Best Booknotes Podcasts (2025)

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Ep. 217 Clay Risen, "Red Scare" 1:11:25

1d ago1:11:25

1:11:25

McCarthyism, Whitaker Chambers, Alger Hiss, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, Paul Robeson, House Un-American Activities Committee, the Smith Act, the Hollywood 10, the Joint Anti-Fascist Committee, the Truman Loyalty Program, the Blacklist, book burning, and communism – all subjects of controversy during the 1930s, 40s, and 50s here in the United States…

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"The Year that Made America" with Tom McMillian 56:45

1d ago56:45

56:45

The untold story of how America's declaration of independence hinged on seven critical months in 1776 and the courageous votes that changed the world forever. This gripping account reveals the precarious path to American independence through a series of pivotal dates that history has nearly forgotten. While July 4th claims the glory, the actual vot…

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Ep. 216 Jill Eicher, "Mellon vs. Churchill" 1:11:24

8d ago1:11:24

1:11:24

After a career in investment management and some time as a credit risk specialist at the US Treasury Department, Jill Eicher has written her first book titled, "Melon vs. Churchill: The Untold Story of Treasury Titans at War." It's all about the collection of war debts from World War I, which was fought between 1914 and 1918. Andrew Mellon, a wealt…

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Ep. 215 Dr. Hassan Tetteh, "Smarter Healthcare with AI" 1:15:26

15d ago1:15:26

1:15:26

Dr. Hassan Tetteh, in his latest book, opens the introduction with a question: "How do we prepare for the future with AI?" His primary focus is on healthcare and AI, but it's subtitled "Harnessing Military Medicine to Revolutionize Healthcare for Everyone Everywhere." Dr. Tetteh is currently based at Howard University and Inova Hospital in Fairfax,…

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Ep. 214 Phil Tinline, "Ghosts of Iron Mountain" 1:10:48

22d ago1:10:48

1:10:48

British writer Phil Tinline has written a book titled "Ghosts of Iron Mountain." The publisher Scribner calls it "an investigative masterpiece for readers curious about the surprising connection between John F. Kennedy, Oliver Stone, Timothy McVeigh, QAnon, Alex Jones, and Donald Trump." In his introduction, author Tinline says the book is the true…

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"Threshold to Valley Forge" with Sheilah Vance 57:03

23d ago57:03

57:03

From December 12-19, 1777, Washington's Army encamped in the towering hills of Gulph Mills, Pennsylvania, fifteen miles from Philadelphia. Known as the Threshold to Valley Forge, the Gulph Mills Encampment is often forgotten or minimized, falling as it did between the more famous military engagements of the Philadelphia Campaign and the well-known …

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Ep. 213 Richard Overy, "Rain of Ruin" 1:00:48

29d ago1:00:48

1:00:48

Richard Overy is a British historian who has spent most of his professional life writing books about war, primarily World War II. Professor Overy's current work is called "Rain of Ruin: Tokyo, Hiroshima, and the Surrender of Japan." Liner notes on the cover of the book say: "With the development of the B-29 Super Fortress in the summer of 1944, str…

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Ep. 212 Dennis Hutchinson, "The Forgotten Memoir of John Knox" 1:08:44

1M ago1:08:44

1:08:44

As a follow on to Stuart Banner's history of the Supreme Court, this week's Booknotes+ podcast features a 2002 interview with Dennis Hutchinson, a University of Chicago law professor emeritus. The subject matter: the forgotten memoir of John Knox, a law clerk to former justice James McReynolds, a native of Kentucky. Knox's year was the term beginni…

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"A Killer at the Door" with Bruce Mowday 53:48

1M ago53:48

53:48

In summer 2023, Chester County, Pennsylvania, was shaken by the daring escape of convicted murderer Danilo Cavalcante. Cavalcante scaled a prison wall, sparking a gripping two-week manhunt. He traversed forests, farmlands, and neighborhoods, evading law enforcement and causing schools to close, businesses to shutter, and streets to empty. pcntv.com…

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Ep. 211 Stuart Banner, "The Most Powerful Court in the World" 1:12:49

1M ago1:12:49

1:12:49

UCLA law professor Stuart Banner's book, "The Most Powerful Court in the World," is a history of the United States Supreme Court from the founding era to the present. In his introduction, Stuart Banner writes that: "Today, critics on the left accuse the justices of deciding cases on political rather than legal grounds. This book shows that the Cour…

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"Life, Liberty, and Death on the Appalachian Frontier" with Robert Swift 58:47

