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Bookstack at Persuasion is delivered to you every other Sunday at 6am EST. Grab a coffee, settle onto the couch, and see your weekend out with a deep dive into the best new book releases… This week, Richard Aldous talks to Georgios Varouxakis, author of The West: A History of an Idea (Princeton University Press). Host: Richard Aldous Producer: Bhaasita Athani Follow Persuasion on X , LinkedIn , Instagram , and YouTube to keep up with our latest articles, podcasts, and events, as well as updates ...
Bookstack at Persuasion is delivered to you every other Sunday at 6am EST. Grab a coffee, settle onto the couch, and see your weekend out with a deep dive into the best new book releases… For our first episode of 2026, Richard talks to Geoffrey Ward, author of The American Revolution: An Intimate History (Knopf). Host: Richard Aldous Producer: Bhaasita Athani Follow Persuasion on X , LinkedIn , Instagram , and YouTube to keep up with our latest articles, podcasts, and events, as well as updates ...
Bookstack at Persuasion is delivered to you every other Sunday at 6am EST. Grab a coffee, settle onto the couch, and see your weekend out with a deep dive into the best new book releases… This week, Richard talks to Kori Schake, author of The State and the Soldier: A History of Civil-Military Relations in the United States (Polity). Host: Richard Aldous Producer: Bhaasita Athani Follow Persuasion on X , LinkedIn , Instagram , and YouTube to keep up with our latest articles, podcasts, and events,...
Bookstack at Persuasion is delivered to you every other Sunday at 6am EST. Grab a coffee, settle onto the couch, and see your weekend out with a deep dive into the best new book releases… This week, Richard talks to Shadi Hamid, author of The Case for American Power (Simon & Schuster). Bookstack is a production of American Purpose at Persuasion . Host: Richard Aldous Producer: Bhaasita Athani Follow Persuasion on X , LinkedIn , Instagram , and YouTube to keep up with our latest articles, pod...
Bookstack at Persuasion is delivered to you every other Sunday at 6am EST. Grab a coffee, settle onto the couch, and see your weekend out with a deep dive into the best new book releases… This week, Richard talks to Sven Beckert, author of Capitalism: A Global History (Penguin Press). Bookstack is a production of American Purpose at Persuasion . Host: Richard Aldous Producer: Bhaasita Athani Follow Persuasion on X , LinkedIn , Instagram , and YouTube to keep up with our latest articles, podcasts...
Bookstack at Persuasion is delivered to you every other Sunday at 6am EST. Grab a coffee, settle onto the couch, and see your weekend out with a deep dive into the best new book releases… This week, Richard talks to Vanessa Williamson, author of The Price of Democracy: The Revolutionary Power of Taxation in American History (Basic Books). Bookstack is a production of American Purpose at Persuasion . Host: Richard Aldous Producer: Bhaasita Athani Follow Persuasion on X (Twitter) , LinkedIn , and ...
Bookstack at Persuasion is delivered to you every other Sunday at 6am EST. Grab a coffee, settle onto the couch, and see your weekend out with a deep dive into the best new book releases… This week, Richard talks to Phillips O’Brien, author of the new book, War and Power: Who Wins Wars—And Why (Public Affairs). Bookstack is a production of American Purpose at Persuasion . Host: Richard Aldous Producer: Bhaasita Athani Follow Persuasion on X (Twitter) , LinkedIn , and YouTube to keep up with our ...
Bookstack at Persuasion is delivered to you every other Sunday at 6am EST. Grab a coffee, settle onto the couch, and see your weekend out with a deep dive into the best new book releases… This week, Richard Aldous talks to Phillip Taubman and William Taubman, authors of the new book, McNamara at War: A New History (Norton). Bookstack is a production of American Purpose at Persuasion . Host: Richard Aldous Producer: Bhaasita Athani Follow Persuasion on X (Twitter) , LinkedIn , and YouTube to keep...
Bookstack at Persuasion is delivered to you every other Sunday at 6am EST. Grab a coffee, settle onto the couch, and see your weekend out with a deep dive into the best new book releases… This week Richard talks to Scott Anderson, author of the new book, King of Kings: The Iranian Revolution: A Story of Hubris, Delusion and Catastrophic Miscalculation (Doubleday). Bookstack is a production of American Purpose at Persuasion . Host: Richard Aldous Producer: Bhaasita Athani Follow Persuasion on X (...
Bookstack returns after the summer with Richard talking to author Simon Ball about his new book, Death to Order: A Modern History of Assassination (Yale University Press). Bookstack is a production of American Purpose at Persuasion . Host: Richard Aldous Producer: Bhaasita Athani Follow Persuasion on X (Twitter) , LinkedIn , and YouTube to keep up with our latest articles, podcasts, and events, as well as updates from excellent writers across our network. This is a public episode. If you'd like ...
