About this podcast
Taking the concept from Brian Lamb's long running Booknotes TV program, the podcast offers listeners more books and authors. Booknotes+ features a mix of new interviews with authors and historians, along with some old favorites from the archives. The platform may be different, but the goal is the same – give listeners the opportunity to learn something new.
Episodes
The newest 50 of 300 episodes
- Walter Stahr, "William Howard Taft" · 1 h 2 minHistorian Walter Stahr has written books on John Jay, William Henry Seward, Edwin Stanton, and Salmon Chase. Now comes his biography of America's 27th president, William Howard…
- Shawn Gude, "American Socialist" · 1 h 7 minEugene V. Debs ran for President of the United States as a socialist five times. The first in 1900, the last in 1920, when he received close to a million votes. Shawn GudeS, a…
- Simon Sebag Montefiore, "The Cauldron" · 1 h 11 minSimon Sebag Montefiore has written nine nonfiction books and three novels. His latest is called "The Cauldron: The Making of the Modern Middle East." The time period covered is…
- John Ryan, "America's Trial" · 1 h 41 minOnly nine men have been convicted, through military commissions at Guantanamo Bay, out of roughly 780 total detainees held there for some time since 2002. However, only 15…
- Sam Roberts, "Are They Dead Yet?" · 1 h 10 minThe name of the book is "Are They Dead Yet?: The Art of the Obit." The author, Sam Roberts, is a 50-year veteran of New York journalism. He says in his book: "I've buried 1,600…
- Craig Whitlock, Washington Post Investigative Reporter · 1 h 4 minOn Saturday, August 8, on the front page of the Washington Post was this headline: "Some Vets Went Along with Scams of the G.I. Bill." Leading the team of Post reporters was…
- Andrew Burstein, "Being Thomas Jefferson" · 1 h 8 minAndrew Burstein recently retired as a professor of history at Louisiana State University. "Being Thomas Jefferson: An Intimate History" is his 16th book about the early years of…
- Jonathan Jordan, "Ike and Winston · 1 h 12 minJonathan Jordan devotes 544 pages and 57 chapters of his book "Ike and Winston" to telling the story of the friendship between Dwight David Eisenhower and Sir Winston Leonard…
- Scott Greenberger, "The Forsaken Founder" · 1 h 4 minIn the beginning of Scott Greenberger's new book, "The Forsaken Founder," Dawn Davis, publisher of the Simon & Schuster imprint 37 Ink, introduces us to this new history of a…
- Joby Warrick, "The Jackal" · 1 h 4 minIlich Ramírez Sánchez, better known as Carlos the Jackal, has been in prison for 32 years in France. He was captured in Sudan on August 14, 1994. In his book titled "The Jackal,"…
- Paul Taylor, "This Is Getting Old" · 1 h 6 minPaul Taylor tells his readers: "For the first 25 years, I was a newspaper reporter. For the next 25, a political reformer, a demographer, a pollster, an author, and a public…
- JD Vance, "Hillbilly Elegy" · 1 h 3 minIn the political history of the United States, books have had a big impact on who the public follows in elections. In 1956, John F. Kennedy published "Profiles in Courage," which…
- John Jenkins, "Summer of '71" – Part 2 · 1 h 9 minThis is the second of a two-part interview with journalist John A. Jenkins. His book is "Summer of '71: Five Months That Changed America." Jenkins writes in the introduction…
- John Jenkins, "Summer of '71" – Part 1 · 60 minJohn A. Jenkins has been a journalist most of his life in the city of his birth, Washington, DC. He says he's never known another summer like the one 55 years ago. His book…
- Christine Kuehn, "Family of Spies" · 1 h 6 minThe author's name is Christine Kuehn. The book is titled "Family of Spies: A World War II Story of Nazi Espionage, Betrayal, and the Secret History Behind Pearl Harbor."…
- Ted Widmer, "The Living Declaration" · 1 h 6 minThe commemoration of the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence has now gone beyond the Fourth of July. Many books have been published about the…
