Episodes

  • Ep. 176 Ronald Feinman, "Assassinations, Threats, and the American Presidency"

    Ep. 176 Ronald Feinman, "Assassinations, Threats, and the American Presidency"
    Jul 23 2024
    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
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    1 hr and 4 mins
  • Ep. 175 Nigel West, "Operation Garbo"

    Ep. 175 Nigel West, "Operation Garbo"
    Jul 16 2024
    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
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    1 hr and 12 mins
  • Ep. 174 Investigative Reporter Brody Mullins on Google & Law Professor Joshua Wright, and "The Wolves of K Street"

    Ep. 174 Investigative Reporter Brody Mullins on Google & Law Professor Joshua Wright, and "The Wolves of K Street"
    Jul 9 2024
    On Saturday, June 8th, 2024, the headline in the Wall Street Journal Saturday review section read: "The Hidden Life of Google's Secret Weapon." The author was Brody Mullins, a veteran investigative reporter for the Journal. The series ran over 3 days. The focus was on a man named Joshua Wright, a lawyer and former law professor at George Mason University Law School. Under the Journal headline, the paper declares that: "Joshua Wright cleared a path to domination for the world’s biggest tech companies, keeping regulators at bay while juggling inappropriate relationships and skirting conflict-of-interest standards at every turn." Brody Mullins, with his brother Luke, also has a new book out called "The Wolves of K Street." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    1 hr and 11 mins
  • Ep. 173 Robert Schmuhl, "Mr. Churchill in the White House"

    Ep. 173 Robert Schmuhl, "Mr. Churchill in the White House"
    Jul 2 2024
    Robert Schmuhl is the Walter Annenberg-Edmund Joyce Chair Emeritus in American Studies and Journalism at the University of Notre Dame. He has often written about the American presidency. His newest book is "Mr. Churchill in the White House: The Untold Story of a Prime Minister and Two Presidents." Prof. Schmuhl says both Roosevelt and Eisenhower eventually adjusted to the unconventional habits and hours of their White House guest, who not only proposed his visits but almost always, by accident or design, stayed longer than initially intended. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    1 hr and 12 mins
  • Ep. 172 David Tatel, "Vision"

    Ep. 172 David Tatel, "Vision"
    Jun 25 2024
    On January 16, 2024, after nearly 30 years, David Tatel retired as a judge on the Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. On the cover of his new memoir is a photo of Judge Tatel in his black robe with his dog Vixen standing on his left side. The book is titled "Vision: A Memoir of Blindness and Justice." He says he wrote the book together with his wife Edie. "Day in and day out we sat at our long desk overlooking an immense oak tree and the hills beyond, Edie on the left with her laptop and me on the right with my brail computer. We wrote, we debated, we laughed, we deleted words, paragraphs, pages. Slowly but surely, a book emerged." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    1 hr and 13 mins
  • Ep. 171 Historian Stacey Schiff at Purdue University

    Ep. 171 Historian Stacey Schiff at Purdue University
    Jun 18 2024
    Six-time book author Stacy Schiff made a guest appearance in early April at Purdue University. She was a guest of the C-SPAN Center for Scholarship & Engagement. A large number of questions were asked by the students studying communications and political science. Stacy Schiff's latest book "The Revolutionary: Samuel Adams" was published in 2022. Her 2005 book on Benjamin Franklin has been used as a primary source for an Apple TV series currently available on that streaming service. Students also asked her about her writing and her other books from "Cleopatra" to "The Witches: Salem, 1692." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    1 hr and 11 mins
  • Ep. 170 Garrett Graff, "When the Sea Came Alive"

    Ep. 170 Garrett Graff, "When the Sea Came Alive"
    Jun 11 2024
    "June 6, 1944, is the most famous single day in all human history." Those are the words of Garrett Graff in his author's note in his book "When the Sea Came Alive." This month is the 80th anniversary of the Normandy landing in World War II. As Graff introduces the reader to his oral history of D-Day, he writes: "The official launch of Operation Overlord, the long-anticipated invasion of Western Europe, marks a feat of unprecedented human audacity. A mission more ambitious and complex than anything ever seen, before or since, and a key turning point in the fight for a cause among the most noble humans have ever fought." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    1 hr and 7 mins
  • Ep. 169: Erik Larson, "The Demon of Unrest"

    Ep. 169: Erik Larson, "The Demon of Unrest"
    Jun 4 2024
    In the first week of publication of Erik Larson's latest book, "The Demon of Unrest," sales put it at the very top of the bestseller list. It's about the start of the Civil War, with a focus on the five months between Abraham Lincoln's election and the day of the first shot fired on Fort Sumter, which is off the coast of Charleston, South Carolina. That was April 12, 1861. In his introduction, Erik Larson writes: "I invite you now to step into the past, to that time of fear and dissension…I suspect your sense of dread will be all the more pronounced in light of today's political discord…" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    1 hr and 9 mins