In this week’s episode, Richard talks to Ross Benes, author of 1999: The Year Low Culture Conquered America and Kickstarted Our Bizarre Times (University Press of Kansas). Bookstack is a production of American Purpose at Persuasion . Host: Richard Aldous Producer: Bhaasita Athani Follow Persuasion on X (Twitter) , LinkedIn , and YouTube to keep up with our latest articles, podcasts, and events, as well as updates from excellent writers across our network. This is a public episode. If you'd like ...
This week Richard talks to Karen Elliott House, author of the new book, The Man Who Would Be King: Mohammed Bin Salman and the Transformation of Saudi Arabia (Harper). Bookstack is a production of American Purpose at Persuasion . Host: Richard Aldous Producer: Bhaasita Athani Follow Persuasion on X (Twitter) , LinkedIn , and YouTube to keep up with our latest articles, podcasts, and events, as well as updates from excellent writers across our network. And, to receive pieces like this in your inb...
In today’s episode of Bookstack, host Richard Aldous sits down with Joan C. Williams, award-winning scholar of social inequality and author of Outclassed: How the Left Lost the Working Class and How to Win Them Back (St. Martin's Press). Bookstack is now a production of American Purpose at Persuasion . Host: Richard Aldous Producer (for the last time): Laura Silverman Follow Persuasion on X (Twitter ), LinkedIn , and YouTube to keep up with our latest articles, podcasts, and events, as well as u...
In today’s episode of Bookstack, host Richard Aldous sits down with Bryan Burrough, acclaimed journalist, podcaster, and author of The Gunfighters: How Texas Made the West Wild (Penguin Random House) . Bookstack is now a production of American Purpose at Persuasion .Host: Richard Aldous Producer: Laura Silverman Follow Persuasion on X (Twitter ), LinkedIn , and YouTube to keep up with our latest articles, podcasts, and events, as well as updates from excellent writers across our network. And, to...
In today’s episode of Bookstack, host Richard Aldous sits down with Marc Fasteau and Ian Fletcher — board members of the Coalition for a Prosperous America and co-authors of Industrial Policy for the United States: Winning the Competition for Good Jobs and High-Value Industries (Cambridge University Press). Bookstack is now a production of American Purpose at Persuasion .Host: Richard Aldous Producer: Laura Silverman Follow Persuasion on X (Twitter ), LinkedIn , and YouTube to keep up with our l...
In today’s episode of Bookstack, host Richard Aldous sits down with Edward Luce, U.S. National Editor at the Financial Times and author Zbig: The Life of Zbigniew Brzezinski, America’s Great Power Prophet (Avid Reader Press / Simon & Schuster). Bookstack is now a production of American Purpose at Persuasion .Host: Richard Aldous Producer: Laura Silverman Follow Persuasion on X (Twitter ), LinkedIn , and YouTube to keep up with our latest articles, podcasts, and events, as well as updates fro...
In today’s episode of Bookstack, host Richard Aldous sits down with Matthew C. Klein, economist, writer behind The Overshoot on Substack, and co-author. with Michael Pettis, of Trade Wars Are Class Wars: How Rising Inequality Distorts the Global Economy and Threatens International Peace (Yale University Press). Bookstack is now a production of American Purpose at Persuasion . Follow Persuasion on X (Twitter ), LinkedIn , and YouTube to keep up with our latest articles, podcasts, and events, as w...
In this episode of Bookstack, host Richard Aldous sits down with Jonathan Rauch, journalist and author of Cross Purposes: Christianity's Broken Bargain with Democracy (Yale University Press). Bookstack is now a production of American Purpose at Persuasion . Follow Persuasion on X (Twitter ), LinkedIn , and YouTube to keep up with our latest articles, podcasts, and events, as well as updates from excellent writers across our network. And, to receive pieces like this in your inbox and support our ...
In this episode of Bookstack, host Richard Aldous sits down with Nicole Karlis, award-winning journalist and author of Your Brain on Altruism: The Power of Connection and Community During Times of Crisis (University of California Press). Bookstack is now a production of American Purpose at Persuasion . Follow Persuasion on X (Twitter ), LinkedIn , and YouTube to keep up with our latest articles, podcasts, and events, as well as updates from excellent writers across our network. And, to receive p...