1M ago58:47

58:47

Learn about the stories of the men and women who traveled across the mountain ranges and through the valleys that made up the Appalachian region, focusing on the 18th century leading to the American Revolution and events that occurred mainly in Pennsylvania and New York. pcntv.com/donate pcntv.com/membership-signup pcntv.com…

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The C-SPAN Story 1:15:54

2M ago1:15:54

1:15:54

C-SPAN Founder Brian Lamb is in conversation with Sam Feist, the network's CEO, and Susan Swain, C-SPAN's former co-CEO, about his quest to bring live, gavel-to-gavel coverage of Congress into every American home. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesBy C-SPAN

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Ep. 210 Steven Gillon, "Presidents at War" 1:07:42

2M ago1:07:42

1:07:42

Steven Gillon was a scholar in residence at the History Channel for more than 20 years. He has written 12 books on subjects including a history of the United States, the Kerner Commission, Lee Harvey Oswald, and the Life of John F. Kennedy Jr. His latest book is titled "Presidents at War: How World War II Shaped a Generation of Presidents from Eise…

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"The Soul of Pittsburgh" with Ed Simon 57:53

2M ago57:53

57:53

Pittsburgh contains multitudes. From the decline of the steel industry and the exodus of a vast diaspora of Pittsburghers to its reinvention as a trendy mid-sized metropolis, the ethos of the Steel City remains ever-changing. This project was financed in part by a grant from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the Department of Community and Economic…

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Ep. 209 Alexandra Richie, "Warsaw 1944" 1:14:37

2M ago1:14:37

1:14:37

As a follow up to our recent podcast regarding the life and times of Anne Frank, we asked author Alexandra Ritchie to tell us more about the horrors of World War II and Poland. Ritchie, a citizen of Canada, now lives in the city which is the title of her book, Warsaw. Her focus is on 1944 and what was called the Warsaw Uprising. In her introduction…

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Ep. 208 Katherine Carter, "Churchill's Citadel" 1:04:39

2M ago1:04:39

1:04:39

In the years right before World War II started in 1939, Winston Churchill had been out of government. However, even though he was far from power, his country home, Chartwell, became Churchill's headquarters of his campaign against Nazi Germany. Catherine Carter is a curator and historian who has managed the house and collections at Chartwell. Her n…

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"Jazz in the Hill" with Colter Harper 53:16

2M ago53:16

53:16

From the 1920s through the 1960s, Pittsburgh's Hill District was the heart of the city's Black cultural life and home to a vibrant jazz scene. In Jazz in the Hill: Nightlife and Narratives of a Pittsburgh Neighborhood, Colter Harper looks at how jazz shaped the neighborhood and created a way of life. This project was financed in part by a grant fro…

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Ep. 207 Ruth Franklin, "The Many Lives of Anne Frank" 1:07:44

2M ago1:07:44

1:07:44

80 years ago, in early 1945, 15-year-old Anne Frank died from a typhus epidemic in the Nazi German-based concentration camp Bergen-Belsen. As the 7500 square foot replica of the Otto Frank family secret annex in Amsterdam opens in New York City, writer Ruth Franklin is publishing her new biography called "The Many Lives of Anne Frank." According to…

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"Into the Cold Blue" with John Homan 58:26

3M ago58:26

58:26

A born daredevil, John Homan joined the Army Air Forces after the attack on Pearl Harbor. By 1944, he was co-piloting a B-24 Liberator over Nazi Germany, raining death and destruction on the enemy. The tale will leave readers staggered by the determination and grit of World War II aviators. This project was financed in part by a grant from the Comm…

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Ep. 206 Sean McMeekin, "July 1914" 1:13:30

3M ago1:13:30

1:13:30

A little over 100 years ago was the beginning of what's often been called the Great War. World War I had military casualties of over nine million and millions more of civilians. Professor Sean McMeekin of Bard College, located in New York State, has written 9 books since 2003 on subjects that include German history, Russian history, the Ottoman Emp…

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Ep. 205 David Levering Lewis, "The Stained Glass Window" 1:10:39

3M ago1:10:39

1:10:39

David Levering Lewis is an American historian and retired professor from New York University. He's the author of 12 books and the winner of two Pulitzer Prizes for his two volumes on the life of W.E.B. DuBoisC. At 88 years old, Prof. Lewis has written a memoir that, as he says, focuses on "a past I barely knew." He a native of St. Louis, MO, with d…

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Ep. 204 Jane Calvert, "Penman of the Founding" 1:18:02

