat with one of my heroes in the magazine industry, Jean Godfrey-June, current beauty editor at Goop, former beauty editor at Lucky, a writer for Elle and Vanity Fair, and the author of today’s throwback pick, 2006’s Free Gift with Purchase: My Improbable Career in Magazines and Makeup—her memoir. I am happy to tell you that, even though she’s interviewed everyone and seen everything, she is so down to earth and relatable—the ultimate cool girl. A legend in the beauty space and in the magazine industry (and she is currently cringing as she reads this), Jean takes us inside the golden era of magazines, what its like to be inside the beauty closet at one of the world’s biggest fashion magazines, and we pay very much due homage to the dearly departed Lucky magazine. This is a conversation not to be missed, my friends.

Free Gift with Purchase: My Improbable Career in Magazines and Makeup by Jean Godfrey-June

When we think of famous pairs, we’ve got Beyoncé and Jay-Z, Thelma and Louise, Bonnie and Clyde, and, per the topic of today’s discussion, Siskel and Ebert. These two film critics were fierce rivals working for competing newspapers in Chicago and never envisioned working together—when I say they were bitter rivals, put some emphasis on the bitter—but ended up uniting to form a partnership that changed the way we see movies forever. Here to talk about it all is Matt Singer, whose new book explores the team of Siskel and Ebert, how they changed the game, and what their legacy is, 25 years after Gene Siskel unexpectedly passed away in early 1999.

Opposable Thumbs: How Siskel & Ebert Changed Movies Forever by Matt Singer

Let me ask you a question—how much time have you spent really, truly thinking about the United States’ second president, John Adams? Probably not a ton—but today’s conversation will certainly make you think about him, and probably think a bit differently about him, at that. John Adams came into the presidency on the heels of an impossible act to follow—President George Washington, who today’s guest Dr. Lindsay M. Chervinsky writes in her new book Making the Presidency: John Adams and the Precedents that Forged the Republic, was set apart, as “no one else possessed his stature or enjoyed the same level of public trust—and no one else ever would again.” When it came to John Adams, Lindsay writes in the book—which is out September 5—that he “was tasked with navigating the presidency without that unique prestige. He was guaranteed to fall short in comparison to Washington.” Even if Washington wasn’t as beloved a leader as he was, it still would have been a challenge to be the second president of the United States. As Lindsay writes, “Whoever came next was going to mold the office for all the chief executives to follow. John Adams was an experienced diplomat and a thoughtful constitutional thinker. He was also irascible, stubborn, quixotic, and certain that he knew best most of the time. He proved the right man for the moment.” In our conversation today, Lindsay explains why that is so, and how Washington may have created the presidency, but Adams defined it. Today we talk about Adams’ relationship with Washington (after all, he was Washington’s vice president); Adams’ relationship with Thomas Jefferson, who succeeded him in office; how Washington undermined Adams’ success as president; Adams as a leader throughout his 27 years dedicated to public service; Adams as a husband to Abigail and a father to, among others, a future president, John Quincy Adams; and so much more. Incredibly interestingly, Lindsay is the executive director of the George Washington Presidential Library and the author of The Cabinet: George Washington and the Creation of an American Institution. She’s also the co-editor of Mourning the Presidents: Loss and Legacy in American Culture and was a historian at the White House Historical Association. She has been published in Time Magazine, USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, Washington Monthly, and CNN.com, and, as a presidential historian, is a frequent presidential commentator on national TV and radio.  Today’s conversation is certainly about President John Adams, but it's about the presidency as a whole, too, and I’m excited for you to listen to what Lindsay has to say.

Making the Presidency: John Adams and the Precedents That Forged the Republic by Dr. Lindsay M. Chervinsky

Here’s the thing: whether we claim it or not, we all have a personal style. So why not take control of it and leverage it for the good? Our guest today, Allison Bornstein, will teach you how to do just that. There are so many quantifiable tips on this episode -- The AB Closet Editing System! The Three Word Method! The Nine Universal Pieces! -- that the only way you won’t learn something is if you don’t listen. When you look good, you feel good, and, as Allison will teach us, fashion is a tool for self-expression and overall wellness. Let’s lean into it!

Wear it Well: Reclaim Your Closet and Rediscover the Joy of Getting Dressed by Allison Bornstein

The 1970s was a pivotal decade in the wide world of sports: Title IX and women and sports; widespread racial integration across athletics; athletes taking their power back and taking ownership of their careers; sports shifting to primetime television; and so much more. I don’t think any of us realize until author Michael MacCambridge put it all in writing just how much the 1970s changed sports forever. He is here to talk about it all with me today—and stick around until the end of the episode, where two Kansas City Chiefs aficionados shoot the breeze about the infiltration of Taylor Swift into our city. It’s a great listen.

The Big Time: How the 1970s Transformed Sports in America by Michael MacCambridge

Just when you think you know everything there is to know about the Beatles, the most famous group in history—you’re wrong. Today on the show we have the Beatles expert himself, Philip Norman, here to break down George Harrison, as complex and complicated a character as they come. Just about as antithetical to fame as it gets, George never saw his talent like the rest of the world did, and his contributions to music are vast: “Something.” “While My Guitar Gently Weeps.” “Here Comes the Sun.” “My Sweet Lord.” In addition to his professional life, his personal life is compelling too. (Four words—Pattie Boyd. Eric Clapton.) He left us far too soon nearly 22 years ago, and I am excited to bring you part of his story through this conversation.