Joshua Hammer: Negroni (1 ounce gin, 1 ounce sweet vermouth, 1 ounce Compari, garnish with orange rind)

Joshua tells of his harrowing kidnapping in Gaza in 2001 while he was the Jerusalem bureau chief for Newsweek, then of his second kidnapping in Iraq in 2004, recounts overlapping with Jon Meacham at the Reagan Ranch, gives his thoughts on how to structure a magazine piece and a book-length work of narrative history, tells the pros and cons of being an expat in Berlin, and paints a bleak picture for the future of the print magazine.

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Nick Petrie: whiskey on the rocks

Nick reveals the sage advice CJ Box gave him at the reception for the Edgar Awards that he’s held onto ever since, explains how his work as a building inspector meeting veterans who were buying a first home became a driving force for his debut novel, tells the meaning behind the character name Peter Ash, identifies the key differences between being a full-time or part-time writer, names the two possessions of each writer.

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Julian Sancton: dry martini (3 ounces gin, 2 drops dry vermouth, lemon twist)

Julian shares the greatest sunken treasure story of all time (and it’s real) that makes the treasure of the Outer Banks tv series look puny, warns of the harm that Bob Iger and Disney’s move into OpenAI could do, discusses the impact that podcasts will have on the media landscape, reveals the pros and cons of growing up with a father and grandfather who are published authors.

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Grant Ginder: Negroni (1 ounce each of gin, sweet vermouth, Campari served with orange rind)

Grant tells the story of taking a fiction writing class with Colson Whitehead, describes his reaction to reading drafts of the screenplay for his novel The People We Hate at the Wedding that starred Kristen Bell and Allison Janney, reveals what you can expect from the writing course he teaches at NYU, talks about the process of writing speeches for John Podesta and others, offers a powerful piece of advice for aspiring writers.

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Brad Meltzer: Asombroso tequila, neat

Brad discusses the elusiveness of closure in life and how writing THE VIPER helped him come to terms with his own relationship with his father, reveals certain aspects of the top-secret Dover Air Force Base, shares the mysterious ways that witness protection has changed, gives the behind-the-scenes story of his wildly viral commencement speech at Michigan, and names his favorite podcast.

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Doug Picks 4 books for 2026 with background noise provided by his dog Thunder who is romping in the snow

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Catherine Grace Katz: Gunner (equal parts ginger beer & ginger ale with fresh lime juice and dash bitters)

Catherine describes how Stalin made an emergency dash to the bathroom during the 1945 Yalta conference which was briefly mistaken for an American kidnapping plot, the treasures she found in personal letters of the Churchill and Harriman archives, the friendships and rivalries and sexual affairs that took place in the insular wartime diplomatic community, the key piece of advice she followed throughout the writing process to make the book a success, and which of the Big 3 had the most significant impact on the 20th century.

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Rick Atkinson: Manhattan (2 1/2 ounces Michter’s rye, 1 ounce sweet vermouth, dash bitters served up with Luxardo cherry)

Rick names the most intelligent of the Founding Fathers, shows the ways King George III has been misrepresented in history, explains his experiences visiting the battlefields he writes about and why the visits are important, talks through the ways to manage personal finances in the career of a writer, and suggests that a knowledge of history can help us to cope with life in the present day.

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