3M ago1:18:02

1:18:02

John Dickinson is one of the most significant founders of the United States who is not well known by the American public. Author Jane Calvert is trying to change that with her new biography "Penman of the Founding." John Dickinson is known for his 9 essays under the title Fabius, published anonymously in newspapers during the time that the states w…

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Ep. 203 Robert Kaplan, "Waste Land" 1:12:05

3M ago1:12:05

1:12:05

For In his latest book titled "Waste Land," author Robert Kaplan focuses on the importance of technology in determining the world's future. Kaplan, author of 24 books, holds the chair in geopolitics at the Foreign Policy Institute. In Chapter 3 of his 177-page book, he claims: "…civilization is now in flux. The ongoing decay of the West is manifest…

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Ep. 202 John Berendt, "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil" 1:09:09

4M ago1:09:09

1:09:09

For 216 weeks, a record, John Berendt's book "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil" sat on the New York Times best sellers list. It was published in 1994. It sold more than 1.5 million copies. Mr. Berendt, a Syracuse native, is today 85 and lives in New York City. A musical based on the book opened in Chicago in 2024 and will open on Broadway in…

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Ep. 201 Lincoln Scholar Harold Holzer on His Life & Work 5:20:23

4M ago5:20:23

5:20:23

Since his first interview on C-SPAN on Booknotes in 1993, Harold Holzer has appeared on the network close to 200 times. Up to that year he had written or edited 6 books on Abraham Lincoln. Since then, Harold Holzer has added another 50 books to his name. C-SPAN viewers and listeners have had the opportunity to hear Mr. Holzer talk about Lincoln's l…

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Ep. 200 Michael Tackett, "The Price of Power" 1:05:40

4M ago1:05:40

1:05:40

Kentucky senator Mitch McConnell has spent 40 years in the United States Senate, 17 of those as leader of his Republican colleagues. That's the longest any senator has been at the top of the leadership rung in either political party. Sen. John Thune (R-SD) was elected a few weeks ago to head up the Republican majority in the Senate in 2025. Journal…

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Ep. 199 Brion McClanahan, "9 Presidents Who Screwed Up America" 1:22:35

4M ago1:22:35

1:22:35

Brion McClanahan has a PhD in history from the University of South Carolina. Several years ago, he wrote a book titled "9 Presidents Who Screwed Up America: And Four Who Tried to Save Her." His view on the presidency is not the traditional one you get from most historians. On the back of his book, published by Regnery History, the liner notes claim…

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Ep. 198 Peter Osnos, "LBJ & McNamara" 1:00:08

4M ago1:00:08

1:00:08

In his latest book, "LBJ & McNamara," Peter Osnos's dedication reads this way: "To those on the Vietnam Wall on the Mall and their countless Vietnamese counterparts. It did not have to happen." In his role as publisher at PublicAffairs Books, Osnos spent numerous hours working with former Defense Secretary Robert McNamara for his 1995 book, "In Ret…

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"Cradle of Conservation" with Allen Dieterich-Ward 1:00:10

5M ago1:00:10

1:00:10

From the origins of "Penn's Woods" to the controversial practice of fracking, Cradle of Conservation provides the first comprehensive study of Pennsylvania's environmental history. The story starts with forester Ralph Brock at the dawn of the conservation era and continues through the eras of energy production using coal, oil, natural gas, and othe…

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Ep. 197: Edward Aldrich, "The Partnership" 1:05:28

5M ago1:05:28

1:05:28

In an earlier conversation in this series, Evan Thomas discussed his 1986 book, "The Wise Men." There were 6 of them: Messrs. Acheson, Bohlen, Harriman, McCloy, Lovett, and Kennan. In this episode, we asked Edward "Ted" Aldrich to discuss his book titled "The Partnership: George Marshall, Henry Stimson, and the Extraordinary Collaboration That Won …

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"Never To Be Forgotten" with Jim McClure 57:12

5M ago57:12

57:12

"Never To Be Forgotten" tells the story of York County Pennsylvania residents just living their lives, building homes, raising families, making things and growing communities. The general history of this south central Pennsylvania county shows - with concise writing and more than 250 pictures - a community that is working hard at getting better - a…

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"William Trent: Factor of Ambition" with Jason Cherry 57:11

5M ago57:11

57:11

Take a new definitive look through the eyes of a misunderstood backcountry merchant, Major William Trent, who not only overcame obstacles and suffered loss, but whose strong quill and rebellious interactions with future founding fathers Benjamin Franklin, and George Washington, ambitiously helped shape and form the future United States of America. …

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Ep. 196 James Bradley, "Martin Van Buren" 1:08:35