- Valerie Fridland, "Why We Talk Funny" · 1 h 13 minAfter 47 years of C-SPAN televising the Congress of United States, we feel there is no better place to hear accents and dialects of the American people 24 hours a day, seven days…
- Claudia Rowe, "Wards of the State" · 1 h 8 minClaudia Rowe is the author of "Wards of the State: The Long Shadow of American Foster Care." Rowe has been writing about the hallways and courtrooms, where kids and government…
- Richard Brookhiser, "The Hero Returns" · 1 h 6 minRichard Brookhiser is an American journalist, biographer, historian, and senior editor at National Review. He has appeared on C-SPAN for many years as the author of biographies…
- Michael Cullinane, "Theodore Roosevelt and the Tennis Cabinet" · 1 h 9 minIn July of this year, 2026, the new, multi-million-dollar Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library opens to the public in Medora, North Dakota, population 121. The senior…
- David Garrow on Martin Luther King, Jr. & Barack Obama · 1 h 7 minDavid J. Garrow is a prize-winning historian. Since graduating from Wesleyan University in 1975 and completing his law degree at Duke in 1981, he has spent most of his time…
- Lerone Bennett Jr., "Forced Into Glory" · 1 h 2 minDr. Lerone Bennett Jr. was born in Clarksdale, Mississippi, on October 17, 1928. He spent over 50 years with Johnson Publishing, ultimately became executive editor of its Ebony…
- Lois Romano, "An Inconvenient Widow" · 1 h 8 minLois Romano, formerly of the Washington Post, re-examines the legacy of Mary Todd Lincoln. In the promotion of the book, Simon & Schuster, the publisher, claims that Mrs. Lincoln…
- Danny Funt, "Everybody Loses" · 1 h 27 minDanny Funt is the author of the book "Everybody Loses: The Tumultuous Rise of American Sports Gambling." In May 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the 1992 Professional and…
- Theo Baker, "How to Rule the World" · 1 h 10 minTheo Baker will graduate from Stanford University on June 14th, 2026. About one month prior, his first book, "How to Rule the World: An Education in Power at Stanford…
- Harvey Mansfield, "Where Harvard Went Wrong" · 1 h 7 minHarvey Mansfield arrived as an undergrad at Harvard in 1949, 77 years ago. He hardly left the university until he retired as research professor in 2023. Professor Mansfield, at…
- Bruce Nichols, "The Emerson Circle" · 1 h 7 minDuring his almost 40-year career in publishing, Bruce Nichols served as publisher of both Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and Little Brown & Company. His book is titled "The Emerson…
- Craig Fehrman, "This Vast Enterprise" · 1 h 10 minAuthor Craig Fehrman has written a new history of the expedition of Lewis and Clark. It's called "This Vast Enterprise." In the prologue to his 515-page book, Fehrman writes…
- Antony Beevor, "Rasputin" · 1 h 6 minSir Antony Beevor, an historian based in London, has authored 13 books which have sold at least 8.5 million copies and been translated into 35 different languages. In his latest…
- Bob Crawford, "America's Founding Son" · 1 h 1 minBob Crawford plays upright bass, bass guitar, and violin with the Grammy nominated Americana band, the Avett Brothers. He's been with the band for 25 years. Since 2016, Mr…
- Giles Tremlett, "El Generalísimo" · 1 h 5 minGiles Tremlett is a biographer, a narrative historian, and a journalist based in Madrid, Spain. He was born in Plymouth, England, in 1962, but since graduating from Oxford…
- Tom Wells, "The Kissinger Tapes" · 1 h 12 minAuthor and editor Tom Wells opens his 600-page book titled "The Kissinger Tapes" this way: "Henry Kissinger is one of the most polarizing figures in recent American history…He is…
- Michael Hastings, "The Operators" · 1 h 3 minAs a follow up to the most recent Booknotes+ featuring Seth Harp on his book "The Fort Bragg Cartel," we are replaying an interview from June 12, 2012. The guest on Q&A, the…