In this episode of Bookstack, host Richard Aldous sits down with Nir Arielli, international historian and author, to discuss his new book, The Dead Sea: A 10,000 Year History (Yale University Press). Bookstack is now a production of American Purpose at Persuasion . Follow Persuasion on X (Twitter ), LinkedIn , and YouTube to keep up with our latest articles, podcasts, and events, as well as updates from excellent writers across our network. And, to receive pieces like this in your inbox and supp...
Wolfgang Münchau discusses his book "Kaput," arguing that Germany's economic decline stems from its failure to adapt to the digital age and its reliance on outdated models. He critiques the close ties between banks, industry, and government, as well as Germany's dependence on other nations. The conversation also explores Angela Merkel's policy missteps and the broader implications for the EU's global standing.
In this week’s episode of Bookstack, host Richard Aldous sits down with Tevi Troy, presidential historian, former U.S. Deputy Secretary of Heath and Human Services, and prolific author to discuss Troy’s new book, The Power and the Money: The Epic Clashes Between Commanders in Chief and Titans of Industry (Skyhorse Publishing). Bookstack is now a production of American Purpose at Persuasion . Follow Persuasion on X (Twitter ), LinkedIn , and YouTube to keep up with our latest articles, podcasts, ...
In this week’s episode of Bookstack, host Richard Aldous sits down with Katherine C. Epstein, associate professor of history at Rutgers University-Camden and author of the new book, Analog Superpowers: How Twentieth-Century Technology Theft Built the National Security State (The University of Chicago Press). Bookstack is now a production of American Purpose at Persuasion . Follow Persuasion on X (Twitter ), LinkedIn , and YouTube to keep up with our latest articles, podcasts, and events, as well...
In this week’s episode of Bookstack, host Richard Aldous talks to presidential historian Lindsay M. Chervinsky, author of the new book, Making the Presidency: John Adams and the Precedents That Forged the Republic (Oxford University Press). Note: this episode was recorded in early January 2025. Bookstack is now a production of American Purpose at Persuasion . Follow Persuasion on X (Twitter ), LinkedIn , and YouTube to keep up with our latest articles, podcasts, and events, as well as updates fr...
In this week's episode of Bookstack, host Richard Aldous talks to Michael Mandelbaum, author of the new book, The Titans of the Twentieth Century: How They Made History and the History They Made (Oxford University Press). Bookstack is now a production of American Purpose at Persuasion . Follow Persuasion on X (Twitter ), LinkedIn , and YouTube to keep up with our latest articles, podcasts, and events, as well as updates from excellent writers across our network. And, to receive pieces like this ...
In this week's episode of Bookstack, host Richard Aldous talks to Johns Hopkins epidemiologist Caitlin Rivers, PhD, about her new book, Crisis Averted: The Hidden Science of Fighting Outbreaks (Viking). Bookstack is now a production of American Purpose at Persuasion . Follow Persuasion on X (Twitter ), LinkedIn , and YouTube to keep up with our latest articles, podcasts, and events, as well as updates from excellent writers across our network. And, to receive pieces like this in your inbox and s...
In this week’s episode of Bookstack , recorded in the week post-U.S. presidential election, host Richard Aldous chats with American historian Hyrum Lewis about his latest book, co-written with his brother Verlan Lewis, The Myth of Left and Right: How the Political Spectrum Misleads and Harms America (Oxford University Press) Bookstack is now a production of American Purpose at Persuasion . Follow Persuasion on X (Twitter ), LinkedIn , and YouTube to keep up with our latest articles, podcasts, an...
In this week’s episode of Bookstack , host Richard Aldous chats with Admiral James Stavridis, USN (Ret.), former NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe, about his latest book, The Restless Wave: A Novel of the United States Navy (Penguin Random House). Bookstack is now a production of American Purpose at Persuasion . Follow Persuasion on X (Twitter ), LinkedIn , and YouTube to keep up with our latest articles, podcasts, and events, as well as updates from excellent writers across our network. And,...
In this week’s episode, host Richard Aldous talks to fellow Bard College historian Sean McMeekin about his new book, To Overthrow the World: The Rise and Fall and Rise of Communism (Basic Books). Bookstack is now a production of American Purpose at Persuasion . Follow Persuasion on Twitter , LinkedIn , and YouTube to keep up with our latest articles, podcasts, and events, as well as updates from excellent writers across our network. And, to receive pieces like this in your inbox and support our ...
Bookstack is back with its 150th episode! On this week's show, host Richard Aldous talks to Marsha E. Barrett, assistant professor of history at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, about her new book, Nelson Rockefeller's Dilemma: The Fight to Save Moderate Republicanism ( Three Hills/Cornell University Press). Bookstack is now a production of American Purpose at Persuasion . Follow Persuasion on Twitter , LinkedIn , and YouTube to keep up with our latest articles, podcasts, and events,...