5M ago1:08:35

1:08:35

James M. Bradley's biography of Martin Van Buren is the first full-scale portrait of the 8th president in 4 decades. Mr. Bradley is co-editor of the Martin Van Buren papers and teaches in the public history program at the State University of New York at Albany. In his introduction, he writes: "As this biography will show, reaching the nation's high…

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Ep. 195 Evan Thomas, "The Wise Men" 58:59

5M ago58:59

58:59

A book called "The Wise Men" was first published in 1986. The cover copy says that "it was about six friends and the world they made." The names Harriman, Lovett, Acheson, McCloy, Kennan, and Bohlen are only to be found in the history books today. Co-authors Evan Thomas and Walter Isaacson were in their mid-thirties. In the updated 2012 introductio…

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Ep. 194 Corey Brettschneider, "The Presidents and the People" 1:10:56

5M ago1:10:56

1:10:56

According to professor Corey Brettschneider, author of "The Presidents and the People," the following presidents in history threatened democracy: "John Adams waged war on the national press…prosecuting as many as 126 people who dared criticize him…James Buchanan colluded with the Supreme Court to deny constitutional personhood to African Americans……

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Ep. 193 Talmage Boston, "How the Best Did It" 1:13:30

6M ago1:13:30

1:13:30

Talmage Boston considers himself a full-time lawyer and a full-time historian. His latest book is called "How the Best Did It: Leadership Lessons from Our Top Presidents." He chose the first 4 of 8 off the face of Mount Rushmore: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, and Theodore Roosevelt. In addition, Mr. Boston chose 24 distinct …

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Ep. 192 Kyla Scanlon, "In This Economy?" 1:05:13

6M ago1:05:13

1:05:13

The title of the book is "In This Economy?" The author, Kyla Scanlon, subtitles her 277-page effort: "How Money and Markets Really Work." Ms. Scanlon is a 27-year-old graduate of Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green. The author description in the back of the book says Kyla Scanlon is a writer and a video creator focused on "human-centric ec…

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Ep. 191 Tess Owen, "Inside the Patriot Wing" 1:01:01

6M ago1:01:01

1:01:01

For the past 10 years, Tess Owen has covered extremism, disinformation, and politics for several nationally owned publications. In the October 8, 2024, issue of New York magazine, Ms. Owen wrote an article with the title "Inside the Patriot Wing." She talked with several of the over 1,400 January 6 defendants who have been spending time in the Dist…

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"Philadelphia: A Narrative History" with Paul Kahan 51:57

6M ago51:57

51:57

Philadelphia is famous for its colonial and revolutionary buildings and artifacts, but Philadelphia existed long before the Liberty Bell was first rung, and its history extends well beyond the American Revolution.This book presents a comprehensive portrait of the city, from the region's original Lenape inhabitants to the myriad of residents in the …

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Ep. 190 Howard Blum, "Night of the Assassins" 1:06:57

6M ago1:06:57

1:06:57

In 1943, in the middle of World War II, the Allied leaders FDR, Winston Churchill, and Josef Stalin were planning to meet secretly in Tehran. The Nazis wanted to kill them. In his book "Night of the Assassins," author Howard Blum tells the story of "Operation Long Jump," the code name for the Nazi plan to assassinate the Allied leaders. In telling …

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Ep. 189 Max Boot, "Reagan: His Life and Legend" 1:09:41

7M ago1:09:41

1:09:41

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…

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Ep. 188 Brenda Wineapple, "Keeping the Faith" 1:09:49

7M ago1:09:49

1:09:49

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 …

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Ep. 187 Harvey Mansfield on Presidential Immunity 1:14:59

7M ago1:14:59

1:14:59

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: "…

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Ep. 186 Megan Gorman, "All the Presidents' Money" 1:07:35

7M ago1:07:35

1:07:35

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 …

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Ep. 185 Lindsay Chervinsky, "Making the Presidency" 1:08:31

8M ago1:08:31

1:08:31

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." Sh…

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Ep. 184 Dr. Marty Makary, "Blind Spots" 1:07:30

8M ago1:07:30

1:07:30

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 pra…

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Ep. 183 Ken Khachigian, "Behind Closed Doors" 1:05:44

8M ago1:05:44

1:05:44

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: …

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Ep. 182: David Roll, "Ascent to Power" – Part 2 1:06:52

8M ago1:06:52

1:06:52

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, …

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Ep. 181 David Roll, "Ascent to Power" – Part 1 1:09:20

8M ago1:09:20

1:09:20

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…

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Ep. 180 Tevi Troy, "The Power and the Money" 1:08:30

9M ago1:08:30

1:08:30

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 t…

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