- Investigative Journalist Seth Harp Explores The Fort Bragg Cartel · 1 h 18 minSeth Harp is a lawyer and an Iraq war veteran and an investigative writer and journalist. His first book, "The Fort Bragg Cartel," is about drug trafficking and murder in the…
- Josh Ireland, "The Death of Trotsky" · 1 h 8 minLondon-based writer Josh Ireland is the author of three books and ghostwriter of five others. His latest is titled "The Death of Trotsky: The True Story of the Plot to Kill…
- Richard John Neuhaus, "As I Lay Dying" · 1 h 2 minOn May 26, 2002, our guest on the Booknotes television program was Richard John Neuhaus . His book, "As I Lay Dying: Meditations Upon Returning." The Neuhaus interview received…
- David Sirota, "Master Plan" · 1 h 9 minDavid Sirota, who is based in Denver, Colorado, has some very strong views about money and politics. His book is called "Master Plan: The Hidden Plot to Legalize Corruption in…
- Elliot Williams, "Five Bullets" · 1 h 5 minFor his book, "Five Bullets," attorney Elliot Williams wrote 95,720 words. On the back of the cover of the book, writer Garrett Graff sums up the story this way: "Never has a…
- Candace Rondeaux, "Putin's Sledgehammer" · 1 h 9 minRussian Yevgeny Prigozhin, leader of the Wagner Group, marched toward Moscow starting on June 23, 2023. His forces were advancing north on M4 Highway after seizing Rostov-on-Don…
- Ep. 257 Carol Hymowitz on 10 Books That Changed the Way Americans Thought About Work · 52 minIn the December 1, 2025, print edition of the Wall Street Journal, there was this headline on page R25: "These 10 books changed the way Americans thought about work." Carol…
- Ep. 256 Jonathan Horn, "The Fate of the Generals" · 1 h 10 minJonathan Horn's latest book is titled "The Fate of the Generals: MacArthur, Wainwright, and the Epic Battle for the Philippines." The publisher Scribner explains the premise of…
- Ep. 255 Anne Marshall, "Cassius Marcellus Clay" · 1 h 10 minAnne Marshall is associate professor of history and executive director of the Ulysses S. Grant Presidential Library at Mississippi State University. Her book is "Cassius…
- Ep. 253 Ben Freeman, "The Trillion Dollar War Machine" · 1 h 4 min"The Trillion Dollar War Machine" is the name of the book. The co-authors are William Hartung and Ben Freeman. They both do work for the Quincy Institute for Responsible…
- Ep. 252 John Ferling, "Shots Heard Round the World" · 1 h 9 minAfter 15 books on Revolutionary America, John Ferling still has more to say about the early period in the life of the United States. Ferling is professor emeritus of history at…
- Ep. 251 Frank McCourt on Angela’s Ashes: Pulitzer Prize–Winning Memoir · 1 h 2 minIrish American writer Frank McCourt wrote a book in 1996 that was on the New York Times bestseller list for over 100 weeks. Over the next 20 years, "Angela's Ashes" sold close to…
- Ep.250 Peter Gomes, "The Good Book" · 58 minThis week's encore interview is from September 21, 1997. Twenty-eight years ago. Our guest was Peter J. Gomes, former minister of the Memorial Church at Harvard. His father was…
- Ep. 249 Alexandra Churchill, "Ring of Fire" · 1 h 5 minBritish historian Alexandra Churchill is no relation to the former prime minister. However, her new book is the history of the world at war in 1914, titled "Ring of Fire." Alex…
- Ep. 248 Kenneth Vogel, "Devils' Advocates" · 1 h 12 minMost of the names are familiar to those who follow politics and government. Hunter Biden, Rudolph Giuliani, Tony Podesta, Paul Manafort, and many others. Kenneth Vogel has…
- Ep. 247 Doug Most, "Launching Liberty" · 1 h 4 minBoston-based writer Doug Most's new book is called "Launching Liberty: The Epic Race to Build the Ships That Took America to War." Most, who spent 15 years at the Boston Globe…
- Ep. 246 Constitutional Scholar Akhil Reed Amar on America’s Equality Story · 1 h 10 minYale constitutional law professor Akhil Reed Amar's second book in a trilogy is titled "Born Equal: Remaking America's Constitution, 1840-1920." In Professor Amar's introduction…
